Mike Arroyo's BeachFront Home

MANILA, Philippines—Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo has not declared in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth (SALN) for the last two years a $1.32-million (P63.7-million) beachfront property in the San Francisco Bay area in California that he bought and then transferred to his wife Angela in 2006.

Recently Phil. Americans held a rally in front of his House in house at 1655 Beach Park Blvd. in Foster City, San Mateo County California witch is dug up by vera files.

The house at 1655 Beach Park Blvd. is a five-bedroom, three-bathroom, two-story house that sits on a 600-square meter lot facing the San Francisco Bay.

Data from the San Mateo County assessor’s office show that Mikey transferred the ownership of the house to his wife, Angela Arroyo Montenegro, and registered it under her name in August 2006 in what is called an “interfamily transfer.”

The Arroyos paid $1,452 in taxes when they bought the Foster City property in 2006. Last year, they paid $14,239 or P692,000 in property taxes.

Mikey, 40, wed Angela, his second cousin, on June 24, 2002. They have two daughters, Mikaela Gloria and Marie Angelique. Mikey’s father, First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, and Angela’s mother, Rosario Arroyo, are first cousins.

Angela’s father, Herman Montenegro, was president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and is chair and president of HM Group of Companies.

Shortly after Mikey and Angela were married, Montenegro became treasurer and chair of the ways and means committee of the President’s party, Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi).

Mikey could not be reached despite repeated attempts by Vera Files to get his side by phone. He did not reply, either, to questions Vera Files texted several times to his two mobile phone numbers.

(Contacted by the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Sunday, however, Mikey insisted that he had been transparent in filing his SALN since winning a seat in Congress in 2004. “I have declared everything I own in my SALN. It is self-explanatory,” he said in a text message.

(He suggested that those who have doubts contact his lawyer who prepared his SALN for him.

(“If they still have doubts, they can sue me. I don’t want to waste my time dealing with issues like this. There are far more important things to do, such as helping the government find ways to lessen the impact of the global financial crisis,” Mikey said.)

Good to know that are fellow Filipino's in California are much aware of these, They even went in front of Mikey Arroyo's house to held a rally that has been televised in TV Patrol Philippines

Another Cory Aquino Tribute

Cory Aquino Died August 1 2009 at 3:18 pm in the morning

that's 08-01-2009 3:18 Remove the zeros and put the numbers

together. Results to 8129318 rearrange the numbers to 8/21/1983

that's August 21 1983 the day Ninoy Aquino died! weird huh!

Thanks Patola for helping find the yellow ribbon video ^^

'Thank you, we love you, goodbye'

MANILA, Philippines - Loved ones, friends and strangers showered messages of grief, gratitude and farewell on the late president and people power icon Corazon Aquino last night on the eve of her burial today.

One of the most touching eulogies was delivered by a security aide of 20 years – Inspector Melchor Mamaril – who said he felt he had lost a mother . After his eulogy, he walked closer to Mrs. Aquino’s casket and saluted.

“She shall always remain engraved in our hearts. Thank you, We love you. Goodbye,” Mamaril said.

Mrs. Aquino’s younger daughter Kris could be seen weeping hard as Mamaril was reading his eulogy in English and a few lines in Filipino.

Mamaril was one of the two security escorts of the Aquino family pulled out by the government. The Arroyo administration claimed no knowledge of the order to pull them out and has since apologized.

“I stand now with a deep sense of pride and gratitude as I bid goodbye to her whom I owe so much. My wife Judy and my four children, join me in paying our last respect to one who has become big part of our lives and one who considered us as part of her family,” Mamaril said.

Mamaril said Mrs. Aquino never made him feel like a mere employee but treated him like a son, a family member.

He related that one of her unforgettable memories of Mrs. Aquino’s kindness was in 1998 when she personally prepared noodles for her security aides after coming home one day with them and finding no food in the house.

“That’s how Ma’am Cory was. She takes care of people around her no matter how big or small, She treated us not as mere employees but like a mother tending to a son after a hard day’s work,” Mamaril said.

He said the goodness that Mrs. Aquino showed him made a strong impact on his life and made him a confident person.

“I feel a sense of wonder and at the same time, I realized that her treatment raised my dignity as a person. She gave me self-respect, self worth and self confidence,” Mamaril said.

“And even when she lay dying in bed, she was always very concerned about us. She would always ask if we had eaten already,” Mamaril said.

“One could always see her compassionate heart for all those in need,” Mamaril said.

He also said that Mrs. Aquino also drew him closer to God and to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

“I can always remember those times when we have to go to churches. In those times he brought me to prayer and closer to God. I am praying the rosary now,” Mamaril said.

“She exhibited a deep sense of prayer, devotion that I believe was the foundation of her being a person of dignity and uprightness,” he said.

Mamaril also thanked Mrs. Aquino’s children and family

“We are all with you in prayer, may God continue to bless us all,” Mamaril said.

Tribute after tribute

Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr., said Mrs. Aquino and his wife the late Betty Go-Belmonte shared not only suffering caused by cancer but great faith in God.

Belmonte was one of the 19 people – including Mamaril – who spoke in the necrological services for the late president at the Manila Cathedral late yesterday afternoon.

“I am humbled and touched and influenced by two women of extraordinary faith late wife, Betty G-Belmonte and President Aquino. They were good friends. They met the first time during Ninoy’s (former Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino) death,” he said.

At the time that Mrs. Belmonte was sick she was concerned that her condition might cause her children to lose their faith in God, but they kept the faith. “Seeing now President Cory’s children, they have kept the faith.”

The Mayor recalled that when Mrs. Aquino assumed power in 1986, she appointed him chief of Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and the Manila Hotel. He was also member of the board of directors of San Miguel Corp..

He recalled that during these times, never did then President Aquino ask for any favors detrimental to the government and the people.

“She never asked for same favors for herself or her family, I realized that she was an exceptional leader, she made a difference between the people’s money and her own,” he said.

Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, who had served as head of the Manila Police District (MPD) during the Aquino administration and helped her crush several coup attempts called Mrs. Aquino “the best president” the country has ever had. He also gave Mrs. Aquino a final salute.

“We owe you so much. You are the source of our pillar of strength. What I did and what I have now, I owe to you. I salute you for the last time,” Lim added.

Gina de Venecia, the wife of former House Speaker Jose de Venecia, broke down as she recalled that Mrs. Aquino stood by her when her “so-called friends” abandoned her during the times she needed them most.

It was the late leader who encouraged her to take up painting, to help her to cope with the tragedies that came her way such as the tragic death of her daughter KC in a fire in their Makati home in 2004.

“I thank God for giving Cory, my friend. She believed in me when in times I do not believe in myself. Thank you for the gift of friendship. I will tell my grandchildren about their Lola Cory who taught me to live again,” Mrs. De Venecia said.

Before ending her speech, she added, “Now that you are in heaven please hug KC and tell her that I love her dearly and that we will meet again.”

Businessman Ramon del Rosario said that she revitalized the business section in the country and made many Filipinos proud because of her honesty, integrity, transparency and integrity.

Dr. Alex Ayco, Mrs. Aquino’s doctor for the last 30 years, said that when he got her test results some 18 months ago, he did not know how to relay the bad news that she was sick. He recalled that she was always kind to Filipino doctors and believed in their capabilities.

Fashion designer Paul Cabral said that up to now, he has kept the notes sent by Mrs. Aquino to him even if they were just reminders of some of the styles that she wanted. “These are cherished possessions of the most wonderful and selfless person.”

Sister-in-law Maria Aurora Lichauco called her as her BFF or BestFriends Forever. “I look forward to see you again but I hope not to soon.” Her comment elicited laughter from the crowd.

As for former Congressman Teodoro “Teddyboy” Locsin Jr., he said that Mrs. Aquinio's example taught him to control his temper.

Grateful

Mrs. Aquino’s only son Sen. Benigno Aquino III thanked the Filipinos for the love they had shown to his mother.

“I truly really believe without an iota of doubt that anyone will contradict me that you truly have fought the good fight you really have finished your course and undoubtedly you have kept the faith,” Noynoy said.

“Here is the Cory Aquino who knows how love each and every one of us. There is the Cory Aquino who is ready to do what is right never mind the consequences. There is the Cory Aquino who has the absolute faith in the Church and God. One who would wholeheartedly do the best she could and let God take care of the rest,” he said.

“Are we going to back to the anxiety? When my father died, we lost a leader, he was a strategist, he was our moral booster, but suddenly we lost the center of our world. I did not expect it would have a part two. Maybe I just do not want to face the truth,” the senator said.

“Do we really have to be sad because we have lost hope?” Noynoy asked. “Does the nation still have hope especially now that the one who led and inspired them is no longer around to help us everyday?”

He said looking at elementary school students who told him they were thankful for his mother touched his heart.

“Maybe we just have to bring these children closer to those who are playing blind and even deaf (to the realities),” he said.

He said the life of his mother should remind everyone that the Filipinos still got hope.

“Let it not be forgot that once there was a Camelot,” Aquino III said.

The senator recalled that his mother never turned her back when she needed to lead the Edsa revolution and even up to 2006 when there was a standoff at Fort Bonifacio to avoid bloodshed

Pedala Bike Messengers

I stumbled across this post recently and I think it helps prove its title – that Manila isn’t as ugly as we probably think it is. Thanks to the emergence of bike messengers (see the poster on the right), is now a little bit greener. Yes, the air is still filled with smoke, but at least one business isn’t adding to the pollution.

How does it compare to another courier service in town? Let’s break it down:

Based on the price listed at the bottom, Pedala is more cost-efficient – at least for deliveries within the metropolis. How about out-of-town deliveries? Come on – you don’t really expect somebody to deliver a package out of town on only pedal power, do you?

How about speed? There’s no way a bike beats motorized vehicles, right? you can check them at this site, you get the same deliver. I don’t think any other courier service around these parts boasts of that speed.

Right now I wish I had a package that needs to be delivered, but I don’t. I’m sure I will soon – maybe I can try these guys out. How about you, need anything delivered?

Budol-Budol Gang

I would like to share my experience about two fratmen who will bump in you in the streets of metro manila, asking if you would like to participate in a school survey because they need points for thier project.He is a very good speaker, a key to to fall for his bait. At the end of your conversations he will ask you to sign a paper not too far from where you are at that time, his "brod" or one of the fratmen will accompany you but you would have to leave your valuable belongings to one of the person also being interviewed, for safety purposes. He will also be asking you to list the items that u entrusted to the another interviewed person and a signature before you go, Then when you are already in the place where his "brod" brought you his "brod" will ask you to wait for a while and soon a girl also known as thier "sis" will go to you and bring you the paper to be signed. Thats it! the girl will not show up and of course you will go back to the place where you are being interviewed but you will see no trace of the fratmen's anymore. It may look easy to bust thier intentions in my story, but I assure you this guy is a good speaker that will really get your attention and trust. Hope my post will give some kind of help, who knows maybe one day you'll bump in with this guy too!

Lesson: Dont Talk To Strangers!

Online Government Services

Online government services are rampant nowadays, for you not to spend almost all day for you application just to get that card or benefits? I found a great alternative by doing it online with your pajamas! We know Internet will never run out of options and life now is fast pace, you will never have to fall in line for your application or wait for your number to be called or sometimes needing to go back because you forgot some requirements needed, here are some of good site to file an application online. citizen services Hope it helps!

Blood for Shabu

Shabu trade for money and even organs are rampant nowadays, goods are not normally delivered. Except for one: shabu.

You need not have a phone to order. You can stand on one side of the estero and just clap your hands twice, like the way comedy shows parody the rich demanding service. In a few moments, a scrawny delivery man will appear on the other side, get on an improvised raft of discarded styrofoam packaging tied together, and row to your side with the merchandise in his pocket.

No matter how bad the economy gets, it will always be boom times for shabu, in even the poorest neighborhoods like this one. Sold in tiny amounts easy to conceal and craved by countless addicts, trade in this drug - metamphetamine hydrochloride - has flourished since the 1980s, despite numerous crackdowns and government pronouncements that shabu is one of the biggest threats to society.

The sensational allegations last year by government intelligence chief Victor Corpus even portrayed a state virtually held captive by "narcopolitics," with its alleged chief mastermind, Senator Panfilo Lacson, a likely candidate for president in the coming decade. No matter the truth of these allegations, shabu does seem to have some powerful patrons; otherwise, it won't be so commonplace.

Long before mass marketing made shabu available on the street, shabu addiction had been rife among showbiz celebrities and the upper class. In some rural towns in war-torn Mindanao, shabu is the only profitable business, with rivals shooting it out for control of the trade.

In most of these places, there is at least the general recognition that shabu addiction is a scourge from which its victims need saving. Yet here in this part of Tondo, the drug seems to have been embedded as part of normal society.

The addicts here are matter-of-fact, not proud, of what they call their bisyo (vice). They are proud, though, that unlike other addicts, they do not steal to satisfy their cravings. Instead, they sell their blood to commercial blood banks, making P220 for every 500-cubic-centimeter bag.

Shared with friends, that buys enough shabu for a daylong high. The crystal-like drug comes in foil packets called piso, which are really worth P100 each; a piso packet contains two rice-grain-sized pebbles of shabu.

"It's better to inconvenience ourselves than to take from others," says Dodong, not the real name of a Tondo addict, speaking in the rapid-fire Tagalog of Manila's inner city.

Rare are the honest means for the unemployed to get quick cash. So every morning, men in shorts, sandos and slippers line up outside the nearly two dozen commercial blood banks concentrated in downtown Manila. When asked, most would insist they need the money to buy food. But Dodong and his friends say they recognize more than a few as fellow addicts.

The law requires commercial blood banks to test blood donors for a range of diseases, including HIV, hepatitis, and malaria. Those with recent tattoos are prohibited from donating or selling their blood. But there are no drug tests at these blood banks. And while little is known about the effects of receiving transfusions with blood containing shabu, doctors are sure the effects cannot be positive.

Donors are not supposed to give blood more than once every three months for the sake of their own health, but the Tondo addicts admit to selling their blood as often as once a month. Technically, of course, they aren't donors, who are motivated by a desire to help society. They are vendors of their own body fluids, driven by an irresistably powerful vice. Selling their blood is a convenient source of instant money, and it also poses little obvious risk to them. Since it is not illegal, trading in your own blood cannot land you in jail, even if you are found to have a deadly virus in your blood.

A 1994 law ordered the phase-out of commercial blood banks. But a Temporary Restraining Order by the Supreme Court and a lack of voluntary blood donors have prevented the government from abolishing the commercial blood industry, despite official declarations that it is a danger to the public. Even public health officials admit there would be a drastic shortage of blood nationwide without commercial supplies.

A desperate need for this life-saving fluid and a craving for a shabu high can conspire to give a perfectly innocent member of society - a baby or grandmother perhaps - tainted blood. But this may be lost to the likes of Dodong, who lives in a community where shabu addiction no longer seems to be something to be ashamed of.

In fact, in a group interview for television with four admitted shabu users (among them Dodong), many in the neighborhood, including a mob of giddy children, gathered to watch, as if it were a movie shoot. But what was most striking was how the addicts, all in their twenties but looking much older, acted. Instead of feeling shame at being exposed as addicts, they seemed to revel in the attention. They did ask that their faces not be shown on television, but they exhibited little discomfort talking about their addiction in the presence of neighbors. Perhaps, however, they were thinking that in their dead-end lives (they are stevedores whenever they have a chance to work) an interview about their addiction was the only recognition they might ever get.

Dodong the Tondo addict/blood vendor is proud of another fact: he has the relatively rare AB blood type, which can command a higher price in cases of emergency. This occurs when a fixer approaches him while he is lined up in front of a blood bank. A family badly needs AB blood, and Dodong is taken to a hospital and introduced to the laboratory staff as a family member.

Through the nation's woefully inadequate blood supply, the booming blood for shabu trade has found yet another horrific way to enter society's mainstream.