Saddle Road To Be Replaced With P50M Diversion Road

May 14,2012 “Saddle” Road To Be Replaced With P50M Diversion Road By Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr. Maasin City, Southern Leyte-The “saddle” road of which its improvement was discussed at the Agas-Agas building in a presscon with DPWH officials during the recent media tour of the latter’s projects, would no longer push through as planned. Instead, thru the NGO’s petitions addressed to the new DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson in Manila, the dangerous road in going to San Ricardo, Panaon Island, shall be replaced with the construction of a P50M worth 2-kiometer diversion road in going to brgy.Benit in San Ricardo town. This was the revelation of SL District Engineer Carlos Veloso during a presscon with Congressman Roger Mercado (held at the Villa Romana Hotel((tel no.(053)381-0639)in answer to Pinn Baybay’s inquiry regarding the sad condition of the dangerous “saddle road” that needs immediate attention by the concerned office. Ping Baybay is the editor/publisher of the Southern Leyte Balita. Benit where another roro port was constructed and inaugurated(aside from that of Liloan roro port) by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in April 2010,has also provides sea service to travelers in going to Mindanao via Surigao City in less than an hour, according to a reliable source. “Saddle” road is a narrow road curved along the steep cliff in going to San Ricardo town, which is the only way to reach the place. It was claimed by some knowledgeable people of the place that several accidents have occurred during the past years. On the other hand, Engr.Veloso informed Congressman Mercado and the media that all the ongoing constructions of three bridges in Combado, Abgao and San Roque, Macrohon are expected to be finished on June 30, 2012. He said he received instructions from Secretary Singson that the 3 projects must be completed on such date when all kinds of vehicles could already pass through it. He said he told the contractors about the Secretary’s order and assured him to comply with Singson’s desire. With the upcoming construction of the diversion road, after the winning bidder/contractor would sign the contract, it is hopefully expected that the project would start as soon as possible. (Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.)

No Enough Space Provided For Encoders

April 18,2012

No Enough Space Provided For Encoders
By Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.

Why is it that some of internet cafes that are established in Maasin seem to forget providing the encoders with enough space in every functional computer that is installed in separate cubi- les?.Why is it that lights./bulbs were installed without putting into considerations if those lights were properly placed in an area which will make the letters on keyboards clear to the eyes of the users? Why? Is it not that the main purpose of opening up such internet businesses is to serve the needs of users, including encoders, who some of them are also writers/bloggers?

I have visited many internet cafes to see if I could find some where enough spaces beside operational computers were provided to place comfortably our pages of written articles. I have found two internet cafes that provide spaces to put some pages for encoding.

However, the lights are not properly placed that would make the letters on keyboards clear to see. User/users still need a flashlight to make the letters appear clear on the computer keyboards for easy typing/encoding of the articles; although flashlight could be placed on either left or right side of the cubicle. It would be much better if sodium bulbs were properly positioned to provide sufficient light for the encoders.

Another problem is that some internet cafes would allow children to play games loudly to the distraction of some internet users who might be doing research works or writers who are encoding their articles for corrections and editing.

There must be separate rooms for the computer games for the children. They should not be mingled with adults who are doing some research in the internet or encoding some documents. In this way pestering disturbances from the playing children could be avoided and there is order and peace.

Although in some occasions there are high school students who would play games in the computers who acted also like children, making the internet café like a marketplace with their noise and occasional shouts! This also must be shunned since like the children, they will likewise distract those who are doing some serious attention to what they were doing.

Still other problem among the internet cafes is that those who are in-charged seem to economize on the use of electricity. They either minimized or switched off the power. The gradual reduction of the aircon’s coolness that would eventually fade away would be replaced with another kind of odor.
An odor that emits unpleasant smell will overwhelm the sensitivity of some potential customers who have possessed odor-sensitive noses. This condition would turned them off or be discouraged to stay for long and would just backed out.

I have asked some of those inside the internet cafes where the aircons’ coolness have disappeared after it were switched off. What prevailed was the unpleasant odor. They admitted that they have smelled the unpleasant odor but they seem able to tolerate it without feeling dizzy or nauseated.

There were also two or three internet cafés where a bad odor prevailed simultaneous with the coolness of an operational aircons.Most of this kind of simultaneous existing emissions are common among small spaces internet cafes. What surprised me is that despite the aforesaid unpleasantness of condition inside, some young and adult users seemed unaffected by the annoying smell. Does it mean that these particular users have become immune to the odor?

One time as I entered in a small-space internet cafe, a now common bad odor greeted me. I’ve tried to endure and resisted its unpleasantness. An article that I was about to encode was already been delayed for posting. So I started typing what I have written. I have finished encoding it after about two hours. When I began to correct my work the feeling of nausea has crept in. But I still tried to endure and went on with my editing. Yet, in spite of my efforts to go on I was seized by the feeling of dizziness and felt like I was going to vomit. As I can no longer hold my discomfiture I informed the in-charged man that I wanted to go out. At that moment I was not able to finish what I did.

I also asked a lady working in an optical where I bought a new frame for my graded eyeglasses about this bad smell common inside the internet cafes. As a user herself for her social networking activity, she confessed that she has likewise experienced smelling bad odor from time to time whenever she entered an internet café.Nevertheless, she said that she can bear it but would have avoided the place if there is another internet café where this common bad smell is nowhere in existence.

Some internet operators use air fresheners attached to the aircons.Although some users like its smell, there are also those who do not like it.Besides,air fresheners’ fragrance in varied degrees is not a natural smell. Most of it are chemical-derives.

Besides, regular or frequent inhalation of this bad odor or unpleasant smell is bad for our health.IC owners should seek assistance from medical experts and expert aircon technicians on how to maintain a non-bad smell within the confines of internet cafes for their own sake and for their users/customers.



One time I asked an EENT doctor about my weakness. She asked if my graded eyeglasses are still okay. I told her, it is. She said there’s the probability that my nose is sensitive to bad odor or bad smell. And that staying long inside an internet café would defends upon my resistance to the unpleasant atmosphere.

This common bad smell can also be found inside some banks and government and private offices when their aircons are switched off. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not against any kind of business that serves the interest of the public users/consumers. What we are talking here are the facts and realities occurring in various internet cafes, for sure not only in Maasin, but also in other cities and municipalities, that needs solutions, and not to be ignored by concerned owners/operators.

Yours truly likewise do not like the fragrance emitted by most of the air fresheners, regardless of where it was placed to drive away the bad odor. However, there is a kind of air freshener/s now use by a Cebu-based business recently established here in Maasin that emits pleasant-to-the-nose fragrance. It has no hint or implication of making odor-sensitive noses to feel dizzy or nauseated. Some customers/window shoppers can even stay inside the huge and spacious Supermarket for three to four hours without feeling any unpleasantness from its emission.

In contrast to the other existing reality here, even the owners/operators of internet cafes themselves are well-aware of this now common unpleasant odor prevailing inside their cafes. Like their customers, they have also inhaled the bad smell, though bearably tolerating it while inside. On my part, I still have to find an internet owner who has possessed a highly odor-sensitive nose like mine and would have to feel dizzy or nauseating.

Is the bad smell a by-product of an aircon’s faded coolness after it was switched off? Or is it not the accumulative dusts sucked up by the functioning aircon machine that caused the prevailing bad smell? If this is the case, then owners/operators of internet cafes including managers of banks and heads of offices either government or private should set a regular schedule for cleaning their aircons including the insides of the edifices. Say every first or second month. Let’s see if this procedure will effectively eradicate the bad odor that all internet users have experienced. If IC owners, bank managers and heads of offices will be successful in doing this, we should also be glad that a solution has finally acted upon.

On the other hand, if after all the regular cleaning of aircons and inside rooms and spaces, the un- pleasant smell would still prevail as the aircons’ coolness faded away, then internet owners must seek help from the Metro Gaisano Manager/owner if their kind of air freshener/s they have used in their chain of stores in the Visayas and Mindanao can also be used effectively in internet cafes.

Additionally, an expert in cooling system unfolded that aircon machines would re-use and recycle repeatedly the air inside a room or internet cafe until the air itself will become stale. He explained that the stale air, accumulated dust and other dirt sucked up by the aircon during the process of air re-using and recycling, unthrown wastes inside trash cans, different natural odors being released by the individual users, exposures of bad odor feet while using the computer and some related elements are contributories to bad smell, including dirty linen (if there are any) inside are the main culprit.

With this revelation, it is utterly apparent that operators/in-charged of internet cafes must make schedules for conscientious regular monthly cleaning of their business establishments. While conducting general cleanings, windows and doors should be wide opened to let out the bad air and allow fresh air to come in.

Installing two exhaust fans for each internet café on either side of the office would be better than just one exhaust fan. This is to hasten the exhaustion of bad smell. If IC owners have noticed that air released by their aircon machines is no longer cool, it’s time to call the aircon technicians to check the Freon’s containers if a certain element/substance use to convert ordinary air into cool air is still enough or needed replacements; or if their aircons are already defective and needed repair.

In all kinds of business endeavors, owners/operators should always put priority to their targeted customers as they construct their buildings or edifices: how the lights should be properly installed that would make comfortable to them while inside the building and feel fresh whenever possible. Conducive environment and cozy atmosphere and other amenities that owners can offer are important measures that would attract more and more customers/users to patronize their businesses. .(Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.)