Filipino Front Pagers

Just recently, Manny Pacquio conquered the boxing ring again beating Miguel Cotto via a 12th round techinical knock out to become the first fighter in boxing history to win 7 world title in different weight divisions.

Just recently too, Efren Penaflorida won the hearts of the world over which won him the CNN Hero of the Year Award. However, unlike Pacman, Paqcquio's nickname, Efren's winning was not well publicized among the common Filipino masses, which is such a waste because his is a story that can inspire the littlest hero among us.

And today, we are front page here in a UAE national newspaper... why? Because of an infamous act of magnanimous level... election-related killing of almost 20+ reporters in one shooting at the south part of the Philippines. The world is saying they have not seen killing of media people of this level.

We cover the world dailies with different news... some victorious, some shameful. I just hope we do it more for the first reason...

Missing Pinas

a friend of mine is coming and she asked me "hey, what do you want me to bring to you from manila?" hmmm.... i thought, nah... most of the philippine products and delicacies can already be found here, what with hundreds of thousands of pinoys inhabiting UAE!

plus, the things i enjoy in manila, i have to enjoy in manila... such as...

FOOD TRIP
Jollibee!!! i have long foregone eating fried chicken skin, but when it's jollibee, no rules!

Max's!!! oh, i just love this resto! and now they have more affordable combo meals!

Red Ribbon!!! my fave cake store, and they added other sumptuous meals!

MALL HOPPING
Trinoma!!! it's like SM, glorietta and greenbelt rolled into one

Serendra!!! i love the greens and the cozy ambiance! i like ayala malls!


BARGAIN HUNTING
Ukay Ukay!!! not a visit is complete without a trip to Ukay Ukay with Nanay!

Greenhills and Tutuban!!! well, if we have the time and the energy...

Sta. Lucia Mall, Big-R and Ever !!! i can't believe i found bargain gems in these malls near our place!


GET AWAYS
Tagaytay!!! especially when summer heat is scorching!!!

Sleepovers at friends houses!!! oh, nothing beats this! haha!

Mall cafe's and Restos!!! rendezvous with friends has always been in cafes even if i'm not a coffee-drinker... or stand aloone specialized restos in timog or eastwood, or the fort for some reason...

Fellowships at church!!! oh, i love spending time with my mcbc family, either for church, activities, fellowship, etc.

our humble abode in cainta!!! oh the best get-away place from all the work chaos! i love the breakfast time with nanay, the afternoon play with the kids, and the evening tv time, catching up on dyesebe, maging sino ka man or 24 oras! hahaha!


ohh......... just writing this makes me misssssss pinas soooo much!!!!! even though there's traffic, undending rain, impatient drivers, humidity, high cost of gasoline, etc. well, you can't have it all!!! ;)

Interviews

it's that time again of the year when we line up people for interviews as part of our staffing program. in front of me are CVs of 5 shortlisted applicants--- in manila. yes, i've conducted interviews of people in manila thru internet. this is how we've been doing things for the past years.

there's much lost when you interview via conference call, even if there's webcam. the eye contact, the involuntary gestures which means a lot to an interviewer, and the curve of the lips when they smile, their attire, the sweaty palms, the train of thoughts when the line gets so choppy, etc.... so these aspects, we have to leave in the able hands of our manile agency who shortlists for us.

as i interview them, i've to up my antenna in terms of other aspects in liue of the personal connection. so i am more conscious of their wordings, their stammerings, and the consistency of their answers after numerous rewordings of the questions.

i love asking them the perennial question of "what makes you the best candidate for the position". i love the resolve, the self-salestalk, the promises which i know would be broken someday. there are times too that i learn a lot from their experience, and from the industry the've worked on. you just don't realize the valuable information the interviewer gets from all of these ;)

more often than not though, i am the one who gets lost in the interview, specially when they start telling their tales when i ask them "why would you like to come here to the UAE". i know it would always be financial reason, but the reason of their lack of finance varies from pole to pole, and that's what would usually captivate my ears! i would be drawn to stories of big families trying to make both ends meet, to candidates left to fend for their own, to hate tales of being victimized by swindlers and fraudulent agencies, etc.

my filipino boss has always been asked to get staff from other nationalities, especially when the partners know that we are having problems with our pinoy staff not finishing their contracts. but he has kept with his policy of "one filipino staff coming here, means one less needy family in our country". very noble, yet most would forget that and the other bold statements they have said during the interview, a few months after......

Sad but true -- Facts on Erap's Plunder Case

The verdict...
Deposed president Joseph Estrada was sentenced Wednesday by the Sandiganbayan's Special Division to life in prison and barred from holding public office again after being found guilty of the crime of plunder in a marathon six-year trial.


The plunder case...

Estrada bought the Boracay Mansion, a property consisting of a house located at No. 100 11th Street, New Manila, Quezon City, using P142 million jueteng (numbers racket) money.The bank deposits were P542.7 million (this is where tax went the past years!!!) including P200 million under the Erap Muslim Youth Foundation deposited with Equitable-PCI Bank, and the P189.7 million commission from the purchase of Belle Corporation Shares by the Social Security System and the Government Service Insurance System that ended up into the Jose Velarde account.

The guilty's innocent plea...

"As expected, this Special Division was created to convict me," Estrada told journalists as he was led out of the courtroom."What is important is the support of the people, and they have overwhelmingly acquitted me. This is a political decision," he said.

And this is the most perplexing, unbelieavable and sad fact...
"With only one-third (36 percent) of Filipinos believing that former President Joseph Estrada 'enriched himself with hundreds of millions of pesos from various corrupt practices while he was President,' 57 percent expected the Sandiganbayan would acquit him," ayon sa pahayag ng SWS sa http://www.sws.org.ph/.


For the complet story, click the link.
http://www.gmanews.tv/erapplundertrial/story/60237/Sandigan-verdict-Erap-guilty-of-plunder-cleared-of-perjury

A Case of A Dead Filipina in Dubai

such a loss...it's not so safe after all... i hope justice would be served!

*****************************************************************************
Last Updated : Wednesday 22 Aug, 2007

Dubai - Police have recovered the decomposing body of a missing Filipina in the Jumeirah district of Dubai. Last week 7DAYS reported that 38-year-old housemaid Mary Ann Carbellido, had been missing since an early morning driving lesson on August 12.The victim's younger sister Anariza Tangan, 35, was contacted by Bur Dubai Police at 11am yesterday to identify the body at the morgue.

"Police told me that they found her behind a villa in Jumeirah and they believe that she had died five to six days ago," Anariza said.She said that when she went to view the body, she could not recognise her sister's face, which had turned black.Police showed her Mary Ann's silver watch, jewellery, and the black blazer and black jeans which she was wearing when she went missing.

"I could not go near the body which was wrapped except for her face. I was only able to positively identify her when the police showed me her belongings," Anariza said. Mary Ann has three children and a husband back in the Philippines , who she called at least three times a week. "I haven't informed anyone yet in the Philippines .

Her employer told me today that he will cooperate with the CID to trace the whereabouts of the person who took my sister to the driving school. He said that the person who drove her to her driving lesson has already left the country," Anariza said.The last time she saw Mary Ann was on August 10 when they visited friends in the Satwa area of Dubai .

"We didn't have any problems. We were so happy that day. I can't believe that she's gone forever now," her sister said.A spokesperson for the Philippine embassy told 7DAYS she believed the case was being treated as murder and that they would be monitoring the case closely with police.The family has requested the repatriation of Mary Ann's body back to her homeland.

My Kabayans

it has always been a delight for me to say "kabayan!" (filipino term for countrymate) to pinoy strangers-- whether at the supermarket, restaurant, gym, mall, hotel, in Adventureland, on the phone, etc. it is a word which instantly connects me with these people. even some foreigners (who know other pinoys) use that word to just illicit smiles from our kabayans! one of our visitors who was here for a 5-day trip, and who has been elsewhere in the world, commented that pinoys here are friendlier to other pinoys. that i have to find out.

and each "kabayan" greeting is greeted back with a smile and usually with a question "matagal ka na dito?" (have you been here for a long time?). and that opens numerous work and personal tales that lasts a few minutes. most are always avid to share their stories, and i've always been eager to listen coz they teach me so much about life. precious encounters. whether we'd see each other again or not, the joy must be in connecting with someone they feel familiar with.

and i am glad that most of them say that they are treated well by their employers. if asked if they are happy, 50% says yes, 50% says no, on the basis of salary. there is still a wage discrimination -- if you are asian or non-arabic, both on the rank and file and the managerial level. it is a sad fact. there is no minimum wage law here. and among managers within the same company, usually a white and a local (emirati) manager earns higher than a pinoy manager.

but just the same, kabayans keep flocking here to dubai expecting greener pastures. some has good endings, others charge the bad result to experience.

wayback 2002, there were only a few of the so-called professionals here. i would often get the comment "you are the first Filipino manager i've dealt with". for them it must be flattery, for me it was an insult. exodus started in 2004 and was furhter boosted by the 'Dubai' movie of aga mulach and joh lloyd. but now 2007, it seems that all companies have their Pinoy clouts! and guess what? the reputation that we have gained thus far, are: hardworking, multi-tasking, very neat, and delivers good customer service. bravo!

so to my kabayans here: cheers and keep up the good work! whether the intention is to stay here and help the country thru dollar remittance, or to plough back to philippines the expertise and the savings gained here, i salute you!

I'm Going Back to the Philippines

such is the cry of many amnesty-seekers in UAE. there are about 1000 of them, many are domestic helpers. the highest number being in abu dhabi and dubai. last july 3, they were given by the government amnesty which they should avail before end of august. i hope absconding pinoys will take advantage of this and not let the 'deadest deadline' mentality cripple them and lose their privilege to go back home safely...

common problem they face is paying of the airfares. airlines have cooperated by giving discounted rates to pinoys, and to other countries wherein this amnesty was given, such as india. filipino communities have worked hand in hand to give needed support, coz who else will help them?

i guess this is one main reason why our immigration in the philippines is so unreasonably strict in letting the visit visa holders leave the airport. they do no like others to suffer the fate of our unfortunate kababayans. however, many immigration officers take advantage of this and turn it into power-play and lose the real concern for those leaving the country... until someone, fortunately, irated the daughter of PGMA and re-organized the screening system of our NAIA immigration...

coming to UAE does not always end in 'happily ever after'. there are a small percentage of sad and bad endings. you have to be prepared for the worst...

The Stigma of OFWs

almost 8 million Filipinos are working overseas, and almost 80 % of them are married, and leave their families behind. this work trend has definitely answered a big problem among the Filipino families – financial survival. dollars are sent back to the philippines, alleviating their families’ lives, and on a bigger scale, it increases the dollar reserve and of course, increasing the spending cycle of money, making it a good machinery of the government to improve our economy.

our boss’ vision for bringing in employees from the philippines to dubai is “one filipino employee hired, means one family made financially worry-free.” yes very true.

but................ on the other hand, it left a stigma to many. it solved one, but created another problem. one parent is away, leaving the whole responsibility of child-caring to the other spouse, and many times, with the grand parents and uncles and aunties. the kids are left with no image of either the mother or the family, whoever decided to fly abroad. and because of this, filipino family has never been the same again…

the absence of one parent-figure is already disturbing. but there is something more shattering, and more alarming… the increasing cases of infidelities and broken marriages among the OFW families.

yearly, in our company alone, we deal with a number of these cases. is the saying ‘out of sight, out of mind’ rubbing them in, poisoning their minds? the once ‘married’ are claiming to be ‘separated’, and thus making their current relationship legal. we’ve put our foot down on this issue and has implemented radical policies and decisions. but there are others who’d really sneak behind our back smartly, and prolong a taboo relationship longer than we’d imagine. not all OFWs are given the bi-annual treat to go home. many wait for 1 year, or worse, 2 years to be given the chance to go home.

or, it is the spouse left behind who is playing with fire! whew, is 1 or 2 years of wait really too long to keep the married vows intact?! ... i pity the wronged ones... but most especially, i pity the kids who have to borne the consequences of their parents' selfishness...


oh, the stigma… the curse of Filipino OFWs… financially free yet emotionally broken...... or would you rather keep the family intact despite being financially drowned?

Grey Skies in Dubai

whatever the other countries have, Dubai aims to do it better, earning the title an "artificial land" from many skeptics. it has created the world continents, aptly named "The World", it has "The Palms", it has Ski Dubai, and soon, a property development will re-create all the 7 wonders of the world!


in a way, i am amused and grateful. amused because they try so hard to do it. but also grateful, because out of this desire flows out the projects that generates our company's cash flow. i think Dubai can create anything... green mountains, snow-capped hills, underwater paradise, idyllic islands, tallest buildings, lush gardens, awesome beaches... but there is one thing they cannot recreate nor buy-- blue skies! most blue skies here are photoshopped!




however much they try, when we look up, it is still all grey up there! i cannot blame it on pollution coz there is none. i can't say because there is no sea that can reflect a blue hue, coz dubai is surrounded with the Arabian Gulf. or maybe because it is reflecting the grey sands? i love grey tops, grey shoes, grey bags... but not grey skies! gloomy skies! it dampens a soul for some reason...


when you've been out here for a long time, you'd definitely wish for blue skies. it relaxes the spirit. it brings back joyful memoirs to me. it tickles my bones. it curves a smile on my face...



and... it is what our country, beloved Philippines, is rich with! all we need to do is look up...
















pic 1 is Baguio skies, pic 2 is Quezon province skies and pic 3 is Boracay skies...

Pinoy Kids' Play

our ManCom team had lunch in Chili's. 'twas a light meeting with our boss for the birthday celebration of 2 of our managers. talk went to the hoola hoop that we have at the villa, and to how we can still manage to use that hoop.... and that hoola hoop talk led us to a nostalgic walk to the games we used to play then... 25 years ago...






patintero. we'd create lines using canal water (yaiks! i know! but it didn't matter then). then we'd create 2 teams with a minimum of 4 players each, each one protecting their lines of responsibility. i loved being in the middle-line, concentrating on both sides looking on the floor, ready to touch anyone who crosses my line! it is such an exciting game, until someone calls 'out!'.

chato. i loved this game! i was good in hitting the baton making the run longer for my playmate as he shouts 'cha-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-to!' until she reaches the base. but i also remembered hitting one unintentionally on the eye, making them red, and making me red too with fear that she might be blinded! i think that was my last game of chato!


tex. not the phone SMS. but the small cards which you swoosh on air using your thumb and forefinger. it took practice to ensure winnings, which my brothers generously gave me. if you are good, then your 'pamato' will be the odd one when all 3 texs cards land on the floor, then you will get all the deck of tex he betted on, otherwise, he'll get yours. there was a boy i used to play with, who kept challenging me, and ended up losing all his stacks of tex cards to me. finally, he gave up! haha!


jolens. find a good soil you can dig small holes of 3, and you're off to an exciting jolens game with a bunch of other enthusiasts! be ready to soil your fingers... muster all the strength that you have and bring them down to your thumb to execute that lashing hit to the other jolens! whew! the sight of bundles of jolens won, reflecting the sunlight used to be 'diamonds' in my sight!




taguan (hide-and-seek). from the regular 'taguan game', we came up with a less taxing 'taguan ng tsinelas' when we were so lazy to hide and just wanted to stay in a parked dilapidated unused jeepney! when we were in a more challenging mode, the 'taguan' area will cover not only 20 meters away, but even as far as the next 5 blocks!! hmmm.... we had way so much time in our hands then!

sumpit. the killer game i am so good with! get a straw-like tube, and mongo seeds, hide behind the tree or crawl under the bushes... and shoot your enemy! i know it is a dangerous play... but when we were kids, facing danger was equivalent to being adults! i don't know where i got that crooked idea...


chinese garter. the garter did not come from china, but from any lose skirt or unsued garters of our nanays. or from rubber bands connected together. then two kids will stretch them, and the other players will skip thru them, starting with the garter as low as the knees to as high as holding them up in the air with outstretched hands! variations have evolved all throught the years... but one things remained... it has always been the real test of flexibility for girls! who would have thought that our thin (then!) legs could hook up that garter held up high, and land on our two feet???


jack stones. all the girls get around, sit on the ground, and do that jack stone hand exhibitions! we were so creative in doing exhibitions that i think we have cooked up at least 20! haha! the more difficult, the higher it goes up the rank of the exhibition list! i think i got hold of a set just last year, and taught my niece a few tricks i can recall.



luksong tinik/ baka. either you just choose your feet , or your whole body as the barrier, this game has definitely brought meeting of eyebrows of my folks... what with wrong tumbles here and there! scratches here, and cries there...and yet, we kept playing the game! we just learned how to be more careful! haha!



gumamela bubbles. we didn't have the ready-made bubble-toys then. we used to sneek up at the back of a house on the next block to get loads of gumamela leaves. we then pound them, squeeze the extract and combine them with powder soap. then we get the long stems of kamias leaves, remove the leaves, create a rounded end tied firmly, and then dip onto the gumamela and soap extract-- and voila! we have the bubble toy!



sipa. who can ever forget our national game? of course, we'd have the guy's version made of steel end and the girl's version, made of cluster of rubber bands or cluster of leaves. and of course, the guy's way of doing it, and the girl's way of kicking it! haha!!! it was so much fun!






oh, the list goes on and on... whew! i can't believe we had so many games played before!!!



i asked my nephews and niece what they play nowadays. aside from my pc, others were just random games. others, rule-less. our house is at a dead-end part of our subdivision, so they have ample space to play on, unfortunately not much games to do. when i go back home, i think i have a big mission to accomplish--- play with my nephews and nieces and re-introduce the games that i believe are healthy (and cheaper) options than what they have now!

Soaring Philippine Peso

A news which is both half-filled and half-empty:

Half-filled story:
"Investors are cheering as Philippine stocks climb to a record high and the economy surges ahead at the fastest pace in 17 years... The economy has expanded 6.9 % in the first quarter, the strongest since 1990. exports have grown by 13 %, the philippine stock exchange has risen 21.5% so far this year..." thus says an article in Gulf News, International page.

Half-empty story:
all these economic jargon simply means one thing for an OFW Juan dela Cruz -- strong peso, weak dollar. and weak dollar, lower remittance.


the 'booming' economy and the rising value of peso have failed to uplift the commoners. being an OFW, it is common place for us to glance at the value of peso-to-dollar which is displayed prominently at the money exchange center which we pass by everyday on our way up to the office. and the stronger peso would mean shrugging off of shoulder at the calculated difference. e.g. for those who are earning $500 (at P50), late last year they get to remit P 25,000. But now, it devaluates to P22,750 (at P45.5).


"In a strange way, we are being punished for our own success" said a briefing paper by NEDA. our manpower has been our major 'export' for the past 10 years. there are about 8 million Filipinos (10% of the population) working overseas, wherein just last year, there was a record of $12.8 billion sent as remittance. and about 40 million people or almost half of the population, depend on remittances to pay for basic commodities.

the effect on dollar value is fast, but the effect on basic commodities and salaries in the philippines is hardly ever felt. prices still continue to soar, salaries do not change pushing more pinoys overseas, which, if the trend will continue, will mean devaluation of dollar.

when will it strike a balance? when will pinoys once again enjoy a complete family and not opt to work away from their loved ones? i don't know. economics used to be simple in college under Solita Monsod... can someone enlighten me here (in layman's term please?)...

Close to You

have you had a best friend, with whom you've enjoyed times of platonic friendship with, until one day... things suddenly take an interesting twist? cliche-ish as it may sound, but this is the plot of one of my fave Tagalog movies, "Close to You". this stars the charismatic love duo of John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo. the plot is quite predictable, but the sequencing, the continuity and the scenes going to the ending keep you glued on the tube! a really feel good movie which i need after a hectic week!

i am not proud about this, but i admit i was not used to patronizing our romance films before-- what with the infusion of slapstick comedy, unrealistic plots, prolonged drama moments which isn't complete without a 'sampalan' scene, and the musicals!!! oh my! the only film i can remember liking in the 90s genre was "May Minamahal" which stars Aga Mulach and Aiko Melendez. for me, this is classic! but recently, i've noticed how tastefully Filipino movies are being made. the acting is so natural, the screenplay is well written and the cinematography is just superb, which usually becomes the platform for showing the interesting sites in our beloved Philippines.

so right now, i anticipate the latest offings from Star Cinema or Viva or Regal. jologs as it may sound, but i am not ashamed to say, the "Yes! the filipino can!"


here are my other fave romance Tagalog films... enjoy the movies!!!


1. Don't Give Up on Us (Piolo Pascual and Judy Ann Santos)

2. Blue Moon (Christopher De Leon, Eddie Garcia)

3. Dahil May Isang Ikaw (Aga Mulach and Regine Velasquez)

4. May Minamahal (Aga Mulach and Aiko Melendez)

Elections! Elections!

just last week, one of my bosses was muttering about their election in france. and now, it's our turn in the philippines...

12 senatorial slots are up for grabs (6-yr term)... and so with the house of representatives (3 yr-term) and of course the local positions...

i already voted twice since i got the right. my first was a celebration of my adulthood, and the next was as usual as my daily breathing...

and this time, i am very pathetic! and most of my colleagues are! we did not even exercise our absentee voting privilege! in a way, i can say it wasn't my fault, since i really planned on going home last april... talking about blame-shifting eh? still, i would eagerly wait for the initial partial unofficial results tomorrow.... i would like to know who among the celebrities were able to make it, hahhaha! and would the Team Unity (TU) make it despite the obvious strength of the Genuine Opposition (GO)?

i hope that the results will reflect a more educated voting class... or else, there goes another of our money down the drain, and the kids' future becoming so bleak. even if i do not pay taxes anymore, i still care.

Friday Calls

when friday comes, almost everyone of us makes sure that our phones are loaded with credit because it's 'call philippines' time! it's when rates are 50% off!

people have their own call spots in our villa... the terrace, the room, the garage, the gate, the laundry area... wherever the signal would be good!

as varied as the places are, are the expressions in each ones faces... happy, sad, irritated, angry, laughing, NVR (no visible reaction), in-love, homesick... fridays become the quilt of emotions in our place even for just a few minutes that their dirhams can allow.

many of us working here have our families back home, and our only 'live' lifelines are the Friday calls. i used to call twice a week, but proved it quite costly and defeating the purpose of my coming here by simply making Etisalat richer.

the content of our talks is usually divided into: kumustahan, 20%; financial talks, 50%; tsismis, 20% and iyakan, 10%. to those who have been here for less than 3 months, fridays come in soooo slow.. but for those who has been here for years, fridays seems to come by so quickly...

when the new telecom company comes in, Du, we the consumers will be the winners... maybe i will not need to wait for fridays, nor look at my watch while talking to my mom on the phone...

Touchdown

the Emirates flight was 8-hours long... have finished two movies already, and ate two meals... finished reading all the readables, and watching the watchables! finally, after traversing the west asian countries, and when the captain crew instructed us to fasten our seatbelts, straighten our chairs and open our windows, it means i am close to home...

so when i landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, my lips broke into a big smile. the almost dilapidated tube and warm-moist air did not dampen my spirit. walking past a folk band playing songs welcoming the 'balikbayans' and some christmas carols completed my arrival mood. then, as expected, many flock to the cholocate store just before immigration -- a Pinoy trademark that expresses our endearment to 'pasalubong' for loved ones. the long line at the immigration was itching my feet further to go out of the airport and see my welcoming team ;) even if the officers were not that friendly, going past thru them and the tedious waiting at the baggage belt, boosts my adrenaline rush.

it's not as if this is my first time to come home. twice a year, i get the privilege of going back to my beloved country, and yet, however often it is, touchdown never loses its magic spell in me!

with three luggages on tow, i walk down to the waiting area under the letter "I". I gave AED 10 to the baggage boy who helped me (I just hope dirhams mean somehting here as I do not have peso or dollar). Just simultaneosly, i see small and big hands waving at the crowded non-passengers waiting area-- that of my mom and my niece! i rushed to them and gave my mom, my dad, my niece Shaira and my nephew Cedrik (who fell asleep waiting for me for two hours under the Manila heat!) a big bear hug!

three days after, i went to Shaira's school to get her card. Teacher Des showed me Shaira's diary last Nov 18. and there, she wrote "Masayang masaya ako kasi sinundo namin si Tita sa airport. Tapos malungkot nako nng umuwi na kami" (I am very happy because we fetched Tita at the airport, but I am sad when we left). I don't know exactly what she meant by the latter, but all i know is that every touchdown is a joyous ocassion for many families...