I just realized that it’s already mid-week and I lie idle. Last weekend was busy for us at home with my Daniel, work and house chores. Also my sister-in-law’s coming home for an early Christmas vacation. Husband had a busy schedule but we managed to squeeze in Madagascar II. After all, the last movie all three of us watch together in the big screen was the Kung Fu Panda.

Our Daniel was screaming with excitement when he saw Alex and the rest of the gang of zoo animals. The animals; were excited too as they board the make-shift plane to fly them back home to the New York Zoo.

The story’s twist and turn began when the plane crashed in the Middle of Africa. Blame it or not to the crazy penguins. Also aboard the plane were the British Chimps, Lemur King Julian and his sidekick Maurice.

Alex was reunited with his long lost family, but then he was banished from the pride because he wasn’t able to pass the lions’ rite of passage. Marty ascertained that he was not at all very unique like what he thought he was. And there were hundred of zebras who look, act and talk altogether like him. Gloria’s desperate searched for the love-of-her-life made her turn to Moto-Moto, the hottest hippo in the waterhole (Moto means “Hot”, he says he’s too hot that you gotta say his name twice). Melman, who found his call as a witch doctor and thought he caught a deadly desease, lose hope but then found the courage to tell Gloria of his love.

Then the story ended with a happy closing. Alex and the gang stayed in Africa. Of course, that was after they saved the drying waterhole, and kicking the butt of the traitor out of the pride.

I was moved when Suba, Alex’s father, do the funny dance with him to save the watering hole by opening the dam. And honestly, the lion-kicking-the granny scene shocked me. I understand the old woman was an evil granny who hates Alex dearly, but beating and kicking her on the face was completely appalling.

Overall the movie was great and really funny. The lines were really entertaining and hilarious.

A friend asked me to check out an email that was sent to him. It says somebody sent him a package or was that a bank draft of a large sum of money. And the company was asking for my friend’s personal information. I told him it’s a fraud.

Criminals took advantage of the world wide web as we are now in the Internet Age. Online fraud is very popular nowadays. Phony email messages and scheming web sites are powerful tools for these crooks. They will trick you to give out your financial or personal information and use them in many possible ways for their financial gain.

You might be entice to reply to an email message that says somebody has left you a fortune. And you might think that you won’t lose anything since the email’s not asking you to send them money. But without realizing the severity of your answer email, you have already given them your name, address, phone number, birthdate, and bank account numbers. These information they can and will use to apply for and get credit in your name, max out your credit cards, or empty a bank account.

Phishing sites are fake websites. They often use real organization’s name and logo. They will trick you to submit your personal information by making you answer application or sign-up forms. And they will surely get hold of your email address and passwords, which could be very useful to them.

Before getting excited, you have to ask yourself some questions. Who would send you a large amount of money? Why would a stranger entrust millions of dollars to you? If you can’t give a logical answer to these questions then you’re facing a fraudulent scheme waiting for you to fall into their plot.

And these are ways to avoid phisher sites and online fraud:

Never reply to e-mail messages that request your personal information
Don’t click links in suspicious e-mail
Use strong passwords and change them often
Don’t send personal information in regular e-mail messages
Do business only with companies you know and trust
Make sure the Web site uses encryption
Help protect your PC
Monitor your transactions
Use credit cards for transactions on the Internet instead of a debit card

Baby’s skin are so sensitive that needs good caring and attention. There’s nothing quite like the soft, delicate skin of a baby. Also there’s nothing like to a baby’s cry when irritated by diaper rash, and other skin problems. Your baby is perfect, but your baby’s skin may not. Many babies are prone to skin irritation in the first few months after birth. A healthy skin for your baby is hard work.

1. Moisturize!!! Baby tends to have drier skin. Your baby’s skin is thinner, more fragile and less oily than an adult’s.  Skin dryness that can lead to skin problems. Apply a baby lotion or moisturizer immediately after bath while skin is still wet, and then pat dry instead of rubbing.

2. Avoid heavily scented baby products. Most of these products can caused skin irritations. Check for items without dyes, fragrance, Phthalates and Parabens. Go with the products with natural minerals, like oatmeal soaps and many more.

3. Infant skin doesn’t need powdering. Your baby can inhale the very fine grains of powder, which could cause Asthma and other lung problems. So it’s best to avoid using talcum powder on your infant. And yeast, which can cause diaper rash, feeds on corn starch. So to protect your baby’s skin avoid talcum powder, or corn-starch powder.

4. Avoid skin problems at bath time. Choose shampoos that protect tears. And since newborn and infants skin are so sensitive, keep baby’s skin hydrated by bathing in warm water for only three to five minutes.

5. Infant Sunburn. Our ozone layer has long been damaged and we have less protection against the harmful rays of the Sun. So it is best to keep your infant out of direct sunlight during the first six months. And for toddlers, use a strong baby sunscreen, hats, and umbrellas.

6. Laundry Tips for Baby Skin Care. Use a gentle detergent to wash the baby’s clothes, bedding, blankets, and towels. Strong detergents could leave harmful elements and strong odor on your baby’s clothes even after rinsing.

6. Learn more about your baby’s skin. Most skin problems cause no harm and would go away eventually on their own. While caring for baby’s skin may seem complicated, these three things you should bear in mind when it comes to your baby’s skin problems:

(1) Which case can you treat at home?

(2) Which needs medical treatment? Ask your pediatrician right away.

(3) And how can you prevent baby from experiencing skin problems to begin with?

I have Bronchial Asthma, my son’s Asthmatic, and my Mom passed away last September because of Asthma. It’s a family curse that runs in our blood.

The tendency for our airways to be hypersensitive is inborn. We inherit this through our genes. It is known that asthma tends to run in families that are prone to allergy. This means that some family members will be affected by asthma, while others may suffer from other allergies such as hay fever, perennial rhinitis, and eczema. So we actually inherit the tendency to react to allergens rather than a specific disease.

I was breastfeeding my baby for six months. And it is not true that I passed asthma to him through breastfeeding. A mother with asthma may pass on a tendency to allergies, rather than asthma itself, to her children. But if a woman smokes on her pregnancy, it is more likely for the baby to develop asthma. Cigarette Smoking is dangerous not only to your health, but also to the people around you. Children of smoking parents suffer the effects of passive smoking. They breathe in the smoke from smouldering cigarettes and the smoke that is puffed out by their parents.

There are drug treatments and exercises that will help on taking control of your asthma.
There is no known cure for asthma yet. But knowing your allergies and understanding them can help manage asthma. You cannot change the world for you, but you can try to avoid what could possibly trigger your asthma and that will reduce and minimize asthma attacks.

Most common triggers of asthma attacks are; house dust mites, pollen sensitivity, moulds, animals and pets, food allergies, infections, air pollutants, smoking, and a lot of other triggers.

** Asthma,

I really hate the stinking smell of cigarette smoke. I have Asthma, my son has it, too. And it irritates me when someone would sit next to us, or standby near to smoke. Some people are so inconsiderate and irresponsible. They are so ignorant to what smoking could do to them and how their smoking could affect others’ health.

The Davao City council approved the Comprehensive Anti Smoking Ordinance No. 0423 in November 2002.

The city government enforced the city ordinance with the Anti-Smoking Task Force a year later. And that makes Davao the only city in the Philippines strictly implementing the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003 or Republic Act 9211.

And there’s more, last year, the Task Force announced the ban on all television and radio networks to air cigarette advertisements effective Jan. 1, 2007 to back Republic Act 9211.

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ORDINANCE NO. 043-02
Series of 2002

THE COMPREHENSIVE ANTI-SMOKING
ORDINANCE OF DAVAO CITY

Be it ordained by the Sangguniang Panlungsod of the City of Davao, in session assembled that:

SECTION 1. TITLE. – Be it ordained that this Ordinance shall be known as, “ THE COMPREHENSIVE ANTI-SMOKING ORDINANCE OF DAVAO CITY “;

SECTION 2. COVERAGE. – It shall be unlawful for any person to smoke or allow smoking in a public utility vehicle, government-owned vehicle or any other means of public transport for passengers, accommodation and entertainment establishment, public building, public place, as defined in Section 3 (e) hereunder, enclosed public place, or in any enclosed area outside of ones private residence, private place of works, cars owned by the government or duly designated smoking areas, within the jurisdiction of Davao City;

SECTION 3. DEFINITION OF TERMS.

Smoking refers to the lighting and/or puffing of any lighted cigarette, cigar, tobacco or any other kind, form or type. Possession of any lighted cigarette, cigar, tobacco and the like within the prohibited areas for smoking shall constitute a prima facie evidence as an act of smoking prohibited under this Ordinance;

Public Utility Vehicle Refers to Public Utility Jeepneys (PUJs), Public Utility Buses (PUBs), taxis, tricycles and other public utility vehicles used in the transport of passengers;

Accommodation & Entertainment Establishment refer to restaurants, fast foods, eateries, hotels, motels, lodges, inns, boarding houses, disco houses, videoke bars, resto bars, and movie houses, or any other place with pleasant environment and atmosphere conducive to comfort, healthful relaxation and rest, offering foods, sleeping accommodation and recreation facilities to the public for a fee;

Public Building refers to any of the following:

1.) A building structure owned by the government or owned by a private person but used, rented or occupied by the government or any of its instrumentalities;

2.) Any building or structure used, or controlled exclusively for public purposes by any department or branch of government, local government unit or barangay without references to the ownership of the building.

Public Place refers to gasoline stations, bank, malls, town squares, terminals, shopping/business arcades, schools, churches, hospitals, cinema houses, gymnasiums, funerals parlors, barber shops, and other similar places where people usually congregate either to while away their time or to listen or attend concerts, rallies, program such as, but not limited to, Rizal Park, Freedom Park, Magsaysay Park, Osmeña Park, and the like;

F.) Designated Smoking Room refers to a delineated room inside the accommodation establishment, or public place or enclosed public place, which is totally enclosed where a person is allowed to smoke without violating this Ordinance.

Any duly designated room/ area in accommodation and entertainment establishments whether tourism accredited or not, within the territorial jurisdiction of Davao City as hereinabove defined, provided, the following conditions are met;

1.) If the accommodation and entertainment establishment is air-conditioned,
it must establish and designate a smoking room which shall not be more than ¼ of the total accommodation area of the establishment, that is air-conditioned and equipped with an exhaust fan and totally enclosed on all sides and separated from the rest of the premises where smoking is prohibited, and

2.) If the accommodation and entertainment establishment is not air-conditioned, it must establish and designate a smoking area which shall not be more than ¼ of the total accommodation area of the establishment that is fully ventilated and separated from the rest of the premises where smoking is prohibited.

Enclosed Area refers to an area which is closed whether totally or partially at the sides and is roofed or make use of the flow above it as a ceiling, or even if open on all sides but is covered by a roof, permanent or temporary in nature;

Enclosed Public Place refers to a room, building, structure or edifice that is constructed with a shelter or covered by a roof with panels or concrete wall, which structure is open to the public.

SECTION 4. PROHIBITED ACTS. The following acts shall be prohibited.

Smoking in any of the places enumerated in Section 2 hereof, except in duly designated smoking areas;

Knowingly allowing, abetting, or tolerating smoking in accommodation establishments, whether tourism accredited or not, except when smoking is done inside or within the duly designated smoking areas referred to in this Ordinance;

Smoking while inside a government-owned or public utility vehicle whether moving or stationery or while solicitation of passengers is going on or while the vehicle is waiting for passengers;

SECTION 5. PERSONS LIABLE. The following persons/ individuals are deemed liable under this Ordinance:

A.) Any person smoking within the prohibited rooms, areas/ individuals are mentioned in Section 2 hereof;

Any passenger, driver, conductor, or inspector of government-owned vehicles or public utility vehicles (PUVs) smoking as stated in Section 5 (c) hereof;

The President or Manager incase of a company, corporation, or association or the owner/ proprietor or operator in case of single proprietorship, of accommodation and entertainment establishments, whether tourism-accredited or not, who knowingly allows, abets or tolerates and/ or fails to warn, advise or report violators of this Ordinance to any policeman or nearest station within three (3) hours of the violation;

SECTION 6. The City Health Office and City Engineer’s Office are tasked to inspect and certify the appropriateness of the designated smoking areas provided by accommodation establishments whether tourism-accredited or not, taking into consideration the purpose of the law which is to protect non-smokers from the pernicious effects of tabacco smoke;

Sixty (60) days after affectively of this Ordinance, the City Health Office in coordination with the Office of the Business Bureau shall conduct an ocular inspection of all non-accredited tourism establishments in Davao City to determine compliance with the requirements of this Ordinance.

For tourism-accredited accommodation and entertainment establishments, the ocular inspection shall be conducted by the City Health Office in coordination with the City Tourism Office and the Office of the Business Bureau.

A period of sixty (60) days shall be given to the management of the accommodation and entertainment establishment to comply with the requirements of this Ordinance. Non-compliance with the requirements set forth in this section shall be a ground for cancellation of the business permit by the Office of the Business Bureau.

SECTION 7. Violators of this Ordinance shall be subject to a fine of not less than Php 500.00 nor more than Php 2,000.00 or imprisonment of not less that one (1) month nor more than six (6) months or both, at the discretion of the Court, except for Paragraphs 2 & 3 hereunder.

1.) In case of establishment which do not opt to declare their establishment as totally free from smoking but fails to provide the appropriate designated smoking areas as certified by the City Health Office and City Engineer’s Office within the 60-day period specified in Section 6 hereof, their business permit may be revoked;

2.) In case where there is failure to warn or advised would-be violators of this Ordinance, or failure to report violators as required in Section 5 (c ) hereof or smoking is allowed, abetted or tolerated in establishment in violation of this Ordinance, a penalty shall be imposed upon the President or Manager in case of corporations, partnerships or associations, or the owner, proprietor or operator in case of single proprietorship, whether tourism-accredited or not as follows:

First Offense PhP 300.00 or 1 month imprisonment or both at the discretion of the court

Second Offense PhP 500.00 2 month imprisonment or both at the discretion of the court

Third and subsequent offenses PhP 1,000.00 or 4 moths imprisonment or both at the discretion of the court

3.) For drivers/ passengers of Public Utility Vehicles (PUVs)

Fisrt Offense PhP 100.00 or 1 month imprisonment or both at the discretion of the court

Second Offense PhP 300.00 or 2 months imprisonment or both at the discretion of the court

Third Offense PhP 500.00 or 3 months imprisonment or both at the discretion of the court

4.) Three (3) violation of this Ordinance shall be ground for cancellation the establishment’s business permit

SECTION 8. POSTING OF BILLBOARD: The City Engineer’s Office is hereby tasked to put billboards in a conspicuous place in the City to notify the public of the restrictions, sanctions and penalties provided in the Ordinance.

SECTION 9. The Philippine National Police (PNP) is tasked with the proper and vigorous implementation of this Ordinance.

SECTION 10. SEPARABILITY CLAUSE. If, for any reason or reasons, any parts or provision of this ordinance shall declared unconstitutional or invalid, other parts or provisions thereof not affected shall continue to be in full force and effect.

SECTION 11. REPEALING CLAUSE. All existing Anti-Smoking Ordinance are hereby repealed.

SECTION 12. EFFECTIVITY CLAUSE. The Ordinance shall take effect sixty (60) days after its approval and publication in a newspaper of local circulation consistent with the provision of the Local Government Code, as amended.

ENACTED, July 30, 2002 by a unanimous vote of all the Members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod.

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