ONE OF my only two classmates in the graduate school told us this morning that we’ll probably not meet tomorrow because of the Pacquiao-dela Hoya Fight. Well, you know, it seems like the world stops when Manny Pacquiao step on the boxing ring. And it has always been like that.

The more will it be like that tomorrow as he faces the Golden Boy of boxing, Oscar dela Hoya. I’m sure, it will be one momentuous event in history. I am not really a boxing fan though I’ve tried it when I was kid, having lived beside a family of boxers. I have even worn the boxing gloves that Manny once used when he was still beginning his boxing career. No kidding. My cousins were Manny’s sparring mates then and they often trained near our house while we watched.

I STILL couldn’t believe I did it.

No, I’m not being a menace. I just did it for our upcoming Alumni activity.

I was assigned in the promotion of our Alumni Homecoming scheduled on December 26. (As early as April, we’ve already planned about it but we did not promote it yet because the decision was not yet final. The pioneerig batch sort of has a final say on the matter.) I did some things already to make way for the realization of our plans. I set up our e-group so that we can communicate with one another and we can gather suggestions and ideas from the rest of the alumni. I also created a website to facilitate the dissemination of information. I sent messages to alumni I found on Friendster.

In addition to these online promotional activities, Margie (co-teacher and ANSHS alumna) and I went to ABS-CBN to have our even announced on TV Patrol SoCSKSarGen’ Community Billboard and over MOR. One of the alumni now works at Bombo Radyo, so we have free announcements through the radio station.

So why did I climb up NFA’s fence?

WITH A great number of pending cases in the backlog of Philippine courts, people question whether justice is really served in the country.

The Supreme Court of the Philippines and the Provincial Government of Sarangani has an answer — setting justice in motion. In the literal sense of the phrase, Sarangani has put wheels on its court allowing it to serve people better.

Join the Forum

DO WE still have faith in Philippine elections?

I used to ask that question back in college in the midst of election fraud and the seemingly repetitive political history in the country. Together with other college friends, we organized a forum called Y! Vote: The Role of the Youth In Ensuring an Honest 2007 Elections that talked about reasons why the youth should participate in the vote. We invited government officials, spokespersons of various cause-oriented organization, and student leaders to share ideas. We also went to several places to encourage the youth to register and helped them learn how to make a wise choice in the election.

With the move to automate the election in 2010, the more should the youth be encouraged and educated about the Philippine electoral and political system.

I COULDN’T forget the fear that suddenly engulfed the whole province of Sarangani when news broke that the town of Maasim was attacked by MILF forces last August, following the abortion of the MOA on the MILF of Ancestral Domain.

Classes were suspended and schedules were changed to ensure the safety of the students. But it was worse in areas that were greatly affected, like the towns of Maasim, Kiamba, and Maitum, people were displaced, many got ill, and even some have died.

But we are very thankful that the tension had ceased. Peace has been restored. In fact, the province is gearing up for the celebration of its 16th Foundation Anniversary and 6th MunaTo Festival last week of November. Also, the whole island of Mindanao is celebrating the Mindanao Week of Peace.

The best way to celebrate peace, however, is not through attending parties and merriment.

MY PHONE is not a high-end one but I have turned it into a gadget of multi functionality courtesy of free mobile downloads.

I can now check my mail, connect with friends via IM, surf the web, and update this blog! My phone actually doesn’t support Gmail but I downloaded a mobile software that now allows me to access my Gmail account, anytime, anywhere.

I am using Globe INET, which charges me Php 5.00 per 15 minutes. That’s Php 20 per hour. I am quite satisfied with the connection speed. Maybe, I just didn’t have high expectations, taking note that I’m here in the province.

The downside of Globe’s GPRS service is that, if your connection is interrupted before your 15-minute surfing time ends, you have to pay the full 15-minute’s worth of GPRS connection. The default scheme is per kilobyte, I think its Php 0.15 per kb. That’s too expensive. That means more Php 100 per 1MB download. To shift to the time scheme, text TIME to 1111 for free.

I HAVE been contemplating to write a post about this two weeks ago but I had been very busy (an understatement) so I’m writing about it only now.

It’s true, our municipal officials, led by our Vice-Mayor Vic Paul Salarda, are preparing the necessary documents for our town’s cityhood. Two weeks ago, it was officially announced at the municipal hall. They are seeing to it that before the the congress opens this November, all the documents shall have been submitted.

There is no question about Alabel being qualified as a city. Even the Mayor of the nearby General Santos City agrees with it. On TV, he said that in terms of income, land area, and population, Alabel is ready to become a city.

So am I excited about it? Amused is more apt, I guess.

I roamed around to see if the place is really ready to become a city. The public market, a mega-market according to the signboard, is still under construction.