Salvaging of M/V Princess of the Stars to start Sunday

from: GMANews.TV

The Player in Me

Champion volleyball players do not become as good as they are in an instant. It takes years of training hard to become good enough to compete at the professional level. Champions are winners because they have mastered the fundamentals,not because they dream up awesome plays. For this reason all coaches, players, officials, and students of the game need to give that 110% that's needed to achieve the ultimate goal of success.

I played volleyball since Grade 6. My Coach then was Mr. Ado Tansiongco, a known sportsman and teacher. He became my mentor, my father, and a friend. I learned basic volleyball from him. He teaches me to develop discipline, to stay healthy, and to study hard while playing. He was a good coach. A very respectable person.

When I was in High School, I continued my journey as a volleyball player. Mr. Tingtong Rollon, was my coach at that time, now a retired teacher and Barangay Captain. He is one of the most dedicated and deserving person for the job. I learned a lot from him. I trained for 2 months a year, 3 times a week before the District Meet, a competition between schools (Magdiwang, Cajidiocan and San Fernando). My record as a member of Magdiwang Volleyball team was 3-0 for three consecutive years. I did not join the team during my freshman in high school.

When I was chosen as one of the players to represent the Island of Sibuyan for the Provincial Competition, known as Provincial Meet. Take note, majority of the players came from Magdiwang. I remembered some of them, John Paul Morgado, Juan Rotoni, Nino Noel Tansiongco, Joel Loyola and Hadji Fabellon. Our team took 2 Championships, from 1997 and 1998.

In college, I still played volleyball, but not as a varsity player. I prefered to focus on my studies. But, I still managed to play my favorite sport. An inter-department competition held every year in our school. Our department, took 2 Championships.

Those days are gone, but the friends, the companions and the memories I earned cannot be forgotten. Thank You Guys!

My ZTE 321 CHINA Phone

I bought my china phone last November 2007. The price then was P7,000. I love the 3D sound, the Analog TV, the dual sim and even the life of its battery, it can last for 5 to 6 days. The only problem with this kind of phone, is the availability of its parts. As we all know, here in the Philippines, there are Service Centers for Nokia, Samsung, Sony Erickson. In other words, this kind of phone is disposable. Once the LCD is broken, then you need to buy another phone.

FEDERAL AGENT ENTRANCE EXAM

One of my dream is to become a federal agent someday. Hmmh, wow federal agent ha, like Jack Bauer of "24" hehehe. My officemate used to be a member of the ISAF for almost 10 years, but he was detailed in our office since 2004. This guy knows everything, computer troubleshooting, computer hacking, different illegal activities, and how to deal with different persons. One day, he gave me a site address, a very interesting link, that needs some patience to solve.

http://www.killwithme.com/

Guys, take your time, I managed to finish this test for 12 mins.Good luck.

Survivor Philippines

GMA-7 has finally revealed the identities of the 18 castaways (originally 16) that will compete for the three million pesos cash prize—tax free—in the first-ever Survivor Philippines, hosted by Paolo Bediones.

The 18 castaways, nine males and nine females, were chosen out of more than 43,000 Survivor fans and aspiring castaways who auditioned nationwide.

The 18 castways were initially divided into two groups: Naak and Jarakay, which means snake and crocodile, respectively, in Thai language. Every three days, they will battle for reward and immunity. On the third day, one will be eliminated until only two or three castaways are left. From them the Jury, composed of voted-out castaways, will determine who will win the three million pesos cas prize and the title of the first Pinoy Sole Survivor.

Survivor Philippines will be aired nightly on GMA-7 after Ako Si Kim Samsoon starting September 15.

The official 18 castaways

"Call Center Cutie"
Name: Leona Rica "Nikki" Dacullo
Age: 21
Address: Tacloban City
School: RTRMF
Parents: Mrs. Narisa Dacullo
Pageants Joined: Mutya Ng San Jose 2001
Miss Pintados 2006
Occupation: Call Center Agent
Friendster: Nikki Dacullo

"The Model"
Name: Kristina "Kaye" Alipio
Age: 20
Occupation: sexy lingerie model

"Taekwondo Champion"
Name: Veronica "Vern" Domingo
Age: 29
Address: Bacoor, Cavite
Occupation: Taekwondo Coach
Friendster: Veronica Domingo

"Bisayang Palaban"
Name: Chevyline "Chev" Macias
Age: 26
Occupation: former GRO

"Farmer Girl"

Name: Vevherly "Vev" Gador
Age: 19
Address: Cebu
Occupation: Criminology Student
Friendster: Vevherly Gador

"Smart Babe"
Name: Anna Charisse Yacapin
Age: 26
Occupation: Product Officer
Facebook: Anna Charisse Yacapin

"Ang Yaya"
Name: Jervy "Patani" "Tanya" Daño
Age: 20
Address: Talisay Cebu
School: Camotes National High School
Occupation: Baby Sitter
Friendster: Jervy Dano

"Sporty Mom"
Name: Maria Nona "Niña" Ortiz
Age:
Ocuupation: designer/wellness coach

"Ang Labandera"
Name: Zita Ortiga
Age: 46
Occupation: Laundrywoman

"The Hunk"
Name: Reynaldo "Jace" Chanco Flores, Jr.
Age: 19
Occupation: gym instructor/mixed martial artist

"Ang Mekaniko"
Name: John Anthony Lopez
Age: 27
Address: Bicol
Occupation: auto mechanic/model
Friendster: John Anthony Lopez

"Hardcourt Heartthrob"
Name: John Carlo "JC" Tiuseco
Age: 23
Address: Manila
School: San Sebastian College
Occupation: NCAA basketball player
Site: John Carlo "JC" Tiuseco Xanga Site


"The Driver"
Name: Crisanto "Cris" Cartagenas
Age:
Occupation: Company Driver

"The Technician"
Name: Emerson Dino
Age: 31
Occupation: Technician

"The Lone Rider"
Name: Cesar "Gigit" Sulit
Age: 48
Address: Sagada, Mountain Province, PH
Occupation: web designer/mountaineer
Friendster: Cesar Gigit Sulit
Cesar Sulit Website: TheLoneRider.com

"Waiter"
Name: Marlon Carmen
Age: 30
Address: Paranaque
Occupation: Waiter
Friendster: Marlon Carmen

"Free Spirit"
Name: Raymund Francis "Kiko" Rustia
Age: 27
Birthday: September 1, 1981
Address: Quezon City
Occupation: Model
Site: Raymund Francis "Kiko" Rustia Blog

"Lover Boy"
Name: Robert Vincent "Rob" Sy
Age:
Occupation: sales officer

The Mystery of Pier 12

In the aftermath of the MV Princess of the Stars maritime disaster, the blame culture once again reared its ugly head in the local maritime industry as accusing fingers flew all over the place. Sulpicio Lines even had the nerve to put the blame on PAG-ASA for its erroneous weather bulletin on typhoon Frank. Why? Does PAG-ASA own the typhoon that it really does not have control of? It’s a lot different in the case of Sulpicio Lines because it owns MV Princess of the Stars and it has full control of its ship whether it wants it to sail in bad weather or not. Officials of the company said that they left the discretion to sail with the captain. Yeah right! Tell me about it. If the captain did not sail because of bad weather, do you think the management would be very happy losing a couple of millions in that Manila-Cebu trip? Then, there’s the brewing issue between Sulpicio Lines and Del Monte over a chemical shipment. While all these make up for ‘newsworthy’ items in today’s media, these only obscure the real issue at hand.

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Without meaning to make a parody of the tragedy, the real issue is getting to the bottom of the mess so that appropriate actions can be take n to minimize, if not prevent, future maritime disasters. How can we minimize sea tragedies if the Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI) only gives culpable parties mere slaps on the wrist? Did you know that Sulpicio Lines was not meted a fine for the MV Doña Paz - MT Vector collision on December 1987? Did you know that the owner of MT Vector was fine a meager P5,000 for the accident? Is that the worth of the more than 4,300 lives that perished in the world’s worst maritime disaster in the last 21 years? Did you also know that Sulpicio Lines was never fined by the BMI for the sinking of MV Princess of the Orient in September 1998?

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As a seasoned marine engineer and having inspected a number of domestic passenger vessels in the past and discovered glaring deficiencies in the process, I strongly recommend that the BMI should start unmasking the mystery of Pier 12, if only to get to the bottom of the spate of maritime disasters that seems to have found a home in the turf of Sulpicio Lines. Consider this fact: MV Doña Paz, MV Princess of the Orient, and MV Princess of the Stars were actually the flag ships of Sulpicio Lines at the time they sank. A flag ship is usually the biggest in the fleet and something that the shipowner is proud of because it is the company’s ‘signature’ ship. Those ships of Sulpcio were big ones. MV Princess of the Stars was in fact, the biggest domestic passenger ferry in the Philippines, before it capsized off Sibuyan Island.

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Doesn’t anybody from BMI or anybody who has the right shipping intellect find it mysterious when a 23,824-GRT ship can easily go into North Harbor and berth at Pier 12 without running aground? About eight years ago, Enrique Aboitiz Jr. was saying that it would be very difficult to berth a 15,000-GRT ship in North Harbor. Obviously, because the draft or the depth of the water will not allow bigger ships to go in, much less berthed alongside any of the piers. But how come Sulpicio Lines managed to do so with the significantly bigger MV Princess of the Stars some two years after Aboitiz made the pronouncement? In getting to the bottom of the issue, we also need to get to the bottom of the ship, where the ballast tanks are located. And here lies the answer to the mystery of Pier 12 and Sulpicio Lines’ spate of maritime disasters, whether the company’s management admit it or not. Their flag ships were not ballasted at all. Because if the ship’s ballast tanks were only pressed, that would have ensured stability and trim to those ill-fated vessels, Sulpicio Lines would not have been able to operate those vessels in North Harbor. The deeper draft of their big ships would only allow them to stay at the anchorage because going further to the pier would mean taking all the silt under North Harbor’s murky waters all the way to the berth. In fact, during the BMI probe following the sinking of MV Princess of the Orient in September 1998, the vessel’s chief mate admitted in his testimony about his lack of awareness about the ship’s ballast tanks or even how to press it.

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Following the MV Princess of the Stars tragedy, I also joined a team from MARINA led by Administrator Vic Suazo to inspect the vessels of Sulpicio Lines in Cebu on June 27, 2008. I only boarded one ship and I noted a number of deficiencies already particularly with regards to lashings and cargo stowage. I did not bother inspecting the other ships because it would just be ‘same difference’ as I would say. BMI should consider this premise: ‘A non-ballasted ship combined with improper lashings and stowage of cargo, plus possible alteration of the ship make the perfect recipe for a maritime disaster.’ Now it’s time for the BMI to pursue it to the end and make the culpable parties pay the price of gross, albeit intentional, negligence.

by: NELSON P. RAMIREZ

Most Outstanding Marine Engineer Officer, PRC, 1996
Most Outstanding Student, ZNSAT, 1970
Outstanding Achiever of the Year, Province of Zamboanga del Norte, 2006

BATANGAS "RURAL" PORT?

The Batangas International Port, locally known as the Batangas Pier, is the premier seaport of the CALABARZON region and is located in Batangas City along the shores of Batangas Bay in Batangas. (Whew! Lots of “Batangases” there.)

Unfortunately, despite the “International” in its name, Batangas International Port is still primarily a domestic port. It is a key Ro-Ro (roll-on-roll-off) port going to Calapan City in Oriental Mindoro, to Marble Island of Romblon Province and ultimately to Iloilo City, forming part of President Arroyo’s Strong Republic Nautical Highway. Among tourists and travelers, the seaport is more well known for being a gateway to Puerto Galera, especially Sabang Beach and White Beach. Entering the domestic terminal of the seaport, it’s impossible for you not to be bombarded by the people hawking their fastcraft services going to Puerto Galera.

HOW ABOUT THE SERVICES?

Last week my wife and I went to Mindoro for a vacation. The bus fare from Buendia to Batangas cost P171.50 each. We managed to arrived early. It took 1 1/2 hour bus ride, maybe because of the newly opened CALABARZON road.

The fare from Batangas to Calapan cost 250 each plus terminal fee of P10.00. We waited for almost an hour at the terminal. What we noticed that time was the ineffeciency of port authorities , lock of securities and one more thing, the terminal is not air-conditioned.It's like an oven. Whew! it's really hot.

This kind of services must be reported to the proper authority, especially to the media (IMBESTIGADOR of GMA-7 or XXX of Channel 2). We were very dissapointed, because its a busy port, thousands of travellers used that port, going to Mindoro, Aklan, Iloilo and of course Romblon. They must do something to properly accomodate those travellers.

Is it worthy to call this port as BATANGAS INTERNATIONAL PORT? or they rather change it to BATANGAS RURAL PORT.

Salvaging of MV Princess of the Stars has not started

GMANews.TV