Cyberbullying and Racism: A Simple Request to My Fellow Filipinos

I'm still brooding over the cyberbullying that happened to me several days ago. I have been going back and forth over what I did right, what went wrong, and what I would do all over again even with the trauma I experienced with my fellow Filipinos.

I'll make this simple and spare you yet another detailing of what occurred to me: With a focus on racism, I will not stop campaigning for a better internet etiquette among all Filipinos. And yes, that includes me.

While I know the typical bashers/haters/trolls won't go away and that people are always entitled to their own opinion, I suppose it's not so hard to remember that:

Let's not be racists! We are among the first to cry foul if the word "Filipino" is given a negative stereotype and is given a racially offensive definition. Why are we then throwing back equally offensive racial slurs to those who offend us? Stinky armpit? Bad grammar? Incapability to speak in English? Dog-eater? Drug addict? Take a shower? Indognesian? Vietcong? Colomdogs? I mean, come on! Seriously!

Just because non-Filipinos start the provoking by cursing you or our entire race and insulting your celebrity idol doesn't mean you have no choice but to do the same. You always are given different choices on how to respond. We were taught that Golden Rule on not doing to others what we don't want them to do to us and that Bible verse about casting the first stone if we're without sin. How about applying those in our behaviors online?

Our freedom of speech and our free will DO NOT entitle us to an absolute freedom to say whatever it is we want to say without consequences. At this day and age, if we don't get sued, karma has a way of coming back to us and yes, that includes in the digital form.

I also couldn't help but add: No one deserves to be collectively made fun of or insulted, Filipino or not, for having an opinion that's different from the majority's.

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*Modified image taken from the blog "Analytical Reading Response - Cyber Racism"

The Wheels of Justice

The way I see it, the wheels of justice rolls in all ways possible:

It rolls for the accuser.

It rolls for the accused.

It reverses and waits for the victim.

It makes a u-turn in consideration of the civil liberties of the perpetrator.

It opens its doors to everyone.

It rolls down its windows to those who wish to seek relief.

It knows no religious or political belief or affiliation.

It doesn't recognize color or sexuality.

It is blind to wealth and privilege.

It has seat cushions for the individual's civil liberties.

It has wipers to clarify any provision confusion.

It has seatbelts to provide protection and secure trust.

It has filters to avoid persecution based solely on character.

So why prevent the wheels of justice from rolling?

Why avoid the opportunity to get names cleared?

Due Process

Jennifer Lopez is a contestant in a beauty pageant that disqualifies anyone who has had certain cosmetic surgeries like liposuction, butt implants, and breast augmentation.

Fellow contestant Kim Kardashian files a complaint claiming that Ms. Lopez had one of those surgeries in the past.

Lopez protests and says Kardashian has no evidence, claiming that they were together on the day the alleged surgery happened; that a Starbucks receipt and an Instagram photo of that day will disprove the accusation.

Did the surgery really happen? How will Kardashian prove this?

Are the receipt and the Instagram photo claimed to have been gotten on the alleged day of the surgery enough to disprove Kardashian's claims?

What is the proper venue and process to clear Lopez's name?

Should Lopez's fans solely rely on her statement or should they take the investigation as a systematized opportunity to legally clear her name?

Whether in the US or in the Philippines, or at just about any developed country, there is an existing legal process to determine the truth. By law, anyone filing a criminal complaint before an appropriate venue (see Dismissed minister files illegal detention raps vs. Iglesia execs at DOJ) is merely exercising his civil right, a right that is inalienable and of which is one of the reasons why there is a Separation of the Church and State in the Constitution. If you raped me, stole from our organization, even if you are a Catholic bishop or the President of the Philippines, the fact that a criminal charge is brought against you is enough for the proper authority to start setting the wheels of justice in motion. No one wants the influence of power, spiritual belief, or wealth to blur the road to finding what the truth is especially where laws governing all the people of the land are concerned. An investigation is launched. A gathering and presentation of evidence happens. Hearings to determine the sides of both parties are held. A ruling is made.

This is how it is done. This is due process. Preventing this from happening results to injustice for both parties, especially for the accused who has an equally inalienable right to a fair and proper trial in the goal to clear his name.

EDSA Carmageddon as a direct result of a massive unannounced Iglesia Ni Cristo rally.
Photo from Top Gear Philippines.

Of Mankind's Sense of Humanity: The Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Tragedy

It's been so long since I was off on a Thursday. I don't remember anymore if I ever was off on the day before my weekly two-day off in my year and a half with Air France. Regardless, I would have spent a lazy Thursday, Pacific Time, lounging around the house, planning my husband's birthday the next day and mine the day after, exercising at the complex gym and carefully prepping strictly portion-controlled meals. Instead, at 9 am, my planned day changed, but not as dramatic and as completely as those on Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH 17).

SOULS

Anyone applying for a security badge at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO), and probably, at any international airports, at least in the USA, would notice that emergency training manuals do not classify or describe victims of flight-related tragedies as "passengers". A fellow Air France passenger service agent of mine pointed out how eerie that they are instead called "souls".

I'd say it couldn't be merely reduced to "eerie". They are called "souls" because they have so much more value in them than the mere shell we call "body".

It was first reported that there were 295 souls who were onboard MH 17; that all of these perished in what is now being called an "act of terror". The number was later amended to include three more to the list.

Two hundred ninety-eight souls. This means that minus the 15 crew members onboard, the flight on that doomed Boeing 777-200 was full at possibly between 96 to 100% capacity.

INVOLVED

The word "involved" could mean different things. It could mean one is in a relationship with another. It could mean one is affected over things.

I am a combination of the two definitions.

The sheer immensity of the number is more than enough reason for anyone who knows the value of a single life hold their loved ones close.

The intense suddenness of the way these people died is more than enough reason for anyone to acknowledge the value of safety and security at any given place, at any given time.

And I, being not just a ground crew for an international airline that used the same route prior to the tragedy, but also a human being who flies on commercial planes and sees loved ones off in airports, am struck to the core.

DISBELIEF

Like what another colleague and I agreed about, the fact that we interact with passengers on the flights for which we provide service almost everyday of our lives is enough for us to sincerely wish them a safe flight. And yes, this includes even those who treat us with disrespect due to overweight carry-ons.

Those working in the aviations/airline industry know that tragedies like this know no race, religious or political beliefs, even attitudes or personalities. The victims could be anyone's mother, father, daughter, son, friend, co-worker, enemy, wife or husband. It could be any politician (such as the late Georgia Congressman McDonald when the Korean Airlines plane he was on was shot down near Russia in 1983) or any celebrity (singer Aaliyah died in a plane crash in The Bahamas in 2001). It could be anyone.

Which is perhaps the reason why the emotional Cancerian in me perhaps became too involved in (an ongoing) heated discussion on CNN's Facebook page over the avoidance of blaming the unnecessary (read: US politics) and instead praying for the victims.

Said discussion was due to a post of CNN over President Obama's declaration of the US offering any assistance "to help determine what happened and why". Comments about how he is the reason why this happened appeared left and right. Such prompted me to ignore my plan of food prepping and going to the gym and to sit for long hours in the couch responding to borderline irrational comments I received when I said:

"295 people dead, possibly several US citizens on board and all some people could think is how Obama is terrible for the US! really?! Take your opinions somewhere else. Least you could do is pray for those who died."


Over 300 likes and 46 clashing replies to my post. Those were really not the numbers that, as of this writing, I was looking forward to seeing each time my phone pings me with a new reply to my post as I know it's absolutely unbelievable how some people choose to constantly insert their hate-filled political ideologies nevermind that this very trash-talking is the last thing on the mind of those who lost loved ones.

I mean, the question is simple: When someone, be it a loved one, a co-worker or a stranger with whom you had just made a striking interaction, has just died regardless of the circumstance of death, are talks about politics the first thing you would want to hear?

MOVING FORWARD

Two hours into the whole world knowing about what happened to MH 17, I was actually in bed, crying. Beside me was a half empty bag of Sweet Potato Pop Chips (delays, cancellations and any airline-related problems DO make me stress eat). I was like, screw the calorie counting and my plan to exercise. I'm grieving.

So much for moving forward, huh. But seriously, and not to justify my stress eating, it must be a general rule that before it is mercifully possible to say "move forward" or "move on", one should be allowed a time to grieve. A time to mourn. A time to shut up and not say anything. A time to allow the person to assess the huge value of what he or she will eventually unload.

In the eyes of each person who approaches me at the check-in lobby, I see our Dutch KLM passengers who, perhaps, God forbid, knows someone in the doomed Malaysia Airlines flight. I see a 65-year old mother who has just been operated on her knees, unable to walk far distances and patiently waiting for a wheelchair that might just take 30 to 40 minutes to arrive. I see a 50-year old dad who doesn't care about a VIP welcoming committee upon his arrival in Paris  -  he just wants to see his 10-year old daughter so they are able to board together on his next flight. I see a humble heiress to a big fortune who gives away her seat so her grandmother would be more comfortable. I see a couple excited to celebrate their wedding anniversary. I see newlyweds moving to a different country. I see a pretty model who cheerfully talks about her fashion style. I see a businessman carrying a gift for his son and his wife in his carry-on. I see a wife, accompanying her traveling husband to the check-in counter. I see an unaccompanied minor. I see a newborn baby. I see a playful Golden Retriever. I see a purring observant cat.

I see myself, taking as much time as possible with my fiance before finally going to the security area.

I see myself, anxiously waiting for boarding, reluctantly leaving the country so abruptly that my husband couldn't file a leave to accompany me because my dad was suddenly very sick.

I see my husband with his small check-in bag and his small carry-on, the combined weights of which are equivalent to one big check-in bag of mine.

The thought of him going home after taking me to the airport, the thought of me starting my shift after seeing him off at his boarding gate, the thought of granting the warmest of my well wishes to understanding and empathetic passengers who could see the look of distress on my face after handling a challenging customer, the thought of unexpectedly receiving commendation and appreciation from a VIP for the service my colleagues and I provide, AND THEN TRAGEDY STRIKES  -  these are more than enough for me to wish and hope that even if we don't know anyone who perished on MH 17, we'd take time to pause and place ourselves in their position before we say or do anything that might further add insult to injury so much so that we might lose our sense of humanity.

After Haiyan: Dear Mr. President (An Open Letter)

Dear Mr. President:

As of this writing, it has been more than a week since typhoon Haiyan made landfall in Central Philippines leaving, in her wake, a massive scale of devastation for which no one could have ever FULLY prepared.

I am writing to you not as a Filipino citizen who sits around all day, finding reasons to complain, mock, whine or criticize your administration.

I am, rather, writing to you as a Filipino citizen, living far, far away from Haiyan's mess, hoping you could open your mind to how it is to be on the outside looking in.

Mr. President, you see, unless we are one of the typhoon's victims, we are never really completely in the know of how they prepared for the storm, how they were in the middle of it, how they tried to flee to safety, how they got injured in the process, how they had no choice but to leave their possessions and worse, their loved ones, how they saw their properties  -  their houses, their cars, their livelihood  -  flattened and torn apart.

Unless we are one of the survivors, we could only surmise as to how it must have been to walk  -  or limp  - for hours expecting help where they thought they could find it, only to end up seeing that there's no local government unit (LGU) that could help anymore. And this probably was not because they were ill-prepared. I'd give them the benefit of the doubt as much as I would like to give your leadership the benefit of the doubt. It's just that the typhoon was so strong that there's only so much muscle they possess.

I don't know how you would have felt had you been in the shoes of Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez. No, Mr. President. I would not go to discussing the politics that surrounds your family's relationship with the Romualdezes and the Marcoses. Such is the last thing the victims need. But going back to Mayor Romualdez, consider being pushed against the ceiling by raging waters and finding no choice but to punch a hole on the ceiling just so you could survive.

What I'm pointing out here, Mr. President is that the LGUs are also composed of people who have families who are every bit a victim as anyone else in the typhoon path. As such, I would not tell you to stop blaming them. I would ask you to show more compassion for them.

And then let's head back to the affected residents. While any country would agree that help doesn't come easy for a disaster of this scale, for the victims, minutes can easily turn into hours, and hours can turn into days.

But I guess you already have the knowledge of said fact. I do, too. For anyone who has, at one point in their lives, experienced a tragedy, such is undeniable. For several times in my life, I experienced how slow it felt for help to come when my mom and my dad turned for the worse in their hospital beds. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. Every time, I thought, help never came fast enough.

At this point, it'd be unfair to expect the victims to understand the abovementioned fact. While true and reasonable, the last thing an aggrieved person would want to hear is that relief operations take time and careful planning. That feature article about that woman whose husband died of an infection due to a badly wounded leg? In order for her husband to survive, his leg needed to be amputated. But the antibiotics just came in too late. Way too late. I hope you don't turn a blind eye on this and merely treat this as "all in a day's job"; that it was, maybe, his time to die. I don't know how you are affected by this, I'm sure you are, in some degree, but having known that my husband could have been saved if his much-needed antibiotics had arrived a little earlier, say, even just a few hours earlier, I might have as well died on the day my husband perished had I been in that woman's shoes.

Mr. President, I couldn't emphasize enough how even just as little as a few seconds could mean the difference between life and death.

On the day Asiana Airlines crash landed in SFO in July of this year, I was in the middle of my shift as a passenger service agent for an international airline. With the call to evacuate the severely damaged aircraft only announced 90 seconds after the crash, the speed of which is still severely criticized and being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration, many things could be emphasized and asked here:

1. While it is understandable for the crew members, themselves, to be in so much state of shock that there's a temporary absence of laudable and required quick thinking, many people would still have ended up asking what if evacuation was announced 85, 80, 70 seconds earlier? After all, the first group of emergency responders arrived on the scene a full minute before evacuation was announced.
2. I can't resist mentioning that when a Cebu Pacific aircraft crash landed in Davao a month prior to above incident, the rescue team arrived after 15 minutes. Thankfully, everyone onboard survived.

See, Mr. President, while one would surely be quick to argue that my little example is, by no means, any relevant to what happened in the Visayan Region, I hope that you and your administration are fully aware of how countries like the US and Japan conduct constant auditing of emergency responders' awareness of procedures and their skill in implementing such. Why, even bank employees are required to pass yearly auditing involving security processes!

So how do emergency responders in the Philippines live up to what is expected of them? Sure, fire and earthquake drills are regularly held in schools and buildings but I am also sure that even with the lack or insufficiency of expensive high-tech machinery, we have the infrastructure to constantly audit and train our emergency responders and deploy them and ensure an implementation of procedures that is faithful by the second, minute, hour, day and week following a disaster.

Could we do just that, Mr. President? Could we get everyone in the administration, from the lowest ranking military officer and I dare say, up to you, yourself, to get down on your knees and dig using your own hands, just like what the Japanese did when a tsunami struck their country, in the absence of the right tools should another disaster happen? And even if your team did just so during Haiyan's aftermath (I saw that photo of admirable Filipino soldiers crossing a flooded landscape while carrying victims on their backs), would anyone be man enough to admit and apologize that there indeed was something, a procedure or a line of communication, that broke somewhere?

Because to the world who are on the outside looking in, to the Filipinos like me and my husband who are living abroad, even to the Filipinos who are safe and far away from the islands of Samar and Leyte, there is something truly amiss.

I would not apologize for seeing that CNN correspondent Anderson Cooper and his team did nothing wrong. If they seemingly focused on nothing but devastation when they arrived in Leyte and were, per that Time Magazine article of Harvard expert John Crowley, "scaremongering" and in the process, catastrophizing the relief efforts, I would be the first to gather my friends who were either in Leyte, themselves, or those who had relatives in the areas affected and have them validate the international news teams' reports.

Mr. President, a former co-worker's posts on Facebook was so powerful that I felt an all-too-real fear in my heart for her and her family members. She was at first asking for help to locate her brothers. It took two or three days for her to finally learn that they were safe but not without finding out that their once peaceful neighborhood had not just been flattened but overtaken as well with violence and rampant looting.

Yes, looting. One would think and expect that during disasters, people only took what they needed to survive. But no, Mr. President. Reports from credible news organizations, both local and international, indicate that even flatscreen televisions are being taken away from houses.

And then there's the issue involving crimes. As I am sure you are fully aware of reports of the New People's Army (NPA), being hungry and desperate, themselves, taking advantage of the chaos, and of reports of women being raped and videos of men fighting over a few sacks of rice, I could only hope that what you told that businessman who was held at gunpoint would never happen again.

I am sorry if I am rubbing it in but "But you did not die, right?" is in no way an appropriate response to anyone who was perhaps just calling for your attention and action. I would never claim to know what exactly transpired that day that you were reported and quoted saying such and if true, what exactly came over you to bypass compassion and let frustration overcome you.

Mr. President, I would never claim to be better than you. During the 2010 presidential elections, I had another candidate in mind for the highest post in the land. What could I do, though as even over big and small controversies prior to Haiyan that plagued the first half of your term, even if I always had a biting thing or two to say, back then, the believer in second chances in me had always thought it just fair to give you the "benefit of the doubt".

After Haiyan, I have never been as passionate over an issue involving my home country as much as I am now.

Why, you may want to ask.

It is because I am not the only one aghast over how divided the Filipinos are when it is during times like this that all the more we should be united.

It is because I agreed, however grimly, when a high school classmate assessed that Filipinos these days are divided into three groups:

1. The Prayer Group;
2. The "Ikaw, May Naitulong Ka Na Ba?" (You, Did You Contribute/Help Already?) Group; and
3. The "Palpak ang Gobyerno" (The Government is a Failure) Group.

It is because I am apalled at the thought that those who help from other countries belong in just one group with nothing else in mind but to help.

As such, Mr. President, I am hoping that there's no more repeating of unfeeling responses like what you were quoted saying during that disaster briefing in Tacloban.

I am hoping that there's no more lambasting of international media if their reports could be validated by accounts of victims, themselves.

I am hoping that there's no more fingerpointing and blaming.

I am hoping that instead of such, when there is a breakdown in the line of communication and required action, the immediate response is to act on and implement contingency measures and secondary courses of action. When Plan A fails, there always has to be a Plan B, C, D and E, right?

I am hoping that there are no more evasive or defensive speeches and interviews. This disaster is more than enough to make anyone fall on his knees out of overwhelming grief and helplessness.

Show more compassion, Mr. President. If you say you have been doing so, express it some more.

Mr. President, don't further divide this nation. Its more than 7,100 islands make it fragmented enough.

Lead us. Unite us.

Of Being A Filipino For Me These Days

A few years ago, after getting married and prior to officially migrating to the US, I was on vacation at my then future home when the husband of a college classmate posted scathing remarks obviously against me on his Facebook wall. The root cause? Him ridiculing Fil-Aussie actress Anne Curtis's nip slip in Boracay and then him taking personal offense against my Facebook status that chastised all those (not just him - there was a ton of male chauvinist pigs on my news feed during the peak of the controversy) who ridiculed Anne.

Although he did not directly say that it was me he was angrily talking about, he spoke of (not the exact words  -  they were in Tagalog, actually) a woman who, just because now lives in another country and managed to perch like a fly on top of a carabao/buffalo (it's a classic Filipino insult), thinks she was already someone else. And when I posted an indirect comment on my wall? His next status confirmed that he was talking about me!

So anyway, short of making this blog about him, fast-forward to today, I now live permanently here in California, with a job and hoping to have and raise kids here with my husband.


Equal Employment Opportunity

There is a US government agency called the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that "enforces federal employment discrimination laws". Prior to me landing my first job here, the hope that an agency like this exists bolstered the however exhausting mission to secure a position in any company especially during the recession. When, before, in the Philippines, my educational background alone could secure me an initial phone interview in a matter of hours of applying online, here, I was met with the somehow rude realization that being an "on time" Cum Laude graduate of the Philippines' Premier State University does not really give me an equal chance against those who studied all their lives in the US even if they're still college undergrads and are competing with me for the same position level.

When I left my last job in Manila, my position as a trainer was categorized by the company as a supervisory post. It was not an entry-level position but a position that guaranteed better benefits and perks. Upon coming to the US? There were times when I would hopelessly look at non-English speaking people who have jobs, however small or big, that I actually considered applying as a cashier for Target or a housekeeper at a hotel ala-Jennifer Lopez in her movie "Maid in Manhattan". Of course, even there, I was turned down.


Who You Know

Fortunately, because of another college classmate, the winds shifted in my favor. She helped me land a job as a teller in a Bank of America (BofA) branch in Daly City. It was then that I realized the truth in what my dad had always told me when he was still alive: It's not only what you have that matters, it's finding, and knowing the right people that could help you get up there.

I'm no longer with Bank of America but through this classmate of mine, an example of a successful Filipina here who worked her way to the top, and through the many Filipinos who I have since met, I learned the value of helping foremost your own race especially if one is a newcomer in a foreign land. After all, who else could one rely on and learn from if not his own kind of whose culture he's familiar?


Not Necessarily Bad To Compare

I don't need sarcasm. I want this statement on this San Francisco
Cable Car to ring true and good.

A trainer colleague of mine at my last company in Manila prepared me for what I was about to see in the US. Her tourist visa was approved months before mine and when she returned from her vacation in the US, she told me, "Presh, you know, from the plane, one could immediately see the stark contrast between community and city layouts of the Philippines and the US. The latter has organized zoning and structure placement while the former  -  well, you know you could immediately see the shanties and residential areas mixed with office buildings."

She further told me that her trip to the US, however brief, made her see things clearly from the other side; that there's truth, however harsh, to what Fil-Ams say when they compare the Philippines to the US.

"It's hard not to compare when you see a huge difference between what is there and what is here especially when you realize that it's actually not difficult at all to enact and implement positive changes."

Once it was my time to be on vacation, my then-boyfriend, now-husband, had to pull me back when I was walking too fast towards a Disney World escalator and trying to overtake a family and an elderly couple. I sheepishly defended my action by saying that's how I was trained: To always be in a rush so that I could secure a good position in the place where I'm supposed to go especially in MRTs.

My husband, who is a Filipino by the way, responded that it's out of respect that one should not overtake or cut someone in an otherwise organized path unless the situation is very, very dire. Needless to say, the wisdom in what he said grew heavier in the years that came especially when I started to find myself on the road and with a driver license.


How Dare You

I currently work at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) as a check-in counter agent for a French airline. I find the situation so ironic considering that I dropped out of an extracurricular French class in college and that, even with my linguistics and phonetics training and background, I still have a hard time deciphering French sounds and connecting these with how words are spelled.

So anyway, I'm happy to have found a company that follows to the letter the EEOC's mandate that no US-based company, foreign or otherwise, should ignore anti-discrimination laws  -  majority of my colleagues are not French! In fact, I have a Filipino supervisor and five Filipino colleagues.

It's not even a requirement (because it would be against the EEOC's mandated rules) -  although it would be a plus  -  to know how to speak French. However, this comes as a weakness especially in issues of race and, well, yes, discrimination. There was a time that an irate passenger berated a Chinese colleague of mine for not being, well, French, and "stealing jobs from his countrymen". The root cause? He had an overweight luggage and he adamantly refused to pay.

Now I feel bad for thinking ill of the Vietnamese (or was she Japanese?) business class lounge agent of Philippine Airlines in SFO last year when my mileage status earned me the privilege to enter the Mabuhay Lounge.


Work Hard For Every Cent

Although a news feature on TV recently spoke of Americans not bothering to pick up pennies, nickles, even dimes (if you park in the city, you'd know the value of dimes where parking meters are; my fellow Pinoys, a dime is roughly the equivalent of half of a jeepney fare) left unattended, in plain sight, on roads, I still pick them up whenever I get the chance.

I got the shock of my life when I learned that one's work appraisal and pay increase here is based on a few cents. In the past, when I was still a trainer, a year's worth of toil guaranteed me several thousands' (in pesos, of course) worth of increase in my 15-30 salary. Once upon a time, I jumped from my starting pay of P22,500 ($523.26) to P29,500 ($686.05) in less than a year to P35,200 ($818.61) the following year. The pay increase of course moved me up on the tax bracket.

So how are things any different here? Let's use a former BofA supervisor of mine as an example. She said a certain year's appraisal gave her an increase of $0.11 (P4.73) per hour. Say she works for 40 hours a week with an initial pay of $15/hour (P645), this pay increase would have her jumping from $2600/month (P111,800) to only $2619.07/month (P112,620.01). And that's before taxes.


Tax Value

I'm no economist. I did not even take economy or business courses or managed to move further in my law studies in the University of the Philippines enough to gain at least a holistic understanding of Tax Laws in the country. As a Filipino though who worked in Manila from the time I turned 18 to right before I got married at 24, I am familiar with the sarcasm that envelops the joke of how, with every pothole a jeep goes through in the streets of the country, one feels the lack of direction of the taxes being deducted off one's salary every pay day.

This recent social networking-initiated One Million March in Luneta Park in Manila had me posting a Facebook status that, well, needless to say, earned the ire of friends and former colleagues who fully support the said gathering. To make the long story short, I said that even if I am not against the said march as I also want a good change in Philippine politics, I can't bring myself to fully support it as its too-general, too-wide goals were not the type that would make me attend if I were there.

So what's the connection? Well, let's just say, a private chat initiated by a friend to give me information that supports the march at least had the both of us agreeing on one thing: We're both after making our taxes work for us.

As I still am a Filipino citizen who pays real estate taxes, sends remittances and continues her Philhealth contribution (in spite of them constantly losing my filed receipts of my whole-year payments, thus refusing to release on-time deductions and/or reimbursements for our hospital bills), I told her, my husband and another person that my string (or "barrage" as what my better half calls it whenever I am emotionally and mentally piqued) of political commentaries is only due to the fact that I wish to see significant and positive progress in how the taxes paid by Filipinos work.

An example I spoke of during the abovementioned private chat talked about my recent traffic accident. It was only my second time at calling 911 for help and like the first time, the immediate and unbiased response from a respectable police officer never failed to surprise me. I told my friend that it's through simple things like that that those who live where I am feel that their taxes are working for them and not against them and that I wish to see and feel the same in the Philippines.


Inflation And All That Jazz

Like I said, I'm not an expert on economics. But I can tell my friends and relatives this much: Do not, and I mean, do not, convert to peso what I'm earning here.

Other foreign tourists, not just Filipinos, myself included, often fall prey to how attractive a dollar's worth of a McDonald's or Wendy's value meal is, sometimes casually forgetting that a dollar is actually equivalent to four or five one-way trips on a jeepney in the Philippines that sometimes, back in the day, I never even had enough even for just a single ride.

That $1 is not the same as P1 fails to enter the thoughts of those who are probably still stuck in the pre-WW2 period when the Philippines was still a US colony. Not once had I desperately tried to explain to some family members during a family crisis a year ago that sure, my dollars could go a long way in the Philippines but even so, the value of commodities in the US are priced high enough for my salary to not last that long; that I had (and still have) bills to pay and a family to support here, too.

Care for an example?

A 16-oz bottled water, if bought outside big box stores, retails between $0.75 to a dollar here. That's P32.25-43! Our recent trip to the Philippines just this year had us buying bottles of mineral water, of the same size, and worth P25 each.

How about public transportation?

Well, a single ride on a bus here, if without a value card, would automatically cost one $2.00. That's a whopping P86 in Manila! The cost is already enough for a five to 10 minute taxi ride there.


All About Image

I told one of those who wrote challenging comments on several Facebook posts of mine that it's hard to be a Filipino in a foreign land; that I take great care not to create a negative impression of my kind as it's the least I could do.

See I admit I do not have much to be proud of where material backgrounds are concerned. I did not finish my law studies in the Philippines. In spite of graduating with honors from the University of the Philippines-Diliman, my college degree is, sad to say, probably just enough to level the playing field between me and someone who, in spite of not finishing college, has spent all of his/her life studying in the US. I did not even manage to land the promotion I was gunning for prior to leaving my last job in Manila. But even so, despite the differences in opinions between me and my friends and family members on how the issue of corruption in the Philippines should be dealt, this I can promise and assure everyone: Everything that I say or do whether here or there or elsewhere is for me to not lose hope in the country with whom I still associate myself.

Should I pledge additional allegiance to another country (because I'm toying with the idea of dual citizenship), I will never be like those featured online who vehemently deny that there's an obvious Filipino blood running in them.

I will still loudly cheer for our Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss International, Miss Earth candidates, without a care that I'm in the middle of a fine dining restaurant somewhere in New Jersey (this really happened when Janine Tugonon competed in the Miss Universe pageant last year).

I will never fail to embrace just how awesome Filipino Catholic Churches are in the US especially the parish where we attend mass. The St. Augustine Catholic Church in South San Francisco, California has the largest Catholic Church membership in the Archdiocese of San Francisco (love your own!).

I will still watch Filipino teleseryes and follow these teleseryes' official fan page on Facebook (if you know me well, you know that I'm a member of two private fan pages on Facebook for Be Careful With My Heart).

Senor Sisig Food Truck in San Francisco

I will still eat Filipino food and continuously beam with pride whenever I see the famous Senor Sisig food truck with the longest line during OffTheGridSF's weekly schedules in San Francisco or at the Serramonte Parking Lot in Daly City.

I will make it my mission in life to introduce and share healthier versions of Filipino dishes like Chicken Adobo or Chopsuey sans cooking oil.

Even so, I will still inform my non-Filipino work colleagues of how awesome Filipino lumpiang shanghai and Jollibee are.

I will never fail to look back at how I started and reflect on the hardships my family and I had to go through just to make both ends meet while keeping ourselves educated on how we could maximize the benefits we receive from the government (TIP: Receive better hospitalization at specialized government hospitals. Rates are not as expensive as private hospitals and the facilities are clean and in line and at par with modern technology. The one that tops my list is the Philippine Heart Center).

PR 105's Boeing 747 aircraft in SFO

I will continuously be honest and hardworking at whatever I do, wherever I go.

Just like my college classmate (you know who you are) who helped me find a job in BofA, and just like the Filipinos I've met here in the US, I will continuously lend a helping hand to my fellow Filipinos who have just arrived here.

If my future kids are unable to secure a scholarship in a reputable US university, I will never lose my seriousness in sending them to good schools in the Philippines so humility in knowing their roots is not lost on them.

I will  make sure that my future kids can understand, if not, speak, Tagalog.

I will always beam with familial and familiar pride whenever I see Philippine Airlines' PR 105 (San Francisco to Manila) or PR 104 (Manila to San Francisco) at SFO (although I still wish they have a better mileage program that associates themselves to international airline alliances... expiring miles suck!).

More importantly, I will never fail to disclose my thoughts, however radical, if only to prevent myself from falling in apathy over how dire the situation is in the Philippines.

I could be worse and choose not to care. I just choose not to.

Team Phantom

I know, depending on the perspective of The Phantom of the Opera (POTO) fans and critics, I am several years (movie), decades (the musical) or even a century (the book) too late but hey, I still think it is never too late to support the cause of the Opera Ghost :)

For as long as I can remember, I have been humming to the tune of POTO the musical's main theme song, "All I Ask of You". Way before I knew that it's Sarah Brightman who became the original Christine in the musical (or even the fact that she's POTO composer Andrew Lloyd Webber's ex-wife), I had always sung, albeit lyrically or musically incorrect, the famous love song. And now, thanks to my husband who took me out on a Broadway date one cold December afternoon in New York just a few weeks ago, I am able to present why I, after all these years of supporting the other male lead singing "All I Ask of You" with Christine, changed my mind.

In no particular order are my reasons:

1. Raoul, for all the royalty flowing in his veins as Viscount ("Vicomte", for you, French peeps) de Chagny, is unbelievable in his professed/declared love for childhood sweetheart, Christine Daae. I can cut him some slack by saying he eventually came to really love her years into the marriage but come on! Tell a girl you  have not seen for years that you love her and you want to marry her after only several weeks of seeing her again?

2. I fully know I will get murdered here by the members of Team Raoul but he is no prince charming or knight in shining armor. He is portrayed in the book, the musical and the movie as either lame or condescending (towards Christine). He is possibly dashing, but he is lame, nevertheless.

3. Reason #3 is further proven in one of the book sequels to POTO of which became the basis to Webber's "Love Never Dies" the musical. No one can ever fully convince me to give a break a man who succumbs to fits of jealousy, gambling and drinking just because he suspects his wife never really loves him. And then have your wife work again to pay for your gambling debts? Just turn away, man. Turn away. You could just let her go to avoid further damage to your feelings, to your ego and to everyone else's. Wait... Christine died at the very end of "Love Never Dies" after proclaiming her love for the Phantom (and that you were never really the father of her son)? Geez. I guess it's too late then.

4. Man, whoever thought of giving Raoul a really bad hairstyle in the 2004 movie with Emmy Rossum playing Christine, Patrick Wilson playing Raoul and Gerard Butler playing the Phantom/Erik, must be on Team Phantom. Gerard is hot in the movie. Patrick is, too, just in desperate need though of a haircut.

5. I can think of a thousand and one reasons why I'd stay away from Erik being the stalker/murderer with the "carcass of a face" but I can also think of a million and one reasons why I'd choose him over Raoul. Blame the members of Team Phantom through the years. They romanticized his entire demeanor, his underground lair, included, and even made him hot in Ramin Karimloo's Broadway/West End suit and extra hot in Mr. Butler's Hollywood shoes :)

6. Let me end this obsession with two of my most loved videos from what is obviously my favorite adaptation of POTO. Watch and see what I mean:

On Faith: Let Me Be the Last Person to be Questioned

Now this is one touchy subject not just for me, but for a lot of people. I actually had not realized its sensitivity until I was told that my husband and I should join Couples for Christ or something like that to enlighten ourselves.

Honey, my husband and I neither need to join groups like that nor have the need for enlightenment where faith is concerned.

This comes on the heels of recent episodes in my life involving challenges after challenges after challenges involving my father's health. I feel bad about having to bitch at people who I know mean well but just rub me the wrong way when they tell me to be strong or to pray.

Darling, I have neither given up nor stopped praying.

See I believe that each of us has our own relationship with God. It's a belief that has not changed and has stayed with me through the different phases and chapters of my relationship with Him.

It is no secret that it is frowned upon by most people if discrimination exists on the basis of religion. I particularly do not like it if a certain group claims that their faith is stronger or deeper or that they are the only ones that can be saved during Judgment Day. Why? It is unfair. It is hypocritical. It is astonishingly boastful and contradictory to any teaching about humility.

Humility is about accepting that there's a difference between me and you; that what may be applicable to one may not be applicable to another. It is also about believing that no one is above anyone; that one's strength may be one's weakness and vice-versa.

I know. I do sound like a self-righteous braggart, contradicting my own words with what seem like double standard principles. But here's the thing: I do not need to join charismatic groups or switch religions to deepen my faith in Him and glorify His work. I'm not saying either that this is one firm resolve on my part to put a ban to keeping my options and my mind open about things like this. In fact, I laud the good that groups like these do. It's just I have my own way of proclaiming He is my God. And if I finally feel the need to be a part of one to expand my worship activities (Yes, dear friends, I go to mass! Regularly!), I will just join one. No questions asked.

I can go on and on like a self-proclaimed preacher so short of becoming one, let me end this blog by saying that though I truly appreciate words encouraging me to be strong and to pray, know that I just do. Otherwise, I wouldn't still be here. At all.

University of the Philippines: Students & Graduates, It's Payback Time!

OBLATION. The ultimate symbol of sacrifice in honor
of service to the country and to humanity.

Through blogger and former Chalk Magazine Official Student Correspondent (OSC) to the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman colleague Ivan Henares, I found out about this (please click the title): 

New UP policy 'requires' med, nursing, public health grads to serve in Philippines within five years

The article talks about UP's new Return Service Agreement (RSA) policy that requires future graduates of the abovementioned courses to "serve for [two years] in the country within five years after graduation, or pay back twice the cost of their university degrees".

This had Ivan and me, along with other friends of his, debating on whether or not this is a good policy. Supporters base their arguments on the statement that taxpayers spend an estimated P1 million to produce a medical graduate of UP. Some even went to the extent of saying that this policy should include all students in the university and not just those taking health-related courses.

I say no to this.

CASAA. This is where many UP Diliman freshmen
are found eating and studying

I was one of the many students who took the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) in 2000 in the hopes of entering the country's premier state university. Allow me to boast a little by saying that not only was I successful in passing the UPCAT, I also managed to enter the flagship campus (Diliman) of the university. Fast-forward to the present time, I have just told my husband that I actually have a lot more to be proud of; that if I had not passed the UPCAT, chances were, I would not have been able to complete my college degree on time due to financial difficulties. My dad's income as a part-time journalist and a full-time House of Representatives employee, not excluding our business profits, unfortunately, did not qualify me to apply for a more lenient bracket under UP's STFAP (Socialized Tuition Fee Assistance Program). And even if we were only paying an average of P6,000 per semester, my parents still struggled to make both ends meet. 

Given this situation, if my family and I, at our financial status during that time, were already having difficulties, how much more if the ones involved were those who had it harder than us financially?

Palma Hall

I speak not just for myself. I also now speak for them.

In my years as a language trainer at a call center in Manila, I interviewed a lot of applicants and talked to a lot of trainees who had nursing degrees. The period between 2007 and 2009 was the time when the country was producing a lot of nursing graduates but coming up with little job offers that had income commensurate to the profession level. The Philippines then found more and more medical professionals  -  nurses and doctors alike  -  looking at and searching for greener pastures.

Why wouldn't or shouldn't they?

There was a time I was enraged to have found that for a certain month, I was handling language training classes full of nursing graduates and professionals. I thought: "You guys are only using this free language training in call centers just so you can pass the language test required for your application abroad."

Then there's the nursing crowd who only took the course because that's the only way they could have a degree to their name. Those who were often clueless about what to do with their lives after high school often fell prey to the wishes of their benefactor (a parent or a relative) that they choose nursing over any other course as the profession pays well. And pay well it does. In another country. This crowd, after realizing that such scenario only happens after successful but often lengthy and arduous applications for jobs abroad, gathered courage and took the easy way out: They do not want to become nurses anymore. They have good paying jobs in call centers anyway.

What a waste!

Overtime though, I became more sympathetic to the plight of medical professionals. With the United States (US) in recession and working visa for nurses in retrogression, more and more turned to jobs in other countries. Some even had gone to the extent of accepting jobs as caregivers even if they're really qualified as doctors. I then knew that I had to balk on the idea that what's happening was less than honorable for the country.

TREE-LINED PATHS are all over the academic oval.

Supporters of the RSA focus on how right it is to give back to the country. "Country first before personal interests" as they say. It is righteous and ideal  -  if we are to speak the language wealthy and well-travelled Dr. Jose Rizal spoke during his time.

Don't get me wrong though: I do not wish to malign Rizal's life. My dad and I still think that he's the best Filipino that ever lived. But "country first before personal interests" may just be a little bit too ideal for the average Filipino graduate these days. When I say "average", I mean someone who do not have Latin honors tied to his degree and is bound to start with a salary that is only as high as P13,000. This graduate, most likely, is someone who lives in a rented apartment with aging parents and two to three younger siblings that he is expected to support once he starts earning.

What is P13,000 these days? P13,000 is the cost of a Nokia phone with 3 or 5 megapixels primary camera, a VGA secondary camera, a music and video player and an internet browsing capability. P13,000 is the monthly amortization one needs to pay if he has a 30-year Pag-ibig housing loan for a 2-BR condominium unit in a low-rise complex in the suburbs of Taguig (not the Bonifacio Global Complex, my dear!). P13,000 was an ordinary UP student's tuition fee for the entire year during my time (2001-2005). P13,000 is the cost of a three to four day hospital stay in a semi-private ward at the Philippine Heart Center, a specialized government hospital. P13,000 is the total cost of a Philhealth-subsidized dialysis treatment for an entire month at Hemotek, a renal center in Manila.

P13,000 is... not enough. For the upper and middle class, yes, maybe, it just simply isn't enough. But what about the poor? What about our average Filipino graduate whose entire family relies on him after he gets his degree? Let me provide custom-fit calculations:

___________

SALARY: P13,000

INCOME AFTER TAXES, ETC.: P11,500

Transportation fare for a 22-day work month: P352.00 roundtrip (if employee's office is only a jeepney-ride away with P8 as the normal fare)

Food at work (P10 mineral water, P5 1/2 rice, P15 viand...x 22 days): P660.00

Cellphone credits (let's face it, this IS important these days): P100

Electric bill: P500

Water bill: P500

Apartment rent: P3000

LPG tank (for cooking): P500

Rice for a family of four: P600

Grocery for a family of four: P4000

TOTAL: P10,212

Budget left for other expenses: P1,288

___________

P1,288. Can our fresh graduate manage to put something in the bank with this remaining amount? What if, God forbid, someone gets sick in his household? What about the expenses he incurs just to get to those government institutions that provide medical assistance? How about his siblings' tuition fee and daily school allowance?

I may be wrong with my calculations. I may have underestimated or overestimated this and that. But the figures I presented were based on how tight I could be if my dad did not have thrice weekly dialysis treatments or if we're not shelling out more than P15,000 monthly on his medicines (and that's with the 20% Senior Citizen discount already!).

So what about our medical professionals?

In the Philippines, private hospitals offer between P6,000-P10,000 a month as a starting salary for its nurses. Public/government hospitals pay a little more and with great benefits but are still no different or better than our P13,000 example earlier.

Doctors, in the meantime, ordinarily receive P500 per patient. Big, huh? Wait 'til you find out about just how much is the chunk that goes to their overhead expenses (utility bills, assistants' salary, etc.).

Comparing these figures to what medical professionals receive abroad, it is no wonder that though we have a surplus of graduates in the fields of health and medicine, we still have a shortage of applicants willing to receive such meager amounts.

In Canada, a typical 8-hour shift of a fresh nursing graduate renders a salary of P9,000 per day. Multiply that with a 22-day work month and deduct the taxes (let's be generous, this country is rich, anyway: 40%) and you still get a net pay that's more than enough to afford families comfortable lives.

Many will surely find tons of loopholes in my argument. I know, for sure, I'll get bombarded with cost of living comparisons, etc., but hey I'm not stupid. If my parents scrimped and saved and even sacrificed their own needs just so I could be a nurse or a doctor or even just an ordinary college graduate, it's them that I would first think about in terms of finding a job. This is not to say I would also not think of myself. I would. And if that meant a job abroad that affords me a better life for myself and for my family, I'd say, why not?

It's disappointing that many UP students and graduates come up a little too short-sighted with the reality that's facing many of their fellowmen. Sure I can't expect or convince everyone to side with me but I beg my fellow alumni to think about this:

UP, along with other state universities and colleges in the country, exists mainly to provide the best possible education for poor but deserving students. It recognizes that not all students who go to UP are rich or at least have a family that's financially capable enough to support their kids through two (or five) years' worth of RSAs after graduation. Not everyone can afford to hop from one company to another, test the career waters and meditate about their true purpose in life. Not everyone can choose the path of the righteous and the ideal over the path of the practical if their family's life is already at stake.

Lest we forget, the university hymn, "UP Naming Mahal" (UP Beloved) talks about vows of being a loyal son (or daughter...to the country) wherever one may be. And I quote:

Filipino lyrics		Original English lyrics
i.		i.
U.P. naming mahal, pamantasang hirang		U.P. beloved, thou Alma Mater dear
Ang tinig namin, sana'y inyong dinggin		For thee united, our joyful voices hear
Malayong lupain, amin mang marating		Far tho we wander, o'er island yonder
Di rin magbabago ang damdamin		Loyal thy sons we'll ever be
Di rin magbabago ang damdamin.		Loyal thy sons we'll ever be.

To say that if one did not wish to serve the country after [graduation], one should just go to private colleges and universities is not, in any way, fair. Again, we have poor students who do not have this choice. We also have people who received their degrees from private learning institutions who do extremely well in serving the country. Hopefully, we do not fail to realize or accept that serving the country is not limited to staying.

We can be honorable men and women, excellent in our fields, wherever we may be. Just look at our Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). They're one of the biggest boosters to our economy.

MAIN LIBRARY. Known as "Bulwagan ng Dangal"
or Hall of Honor in the university.

We can choose to be practical and ideal at the same time by refusing to taint our images with unlawful acts that could be the source of shame not just for our loved ones but for our fellow Filipinos alike. We can choose to be better students  -  attending lectures instead of cutting classes to join extracurricular activities and actually passing our subjects instead of abusing the Maximum Residency Rule (overstaying, hello!). We can think of those who have it harder than us but are actually as deserving as us in the role that we play as state university students and graduates. And then when all is said and done, we can choose to not forget: To return to the country to help and to contribute.

A Weight (Gain) Story

A week ago, I blogged about my weight loss journey - how I was of almost beauty pageant proportions to how I gained and lost and gained some more. Let me close that topic with this blog on tips and criticisms.

Just a few minutes ago, I made the mistake of sharing to a friend that I gained 3 lbs over the last 2+ days. Her first comment was an "oh". Since I learned overtime to expect reactions of such from her and since I also had already psyched myself for like reactions, I told her to not be disappointed with a smiley face (I mean that smiley face this time!). Thanks to a pep talk from my husband earlier, I was so positive that since I've already proven how easy it is [now] for me to lose weight, I would lose it in two or three days.

But now I'm sure you're asking yourselves, what happened?

On Wednesday at 8 PM, an hour before my usual time at the gym, I realized that I was unprepared for the following day's medical exam at St. Luke's Extension Clinic in Ermita for my US Immigrant Visa requirement. I needed four more pictures and Megamall on weekdays (except Fridays) closes at 9! It was raining really hard and the traffic on Shaw Boulevard was horrible. I was doing complicated mathematics in my mind: I knew I had to be at St. Luke's before 6 AM and it's a must to not delay the medicals any further. I even had to push it from my preferred schedule of June 15 to June 10 because of my monthly visitor (can't have my medicals with a period and waiting for four days for it to end and waiting for a week more before I can undergo any exam would endanger my ability to comply with this requirement before my July 5 interview).

To make the long story short, for the first time in 10 days, I did not go to the gym.

It's hard to forgive myself but I managed to shake it off in anticipation of the following day's activity. Complying with this requirement was more important than sulking over something I failed to do, that of which I trust I could do again and immediately at that!

Upon going home, I tried but failed to sleep immediately. I must have dozed off between 12:30 AM and 2:30 AM only to be awoken by my alarm clock at 3:45 AM. So much for amping up my metabolism with complete eight hours' worth of sleep. I did not bother having breakfast at home. I just grabbed an apple, Bearbrand sterilized milk and bottled water. In the cab, I was munching on the apple I took with me, trying to convince myself that it's okay to have a heavy breakfast (rice) with milk since 1) we can't take food with us to St. Luke's; and 2) it's advisable to have one as there's no fasting requirement and that there's going to be a looooong series of waiting, waiting and more waiting (St. Luke's does medicals for four embassies thus the "before 6 AM" statement of mine earlier!).

One huge mistake: I assumed there were good restaurants near St. Luke's. Since my stomach was grumbling and the clinic's about to open in less than 30 minutes, I just bought what the only carinderia there has to offer: one piece longganisa, 1/2 piece of meat loaf & one cup of rice. Pork. Great. Just great.

After the waiting, sitting, waiting, sitting routine ended at 11 AM, and when I finally managed, at almost 12, to go somewhere else where decent meals are served , I was already so hungry. Five hours between meals with not enough "burning" in between! Medical experts and dietitians say that in order to manage a healthy weight and increase one's metabolism, one must eat five small meals a day or at least "frequently" in small proportions. I know a former training colleague who gets hungry every two hours - she's still of nice proportions even with such.

Going home was not, in any way, easier. I took a beating from myself that I had a heavy breakfast and a heavy lunch that I resolved not to have dinner anymore. I was also sick of paranoia because at St. Luke's, I sat beside a woman whose x-ray scan two months ago delayed her US trip. It was only on the following day that I'd get my results (Yes! I needed to return!) so the paranoia left me exhausted with only a few hours of sleep.

The following day, I already resolved to eating at home. It was still a heavy breakfast as there's another round of waiting at St. Luke's. True enough, when I arrived before 8 AM, I had to wait until past 10 AM for my immunization. When I got my FOUR vaccinations, I had two more wait periods to face, each no less than 30 minutes long: one for the signing of the results and another for the release of my vaccination and x-ray documents. But at least my lungs are clear! No more two-month delay because of health concerns!

At 12 noon, I took a cab from Ermita to Ali Mall in Cubao. My mother-in-law invited me to attend mass and have lunch with her for her birthday. The lack of sleep was starting to kick in and I tried to fight a number of times the urge to doze off. The cab driver was quite creepy and my left arm was starting to hurt. It was painful that I could not move it up. Luckily, I still managed to catch the priest's sermon and gleefully made my way to lunch with her, her sister and my brother-in-law.

When I got home at 4 PM, I went straight to bed and caught two hours' worth of zzzz's. I woke up determined to go back to the gym and to go back to my usual dinner of oatmeal. The last one I managed to do and with gusto! The first though? Well, I chose not to. I wanted a combination of weight/strength training and cardios but my hurting arm said no. Doing cardios alone was not okay as I prefer moving my arms rigorously both on the treadmill during brisk/power walking and on the ellipticals and/or crossramp. Besides, hubby was confident I could lose the additional poundage fast. :)

And then came the "you-burst-my-bubble" in today's episode of my weight loss journey. Yes, it's back to this friend of mine. Her "oh" was followed by "I just could not believe that you'd gain weight that fast". It was softened by her "Could it be your metabolism?". Then it was jabbed by a "That lifestyle ruins your diet. I hope your stomach can soon get used to eating a smaller meal so that it won't get hungry all the time."

Huh? HUH?!!!!

She practically said "matakaw ako", probably without really thinking about it. Wisecracks like that, whether said in jest or meant well, rub me off the wrong way. I even once argued (not "fought", just to be clear) with hubby that though I don't deny succumbing to eating a lot in the US, I am generally not "matakaw". A certain uncle's wife used to be the head dietitian of Medical City in Ortigas. She, along with a number of dietitians I know and medical journals I read, said that having three cups of rice a day (one per meal) is just "right". There's the option to cut the serving to lose weight fast but that the option to cut all the carbs (Atkin's Diet) can lead immediately to an exhausted-looking pin thin frame. This is the reason why I switched to my diet of oatmeal with chicken or fish twice a day and at least one cup of rice during lunch just to cut the cravings. I know it works for me because it appeals to my taste. I also know, however, that there's no fool-proof way to lose weight: what works for one may not work on another.

Going to the word "diet". I notice, when most Filipinos say "diet", they immediately mean cutting food intake to lose weight. This thinking, however, places an ill connotation on the word especially for those battling weight problems. It's like a villain pretending to be an ally or worse, a means of torture. Technically, it takes a lot of people away from the real meaning of the word. Wikipedia defines it as "...the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism." Merriam Webster, on the other hand, puts it as "habitual nourishment". For me, it's simply "what we regularly/normally eat".

That being said, when I say my "diet" is oatmeal twice a day and rice for lunch, I am talking about what I regularly or normally eat and not what I do -  or cut  -  to lose weight. This is the language trainer in me despising that a certain word is taken to mean another. This is the person in me who has weight problems, the woman in me who's always thought of as already a mom (so much for me wanting to have a baby already) just because her boobs are big, loathing statements like "mag-diet ka" (go on a diet).

Tyra Banks  -  who was once a size 10, a size considered "too much" by the modelling industry for her 5'10 frame  -  spoke that in whatever size she is, she believes she's still beautiful. She lost the weight but she's not afraid to indulge with "cheaties" every now and then to reward one's self (America's Next Top Model Cycle 16). I love what she said because it's basically similar to allowing one's self to let loose and let go, to go on a "vacation" if and when needed and then to go back to "real life" that's full of strict schedules and disciplined routines. Plus, it doesn't hurt that Tyra never judged anyone with weight issues on her show. She was always careful in providing constructive feedback.

My jewelry design mentor and model, Cielo Fronteras once posted a Facebook status saying that before we judge one person badly because of his/her weight, we have to consider a number of factors (body frame, bone structure, thyroid issues, illnesses, culture, etc.) why this person is such. Our comments and criticisms may even do more harm than good.

Let me end this blog by saying that I'll lose the 3+ lbs in four-five days. WATCH ME.

Reproductive Health Bill Sponsorship Speech by Sen. Pia Cayetano

Lists down all the reasons why I am for the Reproductive Health Bill.

____________________________________________________________________

SB No. 2865, Committee Report No. 49

“The Reproductive Health Act”

June 7, 2011

By: SEN. PIA S. CAYETANO

A. INTRODUCTION

Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, on Wednesday last week, I sponsored Senate Bill No. 2849 which seeks to amend the PhilHealth law with the end in view of making quality and essential health care services affordable and accessible to all Filipinos, especially the underprivileged. As I said in my sponsorship speech, this bill is part of a whole package of reforms from your Health Committee.

It is again my honor to stand before you today to present on the floor an important addition to such package of health reforms.

Mr. President, as a woman and as a legislator, I am pleased to sponsor Senate Bill No. 2865 entitled, “AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A NATIONAL POLICY ON REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT”.

B. WHAT THE BILL IS NOT

Mr. President, because of all the misinformation regarding the contents and objectives of the bill, let me start by what this bill is NOT.

1. This is NOT a bill that promotes or legalizes abortion. On the contrary, it is for the protection of the unborn along with its mother.

2. This is NOT a bill that imposes one mode of family planning method on all. Every person will be allowed to choose the method suitable to his needs and based on his religious beliefs.

3. This is NOT a bill that imposes a certain family size.

4. This bill will NOT solve all the problems of our country. Like most of the bills filed in the Senate, it is just one measure that will address a particular problem. In this case, it is the reproductive health of all Filipinos, particularly the women and her child.

5. This is NOT a bill that will teach 9 year olds how to use a condom. Neither does it promote sexual activity among the youth or promote promiscuity among adults.

C. WHAT THIS BILL IS ABOUT

This bill aims to:

1. Save the lives of the mother and the unborn.

2. Provide Filipinos with information on their reproductive health so they can make informed and intelligent decisions.

3. Provide Filipinos with access to health care facilities and skilled health professionals.

Mr. President, this bill seeks to acknowledge that women have reproductive health care needs that are distinct to women and to provide measures to address such needs. In the same way that the PhilHealth bill seeks to provide affordable and accessible quality and essential health care services to all, this bill seeks to provide affordable and accessible quality and essential reproductive health care services to Filipinos, particularly the underprivileged women.

D. FEATURES OF THE BILL

1. Access to skilled health professionals before, during, and after delivery

Mr. President, the bill aspires to address the number of mothers who die while giving birth and the high incident of infant mortality which are also connected with maternal health.

At present, the data we have tell us that we have 162 mothers dying for every 100,000 live births. What does this mean? This tells us that in Southeast Asia, we have one of the highest maternal mortality rates. Our rate is 162, compare this to 110 in Thailand, 62 in Malaysia and 14 in Singapore.

We are not on track, Mr. President, in achieving our Millennium Development Goal No.5. Our goal, is in fact, to enable all pregnant women to have access to pre-natal care, to be attended to by a skilled health professional while giving birth, and to be given post-natal care for her and her newborn.

Mr. President, no mother should die while bringing forth new life into this world. However, the depressing reality is, as I said, 12 mothers die for every 100,000 births. These are the number of newborns robbed of a mother’s love and care just when they need it the most. And because of that special bond between mother and child which begins from pregnancy, a child who loses a mother at childbirth is ten times more likely to perish.

We all know that the mother is considered the light of every home. Who of us would wish upon a child that he would grow up without a mother?

Mr. President, aside from the death of the mother, the death of a child is no less devastating. However, another sad reality is that for every minute, three babies are born, and for every 1000 babies born, thirty-three (33) die before reaching age five (5).

2. Establishment and upgrading of facilities and training of skilled health professionals

Because the common causes of maternal mortality are highly preventable, Section 6 calls for the establishment and upgrading of facilities with adequate and qualified personnel, equipment and supplies in every province or city to be able to provide emergency obstetric and newborn care. Section 12 further necessitates each congressional district to acquire a mobile health care service in the form of a van or other means of transportation to ensure the provision of health care goods and services even to people living in remote areas.

To further address the dearth in medical personnel in certain localities, Sections 5 and 14 direct the hiring of an adequate number of skilled health professionals such as doctors, nurses and midwives and the training of barangay health workers (BHWs) in each respective local government unit (LGU).

3. Addressing HIV and other Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Mr. President, I beg the Body’s indulgence, but allow me to repeat. Imagine that out of 63 countries, the Philippines is one of seven countries where HIV is increasing. This is also embarrassing because we are aligned with such countries that years ago were so much backward compared to us, not just in health care but in economic development.

Anyway, to address this problem, Section 11 provides that all serious and life threatening reproductive health conditions such as HIV and AIDS shall be given the maximum benefits under PhilHealth, such as the provision of Anti-Retroviral Medicines (ARVs).

4. Access to different family planning methods

The poor Filipino couples are the real beneficiaries of this bill, Mr. President. The privileged can either afford to have larger families or afford reproductive health services by specialized doctors. It is a sad fact that this is not the same for the poor. Studies have shown that many of them would prefer smaller families than what they have. In fact, every year, there are over half a million clandestine abortions happening in our country primarily brought about by unplanned or unwanted pregnancies. Most of these women are the poorest of the poor who have no access to reproductive health care services, including family planning. Stories range from women jumping off coconut trees to dislodge babies from their bellies to teenagers inserting hook shaped wires inside their vaginas to scrape off fetuses to even married women bleeding on makeshift beds of “abortionists” — all forced to undergo the pain and perils of abortion because they do not want, and cannot afford to have, a baby. But surveys and my personal visits to the grassroots all over the country have shown that more women want the information and services available for them to plan their pregnancies. Indeed, this is the better way out than enduring the immense pain and possible bleeding to death from an abortion and the loss of a child.

Mr. President, I just want to make this clear. Senate Bill No. 2865 does not, in any way, compel any individual to choose one form of family planning method over the other, or even to use any family planning method at all. The guiding principles under Section 3 merely seeks to equip all Filipinos with accurate and sufficient information on family planning methods necessary for them to make an informed choice as to how many children they want, when they want it and what family planning method to use, if any. The end goal, Mr. President, is to provide all Filipinos with information and access, without bias, to quality reproductive health care services and supplies essential to the promotion of every person’s right to health.

5. Age- and Development- Appropriate Reproductive Health Education

All that I have discussed merely scratch the surface of the problem. To eradicate maternal and infant deaths, lessen unwanted pregnancies and prevent the infection and transmission of HIV and AIDS, we should address the root cause of the problem — lack of education and awareness.

Mr. President, knowledge is the best tool in our deadly battle against these evils. It is for this reason that Section 13 provides for reproductive health education to be taught by adequately trained teachers in formal and non-formal educational systems and integrated in age and development appropriate subjects. It is also important to note that the bill mandates that minors are taught the value of healthy relationships including how abstinence is still the best form of protection from pregnancy and diseases. Mr. President, it is not true that nine-year old children will be taught how to use contraceptives. This is not age appropriate and that will never be allowed.

Mr. President, allow me to give an example. Even a three-year-old has adequate intelligence to understand a certain amount of reproductive health education. When a three-year-old has a mother who is pregnant, the three-year-old will ask, “Why is your stomach big?” Do we tell the child that the mother swallowed a basketball? No. But then many families do say that to a three-year-old.

But the truth is, we are supposed to tell the child that mommy is about to have a baby; that she will have a baby brother or sister. And, if the child progresses to ask the next question- how did the baby get there-then there are age-appropriate answers unless we prefer that our youth grow up thinking that they came out of bamboo trees because they will learn this in, I think it is Kasysayan, in one of their Filipino classes where they are taught Filipino mythology.

Do we want our children to think that they came out of bamboo trees until they are 21 years old? That is the choice that we face if we refuse to acknowledge that there are many ways of teaching age-appropriate reproductive health education.

And if I can just quickly point out some of the topics that should be included, these include values formation, knowledge and skill, and self-protection against discrimination and sexual abuse and violence. I need to point out that many children, especially those in single homes, especially in the squatter areas where we have multiple families living in one home are victims of child abuse.

Teen pregnancy as I mentioned earlier in my speech, abstinence will be taught as the primary mode of protecting one’s self from pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

And the list goes on including physical, social and emotional changes in adolescents. There are stories where adolescents commit suicide because they do not understand the changes happening in their bodies.

6. Women’s rights and children’s rights and responsible teenage behavior.

Time and again, we have seen news reports about a 14-year-old teenager raping a six-year-old. And this is why, it is important that these children are taught responsible behavior which, of course, includes not raping a six-year-old.

E. CONSTITUTIONAL BASIS

Mr. President, this bill is grounded on the following Constitutional provisions:

1. Article II Section 15. The State shall protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among them.

2. Article II Section 12. The State … shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception….

3. Article II Section 6. The separation of Church and State shall be inviolable. Article III, Section 5. No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed…

4. Articles VI, VII and VIII all establish the three independent branches of government with their specific mandates.

E.1. On the right to health

Mr. President, I believe the Constitutional right to health needs no more further explanation.

E.2. On the protection of the life of the mother and her child

Mr. President, the health of the mother is intrinsically related to that of her child. Her health before and during pregnancy directly affects her child’s health. Numerous studies have shown that malnourished mothers and those who do not undergo pre-natal care give birth to malnourished and underweight children many of whom die before reaching five.

E.3&4. On the separation of Church and State and the freedom of religion.

Mr. President, we, as Senators have our own personal views and relationship with God. This is a part of who we are. Thus, I do not ask that we separate our moral values from our scrutiny of the bill. I simply ask that we remember that our religious views may be different from our neighbors and we cannot use our legislative seat to deprive a fellow Filipino of his legal and constitutional rights to exercise his religion, to make choices within the legal boundaries, but based on his own religion and NOT ours.

Time and again, the position of the Church has been discussed as a basis for not supporting this bill, but as Senators, we are tasked to separate our religious beliefs when they interfere with matters that belong to the State. I simply ask that we recognize the right of every citizen to make choices regarding one’s reproductive health based on one’s own conscience, moral and religious views.

Just because we are a predominantly Catholic country doesn’t mean we can impose Catholic dogma on every Filipino. This is the job of the clergy and they can do as they please in the Church and its activities with their flock. But, in the halls of Congress, the Constitution is clear, – - there must be a separation of Church and State. If for the sake of argument, 99.9% of Filipinos were Catholic and every single one express a certain view, I would still be standing here today to fight for the rights of that 1 Filipino who is entitled to choices based on his religion and not the religion of the majority because that is the mandate of our Constitution — that we make laws respecting the freedom of religion of all without the Church interfering with matters that should be left with the State.

Following the same argument, if 99.9 % of the population belonged to a different religion, I would still stand up for that 1 Catholic to ensure that his rights were protected and that services and facilities were available to allow him to make choices based on his beliefs. Those are the principles of separation of Church and State and the freedom of religion.

Does this now mean that we have no boundaries? That because we all have different views, the free flow of drugs and devices that may in fact be harmful to both mother and her unborn, are now to be allowed?

Of course not, Mr. President. We are still guided by our Constitution. And clearly we are to protect the life of the mother and the unborn from conception. Thus, knowingly taking a drug or performing an act after conception with the intention of aborting the fetus would be a violation of the Constitution and existing laws. And that brings me to my next point.

E.5. On the role of the executive, specifically the Department of Health through the Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA)

Mr. President, some groups would have the Senate arrogate upon itself the power to define, classify, allow or ban contraceptives. But this is clearly the jurisdiction of the FDA, a government agency that falls under the DOH which is part of the Executive branch. It is the FDA that has been tasked by law, among others to determine the efficacy of all drugs and medical devices, define what are abortifacients are and how their use is to be regulated. It is the entity with the scientific and technical ability to do that job.

So why not simply put a statement in the bill banning all abortifacients? Would that not simplify this debate? It sounds tempting, Mr. President. But I humbly submit it will not simplify this debate. Why? Because medicine is a technical field. And without the appropriate scientific background, we, as legislators who are not medical experts, could easily make mistakes and kill mothers and their babies instead of saving their lives.

Allow me to explain. A careless phrase like “no drug known to be an abortifacient will be made available in the Philippines” sounds like a statement we could all support. But what most of us do not understand is the fact that many life-saving drugs are made available to an ailing mother to address her medical condition although there is a possibility that they may be harmful to a pregnant mother and her fetus. Thus, we have for instance, drugs for diseases of the heart, hypertension, seizures, ulcers and even acne, all of which are to be taken only under doctors’ prescription and supervision precisely because of their harmful effects.

Making a blanket statement banning all medicines classified as abortifacients would put all these mothers and their children’s lives in greater danger. For decades, these mothers have relied on these medicines to keep them alive. I would like to give another example. A known abortifacient, misoprostol commonly known as cytotec, is one of the drugs that can save a mother’s life. I am talking about a mother who just gave birth but has internal hemorrhage and in danger of bleeding to death. Her child has been born. Her child will live but she will die without this drug to stop her bleeding. Are we now to ban the use of this drug? Are we now to say that because it could possibly be used as an abortifacient, it could possibly be abused, this mother must now die despite giving birth to a healthy baby?

Mr. President, we clearly need to make distinctions. These life saving drugs SHOULD NOT BE USED on any circumstances for purposes of carrying out an abortion. But under strict guidelines by the FDA, they can be used by a health practitioner to save a mother’s life.

F. CONCLUSION

Mr. President, I appeal to my colleagues for patience and understanding and above all, an open mind. Because although reproductive health affects both men and women, it is primarily a women’s issue.

1. Men do not die from childbirth, but women and their newborn do.

2. Men are not affected by the deadly hpv virus – I am not talking about HIV, I am talking about hpv, which leads to cervical cancer – women do. Men merely pass along this virus to women through unsafe and unprotected sex.

3. Men infected with HIV likewise pass it on to women (although this virus can be passed both ways), but when a man transmits it to a woman, it can then be passed on to the unborn child as well.

4. And finally, no man can claim that he has experienced the pain of choosing to end the life of the unborn baby in his womb. But half a million mothers in this country do that every year.

Mr. President, I believe the options are simple. Do we provide the facilities and the professional services that women need? Do we want to equip our women with the means to plan their family using natural or modern family planning methods, as they so choose within the boundaries provided by our Constitution and laws, all of which, I repeat, are subject to the scrutiny by our FDA? Or do we want our women to live in the dark ages, unable to make informed and intelligent choices about planning their family? And worse, resorting to abortions when they find themselves carrying an unplanned child.

Mr. President, if one woman is given the ability to make informed choices and access to services and facilities, that changes her life and that of her family. Why is this privilege limited to the rich? Every woman deserves this as a matter of right…

The statistics I mentioned earlier are not just mere numbers; these are real people with families orphaned by the loss of a loved one, a mother or a child. The ball is now in our hands, Mr. President, and we cannot stand idly by as these deaths continue in our country. We have the power to end this. We have the power to provide poor Filipinos sufficient information for the exercise of their reproductive rights. We have the power to put an end to these problems. Let us show the Filipino people that we have not only the compassion but also the moral commitment and the political will to do something to prevent these tragedies from befalling upon families.

Mr. President, the bill is a work in progress. It is not carved in stone. And I welcome the inputs of my colleagues and look forward to the debates where issues and concerns can be threshed out. I only ask once more for compassion as each of you to study this bill.

Thank you very much.