Let’ HANGOUT and watch the Pacquiao-Cotto fight!

On November 14 th, 2009 from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas Nevada, pound for pound champion Manny Pacquiao will take on welterweight powerhouse Miguel Cotto. The fight will be fought at a catch weight of 145 pounds. …

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After two years, here I am, pulling back memories. I remembered my almost one year and three months stay on the construction. Nobody could really forget the fun, friendships, heartaches and of course the tremors we had under our Japanese bosses. It is called the New Iloilo Airport Development Project back then and in NIADP, I have realized the importance of time, every minute that passes by is essential. I remembered how strict our bosses are. They are very meticulous in their work. Any petty things are not entertained. For them, here, WE are all professionals and YOU are a professional.

The success of the New Iloilo Airport of International Standard is not only because of the big people behind it but also because of the staffs, most importantly because of the hard work of the people behind every post, every wall… the workers. They are, most of all facing the great danger every time they went to work every morning until they are safely back in their families.

NIADP will not be a success without us, of course. Philippine Hitachi Plant handled mechanical and electrical works and has a job on all buildings. Every time I thought of NIADP, not only the happiness but as well as the loneliness comes in the picture. I miss getting a headache every time I collect their drawings for submission. Being an area document controller is a tough job but of course not as tough as being a CADD Operator which is most of my close friends is.

Being with friends in the midst of a very busy situation everyday, every hour and every minute makes me realize how vulnerable people are, even those in a higher ranks. People get hurt and get mad. I miss all the fun that we had, our teamwork to help each other finished before the deadline. I can say that during my stay in NIADP, I am very happy that I have the opportunity working with them. They are all responsible, talented and creative and I am glad they have become my friends. Most of them are now out of the country, off to another project but I really wanted to let them know that they have influenced my life and I am really proud of them.

My friends reminisce too, like me, every time they remember NIADP or if ever they visited Iloilo City again and take a step on New Iloilo Airport of International Standard, in which they have contributed a lot of their skills and talents.

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By Rex Harder

When the school year is about to end, Gillian Rae, my six-year-old daughter had a loose tooth. The next day, after placing the tooth under her pillow, the tooth fairy gave her a dollar. Now proud of being a ”big girl” she showed her dollar around Elizabeth Meyer school classmates and friends.

Recently, while looking for my checkbook, I found her dollar placed in a zip-lock inside my drawer. I called her ask her what she want to do with money from her tooth fairy. She answered, “hmmm….maybe we could give it to the Red Cross!” The way she said it was in a very casual manner, but the thought caught me by surprise! This maybe because of all the news of the great Midwest flood in the US where she witnessed on TV, not only the devastation and misery brought about by the calamity but also the people helping other people. And most recently, during the height of the typhoon that swept through the Philippine islands, especially the flood in Iloilo province, a place in central Philippines and the ancestral home of her mom and dad.

Her dad glued on the internet’s real-time news from local radio stations streaming broadcast and watching video clips and images, including CNN’s I-report, of rushing water and the people caught in the middle of it; her mom, dad and grandma’s frantic calls to Iloilo, trying to contact family members and friends. It was non-stop for three days, from June 21 to 23, 2008; talking on what to do, like friends and coworkers calling and giving support, the big boxes in our living room that her grandma and mom trying to fill up with goods to be shipped to Iloilo. And the talk of organized actions through different organizations, mentioning the Red Cross several times.

She too was being instructed on the dos and don’ts when on vacation to Iloilo two weeks later. Why she need to be vaccinated, why she needs to be very careful on anything that she eats and drinks, and what she might expect to find on a place that recently experienced flooding.

These for sure had caught Gillian’s attention. Asking for a piece of paper and a pen, she wrote a note “ to the Red Cross, thanks for helping the flood victims, Gillian Rae.” then she went to her bedroom and opened up two of her piggy banks pouring all the contents on the bed, put them all in the zip-lock with the note and tooth fairy one dollar bill. Its not uncommon for Gillian to open her “piggy” banks for a good cause. She usually do this yearly when our Catholic community starts the fund raising for the women’s center in our area where she will put all her saved coins on baby bottles and bring it to our church during a Sunday service.

Tonight as I tuck her in bed, while telling her how proud I am of what she did, she asked me, “Will my aunts, uncles and cousins be okay? (mentioning several names) and friends and classmates too?” I know that she was thinking of the people she met during her vacation in Iloilo a year and a half ago. “Will the water won’t sweep them away?” I answered, “Let’s hope and pray that they will be okay.” And she said, “Lets hope that the tooth fairy can give more so that the Red Cross can help my friends.” I am a 41-year old dad, I always thought the fairies are child’s play. But as I kiss my daughter goodnight, I’m thinking of the dire situation in the flooded communities, deep inside me is fervently wishing too, if only the fairies could grant her wish, a wish of a girl with a big heart…

Less than an hour’s flight south of Manila, Iloilo is the gateway to Western Visayas and to the country’s premier tourist destination, the famed Boracay Island. The city and province are among the country’s center of industry, trade, tourism, culture and education. Accessible by air and sea from most major cities in the country, Iloilo boasts of an international seaport, excellent road network, sufficient power and water supply, reliable communication facilities, first-class tourism amenities and modern commercial centers.

Iloilo City, the provincial capital, is a bustling metropolis. With five universities and a number of colleges, its populace is one of most educated in the county. A splendor sparkling and shining in southern Philippines, there are more treasures waiting to be discovered in Iloilo.