In September of 2013, I discovered a new microblogging platform. My friend Noemi was using it and introduced me to the person in the Philippines representing Bubbly, an audio platform that allows you to record 90 seconds of voice. It also allows others to listen to you and if you are on a Premium account (like I am), you get people who subscribe to you.
I immediately fell in love with Bubbly. More than just an expressive outlet of my thoughts, I discovered that it was a great platform to draw people with disabilities into social media because of its audio feature. I had visually impaired followers and they were so happy to engage on Bubbly with me!!!
“Life always has different chapters. You just can’t be in the same chapter forever. You’ll get stuck.” ~ @WilzKanadi
This quote jumped out at me as I was checking my Twitter timeline. I did not exactly think of my life in terms of chapters but when I look back, I can indeed see the “chapters” and how they have led me to where I am now and what I will be doing down the road.
In this article, it says “Type A personalities experience a constant sense of urgency: Type A people seem to be in a constant struggle against the clock. Often, they quickly become impatient with delays and unproductive time, schedule commitments too tightly, and try to do more than one thing at a time, such as reading while eating or watching television.”
That pretty much summed me up during my growing up and early corporate years. I lead a very academic- and career-oriented life. Graduating at the top of my class in high school and college were the fruits of that labor. I was just as driven when I joined SGV (over 15 years) where I was exposed to financial audits, research, lectures and training, computer audits and IT consultancy.
In between projects abroad and local work, I also took a 2-year hiatus and went to Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania where I earned my MBA degree under a scholarship from SGV.
Early dawn today, two areas in Mindanao (a southern island of the Philippines), were hit with sudden and unexpected flash floods from Tropical Storm Sendong (international code name Washi). The floods hit Iligan and Cagayan de Oro around 2AM — when everyone was asleep. Many villagers were caught and trapped wherever they were, with little preparation and no forewarning.
A bloated Pulangui River (photo from Francis Awiten, a blog reader of mindanaoan.com and posted via Twitpic)
A young Sendong victim (photo posted by @mindanaoan via Twitpic, with credits to Atoy M.)
Dumaguete flood (photo owner unknown)
(UPDATE: Bukidnon and Dumaguete likewise need assistance so I will be including in my list donation info for these places as soon as I get them.)
I am creating this post for you, my dear readers, wherever in the world you are. If your heart is touched by some of these pictures, there are many ways you can donate, either in cash (PayPal included) or kind.
Please note that I will try to list as many as I can. I have been listing based on posts in social networking sites, some news sites, government agencies, etc. If I miss some, please leave me a comment at the bottom so I can add to this list.
FINAL UPDATE – DEC. 23, 2011 (4:56 PM)
URGENT NEEDS
Blankets
Bottled water (VERY URGENT!)
Canned goods
Clothes (for those abroad, pls note that there may be some requirements for donating used clothing. Am trying to get confirmation directly from government agencies)
Diapers
Food
Gauze
Hydrogen peroxide
Mats (banig)
Medicines (anti-tetanus vaccines, Betadine, gauze, cotton, bandages, for cough/colds/diarrhea, etc)
Milk (preferably breast milk)
Mosquito nets
Off lotion
Rice
Toiletries (sanitary napkins, toothpaste, etc)
Toothbrushes
Towels
Underwear
Utensils
DSWD Field Office IV-B: 1680 F. T. Benitez St., Malate Manila
Contact: Shiela Tapia (02) 5252445
DSWD relief Samar:
Ludwig Lao, 85 del Rosario St., Catbalogan City or Samar ChamCommerce, DTI Bldg., Catbalogan City CP No. 09189351993
DSWD relief drop off Zamboanga: Ateneo de Zamboanga Univ Gym, La Purisima St., Zamboanga City. Tel 9910871 local 2224 n 2225; 9913711
GMA 5 (Davao) – Please leave donations at Shrine Hills, Matina, Davao (info from @mindanaoan)
GMA Kapuso Foundation – for info on where to bring donations in kind, click HERE
Kristohanong Katilingban sa Pagpakaban (coordinated with Xavier University) – call (088) 8583116 loc 3210 for details
La Salle Greenhills – will start accepting donations Monday, Dec. 19 (info taken from HERE)
Donations in cash and kind will be received at Gate 2 of La Salle Green Hills at 343 Ortigas Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550. You may call any of the following telephone numbers for further inquiries:
Alumni Office — 721-2729, 722-7750, 725-4720
GS Principal — 721-2482
HS Principal — 721-8914
Buildings and Grounds Office — 721-8904 (Telefax)
La Sallian Mission Office — 726-5851 (Telefax)
National Resource Operations Center (NROC) – Chapel Rd. Pasay City (Back of Air Transportation Office)
Contact: Francia Fabian 0918 9302356
OneMeralco Foundation
– accepting cash/kind donations. Please bring between 8am to 5pm to G/F Lopez Building, Meralco Compound, Ortigas Ave., Pasig. Look for Joy. Donations in kind will be issued acknowledgement receipts. Cash donations will be issued official receipts.
Parish of St. Catherine of Alexandria Cathedral (Dumaguete, Negros Oriental) – receiving cash/relief items. Contact: Msgr. Julius Heruela
TEAM MANILA – they are accepting donations in the following places:
Branches: Mall of Asia, Trinoma and Rockwell
TeamManila Warehouse: 71 Ecoville Townhomes, Metropolitan Ave., Makati. (near Meralco Ayala Ext ofc.)
TeamManila studio: 3rd floor, 20 Jupiter Ave., Valdecon Building, Bel-Air Makati (near Buendia Car Exchange) till 7PM
[important]Strictly for breastmilk donations:
1. 17 Green Grove Villa, Lantana Rd., Barangay Mariana, New Manila, QC (office of Kalusugan ng Mag-Ina, Inc)
2. UP-PGH Human Milk Bank, 4th Floor, Left Central Block (LCB) c/o Tina or Grace (during office hours) or the NICU Fellow (after office hours)
PGH can pasteurize the breastmilk before sending this to CDO/Iligan.[/important]
CASH DONATIONS (INTERNATIONAL)
Ateneo de Manila University – please see how to donate HERE
Caritas Australia (for Australian residents) – for donation details, please click HERE
GMA Kapuso Foundation – for info on how to donate dollars, click HERE
HELPCDO (PayPal Donations) – Proceeds will be donated and delivered to Xavier University Cagayan de Oro where the members of CDOBloggers are planning to volunteer. (Note: Info received c/o Ria Jose)
Email Address for PayPal donation: francis.siason@gmail.com
Simbahang Lingkod (info taken from HERE)
Direct deposits may be made online from any BPI branches, pay to:
Account Name/Payee: SIMBAHANG LINGKOD NG BAYAN
Bank Name: Bank of the Philippine Islands (Loyola-Katipunan Branch)
Dollar Savings Account Number: 3084-0420-12
TV5 Kapatid Foundation Inc.
BDO Savings Account No. 005310-410164
Bank of the Philippine Islands Savings Account No. 1443-05333-2
For inquiries, please call News5 Aksyon Center hotline – 938-6393.
It’s not every day that I get the chance to be in the presence of someone like U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. So when I found out that I was one of the bloggers invited to grace the social media event which was being hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Manila in cooperation with GMA News TV, I jumped at the chance to be there.
We arrived early. People were not allowed yet into the main hall where the “conversation” was to be held because Secret Service people were sweeping the room. So we waited at the ground floor of the National Museum, the venue, with other bloggers like Juned, Noemi and Brian.
U.S. Embassy staff manning the registration table
After a while, we were given the signal to proceed to the main hall. The crew and anchorpersons were already there as well as the audience which were composed of select Twitter celebrities (spotted Heart Evangelista, Maxene Magalona and Isabelle Daza), Congressional interns, editors-in-chief of different university publications and of course, us – bloggers. Also spotted in the crowd were blast survivor Raissa Laurel, Winnie Monsod, Maria Ressa, and other GMA-7 newscasters.
Part of the audience
There was a quiet air of excitement in the air. Ramon Bautista of GMA News TV went around the room asking young people what they thought of the Secretary and everyone seemed to hold her with the highest regard. Some even commented that they’d like to see her as the first woman President of the United States.
We bloggers had our corner on the right side of the room. Cocktail tables were set up near power strips. Noemi, Bong and I took two of the cocktail tables and quickly had our gadgets set up. Later, we were joined by Janette in our table. Marcelle and Vince also joined our little group later.
Bong and I (livestreaming with mobile phone, tweeting with iPad) and taking photos with digicams (photo courtesy of Noemi)
Secretary Hillary Clinton spent a total of about 45 minutes with us, answering questions sent in through text, Skype, Twitter and Facebook. Questions ranged from political (would she help Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo get treatment in the US) to personal (does she have further political ambitions to run for President) to curious questions like what were the contents of her purse, iPad or iPod.
Secr. Clinton with hosts Vicky Morales and Howie Severino of GMA News TV
Maxene Magalona asks a question
All went smoothly except for one incident where the editor-in-chief of the UP Collegian, Marjohara Tucay, stood up just as another question was about to be asked from the floor. Tucay held up a cloth sign (cleverly folded and tucked away to avoid security scrutiny) and began shouting “Junk VFA” (Visiting Forces Agreement). He continued shouting as he was calmly led out of the hall. Meanwhile, Sec. Clinton kept her cool as she witnessed everything. Just before this, she was saying that in politics, one had to have skin as thick as a rhino. She indeed showed she could not be fazed even under frequent protests she sees in many places she visits.
As for the message that Tucay was trying to deliver, he has his points but I really doubt that the method he used delivered that message across effectively. He seems to have come off as a distraction who actually spiced up the entire forum. If only he had addressed the question directly to Sec. Clinton.
Protest sign held up by EIC of UP Collegian
In an article published by GMA News prior to this event, it was referred to as “groundbreaking”. It was, indeed. When we were chatting earlier with Robin Diallo, Counselor for Public Affairs with the US Embassy, she told us that this was the first time EVER that Sec. Clinton would be doing this. With security always very tight around her, mobile devices and gadgets were never allowed. The fact that the US Embassy Manila was able to get her (and her security) to agree to doing this was one-up already. Robin said that internally, as they were planning for this event, they referred to this as “townterchat” (short for TOWN hall, inTERview and CHAT). To actually get citizens and social media together and up close with her was a social media coup.
I am happy to have been part of this social media event. I congratulate the US Embassy in Manila for putting all this together. Indeed, they are the social media pioneers in diplomatic circles in this region. The success of this event will hopefully pave the way also for others who visit Manila to do something similar and engage netizens and the citizenry.
