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Ouch. Maybe they are evil people and they had the worst of intentions. But consider that this as described (sans hanging out in your underwear drinking beer with the supposed help) is something any foreigner not paying attention could run into.

The take-away is to be highly vigilant against being in a situation where you might be alone with minors who aren't your children. And this could be very difficult for some.

I recall a thread recently where someone (supposedly family of a friend) was arrested while accompanying minors on a bus trip. Maybe evil intentions, maybe not. There are also a lot of foreigners here who are raising children but have never become a legal guardian. These people could be wide open to problems.

I wonder how often minors end up working in a foreigner's house because of a hire by a live-in partner while the foreigner pays no attention. Hiring minors as helpers isn't uncommon for locals. I have never paid much attention myself to helpers hired by the people close to me and I wouldn't be surprised if one of them was underage. And sometimes those helpers would bring their children. Sometimes those children would sleep over for a night or two.

Of course, nobody would think to tell a lie here. You could easily get into a bad situation here just by an accusation. Getting cleared still wouldn't erase the headlines and the time you spent in jail because you couldn't get bail.

 

They have been very successful with that, great place to relax some days, pls. don't tell it to anyone don't want to spoil it

 

Animals have distribution ranges. So the birds and insects you see in the Philippines will not be the same as species found in other countries and vice versa.

Parrots for example, are common and very diverse in Australia, New Guinea and South America, but are less so in other regions. The Philippines has one endemic species of cockatoo - the Katala, which is sadly critically endangered. But it is restricted to mountainous areas.

A few species are rare, endangered, or extinct because of human encroachment on habitats or overhunting - like Philippine eagles and hornbills. Others simply can't survive in cities, which are usually infested with sparrows which they can't compete with. Others simply don't live in or have never been common in the Philippines, like seagulls which don't really exist in most tropical islands.

But rest assured, there are plenty of birds once you get to the countryside. You just have to know where to look. In my province, these birds are common near towns and villages:

• Sparrows - nuff said.
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• Cave swiftlets - at least two species. They're the birds that are the source of bird's nest soup. Called balinsasayaw ("tumbling dancer") locally, they can be quite beautiful to watch swooping and gliding about.
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• Chestnut munia - called maya locally. They look like red and black sparrows and are very common in ricefields.
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• Olive backed sunbird - very tiny birds with brown, yellow, and blue coloration. They are common visitors of flowers. They drink nectar and are very similar to American hummingbirds (they can also hover mid-air and fly backwards).
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• Kingfishers - various kinds. My favorite to watch because they are a brilliant blue. Common near streams and ricefields.
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• Brahminy kite - Often seen soaring above farmlands and bodies of water.
  
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• Zebra dove - A gray and brown pigeon that blends perfectly with the ground. They have a distinctive coo-ing sound.
  
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• Philippine pied fantail - again one of my favorites. They are commonly seen flashing their black and white fan-shaped tails to each other near meadows and farmlands. We call them sayaw (literally "dancer").
  
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• Rails - usually called tikling. Common in ricefields and marshes.
  
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• Pipit - smaller than rails, but similar in behavior. Also common in ricefields.
  
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• Cattle egrets - commonly seen on cattle and water buffaloes.
  
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As for uncommon birds I've only seen a few times, they include ravens, crows, and several species of owls. Also note that chickens (more accurately - the red junglefowl) are native to and were first domesticated in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, which is why chickens here are usually far more colorful than your average European chicken.

 

I work in Korea and none of my staff are worried about the bravado going back and forth, though I do have a friend working in Japan that says folks are tripping a bit there. I personally have no worries.

Shawn

 

I see this as a human rights topic, thus it is a global issue. The rape and murder of women is just plain wrong and not to be joked about no matter how black your gallows humour may be. An aspiring President of any country needs to watch what s/he says as they aspire to lead a nation in a global community. Mr D talks about raising his people, breaking the shackles of corruption that keep the majority in grinding poverty. Lofty, laudable aspirations. Just as important is breaking the injustices of macho culture that condones this sort of violence - after all roughly 52% of his voters belong to this gender and populate this green earth.

A bit more humility, a bit more of a softer edge would go a longer way to enhance his message that he will serve ALL Filipinos. Part of that is demonstrating that you were wrong and made an error of judgement in speaking the way he did 20+ years ago. As it is he just seems to dig himself deeper and deeper to me. I fear for the future if this guy wins - a likely bloodbath, purges, gulags, extra-judicial killings, the lot. I also fear for him, if he fails, the people will turn on him.

Glad I am stuck on a pretty relatively unimportant little island. The older folks here remember the days of Marcos. Their take on it is that those excesses barely touched them. If he does get elected, l hope pretty much the same thing happens.

Over and out,

C

 

Mike's Resort is okay.

 

MKKS meats near the Dumaguete cockpit (across from Citi Hardware has Tenderloin from Brasil.
It's just under 800 Peso/Kg and you have to buy the whole tenderloin which is about 2 Kg.
Sometimes they has Texas beef at a little higher price.

The Brasil meat can be a bit hit and miss. Sometimes it is tender and sometimes a little tough. When it's tough I just cut it to strips and stir fry it.
One time I bought a rib eye roast and it was okay, the next time it was too tough to describe.

Overall I would rate MKKS as good with the occasional, Oh Crap.

 

Latest pics it is starting to look like a house all the rooms are back filled and they are going to start forming window frames and door frames all concrete termite proof home is the goal the last pic is the view from bedroom window