OFFBEAT MAIL

Filipino boxing champ Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao. After Filipino boxing champ Manny  "Pacman" Pacquiao beat up Mexican-American Brandon Rios to win the IBF welterweight belt in Macau on November 22, 2013, he felt ecstatic to be back home owing to a warm welcome accorded to him and his team by the people of General Santos City, Mindanao for bringing another prestige to the Philippines. Obliviously, Pacman never knew that another legal battle was looming in the horizon. This after the Philippines' Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) came out with a Notice of Garnishment that led to the freezing of his bank accounts in Metro Manila for his failure to pay his taxes for the years 2008 and 2009. Why is this so? According to BIR chief Kim Henares, Pacquiao failed to settle his tax problems amounting to some P2.2 billion for the years 2008 and 2009, despite the two-year grace period given to him by the tax bureau. But Pacquiao said in an interview that his lawyers ...

A mangrove swamp. Photo: Wikipedia Will mangroves be an effective barrier against onslaught of  stormy waves? In the aftermath of widespread destruction in Eastern Visayas brought about by super typhoon Yolanda last Nov. 8, 2013, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) was immediately tasked to come out with an effective plan to at least mitigate the negative impacts of super typhoons upon the coastal areas in the areas devastated by the recent calamity . The DENR's task at hand seems to be a gargantuan feat that needs extra-cautious attention from those who are supposed to undertake the project. The topic I'm referring to revolves around a scheme that will identify coastal areas facing the Pacific Ocean to be planted with mangroves. According to Wikipedia, "mangroves are various types of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes 25° N and 25° S. T...

Firemen help retrieve a body from the heaps of debris. Photo: Flickr From what I've witnessed on the boob tube a few days after super typhoon Yolanda (international code name; Haiyan) struck Eastern Visayas, the influx of people had flooded the airport in their desperate attempt  to escape the devastation and hunger in Tacloban City and elsewhere in Leyte and Samar. I could see their turgid faces painted with frustrations and fears. From media interviews, they said that they just wanted to get away from the bad situation for a while. Their destination was either the cities of Manila or Cebu. However, the C-130 cargo planes of the Philippine Air Force and US Air Force could only accommodate at least 170 people each. The situation had left more and more people scrambling to have a free ride to their destinations. As desperate people lined up at the airport, relief goods distributors, rescuers and cleaners from Metro Manila and other foreign countries were busy doing their dut...

Supreme Court of the Philippines The latest Supreme Court's ruling that declared the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), also more popularly known as the "pork barrel funds",unconstitutional was unexpected. At this time, when the Philippines is faced with the on-going problem on massive rehabilitation and rebuilding of the infrastructures damaged by the strongest super typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) that ever hit the Philippines, the government will surely be rendered helpless in carrying out its mission to fast-track whatever it has started to normalize the grim situation in Tacloban City and the outlying towns and villages in Eastern Visayas. As of press time, the Camp Aguinaldo-based National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) has confirmed the death toll at 4,011, with more than 18,000 injured and more than a thousand people still missing. In fact, the magnitude of destruction brought by Yolanda in Central Visayas was mu...

Big waves  put this ship in the midst of ruins. ABS-BCN anchor and radio commentator Korina Sanchez  had reacted negatively to the reports  of CNN reporter Anderson Cooper who witnessed the extensive devastation on the ground while covering and interviewing victims of the recent super typhoon that flattened out most parts of Easter Visayas as it made a landfall in Guian, Eastern Samar, Philippines,  six days ago. In a report at the www.inquirer.net, it described Sanchez, the wife of the current Philippines Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas, as saying: "This Anderson Cooper, he said there is no government presence in Tacloban City. It seems he doesn't know what he is saying." The Inquirer reported that Cooper was actually covering what's happening on the grounds in Tacloban City where he talked to several victims of the super typhoon "Yolanda" as it flattened almost everything in its way as it exited to the direction of Vietnam. And ...

In the wake of the Boston marathon bombing, immigrants and tourists alike, especially those whose last names in their passports appear strange should be closely scrutinized before they are authorized to enter the United States. Why is this so? The federal government wants to ensure that that those who are allowed to visit America will not sow chaos and violence during their stay in the American soil. The first time the U.S. federal government had tightened screening of individuals entering the United States borders and ports took place after the 9-11 incident which killed at least 3,000 people when terrorists crashed two commercial airliners onto the Twin Towers in New York City. Could the two bombing suspects planned the bombing a long time ago as part of their mission? Nobody can tell at this point in time. And while the younger suspect is still recuperating and not talking in a Boston hospital, extracting those bits of information that are vital in finding out the bombers...

Developing countries are urbanizing fast. To meet the challenges that creates, city leaders must move quickly to plan, connect, and finance resilient and sustainable growth. A new World Bank report provides a framework to help. Today’s developed countries urbanized mostly gradually, their cities expanding over a period of 100 years or more as jobs shifted from farms to factories. The pace allowed for trial and error in growth patterns and policies. Developing countries today don’t have that luxury. They’re facing rapid migration that will tilt some populations from less than 20 percent urban today to more than 60 percent in just 30 years. City leaders must figure out now how they will provide the affordable homes, transportation, jobs, and basic infrastructure and services necessary to support already ballooning urban populations, do so with the least impact on the environment and prepare for increasing vulnerabilities stemming from climate change. A new World Bank report, Pla...