Famous Pinoy Suicides (2001-2011)

Suicides are not uncommon in the Philippines. A lot of Filipinos have resorted to this means of death due to depression, substance abuse and other various reasons. And with the recent suicide of former AFP Chief Angelo T. Reyes, let us look back on other suicide cases which captivated the imagination of the Filipino public.

Maria Theresa Carlson (2001)

Maria Teresa Gerodias Carlson was Miss Young Philippines 1979 and went on to represent the country in the Miss Young International Pageant in Tokyo on the same year. Her pageant fame landed her a showbiz career which led her to appear in the hit sitcom Chicks to Chicks with the trio of Joey De Leon, Tito and Vic Sotto.

Carlson's road to suicide began in 1982 when she married Rodolfo Farinas. Her marriage to the Ilocano politician attracted media attention due to allegations of physical and sexual abuse suffered by Carlson in the hands of her husband. In 1996, she appeared in the investigative program Probe to detail claims of abuse she suffered. Farinas reportedly subjected her to water torture and other forms of physical abuse.

Carlson ended her life on November 23, 2001 by jumping from the 23rd floor of her Greenhills, San Juan condominium.

A.R. Santiago (2003)

Alexander Robert Santiago is the youngest son of Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago.

The aspiring law student from the Ateneo Law School committed suicide on November 20, 2003 by shooting himself in the neck inside his room at the Santiago residence in La Vista, Quezon City. The young Santiago was reportedly depressed about not being admitted at the University of the Philippines College of Law after failing the subject on Constitutional Law. He was also asked embarrassing questions about his mother's alleged "insanity" and his father's gambling activities during his application interview at UP, an event which really bothered the young Santiago up to the day of his suicide.

Teddy Borlongan (2005)

Teodoro C. Borlongan was the last president of the now-defunct Urban Bank.

During his presidency, Urban Bank was closed by the Bangko Central ng Pilipinas for failing to meet withdrawals. The bank was placed under the receivership of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation and eventually merged with ExportBank in 2001. Meanwhile, Borlongan and his associates faced allegations of estafa and economic sabotage for their role in the bank closure.

Reportedly distraught by his colleagues' betrayal during the bank mess, Borlongan committed suicide on April 11, 2005 at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina, in a car parked near his parents' grave by shooting himself in the head. Six years later, Angelo Reyes would emulate his style of suicide.

Rod Strunk (2007)

Roger Lawrence Strunk is the principal accused in the murder of veteran Filipino actress Nida Blanca in 2001. Strunk and his co-accused Philip Medel reportedly stabbed Blanca to death inside her parked car in Greenhills, San Juan. Strunk moved to the United States to escape prosecution in the Philippines and successfully fought extradition requests by the government.

Prior to Blanca's murder and his suicide, Strunk was a television actor and singer in the US during the 60s. Strunk met Blanca in the US in 1979 and relocated with her in Manila after their marriage.

Strunk ended his life by jumping at the 2nd floor balcony of his hotel in Tracy, California on July 11, 2007.

Trina Etong (2009)

Trinidad Arteche Etong was the wife of veteran ABS-CBN broadcaster Ted Failon.

Etong's suicide in 2009 was very sensational with both ABS-CBN and GMA following the story to the detail. Etong was found dead in the bathroom of their home in Quezon City due to a gunshot wound in her head. Initially, police suspected murder with Ted Failon as the prime suspect after police found out that the broadcaster tampered with the crime scene. However, further investigations cleared Failon of charges.

Etong reportedly took her life due to undisclosed financial problems.

Angie Reyes (2011)

Angelo Tomas Reyes was the Chief-of-Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines during the Estrada Administration (1998-2001). His withdrawal of support for Estrada was a pivotal moment in the 2001 EDSA Revolution which put Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo into power.

His loyalty to the Arroyo administration earned him various positions in the government, serving as secretary to the Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Defense, Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Department of Energy. In the 2010 Philippine Elections, Reyes attempted to run as a party-list representative for the transport group 1-UTAK but was dropped by his party members after being disqualified by the Comelec. In 2011, Reyes was accused of being involved in large scale corruption in the Armed Forces during his time as Chief-of-Staff. He reportedly received as much as Php 50 million in "send-off" money during his retirement. In the subsequent Senate inquiry on the issue, Reyes was embarrassed by the accusations made against him by some senators which led to his depression.

Reyes committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest in front of his parents' grave at the Loyala Memorial Park in Marikina City on February 8, 2011.

GMA News TV: Pwede Na!

This is the only thing I can say about the line up of shows presented by GMA for their upcoming News TV, which is an all-news channel to be launched starting February 28. While the programs are not yet at par with that of CNN, BBC or even ChannelNews Asia, it does edge a little bit closer with ANC and will definitely give Aksyon TV a run for its money. Let me put in details my impressions about the programming:

News on Prime Time. Keeping news updates at the prime time slot on TV is not really a surprising move since it is what kept News on Q from rating as well as the primary objective of the channel. However, I can't feel a bit nauseous about the idea of Brigada (hosted by Jessica Soho) and State of the Nation (aslo hosted by Soho) in the same prime time slot. If we are to have Jessica Soho in prime time for two hours, I would say its quite nakakaumay. I hope they considered retaining the old News on Q anchors Rhea Santos and Ivan Mayrina.

News to Go. I like this idea of fast-paced, mobile news. I just hope they really go full steam ahead on this to the level of really maximizing the technology they have in their hands. I hope to see interactive maps, touchscreen display of news and information, more savvy presentation of Tweeter and Facebook feedback, and state-of-the art weather and traffic reports. GMA is a trendsetter in the use of technology in broadcasting. Better live up to its name.

Simulcast. I've been watching Teleradyo and RHTV and I have to say the two are light years away. Teleradyo has these cool graphics interface for the news. They have nice studio sets and program graphics. I hope The simulcast programs like Dobol B sa News TV goes way beyond that. It will also do GMA a lot of good if they switch to digital signalization for radio.

Talk Shows. They took out Tonight with Arnold Clavio which is one of my favorite shows in QTV. With a little facelift, that show could've been at par with CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight or BBC's Hardtalk. Biographical sketch shows have also been taken out such as True Stories and Reunions (which I think is really doing great public service and very unique to TV). There were good shows in QTV that they took out.

Stuffed with Food. If they don't take away Sarap At Home (hosted by Sam Oh), I will be totally disgusted at how News TV will saturate viewers with cooking shows. Quickfire is just enough. (Thank God, they removed Delicioso, My Favorite Recipes and the likes). This is an all-news channel, not a lifestyle channel. Better if they transfer Sarap At Home to GMA 7 itself.

GMA News TV logo

Drawbacks. The two biggest drawbacks of News TV perhaps is its failure to deliver business and tech news. When I first heard about it, I was really hoping that channel would deliver business and tech news that the masa audience would understand and relate to. I think GMA should have considered these themes too and not just relied on ideas that they think would rate. The reason why most people in this country doesn't really relate to business and entrepreneurship is because they don't have programs on TV that helps them understand those subjects. I challenge GMA to come up with these programs in the long run of News TV.

In the end, its too early to tell. GMA is a very progressive news organization that is always open to innovation, new trends in the industry, and of course, feedback. I will definitely be watching News TV with quiet anticipation that my suggestions will be considered. After all, basta sa pagbabalita, GMA lang ang mapagkakatiwalaan.

GMA News TV Channel 11 starts airing on February 28, 2011. Dahil Oras-oras, Alam ko!

Spotted: Manny Pacquiao's "Crib"

8-time, pound-for-pound, boxing champion and Saranggani congressman Manny Pacquaio's Los Angeles home has been featured in MTV Cribs show this February. He is the first Filipino to ever come out in the show and the first time the public will be getting a glimpse at his "humble" abode. The plush LA home located in the Hancock Park neighborhood of the city is reportedly worth $2.3 million dollars according to Yes! Magazine. It has two-storeys, four bedrooms, and backyard swimming pool. In the episode, Pacquaio eagerly tours the crew around the house, showing off the various rooms and its furniture -- all in his trademark carabao English. Fruits of his profitable boxing career are clearly seen in the video, with Pacquaio affording a really posh dining table, a stylish bathroom and custom-built bedrooms designed to match his children.

You can see more of the video below:

Botcha Solutions!

"Magkano ang kilo nito?"

Botcha naman oh?!

Everything seems to be botcha these days. Double dead hog meat, double dead chicken meat, even carnapped cars. Haha!

But you know, I have these really cool suggestions on how people can make use of double dead meat instead of selling it to unsuspecting consumers. I am sure these suggestions, once followed, won't land you in jail and could even be potential sources of thousands (even hundreds of thousands) of bucks! Haha!

Here are some creative solutions to botcha problems:

Dog food. Delicious. Try one!

1. Animal Feed
Poultry farms can earn lots of bucks by processing this double dead meat into cooked animal feed. Can it, brand it, plus with a good marketing ploy, botcha can give Alpo and Pedigree a run for its money. You might be worried that its unclean, but a thorough cooking process can destroy all sorts of pathogens in botcha, including E. Coli and Salmonella. In fact, if the meat is really clean and did not die because of disease, you can sell and use it in raw feeding pets. Raw feeding is a practice that’s becoming popular among pet owners these days as it helps in pets’ dental health and prevents regenerative disease (Pottinger, 1995) compared to cooked meat.

2. Organic Fertilizer

"Want me to stuff this in your face?"

Now if you’re still having doubts about using botcha as animal feed, turn it into compost and make it your cash cow! Stuff all the botcha meat in a grinder, put it in a cement mixer or a rotating drum, mix with garden soil and a tablespoon of your generic decomposing agent (available in all fertilizer stores), give it a good rolling and boom – in a few weeks you have compost that you can sell to farmers, gardeners and plant hobbyists. Not only good for the plants but good for the environment too!

To those crooks smuggling botcha in our markets, I suggest you make an industry out of botcha through these two suggestions I gave. Save yourself the media exposure and the jail time!