HermieGarcia.net

I didn’t intend to write a column for this issue. In the last few days, however, I came across two items circulating on the Internet that I thought would be a compelling study in stark contrast. One is about the life of an overseas Filipino worker, or OFW, and the other the life of a Senator.

One is a column written by Conrado de Quiros, award-winning newspaper columnist whose impassioned writings have cultivated for him a large following of readers.  He wrote about the insane conditions under which OFWs work and the government plan to subject prospective OFWs to psychological tests before deploying them to overseas work.

The other item is anonymously written but equally impassioned description of the lives of Senators whose privileges and entitlements are mind-boggling.

Here is an excerpt from De Quiros’s column:

“The question is whether the person you are sending out is loony-tunes or the place he is going to is bound to make him so. Or put another way, the question is whether the person you are sending out is a risk to the community you are sending him out to or the conditions of work you are sending him out to are a risk to the person you are sending out. In many cases, the second is truer than the first. It’s the deplorable working conditions, the verbal, physical, emotional and sexual abuse, the torture, the nonpayment of wages that make OFWs snap and go berserk. That is probably more the rule than the exception. No exam is going to change that.”

xxx

“There is something sublimely absurd about making sure that only sane people are sent out to do insane work. There is something violently contradictory about guaranteeing that people are able to keep their family together by exposing them to conditions that guarantee they will tear their family asunder. There is something maddeningly insane about assuring that people are sufficiently sane to carry out the insane task of keeping a country afloat by sending its people to work abroad.

“I don’t know of any country today that is so dependent on overseas work. That has for its lifeblood overseas work. That cannot survive for one day without overseas work. Absurdity piles up on absurdity. I don’t know of any country today that is so desperate for overseas work it is willing to send its citizens to places God or Allah forgot. I don’t know of any country today that has turned whole universities into nursing schools, or turned entire departments into adjuncts of the nursing one. I don’t know of any country today that doesn’t even mind selling itself, quite apart from its people, to the highest bidder, piece by piece, parcel by parcel, lot by lot, just to survive—or to make its officials happy.”

Here is the item on the privileges of Senators, written in Pilipino or Tagalog. I refuse to translate this to English. I’m sure I would not give justice to the content and all its emotion should I do so.

So here, enjoy:

“ANG SARAP MAGING SENADOR!

“Miriam Defensor Santiago was featured in Correspondents last week.

“Maganda rin naman ang naidudulot ng pagiging prangka ni Senador Miriam Defensor-Santiago. Ayon kay Santiago , marami ang tumatak-bong Senador dahil sa laki ng budget na ibinibigay sa kanila kada buwan.
Lumalabas na P35,000 suweldo nila kada buwan ay pakitang-tao lang sa milyun-milyong budget ng bawat senador. Kada buwan ay may Fixed Monthly Budget ang bawat Senador ng humigit-kumulang P2 Milyon.
Sa opisina pa lang nila ay humigit-kumulang P500,000 ang budget nila sa Maintenance and Operating Expenses (Rental, Utilities, Supplies at Domestic Travels) at P500,000 para sa Staff at Personal expenses. Kaya para makatipid ang ibang Senador, kaunti lang ang staff na kinukuha nila. Nagtataka ka pa kung bakit mayroong mga Ghost Employee?

“Bukod diyan, may P760,000 allowance pa sila kada buwan para naman sa Foreign Travel. At ang masakit pa nito, hindi na kailngan i-liquidate ang mga resibo ng mga gastusin ‘yan kundi Certification lang ang Requirement.

“Heto pa, lahat sila ay Chairman ng mg Komite sa Senado. Ang Committee Chairman ay tumatanggap din ng budget na sinlaki ng tinatanggap ng mga Senador na humigit-kumulang P1 Milyon din! Hindi sila mawawalan ng Komite dahil 24 lang ang ating mga Senador at 37 naman ang Committee sa Senado.

“There’s food for everybody ‘ika nga! Lumalabas na doble ang kanilang benepesiyo at kita kapag sila ay nabiyayaan ng Committee Chairmanship.

“Sa P200 milyon na Budget para sa Pork Barrel ng mga Senador bawat taon, awtomatikong may 10% na S.O.P. o kita ng Senador na P20 milyon. Ito ang porsiyento na ibinibigay ng mga kontratista sa mga Senador na nagbibigay sa kanila ng mga Infrastructure at Livelihood Project.

“Bago matapos ang termino ng isang Senador, kumita na siya ng P100 milyon sa Pork Barrel pa lang. Yung ibang Senador mas gahaman, hindi lang 10% kundi 20 - 30% ang komisyon hinihingi sa mga kontratista.
Pansinin niyo na lang ang pagbabago ng buhay ng ilan sa ating mga Senador simula nang manungkulan sa puwesto. Kung dati ay simple lang ang kanilang pamumuhay ngayon ay nakatira na sila sa mga eksklusibong subdivision, maraming bahay sa Pilipinas at abroad at mahigit lima ang sasakyan.
Ngayon nagtataka ka pa ba kung bakit gumagastos ng daan-daang milyong piso ang mga Senador sa kampanya para sa isang posisyon na P35,000 lang ang suweldo kada buwan? Bawing-bawi pala ang gastos kapag naupo na!

ANG SARAP MAGING SENADOR! ! !
PLEASE FORWARD TO AS MANY OF YOUR FRIENDS AND LET THE WHOLE COUNTRY KNOW THAT ELECTION IS MORE OF PUTTING AMBITIOUS PEOPLE IN POSITION WHO ARE GREEDY FOR POWER, WEALTH & PRESTIGE THAN OF PUBLIC SERVICE… ANG MASAKIT PA PERA NG BAYAN PA RIN GAGAMITIN SA ELEKSYON MALUKLOK LANG ANG MGA BUWAYA SA PWESTO!!!”

Two quick updates:

1. A NEW Philippine Reporter website has been uploaded. Check it out at http://philippinereporter.com and enjoy the new design. We have also installed videos that are footages from the July 19, 2008 Mabuhay festival at Metro Convention Centre and the Juana Tejada press conference on July 18. We are using a software template that is similar to those used by CNN and other mainstream media sites. So you’ll sure to benefit from the leading edge features.

We at the Reporter are very excited by this new development. Now we can update the site with new stories and photos quickly and easily. No more tedious work with HTML stuff. No more waiting for the print edition to be finished. No more waiting for those trained with uploading to be free of their other work. I myself can upload stories, photos, make corrections, etc.

And the most exciting thing is when we cover stories, we can videotape the interviews and the events and upload the video footages the same day!!! I imagine this can be an exhilarating experience for our readers. It’s like, after attending a Filipino event or hearing about it, you check out the Reporter website and you find out what you just saw or heard about can be watched on video on the same day or a few days after.

So check it out now at http://philippinereporter.com and post your comments at the end of the stories and the videos. Bookmark the site because the url is different from the old site’s. Check out the Tinikling video and the other Fiesta Filipina videos. The music, the dances will mesmerize you.

2. At the top of the homepage you will notice a banner ad announcing a brief Free Review of the top 3 weight loss products. Check this out too. But don’t be scared, there is no product offer at the review page, only information. But of course, if you’re a bit interested in more information, you may read the linked pages which themselves contain a ton of great and useful info. They are well-researched and educational on the topic.

Since I am a health and wellness buff myself (I don’t eat meat, fastfood and greasy stuff, I drink Pimag oxygenated water, I take calcium, Coq10, Saw Palmetto supplements, etc.) I learned a lot just reading those pages. I even practiced some of their recommendations. And you know what? I lost 14 pounds in three weeks just using a couple of them. No kidding. Go check out those pages. They are highly-recommended by yours truly.

For a short cut, here’s the url: http://WellnessHealthWise.com

Here’s my latest column published in the Aug. 1-15, 2008 issue of The Philippine Reporter:

Notebook
By Hermie Garcia
Sweeping review of Mabuhay festival (Toronto)

I attended the Mabuhay Festival at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre last July 19 and I witnessed the huge success of the event.

Jun Enverga, President of the Philippine Independence Day Council (PIDC) says it was the biggest attendance so far in Mabuhay’s history. That’s true. I saw Mabuhay fest held at Harbourfront, several times at Metro Convention and one time at CNE Grounds. In most times, the crowd were sparse and some parts of the shows were ho-humm… some of the booth vendors said sales were not good enough and many food vendors complained about the sparse crowd.

These complaints and the lack of a substantial crowd led to various problems which included financial losses for the event organizers and the vendors.

But these may be a thing of the past. Almost two weeks after the event, I have yet to hear a buzz from complaining participants.

The huge turnout in the latest Mabuhay can be deservedly credited to the organizers, led by the Jun and Rosemer Enverga couple; Minda Neri, the event chair; Bernie Sychangco; Imee Belanger; Pete Mauricio; Ben Corpuz and the rest of the very able PIDC team and volunteers.

Most of the numbers were good , to say the least and some were awesome, to say the most. The dance troupes Fiesta Filipina and Culture Philippines were mesmerizing with their amazing dancers and their vibrantly colorful costumes. Against the huge Philippine flag as backdrop, you could describe the scenes magnificent.

Lilac Cana and Emil Zarris put up a classy number with songs the audience just relished and showed it with much applause. The Musika ng Ating Bayan was a pleasant relief from the seriousness and tradition-steep previous numbers. I liked the jeepney and karaoke bar scenes with Josie de Leon and Chyrell Samson.
I heard the San Lorenzo Ruiz Choir rendered a moving Bayan Ko number that touched a patriotic chord in many people’s hearts. Fiesta Filipina’s Bayani that featured Filipino heroes Bonifacio, Aguinaldo and Melchora Aquino reminded us of our historical struggle for freedom. After all, Mabuhay’s theme was the 110th independence day anniversary.

Note that PIDC supported Tejada’s fight for permanent residence in its Earl
Bales Park picnic. At the Mabuhay, Tejada was invited to join on stage the PIDC officers and some politicians that included Secretary of State for Multiculturalism Jason Kenney. It was appropriate to celebrate the Tejada victory at a huge event like Mabuhay. Problem is, it looked like the politicians were largely responsible for Tejada’s being granted eligibility for permanent residency. Fact is, her application was denied twice and were it not for community action and cries of injustice aired in the media, she would have been “removed” from Canada now.

Another sour note is the distasteful jokes and antics of event star Ai Ai de las Alas. She started with her series of jokes about the color, odour and shape of the genitals of the youth and adults. The crowd roared with laughter and it looked like they enjoyed her green and obscene jokes. But when she continued relentlessly and it seemed like they consisted the major part of her performance, I saw people shaking their heads. Aside from a few lively songs and the dirty jokes, she spent a large chunk of her time making four members of the audience inanely dance and compete on stage. Worse, she asked money from members of the audience who requested her to sing specific songs or have pictures taken with her. It was all in good fun, of course. But I heard comments like, “Was she underpaid by the organizers?” (Fact: She was paid a huge sum.)

In fairness to the organizers, I heard they did not know the staple of De las Alas’s performances. I watched some of them looked flabbergasted by it all. Also, she was warned that the event was a family-oriented show. But could you blame her? She has made a huge fortune from her kind of show in the Philippines, Asia, Europe and north America. Her fans love her for that. Well, some audience.

But this notwithstanding, this year’s Mabuhay was a huge success. I heard people say you’d be proud you’re Filipino when you witness a day-long event and show like that. Well, almost. Except maybe for the western-oriented fashion show which had no relevance to the occasion, and the overdone beauty pageants.

To sum up, Mabuhay made a headstart this year with historical content and relevance (Tejada issue, GK charity). Cultural content was superb. However, there’s room for improvement in handling non-relevant matters.