photos courtesy of ironwulf.net,dumagueteinfo.com all of which are search results for salagdoong beach and cantabon cave searches

on our journey to the mystic island of siquijor, i was chosen to be the anchor for our investigative or docu report. i am so hyped but at the same time, im nervous about getting the role for a couple of things. first, i am way too shy for the camera. one reason is that, im afraid to criticized, though i know its part of the learning process but believe me, its really hard talking and yapping for how many minutes and only the camera man can see you, unless of course it will be broadcasted live, well at least it wont be. second, i need way more practice. i keep on stuttering and losing all my lines when im facing the camera. its not that easy memorizing a whole bunch of scripts while doing other stuff. in this venture of ours, there will be lots of walking, and i mean lots and lots of them. also, talking to people i dont even know existed. aside from that, these people we are going to interview are not just ordinary people, they are so mystical, i cant even bare thinking of what might happen in the next couple of days, but even so, i am so ever thankful that i got the opportunity to go that island with no folks around, just me and my ever cranked up friends that i am always with everyday. third, i keep reasoning out that i am no better than a monkey with a banana. marvin is way too better than i am. but, thinking things over, i now realize why they have chosen me to be the anchor. its part of dividing the tasks among the group members and i know perfectly well that in the long run, we would talk this over a cup of coffee, and still id get the job. for one, id be the anchor. marvin would be the camera man, and on my opinion, he would also be doing the scripts. bea, i know, would be the editor of the video. "it" is one hell of an artist, so creative yet fashionably fabulous. amy? well, i dont really know what role she might play on this trip. i bet she'd be bringing lots of food during the trip, and believe me, she's one hell of a pain in the ass. but i dont have to worry about that, bea is there to make sure she wont be a pain in our asses. cielo...well, i guess she'd be one hell of a help. help me memo my script, help marvin do the script, help bea edit the vids, technically, a big help to almost everybody. i know i said id be anchor for this one but it doesnt mean that its the only thing that i will do. of course, id be helping in finalizing everything, ready to be submitted before the deadline and that is on FEB.20,2009. we are not only going to siquijor for that matter. aside from shooting in the island tackling the facts of the existence of witchcraft, we are also going there to see some of its wonders for our environmental journalism class. we have in our itinerary, THE CANTABON CAVE, SALAGDOON BEACH and THE TRIAD. i dont know where these wonders are located, but im sure il be able to know it soon. well, i think this is enough for now. il be posting again some time on either the 2nd week or 3rd week of febuary where i think we will be able to start making the documentaries that we are going to shoot in the mystic island of siquijor.

starting tomorrow, January 29, 2009, our broacast journalism professor Mr. John DX Lapid will be discussing to us how investigative reporting should be done. for our finals requirement, we will be going to siquijor with 4 of my classmates to tackle the existing witchcraft in the said island. i am a bit excited of this trip to the mysteriouis island of fire since it is going to be my first time to venture to the island with only my friends as company. what i am excited about is being able to discover the wonders of the place and to finding out as well the reality about witchcraft. as a child, i grew up to the fact the witchcraft only exists in books and other reference materials available in the library. my family and friends, who have been to place, tell me stories of people tapping your shoulders, staring at you in a wierd manner are signs that they want you for dinner. joke. but that is how witchcraft works on the said island. aside from direct contact, there are tons of other ways that witchcraft works and that is what we are going to find out on our little adventure soon. we are scheduled to be bound to siquijor on the 1st week or 2nd week of february. by then, il be posting everything that happened to us in the mystic island of siquijor. til then.

it's only the beginning of '09 and it has already been like a roller coaster ride for me. i don't know why but i got this funny feeling that this year is going to be a journey quite worth it. i know that somewhere out there, struggles and hardships are just lurking in the dark waiting to pounce on me once they get the chance. but i am ready for them, bring it on! i am gonna face you head-on and straight to the face. hit me your best shot!

yep..it's the fourth quarter of the year. actually, the year is about to end...and so is my life... just kidding. just recently, i had a surgery again on my butt, that fistula i got earlier this year was supposedly be removed from my system, but unfortunately, the previous doctor failed to do that. my case got worse and my family decided to have it removed totally again, this time in a different hospital and with a different surgeon. i am now at home, currently sitting in a very awkward position because i can barely sit properly because of the surgery. i am kinda recuperating from it and it's really getting me off my system. and oh, one more thing before i forget, i am diabetic at 20. yip, you heard it right. i am diabetic. everything that i got used to, like eating a lot and drinking all the good stuff plus smoking, gone! i was advised by my doctor to start isolate myself from them. my meals are controlled, 1cup everything everyday is my motto now. and on snacks, all i can "enjoy" are a pack or two of crackers and a glass of non-fat milk, also because of my high blood. at this age, i can't believe that i have all these things, like high blood and diabetic. though i believe these things are hereditary, but why does it have to be me who has to inherit these from my folks? well, i don't think i will be getting answers for that one now, but i hope it will be soon. you know what, after everything that has happened in my life, it makes me wonder, how long will i live in this world? i mean, these things that i have in me are known killers, serious killers, major killers and i am sad to say that i have them, at an early age. but i know, GOD has a purpose for everything and i know he loves me like everybody else. hmpf...i think this is enough for now. just drop by next time. xiao.

SILLIMAN OVERPASS CONSTRUCTION By: David Jhules Maceda The construction of the overpass project fronting the Silliman university elementary school and Silliman university high school is bombarded with protest by various student organizations in Silliman University. The construction of the said overpass will only add to the already existing problems of traffic congestion because the overpass itself is constructed on the shoulders of the road where the vehicles would usually wait for the students. Also, it will take the students more than a minute just to cross the overpass rather than crossing the street which will only take them about five seconds. The overpass project is also said to aggravate everything, from traffic congestion to possible accidents and injuries for children since they will have to take the stairs to cross the overpass instead of just crossing the street. Also, the overpass project was not consulted to the National Historical Institute (NHI) considering that Silliman University is considered a historical area and to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources with respect to the century old acacia trees that may be affected by the construction. Furthermore, the street where the overpass is said to be constructed is narrow and is not a highway; so technically, vehicles would slow down with or without the overpass due to its location and its tightness, hence the construction of the overpass is impractical and unnecessary. Also, another cry of the protestors is that, instead of having the overpass, they should have utilized a construction of a parking area which is a lot more useful than an overpass since the parking area will serve as a waiting area for all the vehicles that would be fetching the students to and from Silliman.

for the past few days, its been raining like crazy and going to and fro to dumaguete to attend my classes is such a big problem to solve. no umbrella, no raincoats, no jackets, no sweater, no everything. its just it.

well, its been quite a boring afternoon. nothing to do but surf the net, watch videos on youtube, and blog away here. its been a tiring day and all that i can think of doing is blog my heart out. well, i guess that is just the way it is, i think. tomorrow is monday, and it means back to school for me. i cant think of anything else as of the moment, all i can say is, its a pretty boring much afternoon. hope the rest of the day goes well. =) peace!

Man shot to death by nephew By David Jhules Maceda Last June 12, 2008, a man was shot to death by his nephew in Barangay San Antonio, Municipality of Sibulan, Negros Oriental. At around 9pm in the evening of June 12, 2008, Mr. Pio Barandog, uncle of the accused, Mr. Adolfo Barandog, was shot to death in the act of defending himself in his own residence when attacked by his nephew. Earlier that evening, Pio Barandog was in their living room along with his family when his brother, Honorato Barandog, came barging in their house asking for help because his son was challenging him to a fight and was also seeking help after what his son did to him. Pio advised his brother to stay inside the house while he went outside the house to try and pacify his nephew. After a few minutes, they heard gunshots and found Pio lying on the ground clutching his stomach. They then rushed Pio to the hospital and was pronounced dead just before midnight. Doctors claimed that Pio died not because of the bullet that was found in his lateral abdominal wall, the part of which that had the most serious damage, but because Pio had heart problems and had a cardiac arrest while the doctors were preparing for the operation. A day after the said incident, the suspect, Adolfo, surrendered himself to the Sibulan Police station and was accompanied by a barangay councilor, Mr. Isabelo Eumague, of Looc, Sibulan. However, the suspect didn’t surrender the gun that he used in committing the crime. After the appropriate cases were filed, Mr. Adolfo Barandog was found guilty of the crime of homicide and was sentenced to imprisonment ranging from six (6) years to fourteen (14) years and eight (8) months of reclusion temporal, maximum and is adjudged to indemnify the heirs of the deceased victim, Mr. Pio Barandog, the sum of fifty thousand pesos (P50, 000.00) due to his untimely death. Also, he was sent to the New Bilibid Prison at Muntinlupa City, Metro Manila, where he will be detained.

basing my write up from a court decision file in the year 1999, i was able to come up with a news article (dated June 12, 2008) that would somehow make or break me in my advanced news writing class. the actual write up will be the next post after this one. please, i would love to hear comments from journalists all over the country to help me out in my endeavor to become a journalist someday. leave notes and comments ayt? peace. love you all.

its about to be on peeps, and i can just feel it brushing through my hair. the school spirit is about to come alive again and do you know what it means? study, study, study. man, i just cant believe that im gonna do the things that i dreaded the most, studying. reading, writing, encoding and project making, its all about to happen very, very soon. well, of course there is a bright side to that one. i mean, you get to see your friends, get to do all those stuff with them, and just enjoy being a student. now, is that hard to imagine? =) peace... hope you'll kick off the school year right, coz i know im gonna. =) peace!

the school year is gonna be here soon. and damn, im so excited about the fact that im gonna see my friends again. well, iv'e seen my friends already, during the enrollment period, and the enrollment was one heck of a job, i mean, the sweat, the heat, the everything. also, we are gonna have new faculty members this year, and im excited to meet them. too bad our department is running out of students, our population this year dropped and i dont know how the department will handle this one. but i know we can make it through, we always do. =) i dont know if im ready for this year, but i better be coz there will be a lot challenges up for me. im gonna be on my 3rd year this year, and it means more news gathering, news making and learning new techniques to improve my skills in both aspects. then probably after this school year, im gonna be having my internship and i dont know if im ready for that one either. but im confident enough that i will be ready by then, i mean i have the whole year to prepare for that. i dont know if where im gonna have my internship, but no matter what happens, im gonna make sure that i will love every minute of it, doing everything at my best, and maybe at my worst too. damn, im so stressed out these days, i hope i can get over this stress-filled life soon coz i know that i have to be filled with this whole bunch of energy that made me who i am in my school. im known to be the joker, the laugher, the witty, almost everything that you could possibly think of. im the "entertainer" type of person, i always want to see smiles on everyone's faces around me so that id feel happy too, seeing them happy and all that... hmph... il be posting a lot in this blog very soon, the life and times of david the "me"... you'll be seeing a lot from this blog this year so better watch out for that. til next time... =)

i love this song... keep on rocking jordin. she performed this song on american idol "judgement day"