Who is Rolando Mendoza?

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August 23, 2010 -- Just as when the country is doing good due to the success of the elections and, so far, the satisfaction of the Philippine people with the governance of the new President, and with all the good news about the country's representative gaining popularity and positioning herself as one of the top favorites in the much coveted Miss Universe crown, the country's reputation is once again challenged.

Today has been a very bad, sad and disappointing day. Since 11:00 in the morning, news from all the local channels, that later on spilled to international news, as well as local AM and FM stations covered the hostage-taking in the busy road of Manila of a tourist bus carrying Chinese nationals visiting the country. The hostage-taking lasted for almost twelve hours, leaving several hostages injured and worst, dead. Later on, troop of policemen aggressively attacked the hostage-taker that made way to his death. The hostage-taker, identified as Senior Inspector Rolando Del Rosario Mendoza, was dismissed by the Ombudsman early this year, denied of his benefits, and was not allowed to hold any government post. The reason: he and company allegedly abused and extorted a Mandarin Hotel chef who they charged for illegal parking, driving without license and using illegal drugs. It was also reported that the chef was forced by Medoza and company to swallow a sachet of shabu, plus extorting php20,000.

Other details about Rolando del Rosario Mendoza:
- He was one of the Jaycees International’s Ten Outstanding Policemen of the Philippines or TOPP in 1986
-He has 17 awards and commendations from the Philippine National Police
-He is a native of Naic, Cavite
-He was born on January 10, 1955
-Has a wife named Aurora and has three children
-He entered the PNP as a patrolman on 1981
-He became the Senior Police Officer 3 of the Manila Police District on 1991
-He became the Inspector in May 2002
-He was promoted to Senior Inspector in August 2002
-He allegedly charged the Mandarin Hotel chef on April 9, 2008
-April 25, 2008, administrative charges was filed against Mendoza
-The PNP Internal affairs suggested dismissal of the case as the chef was a no-show
-The Manila Prosecutors Office Eighth Division also dismissed the case due to, again, the complainant's no-show
-He was dismissed by the Ombudsman in January 2010.

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My little man's birthday video - part 3

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...obviously, there's more!!!

Note: again, best viewed on a small screen

My little man's birthday video - part 2

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I still cannot get enough of my little man's first birthday so I am posting yet again another video of his birthday. This was taken by Thor Production Kids and was "chopped"by my techie brother Mackoy. I am running out of words for Thor. They are simply the best!!

Note: best viewed on a small screen

My little man's first formal wear

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My cousin Bong got married last July 31, 2010. Since it was a formal gathering, Elmer had to wear the traditional barong, while I wore something that would pass as a formal dress. Migo, on the other hand, wore his first ever formal wear. It was not a barong, for I had second thoughts of letting him wear something that would make him, and us as well, uncomfortable. So what I just got for him was a set of polo, tie, vest, pants, black socks and black shoes. It looked good on him! I cannot wait for another formal event so I can see him wear something like that again. ;)



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The fab shoes and the rain

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Rain, rain, go away...

As what I have mentioned before, I hate rain. I am a commuter (and proud of it!) and walking in the rain is such a hassle. Imagine getting soaked up and all. Despite having the biggest umbrella in town, drops of water in different sizes get in the way to irritate me the more.

Just two days ago, few meters from Trinoma where I would alight, heavy rain fell just in time! Talk about perfect timing, huh? There was no warning at all--no drizzle, no dark clouds. It just fell because it wanted to, and people from all over ran in all direction to find just enough size of a roof to shield them from the rain. I, on the other hand, had no choice but to go down from the FX taxi because Trinoma was in front of me already. I was complete with my battle gear anyways--umbrella for my head and a tailored coat to cover my arms. Perfect! So I confidently walked in the rain despite it being quite heavy, until I looked down. Oh, no!! My shoes!!

Yep, I was wearing the wrong kind of shoes that day. Luckily, there was no flood, though the water was slowly rising for an inch or two. After around one hundred and fifty steps, my shoes were already wet. Good thing water was not able to find its way inside so my feet remained dry and untouched. It was just my poor pair!! The material is not suitable for the rain and now I wonder if I can still use it ;(

Having that experience, I blamed myself for not buying shoes that are suitable for rainy days. There are lovely pairs out there, pretty and fab ones, yet tough and perfect enough to experience some splash from the unfriendly rain. These are all water resistant, and very, very, very pretty!! They are made of rubber and plastic that makes wiping the water uber easy. And they can go along with whatever outfit I fancy. There's a pair that matches my skirt, my shorts, my skinny, my jeggings... and they are really very pretty!! And I am just glad to present them.... and oh, by the way, did I mention already that they are just so pretty?!!

*Above are Crocs and Melissa shoes. Please check out their website for description and other details.

*Photos from Crocs.com.ph and MelissaPhilippines.com

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