Top Ten Jaywalking Punishments

Jaywalkers beware!

With the intensified campaign by QC Department of Public Order and Safety (DPOS) along Commonwealth Avenue, your street crossing days are numbered. Either you use the appropriate foot bridges or run as fast as you can at the sight of a DPOS traffic enforcer.

Did you know jaywalking is a compound word, from the words jay (n. an inexperienced person) and walking? But apparently, most jaywalkers in this country know what they're doing. They know that they could get killed or apprehended. They just pretend they don't know.

Anyway, I thought of ten things that the DPOS could do as alternatives to the usual punishment being given to jaywalkers (aside of course from the classic National Anthem singing).

1. Shine shoes for DPOS traffic officers and other passersby.

2. Distribute leaflets containing warnings on jaywalking.

3. Command traffic for 2 hours complete with dancing moves.

4. Get tied to a traffic light post with a placard written, "Jaywalker po ako!"

5. Instead of the usual National Anthem, sing to tune of "Baby" by Justin Bieber.

6. Read the Bible out loud with a mobile loudspeaker in the middle of the footbridge.

7. Clean filthy canals and sewers at the Commonwealth Market.

8. Disperse sidewalk vendors along Commonwealth Avenue.

9. Do photocopying work at the QC City Hall.

10. Wash motorcycles and other patrol vehicles by DPOS Officers.

Commonwealth Avenue is just the start. More major thoroughfares to follow!

What I Want in GMA's All News Channel

I have to admit, I'm a news addict. When I open my Internet browser, the first thing I search for is news either in Yahoo! News for international events or GMA News. When I am on the move, I browse for news in my cellphone thanks to GMA 7's new mobile platform and to TV5's RadyoCinco. I keep tabs with the freshest events here and abroad through GMA 7's Balitanghali and 24 Oras or through CNN and BBC when we had cable service back then.

Sometimes, I get so saturated with news that I find myself frustrated at why GMA 7 or CNN keeps on reporting the same things over and over. Most of the time too, I get to compare how news organizations deliver the news as well as the innovation and aesthetics involved in presenting it. I don't really like the tabloid approach our news organizations use in reporting. I always wonder when we are going to have a news channel that could really be at par with CNN or BBC in delivering news and information.

Dear 711

The winning photo by Oliver Dionela

To my readers, do you remember the Pepsi Number Fever Scam during the 90s? Or how about the more recent Wilyonaryo fiasco in Willie Revillame's Wowowie? These are well-known promotional flops that has taken our country by storm. Now, another promotional flop is about to unravel.

I am writing out of disappointment for the results of your Ticket To Ride Facebook promo. I saw the winning entry taken by a certain Oliver Dionela and I can't help but revolting in my computer seat upon seeing it. I decided to read the mechanics of your contest again and here's what I saw:

3. Upload a photo of yourself in any form of transportation on the wall of 7-Eleven Philippines. Your "ride" can be a car, a bike, pedicab, jeep, horse, etc. You can get creative!

- From the General Mechanics of the 711 Ticket To Ride Facebook promo

Spotted: The Homeless Man with the Golden Voice

What do you do with a God-given gift despite being in the dumps? Well, this guy sure knows how.

I've been following this guy in YouTube for the last two days now too see if he's really going to be sensational. And God, I'm really stunned at how Ted Williams of Columbus, Ohio managed to nail it. He's one success story that people would be really touched to hear more than Will Smith's Pursuit of Happyness.

Highways to Hell

Halsema Highway in Benguet province

I woke up today to news of a freak road accident in Batangas City that killed 7 members of a clan. The Festijo family were on their way home to Mandaluyong City aboard their jeep along the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR) Tollway when a Gasat Bus Lines bound for Iloilo City rammed then head on from the opposite lane crushing the jeep into bits and injuring 4 more in the family. The family had just spent a wonderful Christmas and New Year holiday in Batangas when the accident happened.

Road accidents are not a surprising event in this country. The Philippines has one of the most dangerous network of roads in Asia with thousands dying annually in roads that are not monitored and not maintained well. To inform the public which roads are considered the most dangerous in this country, I’ve decided to do some research. Most of my data came from various news agencies such as GMA News, ABS-CBN News and Public Affairs, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Wikipedia.