Near Death, Life Changing Experience

On the first week of my hospitalization I suffered two internal bleedings. Though the doctors never discussed it with me, I know that the problem were my lungs. The nurses gave me two injections to stop the bleeding and I was also given a CT Chest. It never recurred but I was forbidden from sleeping sideways.

The first thing that came to my mind when I was bleeding was that day’s going to be my last. I didn’t take my internal bleeding lightly because it is very harmful to internal organs. At first I was hesitant to let my family know about my situation but that bleeding changed everything. Thinking that was dying, I right away called them to let them know the situation that I was in. I skipped out some of the details of my illness just to protect them. You don’t have to tell them everything you know.

I don’t want to sensationalize my illness. Sensitive as it is it may be misunderstood by many. I prefer to keep my mouth shut rather than being misunderstood. People could be mean and others have been mean already so there’s really no point in discussing it. The most important thing is that I’m being treated and in time, I’ll be discharged.

I’ve been through hell literally and I’ve been through near death experience. Of course, it could only be in my mind but I really thought at that time that I was going to die. The first thing that comes into my mind was that I don’t want to die here and I want to be with my family. My mind became empty and I was unable to think of anything, not even my most priced earthly positions. I didn’t even think of my job and my company. When you’re in the brink of death, you’ll only think of the most important things in life and for me, they’re my family, friends and hope.

I can still remember what Nurse Sushil told me. She said that all of us are going to die. My illness takes a lot of time to be cured but it’s curable. She told me to think of Kuya at the ICU who was burned because the gas tank leaked. He wasn’t given an opportunity to bid farewell to his family. Think of the victims of hit and run and accidents. I shouldn’t lose faith and I should pray and reconcile with my creator. Nurse Sushil made a big difference in my stay at the As Salama Hospital. I used to be biased towards our kabayans when it comes to nurses’ qualification and training but Nurse Sushil made an impact. I’ll forever be grateful to her because if it weren’t for her, I would have given in to self pity.

My illness made me think through a lot of things. I’ve thought of the things that I’ve done in the past and my plans for the future. I’ve also decided to make peace with myself and with my God. One of the things that I’ve realized is that I’m just human. And human beings are created to take ownership and spread power of hope.

Friends in Need, Friends indeed!

I don’t want to be melodramatic but in the past week, I guess I’ve had too much of the Teleseryes that I also thought that it’s alright for everyone to cry as long as the scene calls for it. Actually, I’m just making excuses for my weakness. I’ve experienced an emotional roller coaster in the past weeks that I’ve been confined. This isn’t me and even I can’t recognize myself. I considered myself as strong and crying is a weakness.

I think the best thing that ever happened to me while I’m in this situation is that I was able to identify who my true friends are. It’s a blessing in disguise in a way. It’s true what they say that you’ll only know who your true friends in life and death situation. What I’m been going through is not a life and death situation yet I’ve identified few people who truly care. I’m no celebrity but with so many Filipino in our workforce, my illness has brought so much speculation. The sad thing is, they don’t even know what I’ve been going through and not one of them have spoken to my doctor. I’m no stranger to intrigues since its part and parcel of working in the Human Resources Department but what I can’t accept are the things that people whom you think are your friends say about you. I know that people could be mean sometimes. I’ve been mean myself and maybe its God’s way of telling me that ‘You did that to other people before’.

If you ask me if I was hurt, of course but I won’t dignify those speculations. I won’t give away press statement (LOL feeling celebrity) just so I could clear the intrigues. They’re better left unanswered since your true friends don’t need explanations and your enemies won’t hear it anyway. There’s no point in explaining yourself, really.

I think the best thing that I should do is to get better and convince the doctor that I’m ready for discharge. People will just stop talking when they see you healthy and report back to work. I am looking forward to be discharged and probably celebrate a very low key but meaningful Christmas with my close friends.

The Enemy Within

Today is the 23rd day of my isolation, Saudi Arabian style. I felt that I’ve already recovered. My full recovery however will be determined by the doctors and laboratory tests results. I was very thankful that my company decided to move me to Chest Hospital after spending 16 grueling and agonizing days in solitary confinement at the As Salama Hospital. The situation at the Chest Hospital is way better than in the Isolation Room in As Salama. They euphemistically called the Isolation Room as Negative Pressure Room but it’s just actually a room with an AC outlet and an exhaust fan. There’s really nothing special about it.

Being in an isolation chamber makes you think a lot about the things in your life that you’ve taken for granted. In my case, it’s my health and my relationship with God. When I look back, I tried to exercise by jogging everyday but it doesn’t count since I don’t eat healthy. My immune system wouldn’t have suffered if I chose a healthier diet. But there’s no crying over spilled milk so I’ve promised myself to eat healthy when I’m discharge.

There was a point in my life that I’ve been pious but that was before I decided to work abroad. I’m not embarrassed to admit that I’ve forgot to call Him. Though, being human would always be our excuse when we commit mistakes, I’d still invoke the same excuse. It’s because I can’t think of anything else. Being in isolation gives me ample of time to think things through though. I’ve think things through and now my mind is clearer. The forgiveness of our sins is through the mercy and compassion of God. I think that as long as you’ve asked for forgiveness and promised to change your life completely, he’ll welcome you back in his fold.

However, despite my being a level headed person, from time to time, I still encounter ‘The enemy within’ or what we simply called ‘Self Pity’. I know, I’ve heard enough from my friends that it’s counterproductive but there are times that I just can’t completely brush it off. There are moments that I would shed a tear or two when I think of my situation. This week, I’ve had two negatives and I was very hopeful that the last test would be negative as well. I was very disappointed when the result came out and it was positive. I cried like a baby but only for a moment. I regained my composure right away. I’m only here for three weeks and I still have another series of test to look forward to next week. That thought consoled me. I’ve also accepted that it’s God’s will. I’ll be discharge in God’s time and for that I’ll wait patiently.

Superman No More

I really thought that I was going to stay young and strong forever. It never occurred to me that like the rest of us, I’m just a human being and I’m no superman. I started working very young and I never stopped working since then.
I never thought that a simple consultation with the doctor would be a nightmare. The doctor diagnosed me with a lung infection. In Saudi Arabia, lung infections are treated like a high risk disease that infected individuals are held in the hospital until they’re fully treated. So, like the rest of the guys whose lungs are infected, I have to endure being in the isolation room. Yes, I am currently in the isolation room like a political prisoner. I didn’t know that it’s going to be this hard being sick in Saudi Arabia. To begin with, this is the first time that I was actually admitted in the hospital. So, needles and I.V.’s are very new to me. When you’re sick here, you have no one to turn to but your close friend. He has to do all the errands that you left behind for you. In my case, I never thought that I’m going to be held here forever so I haven’t prepared anything.

The event of last week makes me look back and reflect on what I did with my life during the past 10 years. For the last 10 years or so, I’ve worked my butt off to provide for my family. I think I forgot to take things slowly and that’s the reason why I am in the hospital today. I was never late, absent or sick and I am always a constant fixture in the office. People turn and look for me when they could not see anyone else. I got so used to the daily grind that I forgot to relax and unwind. Believe it or not, I would usually go for a 2-3 week vacation every year and would not even remember if I enjoyed it or not. Yes, it sad but I think I forgot about myself. Works is good but I forgot myself in the process. I forgot to leave something for myself and in the end, I have no other to blame but myself.

It is never too late to change so my resolve after this ordeal is to take all things easy. I decided to take a 15 day vacation back home just to relax. I won’t be spending anything. It’s not going to be grand. I’ll just go home to take my badly needed rest and be with my family. It’s also the right time to pay tribute to the dead in my family. I also promised myself to cut my sugar and carbohydrate intake and of course, lose at least 10 more kilograms. In about a week, I am hopeful that the doctors will give me a clean bill of health. I pray for my speedy recovery.

Cold gentle breeze of winter

You won’t be surprised nowadays when you’re surrounded by people who are sneezing and coughing. That’s because the weather in the Kingdom of the Sands is changing. The cold gentle breeze signifies that it’s winter time already. Yes, we do have our share of winter here also. However, we don’t get to have the snow falls. Nevertheless, it’s a big change from the conviction oven temperature that we have to endure for 6-8 months a year.


Wardrobe Change
When I first arrived here at the Kingdom of the Sands, I wasn’t aware that there’s winter in this part of the world. The agency that deployed us never even mentioned that to us. I was only wearing a t-shirt at that time so I trembled when I came out of that airport. Times are tough then because I am still converting every Riyal I spent here to the Philippine peso. An inexpensive sweater or jacket could still amount to something that I wouldn’t dare to buy. So, I decided that I’ll wait until the winter ends but I got sick in return. A colleague of mine bought me a very chic looking cardigan which I still have to this day. I can’t dispose it no matter how I tried. It’s a remembrance from somebody who went out of his way to buy it for me.

Whether we like it or not, we really have to change our wardrobe for the duration of the winter. We have to do away with our light shirts that we use to wear during summer time. The good thing being here in the Kingdom of the Sands is that we can wear light jackets. We won’t be constrained in wearing big and outrageous winter outfits that they (people) wear in the West. So, figure conscious people can still flaunt their sexy bodies in light jackets.

Amongst the winter gear that I hate to wear is the bonnet. I hate it because it destroys my hair. Yes, I’m kind of vain when it comes to hair. So, I’d rather suffer from hypothermia than damage my hairstyle.

Christmas
Winter could also mean Christmas. I used to be touchy and sentimental during Christmas but I’ve gotten over that. I’m too old for melodramas. It’s just unfortunate that I am not with my family during Christmas but that’s that. Besides, if I’m there and not here, who would send money for their merriment? Calling your family during the day and greeting on the joyous occasion is enough to compensate of your absence. Besides, if I’m not with my family during the holidays, I’m with my friends. Friends for me are precious because they know you, they care for you and you are with them most of the year. In one way or the other, our friends are our family away from home.

So what’s the big fuzz with this cold winter wind? It’s the change. It’s a welcome change because of the hot weather that we have to endure all throughout the year. It also bring smiles to people’s faces.

AbNoynoy’s version of diplomacy

Guess what? Another member of the P-AbNoynoy’s PCG family, Assistant Secretary Carmen ‘Mai’ Mislang, his speech writer caused major diplomatic blunder. Mislang went with P-AbNoynoy’s delegation to Vietnam. While she was there, she was of course invited to a state dinner sponsored by the Vietnamese government. Mislang, probably used to the taste of French wines did not like the Vietnamese made wine served to her. She then twitted her displeasure over the internet. That’s not all, she also twitted foul statements against the Vietnamese people and she was quoted as saying: “Crossing the speedy motorcycle-laden streets of Hanoi is the easiest ways to die. You think you’re safe on the sidewalk? Think again!”

Mislang’s arrogance is not just plain ignorance of diplomacy but a total disregard to the hospitality extended to her by the Vietnamese people. The Vietnamese government should consider her as persona non grata. P-AbNoynoy for his part should kick Mislang out of the Malacañang if he’s true to his calls of ‘Daang Matuwid’. Mislang is a classic prototype of a fly on the top of a Carabao. Just because, P-AbNoynoy’s trust rating is high, Mislang thinks that she can lay claim on the high trust ratings of the President and believe that she can also get away with everything.

Vietnam started producing grapes and they’re in their initial stage of producing wines. Their wines may not taste as good as that of the French made wines but at least they are trying to build an industry out of it. She should be ashamed since we (the Philippines) could not produce grapes and because of that we could not also produce our own wines. We’re still stuck with the cottage industry and the best we could do is to produce lambanog out of the coconut sap.

As for twitting the craziness of the streets in Vietnam, Mislang may have forgotten that our streets with our jeepney’s, tricycles and padyak are equally or crazier than in the streets of Vietnam. In fact, she should be ashamed not because she’s part of P-AbNoynoy’s government but because while Vietnam has consistent economic growth, we’re still in a third world country. Maybe it wasMai Mislang who wrote P-AbNoynoy’s speech claiming that the strengthening of the Philippine Peso is because of his ‘Daang Matuwid’. P-AbNoynoy, who has no mind of his own, just read the speech without checking the facts. Everyone knows that the strengthening of Peso is the result of the continuing US economic slump.

Mislang did the most unforgivable thing and embarrassed not just herself but the whole Filipino nation as well. She should’ve controlled herself because she’s part of P-AbNoynoy’s delegation. If she’s not thick skinned, she should just resign her post.

The Indolence of the Filipino and CCT

The DSWD chaired by Dinky Soliman, one of the most corrupt member of P-AbNoynoy’s cabinet (Remember the Peace bond and the CODE NGO?), budgeted Php. 21 Billion for the government’s program Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT). First and foremost, we are not a Socialized Country so I am not in favor of subsidizing the poor people’s daily needs. Second, the Php. 21 Billion is better spent on infrastructure or subsidy to Education and Military. Third, it will only escalate the Filipino people’s laziness and indolence. Fourth, it will not address the causes of the poverty.

Truly, we are not a Socialized country where we provide basic services to our people. We are democratic country on a market economy. We are dependent on the taxes that we collect from the people, businesses and institutions. The sad part of this Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program is that most of the beneficiaries do not even pay taxes. I think it’s unfair to the ordinary employees who diligently pay their taxes who obviously can never be a beneficiary of the CCT. Giving them (the poor) money will not address the causes of their poverty. Poverty can only be addressed if and when people are given education. If they are educated, they’ll be able to look for a job. If they have a job, they will be able to earn money and support their families. In turn, they will be able to send their children to school. So, government resources should better be spent on Education and not on Cash dole outs that do not address the cause of poverty. Our government should have a Job Creation program instead of the CCT. Creating jobs instead of giving financial dole outs. This way, they’ll not depend on the government for everything. Teach the man how to fish and not just giving him the fish.

I will not go far in looking for example. My family for instance, they don’t want to work and would rather drink Tanduay starting at 4:00 PM till dawn. If they receive cash dole outs from the government, they’ll just spend it on buying more Tanduays. Being drunk and all make them a nuisance to the society. Filipinos are generally born lazy. I think it’s because we’re in a tropical country where we have beautiful weather all year round. We’re also dependent on our extended families who would always feed us regardless if we deserved to be fed or not.

The Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program of P-AbNoynoy will only promote the culture of laziness and will not solve the poverty problem in our country. In fact, the CCT will be an avenue for corrupt government officials (e.g. Dinky Soliman) to fill their pockets in order to prepare for the next elections.

President’s ‘Little President’ and the Media

Irresponsible media at the National Press Club were outraged and offended when Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa called the Media’s attention to stop reporting negative stories against P-AbNoynoy saying that it will eventually affect the image of the country.

I have two things to say on this issue:

• First, you reap what you sow and;

• Second, you can never change Filipino with just one snap.

P-AbNoynoy and his cohorts at the Malacañang, while they’re still in the opposition, used the media to demonize the previous administration. P-AbNoynoy’s camp and the media worked together to release baseless stories and accusations. P-AbNoynoy should have realized that once you’re in the office, you’re in the spotlight and you’ll be the target of criticisms whether you like it or not. I couldn’t contain my reaction when I heard that the Little President (Ochoa) is calling the media to refrain from reporting bad press. Though, I don’t generally agree with the media, calling them and controlling their reportage means you’re meddling with their business. FYI, ABiaS CBN’s editorial stand still sided with P-AbNoynoy for obvious reasons that they owe debt of gratitude from the Aquino Family.

You reap what you sow:

I still believe in Karma, what you give is what you get in return. Of course, all of you would agree that the current administration (then opposition) used the media in order to get back at the then PGMA. They hurl insults, intrigues and baseless accusations. The Philippine media readily cooperated with them for the reasons that their businesses will thrive only on bad presses. Some of the people in the Media are actually paid individuals posing as opinion writers. P-AbNoynoy benefited greatly on those attacks. In fact, the bad press against the then PGMA helped him get elected.

Now that the election and the 100 day honeymoon period is over, P-AbNoynoy’s vulnerability is already showing and the bubble is bursting. He’s the incumbent and can’t anymore blame the ills of his government to his predecessor. He’s could not anymore see eye to eye with the media that used to be his supporter ‘kakampi’. I was not wrong when I said before that the saddest thing that could happen to P-AbNoynoy is when he’ll experience all the pain and humiliation that PGMA went through before. PGMA is a strong woman and was able to withstand all her challenges. What will happen to P-AbNoynoy who has no sense of judgment and to this day could not even decide on whom to marry?

You can never change Filipino with just one snap

I agree that we should change but the change should start structurally. How can you build a strong house when the foundation of the building is not safe and secure? You should at least dig dipper, assemble the metals in the ground and then that’s the time you pour the concrete. That’s how you start building a structurally stable house. The same is true in nation building. If the fault is the structure, then you have to change the constitution. We’re stuck with the 1987 constitution forever! If P-AbNoynoy wants to start the change, he should start changing the constitution because it has fundamental flaws that held us for decades. We (Filipinos) deserve more than what we have now. But the way I see things, P-AbNoynoy is slowing being eaten alive by the system. He should start now while his approval rating is still up or else, he’ll end up like Barack Obama. Barack Obama called for change and people echoed his calls and that catapulted him to the white house. Two years on, the change that he called for did not materialize and people are weary. That’s because Barack Obama did not realize that change is easier said than done.

Going back to Paquito Ochoa’s call to the National Press Club, most of the media practitioners believe that Malacañang wanted to control and curtail press freedom of the country. They believe that Ochoa only wanted them to issue Praise Releases towards P-AbNoynoy.

Paalam Tatay Pinoy

I learned from my sister yesterday that our neighbor Tatay Pinoy passed away. My sister said that around 11:30PM Monday evening, she heard Tatay calling her name. Since the old man lives at the back of our house, she hurriedly went to Tatay Pinoy's house. Tatay Pinoy told Inday Bam that ‘I think I’m going to die’…. ‘Kasakit nga kamatayon’. Sabi naman ng sister ko ‘Tatay umupo ka at tatawag kami ng masasakyan natin kasi dadalhin kita sa ospital’. The old man obliged and my sister went back to our house and ginising ang mother ko who’s already sleeping soundly. They (my mother and my sister) then went to Tatay Pinoy’s eldest daughter who happens to be my mother’s sister in law. Bumalik na rin sila kaagad sa matanda and then Tatay Pinoy took his last breath. Yon lang daw, no drama, he just died.

They weren’t able to bring him to the hospital anymore. He died at the age of 80. Inday Sweet, our neighbor who’s a Registered Nurse said that Tatay could have suffered a cardiac arrest. According to the medical practitioners kasi, nangingitim daw ang mga taong nagka cardiac arrest. We really don’t know the cause of his death kasi wala namang diagnosis. We knew that he’s been suffering difficulty in breathing for awhile. Siguro grabe ang suffering niya but he just did not told us.

Nakaka awa pa naman ang matanda kasi inabandona na ng kanyang mga anak. He has two daughters who are teachers. The other lives in a far off place and the other one live in our village. Masasabi ko lang na inabandona siya ng kanyang mga anak because they didn’t care for their father. They didn’t care whether the old man eats and sleeps well. Nakuha na kasi nila ang kanilang mana so they don’t see any use for the old man anymore. They’ve already squandered their legacies. Kaya lesson learned for Tatay na dapat ang mga magulang hindi binibigay ang mana habang sila ay nabubuhay. Look at what happened to Tatay. He gave away everything that he has without thinking that he’ll live that long. When his daughters got their legacies, they just forgot that they still have a father.

My family has been feeding the old man for several years already. Hindi namin pinagmamalaki at pinagsasabi but people know that we care more for the old man than her daughters. Sabi ko nga baka naman abot hanggang maynila kung umatungal ang mga anak niya ngayon. Well, it’s too late, the old man is dead. They could not bring back the life of Tatay Pinoy. Mga salbahe silang mga anak. I won’t be surprised if my cousins would do that also to their mother in the future. Who knows, history repeats itself di ba?

Tatay Pinoy when he’s still alive was always full of wisdom and humility. He’s always a source of inspiration. I respect and admire him as a person. I pity him for having salbaheng mga anak. Pero I know that he’s now with our Creator. Siguro with the grace of God, he’ll be able to forgive his daughters sa mga kasalbahe-an nila. To Tatay Pinoy, may your soul Rest in Peace.

Forced Day Off

I’ve been living and working here in the Kingdom of Sands for almost a decade and believe it or not, I was never given a forced day off except last week! The Ophthalmologist that I consulted at the Assalama Hospital in Al Khobar diagnosed me with sore eyes and gave me a three day forced day off. The eye doctor said that I should not report to the office since it’s contagious. Although I have a lot of things to do in the office, I had no other choice but to take a rest. My boss also told me that he’d rather not see me in the office or he’ll drag me to my flat. He said that there’s currently a sore eyes epidemic in Lebanon and he knows how nasty sore eyes could be.


I know, I know, you don’t have to remind me. I’m just telling myself that it’s bad to self diagnose using the e-doctors on the web. You see, I wasn’t really convinced of the Ophthalmologist’s diagnoses of my red eyes. I still wouldn’t and couldn’t accept that what I had was a sore eyes and contagious. From what I read, it’s just Iritis and that caused the redness. Per experience kasi, kung sore eyes nagmumuta at nagluluha ang mga mata and it never happened to me. Pero as Kuya Joseph had said, wag daw ako mag doctor doctoran.

So with a 3 day forced day off last week (from 27-29 September 2010) plus the two day (30 Sep. and 1 Oct) weekend, I practically stayed 5 days at home. Nakakabagot staying at home whole day. Although the doctor said that what I had was contagious it didn’t deter me to go to public places. I couldn’t really stay home for the whole day. I had to eat din so kailangan kong bumili ng pagkain. Another thing that concerns me most is that if I don’t go out, I won’t be able to turn my AC off. Although bago pa naman ito, baka masira at ma forced pa akong bumili ng bago at masira din ang aking budget. In this part of the world, you wouldn’t be surprised if you see people using dark shades so I just used mine. So walang makakakita sa matang namumula.

When I was growing up in Iloilo, I remember that my Aunt’s cures to the sore eyes are breast milk and urine. Gross isn’t it? Imagine yourself receiving drops of milk from a woman’s breast? Kung bata ka pa okay lang walang malisya pero kung malaki ka na masagwa na. Kaya mo rin kayang ilagay ang ihi mo sa iyong mga mata? It turned out that using breast milk and urine on the eye are common Filipino myths. We all know too well that those mythical cures could lead to bacterial infections of worst.

My ophthalmologist says that there is no cure for sore eyes as it is self limiting and would normally last for 7-10 days. He gave me two kinds of eye drops and it helps I guess since I was cleared of sore eyes by Thursday (30 Sep.).

Anak ng Jueteng nga naman!

Ayaw naman paawat ng isa pang ipokritong Obispo na si Oscar Cruz at gumagawa na naman ng pasabog. Alam na naman ninyo siguro why I love calling them hypocrites. They condemn the Jueteng payola to the politicians and police force yet they themselves are recipients to the said payolas. For them, they’re exempted to the accusations because they’re the accusers. Kapal ng mga mukha eh yong binigay siguro na payola sa kanila ay iyon ang tinutustus nila sa kanilang mga kereda. Asides from keredas, it’s known throughout the world that they abuse children. They act as if they’re kalinisan at kadangalan but look who’s talking. It’s really high time that Filipinos should wake up from the realities in life. Ang simbahang katoliko at ang baluktot na pag iisip ng mga pari ang dahilan kung bakit tayo ay third world country pa rin!

Ito na nga …This time Oscar Cruz is accusing President AbNoynoy’s closest friend Rico Puno from the DILG as one of the recipient of the monthly Php. 2M payola. He also implicated several men in uniform and politicians particularly those from Pangasinan. Our Senate seems to be very willing to accommodate the pasabog para naman sabihin ng taong bayan that they’re working. Sa nasabi ko na, walang mangyayari sa bagong administrasyon na ito. Politicians will always find ways to use their legislative immunity to get back at their enemies. President AbNoynoy will experience the pain and embarrassments that they caused the previous administration. Sabi nga nila weather weather lang iyan. Eh now, naka double whammy na si Rico Puno kasi he’s one of the lucky 13 recommended by the IRRC na liable sa Quirino Grandstand Hostage Taking.

Malabo itong Jueteng issue na ito. During Erap’s tenure he wanted to legalize Jueteng. He realized that the government is powerless in curtailing the illegal numbers game. At least kung legalize ito may pera pang makukuha ang gobyerno. The bad thing is that, Erap himself was implicated by the Jueteng scandal. Jueteng was the cause of Erap’s downfall.

Gloria wasn’t able to solve the Jueteng in her 9 years of presidency. President AbNoynoy as being a lameduck president wouldn’t be able to solve this either. In fact, Jueteng may hunt President AbNoynoy till the end of his term of office. May pera sa Jueteng kaya hindi talaga ito mawawala. Maaring itong mag lay low pero babalik at babalik din ito kung hindi na mainit ang issue. If you’ve watched the indie film Kubrador, starring Gina Pareño, ito talaga ang mangyayari. That movie is what they call art imitating life or should I say life imitating art.

Sasakit lang ang puwak ni Oscar Cruz ng litany against Jueteng but he can’t solve it. Our politicians can neither solve it. The only option the government has right now is to legalize it.

Who’s to blame?

We Filipinos are really fond of blaming people. I think we can’t get rid of it since it’s in our blood. Nowadays, people are throwing babies everywhere and anywhere. The most recent is the baby thrown at a rubbish bin of GF Flight bound for Manila. It’s not an accident then that they named the baby GF. There are people who said that we should not be too hard on the mother who could have been sexually abused by her employer and is suffering from post partum disorder. So, if we don’t blame the mother who are we going to blame then?

I think in any case, not just the case of baby GF we should put the blame to the hypocritical priests and bishops. Why them? Well, they refuse the usage of condoms and they refuse sex education. They said that it’s immoral to use condom and that teachers would only pollute the minds of the children should sex education be included in our basic education curriculum. Yon na nga, the hypocrites priests don’t want people to use condom but they wouldn’t take the blame of ballooning population, poverty, malnourished children and of course, babies like baby GF na tinapon na ng mga magulang. Pag may batang tinapon at natagpuan, hindi naman ito napupunta sa mga pari at madre but to the DSWD. Why won’t the priest put those children in their convents and monasteries? Total, kung hindi dahil sa kanilang pagiging epokrito at pag tutol sa programa ng gobyerno, walang mga batang tinatapon sa basurahan ng eroplano. That way, they’ll be beneficial and helpful to the ballooning population of the country of which they are the primary people to be blamed.

The priests tried having unprotected sex before and by now they would have realized that unprotected sex leads to pregnancy. Sa dami ng kanilang mga bastardo, for sure, alam na nila ang consequences.

The mothers should have an option whether they’d continue their pregnancy or not. Our law makers should file a bill to give that option to the mothers so that they’ll not be criminally liable. What’s the point in bearing a child when you can’t feed them? They’ll suffer a cycle of poverty from birth to death. Their children will also be poor since their parents can’t feed them and give them better education.

The bad thing with priests and bishops is that they condition the minds of their blinded followers that sex education is bad and immoral. They think that sex education is teaching children kung paano mabubuntis. They would never admit that sex education is a means to educate people to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Ito yong mga arguments ng mga pari at mga ipokritong pari, Obispo at mga cardinal na basura!

AbNoynoy to Scrap NFAs 2010 Budget

Hindi makatao! That’s my initial reaction when I heard the proposal of AbNoynoy to scrap the budget of NFA for 2011. Their reason is that NFAs duplicating the function of DA. I think that rather than ‘not giving’ NFA budget, why don’t they just abolish the agency. If you abolish the agency, then, you don’t need to propose a budget for that agency at all. What would happen to the employees of NFA if they don’t have a budget? For sure, their employees need to be paid.

How then could NFA address the rice shortage if they don’t have a budget? From what I’ve gathered, NFA forecasts the rice supplies at least a year before they would actually buy it. They would normally outsource the rice supplies from either Vietnam or Cambodia and from the local growers. If there’s no NFA, local rice producers will have hard time because they’ll have to sell their produce at a lower price given by unscrupulous traders. The NFA subsidy protects our rice producers at the same time it also protects our rice reserve.

I could not imagine what would happen to us if there’s no NFA and there’s a rice shortage. AbNoynoy wouldn’t mind since he’s the President and for sure, there will be supply in the Malacañang kitchen. What will happen to the poorest of the poor? Remember, we’re one of the world’s poorest countries. There are people out there who could barely eat one meal a day. Okay, sige, antayin na lang natin if there’s rice shortage kung hindi sya mag rattle. Remember, he’s fond of laban bawi. Sala sa init, sala sa lamig. Patumpik tumpik.

AbNoynoy in NY

The Malacañang Palace Communications Group headed by three press secretaries (equal title daw… parang kay Madam Stella Araneta na Bb. Pilipinas) says that AbNoynoy’s delegation only spent Php. 25M unlike the previous administration whose foreign trip would cost the tax payers Php. 100 M per trip. Okay pa pogi points nga si AbNoynoy para bumango naman ang kanyang pangalan after his blunder in handling the hostage crisis. Imagine, matutuwa ba ang mga Chinese eh namatayan ka na nga, nakatawa at tulo laway pa ang pangulo ng Pilipinas ng bumisita ito sa Quirino Grandstand. Anyways, itong si AbNoynoy inamin and claimed all the responsibility but then decided to file charges against the lucky 13. Ano iyon? If you claim responsibility, the odds should end with you.

Napalayo na sa usapan. Going back to AbNoynoy’s trip to NY. It turned out that it’s not actually Php. 25 M kundi Php. 25M plus Php. 500 M. The Php. 500 M being the contract that our government awarded to a US based publicity firm who according to former Senator Ernesto Maceda have connections with AbNoynoy. So, if you just listen to Malacañang you’d think that they’re way better than the previous Arroyo Admin. pero Php. 100M per trip is still lower than AbNoynoy’s Php. 25M + Php. 500M.

Another thing that I don’t like with was when AbNoynoy and his alipores ate Hotdogs at the NYC streets. It’s like showing off masyado na. If they’re really nagtitipid, they could eat a decent meal in any NYC restaurant without degrading his stature as a President. He’s the head of State for goodness sake. He deserves better than Hotdogs in NYC streets. Tax payers wouldn’t mind it. He’s the head of state and they’d understand. If he doesn’t want to spend the tax payer’s money, he can ask pocket money from Tetay. I’m sure, Tetay wouldn’t mind giving her kuya the money.

Tony Boy Cojuanco, AbNoynoy’s cousin who contributed Php.150 M to AbNoynoy’s campaign was also seen there. Ewan ko lang ha kung ang Php.150 M ay walang kapalit. Ito na ang sinasabing Kamag Anak Inc. because regardless if they deny it or not, Tony Boy’s going to recover his investment to AbNoynoy’s campaign. Sa Pilipinas, hindi pwede ang walang kapalit.

Hay Naku! Sakit sa Ulo

No matter how noble your intentions are, if the people concern doesn’t care, you’ll end up regretting the things that you did for them. Yon na siguro ang nangyari sa akin. Maybe I deserved this for being too pakialamero!


I really tried my best and even went out of my way to find jobs for a cousin of mine from other company. I vowed before that I wouldn’t hire a Kamag Anak Inc. in our company and I still stand by my words. Kaso if the job is just given to a person, he wouldn’t appreciate it. So, now that nagising na ako sa katotohanan, he’s going to be the last Kamag Anak Inc. na tutulungan ko. Iba talaga if you’ve work hard in order to get the job. If my cousin only went through looking for a job in employment agencies in Manila with limited money, maybe his perspective is different. Siguro mas na aappreciate niya ang kung anong meron siya ngayon.

The cousin of mine was hired as a driver/utility man for SR. 1,500. In KSA, that’s a big amount since most of the companies would only give a base pay of SR.800 for a driver. Even my company wouldn’t give that kind of salary. However, my cousin started sending SMS to everyone, to everyone who would listen to him that he’s being mistreated, not fed and does a lot of tasks. If there’s one thing that I don’t like hearing from a person it’s when he complains about the job. I started working when I was 17 years old doing part time job in major fast food chains in the country. I’ve been through hell as they say pero I never complained. In fact, it made me appreciate more and value the dignity of human labor. For me, complaining about the work is a big disgrace.

The sad thing is that my cousin doesn’t consider the situation of his family. His father is very sick and a worry could trigger a heart attack. His sister in the US couldn’t also sleep from worrying. He also keeps on sending SMS to his brother who is taking the bar exams! He chooses to bulakbol kaya he wasn’t able to finish his college. He got married late pero pati pang gatas ng kanyang anak inaasa pa sa kanyang pamilya. Paano, wala namang trabaho sa pilipinas. Now he’s crying at gustong umuwi at mas mabuti pa daw mag tambay na lang siya sa Pilipinas. Tumaas ang presyon ko when I heard that he’d rather tambay and do nothing than work here. I asked him before he was deployed if he’s really decided at kung buo na nag loob nya. Ang sagot naman oo daw. Ngayon, nandito na gusto nang umuwi.

He has so many complaints but when I asked him, he could not answer me with a straightforward answer. So ibig sabihin, nagsisinungaling talaga at tamad lang.

I told him that this is his opportunity to give a better future for his daughter. Kaya nga lang, mas maganda siguro para sa kanya ang manghingi na lang monthly ng pera sa Ate niya sa States. Sabagay, mag tambay lang sya, magpalaki ng kanyang itlog at wallah! may pera na from the States.

I talked to his boss about his situation. Sa totoo lang, I have no authority to talk to his boss since I’m outsider. Iba ang culture ng Arabs but his boss is a gentleman. We’ve ironed out the situation and I warned my cousin to do well. I also talked to his sister that the best thing that they should do is to ignore him totally. Kasi tatahimik lang naman iyan kung malaman niyang wala ng nakikinig sa kanyang mga drama sa buhay. Sabi ko rin, be careful what you wish for, it might come true. Baka sa kakasabi nyang minamaltrato siya at hindi pinapakain, magkakatotoo tuloy!

Jail time for telephone prankster

It’s good to hear that Inday Miriam filed a bill giving jail term for telephone prankster and people committing fraud through the telephone. The good senator says that caller ID doesn’t help in curtailing crimes committed through the telephone.

Unlike in Saudi Arabia where SIM cards are registered, the Philippine government doesn’t register the SIM cards that providers are selling to the public. If all the SIM cards sold are registered, it is very easy for our law enforcers to track down criminals. They could just run a database search and Wallah!, the criminal is caught. I just don’t know if our lawmakers are just plain dumb or what but the easiest way to catch a criminal is by having the SIM cards registered.

This is the same thing with the National ID system. Leftist groups are against it because they’re the number one criminals. I am for the National ID system so that it would be easy for the police and military to profile the militants and the criminals in our society. It would also make the lives of our people easier since a unified ID system means presenting only a single ID while transacting business with government and private agencies.

Inday Miriam’s bill is a welcome development but for it to be effective, she should include registering the SIM cards sold in the market so that it would be easier for our law enforcers to catch the criminals.

Major Accomplishment

Hours after the hostage taking, Philippine’s bet for Miss Universe 2010 made it to top 5. She was later proclaimed as 4th Runner up. My friend D who underwent a major operation at the St. Paul’s University Hospital in Iloilo on that day sent me a text message before going to the OR saying that Raj did not get the crown because of P-AbNoynoy’s mishandling of the hostage crisis. The message was funny but if you’re the president, you’ll be blamed for a lot of things. I think that P-AbNoynoy should take all the blame just like how his predecessor took all the blames. Though some of the blames were ridiculous the then PGMA took it all. In short, mas may bayag pa si Gloria kesa kay AbNoynoy.

Despite Raj’s placement, Pinoy’s are not satisfied and went even to the extent of blaming Raj’s blunder and her inability to answer her question. They haven’t realized that Raj’s the first Filipino woman who made it to the semi finals in eleven (11) years. They’ve (BPCI) sent several intellectuals before. Some are from UP Diliman but they weren’t even called to the semi’s. So, mga kababayan, be contented and be happy for what Raj has brought the Philippines.

As for the BPCI, you’ve already discovered the formula on what kind of girl who will make the semi finals. I think MUO’s looking for that exotic Filipino woman, skinny as in bone skin (anorexic beauty), supermodel potential and of course very tall.

AbNoynoy has no Leadership Quality

The AbNoynoy Administration failed miserably on its first test – Quirino Grandstand Hostage Taking. You’ll notice that despite having three Press Secretaries, the Malacañang did not even give any statement while the hostage taking was on going. Maybe they did by saying that it was an isolated incident but that’s unacceptable since the incident involved foreign nationals. Although majority of the country did not vote for P-AbNoynoy, they expected so much from him. He could have issued a statement on national TV saying that the incident will be dealt with immediately.

What went wrong? The DILG Secretary says that he’s not in charge of the PNP. It turned out that Undersecretary Puno is. Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim gave conflicting orders. The media is everywhere and nobody’s controlling them. The irony of it all, ABiaS CBN issued a statement that they comply with the orders to turn off their lightings, though they did not turned off their cameras. How come the Police insisted on forcibly arresting the brother of the hostage taker? HK Authorities kept on calling Malacañang but can’t reach P-AbNoynoy for some reasons. P-AbNoynoy only showed up at around 2AM to the crime scene and was so happy that he kept on smiling. Heck, he doesn’t even care that by smiling, he’s offending the HK authorities.

It’s been weeks since the hostage crisis. I’ve seen the hypocrites (Aquino Sisters) praying and offering wreaths at the ground zero of the hostage taking. My friend D and I were not in Manila so we missed the opportunity of photo ops at the ground zero with the bus as the background. We could have posted it (the picture) as our profile photo in our facebook accounts, just like how some members of the PNP did.

The blame game is on and I know who to blame, it’s our incompetent president P-AbNoynoy. He has no managerial skills and was voted only because he’s the son of Ninoy and Cory and his hatred for Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He doesn’t even have a platform of government. If you don’t have a platform, you don’t have a vision and if you don’t have a vision, how could you govern? His first SONA is the major example of that. The Yellow zombies and the corrupt people (particularly the LP) around him should not make any excuses.

Where’s Gloria? Well, the critics and the Yellow Zombies are looking for Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. They could blame her for everything. I’ve actually heard some of the suckers around P-AbNoynoy blaming former president GMA for the hostage taking. LOL.

Approximately three (3) months after the presidential election, we realized that no matter how we dislike our special president, he’s here to stay. Three months on, the reality has sunk in and we have no other to blame but ourselves.

My Kamag Anak Inc and HR

When I started working with HR I vowed not to help any of my Kamag Anak Inc. get a job in our company. I’ve heard horror stories before from my colleagues who helped their relatives get a job and they were embarrassed by their relative’s mediocre performance. Some of the relative go to the extent of naming their influence in the HR Department. So I told myself that I will never help any of my Kamag Anak Inc. in securing a job in my company. If they apply without my knowledge, I will still drop them like hot potato in the final selection. I will make it a point that they will never be selected. My influence would only be within the company of course. I am a very fair person but if it’s a family member, I will make it a point that he’ll be interviewed much less given a job offer.

I will only help my Kamag Anak Inc., secure a job in other companies. The good thing in being in HR is that you’ll encounter passionate people who are also in the HR profession. You’ll expand your network that you’ll be surprised how your network and connection could really help you. My friends in HR industry were able to help me deploy my Kamag Anak Inc. in their companies. Their help made me remain true to my vow in not helping my Kamag Anak Inc. secure job in my company. In return, I also helped them find placements for their Kamag Anak Inc. in our company. Of course, they secured the job because they’re qualified and went through the process.

Friends in the same industry can also help you when times are tough. It’s because they know what you’re going through and they know the way out. The referrals of your colleague in HR are also helpful because we’re only moving in small circle. I take care of my connections. They come in handy in the future when you need them in the future.

Media’s Bias against the Yaps

It looks like it’s not just ABiaS CBN who’s biased but most of the broadsheets and tabloid as well. I am talking about the interview that James Yap’s mother graciously gave to GMA Network’s chat show. James mother said that she was very against the idea of James being married to Kris Aquino. She believed that the gap not just in age but in social status of the two would eventually overwhelm them both. James apparently had a girlfriend during that time and they were just surprised when James called them up and said that he and Kris are already married.

There’s no love lost between Kris and her former in laws since she never really worked hard to be close to them. She sees them as opportunistic people who are only after her money and fame. It wasn’t the case since James’ family, although middle class never asked money from her.

Going back to the bias of the media towards James, they never talked about James mom’s interview. The coverage wasn’t the same (zero coverage) as when Tetay announced that she had enough of James and she’s calling it quits. Believe it or not, PDI and the Philippine Star wasted ¾ of their paper’s front pages to cover that story. When that story broke out, AbNoynoy was preparing to swear in at the Rizal Park. AbNoynoy should have been the cover story but the media did not give any importance to that. They’re more interested on what Tetay has to say against James Yap and his family. If they weren’t biased towards James Yap, they would have given importance to what the Yap family has to say. It’s the right opportunity for the media to prove their balance reporting but they just ignore the opportunity.

I feel for the Yap family because they’re just ordinary people. It just happened that their son is a top basketball player in the Philippines. James Yap is a legend in the basketball arena even before he married Kris Aquino. Tetay now thinks that she made James Yap which is not true. She owes James Yap a lot because even if she’s not a respectable woman (hindi matinong babae), James married her anyway. As for the accusations of James womanizing, he’s a basketball player and a healthy male. Tetay had her share of sleeping around everywhere with Binay and Escudero to name the few.

I think that the Aquino family flexed their muscles so that James mother’s interview with GMA will not be covered. They could very well do that considering that the PDI, Star and ABiaS CBN are rabid supporter of P-AbNoynoy. If you watch ABiaS CBN’s reporting now, you’ll think that they’re a government run media outlet. The Aquino’s are capable of silencing their enemies by using their influence. How else could you explain the deafening silence?

Another Death in the Family

I’ve learned to accept the fact that death could really strike us anytime. It’s not something that we can predict except of course in cases where there’s a prolonged and incurable illness where death is already given.

My Tito Romy, my mother’s younger brother passed away last night (3 August 2010). Four years ago he was admitted into the ICU because of heart ailment. The doctors advised the family that he should undergo a heart bypass operation within a year. They couldn’t heed the doctor’s advice then because of monetary issue. It took them three years to actually raise the money, thanks to his daughter (My cousin) who married an American man in Oregon. When they had the money, My Tito decided that the money is better spent in buying farm lands. He said that bypass or not, he’s still going to die anyway. And then he died, suddenly, I guess suddenly is not the appropriate word since it’s already an anticipated death.

My sister Bam said that mom cried a ton of tears. I can’t blame her, who wouldn’t cry when you lost your brother. I didn’t cry though. I don’t know if I’m insensitive to my Tito’s death or what but I just couldn’t summon the feelings of mourning. I think it’s because I wasn’t really close to him. There was never an opportunity for us to be closer. He’s a good man though but I really didn’t feel anything. I’ll be patient and wait for a day or two if I can feel my family’s pain while praying for the eternal repose of his soul.

Half Truth Commission

P-AbNoynoy like his mother Tita Cory is vindictive and would go out of his way just to get back at his enemies instead of moving the nation forward. As they say, history repeats itself and P-AbNoynoy will wake up one day that his term ended without any major accomplishments. Tita Cory also pushed and went out of her way to punish the Marcoses. Twenty (20) years pass forward and the Marcoses are back without any single conviction.

We all know that during the time of Tita Cory the Kamag Anak Inc., (Cojuanco’s, Sumulong, etc) abused their affiliation to the President. They controlled and manipulated the stock market, controlled the illegal logging, illegal gambling and jueteng. They never faced an investigation from General Tabaco. P-AbNoynoy should seriously look at his mother’s (and Kamag Anak Inc.) wrongdoing first before investigating the Arroyo Administration. Another thing, why single out Arroyo? Why not investigate the Cory Aquino, FVR, Erap Administration as well?

P-AbNoynoy should call this Commission that he signed into an Executive Order in order to pursue cases against former President GMA ‘Half Truth Commission’. It’s Half Truth because its objective is to investigate the opponents but spare the friends and the Kamag Anak Inc. The Commission’s task they say is to find out the abuses of the Arroyo Administration. It’s as simple as saying that they haven’t found any faults yet. What if they couldn’t find any?

Legal experts have questioned the establishment of this commission. They said that it’s a tiger without claws. It’s problematic since Congress should enact a law in order for the Commission to have a subpoena powers. It only goes to show that the people behind the back of P-AbNoynoy did not think it through. There are now questions that if P-AbNoynoy can establish a Commission by merely signing an EO without and enabling law from the Congress, what’s there to stop him from abusing his powers in the future? What would stop him from creating another Commission to review the ‘Half Truth Commission’ in case walang makikitang evidence? He should not meddle with the legislative functions of our government. Sabagay, he’s so bobo that when he was at the House and Senate wala naman siyang nagawa. Isang mambabatas for 9 years na walang nagawang batas.

We don’t need to establish Half Truth Commission to investigate wrongdoings of the previous administrations. Our constitution and laws created a venue for those complaints already. If they think that they have a strong case against the Arroyos, they should file it in the proper forum/ courts. ABiaS CBN is the only winner and will have a field day with the establishment of this Half Truth Commission because definitely AbNoynoy will be favoring them.

Enrile retained the Senate Presidency

Kiko Pangilinan otherwise known as Mr. Sharon Cuneta thought that he’s really somebody. Little did he realize that people would not even vote for him if he weren’t the husband of the Mega Obese Star Sharon Cuneta. Kung ano kalaki ng hungag sa iya ilong, amo naman ina kadako ang iya ulo. He even has the nerve of running for senate presidency. I was a bit surprise also that the corrupt butod Franklin Drilon did not run but deep inside he’s drooling for the perks of being in the office.
Kiko Pangilinan really thought that he’ll occupy the third highest post in the land because P-AbNoynoy backed him. The only problem with him is that his peers in the Senate do not think that he has what it takes to become the Senate president. In short, he does not have the leadership and moral authority to become a good SP. They need a leader who can hold the fractious senators together to protect its independence from the Malacañang.

His colleagues in the senate frowned that he could not even get the vote of Mega Obese Uncle Tito Sotto. It was earlier known that he blocked Sotto’s entry to the official LP senatorial line up. This led his colleague to believe that he has no leadership maturity and negotiation skills.

While campaigning to for the SP position, Kiko Pangilinan argued that P-AbNoynoy’s victory should be matched with a supportive Senate. Natutulog yata si Kiko Ilong Pangilinan sa pancitan. Historically, Senate has always been made up of opposition block. In fairness to Senate, their records showed that they have been supportive to the legislative and economic agendas of the setting administration.

Kiko Pangilinan should realize by now that he’s nobody without Sharon Cuneta. Hindi dapat lumaki ang ulo niya na pwede na siyang magyabang. He’s NOTHING and he has to accept that. Isa lang siyang langaw na nakatungtong sa kalabaw. He should always bear in mind that he’s nothing without his connections to Mega Obese Sharon Cuneta and P-AbNoynoy.

P-AbNoynoy’s First SONA

Our Special President delivered his first SONA yesterday. As expected, his handlers made his speech as if he’s still in the campaign mode. Worst, it’s very much like his inauguration speech. The content of the SONA of course, as expected, demonized and humiliated the previous president and blame the previous admin of all the problems that P-AbNoynoy’s cabinet is currently facing. The SONA, never discussed P-AbNoynoy’s legislative agenda. It did not talk about the land reform and the urgent things that he should do to solve all the short term problems that our country is facing.


Oo na, nakalukluk ka na sa pwesto and you should start doing things right. Nakakapagod nang making ng sisihan. The blame game has been going on and on since the elections. It’s time to start working. P-AbNoynoy should stop the blaming the previous admin of all the problems and social ills that we are facing today. Instead of whining like an abnormal child, he should start to show that us that he deserved to be in that position. He should remember that he’s still a minority president. He was only voted by 40% of Filipinos. He should take extra effort to call for reconciliation so that the remaining 60% of Filipinos who did not vote for him will support his government. He’s so arrogant about his winning that he never called for unity and reconciliation.

We need a leader who has strategic plans and can think strategically. We need a visionary leader who can inspire people. BTW, reading a well written speech does not make a leader visionary. President Tita Cory have well written speeches courtesy of Teddy Locsin. Pero she failed in her presidency. So it’s not about the speech really. We don’t need a leader who only listens to his handlers because he is not capable of making decisions for himself. We need somebody who can run our country and unite our people. Stop the blame game and show us results. Nakakatamad nang makinig that change is there to come. Ginawa na iyan ni OBAMA pero even OBAMA could not make the difference that he promised. Si P-AbNoynoy pa kaya na walang utak at walang alam?

Diva Managers

The most common question I encounter as an HR Professional is ‘How to deal with Diva Managers’. By definition, Diva Managers are Managers who are mean, vain and temperamental. I would always tell people that when you join a company there’s a probability of meeting a Diva Manager. You’ll be lucky if you’ll end up with a professional and kind Manager. However, if you’re stuck with a Diva Manager, you have no choice but to ‘Suck it all up!’ like a real man.

I always believe that people resign from their managers and not from their companies. The company may be giving them financial rewards but if they are not happy with their bosses, they’ll resign and no one can hold them. That’s the reason why HR would normally conduct an exit interview in order to know the reason why an employee is leaving the company. In lay mans term, exit interview is like an AUTOPSY of a dead body. We try to find out the cause of death so that we can implement ways in order to avoid the same mistakes in the future.

I would usually tell people to ‘Suck it up!’ (Forgive me for using the term twice) because you may leave your diva of a boss but there’s no guarantee that you won’t encounter another diva boss in your next company. You can never control who your boss and the way he treats you. However, you can control your reaction to him and the things he does to you. In an ideal working environment the boss and his people work well. However in the real world, you can just hope that the manager that you are working for is not diva. You don’t have to like your boss too. It’s better if you get along well with him but you don’t necessarily have to like him. Per experience, Arab bosses particularly the Saudis are kinder than their Filipino counterpart. I’ve worked in the Philippines before and I’ve encountered not just diva but devil bosses. Its okay if they treat you badly and you’re well compensated but that’s not the case in Philippine setting. Here in KSA, I can only count on the instances where there encounter diva bosses and they’re generally Jordanians (Palestinian originally), Egyptians or Lebanese.

There are people in our organization who were STUCK with no prospect of being promoted. I’ll discuss more about them in my next postings. Most of them have encountered diva managers. Most of them suck it up, stayed in the company and saw how their diva bosses were fired. Yes, the cruel and the tyrants do not last long our company. The owners have their ways of finding out.

A feather in a cap or just another headache?

As part of the strategic communications plan of our company, an intranet portal for our group was identified. An intranet portal pops up every time we open our PCs kaya lang it’s not ours. Hindi sa amin but it’s owned by our publicly listed company. We really don’t have anything to do with their intranet portal except to click on the link whenever we file for a leave and vacation. When the project was identified, my boss designated me as the Project Coordinator for the Group’s Intranet Project.

I wasn’t too happy when I was designated as the Project Coordinator for the Intranet project since it means another big responsibility and it’s not even included in my KPIs. For a company whose performance management program is KPI based talo ka talaga kasi all your hardwork will not be noticed. It will not even be indicated or included in your Job description.

I’ve always been identified by the functional heads in our company whenever there’s a special project that needs to be done. I know the hard work that intranet project entails since I’ve also been through a lot with being the Project Coordinator for other special projects before i.e. the Corporate Website, Real Estate Website and the Career Portal. It would have been great if that’s the only thing I do but I also have several HR tasks such as Recruitment, Training and Development and other HR Projects.

It took at least two years for the project to be realized. We begun by identifying intranet developers and we end up with a company in India called AS. Wag ismulin because AS provides services to US based intranet developers. Wais na itong mga US based companies, they’ll outsource the development in India and charge their clients in the States twice or thrice as much. We decided to just contact AS directly to save cost. We’ve also decided on the intranet structure, design and then the content. The easiest thing to do is filling in the content.

Last Sunday, I was so happy to learn that the intranet project is almost over. We’ve made progress and we even set the launching date on 26 July 2010. My hard work was not put into waste and I can finally see my baby. I also thought that my project based work will be over. However, my boss decided to nominate me as the intranet administrator (nagtitipid sa manpower?). I underwent to a one (1) day intensive administrator’s training with the intranet consultants. I can’t back out any more. The consultants told me that being an intranet admin is a full time job and they think that I should be rewarded financially. A friend of mine said to brush off any negative thoughts and think that it’s another feather in a cap. Sagot ko naman ‘Another feather in a cap or just another headache? I need cash for goodness sake!’

Strengthening the OFW Families: Stronger Homes for a Stronger Nation

I received an invitation from Kenjee Solis to blog about this year’s PEBA theme. I don’t normally write about themed topics because I am not comfortable being constrained and restricted to the topic. The theme ‘Strengthening the OFW Families: Stronger Homes for a Stronger Nation’ however, is very ironic that I think it merit my two cents of ‘binag-binag’.

‘Eyebrows down please’. Yes, walang taasan ng kilay ha? Being an OFW for almost a decade means I’ve seen the realities of life. It’s a known fact that most of OFW families ended up in broken homes. The reality is that distance really makes hearts forget. Filipino couples or at least one of the parent decides to work abroad and become OFW in order to support the growing needs of the family. Although the idea and intent of going abroad may be ideal but the realities are different. Temptations are everywhere and they’re like thief in the night, they’ll strike you when you’re vulnerable, when you’re lonely. We often see men or women engaging into elicit affairs and they ended up forgetting the reasons why they work abroad in the first place. That’s why I find this year’s theme ironic.

I think the only way that could strengthen the Filipino family is when our government decides to curtail the deployment of OFWs. Studies from various media and pressure groups showed that broken families are more prevalent in OFW families. Our country could not achieve stronger families when most of the OFW families are casualties of broken homes. You can’t blame the couples since if for example the husband works outside the country, he’ll only get to see his family once in every two years. He’ll only stay with his family for 30 to 60 days. That is not enough to rekindle the ties between husbands and wives and their children whose mode of communications are only through phone calls, SMS and internet access. The worst thing is when the husband will only be viewed by his wife and children as the source of money (provider) and not as a parent.

So, can our government in the short term stop sending its people abroad? I guess not because of the impact that our OFWs contribute to the Philippine economy. In the absence of quality goods for export they (our government) think that exporting its people instead is best the short term solution. Ever wonder why we were never affected the economic crisis that hit the world? It’s because of the billions of dollars sent by OFWs and that sustained us.

Nonoy Hapon 1977 – 2010

The past week has been hectic. I’m sure every one of you knows that when the Month of Ramadan is coming, most of us are in rush. Its given na kasi na wala walaan talaga mga tao sa office pag Ramadan. The month of Ramadan for all is generally the month where you can be excused for being lazy. You can technically show up in the office and do nothing the whole day. The working hours are shorter and very conducive to tamad tamaran.


Aside from being really busy, last week has been tough for me emotionally. I still could not digest the bad news that I received from Iloilo last 5 July 2010. An email from my sister says that my first cousin Nonoy Hapon died. We call him Nonoy Hapon because he looks like a Jap. We were born on the same year and I could say that we’re pretty close because we were raised together in the same compound. According to my Uncle, he just collapsed (at 11:00AM) and died right there and then. He was rushed to the hospital but they could not resuscitate him. The attending physician who knew him very well said that he was suffering from type 2 diabetes. The family never knew his illness because he hid it from the family. They’ve observed that he abruptly lost weight (He was gaining weight since 2000). The physician also told the family that he was dehydrated due to excessive dieting. May tubig din daw ang kanyang lungs. I don’t know how the physician found out. I didn’t ask Uncle because I can’t ask them properly. I was still in shock from disbelief. Even now, I still could not believe it. We’re of the same age, bata pa, yet nabawian na ng buhay.

‘MAISOG’ that’s the best way to describe Nonoy Hapon. He’s fearless as a child and even more when he was a young adult. I really feel sorry for the family that he left behind. His wife and child will have difficulty in surviving because he was after all a bread winner. It’s shocking for our cousins too since he’s the first one to die.

To Nonoy Hapon, where ever you are, may your soul rest in peace.

Hong Kong - where east meets west

Every time I went home to spend my annual vacation, my mom would tell me that her Kumares (old friends and co teachers) would always mention Hong Kong in their conversations. They’d always make sure that their Hong Kong trips would be mentioned even if it’s out of the topic. My mom couldn’t say anything since she hasn’t been to Hong Kong. She’d heard about it from her friends and our neighbors who worked as DH there. So, she’d always feel OP (out of place) in their conversations.

That’s the reason why I decided to save enough money this year so that I’ll be able to fund my Mom’s first overseas trip in Hong Kong. I don’t want to have regrets in the future so this trip is not just for my Mom’s happiness but also for my peace of mind. As old people would always say, “we have to show how we feel to our love ones while they’re still in this world”.

Of course, it’s not easy to prepare for your first trip abroad. My mom has to apply for a passport. Applying for a passport entails a lot of steps too. You have must have an NBI clearance, an authenticated birth certificate and marriage certificate. I nagged my mom so she would file for an NBI clearance. Her first try failed because instead of filing for the Green NBI clearance for abroad, she filed for the Gold, and that’s for local employment I think. I’ve learned that nowadays, passport applications at the DFA require appointment. DFA will never entertain individuals without a prior appointment except of course if you’re a senior citizen. My mom’s a senior citizen so she was accorded special attention. When my mom thought that nothing could go wrong, she was in for a big surprised. She almost fainted when she claimed her passport because her family name was misspelled. They traced the spelling mistake and the culprit was her marriage license. She never thought that her marriage certificate which was filed more than 40 years ago would haunt her.

Well it’s too late to correct the misspelled family name in her passport. They’ve scheduled her flight on the 10th of July 2010. Whether the document is misspelled or not, it’s a legal and valid Philippine document. I told mom to just renew her passport the moment she comes back from Hong Kong.

My mom’s a former Grade School Principal with more than 20 years of experience as a classroom teacher before her promotion. She’s very strict when it comes to spelling. I know how she feels when people misspelled her family name. I was mad as hell when I learned that her family name was misspelled in her passport. Remember, we share the same family name.

New Dawn of Phil Politics Daw?

Enough of politics already! I told myself at least for an hour. LOL. I can’t promise not to write nasty things about our recently installed ‘Special’ President. I know that 40% of Pinoys are happy while the remaining 60% (who did not vote for P-AbNoynoy) are cursing bitterly. I just don’t know how ABiaS CBN can sustain the image and popularity of P-AbNoynoy. In the end, people will remember the president for his performance and not his popularity. Popularity is a myth. Corporation or Oligarch media can make a person popular or infamous. The best example of this is Willie Revillame who really thought that he is popular and powerful. He did not realize that without the backing of the powerful ABiaS CBN, he’s nothing. Claudine Barreto thought that she’s the Philippines’ sought after Drama Queen. She jumped ship and moved to the rival GMA 7 only to realize that she’s nothing without ABiaS CBN’s Star Magic. She believed the lie of popularity that her network made her to believe. Her new weekly miniseries doesn’t even rate. It’s the same popularity that AbNoynoy’s think tank (People behind AbNoynoy’s presidency) wants P-AbNoynoy to believe. I hope that when reality sinks in, he’ll be able to pick up the pieces and just work hard in order to prove to the 40% of Pinoys who voted for him that he deserved to be in Malacañang.
The Political Guru Emile Jurado said that P-AbNoynoy shouldn’t have worn the Yellow Barong Tagalog. I haven’t watched the Inauguration yet so I can’t confirm if indeed P-AbNoynoy wore yellow. P-AbNoynoy should realize that he’s not anymore a Presidential Candidate. He’s already the president of the reds, whites, blues and yellows. We Pinoys are diverse and he should be able to unite us all. Unfortunately, like his mother, he only has hatred and vindictiveness in his heart. There will be no reconciliation in the next 6 years of the P-AbNoynoy’s administration.

So mga kabayan, as I’ve written in my previous postings. Brace yourself for more of P-AbNoynoy’s blunder and even more for his little sister Tetay’s antics. The Kamag Anak Inc, the Corrupt Hyatt 10, the party of the Balimbings LP, the Trapo Franklin Drilon, and many more will surely make our 6 years in P-AbNoynoy’s presidency exciting.

Tired of Tetay?

30 June 2010 would have been P-AbNoynoy’s day but guess what? Tetay, the presidential sister and the virtual first lady made another pasabog. She told the Filipino people that she and her husband James are separated. Of course, kung before there’s this ‘Mom’ said this or ‘Mom’ said that, ngayon the word is ‘Ate’. For a 40 year old adult to always base her decisions on what her ‘Ate’ told her is just too immature. She said that mananahimik na siya but her silence pala is telling the whole world that she and her husband are separated.

As an HR practitioner, I can really see what’s in Tetay’s mind. She gets sick if she’s not the center of attention. It’s the classic Tetay who would always steal the show. Sa nasabi ko na nga it’s P-AbNoynoy’s day and he should be in the limelight. Pero anong magagawa natin, nagkakasakit si Tetay kung hindi siya ang center of attention. That prompted her to do these antics.

I’m sure sawang sawa na kayo but brace yourself! Hindi pa nga nakakapag simula at hindi pa umuupo si P-AbNoynoy ganito na. How much more kung nasa pwesto na ang equally abnormal niya ring kapatid?

Tetay should really count her blessings. She has the money, fame and good looking husband. She should be thankful that even though she’s old, losyang at kahit hindi siya desenteng babae, James Yap married her. To be grateful to James Yap, she should honor her vows to him.

Was PGMA unfairly treated by the Media?

My friend and I debated the question whether PGMA was unfairly treated by the Media. My answer would be ‘YES’. The media was not very kind to her. They were so harsh to her even though the accusations that they’ve been throwing are recycled accusations without any evidence. ABiaS CBNs desire to bring down PGMA in a way affected how other countries perceived the Philippines. If you watch ABiaS CBN shows you’ll think that our country is the worst country in the world. The exaggerated and irresponsible reporting of these Oligarch owned media does not help in shaping our image abroad. Filipinos who live outside the Philippines for years are even afraid to go back home for the reason that they fear for their lives.

I don’t think that ABiaS CBN was able to bring down Gloria (she’s still standing) but they were successful in painting the grim picture of our country. The fact that our country was able to withstand the economic slowdown means that something good was done all along. We’re lucky that our financial system is well in placed. God knows kung anong kahirapan ang ating makakamtan kung dinanas natin ang nadanasan ng ibang bansa. The media still believes that good news doesn’t sell so they did all they could in order to bring down Gloria. The only explanation of their hatred to Gloria is that these media organizations are owned by the Oligarchs. They’d protect their investments first and foremost. They themselves do not believe in their slogan ‘Panig sa Bayan, Panig sa Katotohanan’. For them, it’s their business interest first before anything else.

That’s why in the later part of PGMAs term, she never failed to remind people of her achievements. Her critics belittled her achievements. Well, they’re entitled to voice their opinion but they can never deny her achievements. The media is not supportive of her so how else can she tell people of her achievements other than telling them herself. History will judge her kindly.

To PGMA, Thank you very much at Maraming Salamat, Madam President!

P-AbNoynoy and the Kamag Anak, Inc.

The problem with AbNoynoy or P-AbNoynoy as he wants to be called is that he can be manipulated easily by people around him. The sad part is that he doesn’t even know it. The Yellow Zombies (yes we call them zombies because they blindedly supported P-AbNoynoy just because he’s the son of Tita Cory and Ninoy) and P-AbNoynoy are manipulated by the Kamag Anak Inc, the corrupt Hyatt 10 and the party of balimbings LP for their selfish reasons. I pity AbNoynoy for the unforeseen incidents in the future. These opportunistic people around him might drop him like a hot camote. I’m not saying that it’s going to be Dinky Soliman ha? Of course, there was a time when she said she’d support PGMA then after 1 week, she ditched her. I’m not also saying that it’s going to be butod Franklin Drilon, who also ditched PGMA for his selfish desire of becoming the Vice President, in case PGMA resigns.

Media and critic would always give the newly installed president the 100 day honeymoon period. As much as they want to, they’ll stop themselves from criticizing the president. Some however, particularly the militants say that the 100 days honeymoon period is a myth. People say what they want to say anyway. I don’t think that the 100 days honeymoon period can stop us from criticizing the newly installed clown at the Malacañang.

Some of the political commentators have predicted the drastic decrease in P-AbNoynoy’s approval ratings in the first two months of his administration. The reason given by them is that P-AbNoynoy was elected in the premise and the promise that he’ll prosecute corrupt public officials and solve poverty. He was likened to Barack Obama who was swift to power because of his campaign for change. Fast-forward and look at what Barack Obama has done to the U.S. He became a hostage to the system and was always forced to negotiate and compromise in order for his priority bills to be passed. People are now weary of him. In fact, the Tea Party is blatantly challenging him in their sorties. So, as the political pundits have said, P-AbNoynoy will be sorry. He’ll end up like his predecessors who were constantly barraged with criticisms even if they mean well. He’ll also be sorry because once the spotlight is focused on him, he’ll have to endure the pain and embarrassment that his predecessors have gone through. Siguro, he’ll say ‘PGMA, I feel your pain’, but not openly admitting it of course.

I will never support P-AbNoynoy’s administration since like his mother, P-AbNoynoy is also vindictive. Their hearts are full of hatred. P-AbNoynoy will never be able to heal the wounds of the two successive EDSA Revolutions and political divide because he never called for reconciliation. He, like his mother will only devote his time and term in prosecuting his enemies. It only divided our already divided nation. It never occurred to him that he’s a minority president. Only 40% of the Filipinos voted for him. The least that he could do is to call for the support of the 60% of Filipinos who did not vote for him. If he won’t call for reconciliation and unity, I bet that the 60% of Filipinos who did not vote for him would automatically become his critics.

As to the influence that his sisters and Kamag Anak Inc., over him, it’s quite scary since Balsy vowed that she’ll influence P-AbNoynoy in whatever way she can. Remember, we did not vote for her but she vowed that she’ll do all she can to influence P-AbNoynoy in the decision making process. It’s also scary that Pepeng Cojuanco, the crocodile brother of Tita Cory is also very visible these days. He was responsible to junking KuriMar Roxas in favor of the Yellower Jojo Binay. The scariest of them all is Tony Boy Cojuanco who invested Php. 100 Million pesos in P-AbNoynoy’s campaign. Maniniwala ba kayo sa kung sasabihin niyang walang kabayaran ang investment niya?

Kaya mga kabayan, maging mapagmatyag. Nasa huli ang pagsisisi. You’ll wake up one day realizing that the person who promised to eradicate corruption has sold you already in favor of his Kamag Anak Inc and cronies.

Happy Father’s Day ‘DAD’

I’m still touchy every time there’s special celebration like Father’s day. It’s not the reason why I was delayed in posting this subject though. I’ve been through a lot of pressure these days due to several training programs, the corporate intranet project, regular workload and several project based work. Going back, I just can’t help being touchy since I have been without a father for 6 years to be exact.

Yeah, you’re right, an adult man like me should have moved on … but I can’t! Who could? I guess if your Dad passed away, you can’t forget him too. There’s that invincible thread that binds the father and child. Last year, I told my Mom that my greatest regret is not being able to spoil my Dad while he was still alive. If he’s still alive today I would have given him everything that can make him happy. Mom said that I’ve given my all and Dad knows that I love him that is the most important. She also told me not to have any regrets since ‘asta didto na lang ang iya nga kabuhi’.

Life was tough for the whole family before Dad died. We were overburdened by debt because of his sickness. I was only earning a reasonable income then and all of it were spent buying his medicine and pay for the hospital bill. We were devastated by his death and it took us a couple of years to finally recover both financially and emotionally.

I still miss Dad especially if things are tough at work. I’m not saying that I can’t defend myself. I am a survivor and I’m very capable of defending myself. It’s different when you miss someone you love. My father was always a reassuring figure in my life. I’ve failed several times but he welcomes me back with open arms, without questions asked.

Dad, where ever you are, Happy Father’s day. Kag as always, sa mga ga kontra sa akon, kabay pa nga magabaan mo sila!

Tetay behind the Boy Abunda for DOT Secretary Brouhaha

To all the Pinoys out there especially to those who voted for AbNoynoy Aquino, YOU DESERVE THE GOVERNMENT THAT YOU ELECT, that includes the ‘Salingpusa’ and the Kamag Anak Inc. Tetay’s meddling with the government affairs is just a sample of what the AbNoynoy Aquino government will be. You may rejoice now because you felt that you’ve successfully depicted PGMA as the devil and others even went out of their way to discredit the achievements of the Arroyo Admin over the promise of AbNoynoy’s presidency. Ang masasabi ko lang, the Arroyo Admin have its share of ups and down but you can never deny the fact that they’ve performed way above the expectations of their detractors. The fact that our country was able to survive the global financial meltdown means that something must have been right all along. Another thing, wala pang napatunayan ang AbNoynoy Administration, ni hindi pa nga siya nakapanumpa sa Barangay Captain. Magtrabaho muna siya bago siya mamuna. Dapat may mapatunayan muna bago pumutak ang bibig. I’ve heard that tulo laway yata siya tuwing may anxiety attack.

Let me just say that I am not questioning the qualifications of Boy Abunda. He’s probably one of the brightest Pinoy in showbiz. But being intelligent and popular in showbiz does not mean he has the ability to run a government agency like the DOT. I am very bothered by the influence that Tetay has on her brother. If Tetay can influence and manipulate AbNoynoy, surely the TRAPOS (like the Hyatt 10, Yellow Army and the Kamag Anak, Inc.) will have an easy ride.

So people of the Filipinas, brace yourself, we’re in for a deep SHIT.

US warned RP to be cautious in dealing with PRC

The United States is apparently threatened by the stronger ties that our country has with China. US Ambassador Harry Thomas was quoted as saying that our relationship with PRC should be transparent. Well, look who’s talking now! The Ambassador thinks that China has the intentions of fooling us and we should be very afraid. Why won’t the good Ambassador give the same advice to his country? We have been fooled, insulted, killed, embarrassed, peddled, pimped, etc., by America. The list of the abuses that the Americans directed to us could go on and they’re all negative. If we’re not allied to the Americans, we would not have suffered death and destructions especially during the World War 2. Until now, the influence of America is very apparent. The recently concluded Presidential Elections, the manipulations of the PCOS machines (the e-garci scandal) were concocted by the CIA so that can install a mediocre leader that they could easily influence.


Ever wonder why we can’t change our constitution? It’s because of the American influence. They would never allow us to shift to parliamentary system because they will continue to insist on the Presidential system. For them the presidential system is their legacy to us. Yeah right, it’s a legacy for us to remain forever poor and forever corrupt. Believe me, even AbNoynoy Aquino would not be able to correct the system. He’ll be swallowed by it and believe me again, he’ll stand down a broken man. Nobody could fight that system not unless we change the system itself. The bad news is, we’re stuck because America would not allow it. They’ll fund people to rally at the EDSA. Di ba mga ipokritong mga Pari, Obispo at ang equally ipokrita at malditang mga Madre?

America did not forgive PGMA for pulling out our troops in Iraq. They were mad when PGMA visited China and vowed for stronger relations right after pulling our troops in Iraq. The CIA of course is responsible for the Hello Garci fiasco. They did it in order to embarrass PGMA and they want her removed from power. They want somebody whom they can dictate. Where else would those people who hacked and tapped the phone lines of Malacañang get that kind of technology when even AFP don’t have that.

Bakit? You may wonder why? We’re a third world country? Why the interest? It’s because China is poise to be the largest trading partner of the Philippine in the next couple of years. The Philippine Islands is also a strategic location because of its proximity to the South China Sea. If we remain America’s ally, they could bully us so that we’ll allow their troops stay in our country. They were officially kicked by us but they instead instituted the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) so they can stay. I tell you, whoever seats in the Malacañang could not fight the American agenda. Who could fight them? Or else it’s like saying goodbye to the American aid.

I am not saying that China’s intention is very pure but can’t we determine our relationships with other country for ourselves? We’re a sovereign country Ambassador Harry Thomas! We’re not a colony of America, although your treatment to us says otherwise.

Boy Abunda for First Lady?

AbNoynoy Aquino is considering appointing Boy Abunda in a cabinet position. For those who are blinded by the yellow color, believe me, this is politics and it’s now payback time. The supporters of AbNoynoy’s true colors are finally coming up in the open. Lumalabas na rin talaga ang kakapalan ng mukha! The Butod Frank Drilon is salivating of the prospect of more pork barrel for his fat belly to grow even bigger and to moisten his lips. Kung sa Filipino para masebohan naman ang kanyang labi. Even the ambitious Mr. Sharon Cuneta (I’m sure you will agree that without his wife , Kiko Pangilinan is nothing) aspires to become senate president na rin! LP doesn’t even have enough votes in the Senate for their nominee to become a senate president.


Alright! Boy Abunda has the qualifications but appointing him to a top cabinet position is just way too low even for a traditional politician like AbNoynoy Aquino. Yes, you heard me right, AbNoynoy Aquino is trapo. His campaign used all the rules there is in the book for a politician to be considered as a Trapo. This is what you called patronage politics. Boy Abunda helped him because of the former’s close relationship with AbNoynoy’s sister, Tetay. He is also the godfather of Tetay’s abnormal son, Josh. Don’t be surprised, being abnormal runs in the family.

Yesterday I’ve heard that Boy Abunda refused the cabinet position that AbNoynoy Aquino offered to him because he’s keener on accepting the First Lady position LOL. Well, bad luck for him, the position is already filled as Tetay is the virtual first lady. Kidding aside, Boy Abunda would have to sacrifice his income, and when I say income, we’re talking about millions here. We all know that government positions do not pay well. That’s the excuse why they say politicians are tempted to do corrupt practices. Well, at least Boy Abunda has the decency to refuse the position offered to him.

Saudi Embassy Memo on Third Sex

Last Thursday, I received the Saudi Embassy Memo on Third Sex from a forwarded email by ISD, our Philippine Agent in Manila. I wasn’t at all surprised because I’m working in Human Resources Department. The memo of the Saudi Embassy in Manila is not new to us all. It’s just a reminder because apparently, some of the companies and their respective agencies have forgotten the rules. It’s given that homosexuality is forbidden in the Islamic religion. Our company has kept its mouth shut on this issue because we have people who are openly gay in our organization. Some of them are occupying executive and managerial positions down to administrative and clerical level.

Nobody has the right to question this Saudi ruling not even the militants and the irresponsible media like the ABiaS CBN. Protesting to this ruling only means that they’re ignorant of the fact that Saudi Arabia is an Islamic country. Their jurisprudence, laws and culture do not tolerate homosexuality. People have the choice whether or not they’d like to work in Saudi Arabia. If they choose to work here, they should abide by the rules.

I think the new rule is just for effeminates and openly gay people because there’s no use in typecasting and stereotyping them. It’s subjective to identify gay people basing on how they look. Believe it or not, gay people have mutated through time. Nowadays, you would see Metrosexuals or the Paminta (pa-men). They’re not the stereotypical gay people so how can the job interviewers and even the Embassy officials know that they’re not gay?

As I’ve said, the new rules is probably only for effeminates and screaming gay people. You may disagree with me but there are times that gay people in Al Khobar are already too much. Their hairs are dyed, faces with tons of foundations. There are even those whose faces are hyper pigmented because of too much use of maxi peel. Some of them are too loud and are attracting undue attentions not just from the fellow kabayans, Saudis, but the mutawas as well. Iyong nakakabastos na pagmumukha na ba. You can be gay and keep a low profile.

Would I still hire gay people? Well, as an HR Professional, I would still base my assessment on the competency of the candidate over his sexual orientation. I just would like to be assured though that he’ll behave properly in the office. I’d like to see his face first before I can pass my judgment.

Sex Education in Public Schools System

The outgoing administration of PGMA finally has the balls to impose initially, to 59 Public Schools the Sex Education Curriculum. Unfortunately, they’re running out of time since this program could still be vetoed by the incoming AbNoynoy Administration. We’ll keep our finger’s cross that AbNoynoy will not bow down to the pressures of the hypocrites from the CBCP.

According to the spokesperson of CBCB, another hypocrite Pedro Quitorio, they’ll do everything they can to stop the implementation of the government program because it will just poison the minds and morals of our youth. I don’t really agree with the arguments of the Catholic Church since it’s as archaic as their church. It’s as if they’re still living in the times of kupong kupong. We’re already in the 21st century and our culture has been influenced by the western countries. The minds of our children have already been corrupted and it’s about time that our government should step in. Previous administrations, except during the time of President Ramos, have vowed down to the pressures of the CBCP. The result of that is the ballooning population of 96 Million Filipinos.

It’s easy for the CBCP to say they’re against the Sex Education Curriculum because in reality they don’t feed the children who were born out of wedlock due to pre marital sex (PMS). In fact, they’re the beneficiary of the ballooning population since it’s an additional income for them. Imagine expecting 10 million newly born children per year means more baptismal ceremonies. CBCP, the Universal Church and even the lowly priests are preaching that sex education is endangering the minds of our youth and they’re also against the reproductive health bill. The reason why our priests have illegitimate children because they head to the teachings of the Church not to use condoms!

It is better that the sexual education is taught in our schools, from the responsible teachers and not from irresponsible and more graphic sources such as the internet. We’ve been kids once in our lives and believe me, it’s difficult to fight with our libido and raging hormones!

The overly ambitious Mar...

The reason why Mar Roxas lost, although the official canvass of the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates has yet to be started, is that he’s bastos! Remember the time when he said bad things against PGMA in a Makati Rally? Filipinos do not tolerate bastos! They also do not tolerate people who say bad things to their bosses. Especially because people know that he is only doing that in order to secure votes. That’s what our culture is, we don’t tolerate ingrates and Mar Roxas is an ingrate with a capital I. We also do not tolerate people who are overly ambitious. Mar Roxas is overly ambitious and even resorted to asking the hands of Korina Sanchez just so people would vote for him. Unfortunately for him, Korina Sanchez’s name is already tarnished because of her credibility issues. The fact that she’s working for ABiaS CBN says it all. It also didn’t help that the BPCI, owned and operated by the Aranetas choose to dethrone M.V.R. People particularly in the Bicol Region did not forgive the Aranetas and Mar Roxas for that. Mar Roxas was also over confident of winning the VP race that he failed to check that his lead in the survey’s are the bubbles that eventually burst.

There were also reports that he was junk by the Yellow Army (people who benefited from the Cory Aquino Presidency, Kamang Anak Inc., The Corrupt and Trapos – Hyatt 10 and the No. 1 Trapo the butod Franklin Drilon) because he’s not yellow enough. If you see the campaign photos, you’ll see that Mar Roxas is wearing blue instead of yellow. Anyways, what Abnoynoy and KuriMar had was a marriage of convenience; it’s doomed from the very beginning. Mar Roxas may be offered a cabinet position after the 1 year ban but he’s political career, from my stand point is OVER!

Dealing with difficult Manager

I come across a very interesting thought provoking topic in one of the professional networking sites that I am a member of. It asked “What would you do if you were told by your subordinate that you’re a difficult manager and that if ever he leaves the organization, you would be the reason?” The poster also added that he believes that he’s the best manager ever and that he thinks that maybe his staff would only like him to do the things that they want.

Here’s my answer W.A.B’s question:

“It’s difficult for us to say whether we’re a good manager or not. All Managers has different style of leadership and different ways of motivating people. In a business standpoint, a good manager is somebody who is able to achieve the task or target without compromising the morale of his people. Employees leave the organization for many reasons and having a difficult manager is just one of them. However, if an employee has no other job prospects or if he’s a family man and can’t compromise his stable income, he’s likely to stay. The only draw back is that he will only give you a mediocre job performance. It’s his way of getting back to his mean manager.”

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In HR we are often asked for advice on how to deal with difficult managers. Our advice is standard. You don’t have to like your manager. If you and your manager get along very well then that’s ideal. However, in a real workplace, you have to brace yourself with a difficult and even mean manager. You have to deal with them whether you like it or not. You may leave your current organization but it’s possible that you’ll encounter another mean and difficult manager in your new organization. You just have to deal with it and you shouldn’t let this affect you.

I’ve seen people being fired not because they’re incompetent but because they could not get along well with their managers. The saddest part is, HR has only a recommendatory role, lay out all the legalities and technicalities but we could not impose our will. In case of termination, we can only hope that it will be vetoed by the Managing Director. Of course, the case of a lowly employee more often than not, would not even reach the MD’s office. Petty cases are not escalated to MD’s Office, we all know that for a fact.