For tonight’s show on Straight from the Sky, we bring you a unique show dubbed “The Flavours of Ilocos Norte” with Fashionista-turned-Chef Danny dela Cuesta who did this culinary journey a few weeks ago at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel. I say that this is a unique show because in my 11-years doing this show, I only did one culinary show and that was a long time ago. The reason is there are just too many culinary shows on local and international TV. Secondly, you do not see on a TV show promoting Ilocano dishes, like Bagnet or Pinakbet. So watch this very interesting show on the food of Ilocos Norte on SkyCable’s channel 15 at 8:00PM.
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Well as the front pages of all the local and national newspapers shouted today, once again our Super Hero Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao won handily over his challenger Shane Mosley in a fight that I would consider the most boring in all of the Pacman’s fights. It was a great fight up to the 3rd round when the Pacman knocked Mosley down, while in the next round, he slipped and knelt on the canvass. But then the rest of it was a bore!
During the next rounds, Mosley and Pacman were mostly dancing around that a lot of the people inside the MGM Grand even booed. A little drama happened in the 10th round when the Pacman fell down, not by a blow from the fist of Mosley, but rather Manny was pushed and he slipped into the canvass. It was counted as a knockdown, though. But the Pacman merely laughed this out. The rest is boxing history and in a unanimous decision, the Pacman retained his crown as the World Boxing Organization (WBO) World Welterweight Champion.
But like I said, the Pacman was only 80% in that fight. We were had that the Pacman faced the greatest threat in Mosley. All that was hype! I’d say that it was his fight vs. Margarito that was his best so far. I watched this live telecast in White Sands Resort and someone in the audience said that perhaps it was because the Pacman wore yellow gloves, referring to the yellow color of PNoy, which is now a sign of weakness and ineptitude.
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Last Friday, the Philippine Daily Inquirer featured on its front page, a huge colored photo of that stolen customized Harley Davidson motorcycle built by Martin Brothers, which was apparently stolen in Houston, Texas. That specialized bike was owned by famous Hollywood Screenwriter Skip Woods, who created famous movies like Die Hard 5, GI Joe, X-Men and Wolverine. Skip Woods asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to help him find the bike, including private investigators that did a very good sleuthing job that led investigators to Cagayan de Oro last week.
Last April 30, while the 17th Annual Big Bike Convention was having its program, I walked about the various booths, looking for the BMW mechanics that fixed my bike to thank them. Then I saw this beautifully sculpted customized chopper just a stone’s throw away from the BMW displays and I couldn’t resist mounting the bike and then I took pictures of it although it was quite dark.
The next day, as our group was riding along the BUDA road from Davao City to Cagayan de Oro; we saw this bike at the back of a truck. Little did we know that this bike would be one of the many “hot” cars found by authorities in Bukidnon. It was among the 14 motorcycles, 3 All Terrain Vehicles (ATV), a Corvette Sports car and two SUVs, including a host of guns and ammunition that was raided by Misamis Oriental Police.
Well, it turned out that this was exactly the very bike I sat on and took a photo of. Of course there is now a manhunt for a certain Lynard Allan Bigcas, who suddenly disappeared when his place was raided by the police. He is not only in deep shit with the Bureau of Customs (BoC), but also with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for the guns and ammo that was confiscated during the raid.
Let me point out that this is happening during the Aquino Administration, which belies their campaign promise that if you put an honest President in Malacañang corruption will disappear. Well, obviously this is not happening. I dare say that Mr. Bigcas wouldn’t be able to do what he’s been doing without any connections inside the BoC or the AFP.
Just very recently, the Department of Finance’s (DoF) Revenue Integrity Protection Service (RIPS) filed criminal and administrative charges against the Acting Chief of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) for dishonesty and falsification of documents. No wonder we are not seeing any reforms under the Aquino administration, there’s just too many corrupt government officials who are resisting those reforms. Rather than just look for Mr. Bigcas, they should find out who are his connections in the BoC or at the AFP, then that problem can be solved.
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Email: vsbobita@mozcom.com