Thursday, November 10, 2022

‘Long overdue’: Gatchalian backs creation of CAR

by Seth Cabanban


Valenzuela 1st district Rep. Rex Gatchalian has expressed his support for the creation of the Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR), something he described as “long overdue”.


“The establishment of the Cordillera Autonomous Region has been long overdue. It is high time that we legislate this very important measure that will give Cordillerans the right to freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development,” the chairman of the House Committee on Local Government said on Thursday, Nov. 10.


The CAR has been a transitory coordinating agency since 1987, following President Corazon Aquino’s Executive Order (EO) 220. HB 3267, if enacted, would grant it autonomy.


The local government panel approved House Bill (HB) 3267 or “An Act Establishing the Cordillera Administrative Autonomous Region” on Nov. 10.


“I congratulate the authors of this measure for their fortitude in tirelessly pursuing its passage. We assure our Cordilleran brothers and sisters that this Committee will continue to fully support this measure until its final approval in the House,” Gatchalian said. He is likely to sponsor the measure in plenary, as chairman of the Committee on Local Government.


Abra Rep. Ching Bernos, Apayao Rep. Eleanor Bulut-Begtang, Ifugao Rep. Solomon Chungalao, Mountain Province Rep. Maximo Dalog Jr., Baguio City Rep. Mark Go, Kalinga Rep. Allan Mangaoang, and Benguet Rep. Eric Go Yap authored the measure.


“The collective aspiration of the Cordillerans for genuine autonomy is rooted on the right to self-determination of the people fueled by a long history of struggle for the recognition of their rights. It is high time that we make good on this Constitutional mandate, and allow the Cordillerans to determine their political status and to freely pursue their economic, social, and cultural development,” the authors wrote


In the 18th Congress, a measure that sought autonomy for the Cordillera Administrative Region was approved on the third reading and was transmitted to the Senate but fell short because of a “lack of material time”, as Gatchalian put it.


https://mb.com.ph/2022/05/31/bill-batting-for-politically-autonomous-car-hurdles-house/

Sunday, October 16, 2022

PLDT-DPC Metro Manila Telephone Directory Cover

1 - June 1987-May 1988, on the cover: "Pacific Rhythm" by Perfecto “Jun” Baloloy, Jr.
2 - June 1988-May 1989, on the cover: "Epoch in Communication" by Jaime “Jim” Battad, Jr.
3 - June 1989-May 1990, on the cover: "A Rich Heritage of Race and Spirit" by Neil Manalo
4 - June 1990-May 1991, on the cover: "Aanhin Pa ang Damo kung Patay na ang Kabayo" by Mario Uy
5 - June 1991-May 1992, on the cover: "Magkabalikat sa Iisang Mithiin" by Rizal D. Maddela
6 - June 1992-May 1993, on the cover: "Sama-sama, Tulong-tulong, Kaunlaran Para sa Ating Lahat" by Modesto P. Saldana, Jr.
7 - June 1993-May 1994, on the cover: "Seal of the noble Filipino" by Rodrigo Clapano
8 - June 1994-May 1995, on the cover: "Paghubog at Paglinang sa mga Bagong Sibol Tungo sa Maunlad at Matatag na Kinabukasan" by Armando E. Flaviano
9 - June 1995-May 1996, on the cover: "Sa Pamilya Magmumula ang Pagbabago at Pag-asa" by Wesley Valenzuela of the University of Santo Tomas
10 - June 1996-May 1997, on the cover: "Sagisag ng Tagumpay" by Alberto Emmanuel Villavert III,
11 - June 1997-May 1998, on the cover: "Sama-sama sa Pagdiwang ng Kalayaan" by The Art of Marcial Pontillas
12 - June 1998-May 1999, on the cover: "Kasarinlan at iba pa (Ang Tagumpay ng Bayang Pilipinas)" by Resty A. Tica
13 - June 1999-May 2000, on the cover: "Transformation of Time Towards a Bountiful Life"
14 - June 2000-May 2001, on the cover: "Pagdiriwang" by Randolf Q. Tuazon, Far Eastern University
15 - June 2001-May 2002, on the cover: "Ang Ilog Pasig Noon, Ay Siya Na Muli Ngayon" 29" x 29", oil/acrylic entry of Ronnie T. Tres Reyes of the University of the East-Kalookan.
16 - June 2002-May 2003, on the cover: "I.T. An opening To A New World", 24" x 25", Tempera Watercolor entry of Jaime B. Gubaton
17 - June 2003-May 2004, on the cover: "I Belong to One Big Happy Family" Oil on Canvas entry by Allan Jay Ballisi
18 - June 2004-May 2005, on the cover: "Huwarang hangarin: kabataan pag-asa pa rin ang bayan", 29" x 29" oil on canvass entry of Jaypee Samson
19 - June 2005-May 2006, on the cover: "Manggawang Pinoy: pinagbuklod ng isang layunin, kaya't tawagin natin silang mga bagong bayani", 29" x 29" oil on canvass entry of Jermaine W. Alvarez
20 - 

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Multiply Social Network Now A Go After 9 Year Deadlock


Wazzup Pilipinas!


The nine-year deadlock is finally over.


After nine years of being closed, Prosus N.V. has inked a consensus among shareholders to reopen Multiply as a social networking site.


Multiply was a platform where people uploaded various media such as photos, videos, and blog entries, but its real charm among many users was its unlimited photo sharing. With the unlimited photo sharing feature, people upload massive amounts of photos without losing so much of the photos’ quality. People had these photos sorted into different albums, and segregated into different dates.


An agreement with Prosus will be signed tomorrow, September 28 to finalize the re-opening of the Multiply.com social network.


Resolving the problem


Getting all parties to agree is among Multiply CEO Stefan Magdalinski's targets within the first 100 days of Marcos's administration, and it involved engaging all stakeholders in meetings in order to reach a consensus. In a meeting, last Sept. 8, Multiply founder Peter Pezaris and former country manager for the Philippines Jonathan Madrid agreed that the website is necessary to recover and retrieve blogs, photos, and videos from 2004 to 2013.


Legal tussle


The Enchong Dee feature project in UAAP Magazine started on September 23, 2012, during the first semester of UAAP Season 75 hosted by the National University, and has been on hold due to legal issues and scheduling conflicts.


On May 6, 2013, Multiply Philippines officially announced it will permanently shut down.


On May 31, 2013, Multiply had ceased its operations and shut down entirely.


The long closure of the website lasted for 9 years, to rehabilitate and resolve the issues surrounding Multiply, including financial problems as well as to recover and retrieve hosted blogs, videos, and photos.


However, when President Rodrigo Duterte came to power on June 30, 2016, the website remains closed.


According to the sources, the website would remain shuttered when the president was still in office until June 30, 2022.


On April 1, 2019, the company issued a bankruptcy court filing which stated that it would no longer auction off its intellectual property, since its controlling lender planned to "the business behind the Multiply brand name" with their new mobile app, delivering old accounts, photos and videos from the old Multiply from it's launch in March 2004 to March 15, 2013, and establishing new opportunities. The company evaluated that selling its brand at auction is "not reasonably likely to yield a superior alternative."

Magdalinski said he had proposed to the website’s board plans and strategies which would include another set of efforts that should bring the company to profitability in the next couple of years.

“I’ve actually presented to the board some of the things that I like to do and because of the current struggles of the business when it comes to views, and correspondingly revenues. So an important pivot that we will do is, of course, we will still continue to offer social networking, but we want to maximize the assets that we have, that have by putting in more shows that more and more people will use the computer,” Magdalinski said in an interview.

It is expecting to resume its operations next year, after it announced President Rodrigo R. Duterte lifted the closure on August 22.

“Hopefully, next week basta ma-comply nila lahat ng requirement (I hope net week for compliant operators),” Multiply.com Philippines president Katherine Chloe S. de Castro-Cruz told reporters in a briefing Friday.

On October 15, 2019, the response of Chief Presidential Legal Counsel and Spokesperson Salvador Panelo, when asked about the bankruptcy and potential demise of e-commerce and social networking site Multiply.

There was no direct response when asked if the President's previous statements were true that he would approve the reopening of a website, Panelo said.

Such statements by the president were simply out of frustration.

The management announced that it would engage in a decade-long rehabilitation effort, including the importation of old and new features such as similar to Facebook Live until Multiply is reopened by June 1, 2025; however, there were plans to partially re-open within 2021 depending on the social networking portion.

On December 30, 2019, Duterte again warned Multiply CEO Magdalinski that syndicated estafa charges “have no bail” and that he was determined to see them in jail.

On January 2, 2020, President Duterte doesn’t just make threats, he will pursue the filing of syndicated estafa charges against the CEO and owner of Indonesian E-commerce and global social networking giant Multiply over financial difficulties and corporate rehabilitation, Malacañang said on Thursday.

“Pag sinabi ni Presidente, tutuluyan niya iyan (When the President says something, he will really do it),” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a Palace briefing.

It then began the arduous task of resuming its operations.


To recall, according to Senator Grace Poe-Llamanzares, Chair of the Senate Public Services Committee, and Palawan Rep. Franz Alvarez on the process to reopen Multiply as a social networking site, to compete with Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, and Twitter.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines granted their application for an increase in capitalization and amendments to Multiply's articles of incorporation and by-laws. 

According to CEO and owner Magdalinski in his press release last February 19 at midnight, "Calls to return the blog platform and social networking portion of Multiply be reopen will have to wait until the next presidential administration."

Tech bloggers said the world is focused on the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Duterte maintained on July 26, 2021, that the E-commerce marketplace Multiply still has unsettled taxes with the government worth billions of pesos.

In his sixth and final State of the Nation Address (SONA), Duterte vented frustrations over Multiply’s supposed dishonesty by importing its equipment “tax-free”.

“Kaya talaga ako hindi papayag. They still owe government billions,” Duterte said.

Duterte, however, clarified that he is not holding a grudge against Multiply.

He said he even chose to keep silent over Multiply’s actions because he did not want to appear “vindictive.”

He, however, said he could not stomach the fact that Multiply is “cheating the government.”

“Wala akong problema sa Multiply. They got my money. They wanted to return it when the case blew up but they printed all garbage. Nilamon ko na lang lahat yun because I never wanted to appear vindictive but itong ano, they are cheating the government by billions in taxes,” (I have no problem with Multiply. They got my money. They wanted to return it when the case blew up but they printed all garbage. I just swallowed it all because I never wanted to appear vindictive but what is this, they are cheating the government with billions in taxes) Duterte said.

Duterte, in his previous speeches, has repeatedly said he would not allow Multiply to resume business operations along with the blog portal and social networking portion under his watch.

On July 27, 2021, SBMA Chairperson Wilma T. Eisma said in a briefing that discussions are at 99.99%, and she is hoping to announce the reopening before yearend.

“We are very excited because it means jobs will be back and the social networking portion will be fully operational together with the Multiply International site has reopened and accessible again,” she said.

On October 18, 2021, when senatorial aspirant Rafael "Raffy" Tulfo is among those who support the reopening of the Multiply.com social network to restore jobs for Filipinos and foreigners.


Tulfo said 12,000 Multiply workers lost their jobs after the website ceased its operations and shut down entirely along with the site on May 31, 2013.

“Of course. Kasi why I’m pro mga manggagawa na naapi, nawalan ng trabaho, na nadedehado,” (Of course. Because why I’m pro workers who have been oppressed, lost their jobs, who are disadvantaged) he told ANC’s Headstart host Karen Davila when asked about his support for the Multiply social network reopening.

“In this case I know mahigit 12,000 na empleyado ng Multiply na nawalan ng trabaho because of that,” (In this case I know more than 12,000 Multiply employees who lost their jobs because of that) the veteran broadcaster said.

In a television interview on December 21, 2021, Senator Imee Marcos was asked about her stand on the re-opening of social networking site Multiply should her brother get elected as president in next year’s elections.

Imee Marcos

“To my mind Multiply, under the new construct defined by law and all the problems that have been already revealed, once it solves all that, para sa akin walang problemang buksan yan, first 100 days para makita natin (for me there is no problem with its re-opening, even on the first 100 days so that we can see),” the senator said in an interview with Davila on ANC's Headstart.

According to Ryan Ang: “Is this a sign that they will open and resume operations this 2022?”

Under the new presidential administration, the website will make a comeback: to construct a new modern, permanent Philippine headquarters building in Clark, Pampanga with a data center, hiring former employees, and re-updating the 2013 Multiply logo (Flat variant version).

On June 30, 2022, the new administration forged a compromise with the shareholders involved, just to break the deadlock and get the website going.

On August 19, 2022, it finally agreed on the social networking portion of Multiply. According to Magdalinski, it has decided to reopen the website along with all business operations, the Multiply International site, and the social networking portion including 11 million users with hosted blogs, videos, photos, and messaging. It is set to sign the final agreement on August 31," according to Mon Jocson of UNTV.

The agreement is to be signed tomorrow.

Monday, August 29, 2022

PLDT Art Contest now accepting entries

Now on its 37th Year, the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) and the Directories Philippines Corporation (DPC) 2023-2024 Telephone Directory Cover Visual Arts National Competition carries the theme "Business for Life". The theme is in line with the .

Every year, the PLDT-DPC Telephone Directory Cover Visual Arts National Competition has a theme that reflects the changing concerns of society.

The Competition has given many young visual artists the opportunity to gain honors and see their works on the covers of telephone directories. The announcement of winners will be on February 4, 2023 at the Ayala Museum.

The Grand Prize-winning entry will be on the cover of PLDT Metro Manila Telephone Directory, which contains the White Pages and the Yellow Pages which come in two volumes, namely: Household and Business and Commercial and Industrial, while four remaining winning entries will be used for PLDT's provincial telephone directories. The entries are also judged by some of the country's top artists from the Artists Association of the Philippines Foundation Inc.

Almost PhP300,000 and trophies and plaques designed and executed by National Artist Napoleon Abueva are at stake. The Grand Prize Winner receives P60,000 and a trophy, while the School gets PhP25,000 and a plaque. The Second Prize Winner gets PhP50,000 and a plaque, while the School gets PhP20,000 and a plaque. The Third Prize Winner gets P40,000 and a trophy while the school receives PhP15,000 and a plaque. The Fourth and Fifth Prize Winners will receive PhP35,000 and PhP30,000, respectively; their schools get PhP10,000 and PhP8,000.

PLDT Telephone Directories

Metro Manila Telephone Directory - August Issue, 4-column book
Contains three volumes of directories included: White Pages - Alphabetical Listings, Yellow Pages - Household & Business (HB), and Yellow Pages - Commercial & Industrial (CI)
Delivered in: City of Manila, Caloocan City, Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasay, Pasig, Quezon City, San Juan, San Pedro, Taguig, Valenzuela and Pateros

Regional Telephone Directories na Combined at hindi baliktad
Ilocos/Abra Telephone Directory - September Issue, 2-column book
Distributed and delivered in Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra, parts of La Union are San Gabriel, Santol, Sudipen, and Bangar and parts of Cagayan are Santa Praxedes, Claveria, Calayan, Sanchez-Mira, Pamplona.
Cagayan/Isabela/Nueva Vizcaya Telephone Directory - September Issue, 2-column book
Distributed and delivered in Santiago City, Isabela, Cagayan, Batanes, Quirino and Nueva Vizcaya
Pangasinan / La Union Telephone Directory - September Issue, 2-column book
Distributed and delivered in Pangasinan and La Union (San Fernando, Agoo, Aringay, Bacnotan, Bagulin, Balaoan, Bangar, Bauang, Burgos, Caba, Luna, Naguilian, Pugo, Rosario, San Juan, Sto. Tomas and Tubao)
CALABAR Telephone Directory - December Issue, 4-column book
Distributed and delivered in Cavite, Laguna, Batangas and Rizal
Palawan / Marinduque / Masbate / Occidental Mindoro / Oriental Mindoro / Romblon Telephone Directory  - July Issue, 2-column book
Iloilo/Capiz Telephone Directory - February Issue, 4-column book
Distributed and delivered in Metro-Iloilo Guimaras (Iloilo City, Leganes, Oton, Pavia, San Miguel, Santa Barbara, Buenavista, Jordan, Nueva Valencia, San Lorenzo and Sibunag), Aklan, Antique and Capiz
Negros Telephone Directory - September Issue, 4-column book
Distributed and delivered in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental, Parts of Negros Oriental: Canlaon, Guihulngan, Jimalalud, La Libertad and Vallehermoso
Bohol/Leyte Telephone Directory - July Issue, 2-column book
Distributed in Bohol, Tacloban City, Samar Leyte, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, Biliran and Southern Leyte
Cebu Telephone Directory - October Issue, 4-column book
Distributed and delivered in Cebu
Davao Telephone Directory - November Issue, 4-column book
Distributed and delivered in Metro Davao (Davao City, Tagum, Panabo, Digos, Samal, Carmen, and Sta. Cruz), entire provinces of Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao Occidental, Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley.
General Santos / Maguindanao / North & South Cotabato / Sarangani / Sultan Kudarat Telephone Directory - November Issue, 2-column book
Distributed in General Santos City, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, Maguindanao and North Cotabato
Zamboanga Telephone Directory - February Issue, 2-column book
Distributed and delivered in Zamboanga City, Basilan, Zamboanga Sibugay, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi

PLDT Telephone Directories fatter-thin for 2023

The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) and Directories Philippines Corporation (DPC) announces for its 2023-2024 telephone directories: the 4-column 3-volume fatter-thin marketed-segmented Metro Manila Telephone Directory has three volumes: White Pages - Alphabetical Listings (merger of Government and Business Listings and Residential Listings), Yellow Pages - Household & Business and Yellow Pages - Commercial & Industrial

PLDT Metro Manila:

  1. White Pages - Alphabetical Listings (merger of Government and Business Listings and Residential Listings)
  2. Yellow Pages - Household and Business
  3. Yellow Pages - Commercial and Industrial

Regional


  1. PLDT Iloilo / Capiz
  2. PLDT Misamis Occidental / Misamis Oriental
  3. PLDT Zamboanga
  4. PLDT Maratel
  5. PLDT Philcom
  6. PLDT Palawan / Marinduque / Masbate
  7. PLDT Bohol / Leyte
  8. PLDT Quezon / Albay / Camarines Norte and Sur / Catanduanes / Sorsogon
  9. PLDT Benguet / Mountain Province
  10. PLDT Negros Occidental / Negros Oriental
  11. PLDT Pangasinan / La Union
  12. PLDT Ilocos Norte / Ilocos Sur / Abra
  13. PLDT Cagayan / Isabela / Nueva Vizcaya
  14. PLDT Bulacan / Nueva Ecija
  15. PLDT Pampanga / Clarktel / Tarlac
  16. PLDT Bataan / Zambales / Subictel
  17. PLDT Cebu
  18. PLDT Davao / Surigao del Norte
  19. PLDT General Santos / Maguindanao / North and South Cotabato / Sarangani / Sultan Kudarat
  20. PLDT Cavite
  21. PLDT Laguna
  22. PLDT Batangas
  23. PLDT Rizal

Sunday, August 28, 2022

This Facebook page has rare footages of Regine Velasquez, ‘80s PBA, and vintage T.V. commercials

The collection of Jojo Bailon, the administrator of the Facebook page View on the 3rd, includes a wide range of materials, from the arrival of Pope John Paul II to the trailer of the comedy film 'Bagets 2.' Photo by JL JAVIER

In the ‘90s, a boy was part of a commercial by the Philippine Gaming and Amusement Corporation (PAGCOR) that was taped in a public elementary school in Cavite. The boy died due to dengue a couple of years after the commercial aired.

The boy’s family had been searching for a copy of the PAGCOR footage for years. The brother of this boy came across View on the 3rd, a Facebook page that shares old and new T.V. show clips, commercials, photographs, CDs, laser discs, and VHS tapes, featuring foreign and local celebrities and personalities, among many others. The brother then asked Jojo Bailon, the administrator of the page, if he had stumbled upon the PAGCOR video.

Bailon says that he told them he’ll try his best but could not guarantee to find it among the stacks of tapes that he has. “Eksacto mismo, ‘yun ang unang lumabas,” he says, recalling that he randomly selected a tape, played it, and luckily got it on the first try. He told the family, that the mom of the boy started crying, and Bailon says this was one of the more memorable engagements he’s had since starting the page.

Where it all started

Bailon attributes his collection back to his grandfather’s affinity for music. He says his grandfather grew up a poor man but eventually made his fortune by traveling from Laguna to Bicol and vice versa to trade goods.

“Yumaman [ang] lolo [ko] so he built a big house. We still have that house. It's over a hundred years old na in Laguna, in Cabuyao,” he shares. “What he did was he bought one band. In Laguna kasi, it's called musikero.”

Jojo Bailon, a timepieces specialist at Salcedo Auctions, is the administrator of View on the 3rd, a Facebook page that shares old and new T.V. show clips, commercials, photographs, CDs, laser discs, and VHS tapes, featuring foreign and local celebrities and personalities, among many others. Photo by JL JAVIER 

His lolo didn’t go to church, but instead, would look at the sky, meditate, and have the band play him songs every Sunday. His dad would also accompany his lolo to travel all the way to Manila to watch an opera at the Manila Metropolitan Theatre. Eventually, his dad allowed a music room in their house in Manila, and this fondness for music and performances was naturally passed on to the young Bailon.

He shares that, while growing up, his bonding time with his dad would typically be in their music room, which was filled with expensive equipment — from amplifiers to turntables. “He taught me how to listen to music,” Bailon says.

When the Betamax was first available to the market in the ‘70s, his dad was in on the trend right away. They also had equipment that boosted the signal to have better quality videos. Some of the recordings his dad ranged from the premiere of the noontime variety show Eat... Bulaga!” on July 30, 1979, the arrival of Pope John Paul II in 1981, the assassination of former Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. to the movie trailer of 1985 comedy film “Bagets 2.”

“He's a very busy man eh,” says Bailon of his dad. “He would record shows kasi you can put the timer eh and then he will watch them Saturday night and then the whole of Sunday the shows that he missed that's why we have those tapes.

Jojo Bailon's collection of the Eraserheads CDs. Among the bunch, he says that "Maskara" is the rarest find as it is not commercially available. Photo by JL JAVIER

From Betamax to social media

When Bailon started working, he also picked up the habit of recording shows he liked; his favorite being “Ryan Ryan Musikahan,” a late-night musical show led by musician and composer Ryan Cayabyab that aired weekly from 1988 to 1995 on ABS-CBN. He continued to record and collect for his own pleasure.

(However, it also includes the recordings such as the Weekly Family Appointment with El Shaddai from 1992 to 2020, GMA's papal visit coverage "The Pope in Manila" in 1995 and "Ang People's Pope sa Pilipinas" in 2015, EWTN's "The International Rosary" in 1986 and "The Chaplet of the Divine Mercy" in 1996 shot at the Congregation of Marians of the Immaculate Conception at Eden Hill, also another version produced by Apostolate of Family Consecration with Jim Cowan and Vinny and Erin Flynn, the 2007 Nakhon Ratchasima Southeast Asian Games coverage "A Time for Heroes" on NBN (now PTV), Bench "Uncut: A Bolder Look at the Future" denim and underwear show last July 2, 2010 at the Araneta Coliseum and 25th anniversary denim and underwear show "Bench Universe" last September 13 and 14, 2012 at the Mall of Asia Arena, the best of Enchong Dee including "My Girl," Your Song presents: "My Only Hope" and "Boystown," "Katorse," "Tanging Yaman," "Magkaribal," "Maria La del Barrio, "Ina, Kapatid, Anak," "Muling Buksan ang Puso" and "A Love to Last.")

To recall, Mr. Dee's projects were recorded in VHS format using Sony 6-Head Hi-Fi AV Stereo.

 

 

 

 

By this time, Bailon wants to see El Shaddai leader Bro. Mike Z. Velarde, because he told me "I saw him on TV during the playback."

Bro. Mike Z. Velarde, servant-leader of El Shaddai DWXI-PPFI would deliver the healing message during the Tuesday and Saturday family appointment with El Shaddai.



Vinny and Erin Flynn, the father and daughter tandem along with Jim Cowan singing the AFC version of the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

The most recent was the display of the old PLDT-DPC Metro Manila telephone directory in an Ikea bookcase when the official flagship telephone directory was first published in 1958 (combined volume era) to the present (1977-1983, 1995 and 2014-present triple-volume era, 1984-1994 double-volume era and 1996-2013 four-volume era), it arranged by decade and year. From 1995 to 2013, the yellow pages separated two books known as "Household & Business" and "Commercial & Industrial", and since 1996 the white pages have been separated into two books known as "Government & Business Listings" and "Residential Listings". It will preserve the cover and pages of their telephone books, and it cannot be burned.

 

 



 

 

































His dad passed away in 2004, and his mom told him to get his dad’s collection just a few years ago. With his and his dad’s massive collection combined in one place, he felt he needed a place to dump all the photos and video files that they’ve accumulated over the years.

Three years ago, he took to Facebook to use it as a sort of cloud storage, just so when family and friends ask him about a particular video file, he could digitize the tape by putting it inside a DVD recorder, burning it into a DVD, insert it in his computer, converting it to MP4, uploading to Facebook, and sending the Facebook link to his family or friends.

Bailon also inherited most of his dad's music and video equipment, which he still uses up to this day. He also still needs some of the equipment, such as the DVD recorder, to digitize the tapes. Photo by JL JAVIER

However, a complete stranger liked the page.

“Sabi ko shit, nahanap,” he recalls. “Sabi ko, ‘Can you please not share it?’ Sabi niya, ‘Why?’ Sabi ko, ‘It's only a place where I want to put my … it's like a cloud or something diba? Eh siguro hindi niya natiis, shinare niya.”

The page started to get a steady stream of followers since then. Now, it has over 11,000 followers, and one of the videos (“Rated K” episode featuring Erich Gonzales who had just won “Star Circle Quest” in 2005 at the time of airing) reached more than 1.5 million views. This, he says, was an exception since most of the videos that would gain a lot of views and engagement would be either a station ID, a commercial, an El Shaddai gathering, anything Regine Velasquez, or a PBA game of the past (as in circa Atoy Co and Alvin Patrimonio).

“I don't digitize everything,” he clarifies. “I still have the tape kasi for me, the tape is still the best storage media. Can you imagine? Forty years and it's still working.”