When I opened my Gmail inbox this morning, I was surprised to see this particular e-mail, which I felt is to be some form of suicide note, or e-mail to be exact.
Here’s what he wrote:
“to all my fellow alumni this maybe a little bit out of topic but i feel more confortable hearing from yo b4 i should decide to end my life ever since i was young i struggled to by the best among my classmates and somehow as time rolls by i have gain enough knowlege but kept it on to myself but with all the sucess i have the only thing i cant conquer is love....no one knows what accomplishments i have made coz i never wanted to boast it now i'm stuck between something i dont want to be.i came from a broken family since then i vowed not to be like it but now im stuck between 2 women whom i both love. if anyone could see this help me but if not when i die hope god would forgive me. i guess theres a price in every sucess.bye my fellow sakyans i will always be one like you all”
I didn’t know what to think after reading it. This is the first time that I’ve received a suicide note through e-mail. Come to think of it, I’ve never seen or received a suicide note in any form. This e-mail was not personally addressed to me. It was sent to one of the Yahoo! Groups that I was a member of.
I couldn’t help but notice some spelling and grammatical errors in the note. But I guess if someone were planning to kill himself, he wouldn’t bother to proof read his suicide note.
Looking at it from a different angle, this message might have actually been sent via SMS as well. That would explain the use of shortcuts “b4” and “coz”.
I also tried searching for his Friendster profile, and the only information I got was his first name and his age.
Anyhow, being a concerned individual, I did my best to respond to the message. I sent my response directly to him. There were 2 other mailing list members who replied to the mailing list.
Until this moment, we haven’t heard anything from him yet.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Taxation 101 - Part 3
Third part of my taxation series...
I found myself back within the creepy walls of BIR Manila. This time I was early. I arrived a little past 8AM.
I went up to the 5th floor, where RDO-029 is located.
When I gave my forms, the officer told me to make the payment first. She gave me a payment form and after I completed the form, I went to the ground floor for the payment.
For taxpayers' convenience, there's a Landbank branch inside the BIR building, with a whopping "2" tellers.
It was still closed when I got there but there were already around 50 or so people waiting. These people were divided into 2 groups, one with bulk forms and the other for few forms.
The tellers are divided this way as well, so technically only 1 teller processes all the payments.
At first I didn't know about this setup, so I found myself joining the bulk forms group. When the bank opened, the guard came out with a piece of paper, which would contain the list of people.
====================
The moment he came out, chaos broke out, and everyone was trying to get their name on the list through some forms of flirting with guard.
I went to see what's happening and one of the "hired fixers" approached me and asked how many forms will I be processing.
I just call them "hired fixers" since they've probably been hired by business owners to go through the tedious process of lining-up for hours, and stamping hundreds of forms.
So I told her I only have one form. She was surprised and told me that I was in the wrong line. My innocent look seems to have some advantages. >:)
I transferred to the other line but I was already 41st. Some of those guys were already there even as early as 7AM. That was a really bad sign. :(
True enough, I waited from 9AM until 11:45AM before I reached the teller. It was a grueling experience. I'll explain why in my next post, but somehow I was able to endure it, thanks to "The Secret". :)
====================
After I made the payment, I ran back to the registration unit at the 5th floor. It was 11:50AM.
But to my disappointment, some guy who is not even in proper uniform told me get a photocopy of the payment form first. I asked them if they have a copier somewhere and he replied to me that all of their copiers have no inks.
At that moment I wanted to tell that guy "f*ck you", but I was able to control myself. I knew he was lying, just to make sure I wouldn't be consuming some of their lunch break. I just hope he doesn't get home alive. Just kidding. O:)
So I left the building in search of a copy machine. I was expecting several copiers around the area but to my surprise there were only two, and they're charging 2 pesos per page. O_o
====================
I had lunch at Port Area Grill and stayed for a few minutes before heading back to BIR. It didn't took me more than 15 minutes to have my registration processed.
However, I still need to come back for the Certificate of Registration and for the printed official receipts, which somehow, was the source of corruption for the low rank officers.
The BIR officer just took a scratch paper and gave it to me as a receipt for the printing service. I didn't know printing some few pages of receipts would cost 950 pesos. O_o
Anyhow, that was the end of part 3. I still have a couple of things to share but I'll just include them in my next post.
====================
To be continued...
I found myself back within the creepy walls of BIR Manila. This time I was early. I arrived a little past 8AM.
I went up to the 5th floor, where RDO-029 is located.
When I gave my forms, the officer told me to make the payment first. She gave me a payment form and after I completed the form, I went to the ground floor for the payment.
For taxpayers' convenience, there's a Landbank branch inside the BIR building, with a whopping "2" tellers.
It was still closed when I got there but there were already around 50 or so people waiting. These people were divided into 2 groups, one with bulk forms and the other for few forms.
The tellers are divided this way as well, so technically only 1 teller processes all the payments.
At first I didn't know about this setup, so I found myself joining the bulk forms group. When the bank opened, the guard came out with a piece of paper, which would contain the list of people.
====================
The moment he came out, chaos broke out, and everyone was trying to get their name on the list through some forms of flirting with guard.
I went to see what's happening and one of the "hired fixers" approached me and asked how many forms will I be processing.
I just call them "hired fixers" since they've probably been hired by business owners to go through the tedious process of lining-up for hours, and stamping hundreds of forms.
So I told her I only have one form. She was surprised and told me that I was in the wrong line. My innocent look seems to have some advantages. >:)
I transferred to the other line but I was already 41st. Some of those guys were already there even as early as 7AM. That was a really bad sign. :(
True enough, I waited from 9AM until 11:45AM before I reached the teller. It was a grueling experience. I'll explain why in my next post, but somehow I was able to endure it, thanks to "The Secret". :)
====================
After I made the payment, I ran back to the registration unit at the 5th floor. It was 11:50AM.
But to my disappointment, some guy who is not even in proper uniform told me get a photocopy of the payment form first. I asked them if they have a copier somewhere and he replied to me that all of their copiers have no inks.
At that moment I wanted to tell that guy "f*ck you", but I was able to control myself. I knew he was lying, just to make sure I wouldn't be consuming some of their lunch break. I just hope he doesn't get home alive. Just kidding. O:)
So I left the building in search of a copy machine. I was expecting several copiers around the area but to my surprise there were only two, and they're charging 2 pesos per page. O_o
====================
I had lunch at Port Area Grill and stayed for a few minutes before heading back to BIR. It didn't took me more than 15 minutes to have my registration processed.
However, I still need to come back for the Certificate of Registration and for the printed official receipts, which somehow, was the source of corruption for the low rank officers.
The BIR officer just took a scratch paper and gave it to me as a receipt for the printing service. I didn't know printing some few pages of receipts would cost 950 pesos. O_o
Anyhow, that was the end of part 3. I still have a couple of things to share but I'll just include them in my next post.
====================
To be continued...
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Taxation 101 - Part 2
As I've have mentioned in my last post, we were required by the BIR to have a DTI permit before they would process our tax registration. So I went to the DTI office in Park n' Ride, Lawton to apply for a business name. For software consultants like me, we are classified under sole-proprietorship. It took me more than 4 hours to get my permit.
For those who would register their business someday, I've prepared a short guide...
The office opens at 8AM, if you arrive there at 8:30, you'll probably be getting number 50 and above, just like I did. :(
But before you could obtain that number you would have to wait outside for 30 minutes or so. Make sure you that have something to do, like reading a book or listening to a music player, otherwise it is going to be pretty boring. :|
Once you have obtained a number, you may leave the office, go somewhere else. SM Manila is just a few minutes away by foot. By the way, the guard might tell you to sit in the waiting area, just tell him you're going to the comfort room. >:)
After 2 hours, head back to the DTI office. Then tell the guard your number and he will insert you to your appropriate seat location, that is between two people who have now developed some hatred towards you. >:P
Try your best to ignore them. By this time, you should be on the front row, there will probably be around 5 to 7 people ahead of you but that's fine.
The next thing you would want to do is to make friends with you seat mates. If one of them wants to buy food or go to the toilet, tell him/her that you will save his/her seat.
Once he returns, you can have your turn. By the way, the entrance ticket for the comfort room costs 5 pesos. Yes, you can sell virtually anything in this country.
Note that the previous step is optional. That is going to depend on how near you are to being called.
Once you're called, proceed to the officer's window for processing. Make sure you have all the requirements with you, otherwise, they will ask you to come back after you've completed your requirements. You'll probably have to comeback on the next working day. o_O
Try to be nice when talking to the officer since some of them seems to have attitude problems. Smiling also helps. :)
After 5-10 minutes, you'll be sent to payment section. The registration fee is 300 pesos. After paying, you'll be asked to wait for your permit in window #9.
Check the time, if it's already past 11:30, just leave, and head for lunch. There's no way you're going to get your permit before lunch time. I learned this the hard way.
If possible, get back before 1PM, so you'll be able to secure a seat. And if everything goes well, you will be having your permit in no time. :)
But if you really don't want to spend too much time for this, just get there before 8AM. :)
====================
To be continued...
For those who would register their business someday, I've prepared a short guide...
The office opens at 8AM, if you arrive there at 8:30, you'll probably be getting number 50 and above, just like I did. :(
But before you could obtain that number you would have to wait outside for 30 minutes or so. Make sure you that have something to do, like reading a book or listening to a music player, otherwise it is going to be pretty boring. :|
Once you have obtained a number, you may leave the office, go somewhere else. SM Manila is just a few minutes away by foot. By the way, the guard might tell you to sit in the waiting area, just tell him you're going to the comfort room. >:)
After 2 hours, head back to the DTI office. Then tell the guard your number and he will insert you to your appropriate seat location, that is between two people who have now developed some hatred towards you. >:P
Try your best to ignore them. By this time, you should be on the front row, there will probably be around 5 to 7 people ahead of you but that's fine.
The next thing you would want to do is to make friends with you seat mates. If one of them wants to buy food or go to the toilet, tell him/her that you will save his/her seat.
Once he returns, you can have your turn. By the way, the entrance ticket for the comfort room costs 5 pesos. Yes, you can sell virtually anything in this country.
Note that the previous step is optional. That is going to depend on how near you are to being called.
Once you're called, proceed to the officer's window for processing. Make sure you have all the requirements with you, otherwise, they will ask you to come back after you've completed your requirements. You'll probably have to comeback on the next working day. o_O
Try to be nice when talking to the officer since some of them seems to have attitude problems. Smiling also helps. :)
After 5-10 minutes, you'll be sent to payment section. The registration fee is 300 pesos. After paying, you'll be asked to wait for your permit in window #9.
Check the time, if it's already past 11:30, just leave, and head for lunch. There's no way you're going to get your permit before lunch time. I learned this the hard way.
If possible, get back before 1PM, so you'll be able to secure a seat. And if everything goes well, you will be having your permit in no time. :)
But if you really don't want to spend too much time for this, just get there before 8AM. :)
====================
To be continued...
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Taxation 101 - Part 1
The best way one could learn about Philippine Taxation is through experience. In my previous job, I never had to worry or even consider worrying about the details of taxes. I just knew that the government is "legitimately" stealing money from me and let my employer do all the dirty work (filling, registration, payment, etc.)
Ever since I became an independent software consultant, I can no longer depend on someone else to do these things for me. I had to learn to deal with my taxes.
Fortunately, there are people who are helping us. First is Loryfel's mom, who happened to be a lawyer. She's the one giving us legal advices and tips. Second is Ate Weng, she's the one doing all the accounting stuffs. She's also aiding us with our tax activities.
Together with Laila and Ate Weng, we embarked in an "enlightening" journey through Philippine taxation, red tape, bureaucracy and lunch breaks.
====================
1st stop was BIR Manila, where I should be paying my taxes. We got there around 10AM. I went to the comfort room before proceeding to the registration office. Their comfort room totally s*cked. It’s even worse than those shown in horror films. 2 urinals were labeled out of order, the other 2 were 'usable' but there was no flush.
We entered the office and gave our forms to the BIR officer. To our surprise, she asked for a PRC registration, a Mayor’s permit, or a DTI business registration. We told her that software engineers like us don’t have board exams so there’s no way we could have a professional license. Anyhow, that stubborn officer insisted that we obtain a DTI business registration first, so it left us no choice but to leave.
She advised us to go to DTI Buendia instead of the satellite office in Lawton since she thought it is going to be crowded there. We asked a couple questions regarding the DTI registration, and while we were discussing, she took my TIN and pulled some records from her computer, she discovered that I was previously registered in Taguig, so she told us to go to BIR Taguig first, to have my previous record updated and transferred to Manila. What the f*ck?
I was not really surprised by these. I knew something like that was bound to happen. But, just imagine what could have happened if she got lazy to check my existing record and just told us to comeback. :-?
====================
Our 2nd destination was DTI Buendia for the supposed “business” registration. As expected again, we were immediately fended off by the security guard while we were trying to find a parking space. He told us to go to DTI Lawton since they have implemented these distributed registration system to make it more “convenient” for people. Holy sh*t!
Since Lawton is out-of-way, we decided to skip DTI and proceed to BIR Taguig since the DTI permit probably won't be issued within the day.
We arrived at BIR Taguig around 11:16. They gave me some forms to fill-up. Then they made me go to 3 more stations for some verifications and signatures. We were lucky enough not to get caught with their lunch break, which would have probably cost us another hour. Actually, they were already on “lunch break” when we arrived, the officer who took my form even forgot where he left my form. Except for having a slightly better building than that of BIR Manila, everything else seemed to be same. There were a lot of employees but only a few were really doing something.
5 minutes before 12 Noon, I finally got my update form back. But the bad news is, it is going to take "at least" 5 working days in order for the transfer of record to the Manila server to complete.
====================
Our 4th destination was BIR Pasig, where Laila's records are located. Like me, she needs to have her record updated and transferred to Taytay, Rizal. But before that, we had lunch at Greenwich.
After we finished our family size pizza, we headed to the BIR Pasig office. Guess what? If the BIR Manila comfort room s*cked, the whole BIR Pasig office s*cked more. It was "absolute chaos". Several layers of men and women were in front of the BIR officers in a free for all filling or "piling" fest. Oh, they do give out number cards, it's just that no one is calling out those numbers.
Impressively, Laila was able to work her way around the miserable crowd and completed the processing in under 30 minutes. We left the BIR office afterwards.
====================
Our 5th and last stop was DTI Ortigas (in front of Megamall). It seemed that our luck has completely ran out. When we got to the DTI office, they were having some technical problems with their system and so the processing was very slow. The guard told us that there is no guarantee that we could be entertained before the cut-off time. We decided to wait for 30 minutes, with that hopes that the system will be fixed soon, and to our disappointment, the line never moved (only people in front leaving). We decided to return on a different day. :(
While waiting, I "accidentally" discovered that they have an unsecured wireless connection in the building. Since we are just outside the DTI office, I assumed that it is coming from the DTI office. Not only that their wireless connection is unsecured, their wireless router is accessible as well. I "accidentally" opened the administration page of their router, but I was "kind" enough not to screw up with the configuration or change the administrator password. >:)
====================
To be continued...
Ever since I became an independent software consultant, I can no longer depend on someone else to do these things for me. I had to learn to deal with my taxes.
Fortunately, there are people who are helping us. First is Loryfel's mom, who happened to be a lawyer. She's the one giving us legal advices and tips. Second is Ate Weng, she's the one doing all the accounting stuffs. She's also aiding us with our tax activities.
Together with Laila and Ate Weng, we embarked in an "enlightening" journey through Philippine taxation, red tape, bureaucracy and lunch breaks.
====================
1st stop was BIR Manila, where I should be paying my taxes. We got there around 10AM. I went to the comfort room before proceeding to the registration office. Their comfort room totally s*cked. It’s even worse than those shown in horror films. 2 urinals were labeled out of order, the other 2 were 'usable' but there was no flush.
We entered the office and gave our forms to the BIR officer. To our surprise, she asked for a PRC registration, a Mayor’s permit, or a DTI business registration. We told her that software engineers like us don’t have board exams so there’s no way we could have a professional license. Anyhow, that stubborn officer insisted that we obtain a DTI business registration first, so it left us no choice but to leave.
She advised us to go to DTI Buendia instead of the satellite office in Lawton since she thought it is going to be crowded there. We asked a couple questions regarding the DTI registration, and while we were discussing, she took my TIN and pulled some records from her computer, she discovered that I was previously registered in Taguig, so she told us to go to BIR Taguig first, to have my previous record updated and transferred to Manila. What the f*ck?
I was not really surprised by these. I knew something like that was bound to happen. But, just imagine what could have happened if she got lazy to check my existing record and just told us to comeback. :-?
====================
Our 2nd destination was DTI Buendia for the supposed “business” registration. As expected again, we were immediately fended off by the security guard while we were trying to find a parking space. He told us to go to DTI Lawton since they have implemented these distributed registration system to make it more “convenient” for people. Holy sh*t!
Since Lawton is out-of-way, we decided to skip DTI and proceed to BIR Taguig since the DTI permit probably won't be issued within the day.
We arrived at BIR Taguig around 11:16. They gave me some forms to fill-up. Then they made me go to 3 more stations for some verifications and signatures. We were lucky enough not to get caught with their lunch break, which would have probably cost us another hour. Actually, they were already on “lunch break” when we arrived, the officer who took my form even forgot where he left my form. Except for having a slightly better building than that of BIR Manila, everything else seemed to be same. There were a lot of employees but only a few were really doing something.
5 minutes before 12 Noon, I finally got my update form back. But the bad news is, it is going to take "at least" 5 working days in order for the transfer of record to the Manila server to complete.
====================
Our 4th destination was BIR Pasig, where Laila's records are located. Like me, she needs to have her record updated and transferred to Taytay, Rizal. But before that, we had lunch at Greenwich.
After we finished our family size pizza, we headed to the BIR Pasig office. Guess what? If the BIR Manila comfort room s*cked, the whole BIR Pasig office s*cked more. It was "absolute chaos". Several layers of men and women were in front of the BIR officers in a free for all filling or "piling" fest. Oh, they do give out number cards, it's just that no one is calling out those numbers.Impressively, Laila was able to work her way around the miserable crowd and completed the processing in under 30 minutes. We left the BIR office afterwards.
====================
Our 5th and last stop was DTI Ortigas (in front of Megamall). It seemed that our luck has completely ran out. When we got to the DTI office, they were having some technical problems with their system and so the processing was very slow. The guard told us that there is no guarantee that we could be entertained before the cut-off time. We decided to wait for 30 minutes, with that hopes that the system will be fixed soon, and to our disappointment, the line never moved (only people in front leaving). We decided to return on a different day. :(
While waiting, I "accidentally" discovered that they have an unsecured wireless connection in the building. Since we are just outside the DTI office, I assumed that it is coming from the DTI office. Not only that their wireless connection is unsecured, their wireless router is accessible as well. I "accidentally" opened the administration page of their router, but I was "kind" enough not to screw up with the configuration or change the administrator password. >:)
====================
To be continued...
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Me and the Gym
2 weeks ago, I had a short gym misadventure. It all started when a gym recruiter outside Robinsons Summit Center called my attention. She asked a couple of questions and invited me to check out the Fitness First Gym in their building. I told her I'm in a hurry and if it is possible to visit on a different time. She agreed and took my contact number.
The following day, she called me and asked me if it is OK for me to visit their gym that afternoon. I was planning to meet Juhl with some of my college friends that evening and I thought it was a good idea to kill my time there. So I agreed and scheduled the visit.
I also asked Jas to join me. I picked up Jas after work and proceeded with my scheduled appointment. After a few minutes, the recruiter came with a client information sheet and started asking a lot of "weird" questions, which, frankly, are actually difficult to answer. :|
After the initial survey, she gave us a brief tour around the gym in order to show us their facilities and equipments. Then we went back to visitor's area so she could show us the plans and their "bogus" pricing scheme.
They even have this "first visit promo" where they would slash around 5-6k from the fee. Which actually sounded really nice. But I'm not stupid to fall for that. :P
Why would they pump up the prices unreasonably in the brochures if they would mark it down drastically anyway? She even tried to scare me that they won't be any discount on my next visit. Ha ha ha... I could always go to another branch and tell them that it's my first time, and I will get the so-called "discount". >:P
I declined to join the club, and after realizing that she's going nowhere, the friendliness shown to me before immediately turned into an obvious disgust and coldness. Somehow, I knew that was coming, after all, it was quite obvious during our conversations that she's not truly interested and concerned in my health. >:P
Going to the gym might actually be helpful for some people, but it's NOT the only way to have a healthy body and lifestyle. Not for me, at least.
After the visit, I made a couple of observations and realizations. First, the gym is crawling with "out" people, some are members, some are recruiters, some are even the trainers, how worse could it possibly become. No, I don't hate them. But I'm really not comfortable with them, specially when some "guy" calls me "cute" or "pogi". :(
My other concern would be sanitation and hygiene. Just imagine how many people are sitting on those gym equipments, sweating, excreting bodily fluids while working out. And of course, those fluids won't just evaporate to the atmosphere, they would settle in the equipment itself until the next unfortunate person uses the equipment and acquires whatever liquid is lost from the previous user. Uuuuh... (I'm sounding like Adrian Monk). He he... >:P
The following day, she called me and asked me if it is OK for me to visit their gym that afternoon. I was planning to meet Juhl with some of my college friends that evening and I thought it was a good idea to kill my time there. So I agreed and scheduled the visit.
I also asked Jas to join me. I picked up Jas after work and proceeded with my scheduled appointment. After a few minutes, the recruiter came with a client information sheet and started asking a lot of "weird" questions, which, frankly, are actually difficult to answer. :|
After the initial survey, she gave us a brief tour around the gym in order to show us their facilities and equipments. Then we went back to visitor's area so she could show us the plans and their "bogus" pricing scheme.
They even have this "first visit promo" where they would slash around 5-6k from the fee. Which actually sounded really nice. But I'm not stupid to fall for that. :P
Why would they pump up the prices unreasonably in the brochures if they would mark it down drastically anyway? She even tried to scare me that they won't be any discount on my next visit. Ha ha ha... I could always go to another branch and tell them that it's my first time, and I will get the so-called "discount". >:P
I declined to join the club, and after realizing that she's going nowhere, the friendliness shown to me before immediately turned into an obvious disgust and coldness. Somehow, I knew that was coming, after all, it was quite obvious during our conversations that she's not truly interested and concerned in my health. >:P
Going to the gym might actually be helpful for some people, but it's NOT the only way to have a healthy body and lifestyle. Not for me, at least.
After the visit, I made a couple of observations and realizations. First, the gym is crawling with "out" people, some are members, some are recruiters, some are even the trainers, how worse could it possibly become. No, I don't hate them. But I'm really not comfortable with them, specially when some "guy" calls me "cute" or "pogi". :(
My other concern would be sanitation and hygiene. Just imagine how many people are sitting on those gym equipments, sweating, excreting bodily fluids while working out. And of course, those fluids won't just evaporate to the atmosphere, they would settle in the equipment itself until the next unfortunate person uses the equipment and acquires whatever liquid is lost from the previous user. Uuuuh... (I'm sounding like Adrian Monk). He he... >:P
Sakya Alumni Homecoming - Part 3
I've been putting this off for quite a while now. Come to think of it, I've been putting off a lot of things lately. Probably due to my recent addictions, Bleach and Monk.
Before I completely lost track of all the happenings that day, I've decided to finish it right now. :P
The first two was about the place and the people, this time it's going to be about the event. So, why was there an alumni homecoming event in the first place?
Let me go back 8 years, while we were still in high school. At that time, I should say that the school was in its prime. I'm not saying that it was the best school in town, but I do believe that it is very capable and competitive.
But that started to change after we graduated. Some of the more experienced teachers began leaving the school. Some students started transferring to neighboring schools as well.
I don't really know the reason why the parents have decided that way, but I do have some observations which might explain it. I'll try to be as objective as possible.
If you're paying for something, you would want value for your money, in this case, good education. However, the school seemed to have given more attention, resources and incentives to student athletes while those performing well in academics were ignored. The tuition fee continued to increase while the parents are not seeing significant improvement in the school education and facilities. :(
The other major observation would be the increase in the acceptance of students who were kicked-out from neighboring schools. The school have been known for its compassion to students who've failed. But it won't be a surprise to see parents pulling out their children so they won't be influenced by these bad students. :S
Lastly, our school, like most schools, also suffer from "budget" problems, while some top school officials "mysteriously" get a new car every few months. And, I forgot to mention that the school is operated by the Buddhist monks. (I have a bad feeling that I shouldn't have said this.) >:)
Anyhow, those are only "observations", I'm not implying anything, OK? O:)
------
The student and faculty population continued to diminish and there were rumors that they are closing the school down soon. Until recently, Philip Go from Batch 77, organized an alumni homecoming event, which aims to restart the operations of the alumni association, which have been inactive for several years now.
So they invited some big names in some of the major industries to impart some inspirational message to the school alumni in the hopes that they would extend their support to revive that school. Another thing to note is that 2 years from now is the 50th anniversary of the school foundation, so they would really like to gather as much support from the school alumni.
The guest speakers were Tony Tan Caktiong and Albert Yu. Both are Sakya alumni, though I'm not really sure how many years did they spend in Sakya. Even if you stayed for 1 semester, you'll still be considered as an alumni. :P
Tony Tan just happened to be the owner of the largest fast food chain in the Philippines, Jollibee. I saw his name before in an issue of Varsitarian, UST's school paper. He is a UST graduate, but I was surprised to learn that he was once a student of my high school.
Albert Yu, is a well-known architect who runs his own architectural firm, ASYA Design Partners. He also happened to be the consultant hired by The Beacon.
Tony Tan recently funded the upgrade of the computer units of the school. Unfortunately, Tony Tan wasn't able to come. He was represented by his brother, who delivered the message from Tony. I wasn't able to listen to his message very well due to the noisy crowd. Too bad. >:P
------
After the speeches, we lined up to get our lunch. While eating, there were production numbers from different groups like the Lion Dance Club, Anklung Club, Sakya Dance Troupe, Wushu Club and more. There were also raffle draws in-between the presentations.
And as expected, after the free lunch, people started leaving. :P We stayed until the program ended where Philip Go gave a final message to thank the people who attended and the people who gave their efforts in making the event possible.
While many have thought the event would be a failure, I think it was a big success. I'm looking forward to the next alumni homecoming and the 50th anniversary celebration.
Finally, I really hope that the School Gym Project, which was supposed to be due in 2002, gets to be started and completed soon.
Before I completely lost track of all the happenings that day, I've decided to finish it right now. :P
The first two was about the place and the people, this time it's going to be about the event. So, why was there an alumni homecoming event in the first place?
Let me go back 8 years, while we were still in high school. At that time, I should say that the school was in its prime. I'm not saying that it was the best school in town, but I do believe that it is very capable and competitive.
But that started to change after we graduated. Some of the more experienced teachers began leaving the school. Some students started transferring to neighboring schools as well.
I don't really know the reason why the parents have decided that way, but I do have some observations which might explain it. I'll try to be as objective as possible.
If you're paying for something, you would want value for your money, in this case, good education. However, the school seemed to have given more attention, resources and incentives to student athletes while those performing well in academics were ignored. The tuition fee continued to increase while the parents are not seeing significant improvement in the school education and facilities. :(
The other major observation would be the increase in the acceptance of students who were kicked-out from neighboring schools. The school have been known for its compassion to students who've failed. But it won't be a surprise to see parents pulling out their children so they won't be influenced by these bad students. :S
Lastly, our school, like most schools, also suffer from "budget" problems, while some top school officials "mysteriously" get a new car every few months. And, I forgot to mention that the school is operated by the Buddhist monks. (I have a bad feeling that I shouldn't have said this.) >:)
Anyhow, those are only "observations", I'm not implying anything, OK? O:)
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The student and faculty population continued to diminish and there were rumors that they are closing the school down soon. Until recently, Philip Go from Batch 77, organized an alumni homecoming event, which aims to restart the operations of the alumni association, which have been inactive for several years now.
So they invited some big names in some of the major industries to impart some inspirational message to the school alumni in the hopes that they would extend their support to revive that school. Another thing to note is that 2 years from now is the 50th anniversary of the school foundation, so they would really like to gather as much support from the school alumni.
The guest speakers were Tony Tan Caktiong and Albert Yu. Both are Sakya alumni, though I'm not really sure how many years did they spend in Sakya. Even if you stayed for 1 semester, you'll still be considered as an alumni. :P
Tony Tan just happened to be the owner of the largest fast food chain in the Philippines, Jollibee. I saw his name before in an issue of Varsitarian, UST's school paper. He is a UST graduate, but I was surprised to learn that he was once a student of my high school.
Albert Yu, is a well-known architect who runs his own architectural firm, ASYA Design Partners. He also happened to be the consultant hired by The Beacon.
Tony Tan recently funded the upgrade of the computer units of the school. Unfortunately, Tony Tan wasn't able to come. He was represented by his brother, who delivered the message from Tony. I wasn't able to listen to his message very well due to the noisy crowd. Too bad. >:P
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After the speeches, we lined up to get our lunch. While eating, there were production numbers from different groups like the Lion Dance Club, Anklung Club, Sakya Dance Troupe, Wushu Club and more. There were also raffle draws in-between the presentations.
And as expected, after the free lunch, people started leaving. :P We stayed until the program ended where Philip Go gave a final message to thank the people who attended and the people who gave their efforts in making the event possible.
While many have thought the event would be a failure, I think it was a big success. I'm looking forward to the next alumni homecoming and the 50th anniversary celebration.
Finally, I really hope that the School Gym Project, which was supposed to be due in 2002, gets to be started and completed soon.
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