Cebu Bloggers Society 2nd Anniversary

Cebu Bloggers Society has gone bigger, bolder, and better! And now, they are taking a leap to the next level. From its humble beginnings, now the group has gone quite far enough.

This year, on the 14th of February, marks CBS's two years of existence. With this year's anniversary entitled “CBS @ 2: The Cebu Bloggers Society 2nd Anniversary Celebration,” we hope to bring each one of us the twist of bloggers life we certainly deserve.

Brilliant officers of the group as well as all the cooperative members will surely open the event with lots of stuffs to offer and with an overview of the history and where we are heading. Following will be fun, fun and still lots of fun.

The second founding anniversary which will be held on February 14, 2010, Sunday, around 5-9PM, will definitely be a big surprise to each members of the society. In this regard, all CBS members are enjoined to attend this momentous event. Pre-Registration is now open so please visit the forum for more details.

On behalf of the society, we hope each members could really come and enjoy. Let us all share the joy of our two years of bonding.

This is made possible by the following sponsors:

MAJOR SPONSORS

• SM Foodcourt, SM City Cebu
• SM Storyland
• Golden Bowl Dimsum
• King Wah Chinese Cuisine
• Mama Gie
• JobsDB.com
• 88DB.com
• Balamban Liempo

MINOR SPONSORS

• Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort
• Batang Yagit
  
• Jehzlau Concepts

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We Condemn The Maguindanao Massacre & We Demand Justice For The Victims!

I and/or we, the sovereign Filipino people, demand justice for all the victims of that Maguindanao Massacre. We condemn this barbaric murdering on innocent civilians as it is an animalistic act of crazy people.

"We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God, in order to build a just and humane society and establish a Government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations, promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution. - Philippine Constitution, Preamble"

We must all unite in condemning this barbaric murdering on innocent civilians as it is an animalistic act of crazy people.

We are urging the government to punish everyone who is involved with this killing of innocent citizens. The full force of the law must apply to insure justice for the victims. No one is above the law.

These actions must come to an end for the safety of our innocent citizens.

The government must clean up these bands of warlords and murders once and for all.

No matter what the cost, these killers must be caught and punished according to the law. No negotiating as they have proven they will not abide by any agreements. They are just murdering animals. And animals do not murder others. They only kill for food. These murders are very barbaric acts and are destroying the good reputation of the Filipino citizens as a peaceful and loving people who respect the sanctity of human life. These killings are destroying the reputation of the Philippines as these acts are making news headlines around the world.

So let us all unite and force the government to act on this - immediately.

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Quoted: PGMA's 2009 State of the Nation Address

• "I will defend democracy..."
• "I have never declared martial law..."
• "I have never expressed the desire to extend my term..."
• "I have been falsely accused of using my position for profit..."
• "Those who lived in glass houses should not cast stones..."
• "Governance is not about looking and getting even..."

The above quoted statements are taken by yours truly from the recently concluded President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's State of the Nation Address - July 27, 2009.

The State of the Nation Address or better known in its acronym - SONA, is one of the most controversial and highly criticized event in the Philippines' Republic. And the main reason behind this is the fact that this is a very special event wherein the current President of the Philippines reports on the status of the nation as a whole - in different areas and perspective, normally to the resumption of the Congress' joint session (the House of Representatives and the Senate). This is one of the duties of the Philippine President as stated in Article VII, Section 23 of the 1987 Constitution:

"The President shall address the Congress at the opening of its regular session. He may also appear before it at any other time."

The following 5 quoted statements are the 5 things which PGMA included in the list of her administration's achievements:

• "We have a strong economy in a strong fiscal position to withstand political shocks."
• "We built new modern infrastructure and completed unfinished ones."
• "The economy is more fair to the poor than ever before."
• "We are building a sound base for the next generation."
• "International authorities have taken notice that we are safer from environmental degradation and man-made disasters."

With this recently concluded event, there have been mixed reviews given by the people of the Philippines towards PGMA's SONA itself, but more importantly to her governance as a whole. I shall bear witness to these reviews... I have heard people praising her for her achievements and I have heard people mocked her.

And later, I will be revealing my personal views or reviews rather, on such issue - particularly in PGMA's governance as a whole. So you better watch out for it on my next posts...

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Obama & My Call Center Career...

Now that Obama won the Presidential election of the United States, what's next?

Honestly speaking, I am one of the millions of people worldwide who's rooting for Barack Hussein Obama II. And truly I was happy when it was proclaimed that he's the new President-elect of the United States.

But with Barack Obama elected as the 44th President of the United States, every Call Center agent like me is wondering if his victory will truly affect the Outsourcing Industry. Taking a tough stand against outsourcing, Obama said before that the choice is between giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas or give benefit to those corporations that keep jobs domestically. He has been very aggressive on this issue from the very beginning. Initially, he vehemently opposed the outsourcing of jobs outside US.

Truly, there have been worries that an Obama presidency will spell the slow death of the BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) industry here in the Philippines. Obama has been quite consistent on his stand that companies who outsource jobs to countries like India and the Philippines should not be given tax breaks. But it was a good thing that I was able to watch an interview with US Ambassador to the Philippines, Kristie Kenney about Obama’s stand on outsourcing. According to her, Obama didn’t really say that he wants other people to lose a job but what he just wanted is for Americans to have a job. Somehow, that statement from Ambassador Kenney relieved the fear about losing my job.

Moreover, US Ambassador Kristie Kenney gave assurances that an Obama presidency will not affect the growth of the BPO industry in the country, noting that he will be sensitive to the business relationships and alliances America has with the Philippines instead. She also added that Obama will also be concerned with the economic prosperity of strategic partners like the Philippines.

On my personal note, every country should really look at its interests and see whether it should allow certain trade practices or not. What is wrong with that? I have nothing against Obama on this one. Nobody is talking about rollback of globalization, but if it is not working for the country and its people (now, economically, am not sure that is the case), there are certain changes to be made.

Yet, it is still really too early to predict Obama's course of action. Few months down the line, things will be clear.

As for rooting for Obama, or why I wanted Obama for US President, it is certainly because he is a story of inspiration - he doesn't come from the family of politicians, he belongs to a class that suffered racial prejudice for the longest time, his dad left when he was two years old. He is self-made and he has a message of hope that resonates with most people regardless of nationality. Surely he is an image for a change.

And yes, with Obama being the 44th President of the United States, I believe that our time for change has come! Take note that I use 'our' instead of 'your' since I certainly believe that it's not just for US alone, but for the whole world as well.

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