• Album releases from both indie and signed local bands such as Archipelago, The Dawn, Techyromantics, Peryodiko, Duster, Silent Sanctuary, Kjwan, Paramita, Musical O, Us-2-Evil-O and many more. Some of the must-listen to’s that I would recommend are Peryodiko, Us-2-Evil-O, Techyromantics and Archipelago.
• This was also the year of Up Dharma Down. They won multiple recognitions, including Artist and Album of the Year for the 2009 NU 107 Rock Awards. I think that they really deserve it and now is their time!

• The live Pinoy rock scene was very much alive and the biggest event is the Eraserheads Final Set Reunion gig held at the SM Mall of Asia concert grounds.  The concert was attended by Eraserheads fans of all ages. The most memorable moment was where Ely Buendia burned the Stickerhappy piano and I believe ( and others too) has became part of Pinoy Rock history. He’s the only Pinoy rock icon who did that onstage!
• Another fantastic gig was Sugarfree’s Dekada concert held at the Music Museum last August. It’s rare that we see Sugarfree in this kind of setting. I loved the way they performed some of my favorite songs.

• Pinoy bands were also involved with social issue awareness especially in Philippine society. Rock Ed has played a big part in collaborating with bands so that they can help spread the message of awareness and justice. Some of Rock Ed’s events are Rock Med, Rock the Riles, One for the Roadie, The Girl Code, Rock Bosch and many others.



• Nine Inch Nails is probably the highlight among the foreign rock performers who performed here in Manila. I was lucky to have witnessed that in person! For the year 2010, The Killers and Paramore are set to rock the Manila shores.

Here are just some of the highlights that I can remember for 2009. I know there’s a lot so I’m sorry if I have left some behind. For 2010,  I am hoping that it will be another rockin’ year for Pinoy rock bands and as well as the live rock scene here.

Generally, 2009 has been good to me. My career and personal life is doing well and so far I haven’t encountered any big problems yet. Hopefully this will be a refreshing start in my career.

Days before 2009 year ended, I was fortunate to have spent it with my different sets of friends. First is the wedding of my blogger friends, Jay De Jesus and Aileen Apollo-De Jesus last 26th December. This is the official merging of Google Philippines and Titikpilipino.com. (not in the business sense, ok? hehe). Congratulations to the both of you and may you have beautiful children! Although your bridal car did not arrive on your wedding day, what’s important is that you were able to say your “I do’s”. Sue them afterwards so that they’ll have a dose of their bitter medicine.

Secondly, I was with my High School friends from St. Scho Manila last 29th December. It was a special dinner because some of them were living overseas for a long time and just came home for the holidays. I think this is the biggest attendance in a dinner since we graduated. We had dinner at Fish Out of Water in Greenbelt 5. Our night was filled with never ending laughter. Didn’t really need to flashback as what other friends do. We talked about our present lives and some about the future.

After our dinner, we decided to drop by Saguijo. I realized that this was my last gig for 2009. It’s been weeks since I was in Saguijo. Haven’t been there since the owners of Breadbox (the posh carinderia opposite Saguijo) were murdered. It felt so different and I was used to see a bright light glowing from Breadbox whenever I stand outside the gate of Saguijo. Hope that the culprit(s) will be captured. We have seen lots of deaths in the news as the end of the year approached. Oh please, 2010, please be kind to us.

“Mikey is the New Mong”

“Anghel” by Stonefree

Back to Saguijo, the gig started early (which I wasn’t used to) so we just saw Stonefree and Us-2-Evil-0. Gig ended at around 1:30 am. I enjoyed Us-2-Evil-0′s set. They just made a new twist of “Mikey is the New Mong” by making it “Wincy is the New Mong”. Can’t help but laugh at them while Quark and Mich were mocking Wincy. He’s still cool about it even though he forgot to plug his guitar into the amp during the last song.

(Cory doll)

Last August 1, former President Cory Aquino died due to cardiac respiratory arrest at the Makati Medical Center. It was already expected because she was already suffering colon cancer but I didn’t realize that it would be this early.

I watched Kris Aquino’s show, “The Buzz” (i.e. the Kris Aquino show – I rarely heard Boy Abunda’s voice all throughout the duration of the show) and listened to Kris’ narration of the memoir she wrote during the last month of her mom’s life. It made me teary-eyed and because Kris narrated it in such a way that you will feel like you were really there. I must say that she is a good memoirist.

If you’re going to ask me if I am pro-Cory, well I am not but I have great admiration for this woman because she is one person that makes me proud to be a Filipina – the first woman president of the Philippines and a fellow Scholastican too. There might be some things that I didn’t like about her administration like the CARP (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program), external debt that ballooned enormously, multiple coup de etat attempts and many others. Having said her flaws, she was human and that we can’t have a perfect president. Trying to fix a distorted society due to the Marcos regime was quite difficult. What I liked about her was that she tried to push the restoration of democracy and tried to live a simple life after being the president.

This afternoon, I was able to feel how it was during the day Ninoy Aquino died. At 11 am, my officemates and I were already in Ayala to witness Cory’s funeral procession. While anticipating for the moment, there were already confettis all throughout the skies of Makati, the yuppies were out in the streets and I can hear the songs being played during the 1986 revolution. I said to myself, the Makati yuppies can care much about the death of the icon of democracy but why can’t these yuppies do something to actually restore democracy than just replicating the corrupt system? Anyway, being there in Ayala felt like I was born again because during the 1986 revolution, I was just 3 years old then so I didn’t have any recollection on the People Power Revolution. It felt like there was a sudden flashback of the 80′s where wearing yellow shirts and yellow bandanas were “in” and hearing the song “Magkaisa” was everybody’s last song syndrome.

Cory’s coffin was in a truck filled with flowers and rayadillo guards (I am not sure what they’re called) and the truck stopped at the monument of Ninoy Aquino in Paseo de Roxas. I was standing in Ayala Ave. opposite Robinsons Summit and people parading passed by. The Peping and Tingting Cojuangco clan were walking in the streets (Mikee and China were walking under the heat of the sun). Everybody was shouting “Cory, Cory”. Then the truck with Cory’s body passed by. There was a moment of silence.

I was literally under the sun for 2 hours and had my skin burnt. I just realized that I have uneven skin tone when I got back to the office. But it’s alright, the experience will make you reflect of your duty as the citizen of this country.

Her death is a reminder of restoring Philippine democracy. It makes us reflect what we have done in the past years that we have been “free” from the dictatorship. However small our actions may be, it still counts.

The 2010 Philippine elections is just 10 months away and again, we need to choose a new president for the country. No one has confirmed that they are running for the presidency; obviously, they will be filing their certificate of candidacies on or weeks before the very last day of COC filing. Even though no one has confirmed yet who will be running either for president, vice-president or senators, we are already getting the hunch on who will be aiming for public office (again).

A socio-political networking website, www.politicalarena.com, is said to enlighten us voters (and aspiring voters) to know the background of politicians who, according to “public opinion”, will run on 2010. It’s the first of its kind here but it’s not owned by the Comission of Elections (COMELEC). This project is in partnership with 88db.com, meaning they funded the whole website.

I was one of the bloggers who attended the launch of Politicalarena.com at the Manila Peninsula 3 weeks ago. Probably other bloggers were not available to attend the event (because it was at 9 am on a Thursday (?) ) and at that time I don’t have a day job yet so it’s just me and Karla who went there. Aside from the launch of the website. they also had a signing of the “anti-smear campaign” among the political figures present there such as Sen. Chiz Escudero, Hon. Gilbert Remulla, Hon. Raffy Biazon, Hon. Teodoro Casiño together with COMELEC Commissioner Jose Melo, NAMFREL Ambassador Henrietta de Villa, PPCRV’s Bro. Clifford Sorita, Fr. Anton Pascual of Caritas Manila and Reginald Velasco, Secretary-General, Kampi. Apparently, the politicians who signed the anti-smear campaign will be running for public office for their next term (or a higher position). Ex-Senator Nikki Coseteng was there also but she did not sign the anti-smear campaign MOA, does that mean that she will not be running for office again?

When the floor was opened for questions to COMELEC Chairman Jose Melo, COMELEC Spokesperson James Jimenez and General Manager of Politicalarena.com Racquel Cagurangan, the first media practitioner who went to the mic (I forgot who he was, I think from Business World) immediately fired one of the most controversial questions to COMELEC Chairman Melo: How come that the machines that were intended for poll automation weren’t tested? (rephrased) Inside my mind I said, “You just have to put Chairman Melo on the spot when the topic or event on hand does not even talk about poll automation.” Actually, most questions there weren’t about the website, it was more of the poll automation. It seems that most media practitioners don’t really care about how the website will be relevant/irrelevant to our voters. Good thing I was seated in a table with individuals from Radio Caritas. A little exchange of ideas and opinions about the website. Here are some of the things that seemed dubious about website:

• Funding – According to the Racquel Cagurangan, General Manager of Politicalarena.com, the funding came SOLELY from 88DB.com.
• Who initiated it? – It was 88DB who initiated this project then became “in-partnership” with COMELEC. 88DB wanted to become the pioneer in becoming the ‘first socio-political networking site’ here in the Philippines.
• Candidate profiles – It will be the duty of the candidates’ staff to update the profiles there. At the same time, the candidates themselves are expected to “reply” to the questions for each candidate. Also, the candidates that you can see on the page were based, according to Cagurangan, on the “public perceptions”. I don’t know if they did a survey for this of what but this is what bothers me because this is beneficial only for popular candidates. Now how about the aspiring candidates who don’t have money for the campaign? If politicians would like to remove their profile on the site, they may do so but they have to submit a formal letter to them. Sen. Ping Lacson already withdrew on the presidential race and had already sent a formal letter to them. Political Arena reconfirmed it to him. Why is there a need to follow up on him?
• Anti-Smear Campaign – Ideally, the website should not be an arena for destroying the reputation of another candidate. Wow, is this really gonna happen? Signing the MOA for the Anti-Smear Campaign won’t make any difference. According to Cagurangan, their job won’t go further than maintaining the website. Meaning, they take care only of the technical stuff but moderating the things that are being said there, it’s not their job anymore. They will only be moderating the comments and uploaded items when they violate the provisions in the user policy. The basic provisions are the usual ones for forums and social networking websites.

To sum it all up, I know that this is a good avenue to get to know the presidential candidates especially for the OFWs who plan to vote on 2010. The politicians I saw there are the same trapos.

I say temporary because we cannot trust GMA,or any of her allies, that this won’t be pursued again before the national elections. But nevertheless, temporary victory is better than none at all.

Photo by Karla Redor (with Sparks, me, Phoebe, Karen, Mark and Karen)

When ConAss was still ongoing, I participated in 2 of the rallies that were announced through Facebook, Plurk and Twitter. The first one I attended was the silent protest organized by Rock Ed held at Baywalk last June 7th. Different kinds of people congregated there, some of them were people I am connected with 2-3 degrees apart. There were passersby who just stared at the tarpaulin banner Rock Ed prepared which says “Explain Yourselves, Indimidation is the Way of Leaders Who are Weak” and didn’t really bother to know the issue. I heard Phoebe (a fellow blogger) ask “Why aren’t they joining us?”. We were joking that there were some television celebrities there like Pen Medina and Ronnie Lazaro (which were really present there) but people just lurked. Estimated number of people there: probably a hundred. My fellow bloggers and I got hungry after the silent protest and decided to have a dimsum and ensaymada fix after.

The second rally I participated in was at Ayala last June 11th. Not really sure on how many people attended. There are different estimations from 6,000 to 30,000. I would say 6,000 and a little bit more is the right estimate. This was much noisier and all the media and political personalities were there. Even the known ‘balimbings’ are there, riding the bandwagon. It was a peaceful rally. Then the very next day, ConAss was suddenly placed on hold by GMA.

Anti-ConAss rally at Ayala Ave.

Reading a lot of blogs about con-ass made me realize that an alternative form of activism is becoming popular and probably can be effective. Many people say that the online protests about ConAss influenced the Palace to place it on hold. Most likely, the government is already used to street protests. Even though how loud they are on the streets, it seems that the Palace wouldn’t care to listen. This alternative kind of activism, through the use of existing social networking resources in the internet, made Filipinos aware about the pros and cons of the issue.

The question is, are street rallies not enough for us to be heard? I still believe that rallying in the streets isn’t the only way to do activism. I am not saying that it’s not effective anymore but it will be effective if the message will be transmitted to a lot of people.

Shame on you. Shame on the congressmen/women who allowed the passing of HR 1109 in the House of Representatives (or you can call it Bastusang Pambansa). They have the guts to pass this bill 11 months before the national elections! A few weeks ago, the Hayden Kho-Katrina Halili sex scandal being queried at the Senate and now HR 1109!

Click here to view the document of HR 1109.

See if your congressman/woman is one of the culprits then place this as a status on your Facebook, Twitter and Plurk – “I am ashamed of my [name of your congressman/woman] for supporting HR 1109″. Spread the word!

NAME DISTRICT/ AREA
ABANTE, BIENVENIDO M. “BENNY” 6TH District Pandacan
ABLAN, ROQUE R. JR \Ilocos Norte, 1st District
AGBAYANI, VICTOR AGUEDO E. Pangasinan, 2nd District
AGYAO, MANUEL, S Kalinga Province
ALBANO (III), RODOLFO T. Isabela, 1st District
ALFELOR, FELIX R. JR. 4th District, Camarines Sur
ALMARIO, THELMA Z. Davao Oriental, 2nd District
ALVAREZ, ANTONIO C. Palawan 1st District
ALVAREZ, GENARO RAFAEL M. JR. Negros Occidental, 6th District
AMANTE, EDELMIRO A. Agusan Del Norte, 2nd District
AMATONG, ROMMEL C. Compostela Valley, 2nd District
ANGPING, MARIA ZENAIDA B. Manila, 3rd District
ANTONINO, RODOLFO W. Nueva Ecija, 4th District
APOSTOL, TRINIDAD G. Leyte, 2nd District
AQUINO, JOSE S. (II) 1st District Agusan del Norte
ARAGO, MARIA EVITA R. 3rd district, Laguna
ARBISON, A MUNIR M. Sulu 2nd District
ARENAS, MA. RACHEL J. Pangasinan, 3rd District
ARROYO, DIOSDADO M. Camarines Sur, 1st District
ARROYO, IGNACIO T. 5th district Negros Occidental
ARROYO, JUAN MIGUEL M. 2nd District of Pampanga
BAGATSING, AMADO S. Manila 5th district
BALINDONG, PANGALIAN M. Lanao del Sur, 2nd District
BARZAGA, ELPIDIO F. JR. Cavite, 2nd District
BAUTISTA, FRANKLIN P. Davao Del Sur, 2nd District
BELMONTE, VICENTE F. JR. Lanao del Norte, 1st District
BICHARA, AL FRANCIS C. Albay, 2nd District
BIRON, FERJENEL G. Iloilo, 4th District
BONDOC, ANNA YORK P. Pampanga 4th District
BONOAN-DAVID, MA. THERESA B. Manila, 4th District
BRAVO, NARCISO R. JR. Masbate, 1st District
BRIONES, NICANOR M. AGAP Party list
BUHAIN, EILEEN ERMITA Batangas, 1st District
BULUT, ELIAS C. JR. Apayao Lone District
CAGAS (IV), MARC DOUGLAS C. Davao Del Sur, 1st District
CAJAYON, MARY MITZI L. Caloocan, 2nd District
CAJES, ROBERTO C. Bohol, 2nd District
CARI, CARMEN L. Leyte, 5th District
CASTRO, FREDENIL H. Capiz, 2nd District
CELESTE, ARTHUR F. Pangasinan, 1st District
CERILLES, ANTONIO H. Zamboanga Del Sur, 2nd District
CHATTO, EDGARDO M. Bohol, 1st District
CHONG, GLENN A. Biliran, Lone District
CHUNG-LAO, SOLOMON R. Ifugai, Lone District
CLARETE, MARINA C. Misamis Occidental, 1st District
CODILLA, EUFROCINO M. SR. Leyte, 4th District
COJUANCO, MARK O. Pangasinan, 5th District
COQUILA, TEODULO M. Eastern Samar, Lone District
CRISOLOGO, VINCENT P. Quezon City, 1st District
CUA, JUNIE E. Quirino, Lone District
CUENCO, ANTONIO V. Cebu City, 2nd District
DANGWA, SAMUEL M. Benguet, Lone District
DATUMANONG, SIMEON A. Maguindanao, Lone District
Dayanghirang, Nelson L. Davao Oriental, 1st District
DAZA, NANETTE C. Quezon City, 4th District
DAZA, PAUL R. Northern Samar, 1st District
DE GUZMAN, DEL R. Marikina City, 2nd District
DEFENSOR, ARTHUR D. SR. Iloilo, 3rd District
DEFENSOR, MATIAS V. JR. Quezon City, 3rd District
DEL MAR, RAUL V. Cebu City, 1st District
DIASNES, CARLO OLIVER D. (MD) Batanes, Lone District
DIMAPORO, ABDULLAH D. Lanao Del Norte, 2nd District
DOMOGAN, MAURICIO G. Baguio, Lone District
DUAVIT, MICHAEL JOHN R. Rizal, 1st District
DUENAS, HENRY M. JR. Taguig, 2nd District (2nd Councilor District)
DUMARPA, FAYSAH MRP. Lanao del Sur, 1st District
DUMPIT, THOMAS L. JR. La Union, 2nd District
DURANO (IV), RAMON H. 5th District, Cebu
ECLEO, GLENDA B. Dinagat Islands, Lone District
EMANO, YEVGENY VICENTE B. Misamis Oriental, 2nd District
ENVERGA, WILFRIDO MARK M. Quezon, 1st District
ESTRELLA, CONRADO M. (III) Pangasinan, 6th District
ESTRELLA, ROBERT RAYMUND M. ABONO Party List
FERRER, JEFFREY P. Negros Occidental, 4th District
GARAY, FLORENCIO C. Surigao Del Sur, 2nd District
GARCIA, ALBERT S. Bataan, 2nd District.
GARCIA, PABLO JOHN F. Cebu, 3rd District
GARCIA, PABLO P. Cebu, 2nd District
GARCIA, VINCENT J. Davao City, 2nd District
GARIN, JANETTE L. Iloilo, 1st District
GATCHALIAN, REXLON T. Valenzuela City, 1st District
GATLABAYAN, ANGELITO C. Antipolo City, 2nd District
GO, ARNULFO F. Sultan Kudarat, 2nd District
GONZALES, AURELIO D. JR. Pampanga 3rd District
GONZALES, RAUL T. JR. Ilo ilo City
GULLAS, EDUARDO R. Cebu, 1st District
GUNIGUNDO, MAGTANGGOL T. Valenzuela City 2nd District
HOFER, DULCE ANN K. Zamboanga Sibugay, 2nd District
JAAFAR, NUR G. Tawi-Tawi, Lone District
JALA, ADAM RELSON L. Bohol, 3rd District
JALOSJOS, CESAR G. Zamboanga del Norte, 3rd District
JALOSJOS-CARREON, CECILIA G. Zamboanga del Norte, 1st District
JIKIRI, YUSOP H. Sulu, 1st District
KHO, ANTONIO T. Masbate, 2nd District
LABADLABAD, ROSENDO S. Zamboanga del Norte, 2nd District
LACSON, JOSE CARLOS V. Negros Occidental, 3rd District
LAGDAMEO, ANTONIO F. JR. Davao del Norte, 2nd District
LAPUS, JECI A. Tarlac, 3rd District
LAZATIN, CARMELO F. Pampanga, 1st District
LIM, RENO G. Albay, 3rd District
LOPEZ, JAIME C. Manila, 2nd District
MADRONA, ELEANORA JESUS F. Romblon, Lone District
MAGSAYSAY, MARIA MILAGROS H. Zambales, 1st District
MALAPITAN, OSCAR G. Caloocan, 1st District
MAMBA, MANUEL N. Cagayan, 3rd District
MANGUDADATU, DATU PAKUNG S. Sultan Kudarat,
MARANON, ALFREDO D. III Negros Occidental, 2nd District
MATUGAS, FRANCISCO T. Surigao del Norte, 1st District
MENDOZA, MARK LEANDRO L. Batangas, 4th District
MERCADO, ROGER G. Southern Leyte, Lone District
MIRAFLORES, FLORENCIO T. Aklan, Lone District
NAVA, JOAQUIN CARLOS RAHMAN A. (MD) Guimaras, Lone District
NICOLAS, REYLINA G. Bulacan, 4th District
NOGRALES, PROSPERO C. Davao City, 1st District
OLAñO, ARREL R. Davao Del Norte, 1st District
ONG, EMIL L. Northern Samar, 2nd District
ORTEGA, VICTOR FRANCISCO C. La Union, 1st District
PABLO, ERNESTO C. APEC Party List
PANCHO, PEDRO M. Bulacan, 2nd District
PANCRUDO, CANDIDO P. JR. Bukidnon, 1st District
PICHAY, PHILIP A. Surigao Del Sur, 1st District
PIñOL, BERNARDO F. JR. North Cotabato, 2nd District
PUNO, ROBERTO V. Antipolo City, 1st District
RAMIRO, HERMINIA M. Misamis Occidental, 2nd District
REMULLA, JESUS CRISPIN C. Cavite, 3rd District
REYES, CARMELITA O. Marinduque, Lone District
REYES, VICTORIA H. Batangas, 3rd District
ROBES, ARTURO G. San Jose Del Monte City, Lone District
Rodriguez-Zaldarriaga, Adelina Rizal, 2nd District
ROMAN, HERMINIA B. Bataan, 1st District
ROMARATE, GUILLERMO A. JR. Surigao del Norte, 2nd District
ROMUALDEZ, FERDINAND MARTIN G. Leyte, 1st District
ROMUALDO, PEDRO Camiguin, Lone District
ROMULO, ROMAN T. Pasig City, Lone District
ROXAS, JOSE ANTONIO F. Pasay City
SALIMBANGON, BENHUR L. Cebu, 4th District
SALVACION JR., ANDRES D. Leyte, 3rd District
SAN LUIS, EDGAR S. Laguna, 4th District
SANDOVAL, ALVIN S. Malabon-Navotas, Lone District
SANTIAGO, JOSEPH A. Catanduanes, Lone District
SANTIAGO, NARCISO D. (III) ARC Party List
SEACHON-LANETE, RIZALINA L. 3rd district of Masbate
SEARES-LUNA, CECILIA M. Abra, Lone District
SILVERIO, LORNA C. Bulacan, 3rd District
SINGSON, ERIC D. Ilocos Sur, 2nd District
SINGSON, RONALD V. Ilocos Sur, 1st District
SOLIS, JOSE G. Sorsogon, 2nd District
SOON-RUIZ, NERISSA CORAZON Cebu, 6th District
SUAREZ, DANILO E. Quezon, 3rd District
SUSANO, MARY ANN L. Quezon City, 2nd District
SY-ALVARADO, MA. VICTORIA R. Bulacan, 1st District
SYJUCO, JUDY J. 2nd Dsitrict, Iloilo
TALINO-MENDOZA, EMMYLOU J. North Cotabato, 1st District
TAN, SHAREE ANN T. Samar, 2nd District
TEODORO, MARCELINO R. Marikina City, 1st District
TEODORO, MONICA LOUISSE PRIETO Tarlac, 1st District
TEVES, PRYDE HENRY A. Negros Oriental, 3rd District
TUPAS, NEIL C. JR. Iloilo, 5th District
UNGAB, ISIDRO T. Davao City, 3rd District
UY, EDWIN C. Isabela, 2nd District
UY, REYNALDO S. Samar, 1st District
UY, ROLANDO A. Cagayan De Oro City, Lone District
VALDEZ, EDGAR L. APEC Party List
VALENCIA, RODOLFO G. Oriental Mindoro, 1st District
VARGAS, FLORENCIO L. Cagayan, 2nd District
VILLAFUERTE, LUIS R. Camarines Sur, 2nd District
VILLAROSA, MA. AMELITA C. Occidental Mindoro, Lone District
VIOLAGO, JOSEPH GILBERT F. Nueva Ecija, 2nd District
YAP, JOSE V. Tarlac, 2nd District
YU, VICTOR J. Zamboanga Del Sur, 1st District
ZAMORA, MANUEL E. 1st District, Compostela Valley
ZIALCITA, EDUARDO C. Parañaque, 1st District

Many people were raged against this issue and felt that taxing imported books only hinder us from knowing things that are outside our boundaries. We know that the internet is already existing however most of us (including me) would still prefer to read printed materials. The quest for knowledge shouldn’t only be through one medium, the reader has the right to choose in which format he or she prefers to get information from. The BOC is being too greedy to Philippine society and they have the gall to be arrogant that they know the law. In fact, they have already been violating the Florence Agreement (United Nations Treaty) which was signed by the Philippines in 1952, stating that all nations have the right to imported information and books and other printed documents should not be taxed at all.

Having said that, Rock Ed decided to conduct a bookbigayan project as a protest to the book blockade. Passersby were able to get the books they want for free and with no taxes involved. The project was done last May 24th at Baywalk, Manila from 3 pm-7 pm. Most people there got the information about this event through the social networking websites such as Plurk, Twitter, Facebook, Multiply and many more. Just imagine how the internet can congregate people to do a worthy cause?

Gang Badoy reading a book with the statue of Mayor Arsenio Lacson (former Manila Mayor) 

Me reading with the ex-mayor

I arrived there late afternoon around 3:30 pm. I was able to help the Rock Ed volunteers set up the books. At first, the common people at the baywalk thought that the books were for sale. When they learned that they weren’t, word spreaded like fire and grabbed the books that they were interested in. The most in-demand books were children’s books and textbooks for high school. It’s good timing as well because school was about to start and with the high amount of tuition fees that they need to pay, at least they got their children’s required textbooks for free. Most of the books I donated were my old textbooks in high school and I’m glad that a child will be able to use it as reference in school.

Myrene Academia of Sandwich and Imago being interviewed by GMA news reporter

Now isn’t Manila Bay’s sunset beautiful?

The good thing is that the book blockade is over. On May 25th, President Arroyo already ordered to scrap the taxes on imported material. The viral and online protest was a success. Press Secretary Remonde said

The President wants books to be within reach of the common man. She believes reading as an important value for intellectual formation, which is the foundation of a healthy public opinion necessary for a vibrant democracy.

Now probably we should focus on the implementation of the president’s order. Some BOC Officials may still want to ‘ransom’ the books you ordered online so shove it to their face if they pursue to impose taxes on those.

SM North Edsa, being the second largest mall in the world, still continues to expand to make a difference globally and make a mark as well in Philippine mall culture. This mall is situated in an area which becomes a stop over for individuals who intend to go to Northern Metro Manila or CAMANAVA area (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela). Aside from being a gateway to Northern Metro Manila, it is also the gateway to the Northern provinces in the Philippines such as Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales, Nueva Ecija and many more. One cannot miss seeing this mall because of its size; one can already view this mall from afar.

When the mall was erected in 1985, I was still 2 years old then. My memories of going to SM North Edsa was when I was already 6 or 7 years old. This was one of the malls back then where my mom and I would have our Sunday hang out. I would always ask my mom to bring me to the arcade and ride a solo ferris wheel. I don’t know what it’s called but I called it as such because the kid would sit in a chair that is attached to a roulette. It was already a joy for me. And I remember feeling disappointed because as I grew up (and gained weight as well), I couldn’t fit in that solo ferris wheel ride anymore. Probably it was my first experience of ‘obesity becoming a hindrance to enjoying life’. Haha, just kidding.

SM North Edsa has also became a college hang out for me. This was one of the nearest malls from UP Diliman so whenever I have long gaps between subjects and also if I feel lazy to go to my classes , I would frequent to this mall. My UP friends and I would watch the latest films (international or even Filipino flicks) then have our film discussions in one of the coffee shops there. SM North Annex was our place to be whenever we feel like playing bowling. Being an SM Advantage card holder, I get to have 10% discount for every game. That’s already a good deal for me because I was still asking money from my mom then.

Right now, there are a lot of changes in SM North Edsa. They already remodelled the SM Annex and just recently, they have launched the Sky Garden. This is probably the best thing that they created because it becomes a green barrier against the busy traffic in EDSA. Strolling around the mall becomes a memorable experience than just being an ordinary mall.

The night before the concert, I was up until 5 am. Supposedly, I was going to sleep early to prep up for this event but something came up. Anyway, I woke up at 11 am and headed to SM Mall of Asia with Karla. We first hung out at Bona Coffee opposite the concert grounds. Karla was wearing her Noytee shirt, the shirt I got didn’t fit me so I requested to meet up with someone from Noytee to get a larger size at 3:30 pm.

Around 4:00 pm, we headed to the VIP entrance as we are expecting that the gates would open at 3:00 pm. Apparently, they’re not letting anyone in yet. Karla and I were the 3rd and 4th person on the right side entrance (near the bay). Patricia and Gerard (newly found friends from Circus) were the 1st and 2nd on the line. We’re complete strangers but the Eraserheads binded us as if we’re already familiar with each other. The guards then were instructed to let the audience in around 4:30 pm. I was really surprised to see how near I am from the stage.

(Me and Karla posing for the cam)

(The Yellow Brigade of Bouncers. They have been there since 11 am)

(Some Circus members in the VIP section, hehe, minus me of course)

I brought a big cloth with me so that it would serve as a mat for us to sit on. Under the heat of the sun, we still managed to wait patiently. I went around to take some photographs using Karla’s camera. I just want to observe the people around. I saw lots of people that I know from Circus (the Eheads Mailing List) and had a quick chit chat with them. This event became the grand EB of Circus. I got my Circus ID courtesy of Jaz (thanks to Levan of course who really took the effort on making those for us).

Different kinds of Eraserheads shirts were worn by fans. Here are some of the pictures I took:

(Eraserheads Team Manila Shirt. Thanks Gerard for modeling for me! )

(Eraserheads Team Pupil Shirt)

(Another Eraserheads Team Manila Shirt. Thanks to Patricia for modeling!)

(Jazz Nicholas of Itchyworms (sessioning for the Eheads also) took a picture of us. I took a picture of him also )

As I was going towards the Gold section and looking at the view of the stage, I realized that the Stickerhappy piano was there. Oh yes, the ever famous piano of Ely Buendia filled with stickers. If you are familiar with the Stickerhappy album (Eheads’ 5th album), it’s on the front and album sleeve (with Joey Mead naked). I personally was able to touch it way back when it was in 70′s Bistro and during the Eraserheads Exhibit in Megamall.

(Ely playing the piano during the soundcheck last March 6, photo by Day Cabuhat)

As the sun was setting down, the concert grounds was beginning to fill up. Friends were texting and calling me to ask where I was located at the venue. Around 8:00 pm, the MTV vjs went onstage and did their hosting stints. As usual, they did their hosting stints as they are required to mention the sponsors (especially about their network, MTV). Anne Curtis, being one of the VJs, misread an Eraserheads song as “Tindahan ni Aling Nene”. What would you expect from them? It’s their job to read and make a fool of themselves in front of the crowd that nobody really cares to listen. I was getting impatient with them as they talk non-sense (promoting their shows i.e. their Paris Hilton show??); wishing that they would get off the stage at once. The people beside me were chanting “Dyosa” to Anne, she felt flattered but I know it was sarcastic. After they had their stint, it took about 10 minutes before the actual show started. I thought that the show would immediately start after their stint but apparently sponsors again flashed their ads in the big video walls. It’s business, can’t help it. Fine.

There was an Audio-Visual Presentation of old Eraserheads videos that came from MTV shows. It was like a timeline of how the band was formed and there were never before seen like the bloopers. Of course the video when they took home the Moon Man for the MTV Asia International Viewer’s Choice for Asia was shown.

“Salamat sa Diyos. Maraming Salamat to all the fans who voted for us, BMG Pilipinas, Aureus our director, Robin our producer, our crew, MTV Asia, our families and friends.
ELY: Mabuhay ang Noypi!
ALL: Bogchi!”

There was this interview with VJ KC (Montero) which he asked the Eheads “Is the Eraserheads going to disband?” and I think it was Raymund and Ely who answered “No”. The irony of it is that they are already disbanded. As one Eheads song goes “Marami ang namamatay sa MALING AKALA” .

After a few minutes, there was an alphabet countdown (yeah, this has never been done haha) and it ended up at the inverted letter E (of course as in E-raserheads). This was the cue that the concert is about to start. Fans were screaming as robotic looping sounds of “Eraserheads” were heard mixed with the sound of thumping pulse and beeping. The band was already onstage staring at the excited audience. Loop sounds of “Punk Zappa” were also played on the foreground with the pulse and beep as the background. As the looping sounds end, the outro of “Butterscotch” (the backmasked guitar riff) was also heard then BOOM! The initial fireworks lit up the stage with the word Eraserheads flashed on the videowalls. Raymund gave the cue to start the band to play “Magasin”.

(First Song: Magasin)

By the way, here is the complete setlist. Total number of songs they performed: 27. I will narrate some highlights for every set so bear with me please .

1st set:

Magasin
Walang Nagbago
Maling Akala
Maskara
Poorman’s Grave
Waiting for the Bus
Huwag Mo nang Itanong
Slo Mo
Alkohol
Insomya
Torpedo

Highlights on the first set:

1. There were fireworks after Magasin. Ely changed a line on the lyrics “Medyo pangit ka pa noon, HANGGANG NGAYON”. Well actually, he was doing that way back.
2. Ely almost forgot the intro of “Poor Man’s Grave” and took the everyone’s attention that he will do it again. (I can take over for him, hehehe).
3. Ely threw his Levi’s Denim jacket towards our direction and guess what? The 6 of us were literally holding on to the jacket. This is how we literally fought over Ely’s jacket. I wasn’t on the picture because I was dragged on the ground. Haha. The bouncer (without the cap) was already saying that the jacket should be given to the girls (i.e. MINE and the other girl!). Of course, the men wouldn’t allow it because their hands grabbed it also. And so this bouncer (with the cap) confiscated the jacket. The 6 of us were worried that he might not give it back to us. He came back to us after the first set and was asking for a bribe (pang-merienda lang daw). WOW. Of course we didn’t give in to his demands (ano ito, ransom???) and so the 6 of us decided to just divide the jacket among us just to compromise. We might be reprimanded with unruly behavior (and the concert might be stopped because of us) that’s why just to get over it (since we’re from Circus anyway), we decided to cut the jacket into parts after the concert since scissors were not allowed in the venue. The jacket became a ‘sacred object’, you know in the religious sense? It was so immature of me but what the hell, this would be the last time that i’ll be doing this. Haha.



4. During “Huwag Mo Nang Itanong”, they rearranged it into a reggae version and let Marcus do the vocals. Actually, Marcus does this during his gigs with Markus Highway. Jazz Nicholas (of Itchyworms) took over the drums as Raymund was frantically reggae dancing onstage. Marcus changed the first line of the song as “Chika ang inabot ko” and was singing “Hindi ko sasabihin sa yooooo” during the chorus. Ely also danced on stage (wahahaha), he never do that but he tried his very best (wehehe).





5. The audience were chanting “group hug” but Marcus heard it as “Bruha”. Ely then asked “Sinong bruha?”
6. The audience again chanted “group hug” he responded “Kayo muna!”. He saw us hug and he said “Eh ang konti nyo eh!”.
7. Raymund took over the vocals on “Slo Mo”, “Alkohol” and “Insomya”

   (I love this picture taken by Karla, they were asking the audience to sing the chorus of “Alkohol” with them)

8. 

   People were chanting for Buddy to sing solo; he mocked the audience by singing the first line of “Fabulous Baker Boy” -> “They come for me for doughnuts….”

There was a few minutes break. The Eheads were seen being lifted by a hydraulic stage. It was a ‘homie’ production set up with Ely seated at the sofa, Marcus and Buddy seated on high stools and Raymund of course with his acoustic drum kit.

2nd set (the Acoustic/Unplugged set)

Julie Tearjerky
Tikman
Wishing Wells
Fine Time
Pare Ko
Kailan
Back2Me (Plugged)
Trip to Jerusalem (Plugged)
Spoliarium (Plugged)
Overdrive (Plugged)

Highlights of the 2nd Set:

1. Raymund entered the stage with his skateboard.
2. Ely asked the audience “How do you like our new home?”
3. At the end of “Fine Time”, Ely gave Buddy the cue to sing the last line “Basta’t kayakap ka ay okey”
4. Ely joked “kung may gusto kyong i-request isulat nyo lang s 1/4 sheet of paper lengthwise tapos pabigay s waiter”.
5. Ely changed some lyrics of “Pare Ko” into “Yun pala, magaling na siya sa kama. Akala ko ay dehins pa”. Again, they’ve done this way back.
6. Ely stood up at frontstage right and sang “Kailan” with Jazz Nicholas playing the Stickerhappy piano in the background. This is the first time that Ely sang only with the accompaniment of a piano. Good job! While Ely was at the middle of the song, a guy near me shouted “I love you Ely” and Ely replied on the mic “I love you too pare”.
7. At the end of “Overdrive”, they played the outro of “Trip to Jerusalem” which goes like this.. “Spin, spin, gonna spin it around”. Again, this was never done before. Yipee!!
8. Ely threw his Puma sneakers to the audience. No, it wasn’t me who got it. haha.

There was a 6 minute break before the Encore Set. This was the tribute to one of their closest friends in the industry, Francis M. Kiko was supposed to appear during “Superproxy”. As we all know, this was the song they collaborated for Cutterpillow.

Encore set 1: (Tribute to Francis M)

Superproxy
Minsan
Alapaap
Kaleidoscope World (sang only the Chorus)
Ang Huling El Bimbo (The Finale)

Highlights of Encore Set 1:

1. Raymund stood up from his drum kit holding a folder with “Man from Manila” written on it. Obviously, that already hinted the audience that this will be for Francis.
2. Ely and Raymund sang the rap parts that was originally done by Francis. I still remember the rap part by heart.
3. Alapaap was rearranged. Ely was singing “Masdan mo aking mata” for about 8 times with the sound of sitar playing in the background. It was a mellow version; the other guys came in on the last chorus. This was the best Alapaap version I have ever heard before. Wow.
4. They sang Kiko’s song “Kaleidoscope World” but only the chorus. I remember they sang the whole song, together with Kiko, way back during the “Electric Fun” concert at the Folk Arts Theater.
5. They were finally able to sing the final song “Ang Huling El Bimbo”. To tell you honestly, I cried in the middle of the song. I didn’t anticipate the tears but it just fell down my cheeks. I think Buddy saw me crying. It’s really unexplainable. I know that I have already moved on. Maybe I cried because I finally saw that Ely is back. All throughout the show, he was enjoying himself and didn’t seem to be forced on doing something that he didn’t like. This was the Eraserheads that I saw way back when they were still together: joking around, didn’t care if they made a mistake on a certain part, etc. If i will be comparing it to the first, I like this one better because I know they were all enjoying.
6. The song ended and Ely said “ITO NA ANG HULING EL BIMBO”. During the instrumental, The unexpected happened. Ely lit up a piece of paper using a lighter and threw it on the Stickerhappy piano. It became a symbolism of the end of the Eraserheads. I don’t know if the other guys knew that he would be doing that. I think he just wanted to say to the fans to move on and apppreciate the present. I suddenly remembered Elton John as he did that too with his piano. Another famous singer I remembered was George Michael as he lit up his jacket to symbolize that the end of the “old” closet gay George Michael and the start of the out and proud George Michael.







(oh yeah, Karla took a picture of me crying. wahhh!!!!)

7. 

   There were fireworks again after the final song. They all bowed (and semi hugged ) and Ely said “We ARE the Eraserheads”. If you will notice, it was used in the present tense.

Encore 2:
Ligaya
Sembreak/Toyang

Highlights of the Encore 2:

1. Raymund came back onstage and asked the audience “Ano, gusto niyo pa?”. He asked the audience to call the others. Ely, Buddy and Marcus came back. I was able to read Raymund mouth, he said something like “Sorry…”. He was apologizing maybe because they weren’t prepared for anything for this set.



2. Ely changed the lyrics of “Ligaya” into “Gagawin ko ang lahat pati ang misis mo”…
3. Ely forgot some lyrics of Sembreak and immediately proceeded towards the last verse. Then he asked Raymund “tapos na?”. haha.
4. Ely went down to the audience and gave the mic to some people in the VIP section. Unfortunately I wasn’t one of the people who sang “Toyang” but I was able to hold his hand.
5. Ely gave Tim Yap the opportunity to sing “Toyang”, apparently, he wasn’t prepared. Lots of fans hated him because of that because it was a very common song. Well give him a break, he’s there to cover the event and was probably one of the ‘friends’ of Ely’s entourage.

Remember Ely’s jacket?? Here’s the documentation on how we divided the jacket. hehe. This is to be fair and square to everyone who got involved in this rowdy incident. haha. I have now realized that Levi’s is really good quality. A lot of effort was made to cut the seams dude!!

(This is my share; still have to decide what part to give Karla )

By the way, here are some additional videos or blogs you can view about the event:

Schizo’s You tube video- “Ang Huling El Bimbo” live stream

Karla ‘s blog post

Karla’s blog post 2

Nielsen’s YouTube video- Ely singing “Kailan” with piano accompaniment

http://zarathustralf.multiply.com/journal/item/36/Eraserheads_Final_Set_Experience_03.07.2009

Jake Yrastorza’s blog post

(if you have blogged about this one, just comment below and i’ll add it here )

]]> http://www.rockerfem.com/this-is-the-last-el-bimbo-my-eraserheads-final-set-experience/feed/ 72 http://www.rockerfem.com/my-26th-birthday/ http://www.rockerfem.com/my-26th-birthday/#comments Tue, 03 Mar 2009 01:57:17 +0000 Sharlyne Ang http://www.rockerfem.com/?p=912 Another year has passed and suddenly I am now 26. Wow. If someone asks me how it feels being 26, I would tell that person “You will only feel the difference when you’re already 27″. True isn’t it?

I didn’t have plans on my birthday. One thing I am sure of at that day is to go to SM Marikina for the Wifi Stress Event. I thought that I’ll do the usual Saturday night thing Karla and I do: eat dinner then hang out in a coffee shop. The surprise came when I one the Asus Laptop in SM Marikina. Is it really fate? I don’t know. I think it was just a coincidence, a lucky coincidence.

with Karla, Marc, Gail, Jay DJ, Aileen and Melo (the photographer ) at Biksa Coffee

Here’s the photographer with me

After the SM Markina event, some of my blogger friends and I decided to try this Thai restaurant in Marikina called Krung Thai. It became sort of an unplanned mini birthday celebration. We all enjoyed the food, we’re really gonna go back there. After dinner and hungry for more chitchatting, we headed straight to Biksa Coffee to have some caffeine rush and also abuse the free wifi there . Migs already left so it was just us.

I went home and told my mom about my new laptop. My uncle and my aunt were also here to hear my story then suddenly all of them agreed that God has been showering me with all the blessings with me not making any effort. They even told me that I should place a bet in lotto. Of course I said no. I admit that I am not really a religious person. I think that I am apathetic when it comes to that aspect. For me it really seems that everything is a coincidence. Things happen not because it was meant to be but because I just happened to be at a certain place. You might think that I am the epitome of arrogance (I hope not ) but it may be true. What if everything that happens in our lives are just accidents and coincidences? Sometimes pre-destinations (i.e. believing in fatalism) restrict our lives and sometimes hinder us to connect to reality. I don’t know, I am contemplating my deepest thoughts again here. I apologize if you’re getting drowned.

Anyway, thanks for all the greetings and who remembered my birthday. Greatly appreciated.