Ploning The Movie

I will surely watch this movie come April 30!
Official Trailer below: 

Official Website

Manila Water irks me!

New version of Manila Water bill

Old version of Manila Water bill

The images above are found at the back of my water bill from Manila Water Company. The east zone water concessionaire in Metro Manila. Please pay a particular attention to the part where it says “BANK OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLAND (METRO MANILA BRANCHES).”

Anyone who knows how to read English will know what that means, that your water bill can be paid at Metro Manila branches of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI).  So that’s what I did today, I went to a local BPI branch and queued for almost an eternity to have this bill paid only to be told by the teller, that BPI does not accept over-the-counter payments and encircled the means that the bank can accept the payment.

I was so frustrated and mad.  The good side of me told me not to make a big fuss of this in the bank and so I did not made a scene. I crumpled the payment form and left the building in fury. If BPI does not accept over-the-counter payments, who’s stupid idea was it at Manila Water to put (Metro Manila Branches) on the bill?

When I went back home I called Manila Water customer service. I was told that BPI accepts over-the-counter payment but the person I talked to (who sounded very unsure) said that he’ll confirm it and will send me a text message once he finds out the answer. My goodness, things like that should be known by call center staff instantly, I mean I worked in a call center before and things similar to that should be memorized.

Now, I wait and wonder about the end of this matter.

Bottom line, I hate poor service. Companies with poor services don’t deserve to exist!

Inquirer.net: GMA 7 refutes KBP ad load rule

GMA Network defended its decision not to follow the Kapisanan ng mga Broadcaster ng Pilipinas’ (KBP). Read the excerpt below:

MANILA, Philippines - GMA Network, Inc. said on Wednesday that the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) rule limiting the commercial load of programs to 18 minutes per hour will push commercial airtime prices up.

The network, which left the KBP in 2003, also said that the cap violates Philippine laws.

“A limitation on the supply of the very limited resource of commercial airtime would push commercial airtime prices upwards. Thus, time standard disrupts market forces that dictate supply and demand and is anti-competition,” GMA said in a statement. Read the full story here.

The statement from GMA Network is arrogant and greedy. While any business has the right to advertize we the views must come first and must be protected from clutter.

Why must the viewer endure countless minutes of mindless advertising for the sake of these advertisers and the TV network?

Why can’t GMA Network understand that cluttering up their channel gives also a great disservice to their advertisers. They should know that every second of clutter is directly proportional to ad recall.

So what if ad rates go up. Only the largest corporations in the Philippines can afford to buy TV ads at the moment anyway.

Advertisers must be wise enough to consider the quality of their advertising campaign than the quantity of ads they can buy. In the end, what is more important is how many remember the ads and the advertiser’s messages than how much was spent to buy airtime.

Related Post:
Television Ad Clutter in the Philippines

Latest Charice Pempengco Videos

Image via Wikipedia

As everybody knows, Charice Pempengco has become an international sensation. In these two videos, you’ll see her perform on British television and a promo for her appearance on the Oprah Show.

Best wishes Charice, you make us so proud!

On the Paul O’Grady Show:

The Oprah Show promo:

TV Patrol report on DJ Montano breaking his silence - transcript

The YouTube video below, is ABS-CBN’s flagship news program, TV Patrol’s report on DJ Montano breaking his silence on Korina Today on the ABS-CBN News Channel.

After the jump, you’ll be able to read the transcript that I made. I’m working on the English translation, I will update this post once I am done. THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION IS DONE!

Brian Gorrell’s story on ABS-CBN TV Patrol transcript

The news report below is the the first time Brian Gorrell’s story was covered by Philippine TV news.

Transcript (with English translations) can be found after the jump.

Video on Kitty Go about the Brian Gorrell, ‘Gucci Gang’ scandal

[I've added an English translation of the Filipino parts of the report. I'm no professional translator so please bear with me.]

The video and the transcript I made is about a news interview of ABS-CBN’s Bandila with Kitty Go. Kitty Go was an editor and publisher of several magazines in the past. She became infamous when she published two books, “When Chic Hits the Fan,” and “Chic Happens.” The books were her fictionalized accounts of the posers and fakers in Manila high society.

Read the transcript with translation after the jump.

New Zealand related immigration news and opinion

The Earth Times: New Zealand’s Asians put into campaign spotlight

Excerpt: Wellington - New Zealand’s fast-growing Asian population seems set for the spotlight at this year’s general election, as official projections that it will nearly double its numbers inside the next 20 years. The nationalist New Zealand First party, which has picked up votes from the anti-immigrant minority in past elections, with “Whose country is it anyway?” campaigns, was quick to capitalize on the new population forecasts.

There are currently about 400,000 Asians in the country and Statistics New Zealand predicted their number would increase by 3.4 per cent a year to 790,000 by 2026 when they would account for 16 per cent of the population. Read more here.

IOL (South Africa): NZealand minister bemoans Asian growth

Excerpt: Wellington - The nationalist New Zealand First party, which is led by Foreign Minister Winston Peters, launched a fresh attack on Asian immigrants on Wednesday after government projections showing they were the fastest-growing group in the population.

Asians were expected to come close to outnumbering the indigenous Maoris in 18 years, when they would account for 16 percent of the total population, Statistics New Zealand said. Read more here.

TV3 News (New Zealand): NZ First launches new attack on Asian immigration

Excerpt: New Zealand First has launched a new attack on Asian immigration, saying New Zealand is going to be flooded with Asians and there is no guarantee about what they are going to do here.

The attack was launched not by Winston Peters but his deputy Peter Brown. Read more here.

Associated Press: Anger Over Rising New Zealand Immigration

Excerpt: WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand’s Asian population is growing faster than any other ethnic group and will outnumber indigenous Maori by 2026, government figures released Wednesday showed.

The findings drew the ire of an anti-immigrant party that contends the door should be shut on Asian immigrants, claiming they do not integrate into mainstream society. Read more here.

The Age: New Zealand MP accused of ‘Hanson-like’ policies

[FYI: Pauline Hanson is a racist and demagogue Australian politician whose only political platform is to drive away all sorts of migrants out of Australia.]

Excerpt: A New Zealand politician has been compared to Pauline Hanson for suggesting his country shut its doors to Asian immigrants.

New Zealand First deputy leader Peter Brown revived the race debate by saying that NZ was under threat of being “inundated” by people who did not want to integrate. Read more here.

Latest New Zealand Immigration Headlines

Image from Wikipedia

NZ Herald: Professional migrants face discrimination in NZ - study

Excerpt: Highly skilled immigrants struggle to find jobs in New Zealand because they come up against a wall of discrimination from both potential employers and recruitment consultants, a Massey University study has found.

The Wellington-based study by human resource management lecturer Jacqui Campbell and communication lecturer Mingsheng Li unearthed disturbing evidence that many new arrivals remained unemployed or accepted unskilled work because of racism. Read more here.

NZ Herald: [New Zealand's] Open-door policy on migrants ‘a danger’

New Zealand First has suggested the door should be shut on Asian immigrants.

Deputy leader Peter Brown said yesterday that there was a danger Asian “mini-societies” were being built in New Zealand. Read more here.

NZ Herald: Flow of [New Zealand] migrants to Australia still big

Excerpt: The annual flow of New Zealand residents to live in Australia is the biggest since the middle of 2001.

Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) said a net 29,600 people migrated to Australia in the year to February, up from 22,200 in the February 2007 year. Read more here.

NZ Herald: MP’s Indian neighbours hit back at ‘racist’ claims

Excerpt: Fourteen-year-old Karamjit Singh lives in the same Tauranga street as New Zealand First MP Peter Brown.

But that’s about all he has in common with his neighbour.

The Otumoetai College student said he felt “put down” by Mr Brown’s comments this week about curbing Asian immigration. Read more here.

Television Ad Clutter in the Philippines

Last Thursday night I had a chance to watch Ms. Cheche Lazaro’s “Media in Focus” show on the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC). It is an intellectual talk show on everything and anything about media in the Philippines.

The episode was interesting. It was about the imposition of the 18 minute per hour ad load for all the members of the Kapisanan ng mga Broadcaster ng Pilipinas (Association of Philippine Broadcasters) or the KBP.

The show had an interesting panel of guests and resource persons.

The first guest was Ms. Maloli Espinsa, who is the current President of the KBP. She talked about the stricter implementation of the load limit.

She said that the 18 minute rule is one of the higest in the region. [I did some research on Wikipedia and found out that 18 minutes was also the standard in US television.]

Asked about why 18 minutes, Ms. Espinosa said it was the optimal amount that will be quitable to the broadcaster, the advertisers and the viewers (in terms of clutter).

The penalty for members who are found guilty of violating the rule is 120% of the ad revenue in excess of 18 minutes.

Two years ago, the rule as relaxed because KBP members were at a commercial dissadvantage to those who are non-members of the KBP, namely GMA Network, Inc. (GMA-7).

Apprently, GMA-7 withdrew from the KBP last August 2003. Some people say that GMA quit the KBP because it was found guilty of violation to the ad load limit and was supposed to be heavily fined. [I now understand why the channel is full of ads and ever extends the time slots of its shows.] [Read news about GMA leaving the KBP here.]