small claims

good news for small creditors

effective october 1, 2008, a person may file with the Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Court in Cities, or the Municipal Circuit Trial Courts his monetary claims not exceeding P100,000 without need of hiring a lawyer. all he has to do is to file a complaint (the form which he can research online) and pay the corresponding fees.

this will save the plaintiff a lot of money and i would hope speed up the process of his collection. i admit that there were instances in the past that i declined to handle collection cases of small amounts because i sincerely believe that it was not worth the client's time and money. imagine having to shell out money for acceptance fees, appearance fees, and the 25% attorney's fees upon collection when the amount due is less than P100,000.

now with this small claims procedure, the creditor will definitely save money and be the one in total control of his case.

my christmas wish list

my simple christmas wish list :

1) goyard jeanne mm in pink

2) apple itouch

so shoot me, i'm materialistic he he he

skin care and sun protection

i was born fair. in my teens and in my twenties, i used to sunbath with hardly any protection because i wanted the golden tan look. but i hardly achieved that look, instead, i end up looking like an overcooked shrimp with peeling skin a few days after.

then i noticed that i had brown spots all over my face. nanay (my daughter's ever trustworthy caregiver) would tell me that i have "peke" skin because underneath my makeup are the dreaded sun spots. my derma prescribed obagi but tested me first for adverse reaction, thankfully (since i cannot afford it, he he he), i am allergic to the whitening part and can only tolerate the foaming gel and the toner which i had been using consistently since then. it is really good. i had intense pulse light (IPL) on some of my dark spots and most of them are now gone. the diamond peel also worked wonder because my pores are now smaller. my best friend, maribel, and i used to admire the blown up pictures of models with hardly a pore in sight (that was before we knew that the pics were airbrushed, **he he he**) and although my skin is nowhere near that perfection, at least the pores are less visible, and i think it's partly due to diamond peel. a word of caution though, a lot of so called beauty centers offer diamond peel, inquire first if the technicians are trained and if they are supervised by a board certified dermatologist.

my derma also prescribed sunblock. i used to think that i don't need sunblock because i am rarely exposed to the sun but turns out that even a few minutes of exposure will condemn your skin to the dreaded sun spots, ugggghhhhh

i tried a lot of sunblock and the results varied, such as:

• ashy gray film
• oily film
• pungent smell
• stings especially when applied on the folds of the nose

i especially hate it when my face turns into a wok of oily face at noontime. then i tried shiseido, and no, this is not an advertisement for shiseido, it's just that i am so happy with its performance. i have been using it for about two years now and i have no complaints whatsoever. it is not sticky, it does not make my face a target for shell and petron, it does not sting, and it is fragrance-free. the drawback is that it is more expensive than the other brands but a tube lasts about six months so it's really worth it.

reckless imprudence

about two years ago, a husband and a father, was on his way home to his family, riding his motorcycle when his life was cut short by a reckless driver. there were allegations of drag racing and the victim was caught in the middle of that race. did i mention that the race was conducted in one of the busy thoroughfares of the city? were the drivers prosecuted? i believe that there was a settlement on the civil aspect but i do not know what happened to the criminal aspect.

about two weeks ago, a relative of my high school classmate was killed in a vehicular accident in manila. he was just going to the airport to pick up a friend/relative when his car was hit by a reckless driver. the victim was trapped in his burning car. the bus driver who struck the victim's car allegedly had a vehicular accident in april 2008, just six months ago yet he continues to drive recklessly and with impudence.

yesterday, a biker along the four-way murcia bacolod road was on his proper lane, wearing the proper gear, and basically just enjoying his right to be on the road when he was struck and killed by another reckless driver. witnesses claimed that the killer driver attempted to overtake on the left lane but failed, he then attempted to pass on the right lane which is NOT ALLOWED and is a BLATANT TRAFFIC VIOLATION, it was on the right lane that he hit the biker who was on HIS PROPER LANE which resulted to his death. the biker's name was BENJAMIN MORAÑA. i mention his name here because i do not want his death to pass unnoticed and that he will be relegated to one of the statistics.

Ben Moraña does not know me nor do I know him. but his death struck a chord because my husband is also a biker and oftentimes, pass along the same route. Ben Moraña's death was SENSELESS and AVOIDABLE. the KILLER driver HAS NO REGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE. The killer driver has a wrong sense of entitlement, his action shows that he believes that reaching his destination faster is more important than observing traffic laws. DID I MENTION THAT HE IS IN HIS 70s? And where is he now? conveniently, he had himself admitted to the hospital claiming illness. like joc joc bolante.

what is the penalty for this killer drivers? believe it or not - A MERE SLAP ON THE WRIST. the revised penal code of the philippines states that: Any person who, by reckless imprudence, shall commit any act which, had it been intentional, would constitute a grave felony, shall suffer the penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in its medium period; and what does these periods translate to? - AT THE MOST- FOUR YEARS AND ONE DAY

thus, i say, that given the gravity of the offense, the corresponding penalty is a mere slap on the wrist. isn't it about time that we ask our solons to amend this law? this should be a priority instead of wasting time on investigating this, investigating that, or passing laws on renaming a street in honor of a long dead politician

day trip

bacolod city, negros occidental, is a very peaceful place to live and raise a family. career opportunities however are very limited, thus, the exodus of the 20s - 40s to other metropolitan cities in the country, or more often, to overseas. the only industries in bacolod worth getting into are banking and call center but then the rise to the top is slow and takes years.

but despite its shortcomings, i still prefer bacolod over any other place in the country (bagiuo not included, i LOVE baguio for its cold temp)

when asked what are the tourists spots in bacolod, i am hard pressed for an answer.... we have nice beaches but not within the city limits. negros occidental has lots of beaches, not necessarily the white kind but serene and picturesque enough, definitely more peaceful than boracay sans the tourist traps but you have to travel 4 hours or more to get there. there are some dive spots developed by europeans in southern negros with decent cottages for an overnight stay or even a week-stay.

for a simple day trip, there is a shell of a grand mansion just at the outskirts of the city where we had the chance to visit yesterday. it was owned by a sugar planter and built for his portuguese wife. we ran our hands over the concrete walls which felt like marble, according to the sign posted there, the concrete was grade a to mimic the feel of a marble and a huge number of people were hired to pour the concrete day and night.

i hope that more and more scenic spots will be opened and/or developed by private citizens to boost tourism in negros.