November 8, 2001

Welcome to Ederic@CyberSpace. It is now located at www.ederic.com.

I'm back from Marinduque where I was able to spend almost a week with Nanay Diding. We visited Mama and Tatay Andoy on November 1 and 2. I arrived here in Manila last Saturday and headed back to work on Monday.

Two terrible news items shocked the entire country yesterday: the death of veteran movie actress Nida Blanca and the flashflood that left at least 76 people dead in Camiguin province.

Nida Blanca, 65
One of the most respected personalities in Philippine cinema, Nida Blanca or Dorothy Jones off screen, was found dead yesterday inside her car, which was parked in the 6th floor parking lot of Atlanta Building in San Juan, Metro Manila. She was one of the directors of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board and was holding office at the said buidling. Police said she sustained 13 stab wounds, including a fatal one on her neck. The police have no suspect yet, but are now pursuing all possible angles. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who said she was a fan of Nida Blanca, has expressed sadness over the death of the actress. She visited her wake and instructed the police chief to deeply probe into the murder of the veteran actress.
I was in a cab on my way to work when I heard the news over the radio. I was shocked. As many of her friends and fans say, she did not deserve such a brutal death. It was indeed a sad news for the local movie industry.

'Lingling' kills 81
Tropical storm Lingling has left 81 persons dead and 169 others missing (as of 12pm today), according to the Office of Civil Defense. Lingling hit the island province Camiguin in southern Philippines the most, leaving 76 people dead as a result of a cloud burst early Wednesday morning. Five others were killed elsewhere, all due to Lingling. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said she has authorized the release of P2 million calamity fund for the victims.

Back in my house, Marj--my PC--is down due to a damaged Windows registry.

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