cop's academy

Gbex says: Do you want to join the military? Get enrolled in a military academy- In the Philippines, there is one very best school for military service... Wanna conquer PMA?...

The Philippine Military Academy (PMA) is the training school for future officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The school is established as an Officer's School of the Philippine Constabulary on February 17, 1905 at Intramuros, Manila, but was relocated on September 1, 1908 in Baguio City.... That's all what I can tell you right now my buddies! For more info, go to the nearest cop station commander!

Well, I do not want to just leave this post without letting a single stone unturned, so let me just expound a little bit of what a cop's academy is all about:
A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps of the Army, the Navy or the Air Force or provides education in a service environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned.

Three types of academy exists: High school-level institutions awarding academic qualifications, university-level institutions awarding Bachelor's degree level qualification, and those preparing officer cadets for commissioning into the armed services of the country. Need I say more?

remembering Filipino-American Friendship day

Filipino-American Friendship Day, July 4, is a day in the Philippines designated by President Diosdado Macapagal to commemorate the liberation of the country by joint Filipino and American forces from the Japanese occupation at the end of World War II.

The Philippines was a U.S. territory from 1898 to 1942, when it was occupied by Japanese forces, and again for a brief period after the war. The country gained complete independence on July 4, 1946.

Initially, the nation's Independence Day holiday (Araw ng Kalayaan) was held on July 4. Former President Diosdado Macapagal moved it to June 12, the date on which the Philippines declared independence from Spain in 1898.

Filipino-American Friendship Day was created in its place, and coincides with the United States' July 4 Independence Day.


Filipino culture is a combination of indigenous Austronesian civilizations and influences of Hispanic and American cultures. Small Chinese and Islamic contributions are also seen and portrayed.

Culturally, the Philippines is the most Westernized country in Asia, a legacy of over three centuries of Spanish and 50 years of American colonial rule. Filipino culture has taken a Latin and Catholic flavor from Spain, which ruled the country for centuries.

Today, most Filipinos are distinguishable from other Asians by having a Hispanic and Hispanic-sounding name and/or surname, by practicing the Catholic religion, and by speaking English and (to an extent) Spanish.

Filipino Americans are Americans of Philippine ancestry, which trace back to the Philippines, an archipelagic nation in Southeast Asia.

The Filipino American (Fil-Am for short) community is the second largest Asian American subgroup and the largest Southeast Asian American group. Filipino Americans are also the largest subgroup of the Overseas Filipinos.

In 2007, the Filipino American community was estimated to be at 4 million, or 1.5% of the United States population.

More than half of the community are either naturalized or American-born, while the remainder are Filipino nationals or dual citizens of both the Philippines and the United States.


Immigration
Filipinos remain one of the largest immigrant group to date with 80,000 people migrating per annum. About 75% consist of family sponsorship or immediate relatives of American citizens while the remainder is employment-oriented.

A majority of this number prefer to live in California, followed by Hawaiʻi, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Washington, Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, Alaska, Maryland and Virginia.

Filipinos experience the same long-waiting periods of visa issuance experienced by immigrants of all other nationalities.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has a preference system for issuing visas to noncitizen family members of U.S. citizens, with preference based generally on the closeness of familial relation, and some noncitizen relatives of U.S. citizens can spend long periods on immigration waiting lists.

Petitions for immigrant visas, particularly for siblings of previously naturalized Filipinos that date all the way back to 1984, were granted in 2006.

Many visa petitions by Filipino Americans for their relatives are on hold or backlogged and as many 1.4 million petitions are affected causing delay to the reunification of Filipino families.


Dual citizenship
As a result of the passage of Philippines Republic Act No. 9225, also known as the Citizenship Retention and Re-Acquisition Act of 2003, Filipino Americans are eligible for dual citizenship in both the United States and the Philippines.

Overseas suffrage was first employed in the May 2004 elections in which Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was reelected to a second term.

In 2004, about 6,000 people became dual citizens of the Philippines and the United States. This act encourages many Filipino Americans to invest in the Philippines, buy land (only Filipino citizens and, with some limitations, former Philippine citizens are allowed to purchase land in the Philippines, vote in Philippine elections, retire in the Philippines, and participate in representing the Philippine flag.

Many dual citizens have been recruited to participate in international sports events such as the Olympic Games in Athens 2004, the 23rd Southeast Asian Games in Manila, the 15th Asian Games in 2006 and the upcoming Olympic Games in Beijing 2008.

In addition, the Philippine government actively encourages Filipino Americans to visit or return permanently to the Philippines via the "Balikbayan" program and to invest in the country. Philippine consulates facilitate this process in various areas of the United States.

These are located in Chicago; Honolulu; Los Angeles; New York; Saipan; and San Francisco while honorary consulates are also available in Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Majuro, Miami and New Orleans.

Stonehenge vandalized...

Gbex says: According to London news, vandals got a hammer and screwdriver to vandalise and destroy the Stonehenge ancient monument, the first such incident for decades...

The two men attacked the ancient monument of Stonehenge with a hammer and chipped off a piece of stone the size of a large coin, a conservation group said Thursday.

Such act was a disgrace to the ancient old monument which is considered as one of the wonders of the world!

Stonehenge is one of the world's best preserved prehistic monuments. In around 2,600 BC, 80 giant standing stones were arranged on Salisbury Plain, where there was already a 400-year-old stone circle.

Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) west of Amesbury and 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) north of Salisbury.

One of the most famous prehistoric sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones. Archaeologists believe that the standing stones were erected around 2200 BC and the surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC.

The site and its surroundings were added to the UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1986 in a co-listing with Avebury henge monument, and it is also a legally protected Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Stonehenge itself is owned by the Crown and managed by English Heritage while the surrounding land is owned by the National Trust.

PPITS...conquered.

I love going to places especially in this time of the year when the heat of summer starts to creep the depths of my bonemarrows.

So I see to it that I get a real chance to go out of town just to momentarily escape myself from the stressing scorching heat of the humid day. And one of my favorite cool places to hang around and refresh myself is PPITS -Peoples Park In The Sky.

People’s Park in the Sky is situated in Mt. Gonzales, Tagaytay City. If you can recall a bit about its history, it was envisioned to be 'Palace in the Sky' or a summer resthouse/vacation house of the late Pres. Ferdinand Marcos and his family. But its construction was stopped after the former dictator got himself ousted from power in the 80's.

After a series of serious deliberations, the place was turned over to the Local Government Unit and it was only then that the place was opened to public as one of Tagaytay's tourist attractions. And from its name Palace In The Sky, the historical landmark was renamed Peoples Park In The Sky.

The Legendary volcano...

Do you believe in legends?

The legend of Mayon Volcano is sometimes hard to believe yet people of the Bicol Peninsula, has tried a million times to unravel the mystery of the origin of this magnificent landform of earth.

One legend has it that there once lived a very beautiful princess who had an uncle named Magayon. He was very strict and possessive of his niece that no guy could ever dare to challenge his wrath by courting the favors of the young pretty princess.

One day, however, a brave and virile warrior was so smitten by the princess that he threw all cares to the wind, clambered up through the window of the royal chamber and enticed the girl to elope with him.

With Magayon at their heels, the couple prayed to the gods for assistance. Suddenly from out of nowhere, a landslide buried the raging uncle alive. Local folks now claim that it is Magayon's anger bursting forth in the form of eruptions.

Let's go dare to climb Mayon!!!!......

Wordless Wednesday: Historical Landmark

The awesome Magellan's Cross!!!... and from the annals of Philippine History, "Magellan's Cross is a large Christian cross planted by Portuguese and Spanish explorers as ordered by Ferdinand Magellan upon arriving in Cebu in the Philippines in 1521.

This cross is housed in a small chapel next to the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño on Magallanes Street (Magallanes being the Spanish name of Magellan), just in front of the city hall of Cebu City. A sign outside claims that the original cross is encased inside the wooden cross that is found in the center of this chapel. This is to protect the original cross from people who chipped away parts of the cross for souvenir purposes or in the belief that the cross possesses miraculous powers. Some people, however, believe that the original cross had been destroyed or had disappeared after Magellan's death, and the cross is a replica that was planted there by the Spaniards after they successfully colonized the Philippines.

Magellan's Cross is a symbol of Cebu City and the chapel's image can be found in its city seal. It is also seen as the symbol of Roman Catholicism in the Philippines."