I graduated with a baccalaureate degree in philosophy from the University of San Carlos in Cebu City in 1998. Immediately upon graduation I worked as a teacher in an elementary school, took the requisite courses in education at the University of the Philippines to qualify to sit for the LET (Licensure Exams for Teachers), which I took and passed in 2001.
I love teaching. It's like a creative release for me. It enables me to exercise my talent in bringing people to the cusp of realizations, which I think is the ultimate goal of teaching. So what is it about teaching and bringing about "realizations" in my learners?
More than the common perception that teaching is the mere impartation of facts and knowledge, teaching requires a creative impetus to bring about the best in people. I have come to realize through my experience in the classroom, that when the teacher creates an open atmosphere of creativity and free expression, the learner will realize that he has interests, and such interests are compelling as to drive them to do it. Why? because such interests induce in the learner a feeling of bliss, satisfaction and fulfillment.
The "realizations" I am referring to therefore speaks about creating creative outlets that enables the learner to "realize" that he can do things, great things, if he puts his heart and mind to things he is interested in. When the learner realizes that he has potentials, that his potentials are his interests, that his interests provides a feeling of fulfillment - then the learner learns to learn - not the mere facts, information and knowledge that is attendant in the learning process, but even more important, that in learning, he discovers more about himself, his humanity and his surroundings.
Teaching therefore is indeed an art because there is no one fits all formula. The great teacher first of all believes in the educability of his students, the wise teacher is able to harness the learners potentials, and the best teachers know themselves will enough to adapt to the learners idiosyncracies.
Unfortunately, I have painfully witnessed that for some, teaching is only a job, a way to earn a living. They do not live the life of an educator. I have personally experienced teachers who harass their students with humiliating words, give arbitrary grades based on their personal like - or dislike, of particular students, and most tragic of all, foment a sense of unease, fear and even paranoia.
I have realized that the best teachers are not necessarily the most academically gifted. In fact, in my personal experience, most of the most effective educators are those who are most committed to the learning process of their students.
I have also realized that teachers, in the way they manage the classroom and handle the class, inevitably display what their emotional states are, the stability of their personal lives and the sense of fulfillment they have in their careers. Teachers who are arbitrary in the classroom, meting out grades on a capricious and whimsical manner, are those who are most likely unhappy in their private lives. They display palpable arrogance in the classroom by constantly reminding students of their mistakes and failures, in fact, they are projecting their own failed relationships and dreams.
Teachers who rob students of the sense of hope are teachers who are themselves hopeless. They are so unhappy in their personal lives that they lash it out on students because that is the only place where they can have control - and power, over others. This results in a very unhealthy learning environment. Students become fearful of learning, they learn only the facts, not the essence behind them.
In the end, I can only retort that not all teachers can become educators, and not all teachers should even be allowed in the classroom. A bad teacher can irreparably damage the psyche of a learner, forever scarring him of the beauty that is learning, of the wonder that is the world and of the limitless potential that is himself.
Biyernes, Oktubre 16, 2015
Linggo, Oktubre 11, 2015
Why the Philippines should NEVER accept the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (#TPP)
Much has been said about the #TPP. It's the buzz around the business and corporate sectors the world over. As far as the general public is concerned, less is known about the #TPP. It is shrouded in secrecy and dare I say, subterfuge worthy of Cold War tactics.
On October 5, 2015, WikiLeaks published a leaked draft of the Intellectual Property portion of the #TPP. That's unfortunately just a part of the still unknown draft of the #TPP. One thing that is suspicious about the #TPP is that the US initiated and drafted initiative is open only to the participating countries (12 as of date) and the US corporations it is originally intended to benefit. NGO's and other citizen organizations have been conveniently excluded from even an observer status in its deliberations.
Protests in countries that have signed onto its provisions have been rife over the past year. Indeed, vehement protests have been observed in Malaysia, Australia and Japan. Academics have even decried the #TPP as anti-consumer, pro-US corporate profits and will make it hard for ordinary citizens in developing counties quality access to generic medications.
One disturbing by-product of the #TPP is the added cost it will eventually add to the price of generic medications. In fact, it could endanger the lives of ordinary citizens across the developing world. Again, a WikiLeaks report indicates it would "harm public health by blocking patient access to lifesaving medicines." In the same leaked report, Peter Maybarduk of the Public Citizen's Global Access to medicines program said to wit: "If the #TPP is ratified, people in Pacific Rim countires would have to live by the rules in this leaked text. The new monopoly rights for big pharmaceutical firms would compromise access in #TPP countries. The #TPP would cost lives (emphasis supplied)."
It is clear that for ordinary citizens, the #TPP is a killer initiative, literally! Millions of people will lose access to cheap generic drugs, governments would be forced to pay for profits lost due to regulations that may affect corporate profits of pharmaceutical companies.
Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel winning economist, even indicated the #TPP presented "grave risks" and "serves the interest of the wealthiest" (check). Even US Senator Bernie Sanders denounced the #TPP as nothing more than a golden goose and a milking cow for US corporations at the expense of the ordinary American worker.
Pundits have criticized the #TPP for its overemphasis on promoting the best interests of US corporations while neglecting the environment, access to cheap medications and curtails the sovereign rights of nations by forcing said nations to conform their respective laws and regulations to the #TPP. In fact, investors can sue governments who violate the provisions of the #TPP, a clear infringement on the right of the Philippine government to be exempt from suit without its consent as stipulated in the 1987 Constitution.
In short, if the Philippines signs the #TPP, only hardships can be gained by the already impoverished Filipino masses. Nothing good for even Filipino corporations can be gained from the #TPP, especially since said corporations were never consulted and made privy to the legalese of its complicated provisions. Filipinos WILL LOSE BIG if the government signs the #TPP, not to mention we will sacrifice our SOVEREIGN RIGHTS as a nation in favor of greedy multinational corporations that are mostly American!
On October 5, 2015, WikiLeaks published a leaked draft of the Intellectual Property portion of the #TPP. That's unfortunately just a part of the still unknown draft of the #TPP. One thing that is suspicious about the #TPP is that the US initiated and drafted initiative is open only to the participating countries (12 as of date) and the US corporations it is originally intended to benefit. NGO's and other citizen organizations have been conveniently excluded from even an observer status in its deliberations.
Protests in countries that have signed onto its provisions have been rife over the past year. Indeed, vehement protests have been observed in Malaysia, Australia and Japan. Academics have even decried the #TPP as anti-consumer, pro-US corporate profits and will make it hard for ordinary citizens in developing counties quality access to generic medications.
One disturbing by-product of the #TPP is the added cost it will eventually add to the price of generic medications. In fact, it could endanger the lives of ordinary citizens across the developing world. Again, a WikiLeaks report indicates it would "harm public health by blocking patient access to lifesaving medicines." In the same leaked report, Peter Maybarduk of the Public Citizen's Global Access to medicines program said to wit: "If the #TPP is ratified, people in Pacific Rim countires would have to live by the rules in this leaked text. The new monopoly rights for big pharmaceutical firms would compromise access in #TPP countries. The #TPP would cost lives (emphasis supplied)."
It is clear that for ordinary citizens, the #TPP is a killer initiative, literally! Millions of people will lose access to cheap generic drugs, governments would be forced to pay for profits lost due to regulations that may affect corporate profits of pharmaceutical companies.
Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel winning economist, even indicated the #TPP presented "grave risks" and "serves the interest of the wealthiest" (check). Even US Senator Bernie Sanders denounced the #TPP as nothing more than a golden goose and a milking cow for US corporations at the expense of the ordinary American worker.
Pundits have criticized the #TPP for its overemphasis on promoting the best interests of US corporations while neglecting the environment, access to cheap medications and curtails the sovereign rights of nations by forcing said nations to conform their respective laws and regulations to the #TPP. In fact, investors can sue governments who violate the provisions of the #TPP, a clear infringement on the right of the Philippine government to be exempt from suit without its consent as stipulated in the 1987 Constitution.
In short, if the Philippines signs the #TPP, only hardships can be gained by the already impoverished Filipino masses. Nothing good for even Filipino corporations can be gained from the #TPP, especially since said corporations were never consulted and made privy to the legalese of its complicated provisions. Filipinos WILL LOSE BIG if the government signs the #TPP, not to mention we will sacrifice our SOVEREIGN RIGHTS as a nation in favor of greedy multinational corporations that are mostly American!
Sabado, Oktubre 10, 2015
The Bombing of MSF #Kunduz Hospital - A Criminal Assault on the Principles of International Law
The recent bombing of the MSF #Kunduz, Afghanistan Hospital was a tragedy of epic proportions - first, in that it was a hospital, second, in that MSF actually informed and in fact gave both sides of the conflict the coordinates for the hospital and third and most painful of all, in that the hospital was not merely bombed once, or twice - but repeatedly!
MSF, naturally, has called for an international independent investigation into the circumstances of the bombing and equally naturally, and I would say predictably, the US has been at best mum on the proposal.
The US should pay damages to MSF for such unmitigated disaster and military officials responsible for the attack, including officers and commanders, should be sacked and banished from Afghanistan. The tragedy was purely unacceptable in that in an age of smart bombs, precision guided missiles, GPS, and the like, such mistake is supposed to be at best a thing of the past, not to mention the fact that the bomber is one of the most technologically advanced military force the world has ever seen.
Personally, I could not accept that the US could even remotely make such mistake unless such act was in fact planned and calculated, which in the most probable scenario, is the most likely. It should be noted that MSF provided both sides of the conflict the coordinates for the hospital - repeatedly at that! Therefore, a mistaken act of bombing is most unlikely.
It should further be noted that the bombing was not a case of a wayward bomb, in fact, the bombs kept falling more than once - definitely not an accident. The hospital was really the target!
The US initially placed the blame on Afghan officials, who supposedly called the attack. Such a lame, immature, childish excuse I would say. Even if in fact the Afghan officials chose the target, shouldn't the US have confirmed first what the target was? Shouldn't have the US, as prudence would dictate, determined first what the place was used for, who were currently using it, how the facility was being used supposedly by the Taliban?
Negligence seems to me a mild description of this criminal fiasco. The US must be held accountable for such blatant violation of the basic principles of international law, not to mention the Geneva Convention on the conduct of war. Indeed, if other nations committed the same act, America would be the first country shouting at the top of its lungs for justice to be meted.
MSF should only accept an apology if a multinational corps of investigators are finally formed and allowed to investigate the case. Only then can true justice for those who died in the incident can truly be vindicated.
The world should insist on a proper investigation of the case so as to prevent similar events in the future from happening again. We cannot allow the US to get away with this despicable act of irresponsibility, we cannot allow a country - even if it be powerful and rich, to slither away from paying a price for such criminal negligence.
MSF, naturally, has called for an international independent investigation into the circumstances of the bombing and equally naturally, and I would say predictably, the US has been at best mum on the proposal.
The US should pay damages to MSF for such unmitigated disaster and military officials responsible for the attack, including officers and commanders, should be sacked and banished from Afghanistan. The tragedy was purely unacceptable in that in an age of smart bombs, precision guided missiles, GPS, and the like, such mistake is supposed to be at best a thing of the past, not to mention the fact that the bomber is one of the most technologically advanced military force the world has ever seen.
Personally, I could not accept that the US could even remotely make such mistake unless such act was in fact planned and calculated, which in the most probable scenario, is the most likely. It should be noted that MSF provided both sides of the conflict the coordinates for the hospital - repeatedly at that! Therefore, a mistaken act of bombing is most unlikely.
It should further be noted that the bombing was not a case of a wayward bomb, in fact, the bombs kept falling more than once - definitely not an accident. The hospital was really the target!
The US initially placed the blame on Afghan officials, who supposedly called the attack. Such a lame, immature, childish excuse I would say. Even if in fact the Afghan officials chose the target, shouldn't the US have confirmed first what the target was? Shouldn't have the US, as prudence would dictate, determined first what the place was used for, who were currently using it, how the facility was being used supposedly by the Taliban?
Negligence seems to me a mild description of this criminal fiasco. The US must be held accountable for such blatant violation of the basic principles of international law, not to mention the Geneva Convention on the conduct of war. Indeed, if other nations committed the same act, America would be the first country shouting at the top of its lungs for justice to be meted.
MSF should only accept an apology if a multinational corps of investigators are finally formed and allowed to investigate the case. Only then can true justice for those who died in the incident can truly be vindicated.
The world should insist on a proper investigation of the case so as to prevent similar events in the future from happening again. We cannot allow the US to get away with this despicable act of irresponsibility, we cannot allow a country - even if it be powerful and rich, to slither away from paying a price for such criminal negligence.
Miyerkules, Oktubre 7, 2015
Paalam Joker Arroyo
If there is one Filipino politician I have always seen as clean and honest, it is none other than Joker Arroyo. A simple man who tried to do his best in the circumstances he was in, amidst the ubiquitous corruption that is Philippine politics, Arroyo was a long time politician that was never corrupted by money, power or indeed, politics itself.
According to news reports, he never travelled abroad on taxpayers money, had only three staff (a driver, secretary and legislative assistant) and most recently, was one of only three senators who did not vote for the impeachment of former SC Chief Justice Renato Corona, and who incidentally, was also one of only three senators who did not receive the PHP 50 million bribe for said vote.
The Philippines needs more Joker Arroyo's - simple, honest, and dedicated to public service. He never advertised himself as the savior of the masses, nor did he portray himself as a politician dedicated to public service - nay, he lived the life of one who lived for the public good sans the self-serving mantras of traditional politicos who display their names and likenesses in publicly funded buses, ambulances, schools, roads, bridges, buildings etcetera.
Isang matinong Filipino, isang dakilang mamamayan, isang matapang na abogado ng mga naaapi. Paalam Joker Arroyo, ang iyong paglingkod sa bayan ay hindi makakalimutan ng mga tulad kong nagsusulong sa isang Pilipinas na maunlad, malinis, at pantay-pantay.
Paalam Joker Arroyo, naway maging tanglaw at inspirasyon ang iyong buhay sa mga kabataan ngayon para sa isang kinabukasang salat sa kahirapan, pang-aabuso at kurapsiyon sa pamahalaan.
According to news reports, he never travelled abroad on taxpayers money, had only three staff (a driver, secretary and legislative assistant) and most recently, was one of only three senators who did not vote for the impeachment of former SC Chief Justice Renato Corona, and who incidentally, was also one of only three senators who did not receive the PHP 50 million bribe for said vote.
The Philippines needs more Joker Arroyo's - simple, honest, and dedicated to public service. He never advertised himself as the savior of the masses, nor did he portray himself as a politician dedicated to public service - nay, he lived the life of one who lived for the public good sans the self-serving mantras of traditional politicos who display their names and likenesses in publicly funded buses, ambulances, schools, roads, bridges, buildings etcetera.
Isang matinong Filipino, isang dakilang mamamayan, isang matapang na abogado ng mga naaapi. Paalam Joker Arroyo, ang iyong paglingkod sa bayan ay hindi makakalimutan ng mga tulad kong nagsusulong sa isang Pilipinas na maunlad, malinis, at pantay-pantay.
Paalam Joker Arroyo, naway maging tanglaw at inspirasyon ang iyong buhay sa mga kabataan ngayon para sa isang kinabukasang salat sa kahirapan, pang-aabuso at kurapsiyon sa pamahalaan.
Martes, Oktubre 6, 2015
MALIGAYANG ARAW NG MGA GURO!!!
Oktubre 5 ang tinaguriang Araw ng mga Guro ng Mundo. Nahuli ang aking pagsulat ng isang parangal para sa mga milyong-milyong mga guro ng mundo, lalung-lalo na sa mga gurong Filipino, ang haligi ng kinabukasan ng bansa, ang tanglaw ng dunong, ang binhi ng karunungan, dahil sa pagiging abala sa aking pag-aaral sa abogasiya.
Huli man, ang aking kathang-wika ngayong araw ay iniaalay ko sa gurong Pinoy - matiyaga, mapagkalinga, mapag-malasakit at higit sa lahat, mapag-aruga sa mga mag-aaral.
Bilang isang propesyonal na guro mismo, alam ko ang mga pagsubok na hinaharap ng mga guro sa Pilipinas. Ang talamak na kakulangan sa mga gamit pampaaralan, ng mga silid-aralan na pawang hindi kasyang ipasok ang ating mga mag-aaral ay isa lamang sa mga samu't saring mga daluyong araw-araw ng hinaharap ng ating mga guro.
Ano ba ang isang katangi-tanging larawan ang aking nakikita sa isang guro?
Ang guro ay hindi lamang nagtuturo ng konsepto o kaalaman, higit sa lahat, nililinang niya ang mga talento at likas na galing ng isang mag-aaral, ipinapakita niya ang daan sa pag-iisip at nagtatanim ng pag-asa sa mag-aaral na ang nais gusting makamtan ay kayang maabot kung magsisikap at magtiyatiyaga.
Ang guro ay nagsisigurong ang larangan ng pag-aaral ay bukas sa pagtatanong, pananaliksik, pagtutulungan, pagbubukas-isip, pagsasantabi ng mga alinlangan at pagtatanim ng pagkamausisa.
Ang guro ay naniniwala sa kakayahan ng kanyang mag-aaral, ginagabayan ang mag-aaral na mahanap ang kanyang mga kahinaan at tinutulungan na malinang ang kanyang mga tagong talento. Hindi nananakot, hindi nagagalit, hindi nawawalan ng pag-asang kaya ng kanyang mga mag-aaral tahakin ang mundo ng karunungan.
Mabuhay ang mga guro - mabuhay ang mga gurong Filipino!!!!
Huli man, ang aking kathang-wika ngayong araw ay iniaalay ko sa gurong Pinoy - matiyaga, mapagkalinga, mapag-malasakit at higit sa lahat, mapag-aruga sa mga mag-aaral.
Bilang isang propesyonal na guro mismo, alam ko ang mga pagsubok na hinaharap ng mga guro sa Pilipinas. Ang talamak na kakulangan sa mga gamit pampaaralan, ng mga silid-aralan na pawang hindi kasyang ipasok ang ating mga mag-aaral ay isa lamang sa mga samu't saring mga daluyong araw-araw ng hinaharap ng ating mga guro.
Ano ba ang isang katangi-tanging larawan ang aking nakikita sa isang guro?
Ang guro ay hindi lamang nagtuturo ng konsepto o kaalaman, higit sa lahat, nililinang niya ang mga talento at likas na galing ng isang mag-aaral, ipinapakita niya ang daan sa pag-iisip at nagtatanim ng pag-asa sa mag-aaral na ang nais gusting makamtan ay kayang maabot kung magsisikap at magtiyatiyaga.
Ang guro ay nagsisigurong ang larangan ng pag-aaral ay bukas sa pagtatanong, pananaliksik, pagtutulungan, pagbubukas-isip, pagsasantabi ng mga alinlangan at pagtatanim ng pagkamausisa.
Ang guro ay naniniwala sa kakayahan ng kanyang mag-aaral, ginagabayan ang mag-aaral na mahanap ang kanyang mga kahinaan at tinutulungan na malinang ang kanyang mga tagong talento. Hindi nananakot, hindi nagagalit, hindi nawawalan ng pag-asang kaya ng kanyang mga mag-aaral tahakin ang mundo ng karunungan.
Mabuhay ang mga guro - mabuhay ang mga gurong Filipino!!!!
Sabado, Oktubre 3, 2015
Cheering for the 2015 #GilasPilipinas team - Why I cannot do the Same
This week the Philippine social-media scene has been abuzz with the seemingly endless string of victories of the #GilasPilipinas team. My own FB news feed is peppered with various comments about its victories and what nots. It seems that every minute, someone from my friend list is commenting, posting, sharing or liking anything related to or is connected with the #GilasPilipinas team. Rightly so, the #GilasPilipinas team has on its backs a record of amazing wins in the on-going 2015 FIBA World Cup.
Unfortunately, I am not cheering for #GilasPilipinas team! For sure though, I am a passionate Filipinist and patriot. And precisely because of such self-classification that I can never really appreciate the #GilasPilipinas team. For one, it is populated by "produced Filipinos" in the sense that they are foreign - albeit granted with Philippine passports. I suspect that they have been "Filipinized" for solely commercial reasons - winning the FIBA matches. I am not a racist, but I cannot cheer for a team that is basically foreign constituted. I cannot accept that as of date, there are more than a hundred million Filipinos, not to mention that this country is agog and passionate to a fault about playing basketball. In fact, basketball is probably the only team sport that Filipinos as a people know how to play. With that said, isn't there any qualified, skillful, physically capable basketball athlete in the whole of the archipelago that can play the game? Did the organizing committee even try to look for Filipino-born athletes without immediately jumping on importing foreigners?
Geez, this is what is irritating about ourselves. We cannot trust in our own people's capacity to play something that is by the way, common across the archipelago. So common in fact, as has been previously stated in this article, that it is played everywhere, anywhere in the Philippines. Is there one barangay in the Philippines that does not have a basketball court - no matter how dilapidated or basic it may seem? Has anyone found one? I have not - except perhaps in highly urbanized areas. In fact, basketball courts are ubiquitous in this country. Probably the only sporting venue that is de rigueur in each barangay, school, company, etc.
I cannot accept that in order to win, or in order to guarantee winning in the FIBA matches, the only resort is to import "manufactured Filipinos" to represent a hundred million Filipinos! This is colonial mentality at its height and speaks of our own lack of a sense of nationhood.
So yes, I will not cheer the #GilasPilipinas team for its wins because they do not represent the Philippines - if anything, its mostly foreign born corps of athletes represent the veritable fact that up until now, this country is still very much in the clutch of its foreign past. WE ARE STILL SLAVES TO OUR brutal colonial history.
I would rather cheer a losing team made up of real Filipinos - those born, lived and suffered what an average Filipino would experience rather than a bunch of highly skilled athletes who are "nationals of convenience" of the Philippines, not least because we are overflowing with people whose passion in basketball, nay, books have been written of the same, is almost synonymous with the fanaticism of religionists.
So I reject with vehemence the employment of transplanted pseudo-Filipinos to represent a game in which my countrymen are so passionate about anyway. It is ironic that most of my countrymen cheer with utmost glee the wins of #GilasPilipinas, failing to see what is so patently obvious, most of them are not even fighting for the Philippines, only playing the game, no surprise there, as they are not Filipinos by heart and experience, by soul and temperament, by mindset and orientation.
If anything, whoever constituted the #GilasPilipinas team was merely looking for a win (and the commercial success it will bring) - and definitely not a representation of the soul and passion of Filipinos in the game of basketball.
I don't want to be a killjoy, but even if #GilasPilipinas wins the FIBA World Cup this year, I would still feel a great loss, that is because I cannot accept that of the 100 million Filipinos living today, none seemed to be good enough to make up ALL of its ranks!
Then again, AKIN LANG ITO. Ikaw kabayan, anong 'say mo, 'ika nga.
Unfortunately, I am not cheering for #GilasPilipinas team! For sure though, I am a passionate Filipinist and patriot. And precisely because of such self-classification that I can never really appreciate the #GilasPilipinas team. For one, it is populated by "produced Filipinos" in the sense that they are foreign - albeit granted with Philippine passports. I suspect that they have been "Filipinized" for solely commercial reasons - winning the FIBA matches. I am not a racist, but I cannot cheer for a team that is basically foreign constituted. I cannot accept that as of date, there are more than a hundred million Filipinos, not to mention that this country is agog and passionate to a fault about playing basketball. In fact, basketball is probably the only team sport that Filipinos as a people know how to play. With that said, isn't there any qualified, skillful, physically capable basketball athlete in the whole of the archipelago that can play the game? Did the organizing committee even try to look for Filipino-born athletes without immediately jumping on importing foreigners?
Geez, this is what is irritating about ourselves. We cannot trust in our own people's capacity to play something that is by the way, common across the archipelago. So common in fact, as has been previously stated in this article, that it is played everywhere, anywhere in the Philippines. Is there one barangay in the Philippines that does not have a basketball court - no matter how dilapidated or basic it may seem? Has anyone found one? I have not - except perhaps in highly urbanized areas. In fact, basketball courts are ubiquitous in this country. Probably the only sporting venue that is de rigueur in each barangay, school, company, etc.
I cannot accept that in order to win, or in order to guarantee winning in the FIBA matches, the only resort is to import "manufactured Filipinos" to represent a hundred million Filipinos! This is colonial mentality at its height and speaks of our own lack of a sense of nationhood.
So yes, I will not cheer the #GilasPilipinas team for its wins because they do not represent the Philippines - if anything, its mostly foreign born corps of athletes represent the veritable fact that up until now, this country is still very much in the clutch of its foreign past. WE ARE STILL SLAVES TO OUR brutal colonial history.
I would rather cheer a losing team made up of real Filipinos - those born, lived and suffered what an average Filipino would experience rather than a bunch of highly skilled athletes who are "nationals of convenience" of the Philippines, not least because we are overflowing with people whose passion in basketball, nay, books have been written of the same, is almost synonymous with the fanaticism of religionists.
So I reject with vehemence the employment of transplanted pseudo-Filipinos to represent a game in which my countrymen are so passionate about anyway. It is ironic that most of my countrymen cheer with utmost glee the wins of #GilasPilipinas, failing to see what is so patently obvious, most of them are not even fighting for the Philippines, only playing the game, no surprise there, as they are not Filipinos by heart and experience, by soul and temperament, by mindset and orientation.
If anything, whoever constituted the #GilasPilipinas team was merely looking for a win (and the commercial success it will bring) - and definitely not a representation of the soul and passion of Filipinos in the game of basketball.
I don't want to be a killjoy, but even if #GilasPilipinas wins the FIBA World Cup this year, I would still feel a great loss, that is because I cannot accept that of the 100 million Filipinos living today, none seemed to be good enough to make up ALL of its ranks!
Then again, AKIN LANG ITO. Ikaw kabayan, anong 'say mo, 'ika nga.
Lunes, Setyembre 28, 2015
Dissecting the #ALDUB Phenomenon: A Socio-Cultural Perspective
Much has been said, much has been promoted, much indeed has happened and continues to happen as the saga known in the social media world with the hashtag #aldub unabashedly titillates the Filipino sense of "kilig."
Many have commented on the superficiality of the experience - its essentially nothing more than a teenage crush acted upon by essentially young adults pretending (or at least is presented as such) to have never even seen each other in person. Piled upon by the dizzying media coverage and the almost mythic proportions it has attained in the ephemeral mindset of the Filipino psyche, it has attained more than its due (in my opinion) share.
From the national demagoguery it has unleashed comes the quintessentially Filipino propensity for emotional tearjerkers. We are, without a doubt, a people so hung up on emotional states of momentary bliss that we cling to juvenile displays of romantic awkwardness with a mindless gusto of an unrequited lover.
I am reminded of a recent survey which includes Filipinos as one of the most emotional peoples in the world. What is the socio-cultural background of this #aldub phenomenon?
In the interest of full disclosure, be it known that in no stretch of the imagination am I a social scientist. I am, for all intents and purposes, a masa. As a professional educator and nurse however, I can say that I am speaking from a disinterested viewpoint of a secular humanist, citizen of this ever so complex nation. In all my personal and professional experiences, the #aldub PHENOMENON is actually not an aberration nor is it an unusuality, but a regular outburst of national catharsis that is the Filipino experience.
Ours is a society of contradictions - where religiosity is outwardly displayed at the same time as massive corruption undercuts our social-political fabric. Where thousands of baccalaureate graduates are produced a year at the same time as millions of uneducated children ply the streets. Where poverty is manifest in the ubiquitous presence of homeless urban dwellers while the ruling elite live in opulent palaces of splendor.
The #aldub phenomenon therefore is a national release against the endemic contradictions of life in the Philippines. It is a national hurrah to the otherwise unbearable complexities of the ordinary Filipino - yes, the #aldub phenomenon wraps the Filipino - me, you, us, with the necessary antidote to the chaos that is our politics, the shattered social fabric that is our increasingly schizophrenic view of what our future should be, what our destiny can be.
For all that has been said about the manifest superficiality of the #aldub phenomenon, one thing clearly shows itself - we are a people so lost in our situation that we find glory in the most juvenile of emotions. There is nothing wrong with that, if only we could start to grow out of this perpetual malaise of created "Neverland", we can start to face our national problems as young adults, not as love-strucked teens. Then again, it's just me.
Many have commented on the superficiality of the experience - its essentially nothing more than a teenage crush acted upon by essentially young adults pretending (or at least is presented as such) to have never even seen each other in person. Piled upon by the dizzying media coverage and the almost mythic proportions it has attained in the ephemeral mindset of the Filipino psyche, it has attained more than its due (in my opinion) share.
From the national demagoguery it has unleashed comes the quintessentially Filipino propensity for emotional tearjerkers. We are, without a doubt, a people so hung up on emotional states of momentary bliss that we cling to juvenile displays of romantic awkwardness with a mindless gusto of an unrequited lover.
I am reminded of a recent survey which includes Filipinos as one of the most emotional peoples in the world. What is the socio-cultural background of this #aldub phenomenon?
In the interest of full disclosure, be it known that in no stretch of the imagination am I a social scientist. I am, for all intents and purposes, a masa. As a professional educator and nurse however, I can say that I am speaking from a disinterested viewpoint of a secular humanist, citizen of this ever so complex nation. In all my personal and professional experiences, the #aldub PHENOMENON is actually not an aberration nor is it an unusuality, but a regular outburst of national catharsis that is the Filipino experience.
Ours is a society of contradictions - where religiosity is outwardly displayed at the same time as massive corruption undercuts our social-political fabric. Where thousands of baccalaureate graduates are produced a year at the same time as millions of uneducated children ply the streets. Where poverty is manifest in the ubiquitous presence of homeless urban dwellers while the ruling elite live in opulent palaces of splendor.
The #aldub phenomenon therefore is a national release against the endemic contradictions of life in the Philippines. It is a national hurrah to the otherwise unbearable complexities of the ordinary Filipino - yes, the #aldub phenomenon wraps the Filipino - me, you, us, with the necessary antidote to the chaos that is our politics, the shattered social fabric that is our increasingly schizophrenic view of what our future should be, what our destiny can be.
For all that has been said about the manifest superficiality of the #aldub phenomenon, one thing clearly shows itself - we are a people so lost in our situation that we find glory in the most juvenile of emotions. There is nothing wrong with that, if only we could start to grow out of this perpetual malaise of created "Neverland", we can start to face our national problems as young adults, not as love-strucked teens. Then again, it's just me.
Lunes, Setyembre 21, 2015
Why I Oppose the Philippine Government's Penchant for Hosting Refugees
I am an unabashed secular humanist and humanitarian. I believe in the principles of secularism. I am also a Filipinist, self-styled nationalist and patriot. Having said that, I am opposed to the government's constant display of pseudo-humanitarianism through its repeated pornographic displays of media-induced hype about the need to host refugees, from the Rohingya's of Myanmar to the now infamous plight of Syrian refugees.
First and foremost, like most of the rest of the educated and cultured societies, Filipinos have seen the horrendous, tragic and brutal experience of the thousands of refugees fleeing their country's seemingly endless descent into oblivion - the Syrian civil war is now on its fourth year and shows no signs of abating. This has inevitably led to one of the worst mass migrations since the end of World War II. The initial lukewarm response of Europe to the influx of the refugees were somehow punctuated by episodes of relief when ordinary citizens across the Eurozone showed their support for the refugees' plight.
Many Filipinos in the social media have been posting messages in various platforms about how the Philippines could somehow help the refugees. Without doubt, typical of Filipino's innate emotional temperament, no less coupled by a culture that puts a premium on pity as a national past time. Indeed, in recent surveys, it has become inescapably clear that Filipinos are the most emotional people on earth today!
I understand my countrymen's views on such matter. I also understand that decisions done and made at the height of emotional upheavals and highs, however they may look, always end up poorly in the end.
Take the case of the Rohingya, hosting them would seem superficially to be the most reasonable course. These are lives we are talking about, as they say. Our shared humanity impels us to help them with all that we can. They too, are humans. Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera ad infinitum....
What behooves to all those who are in favor of blindly hosting refugees is that after the media hypes fades in the background, the real task is just beginning. For one, the refugees will have to be fed, housed, afforded medical, dental and economic support. Over the long term, they will eventually have to be given access to education, even jobs.
Can the Philippines really afford all this? Can the Philippines handle all this?
I am a survivor of Supertyphoon Yolanda, and has history has shown, the government's less than stellar handling of the situation - dare I say much, much, much worse than the aftermath of the typhoon itself showed that as a society - WE HAVE A LOT TO FIX, A LOT TO LEARN, AND MOST OF ALL, WE HAVE TO LEARN TO PRIORITIZE!!!
First and foremost, like most of the rest of the educated and cultured societies, Filipinos have seen the horrendous, tragic and brutal experience of the thousands of refugees fleeing their country's seemingly endless descent into oblivion - the Syrian civil war is now on its fourth year and shows no signs of abating. This has inevitably led to one of the worst mass migrations since the end of World War II. The initial lukewarm response of Europe to the influx of the refugees were somehow punctuated by episodes of relief when ordinary citizens across the Eurozone showed their support for the refugees' plight.
Many Filipinos in the social media have been posting messages in various platforms about how the Philippines could somehow help the refugees. Without doubt, typical of Filipino's innate emotional temperament, no less coupled by a culture that puts a premium on pity as a national past time. Indeed, in recent surveys, it has become inescapably clear that Filipinos are the most emotional people on earth today!
I understand my countrymen's views on such matter. I also understand that decisions done and made at the height of emotional upheavals and highs, however they may look, always end up poorly in the end.
Take the case of the Rohingya, hosting them would seem superficially to be the most reasonable course. These are lives we are talking about, as they say. Our shared humanity impels us to help them with all that we can. They too, are humans. Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera ad infinitum....
What behooves to all those who are in favor of blindly hosting refugees is that after the media hypes fades in the background, the real task is just beginning. For one, the refugees will have to be fed, housed, afforded medical, dental and economic support. Over the long term, they will eventually have to be given access to education, even jobs.
Can the Philippines really afford all this? Can the Philippines handle all this?
I am a survivor of Supertyphoon Yolanda, and has history has shown, the government's less than stellar handling of the situation - dare I say much, much, much worse than the aftermath of the typhoon itself showed that as a society - WE HAVE A LOT TO FIX, A LOT TO LEARN, AND MOST OF ALL, WE HAVE TO LEARN TO PRIORITIZE!!!
Those who insist that our humanity impels us to help others in need is living in a world of make-believe, a delusion of ersatz humanitarianism and symptomatic of hypocritical religiosity, so prevalent, so widespread, so palpably common in our country today. How can we say we can help others when we can barely provide for our own people - much less plan for the needs and what ifs of the situation we are in when disasters arrive, which is by the way on a regular basis.
We don't need additional mouths to feed when we can barely feed the now astounding 100 million Filipino bodies we have. I cannot understand where the government, and the ordinary Filipinos who actually support the idea that we have to host refugees as a compelling imperative of our historical experience. Geez! That is pure non-sense.
We have catered to other races at the expense of providing a decent, respectable and yes, humane service to our own people. We are concerned about the Rohingya, who were rejected by their fellow Muslim Malaysia and Indonesia and even more rejected by its prosperous easterly neighbor Thailand. What does it say about us?
For some it says that Filipinos are kinder, more humanitarian, more attuned to others' needs. Haha, funny because we have never been adequately attuned to the plight of the millions of our fellow Filipinos languishing in jails because of a poorly managed legal system, or who cannot get timely, sufficient and adequate aid during natural disasters because the agency tasked with helping those in need is shortchanging foreign aid given, or that millions of Filipino children are left on the streets all across this archipelago to fend for themselves. Ironic indeed, ironic that it pains me to see how such blind displays of superficial humanitarianism can afford some to declare on the internet that "they are proud to host refugees although coming from a country that is itself poor, marginalized, chaotic, barely keeping itself afloat and whose economy is essentially kept solvent by the Filipino diaspora working their ass out in foreign soil to eke out a decent future for their children here in the Philippines." It's painful because such hypocrisy abounds in the aristocracy of this nation, in the halls of the power elite, in the closeted academia of the Philippines' intellectual elite.
Sheltered from the tragedy unfolding in our midst, we have continued to show concern to others while at the same time neglecting the same concern to our own people - those old men and women rummaging the streets of cities across the Philippines because they have been abandoned by their families, those young women sold to prostitution to make ends meet for their families, those who die slowly along our bridges, esteros, kalyes because our social services can only handle so much.
YES, this is what is so mind-boggling about my nation, its like watching a Picasso painting, schizophrenic in its field of vision, outwardly admirable acts shown to mask the fundamental problems conveniently ignored. Where the outward religiosity of the populace is matched only by the rapacious greed of its political elite, where the ordinary folks pretend to vote for candidates who pretend to serve, where the religious power of the various churches are shamelessly shoved to fulfill its own vested interests, where education in the English language is seen as the epitome of intellectual development, where progress is measured by the amount of household appliances, where agricultural products in a predominantly agricultural country are actually expensive and at times, prohibitively so.
What have we become as a people? What is happening to the Philippines? What is happening to our collective consciousness?
Are we becoming mere zombies lost in this world?
Welcome refugees to the Philippines - make yourself at home. And to our own internal refugees displaced by the incessant wars in Mindanao, welcome too.
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