City of Gold – Flooded

I am not a fan of watching Filipino TV for obvious reasons that they’re biased, they have no worthwhile programs, and they dwell too much on sensationalism.  By saying that, I think you’ve already guessed that I’m referring to the Oligarch owned ABiaS CBN.  That’s the reason why my first awareness of what happened in CDO comes from Al Jazeera English.  Marga Ortigas reported the damage and the rising death toll of the tropical storm Sendong that ravaged the country.

The first person I can think of when I heard the news is my friend Erwin.  He went for his annual vacation last 1 December and he’ll be staying there for 30 days or until after the New Year’s holiday.  I waited for 2 days for Erwin to be online but I was out of luck.  Yesterday, I became worried so I posted a message in his FB wall, asking if his family is okay.  Luckily, he replied and said that they’re okay.  The flood did reach them but only on the knee length.  Their major concern was the cleanup, the stinky surrounding and the mud.

I asked Erwin whether they’d still celebrate Christmas despite what happened.  He says that his family decided that Christmas will push through regardless of the damage that the flooding caused.  This year though, it would be celebrated low key and his family will attend a Eucharistic celebration.  He is thankful that there was no casualty in his family.

The Sendong flooding was not the first time that CDO was flooded.  About two years ago, while my youngest brother was still studying there, all his belongings were also swift away by the flooding.  When a city is flooded, there’s a big chance that it’ll be flooded again in the future.  I’m not going to blame the people from CDO and its city government but they should’ve been prepared for the worst.  Unfortunately for the 1,000+ people, it’s too late for them.  They’ve already lost their lives, they’re dead.  The surviving families could only cry because they did not only lost one or two of their loved ones, they’ve also suffered great loss in their properties.

The NASA has warned the Philippine government of the Ondoy like rains in Mindanao but they did not heed the advice of NASA.  The President was even partying while people in CDO are dying.  It took him three days to make an appearance, as always, the president is the last person to arrive in the disaster area.  PGMA has been demonized and called names but no one can deny that she had the balls.  She showed to the rest of the country that during calamities, she’s there to support and comfort her people.  People in Malacanang are now red faced because of the embarrassment that Abnoy is doing to the presidency as an institution, partying while people are dying. 

Our president should be start being the father of the nation.  People are dying but he can only think of his vindictiveness towards his perceived enemies.  Not even Sendong or the Christmas holiday can stop him.  But how can you expect a bachelor who can’t even make a serious commitment with a woman be the father of a nation?  I say, too bad for Filipino people who did not vote for him.  It’s also worst for those people who voted for him.  President Abnoy’s partying while people are suffering is, the only think I can think of, is that’s too much insensitivity. 

Thank you list

Christmas nowadays (and in the Philippines) is too commercialized.  In a way, it is better that I live here in an Islamic country where Christmas is not openly celebrated.  It’s the only way I think to really celebrate the season in reflection and thanksgiving. 

My relatives would often ask how we celebrate Christmas in Saudi Arabia.  I tell them that we do away with extravagance and just enjoy the season.  It’s ironic since while we’re in a restricted environment, it is here where we truly understand the significance of the event.  If you are not anymore focused on receiving gifts and spending money to buy them, you’ll come into realization that they’re not really necessary in the celebration.

I’ve learned that doing away with extravagant spending and too much fanfare is good for one’s soul.  Christmas after all is about celebrating the birth of Christ.  It’s time for soul searching and counting your blessings.  This year, I will not have a Christmas list.  Instead, I have a thank you list.

1.       Good Health.  I thank God for giving me good health this year.  Last year was the worst year but He healed me.

2.       Family.  I thank God for giving me a caring and loving family.  I know that no matter what will happen they’ll always be there for me.  I love them for that.

3.       Good Boss.  I thank God for giving me an opportunity to work with the best boss in the world, HSS.  I look forward to working full time with EMF next year.

4.       Promotion.  I thank God for another blessing that I never expected. 

5.       Good Friends.  I thank God for giving me friends who never fails to support me.  I will not mention their names because they already know who they are.  I love you guys.

6.       Good Colleagues.  I thank God for giving me good work environment and colleagues.  Please bless too.

7.       Blessings.  I thank God for all the blessings. 

I’m very thankful for all the blessings that I receive this year.  I am forever grateful. 

Merry Christmas everyone!

CJ Corona impeached!

Jailing his predecessor is the only concern of the current administration headed by President Abnoy.  For him, the Supreme Court CJ is the hindrance of his ultimate goal.  So, after ranting and spewing bad words against CJ Corona at the MBC and the first Criminal Justice Summit, and after blaming the Supreme Court for the dismal economic performance, his alipores in the House of Representatives had just impeached the CJ.

Atty. Midas Marquez earlier said in a press briefing that the house was cooking an impeachment complaint against the CJ.  What the SC people heard was true.  It was reported that the House Speaker, Sonny Belmonte sent a text message to President Abnoy saying that the impeachment complaint was already sent to the Senate.  Abnoy just sent back a thank you note. 

The House of Representatives (representa – thieves) is always a kiss ass of the seating president.  It’s because these representatives needs their pork barrel allocation.  They’ve always been controlled by Malacaṅang, whoever is in power.  The question is, can Abnoy’s alipores in Senate muster enough votes to impeach CJ Corona?  The Senate has been known to be independent from the tenants of Malacaṅang.  As they say, all Senators are potential Presidentiables.  Most of them, except for the kiss asses like Pangilinan and the Sebo Sebo Drilon will definitely not vote for it.  I admit that an impeachment complaint is a political process and thus, whoever has the numbers, wins.

Abnoy is always ill advised.  He doesn’t know the implications of his actions.  By publicly lashing out the Supreme Court and CJ, now, supporting his ouster through impeachment, he’s undermining our democracy and our democratic institution.  It’s like he’s saying that ‘now that I am in power, I can do anything I want’. 

I am not saying that public officials who have violated the laws of the land shouldn’t be punished.  There should always be due process.  The short cuts that the current administration is doing will compromise our democracy.  Abnoy’s flight is not worth the fight if in return it will lead to constitutional crisis.

Abnoy’s penchant for the CJ can only be traced from the latest SC unanimous decision, the 14-0 votes distributing the Hacienda Luisita to the FWBs.  It’s not anymore about the long addressed accusations of the midnight appointment of the CJ.  Neither it is about former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.  The impeachment of the CJ was done primarily to get back at the SC because of the decision they rendered.  Hacienda Luisita means a lot to the Cojuanco and Aquino family.  To them, Hacienda Luisita means power, money and influence.  The latest Supreme Court ruling would virtually strip them of everything they have.  Worst, it could even impoverish them considering that they have to pay the FWBs billions of pesos aside from distributing their lands.

It’s a sad day for our democracy which my Arab friend said ‘Democrazy’.  But like former PGMA, I still believe in the rule of law.  There’s still hope for our country even if the president is paranoid.  I can only hope that the Senate, except the kiss ass Pangilinan and Drilon, of course, will be fair in handling CJ Corona’s impeachment case.

Ladies on Board!

I attended the presentation of an HR Director in one of our Publicly Listed Companies.  As you know, publicly listed companies are first when it comes to industry best practices.  They should be, and they’re expected to be, precisely because they’re a public company.  His presentation was about the on boarding of women in their organization.

Our HR VP has appointed two ladies to work in our HR Department last year as HR Specialists.  For now they’re on support bases until we moved to our new building, they’ll be full time.  AMG’s plan (I’ll call the HR Director of our public company as AMG), however, is to hire women to work in the production lines.  They will initially be trained to do the routine work in the production line with male supervisors.  Eventually though, they’ll appoint women supervisors specifically for the ladies section.  It’s a grand plan that has been approved already by the public company’s board of director. 

The purpose of his meeting our two women HR Specialists was to roll out the same plan to the Group.  It’s not going to happen anytime soon but the proposal was positively viewed.  If that the plan happens, it’s going to be another success stories in the long history of our Group. 

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Will there be shakeup in the production line once this plan is pushed through?  There will be but it’s not going to be in the near future.  The implementation of the on boarding of women in the production line takes a lot of time and resources.  Resources could mean investing on the new production line, recruitment costs for the women workforce and training costs.  It’s going to be a major challenge.

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Hiring female in our workforce will not address any social ills in the Kingdom of the Sands.  It will though, teach women to be self-sufficient and learn to stand in their own two feet.  They will not anymore rely in their male family member to support them.  It will also not solve the high unemployment rate of women in the Kingdom of the Sands.  I think that issue should be dealt with by the government sector.  What we in the private sector could do though, is to set up a benchmark of the program, a model for other companies in our Group to follow.

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We’re not the first company to hire women in the Kingdom of the Sands but if the plan pushes through, given the go signal of the board of directors, it’s going to be another legacy and success story for our Group.  And it’s going to be an honor to be part of its implementation. 

Mo Twisted, the Kiss and Tell.

Mo Twister in a Video

In the Filipino culture, kiss and tell guys are frowned upon. It’s just not acceptable to tell people what you and your girlfriend did in private. For us, it’s between you and your girl and people should never be told about it. It leaves a bad impression to the guy and sometimes people can be unforgiving.

Mo Twister’s video recently exploded in the social networking sites. In the video he was whispering and confessing that his ex-girlfriend Rhian Ramos aborted her pregnancy. Prior to that revelation, he was tweeting that there’s going to be a very big explosion. The problem with the ex-couple started after a bitter breakup. According to Mo, Rhian was forced to do an abortion to protect her career. He blamed the Rhian’s mother and her home network for the abortion.

My intial reaction to the brouhaha was, “Okay, sino ang mga starlet na ito?” I was never a fan of Mo Twisted because I find him too tsismoso for a guy. Neither am I a fan of Rhian Ramos since I don’t normally watch Filipino TV. That includes ABiaS CBN and GMA Network. Besides, according to the grapevine, Rhian Ramos has no talent. She was just casted in GMA shows because she happens to be the niece of Ida Henares, GMA Artist Center’s big honcho. So, a scandal between the couple did not even elicit any curiosity to me until Mo’s video came out.

What was Mo Twisted trying to prove when he exposed that video? Is he trying to be moral and that he was against abortion? If he’s trying to be moral, they shouldn’t have committed pre-marital sex in the first place. If they did not have sex, they wouldn’t have conceived that fetus that Rhian eventually decided to abort. I think Mo’s primary purpose in leaking the video is to embarrass Rhian Ramos, ruin her career and made her pay for breaking his heart. What he did was so typical of a kiss and tell guy.

What happened between Mo Twisted and Rhian Ramos is not shocking or earth shattering. It happens everywhere and every time in our country, considered as the only Christian nation in Asia. The only thing is, when pregnancy is aborted, the couple wouldn’t say a thing. Of course, they’re afraid of the backlash from holier than thou people in their workplace and respective families.

That’s the reason why I am for the RH bill. People should not be afraid to explore sex because it’s part of being human. People should have a well informed choice so that they will not suffer the consequences. If Mo Twisted and Rhian Ramos used contraceptive when they had sex, they wouldn’t have been confronted with the bigger problem, abortion.

To end, what Mo Twisted (because of his twisted head) did was tasteless and he should be sued for libel. Nobody woman deserved that kind of humiliation. He should have accorded Rhian with the respect he gave to his mother.

Chinese Execution

I know that as Christians we should respect the right to life but we also have rules and laws here on earth that we should follow. In some countries, committing heinous crimes could mean death penalty. Our country has banned the death penalty with finality and there’s no chance that it’s going to be reinstated soon. The Catholic Church is so powerful that it can even dictate politicians on which laws they should pass all in the name that we’re a Christian country. Ironically, we are a Christian nation but we have the worst criminal rate statistics in the world. I think that’s because of the restrictions in our law, particularly on death penalty.

Speaking of death penalty, a Pinoy drug courier who was caught smuggling on 2008 bringing 1.5 kilograms of heroin, is schedules to be executed. Our Foreign Affairs Ministry sent several appeals to the Chinese government to halt the execution. VP Binay even wanted to personally appeal but his pleas were rejected because the Chinese Supreme court has ruled with finality.

This kind of situation has always bothered me every time there’s a Filipino executed abroad. I don’t intend to be rude to the Pinoy who claims to be a victim of the situation. On a general note, though. If a drug courier is caught in our country, chances are, he’s going to be jailed and will be faced with the maximum penalty prescribed in our laws. What is the difference then if a Filipino is caught carrying drugs outside the country? He’s supposed to face the law right? Why is it then that our government officials would go out of their way to help the alleged drug carrier? If the person committed a wrongdoing he should pay for it. The reasons why he did it should not even be dignified. Some would say that they just do it because of poverty.

Poverty should never be used as an excuse to commit crimes. I hailed from the province and have seen what poverty is but poor people in my community lived a decent and dignified life. They do not resort to illegal activities just to feed their families. I could be wrong though; there are poor people in the urban areas who completely forgot propriety because of poverty.

So going back to the execution of a Pinoy drug courier in China, our government should not intervene. There is nothing that they could do because the Chinese Supreme Court has ruled with finality the execution. The only thing that we should do is to help the family repatriate his remains.

Victimized

My friend’s nephew Jong, a newbie in the Kingdom of the Sands was recently victimized by a fellow Kabayan. Last Ramadan (August 2011), he met the Kabayan who was very friendly and kwela. Since he is a newbie in the Kingdom, they instantly became barkada. The Kabayan asked a favor if he can lend Jong’s Driver’s license so he can rent a car. Jong willingly lent his driver’s license without ever doubting the character of Kabayan.

The whole thing was out of his mind. The last thing he learned was that the Kabayan moved to another place. He was just surprised one day when the Car Rental agency called him. The Car rental told him that he should settle his bills. Unknown to him, the Kabayan never surrendered the car and for more than three (3) months did not pay a single halala (cent) to the Car Rental agency. The sad thing is the car was leased to Jong. To the Car Rental agency, Jong is liable to pay the amount.

About two weeks ago, Jong asked me for an advice on how he should deal with his problem. I told him that he should report the matter to the police. The police can track the whereabouts of the car rented should they decide to conduct check points. Besides, the rental will snowball if the matter is not reported to the police. How the hell can Jong a low salaried man afford to pay for the rent? The last figure he gave me was SR. 2,950.00, approximately 3 times the salary he’s receiving monthly.

He asked if I can help in solving his problem which to me is to lend him some money. I however told him that I can only give him words of comfort. Well, I did give him SR. 100.00, something that can make him feel better but I can never give him SR. 2,950.00.

I asked Jong’s uncle if what he’s doing to help the kid out. He was upset about Jong and decided not to talk to him. He says that it’s better than scolding the poor kid who was obviously victimized by that unscrupulous Kabayan.

Last night I was able to chat with Jong on FB and he was still tuliro. Who could blame him? He’s facing the biggest problem of his life. How the hell can he pay that amount? I’ve tried talking to Jong’s uncle that he should be more understanding. It was obviously Jong’s fault for trusting too much without even checking the person’s character. I told him the situation should serve as a lesson to him.