Not just mere Christianity, or the discovery that USians have a very different vision of religion

Why is it that so-called followers of Jesus Christ in the United States are so driven by personal gain?

I mean, look at this: 

Going to Mass in the Philippines, where I am from, priests and laypeople who take turns on the pulpit do not even remove their masks in order to minimise contamination.

But in the USA, everyone on the pulpit insists on removing their masks. Do they not understand that this coronavirus/COVID-19 is spread through droplets lingering in the air?

There's also that whole "prosperity gospel" that seems to go right against the Golden Rule of doing unto others what you want done back to you.

Ang gulo lang ha.

Kailangan nating magtanda: Isang pahayag

Napapaisip ako nang madalas tungkol sa mga balimbing na (bumalik sa) pangangampanya para sa mga mismong kinatawan na kanilang siniraan mula noong 2015 hanggang 2021: PNoy, Mar, Leni and Kiko. Dahil sa ginampanan nila upang magkaganito ang pamamahala ng ating bansa, hindi ko sila maituturing na kakampink. 

Walang pinag-iba ang pulpolitikong tulad nina FVRamos, Dick Gordon, Bayani Fernando, Grace Poe, Chiz Escudero, at ang mga tagapaghatid ng balita gaya nina Ted Failon, Arnold Claudio, atbp kina Enrile, Macapagal-Arroyo at Marcos. Lalong hindi ko rin maatim ang lahat ng kasapi ng Makabayan bloc, ang mga National Democrats na siyang unang kumampi kay Duterte at hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa rin natutong humingi ng tawad at magtrabaho upang itama ang kanilang pagkakamali na siyang nagdulot ng kaguluhang ito. 

Pinaglaruan nilang lahat ang buhay at niyurakan nila ang pagkatao hindi lang ng napakaraming ipinakulong at ipinapatay dahil sa huwad na "War on Drugs" ng administrasyong Rodrigo Duterte, kundi maging ang kanilang mga kamag-anak/angkan. Magalit po na ang magalit, pero ang aking mga binibitiwang salita ay buhat ng pinagdaanan nang aming pamilya nitong 6 na taon.

Ayaw kong ibahagi ang mapait na pagkulong ng aking kapatid; lingid lang po sa inyong kaalaman pero wala akong nakukuhang kasayahan o clout/prestihiyo kada pagkukumahog kong isulat o isalarawan ang kanyang nakakapanlumong pinagdaanan. Ngayon lang po ako nagsasalita, na may halong kaba at luha, dahil gusto kong matuto ang sambayanan mula sa aming karanasan. Nang-ibang bansa nga po ako upang makapagsimula muli, dahil sino nga ba ang gusto makipagtrabaho sa isang marketing communications professional (kahit na hindi naman ako napakagaling sa trabahong ito) na sirang-sira ang mabuting pangalan dahil sa paninirang ginawa ng pamahalaang ito? Hanggang sa kasalukuyan at hindi na ako makapagsulat at makapaglikha bilang libangan, dahil nabubuhay ako araw-araw nang hindi ko makakalimutan kung paano ako nabigong maipagtanggol ang aking kapatid gamit ang wika at ang mga salitang dati-rati ko nang sandata. 

Kaya, habang lalaban ako nang buong puso para kina Leni Robredo, Kiko Pangilinan, Team Tropa at sa kapakanan ng sambayanang Pilipino maski hindi sila kakampink, hindi ako makikipagkasundo sa mga balimbing na binanggit ko at sa kanilang mga tagasunod. Naniniwala ako sa pagmamana ng sumpa at kamalasan, kaya hanggang sa ang mga taksil ay magpakita nang tunay na pananagutan tungo sa paghahamig at paghihilom, hindi ko sila kayang pakisamahan at hindi ko kayang panagutan ang pakikisama sa mga nanghihikayat na tanggapin ang pakikipagsanib-pwersa sa kanila. Kailangan na talaga nating magtanda at matuto sa ating mga pagkakamali. Kung patuloy kayo sa pagboto sa mga taksil at/o sa pagsasawalang-bahala sa mga naranasan namin nitong mala-impyernong administrasyon, salamat na lang po sa lahat. 

Pagsasalin sa Ingles sa ilalim nitong cut / English translation after the cut. 

Rebuilding and Recreating

Re-creation - noun.

1. The act of making something anew
2. A thing being formed anew
3. The state of being remade

I haven't really been creating a lot of new material these past few years out of leisure or for the simple sake of creating. 

I went abroad because I wanted to start over, to begin again. 

Who knew it would be so difficult?

Bad dreams or bad vision?

I write this at 5:30 am Central Time on Sunday, 7th February, in the middle of a snowy winter night. I let Mahal keep sleeping because he has been up for most of the night (I slept early) and his loud snores are helping to ground me. But I still cannot shake off the lingering cold feeling of night terror.

You see, I dreamed I was driving myself to my childhood weekend/summer home in a dark-coloured car, accompanied by friends who I have long since lost touch. This house is located in a subdivision hidden from the main road by a factory which was said to have produced fireworks once but may have long since been closed, and also a farm with a modest amount of chickens. 

I remember showing off that bungalow in its pristine state, with its terrace balcony intact and its gate gleaming white, before the sewing factory that rented it in the early-aughts of the 2000s made unauthorized additions that my long-departed great-grandfather, the architect who designed it, would never approve of. But when I demanded entry, presenting my house keys and a copy of the deed to the house that I inherited from my parents (which I also currently keep a digitised version of), the guard outside told me that it was being renovated and turned into a bedspace for lease to expatriates from a Northeast Asian country.

I turned around to find my cousins' house across ours, hoping to find relief and a return to normalcy by checking that they were still our neighbours. Upon closer inspection, their bungalow (a matched pair to our own) also bore scaffolding; even their home, which they have lived in all their lives, was being repurposed for the same outcome. The next thing I know, my mum and her driver drove by, warning me to leave because of some militarised presence that had taken over both properties. I still don't understand why they both left me on my own seeing as: (1) I was all pale and shaken, and (2) Mum and I share many traumatic experiences related to the Philippine military and the Philippine National Police.

I remember sitting shotgun with another friend who said she could alternate driving with me; it seemed like she owned the vehicle anyway. What followed next was a bit of a wild goose chase: we were trying to drive out of the winding roads behind the fireworks factory that hid the compound where my family once lived in, but we kept getting stuck in traffic jams. It was getting dark and the road was so dimly lit that even switching our headlights on would not stop us from bumping into the walls leading out of the subdivision. 

Suddenly my perspective switched to me sitting at the back seat of the same car, with the friend who was driving as well as my other companions ditching me. My blood ran cold and my body froze in horror as the gates of another cousin's house opened to reveal a series of men in white barong. One of them rushed into the driveway and introduced himself as Antonio Parlade Jr., an Army general whose very recent claim to fame was tagging Filipino celebrities and citizens alike who either disagree with or protest against the Duterte administration as "Communist rebels," a process known as red-tagging that gives the already disproportionately powerful Philippine military and national police further ammunition to literally shoot down all forms of dissent. 

I would be laughing, because now that I've reviewed photo and video footage of him in reality, I realise his features and voice do not match the Parlade in my dreams, who resembles a character from a strange live-action shoot-em-up arcade game that my spouse and I were watching a let's play video of minutes before I went to bed at midnight; said character was a Spaghetti Western's caricature of a Native American and they gave him the name "Shooting Beaver."  But the last time I was attacked this way in real life (nearly ten years ago now, wouldn't you know it?), I screamed in frozen terror. 

I last remember just forcing myself to calm my shallow breaths deeply, and asking in the lowest voice I could muster, "Magandang gabi po, ano pong nangyayari?" He replied, "Mawalang-galang na po, ako po si Antonio Parlade, sumama po kayo sa akin sa presinto upang magpaliwanag." He was using language distinctly recognisable to any citizen who knows how the police work in the Philippines, which is alternately ridiculous and terrifying at the same time. 

What did he want me to explain — why I was trying to re-enter my childhood home? why I was trying to run away from the one force that has wreaked chaos and terror into my family in the last ten years? What was there to explain? Surely he of all people would know. After all, he, like current PNP chief Debold Sinas, were there to apprehend me, right?

I blinked my way awake, my body still frozen and my blood still cold. I was trying to gnash my teeth, but I soon realised I am still wearing my retainers, a holdover from my TMJ oral surgery in 2019. I was very relieved to hear my husband snoring beside me, his silhouette and physicality bringing me back to the present. I am safe, I am with him. 

I think I will minimise my dissenting presence for now, as it might put my family in danger. 

Self-awareness syndrome | new news

If there is one thing that is both boon and bane of my existence, it is that I am incredibly, stupendously self-aware but also incredibly, stupendously impotent to fix it, and not for lack of trying mind you.

And honestly, real talk: everyone who says "all it takes to fix it is discipline" can go fuck themselves over. If it were that easy to create and maintain that discipline, I would have already fixed it. If life didn't always like screwing even the most disciplined of people, then I would have already fixed it.


~~~~~~~~

In other news, my new steady job as a writer/editor for an online travel magazine -- completely at the other side of the communications fence -- is the most fun I have had working in a long time.

I just wish I could work from home instead of going to an office, but hey, at least someone is doing my accounting and computing my tax returns because I still don't get how this godforsaken Philippine government does it (they make sure you as the payer gets screwed over).

If you're looking for me, I'm Jocelyn on www.traveldailymedia.com. Please watch out for uncut/uncensored/alternate versions of my Travel Daily articles on this blog. ^.~v

I regress while life pushes forward.

Hello everyone.

Life has been, well, life.  I admit, I feel a lot like being a punching bag for circumstances or even fate. I have began hating the career I once loved. The interests I used to have have changed considerably; many of them I have done away with altogether. My parents have gone older and greyer almost overnight, and I made enemies out of many friends. And there are at least 3 months I would do anything to remove from the timeline of my life.

My perspectives about social justice has changed ever since things happened last year. I can now uniquely say that I have reached the unenviable position of being in both sides of the Philippine criminal justice system. The event continues to affect us. I hope we achieve what we need, but to be honest I am not holding my breath given my experience.

It is now my dream to die young, so that I am not stubborn, set in my ways, and cursed to outlive this forsaken planet.

I would like to say it's the depression talking (I was finally diagnosed early this year), but it's really, truly not. 

Parasocial Relationships: A Psychological Study of Fandom

If in case it isn't obvious yet, I am a very serious person who is also serious about fandom. This is an impressive discourse by an academician, specifically a psychologist, about the relationships and idiosyncrasies inherent to communities built around both popular and obscure contemporary culture. I wish I could recall who sent me the link though...!

http://pop-music-research.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/parasocial-relationships-interview-with.html

Also, I may be more active in the prettiness of Tumblr lately. Whoops.=_=0

An unpopular opinion regarding the Gamer Totoy discussion of sexual favours granted by cosplayers

I don't think I should link to it anymore, and I tried to stay away from this issue, but as I've gone in and out of the cosplay scene I have also grown sick and tired of the crazy double standard -- let's face it, most humans of the XY chromosome in cosplay fandom WILL post photos of scantily clad girls who haven't even met these fappers. And then there really is no way I can keep my opinion to myself, considering that I have a (younger) sister who is both internet-famous and FHM famous, even more than the cosplayer said to be peddling sexual favours has become (though definitely not to Alodia, Tuxedo Team, Kipi -- my age is showing, Dani, or Yaya levels).

Allow me to share my opinion, unpopular though it may be: for me, if the cosplayer is selling sexual favours because she has legitimate issues with money, if she needs to support herself through more than just the next costume (or 3, or 5), then I won't get in her case. Doubly so if she doesn't say or do anything to contradict herself and her actions, because in that case I still would have more respect for her than, say, Jerry Polence, who said she would be a nun but didn't follow through with that AND had terribly unholy behaviour in so many ways to boot. (Irony of ironies, said sister is a friend of Polence. It's a surprise to some people that I'm civil around this particular fellow ex-cosplayer.)

Plus to all the men here who are reading this, and even the women too, I'm going to quote what my BFF in the Philippine cosplay scene has said: if you condemn the girl for what she does, but then post pictures on your own Facebook of scantily naked female cosplayers / Korean actresses we all know would never give you the time of day anyway, then that makes you a hypocrite. (We know who most of you are. We see your Facebook feeds, Tumblr accounts, Twitter handles, your blogs, your social media networks and even your private posts. Even you Gamer Totoy. :D) You have no right to objectify females yourself and then complain / mock a girl who at least uses her OWN body for it, and not someone else's. So honestly, to all the male posters here, stop being dickwads with your holier-than-thou attitudes since you're all going to kiss and tell whether or not she or any girl bangs you, anyway. (I suspect this double standard actually persists because many of you were rejected by her, or others like her, and if not that you simply weren't able to afford her services.)

Finally, if it is proven that indeed she IS doing it just to get herself a shiny coming-of-age party, well, she is indeed sadly horribly misled by her priorities in life. Not to say that her need isn't valid, but in the greater scheme of things, having a fun, grand debutante party can still be done for a cheaper budget through better planning. I mean, come on, just take a look at Jeane Napoles' Blogger account and debut post-party video -- she had SO MUCH MONEY to burn (all taken from decent hardworking taxpayers like myself, by the way) and still came up with a party that's nowhere as cool given the materials, equipment and personnel she had at her disposal. She tried to have a party like Tony Stark from IRON MAN 2 but the video alone shows it's not quite as happening as her spin doctors and video editors try to make it look. .

Oh, in case you're looking for me, this is crossposted on my:

• Tumblr (I caved)
• Livejournal

Fina-fricking-ly, yes, I acknowledge I am turning into the queen of unpopular opinion, but that also means flames will be doused with water after being used to cook delicious spam and eggs.

That's all, thanks. ^.~v

Better safe than sorry!

You just KNOW I'm going to repost things like this.

♥ Self Defense ♥ by Mewkeirin

The 11 top-ranking models of Popteen: Nana Suzuki / The self-esteem of a bonafide gal

As some of you already know, I'm a subscriber of the gyaru lifestyle, which endorses coloured (usually lightened) and very well-styled hair, sexy-cute make-up especially focused on the eyes, skin-baring clothing styles, insanely high heels, equally insane nail art, and an over-all image of being nouveau riche to the point of being garish about it. I find that it compliments my desire to enjoy being a grown-up, and it reinforces my positive nature because its focus is on having fun. :P

However, one of the terrible things about it is, as most Japanese fashion styles are, it's got a clique-ish vibe among purveyors and enthusiasts, and these cliques are vicious. You need to look a certain image, to play a certain role, and of course Japan being Japan, even in fashion "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down." It's essentially being stuck forever in high school -- definitely not the most fun of moments.. In fact, this video from leading Japanese gyaru magazine Popteen illustrates exactly what goes on.

The video starts with some "what's in my bag" stuff, and then it displays make-up from gyaru models like Hekiru Shiina; this part is actually a continuation of a previous video, part of a full show. Then Miku Akiyama, Mari Murata, Miki Kawanishi, Rui Kotobuki and Nana Suzuki are introduced, with their outfits of the day scrutinised. The five then play some form of timed getting-to-know-you/trivia/Q&A game using the iPhone.

Poor Nana gets a dare: she has to prove she's attractive even without full gyaru make-up -- an idea which is unthinkable for a young, up-and-coming model like her. Because again, like I said, gyaru is about using make-up to radiate a sexy-cute image, basically the game is making her remove all those layers she can hide in. Now when you get to see her sans make-up (or most of it, anyway) on 8:50 at the video, she actually looks cuter than Tsubasa Masuwaka, who has been seen with the most minimal of make-up recently, and whose eyebags are just HUGE (she looks like my college classmate Be, funnily enough, but still, those eyebags are GINORMOUS to the point of being scary). Nana has the benefit of youth (Tsubasa is just a year younger than I am, and I'm pushing 30 very soon), so even if gyaru is all about looking young and fresh while still having a touch of sexy charisma, she still looks very pleasant in her "plain" face. As the puppet that looks like a monkey at the bottom-right side of the screen says, she radiates "moe". When used in this context, it means that while Nana's not breathtakingly beautiful or even conventionally lovely, she's definitely cute enough to turn a good number of heads. But still, you don't need a translator to know that she's feeling apprehensive about having to reveal how she looks like under those false lashes and all that foundation, what with all that nervous giggling.

While I find it strange that these Japanese fashionistas are not vain enough to resort to facial surgery (apparently surgery is still more acceptable in Korea, where presenting your "best face" or ulzzang style is an absolute must), they are still vain enough to contour their faces and use various make-up tricks to achieve the desirable cute-sexy look. They also consider other equally invasive techniques, such as the use of circle contact and false eyelashes to fake the facial structure of dolls. This is a sobering reminder for me that the only way I can step my glamour game up is to spend time meticulously putting on make-up and styling my hair. Honestly, that's a lot of work and a lot of time! If basic make-up for the office takes me 30 minutes to an hour, gyaru make-up takes at least 2 hours especially because of the difficulty in applying false eyelashes. And with the humidity of this country rendering most hairstyles useless, you need a lot of spray product to keep every curl, wave or strand in place for a few hours.

I feel so bad that a rising star among models like Nana Suzuki feels terrible about herself and her looks. That doesn't bode well for followers of gyaru style, or for followers of her and models like her at large, because if a model like her hates how she looks then who else would like her for herself? Unfortunately, it seems like a fact of life that won't change anytime soon.

Seducing people and dressing hot can be mutually exclusive. Religion can be humanist.

So my great fantabulous friend Nissie posted a fabulous, well-written argument about how women have always and continue to receive much less benefits than the men.

It shames me to say that my religion (which I have picked out because it has helped me cope immensely with the events of my life) is conservative to the point that it has dictated how women should act, dress, speak, walk, eat, think and even sleep -- short version: in such a way that men are not tempted.

Well, excuse me, but while I am Catholic and I enjoy kicking ass (especially krav maga), if anyone bothers to tell me at all how to be a "respectable" woman, then I will definitely hit you at the balls or at the gut, whichever part of you hurts the most faster and better. And if I can't do that immediately for any reason, then make no mistake, I am definitely biding my time thinking about it before I finally find the chance to do it. 

I am a woman who wishes she can still let loose dancing at the clubs, who enjoys dressing up in a sexy-cute way, who likes ribald jokes and who feels most at home swearing like a sailor. That does not mean I wish to be raped, enjoy being felt up by people whose hands are best kept to themselves, or like being the subject of adjectives alluding to my (non-existent) breasts, (fairly shapely) bum or (absurdly long) legs. 

The Jesus I know loved (and still loves) His mother immensely, stood up for and spoke to women of all sorts of leanings, and had many female friendships (a part of me will always root for Him to have been at the very least in a romantic understanding with Saint Mary Magdalene). He sacrificed His life for all humanity, never once taking into consideration how we act, dress, speak, walk, eat, think, sleep and believe, because He could have chosen to save only a few but instead made sure to save as many as He possibly could with that one act. Sure He knows every single detail about every single creature in this earth, but He is revered exactly because He will always prioritize the positive actions I would have contributed towards making life better for the people (and living things) who are around me. So even if He were to walk among us right now and blush at my current body-con dress and stacked stiletto platform heels, I'd like to think He will just smile, nod, and let me carry on.  

  

The 3rd Birthday.♡☆☺

It has been a year.

So in the course of 12 months, 52 weeks, and 365 days, I have kept myself busy with work and with life.

I've earned some new clients, and held on tightly to old ones. I have had two assistants assigned solely to me, which has taken a bit of getting used to since I'm hardly mentor material, but I think this has helped boost my productivity.

I have witness my older sister getting married, as well as three of my closest friends; while others have gotten engaged and gotten together. (There are those who regrettably are no longer together, which makes for awkwardness, but I will figure it out.)

In these past 52 weeks, I have gotten back in touch with old friends (the ICTUSians and some college blockmates), and I have made some exceptional new ones (the Hiddlestoners, the Yuppie Days With The Lord community).

I obviously have gone for broke in many ways, but where my finances have suffered (OUCH), my life and even my work have been enriched.

I went through a severe crisis of faith. Both my faith and I have survived it. 

I have never tried so much great new food in my life!

I have taken self-defense lessons and continue to get back into shape. I have gone through most of my triggers (I was in EDSA on Christmas Day 2011; mid-June 2012 was memorable, because being surprise-shunted into the Quezon City Post Office rendered me a barely-functioning depressant till the end of July; and today I'm off to Eastwood, taking the route I was held up on to get to the destination I would never reach this night last year). I have actively worked for and confronted a number of my attackers, and even if they eventually posted bail, I am no longer afraid of them.

And most of all, while the incident has reduced my capacity to become creative (I hate it that trauma does these things to me), it has not yet succeeded in reducing my will to live and fight.

I like to think I'm winning.☺☆♡

* Most photos on Facebook; fashion and cosplay shoots on Lookbook, Chicisimo.

For A Religious Country Known For Its "Goodness", Our Inability To Pursue Social Justice Is Inexcusable (edit)

So, apparently here we go again: Yahoo! Philippines News: Cabbie arrested for passenger heist; victim says robbers molested her.

I've tried to get in touch with the victim here, but she won't talk to me. Which makes me sad, because her story is also all over the news, just like mine was in that day.

And now, there is this new development:  InterAksyon: GET OUT OF JAIL FREE: Senate OKs bill allowing indigents to post bail without paying fees.

On one hand, I am still very sympathetic towards people who are still stuck in the dredges of society. But I am finding myself increasingly frustrated with how many of them will resort to violent, hurtful means to bring themselves up, and with many of them having an excellent source of protection (FROM THE VERY AUTHORITIES THAT HAVE BEEN APPOINTED TO SAFEGUARD CITIZEN'S RIGHTS, NO LESS). Like a good friend said, "lahat tayo naghihirap, lumaban naman sana sila nang patas (we are all facing hardships, can't they fight fairly?)."

Hmm, this blog is becoming a huge pursuit for social justice. Ah, well.

Hello Kitty Crazy Sales Coming Soon!

I've got AWESOME news for all Hello Kitty fans (like me XD)!!!
I believe a lot of you girls (and guys) searching around for Hello Kitty items that aren't available in our country for a really long time…
And today… finally… Hello Kitty World Wide is here with FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING!!!
They are on soft opening right now and as a special pre-launch offer, you can have a US$5 cash voucher and bonuses like the Cute 3D Hello Kitty Model at zero cost.
If you don’t believe me check it out for yourself here, while it’s still available:
==> http://www.hellokittyworldwide.com
This special soft opening offer is valid only till the launch day, after which it may be taken off completely. So stop reading this, and go to the Hello Kitty World Wide website and claim all the bonuses right now:
==> http://www.hellokittyworldwide.com
If you’re reading this blog post too late, then you may have missed it. I DID say it’s a limited offer. 

Claim This Bonus!

* This post is sponsored.

Awesome giveaway by MyKissEnMakeUp!

I need to feed my obsession with nail art and I would love to pamper myself to the ultimate spa treatment at a hotel I love. So, please indulge me here. :3

 
Come on, she's giving away brush sets and nail art kits by Suesh, falsies by Urban Decay, AND (dealmaker here) SEVEN (7) gift cheques for the prestigious Zen Institute!
Please help me win this by clicking on the banner above. XD

Express Memorare Novena to the Blessed Virgin Mary

Figured that nothing would be lost if I posted this, so...

Express Memorare Novena to the Blessed Virgin Mary

* Memorare must be recited nine (9) times in a row.

* Make the sign of the cross at every recitation.

* Mention your petition and recite the "Hail Mary" prayer at the end of each recited Memorare.

* Reprinting MUST be made immediately as the petition(s) is (are) answered.

Memorare: Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help and sought your intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I hasten you, O Virgins of Virgins, my Mother. To you I come, before you I stand sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the world Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy hear and answer me.

(Special thanks to Eloisza for this one! )

Addendum to my previous entry, or the gal who tries to reclaim her life

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 ♥♥♥