Addendum to my previous entry, or the gal who tries to reclaim her life (picspam ahead, no cuts!)

Days after I was able to post this, we caught one of the four men who held me up.

His name is Pablito Manatad. He was supposed to be driving TYL 409 on 22 Dec but he was Badong/Man #1. He's from the Visayas but lives in Quezon City.

He is muscular and heavy-set but has a big gut. He also has a rose tattoo on his left shoulder/arm, and is apparently part of the mostly-Visayan Scorpion Gang that has connections all the way to Cavite.

He was caught because the taxi cab was caught for a traffic violation. The impounding police called us when they realised that the cab was the hold-up cab that they had had an alert released for. The drivers were asked to be there while the owner had to verify if it was a double plate since it was caught when the original was at the garage.

However, the others are still out there even if he has spilled their whereabouts. Please pray and share information about this unceasingly so that more people can defend themselves and even turn these crooks in. And please pray for myself and those of us who have chosen to fight back -- I am learning as early as now that it's a hard, long, lonely, tiring, uphill and costly battle, but if we want to change the system and empower others like ourselves, we will have to do what must be done.

Thank you very much.

Hold-up incident report (or, the gal who lived) [UPDATED WITH PHOTOS!]

I wish this were untrue, and I wish I could undo this, but it needs to be shared. 

At around 7:00 pm I withdrew money from Security Bank Annapolis GH branch, near my office. At 7:30-ish pm, I was hailing a cab. I only remember the cab being a beat-up white four-door sedan car with plate number TYL 409.

I can't recall who the driver was at the time and the name of the cab as written on the cab body outside sadly. I do now recall the locks were faulty, that the front windshield had the "cleanfuel" sticker (signifying it's using LPG gas power instead of gasoline), and black rubber at the back windows. The seats were all black leather and had the taxi information, which should be printed legibly, all blurry/erased. 

We made the turn from Annapolis, to EDSA, and then the U-turn under Ortigas flyover. We entered corner to White Plains, at Temple Drive, past People Power Monument. At a vacant lot nearby (before Meralco), and ironically while I was in the middle of texting my family my whereabouts, four men came in and they kicked him out of the cab.

A short description of the four (images here):

• Man 1 (guy by my right, "Badong"): Crew cut, chiseled face, somewhat pointy chin, small eyes, muscular build but slightly big stomach, with stubble, dark-skinned
• Man 2 (guy by my left): Dark-skinned, round face, chubby cheeks, bulging eyes, no beard/moustache, short hair parted at the middle, wearing blue long-sleeved Adidas sweater with white stripes at shoulders and sleeves, had a baseball cap that looked a lot like the red Air Asia cap with white text, pudgy arms and legs
• Man 3/”Boss”: Square face, flat cheeks, moustached stereotypical bad guy minus the big beard, dark-skinned, far-set bulging eyes, light moustache, beard, wearing blue long-sleeved Adidas sweater with white stripes at shoulders and sleeves, parang may white shirt sa loob, with grey beanie hat, had tubo, gravelly voice, muscular arms, pudgy legs 
• Man 4/Driver ("Bobot"): White cap, white shirt, circular glasses, features remind me of Brod Pete (a local comedian), thin, dark-skinned

I heard someone say “pasensya na (I’m sorry)” but I don’t recall who it is. I do recall the perpetrators drove me around EDSA from Ortigas Avenue to Quezon City, as far as the U-turn right before SM North. They kept threatening to bring me to Bulacan and rape me especially when I initially refused to give them my belongings. They took my ATM cards (Security Bank, BPI Express Teller), my Metrobank credit card, my black BlackBerry Torch 9800 with black Otter protective case, my personal Nokia phones (one is a pink 6020, the other is a black 2700 Classic), my Sony Cyber-shot silver T-100 digital camera, and my black Sony Vaio laptop. After “Boss” made some calls via mobile (they were very clever at keeping the numbers hidden), the gang dropped “Boss” off at Cubao walkway underpass, EDSA southbound at around 9:00 pm so he could withdraw money. He came back and tried to strangle, punch, slap, throw shoes/slippers at me when he couldn't get my credit card PIN out of me (it's fairly new and I don't memorize the PIN at all). They took turns trying to beat me up at some point, except for Driver because he was driving. I fought back, and they told me they would rape me because I wouldn't give them enough money (they needed PhP20,000 and even used Typhoon Sendong as a reason to hold me up). At around 10:00 pm they turned into NIA Road near BIR/PDEA in QC, and threw me out the cab. When Boss tried to hit me with a pipe/tubo, I vaguely remember clawing and kicking back, taking whatever was left of my things, and ran. I found myself at the QC Post Office security guard house (at the gate), and made phone calls to the QC PD, my mother's office, and my best friend's house as those were the only numbers I could contact. 

With my family finally arriving around 11:30 pm to almost midnight, I went to the QC Police Department at Kamuning/EDSA. We waited for a graying-haired 40-ish cop in a white undershirt and police uniform pants named SPO4 Patricio Sanoza (Sanyosa)  to whom I gave my statement, which is attached. I told him about what I recall about the cab, but he did not ask at all  about identifying the criminals.

My SIMs have all been blocked/disabled, as have my ATM and credit cards. Unfortunately they have switched off all phones so I am not sure if they can be traced at this point.  They are able to trace the ATM withdrawal transactions at Metrobank Valencia Hills though. I am cooperating with QCPD in catching the perpetrators.

  

The following day, a friend gave this information about the cab that held me up: 

Plate Number: TYL 409 / E#: 2E-3254892 / C#: EE110-8009918 / MV#: 138000000225318 / Col: Freedom White / Sticker#: 2011122773755 / MVType: Car / TradeName: / Make: Toyota/ Series: COROLLA XL M/T / YRModel: 2001 / MVClass: FOR - HIRE / Org: MARVIN SANTOS.. / OR#: 000201111852482 / CR#: 000000005541645 / BType:sEDAN - 4-DOOR / FRegDate: 09-25-2001 / LRegDate: 09-30-2011 / Fuel: GAS / Route: MARIKINA ANY PT TO LUZON / Franchise#: 96-945 / FEDate: 12-31-2007 / Total Apps: 0 /Total Alarms: 0 / Customer ID CO1378000031312 / Add: 10 MAYSAN ST. VALENZUELA 

  

Separately, I dropped by the QCPD Kamuning once more to get the official, correct copy of the police report I originally filed. There I met a woman named Donna Araujo who was held up on Christmas Day from Main Avenue in Cubao and dropped off at Balete Drive which is very similar to what happened to me. I am trying to get her assistance as she saw the name of the car, which is made purely of consonant letters.

Please stay safe everyone. Hope your Christmas is better than mine. I've seen posts where people blame me for not being vigilant -- excuse me, but I was held up right in the middle of sending my parents an SMS where I was riding, the point here is not whether or not I should've been vigilant but that they still ambushed me anyway even after acting towards my own self-preservation! 


And to these motherfuckers who hurt me and others like me, I hope and pray you lose everything you hold dear -- every body part, every item, every person, every business, every bit of cash, and every generation of your beloved families and clans -- as befits the punishment you have long tried to avoid. 

Links:

• My original Facebook post on this subject = https://www.facebook.com/ligayaharuka/posts/10150479183713815
• The ABS-CBN/Bandila news clip (December 23; easily viewed outside the Philippines via The Filipino Channel) = http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/nation/metro-manila/12/23/11/cops-warn-modus-during-holidays
• The ABS-CBN text version of the same news (December 23) = http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/12/23/11/woman-attacked-robbed-inside-taxi
• NEW: I finally managed to scan the cartographic sketches I had asked a key contact (who must remain anonymous until this case is solved, I owe this man and the people who got me to him greatly as I cannot achieve this drawing style myself) make. Here they are: man 1, man 2, man 3 (minus the beanie, which I tried to describe and even draw but somehow didn't make it to the sketch), and man 4.

Because I'm a little desperate to finish a long-delayed set of reports...

From http://stjudenovena.org/:

O most holy apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, people honor and invoke you universally, as the patron of hopeless cases, of things almost despaired of. Pray for me, for I am so helpless and alone. Please help to bring me visible and speedy assistance. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly (the request being prayed for) and that I may praise God with you always.

I promise, O blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor, to always honor you as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you by publishing this request. Amen.

May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be Adored, Glorified, Loved & Preserved throughout the world, now & forever. Sacred Heart of Jesus, please pray for me. Saint Jude, Worker of Miracles, please pray for me. Saint Jude, Helper of the Hopeless, please pray for me. Amen.

...PLEASE let the disk check finish up in less than an hour. I really need the time to finish my reports. T~T

Schadenfreude? XD

I love this time of the year because it's the one time I see my mum dressed up in costume and be completely out of her element.

As I cannot post the costume photo yet (because Christmas presentations in their office are apparently VERY serious business), allow me to share our dialogue a few minutes ago instead:

Mum (wailing as she points to herself and her above-the-knee costume): Anak, ang iksi pala nito (this is so short)!
Me (snickering): E di ba noong ka-edad n'yo ako nagsusuot kayo nang ganyan? (But didn't you use to wear outfits like that when you were my age?) X3
Mum (fuming): Hindi na kita ka-edad ngayon ano! (You know I'm no longer your age anymore!) DX

...Thanks for giving me a sneak preview of my life after 25 years, I love you Mum. ♥♥♥ XDDDDDDDDDDDDDD ♥♥♥

Oplan Kaligayahan: Ang Bisa ng Pagyakap

I'm sorry, blog, I know I've been neglecting you, but all the other things I planned to write about will have to wait because of this.

Because I have committed myself to being a force of positive, happy energy (which is doubly difficult because of my name and because of the situations I somehow manage to find myself in), I made a lifelong choice to become like Buddha and to listen to the cries of the world when the world refuses to hear them. While I realise that this has made other people feel much better, they do make me feel worse, especially because many of them as of late hit so close to home. And, of course, Buddha didn't exactly seem to bother to preach about handling your own problems either (I've re-read his teachings so many times in my young life, maybe I'm missing those verses?), so it's enough to say that I'm plodding through my own troubles.

I've tried several attempts to soothe my soul. I've returned to breakfasts with the BCBP; I've bought and overdosed on camomile and jasmine tea (and infusions thereof); I've even brought a miniature Zen garden to the office. Today, after slinging these problems on my shoulder and trying to focus on work, I prepared to exchange packages with a friend I hadn't seen in months. The exchange was meant to take only a few minutes, as I had a report to rush and I was suffering from cramps due to the arrival of my monthly visitor.

Our items (a keychain from her and a letter opener from me) changed hands but right before I left, I gave her a HUG. It was quite unexpected, even for a spontaneous person like me, because what I really wanted to do was to say that I knew she'd having a tough go of it of late, and that I was feeling the same way too. But then again I couldn't think of any words to tell her (each person has her cross to bear, after all), and there really wasn't enough time to say them.

Strangely, although I was the one that gave it, that one hug has turned my day around. My body began to feel less tightly wound, and the cramping seriously decreased, which is rare because when I have my period it is a serious effort to even get out of bed. The printer eventually broke down so the report is unfortunately three days late due to the weekend, but amazingly my boss just let me finish printing it on Monday. I was able to get my mum to agree on meeting my cousin from my dad's side as she's in town, which is normally difficult because anything that has to do with my dad is a thorny problem on her side. And, of course, I found out that my friend was able to get by today because of that hug.

I heard from one of my classmates in high school that hugs have been scientifically proven to be therapeutic, but now I can see that random, genuine hugs have an incredible amount of power. Hugs are able to convey so many things that words cannot: I miss you, it is great to see you again, thank you, I understand.

(As for the other types of hugs that say, "Hey, I really like touching you," well, let's not discuss those types of hugs today. :P)

I believe hugs are magical and some of them can burst out with so much magic and positivity you just want to give a few out because it can't be contained. Hugs are easy and healing. I wish I had thought of this easy feel-good solution sooner.

HUGS!!! ♥♥♥











* This post is a direct response to Milk.Blood.Ink's Hug Therapy. You always have my back, and my hugs. ^.~v

Helping hands, getting ready, and best birthday wishes

Hi all! I'm so terribly sorry I've been gone a long, long WHILE. AGAIN. DX Life has been kind to me and my appetite and wallet but unfortunately for our folk in the Egypt, Bahrain, Libya, Syria, New Zealand, Japan and Myanmar, it's not been the same. The political situations in Egypt, Bahrain, Libya and Syria have kept me riveted, but the effect is that of a terrible plane wreck - you don't like it but you can't keep your eyes away. I was worried sick when I'd heard about the Christchurch earthquake because many friends, like my collage blockmate Kenken, are there. Then I heard about the double whammy that hit Japan, the font of kawaii, kitsch and quirkiness, while I was away in Singapore for a mixed business/pleasure trip almost 2 weeks ago (has it really been that long?). And now, it's Myanmar - not a land quickly taken to earthquakes since it's not so close to the Ring Of Fire territory that Japan, NZ and the Philippines are smack in the middle of, but its government is so rough and many of the people there seem to be worse off than they are here in my country. It's distressing how natural calamities keep piling up, one after another; it's no wonder that when two quakes hit the Romblon-Mindoro area in the past seven days, people here in the Luzon group of islands were justifiably rattled.

Right now I am very happy that my loved ones and I are all safe and sound, though of course everyone here has the thought "But for how long?" lingering at the back of our minds. In between the Philippine government's incompetence over repatriating Filipinos working and studying in both the calamity-stricken and politically-tense parts of the world, we have also taken it upon ourselves to help out, mostly through the aid of international organisations. The response to help has been awesome, though part of me thinks that it's the Filipino nature to help even when he/she has little else left to give anyhow; in any case, I am pleased as punch because many of my friends in local cosplay and fandom front have set aside grudges for a common, worthy cause. The Philippine Red Cross in particular has opened up a page urging for relief aid and volunteers to help their Japanese counterparts; though I've not had the time to help, I've given them a good amount of my salary - my intended birthday spend - this month in the hopes that someone would smile a bit on my special day (Cosplay.Ph and Tamashii Con helped them out quite a bit too). I am still trying to find ways and means to help out.

Here are my birthday wishes, because it's that time of the year again when I hope and pray these things come true. ♥♥♥

• For the weather and the earth to simply not give everyone a bad day on my birthday week. That earthquake-tsunami combo that hit Japan did not leave me amused. --> This worked, yay!
• To have dinner with Anna F, Eia, other friends in high school, all my friends in ICTUS and all of Broad Comm 2002 again (preferably not all at the same time though). XD
• For Banco Filipino to reopen because a good portion of my savings are in it (yes I'm looking at you, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amado Tetangco and everyone in both BSP and the Philippine Deposit Insurance Company because the lot of you are money-grubbing motherfuckers).
• See my boyfriend this year in the USA, unchallenged.
• To cosplay again with friends!
• To have fun with Cosplay.ph friends again, not necessarily in cosplay-related schemes.
• To go out of town - beyond Tagaytay but preferably within the country please.
• To see my older sister again. 

I forgot to add this last one durrhurrhurr: To earn more monies at work (because taking jobs on the side is going to kill me, I am so exhausted from work these days with events happening weekly and almost daily in the weeks past).

Have a great weekend everyone!

Where have all the rockers gone? NU 107.5, home of nu rock, signs off

In the next 55 minutes, NU 107.5, The Home Of Nu Rock, signs off.

While I can't completely say I'm a full-fledged Filipino rocker, I was weaned on the legendary 1990s bands Eraserheads, Rivermaya and True Faith. Then there were other bands and groups like Parokya ni Edgar, Color It Red, Slapshock, Itchyworms, Dicta License, Stonefree and Sugarfree. As I grew older, and especially from between high school and college, I began my bit of band chasing in. I attended at least 1 day of UP Fair (where I got to see Spongecola, Kjwan, Sugarfree, Chico Sci, Narda, Ang Bandang Shirley, Up Dharma Down and Sandwich live among so many others) without fail, never mind if I had thesis/production the next day and I took the daily trip of Makati-Diliman-Makati which consisted of at least 2 jeepney rides and 1 train ride, or 1 bus ride if I was lucky to find myself on EDSA after 2:00 am which was the time I normally left the UP Fair. (At around the same time, my cousin from the Cortez side founded the UP Los Banos band Valley Of Chrome. Later on my sister dated one of the guitarists from Chico Sci and someone else from Sandwich while appearing on their Sunscreen video, but that's another story.) I got to know the Grounders for a bit, then sided with the Sugarfree bandchasers thanks to mai gar waifu Ceejay. Being in UP College of Mass Comm, I discovered Asin and Sampaguita and Pepe Smith and The Dawn and all these great rock bands I didn't even know existed. In between transcribing interviews and dissecting teleserye (Filipino soap opera) music, NU 107 gave me the necessary kick to keep plodding through my thesis when coffee threatened to land me in the hospital. As a working girl, NU107 got me through the day and from watching them shyly back when I was in MME slaving for the Red Horse Muziklaban account (which would've been fun if not for the SMC people not taking proper care of their agencies - but that's another story for another day), I finally graduated to now working with them through my current agency to promote True Blood, The Pacific and most recently Spartacus: Blood And Sand for HBO Asia, and even helped get one of our electronics clients to sponsor the 2009 NU Rock Awards. And finally, during the most trying of times - meaning, moments of extremely back-breaking work and terrible personal circumstances - what other station would be on my side than the one with the rocking guitars and rolling drums which "rocked the nation"?

Who's to say that NU 107 and its legacy are not a part of my life? And so I feel I must thank NU, as it makes its exit with a bang and with grace. Allow me to swear a bit - isang malutong na putang ina dahil hindi ako nakatulong, at dahil na rin walang nagawa (walang ginawa?) yung mga institusyong itinaguyod ng NU noong malakas pa sila sa panahong ito. While Urbandub (admittedly not one of my favourites) and Sugarfree (bless their souls ♥ ) were on board and legendary The Dawn bassist/NU DJ Francis Brew Reyes made his very epic parting speech, I can't wrap my head over the fact that many of the 1990s and 2000s bands I knew and love that are still alive and kicking seem to be not part of the vigil, as far as I've heard from the grapevine and seen from the Tweetvine.

But like that epic saying goes, "Rock's not dead." Especially Pinoy Rock, which NU had a heavy hand in shaping and promoting. It's really sad that advertising just pulled out of the station and even sadder that many bands that found their audience and home in NU aren't even there. I will feel endless guilt that I was unable to help keep them alive, the station whom I owe a significant part of my unusual music taste and even my very motivation for living to (at one point in time), but I hope I can help commit their memory to mind and heart in this small way.

As I finish, livestreaming is up on http://www.ustream.tv/channel-popup/nu107fm. Sir Cris Hermosisima - DJ Cris Cruise - is on board with Quark Henares, soon-to-be-former-owner. Major Tom's voice has just left the airwaves, and my favourite NU DJ Jay "the gay best friend" Santiago is speaking. Maraming salamat, NU 107.5, at hanggang sa muli. ♥♥♥ ♥♥♥

Live simultaneous streaming of the 2009 Rock Awards. I hope we can see NU broadcast or podcast online! ♥♥♥♥