Personal Blog

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Final Week for Voter's Registration @ The City COMELEC Office (Cagayan de Oro City)

Last week was the final week for the voter's registration period nationwide. So it has been expected that during this time, the place (City COMELEC Office) will be crammed with a lot people.

I went to the office to register myself here in Cagayan de Oro City. And the place was packed! People from outside the office were crammed in a line which I don't understand what kind of line they were trying to form. There was one door, and the people outside were forming lines like it were the rays of the sun as drawn in the Philippine flag. Clearly, it was just the lack of staff to manage the crowd which gave the yearning voters this kind of experience.


I went to the City COMELEC Office (which is located at Burgos-C. Taal St.) around 9:00 in the morning, and got myself registered finally only in the afternoon, right after the lunch break which is from 12:00nn to 1:00pm. The whole time was spent standing outside the office on the street under the scorching heat of the sun, waiting for my name to be called. The heat was really intense. The umbrella wouldn't be of any use. A better option would be to find a shade under a tree or a wall perhaps. It was so hot that even during lunchtime, when I went to Jollibee (Lourdes College branch) to cool myself off, I still feel feverish. When I touched my head, I can still feel that it's hot.

As you can see, people are crammed on the street just outside the office. This one is taken from the right side of the office. This is the line where people would get their registration forms. And the line moves slowly.


Also here are the people scattered, waiting for their names to be called for the picture taking and the thumb printing.


Outside the office, one can see a lot of stalls selling different varieties of food and drinks. A good sight to see there is the buko juice vendor under the shade of the tree. Out of the current circumstance as of that moment, that was the only sight that neutralized the heat of the sun. Other vendors one will see are the ones which sell tempura, fishballs, kwek-kwek, peanuts (both cooked, and the one with it's shell still intact), and even spaghetti. For the local treats, there were also shakoys, buchi, and the local maja. Along with those, mineral water are also scattered within the vicinity. And there are always mini-stores around the area if you want cold softdrinks or other usual stuff found in mini-stores.



Here's one boy (locally known as the takatak boys) just sitting his time away waiting for people to buy cigarettes or candies from him.


There were people here reported to have collapsed due to the very hot temperature in the area. While I was already inside the office, I saw one woman taken to another part of the office, layed down on the chair, and was given water to drink. Some people outside couldn't bear it anymore and broke away from the line. People there are shouting. One staff at one time got mad and shouted at people to move back because people are pushing in, hoping they could get their registration forms passed. With this situation, people inside find it very difficult to go out. One alarming scene there is seeing women carrying infants and the senior citizens trying to get registered on a scenery like that. If people who are in the primal age find it difficult and very uncomfortable in this kind of situation, how much more people in the extremes of the age bracket?

Some of the elders in the area commented that, why not make the registration available on every baranggay? Why do they have to do everything in just one location? It does make sense. Every baranggay has an office, so why not make the registrations available there instead of pushing every people in the city inside one office? I don't know the reason why the people in the COMELEC office in the city never implemented that. But I hope next time, they will try to implement that.

These I noticed: There were only two computers available inside the office; they lack staff--there was no one outside who could manage to make the people fall in line; there was one security guard though who was standing near the door; and I think they are still resorting to the stone age process of handling files with the use of paper. I have seen bulks of paper inside the office in which I think are the registration forms. Not sure though what other files are included in the pile. Why not make everything computerized? The government could set aside a budget for computers inside the office. And they could always hire people to manage all the relevant data. There are a lot of capable people in the city who could do that. But we don't really know; maybe it's that hard for the office to request a budget for that goal. Also, to be able to get a registration form, you should fall in line first to get a priority number. But what happened was, once you get your priority number, there was no staff who would be calling the numbers. What people did there, was they went in line again leading to the office door to get their registration forms. In other words, the priority number was of no use. It just added up to the burdens of registering. It was pretty stupid actually.

I'm waiting for the time when voter's registration and voting perhaps will become a luxury that every people will enjoy. One day, I hope it will come to that.

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Back On Track by Small Time Only Promotions

Yet another gig that's free. Small Time Only Promotions (STOP), one of the local music productions existing in the city, is setting up a gig this coming Saturday, October 31, at Mandex Bar, Velez-Nacalaban St., Cagayan de Oro City. This would just be near Medical Hospital, besides Tapsi Time.


Ten bands will be playing. Most of the bands I know on the line-up have their own original compositions, and most probably will be playing them. So in order for you to see what these guys have in store for the city, go and watch the gig. It's for free anyway--but drinks are not.

I noticed that there are a number of gigs putted up around the city that's free of charge for two consecutive weekends now. This will be opportunities for people in the city to check out what Cagayan de Oro's bands have to offer without spending for the entrance fee. From the looks of it, it seems like the city is trying to revive the local music scene like it once had 2-6 years ago. I hope these groups, small as they can be, will be able to proliferate the flame that the city potentially has.

Gig starts exactly at 8pm. So you guys best be there before that time. And to all the photographers around the city, you guys are warmly invited to take shots at the gig.

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Retrofest at Chaibodia Bistro Cafe

Retrofest--this was a gig that happened on the night of October 24 along with the Project Lifeline gig (a tribute to the victims of the typhoon Ondoy) that happened near Rotunda in the new Bridge at Macasandig. Retrofest was a beneficiary gig to some missionary program by a certain Meling Abuga-a. I do not really know the details (I failed to ask due to fatigue), but I was able to talk to one of the persons who collected donations about what the program was all about. She said that it was raised for feeding programs and other things of the like and this will be headed by Meling Abuga-a (if I heard it right, she is active in the local Arts scene inside the city). For that, I was compelled to donate my little P30.00.


For the details of the event, some of the local bands in Cagayan de Oro City took part in the gig. These bands played acoustic versions of their songs, as well as some of the 60's and 70's song they were covering for that night. We were also able to see some of the old faces in the local music scene of Cagayan, as well as new ones.

To top it all, the gig was for free. They accepted donations, but basically, it was for free. You have to pay for your drinks of course. And the place served grilled food and others, so the place was worth going to.

A little trivia: the name Chaibodia was taken from the owner's name, which is 'Chai', and 'bodia' which is something that pertains to Buddhism. Seeing the owner of the cafe, I didn't expect her to be that young. She's probably on her mid-20's, if I may get it right.

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Mindanao Bloggers Summit 3 Conclusion

The Mindanao Bloggers Summit took place last Saturday (Oct. 24) at Pearlmont Inn Hotel here in Cagayan de Oro City. There were a lot of bloggers who participated in the event. Bloggers from Davao City, General Santos City, Zamboanga City, Iligan City, and even some not from Mindanao like Manila, and Baguio I guess. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.) Yes, bloggers from places as far as those came all the way here in Cagayan de Oro City to join the said event. I am sure it was an honor for Cagayan de Oro City to be hosting such an event.


Major sponsors to the event were: Nokia Ovi, Smart Communication, Havaianas, Ultracraft, 1st Rafting Adventures, Cong. Rolando "Klarex" Uy, and the Cagayan de Oro City Govt. Among the minor sponsors were: Syntactics, OLX Classified Ads, MakatiAve.com, Province of Misamis Oriental, Magnet Advertising, Del Monte, The Site, Majesty Sales Center, Clara's Shoppe, RG&K Construction, Pagua's Cottages, The Pacifica.com Companies, Asterisk Event and Communications, and Loretos Bar and Grill.

The theme of this event is "Mindanao Bag-uhon ang Panan-aw". This as a 2 day event, actually. The first day took place on a Saturday, and the next one happened on the following day. The main event happened on the first day, while the second day, which is either the City Tour or the White Water Rafting Adventure depending on the package chosen, would be an opportunity for fellow bloggers to get along and know each other better.

The first day was packed with a lot of lectures from different personalities--both from the political field, and the blogging community. The morning was filled with talks about how significant the bloggers' impact is on the image of a hometown--in our case, Mindanao. Important people who attended and gave a talk were Mayor Tinnex Jaraula, DCM Leslie Bassett, Atty. Adel Tamano, and Agusan Rep. Rodolfo "Ompong" Plaza. Mr. Bloggie Robillo also gave the introductory presentation for the summit. At the end of the presentation, he showed an inspiring scene of the map of Mindanao with all the major locations hopefully mushroomed with Blogger Groups on the area.

Right after lunch break, another set of lectures were delivered by different blogging personalities who are successful in the blogging industry. Among these were Ms. Aileen Apolo, Mrs. Janette Toral, and Mr. Lyle Santos. Then after that, updates about what bloggers from the different areas have been doing were presented in the most likely fassion. First to deliver were the Davao Bloggers, then the GenSan, Zamboanga, and then CDO. I can't jot down down as of the moment the details of the lectures and the presentation on this post. Probably on future posts.

Overall, the event was fun. I learned a lot from the lectures. My urge to write up more about my beloved Mindanao was hoisted on top of the flagpole. The lectures about monitizing through blogging was very informative. And that was just probably half of the iceberge for me. The other half would constitute the meeting of a lot of fellow bloggers. Literally, everyone in the venue were bloggers; except of course for some media men who came and a few more sponsors to the event. Among the people I have personally met were Davao bloggers: Kevin Paquet, Ms. Dulce Lada, Tammy Sulit, and Pearl Dy. From Iligan is Mrs. Arlene Collado. Here in Cagayan de Oro are the ever accomodating: Mrs. Phebie Anne Normandia, Eleanor Aguilar, and Elaine Pagunsan. These are the lovely ladies I got to be with throughout the whole event. Other CDO bloggers I met are friendly bloggers: Jane, Pangit ster, Ms. Chique Montes (the lively organizer of the event), Shane, etc. I will edit this post in the future with the links to their blog site as soon as I find everyone on the web. There were still others I could not get the names because I haven’t look them up yet on various networking sites. I will add them to this list when I can.

I will probably disclose the details of the event and my experiences on it in another article. As of now I guess this will be enough. Links will come later.

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Mindanao Bloggers Summit 3 to be Held in Cagayan de Oro City

Calling all bloggers from all over Mindanao! There will be a summit to be held tomorrow here in Cagayan de Oro City. Attached below the photo is a press release from the CDO Bloggers group explaining the details of the event. If you wish to join the event, the details on how to join is found at http://www.mbscdo.com. There's still time to join the event. So, if you're just around the city, feel free to join. Cheers!

CDO Bloggers Group Hosts Mindanao Bloggers Summit 3

The Cagayan de Oro Bloggers (CDO Bloggers) group is set to play host to the Mindanao Bloggers Summit 3, which will be held on October 24, 2009. With the theme, “Mindanao: Bag-Uhon Ang Panan-aw,” the MBS 3 aims to uphold the beauty and strength of the island and to expunge the negative notions the world has about it.

(Cagayan de Oro City, Mindanao, Philippines – October 21, 2009) – It’s all systems go for the Cagayan de Oro Bloggers (CDO Bloggers) as they play host to the much-awaited Mindanao Bloggers Summit 3, an annual gathering of Mindanao-based bloggers, IT industry experts, community leaders and new media advocates, on October 24, 2009 at Pearlmont Inn, Limketkai Drive, Cagayan de Oro City. Roughly 300 bloggers are expected to attend this year’s summit.

With the theme, “Mindanao: Bag-Uhon Ang Panan-aw,” (Changing The Way People See Mindanao) the event aims to uphold the beauty and strength of Mindanao, to highlight the diverse cultures and fascinating tourist spots that are uniquely Mindanao and to provide a platform where bloggers and other new media practitioners can discuss concerns related to Mindanao – all with the help of new and emerging technologies.

“Mindanao is the home of everything fascinating or in bloggers’ lingo – bloggable. Through the Mindanao Bloggers Summit 3, it is the hope of the CDO Bloggers, along with our partners and generous sponsors, that we listen to knowledgeable resource persons, meet other Mindanaoan bloggers, share and maximize all of our skills and resources and adopt tried and tested practices that can help us to fully promote Mindanao and for us to become better bloggers as well,” emphasized Chiq Montes, president of CDO Bloggers.

“Of course, we also want all of the participants to have a good time and experience the sights and sounds of Cagayan de Oro,” Montes added.

Montes said that apart from Mindanaoan bloggers, the summit will also see the participation of some bloggers from Luzon and Visayas.

Expected to grace the summit is United States Embassy’s new Deputy Chief of Mission Leslie Bassett, Atty. Adel Tamano, Agusan Lone District Rep. Rodolfo “Ompong” Plaza and Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Tinnex Jaraula.

Considered unprecedented in the Philippine blogosphere, a top ranking United States Embassy dignitary is set to deliver the keynote address. Bassett’s trip to CDO will be her first trip to Mindanao since assuming office in June. She previously served as DCM in Mexico.

“We are deeply honored. We’re certain that the summit participants will be delighted to meet her and we can’t wait for her to see our beautiful city,” Montes said.

Other speakers during the whole-day affair include Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Tinnex Jaraula, Agusan Lone District Rep. Rodolfo “Ompong” Plaza and Atty. Adel Tamano.

Google’s Philippine representative Aileen Apolo, whose talk will focus on beginners, Digital Filipino’s Janette Toral, who will discuss blog advertising and Lyle Santos, who will talk about making money online will also be present. Representatives of other blogger groups including those in Davao City, General Santos City and Zamboanga will also give updates.

After the summit proper, participants have the choice of joining either the city tour (Xavier University Museum, Cathedral, Divine Mercy Shrine, Opol Aviary, Limketkai Mall) or the whitewater rafting adventure.

Also happening on October 24, right after the MBS 3, is the Philippine Blog Awards – Mindanao awarding ceremonies.

CDO Bloggers, Inc., a group duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, is the lead organizer of this year’s Mindanao Bloggers Summit 3. Previous summits took place in Davao City and General Santos City.

The Mindanao Bloggers Summit 3 is generously supported by SMART Telecommunications, Nokia, Syntactics, Inc., STI, Rafting Adventure Philippines, MakatiAve.com, Majesty Sales Center, Havaianas Philippines, OLX Philippines Free Classifieds, Clara Shoppe, ASTERISK Events and Communications, RG & K Construction, Paguia’s Cottages, The Pacifica.com Companies, The Site, Spruce, The City Government of Cagayan de Oro, Office of CDO First District Rep. Rolando “Klarex” Uy, SM City Cagayan de Oro, Ultra Craft Advertising Corporation, Magnet Advertising, Provincial Government of Misamis Oriental and the Mindanao Bloggers community. Media partners include Papa Ardie’s Concepz, STI, ABS CBN, MOR 91.9 and HOT FM 106.3.

For more information about the Mindanao Bloggers Summit 3, log on to http://www.mbscdo.com

About CDO Bloggers

CDOBloggers or Cagayan de Oro Bloggers, Inc. is a duly SEC-registered organization that promotes Cagayan de Oro through blogging. Among the group’s goals are to create impact in society through blogging, to help promote Mindanao to the world as a bustling and peaceful land, to promote Cagayan De Oro City and Kagay-anons around the world with a sense of pride and to use blogging as a media platform.

The CDO Bloggers group is the main organizer of the Mindanao Bloggers Summit 3 (MBS 3). For more information about MBS 3, log on to http://www.mbscdo.com

For more information about CDO Bloggers, visit http://www.cdobloggers.com or send email to cdobloggersinc@gmail.com

About Mindanao Bloggers

Mindanao Bloggers aims to unify the island through this exciting new medium — the way of the blog — thereby promoting deeper understanding of our different cultures and beliefs. Thus, it is hoped that this community blog will help in presenting to the world at large the true beauty of the Philippine South, as well as the marvelous diversity of the peoples of Mindanao. For more information about Mindanao Bloggers, visit http://www.mindanaobloggers.com

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FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES, PLEASE CONTACT:

ASTERISK Events and Communications
http://www.asteriskeventsandcommunications.com
Mobile number: (+63) 919 238 6575 / (+63) 922 478 5218
Email address: asteriskEC@gmail.com

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