This morning while I am having my coffee and watching T.V., the news about the SLEX 250% increased toll fee rate got my attention.


Apparently, the increased in the toll way rates generated a negative reaction from the main users of the highway – the bus operators plying it.

This made me look at the details of SLEX development and study the benefits of the improved highway. SLEX is the longest expressway in the country at a distance measuring a total of 97 kilometers. SLEX snakes thru the following cities: Manila, Laguna, Cavite, Batangas and the near future Quezon.

All the improvements to rehabilitate SLEX cost P12 Billion pesos. The benefits of a shorten travel time, safe travel, and saved gasoline because of the improved roads are a very good news from the motorists.

I should know how it feels to travel in a very comfortable condition, I use SLEX whenever I go to the south – I believe everybody does.

I remember during my younger days travelling in SLEX, it was very dangerous – few lights, bumpy roads, congested lanes (you guess it a lot of accidents take place during night and even during daylight).

I believe that the toll operators should increase and get earnings from the venture of improving SLEX – they deserve it. Although 250% increase is very high. I propose a gradual increase so as not to shock, most especially the bus operators that use SLEX.

SLEX and other road developments are infrastructure that we need badly in order to improve our tourism and trade industry. A highway that guarantees speed and safety is what we need in order to spur economic activities.

The increase of toll rates only shows that there is a price to pay if we wanted to have progress. There can never be free lunch. There is no free lunch. If we want development, we must embrace the risk and responsibilities that goes with it.

SLEX being the longest highway in our country needs to be first class. I am willing to pay additional just to have a taste of it and free my mind from the worries that a decrepit highway offers.

I was once asked if face time matters in the midst of the proliferation of digital promotion. Can we forego meeting face-to-face in this background where a chat is possible, everyone is just an email away, facebook and other social media is so popular?


Having appreciated this question and changes in our social conditions I arrived on 3 reasons why face time still matters.

They are as follow:

1. Engagement – true engagement at that can only take place when two persons meet. There is this transaction that is very special whenever physical meetings take place. Someone creates a special bond with another person thru physical meeting. Prejudice is eliminated when you are given an opportunity to know the person on firsthand experience.

I cannot imagine creating a deep engagement thru twitter or other digital platforms.

2. Spontaneity – Interaction becomes fun and intimate because there is spontaneity. Email is a contemplated response. So does other digital media. Even chat or I.M. is contemplated response most of the times.

Spontaneity is that Special Moment that takes place during face time. It is a moment where you really have the opportunity to veer away with the actual topic and ask other topics in order to navigate the holistic properties of an individual.

There is nothing more exciting than spontaneity that leads to deeper trust.

3. Relationship – since I have mentioned trust. Trust is the prerequisite for a meaningful relationship. We can never replace the warmth and power of a handshake. Two different hands touching each other are not only symbolical but very visual as to what is taking place between two people.

Even eye contacts made by two people with each other or an exchange of laughter caused by a simple banter can never be replaced by our simple tapping of keyboards or video cam encounter (most of the times moving in a slow motion).

Something is lost in the digital plane that humans possess during face time. This very special something that is carried by the 3 reasons I mentioned makes face time a compelling activity that we must never lose or give-up because of the ease that digital platforms offer us.

In the world of business, in particular in establishing our relationship with our clients and partners there is nothing like face time.

Yes, meeting a person face-to-face despite the challenge of a sweltering heat is most beneficial in creating a long lasting relationship and business venture.

This might be a bit of stretch but if ever PNoy and those businessmen in the upper echelons of our society may allow, I propose that we create new infrastructure landmarks that will welcome the Philippines to the 21st century.


Again, this might be a wishful thinking given the big budget deficit that falls on Pnoy’s lap. But it might help if we try to push ourselves in creating something impossible possible.

There are ways to make these happen provided our leaders with vision WILL IT.

A new landmark like the Capital Gates of Dubai which has overshadowed the leaning tower of Pisa has provided a spring of confidence and pride to the nation and the people of Dubai.

Yes, we do have old and historical landmarks. But this is a different matter. These old landmarks belong to the past, worth coming back but it does not assist in projecting a fresh future for our country.

New landmarks will do the job. It will give a huge boost to the confidence of the Filipino people. It will shout to the world that we are coming to join the party of the developed countries.

I watched PM Mahathir Mohammad of Malaysia on History Channel telling stories about how he assisted in creating a landmark for Malaysia that stoke the fire of achievement to his people – I am talking about the Petronas Tower.

We in the Philippines can and must aspire to emulate our Asian neighbours in this aspect.

We must create landmarks for the future. Landmarks that will add more sheen to our history and psychologically help us aspire for a higher life and well-being.

I once have a chat with a colleague, she said that during that time when the PICC was built it was the envy of our Asian neighbours. To date, there no other landmarks yet that will cause other countries to give us a second look. There is a no landmark to cause positive feelings to our people.

I propose that we create now that landmark that will bring us back to the map of the world.

Today we celebrate the Philippine Independence Day. Amidst the flag waving frenzy and patriotic greetings among friends and acquaintances, mostly expressed in FB, my mind is flying somewhere else.


How much have we achieved as an independent nation. How many Filipinos understand Independence? Is the independence we are enjoying beneficial to the majority of the people?

There is a running joke that I enjoy and abhor at the same time. The joke is that we only feel our being Filipino whenever Pacquiao fights. Is this also holds true with our Independence? We only value it whenever someone tramples on our rights or some of our wants are restricted (I understand that most of the times are wants are just caprices).

I am sharing Jennifer Turners meaning of independence presented in different contextual level:

“Independence means the freedom to separate ourselves from personal ideologies and intellectually challenge ourselves to see the full scope of an issue in order to find real solutions for the good of the whole.


Independence means we must not depend on the opinions of others, but on the factual issues and actions of individuals and our governments.


Independence means choosing to empower ourselves with the information to independently make up our own minds.

Independence means creating a world society in which we can perceive nations through a satellite view, rather than a microscopic view, and make value judgments based on what's good for the future, rather than the present.


Independence means we have the freedom to pursue personal needs while choosing global motivations, and face the consequences of those actions, both wonderful and tragic, with the intent to learn, grow, and gain wisdom.


True independence means recognizing that every type of thought and belief system has something to teach, to offer, and that if we learn from those in our world, our chances of creating real change for the betterment of all increases exponentially.


Wisdom demands we further our own independence by freeing ourselves from the prison of personal experience by embracing realities other than our own and thereby freeing ourselves from the shackles of ignorance.”

Ms. Turner gave a very incisive meaning of Independence. The most that struck me is the last paragraph that urges us to free ourselves from our own reality and embracing a better reality. It wants us not to accept what is currently happening in our country and embrace a better country which is also hinge on our shoulders.

Every time I am caught in the middle of traffic I see beggars, mostly kids knocking on my window shield – sometimes I give and sometimes I don’t. But after passing them by, deep inside I know that I embrace their reality and I am part of their reality. And the only way to stop the vicious cycle is to replace it with a better reality that is not very distant. It is just around the corner, if only most of us – especially those who have a comfortable reality would join hands and forcefully declare: ENOUGH OF THIS BAD REALITY THAT OUR COUNTRY HAS LONG HAVE BEEN SUFFERING.

Happy Independence Day!

Now that the dust of the election campaign has settled it is time to buckle down to work.

Base on all economic indicators, like consumer price index and GNP, all is looking up. However , before anything else. Before we are drown into celebration, I would just like to request that President Noynoy Aquino and his government should prioritize in creating an International Caliber Airport.

Yes! An Airport that will awe the tourist visiting in our country. An airport that will symbolize our resurgence as a country that will grab the economic opportunity the changing world offers.

Each time I go out of the country, there is always that gnawing feeling that our airport is one of those lagging behind our Asian neighbours and the world. I know the same sentiment is shared by other Filipinos who wanted to showcase how great our country is in terms of tourism and doing business here.

No wonder our tourist visitors last year is only at three million while our Asian neighbours generated as high as 14 Million.

It is not rocket science, if we do not have the facility and infrastructure to welcome visitors we will not have visitors. Tourist visitors that can promote our country thru world of mouth when they get back home to their respective countries. Business tourists that can be encouraged to set-up shop in our country.

Even our three million visitors are mostly comprise of Balikbayans. A sad reality that does not augur well to our country.

We are declaring that we are embracing globalization and yet we are not doing anything to improve the access of our country to the rest of the world who are very eager to get inside, provided there is ease of access and security.

President Noynoy I know that the past government will leave you a big budget deficit. But please do not make it as an excuse not to create an International Airport – the country’s welcome lobby to the world.

I once attended an event welcoming a new tourism official, she said that our country is the heart of Asia. I like that and I hope the rest of the world can personally know that the Heart of Asia truly is something worth seeking and immersing for.

But only if the heart provides an accessible door way for those willing to enter – an Airport that is.

Last May I went to Boracay and use the Caticlan Airport. Inside the plane there was a US family very excited in having a vacation in Boracay. As we are about to land, our plane made a very sharp turn in approaching the landing area and then suddenly as it landed on the ground made an abrupt stop.


The mother of the US family was very shocked of how the plane landed. I overheard her swearing never to come again in this beautiful island of Boracay because of this rollercoaster like feeling she had. I feel sad about the comment and comforted myself that her perception will change once she is already basking in the sun and enjoying the white beach of Boracay.

I told myself that hopefully the plan to extend and widen the airport of Caticlan push thru.

Now, I am hearing that there is a group against this and using the environment as the reason not to extend Caticlan Airport’s landing area. Well they may have a valid point but there is a better way of safeguarding the environment vis-a-vis stretching further the airport.

I don’t know but logically if there will be more travellers that can be accommodated because on an improved airport then all these cause oriented groups for the environment is ask that a fee for improving and developing the environment be taken from the increased volume of visitors in the island.

There is a better way, a middle point to address the environment concerns. I also hope that it is really the environmental concerns that the group is after for opposing the improvement of Caticlan Airport. And not what is splattered in every major dailies that the opposition real motive is to protect the interest of another airport slightly far from Boracay.

When the x’s and the y’s are all considered, I know that a new Caticlan Airport is a more just choice. It will bring more business. It will give improve the safety of passengers that arrive and depart from Boracay. All of this redound to a better tourism and economy for our country.

Anyways, I am very excited and all pump-up to see in the flesh Al Gore, a Nobel Peace Prize Awardee. Guess what, I am seated at the VIP Section and because of that a big chance to have his pictures taken, hopefully, with me beside him.

See you there!

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After finishing "The Hunger Games" of Suzanne Collins I can't help but realize the following lessons that can help us in facing today's challenging landscape:




1. Survive by Focusing on Your Expertise

Katniss will not be alive if she did not focus on her skills. The bow and arrow which is her favorite weapon when hunting outside District 12 helped her in surviving and, eventually, winning the Hunger Games.

She realized that she cannot compete with the other 23 contestants without the bow and arrow. That is why she feels elated when she was able to have this weapon. And the rest of the story we already know.

Isn't it in real life we can only win if we use the gifts and expertise that we have?


2. The Greatest Thing We Can Do is Sacrifice Ourselves for the Good of Others

Katniss demonstrated this BIG TIME in two situations. One is by volunteering to substitute for her sister as a tribute. Second by opting to just be killed alongside Peeta, which save both of them, and be declared the winner of The Hunger Games.

Katniss also demonstrated this by supporting and providing for the livelihood of her mother and sister.

I believe that the more we help others the more we are blessed and the more good things take place even without us expecting it or when we need it badly.

3. Love provides the right decisions

Katniss loved her sister, her district, even Peeta. For this she made the right decisions by using Love as a guide.

I hope that to each and everyone of us, we can maximize Love to make the correct decisions in our life or even rectify the wrong decisions that we made.

Now, after writing all of this. I am looking forward to read Catching Fire - Book Two of the Story.