DOT's Domestic Tourism Campaign Logo

And Here it is!

Fortunately for us, this is for the domestic tourism campaign. That means the use of colloquial Pilipino is only appropriate, in fact it's downright necessary for certain market segments.

What I can't wrap my head around is the design. Domestic campaign or otherwise, this design is not that appealing. Check the comments under the Yahoo article. A number of our countrymen find it too juvenile. A couple of people called it dated, appropriate for the 80s. According to some online papers this is supposed to be from Perceptions, Inc. which is, according to Perception's website:

Bus Rapid Transit 2

The BRT may be coming to the Philippines sooner than we think. In September 2010, the government of Cebu said they planned to undertake a BRT project with the help of the World Bank. In November 2010 Ayala Land announced a planned redevelopment of Makati which includes the implementation of a BRT system. Studies on the BRT have been around since 2005 and as far back as 2007, there have been talks about implementing such a transport solution in the country.

The Bus Rapid Transit System as a Traffic Solution

I think a lot of columnists bought a copy of Newsweek's Royal Wedding Commemorative. At the back of that issue is a mention of the bus-based rapid transit system. The BRT is similar in concept to train based systems in that both are mass transport systems with their own dedicated route and space.

White Space for Water Ways

I encountered the term white space after reading Malcolm Gladwell's Blink. White Space is a security concept that essentially means room for action. White Space is any condition that allows a person more time to react to a situation. White Space thus includes keeping crowds away from VIPs or cops standing behind a stopped driver instead of beside the driver-side window.

This concept should be included in our design paradigms for managing public spaces. Part of our enforcement problem is the lack of space to detect and deter wrongdoing. Poorly lit areas and twisty alleyways provide cover for criminals. A lack of convenient pedestrian walkways encourage jaywalking. Residences directly abutting streams and rivers encourage pollution.

GSIS goes local

GSIS has PHP32 B in offshore investments. They have recently announced plans to move those funds to local vehicles paying special attention to companies in priority sectors. The setors mentioned included energy, power, telecoms, retail. I'm not exactly sure what they mean by the consumer sector but that's included as well. If they mean consumer goods like food, beverages and clothing it means the GISIS is looking at nearly everything.

I'd like to assume that the GSIS will choose investments prudently instead of engaging in a misguided show of nationalism.

Fight vs Malnutrition

I find it apalling that the incidence of malnutrition in this country should be so high. We have several local plants containing numerous nutrients that it should be easy to gain access to them.

Take the malunggay. This plant grows well in the country, tolerating most local soil and weather conditions. It propagates quickly. It packs a lot of vitamins and minerals in its leaves and fruits. A whole tree can grow from one branch. Cut branches quickly regenerate. We had a few trees in our garden and we tried to incorporate it into our diet. Despite the frequent cuttings, the tree still grew too fast. Eventually we had to cut them down to size or the top branches would be too high to reach. Within a few days, new shoots emerged from the cut trunk.

Politicians without Pork

This is a list of Politicians who did not avail of their discretionary funds aka the pork barrel. I am writing this down for posterity. The article came from the Phiilippine Star 7 May 2010. Just in case it becomes an issue in the future we can have a reference as to how some people behaved when they were in power.

In total these people gave up P1.6Bn

Criminals In Plain Sight

Three members of the nefarious Abbu Sayyaf  were arrested recently. What's shocking is the circumstances of the arrests. One of them was working as a security officer in at a high end condo Taguig. I can assume that would be somewhwere in Fort Bonifacio: global city. You know, that city being touted as the next CBD. The same one where the International School is located..

The other one was equally interesting. He was on a date at a mall. It was a pretty large mall too - Robinsons Mall in Manila. there werer further reports he even owned a money changing business.

The last one was competing in a motocross competition in Isabela.

Live Sharks Are Worth More

Palau declared its terrotorial waters as a shark sanctuary and for good reason. The Australian Institute of Marine Science and the Uniiversity of Western Australia estimates that one thrasher shark is worth $2m throughout its lifetime. That's tourist revenue  for the country of Palau. (National Geographic Article)

That's a huge tourist draw. Plus the shark is a self generating resource so long as we let them breed. It's like people visiting a tree in your back yard and generating two million dollars over 20 or so years. And they make more of themselves!

I want to spread the word because we have similar resources, the most well known being the Donsol Whale Sharks. That resource needs to be protected from ignorance and greed:

Osama bin Laden dead

Last night I got word that US forces killed Osama bin Laden. We watched the televised speech given by US President Obama and the resulting reaction. Crowds gathered along Pennsylvania Avenue and Ground Zero to celebrate. Details trickled in but we decided to skip them, opting to hear more concise reports later in the week.

Hopefully, all that jubilation won't blind people to the fact that very violent groups continue to organize and will continue to find ways to disrupt our lives. In short, bin Laden's death is not the end of the problem. Other people may take his place in al qaeda. Other will create their own groups.

Obviously we can't get at the roots of all the things which incite these people. However, we should pay attention to those that we can get to. Political and economic problems are the root of the insurgencies in this country. Just because insurgents have a different point of view does not mean their complaints are invalid. If those are addressed and they still insist on violence then it should be obvious their goals lie elsewhere.