Our Pre-Valentine's Day Staycation at Torre Venezia Suites

Wazzup Pilipinas!

February is love month due to Valentine's Day. It is when you'll mostly see many lavishly colorful objects shaped like a heart and decorated to be romantic enough to attract the attention. Well, it could also have been during the Ber months starting September due to the holiday season, but February is also a special month for me because this is when we gained freedom from the hand of a dictator during this month several years ago. Aside from this, it is the only month where there are only 28 days (and 29 days during leap year). In other words, it is a specially unique month among other months.

This also marks the beginning of family bonding, overflowing patience and generosity with one another especially among our family members because it was on February 11 and 12, when my husband and I celebrated Valentine’s Day in advance in one of the many prestigious suite rooms of Torre Venezia Suites - a hotel located in one of the busiest commercial places of Quezon City where you could find lots of commercial establishments that are ideal venues for all kinds of special events and celebrations. 

Actually, we always try to find time to bond with our kids, especially now that they are already teenagers. Our eldest is 18, second is 17, and the youngest is 13. It is during this stage that children usually don’t like to be seen with their parents anymore simply because of peer acceptance when they want to appear mature enough to be independent and not so endearing or "malambing" towards their parents. 

Now that they are older, there's no room for excessive display of affection even in the privacy of our homes. I believe the school doesn't provide the kind of relationship training they are most likely to enter when they finish their studies. I should know since most of the useful knowledge I needed in life I learned only from outside school. The school is not fast enough to evolve together with the kids making most of the studies irrelevant and obsolete by the time they finish college.

Children nowadays don’t want to be bullied as mommy’s or daddy's girl/boy. This is the reason why we always make sure to have quality time with our kids.

The EDSA Revolution Should Be the Grandest People Power Event Ever

Wazzup Pilipinas!

"This [EDSA] anniversary is an event that to me deserves a more dignified treatment than a ‘quiet celebration’ in the guise of moving on. I believe that the truth of our past will ensure clarity of direction in our future. Moving on and forgetting may leave us in danger of making the same mistakes all over again." - Vice President Leni Robredo

If the current administration wants to celebrate the EDSA revolution anniversary in a simple manner, let's take it upon ourselves to make it the grandest event ever as our way to protest the absurdity they are trying to force into our faces.

For me, this event is what put the Philippines in the map... It was not the boxers, not the beauty queens, not even the floods, and especially not the "It's More Fun in the Philippines" tourism campaign. It's the EDSA Revolution, otherwise known as the People Power, that really caught the attention of the world.

When we overthrew a dictator who has remained in power for so many years, the world finally knew about the Philippines for having men and women who are united to fight an oppressor.

We had the dictator and his family fleeing out of the Philippines!

If we treat the EDSA Revolution like its nothing but an ordinary event, then we are forgetting how it abruptly hanged our lives for the better.

It would have been worst if the Marcos family continued their reign, and yet we see Filipinos putting them back in power. One almost made it to Malacanang, but I fear somebody is already starting to pave the way for them to return.

Honestly, I am very open when it comes to my political alliances, as every one of us should be. For it is not only ourselves that are heading for a likely downfall, but as well as the rest of the nation if we let another evil monstrosity reign again.

Evil takes many forms and they are often the ones we least expect.

A "social media policy" the Presidential Communications Office is crafting seeks to allow bloggers "to be recognized as legitimate sources of information."

However, this is in reference to pro-Duterte bloggers only.

So there's a big probability that you won't see me there at a Malacanang presscon. Lol!

I would rather blog about the truth rather than spread "fake" or "hyped" or "sensationalized" news (like what pro-Duterte bloggers do) just to get hits or views.

Media: We Break News and Not Hearts

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Sana naging media na lang and lahat ng tao.... dahil we break news and not hearts.

Though, it is heartbreaking to find out that media is again being blamed by no less than somebody who originated from media himself.

Ganun na ba talaga? Kalimutan na lang ba ang nakaraan niya. If he believes media could easily be bribed with "envelopmental ideas" then he could be talking about his previous undertakings, and what he witnessed, and was a part of during his time as a member of media.

It is so sad that we are divided by uncertainty in knowing who among them are telling the truth, and who is spreading "fake news."

I would likely believe the ones who have nothing to gain, and are not accountable to a certain "boss" rather than the ones who have been known to turn a blind eye on matters that desperately seek their attention..or those who downplay issues and twist them to ignore the truth.

Kung bakit kasi mostly "trapo" and the same personalities pa rin ang binoto natin sa gobyerno. Hindi na ba tayo natuto?

The president has arrogantly flaunted how he "kills" to have his way. We have heard his dirty mouth, and have seen how he flashes the dirty finger. But many still opted for him...maybe because the other candidates were equally unfit.

Somebody better would only step up and participate in this election circus if we change our perception of our ideal candidate. Unfortunately, money continues to take the upper hand because we are continuously brainwashed by the grandest display of wealth - celebrity endorsers, elaborate campaigns (online and offline), massive advertisements, etc...which includes the fake news coming from social media masterminded by an obviously well-funded source which only aims to misinform.

However, the same groups which are crying for "No to Destabilization" seems to be the ones who are actually doing the destabilization to keep in power, and find an excuse to declare some sort of Martial Law which could be easily disguised to be beneficial, but would be destructive in truth.

Remember all those huge infrastructures built by a former dictator and his cohorts? They were merely established to hide what they've really been doing under the noses of our fathers and grandfathers. Until now many deaths and disappearances have been left unanswered, and we are experiencing a similar thing with this "Operation Tokhang" aka "War on Drugs."

There are many people coming out with testimonies that are either being scrutinized or downplayed as mere "politically motivated" efforts. Many have been silenced as well at places that were supposed to be secure, and the cries for justice remain on deaf ears. No wonder many who are capable are leaving the country.

History will keep on repeating itself if we don't learn from the past.

Our future is doomed if we keep on making politics a popularity contest.

Unlike a reality competition where the ones who get the largest number of text or audience votes (or the judges) get to win, the real "reality" we live in should not favor those who gets to shine because they have the edge over publicity.

It's time we scrutinize our government officials deeply, and give everyone a fair chance to promote themselves equally and fairly. How to do that? Then that's another story we should all work on. I never said it would be easy.