P2-T NATIONAL BUDGET IN 2013 TO SPUR ‘GROWTH WITH EQUITY’ – CASTELO

Rep. Winston “Winnie” Castelo (Liberal Party, 2nd District of Quezon City) today expressed support to the proposed P2-trillion national budget for 2013, saying the budgetary raise is necessary to spur economic growth with social equity in the country.

“As the embodiment of the country’s explicit and implicit policies, the envisioned P2 trillion national budget for 2013 shows the overall policy shift to sustained economic growth with emphasis on social equity,” Castelo said in a statement.

“The budget raise is expected to impact more on the poor,” Castelo said.
While he did not give a final figure, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad Jr. has earlier announced that the proposed 2013 national budget would hit for the first time the P2-trillion mark, up 11.1 percent from the P1.82 trillion national budget in 2012.

Abad said the proposed 2013 national budget would be funded by revenues, but only 2.0 percent would come from debts, also a major policy shift where the national budgets were funded in the past by heavy domestic borrowings.

While saying that no “final number” on the national budget has been set yet because the Development and Budget Coordinating Committee (DBCC) would first meet “to review economic assumptions,” Abad said the P2 trillion appeared realistic to pump prime the national economy and sustain economic growth.

The national budget, when used appropriately, is the single biggest instrument, which could stimulate economic growth and development, Castelo said, adding that foreign funds and investments appear nowhere in sight.
Castelo expressed satisfaction that the Aquino administration appeared bent to spend a significant portion of the budgetary increase for key infrastructure and social services, saying they would mean a lot to employment.

“Infrastructure spending promotes massive employment, while heavy expenditures for social services mean that the poor and downtrodden would enjoy the fruits of government spending and economic growth,” Castelo said.
Castelo also said the planned 20 percent increase in the conditional fund transfer (CCT) for the country’s 20 percent of the nation’s “poorest of the poor” households would have a tremendous impact to alleviate mass poverty and extend social services to them.

While he expressed support for a realignment of the CCT fund to extend socialized health care for the poor, Castelo said the planned increase would have positive impact in whichever way it would be employed for the poor people.

Abad said that among the infrastructure being eyed are arterial national roads, which should be finished in 2014, improved spendings in agriculture, and rice self-sufficiency in 2013.

Abad also indicated significant investments in education that by the end of 2013, the government hopes to close the classroom gap of 65,000.

“Social services and economic services like rural electrification, irrigation, roads and bridges, we are going to close, and finish the arterial national roads and bridges by the end of 2014,” Abad said.


According to him, the proposed P2-trillion budget excludes expected revenues from new sin taxes.

PENOY a.k.a. PNoy a.k.a. President Benigno S. Aquino III is burned in effigy on Commonwealth Avenue minutes before he delivers his July 25, 2011 State of the Nation Address

Editor's note: A riotous and cheerful crowd of activists from various organizations, urban poor, students, journalists and others marched today up to the point of St. Peter's Cathedral along Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City where they were met by metal barriers with truncheon-wielding policemen on the alert to prevent any further passage to the House of representatives Building Complex where President Benigno S. Aquino III was set to deliver his annual State of the Nation Address (SONA).

The crowd essentially did not agree with the spin being put out by the Palace that there were any solid achievements on the part of the Aquino Administration and they were determined to make their case before a wider audience through political theater, song, dance and mobile installation art (we will be posting more pictures as soon as possible).

Embedded below are the pictures taken by Diliman Diary editor Chanda Shahani of President Aquino being burned in effigy, and of other scenes in the anti-SONA protests along Commonwealth Avenue. At one point, the flames grew so fierce and hot that the crowd was forced to beat a hasty rereat. At the end of it all, all was left was a sad heap of ashes, and a feeling of temporary catharsis followed by the unsettled feeling that there were so many burning issues left unfixed and unaddressed by this administration.

 

The media photographing the effigy burning

U.P. Diliman's Zorro joins the rally and reads a manifesto criticizing the Aquino administration

University of the Philippines (Asterisk) Asosasyon ng Kabataang Artista at Iskolar ng UP Diliman members paint a caricature of President Aquino on Commonwealth Avenue

The finished product

 

Policemen on a bridge fronting St. Peter's Parish on Commonwealth Avenue scan the crowd

A police line on Commonwealth Avenue preventing protesters from going anynearer the House of Representatives where President Aquino delivered his speech

Members of the Panginoon Hesus Kristong Hari Espiritu Santo-Holy Spirit Government based in Tandang Sora, Q.C. calling for a change in government from one run by people to one run by the Holy Spirit Government

Q.C. Traffic Rerouting during SONA

MANILA, Philippines – The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) announced on Friday a traffic rerouting scheme along Commonwealth Ave. in Quezon City in connection with the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Benigno Aquino III on Monday.

NCRPO Regional Director Alan LM Purisima said the southbound stretch of Commonwealth Ave. will be open to traffic the whole day. He also said that four southbound lanes of the wide thoroughfare will be occupied by northbound vehicles from Shopwise U-turn slot until the San Simon U-turn slot wherein normal traffic flow for all types of vehicles will resume.

Read the rest here.

DENR-EMB holds mural painting contest for “Save Diliman Creek” campaign

Some 33 barangays of Diliman Creek and its tributaries will compete for the best mural painting in time for the national celebration of World Environment Day on June 5 and June as Philippine Environment Month, according to a press release issued on May 31, 2011 by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

According to Environmental Management Bureau Director Juan Miguel Cuna, the activity aims to promote among residents of each barangay on the importance of rehabilitating Diliman Creek and heighten their participation to ensure its tributaries remain free from garbage.

“We have asked each barangay to provide wall space where its residents can easily see the mural painting that their barangay will create. The mural will remind them of their commitment to continue working for the full rehabilitation of Diliman Creek,” Cuna said.

Open to all 33 barangays of Diliman Creek and tributaries, the contest allows only one (1) entry for each barangay. Each barangay team must have a minimum of three (3) members who are bonafide residents of the barangay. A minimum of 3 meters x 5 meters wall space or an area of approximately 15 square meters or more will be provided by the participating barangay. The theme for the contest is “Sama-sama Tayo Tungo sa Malinis na Katubigan at Luntiang Kapaligiran.”

The contest will be conducted from June 1 to June 5, 2011. Judging and awarding ceremonies will be held on June 16, 2011. To award the winners, local officials of the Quezon City government led by Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista and Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte are expected to grace the event.

A total of eight (8) winners will be awarded cash prizes of Php 30,000, Php 20,000, and Php 10,000 for the top three spots and 5 consolation prizes of Php 2,000 each. Barangay councils will also receive a portion of the prize money for first, second and third prize winners valued at Php 5,000, Php, 4,000, Php 3,000, respectively.

The competition is an offshoot of the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signing for the “Save the Diliman Creek” Program launched last April 19, 2011 during the Earth Day Celebration at SM Megamall.

Among the partners for the said program are the DENR, Quezon City Local Government, the Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association and Sagip Ilog Pilipinas Movement. The 33 local officials of barangays traversing the creek served as witnesses to the signing of the agreement and showed their support by initiating orchestrated clean-ups of creeks within their area every fourth Sunday of each month.

The Mural Painting Contest is being organized by the DENR through its Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), with support from the Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association (PMSEA), Sagip-Ilog Pilipinas Movement, and Pacific Paint (Boysen) Philippines, Inc.

Relocation set for QC residents residing in faultline area

QUEZON CITY, May 1 (PIA) - The Quezon City government has ordered the immediate relocation of 42 families whose houses stand on an area transecting the West Valley Fault Line at Gen. del Pilar St. in Barangay Bagong Silangan.

The QC officials directed the QC disaster risk management council to start sending notices to the affected families to advise them to voluntarily vacate the area, which is more vulnerable to ground rupture and potential landslides should there be an earthquake generated by the fault system.

Aside from the notice, the city government will also be preparing waivers for homeowners resisting the order. “Kung ayaw nilang umalis sa kabila ng ating mga panawagan, marapat lamang na papirmahin natin sila ng waiver na walang sagutin sa kanila ang gobyerno,” QC Mayor Herbert Bautista said.

The city government is set to file an application with the National Housing Authority (NHA) for the relocation of the affected families.

Once vacated, the city intends to plant the area with trees to determine ground and soil movements.

The order for the relocation of the 42 families was based on the recommendation made by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) during an inspection of the traces of the fault line at Barangays Bagong Silangan and Payatas.

To date, the city has already identified at least 900 property owners residing within the five meter- wide buffer zone recommended by PHIVOLCS.

Given the possible extent of the damage that QC would incur during the movement of the fault system, Mayor Bautista ordered the creation of the West Valley Fault Task Group to ensure public safety within the recommended buffer zone.

Q.C. starts mass relocation of informal settlers

QUEZON CITY, April 22 (PIA) - The Quezon City government’s mass relocation program for informal settlers has started.

Informal settlers whose houses were destroyed during a violent demolition at 6th and 7th Streets in Barangay Mariana last year were the first to be relocated by the city within the National Housing Authority (NHA) housing project at Southville 8 at Barangay San Isidro in Rodriguez, Rizal.

The city government, on orders of Mayor Herbert Bautista, has contracted shuttle buses to transport the relocatees to their new homes.

To make sure that their basic needs are met, the Mayor also gave the assurance that the city government will shoulder payments for the sub-electric meters, which is estimated at P1,000 per family per connection.

As much as possible, the Mayor wanted the city’s informal settlers to be relocated together with their neighbors to the same site so that they will not feel displaced.

QC intends to resettle before the beginning of the new school year in June some 1,500 urban poor families occupying danger zones and high-risk areas.

Informal settlers encroaching on the sidewalks and road right-of-way at Barangays Santol, South Triangle and Central, including waterways along Barangays Damayang Lagi and Tatalon, are offered priority in the relocation program.

Even urban poor families whose houses were razed by fire early this week along BIR Road are also provided relocation slots at the NHA resettlement project.

Prior to the implementation of the city’s mass relocation program, the city’s socialized housing task force headed by secretary to the mayor Tadeo Palma, organized a series of dialogue with QC’s 142 barangays to ensure that the city’s clearing operations will be carried out peacefully.

There is a continuing effort from Mayor Bautista to adopt a meaningful development plan to provide more livable communities for QC residents, especially informal settlers living in danger areas such as sidewalks, roadways, waterways, under transmission lines, and on water pipelines.

To date, the city government has already invited members of the church to a consultative meeting to address concerns on QC’s socialized housing program.

“The problem of poverty and informal settlements in Quezon City is huge. But, we can help make this challenge manageable through the pathways of collaboration and teamwork among ourselves,” the Mayor said.

According to the urban poor affairs office, headed by Ramon Asprer, there are about 28,731 informal settler families living in identified danger areas in QC.

Roving clinic to service Q.C. residents in May

QUEZON CITY, April 8 (PIA) - A state-of-the-art mobile health unit will bring various medical and health services closer to residents of Quezon City starting next month.

The equipment, which is a donation from China, is fully-equiped with modern medical facilities like x-ray machine, laboratory equipment, and operating and consultation rooms.

The health unit will also provide other services such as blood chemistry, x-ray, health consultation, and minor operation procedures.

Quezon City General Hospital director Dr. Edgardo Salud said that this particular equipment from China was turned over to the Quezon City government by the Department of Health, and it will be fully operational in May this year.

The “mobile” clinic will go around the densely populated barangays in Quezon City to conduct health and medical check-up, consultation, examination, and minor procedures for the benefit of the residents in the city.

With back-up power supply, the health unit is expected to provide continuous medical and health service to the residents even when there are power interruptions in the city.

Some good and not-so-good news regarding Philippine radioactive levels

QUEZON CITY, March 29 (PIA) - The radiation level in the country remains normal from 94 to 118 nSv/hr (nanosieverts per hour) as gathered by the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) at the institute grounds today.

Despite the good news, the PNRI is vigorous in checking the radioactivity in the Philippines as radioisotope presence has already been detected in THE country.

On March 23, the PNRI detected iodine-131 at 33 microbecquerels per cubic meter, cesium-134 at 4.2 microbecquerels per cubic meter, and cesium-137 at 5.7 microbecquerels per cubic meter.

On March 26, iodine-131 is now at 20 microbecquerels per cubic meter, cesium-134 at 0.7 microbecquerels per cubic meter, and cesium-137 at 0.7 microbecquerels per cubic meter.

“Environmental radiation monitoring all over the world including the Philippines has detected very tiny amounts of radioactive isotopes which appeared to be coming from the Fukushima nuclear power plant and which pose no human health hazards,” PNRI report said.

The institute also explained that earlier report on extreme high levels of radiation (10 million times normal) appears to be a report error. The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has already corrected the report. “Nevertheless, high levels of radiation remain inside the nuclear power plant but pose danger only to the emergency workers,” the PNRI says.

For further advisories, PNRI can be reached through telephone numbers 929-6010 to 19. (PIA-NCR/RJB/DBN)

"The Joy of Farming" project gains ground

MANILA, Philippines - Let thousands of vegetable garden bloom.

This is practically the goal of a program launched recently by the Quezon City government through the initiative of Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte with the full support of Mayor Herbert Bautista.

Endearingly called “The Joy of Farming”, the program took root at the Quezon City Memorial Circle in Diliman. It aims to set 50,000 vegetable gardens in the city.

Read the rest here: "The Joy of Farming" project gains ground

Magnitude 5.4 earthquake hits Mindoro on March 21 while it measures 3.0 in Quezon City

An intensity 5.4 earthquake on the Richter scale hit Mindoro on March 21, 2011 with this seismic event being felt as far away as Quezon City and the rest of Metro Manila, where it measured 3.0 on the Richer scale, according to the United States Geological Survey (see: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc0002804.php#summary).

A staggering 159 earthquakes ranging from intensity 1.9 to 6.1 on the Richter scale hit various provinces in the Philippines from January to this point in March of 2011, according to the USGS website, which cited data from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS).

To say that the Philippines, like Japan is earthquake-prone would be an understatement, to say the very least.

As part of our public service to the Diliman and Quezon City areas, we are reposting our article as to what to do during an earthquake. We posted this article on March 26, 2010, as when an earthquake measuring intensity 6.0 on the Richter scale hit Mindoro on that same date, and where it was measured at intensity 4.0 on the Richter scale in Quezon City (see: http://diliman-diary.blogspot.com/2010/03/public-service-announcement-intensity.html).

Bagong Silangan Schools, Smile Cithomes face closure

“Two Quezon City public schools in Barangay Bagong Silangan, which were reportedly sitting on top of the West Valley fault line, were recommended for closure to ensure the safety of the students in case of an earthquake.”

“Other than these structures, the city government, on orders of Mayor Herbert “Bistek” Bautista, is closely coordinating with the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) in identifying other government facilities such as schools, health facilities, and day-care centers that may also be earthquake risk.”

“Also recommended for closure is SMILE CitiHomes along Zabarte Road on reports of structural defects. Bautista already asked its property developer, PHINMA properties, to immediately undertake retrofitting measures to ensure the safety of the homeowners. To ensure that all safety requirements are complied with, city building official, Isagani Versoza, has been tasked by the Mayor to coordinate closely with PHINMA.”

Read the rest here: Bagong Silangan Schools, Smile Cithomes face closure

UP-Ayala TechnoHub in Diliman is a family dining destination | loQal - Travel and Outdoors | Philippines

More places for good eats in the Diliman area. loQal.ph recommends the UP-AyalaLand TechnoHub at Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City:

UP-Ayala TechnoHub in Diliman is a family dining destination | loQal - Travel and Outdoors | Philippines

Design your own burger at Teacher's Village, Q.C.

I’ve long been searching for the best burgers here. I’m consistently craving for that ultimate burger that could satisfy my cravings like that of my favorite burger joint in California, In N Out Burger.

So it was to my absolute delight to have found this small place called: The Burger Project!

What’s even better about this place is how you get to design and name your own burger! It’s having your burger your way, taken to a whole new level! So it’s really fun to just sit in this burger shop and hear the funny names that the other patrons call out.

You’ll find a lot of students and avant garde people here. It being close to the University of the Philippines Diliman (UP) and all. Of course, they also have their signature burgers you can order in case you’re not feeling like the master chef quite yet.

Read the rest here: Design your own burger at Teacher's Village, Q.C.

MMDA assigns lanes along Commonwealth Avenue

QUEZON CITY, Jan 24 (PIA) – Tagged as the “killer highway” due to the alarming number of motor mishaps credited to its name, Commonwealth Avenue will have separate lanes for buses, jeepneys, and motorcycles beginning Tuesday to mitigate road accidents and ensure safety among motorists.

Starting 4:30 a.m. today, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will assign the yellow lanes to public utility buses (PUBs), the second lane next to the bus lane to motorcycles and public utility jeepneys, and the remaining five lanes to private vehicles with two lanes reserved for U-turn slots.

The lane assignments will be initially implemented from Batasan to Philcoa and vice versa.

MMDA enforcers will also be armed with speed tracking guns to make sure motorists observe the 60-kilometer per hour speed limit along the highway. Violators will be fined PhP 1,200.

Commonwealth Avenue, according to the MMDA, has a total of 18 lanes with nine lanes going from Fairview, Quezon City to the Quezon Memorial Circle, and nine lanes going the opposite direction. (PIA-NCR/Jayson P. Leguiab)

... And it Was That Quick: A Diliman Diary Reader Has Already Correctly Identified the Creepy U.P. Diliman Photo

This is to announce that a Diliman Diary Reader has already correctly identified the U.P. Diliman photo mentioned in today's article at http://diliman-diary.blogspot.com/2011/01/creepy-up-diliman-photo.html
(please see the photo embedded below).

(Source: http://twitpic.com/3qwpep)

"The picture shown is the back of the UP Theater (Villamor Hall), known commonly as the Dalisay Aldaba Hall," said Chrismar Punzal in an email to the Diliman Diary today.

For correctly identifying this mold-infested U.P. Diliman building, Chrismar gets to win one (1) Bioessence Gold Gift Certificate. This will be at Bioessence's 47 West Avenue, Quezon City Head Office where the lucky winner will be able to enjoy a Swedish Massage in an atmosphere constituting the Ultimate Italian Spa Experience.

Congratulations Chrismar!

Creepy U.P. Diliman Photo

(Source: http://twitpic.com/3qwpep)

The above creepy photo was taken somewhere in the U.P. Diliman Campus. The first Diliman Diary reader who is able to correctly identify the building in this picture taken gets to win one (1) Bioessence Gold Gift Certificate. This will be at Bioessence's 47 West Avenue, Quezon City Head Office where the lucky winner will be able to enjoy a Swedish Massage in an atmosphere constituting the Ultimate Italian Spa Experience. Please email us at: The Editor at dilimandiary@yahoo.com by 11:59 p.m. of January 20, 2011 and we will contact the winner for further instructions. Good luck everybody!

(To enlarge the scan, just click on it)

Will Rudolph the Deer survive tomorrow's New Year's revelries at East Avenue Medical Center in Diliman, Q.C.?

This is another update to our readers who are interested in Rudolph the Deer's probabilities of surviving to live out the natural term of his alloted lifespan at a time when prime deer meat is being sought after by alcohol-fueled party goers who seek to welcome the New Year at Ground Zero: the compound of East Avenue Medical Center (EAMC) at Diliman, Quezon City. Ms. Anna Hashim-Cabrera, the Program Director of the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) has written Dr. Roland L. Cortez, the Medical Director of EAMC and this letter is being received by his office today. In effect, the letter requests for a stay on the writ of Rudolph the Deer's possible execution in order to be converted into New Year's "pulutan" or "finger food" or Philippine-style tapas.

Specifically, Ms. Hashim-Cabrera asks Dr. Cortez in the letter to allow PAWS to take Rudolph the Deer into its temporary custody at its animal shelter in Aurora Boulevard, Katipunan Valley, Loyola Heights, Quezon City pending turnover to a proper sanctuary who will care for this deer.

The Diliman Diary is earnestly hoping that the management of EAMC grants the request of PAWS not to harm Rudolph the Deer; even as PAWS is now scrambling to find a permanent home or habitat for him.

We shall keep our readers informed of future developments regarding Rudolph the Deer.

(To enlarge the graphic, just click on it)

(Rudolph the Deer. Photo by: Chanda Shahani)

Philippine Animal Welfare Society responds to the issue of Rudolph the Deer

(Rudolph the Deer is being held at East Avenue Medical Center,

Diliman, Quezon City)

Editor's note: The following is an update to the issue of Rudolph the Deer whom the Diliman Diary stumbled across last December 23, 2010. Our immediate concern is the possible imminent demise of Rudolph the Deer where he will be converted into "pulutan" or finger food in time for the December 31, 2010 New Year's revelries. To readers following this story, here are narrative threads of the progress of this story,
in the form of previous links: http://diliman-diary.blogspot.com/2010/12/update-on-rudolph-deer-who-remains.html and http://diliman-diary.blogspot.com/2010/12/merry-christmas-to-all-and.html.

The Diliman Diary is also embedding below our email correspondence with Ms. Anna Hashim-Cabrera, the Program Director of the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS). We shall continue to keep our readers updated about future developments about Rudolph the Deer.

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Re: Rudolph the Deer

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Dear Ma'am: Thank you so much for your swift response as well as Ms. Tessa's very timely reaction to the plight of Rudolph the Deer. I completely agree that a letter from PAWS to Dr. Cortez, the Medical Director of East Avenue Medical Center would be very appropriate. I would urge PAWS to have the letter received by at least December 30, as the Palace has declared December 28 to 30, 2010 as the only remaining working days of the year (please see: http://diliman-diary.blogspot.com/2010/12/malacanang-advisory-december-holidays.html). Rudolph the Deer was tied up to a very short leash in the back of the EAMC compound so if it is at all feasible (Ms. Tessa suggested in a text that there was a possibility that an institution such as Central Luzon State University might be able to adopt Rudolph the Deer), it would be ideal if Rudolph was sent to another place where he can roam freely as he was meant to. While I do not have concrete evidence that Rudolph will soon become finger food, I was brought to the security guard compound where I had the feeling that those guys were already in full party mode which usually means all-out libations with beer, revelry and food (i.e., finger food); so the earlier the letter reaches EAMC before the critical date of December 31, 2010, the better so as to put a stay on Rudolph's possible "execution." At any rate, please keep me posted about what transpires next. I would also like to take this opportunity to request if I can interview you in your office about PAWS current programs for 2011. Many of the Diliman Diary's readers are from the Diliman area and may be interested in the issues of animal welfare and the environment. Thank you very much. Mabuhay! Have a Great Day! Chanda R. Shahani Editor The Diliman Diary http://www.dilimandiary.com --- On Tue, 12/28/10, paws paws  wrote: From: paws paws Subject: Re: Rudolph the Deer To: "diliman diary" Cc: tsalazarph@yahoo.com Date: Tuesday, December 28, 2010, 9:16 AM Dear Chanda,   Thanks to you and special thanks to Tessa for her quick action on this case. PAWS is swamped with cases of checking on so many cat and dog cruelties - and it is only I (a commuter) and two volunteers with cars who can go check (when these volunteers do not have work).  We usually leave the PAWS van with the shelter to get construction or medical supplies or to shuttle animals from the shelter to more well-equipped clinics as the need arises (Doc Wil is all alone caring for about 300 rescued animals in a clinic without an x-ray and other more advanced equipment).  We really, really appreciate volunteers who can go and immediately check on reported animals and talk to people on our behalf. Thank you. =)   Re: Rudolph - As there is currently no cruelty/neglect and the animal appears to be, as you say, in good health, I can write to the medical director to appeal to him not to make Rudolph into pulutan (what should I mention is making us think that he is going to be pulutan?) .. and to let him live out the rest of his days in that area. Is this ok?   Please let me know. (My mobile number is 09178315970)   Thanks.     Anna Hashim-Cabrera Program Director The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) Telefax: 475-1688  Office hrs: Mon to Sat 10am to 5pm Please spay or neuter your pets. Help shelter animals by adopting, volunteering or by making a contribution: PAWS' BPI Account Number 3944-0021-61 www.paws.org.ph  --- On Mon, 12/27/10, diliman diary  wrote: From: diliman diary Subject: Rudolph the Deer To: philpaws@yahoo.com Cc: tsalazarph@yahoo.com, dilimandiary@yahoo.com Date: Monday, 27 December, 2010, 6:16 PM Dear Sir or Madame: I had earlier emailed to your good office (PAWS) the link to a brief dispatch I had uploaded in the Diliman Diary about a deer I had stumbled across while walking along East Avenue on the way to U.P. Diliman (Please refer again to tha atached link at:http://diliman-diary.blogspot.com/2010/12/merry-christmas-to-all-and.html). I had come across "Rudolph" the deer on December 23. Today, I received a text from Ms. Tessa, one of your volunteers asking about updates to the case, so I decided to travel back to East Avenue today to check up on Rudolph. Ms. Tessa advised me to be very diplomatic, ask them not to hurt the deer, but to invoke RA 8485 as my basis for interest in th deer's welfare. I did my best to follow all these instructions to the letter. When I got there, I discovered that the deer was not located as the SSS compound at East Avenue in Diliman (that was a mistake on my part and I have corrected my dispatch in the Diliman Diary to reflect this), but at the adjacent East Avenue Medical Center, also located at East Avenue, Diliman, Q.C. I was intercepted by some security guards, and I explained to them that I wanted to check up on the deer, because it was no longer visible from the main road. The guards were very courteous, but they did not allow me to take pictures of Rudolph the deer, although they did let me visit him (he looked outwardly health as of today). I was able to take pictures of Rudolph last December 23, because he was visible from the main road back then. The guards asked me what my purpose was, and I said I was representing the weblog, Diliman Diary, but that I was also coordinating with PAWS. I gave the guards a copy of RA 8485 and asked them who was the owner of the deer. They told me the owner was the Director of East Avenue Medical Center. I asked them if it was okay if a letter was written to the Director, asking for custody of the deer (although I would not know what to do with it, but I am assuming PAWS has a better grasp of what to do inasmuch as relocating a wild animal is concerned once custody is obtained), and they advised that the letter should be addressed to the following: Roland L. Cortez, M.D. Medical Director East Avenue Medical Center East Avenue, Q.C. Trunk Line: 928-0611 Please advise me what to do next as I am just a humble blogger. I am willing to help, but I think my efforts would have more teeth if any organization with the stature of PAWS was involved. I hope Rudolph is not sacrificed for some New Year's celebration, which is a distinct possibility in our macho, alcohol-fueled Pinoy culture. Hoping for the best. Best regards, Chanda Shahani Mabuhay! Have a Great Day! Chanda R. Shahani Editor The Diliman Diary http://www.dilimandiary.com