The Burning of Philippine Presidents

I still have to ask, what is the meaning of the burning of Philippine presidents in effigies especially during state of the nation address (SONA)? But then I realized the answer to the question seems obvious. Aside from catching media’s attention it is also like the “Burning of Judas,” a ritual in many Orthodox and Catholic Christian communities, where an effigy of Judas Iscariot is burned.

In the Philippines, burning political figures in effigy usually highlights protests and rallies. These effigies are usually crude representations of a despised political figures especially the President. Burning of these effigies are usually held during State Of the Nation Address (SONA).

The delivery by the President of the Philippines of the SONA is a yearly tradition wherein the President reports on the status of the country, and may also propose to Congress, before which the address is delivered, certain proposals for legislation that are believed to be necessary.

THE BURNING OF P-NOY      Image Source: Yahoo News

Yesterday, July 25, 2011 marks the second State of the Nation Address of President Benigno S. Aquino III. As expected, militants burn the effigy of President Benigno Aquino III during protest along Commonwealth Avenue shortly before P-noy delivers his speech.

THE BURNING OF GLORIA ARROYO    Image Source: Revolutionary Frontlines

However, maybe most Filipinos including me just ignored it because it seems like a street ritual and not protest. Effigy-burning had been a regular spectacle during the SONAs of Aquino’s predecessors. They also burned effigy of former Philippine presidents like Ferdinand Marcos, Erap Estrada and Gloria Arroyo. Fidel Ramos banned effigy burning so he’s spared. They are doing it annually and it is starting to lose its meaning. It is becoming more like a circus.

THE BURNING OF ERAP       Image Source: arkibongbayan.org

The EDSA revolution is a reflection of Philippine’s moments of unity in crisis, which inform us that Filipinos somehow crossed an inner threshold and are changed. Thus moving from one state of political awareness into a more matured society.

THE BURNING OF FERDINAND MARCOS     Image Source: Corbis Images

However, militants will always be militants. Leftists will always be leftists. How many Philippine presidents will they burn? Anthropologists are maybe correct when they generalize these types of activities as "scapegoating rituals".

I am not pro P-noy but hopefully next year we will no longer burn our President. Let us just burn Judas’ effigy on the eve of the new year as a symbol of ridding ourselves of government-blaming and beginning a new year in spiritual purity and unity, free from bishops-in-politics.

In the meantime, may I ask where is the exact address of “Daang Matuwid?” P-noy still failed to guide us there. 

Why wake up early on Sunday?

“Time is short. We must seize this historic moment to
act responsibly and decisively for the common good.”
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
-End Poverty 2015, UN-Millenium Development Goals-

Giving Up Lazy Sunday Morning

After five days of work, I usually dedicate my Sundays to the luxury of being lazy: relaxing and staying in bed until lunchtime. However, last Sunday is my “take-action” day, so I forced myself to wake up at 4:30 am to join a fun run dubbed as “Stand United, Fight Poverty: Maritime Fun Run 2009”

It is an annual fun run activity of the Filipino Association for Mariners’ Employment, Inc. (FAME) jointly with other Maritime Associations and Organizations. It was held yesterday, 18 October 2009, at the IMAX Open Parking Area of SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City, in cooperation with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Woman in Maritime Philippines, Association (WIMAPHIL).  

Me and my office-mates giving up lazy Sunday (more camwhoring here) 

This activity is to support the United Nation's awareness program on poverty alleviation thru UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG) which the Philippines and all other countries annually observe.  Aside from poverty eradication its goals is also focused on improvement in maternal care, promotion of gender equality, increased awareness HIV/AIDS thru education.

Why STAND UNITED and TAKE ACTION?

Public blamestorming is the favorite pass time of bogus political activists and politicians nowadays. I always see them in news and in rallies, complaining about almost anything – but offering no solutions, just pure rants for media exposure. I always admire leaders and politicians and activists who attack problems with solutions – but in the Philippines, politicians usually love exposé, scandals and other media camwhoring style of legislation. They even spend time and money investigating the “Katrina Halili – Hayden Kho Sex Scandal”

They consider that more important than these facts:

• 33% of Filipinos live on less than USD 1 a day. 
• About 5.2 million children are not in school. 
• 11 mothers die every day due to pregnancy-related causes (2006 UN estimates) 
• HIV cases among the youth nearly tripled from 41 in 2007 to 110 in 2008. 
• In 2008, there were 3.4 million pregnancies, about half (1.8 million) were unplanned and about one-third (560,000) of the unplanned ended in abortion (Guttmacher, 2009).

We cannot afford to let things get worst. It is a time of great challenge for all Filipinos. This issues should be included in all political and public agenda. 

“At a time of multiple global crises, the poorest and most vulnerable have a special claim on our attention.  We know that, in any recession, those hurt first—and worst—are the poor.  According to recent estimates, the global economic crisis has claimed at least 50 million jobs this year.  As many as 100 million more people are expected to fall below the poverty line in 2009.”

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Message for the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

What is STAND UNITED AND TAKE ACTION? 

It is a three-day global mobilization that aims to send a loud and clear message from citizens to leaders of rich and poor countries to take urgent action to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). And once again break the Guinness World Record for having the largest number of people participating in a single event.

2006: 2.1 million
2007: 7.2 million
2008: 35.2 million Filipinos stood up against poverty.

I’m still waiting for the 2009 final count and I’m glad I became part of that human sea demanding change.

Thoughts? or any personal "TAKE ACTION DAY" you want to share?

Sources:

UN Philippines  

Stand Up Take Action Campaign

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 

Filipino Association for Mariners’ Employment, Inc. (FAME) official website

BlogPost Update : 26 October 2009 -  Fun Run Results

The 18 October 2009 “Stand United, Fight Poverty: Maritime Fun Run 2009” held at the IMAX Open Parking Area of SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City turned out to be another great success.

This activity which was held in support to the 16 to 18 October 2009 global celebration of the United Nation’s awareness program on poverty alleviation through UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG) involved three events such as 3, 5 and 10 kilometers. The event opened exclusively for participants who are connected and associated with the maritime and manning industry.

Runners reached a total of 2,108. 80% of which are member-companies of FAME. This figure was counted in as part of the entire no. of Filipinos who celebrated for the same cause by the UN and put in the Guinness Book of Records for the most number of participants.

And we are proud to inform you as reported by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that the official Guinness World results are already in, and the Philippines REMAINS IN THE No. 1 SPOT, with 36.1 Million Filipinos standing up against poverty. Bangladesh came 2nd with 35.7 million. The world total is 173 million.

Winners per event:

3K- MALE                   
TITLE                 NAME                       COMPANY
Champion        Glaen Quijano               Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific
2nd Place         Duan Desnacido            Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific
3rd Place          Niel Torres                   Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific
4th Place          John Michael Conde       Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific
5th Place          Vincent Garcia              Multinational Maritime, Inc.
6th Place          Janry Mintu                  Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific
7th Place          Mark Jaum                   Bright Maritime Corporation
8th Place          Tyrone Quinto              Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific
9th Place          Erybron Russel Mojica   Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific
10th Place         John Ford Bantang       Multinational Maritime, Inc.   

3K- FEMALE
TITLE                 NAME                                      COMPANY
Champion        Diana Mae Basa Elad       Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific
2nd Place          Portia Rose Peregrino    Transorient Maritime Agencies, Inc.
3rd Place          Mary Ann Celis              Reinier Pacific International Shipping, Inc.    
4th Place          Edna Austria                 Dolphin Ship Management, Inc.       
5th Place          Desiree Gioca                Wallem Maritime Training Centre Philippines.
6th Place          Jessica Checa                Leonis Navigation Company Inc.      
7th Place          Darlyn  Suobiron           Stolt-Nielsen Philippines, Inc.
8th Place          Lovella Calvelo               Reinier Pacific International Shipping, Inc.
9th Place          Juanita Biyo                   Magsaysay Maritime Corp.
10th Place         Maribel Lorenzo             Magsaysay Maritime Corp.

5K- MALE
TITLE                 NAME                                      COMPANY
Champion        Eric Joseph Gonzales      Cargo Safeway, Inc.
2nd Place          Jowie Bandoy                Cargo Safeway, Inc.
3rd Place          Ronnie Macandog           Multinational Maritime, Inc.   
4th Place          Daniel Ayyopan              MMSPHIL Maritime Services, Inc.        
5th Place          Nelson Quiñones            Magsaysay Maritime Corp.
6th Place          Ricky Poras                   Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Inc.
7th Place          Don-Don Marie Ubaldo    Barko International, Inc.
8th Place         Rene Gilpa                    Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Inc.              
9th Place         Ryan    Ruego                Magsaysay Maritime Corp.
10th Place       Jim Welkin Monares        Wallem Maritime Training Centre Philippines
                      Jay Galosmo                   Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Inc.

5K- FEMALE
TITLE                 NAME                                      COMPANY
Champion       Angelica Gajulen                  Philippine Ports Authority                   
2nd Place        Pamela Castro                     Reinier Pacific International Shipping, Inc.
3rd Place        Jacquelyn Labatorio              Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Inc.
4th Place        Marilou Estrella                    Stolt-Nielsen Philippines, Inc.
5th Place      Joanne Oliva                         Leonis Navigation Company Inc.
6th Place      Kristine Reyes                      OSG Ship Management Manila Inc.
7th Place     Norma Rojas                         Cargo Safeway, Inc.
8th Place      Czarina De Jesus                  Leonis Navigation Company Inc.      
9th Place      Geline Lontoc                       Leonis Navigation Company Inc.                  
10th Place    Ma. Elena De Joya                 Philippine Ports Authority

10K- MALE
TITLE                 NAME                                      COMPANY
Champion       Roberto Estrella                     Philippine Ports Authority       
2nd Place          Ramon Navarro                    Cargo Safeway, Inc.
3rd Place          Dario Tangonan                    Cargo Safeway, Inc.
4th Place          Michael John Castillon            Cargo Safeway, Inc.
                       Hari Om Choudhary              Magsaysay Mitsui O.S.K. Marine, Inc.
5th Place          Jeff Carlos                            NYK-Fil Shipmanagement Inc.           
6th Place          Marco  Payadon                     Multinational Maritime, Inc.
7th Place          Ernesto Villar                        Cargo Safeway, Inc.                         

8th Place          Ricardo Labadan                   Cargo Safeway,Inc.

9th Place          Rodrigo Carreon, Jr.              Cargo Safeway, Inc.                         
10th Place         Ricky    Alqueros                   Cargo Safeway, Inc.

10K- FEMALE
TITLE                 NAME                                      COMPANY
Champion       Ellen Salusod                           SMART Communications, Inc.
2nd Place         Marichu  Rojas                      Cargo Safeway, Inc
3rd Place          Norrie Anne  Casareo              Cargo Safeway, Inc.
4th Place          Ayesa  Polias                          NYK-Fil Shipmanagement Inc.
5th Place          Rose Marie Casareo                Cargo Safeway, Inc.
6th Place          Lerma  Aquino                        NYK-Fil Shipmanagement Inc.
7th Place          Maritess  Gerona                     Cargo Safeway, Inc              

Biggest Delegation (with 285 participants)      =     Magsaysay Maritime Corporation

The Immortality of the Yellow Confetti

11:45 AM, 03 August 2009, EDSA, Mandaluyong City, Philippines. The cortege of former President Corazon C. Aquino as it passed by our office in Mandaluyong. I immediately joined the crowd and took a few shots. My hands is still cold while writing this post. It was chilling.

The rain miraculously stopped as she passed by, surrounded by gentle petals, honorably guarded - fitted for a true hero.

Million confetti, anxious in the sweaty palms of the bystanders are suddenly freed against the gentle breeze, soaring high, crying over the mother-of-democracy’s last parade.

Yellow ribbons tied everywhere, silently waving goodbye to a fighter who once freed them.

The crowds are gone, EDSA is silent and finally the confetti soar no more, kissing the street, forever resting - their collective spirits forever seen in the clouds’ silver lining, their love for freedom sealed on the avenues’ battered asphalt. The yellow confetti is truly immortal

___________________________
Photos taken by the author Yodz Insigne.
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Are you still a virgin? What kind?

“Are you still a virgin?” the boy wearing white uniform asked his girl classmate beside him naughtily smiling.

“Of course, yes,” snapped the girl in a lowered voice, ashamed that other MRT passengers might hear her. But I did. I was minding my own business, but I heard their conversation and became interested.

The boy mockingly said, “Wag mo nga akong gaguhin, virgin? Baka yang ilong mo na lang ang di nagagalaw!” (don’t fool me, virgin? Maybe your nose is the only one left untouched!”) They giggled and turned their conversation into a whisper, seeing that I am smiling too.

My mind flooded by our lunchtime sex related talks in our office. Sex topics never fail to amuse us.

Virginity in this day and age is subject to interpretation and the question “are you still a virgin?” is often followed by the answer “what kind?” referring to whether you already experienced oral sex, anal sex, “finger” sex, vaginal sex or sex of all kinds. What “sex” is now? Is it just penetrative sex? The concept of virginity itself has become quite obscured among us, especially to teenagers.

Girlfriend-boyfriend relationship was previously called “steady,” then became either “on” or not. Now it was replaced by “special friends,” “friends with benefits” and FUBU or “fuck buddies.” Sexual norms is rapidly changing and “Maria Clara” image is dead. I believe that education plays a vital role to combat loose morals.

Sex is usually never discussed in Filipino homes and the youth get their information from their peers, the internet and magazines. First-time sex happens in unsupervised homes. Let’s accept it. Pornography is easily accessible nowadays – DVD’s in Quiapo, it the internet, in magazines and in mobile phones. I believe that education is the key but the DepEd’s plan to integrate sex education in the elementary level was shelved because of the strong opposition from the highly political Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. Some priests nowadays are corrupted by stinking Philippine politics. Catholicism in the Philippines is becoming the prime mover of backward progress.

The world now has become so much more complicated. We are more independent on matters of courtship, marriage and sex.

Are we just having open minds or loose morals?

_____________________
Image Source: Joan Semmel. Sunlight, 1978.

Talk of the Town - "Philippines as Nation of Servants"

I guess this is the hottest talk of the town for this month. A Chinese writer by the name of Chip Tsao published a story in the HK Magazine of the Asia City Publishing Group, calling the Philippines a "nation of servants". I have a Tita in HongKong working as Domestic Helper and when I came across this article, it makes my blood boil... DEATH TO CHIP TSAO via Melamine Overdose!!!!

Here is the article by Chip in HK Magazine:

The War at Home
By Chip Tsao

The Russians sank a Hong Kong freighter last month, killing the seven Chinese seamen onboard. We can live with that-—Lenin and Stalin were once the ideological mentors of all Chinese people. The Japanese planted a flag on Diàoyú Island. That's no big problem-—we Hong Kong Chinese love Japanese cartoons, Hello Kitty, and shopping in Shinjuku, let alone our round-the-clock obsession with karaoke.

But hold on-—even the Filipinos? Manila has just claimed sovereignty over the scattered rocks in the South China Sea called the Spratly Islands, complete with a blatant threat from its congress to send gunboats to the South China Sea to defend the islands from China if necessary. This is beyond reproach. The reason: There are more than 130,000 Filipina maids working as HK$3,580-a-month cheap labor in Hong Kong. As a nation of servants, you don't flex your muscles at your master, from whom you earn most of your bread and butter.

As a patriotic Chinese man, the news has made my blood boil. I summoned Louisa, my domestic assistant who holds a degree in international politics from the University of Manila, hung a map on the wall, and gave her a harsh lecture. I sternly warned her that if she wants her wages increased next year, she had better tell everyone of her compatriots in Statue Square on Sunday that the entirety of the Spratly Islands belongs to China.

Grimly, I told her that if war breaks out between the Philippines and China, I would have to end her employment and send her straight home, because I would not risk the crime of treason for sponsoring an enemy of the state by paying her to wash my toilet and clean my windows 16 hours a day. With that money, she would pay taxes to her Government, and they would fund a navy to invade our motherland and deeply hurt my feelings.

Oh yes. The Government of the Philippines would certainly be wrong if they think we Chinese are prepared to swallow their insult and sit back and lose a Falkland Islands War in the Far East. They may have Barack Obama and the hawkish American military behind them, but we have a hostage in each of our homes in the Mid-Levels or higher. Some of my friends told me they have already declared a state of emergency at home. Their maids have been made to shout 'China, Madam/Sir' loudly whenever they hear the word "Spratly". They say the indoctrination is working as wonderfully as when we used to shout, "Long live Chairman Mao!" at the sight of a portrait of our Great Leader during the Cultural Revolution. I’m not sure if that's going a bit too far, at least for the time being.