Why I will vote for Satur Ocampo in 2010

 

1. Because Satur Ocampo is a good man.

He is a good man in the most essential sense: his selflessness has enabled him to live and work for the poor and the oppressed of the Philippines. He chose to forego his own wants and needs and patterned his life after the lives of great men and women. He is self-sacrificing, he is compassionate, he practices what he preaches. He lives simply. He has no measure for his own greatness as humility is ever-present in his character. He has no ambitions for himself, only for the causes he espouses and the poor whom he represents.

2. Because Satur Ocampo does not work for money.

As a journalist, he was offered bribes, and he never accepted them. As a congressman, he was also offered the same, and again he refused them. His principles are not for sale. He is a man who cannot be bought. He tirelessly works for the Filipino people , for the cause of human rights, for social justice and equality. He believes that fighting for justice is its own reward, and the very hope that one day true democracy and freedom will dawn on the  Philippines is enough payment for his efforts.

3. Because Satur Ocampo is a gentleman and respects women and the youth.

He has the highest respect for women and their rights. He recognizes their value in society, and deeply appreciates that women are equal with women in building a better country for tomorrow’s Filipinos. He supports their aspirations and their ideals. He believes that Filipinas can serve well beyond the hearth and home — they belong in every arena where genuine progress and development can be achieved for the greater good.

He respects the youth. He relies on the enthusiasm of the youth and believes that they truly are the future. Hence he does his best to be an inspiration to them. Teaching indirectly by being a living example. A leader worth emulating. He encourages the youth to be daring and to not sell their votes. He believes that it is not enough to simply register for the polls; it’s not enough that one votes. It’s important to him that the youth be well aware whom they are voting for and why; to realize that the democratic exercise is the least they can be involved in if they genuinely want change to happen.

Satur challenges the youth to aspire to higher challenges.

4. Because  Satur Ocampo fights for human rights.

And unfailingly so. His track record as a human rights advocate and a genuine freedom-fighter is beyond reproach. He has fought against fascist regimes and their policies and programs that undermine and attack human rights and not once has he buckled down. As a journalist and as a congressman, he has helped expose issues that seriously impact on the civil, political and economic rights of Filipinos.  He has not shied away from sensitive issues of national concern, and instead fearlessly spoke out either in support or against them as the case may be in relation to the public welfare. 

The US-Marcos dictatorship’s attempts to break to his spirit failed, and so have succeeding governments’. The Macapagal-Arroyo government’s own moves to have him jailed and locked-away in Hilongos, Leyte backfired because it was clear even to the blind that the charges against him were malicious and manufactured.  So long as he breathes, he will defend the cause of human rights and be a defender of Filipinos.  

5. Because Satur Ocampo is a good husband, father and grandfather.

Family is important, and he has done his best to be a role model as a father, as a husband, as a grandfather. Despite the various challenges that he has met in the conduct of his life’s work and committment to serve the people, he has not neglected his family and has done his best to there for them. He also remains the loyal and loving son to his elderly mother who still resides in Pampanga.

6. Because Satur Ocampo does not have personal ambition.

In his humility, he still believes that he is not worthy of the admiration and respect people from all walks of life give him. Evan now as he is being asked to represent the basic sectors in the senate, he remains critical of his own self and his worthiness.  He is, however, not one to turn away from duty when it is presented to him, and he will do all in power to do his duty faithfully and well.

7. Because Satur Ocampo’s heart is for the masses.

He grew up the son of peasants, and he genuinely knows what poverty and deprivation are. He studied and worked hard not to leave behind his class origins, but so he could learn and find means to help his family, and by extension others like them. His commitment to help his family extended and expanded to others, and as he grew older, his committment only strengthened, sharpened, and grew in scope and depth to lead towards goals of social emancipation.

He is a defender of peasants’ rights and their call for genuine agrarian reform.

He is a defender of labor and migrant rights. He believes in socialized housing, subsidized/free education and health services. He is against militarization in the countryside and believes that all foreign debt should be cancelled or at least an indefinite moratorium on debt payments should be implemented. He believes in defending the country’s economic, political and cultural sovereignty from the influence and interference of foreign powers. He is against trade liberalization at the expense of economic sovereignty and security. He is against privatization and deregulation of major industries, and lobbies for nationalization and greater state subsidies for social services.

He believes that it is the Filipino masses themselves who will free themselves from enslavement, and they themselves will lead efforts to build a renewed Philippines.

8.  Because Satur Ocampo  believes in science and progress for the people.

He believes in establishing a system of education that is nationalist, scientific and mass-oriented. He believes that Filipino scientists and researchers need to be supported — their works given attention and encouraged. To him, the Filpino system of education needs to be overhauled and reoriented towards serving the needs of the people and the establishment of an economy that is self-sustaining and aimed towards raising the standards of health and living of the Filipino people.

9. Because Satur Ocampo is one heck of a good-looking senior citizen who will also fight for the rights of the elderly. 

For instance, he wants the EVAT to be repealed, and at the onset, for the EVAT to exclude all medicines for senior citizens.

10. Because Satur Ocampo, for all the reasons previously mentioned and more,  is better than most other candidates running for the senate put together, and I want my vote to count.

Satur Ocampo, may puso, prinsipyo at paninindigan

Halaw ang sumusunod sa isang interbyu ni Ka Satur sa isang personality-profiles show noong 2007, panahon nang siya’y muling arestuhin at kasuhan ng rebelyon.  Batay ang mga linya sa mga aktwal na salitang kanyang binitiwan. Nauna na itong pinost  ni Tonyo Cruz sa kanyang blog noong 2007, at ngayon ito ay inaamyendahan at pinagyayaman sa intensyong ito ay palalaganapin.

Sino ni Satur Ocampo?

Ako si Satur Ocampo, kongresista, aktibista.

Apat na dekada na akong nakikibaka sa lansangan, sa peryodiko, sa kabundukan noon, sa larangan ng Kongreso naman ngayon.

Nagsimula ang lahat noong nasa Grade 4 ako.

Ang kalaban ko sa scholarship ay anak ng principal ng elementary school na kakumpitensiya ko hanggang high school. Palagi akong nalalagay sa 2nd honor kahit sa hindi naman ako nagkulang sa grades.

At dahil magbubukid lang ang tatay ko at mayaman ang kaklase ko, salutatorian lang ako nagtapos.

Lumuwas ako ng Maynila, bitbit ang pagnanasang maging pantay ang pagkakataon para sa mayaman at mahirap.

Hindi ako naging doktor gaya ng pinangarap ko.

Ako’y naging mamamahayag.

Sumapi ako sa Kabataang Makabayan, nagprotesta laban sa pagtaas ng presyo ng langis at political repression.

Nang magdeklara si Marcos ng martial law, sumali ako sa kilusang lihim o underground. Tumulong ako sa pagtaguyod ng National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

Payak ang naging kasal namin ni Bobbie Malay.

Sa isang maid’s room kami kinasal. Gaya sa lahat ng bagay sa kilusan, ang haba-haba ng naunang diskusyon!

Sa underground movement isinilang sina Silahis at Antonio, mga bunga ng pagmamahalan at ng aming pinaglalaban.

Pero nahiwalay ako sa kanila nang ako’y arestuhin.

Dumaan ako sa matinding torture — electric shock sa katawan, karate, buntal, umpog sa ulo, paso ng sigarilyo sa ibat’t-ibang bahagi ng katawan. Nagawang tiisin ang bawat sakit.

Pero ang ang hirap akong tiisin noon, ang pagkawalay ko sa pamilya.

Pinamunuan  ko ang mga political prisoners,at madalas pag dumating ang kanilang mga pamilya na may mga problema, dumudulog sila sa ‘kin. Naubos ang oras ko sa kanila habang ang sarili kong mga anak ang naiwang naghihintay, ‘di ko naasikaso.

Nagtatampo sila noon.

Umiiyak ako pag wala sila.

Pati mga anak ko, nag-rally para sa aking paglaya.

Pero matigas ang ulo ni Marcos kaya sa aking ika-siyam na taon ng pagkakakulong ko, pinalaya ko ang aking sarili — tumakas ako.

Nung sumunod na national convention ng National Press Club kung kailan may eleksyon ng opisyales, binigyan ako ng pass, sinamantala ko na. Pagkaboto ko, ginamit ko ang service stairs mula 4th floor dun ako lumusot…

Bumalik ako underground.

Una akong lumitaw nung 1986 peace talks. Bumagsak ito dahil pinaslang ng gobyerno ang 18 magsasaka sa tinaguriang Mendiola Massacre ng Pebrero 22, 1996.

Bumalik ako sa underground.

Makalipas ang tatlong taon, muli akong inaresto, kasama ng aking kabiyak.

Taong 1992 na nang mapawalang-sala kami sa mga kasong murder, kidnapping at illegal possession of firearms.

Taong 1999, itinayo namin ang Bayan Muna. Taong 2001, umupo ako bilang kinatawan nito at hanggang sa kasalukuyan, ay naglilingkod sa sambayanan bilang isang progresibong konggresista.

Kakaibang labanan ang ang meron dito. Madumi at kumplikado. Kailangang matibay ang paghawak sa prinsipyo at dapat laging tangan ang tindig ng masang anakpawis sa mga isyung panlipunan.

Nanindigan ako sa pulitika ng pagbabago, ang pulitikang tunay na naglilingkod sa bayan.

Kahit kailan hindi ako kinain ng sistema.

Hindi ako nasusuhulan, hindi mabibili ang aking paninindigan.

‘Di pa rin ako mayaman.

Simple lang ang bahay ko at isa lang ang kotse ko, luma pa.

Ako ang naghahanda ng sarili kong almusal at almusal ng aking pamilya, pagkatapos ay naghuhugas at nagliligpit ng pinagkanan.

Kapag hindi ako nagtatrabaho sa kongreso, gawaing-bahay ang hinaharap ko. Naglilinis, naglalaba, nag-aayos ng gamit.

Kasabay ng pagiging aktibista, ako’y isang  isang mapagmahal na asawa at ama;  isang magiliw na lolo.

Sa Kongreso ang mga dating kalaban, minsan ay nagiging kakampi. Sa isang takdang panahon, ang mga nang-aapi, nagsasamantala at umaabuso sa  kapangyarihan, sila ang unahing labanan  patalsikin.

Pero hindi natin kinakalimutan ang ‘di pa nareresolbang usapin ng human rights violations sa panahon ni Marcos. Di rin natin kinakalimutan ang mga naging aral sa pagpapatalsik kay Estrada. Natututo tayo sa laging bigong proseso ng impeachment kay Arroyo.

Marami pa rin akong kabiguan dahil sa dami kong panukalang isinampa, kakaunti lang ang naipasa. Ngunit hindi ako pinanghinaan ng loob at tuloy-tuloy ang pagsumite ng mga panukalang batas at resolusyon para sa kagalingan ng masa. Marami pa ring maliliit na tagumpay na pinagwagian.

Pero di rin kalian man iniiwan o kinakalimutan ang parlyamento ng lansangan. Dahil ang masa, ang mamamayan pa rin ang mapagpasya. Nasa kanila ang lakas, nasa kanila ang pag-asa.

At sila din ang ating pinaglilingkuran sa tuwina.

Sa Kongreso, nasimulan nang marinig ang boses ng masa. Kailangang ganito rin ang mangyari sa senado.

Mahaba pa ang pakikibaka, at habang buhay ako, tuloy ang aking paglaban sa kahit anong mapang-aping gobyerno. Tuloy ang laban para sa mga inaapi at pinagsasamantalahan.

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Satur Ocampo. May puso, prinsipyo at panindigan.



Satur Ocampo, the early years

Satur Ocampo has got to be one of  the most curious personalities in the mainstream Left movement; quite possibly, even in the realm of Philippine politics.

People closest to him such as his congressional staff and his security would say that it takes him ages to lose his temper, and even when he finally does, it will only be over some serious social injustice and never from a personal slight. In either case, however, he can still be relied on to remain rational and logical. Think back and remember the second time he was arrested in 2007: recall the footage of him being manhandled by members of the Philippine National Police (PNP). Through all the abuse and the violations against his human and civil rights, he can be seen striving to keep calm; but when he finally speaks, his anger sears like white fire, the greatest heat there is.

The man is by nature a silent type: he will not speak first, but instead he will listen, and here is why he is also curious: because behind the quiet and gentle facade of the man, is an individual who has a personal history influenced by a strong will and a deep seated compassion, a political life which has already made its mark on the Philippines.

I am writing a series of  blog entries on Ka Satur, former journalist, forever activist, my first choice for senator in 2010.

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Satur is the son of poor peasants in Pampanga. It would have been natural for anyone to expect that he grow up with dreams of becoming rich, or at least dreams of a better life for himself and his family; Satur’s dreams, however, embraced others: what he wanted was for poverty to end for the people of Pampanga, and by extension, the Filipino people.

A studious and intelligent boy who grew up under the auspices of religion, he was sensitive to social realities around him. Even at a very young age, he was aware that there were differences in economic status between people and that more often than not, they were caused not by bad luck or lack of effort and industry but by more concrete factors that had to do with how a society was run.

He read books on the lives of saints and national heroes, and he understood that what shaped these great men and women were not only their own inherent abilities or gifts, but the circumstances that surrounded them and how they chose to respond to them.

Again, more often than not, these circumstances were of strife and struggle. True enough, he thought, adversity does shape character; and with that, he sought to consciously shape his own. He wanted to be a person who did good things for other people; to be of help, to be of use, to be of service. To him, the things he read and studied about the lives and deeds of heroes were not dead words, but lessons to be lived and practiced.

These heroes, he thought to himself,  were not statues. They were once flesh and blood individuals who had lived and breathed, and they gave the best of themselves to efforts that constituted compassion and greatness.

So the young boy Satur began to consciously pattern his own life after theirs.

Satur was a good student. He was particularly good in science and history, and when he was not helping with chores at home, he was often in the library reading. One could say that he was a typical grind, but unlike the usual nerds and geeks who loved learning often for its own sake, he loved learning because he saw it a means to one day achieve his dream: at first it was to become a priest;  then, when he thought that it would be better to first heal bodies before aiding souls, he wanted to be a doctor.

At the time when he was growing up, there were only two doctors in his town; and families like his, peasants whose lives were deeply connected to the soil and whose wealth were mainly the love and respect of each son and daughter for their parents, seldom if ever sought medical services. No, it wasn’t because they were of stronger, healthier stock; it was because doctor’s fees were beyond their reach. Keeping health was a necessity for more pragmatic reasons.

In high school, Satur became class president, and he was also editor of the school newspaper. Extracurricular activities also became venues for learning, and to add to his first-hand knowledge of the difficulties faced by the peasant class to which his family belonged, he began to hone his understanding of social issues that affected students. He became a member of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), and he wrote about issues that impacted on the student body like fraternity violence.

When the time came for him to attend university, it became difficult for Satur to stick to one course of study. It wasn’t because he was feckless and he couldn’t focus; in fact, it was the exact opposite. He wanted to study courses that were in line with his interests in society, history and politics, but there were other subjects that had to be taken that he found somewhat superfluous.

In the meantime, he was supposed to attend the University of the Philippines and study medicine, but neither he nor his family had the means to send him there. He had to temporarily forego what he wanted to learn skills that enabled him to make him a living and help his family. He studied basic accounting, he learned steno-typing.

Then he enrolled in the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), the former  Philippine College of Commerce where the tuition was low.  He worked during the day and studied at night. He worked and studied and helped his family and in the meantime, the Philippines was slowly changing and he was not indifferent to what was happening.

As a student, he was already an activist. By 1964, when the revolutionary organization of  Filipino youth and students, the Kabataan Makabayan (KM) was established, he became a founding member.

By then he was working as a business reporter, then eventually sub-editor, of the Manila Times.

From wanting to become a priest and a doctor, Satur came to terms with himself. If he was unable to a medical doctor, he would a social doctor: one who helped cure society and its myriad of ills. He would be a journalist and write about these problems and, perhaps, help offer solutions.

Satur was a daring journalist. Back in his time, it was simply not done to politicize business and economic issues: politics were on the front page; stories about business had a section all its own in the latter pages. He didn’t agree with it. His understanding of social realities compelled him to enact changes in the Manila Times.

As sub-editor, it was his task to lay-out the business pages during the weekend. The rest of the week he went out and gathered stories and wrote them. In the weekend, he was in charge of putting the paper to bed. It was then that he inserted commentaries — analyses on how businesses were influencing government; how government often also became a business for those who ran it;and how through it all it was the Filipino people who suffered when government was run as a business and people were at the bottom of priorities, far below amassing profit.

He also attended rallies. Unlike other colleagues in the profession who went to the rallies to cover them, he attended the rallies launched by radical students and members of the oppressed sectors against the burgeoning US-Marcos dictatorship as a Filipino who cared about his country.

In the beginning, he was reprimanded and his attendance in the rallies was reported to the Manila Times front office. He was a reporter, they told him. He was not supposed to be directly much less personally involved in the issues was covering.

Satur was ready with his retort: “I am a citizen, and I am free to exercise my rights. I do my job as a reporter when I submit the stories; but I also have a job and responsibilities as a Filipino.” He was prepared to argue and defend his point, but by then he had gained the support of  Manila Times editor, Alejandro ‘Chino’ Roces.

Satur then went on to implement more changes in his section: he believed that economic issues, precisely because of their nature, also belonged in the front page especially when they affected the lives and livelihood of millions of Filipinos.

Eventually, Satur became president of the Business and Economics Reporters Association. His reputation as a no-nonsense business writer also grew as he wrote investigative pieces on the illegal and secret marriages between private firms and government agencies, or how government-ran corporations were leaking money because of mismanagement and corruption. He wrote about how, in the end, because of anomalies in government and its business dealings, it was the Filipino people who lost.

He was offered bribes like cars and houses, he was politely but firmly asked to stop his exposes. He, in turn, was also polite and firm as he declined and gave his standard answer: “Talk to my editor.”

Satur also became the host of a political talk-show. Three times the show was aired from Malacanang, and it went on for a year until Marcos declared martial law.

To be continued.

Disappointed over Chiz Escudero

Is Sen. Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero pulling out of the presidential race? He pulled out of the Nationalist People’s Coalition reportedly because he didn’t get the kind of financial support he was seeking from kingmaker Eduardo ‘Danding’ Cojuangco who’s the real power behind the party, but he’s denying this.

I cannot help but be frustrated and even disgusted by how Sen. Escudero explained his sudden move. All rhetoric and evasions. It sounded like he was reciting a poetic monologue, and its wasn’t even very good poetry. He talks like a robot what with that monotone of his, and in alliterative words. Previously I didn’t really mind — and I know some even found his way of speaking, bizarrely, cute– but the other night, as he granted a live interview on TV Patrol and fielded questions from Ted Failon and Karen Davila, he was soooooo annoying.

He was evasive. Yeah, sure, he said he wanted to be his own man, and he he said he didn’t want to be beholden to anyone if he was going to run for the highest post in the land so he can run and, if he wins, rule with a clear conscience and with a clear head uninfluenced by his party’s politics.

But WHO WAS HE KIDDING?! Failon asked him why only now is he doing this? So close to the polls, and with no signs coming that he was fed up with the NPC or its politics. Why only now?

His explanation or excuse (and yes, I think, it really was the latter) sounded like he was being an honest candidate, a different kind of politician, but I DIDN’T buy it. Jeez.

I like Sen. Escudero — I laud all his previous efforts to speak out against corruption in government. I can even forgive his being a spokesperson for the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) back in 1998 when he was still a congressman under former Pres. Joseph Estrada’s term. He has matured and evolved into a politician who carried serious issues like human rights, foreign policy, jobs and wages.  I see him as a more able, more charismatic, more decisive politician than, say, Sen. Noynoy Aquino. If he were running for president, I’d probably vote for him.

But the last few days?! Gad, how frustrating. There’s something he is not saying, something he is not admitting. And this implies much, given how he is usually so forthcoming.

Sen. Chiz, what the heck are you doing? Was it just the money?! You can still run under the NPC and still be your own man, right? If you win, all bets are off and you are beholden primarily to those who voted for you. You can and should defy all those who go against your objectives if they are objectives sincerely meant and concretely aimed to benefit the Filipino people.

Arnel Pineda nung di pa siya sikat

I wrote this article waaay back when I was in Hong Kong.  Even then, Arnel Pineda was an amazing singer.My friends and I (staff of Hong Kong News) had to acknowledge that he was no ordinary singer. He had real talent, and he had presence.

The sad thing was, the bar where we watched him perform was seldom full, so often he performed to a half-empty (or half-full, depends on how you look at it) venue.

Anyways, here’s the article.

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Wednesday, July 5th, 2006  (July 7 issue of Hong Kong News)

HALOS dalawang taon nang tumutugtog sa Cavern sa Lan Kwai Fong ang bandang The Bones. Pulos Pilipino ang mga miyembro ng bandang ito – sina Karen Domingo, Arnel Pineda mga vocalist; Monet Cajipe, rhythm guitar; Pierre Donovan Luib, bassist; Darren Mercado, drummer; at Elmer Palermo, keyboardist.

Sa buong panahong ito, nakilala ang banda para sa mahusay na pagtugtog at ‘concert-standard’ na pagkanta ng dalawa nitong  bokalista. Hindi man napupuno ng mga Pinoy at Pinay ang  Cavern tuwing weekdays kung kailan subsob sa trabaho ang mga OFW at hindi halos lumalabas ng flat ng kani-kanilang employer, madalas namang walang maupuan tuwing set ng banda dahil maraming mga ‘gweilo’ at iba pang mga turista at Chinese na residente.

Matagal-tagal na rin sina Arnel at Karen sa pagiging singers. Sa batang-gulang na 14, professional na si Karen at nanalo na sa mga national competitions sa Pilipinas gaya ng dating palabas sa RPN 9 na ‘Ang Bagong Kampeon.’ Tumugtog na rin siya sa iba’t-ibang hotel sa ibang bansa.

Si Arnel naman ay nagsimulang maging vocalist ng banda sa edad na 15. Tumugtog na ang kanyang banda na ‘Amo’ sa Shakey’s na kilalang hang-out ng mga mahilig sa live-band music, at nanalo na rin sa mga band competitions.

Nagkasama sila at ng buong banda sa The Cavern Setyembre 2004, at maganda ang kanilang naging chemistry bilang isang grupo. Asawa ni Karen ang drummer na si Darren. Gaya din ng ibang mga OFW, nasa Pilipinas ang kani-kanilang mga pamilya at sa kanila nakalaan ang kalakhan ng kanilang sinusweldo.

Ayon kay Arnel, mahirap ang trabaho pero masayang mag-perform. ‘Nagre-react kami sa audience, pinaanood namin sila at nage-gauge namin kung anong mood nila. Pag mukhang pagod lahat, relaxing music ang kakantahin namin. Pag mukhang malulungkot, medyo upbeat ang aming pipiliin,” aniya.

Ang responsiveness na ito sa audience ang makikitang isang dahilan ng tagumpay ng banda. Habang nagpeperform, mapapansin ang rapport nila sa mga nanunood at nakikinig. Kakaway si Arnel, ngingiti sa Karen sa ilang nasa audience. Parang dun lang mismo sa stage nila pinipili kung ano ang susunod na kanilang tutugtugin.

“Depende nga kasi sa mood ng audience. Minsan,sige, kahit  nababaduyan kami sa kanta, pero nakita naming bagay sa age-bracket ng mga nasa audience, kinakanta namin,” kwento ni Karen. Kaya nga naman minsan ay kinakanta nila ang walang kamatayang ‘My heart  will go on” ni Celine Dion na theme song ng ‘Titanic.’
Pag dumating ka ng alas-9, maririnig mo ang mga kanta ng dekada 70, 80, at kalagitnaan ng 1990s. Karaniwang mga pop ballads o kung tawagin ay ‘slow rock’ o ‘mellow music’ mula sa mga kanta ng The Carpenters, ni Anita Baker, Christopher Cross, Sade at Billy Joel. Minsan hahalo sa kanilang repertoire ang mga hits ng Soul Asylum, U2, The Police, at mga bagong kanta nina Alicia Keys, Norah Jones, Robbie Williams at Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Walang mapapansing pattern sa seleksyon ng mga kanta dahil salitan ang mood na sinasalimin ng mga awit. Ang malinaw lang, nag-eenjoy ang audience kahit nakaupo lang sa kanilang mga orange na de-kutsong bar stool o banquet seat at nag-aalaga ng bote ng $55 na beer.

Pagpatak ng alas-11, rock-and-roll at disco naman. At dito talaga lumalabas ang energy ng audience na karaniwang binubuo na ng mga employees na gustong mag-unwind, mga bored na residente, at mga kabataang nilalabanan ang antok dahil gusto talagang mag-party.

Nakikita nina Arnel na mapalad sila kumpara sa maraming musikero na nasa Pilipinas. Bagamat tutoong hindi rin naman daw kalakihan ang sweldo nila dito sa Hong Kong, ‘di hamak namang mas malaki pa rin ito sa nakukuha ng kanilang mga kapanalig sa iniwang bayan.
“Sampu sampera ang magagaling na musicians sa atin, kaya masakit na hindi lahat nakakakuha ng magandang break,” ani Arnel. Naghihimutok din sila sa anila’y ‘diskriminasyon’ na dinadanas ng mga HK-based musicians. ‘Mas mataas ang bayad sa mga Puti. Siyempre kahit paano masusukat ang respetong binibigay sa iyo in terms of kung magkano ang binibigay sa iyo.”

Ayon sa isang survey, kumikita ang mga musician sa Maynila ng mula US$5 (HK$39) hanggang US$10 kada araw (o P250), habang ang mga overseas music jobs ay maaring pagkakitaan ng mula  US$600 hanggang US$1,500 kada buwan (o P31,800- P78,000). Sa isang bansa kung saan 43  percent ng populasyon ang nabubuhay sa  US$2 kada araw (ayon sa World Bank), ang kumita ng HK$10,000 kada buwan bilang musikero sa Hong Kong ay isang malaking tulong sa pamilya.

Gayunpaman, mas mababa pa rin, gaya ng sabi ni Arnel, ang kita ng mga Pinoy na musicians. Ayon na rin sa isang anonymous na performer, depende sa lahi ang swelduhan sa mga musikero sa Hong Kong. May mga Amerikanong musikero ang kumikita ng HK$30,000 hanggang HK$40,000 kada buwan; habang ang mga lokal na talent ay nakakakuha ng HK$15,000.

“Talagang nakaka-dismaya din. Passionate ang mga Pinoy kung mag-perform kahit pa covers lang ang kinakanta, ubos-lakas talaga Unfair na kulang ang binibigay sa atin na recognition at respect,” ani Arnel.

Samantala, katulad pa rin ng ibang mga OFW, may opinyon din sina Karen sa mga kaganapan sa Pilipinas. Migranteng manggagawa din sila tulad ng mga kababayang domestic helper, at apektado ng mga nangyayari sa Pilipinas dahil nandun ang mga mahal sa buhay.
“Sana magkaisa na lang ang mga Pilipino,” anila. “Parang walang kauuwian ang pinaghihirapan ng mga OFW dahil sa corruption sa Pilipinas. Si Arroyo naman,dapat bumababa na. Lalong gumugulo ang sitwasyon, bumabagsak ang ekonomya.”

Isang bagay na gustong makita nina Arnel ang magkaisa ang mga musikerong Pilipino sa Hong Kong. “Maganda sana kung magagawa ng mga musicians na magtulungan, para mapataas natin ang pagkilala sa galing ng mga Pinoy dito. Huwag na sana magkaroon ng inggitan o alitan,” aniya. “Magtulungan dapat ang mga Pilipino na nasa ibang bansa.”

Parang mga bampira ang mga Pinoy na musikero, lalo na ang mga nagtatrabaho sa mga bars. Sa paglubog ng araw, saka lang sila lalabas, at gigisingin ang gabi gamit ang kanilang mga boses at instrumento. Mga artista at migranteng manggagawa, tumutulong sila na ipakita sa mundo ang kakayanan at talento ng mga Pilipino.#

Estrada for president again? Tsk-tsk-tsk.

Joseph Estrada a.ka. Erap is again running for president. Unbelievable. It makes one’s stomach turn over how he is being so selfish and so deluded as to think that it is he who is the nation’s hope for change and that he can, ‘again’, make a difference.

He has done enough damage during his term, and he was ousted and imprisoned for it. It’s clear that he didn’t learn anything from the experience, and nothing of humility.

Estrada’s involvement in the 2010 presidential race will make things even more difficult for sanity and order to make  their way back to the Philippine political system. What he represents are backward values of patronage politics, and he harps on being a leader of the poor when he himself has never been poor and his idea of helping them is giving them dole-outs. He makes people believe in dreams that can never realized because they are based on fiction and not on objective conditions which can be altered and reworked and restructured. He delivers speeches meant for actors, and he is an actor still.

It is a very, very sorry development, his declaration of candidacy. I feel sad and angry and disgusted.

It would have been better if he remained in the sidelines and instead threw his support behind the candidacy of , say, Noynoy Aquino. He should have let go of his delusions and of the past — he was president once, and once should have been enough. The fact that the poor supposedly love him doesn’t mean that he knows what is best for them and that he has done or that he will do what is best for them.

People sometimes continue love even those who hurt them; Filipinos are a sentimental lot, and often this is a bad thing. The slightest kindness given them make them slaves to those who showed the said kindness. It’s easy to get Filipino’s affection and loyalty — a smile, a handshake, a few handouts to those who have long been dismissed and neglected by the elitist system and government. This is what Etsrada has been long relying on.

In the meantime, his running mate is Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay.

Now my views about Binay are slightly more positive– the man has worked for Makati, and he has been able to do some measure of good for his constituents. I really cannot make definite conclusions, only impressions; and my impressions, based on the little I see and know of Makati and the local government there, are positive.

I guess Estrada is banking on Binay to save him and his chances of leading the country well. Binay is the one who’s actually running for president, with Erap as the figurehead.

Still, tsk-tsk-tsk-tsk.

Estrada also named Juan Ponce Enrile, his son Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, Jose De Venecia III,  Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, Agusan del Sur Rep. Rodolfo Plaza, Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, and Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III as among his senatorial candidates.

My head hurts just thinking about these developments. I could weep if I didn’t feel angry and frustrated.

Health and infrastructure issues in the wake of Pepeng and Ondoy

Lists, lists, lists all running in my head like a very, very long ticker tape. The world inside my head expands like a balloon slowly filling with helium, and I feel giddy. The lists are about needs and desires. There are so many things I want to do, things I want to happen, wish for, want; but the sorry fact is there are limits. Boundaries must be respected, limitations acknowledged. It’s far from being a perfect world, otherwise we could all do so much good and not just for our own selves but for other people, and humanity would be a few more steps closer to heaven on earth.

1. Repeal and junking of the oil deregulation law

2. Repeal and junking of the energy privatization law.

3. Repeal and junking of trade liberalization.

4. Free or substantially subsidized health care

5. Free or substantially subsidized education up to university

6. Free public housing

7. Genuine agrarian reform

8. Labor rights

9. Human Rights

10. Justice for all victims of state neglect, repression and killing.

11. Intelligent, humane and compassionate leaders with no concept of greed or personal ambition.

12.An independent and sovereign foreign policy.

Right now, though, I am very concerned about the state of the health care system. If it were a person, he would be one afflicted with so many diseases he’d be barely standing up. He pops a paracetamol tablet for migraines — the same way he relies on antibiotics for more serious complaints.

The news are disturbing. Over 700 cases of leptospirosis, and already, almost a hundred people have died. All because of the floods, and many areas remain flooded. Imagine wading and swimming through polluted water. Then imagine your own children doing the same. It’s  horrible. It’s dangerous. And now people are sick.

Besides leptospirosis, there’s cholera and the whole gamut of respiratory diseases because of the terrible living conditions in the evacuation centers. Skin diseases also proliferate.

As of this writing, there are still large areas of Pangasinan under water, and the same goes for areas in Laguna.

In the meantime, the landslides.  How horrible is it that Benguet and Baguio have run out of coffins and there’s a need to import them? Almost a hundred have died. Schools have collapsed.

I know that the positive attitude would be to work towards solutions and not to point fingers, but still, who and what is to blame?! I’ve been waiting for the anti-mining and anti-illegal logging groups to speak up. The areas that collapsed because of the massive rainfall were mountainside areas, and the houses were buried under soil and mud. There were no trees with spreading roots to hold the land together.

I’ve been reading reports about city planning. Sheesh, it’s only now that the experts are speaking up. There ARE plans to make the cities safer from floods and earthquakes and other natural phenomenon, they just haven’t been implemented because of lack of funds.

Right.

It’s no less than shocking, reports from the Department of Public Works and Highways saying that that some eight million residents in Metro Manila will still have to suffer from floods for at least ten 10 more years from flood and similar calamities because of lack of funds for infrastructure to prevent said floods.

Get real. There’s money alright, but this wretched, corrupt-to-the-bone government is spending it wrong.
Squandering is more like it.

Through the numerous financial scams and scandals the Arroyo administration has gotten itself into, a particular truth was exposed and affirmed:  there IS money, but it is not being utilized for the public good. This latest revelation of the government’s infuriating inability to address the urgent infrastructure problems of the country yet again point to corruption and twisted priorioties  as the reasons for its failures.

According to the DPWH, the government’s  estimated P82-billion flood-control projects that could have prevented killer floods caused by strong typhoons like Ondoy remain unimplemented for lack of funds. Plans to rehabilitate the damaged areas and prevent future disasters will be at a standstill for 10 more years as the projects go through the process comprised of feasibility studies, government and funding-agency approval, and bidding and construction.Nine of 15 projects that could have prevented massive flooding in Metro Manila have have not even been started.

Red tape! While people drown and their homes are submerged!

In the meantime, at least P30 billion is supposedly needed to implement the relocation of more than half a million squatter families living in danger zones, particularly riverbanks and other waterways. The Metro Manila Inter-Agency Committee on Informal Settlers, in a report submitted to the Supreme Court, said the task would involve the construction of 22,689 social housing units a year at an average cost of P3.225 billion annually to provide some 544,609 informal dwellers with decent and safer homes.

Great. And Gloria Arroyo and her sycophants gorge on steaks abroad.

Obviously, these are the things that Macapagal- Arroyo deliberately left out when delivering her State of the Nation addresses. It took Ondoy and Pepeng to force the government to admit its failures, and now it’s the Filipino people who will again suffer the consequences. There is a serious need to reorganize and restructure the government’s priorities when it comes to budget utilization. The implementation of projects that will ensure the safety and security of the populace against the ravages of natural phenomenon must be prioritized.

Turning 34 and 1.

I’ turned 34 yesterday. It’s strange how I don’t feel a day like it.

I suppose it’s because I don’t feel that I have changed much through the years. I’ve read somewhere that after a certain age, people are fully formed: their essential beliefs, their fears and deepest worries, the way they react to moments of bliss or woe will never again be a surprise. They are  who they are, and what remains of the potential for change can only be realized in increments. Most possibly, in sudden bursts of creativity, and  during great emotional upheavals that necessitate radical and immediate personal transformation all in the name of survival.

I feel the same way I did when I was 27. I think that was the age when I stopped aging inside. Or if I did age, it was a graceful process and intangible. The birth of  my baby daughter made me feel closer to complete, but in no way does motherhood make me feel old. I am  sometimes exhausted, but always, always  happy; do I ever feel old? No.

If anything, I feel younger. Kimiko gives me reason to be less adult in the sense that I am again more in touch with my childlike side. She marvels at the most ordinary things — the Columbia sports water bottle with its red tinge, the way spoons fit together when stacked one on top of the other, the CD player – and I can’t help but marvel along with her. It’s simply impossible to not see the world through her eyes when she’s happy; as if the world was a mostly happy place.

For a few hours, I can ignore the way the rest of the world weeps; I can pretend to be oblivious to the way injustice gnaws away at what hope we try to build; and afterwards, as I watch her sleep and dream (her pudgy legs sometimes kicking as they are splayed across the bed, as if she was playing soccer), I can resolve to be stronger.

In a way, Kimiko’s birth was also my birthday, because with her birth,  I was also reborn.  So I have two birthdays now; I am both 34 years old and 1.

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The image above is the cover of author Audrey Niffenegger’s second novel. It’s what I wanted for my birthday, but I made the wish for it too late as loved ones had already bought gifts (books pa rin, sheesh).

Anyway, I’m saving up for a copy (sadly, it’s not cheap, and I don’t think Booksale will be selling any for years yet. The book was released only October 1 or thereabouts), and if by the end of the month there’s enough left over, Powerbooks here I come!

—

It’s hard to write about what’s happening in the Philippines. There are no more words to describe the grief and the agony, the level of despair. The landslides in Benguet and Baguio, the massive flooding in Pangasinan have left more people homeless, helpless; many have been killed and in the most painful way: being swallowed by mud, being buried alive in the earth that suddenly weakened and collapsed. It’s a collective nightmare that many will not be waking up from.

What’s worse is that there is a considerable amount of certainty that the tragedies could have been avoided. The landslides were set off the strong rains; but what made the earth more susceptible?

Mining and deforestation. The stubborn greed of local governments and mining and logging concessions have resulted in this. And now our children are paying. And we will all continue to pay for decades more unless we begin rebuilding now and in the right way by putting an end to open pit mining and illegal logging and slash and burn techniques of clearing forests and other areas for infrastructure building.

Is it too late? No. It’s never too late.We are paying with the blood and lives of our children and our loved ones for the mistakes of our daily living and our indifference or our willful refusal to heed the warnings nature has given us. And we will continue to pay in more valuable coin beyond lost property and homes if we do not change the kind of government and the kind of system in place now. Hundreds of thousands have no food, water, adequate shelter. Children are falling ill left and right.

Through all this, the government is running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Now there’s a report saying that  dsaster-preparedness officials warned Defense Secretary and presidential wanna-be Gilbert Teodoro about how there was the strong possibility that there would be widespread flooding this year. Teodoro, however, fudged, and  did not act quickly on purchasing life-saving equipment like rubber boats.

I suppose it  sounds a bit corny to say, but I guess it is important that we must all live more aware now — aware of what we can do to make the Philippines a better place to live in, and in that way contribute to efforts to heal the planet. It’s all interconnected, likes strands of a spiderweb= the kind of government we have, the policies it implements; how we live and respond to these policies, how we take an active (or inactive) role in the way society moves forward (or not).

I was never an environmentalist in the sense that I proclaimed it as my personal advocacy, but I have always been concerned about the earth and the catastrophies that have been happening: ice bergs melting when they had no business doing so; ozone layer depletion; water pollution, air pollution, the damage caused by open pit mining.  Now, well, I guess I should pay even more attention and write more about these issues if I could (in the professional way, I mean, not just here where I’m mostly rambling).

To Malacanang: don’t steal from those who have already lost everything

Money, money. Gad.

Recent reports state that the donations and pledges for the victims of Tropical Storm Ondoy from other international organizations and from foreign countries have reached more than $13.22 million (or around P615 million).

Would it be too much to demand that Malacanang make a public accounting of how it’s using the funds? Because the donations do not make up a paltry sum (every single peso counts, anyone who has seen the state of the evacuation centers and the plight of the victims will fervently attest) : according to latest reports from the Department of Foreign Affairs,  a total of $7.33 million came from bilateral partners; $3.64 million from multilateral and regional organizations; $283,351 from international organizations, and $150,000 from foreign nongovernment organizations.

Based on a list released by the DFA, the top 12 donor-countries are Canada ($4.63 million), Spain ($1.46 million), Australia ($866,000), Germany ($729,000), Italy ($314,000), South Korea ($300,000), Switzerland ($242,000), Japan ($223,000), China ($140,000), United States ($100,000), Singapore ($30,000) and France ($14,583). In the meantime, Filipino overseas communities from the Marianas to Dubai, gave relief funds amounting to $5,820. DFA personnel in Philippine embassies and consulates raised $7,802 while other private individuals and groups contributed $64,582.

So that’s a lot of money. Money that could buy medicine and food and clothes; money that could be used to improve the facilities of the evacuation centers and the temporary shelters even as the areas and communities ravaged by Ondoy are being rehabilitated.

I worry in particular for the children, the babies. It’s beyond horror that they should be suffering the sorry conditions in the evacuation centers, that they should be forced to subsist mainly on instant cooked noodles and canned food.  Their mothers and fathers are much worse off, I know (because it is certain that they continue to make even greater sacrifices to ensure that their children get to eat and drink), and all in all it’s painful to think about.

Daily I think of how urgent it is, how crucial that we fight for a new government, a new system, an altogether different way of life.  It goes against everything great and good to accept that this state of things will continue for the longest time yet, and that no substantial and meaningful change will take place.

Is it not the height of something tragic or the other that we cannot even trust the highest official of the land to manage the funds and to ensure that every single centavo goes towards efforts to help the victims get back on their feet and to rehabilitate their communities, to rebuild and make them livable again?

A question: will all the money coming in, why can’t the government initiate the establishment of soup kitchens in the areas affected by the typhoon? Soup kitchens that will cook real meals, real food so the refugees will not have to continue living on noodles and sardines? If not actual meals, then certainly a bowl of steaming hot arroz caldo would be better than tinned food.

It’s been almost two weeks since many of the victims have eaten properly, food that is filling and genuinely nourishing. Can’t fruit be distributed? Apples and dalandan. And sandwiches? I don’t think it will take too much effort to make them — no fuss and frills, just bread and filling, maybe tuna and chopped lettuce? Or egg? No mayonnaise, because that would spoil quickly.  Dried fruit like raisins would also be okay.

It’s also appalling that there are no toilets and bathrooms for the victims. The schools turned evacuation centers have turned into virtual pigsties, and more sickness is sure to follow.

Aaaargh!The government should utilize resources better! This is so frustrating. There is no denying that an effective means of measuring the efficiency and strength of any society is to see how it takes care of its members during emergency situations. A government’s compassion and humanity is also measured in how it gives its constituents protection and how it looks after their welfare when they have been rendered helpless.

Macapagal-Arroyo should be reminded that it’s a mortal sin to steal, and even worse to steal from those who have already lost everything. The foreign humanitarian aid that continues to come in should be utilized well, and completely for the benefit of the victims and their communities.  And some of the fund should go towards the creation and implementation of more intelligent, more efficient, scientific disaster response plan. But I guess it’s useless to appeal to her, she who is corrupt to the core, she who showed little or no hesitation in dining lavishly as the rest of her constituents went hungry.

Even now, as she makes those tv appearances, feigning knowledge, pretending to exude confidence and strength at a time when so many feel so weakened, she is exposed as a liar as the situation refuses to improve and the victims continue to suffer.

Reclaiming human dignity after Tropical Storm Ondoy

There is much to applaud about the efforts of various people’s organizations, Church and ecumenical humanitarian groups and media outlets to bring aid to the victims of Tropical Storm Ondoy. Without their outstanding help, it is highly likely that the death toll would be much higher, and the suffering of the survivors would be even worse (yes, impossible as it may sound, it could still be worse).

Having said that, however, it is tragic to see how much help is still needed and how urgent it is to bring that help now. More and more children are falling ill, and their condition is further exacerbated by the fact that the health of their own parents are slowly deteriorating. It’s  hardly an exaggeration to say that many of them have not had a good night’s sleep since Friday– before Ondoy arrived and turned their lives upside down and on the wrong side. In the meantime, subsisting on canned goods, biscuits and instant noodle soup is never anyone’s recommendation for good nutrition.

Their must be more help to be had! There must be more that could be done to help them, and now!

How, I am not exactly sure. One feels so helpless, and not even the awareness that thousands of Filipinos are now doing their best to help provide relief for the victims is consolation.  It’s not a happy thing to know that the help being given is far from being enough. There is no comfort to be felt by those in the relief missions because of how well aware they are that the aid they are giving resembles drops of water in a wide desert and its permanently high noon. They can only give their time and their strength and their goodwill, and pray that more help comes in.

I have been ruminating over the entire concept of providing relief aid. Without question, it is a good and noble thing on the part of those giving the aid (especially if they don’t think about it at all and give themselves pats on the back); but I’m thinking how it must feel like for the recipients.

They must be grateful, I am sure. In their desperation and bewildered state, it is certain that they are very thankful for any and all kind of help they’re being given. But on then on the other hand, it must also be somewhat painful for them to be on the receiving end.

Yes, they were already poor before the calamity struck; but they lived in whatever dignity and independence they could muster. Majority of them worked for their own keep, relying on their own strength and their creativity to scrape a living and to bring home food for their children and families. Perhaps many bought their furniture second hand, or on installment; the same goes for their televisions and their DVD players and whatever appliances they also had in their homes. They did their best to keep their children clothed and fed; and worked hard to keep their children in school and out of the streets.

All this no thanks to the Macapagal-Arroyo government or its predecessors. All this without help from local officials or even those from higher positions (No, financial assistance from congressmen or any similar ‘aid’ is not really aid: it’s taxpayers’ money, and Filipinos who ask for help from local officials are only exercising their right to receive it. As for the officials who give it, they’re not saints: they’re just doing their duty as public servants).

And now, in the wake of Ondoy, these same Filipinos who worked and slaved for their families, who dreamed of simple dreams for their children and hoped nothing beyond keeping their families together despite grinding poverty and the worsening economic crisis, now these Filipinos have been reduced to being charity cases.

They are now forced into the roles of mendicants, and they cannot even see beyond the next meal. The future is too far for them to see: surviving from one hour to the next is already an ordeal in the cramped evacuation centers where the heat is stifling, where there are not enough sanitation facilities, where boredom can take the toll on anybody’s already restless mind and troubled spirit. Desperation clings like second skin, and not even the hum of the ever-present mosquitoes and flies can distract one from the fear of  uncertainty: where will they be in a week? what will happen to the children? how will they rebuild their homes and their lives?

This is one more thing the government and the system should be held accountable for: for snatching away the remnants of dignity left to so many Filipinos.

National media sites are rife with reports of how the Macapagal-Arroyo regime squandered funds initially earmarked for disaster operations, and how the government knew beforehand that a calamity was coming because of reports they received from the meteoriologists.  Did the government initiate any preparations? No. And now another strong tropical storm is coming and we are all left fearing what could come next.

I suppose the main goal now should be this: helping the victims reclaim their dignity. And to do this means going beyond giving the much needed emergency goods.

It means helping them see their options other than returning to their lives pre-Ondoy; it means, helping them see beyond the horrible tragedy of the moment and giving them strength to claim their rights and demand it from the government who was tasked to protect the people but instead abused the powers it was given. It means opening their eyes to the truth that this tragedy, the nightmares given life because of Ondoy, were man-made and could have been avoided, and that similar tragedies can be stopped in their tracks.

It means enjoining them to help fight this system of corruption and oppression, and encouraging them to participate in efforts to create a better society, putting together a humane and compassionate government, and laying down the foundations for a new way of life where preserving human dignity and life and upholding social justice take precedence over personal gain and selfish ends.

Because in the end, so long as this kind of government remains, this kind of system continues, we are all victims.