PHILIPPINES STOPS FOR PACQUIAO

The Philippines came to a standstill as millions of people watched Manny Pacquiao's victory over Shane Mosley on Sunday, but celebrations were subdued as an anticipated knockout failed to materialize.

Across pubs that offered special pay-per-view screenings, and in open-air parks, sports stadiums and even in jails, people of all ages in the boxing-crazy country intently witnessed Pacquiao slowly demolish the American over 12 rounds.

"It was a great win again for Manny, but everyone wished he had knocked out Mosley for a more emphatic win," said Superintendent Clement Laboy, warden at the city jail at Manila's Makati financial district.

In a rare show of camaraderie, armed jail guards mingled with the facility's nearly 500 inmates as a huge screen beamed live blow-by-blow coverage of the big fight from Las Vegas.

The Philippines, an impoverished country of 94 million people, routinely comes to a halt when its most famous export steps into the ring – and true to form roads were empty, shops closed and many taxis refused fares.

In Manila's notorious Tondo slums, local officials put up a huge screen to show the fight for free as rowdy men waving a Philippine flag passed around shots of the local gin.

Police reported a low crime rate while the fight was on. Muslim separatist rebels and troops in the southern Philippines silenced their guns in an informal truce to watch the action, both sides said.

President Benigno Aquino congratulated Pacquiao for defending his World Boxing Organization welterweight crown and hailed the 32-year-old fighter as the Philippines' undisputed champion.

"He showed discipline, determination and the Filipino's greatness," Aquino said in a statement. "There is no doubt that Manny Pacquiao is a hero, the pound-for-pound king that continues to make our country proud."

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20110508-335334/No-knockout-but-Philippines-stops-for-Pacquiao

WEATHER FORECAST

TYPHOON BEBENG

Tropical storm Aere slammed into the eastern Philippine coast on Sunday, bringing heavy rains and landslides that have so far killed three people and forced thousands to leave their homes.

The Philippines' state weather bureau said Aere made landfall over the island of Catanduanes before noon, and was expected to move north-westerly for the next 24 hours. Three people were killed when heavy rains triggered a landslide in the province of Camarines Sur in the eastern Bicol region, where local officials scrambled to launch rescue and relief missions. "The provincial road going to the (area) is not passable due to flooding," said Inspector Ayn Natuel, a spokesman at the Bicol regional police headquarters.

Aere, the first major weather disturbance of the year, hit Catanduanes, an island of about 250,000 people, with maximum winds of 85 kilometres (52.8 miles) per hour at its centre and gusts of up to 100 kilometres per hour. Storm alert warnings had been raised over at least 12 provinces in the main island of Luzon and the eastern Bicol, the civil defence office in Manila said.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said more than 70,000 people were evacuated to safer grounds as a preemptive measure in the eastern Bicol and in central Visayas regions. Landslides were also reported near Ormoc city in the central Philippines, while there was widespread flooding in many areas, it said.

More than 1,400 commuters meanwhile were stranded in various Bicol ports after the coast guard banned sea travel by inter-island ferries.At least 38 domestic flights were also cancelled by Manila airport authorities due to the bad weather.

The state weather bureau said Aere was moving at a pace of 17 kilometres an hour and was expected to bring more rains and wreak havoc in the northern parts of Luzon island until Monday. Public storm alerts were raised in more than 20 provinces, and these areas will have enhanced monsoon rains.

Residents in those areas were "advised to take all the necessary precautions against possible flashfloods and landslides. "Likewise, those living in coastal areas are alerted against big waves or storm surges generated by this tropical cyclone," the agency said.

http://ph.news.yahoo.com/three-dead-as-storm-slams-into-philippines.html

A SONG FOR MAMA

HOW MOTHER'S DAY STARTED

Celebrations honoring moms have been around for centuries, dating as far back as 6000 B.C. in Greece, though the modern day U.S. celebration is not directly related. Ours is linked to the “Mother’s Day Proclamation” written by Julia Ward Howe in 1870, but social activist Anna Jarvis is thought to be the mother of this tradition.

In 1868, Jarvis created a committee to establish “Mother’s Friendship Day” as a way to reunite loved ones divided during the Civil War, but she died in 1905 before the holiday became official. Her idea was continued by her daughter Anna Marie and the holiday was established in 1908, a day originally intended to be full of reflection and quiet prayer.

http://bonneylake-sumner.patch.com/articles/mothers-day-the-story-behind-the-holiday

HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY

MOTHERS' DAY IN THE PHILIPPINES

Mother's day in the Philippines is celebrated every second Sunday of May. Filipinos have a very strong concept of the family and a Filipino mother is called the "light of the household" around which all activities revolve. That is why mother's day in the Philippines is a very special day for a Filipino mother.

Family members treat their mother for lunch/dinner out, spend time together in a park, shopping at the mall, watching movies and the most popular treat for their moms is to bring her time to retouch, like going to spa, hairstyle, body massage and the like.

But most of the families typically celebrate at home. The children help to clean their home, wash the dishes and other helpful things that mother routinely does each day. They can also prepare food or just plain spend time together with their moms.

PARTS OF THE WORLD THAT HONOR MOTHERS TODAY

MOTHERHOOD

The bravest battle that ever was fought!
Shall I tell you where and when?
On the maps of the world you will find it not;
'Twas fought by the mothers of men.
Nay not with the cannon of battle-shot,
With a sword or noble pen;
Nay, not with eloquent words or thought
From mouth of wonderful men!
But deep in a walled-up woman's heart -
Of a woman that would not yield,
But bravely, silently bore her part -
Lo, there is the battlefield!
No marshalling troops, no bivouac song,
No banner to gleam and wave;
But oh! those battles, they last so long -
From babyhood to the grave.
Yet, faithful still as a bridge of stars,
She fights in her walled-up town -
Fights on and on in her endless wars,
Then silent, unseen, goes down.
Oh, ye with banners and battle-shot,
And soldiers to shout and paise!
I tell you the kingliest victories fought
Were fought in those silent ways.
O spotless woman in a world of shame,
With splendid and silent scorn,
Go back to God as white as you came -
The Kingliest warrior born!

MAMA

Mama, thank you for who I am
Thank you for all the things I'm not
Forgive me for the words unsaid
For the times I forgot

Mama remember all my life
You showed me love, you sacrificed
Think of those young and early days
How I've changed along the way
[along the way]

And I know you believed
And I know you had dreams
And I'm sorry it took all this time to see
That I am where I am because of your truth
And I miss you, yeah I miss you

Mama forgive the times you cried
Forgive me for not making right
All of the storms I may have caused
And I've been wrong, Dry your eyes
[dry your eyes]

Cause I know you believed
And I know you had dreams
And I'm sorry it took all this time to see
That I am where I am because of your truth
And I miss you, I miss you

Mama I hope this makes you smile
I hope you're happy with my life
At peace with every choice I made
How I've changed along the way
[along the way]

Cause I know you believed in all of my dreams
And I owe it all to you, Mama