The PCOS machines uses a Linux OS, I heard the Smarmatic people say, and yet they refuse to show the public the source code or simply tell us what is up.
Enrile or I think Nograles, or one of them, mentioned that the house should summon an external IT team to study the machines because they say it’s all technical and they couldn’t understand the issues involved, or so they said awhile ago.
The way I understand it, these machines are just glorified counting machines. They don’t seem to be too high tech nor are they too accurate or too fool proof, as evidenced by the random time stamps or the bloated number of registered voters or the other seemingly legitimate issues raised.
BUT: The reason we don’t understand how the PCOS works is not because we have poor IT comprehension skills.
The reason we do not understand how the PCOS works is because they refuse to tell us how it really works.
It reminds me of those crafty people (who aren't particularly smart or distinguished or accomplished) and yet they keep babbling on, using supposed technical terms, to confused and intimidate people into believing they're actually smarter, more distinguished, more accomplished or worth more than they actually are.
The PCOS is not some rocket scientist genius nobel prize winning invention. And, they should top pretending its more complicated than it really is.
Assuming it is an honest system: it should just scan the shaded ballots and tally the votes, yield accurate results, and then print/transmit the results.
It should be as straight forward as that. The fact that it’s not, or the fact that they’re so shady about the details, is completely fishy.
The PCOS vs. the Lotto Machine
I watched Karen Davila interviewing Manoling Morato on ANC. Given, he tends to be a weird character that doesn’t seem to inspired much confidence in me (or anyone I know). However, he does raise an interesting point.
He says that the lotto machines could actually be used to conduct the elections, we have thousands of them and he claims they are the “most foolproof machine”.
This may sound like an exaggeration but when you think about it: 20-30 million people bet on the lotto everyday and they are able to draw out the winner in just 25 minutes, figure out what the person’s name is and which outlet he/she made the bet in. And, think about it, it probably can’t be too unsecured seeing as there would be enough motivation for any koala person to hack the system and gain millions.
The point is it doesn't seem beyond our capabilities to commission/purchase an automated system that is efficient, credible and "fool proof", that can handle millions of entries within a time schedule.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Prophetic, aren't I?
I once spoke to a British journalist, a co-worker of a friend, who came here to report on the Muslim extremist sects in Mindanao and the state of Philippine politics. Time frame: around one of those “failed” GMA impeachment filings.
He asked me why GMA was so weak, always thinking about people’s reactions and then backing down, with whatever it is she’s trying to implement, whenever people react.
I told him, well, all these people would, without a doubt, go ahead and rally for her resignation if she makes any wrong move. As it is, she has been asked to resign multiple times, and in fact, the impeachment shenanigans are being held so that she can reach the limit of impeachment filed for that year (and therefore can never actually be impeached).
He then tells me that he is about to interview the president of the Liberal party, Mar Roxas, and that he is so excited because he was told that Mar was set to be the next president of the country.
I told him, hmm, don’t be (too excited). These politicians shift alliances left and right. And, Mar really (at that time) has not done anything to distinguish himself (then again, maybe he has but as we know now his PR team isn’t exactly brilliant). I told him, don’t be too thrilled about interviewing the future president, don't count on anything yet.
Then he said, there seems to be hope for the Philippines just yet when everyday people (like me) have all these opinions about the state of the nation.
I told him, um no, don't count on it. I am, seriously, not the norm.
A few years after:
He asked me why GMA was so weak, always thinking about people’s reactions and then backing down, with whatever it is she’s trying to implement, whenever people react.
I told him, well, all these people would, without a doubt, go ahead and rally for her resignation if she makes any wrong move. As it is, she has been asked to resign multiple times, and in fact, the impeachment shenanigans are being held so that she can reach the limit of impeachment filed for that year (and therefore can never actually be impeached).
He then tells me that he is about to interview the president of the Liberal party, Mar Roxas, and that he is so excited because he was told that Mar was set to be the next president of the country.
I told him, hmm, don’t be (too excited). These politicians shift alliances left and right. And, Mar really (at that time) has not done anything to distinguish himself (then again, maybe he has but as we know now his PR team isn’t exactly brilliant). I told him, don’t be too thrilled about interviewing the future president, don't count on anything yet.
Then he said, there seems to be hope for the Philippines just yet when everyday people (like me) have all these opinions about the state of the nation.
I told him, um no, don't count on it. I am, seriously, not the norm.
A few years after:
- I read in Ricky Carandang’s Blog – that GMA’s strategy is to keep on pushing her (dastardly) plans and subsequently abandoning her last move when the people begin to protest.
“It has always been Arroyo’s style to push the limits of public tolerance and back off when it has been reached. She tried to revise the constitution and got as far as convening the Abueva Commission and having it draft a new charter. It was only when public anger rose that the Supreme Court stopped the charter change effort.”
Hmm? What a brilliant strategy. You’d think it wouldn’t work… but it has. And, while she’s at it, why not try to hold everyone else by the neck, through favors, through monetary benefits… And, while she’s at it, why not appoint 13 out of the 15 SC judges. Well, why not? It works.
- As we now know, Mar was not the presidential bet of the LP party and at this very moment, he’s in 2nd place, next to “dark horse” Binay, with rumors of factions (of the NoyBi movement) surrounding the results for the VP spot.
- As for the youth and the people having all these (high minded) opinions on the state of the nation? Bong Revilla, with his otso otso ads, got the #1 senate spot. Enough said.
- As for the British reporter? During his brief stint in Mindanao, he had an encounter with some militant group, shortly after (he seemed to have freaked out), he left.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
On things, other than the elections
Well, I have been abnormally preoccupied by the elections these past few days (like you would not believe).
I am, however, not yet done with it though... Technicians take home 60 machines... Amazing 100% voter turnout in ARM areas... Delay in the last 10% of the results... Chief justice appointed (when he shouldn't have been)... The next president wants to be sworn in by a barangay captain? Oh, drama still lurks...
But in the meantime, the world still turns…
On the Geothermal Front
Iceland’s volcano strikes again!
AND Indonesia experiences another major earthquake in Sumatra! (May 9, 2010 at 7.2 magnitude)
The UK Elections
The hung parliament is no longer hung. The Liberal Democrats are no longer a “joke”, as my friend calls them (and have liken to Nader's party), or insignificant. They’ve now decided who's going to run the UK for the next, well, at least few years. The Tories are in. David Cameron is now the new prime minister. Gordon Brown has stepped down from Labor.
And, Nick Clegg, is good looking and great at debates. He's geared up to be the new Tony Blair, circa when he just came into the spotlight way back when.
Madrid Masters
I usually just tune in to Grand Slams and a few Masters en route to the Slams.
And, I definitely skip watching tourneys where Roger bows out early – I’m a selective sports watcher this way. So far, Roger is still in and have won the quarters. So, I'm still all over Madrid.
And, when the election news lies low, I'm all set to tune into to the French Open. (Thank you, Balls Channel - what a crappy name you have but at least you shell out money for the coverage).
I am, however, not yet done with it though... Technicians take home 60 machines... Amazing 100% voter turnout in ARM areas... Delay in the last 10% of the results... Chief justice appointed (when he shouldn't have been)... The next president wants to be sworn in by a barangay captain? Oh, drama still lurks...
But in the meantime, the world still turns…
On the Geothermal Front
Iceland’s volcano strikes again!
AND Indonesia experiences another major earthquake in Sumatra! (May 9, 2010 at 7.2 magnitude)
The UK Elections
The hung parliament is no longer hung. The Liberal Democrats are no longer a “joke”, as my friend calls them (and have liken to Nader's party), or insignificant. They’ve now decided who's going to run the UK for the next, well, at least few years. The Tories are in. David Cameron is now the new prime minister. Gordon Brown has stepped down from Labor.
And, Nick Clegg, is good looking and great at debates. He's geared up to be the new Tony Blair, circa when he just came into the spotlight way back when.
Madrid Masters
I usually just tune in to Grand Slams and a few Masters en route to the Slams.
And, I definitely skip watching tourneys where Roger bows out early – I’m a selective sports watcher this way. So far, Roger is still in and have won the quarters. So, I'm still all over Madrid.
And, when the election news lies low, I'm all set to tune into to the French Open. (Thank you, Balls Channel - what a crappy name you have but at least you shell out money for the coverage).
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Election Success?!
It is said that the elections are successful by the public’s point of view. Perhaps, we really have such low standards.
I am not impressed by this election. The only reason people are crying “success” is because everything that led up to the elections – the whole PCOS brouhaha set up the notion of extreme doom and gloom.
It has been announced by Comelec that there was a 75% voter turnout and this is a so called successful number. BUT there were so many people complaining of long lines, heat exhaustion, a lot of people going home w/o voting. This does not even include the violence that sabotaged and deterred various polling operations. A lot of machines or cards were malfunctioning or ballots have been switched (like ballots for one province or locality was sent to another) and a whole lot of issues that caused delays, which obviously lowered the voter turnout.
In addition, places with malfunctioning machines (like the 65 in Isabella or the one in Aquino’s precinct) led people to just fill in the ballots but not feed it into the PCOS machines themselves. Rumors of ballot switching are alleged to happen at this point. A different set of filled out ballots are said to be fed into the replacement/fixed machines when the voters are no longer there. And, some flash cards were just delivered today, which means that the ballots will only be ran through the some machines today.
Add to all this, based on the parallel count of ABS-CBN (as of today) most of the precincts have only about 60+% voter turnout – not 75%.
And, I don’t buy the people touting that violence has been less this time around. The likely reason why violence is less (in number) this time is because the election process is shorter – when normally manual counting spells more manual ballot box snatching and the violence that goes with it.
So, this relative peace is more because the window of opportunity for violence got shorter, less because the Comelec or the police turned out to be extra efficient. It also does not mean that the intent for violence or manipulating the elections was reduced. They probably just found other, better or automated ways to cheat the system.
Yes, in a way, everything turned out to be better than expected. (However, I state this with a grain of salt because it is not over, until it’s over –that is, if there will be a smooth transition of government).
No, I am not particularly impressed. I don’t think we should celebrate this election and accept all the suspicious events that came with it – albeit by looking at mere statistics, they seem to be less than before.
It was a relatively peaceful elections. It was a relatively honest elections. There was relatively no cheating. RELATIVE - being the operative word.
I am not impressed by this election. The only reason people are crying “success” is because everything that led up to the elections – the whole PCOS brouhaha set up the notion of extreme doom and gloom.
It has been announced by Comelec that there was a 75% voter turnout and this is a so called successful number. BUT there were so many people complaining of long lines, heat exhaustion, a lot of people going home w/o voting. This does not even include the violence that sabotaged and deterred various polling operations. A lot of machines or cards were malfunctioning or ballots have been switched (like ballots for one province or locality was sent to another) and a whole lot of issues that caused delays, which obviously lowered the voter turnout.
In addition, places with malfunctioning machines (like the 65 in Isabella or the one in Aquino’s precinct) led people to just fill in the ballots but not feed it into the PCOS machines themselves. Rumors of ballot switching are alleged to happen at this point. A different set of filled out ballots are said to be fed into the replacement/fixed machines when the voters are no longer there. And, some flash cards were just delivered today, which means that the ballots will only be ran through the some machines today.
Add to all this, based on the parallel count of ABS-CBN (as of today) most of the precincts have only about 60+% voter turnout – not 75%.
And, I don’t buy the people touting that violence has been less this time around. The likely reason why violence is less (in number) this time is because the election process is shorter – when normally manual counting spells more manual ballot box snatching and the violence that goes with it.
So, this relative peace is more because the window of opportunity for violence got shorter, less because the Comelec or the police turned out to be extra efficient. It also does not mean that the intent for violence or manipulating the elections was reduced. They probably just found other, better or automated ways to cheat the system.
Yes, in a way, everything turned out to be better than expected. (However, I state this with a grain of salt because it is not over, until it’s over –that is, if there will be a smooth transition of government).
No, I am not particularly impressed. I don’t think we should celebrate this election and accept all the suspicious events that came with it – albeit by looking at mere statistics, they seem to be less than before.
It was a relatively peaceful elections. It was a relatively honest elections. There was relatively no cheating. RELATIVE - being the operative word.
Monday, May 10, 2010
To accept or not accept these “failures”, this is the question
Note that I wrote this post on the day of the elections. I was frazzled and high on caffeine. But I still stand by this opinion: the election is hardly something that we should break bottles of champagne over. It was relatively peaceful. RELATIVE - being the operative word.
Failure of Elections has been reported in 4 municipalities in Lanao del Sur. Fire fights in Sulu. Burned PCOS machines: intentionally by “terrorists” and unintentionally through some electrical burning issues. 65 machines are defective in Isabella. Explosions, power outtakes, long lines that lead people to just leave without voting… And the list goes on…
Leading up to Election Day, the whole brouhaha about these stupid machines have backed the people in a corner.
Which prompted everyone to ask: Will we delay the voting or push through? Both choices are not particularly assuring.
It’s quite obvious that this automation move has (likely deliberately) not been executed properly. Why contact a company like Smartmatic that raised credibility issues in the Venezuelan elections? Why only have 2 companies bid for the automation? (The other company is a sister company of Smartmatic) Why delay releasing the machines? With Customs giving some flimsy reason like the paper work are not good. I mean, come on, the government can’t release the machines that they themselves commissioned? They, themselves, should be certain of the legitimacy of the paper work. Why did they take out the UV and receipt functions of the machines (that were meant to check the accuracy of the machines)? Why are the machines so sensitive? Slight misalignment, slight scratching, slight folds, slight over shading leads to a null vote. (High school diagnostic test seem to use the same concept of shading choices and these tests seem do ok for years.) Why deliver and test the machines just days before the elections? And, why are these flash cards suddenly erroneous and at the last minute?
WHY, WHY, WHY???
People are left to decide between crying foul, protesting and, consequently consider delaying the elections – BUT what does a delay entail?
Is this the plan B? Is this the goal of the incumbents? Will these give declining candidates more time to strategize? Is this constitutional? Is this fair to the people? Is this not a form of bullying the citizens into agreeing to a delay? What are the implications of a delay?
If we push for pushing through with the elections – What does this entail?
Inefficient deliveries and distribution of PCOS machines and ballots? Defective machines? Long lines? Power outages? Bombings? Killings? Kidnappings? Brown outs? Long slow moving lines? Failure of elections in some places? (As these events continue to occur today)
We’ve made a decision in pushing through with the elections – but at what implications? And so, the saga continues…
It seems we are now called to either ACCEPT or NOT ACCEPT these incidents that are meant to cast doubts in the election process.
We are now once again forced into a corner. It is a win-win for those who create chaos, just as it was a win-win for them when the PCOS machines failed the tests.
If we cry out and question the elections or if we cry “failure of elections”… to whose benefit will this be? It seems it would be for those who perpetuated the chaos.
If we accept the chaos and accept the election results, then it follows that we accept all the election chaos (the doubts, the troubles, the violence, the dysfunctional machines, etc.), and it follows that our next president and leaders will lead with casts of a so called doubtful election. So, it seems, in this manner the chaos makers still win.
It’s a lose/lose situation for all of us.
I woke up today expecting some anomalies, some dubious events, and more or less the usual election fanfare.
I thought that whatever “cheating” methods would have been in place by now, maybe the machines would be calibrated a certain way by now, if they were. I expected moves to be sly, to be less blatant…
But it seems they wanted to cover all bases. It seems all definitions and all alleys of how to interpret what constitutes a “failure of elections” were set into motion.
I am outraged at the blatant tenacity…
Failure of Elections has been reported in 4 municipalities in Lanao del Sur. Fire fights in Sulu. Burned PCOS machines: intentionally by “terrorists” and unintentionally through some electrical burning issues. 65 machines are defective in Isabella. Explosions, power outtakes, long lines that lead people to just leave without voting… And the list goes on…
Leading up to Election Day, the whole brouhaha about these stupid machines have backed the people in a corner.
Which prompted everyone to ask: Will we delay the voting or push through? Both choices are not particularly assuring.
It’s quite obvious that this automation move has (likely deliberately) not been executed properly. Why contact a company like Smartmatic that raised credibility issues in the Venezuelan elections? Why only have 2 companies bid for the automation? (The other company is a sister company of Smartmatic) Why delay releasing the machines? With Customs giving some flimsy reason like the paper work are not good. I mean, come on, the government can’t release the machines that they themselves commissioned? They, themselves, should be certain of the legitimacy of the paper work. Why did they take out the UV and receipt functions of the machines (that were meant to check the accuracy of the machines)? Why are the machines so sensitive? Slight misalignment, slight scratching, slight folds, slight over shading leads to a null vote. (High school diagnostic test seem to use the same concept of shading choices and these tests seem do ok for years.) Why deliver and test the machines just days before the elections? And, why are these flash cards suddenly erroneous and at the last minute?
WHY, WHY, WHY???
People are left to decide between crying foul, protesting and, consequently consider delaying the elections – BUT what does a delay entail?
Is this the plan B? Is this the goal of the incumbents? Will these give declining candidates more time to strategize? Is this constitutional? Is this fair to the people? Is this not a form of bullying the citizens into agreeing to a delay? What are the implications of a delay?
If we push for pushing through with the elections – What does this entail?
Inefficient deliveries and distribution of PCOS machines and ballots? Defective machines? Long lines? Power outages? Bombings? Killings? Kidnappings? Brown outs? Long slow moving lines? Failure of elections in some places? (As these events continue to occur today)
We’ve made a decision in pushing through with the elections – but at what implications? And so, the saga continues…
It seems we are now called to either ACCEPT or NOT ACCEPT these incidents that are meant to cast doubts in the election process.
We are now once again forced into a corner. It is a win-win for those who create chaos, just as it was a win-win for them when the PCOS machines failed the tests.
If we cry out and question the elections or if we cry “failure of elections”… to whose benefit will this be? It seems it would be for those who perpetuated the chaos.
If we accept the chaos and accept the election results, then it follows that we accept all the election chaos (the doubts, the troubles, the violence, the dysfunctional machines, etc.), and it follows that our next president and leaders will lead with casts of a so called doubtful election. So, it seems, in this manner the chaos makers still win.
It’s a lose/lose situation for all of us.
I woke up today expecting some anomalies, some dubious events, and more or less the usual election fanfare.
I thought that whatever “cheating” methods would have been in place by now, maybe the machines would be calibrated a certain way by now, if they were. I expected moves to be sly, to be less blatant…
But it seems they wanted to cover all bases. It seems all definitions and all alleys of how to interpret what constitutes a “failure of elections” were set into motion.
I am outraged at the blatant tenacity…
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Left and Right Reads
As I am a notorious book hopper, I am currently reading 4 books:
The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century by George Friedman
Free: The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson
When we were gods: A novel of Cleopatra by Colin Falconer
What the Dog Saw by Malcom Gladwell
And, I am also reading the Time Magazine 100 most influential people issue and Glamour UK 50 best dressed women in the world issue.
All the reads are pretty good, just that I get moody with what enters my brain sometimes :)
The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century by George Friedman
Free: The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson
When we were gods: A novel of Cleopatra by Colin Falconer
What the Dog Saw by Malcom Gladwell
And, I am also reading the Time Magazine 100 most influential people issue and Glamour UK 50 best dressed women in the world issue.
All the reads are pretty good, just that I get moody with what enters my brain sometimes :)
Elections Shmulections
PCOS (precinct count optical scan) Machines = EPIC FAIL. What a sham. What a scam. Seriously, what kind of so called government commissioned election machines are these?
For that matter, why are they testing them out – JUST NOW? Seriously?!
PARTY LISTS – What a mockery. Not particularly marginalized nominees as so called representatives of the marginalized parties. 79 out of 150 party lists start with the letter “A”. About 8 start with “1”. And, the strange names just keeps on coming…
If Jon Stewart is a Filipino, he would go nuts with the unending material to be had in Philippine politics.
For that matter, why are they testing them out – JUST NOW? Seriously?!
PARTY LISTS – What a mockery. Not particularly marginalized nominees as so called representatives of the marginalized parties. 79 out of 150 party lists start with the letter “A”. About 8 start with “1”. And, the strange names just keeps on coming…
If Jon Stewart is a Filipino, he would go nuts with the unending material to be had in Philippine politics.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
New Media presents: Gordon vs. Gordon
Less than one week to go and so much more could happen in this circus we call local politics... And, I am choosing to sit back, relax, and wait... in partial anticipation.
In the meantime, there's nothing to do but accept the unending supply of "entertainment"...
Interesting to note, at least, that more are entertained by the stretch of crazy that we call a campaign period. (And, it’s the University of Nottingham, no less).
“Filipino voters expect to be ‘charmed and entertained’ by their candidates. Surely UK elections would be less tedious if we demanded the same? Gordon Brown, take note...” – Nottingham Blog
I’ve tuned into UK politics for a while when Tony Blair was the prime minister. I still believe he was good for the image of UK's international relations. But it’s true, Gordon Brown, is known for being, well, less entertaining than some…
Exhibit A
Gordon Brown discusses Science Funding on a Facebook Digital debate:
vs.
Dick Gordon performs The Lion Sleeps tonight with Momoy Palaboy:
Hmm?
Exhibit B
And just when you think you're about to go mad from the extended exposure to all these silly, senseless, patronizing, mind-numbing and flat-out weird political ads... I bid you to look into Ukrainian politics.
Smoke grenades, eggs and tomatoes at the Ukraine Parliament:
So, do you feel better? Actually, I do not.
I think of the strange lolo/lola musical ad, the sad mom ad, and the otso-otso ad (complete with the gyrating cartoon "8") and: I. do. not.
In the meantime, there's nothing to do but accept the unending supply of "entertainment"...
Interesting to note, at least, that more are entertained by the stretch of crazy that we call a campaign period. (And, it’s the University of Nottingham, no less).
“Filipino voters expect to be ‘charmed and entertained’ by their candidates. Surely UK elections would be less tedious if we demanded the same? Gordon Brown, take note...” – Nottingham Blog
I’ve tuned into UK politics for a while when Tony Blair was the prime minister. I still believe he was good for the image of UK's international relations. But it’s true, Gordon Brown, is known for being, well, less entertaining than some…
Exhibit A
Gordon Brown discusses Science Funding on a Facebook Digital debate:
vs.
Dick Gordon performs The Lion Sleeps tonight with Momoy Palaboy:
Hmm?
Exhibit B
And just when you think you're about to go mad from the extended exposure to all these silly, senseless, patronizing, mind-numbing and flat-out weird political ads... I bid you to look into Ukrainian politics.
Smoke grenades, eggs and tomatoes at the Ukraine Parliament:
So, do you feel better? Actually, I do not.
I think of the strange lolo/lola musical ad, the sad mom ad, and the otso-otso ad (complete with the gyrating cartoon "8") and: I. do. not.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Treks, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions
On our way to Mount Pinatubo, I said: I know this may not be the right time to bring this up but I feel that something weird and unstable is happening beneath the earth’s surface.
In fact, I have been thinking about this for a couple of days now. Although, unless faith would really have it (what with better scientific warning technology these days) that the volcano erupts with us swimming above its crater, I know I’m more or less just talking paranoia.
But hey, you can’t deny that since the start of the year there have been too many earthquakes all over. There’s Haiti, China, Chile, Sumatra, Japan, Taiwan, Ilocos, Mindoro… (It says in Wikipedia there have been 42 earthquakes from January to April 2010.) Then, there’s Mayon and Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull, which erupted for days and left all those Europe travelers stranded.
But, as to not, put some bad vibes to our (then) upcoming Pinatubo trek, I said: ok, moving on….
The Pinatubo Crater is surprisingly gorgeous:
A normal person like me, who does not regularly exercise but can probably walk effortlessly for 2 hours straight wearing heels, can do it at a comfortable pace for about 40mins. Note that there were varying sizes of rocks that you had to step on and maneuver through. It wasn't one of those treks where there's a decent trail. But once you get there, I suppose you can say its worth it.
For a moment there, my friends and I were glad to see some touristic development in the area, or in the country for that matter. (I actually saw a group of French tourists) To turn a disaster, the stagnant former plantation fields, into an opportunity... exceeded our low expectations. That is, until, someone told us that the outfit was managed (or partly managed) by Koreans... Then, our sense of pride vanished.
But overall, it was still a good day. The weather cooperated and I was proud of my so called outdoorsy self. But when I got back home from the road trip, I logged on to the net and guess what I see?
Lo and behold: Magnitude 4.5 quake hits Panay, Negros islands – and it’s just May 1!
In fact, I have been thinking about this for a couple of days now. Although, unless faith would really have it (what with better scientific warning technology these days) that the volcano erupts with us swimming above its crater, I know I’m more or less just talking paranoia.
But hey, you can’t deny that since the start of the year there have been too many earthquakes all over. There’s Haiti, China, Chile, Sumatra, Japan, Taiwan, Ilocos, Mindoro… (It says in Wikipedia there have been 42 earthquakes from January to April 2010.) Then, there’s Mayon and Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull, which erupted for days and left all those Europe travelers stranded.
But, as to not, put some bad vibes to our (then) upcoming Pinatubo trek, I said: ok, moving on….
The Pinatubo Crater is surprisingly gorgeous:
A normal person like me, who does not regularly exercise but can probably walk effortlessly for 2 hours straight wearing heels, can do it at a comfortable pace for about 40mins. Note that there were varying sizes of rocks that you had to step on and maneuver through. It wasn't one of those treks where there's a decent trail. But once you get there, I suppose you can say its worth it.
For a moment there, my friends and I were glad to see some touristic development in the area, or in the country for that matter. (I actually saw a group of French tourists) To turn a disaster, the stagnant former plantation fields, into an opportunity... exceeded our low expectations. That is, until, someone told us that the outfit was managed (or partly managed) by Koreans... Then, our sense of pride vanished.
But overall, it was still a good day. The weather cooperated and I was proud of my so called outdoorsy self. But when I got back home from the road trip, I logged on to the net and guess what I see?
Lo and behold: Magnitude 4.5 quake hits Panay, Negros islands – and it’s just May 1!
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