Karne Ka Ba? Overhaul Philippine Transportation Sector

"Filipino commuting makes you feel like you're a slab of meat being delivered from Point A to Point B."

Fillet Mignon from Flickr

Dear Foreigner in the Philippines,

Chances are you commute most of the time. You might have ridden a taxi, a bus, a jeepney or a tricycle. During your first time, it must have been cute. Culture!

But then as time wore on, the experience just became very unpleasant. 

If you've ever been screwed or overpriced by Filipino transportation, please do allow me to apologize in behalf of my countrymen. Filipinos are generally honest and trustworthy. 

Kind Regards,

A Filipino 


The year is 2014. As a Filipino child who grew up in the 80s to 90s, I've long dreamed of the year 2000 as the year when cars could fly and there's no traffic. I've dreamed that going from one place to another would be a pleasant experience filled with wonderful sights and views. Whether you have a car or are commuting, I thought back then that life as a traveler would be better.

I was wrong.

Commuting and travelling in the Philippines is like riding a hell hound going from purgatory to hell and then going to some place worse than hell while stuck in traffic, with heat, high humidity, dust, smoke and pollution.

And I am speaking as a Filipino who lives in the Philippines with no car.


No Written Rules

Commuters generally have no rights - except when they are already in the hospital dying or dead and if there's media coverage.

Contrast that to the German or the British system wherein when a bus gets one minute late, people start grumbling and you know that a commuter's life here is worse than hell.


Unprofessional Drivers

Whether it's a taxi, jeepney, bus or tricycle driver the rules are the same. They are the kings of the road. As far as I know, there are no "Rules of Conduct" for you to become a driver. You only need a driver's license which is very easy to get.

The government tries to regulate this via the LTO, LGUs and the LTFRB but life on the street is still the same.

It sucks.

How many times have you witnessed a jeepney driver dropping off a passenger and then moving as the passenger was alighting?

How many times have you witnessed a tricycle or a taxi driver overcharging for fare with no basis?


We Deserve Better Transportation: Filipinos and Foreigners Alike

Addendum:

• Daily Manila commute worst ever - June 10, 2014

Paano at Bakit Kailangan Bumili ng Domain

Why do you need a domain? A Filipino blogger's tip for new Filipino bloggers. Written in Filipino.

Bakit kailangan ng domain?

Matagal na akong blogger na nagsimula pa noong 2006. Dati rati, ok lang sa akin ang walang domain. Happy na ako sa dannybuntu.blogspot.com.

Ano ang domain?

Ito ang pangalan ng iyong blog o website. Halimbawa: "kuripotako.com"

Ayaw kong bumili ng domain dati, dahil hindi ko alam kung paano bumili at wala rin naman akong pera. Sa katunayan ay mura lang ang iba sa mga ito. Nasubukan ko na ring bumili na ang pinakamababa ay $2 o halos P100 lang. Pero may promo noon at gumamit ako ng "coupon code" o discount code.

Ngayon wala na akong makitang ganong presyo. Karaniwan ang ordinary na domain (tulad ng mga nagtatapos sa .com) ay umaabot ng $10.67 USD o halos P500.

Saan makakabili ng domain?

Maraming pwedeng pagbilihan ng domain. Bahala ka kung saan mo gusto.

1. name.com
2. namecheap.com
3. panabee.com
4. enom.com
5. godaddy.com
6. dot.ph para sa mga .com.ph, .ph, .net.ph, .org.ph

Bakit kailangan ko ng domain? 

Sayang, pwede ring pangjolibee o Starbucks yang P500 na yan. Maraming bagitong blogger ang paulit ulit na nagtatanong.

Ang pinakamabilis at pinakadirektang sagot ko ay ganito:

Pag wala kang domain:

1. Mukha kang bagito - bagay na may dalang iba't ibang persepsyon. Kahit hindi totoo, eto ang dating mo hindi lang sinasabi ng tao. (EXCEPT: Kung kilala kang public personality at napalabas sa TV. O, napalabas ka na ba sa TV? Hindi kasama yung mga panahon na tumatalon talon ka nang maka shoot ng bola sa PBA ang idol mo at nakuhanan ka sa camera dahil suot mo ang jersey niya. Hindi rin kasama yung panahon na ininterview ka dahil kumakain ka ng pishbols sa Umagang Kay Ganda.)

• a. Wala kang alam o hindi mo inalam
• b. Kuripot ka at ayaw gumastos ng P500
• c. Tamad ka dahil ayaw mong pagaralan. 

So what - chocnut? Sabi mo siguro. Hindi ba na kapag may ibinibenta ka mapa serbisyo man o produkto - kailangang mong patunayan na naniniwala ka dito? Higit sa lahat kailangan mong patunayan na may halaga ito. 

Halimbawa: Camella house and lot.

Kunwari, ikaw si galing-abroad-na-umaalingasaw-ng-amoy ng pera galing sa langis ng Dubai o dolyar ng Amerika. Nakashades ka, at branded lahat ng suot mo. Kung magsalita ka e wala na ang punto mo na galing pang probinsya. In short. 

Yu hab kash, meyynnn. 

Ngayon, may lumapit sa'yo 2 tao. Pareho sila ng ibinibenta - Camella House and Lot para sa iyong mader at pader o jowa o gelpren. 

Yung isa, nakakurbata, longsleeves (kahit sankadamukmuk ng init dito sa Pinas), naka balat na sapatos, at magalang magsalita. Pinakita niya sa iyo ang modelo nung bahay at bukod pa roon ay nag-abot siya ng calling card niya sabay ngiti. "Sir" o "Maam" ang tawag niya sayo kahit hindi ka naman ginawang Knight o Lord ni Queen Elizabeth.

Talagang, sa Ingles ay tinatawag na - "Best foot forward" 

Yung isa naman, ay isang matandang nakatsinelas, naninigarilyo at nakasando lamang. Don't judge a book by its cover ika nga. Pero habang naglalakad siya ay natalisod ng kaunti at napasigaw - "Put%#@ semento yan". Nagulat ka at ang iyong mga kasama at nagpigil na lamang ngumiti. 

"Maayos akong kausap" sabi nung matanda na bungi ng siyang makatindig muli. "Basta ang komisyon ko ay 30%"

Ngumiti lamang yung nakakurbatanag kasama. 

Ngayon, tanong ko lamang, kanino ka kukuha ng Camella House and Lot? Dun sa una o sa pangalawa? 

Ewan ko sa'yo kung ano ang disisyon mo. Pero ang sa akin ay ganito. 

Ang pangalan ng tao ay ang kanyang pangharap na mukha bukod sa kanyang mukha. Ha? Ano?

Ganoon din online. Sino ka? Ako si "boykuripot.com" handang tumulong sa iyong pamperang problema. 

Ngayon kung ang website mo ay "Expertoakosapinansyalplanning.kuripot.com?" sa tingin mo ba ay may papansin sa iyo? Siguro meron - ang may ari din ng hehehekuripotdinako.kuripot.com" 

Kahit gaano ka kagaling o katalino, kinakailangang pa rin ipakita mo na pinaghandaan, ginastusan at pinaghusayan mo ang iyong mga sinasabi at sinusulat. Kung online ka, kailangan may sarili kang pangalan at hindi nakatungtong sa iba.

Kung ayaw mong maniwala, sige at bahala ka sa buhay mo. Pagpatuloy mo lang yan, usap tayo pagkatapos ng limang taon. 

"Ok. Gusto ko ng bumili ng domain"

Tulad ng nakasulat sa ibabaw, maraming pwedeng pagkuhanan ng domain. Mas mahal ang mga .com.ph, .ph, .net.ph at .org.ph kaysa na sa .com, .net at .org. Dati rati ang average price ng domain ay nasa $10 lamang o humigit kumulang sa P410 to P450 ayon sa palitan ng piso at dolyar (USD). 

Pero noong 2013 - yata. Nagkaroon ng mga bagong domain name extension. Nariyan ang mga .realestate, .house, .car at kung ano ano pang . . . Sa awa ng Diyos, wala pa akong nakitang 

 .kuripot

Ngayon, para makakuha ka ng domain, kinakailangan mo ng Paypal at credit card o debit card. 

1. Pag wala kang debit o credit card - hindi mo magagamit ang Paypal account mo o limitado lamang.

2. Niririkomenda ko ang Unionbank savings account - dahil Visa ang kanilang Unionbank Eon Savings Account debit card. 

Patnubay: matagal ko na itong ginagamit at wala akong kahit isang sentimong kumisyon kung magoopen ka ng account sa kanila. May magaapat na ring taon o mahigit. Di ko na matandaan. Naaalala ko lang kasi madalas wala itong laman kahit 3 buwan o mahigit pero hindi nila ito kini-close. 

Dahil masyado na itong mahaba, puputulin ko muna ang aking sinulat. 

The Last Post

If you've been a Blogger blogger ever since the glory days when blogs were cool then you would have joined Blogger's Friend Connect. This is where you'll see the posts of the blogs you followed way back in the beginning - when life was just.... different.

I've followed several blogs back then mainly for a particular post but never really got around to reading their later posts.

Today as I was resting, keeping quiet and doing some electronic housekeeping, I chanced upon some of the blogs I followed from the wonder years.

Most of them just stopped. Abandoned blogs floating around with mundane, mysterious or even cryptic last posts. Some of them moved on to greener pastures and are now even writers for Huffington Post. Jonha!

Yet some stopped with very cryptic pieces. Short, concise and straight to the point without giving any details.

Last blog posts like: "Something went wrong."

Freakish huh?

Indeed I would have stopped myself, but organizing my halo-halo thoughts necessitated my dalliance with this $10 a year therapist named Blogger.

There are many things that have happened that I have not written about. Some of them are good.

Indeed the worst thing that could happen to a blogger is to not be able to write even though you have all the freedom in the world to do so. Yes, pseudonyms could work for some, but I've never really had one except for "dannybuntu" - which by now is stuck on me like a giant tuko.

The point is, there will come a time when you will go back to how you started with the way you thought. Blogs are like time machines of thinking and are easier to grasp, organize and sort than Facebook notes, twitter tweets or Google Plus posts. It's how you thought back then, about life. If you're still writing and alive, (duh) it's also about exactly how you got here.

For now, there are certain things that would forever remain in the Draft section of my Blogger account. I'll keep them there, so that maybe one day, they will prove to be useful to get to the deeper aspect of me. Kids always want to know the psyche of their parent's mindset.

It's one way to know how to proceed in life.

"8"

I was blessed by a relative who held the Youth Camp of their church group here in Virginia’s Garden.

This is and was my goal and vision for this place and it feels very heartening and encouraging to see the throngs of youth, getting to know themselves, helping out in cleaning the garden, knowing Christ and just having fun with nature. To Ralph and Tito Raffy, maraming salamat po and wow, just wow.

After the event, a nice young woman from the group named Wendy then approached me and gave me a book written by John Rodica (@JohnRodica). It was entitled, “8 Simple Tips for Young Entrepreneurs”. 

Today as I was cleaning the pool while watching my kids take a swim, I finally found the time to finish reading it.

It was a very easy read and an uplifting one. His humorous, personal and positive approach to entrepreneurship is refreshing and is good to recommend for the youths of today. I recommend it even to the seasoned entrepreneurs who are still finding their niche and their passion in this world.

So to Wendy, Ralph, Tito Raffy and the group, maraming salamat po! 

I look forward to seeing you more and would love to host you and your group again. Feel free to visit us anytime!

"Touristy"

I've never been to Boracay.

I've always wanted to go, I just can't afford it yet.

I just saw it in pictures and heard about it from family and friends. To me it sounds like paradise on Earth. The way it was described gave the impression of a place of wanton hedonistic pleasure and freedom. I surmise that soft powdery white sands and large bodies of transparent water gives that impression.

Over the course of our experiences with guests from other countries ranging from the US (NYC Manhattan), France, Greece and the Czech Republic, I was quite surprised and intrigued to have heard the word "touristy" about 100% of the time. And it's not just Boracay.

Yes, the Philippines in general is devolving into a superficial commercial culture with expertly concocted paradigms and plastic packaged "experiences".

Soul Searching

People don't just go to places to experience nature and different weather. People go to places to find themselves, to discover who they are in this big big world, to learn from various social paradigms in other nations and to ultimately to get a bigger picture of their role in our collective existence.

Sadly, that notion seems to have evaporated in a paradise made of commercial intent.

Thrill Seeking

The one great thing about adventure is that nobody has ever done it before. It's about going where no one has gone. It's about seeing something not despoiled by the touch of commercial development.

Interestingly, the excitement of feeling genuine new experiences is closely intertwined with the manufactured thrills and frills that resort companies create.

The satisfaction of simplicity in pioneer living, the innovation in difficult situations, the sheer elegance of watching nature's complications, threats and cycles and most of all, being a part of something totally new - like a new and strange family is something that's difficult to grasp.

Authenticity is something that just cannot be manufactured and replicated.

All we can do is make something, paint it as genuine or authentic and mark it with a rubber stamp of approval - then sell it at 300% mark-up.
________
Cont. Part 2, Culture

What is???

Virginia's Garden - Promotional Sticker

Go Horseback Riding to Taal Lake - Philippines

Horseback riding to Taal lake
Image Credit to M.Stark

Our First HelpX Experience

Our story begins when I discovered a simple website named HelpX.net.

"HelpX is an online listing of host organic farms, non-organic farms, farmstays, homestays, ranches, lodges, B&Bs, backpackers hostels and even sailing boats who invite volunteer helpers to stay with them short-term in exchange for food and accommodation.

HelpX is provided primarily as a cultural exchange for working holiday makers who would like the opportunity during their travels abroad, to stay with local people and gain practical experience. In the typical arrangement, the helper works an average of 4 hours per day and receives free accommodation and meals for their efforts."

Awesome All Around HelpXer Maddie

I never thought that I'd see the day when we'd get a visitor from another country to our humble farm-resort in a little nowhere town in the Philippines. More than that, our guest even helped us with a ton of things including our bakery. She even taught us how to make genuine New York bagels! 

Maddie has just been aaaaamazing and if all HelpXers are like her, I'm pretty sure that the next HelpXer would just be as awesome.  

At first we were very shy. 

The farm-resort has seen some better days and needed a lot of work on a loooooooooooooot of things. But she's been very understanding and helpful. With her help we were able to clean up the greenhouse, give the dogs a much needed bath, bake some goodies and she even cleaned her room (She insisted - I promise! My mom's room actually - it's even cleaner now mom!) 

Words cannot express how very grateful we are for her stay here in Virginia's Garden.

It's been barely a few hours since she went on her way to her next HelpX destination and we already miss her. 

Why We Don't Have a TV

Just saw my 6 year old reading Entrepreneur Magazine at 6 AM in the morning...

Virginia's Garden December Special: Free Gumamela Plants (Hibiscus)

I've been trimming the gumamelas around the garden, and there are plenty. So, I'm giving the trimmed stems for free. I have about a hundred or so, big stems, small stems. I just don't have the time to replant and propagate them.

I just hope somebody gets them before they just die and I'd have to destroy them along with the other refuse.

We also have other plants like Cactus, Sansevieria and others.