Just about an hour ago in a 7-11 store where i went in to eat my supper. I saw two ladies counting coins, lots of them. They appear to be Badjaos, one of the tribes originally from Mindanao.

They were doing the counting in the table which i also use to put my meal. While they were doing their thing I also mentally counted one of the lady’s money. It was more than 1,000 pesos (20$). An earning of one person only.

An average construction worker is only earning 300 pesos a day (6$). Had to injure heat and risk of an accident. While these beggars just sit or stand in one corner pretending to be poor.

Don’t fall for their antics.

They also have boat rental and horseback riding. Much like in Baguio.

By looking at the surroundings, i find it odd that this park is situated right inside Metro Manila. Manila is notorious for its pollution and being a highly urbanized city, all concrete and stones.

How I got there. I rode a bus plying along EDSA, bus going to Fairview. I stopped in Marlboro St.

La Mesa Eco Park contact information:

(02) 410-9670 / (02) 415-2227

http://www.lamesaecopark.com

See more tons of photos of La Mesa Eco Park!

These hordes of people are about to go home. Time is about 3pm.

You can setup a tent or mat here.

Going up to the La Mesa Dam.

This lady is shooting at the sign on the fence.

Here is that sign. We are crazy. This is La Mesa Dam.

Horseback riding.

Before posting tons of photos about Marikina City, i will give a bit of facts of about this progressive city.

Marikina City popularly known as the Shoe Capital of the Philippines. It is one of several cities that comprise Metro Manila. This city used to be the capital of Manila.

The adjacent cities of Marikina are Quezon City and Pasig City. It is about 20 minutes from where i live in Barangay Tomas Pasig without traffic, or one hour with traffic haha.

The original spelling of Marikina was Mariquina during the Spanish times, but was changed into Marikina with the arrival of the Americans.

The current mayor (2009) is Marides Fernando, the wife of the famous MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando.

Visit Marikina official website for more information.

• The area code for Manila is 02. Don’t include the 0 if you are calling from outside the Philippines.

• The Philippine area code is 63.

• The common cellular phone prefix numbers of Globe are 0917, 0915. For Smart are 0918, 0919. For Sun Cellular it’s 0922.

• Payphone from telephone companies are sometimes a frustration, some don’t work. But there are a lot of small shops offering payphone service for 5 pesos each call for 3 minutes.

He was famous for his remarks:

“I prefer a country run like hell by Filipinos to a country run like heaven by Americans. Because, however bad a Filipino government might be, we can always change it.”

I don’t necessarily agree with that quote above, and i’m not being a US suck up.

He redeemed himself by saying this:

“My loyalty to my party ends where my loyalty to my country begins.”

1896 – Rizal was executed at Bagumbayan Field of what is now popularly called Luneta Park. Revolution ensued because of it.

1897 – The Katipunan was replaced by a new government headed by Emilio Aguinaldo as president. Andres Bonifacio resisted and built his own government, but was executed together with his brother for treason.

1898 – The US bought the Philippines for US$ 20 million from Spain, and staged a mock Battle of Manila Bay to make it appear as a legitimate war between the US and Spain.

1899 – The start of Philippine-American War that lasted for three years.

1571 – Miguel Lopez de Legazpi arrived in Manila, and became the governor general. As a result Catholicism spread like wildfire.

1646 – Spaniards successfully defended the city against the Dutch in Manila Bay.

1762 – The British grabbed Manila from the Spaniards.

1764 – Spaniards successfully drove out the British.

The Manila City Hall is symbolically synonymous to the city of Metro Manila and its adjacent cities.

Architect Antonio Toledo designed this landmark and its construction was finished in the 1930s. The present structure is a restoration after it was partially destroyed during the World War II.

I took this picture during my audition for Survivor Philippines, which i wont do it again. Hahaha.

There are a lot of Batanguenios in Manila, but they’re too hesitant to reveal their accent for fear of being made fun of.

People from Manila has a penchant to make fun of those who are from the provinces especially the bisayans when the latter speak english. The call center agents from Manila would contemptibly say “regional” or “provincial accent” to their counterparts from other provincial cities.

How about this call center agent with an obvious tagalog accent:
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This one by Renaldo Lapuz, the recent craze who auditioned American Idol :
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