Mud house

Hungary’s legendary discus thrower Lehel Rasz met me for lunch at Casa Ilongga at Robinsons Fuente the other week. When Lehel called to see me, I thought we would be talking about our participation in the NCR National Masters Athletics Championship. Lehel, who owns a 59-meter throw during his peak, joined the Cebu leg of the trackfest and won the gold in the 74-79 age category. The 75 year-old Lehel recently returned from typhoon-ravaged Tacloban City where he surveyed the massive destruction.  Lehel asked me to assist him in helping the victims build houses at practically very low cost. Lehel said building a house made of mud is not a mad idea. One may ask "Di ba dili man na lig-on ang lapok?" Well, Lehel said how come houses build with mud in Africa and Egypt lasted thousand of years. Mud reinforced with fiber will be hard as rock and no wind even like “Yolanda” can destroy.  It’s typhoon  and earthquake proof.  When finished, the temperature in the mudhouse maybe 5 to 10 celsius cooler during daytime and warmer at nightime. Lehel’s model mud house is nearing completion in Punta Engano.  We will soon travel to Tacloban to educate  interested people to build mud houses.  Lehel is also distributing cookies baked by the sun.  He also sells the Mannarax which is made of wheat grass, mango and coconut plus ginseng and moringa.  It is good for the immune system   and is a special food supplement to help cancer patients. One of Lehel’s  favorite quote  is “He who is immune is immortal” by the ancient chinese philosopher Lao-Tzu, founder of Taoism.

RUNNING  ORDINANCE FOR  ILOILO

In 2012, Cebu City was faced with a problem on how to regulate the out-of-control running events  which sometimes number three in one day. Finally, an ordinance authored by then councilor now vice mayor Ed Labella was passed regulating the conduct of footraces.  The ordinance called Cebu City Footrace and Fun Run Ordinance increased permit fees to a minimum of Php 7,000 for the shortest distance, penalize organizers who fail to clean the garbage like cups and streamers and most of all limits running races to just one a day.  Now Rommel “ Jojo” Castro, IloIlo City sports coordinator, is asking for a copy of the ordinance as they are also thinking of appying it in IloIlo City. Well,  actually, running in Cebu has slowed down drastically. You're lucky if you could gather a thousand runners nowadays.  Well, I’m glad running is back to normal.

NOTES:  My  Vancouver Canada- based niece Julia Uytiepo Palmiano’s  tennis buff friends are excited.  Well, Julia is set to visit Switzerland upon the invitation of her boyfriend Wence Federer, who is the nephew of tennis champion Roger Federer.