And The Survey Says

In one of the surveys conducted by WR Numero ... masakit sa mata ... at masakit sa damdamin na makita ng sambayanan ang resulta nito. 47% daw ng mga Filipinos ay hindi pabor sa impeachment.

"Ganito na ba ka-duwag ... ganito na ba ka-manhid ... or marami lang talaga ang BOBO within our midst ... or talagang wala silang paki-alam sa politika?" panaghoy ito ng isang political pundit na frustrated na at tila sumusuko na siya sa walang pakialam na attitude ng mga Filipino.

Sabi ng isang kaibigan: "To think na ang 47% na ito ay siyang  nagbenta na kanilang boto tuwing eleksyon ... sila rin yong mga tumanggap ng mga ayuda ... sila rin yong pumipila sa paghingi ng tulong sa mga politiko ... tapos maririnig na lang na hindi sila sangayon na panangutin ang mga nagnakaw sa pera ng bayan at bigyan ng hustisya ang walang konsiyensiyang paglustay ng pera na hindi naman kanila?"

Sabi nga ni Congressman Zia Alonto Adiong ng Lanao del Sur: "Impeachment is a solemn constitutional process based on facts, evidence and the rule of law. The House of Representatives are fulfilling its duty to the Filipino people - panagutin ag may sala ituwid ang mali, at ipagtanggol ang batas."

Oo naman.  Kung ganito pala ang pananaw ng 47% sa atin na okey lang na iwaldas ang pera sa kaban ng bayan ... and the culprits will go scot-free na parang walang nangyari kahit million or billion na ang involved ... where does that lead the Philippines? 

Pakiramdam ko ... ang komposisyon ng 47 % na ito ... sila rin ang mga taong okey lang sa kanila at wala rin silang pakialam kung maging probinsiya tayo ng China ... na okey lang kung binonomba ang ating mga sundalo at barko ng mga coast guard ng kalaban ... at lalong mas okey kung tuluyan ng mawala sa atin ang mga isla sa West Philippine Sea.

The people's apathy (their lack of interest, impassiveness, and indifference) is alarming. Eh kung ganyan na lang ng ganyan ang pananaw ng mga Filipino ... saan na tayo pupulutin? Sa kangkongan?

Malapit na naman ang eleksiyon. Sila na naman ang mga taong buong pusong kukuha ng mga perang nakaipit ... kapalit ng boto nila. 

Basta usapin sa pera ... count me in ang mantra nila. Pero sa usaping impeachment ... iwas pusoy na.

Some Deep Thinking About Smiling Depression

If you are not a keen observer, your family member who is an OFW may be suffering from smiling depression. Especially those working in the Middle East. No offense to them, but let us call a spade a spade. Well even in America we encounter similar situations but not as bad as in ME.

I worked in Kuwait for 10 years, though I made a little breakthrough  (I was assigned to the Staff Development Unit) so the nature of the job is more on orienting new employees and teaching, making seminars, symposiums and continuing education programs  Having done before the nitty-gritty job of kowtowing to fellow colleagues- doctors. surgeons, internists, lab techs, radiologists, nurses, and mostly some obnoxious patients, life is generally hard- having to take care of patients who don't understand you, the culture was different not to mention the language barrier that complicates your every move.

Haven't you noticed your OFW mother or father telling you all the glowing benefits they get working in ME? They always talk about money and the experience they get.  They post photos that show they are happy but haven't you noticed how claustrophobic it feels when their photos are taken only in one setting - more often inside their rooms, their flats, and the lonely desert with camels and lambs in the background.

Did they ever tell you how bad her situation is? Did they ever tell how crippling being alone is and how silence is deafening? Did they ever tell you anything negative about her work, the people he is working with, or how badly his superior treated him badly?  Not with silent depression.

Did they ever tell you the stinging loneliness, that they are homesick, and when it is their day off they make themselves busy by cleaning the flat or washing their clothes just to maintain their sanity? They waste their time and money reaching you through emails, phones, or Skype and you don't even appreciate that because you are going for a date or busy with something else.  

Did you notice how they want to maintain a happy persona when you talk to them via Skype? They want to show you a happy face because they don't want you to sense that they are homesick. But at the back of their mind, they are crying, especially when they sense you get bored with their calls.  You are their lifeline in the Middle East, and here you are showing a deadpan/stoic attitude.

The OFWs are usually the most prone to culture shock because their assignments are of a nature that requires them to travel extensively to foreign countries and live and work with people from different cultures, languages, and backgrounds.  They have problems fitting in.  They are struggling with the language barrier.  They are worried about money management. And they are worried about maintaining their sanity and coping with being alone in a foreign land.

Statistics show a rise in the suicide rate in ME.  And maybe some of the factors are obvious: Victims not knowing they are depressed. or Victims not knowing they need help. And victims not knowing where to ask for help,

So the next time you see a happy face from an OFW ... think again!  If you see unwanted clues and hints of suicide, you need to worry.  That's your mother and father ... remember?

Is The Chocolate Resort an Eyesore?

 

The Chocolate Hills controversy is making a lot of twists and turns. After watching: Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho we learned that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources made a quickie resolution establishing the temporary closure of the resort.

The response of the Captain Peak Resort manager Julieta Sablas gives us a cue that this story will drag on for months or years. When she said they were given approval for the construction of the resort area, I was given the preview that this is going to be a legal battle of the year ... as this will involve more actors in the story - both local or national.

To make matters worse ... when she said:  "Sa lahat po ng mga nag-comment na negative po ... sabihin ko sa inyo, salamat nag-trending ang Captain's Peak Resort. Ang sakit eh. Sasabihin ka na, 'Bakit giniba mo 'yung mga Chocolate Hills diyan sa Bohol?' Wala naman kaming giniba."

Parang sinabi na rin niya na: "Kami ang ginigiba! Interesting! With that said ... I will be watching this story on the sideline expecting more fireworks and pyrotechnics.  The resort's owner has his own story to tell ... and so is the local Bohol government. Expect more collisions when the DENR will flex its legal muscle starting with its Official statement. 

They want to close the resort temporarily ... and their declaration was aimed at preserving the iconic landscape of the Chocolate Hills and promoting sustainable tourism while protecting the biodiversity and environmental integrity of the area,

I need more popcorn in the next weeks to come ... so I can lie on my recliner to savor and enjoy the legal minds battling it out for a primetime showdown.

When Asking A Question Provoke More Follow Up Questions

The Chocolate Hills Resort saga is a tempest in a teacup.  It created a lot of uproar over a matter of great importance. While it is still garden-fresh ... let me take this opportunity to refresh our memory  ... that in 2012 we had the same shade of controversy when Torre de Manila ... due to its proximity to the Rizal monument was considered a disgrace to the memory of our national hero Jose Rizal ... making it a "photobomber" of the sort. 

Several concerned citizens made a Herculean task of halting the construction.  It made a lot of outrage then ... haven't we learned our lesson ...  and we want to revisit another Deja vu story (ala Torre de Manila) by violating and desecrating what was considered the eight wonders of the world?

Now the resort in Chocolate Hills is getting the ire of the netizens and has angered a lot of Filipinos ... more questions arise.  For one ... does the Bohol government (especially the one who signed the permit) have a different interpretation of the laws governing Chocolate Hills as a protected geological monument and a protected landscape?

The construction started in 2018 ... with all the deluge of tourists pouring into Bohol ... not a single whistleblower had sounded any dissent or calls for protest? If it is a protected monument ... why has PAMB (Protected Area Management Board) gave the owners the go-signal to proceed with construction and later the operation of the resort? Why were the owners not reprimanded from the get-go ... if they were violating any laws ... and why did they wait for the resort to finish until they got feelers something is wrong somewhere?

 

And was it true ... that everybody was in limbo including the DENR hierarchy who seemed surprised when the photo of the resort was uploaded on Facebook? Will this be another Clash of the Titans - DENR vs the local DILG? Was outing the scoop of the month accidental ... and why only now? And how did the owner manage to keep the construction in secrecy when any enterprising Marites can always cash in and get media mileage just by opening the Pandora Box and making an expose'?

Unexpected questions can really put the principal characters on the spot ... or they will be taken by surprise ... but at the end of the day ... it boils down to one thing ... the Filipinos need transparency.

Dinagyang 2024

Dinagyang 2024 to my mind is one of the many festivals that was able to successfully fuse and blend tradition and culture and full-scale commercialization. We are not saying that commercialization is a bad idea ... but it is a foolproof and infallible formula ... something that will boost Iloilo's economy and tourism for sure.

Aside from enticing visitors and tourists to drop by Iloilo to have a sample of its rich culture ... Dinagyang also becomes a platform to showcase Iloilo's gastronomic treats ... having won UNESCO's  Creative City of Gastronomy award.

Behind the vibrant tapestry of religion history and faith, a kaleidoscope of colorful costumes and iridescent props, the pulsating and rhythmic beat of drums gongs, and xylophones Iloilo welcomes you to experience an assortment and a miscellany of mouthwatering cuisine and food fares.

Indeed that's what we saw ... as kiosks were sprouting like mushrooms in the streets of Delgado, Valeria, Iznart, Solis, would you believe... even in  Muelley Loney.

I could imagine Mayor Jerry Trenas grinning from ear to ear as people queued and lined up to savor what food and delicacies Iloilo had prepared for them. Everybody for sure enjoyed the culinary and the gastronomic delights.

There's a merry tinkling of dough-re-mi in every corner of the city. And that's all that counts.

Popcorn Anyone?

A gif of someone eating popcorn (usually Michael Jackson) in Google ...  usually means a drama is happening. This person is figuratively (not literally) eating popcorn while they're watching the drama happen.

But in Chris Tan's video above, he was LITERALLY eating popcorn ... it was funny seeing him enjoying Ex-President Rodrigo Roa Duterte's tour de force performance trying to convince everyone we have a drug addict president in Malacanang.

Whether we believe him or not ... is immaterial and irrelevant. Chris has shown all and sundry that the old cliche of popcorn eating while watching a movie ... was proven enough to be effective in driving home a point that the movie is worth watching by virtue of that single scene alone.

Chris was even laughing at himself doing this stuff ... and the scene was priceless - it even encouraged me to watch the whole prayer rally speech en toto. At abangan ang susunod na kabanata.

Sandro Marcos ends OVP budget hearing before P500-M confidential fund is...

For the reason of "parliamentary courtesy, Sandro Marcos moves to "terminate the budget of the office of the Vice President."  

That is the first booboo I noticed in this video. Was Sandro ambivalent about the budget of the OVP? His move wants to terminate the budget ... but he looked like he is all for it too ...  or it is just the way he worded his move?

When Sandro Marcos moved to terminate the budget ... Rep. Raoul Manuel of the Kabataan party-list was overheard saying  "I object ... ".  Does that mean the young congressman approved the budget ... or he was not listening to what Sandro said? He should have thanked him for doing that act of valor and praised him for distancing himself from Unity's team politics. Was he objecting to something he didn't understand? STRANGE. Watch the video and savor what transpired that fateful afternoon.

The whole proceeding was a comedy of errors. After that, Madam Chair joined the fray when she reiterated and echoed Sandro's move, "We have the motion duly seconded for the termination of the budget of OVP ..." Pheeew!

ACT Teachers partylist Rep France Castro also echoed "I object" sentiments, but she was groping for the right words to say ... uh and uh punctuated her arguments ... she stammered her way to reach her goal ... it appeared weak and insignificant before the eyes of ENTITLED congressmen. She was like a fly waiting for the fly swatter to land on her face. And indeed ... somebody turned off her microphone before she spilled more beans and added more salt to VP's wounds.

This could have been a good venue for the VP to clear herself of any suspicion with regard to her CIF. Her allies doing this only cast more doubt on the VP's handling of public funds.

Is The Big One Coming?

After 3 volcanoes showed signs of unrest ... one friend was asking if Mayon, Taal at Kanlaon has a chat group and it looked like the troika have texted and emailed each other, and agree to blow their steam together to make an impact. And a good scare to Filipinos.

As they make their presence felt, experts explained that they are not in any way connected, and it is just a coincidence that they are all acting up at the same as if giving us a full trailer of the BIG ONE.

Life Is Full of Pot-holes

I think life is like a road trip ... it has bumps, cracks, and obstacles and you will never know what lies ahead ... you will never know your destination until you get there.
Nobody said life would be easy ... and the road is littered with rose petals ... much so when you are chasing the elusive success that has been evasive, deceptive, and slippery. You will never know if the journey will be pot-holed if there's heavy traffic, or if there is smooth sailing onwards.

The road to success is paved with failures. That's a hard truth, but one that needs to be faced when considering how you are going to make a go of it in life.

But one thing is sure ... just because the trip is long and tedious, is no reason for you to slow down. There is no reason to get discouraged just because there is much work to be done. It is a reason to get started, grow, find new ways, reach within yourself, and discover strength, commitment, determination, and discipline.

The road to success is through commitment and the strength to drive through that commitment when it gets hard. And it is going to get hard, and you're going to want to quit sometimes, but it'll be colored by who you are and more by who you want to be.

Know Your Monsters

Wise people know they can benefit from constructive criticism. If no one is there to remind us ... we can be drenched and soaked in our mistakes ... just floating and drifting aimlessly in the vacuum...  and not learn anything from them. 

Review and study yourself and discover the BEAST in you. Be HUMBLE to accept them ... and be HONEST to negate them when they strike.

Seeing Ourselves In The Mirror

It is paradoxical ....  unless you face your monsters head-on ... they will continue living inside you for the rest of your life. Creating COMFORTING LIES to avoid PAINFUL TRUTHS is a defense mechanism ... an unconscious process that helps the person having internal conflicts. Continued use or overuse of this coping strategies however is unhealthy and can throw you off balance when reality strikes. 

We usually create our own monsters and run away from them ... lest they will give us a good picture of ourselves in the mirror.  

Jeepney Modernization

Jeepney modernization is long overdue. If there is one plan the government is cooking up, this one should take priority,  However, just like all other ambitious projects there are loopholes that need to be ironed out. One problem was ...  that the drivers and their operators were not consulted, and they were not included in the planning to discuss matters that involved and affected them. Can you imagine if this is your family, and you allowed your neighbors to decide and solve the problem for you ... I will be strongly offended.

The government is acting like gods and they meddle with matters like they know it all.  If they want to improve the transport services, they should know what the drivers need and they should help them.

One help maybe is to subsidize these modern transport and help support the drivers financially. The plan is big and we heard the cost of this modern transport cost 2-3 million pesos a piece. If the government thinks an ordinary Juan deal Cruz has this much money, they must be out of their minds. 

And while we are at it, the government should plan a budget for this modernization plan so it is not only the jeepney drivers and operators that will shoulder all the expenses. If they have passed a budget for 2023 controversial issues like intelligence fund, confidential fund, or Maharlika fund that cost billions ... a budget for transport modernization is a piece of cake ... or easy peasy lemon squeezy. Don't you think?

Conflict In The Family

Conflict can have its toll on the household if the family members don't see eye to eye on certain issues and they have different mindsets and viewpoints that are at odds with each other. Conflict occurs when they misinterpreted each other and somebody assumed the worst in them and they quickly judge each other without knowing the facts. Unsettled issues between the two can escalate to annoyance and antagonism.

Animosity in the family is a part and parcel of living in a family. It is normal to clash, contradict and differ at some times. But if the conflict is unresolved ... it is irksome and can leave permanent harm to families accord.  Some members have a hard time processing the effects of the conflict and some became overtly upset, contentious, and combative. 

Peaceful resolutions can be done thru positive communication.

Burning bridges is a no-no. Either the party will AGREE TO COMPROMISE ...  or they will AGREE TO DISAGREE.

ChatGPT is Fun

Being new to ChatGPT, your first interaction with her is the jaw-dropping part. As they say, there are 1001 ways to kill a cat and people want to discover what the chatbot can and can't do.  Some of my friends were experimenting and they baited the lady behind the voice wondering when she is going to fail with all the questions bombarded to her. 

But the fun part is when she leaves you breathless with her answers.  You may think it is an awesome addition to the burgeoning tech created day in and day out.  Try it out yourself and experience the biggest invention that rocked our New Year.

Filipinos Are Practical

Filipinos have learned to appreciate what they have, make the most of it, and tolerate difficulties. Resilience is a deeply rooted characteristic that makes up a Filipino identity,

So when the onion crisis erupted, Filipinos viewed the setback as impermanent.  They reframe the onion mess as an opportunity to be creative.  If loading your luggage with bags of onions is funny to some ... to Filipino ex-pats, it isn't.  They are just being practical.

Red Onions As Coming Home Gifts.

Packing the onions and sending them home is a no-nonsense and the most logical thing any OFW can do under the circumstances. The fact of the matter is that it is the most sensible thing.

As Khaleej Times put it, onions are the new chocolates, say Filipinos who recently flew home for the holidays. Now, handing family and friends red onions as coming-home gifts is just as special as giving them bars of the finest chocolates.

CAAP Should Explain

I read somewhere about some paranoia of concerned netizens confused about CAAP's explanation of the glitch and the power outage last January 1. Was there sabotage? And who was the saboteur? I understand where they are coming from ... that is what fear does to people.  If CAAP can't provide an acceptable explanation people create a more outlandish scenario in their minds.

So was there foreign interference in why there was a power shortage in the airport when all the environs in the periphery did not experience any? Was it just a coincidence or was it a ploy to scare President Marcos and make him shake in his boots? As long as CAAP beats around the bush with its theories people will continue to entertain some worst-case possibilities.

Rechristening The Airport's Name

It is high time now that the government brings solutions to the escalating passenger airport woes. If we remember right Atom Araullo was trolled and criticized online just for saying truthfully about NAIA broken airport transport system when he has problems getting a ride from the airport.

The infamous January 1st NAIA debacle is another case in point. But what is there we heard, our congressmen are more interested in rechristening the airport name - a ludicrous priority in a sea of traveler woes.

Passenger's Nightmare

This one is for the record: A total of 282 flights were either delayed, canceled, or diverted to other regional airports while more than 56,000 passengers were affected by a glitch or a power outage that became the passenger's nightmare last New Year's Day.

Another scenario was a Manila-bound Qantas plane that departed from Sydney shortly before 1 p.m. last January 1. Three hours into its eight-hour journey, the flight was then forced to turn around mid-air and return to Australia.

Indeed ... expect the best and the worst when you go to the Philippines!

An Epic failure

The New Year's NAIA fiasco was an epic failure in the most embarrassing way possible. As expected it ignited an angry backlash from the netizens and politicians did not dilly-dally and were not shy as they joined the fray. Senator Grace Poe demands a probe and she was asking for transparency and accountability.

"We will therefore conduct a hearing as part of the Senate's oversight function to determine who is liable and what we need to do to avoid malfunction from happening again.