Tag: Philippine

Late Night Reflections on Typhoon Yolanda

It’s late and I’m supposed to be sleeping for tomorrow is another work day. It feels as if everything this side of the world is so normal when in fact, a few hundred miles south from here, severely catastrophic towns exist. Towns which I have visited countless times when I was young. Towns which holds fond childhood memories for me. Towns where loved ones whose conditions remain unknown reside.

Typhoon Yolanda brought destruction never before seen in the Philippines. Entire towns and cities washed away. Destruction and death lay at her wake. People hopeless and desperate – not knowing how they can ever rise again. Businesses looted by hungry victims as security forces – the little of who were left – stood by and watched helplessly.

I really don’t know what to say. I remain at a loss for words. I have packed everything I can send to help. I have planned to sell whatever I can to have some cash to donate. I long to still be in the thick of things, helping out in whatever way I can – repacking, distributing, reporting. The devastation is so vast, the task at hand is so big – where do we start? Where do they begin to rebuild their lives?

I am grateful our province was spared. There were some coastal towns who were also badly affected but other than that everything is now back to normal. On the day the storm hit close to our place, I was locked inside my room, unable to sleep soundly. I can hear the howling winds and feel it beat against the walls and roof of our house. There were moments when everything would be silent – then the howling would begin once again. It was a storm of winds and less of rain. The rain was bearable but the winds were not. To this date, when the storm has long passed and our nights are much calmer, I can sometimes hear the winds howling in my mind and the accompanying fear of what it could do in the dead of the night.

But what I experienced was way less than what those who were near the eye of the storm experienced. They felt the brunt of the wind 4-5 times what I felt. Plus, they experienced majority of the rain. But what was worse were the storm surges – a term which until recently held no meaning for me. I have never encountered the term storm surge and like many other people have no idea of the damage it entailed. Had I known storm surge would mean tidal waves that could create floods 10 feet deep, I would have been scared but nonetheless better prepared. I believe the same could be true for the hundreds who drowned, all because they didn’t understand the term and did not seek higher grounds thinking where they evacuated was enough.

It is heartbreaking to see the photos of devastation. It is heart wrenching to hear the pleas of people for food, water and shelter and to see those who lost loved ones moving along like zombies without aim or purpose. Restoration of power they say would take 2 months, and that is being optimistic. Restoration of communication lines is hoped to happen sooner. From there relief goods could be delivered to even the remotest hit area. But debris has yet to be cleaned from roads to unblock them. Houses and establishments have to be rebuilt. Hospitals, schools, government buildings, churches and other public spaces have to be re-constructed to better serve the affected people. Businesses have to re-establish themselves as they re-stock and fix their establishments. Whole towns and cities have to be reconstructed and repaired.

But more than the physical repair that would take 2 – 6 months at most, the people’s faith, hope and lives have to be reconstructed as well. Hope has to be re-instilled in their hearts that things will turn out for the better despite the massive destruction and the immense trial they have been through. Faith has to be strengthened in their minds that they have the capacity to rebuild their lives and that there is still an Almighty that looks after them. Their lives are severely battered. Those who lost families might have lost the will to live. Some have already migrated to other places leaving their destructed town believing that their lives there are over.

More than the cash and in-kind donations we send out to them, prayers would still be a lot of help. For as the cash and in-kind donations would provide them with the basic necessities of food, clothes and shelter, our prayers will help strengthen their resolve and give them hope, faith and their lives back again.

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Marinduque Mining Disaster

Since today was a holiday, I decided to update my blog and publish the contents I wrote about my Marinduque trip earlier this year. As I was publishing and updating them, I came across an article in Inquirer.

The news article discussed how the Marinduque government will settle for a $20 Million compensation following Philippines worst mining disaster in 1996. This sum is way below the actual cost of damages amounting to close to $100 Million. However, the government is being forced into accepting the settlement because they see no other option since the prosecuted firm – Barrick is merely a firm which purchased the original perpetrators Placer Dome Inc. and who are now rumored to be losing billions. Fearing a repeat of the past wherein the sued company  (Placer Dome Inc.) had to file for bankruptcy and be saved by another company (Barrick Gold) which would lead to the start of a new round of litigations, Marinduque is close to accepting the $20 Million compensation which after litigation fees would amount to $13.5 Million – a sum barely enough to compensate for the damage brought about to the Boac River and the people of Marinduque.

In 1996, Marinduque witness one of the worst mining disasters in the Philippines when a fracture in the drainage tunnel of a large pit containing left over mine tailings from the operations of Marcopper Mining, a Canadian-owned mining firm, discharged toxic-mine waste into the Makulaprit-Boac river system leading to flash floods in areas along the river. The worst case was that of Bgy. Hinapulan wherein the entire barangay was submerged in 6-feet of muddy waters and 400 families had to be displaced. Other villages also had to be evacuated, drinking water became contaminated and animals both freshwater and livestock were killed. Crop and irrigation channels were clogged destroying crops and vegetable gardens as river water were displaced by tailings. The aftermath of the disaster rendered Boac River unusable and saw residents harboring beyond tolerable limits of zinc and copper in their blood system. After the disaster, Marcopper, who started mining operations in the province in 1969 ceased their operations in 1996.  But in the years to follow, numerous health diseases cropped up such as children found to have high levels of lead in their blood.

It was only in October 2005 that the provincial government of Marinduque sued Placer Dome, Marcopper’s parent company, for $100 Million in damages. In 2006, Placer Dome was purchased by Barrick Gold who has now joined in the lawsuit.

After reading the Inquirer news item and researching the facts related to the case, it became clear in my mind the irregularities I had witnessed during my visit in Marinduque. For one, I had witnessed huge river systems without water and seemingly dead. When I asked a local if their river system is usually dry during the summer, they said that it is really dry all year out however they experience floods in the area during the typhoon season. The local also complained that the river, since running water no longer passes through it, has become a convenient garbage dumping site.

Likewise, I had witnessed huge carvings in the mountains located in the middle of the island. Signs of “NO TO MINING” were plastered in most areas although at that time they remain unobtrusive to the usual tourist. Furthermore, on my hike up Mt. Malindig, I noted that the mountain was mostly denuded – depleted of the natural rainforest typical in most mountains – and instead replaced by crops such as arrowroot, corn, and taro and planted with lines of trees such as coconut.  And most interestingly enough, I noted that the villagers living in the mountaintops mostly appeared to be well-off citizens of the province.

At that time, I noted that something seemed amiss but I wasn’t able to aptly put my finger on it. It was only after uncovering all these facts about the Marcopper Mining Disaster that things started to become clear.

As of the moment, the provincial government hasn’t accepted the offer. But they are close to doing so since they are averse to fighting the long fight towards justice. But if it were up to me, I would fight the long fight. Accepting the pitiful settlement amount, although better than nothing, is still a disservice to the extent of the damages done both to the environment and the local residents of Marinduque. But then again, political agenda come into play in this instance and to uncover the real political deals in Marinduque and how it relates to the Marcopper Mining Disaster will be a topic for another story.

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Once Again Tito Sotto?

 

Comparison of Sotto’s Speech in Senate dated Sept. 5, 2012 and Kennedy’s Speech during the Day of Affirmation in 1966 in South Africa. Photo grabbed from: When In Manila FB Page.

Today, he made a fool of us once again. Today, he mocked the citizens who trusted him enough to elect him into office. Today, he showed the world that Filipinos are – at best – copycats.

When Sen. Tito Sotto was first accused of plagiarizing a blogger, I must admit, I was a bit sympathetic to him. Being a blogger myself, I take pride in my work. But I also understood the awkwardness it would present if he quoted so many “according to’s” in his speech. To me, at that point, so long as he presented the facts straight, so long as he got his point across, then wherever he got his information, properly cited or not, was ok. He did made a disclaimer that the facts he presented were not his own. For me that was enough. He was presenting facts after all.

But today, he presented opinion. Today, he tried to be poignant in closing his series of turno en contra. Yet, instead of being inspiring, he became irritating. Netizens quickly realized that the last parts of his speech were translated from parts of Kennedy’s speech in 1966. When asked about this, he replied:

“Marunong magTagalog si Kennedy?…Para nga safe, tinagalog ko. Meron ba silang alam na pinanggalingan na Tagalog noon (ng speech ko)? Marunong pala managalog si Kennedy ah!” (Kennedy could speak Tagalog?…To be safe, I translated it to Tagalog. Do they know where I got the speech in Tagalog? I didn’t know Kennedy could speak Tagalog.) – Rappler.com

I read that copying was accepted in the Senate. That bills that were not passed into laws in the past were recycled, sometimes copied word for word, then are debated once again. This, apparently, was an acceptable practice. It seems to me, piracy is evident not just in torrent movies and music or DVDs sprawled across the streets but also in the halls of our Upper and Lower Houses.

And thus, it seems, that copying speeches or perhaps translating them, word for word, into another language is acceptable as well.

Does this mean that we are a breed of copycats? Does this mean that we cannot fathom words or concepts of our own? When I was in college, it was known that most of our answers to our lab experiments would be lifted from books and other journals. But we were never taught to copy them word for word or even merely paraphrase them. We were taught to read through their context, derive our own understanding from them and then put into paper our very own analysis of what we just learned.

Isn’t this what we also should demand from our lawmakers? That they themselves, when crafting laws or echoing great speeches from the past in hopes to inspire, should first try to understand the contexts of such past materials then translate them into their own words based from their own understanding. By translate, I do not mean literal translation word for word.

There is no crime in patterning one’s thoughts from others. In fact, we can always share the same thoughts, the same opinions & the same views even if these were ages or miles apart. But even so, we have our own unique intellect, our own unique words, our own unique ways of communicating those very same thoughts, opinions & views. And when we do communicate them, it should be imperative that we do so in our own unique ways and not by mimicking the words of others.

What Sotto did has raised irate responses from fellow vigilant citizens. To those who don’t know any better, his speech might have been inspiring. But to those who know the truth, it was nothing but rubbish. Even if his points were valid, the way he communicated them diminished their worth. And denying that he did anything wrong only added insult to injury.

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Naga: What happens now?

Jesse is dead. He is gone. That is the harsh reality of things. He was gone too soon. Naga will feel his loss more than anything else. And not just in the upcoming Penafrancia Fiesta where he won’t be joining the voyadores. He will also be missed in the upcoming elections as Naga starts to feel the dread of what will happen to his legacy.

When he left, it wasn’t clear to whom he passed his baton to. We hoped he will somehow be our leader for a longer time. We had faith in his reforms in the national government. We saw him as a beacon of light – a shred of hope in the hopeless Philippine political situation.

Yet now, we can only pray that the current political line up of Naga will follow through Jesse’s legacy. We can hope. But what if they don’t? Already, “epal” tarpaulins are on the streets. And a lot more similar messages. Already we know of vultures waiting in the fringes for the right time to swoop down and get their spoils. It seems they saw their opening now with Jesse gone.

Do we need a constant reminder who he is?

The real dread has just begun. Perhaps it’s not as clear now since we are all wrapped up in grief and in strangled cries of continuing the legacy he left. But to what will this amount to when 2013 rolls in? When the vultures begin their descent? When political ambition overpowers selfless public service?

Yes, Jesse set an example. He showed leading a town to prosperity was possible without resorting to traditional politics. Yet he was able to do so because he was not greedy for either power or riches. He was not after his own personal ambitions. He was after genuine service to the people. He really was there to serve. Can we say the same to those in power we have now? Honestly, I doubt it. I’ve had my close encounters with them and none came close to what Jesse would have done had he been alive and in the same situation.

Do not blame me for the bitter tone in the middle of everyone’s sweet memory. I am but basing my opinions on experience. I fear for my city just as I’ve always feared for my country. I can’t help the skepticism that flows through me now.

And who paid for this truck? Wasn’t it tax payers’ money?

Yet I dare hope. I take a step of courage as I write this, hoping it springs some sense into our public servants. I try to be brave as I seek to call out the glaring inconsistencies of public servants’ practices with the oath they swore and the legacy they vow to continue. I pledge to remain vigilant in observing their actions.

For me, hope is no longer enough. I’ve hoped for such a long time. Now is the time for action. Jesse may be gone but he set the bar and example for everyone. And if I have to suffer dire consequences for my vigilance, then I’m afraid democracy would have failed us and Jesse’s memory would have been nullified.

Of all the greetings for Sec. Jess I saw around the city, it was only in this tarp that the name of an individual appeared.
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What happened to all the good men?

After such a long time, we finally have a long weekend holiday. And for someone who’s working, long holidays are a much welcome respite even if admittedly, we would have to do some work during the time period. Yet I still welcome the pressure-free & stress-free 4 days.

Yet what should have been a blissful holiday has turned into a tension-filled waiting game for Naga City – and the whole nation for that matter. Saturday afternoon, I received a text from a friend that DILG Sec. Jesse Robredo’s plane crashed in the waters of Masbate. I checked the news and true enough, it really happened. Then the waiting game began.

It was horrendous. This game of not knowing what would happen next. After that fateful crash, came rescue efforts and news casts clamor to be the first to report what was happening. There was even a false alarm that he was found which many believed. But after checking with close sources to the family, I knew that the worst was not yet over.

I am not here to talk about what the public already knows. Every second, social media updates us on how the rescue efforts are coming along. It’s all that the news contain now – the President is personally leading the rescue efforts – what could be more newsworthy than that? Even the typhoon threatening the northern provinces receive much less airtime than what is happening now at Masbate, at the Robredo’s residence and at prayer vigils in  Manila.

Rather, I am here to narrate how kind a man Robredo was is. (I refuse to talk to him in the past tense.) I am in the same batch as his eldest child, Aika. She became my classmate back in Grade 4 and for a time being, when the entire family went to the US, she became my close friend through letters we constantly sent each other. It was there I caught a glimpse of the humble life they lead.

Yes, they were part of the high society of Naga City – I guess all politicians in high places are. But never did they make anyone feel like they were elite and you were beneath them. They embodied the true meaning of public servant – someone who serves the public first and put them above themselves.

My mom tells me that when she arrived in Naga it was a very sleepy town. It was a far cry from the city it is now – and indeed I recall how backwards it was back then. But under Robredo’s guidance and leadership, it bloomed to the city it is now. It now has so much potential that I was encouraged to go back and live here; starting my career here – a feat that would have been impossible if Naga has remained the backward city that it was before.

Under Robredo’s leadership, my faith in good governance returned. It was he who started transparency in the city government – where the public can easily access records and see how project biddings went so that we knew what transpired in all projects and were assured there was no corruption involved. With Robredo, the faith of the people returned to the government. Good governance was possible. And so he won election after election until his term expired. Then he would rest, run again, and win. He would have continued on becoming mayor if not for the offer of PNoy to be the DILG Secretary.

Robredo has no ambition for greater power. He could have easily became congressman, senator and climb up the political ladder. But that was not his intention in becoming a politician. His intent was to transform Naga and show the entire country that it was possible to become a progressive nation. Naga City is a testament to that.

Yet he is the only politician I know who doesn’t flaunt his projects. Not once did I see a waiting shed, or any other government project with his name etched on it. He didn’t preserve power by reminding people he erected this and that. He preserved power because he remained true to his oath of serving the people. And the people saw his sincerity. He is their champion.

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The Truth About the Donsol Butanding Encounter

Whale Shark
Whale Shark (Photo credit: fishgirl7)

I should have written this post ages ago – while my experience was still fresh; my emotions still raw. But nevertheless, the emotions remain as the memories are still etched in my mind.

It was in April 2012 when our company decided to send all middle and top management managers to an all-expense paid vacation to Donsol, Sorsogon. Of course the highlight of this trip was the Butanding Interaction for which Donsol was so famous of. We were all excited. I was doubly excited since my biologist nature was craving for some nature interaction. I guess receiving a biology training makes you excited for anything bio-related.

The trip started great. During the first day, we were scheduled to do the side itinerary which was the Firefly watching. Although there was not as many fireflies as I imagined, I was still amazed at the solitude of the entire river that night, the vast view of the starry sky and of course, the glory of the fireflies surrounding trees in huge swarms. I got more excited for the next day which was the time we were scheduled to go out and interact with the famed gentle giants.

My excitement kept bubbling as we went about the motions of selecting our gears, watching the interaction guidelines video, meeting Allan Amanse who was our BIO (Butanding Interaction Officer) [later I found out that he was “the BIO” who has served all famous persons from local celebrities and politicians to international royalty] and boarding the boat which would take us out to the open sea. I was beside myself with excitement.

As the minutes turned into hours and we were still left at sea searching and searching for the butandings, my excitement slowly dissipated as hope slowly vanished. I was afraid we would be like the many other tourists Allan said was unfortunate enough not to see any butandings. I suggested that perhaps we can go snorkeling at some coral reef point just so we can at least get ourselves wet and then perhaps the trip won’t be such a waste. As it turned out, that was their common practice – to bring guests to some snorkeling point just so the guests could still feel that their trip to the middle of the ocean was not in vain. Sadly enough, there was no great diving points. The coral reefs in the area were severely damaged by illegal fishing methods that it was a pain to see the dead corals. Having witnessed real, live coral reefs which were protected and as thus, healthy and living, I can’t help but pity the place for having no real coral reefs.

I was not yet over my sorrow for their dead coral reefs but we already got word that the whale sharks have been spotted. We went back to our boats and the race – and horror – began.

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Executive vs Judiciary: The Ultimate Circus

Yesterday, our country witnessed a battle between two components of our democratic government system – the Executive and the Judiciary. When the former First Couple tried to leave the country yesterday bearing the Supreme Court’s TRO (temporary restraining order) against DOJ’s Watch List, Sec. Leila De Lima immediately went into action and barred their departure. It was a circus at its best! Throngs of media surrounded the hapless Former President as she entered the NAIA Terminal 1 riding in a wheelchair and clad with braces to keep her frame in shape. Despite all the hassle, in the end, her party had to concede to the adamant Bureau of Immigration officials and return to the hospital.

Former President and now Congresswoman Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her husband, Mike Arroyo are being charged for various cases of plunder as well as cheating on the 2004 National Elections. Amid these charges, GMA contracted an illness in her cervical spine which prompted her party to seek medical treatment abroad after the failed operation by her doctors in St. Luke’s Hospital. But the DOJ headed by Sec. Leila De Lima and supported by the Office of the President will have none of that. They placed GMA and her husband under a Watch List Order and prevented them from leaving the country. Further, PNoy offered that the government would spend on bringing any specialist they so desire into the country just to prevent them from leaving.

Yet GMA’s party appealed to the Supreme Court for a ruling against the WLO (Watch List Order). Which, they successfully got yesterday. Majority of the Supreme Court justices, most of whom were appointees of GMA herself, ruled in favor of the TRO (hmm..fishy?). It was released yesterday and armed with that, GMA’s party immediately went into the airport and demanded that they be allowed to travel via Dragon Air and leave the country.

What followed next was entire mayhem! Sec. De Lima insisted she hasn’t received a copy yet of the TRO and that she had instructed the Immigration officials as well as NAIA personnel to prevent GMA and her husband from leaving the country. They were under her direct orders. The Supreme Court ruling said that the TRO was in effect immediately, and any attempt to block it will result in contempt. But Sec. De Lima was not afraid of that. She further insisted that upon receiving the TRO, they are still entitled to file a motion for reconsideration.

But GMA is in a hurry. As per her lawyer, Atty. Ferdinand Topacio, her appointment with the doctors in Singapore was today and she was trying to leave the country yesterday to allow her at least one more day of rest before the checkup. GMA’s party insisted that they had already complied with all the requirements of the TRO which is to (1) issue a bond of P2M; (2) have a legal counsel present in the Philippines; (3) report to the Philippine Consulate in every country they visit. They further insisted that GMA is not in any way going to evade the Philippine government. She’s merely seeking treatment.

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The Grand RH Bill Debate

In the Philippines, the issue of passing a law about reproductive health has caused such a stir that mass demonstrations have been staged by those pro and against it; where even a famous boxing champ is pitted against a famous international singer due to their opposing beliefs in the issue. As I watched GMA News TV’s Grand Debate which pooled together veterans in the issue to discuss the various factors of the bill and its impact to the society, I can’t help but think of how naive the country is to the real problems we face now.

Yes it is true that corruption is a larger problem, but overpopulation is a ballooning problem too. With the government’s lack of fund and inability to really eradicate poverty in the nation, it cannot hope to merely focus on one problem without solving another. We can see how hard the current administration’s efforts are now at eradicating corruption – there are all these issues of never heard anomalies in various government offices – but just the same, corruption is not the only problem to be solved.

Still for me, the RH bill seeks not only to eradicate poverty and solve overpopulation but also to educate the people about reproduction. Yes there are contentions that educating the young may make them more curious about sex and lead to ultimately more unwanted pregnancies and the dissolution of the value of purity and abstinence before marriage but with the current trend in our media now where sex scenes remain common even in soap operas, who will then be the educator of the young masses? With parents becoming too timid themselves and at a loss on how to teach their kids sex education, then where would the kids learn? From experience? From their peers? From the media? I then believe that proper sex education should be taught at schools where kids now a days primarily get their education. And then what about the values of abstinence and purity? Then the school, together with the home and the Church should be the one to teach and advocate it. It is not wrong to teach children about sex in a language they can understand, what is wrong and ultimately misleading is to leave them blind about the whole issue and allow them to fend for themselves with regards to the matter.

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