Seriously Picture Taking in front of the Bus of the Rolando Mendoza Hostage Drama

I found these pictures circulating in Facebook and I guess the reason why I am posting it is because "come on guys, didn't we learn anything!"

Students I know you think this is just for souvenir purposes but did you know that your picture is captured in a British column http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1305605/2-British-tourists-escape-Manila-bus-siege-8-holidaymaker-hostages-killed.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

with a caption of "Sickening: Students pose for photographs near the damaged tourist bus as people gather to watch the investigation"

The term used to describe your action is "sickening". In Filipino, what can be the translation? Wait could it be nakakasuka? nakakapangilabot? nakakasulasok? or all of the above?

There is even a photo of you guys cursing you but I did not post that picture here because it's just too much. Please show some consideration. The way the authorities handled the situation is being ridiculed by people around the world. Let's not add to that burden anymore.



But I find this other photo more disturbing. I am pleading our policemen to please think. Think before you act. In case you haven't noticed you guys are under a lot and I mean bigger than life concerns and criticisms right now. Please show some honor to the uniform and badge you are wearing. Just pleae stop doing anything that might embarrass our country and you even dared to smile behind one of the world's most gruesome murders.



I hope these are the last two photos I am adding in this mail but if there are more please send it to me and let's make an album of people who does not know the meaning of "remorse".

The E-Mail that Brought Down Captain Mendoza: Hostage Taker of 25 BUS Passengers at Quirino Grandstand August 23, 2010

Hello friends. This is the e-mail purportedly sent by Christian Kalaw's parent to ask for help about their son who was forced to eat shabu and robbed of his salary by Captain Mendoza and his colleagues.

The source is a 2008 blog by http://jimayson.wordpress.com/2008/05/17/crooked-manila-cops-get-served-by-viral-e-mail/

For other details about the hostage taking you can check out:

http://www.gmanews.tv/largevideo/home/65178/flash-policeman-holds-hostage-tour-bus-with-children-in-manila


http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/metro/view/20100823-288384/Gunman-hijacks-bus-load-of-children-adults

HI ED.

THANKS FOR THE E MAIL. I’D LIKE TO TELL YOU MY SON’S EXPERIENCE WITH THE MANILA POLICE LAST WEDNESDAY EVENING AT ABOUT 10PM.

CHRISTIAN WENT TO THE CONDO AT THE CORNER OF VITO CRUZ AND TAFT AVE. TO RETURN HIS COUSIN’S LAPTOP. HE HANDED THE LAPTOP TO HIS COUSIN AND WENT BACK TO THE CAR. WHEN HE GOT TO THE CAR, THERE WAS A COP ASKING HIM WHAT HE WAS DOING THERE, WHY HE WAS PARKED ON A NO PARKING AREA. CHRISTIAN SAID, IF IT WAS A NO PARKING AREA WHY IS IT THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF CARS PARKED. THE COP SAID OPEN YOUR TRUNK AND CHRIS ASKED, WHY YOU HAVE A WARRANT?

ANYWAY, THE CAR DOORS AND WINDOWS WERE OPEN AND ANOTHER COP SEARCHED THE INTERIOR WHILE ANOTHER OPEND THE TRUNK. IN THE TOOLBOX THEY FOUND THE PLASTIC END OF SPARK PLUGS. THE COP SAID PARAPHARNELIA. THE SAME COP BROUGHT TO THE TRUNK USED PLASTIC SACHETS OF SHABU AND STARTED TO SHOUT DRUGS TO, DRUGS.

SO THEY TOOK CHRISTIAN AND YOU KNOW WHERE, TO THE ATM OF BPI. THEY SAW HIS CARD AND ASKED HIM TO WITHDRAW ALL HIS MONEY. FORTUNATELY HE DOES NOT KEEP HIS MONEY THERE. ONLY HIS SALARY IS DEPOSITED THERE. SO THE COPS WERE INISTING THAT HE WAS A USER. AND MY SON WAS SAYIN DO A TEST NOW SO THEY’LL SEE IF HE’S POSITIVE. HE SAID I CANT WORK IN MANDARIN AS A CHEF IF I’M A USER. HE SAID HE HAD TO GET POLIICE, NBI, BARANGAY, COURT AND MEDICAL CLEARANCE BEFORE HE COULD START WORKING. SO THE POLICE TOOK HIM TO THE HEADQUARTERS AT UN AVE. AND THERE FORCED HIM TO EAT SHABU. IT TOOK A WHILE BEFORE HE ATE IT. SIX COPS WERE PUNCHING HIM AND SCARING HIM WITH THEIR GUNS. TILL THR POOR GUY PEED IN HIS PANTS OF FEAR. HE HAD TO SWALLOW THE DRUG. THEN THE COPS STARTED TO LAUGH. NOW WE’LL SEE IF YOU ARE NEGATIVE OF SHABU.

200,000PHP AND WE’LL LET YOU GO. OR THIS WILL BE AT THE FISCALS OFFICE IN THE MORNING .CALL YOUR FRIENDS AND PARENTS. THIS ORDEAL STARTED AT 10PM. HE WAS ABLE TO CALL ME AT 5AM THE FOLLOWING DAY. POOR SON OF MINE WAS REALLY TRAUMATIZED. A FRIEND OF HIS CAME WITH TWENTY THOUAND THE COPS GRABBED IT AND LET HIM GO AS IF NOTHING HAPPENED. I WAS IN LIPA ALL THE TIME THIS WAS HAPPENNING. CHRIS LATER FOUND OUT FROM HIS COUSIN THAT SEVEN OF HER FRIENDS WERE ALSO APPREHENDED BY THE SAME GROUP OF COPS AND ALSO TOOK THEM TO THEIR ATM’S. THEY GOT ALL THEIR MONEY IN THE ACCOUNT. THIS COP IS CAPT.MENDOZA OF THE MOBILE GROUP AND SARGENT GAVINO.

YOU GUYS KNOW INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN THE SERVICE, PLS LET THEM KNOW ABOUT THIS.I WOULD ALSO LIKE FOR THEM TO GIVE THE MONEY THEY TOOK BACK TO MY SON SO HE COULD GIVE IT BACK TO HIS FRIEND. THE MORE PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THIS SO CALLED POLICE OFFICERS THE BETTER. THIS IS THE TYPE OF GOVERNMENT THAT WE HAVE NOW. DISARM THE POPULATION AND THIS TYPE OF ABUSE HAPPENS. THANKS AND PASS IT ON.

BOB

Zenyu Eco-Spa: Upcoming Blogger Event

Based from teasers I got from Dr. Eric Tan's facebook, the Zenyu Eco-Spa will be using ecoparadise products from Japan. You can check out ecoparadise products by visiting http://www.ecoparadise.com.sg/

The Zenyu-Eco Spa offers "deoxidizing solution from Japan that creates negative ion for better health. An eco-friendly spa that generates its powers from nature." It is also the "first eco friendly spa with negative ion hot bed technology from Japan".



Dr. Eric is currently looking for beauty bloggers who would want to try this one-of-a-kind experience for free. There are just a few requirements:
a. You are an active beauty blogger
b. Subscribe to my site (for faster correspondences between us)
c. If you have twitter, follow me in twitter ia_adam_lim and tweet about this blog
d. If you have facebook, invite me at ia_adam20@yahoo.com and repost this blog

In return, the Zenyu Eco-Spa experience you will get will surely rejuvenate you from inside and out and the best thing about it is that all the products and services you will receive is guaranteed eco-friendly.

Someday Syndrome by US Congressman Ed Foreman and Paypal problems

I am posting this video because its a reminder for me to research for more information about Paypal issues. I am stuck with the Someday Syndrome US Congressman Ed Foreman is talking about. I heard about Congressman Foreman from Mr. Jack Canfield's Success Principles when he quoted him with the statement below:

"Winners are those people who make a habit of doing the things losers are uncomfortable doing. – Former US Congressman Ed Foreman"

So I researched this man who made such a powerful statement and the first hit after his name is this video of the Someday Syndrome. Kewego generously shares the video to bloggers.

Someday Syndrome by Ed Foreman - kewego
http://www.edforeman.com The Someday Syndrome by former US Congressman and speaking legend Ed Foreman. This syndrome can be avoided if you take time to be happy here and now.

Keywords: ed foreman congressman terrific day happy positive attitude

Video from fgbvfers

So how is this related to Paypal? A lot of the issues, mostly unpleasant ones, I heard from Paypal users include having their money stuck or their account frozen at a long period of time because they took a long time to respond to Paypal or at least pester Paypal for updates about their issues. In short, they procrastinate. According to Wikepedia, "Procrastination refers to the counterproductive deferment of actions or tasks to a later time."

Retrieved from (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procrastination)

They're thinking I'm too busy, there are more important things I have to do, I'll do it over the weekends, there's nothing to worry my money is just in Paypal its not like they can get it from me and so on and so forth.

The procrastination has resulted to inaction for weeks and then months and the next thing you know your money has been in Paypal for years. You can't remember when exactly your account was given a limited access status.

My action for today is to do my research so I can posts more articles tomorrow on better ways to handle these Paypal account issues.

As Jack Canfield said E + R = O. Events + Respones = Outcomes. The events in our life are already given. If if were a mathematical problem then it can be said that 2 + 2 = 4. If you want to have 5 as a sum, you cannot change the events. That's already a given as a 2. What you can change are your responses. Therefore if you want to make a 5, you just have to give out a 3. That's something you can control.

I bid adieu for now and see you soon.

The transaction is still being reviewed by PAYPAL

On July 15, my friend received an e-mail from this merchandiser telling him that his payment was still not credited because his transaction was still being reviewed by Paypal. My friend was advised by the merchandiser to wait for about a week. He assured him that what happened to him was a rare occurrence but it does happen. However, one question really looms in our mind? If the merchandiser does not have the money in his account and it is also not in my friend's account according to the bank, then where is it? And what right does Paypal have to hold money for a week? or even for a day? or even for just a few hours. It's not their money!!! This is sleeping money. Money that will not earn interest? Money that is just floating there somewhere? Money that as some people said in other blogs frozen for years because they cannot get Paypal to return it! My friend and I share the same emotion. That feeling that this is utterly and obviously NOT RIGHT! It's like the same feeling that you have been robbed under your nose. For the inconvenience, for the time spent, for the unnecessary phone calls and document preparations? What is it for? And why is there no definite actions listed in the Paypal site which tells you where and when do these occurrences normally happen?

Like for example: Does it happen when you add a credit card? But my friend did that before and he did not get this limited access account from Paypal? Is it because you used the newly added card right away? But that was also done before? Is it because one was not able to enter the verification code in the Paypal site? But that's also bollocks because the last time my friend verified his first card he had to wait for the bill which was normally after 25 days and he's account was not limited. For the new card, the card was verified in a week's time? So what was different? What went wrong?

Or is there someone in Paypal who reviews these transactions subjectively and when he does not feel like it or he's not in a good mood, he'll slap every account that goes in his desk with a limited account access issue. My rantings may be figments of my imagination but then again what happened with my friend's account was also absurd. And now Paypal holds the money indefinitely with no advice whatsoever besides a note "The transaction is still being reviewed by PAYPAL".

Finally on July 16, Paypal has moved from Step 2 to Step 3 of the Resolution process.
They sent a letter to my merchandiser who in turn forwarded the e-mail to me. It says:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From:
Date: Fri, Jul 16, 2010 at 10:19 AM
Subject: A payment has been reversed
To: xxx


Hello xxx,

We've concluded our investigation into the transaction detailed below.

Because we determined that you did not meet the eligibility requirements
for the PayPal Seller Protection Policy, you are being charged for this
reversed transaction. We've returned the funds to the PayPal account
holder, and your account will be debited for the amount of this transaction.

-----------------------------------
Helping ensure safe transactions
-----------------------------------

Most of the payments you receive will be from, honest buyers. PayPal wants
to help ensure that your transactions are as safe as possible.

You can often reduce your risk by paying close attention to payment details
and unusual requests.

* Watch for address inconsistencies:
It's fairly common for a buyer's shipping address to be different from the
billing address. In some cases, though, it could indicate fraud. For
instance, a high-priced item that has a billing address in one country and
a shipping address in another may be suspicious.

* Beware of unusual requests that could indicate suspicious activity, such
as:
- Buyers who want rush shipment at any cost
- Buyers who send partial payments from different PayPal accounts
- Do not make payment in full

Go to the PayPal Security Center for more information.

-----------------------------------
Transaction Details
-----------------------------------


Buyer's name: xxx
Buyer's email: xxx
Transaction ID: xxx

Transaction date: Jul 8, 2010
Transaction amount: xxx
Your transaction ID: xxx
Case number: xxx


Thanks,

PayPal

Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you
will not receive a response. For assistance, log in to your PayPal account
and click the Help link in the top right corner of any PayPal page.

----------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright © 1999-2010 PayPal. All rights reserved.

Consumer advisory- PayPal Pte. Ltd., the holder of PayPal’s stored value
facility, does not require the approval of the Monetary Authority of
Singapore.
Users are advised to read the terms and conditions carefully.

PPID xxx

At this time the merchandiser has relinquished his responsibility to Paypal since the payment has been reversed. My friend was thankful for the prompt communication between his merchandiser and him. However, now the problem was my friend was stuck with no payment to his merchandiser, a floating money and no advice from Paypal whatsoever as to what happened to the money he sent. There's no e-mail from them what to expect next instead they sent my friend something that he thinks was kinda inappropriate at that time.

To find out what was that, tune in to tomorrow's blog.

Your PayPal Account Access Has Been Restored

In less than 24 hours of submitting the documents, my friend received this e-mail from Paypal telling him that his Paypal Account Access has been restored. This was the first e-mail which he opened early the next morning. When his account was restored, he described the feeling to somewhat like the same feeling when you have a stubborn splinter finally removed or a hangnail finally clipped.

--- On Tue, 7/13/10, service@intl.paypal.com wrote:

> From: service@intl.paypal.com
> Subject: Your PayPal Account Access Has Been Restored
> To: xxx
> Date: Tuesday, 13 July, 2010, 10:32 PM

Hello xxx,

Our review is complete and we have restored your account.

We appreciate your patience and thank you for your help in making PayPal
the safest and most trusted online payment solution.

Thanks,
Kelly
PayPal

Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you
will not receive a response. For assistance, log in to your PayPal account
and click the Help link in the top right corner of any PayPal page.

----------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright © 1999-2010 PayPal. All rights reserved.

Consumer advisory- PayPal Pte. Ltd., the holder of PayPals stored value
facility, does not require the approval of the Monetary Authority of
Singapore.
Users are advised to read the terms and conditions carefully.

PPID xxx

However, the issue is not yet over. As I mentioned in my other blog "Paypal Problems in the Philippines 8", I said there that "Step 3 is the most crucial for my friend's case by the way". What is step 3 again of the Paypal resolution process. Let me refresh your memory.

Step 3 - Payment is completed or reversed

Depending on the outcome of the investigation, the payment will be completed or reversed.

So my friend, e-mailed the merchandiser to notify him that the issue is cleared already on his side. For the merchant's reply, you'll have to read the next blog.

:)

Just kidding....

Anyway, the merchandiser replied the same day, July 14, telling my friend that the payment is still not clear on his side.

Oh no! What does this mean? My friend returned to his Paypal account and checked the steps and notifications. The once previously numbered tasks for verification is gone which means he was able to verify everything. The only thing left unresolved is the open case. Please note that my friend was able to lift his limited access account by July 13 and he informed the merchandiser July 14. However, according to Paypal's history of cases, they sent a letter to the seller on July 15, 2010. This is a day after my friend's account was cleared. The merchandiser responded the same day which resulted to the transaction being reversed. Hence, when my friend informed the merchandiser on July 14 that his account was cleared already, Paypal was still in the process of going from Step 2 to 3 of the resolution process.

What is Step 2 again, you may ask?

Step 2 - PayPal reviews transaction

PayPal reviews the details of transaction and may request additional information from you.


Date Actor Action Details
Jul 15, 2010 PayPal Transaction reversed and case closed
Jul 15, 2010 PayPal Email sent to seller
Jul 12, 2010 Seller Response received from seller
Jul 12, 2010 PayPal Email sent to seller
Jul 10, 2010 PayPal Email sent to seller

For what to do after your transaction was reversed, you have to read the next blog. Seriously dude, because I have a play to watch, Equus, from the Repertory Philippines. So see you soon!

Paypal Problems in the Philippines 8

Before I go deep on the things my friend and I found out about Paypal's limited access account, let's go back to the original topic which is what happened to my friend after his account was frozen because of Paypal's limited access notification to him.

So we contacted the seller from where my friend bought the item. The seller confirmed that there is a problem.

--- On Fri, 7/9/10, xxx wrote:

From: xxx
Subject: Re: Fw: Re: Welcome, xxx!
To: "xxx"
Date: Friday, 9 July, 2010, 10:20 PM
Something is wrong with the transaction.
Please check your paypal account and the bank's credit card connected to the paypal account.

Paypal said you did not authorize this transaction...

Again, it's better to OPEN first your paypal account.
Then call up the bank regarding the transaction on your card amounting to P xxx.
Please DO NOT use logic in this. Just do as I say above.

Thanks,
xxx

At this time, we cannot figure out where the money is. According to our bank, our credit card was surely deducted for the amount we paid while the seller also claims that he did not receive the money because our Paypal transaction was not authorized. My friend went back to his Paypal account and read for the nth time the instructions he found in the Resolution Center Tab. By the way, this tab is found in between the History and Profile Tab.

In a nutshell, my friend was asked to do the following things:
1. set up security questions
2, verify proof of name and address - sent a scan of billing statements
3. authorize transaction - which means to verify that the buyer (my friend)was really buying something from the seller
4. confirmation of credit card - a verification code of Paypal sent to the credit card company plus 1 dollar payment that is refundable
5. a password change

My friend was able to get all the information ready by July 13, 2010. It took him four days to prepare the documents, pester his credit card company for the Paypal verification code and research on what was safe from him to do. He knows it is inevitable to send personal documents but it is necessary to verify his name and address. So he chose to send the billing statement of his credit card company. He also added a billing statement of his telephone bill just to show that he has other regular subscription as well. He did not scan personal identification anymore such as government-issued ID's. There were two options to choose from to send these documents: either you can attach the scanned documents to the website or you can fax it. My friend opted for the first one. It was just like attaching a photo in Facebook. Although if the file size of the picture is too big it will take time to attach it or may even result to several failed attempts of attaching the document. There is no advice from the Paypal site as to the limit of the photo size should be but just the same we lowered the resolution because it was taking more than 10 minutes to attach one page of document.

After completing the five tasks Paypal asked my friend to do, it was shown that we have completed four out five of the steps successfully. It shows a label "Completed" beside each task. The only thing that was not completely resolved was the verification of the name and address. For this, my friend and I thought that it is only logical that they cannot verify right away so we just informed the seller that we are trying to resolved the verification process and to extend more patience regarding the matter.

There is also an opened case regarding the transaction. When my friend clicked on the open case, Paypal listed the things it did for us to contact the seller. Unfortunately, I cannot attach a printscreen of the process because it will divulge personal information but let me just summarize it here.

Date Actor Action Details
Jul 15, 2010 PayPal Transaction reversed and case closed
Jul 15, 2010 PayPal Email sent to seller
Jul 12, 2010 Seller Response received from seller
Jul 12, 2010 PayPal Email sent to seller
Jul 10, 2010 PayPal Email sent to seller

By the time I am writing this letter, this case have jumped several steps. No worries, for those waiting for specific details I will gladly provide that in my subsequent blogs.

Basically, what I want to show here is that while Paypal was contacting me it was also trying to contact my seller. As you can see, e-mails were sent on July 10 and 12. My friend bought the item July 8 and was able to complete the tasks to be able to lift his limited access account by July 13. Paypal noted that the verification of the name and address may take a few days (we cannot remember the exact number of days). Hence, it is the only pending task.

So at this time all we have to do is wait. While waiting, my friend poked here in there in his Paypal account just to really familiarize himself on the site. He found out this useful information.

Steps to Resolve Your Case

Unable to determine case status

At this time, we are unable to determine which steps you have completed. For an overview of the dispute resolution process, please review the "Steps" on the left.

Step 1 - PayPal identifies transaction for review

PayPal is constantly monitoring site activity and reviewing transactions. This payment has been selected for review and is being investigated.

Step 2 - PayPal reviews transaction

PayPal reviews the details of transaction and may request additional information from you.

Step 3 - Payment is completed or reversed

Depending on the outcome of the investigation, the payment will be completed or reversed.

(To see past cases you can go to the Resolution Center tab, click the drop down menu of View and choose which case you want to open such as Open cases, closed cases or all cases. I find this tab very very helpful. For this Kudos Paypal for thinking of something like this.)

Step 3 is the most crucial for my friend's case by the way and I will tell you more about it in the next blog. See you then.