(Flickr photo by Glorius)

It’s amazing to witness history happen before your very eyes.  Yesterday afternoon, November 15 Manila time, Philippine boxing icon Manny Pacquiao gave the most compelling performance of his life by beating Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto for the WBO welterweight championship and an unprecedented seventh world title in different weight classes.

I can safely say that every Filipino right now, whether living in the Philippines or elsewhere around the globe believes that Pacquiao is the greatest boxer of our generation.  And it’s not just us Pinoys who believe this sincerely.  This recent win cemented Manny’s place in history and people like Bob Arum and various sports historians, analysts and reporters are in agreement that Pacquiao is a cut above the rest.  As Martin Rogers of Yahoo! Sports said, “It’s been a while since current fighters were talked about in historical terms, but that’s the level to which Pacquiao is taking his performances…”

But ever the humble sportsman, Pacquiao amidst all the success and glory he received, shared the honor to his country and countrymen, saying we were all part of that historical moment.  He thanked everyone who prayed for him and thanked God for the strength and the blessing he received.

Miguel Cotto was a tough match and as I remember someone tweeting about this immediately after the fight, it’s not that Cotto did something wrong because his boxing skills and sense were top notch, but it’s just that he didn’t have a solution for Pacman’s speed and power.

A few days before the fight I asked the Answers community how they think the fight between the Pacman and Cotto will end and 121 of you shared your thoughts, analysis and predictions on the fight.  Sean G had the closes answer, he predicted an 11th round TKO and he explained that Cotto won’t be knocked out but will probably be too badly bruised to finish the fight.  Now that we know already how that ended, many people are asking who Manny should fight next.  Different names have come up like Juan Marquez, Shane Mosley and of course, Floyd Mayweather Jr.  That’s why I posted this next question to the community, “Who do you think Manny Pacquiao should fight next and why?” Share your thoughts and let’s see who gets to face the Pac-man in his next bout.

But whoever it is, that will have to wait because right now it’s time to celebrate!  Congratulations again Manny Pacquiao!  You are truly the pride of the Philippines.  Mabuhay si Manny, mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

 Photo by HAEROLD PHOTOGRAPHX

Let’s do this YAPpers!  Many thanks to everyone that left a comment and shared their thoughts regarding the possibility of a meet up of the Pinoy community here in Yahoo! Answers!  Because of your feedback, we’re making this a reality.  Let’s have a Pinoy Answers Community Meet Up next month!  Here are the details:

Who: Yahoo! Philippines Answers Users
What: Yahoo! Philippines Answers Community Meet Up!
When: July 18, 2008, 7:30pm
Where: Makati City (specific place to be announced later)

Anyone who wants to attend, just email me the following:

1. Full name:
2. Yahoo! Answers ID:
3. Mobile number:

You can email me at jonasdelosreyes@ymail.com.  Feel free to leave a comment as well if there’s anything else you want to share to me and the community (like venue suggestion maybe, if you’re willing to assist in organizing this, etc.)

Btw, I think YAPpers as a name for Pinoys in Yahoo! Answers is so cool!  Thanks for informing me about it Japs!  And thanks to all the YAPpers!  Hope to see all of you soon!

Photo by lumaxart

Actually, it’s a question that every Pinoy here in Answers should answer.  Is it time for us to have a community meet up or not?  I’m just starting to meet all of you online but I’m sure it will be more exciting if we have an offline event, a meet up of the Pinoy Community in Yahoo! Answers!

Of course, this question raises a string of related questions.  When do we schedule the meet up?  I’m thinking July, but is it too soon or just right?  How about August?  We can have dinner in a restaurant, which leads to the next important question.  Where can we have our meet up?  I’m thinking in a restaurant in Makati City?  If not maybe Ortigas or Quezon City?  Any particular restaurant you have in mind?  Of course, I also want to have a meet up in Cebu (lived there for three years!), and definitely in Davao (can’t forget my Dabawenyo friends, hehehe), definitely in succeeding meet ups.

So share me your thoughts on this as we organize our first Pinoy Answers Community Meet Up.  I’ll make sure to book the place for the event, ensure there’s food and drinks for everyone, prepare an exciting and un-boring program, and bring lots of Yahoo! giveaways to give away!  Hope to see everyone soon!

UPDATE: There’s a big chance I’ll be in the Philippines this July 17 and 18 (a Thursday and a Friday), maybe we can set the Meet Up on the 18th of July, a Friday evening maybe?

Photo by jrac2002

Today we celebrate our country’s 110th Independence Day. More than a century has already passed since our forefathers fought against foreign oppression, tyranny and persecution. Blood sweat and tears were shed because they firmly believed in freedom.

Freedom – a word that has so much meaning in our nation’s history and yet sometimes, taken for granted by its people. In spite enjoying independence for the past 110 years we have continued to fight for freedom because we know that freedom will always be under attack. Not necessarily by foreign rule but by corruption, by dictatorship, by crab mentality, or by indifference to uphold what is good and what is right.

Our nation today continues to face various trials and challenges, but this shouldn’t bring us down or divide us. Instead let us start putting our petty differences aside and let us be united toward common goals. And let us all be thankful to God for the many blessings we have received as Filipinos, always bearing in mind we should always be hopeful, always be optimistic and always see the best and brighter side of being Pinoy!

To all my kababayans, Happy Independence Day! Mabuhay and Pilipinas!

Why do I ask? Well, I was checking some Answers statistics this morning and discovered some very interesting figures about Pinoys in the Answers community. The first and probably the best thing about the data is the growth of Pinoys in the Answers community has been phenomenal! It’s true, ithe graph that represented our growth rate was like a challenge to mountaineers, there was no way to go but up. This surely reflects the fact that Yahoo! is the country’s leading Internet company, reaching 85% of all online users in the Philippines.

The other thing about the figures that’s very noteworthy is not all Pinoys in the Philippines access Answers from the Yahoo! Philippines Answers website. This means they still go to the original Answers website which is, well, primarily for US users. Ever since Yahoo! launched Answers in 2005 as a community-driven knowledge market website, its users have grown exponentially and internationally. As the audience became more global, it was only fitting that local versions with a local voice that featured local flavors and local points of view are launched to cater to specific countries. Hence, Yahoo! Philippines Answers was launched in 2006 (along with other local versions around the world). This is a huge development but it seems to have been overlooked by many Pinoys.

Which brings us to the following questions: If you’re a Pinoy at home in the Philippines, where do you usually access Answers? From the Philippines website or the US website? If your answer is the latter, why go there and not the Philippines Answers site? If you’re a Pinoy living abroad, do you access Answers from the Philippines website or the local version where you are based? If your answer is the latter, why go there and not the Philippines Answers site?

Please take time to answer in the comment section below and do help me spread it around the community as well. Your answers will be very valuable in helping us improve Answers and ensuring that we all have a Pinoy-centric, indispensable online experience every time we log on to Yahoo! Answers.