Hodgepodge

It was early Saturday morning when my four-year-old niece excitedly told me that she will be appearing on television.

“Tita Len, lalabat ako ta TV.”

And then she gave me a piece of paper, an invite for her to do a VTR. According to her, while she was in the mall with my aunt and my cousin, somebody from an ad agency approached them and asked my tita to let my niece do the VTR.

A while ago, my cute little niece started raiding our shoe rack — fitting all the shoes, sandals and flip flops. All those that she likes, she had it lined up on the floor.

“Anong ginagawa mo, Ms. Bulenggetong?” I asked her.
“Nagtutukat ng mga tapatos. Gagamitin ko ‘pag lumabat ako ta TV.”
” Eh, ang lalaki niyan sa iyo.”
“Pwede ito ta akin, ganito kaya nakikita ko ta TV, Tita Len.”
“Pinayagan ka na ba ng Daddy mo?”
” Hmmmm… hindi po.”
All I can do is smile and scratch my head. 

The world’s talking about the 2008 Beijing Olympics but last
night PBA fanatics in the country is all glued on the title showdown between
Barangay Ginebra Kings and Air 21 Express.

        At the start of the game, fans are still puzzled whether it’s
going to be a “Royal Coronation” for Ginebra or an “Express Celebration” for
Air 21. By now, you know the answer. And I am in jubilation with the outcome of
the game and I guess the rest of ka-barangays, too!

Despite being hobbled by injury, the Kings’ delivered a 97-84
win to capture the 2007-2008 PBA Smart Fiesta Conference before a mammoth crowd
at the Araneta Coliseum.

Almost 22,902 fans trooped to the Big Dome to watch Game 7
between the two teams and it proved to be a classic duel where all players from
both sides showed signs of eagerness to win the title. Stretched to seven
games, it was a make or break situation for the two teams and indeed it all
boiled down to the team that wants it more – Barangay Ginebra.

True to its never-say-die attitude, the Gin Kings lead by
Mark Caguioa, Eric Menk, Ronald Tubid, Paul Artadi, Chris Pacana and import Chris
Alexander controlled the tempo in the first three quarters of the game as they
put defensive plays on the Air 21 Express to give them a commanding lead of 13
points, 65-52.

The Express team refused to surrender the white flag as they
made defensive stops against the Kings to even the game, 80-80, in the last
five minutes and silenced the crowd, Ginebra’s sixth man for a while.

            Ginebra regained the lead 84-83 with 4:27 minutes in the game via a lay-up shot by Alexander and
the Kings never looked as they held to a 12-0 run until the last second of the
epic duel.

The Kings is indeed back from their throne once again and
their legions of fans couldn’t be happier.

I also have to agree with Ginebra Coach Jong Uichico that of
all the Ginebra championships the recent win is the sweetest because the team
hurdled a lot of adversities – starting the season with a 0-5 standings and injuries
besieging the key players– and realized that it is in those difficult situation
that they drew their
strength and inspiration from.

Jayjay Helterbrand, the Best Player of the Conference this
season, was out of the Finals because of hamstring injury, Caguioa, Valenzuela
were suffering from tendonitis while Menk and Tubid played fresh coming off an
injury.

"Every championship means a lot whether it’s your first,
second, third or what. But this one is really special. It’s hard to explain how
we won the series with all the injuries and tough challenges we faced,"
said Uichico, winning his second championship crown with Ginebra after coaching
San Miguel for years.

"The players deserve all the credit for not giving up.
We could have easily given up when we lost Jayjay (Helterbrand). We could have
easily given up when Mark Caguioa got injured. And we could have easily given
up when the others also got hurt. But the players didn’t," Uichico also
said.

And that’s what you call playing the game with a big heart.

My heart bleeds for this three year old boy, Wilfredo Labajo,
from

Sagay City,
Negros Occidental, who is in critical condition after eating plain corn rice
mixed with vetsin.

     GMANews.TV reported, "Online
news site Visayan Daily Star (www.visayandailystar.com) reported on Thursday
that Wilfredo Labajo Jr. was rushed to the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital, two days after he ate
rice mixed with vetsin at their home in Bato village in Sagay
City last Monday.

    The victim’s
father, Wilfredo Labajo Sr., said the boy and his sister Jerelyn, 9, put MSG
into their plain corn rice as the family could not afford regular rice or any
proper viand.

    The boy’s parents are ice buko vendors and
were out selling when the incident happened. Poverty does that to an innocent
little boy who mistook vetsin for viand. If you’re heart wouldn’t bleed with
that then I don’t know what kind of heart you have.

  Then I switch reading to Inquirer’s
banner story today which says that the government offered Court of Appeals
Justice Jose Sabio wtih an amount of money and a position in the Supreme Court.

    Inquirer wrote, "In a four-page
sworn statement, a copy of which was given to the Philippine Daily Inquirer by
a source affiliated with Meralco, Francis Roa de Borja quoted Sabio as saying
that the government had offered the latter money and a seat in the Supreme
Court to rule in favor of the Government Service Insurance System in the case
filed against it by Meralco."

    And then previous news stories
started racking my brain — NBN-ZTE scandal, P728 million fertilizer scam, Jose
Pidal bank account, and the P1.3 billion peso poll automation.

    Well, what poverty and corruption
share in common is the fact that it kills!

 
        This one is a breather from all the bad news we’ve been getting
lately. Gilbert Arenas, known as "Agent Zero" in the NBA, visited
Manila recently and has only kind words to say about his stay in the
country. He plays for Washington Wizards and is considered as one of
the best point guards in the league to date.
   
        Here is a part of his lengthy article about his 12-day Adidas
tour to different countries which he entitled, "Everybody should visit
Manila".

Manila

Then we stopped in Manila. It was a different world. I’ve never seen fans like that in my life. These pictures
can’t even do justice to what was going on out there. I had a reception
at a small, little venue to welcome me to the city and there were 200
people there.

One thing I want to say about Filipinos: they’re very warm people, very good-hearted people. Like, everybody
was nice. You know, you meet nice people, but a whole country of nice,
genuine, warm-hearted people was unbelievable. These are diehard fans.

I really didn’t know if I was in Game 7 of a playoff series, I couldn’t
tell the difference. Everywhere I went it was just bananas.

I also want to give a shout out to my man from Maryland who flew from
MD to the Philippines and told me the reason he flew all the way out
there was to get autographs from me because he knew I was going to be
there at that date and time.

I
did a couple mall tours. I also helped a kid with his wish. It was in
one of the poverty areas in Manila and there’s a group called GK
that builds homes for people all over the world. They helped this
community out by putting people in homes. I guess a couple weeks before
we got there, a hurricane hit and destroyed their community and GK
helped build it back up.

One
little kid who lived there wanted a basketball court for his community
so all the kids could play so I donated – with the help of GK and
adidas – a basketball court to that community and the kid was very
happy.

You have to look at the Agent Zero posters
they had out there. They put me in a cape at one of my last events in
Manila. It was at one of their biggest malls and they were predicting
it was going to be crowded. I mean, crowded to me is a Saturday
afternoon at the mall where you have to wait in line for 10 minutes to
pay for your jeans. Their crowded was probably four or five thousand
people in the mall. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen before, and I’ve
seen crazy fans all over the world. It was like Golden State against
the Dallas Mavericks with Game 3 back in Oakland. It was that type of
atmosphere in the mall.

I was stunned.

They made me feel like an NBA star.

Any
NBA players out there: If you’re having a bad day, or you’re having a
bad career, go to Manila. They’ll bring your spirits up, trust me.

I felt like I just won the NBA championship, to be for real.

After
we left the mall we were looking at pictures from the event a couple
days later and we were telling ourselves, "Man, that was unreal!"

Plus,
with the security I had, I felt like I was the President. I felt like I
was Obama. I really felt like I was running in the presidential
election, especially when I got to meet the U.S. ambassador out in the
Philippines. We had a great time talking to each other.

We
actually went to a college basketball game together. Their college game
would be like if it was Duke and Maryland playing each other and you
split the crowd in half, 50-50. One side of their gym was blue and one
side of their gym was green and everybody was just yelling.

Backstage I met Manny Pacquiao,
he’s the town hero. I have to be honest, they made me feel even bigger
than him at the moment. I talked to him and he invited me to his
November fight, so if I have time and depending on if we have a day
off, I might go see that. Oh, I also met Jet Li in Shanghai, can’t
leave him out.

On top of everything else in Manila, I stayed at the best hotel I’ve ever stayed at – The Peninsula. I was in the mack daddy “El Presidente” suite and was like the Fresh Prince with Geoffrey – I had a live-in butler. 

One more note on Manila, just so you guys can get a picture of what
kind of people they are and how much they adore and love entertainers
and the NBA. Think about this: If you’ve ever been to a Beyoncé
concert, or anybody’s concert in the states really, if they sell out an
arena it will be 20,000 fans. Last year in Beyoncé’s hometown, Houston,
she pulled in 12,000 people to her show. D.C. was her biggest sell, she
put 18,000 people in the seats. Meanwhile, she was in Manila for two
days to do two concerts and she had 85,000 people, two nights straight.

She couldn’t even do it in the arena, she had to do it on the lawn.
Like, “Everybody, y’all just get in the grass, I’m going to perform.”

That’s how the people are out there.

For his full article, visit his blog. 

  I found this,
A Prayer for Today by W. Heartstill Wilson, in yesterday’s issue of the
Philippine Star. A beautiful and inspiring prayer.

    This is the beginning of a new day.
    God has given me this day to use as I will.
    I can waste it or use it for good, but what I do today is
important, because I am exchanging a day of my life for it.
    When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever, leaving
in its place something that I have traded for it.
    I want it to be gain, and not loss; good, and not evil;
success, and not failure, in order that I shall not regret the price I have
paid for it.
    This day is all we have. Is there someone to whom an act of
kindness — not tomorrow but today — could make a world a difference?
    Today, whether we spend it well or throw it away, will be
gone tomorrow. What is there to do that is worth our effort?

         I was able to listen to this song by Introvoys again after so many years when the bus I was riding this morning tuned in to Energy FM. I remembered effortlessly how this song became an instant favorite when it hit the airwaves when I was in Grade 4. And how it reminds me of the  pain that numbs but continues to linger in a corner if not the whole of my heart.

         
        Paco Arespacochaga composed this song dedicated to his parents who had just died at that time, apparently, I was going through the same ordeal. As a 10 year old, part of my prayer to the Big Guy went like this, "Papa Jesus, sana po magkaroon po kayo  ng telephone sa heaven para makausap ko si mama Leny."

        So far that was the most innocent but sincerest prayer I have fervently uttered in my entire life.

Here is the Line to Heaven lyrics:

Heaven knows I’ve done no wrong

I only want to sing this song to you

Why did it have to end this way

Only a fool like me could say to you that…

Chorus
If I ever had a line to heaven
I swear
I’d call you there

And if I ever had a line to heaven
I swear
I’ll be there tonight.

Now where would I be without you now

I have to make it through this life somehow

Only time will tell me so
All the things I need to know somehow.

Bridge

How do I find the answers

All the questions I’ve been hiding inside

And all the fun and the laughters

We shared all have to stand beside.

   There is a connotation here in the country that when a Filipino is working abroad then that is the start of a good life for him and his family. Most Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) have one thing in mind — to uplift the standard of living of their family which they cannot fulfill if they stay in the country.
            
            Fortunately, a lot of them have their success stories to tell upon returning home — how they were able to build a home, how they establish their own business, how they were able to send their children in a reputable school and how they were able to save up.
            
            Others, sadly, had their tragic stories. In fact, it was so tragic that quite a handful of OFWs cannot even set the record straight because they are lifeless when they came home.
            
            Recently, I had the responsibility of writing news articles about OFWs working and living not only in Japan (Pinoy Gazette is circulating in Japan) but in other countries as well and I tell you that it is quite a torture writing about their saddest tales if not tragic.
            
            If you happen to be in a secluded area or is too busy minding what’s happening around, here’s a rundown of news on OFWs:

   
            * Crisanta Mahusay Lopez together with her son Naomasa was killed by her Japanese husband, Masayoshi Nagano, in Tokyo because of an outstanding loan. Crisanta, according to her family, remains to be their breadwinner prior to the incident.
            * A Filipina identified as Hazel was allegedly raped by an American serviceman in Okinawa, Japan. (Reminiscent of the Nicole-Daniel Smith case. Where is he?)
   
            * Franco Juan Paul killed himself by jumping from the fifth floor of his friend’s apartment in Nagoya, Japan to avoid being arrested by the Japanese police for not having a valid passport.
   
            * May Vecina, a domestic helper in Kuwait, was sentenced to death for murdering the son of her employer and attempted murder to other two children of the employer. Vecina claimed being maltreated by her employer.
   
            * 64 OFWs from Jeddah were sent home after being mistreated by their respective employers.
   
            * Six seamen were sent home after being seized off by pirates in the Somali coast.
            * 15 Filipinas in Hong Kong were sent to jail for working as prostitutes.
   
            * The biggest news was the story of Honiefaith Ratilla Kamiosawa, 22, whose body was allegedly mutilated into ten parts by Hiroshi Nozaki, 48. What is worse is that Nozaki did the same thing to another Filipina, named Elda, in 2000 and was given a jail sentence of three and a half years. You read it right: three and a half years for murder.

               
            These are some of the news regarding the plight of OFWs whose only wish is to have a better shot in life. It is tragic, isnt?
            A blogger had commented that there is injustice when Nozaki was sentenced to three and a half years for mutilating a Filipina in 2000. If the Filipina happens to be an American or Japanese, will Nozaki be given the same jail sentence? The blogger doesn’t think so, so do I.
               
            Apparently, our OFWs is the fourth largest remitters in the world according to the Migration and Remittances Factbook 2008 by the World Bank. It stated that the Philippines received $17 billion of remittances from our overly hard working Filipinos abroad. It is definitely one of the main reasons why our economy is afloat and why they are branded as the modern-day heroes. And they should be.
                
            What I have enumerated above are the stories of a few and there are a lot of Filipinos who are certainly in deplorable conditions that need to be exposed and given attention to. I am not saying that the government is not doing anything, I just think that there’s more to do to help them and to ensure that they are secure in a foreign land and that their rights as human beings are not violated.
            
            Millions of Filipinos in different parts of the world have sacrificed being away from their families, have endured discrimination, and have challenged the risks at bay to have a better life. Hearing their tragic stories are downright disheartening for they truly deserve more than the accolade and the titles.
               
            
And yeah, unlike the infamous writer who grabbed the spotlight last year, I hope you won’t slash your wrist at the thought of being in the same plane with them.
             
               

                I
haven’t felt that the Christmas season is around not until I was
walking on our street on my way to the bus stop this morning. Funny
kasi four houses ang nagpapatugtog ng Christmas songs, di ko pa ba
mare-realize na Christmas day is coming soon?
Iyong unang house was playing a Christmas song na medyo ma-drama, iyong
"Pasko na Sinta ko". The second house feel iyong song ni Michael
Jackson na "Give Love on Christmas Day" and iyong third house was
playing the famous Jose Mari Chan’s song that made me smile. Sa fourth
house di ko alam ang title.
 So yeah, it’s barely 33 days and it’s Christmas! 
   
         To be honest, I never grew up with setting up a Christmas tree
at home or lanterns outside. In our home, Christmas decorations are so
minimal — usually may Christmas lights lang sa terrace and red-colored
pillow cases with Christmas designs covering our throw pillows  in the
sala. Pero until now, wala pa rin decorations sa bahay.
   
         I cannot actually give any reason why Christmas isn’t much of
a big deal as it is in other homes (we don’t even celebrate Noche
Buena) except that my whole maternal family celebrates it on the eve of
January 1.
   
         Except for my mom’s reminder to be kinder and more generous
and the school’s teachings about the birth of Christ, Christmas simply
means wearing new clothes and receiving gifts when I was growing up.   
   
         I remember somebody telling that Christmas invites people to
spend. Totoo naman iyon. But then I realized, when I became an employee
and earning a measly salary, that Christmas is really about giving;
that Christmas actually makes sense when you are the one giving,
tangible or intangible, to people close to your heart. When you buy
gifts, you spend money, time and effort to have it but in reality the
thrill comes not in the process of buying but rather in the thought
that you are having the privilege to put a smile on the receiver’s
lips.  
   
         And the most important thing is to remember the reason why
there is Christmas — it’s the day that mankind’s savior was born. One
Christmas day, medyo na-cornihan ako noong sinabi ng priest na kantahan
daw namin ng Happy Birthday si Jesus pero ang totoo minsan ang mga
corny na bagay ang may tama sa puso.
The reason why people are kinder and more benevolent during Christmas
season is because the most important figure celebrating it is just that
and more.
   
         So whether you celebrate Chrismas in the  simplest or grandest
terms, big deal man o hindi, the most important thing is you let Him
into your heart. Have a meaningful Christmas!

       I’ll be posting an article I did not write here but is absolutely worth sharing and worth reading. It’s written by Conrado de Quiros, one of my favorite columnists at Philippine Daily Inquirer. Read on.

Hello, Ma’am

04/03/2007

www.inquirer.net

       This is a conversation between “Garci” and “Ma’am” clandestinely taped sometime the other day, April 1. Unfortunately, only the things said by “Garci” were intelligible; the things said by “Ma’am” were garbled — probably deliberately so. The conversation, or virtual monologue, went this way:

       “Hello, Ma’am? Hello, hello, hello? It’s me, Ma’am, Garci. How do you know it’s me? Ma’am naman, until now you do not know my voice? The whole country knows my voice. How do I know it is you? Naman, naman, Ma’am, even Willie Nepomuceno cannot copy your voice. ‘Kainggit nga kayo’ [You are enviable], Ma’am, you don’t need a thumb print, your voice is enough identification mark.

       “I’m calling, Ma’am, because, as you know, I am running for congressman here in Bukidnon province. I know that some of your advisers in Malacañang do not want me to run because they think I am the symbol of cheating in this country and the opposition might exploit it. What do they know, Ma’am? They are all talk and talk; I am the only one who is act and act. They are the real cheaters, Ma’am. What have they done for you? I was the one who made sure you became President, Ma’am. What did they do? I did all the dirty work and got all the dirty fingers while they got all the dirty money. Unfair, Ma’am. ‘Nadaya ako’ [I was cheated], Ma’am. And now they do not want me to run because of what I did for you? Hello.

       “How can the opposition exploit my running? ‘Tanga naman sila’ [They are stupid], Ma’am. They already had the tape and they were never able to exploit it. ‘Yawa’ [Heck], they already had the Singapore authorities saying I fled to their country, and they were never able to exploit it. By the way, Ma’am, no one will be able to question my residency in Bukidnon because I’ve always maintained that I’ve lived here uninterruptedly for most of my life, even if the people looking for me at one point could not see me. Is it my fault they were blind? Maybe they were wearing cheap sunglasses.

       “I am calling, Ma’am, because I thought maybe I can ask you a favor. Can you make me win by one million votes? I would really appreciate it. Of course, you can also always make me win by P1 million. Or maybe by P100 million, ‘alam n’yo naman’ [as you know], Ma’am, inflation is very bad in this country. Everything is inflated, including your husband’s ego. ‘Malas lang’ [Too bad], Ma’am, he is inflated in the wrong places.

       “As you may have heard, I am also running as Garci. Why should I be ashamed to be called Garci? Of course, I denied being Garci when I appeared in the Senate last year, but who cares? No one remembers those things, ‘lalo na tayong mga Pilipino’ [especially us Filipinos]. We can’t even remember Rizal, and that is just as many letters and syllables as Garci. Besides, as you yourself have shown, Ma’am, offense is better than defense. When you are attacked for not being elected, you oust the elected officials who are saying so. When you are caught killing journalists and activists, you arrest others for murder. I’m just taking my cue from you, Ma’am.

       “I am also taking my cue from the entertainers and media people, Ma’am. As they say, no publicity is really bad publicity. ‘Sikat na rin ’yung “Hello Garci” [“Hello, Garci” is well known], Ma’am, it is even a ring tone. Might as well make the most of it. I have also applied for ‘Hello’ to be added to my name. So any vote for ‘Hello’ and ‘Garci’ will be credited to me. I would also like to ask your permission to add ‘Ma’am’ to my name. So that any vote for ‘Ma’am’ will also be credited to me. ‘Flipside ’yon, Ma’am, nung “Hello Garci” at “Hello Ma’am” [‘Hello Garci, Ma’m, is the flipside of “Hello Ma’am’].

       “Just to be sure the voters don’t forget, Ma’am, I am using as my campaign ditty, which I am now playing everywhere, my own version of ‘Hello Dolly,’ entitled of course ‘Hello Garci.’ “Mahirap na” [Better to be careful], Ma’am, this is such a forgetful country, people now are beginning to forget even “Hello Garci.” My song goes:

       “‘Hello Garci, well hello Garci/ It’s so nice to have you back where you belong./ You’re looking swell Garci, we can tell Garci/ You’re still adding, you’re still padding/ You’re still counting wrong./ We feel our votes straying/ While your hands are playing/ One of your old favorite tricks from way back when./ So make him Rep, fellas,/ Find him an empty seat, fellas,/ Garci you’ll never go away again.’

       “What is that, Ma’am, the lyrics are not flattering to me? Ay, that is not a problem, nobody listens to lyrics here in Bukidnon, Ma’am, “bukid man ini” [this is farm land], people do not understand what they hear. People do not even understand what they read. You can see that, Ma’am, even in Manila. The covers of pirated DVDs in Quiapo have blurbs that insult the movies but people buy them anyway, thinking the blurbs are endorsements. Of course, I am not suggesting that you are buying pirated DVDs, Ma’am. Even less am I suggesting you are a pirate. Only that De Quiros is a pirate.

       “You can rest assured, Ma’am, that once I get to Congress, I will not just kill any impeachment bid against you, I will make sure you too will never go away again. My first bill will be to require anyone running for president or prime minister to be no more than five feet. I will take care to measure Joe de V’s height first, Ma’am, to make sure he doesn’t qualify. “Mahirap na, baka maisahan kayo ni Yoda” [Better to be careful, Yoda might pull a fast one on us]. Of course, “puwede kitang maisahan” [I could pull a fast one on you], hehe. But this bill stands to reason. After all we are an Enchanted Kingdom, and only enchanted beings, like dwarfs, may rule an Enchanted Kingdom. People who do not believe that should be required to see ‘Shrek.’ Dwarfs, ogres, same difference.

       “Please don’t worry that my candidacy will hurt you, Ma’am. The people of this country are fools naman, and this day, April 1, is dedicated to them. “Sige na muna, Ma’am, baka me nakikinig na naman sa atin” [That’s it for now, Ma’m, someone might hear us]. Wish me luck, even though I don’t need it. Only fools trust in luck or the voters, as you and I know.

       “Happy April Fools Day, Ma’am.”