I Was At The Million People March

I just came home from attending The Million People March, which demands the abolition of the Philippine Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) a.k.a. Pork Barrel. It was held in front of the Quirino Grandstand, Rizal Park (Luneta).

It was attended by militant groups, bikers, photographers, media personnel, students, religious groups, the MMDA, the Red Cross, and other civic organizations, who believe that the Pork Barrel is a big source of corruption. It was a peaceful gathering of Filipinos who believe in upholding the truth.

The Million People March is also a time for bonding with family and friends, and doing what is right as taxpayers of the country. This event shows the people’s dismay over the seemingly-hopeless corruption in the government.

The thing about this rally (gathering) is that most people used white shirts and no banners, which was the reminder of those who initiated this event. Most of their anti-PDAF sentiments and messages were on their shirts. It was a silent protest but the message was very clear – the government needs to abolish (not rename) the PDAF and all those who abused this fund needs to be on trial (Senators and Congressmen in the Pork Barrel Fund Scam).

There are some groups though that wore black, red and other colors and carried big banners, tarpaulins and effigies – the same group of people who marched from Luneta to Mendiola to continue their usual rally against the government. Only this time, under a new battle cry – Scrap the Pork Barrel, “Makibaka, ‘Wag Mag-Baboy”, among others.

Overall, The Million People March was peaceful and I’ve signed signature campaigns from several groups (including change.org) demanding the removal of the Pork Barrel. If the President really sees the people as his Boss, he should do all he can to obey the Will of the People.

I am ELMER. I’m a Filipino.

I pay my taxes, on-time and in full.

YOU, my government, owe me a full explanation!

@ProtestaNgBayan

		The Million People March VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Technorati Tags: The Million People March,Luneta,Pork Barrel

My First Time At RAVE of Pasig

I’ve been hearing about the Pasig City Rainforest Park from the Facebook page of former Mayor Bobby Eusebio. It was recently re-branded to Rainforest Adventure Experience (RAVE) of Pasig City. 

Yesterday, I dragged my photography friend Gilbert Obal to this place. It’s located at Barangay Maybunga, Pasig City. There is a tricycle station near Mang Inasal in Pasig Palengke and some of these tricycles pass by the Pasig City Rainforest Park. Just ask for the correct TODA.

The Adventure Park is one of the several areas of RAVE of Pasig. It’s perfect for biking, skate boarding, mountain climbing and even Zipline!

The Pasig City Rainforest Park (now known as RAVE of Pasig) is a smaller version of Quezon City’s Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center, only cleaner. It’s complete with such facilities as the Rave Amphitheater, Mini-Zoo, Flower Fields, Adventure Park (for wall climbing, biking, skate boarding, etc.), a Zipline, Kiddie Playland, Senior Citizen’s Park, Mini-Train Station, Butterfly House, Cottages and Pool Area. The entrance is free but some of the facilities have fees (like the Pool Area and the Mini-Zoo).

We arrived around 4:30 PM and some of the facilities are already closed (like the mini-train) so we never had the chance to take pictures of it. The place is perfect for outdoor photo-shoots for newbie photographers and models but I was advised that there is a P50 per head fee for photo-shoots. This is a perfect alternative to the popular Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center and is perfect for the entire family. Joggers and students will also find the place ideal for quiet time away from the busy city life.

I’ll definitely visit the Pasig City Rainforest Park again hopefully with my photography friends and some models for an ex-deal shoot. This place is also perfect for macro photography.

A worker re-planting the flowers at the Flower Fields section of RAVE.

The RAVE Amphitheater.

The map of RAVE of Pasig and signage to some of the park’s amenities.

A bridge for the mini-train that goes around the park.

Turtles and fishes.

An idle wooden carriage.

The railroad track.

Students at the Amphitheater.

The RAVE has a lot of tress which is very essential in a park.

Wall climbing and the start of the Zipline.

Prices of the different amenities inside the Adventure Park.

My photography friend Gilbert Obal enjoying a conversation with one of the parks workers.

There are numerous giant chess boards around the park.

X marks the spot.

The Kiddie Playland.

I love taking pictures of silhouettes of trees.

Even teenage boys enjoy the facilities of the park.

The Pasig City Seal.

A picturesque lantern.

Technorati Tags: Pasig City Rainforest Park,Maybunga,Pasig City,Parks

uEDGE Clearly Doesn’t Have The Edge

Let me share with you the unpleasant experience I had with uEDGE – a maker of calling cards.

Nine days ago I asked them to print my business card. It’s my first time to have my business card printed professionally. In the past, I design (and print) my own calling cards using Adobe PageMaker and Print Artist.

Look at the brochure of uEDGE – there’s no mention about an extra price for the printing of the QR Code at the back of the card!

The price of uEDGE’s basic calling cards is P345 for 100 pieces. I’ve read the brochure and been shown the sample and it clearly shown that there’s QR Code at the back of the sample. So I picked up a design from their sample portfolio and asked the store attendant to design a similar one.

The sample was printed and I forgot to look at the back of it for the QR Code thinking that it would be there like the sample. After about 6 hours, I got the cards – without the QR Code at the back! I asked the store attendant about it and it was only then that I was advised that there’s an additional P100 for printing the QR Code at the back. The sample that was presented to me (for the P345 package) clearly has a QR Code at the back of it.

Instead of arguing with the SM Megamall store attendant, I emailed the uEDGE customer service the same day telling them what happened. They assured me that they’ll investigate on the matter. Up to now they are still investigating the matter!

I’ve demanded some compensation for the missing information on the brochure (a note saying that printing of the QR Code on the back would have additional fee), the wrong sample, and the inability of their store personnel to inform me about the “hidden charges”.

Clearly, uEDGE doesn’t live up to their policy of providing prompt action from management. As of this time, they still haven’t sent me a copy of the investigation that they did.

After a series of communications via email, they offered to reprint only 50 pieces of my calling cards on the condition that I will return 50 pieces of the printed ones and that the QR Code will be printed on front. I settled for this offer so that I could put this bad experience with uEDGE behind. However, I will never have my next batch of calling cards printed by uEDGE again.

uEDGE doesn’t live up to their promise of fast resolution to complaints and their brochure and samples are misleading. In fact, when I asked the store personnel to print the same design as what was on the sample portfolio, she can’t reproduce it. She opened Google and asked me to select a similar picture.

The girl in blue inefficiently printed my calling card while the lady with the “V” sign is the store supervisor, Wendy. It took her 3 prints before she could get the correct size of the QR Code that is readable by her Nokia smartphone. It’s like a trial-and-error when it comes to printing the QR Code.

When the SM Megamall branch supervisor Wendy re-printed my card with QR Code on it, it took her 3 prints of the sample before the QR Code worked on her Nokia phone. I just pointed to one of their samples and told her that the QR Code’s size would be similar to their sample. They don’t have standards on the design that’s readily available on their computer for faster reproduction. They would start again from scratch as if someone else did the designs on their display and portfolio.

uEDGE really doesn’t have the edge when it comes to customer service and after-sales support. We’re not even talking about the quality of the print that easily washes away by moisture as if printed by an entry level, home printer.

Pictures taken from their website.

Technorati Tags: uEDGE,SM Megamall,Calling Cards