Straight from Bariles’ INBOX is a piece of exciting news for kids of all ages who have learned to love this Nickelodeon animated character and her sidekick.

Dora the Explorer and her monkey friend, Boots is coming to GenSan by way of two mall shows at the Robinsons Place General Santos!

On June 5, 2010, the “real and authentic” (as emphasized by the mall’s poster) Dora the Explorer and Boots will be flying in from Manila and appearing in two “meet and greet” shows at the Robinsons GenSan atrium, one at 2pm and the last one at 4pm, entitled EXPLORERS WANTED.

Bariles still has no word on whether PRE-REGISTRATION for would-be-EXPLORERS is required.  He hopes to get Robinsons’ say on this soon, before Saturday when this fun activity happens.

If we have to judge by the case of the success of the mall show of Spongebob Squarepants almost two months back at the same mall, then we are certain that Dora the Explorer’s event will surely be a hit too.

That’s how famous Nickelodeon’s characters are in this part of the Philippines.

Now, isn’t that admirable that General Santos City’s newest mall continues to surprise the generals with events like this one, which seemed almost impossible to happen some months back?

Bariles and his readers could only clap their hands with glee. 

A new computer store is soon to open in General Santos City!  And this time, it will be at KCC Mall of GenSan!

Guys, please welcome PCWORX to the Tuna Capital of the Philppines!

PCWORX GenSan is the company’s seventh branch and their first outside of Luzon. It now joins the few Manila-based computer stores which have opened in General Santos City like OCTAGON, COLUMBIA and CDR-King, among others.

Now we can again directly feel the positive  impact of more competition, with computers and computer peripherals and other gadgets getting more and more affordable.

Here is PCWORX Company Profile.  Please scroll down the Scrbd document below to read the total transcript.

Company Profile

By the way, you can check out PCWORX’s website and order online by CLICKING HERE. 

Bariles checked out the prices of their products and was quite impressed by their affordability.  First it was CDR-King-Robinsons and CDR-King KCC which opened the Pandora’s Box for the rest of the computer shops here to lower their prices.

And now with PCWORX opening soon, it’s gonna be a heyday for computer users and computer geeks of Soccsksargen!

Bravo!

Bariles and GenSan News Online Mag received an email from Socoteco II yesterday.

The email which seemed urgent included two attachments. 

 One is the notice of Power Interruption from National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) effective tomorrow, May 30, 2010, Sunday, from 8am to 6pm (11 hours).

The affected areas are those served by the Socoteco II main office, the Ligaya and Leon Llido Sub-stations. 

Below is National Grid Corporation of the Philippines‘ (NGCP) letter.

Please scroll it down to read the whole thing. 

may_30

The second attachment is this new schedule of browounts (3 hours once daily) effective May 31 – June 13, 2010.  That is still another half-month or two weeks of scheduled daily browouts in GenSan.

3hrs Once a Day 4 Groups May31-June13

Bariles hopes this is not late.  He is still resting after being discharged from the hospital yesterday and couldn’t get to finish a post this morning due to another dizzy spell.

For those who adore stand-up comedians, the KCC Mall of GenSan is featuring another famous comic to headline its Midnight Sale tonight.  First it was K Brosas and Anton Diva last April.

Now, get ready to laugh and be amused by the antics of Pooh or the guy who is much better known as Manny Poohkyaw!

Manny Poohkyaw, who is Pacman‘s comic alter-ego was here last year in a jampacked concert at the GenSan Gymnasium in Lagao.  We are pretty sure that with his appearance at KCC Mall of GenSan tonight, all his fans and admirers will be filling up the whole Convention and Events Center.

And we only have KCC Mall to thank for bringing in artists regularly to the Tuna Capital.

Robinsons Place GenSan has another ace up their sleeve!

While the 3D movie Shrek The Final Chapter is being shown in their first 3D cinema, they are bringing in the real SHREK straight from Manila for a Grand Mall Tour.

Shrek’s Mall Tour has been scheduled on Monday Tuesday, June 1, 2010, starting from 4:00pm onwards.  There’s no word yet if kids are required to register their names first for a chance to have their pictures taken with the famous ogre.

What is clear though is the fact that this is the real SHREK to be flown in by the movie producers and not just a mascot from a local birthday party events supplier, according to Robinsons’s publicist.

Whew!  The heat is on!

Even while I am writing this inside my hospital room at General Santos Doctor’s Hospital, I am dreaming of the beaches of Sarangani and how it would be great to be down there lying half-naked while listening to the sound of the surf and drinking a cool tall glass of melon milk shake.

If given the choice, I would be at this time preparing myself for what promises to be the biggest beach party in Southern Philippines, the SARANGANI BAY FESTIVAL 2010!

The annual Sarangani Bay Festival which is a major project of the Provincial Government of Sarangani under Governor Migs Dominguez and Vice Governor Steve Solon will official kick off tomorrow, May 27, 2010 at the newly refurbished and improved Lemlunay Diving Resort at Maasim, Sarangani.

The resort now has an infinity pool and overnight cottages to boot!  Check out the photo of the pool below, courtesy of Ms. Rue Ramas.

Aside from the opening ceremonies at Lemlunay tomorrow, there will be a Crown of Thorns Clean-up, photo contest, Poi and Zip clinic, Sayaw Sarangan Hataw sa Tag-Araw, Boksing sa Baybayon and Reggae Party.

The 2nd day kicks off at various beach resorts in Glan:  White Haven Beach, Rosa White Beach, Coco Beach , Isla Jardin del Mar and Reycon Beach.

Activities include  Swim Across Sarangani Bay, Taichi Exercises, Lumba Bugsay, Sepak Takraw sa Baybayon, Beach Frisbee Exhibition Games, Beach Football, Sarangani Bay Beach Fair, Poi and Zip Clinic, Sand of Thorns Clean-up, Sand Sculpture Competition, Bay Bodies Bikini Open, Summer Night Beach Party.

On May 29, 2010, the Sarangani Bay Festival reserves the best activities for last. Consider these:  Bancarera, Government Employees Summer Holiday, Cheerdance by the Bay, Skimboarding Clinic, Splash in the Sky Fireworks Display, Concert by the Bay featuring the famous Manila Band CUESHE.

Three fun-filled days of sun, sand, surf, sexy bodies and exciting sea sports all at the Sarangani Bay Festival!

Now, tell me…. what beach party in these parts of the Philippines could top that?

Yes!  You read it right!  Bariles, the author of this multi-awarded blog, the number one blog in South Central Mindanao, got himself interviewed by Ratified.org!

So what’s the big deal?  What is Ratified.org and what does it do?

Its website actually puts it very clearly:

Ratified.org is a new directory featuring the best Filipino blogs in the blogosphere. Using data from Technorati.com and Alexa each blog’s statistics such as rank, links and other information are gathered and stored, therefore “ratifying” it. The data is then used as the basis for ranking Ratified.org’s top 100 Philippine blogs. (highlights ours)

For quite some time now, GenSan News Online Mag has moved up the ranks of Ratified.org since it applied for “ratification” in 2009.

Currently, Bariles’ blog is included in the TOP 50 Philippine blogs and is ranked as number 43! Yey!

Ayway, just very recently, Bariles received an email from Ratified.org containing a set of questions concerning his blog and his blogging experiences!  Wow! Bariles was ecstatic of course!  His blog’s inclusion in the Top 50 Philippine Blogs was one thing but to be featured in an interview at the same site is well, like winning the lotto!

Just imagine, being in the same league as these famous and illustrious bloggers who were interviewed before him – Derek Punsalan, Jayvee Fernandez, Aileen Apolo, Andrew dela Serna, Lyle Santos, Jehzeel Laurente, AJ Mahtela, Dexter Panganiban, Karlo “Pinoyblogero” Licudine, among others!

Bariles is on cloud nine today and couldn’t talk.  So we might us well end this with the link to that RATIFIED.org interview.

Congratulations Bariles!!!

 

Bariles is certain that the title of this blog post really got your attention and your ire!

Although it is already May 21, 2010, Bariles only got word today through his email that the management of SOCOTECO II is applying an increase in the power rates of their residential consumers for May 2010.

 

The increase which will be reflected in the May billings is eighty five centavos per kilowatt hour (P0.85).

Here below is their letter.  Just scroll down to read the full content.

 

 
Rates for May

The letter also states the reason for the increase and if you  just read it thoroughly, you will notice that the blame goes back to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines and NPC-PSALM.

Please note that in April 2010, SOCOTECO II also increased by around the same rate.  This makes it a total rate adjustment of almost P2.00 for just two months!

At the end of the letter, SOCOTECO II reveals that the company, together with other electrical cooperatives in Mindanao are asking the Energy Regulation Commission’s clarification on the ancillary charges for the past two months.

Meaning, dear readers, SOCOTECO II is also in dire need of explanation for all these “pahirap sa masa”.

You have to  go to hand it over to KCC Mall of GenSan as it ups the ante this month in  conjuring up wholesome fun activities meant for kids.

If Robinsons Mall brought in Spongebob Squarepants last month and is featuring the upcoming Mad Science show this weekend, what GenSan’s local player did is to fill up the four weekends of May with even more kiddie acts!

During the first two Sundays of May 2010, they flew in Dora and Diego plus Winnieh-the-Pooh and Tigger successively.  Those two events proved to be blockbusters!

Now for this Sunday, May 23, 2010, they have booked the purple dinosaur BARNEY together with the Sesame Street character, ELMO!

Next weekend, on May 30 is Spongebob Squarepants of Nickolodeon and super kid Ben 10 of Cartoon Network!

To allow your kids to meet and greet and have their pictures taken with these famous cartoon characters, you only have to do the following:

• Buy P300 worth of the product items based on each character at the KCC Department Store.
• Show your receipts to any designated booth for your corresponding ticket.
• Your kid is now entitled to a photo session with his chosen favorite character.
• Make sure to share your pic on Facebook.  :)

Easy steps for a chance to a photo with Barney, Elmo, Winnie-the-Pooh and Ben 10.  If I were you, I’d run to KCC right now and purchase the needed requirements for this once-in-a-blue-moon chance for my kids.  Bariles hopes they have school supplies hawking these lovable characters.

And at the rate that GenSan’s malls keep bringing in famous TV kiddie characters to the city, we might as well be called the CHILDREN’S WONDERLAND of the South.

Just before the kids go back to school and right before the final days of summer, East Asia Royale Hotel will once again prove that it is Soccsksargen’s Premier Party Place with the second installment of its famous and much-vaunted Foam Party.

This time, this must-be-there event is aptly called Sarap Mag-Babad Foam Party Part 2, which is a two-nite affair, happening this weekend, May 21 and 22, 2010.

And if the first summer foam party featured a Manila Band, this time, it’s another band from the Big City called, SILENT SANCTUARY, who will be performing on the 2nd night, Saturday.

Check out the poster below.

Here is Silent Sanctuary‘s music video of their single, “Ikaw Lamang“.

Here is their take on the Apo Hiking Society hit, “Tuyo nang Damdamin.”

During the first night on Friday, Playlist Band of Davao City and Tool Box Band of GenSan will be entertaining the crowd at the EARH Park Lot.  They will be joined by the hotel’s resident mix masters DJ Yancy and DJ Moko.

Saturday night, May 22nd, 2010 will be front-acted by another Davao’s Utopia Band and GenSan’s Ninety5Hundred Band.  And since this is a BOOZE FEST by San Miguel Corporation, expect frothy foams from both the foam machines and hundreds of beer to literally flood the whole party area.

Tickets are still sold at the very affordable P100.

Be there for the 12 midnight fireworks display courtesy of hotelier Rombar Bartolome, who is making sure that his last ode to summer will be one foam party that the generals will never forget.

Party Advisory:  Beach wear or light clothing is strongly advised.

Barely three weeks ago, Bariles wrote about the  friendly “race” of General Santos City’s two malls in offering to the generals the first 3D movie-going experience at their cinemas.

In that article (check it clicking here), KCC Mall of GenSan asserted that they already have a 3-D equipped theater but will still have to postpone opening it until after they have changed everything inside it for a full-3D experience.  Robinsons Place GenSan on the other hand hinted that they will start offering their own 3D-cinema once Shrek-The Final Chapter 3D is released worldwide.

Well, friends, readers and subscribers, that time is tomorrow, May 20, 2010 and yes, Robinsons Movieworld GenSan is screening SHREK-The Final Chapter on its first 3D theater – and Soccskargen’s first, too!

For you to be able to watch Shrek Forever After on 3D at Robinsons Movieworld GenSan, you will only have to shell out P120 which is a bit pricey but which Bariles thinks is just right considering the additional investments that the mall had to put in.  And of course, the prints of a 3D movie would have to be more expensive than the regular ones.

And besides, that’s not too expensive compared to Manila and Cebu 3D theaters, where everything starts at P200!

FLASHBACK TIME! When Bariles was smaller and sexier, he used to watch 3D movies at any of the now gone Capitol, State, Pioneer and Golden City Theaters while wearing cardboard glasses with multicolored plastic lenses just like the one pictured below.

He also remembers developing headaches in the middle of these 3D movies.   At that time, either the images were blurred or the colors mix-matched that watching a 3D movie on screen is like walking through a nightmare, awake.  A sample still of the screen is shown in the picture below, courtesy of American Egypt.

But now however, while watching Shrek Forever After 3D at the Robinsons GenSan Movieworld, expect the images on screen to be in full vivid colors and to leap out towards you.  This will make you feel as if you are part of the movie yourself, an experience much like what is depicted in the photo below.

So there, Bariles is enjoining you to please tell your friends and go shout to the whole world that finally, GenSan has its own 3D Cinema, a whole new movie-going experience for the generals and their neighbors!

Thanks to the management of Robinsons Place General Santos City who have really been all out in ensuring their adherence to truth in advertising, with their slogan “MAS MAGANDA DITO”.

And lest Bariles forgets, Robinsons Place Movieworld is also running a RAFFLE PROMOTION.  For every two movie tickets purchased from them, the buyer will receive one RAFFLE COUPON. This promo which lasts until June will give out electronic gadgets such as cellphones, etc. as prizes.  So there.

ADDENDUM:  Got a text message today from my mole at KCC Mall of GenSan which says that “We are also screening SHREK 3D at one of our cinemas.”

Bariles was at this morning’s bi-monthly City Mayor’s Press Conference conducted by the City Public Information Office at the CMO Conference Room, General Santos City Hall.  It was attended by members of the media, mostly from the City Hall Press Corps.

Five issues were taken up, all of which were relayed in advanced to the CPIO who then invited the concerned respondents to the attend the presscon and answer the queries.  One of the invitees was SOCOTECO II.

SOCOTECO II was represented by Engineer Sotelo in the 3-hour presscon.  He diligently fielded off questions from the fifteen or so media personnel present and used up 75% of the alloted time.

During the proceedings, the engineer released a new advisory, announcing that “BROWNOUTS WILL NOW OCCUR FOR THREE HOURS ONLY, ONCE DAY” effective immediately (May 18, 2010), until the end of the month.

This of course, was greeted with glee by most of the presscon attendees who had to suffer 12-hour brownouts daily for the past three months!!!

Here is that piece of advisory, together with the new groupings A, B, C and D for the city’s feeders:

3hrs_once a Day_4 Groups

The decrease in # of hours from 12 hours daily to 3 hours daily came about after the National Grid Corporation announced to SOCOTECTO II yesterday, May 17, 2010, a “slight increase of available power”, with Mindanao island’s system deficiency going down from 700-750 megawatss to only 300 megawatts.

In layman’s terms, the water level in their dams has gone up due to the onset of the rains.

However, this is not enough for a brownout-free GenSan finally, and so as the advisory above states, “Brownouts will be expected during peak hours, starting from 10 AM to 10 PM.  NGCP assures no curtailment before 10 o-clock in the morning and after ten o’clock in the evening.”

Hopefully, if the rains continue to fall, life will return to normal for all of us again.

And as for SOCOTECTO II, the management must be thankful for the rains although the company is still intent of buying a powerful generator as a standby source of electricity.

And take note, they have also initiated talks with CONAL HOLDINGS for the possibility of employing their services to supply SOCOTECO II with additional power source once it is available.

Uh-oh!  Bariles is hearing more grumbling in the background….

On the night after Tierra Montana’s Sizzling Summer Fashionfest Party, all roads lead to Glan, Sarangani Province for the resumption of what should be the hottest weekend in Soccsksargen.

This is simply because 0n May 29, 2010, in line with the culmination of the Sarangani Bay Festival, there’s gonna be a Wild, White and Wet Beach Party at Davak Ridge Resort in Gumasa, Glan.

Organized by a group of former highschool friends who are putting out all stops to ensure that their Wild, White and Wet Beach Party will be one unforgettable experience for Socsksargen’s partyphiles, this party happens in one of the inland coves of the Glan shoreline.

This makes it more compact and the activities easier to follow considering that everything happens in one venue alone.

There will be a DJ from Brazil who’ll provide the music which will be a combination of trance, house, techo, breakbeat music and a sampling of current dance chartbusters.

A group of sexy, bikini-clad ladies from Davao City called the Summer Ladies will be on hand to help heat up the dancefloor at the beachfront and stage a sexy fashion show (Don’t worry.  Sarangani does not have a GAD code.) and host the raffle games where brand new Samsung cellphones will be given away.

Other than that, the dancecrew from Koronadal who figured recently at the ABS-CBN Talent search, Showtime, named Cybercrew Dancers will also perform for the beach crowd that night.

And of course, being a San Miguel Beer-sponsored event, beer and more beer are expected to overflow during this event which even at this early, is generating a lot of buzz already based on its name alone.

Who wouldn’t want to be at Davak Ridge Resort’s Wild, White and Wet Beach Party then?

The Wild, White and Wet Beach Party is brought to us by Coca-Cola, San Miguel Corporation, Globe Tattoo, Samsung, YGO Export Trading, Gregoria Printing Press.  For ticket reservations, please call 0908-6861536, 0932-5687494.  Tickets may be purchased at Denver Drug Store, Fitmart Branch.

Effective last April 2010, the Regional Consular Office of the Department of Foreign Affairs in General Santos City has been issuing electronic passports or e-Passports to its clients.

Wow!  Wasn’t it just last year in March 2009 when Bariles blogged about the same office issuing him a machine-readable passport  (Click here for that report.) in place of the old manually-scripted passport?  Now it seems that the MRP, altho accepted internationally looks passe with this latest launch of a cutting edge travel document.

A joint project of the DFA and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the e-passport makes the Philippines compliant with international standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), of which it is a member.  It is the world standard in travel documents.

The e-passport which is expected to decrease incidents of passport fraud and tampering, will make it easier for Filipino travelers and migrant workers to move across borders due to its various security features, including a hidden encoded image; an ultra-thin, holographic laminate; and a tamper-proof electronic microchip.

Its Integrated Circuit (IC) chip stores the passport holder’s biometrics, that is, his photograph, fingerprint and other personal data for easy verification of identity and is fully inter-operable which means that the chip can be read by border control officials in other countries using a passport chip reader.

Hitech, don’t you think?

Anyway, the lovely Ms. Helen Acharon, a staff of the DFA Consular Office, from whom we got this piece of great news wants to inform all their would-be clients that their office is currently accepting and processing 70 passport applications only every day or 350 applicants per week.  This will go on while they are still putting up their online program.

Priority numbers for the whole week are given out starting at Monday morning until after the allocated 350 numbers have all been given away on that day.

The new e-passport will cost applicants P950 (processing of 30 days) and P1200 (processing of 2 weeks).

For help on how to apply for passports, JUST SIMPLY CLICK HERE.

For more info, call the Department of Foreign Affairs Regional Consular Office GenSan at  (083) 553-8380.

In the second installment of their monthly treat for kids and after the hugely successful visit of Spongebob Squarepants to their mall, Robinsons Place GenSan is once again bringing to the shores of the Tuna Capital something to delight their young mall-goers!

GenSan, please welcome Mad Science!!

The Mad Science show at Robinsons will happen on Saturday, May 22, 2010 at the Atrium. The event is a science-themed show designed to amaze kids of all ages.    It is brought by the world’s leading fun science service provider for an exciting hands-on and educational experience.

For instance, according to their website, “Children can conjure foggy dry ice storms, float on a Mad Science hovercraft, watch a foam factory at work, create super bouncy balls, make magic mud, alter sound waves, and so much more!”

And, their site continues…. “Children leave Mad Science events with fun and educational take-home experiments like slippery slime, fantastic Mad Science putty or super bouncy balls!”

If there is such a thing as a pet zoo for science experiments, then this is it.  Kids can be little scientists for a few minutes during the show at Robinsons and will discover new learnings that will surely make them realize that science should not all be rigid and boring.

And why not?  It would not be called Mad Science if it doesn’t promise unrivaled fun and mind-boggling discoveries for young audiences.

Mad Science at Robinsons Place GenSan will have two shows:  1pm and 4pm and May 22, 2010.  For more inquiries, please call them at Marketing Communications Department (083) 553-3188.  You might have to register first for these two shows.

To take your minds off the daily brownouts we will once again be experiencing, why not check out this poster below.

For only P120, you can join Tierra Montana’s Summer Sizzling Fashionfest Party 2010 at the Tierra Montana poolside on the night of May 28, 2010.

This is a good paean for summer which will be leaving us soon to give way  for the rainy, and hopefully, brownout-free season.  So expect the last weekend of May 2010 be jampacked with events just like this one meant to bid goodbye to the sweltering heat of sun.

All participating guests to this party, which are also co-presented by San Miguel Beer and Dos Talentos Club are entitled to a FREE DRINK each and a Globe SIMCARD.  They will be entertained by music provided by DJ Waltinho, a live mix performance champion who worked for 16 years in Japan plus the DTC DJ‘s from Davao.

The fashion show will likewise feature sexy DTC Models plus some “scintillating games” and “hot surprises” with “crazy prizes”.  Hmmmm…. sounds intriguing especially the “hot prizes” part.

The event by the way replaced the earlier hawked “Summer Bikini Crush 2010″.

Tierra Montana’s Sizzling Summer Fashionfest Party is also brought to us by Synchrotec Corporation, Samsung, San Miguel Corporation, Tanduay, Camella, Altus, Big Ben, Coca-Cola.  For ticket reservations and queries, please call telephone #s (083) 554-7733, 553-8433.

The big guy blinked!

In an apparent move to appease the angry consumers that they are serving, South Cotabato Electric Cooperative II (SOCOTECO II) suspended their plan to revise their Brownout Schedules from 3 hours straight 4 times daily into the immensely unpopular 6-hour twice-daily brownouts.  Read initial announcement here.

Below is their email message to Bariles’:

POWER ADVISORY

Please be advised that the implementation of the recently-released REVISED SCHEDULE OF POWER INTERRUPTION (6 HOURS, TWICE DAILY) is SUSPENDED until further notice.

Rotational brown-out will be the prior three-hour, four-times- daily schedule.

Thank you for your usual understanding.

Approved for release:

GERONIMO C. DESESTO
Manager, Institutional Services Department

May 11, 2010
553-5848 local 133

Wow!  We won!  We won!

A SOCOTECO II insider called our attention to the fact that the SOCOTECO Management was knowledgeable of the existence of this blog and read the comments to our earlier announcement of their plan of implementing longer brownouts.

The comments (90 as of this writing) came from generals who are either based here in the city or abroad but who share one thing in common – ALL ARE ALREADY FED UP WITH THE SEEMINGLY INACTION AND DEAFENING SILENCE OF SOCOTECO II MANAGEMENT WITH REGARD TO THE POWER CRISIS.

Most of the comments seethe with anger, frustration and desperation for the answers to their questions:

• Why should there be an increase in the # of brownout hours from 3 to 6 hours when in fact, the rainy season has already began?  The least they could have done is to maintain the status quo.
• Why was there no consultation with the public when the SOCOTECO II management decided on the revised schedule, together with the GSC Chamber of Commerce and Industry?
• Why was their an increase in their power bills when in reality, because of the brownouts, they have used 50% less of their power consumption?
• Why should SOCOTECO II effect an increase in rates when they can not even give even just a fair amount of good service?
• What’s taking them long in procuring the additional power generators they need to make up for the loss of supply from Transco?
• Why are other big cities in Mindanao not suffering these 12-hour outages which are already common here in GenSan?
• What really are the advisories from TransCo with regard to the power crisis?  The public has the right to know any updates from them, too.

If your comments to SOCOTECO II’s initial plans to implement 6-hour 2x daily brownouts were partly instrumental to have made them retreat and suspend it, then you only have yourselves to thank for.

But of course, our wails and cries of anger  still won’t stop until we hear from SOCOTECO II Management and their answers to the above queries.

Because only by doing so, will we, the generals be assured that it is the consuming public’s welfare that is foremost on their minds in making decisions and not just the asses of well-entrenched businessmen who are trying to create a culture of helplessness, surrender and apathy among the “great people by the bay”.

This next three days is surely one weekend that the generals will love!

For one, Robinsons Place GenSan is conducting a mall-wide sale this weekend, starting tomorrow’s May 14, 2010′s MIDNIGHT SALE from 8pm – 12am and regular hours on May 15-16, 2010.

Secondly, with the opening of classes looming in the background, they’re holding a separate SALE PROMOTION for SCHOOL SUPPLIES!

And just like what their poster above is saying, Robinsons GenSan is giving away a 50% DISCOUNT on some SELECTED SCHOOL ITEMS!  Cool huh?

And lastly,  Kapuso star Rhian Ramos will be at the Robinsons Atrium at 5pm tomorrow, Friday, May 14 for a mall show!

Wow! If those won’t make you head for Robinsons GenSan starting tomorrow, then we don’t know what else will.

From a faxed message from SOCOTECO II, is the notice that effective May 17, 2010, there is a revised schedule of Power Interruptions in General Santos City.

First, the good news!  Brownouts will now occur twice daily instead of the usual three or four times a day.

But the bad news is, these rotational brownouts will happen on a straight six hour basis!!!

WTH!!!

To understand why this is being done, here is the POWER ADVISORY from the Manager of the Institutional Services Department of SOCOTECO II and the REVISED GENSAN BROWNOUT SCHEDULE.

Please scroll the document to get to the additional pages.

POWER ADVISORY-Six Hours Twice Daily

So here is what you do. Look for your the area where you live in the next table. Find out if you belong to GROUP A or GROUP B.  Now, check for your schedule from the TABLE above.

Feeders Group a & B

I guess all we have to do is to continue stocking up on candles and other primitive lighting methods. Or if we have the money, buy additional rechargeable emergency lamps/fans/lights.

Those are the only things we could do given this worsening situation.

Or better still, with the leadership of Bariles, do a simultaneous RAIN DANCE ala Sarah Geronimo‘s at the OVAL PLAZA and break a world record too, for that matter.

Any takers???

Generals, we have a new mayor!

From the site GMAnews.TV today, Bariles finally got the partial unofficial tally of the votes of the generals as of 4:15pm, with 84.90% of Election Results tallied, after being inaccessible for the whole day.

Here goes, generals:

Partial Unofficial Tally as of 2010-05-12 7:57:29 88.55% of ERs (source: GMAnews.TV)

Mayor
1	ACHARON, Loreto B.	19,112
2	ANTONINO-CUSTODIO, Darlene M R.	79,477
3	CONGSON, Florentina L.	27,800
4	NUÑEZ, Rosalita T.	24,851
Vice-Mayor
1	ACHARON, Jose Orlando R.	63,282
2	BAÑAS, Shirlyn L.	64,848
3	MONGAO, Benhur S.	8,417
MEMBER, SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD of SOUTH COTABATO – GENERAL SANTOS CITY (DADIANGAS) – LONE DIST
1	ACHARON, Honesto B.	44,852   #15
2	ATENDIDO, Richard L.	74,252   #4
3	BAGONOC, Elizabeth B.	76,833  #2
4	CATAPANG, George R.	31,563
5	CATOLICO, Rommel S.	17,197
6	CIOCON, Ma. Theresa A.	14,108
7	CLOMA, Arturo C.	26,911
8	CONGSON, Danilo R.	40,682
9	CUNANAN, Juliet R.	12,334
10	DE CLARO, Remus P.	52,592   #12
11	DE GUZMAN, Benito T.	7,818
12	DINOPOL, Vivencio E.	76,818  #3
13	DORIA, Bonifacio Jr. F.	5,772
14	DOSPUEBLOS, Marcelino E.	47,205   #14
15	ENERO, Rogelio T.	8,192
16	ESPINOSA, Jesus Q.	8,687
17	GACAL, Francisco M.	42,858
18	GUARIN, Cristopher K.	12,678
19	HENARES, Peter Armand L.	51814   #13
20	ILUMBA, Conrado L.	2,367
21	LAGARE III, Dominador S.	59,274   #9
22	LEYSON, Eduardo Iv D.	65,945   #6
23	LLIDO, Virginia T.	63,239   #8
24	LORENZO, Carmen D.	14,674
25	MALINAO, Manuel S.	7,489
26	MARIANO, Jay Mathew L.	21,962
27	MARTINEZ, Francis C.	19,958
28	MOJADO, Salvador G.	6,745
29	MONTILLA, Rafael O.	21,645
30	NATIVIDAD, Nepthale P.	69,934   #5
31	NILONG, Abraham M.	13,018
32	OCO, Marius Orlando A.	56,692   #10
33	OSOP, Abedin L.	6,886
34	PASICOLAN, Francisco B.	9,377
35	PEREZ, Pedro C.	7,986
36	QUILBAN, Edwin C.	11,355
37	RIVERA, Ronnel C.	101,936 #1
38	ROYECA, Alvin S.	17,098
39	SANTOS, Margareth Rose N.	54,817   #11
40	SENTINA, Zaldy A.	6,747
41	SERANIAS, Fermin P.	5,986
42	SOGUILON, Waldemar G.	9,498
43	SOMBRIO, Sannie P.	26,670
44	SUNGA, Eduardo S.	16,615
45	TINOCO, Danilo C.	8,954
46	TOROCTOCON, Alfredo T.	14,107
47	VALENCIA, Zenaida A.	17,842
48	VICENTE, Dante S.	65,136   #7
49	ZOSA, Telesforo O.	10,729

The TREND of the above table shows AIM standard bearer Darlene Custodio leading the mayoral race with 79,477 votes. Even the combined votes of her four opponents fall short of her total.

This means that not even the last-minute manufactured “scandal’ her enemies heaped upon her and her dad, former Mayor Adelbert Antonino during the last days of the campaign did not work.  Again, it’s her unblemished track record in Congress and her AIM party’s strong machinery which did the trick.

As for the Vice-Mayoral Position, trending shows it’s still a neck-to-neck fight between incumbent councilor Dr. Jose Orlando “Odjok” Acharon and former councilor Shirlyn Banas. We might have to wait until the last ballot has been counted before we announce who takes over current Vice Mayor Flor Congson’s post in July 1, 2010.

As for the councilors: 10 out of the top 12 candidates for the Sangguniang Panlungsod or City Council went to AIM Party candidates. Even the #13 and #14 positions went to AIM.

Only Independent Candidate Ronnel Rivera and Lakas-Kampi Candidate Dom Lagare made it into the Top 12.  Interestingly enough, Rivera is the topnotcher at 101.936 votes far, far ahead from #2 Dinopol‘s Bagonoc’s 76,833 votes.

With this son of fishing magnate Rudy Rivera topping them all even without a party, let us see how he performs at the City Council.  Bariles hopes he plays his cards right and decide on what’s good for the city and not just play opposition any which way he can.

So there….., with still 15.1% of the votes not counted,however,  these rankings might still change, especially in the VICE-MAYORAL race.  But with the rest, we now know whom to raise our glasses to champagne to.

As early as now, however, Bariles is congratulating all the winners for their victory with the hope that the next three years under them will make the city MAS MAGANDANG GENSAN ever!