Election 2010 (2) - Campaigning Pinoy Style!

Election Day is drawing close. Campaigning efforts, or rather name promotion efforts, are at a peak. Observing the pre-election activities in the Philippines I think I have identified the local audio-visual campaigning strategy: be loud and smile.

All you need to promote yourself is a pickup truck, huge speakers, an amplifier, some music (not even necessarily Filipino music, any mainstream star will do) and a poster with your face and name on it. Turn to volume to max and snail your car through the clogged streets of the neighborhood, preferably during rush hour for maximum visibility. I believe the strategy is that if the noise level reaches a numbing effect, people are most receptive. So far to the audible side of the promotion.

The visual side of the promotion equally convinces in simplicity. The posters of candidates decorating every inch of wall, lamppost, tricycle, Jeepney, private house or drive-way gate promote a big head, a name, a comic heart (I'm not kidding) and a 'vote me!' message. KISS - keep it short and simple.

Unfortunately, it seems to disclose little information about campaign goals and programs for the Filipinos to make an educated choice when casting their votes on May 10.

So far I haven't seen any tack lines such as: “We'll reduce unemployment and fight poverty!” Or: “We'll make the Philippines attractive for investors!” Or: “We'll focus on education!” Well, at least no one will be blamed for not having achieved his or her election promises that way...

The only conclusion promoted on one of the presidential candidate’s poster is, in rough translation from Tagalog, that “Without the corrupt, there won’t be poverty!” While corruption surely is not the only factor fostering poverty, it is honorable that the connection has been acknowledged.

Corruption seems to be a default setting in the Philippine power structure, from top to bottom. Untangling this web of loyalties, friendships and dependencies will be a tough call.

Election 2010 (1) - Vote not for Sale!

It is merely three weeks until the Philippine general election on May 10. The 2010 elections, which include presidential, legislative and local elections, will be the country's first computerized election.

The bidding process for the computer system was as dubious as is the aftermath of the November 23 massacre in Maguindanao last year, which was one of the worst displays of violence in the run-up for the elections.

In an attempt to prevent a rival politician from running for the post of provincial governor, his election convoy was attacked and 57 people killed by the ruling politician's private army. Staggering is not only the fact, that the attackers believed they could get away with a broad daylight slaughter. Downright depressing is the fact, that the call for justice is still unheard. The court case turns out to be a stage play. Another chapter is added in the Philippines' tradition of impunity.

At the end it's all about votes. Whoever cannot prevent a rival from running for a post will try to buy the people's votes. In areas where people live on less than a dollar a day shopping for votes is an easy task.

The more "sophisticated" campaigners try to denounce the opposition by text blasting so called "A1" information, such as the "psychiatric evaluation form" of one of the candidates, apparently proofing his "mental disorder" and the use of drugs.

No tool seems inappropriate to get into the seat of power.

Party with Bach and Beethoven

Always extend a party invitation to your friends' friends! Why? First of all, the more the merrier (or: the more the many-er, as we say here in the Philippines). Secondly, you never know who might walk through your door. It might be no other than Macky Chua, the lead violinist of the Manila Philharmonics, bringing along his dog, violin, Bach and Beethoven!

Who would have thought I'd hear the work of great German composers played live at my house while indulging in Yellow Cab pizza? The iPod made for the missing orchestra and when Macky played Bach's Konzert fuer 2 Violinen in D-moll I had goosebumps all over!

Macky's admiration for classical music goes beyond being a virtuoso with the violin. He knows the details of his favorite composers' lives and all what influenced their works. Much of this he learned during his two years at the University of Music Freiburg, Germany. Apologizing for his rusty German (it's been eight years) he reminisced about his student life in Germany, the cold winters and how demanding his education was. Listening to Macky play I'd say it was well worth it!

Exploring Leyte (2) – Padre Burgos & Limasawa

From the smallest seahorse, the pygmy seahorse, to the biggest fish, the whaleshark, Padre Burgos' dive sites have it all!

I arranged for two morning dives plus a whaleshark watching trip with Sogod Bay SCUBA resort. At 9am the next morning I was geared up and ready for my first dive. From my non-expert fun-diver's point of view, Southern Leyte's underwater world is vivid and alive. There are nudie branches, an indicator for clean water, colorful corals and hard to find creatures such as the tiny pygmy seahorse.

Two of the biggest threats to this underwater bounty, the coral eating crown of thorn starfish and reef killing dynamite fishers, have been kept under control by the efforts of some international organizations such as the Coral Cay Conservation.

The fun-dives turned into an interesting educational tour when I learned that one of Coral Cay's researchers, marine-biologist Oliver Woody, was on board for the whaleshark trip. Olly came to Southern Leyte four years ago to survey the areas' reefs. The Southern Leyte reef guide is an interesting book from a scientific as well as trivia point of view. I learned that the hermaphroditic nudie branch's sex organ is on the right side of its head!

More interesting, of course, was Oliver's knowledge about the whalesharks in the area. He helps identifying and monitoring them to map their migratory travel path. He explained that a whaleshark's skin pattern, the white lines and dots just above his left fin, is unique to each shark similar to a human's fingerprint. For monitoring purposes he is seeking (non SCUBA!) divers support to take pictures of the shark's 'fingerprint' and upload it to ECOCEAN’s whale shark photo-id library. ECOCEAN then identifies and names each shark. Each picture-proven re-encounter is logged on the website, helping to map each individual's travel path.

Talking to Oliver was as exciting as swimming with the giants. With a body length of 4 to 6 meters we saw the rather 'small' representatives of the world's largest fish. The largest confirmed whaleshark was 12 meters long! The most impressive view is that of his square mouth. While scooping up plankton, the giant’s vegetarian diet, the mouth changes into a big black oval hole.

One effortless flip of his back fin propels the whaleshark through the water at a speed hard to keep up with, even paddling with fins. Despite, or maybe because of, their size they impressed me with their majesty and elegance.

Leyte’s amazing underwater world, the opportunity to swim with the whalesharks and talking to Oliver was a truly memorable experience! I can't wait for my next chance to explore Leyte. The island is definitely on my map now.

Exploring Leyte (1) – Baybay & Cuatro Islas

Following a friend's invitation to visit Leyte turned out to be an overwhelming island experience. My 3-day adventure trip to the Eastern Visayas started with an early-bird flight from Manila to Tacloban. The worm to catch was the noon time bangka from the city of Baybay to one of the most beautiful islands I've ever seen!


It is a two-hour drive from Tacloban city on Leyte's Eastern coast to the port city of Baybay on the Western coast of the island. Approaching the small port with its white bangkas rocking in the deep blue water I could already see our destination in the far distance: Degyo Island, the smallest of the Cuatro Islas. 45 minutes splashing boat ride later the full beauty of Degyo came into sight. A bright white curved sandbank stretches from the island's tip creating a protected cove. The turquoise water, white beach and palm trees gave away countless photo opportunities and while trying to catch all of them I scorched my skin under the bright sun in no time.


We pitched our tents, rigged our hammock and did what there is to do on this nearly untouched place: flying our kite catching the strong winds blowing over the sandbank, playing frisbee and circumnavigating the island. Except for the caretakers family we were the only visitors to Degyo! No sari-sari store, no karaoke, no crowd!


On its rockier beach, the island is home to hundreds of hermit crabs! Almost every shell suddenly grows legs and starts moving only to freeze in an instant at the slightest breeze. The counterpart to the entertaining hermit crab ashore is the clown fish underwater. Better known as 'Nemo' the territorial clownfish ensures great underwater amusement. Protecting his anemone the little orange and white striped fellow comes shooting out from his hiding to attack cameras, fingers and masks, which almost always makes for a great snapshot! It only takes snorkel gear to find all kinds of interesting creatures in the rather shallow water surrounding the reef.

Needless to say that the island is a great experience at night. The lack of artificial light, usually illuminating cities' night skies, left behind a pitch-black firmament, perfect for star gazing! But the stars weren't the only bright objects. Fluorescent particles in the water turned the shoreline into a sea of glitter. Geared up with headlamps we attracted fishes to the light. Just like the deer paralyzed by a car's headlight at night, several small fishes showed the same reaction.

After the last dry coconut husk had burned down in our beach-bond-fire, we crawled into our tents and called it a night.

24 hours after arriving in Degyo our bangka was back to return us to reality, back to Baybay. The real adventure was yet to start: making my way south to Padre Burgos relying on Leyte's adventurous public transportation system. Baybay's main road was the best bet for me to wait for a Maasin-bound bus. Within 10 minutes, a colorful open bus (meaning no windows) from a pre-war era came to a squeaking stop in front of me. Two rumbling hours later, I got off in Maasin to cover the last 45 minutes to Padre Burgos by multicar.

Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia (2)

I'm not sure if it was my excitement to summit Kota Kinabalu or the non-stop noises our 6 fellow Malaysian roommates made the whole night that woke me up well before 1:45am. After a quick porridge breakfast and some good Sabah tea, we are ready to go.

To our surprise, the gate to the upper part of the mountain was still locked and the park ranger late to open it. We finally started our ascend from the Laban Ratan hut (3,323m) at around 3 in the morning. The light of our headlamps guided our way. The first hundred steep meters were all stairs. Our heartbeat was up to 170 fast beats a minute. Our breath was heavy and fast. Around 15 people walked in front of us, badly gasping for air. We were stuck in the snail trail. We managed to pass all of them and when the trail turned into a more natural terrain, flat granite slopes, we were way ahead of the crowd.

At around 1km into the hike we were the first to pass the ranger station on April 1, 2010, logging in with our code number. From there it was another 1,5km to the peak. Despite the higher altitude, our heartbeats suddenly returned to a more normal rate. Motivated by the thought of being the first to summit Kota Kinabalu today, we turned on our turbo engines and steamed up the mountain. We left our guide in the dust who, finally catching up with us, admitted we “are very strong climbers”.

At 4:19am we reached the top of the highest mountain in Malaysia! The wind was gusting strongly. Seeking shelter from the cold, we hid behind a massive rock formation. We had another 1.5 hours to wait before the sun would rise. Wiggling our toes and rubbing our hands to keep warm the next 90 minutes seemed endless and futile effort.

At 5:45am the sun rose spectacularly. Partially covered in clouds the unmistakably red of the rising sun uncovered the magnificence of Kota Kinabalu: its deep vertical drops and long slopes. The full moon whose white glow guided most of our morning ascent was still bright, apparently reluctant to give up its dominance on the cold morning sky.

After exhausting the seemingly endless photo opportunities on the peak we started our descent back to the Laban Ratan hut. At around 9 in the morning we indulged in our second breakfast. The deep black local coffee (Tomen) brought our spirits back to life.

The remaining 6km back to the park headquarters were the most straining. Endless natural and man-made steps left my knees in pain. Unlike during our ascent, the clouds gave way to an awesome view into the valley ahead of us. However, the view didn’t last long. Once we entered the tree zone, it rained on us once again.

Finally, back on a paved road, we took the bus back to Kota Kinabalu City, sleeping most of the 1.5-hour ride. Our hotel welcomed us with a desperately needed shower and a magnificent sunset over Kota Kinabalu City’s bay.