Akong kauban ug akong kalaban

It’s Friday, and that means it’s time for me to share my weekly column from SunStar Davao, Davao City’s largest circulation newspaper.

Since living in the Philippines, I have a lot of different kinds of friends or companions (kauban), different than I had in the USA.  Friends from many nations.  Of course, a lot of Filipinos, and also expats from countries all over the world.  My list of friends is like a veritable meeting of the United Nations, it seems!  I also have a few enemies (kalaban) here too.  Today, there is one kauban and one kalaban that I want to focus in on.

My kauban is a new friend, I just came to know him a week or so ago, but we seem to be best of buddies.  I would have never had this friend when I was living in the USA, that is certain.  They don’t have this kind of friend in the US.  My kauban is a butiki, or a small lizard!  Ha ha…  yes, it’s true.  I have a new friend who is really a small lizard.  It started about a week ago when I was sitting at my desk in my office and I noticed this little lizard running across my desk.  Bata pa sya (he’s still a baby).  This little fellow is about 1 inch and a half long.  He seems to be my constant companion, though.  I don’t know where his Mom is… I’m not even sure if mother lizards take care of their young after birth.

This little fellow (or is it a little girl? I’m really not educated in how to determine the sex of a lizard!) has been hanging around on my desk for a week already.  He’s not afraid of me anymore either!  Even if I put my hand right over next to him, he just stays there, kind of checking me out.  If I get a drink and put it on my desk, little butiki goes over and runs around the glass to see what it is.  Maybe he’s thirsty, I don’t know for sure!  But, one thing I do know is that he is curious.  As I said, he is also unafraid!  Despite seeing many butiki every day since living in the Philippines, I never saw one like this!  He is my first butiki friend!

Now, what about my kalaban?  Well, that’s an Iring (cat).  I’ve been a cat lover all of my life, and for some reason, cats have always been comfortable around me.  Usually, with any cat, we become fast friends.  But, this cat…  well, I don’t think it’s going to happen.  It all happened more than three years ago when my kids wanted a new cat, so we got one.  It was just a kitten, only a few weeks old.  At first, she (yes, I know how to determine the sex of a cat!) was friendly to me.  After she started getting a little bigger, though, she came to hate me!  I’ve never known why she hated me, though.

If I go anywhere near this cat, she stares at me, looking like she is about to pounce on me anytime!  It’s like her mortal enemy just walked into the room.  If I reach out to give her an affectionate touch, she will hiss at me, and reach out to claw me!  I’ve been injured by this cat on more than one occasion.  She hates me.  In my heart, I still want her to love me, though, because I’ve never had a cat in my life that didn’t like me!  But, what can I do?  She seems to be unable to ever befriend me!

Hey, cat… don’t you know who is buying your cat food?

So, well, those are my current friends and enemies at this moment.  I have to say that I never expected either a lizard friend, or a cat enemy!

Hmm… where is that little lizard?  I’m looking around my desk and I don’t see him.

Fleeting friends…

American arrested in Surigao City

November 18, 2009
by: striker_jem (Published with permission)

Butuan –Authorities arrested an American National for estafa and large scale illegal recruitment on November 15 at 12:35 afternoon at Gateway Hotel, Kilometer 2, Brgy Luna, Surigao City.

PNP elements of Surigao City Police Station apprehended the suspect Michael David Hollomon, 46 yrs old, married of Indiana, U.S.A. and his wife identified as Armin Degrano Hollomon, alias Fe Lipao, 30 years old, both residing in Bantayan Island, Cebu.

Surigao police apprehended the couple after receiving complaints from several victims who claimed they were lured with their illegal activities.

Police identified the alleged victims as Ellan Joy Cortes Camporedondo, Genevieve Guerra Camporedondo, both of legal age and businessmen, Ederio Sulapas Rendon, Gerlie Ablos Puyales, Frechie Catin Sendiong, Charisse Mae Gesta Gerona, private employees and all residents of Surigao City.

Police reports further revealed that Armin Hollomon has three standing warrant of arrests.

One was issued by MTC Branch 2, Surigao City for estafa with recommended bail bond amounting to 6,000 pesos issued in the year 2000, another warrant of arrest was issued by MTCC Branch 145, Makati City for illegal recruitment with no bail bond recommended dated May 21, 2001.

A third warrant was issued by MTCC Branch 66, Makati City for estafa, with recommended bail bond amounting to 80,000 pesos.

After the arrest, a case for violation of paragraph 6 of R.A. 8042 otherwise known as Large Scale Illegal Recruitment was filed against Michael David Hollomon and his wife Armin Degrano Hollomon at Surigao City Prosecutor’s Office.

Suspects now detained at Surigao City Police Station and requested for preliminary investigation assisted by Atty. Jose Begil.

Upon further verification conducted by Surigao City Police Station, it was learned that said American National has standing Warrant of Arrest at Madison County, USA.

But, she’s not family…

For Americans, and I dare say, for people from most every Western Country, we really are not used to having full time maids, or for that matter, we are not used to having maids at all.

Maybe 50 years ago, having a maid in the house was a little more common than it is today, although even at that time it was somewhat rare.   When I was young, and still living with my parents, I remember one time when we had a maid.  It was a time when my mother was sick, she had recently undergone some rather serious surgery, and because she was still recovering, my Dad arranged for a maid to come in around 3 days per week or so, to help keep up with the household chores.  But, that only lasted for a month or two, then it was back to normal.

Because of the fact that most of us expats really have little experience in dealing with a maid, I believe we are not very good at it.  I know that I had to learn a lot about having a maid when we moved here, and it took me a few years.

One thing that I hear from a lot of expats, especially newly arrived expats, when they talk about their maid is this:

“We treat her just like a member of the family…”

Well, my friends, that can be a bit of a problem.  Why?  Well, she really is not part of the family.

When we moved here, I also really believed in that too.  Treat her just like we treat the family!  But, I’ve learned a lot since then.

Some of the things that I hear from other expats is that they take the maid out with them when they go out and eat at a restaurant.  They take her to the mall for a nice day.  They take her to the movies.  I know one expat who has his maid give him massages (this particular one, I feel is very dangerous and could lead to charges of him making sexual advances toward her).  Sure, many of these are things that you wouldn’t think twice about doing with the family (not the massage, perhaps).

But, it’s important to remember… she is the maid, she is not family.

When we moved here, we did a lot of this kind of thing with the maid too.  Over the years, though, I have had several experiences where we treated the maid as family, and over time the maid came to feel herself that she was family.  She didn’t want to do the duties of a maid, because she was already family, after all!

Let me put it like this… in general, treating a maid as family just doesn’t tend to work.

Now, don’t take me wrong, I do not believe in mis-treating a maid.  I believe that a maid should be treated in a humane way, in a friendly way, with respect, and certainly not as a slave.  In our family, with maids, we still do treat them better than most local people do.  As an example, we usually pay a bit more than the local average wages for a maid.  In addition, for a live in maid, we also pay for her personal needs, things like deodorant, toothpaste, shampoo, that kind of thing.  Most local people do not pay for this stuff, it comes from the maid’s salary.

We treat our maids in a friendly way too.  We are kind to them.  We feed them well.  But, they don’t get the same things that family gets.  I am sorry, but from what I have experienced, this is how it should be.

But, why, Bob?  Why shouldn’t I treat my maid just the same way I would treat a daughter?

Well, my experience is that if you do that, she will come to expect more and more.  She will also lose some respect for you as well.  Why?  I don’t know, but I do know that I have seen it happen many times.

So, my advice to you is that if you want to have a maid in your home, treat her well.  Pay her fairly.  Be nice to her.  Give her adequate food.  But, remember… she is not family.

Is there opportunity in the Philippines?

Again, today I am sharing with LiP readers my weekly column from SunStar Davao, the biggest local Davao newspaper, where I write every week.  I hope you enjoy the article.

One thing that I really see a lot of here in the Philippines, which makes me feel bad, is the huge rush of Filipinos who want to go abroad.  The crowd of those who want to leave is so huge, it almost seems like everybody you know is on a quest to leave the country.

When you look into this and try to figure out why everybody wants to leave, the reason is almost universally that the people want to find work.  They need jobs that they feel are not available here in the Philippines.  They want to improve their lives, make more money, support their family, etc.  You can’t blame a person who wants to improve their standing in life.

It’s true that when you look around the country, it would seem that there are not a lot of promising jobs to be found.  For somebody without much training, they might get lucky and land a job at a fast food chain, or in a department store as a clerk.  But, how much of a future is there in those kind of jobs?  Well, unfortunately, it seems like most of those jobs are only temporary contract jobs that last for 5 or 6 months.  After that short time passes, the employee is let go, and a whole new staff seems to start working.  I suppose that I also would have a hard time getting excited about only being able to find such a temporary job like that.

However, is it true that there is no opportunity in the Philippines?  In my opinion, that simply is not the case!  I see so many opportunities available and just waiting for the right person to fill the slot.

I am from the United States of America, and I always hear a lot of Filipinos tell me that they want to go to the USA so they can find work and help support their family here in the Philippines.  However, what these people don’t realize is that life is tough in the USA.  The pace of life is fast, and there is little time to rest.  In the States, if you aren’t staying busy, you are losing ground.  Often you won’t have time for your family, you only have time to work!  Believe me, it’s not an enjoyable way to live your life when you have to work all the time like that!

If you want to start up any kind of business in the States you need a few things:

1. Lots of money.  Starting any kind of business in the States takes a ton of money!  If you don’t have that cash, you might as well give up on the goal too.
2. Plenty of time.  If you go into business for yourself, you are signing up for a lot of hours at the job!  No time to do anything but work, it seems!  Especially for those just starting a business, because they often can’t afford to hire an employee or two to assist in carrying the load.  So, the owner of the business must do everything himself!  It’s not an easy life, and it can take years to build your business to the point where you can start sharing the burden with a few employees.
3. Lots of patience.  You have to be patient long enough to make the business successful.  Patient with not having much money too!  You will have to reinvest much of your earnings to make the business grow, and make it a success.

However, here in the Philippines, it is still possible to start your own business on a low budget!  Hiring employees is inexpensive too.  Families here are close knit, so you can get some of your family to help out too!  Nieces, Nephews and such are always looking for work, and would be happy to help you get your business up and running!

The other great thing in the Philippines is that there are a lot of business niches that are still unfilled.  In the USA, it seems like no matter what kind of business you want to get into, there are many others already doing it here!  No so here in the Philippines, though!  If you can “think outside the box” or be creative in your thinking, you an still find plenty of opportunities here in the Philippines.

Another great thing about finding a business niche here in the Philippines is that if you stay here you can still enjoy your family here, the Philippines foods, culture and such!  If you leave the country you will soon find that you are missing these very basic things in life, and you will long for these things for many years!

So, next time you think that you want to go abroad, try to spend a little time thinking about what your best option is!  I firmly believe that there is plenty of opportunity to be had right here in the Philippines!  If you keep an open mind, and do some creative thinking, I think you will find that I’m right too!

What about expats?

Before I start writing on my topic for today, let me say in advance that this is a real hot button issue for Americans.  I want to remind all readers and participants on LiP to please keep the discussion civil.  No name calling.  Please, let’s just focus in on how expats are affected, and not the debate of the issue itself.

Health care. It has been a major issue in the United States for decades now.  There was a big rush of activity in the early 90’s when President Bill Clinton tried to push through a National Health Care plan, with the effort being headed up by his wife, Hillary.  After the proposal was shot down in the early 90’s, the issue of a nationalized health care system kind of faded for a while, although issues like the cost of health care and such continued to be ever present.

With the new administration of President Obama, there has been a renewed push to get a National Health Care system in place in the United States.  In the past 24 hours, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed their Health Care Plan by a very slim 220-215 vote.  One Republican crossed to vote with the Democrats, so it can hardly be called a bipartisan effort.  The debate over health care now shifts to the U.S. Senate, where a bill has yet to be passed.  If the Senate passes Health Care legislation, the next step will be for the two houses to meet in a conference session to wrangle out the differences in the two bills that are passed.  After that, the final bill would be presented to the President for his signature.

I know what you are thinking…

But, Bob, you don’t live in the United States, why would you really care, and what does it have to do with Living in the Philippines?  Why are you writing about this?

Well, as the bill sits right now, it would seem that it might have an impact on expats living anywhere in the world, even in the Philippines.  Why?  How?

Under the House version of the bill, there is language that says that every American must have health care coverage.  In fact, if you do not purchase a health insurance plan, you are subject to a fine of $15,000, and if you do not pay that fine, you can be put in jail.  Yes, if the Health Care plan is signed into law as it is now written, you may be put in jail if you do not have Health Insurance.

What about expats?

The bill does not say “All Americans who live in the United States must have coverage.”  It says that “All Americans must have health insurance.”  So, what if you do not live in the United States?  I am an American, but I have not been in the United States for nearly a decade.  I do not have any kind of US Health Insurance coverage, because I have no plans to go to the USA for any kind of health care treatment.  I feel perfectly safe with the health care that is available to me in the Philippines.

There are only a few (actually I know of only one) Health Insurance plans available in the USA that will cover you for treatment in the Philippines.  The one that I am aware of is Tri Care, a plan for US Military Personnel and Retirees.  Other plans will cover you for emergency care in the Philippines, but not for regular health care for those who live here.  I am not saying that there are no such plans, only that I know of none.

Now, there are health care plans that you can avail of here.  If you have a Philippine spouse, you can get PhilHealth, the Philippine Government Insurance plan for your health.  It is very inexpensive (P1,200 per year!), but the coverage is also limited.  If I have PhilHealth Coverage, I wonder if the US would consider me to be in compliance with the proposed law?  I sort of doubt it.

So, will I, and others like me, be required to purchase Health Care Insurance coverage from a US company, even though we don’t live there?  If we don’t buy it, will we face a stiff fine, or jail time?  Frankly, I think that is crazy.  I also think that it is something that has not been considered by those who are considering the law.  There are tens of thousands (possibly hundreds of thousands, I’m not sure) of Americans who do not live in the USA, so this is a real issue that needs to be checked out.

So, what do you think?  When or if you move to the Philippines, what are your Health Insurance plans?  Do you have any plans?  Do you plan to self-insure, since health care costs here are actually quite low?

Give me your thoughts, but please remember, let’s only talk about how this legislation affects expats.  No name calling, it’s just now what we do here!

Culture of the Common Man

In the past, when I have written about various subjects on this site, in the comments the Jeepney has been brought up in the discussion. One vocal commenter has said quite clearly that the Jeepney is not and should not be considered as part of the Philippine culture. In my view, the Jeepney is one of the most strong pieces of Philippine culture that we can find! Why shouldn’t it be?

The Jeepney is the most common form of Public Transportation in the Philippines. Where you would see a bus in most parts of the world, in the Philippines it is the Jeepney that you will see rolling down the highway, or on a rural country dirt road. Just about anywhere you are in the Philippines, a Jeepney is usually just a few minutes away from passing by and picking you up if you are looking for transportation. In Cities like Manila, Cebu or Davao there are literally thousands of Jeepneys plying the city streets, and most of them are usually carrying a rather full load of passengers. You can ride the Jeepney for a fare of P7.50 in most cases, although it may be more if you are going a long distance.

On average, for a Jeepney in the City, you can expect that a full sized Jeepney may be carrying about 15 to 20 people if it is full. When you go out in the Province, that is a small load though! Outside of town, you may get up to 30 people inside the jeepney, plus people will sit on the hood and also on the roof if needed! Of course, people will also be standing on the bumpers or anywhere else that they can find a place to stand! No question, Jeepneys out in the Province are a real workhorse! Some Jeepneys out in the Provinces are loaded down with goods instead of people – rice, fruits or whatever the local product of choice is. Other Jeepneys carry a combination of people and goods. You can bet, though, out in the Provinces it is almost always a FULL load on the Jeepney!

The Jeepney is not only a mode of transportation, but also a personal expression for the owner. Have you ever noticed how Jeepneys are painted up in all sorts of colors and decor? I would venture to say that no two Jeepneys look exactly alike, and virtually every Jeepney around is a work of art in itself.

To show that the Jeepney is indeed an important part of Philippine society and not just a passing trend, the Jeepney has been in use on Philippine streets for about 60 years now! It was first introduced here after World War II, when US Soldiers left many Willys Jeeps behind in the Philippines. The Jeeps were converted to hold passengers, and decorated with a little Filipino Flair, and it has become part of the local culture ever since! The Jeepney is not going away anytime soon either! In fact, as you will see in the photo at the right, a new cleaner Jeepney is hitting Philippine streets – the Electric Jeepney! This new vehicle is currently making waves in Makati, but will be rolling out to other parts of the Philippines soon too.

In my view, the Jeepney is one of the most ubiquitous signs of Philippine Culture. In my view, the Philippines simply would not be the same place it is today if you didn’t see Jeepneys roaming the streets! I don’t ride Jeepneys myself often, as I have a car of my own, but when I do take a Jeepney ride it always kind of gives me a different perspective, and one that I need from time to time.

The call that didn’t come

Again, this week, I am sharing my column from SunStar Davao here on LiP.  This article is appearing in SunStar on Friday, November 6, and the same day here on LiP.  Enjoy the article.

Does PLDT know what customer service is?  It would seem that they don’t, based on my recent experience with them.

I earn my living on the Internet.  All of the money that I earn comes through my work on the Internet in one way or another.  Because of that, it is important for me to have a reliable Internet connection.  If I don’t have good Internet, I can’t earn money!

Because of the fact that Internet connectivity is so important to my livelihood, I have multiple Internet accounts.  I recently got a third Internet account, through PLDT, with their MyDSL service.  I had been a MyDSL customer from 2002 until 2008 and had always been very happy with the service, until May of 2008 when they cut off my account three times for no apparent reason.  Every time I would inquire, they would get me hooked back up, but it was a hassle to never know when my service would be off again.  Because of that, I canceled the service at that time.  I got two different Internet connections with different companies when I had the PLDT disconnected.

About a month ago, I decided to give PLDT another try, since I had been happy with them for a number of years, so I got a third connection.  Having backup connections made me feel secure that I would always be online, and if one was interrupted there were still two more backup connections.

Well, the other day, my PLDT connection stopped working again.  I figured that it was just a regular outage and would resume in an hour or two.  By afternoon, though, and still no Internet from PLDT, I was a little concerned, so my wife went to the PLDT office to find out what happened.

The people at PLDT informed my wife that they had disconnected my account.  Hmm.  Why?  My wife assured them that the bill was paid, and we owed nothing on the account.  PLDT informed her that indeed the bill was up to date, and the problem was an account issue with PLDT’s computers!  Because there was a problem in their own computer system, they cut me off!  They even told my wife that there were “a lot of people with the same problem” and they were all very angry about the fact that they had been cut off.

I understand that problems happen, and must be worked out.  Here is what I don’t understand, though.  PLDT is the phone company.  They know my telephone number.  Why didn’t they call me and inform me that they were having a problem and would need to terminate my account (hopefully temporarily)?  Is that not the way customer service is supposed to work?  Inform the customer of what is going on.  But, PLDT, as they always have done, just cut off the account without any notice.  A simple phone call would have been so nice, and as I say, they certainly know my phone number.

Credit where credit is due

Credit.  The word can mean a number of things.  It can mean that you are acknowledging what somebody else did.  It can be associated with the lending or borrowing of money.  Lots of things.  In today’s article, I’m going to talk about credit in terms of borrowing money, and also the tracking of your borrowing and pay back habits.

In the USA, and probably most of the western world, when you borrow money, make payments for money owed and such, there is a “credit reporting agency” that keeps track of your habits.  If you are a person who pays your bills late, that is noted, and can be checked on by potential creditors for a number of years down the road.  Then again, if you pay on time, or pay more than what is due, that is also noted in your records, and it shows potential creditors that you have the potential to be very responsible with debts.

In short, in the USA and other countries, it is very easy for a company to check on your payment habits, and decide if you are the type of person whom they wish to extend a loan to.  If you have a good record with borrowing and repaying money, there is a good chance that you will get additional loans.

Last week, I got an e-mail from somebody that has to do with Credit Reporting Agencies.  It’s an issue that I know about and have dealt with before.  Here is a slightly edited version (I don’t want to give the personal information of the person who inquired) of the e-mail I received:

Hi there, I am realtor in Canada and am helping a client who
moved from the Philippines to find a home. The banks are asking for a
credit bureau from the Philippines, but it seems that this is a
difficult task. What is the best way to show a credit bureau or
credit information for the past year. Where would my client request
this information and how difficult is it to get?

Well, you see… the problem this person is facing is that there is no such thing as a credit reporting agency, or credit bureau in the Philippines!  Yes, you read that right, they don’t have a way of tracking you if you don’t pay your bills, or no way of seeing your credit worthiness if you do pay your bills!

Additionally, if you have great credit in the States, there is no way that you can “transfer” that credit here, so that people know that you are honorable in paying debts that you know.  Again, if you leave the States owing a bunch of money, that also cannot get onto your “record” here, because basically there is no record!  Now, let me say, if you owe enough money there, and try to skip out on it by moving to the Philippines, that could still lead to trouble for you, because if you owe enough money, they might just track you down, and still come after you here (if the amount owed is enough to justify the cost of doing that).

Now, even though there is no credit reporting here, there still is one way that bad (or good) credit could affect you here.  That is if you are dealing with the same company, or a sister company.  For example, Smart Telecommunications is a subsidiary of PLDT (Philippine Long Distance Telephone).  If you owe Smart a bunch of money, and skip out on it… when you go apply for a landline at PLDT, they will likely have a record of the fact that you owe money to Smart, and they will catch you that way.  But, if you owe Globe Telecom (another cell phone provider), PLDT would have no way of knowing, because they are two different companies.

OK, so if there is no credit reporting, how do you get a loan?  How do companies decide if you are worthy of the responsibility?  How do they know that they won’t be ripped off?  What they do is that they look at your employment, your salary, and they check if you have borrowed from them before, and how you were on the payments.  You will need to supply other data too, such as a statement from the Police or NBI (National Bureau of Investigation), a clearance from the Barangay Captain (sort of the “mayor” of the neighborhood where you live) that will attest what kind of record you have.  Do you have criminal convictions?  Are you currently wanted?  The Barangay will attest to your character – are you an honest person, or not?  Do you cause trouble in the neighborhood?  If so, it might indicate that you are not the type of person that they want to do business with.

Another factor is that if you are a foreigner, it will be very, very difficult to get any kind of loans here.  If your wife is from here, and has an established record here, she could probably get the loan, but not you.  If you are an immigrant, and have been here for a few years, that is when you might be able to start getting some small credit deals, and thus building a record, but only with the company in question.  For example, if you get a credit card at a certain bank, and show a good record of credit worthiness, then after a year or two, perhaps they will allow you to upgrade to a better card with a higher limit.  Your beginning card, though, even though it is a credit card (as opposed to a debit card) will likely require you to keep a deposit at that bank, as collateral for the credit.  The payments will not be drawn against the deposit, the deposit is just there in case you skip town and owe money.

I suspect that in coming years, but possibly many years down the road, credit reporting and record keeping will make it’s way to the Philippines.  I mean, it is inevitable for it to happen.  Companies can minimize the monetary risk they take with people if such reporting is done, and is centralized, as it is in other countries.  We’ll have to wait and see if it happens!

Araw ng mga Patay

Yesterday, November 1, was Araw ng mga Patay, a major holiday in the Philippines.  Literally translated, Araw ng mga Patay means “Day of the dead.”  Additionally, November 1st is All Saints Day in the Catholic Church, which is all related to Araw ng mga Patay, or Day of the dead.  It is the day when the family members who have passed before us are remembered and honored.  But, Araw ng mga Patay is actually only half of the holiday.  The second day, November 2, is also a holiday.  November 2 is All Souls Day.

Another name for the two days combined celebration is called “Undas.”  In previous years, although I have heard of Undas, I have never heard it widely used, at least in the area where I live.  This year, though, the name “Undas” is widely used.  I am not certain why, or for what reason the name of the celebration seems to have shifted more to being called Undas this year than it has in the past, but I have certainly noticed the shift.  Perhaps others will comment that they have (or have not) noticed such a shift this year as well.

As a westerner, the Undas season is the hardest thing for me to really understand when it comes to Philippine holidays.  While in many ways, Undas is very solemn, in some ways it is also festive!  You are supposed to remember your loved ones who have passed, and spend time at the Cemetery to show your love and honor of those who have died, yet at the Cemetery it is often a party type atmosphere!  People get drunk, dance and party wildly at the graveside!  People bring plenty of food and spirits to enjoy a lively Undas!  I find it very strange, and hard to understand.

For me, I am a Christian, but I believe that we can remember our lost loved ones any time that we choose to, just by thinking of them, or maybe saying a short prayer.  But, here, they go way beyond that during Araw ng mga Patay.  As I said earlier, food and spirits are brought to the cemetery.  And, do you know, a plate of food is even dished up for the dead person, and served at their grave!

Early this morning (Nov. 2), Feyma rode the bus to GenSan to be with her family for the All Soul’s Day part of the celebration.  Feyma and her family (at least the part of the family that I know) have never been into the whole party scene at the graveside.  But, they will just be paying their respects to Papa, Mama and Feyma’s siblings who have already passed.  Feyma will be gone just one day, and return tomorrow.  I planned to attend the event myself, but I still have some lingering effects from Dengue that cause me to get pretty worn out if I over-exert myself, so both Feyma and I decided it would be best for me to remain home this year.  Mostly, Feyma wanted to be there, though, because this is the first year since Mama passed, and she feels it is important to show her respects at this time.  I support her in that too.

Even after living here for a decade, though, I feel that I cannot fully understand Undas, or even grip a small portion of what it is all about.  It seems so different to me, and unlike anything that I experienced in the West.  November 1 and 2, also, are probably either the second or third biggest holidays of the year in the Philippines.  Easter (Holy Week) and Christmas being in the top three as well.  To be honest, among those three holidays, it would be hard for me to classify which of them is most important to Filipinos.  Holy Week and Undas are solemn (with spurts of festivity, as I’ve explained), while Christmas is more cheerful, to say the least.

Early November is certainly an interesting time in the Philippines.

The Philippines needs a Hero

Again, this week, I am sharing my Friday column from SunStar Davao Newspaper.  I hope you enjoy the article.

Every country needs heroes.  Every group of  people needs heroes of it’s own.  It’s something in the human spirit, having heroes helps us do better ourselves.  Somehow we want to emulate the person who has achieved hero status.

Politicians, these days, don’t make for good heroes, they are too divisive.  Half the people revere a certain politician, the other half hate him.  It is very rare in this age that there is a politician that is looked up to by a big enough percentage of the populace that they could be considered a hero.  Sure, a certain politician can be a hero to his followers, but not so much to an entire nation.

Who are the heroes of the Philippines?  Without much doubt, the number one hero of the country is boxer Manny Pacquiao.  Manny has another bout coming up in just a few weeks, and you can bet that the nation will come to halt for a few hours to watch their hero go to battle (and hopefully win!).  Manny brings pride to the Filipino people, and rightly so.  But, in the end, Manny is a Sports hero.  Sure, he will contribute some money to some causes in the country, but how much can a Sports hero really do to make the nation rise to greatness, let alone his individual followers make the same rise?

CNN, the Cable News Network, is having it’s annual (I think this is the second year for the event) search for heroes.  Right now, they have narrowed the search down to 10 candidates.  One of those candidates is a Filipino, Efren Peñaflorida.  Efren is on a mission to teach kids.  Destitute kids.  Kids who are not in school, and some of whom have no homes except the streets.

Peñaflorida has his own “school of the streets,” he has a pushcart that he loads up with books and other learning materials, and he pushes his cart around the streets of Manila.  He goes out and finds kids who need to learn, and he teaches them as best he can.  Peñaflorida goes out and finds kids who are in gangs, and he takes them out of gang life by giving them an education.

One of the students said it all:

“I thought I’d get stuck in that situation and that my life would never improve,” recalls Fajardo. “I would probably be in jail right now, most likely a drug addict — if I hadn’t met Efren.”

Saving kids from going to jail, and instead giving them an education is something that only a hero could do.

Peñaflorida, who is only 28 years old, has been doing this for 12 years already.  Can you imagine, the fellow started at the age of 16?  I wonder how many kids he has saved from gang life, even death in those years?

Where does Peñaflorida find his students?  Well, all over the streets of Metro Manila.  Even at the garbage dump.  Now, in addition to his “pushcart school,” Efren also operates a place where these poor children can get a shower an start off the day clean and ready to learn.

This contest to find CNN’s Hero for 2009 is something that you can make a difference in.  You can vote for your hero, and when the votes are summed up, that is how CNN’s hero will be chosen.  By visiting CNN’s Website, you can cast your vote for who you think the hero is.  Hey, let’s face it, any one of those ten who are in the finals are heroes in their own right.  But, for me, Efren is a real hero by helping these kids make something of themselves.  If you agree with me, please go and vote and make Efren the CNN hero.  If he wins, he will get $100,000 to advance his work.  Efren has said that it is his goal to spread his pushcart schools all around the Philippines, and to help more children through the effort.  You can do a small part by going and voting for Efren now!

The Philippines needs more heroes, and you can do your part by voting now!