curiosity on elections

i was studying in jest the different political advertisements while peering from our car window on the way to lucban, quezon for our annual vacation. it continues to make me wonder how much money were spent on posters, tarpaulins, "volunteer" campaign supporters, at the expense of P3 per voter.

According to the new COMELEC memorandum (dated I don't know), each candidate is allowed to spend at a maximum of 3 pesos per voter. Imagine how many millions of voters we have and how much money they are allowed to spend. By the latest SWSurvey, the candidate who has spent the biggest amount is Prospero Pichay (at a whopping amount of P12 million). When interviewed, he mentioned something like, "it is not even enough to make his face and name known all over the country." Naman.

Again, i was studying things in jest, out of boredom perhaps. I was looking carefully at the different posters and laughed at how Photoshop can do wonders. A candidate running for a mayoralty post here in our town looked 30 years younger his original age --- sans wrinkles and white hair. Two posters when put side by side will confuse the voters if they find out that the two posters are campaigning for the same congressman in Quezon. There are also very catchy nicknames for which I wonder if these nicknames reflect their character (or platform) such as "Boy Bolok", "Exotik", and "Goma".

One will have to wonder how much candidates are willing to spend to be in power but not on the major problems of the country. If twelve million pesos is not enough for one person to be in power, then how much will it be left to create more employment opportunities, better health care systems, quality education, and environmental protection? These issues cannot be photoshopped nor can be replaced by catchy nicknames. These are REAL issues whose faces are longing for REAL answers.

I asked my brother why he did not register for the upcoming elections (he will be 18 years old by April 18.) He told me nonchalantly that there are no candidates worthy of his vote. I silently disagree with him, because there are still, I believe, people, when given the opportunity, with great potential in order to serve the common good.

Of course, we have to be wise in choosing these people. Meron diyan binigyan na nga ng oportunidad, sinayang pa. meron naman diyan walang definite na plataporma. At meron naman diyan na ginagamit ang kasikatan para makakuha ng boto.

Well, at least in fairness, the political advertisements on TV are more creative and in a sense catchy this year.

rantations

bakit may mga tao na mahilig magsuot ng maskara? Matapos mangyari ang dapat mangyari, unti-unting natatanggal sa kanyang mukha ang maskarang kay tagal isinusuot.

At the outset, you really look beautiful, but what happened, i do not know whether to trust you anymore. To be specific, how could you treat us this way, ngayong alam mo na ang totoong sentimyento ng karamihan? Hindi ba't ito na ngayon ang pagkakataon para ikaw ay makapagmuni muli at tignan kung paano ka pwedeng mag-improve?

OKs lang sanang wag mo na kaming pansinin. Wag ka lang sanang mandamay ng ibang inosente at siraan kami sa aming likod.

sheesh. The stench of your rotting heart seeps its way to unmask your outer beauty.

to patrick

hello. long time no see. for almost two years na rin kita hindi nakikita. so how is winter wonderland? im sure you are having a terrific time with your new life: a new home, a new school, new friends perhaps. i barely remember your face because according to your recent letters, you have already grown twice as large. all i could remember is your voice.

thanks for the greetings. im sure you have appreciated the thing i sent you, at least something from the philippines for once. and im sure you were delighted to have read my contribution. do you know that you were the first person i talked to about this great opportunity? haha. and now, i am on my way to fulfilling my dreams.

pat, your recent message seems to be a depressed one. does friendship have to end with the existence of distance? pat, with distance all the more it challenges the two of us to make our relationship as friends even closer. if we indeed desire to become the best of friends, likie we used to when we were in high school, then let us struggle to be one with the new found friends that we already have. treat others as you would have treated me back home.

pat, we miss you already. niko and i have continuously praying for your success to love and be loved. marlon extends his greetings as well.

your ever faithful friend,

nicolo

Giving and Not Counting the Cost

Who in the right mind will accept St. Ignatius’ veritable prayer, “The Prayer of Generosity” as it speaks of giving and not counting the cost, fighting and not heeding the wounds? Forgive me but this is one task that will take me a lifetime to fulfill.

I am not actually your average person who will give everything without taking into consideration what I have spent in the first place. When I took up Management Economics as my course, my mother swore that it was a course that befits me. No, it is not because I am good in commerce or mathematics (in fact, I despise numbers), but simply because I am the most spedthrift among the family. Over the years I have rationalized what I am on money matters: I’d rather be called “matipid”than “kuripot”. By “matipid” I discern over on goods which I consider either necessary bor a luxury. By “kuripot”, however, I do not spend even on the necessay things that would make me more humane.

But when it comes to friendship, priorities, love, passion, dedication, and leadership, price becomes irrelevant. After being in ACIL for seven years, I have come to a conclusion that being a leader costs a lot – financially, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. To become an excellent leader, one needs to shell out his own resources, sometimes find for new sources. “Kung minsan, ikaw pa ang abonado.”

My desire and belief that ACIL as a community for Christ further motivated me into being more giving to others. It had reached to the point that sacrifices were made: I didn’t join any other org, focused my efforts on ACIL alone, settled for a mediocre QPI, gave up the prospects of having a girlfriend. In trying to become faithful to the org’s vision, I sometimes wonder if my giving was too much, and would have been an excessive detriment for my welfare.

Yesterday, I had my first ever booklaunch as a contributor to a collection of essays on “striving, learning and serving.” It was a big milestone, esp., since I am a frustrated writer. I invited my family and friends to this occasion, and explained to everyone how much it meant to me for them to be there. It was my first achievement outside ACIL, but ironically about ACIL, or how I ended up the way I am today.

But only my family showed up. I was eagerly waiting for my friends, but it seemed that nobody ever tried to be there.

When I was called in front and received my complimentary copy of the book from Dr. Queena Lee-Chua, I was searching for my friends in the lightly-densed crowd. Finally, after I finished my meal, I decided to go back to the org room, dejected and disappointed.

It turned out that the people who I expected an hour and a half ago were just there doing their own stuff, as if nothing had happened. Nobody even bothered to congratulate me, nor have told me anything that would make me feel for the first time an unraveling person of dreams. At that moment, I didn’t want to exist as Nicolo the President, but as Nicolo the Writer.

But my so-called “friends” grounded me back to the reality that I am their president, the understanding and most often neglected person in the organization. My whole presidency I have never been treated as a person who has needs too, feelings and dreams, moods and goals. Except in my ranting moments with Ronnel, I didn’t feel any care for my own self. The last test was my own birthday present – the booklaunching – but nobody tried to celebrate it with me, or me.

Am I asking too much? Maybe because I have been too much of a mother-to-others that I am withheld with the right to ask for protection and comfort. I am expected to give solace, comfort, understanding, and even loving reprimands, that automatically meant motherhood for them but not necessarily for me.

Or am I giving too much? My work in ACIL for seven long and arduous years is enough a testimony of how much I believed in making Christ a living reality as our form of being light in the Lord. I have been what they call an urban legend in ACIL. My former classmates in highschool and my co-presidents in COA know me as “Nicolo of ACIL”. It is as if I am wedded and welded to an organization. Yes, I have given myself in the service of the organization. I had to answer back against my parent’s wishes . They have constantly reminded me that I am in my senior year and I should be focused on what I wanted to do after college, thesis, and other research. It was not an intensed debate though since I had achieved high marks in college, except for a few C+’s. I have repeatedly responded them how much I love ACIL and the people I encounter.

But for one solitary occasion I felt that my own fidelity abandoned me. After the booklaunch behind the seemingly smiles of triumph lies a defeated and embattled heart. Have I given too much for the one you love? I felt that everyone had truned its back away from me while I bitterly swallowed loneliness.

To give and not to count the cost. How could I not notice when after giving so much not an ounce of recognition comes back? Should I be convinced that I will forever be the “abonado”? I am not asking for a reward, but as a person with feelings, I am pleading for sensitivity in their hearts, a little concern for the welfare of others.

A friend later consoled my disbelief and sorrow, and said “It is not because of them you have achieved but because of you.” Partly true. Though I have achieved because of my own doing, the content of my achievement was because of them. And being on the top of the world for at least two hours was the loneliest triumphant milestone.

That afternoon, I was really reflecting on whether I should join the carolling with ACIL. After all, they do not recognize you as they are still self-absorbed by their own gratuities. I eventually did anyway because despite how much “abonado” you already are with them, I still love them.

In Class

nakikihiram ako ng laptop ngayon kasi uber boring ng class ko ngayon. the class is on knowledge management and i just finished giving a presentation on patents. specifically international law on patents. pero hindi hahaba ang discussion kung hindi sabat ng sabat yung prof namin. yung normal 15 minutes naging 35 minutes.

antagal ko na palang hindi nagbablog. haha. tapos kung minsan hindi pa matino yung isinusulat ko. oh well.

mahaba pa tong class na to pero feeling ko nakatingin na sa akin yung prof namin. gtg. :)

the Canadian way

There was a report last week about a Filipino-Canadian child who was badly scolded by his school lunch monitor for not eating with a fork and knife. Apparently, the child's mother came to demand an explanation and she was even more in aghast when her son was described as "eating like a pig". In essence, the principal told the mother that "in Canada, you must eat the Canadian way."

Such are the differences in culture. Culture perhaps is what identifies a tribe, community, country or nation from the rest.In each group of people, there are a set of rules in the form of manners, rituals, actions, or words that define culture. Our sign for friendship is the handshake; for the Arabs, it is the kiss on the lips (regardless of gender). Putting catsup or any condiment to any served dish is normal for us; for the French, it is an insult. What seems normal for us may be an insult for another. Even culture in religious sects are different: a Sikh has a high regard for body hair, the Muslims must get rid of body hair. A Catholic may regard a comb as an instrument of beauty, but for a Jain the comb is a gift of the gods and must be treated with proper respect.

But beyond the issue of spoon and forks, rituals and manners, there is but one thing that must be considered in any culture: tolerance. Canada is made up of mostly immigrants, so imagine how the various cultures either coincide or collide when they meet. But Canada as a whole comprise of another culture to be treated as different from the other cultures. Some countries are tolerable to the differences in culture, but there are those who frown upon people who veer away from what is the norm. In the Philippines, we have been raised in an atmosphere of cultural tolerance, so that we could eat with either the "budul-budul" way (hand-picked), the Spanish way (spoon and fork), the American way (fork and knife) or the Japanese/Chinese way (chopsticks). Canadians have a different level of tolerance which is more leaning towards intolerance, as perhaps seen through the case of the Fil-Canadian child.

Two things which must be learned by those who aspire to go abroad, work, migrate or live there (disclaimer: this is only a precautionary measure for all who are experiencing cultural differences. It is a crude guide especially for migrants and travellers alike.)

1) RESPECT FOR THE CULTURE OF THE HOST COUNTRY. Even if it seems weird or totally different from what you used to do, do not go against it. You are just a minority, an individual of a much bigger culture. The host country seeks for tolerance on your part to accept the culture present.

2) DON'T BE TOO ABSORBED. As you respect the country for which you are in temporarily, do not be too absorbed by the culture the host country presents you. This applies especially for migrants who are there to work only for a certain period of time then when they come back to their motherland, they have forgotten, either intentionally or unintentionally, what it is to be a citizen of your home country. In the course of absorbing the culture of the host country, principles once believed are sometimes modified, added or deleted from the self. Examples could be seen in student organizations (compare the clustering of orgs in the Ateneo and try to "feel" the culture that envelopes the organization.)

Finding the balance is really difficult. It requires a lot of practice and willpower to face a new culture. It just happens that the Canadian way is not as tolerable as we Filipinos would.

The Delights of Nursing

Many frown over the increase of students taking up nursing. Before, it was unimagineable for exclusive schools such as Ateneo and La Salle to offer such courses. Now, every Ateneo campus across the nation has an course offering on nursing to retain its required number of students per year so as not to be put into a loss.

Many raise their eyebrows on the Philippines as the number one source of caregivers, nurses, and the like. Some professionals such as doctors, teachers and engineers are taking up nursing or caregiving courses in order to get out of the country for greener pastures. College students when they were young had hopes of becoming professional workers but in orde r to survive they had to change their dreams by becoming nurses.

But actually, why scowl at the nursing industry? Training nurses and caregivers is our way of responding to the globalization call of the developed countries. With the population of Europe fast declining and there are more older people than younger people in Europe and in North America, the nurses and caregivers are simply responding to what the Europeans demand in exchange for higher and promising wages.

Consider the two cultures: the Filipinos are naturally loving and caring people, resilient and hardworking. We are a relatively young country (with a majority of the population 18 years old and below). The Europeans on the other side of the globe are more independent, but focused on their work. Their nature as a developed country pushes them to become more focused on work, and have little time in raising families. Actually, they would prefer work than raising a family (would someone be willing to spend his or her 18 years trying to raise a child who would most likely find their own independence away from their loved ones than to spend 18 hours working for several hundred thousands of dollars to be spent on jewelry, yachts, condominiums, and caviars?). Our culture is rooted deeply in Catholic virtues of the family whereas the European culture, though they used to be the bastion of Christianity in the Middle Ages have adopted values that make them convince that work is more dignified than having a family. The modernization of Europe through the Industrial Revolution slowed the population growth of France (from 0.94% in 1970 to 0.69% in 2002), Germany (from 0.83 in 1970 to 0.21 in 2002) and Japan (from 1.3 % in 1970 to 0.20% in 2002) . Three countries have population decays and where the destination of nurses and caregivers become more frequent: Italy (0.47% in 1970 to -0.03% in 2002), United Kingdom (from 0.53% in 1970 to -0.33% in 2002) and Russia (0.58% in 1970 to -0.45% in 2002).


FIGURE 1: POPULATION GROWTH OF 6 COUNTRIES, 1970-2002
Source: World Bank Popualtions,Health and Nutritions

Moreover, the Philippines seems to be utilizing the resources we already have - labor - and investing on it through the development of what we virtue: care and love. What we do is honing the skills of the nurses and caregivers so that it has more focus and direction.

How does the Philippines take part in the process of globalization? When we send our caregivers and nurses to Europe and in America, we are already taking part of the globalization process of spreading our own culture. Example, cooking food for the children of the landowners, heirs, and businessmen with authentic Filipino food. With our food, we are already training the tastebuds of the children to love the sweet-spicy taste and crave for spaghetti in catsup, adobo and tinola. With our language the children begin to pick up words such as "po" and "opo", or even "anak". We also globalize the elderly through our virtue of concern for the elderly (despite what is happening to our country, we Filipinos still know how to respect the elders).

And soon, the foreigners who have received the Filipino workers become interested in how our culture works and how our country looks like, bringing in more revenue apart from the salaries they give to their nurses and caregivers.

Therefore, the burden is on us who are here in the Philippines and not on the nurses and caregivers who are already outside the country. Our task now is how to maintain the good testimonies our fellowmen in Europe and in America say. We must live out to the developed nations' belief that the Filipinos are the number one exporter of caregivers and nurses, therby making us "the caretakers of the world". And eventually, the developed countries look to us with sincere respect and genuine concern, the same way we have dedicated our services to them.

someone is worrying about the EVAT....

starting today, there will be a 12% increase in the value added tax. Meaning, if you spend one peso on any good covered by the EVAT law, you pay an additional P 0.12. It does not seem to be that big for some people, but for those who are very stringent in handling their finances, this is another woe for them because this implies an increase in prices of goods and services.

I am addressing this to the students whose allowance is not from any income-generating source but depend on the amount given to them by their parents. Before you approach your parents for an additional 12 centavos per peso on your current baon, let me show you something that might interest you.

There are a lot of goods and services that we normally buy and identify them as either substitutable (to a more inferior good), complimented (to a similar good), necessity or luxury, or a bad (yes, there is such a thing as a bad). We normally buy these goods and services as we are accustomed to. Substitutable goods are normally those with a lot of variants but of the same nature, such as food (kamameshi rice vs instant noodles), transportation (taxi vs. jeepney) and hygienic products (deodorant vs. alum crystals). Some goods could only be utilized with another different good, such are known as compliments. Examples are pen and paper, cellphone and cellphone load, and contact lenses and eyedrops. There are goods which are, base on perception, a necessity and its more evolved and sophisticated form, a luxury. For instance, the more evolved form of a landline telephone is the cellphone, and even more sophisticated, a 3G cellphone. Other luxury goods that evolved into more luxurious items are jewelry, perfume, branded items, yachts, mansions. And there are the bads: goods that bring danger to the one who utilizes the good (in excess quantities) such as cigarettes, alcohol, and illegal drugs. Some goods are highly expensive yet indispensible due to their inavailability of substitutes, such as medications for tubercolosis, asthma, and (knock on wood) bird flu.

We buy these goods and services because we want to achieve the abilities that make a good or a service be identified as such. We use deodorant because of its ability to remove the stench from our armpits, we use eyeglasses because of its ability to aid the person see better, and we use cellphones because of its ability to communicate to people via long distances. What I am trying to say here is maybe in this period wherein politics aggravate the business sector, maybe its a good time to reevaluate the goods, services and the bads we consume, and inspect the real ability of each good and service that necessarily suits our current need (and not the want). In a nutshell, I believe it is time for us, for a change, to practice austerity.

By being thrifty ( Pagtitipid) does not equate to the usual notion of kuripot. Pagtitipid is to still spend on goods and services that meet the needs of the person but on a lower value (in terms of price). Kuripot however deprives the person from consuming goods and services that are needed by the person. Being thrifty is nothing to be ashamed about, because it shows that we are cooperating with the those who are more directly involved: primarily, our parents. Our parents are the main source of "income", but on a fixed rate, no matter what happens. Our parents, on the otherhand, may lose their jobs suddenly and lose their income. Who is now more blessed to have a fixed "income"?

So, who should worry more about the EVAT? In the first place, is there something to worry about?