New Year’s Traditions in Abulug: Keeping out the bad juju

This year, I decided to write about everything we did for New Year’s… This posting should appear in February, after everyone is in the winter doldrums, so it will be separated from the other New Year’s articles.

New Year’s Eve is much more important to Abulugenyos than Christmas… It is largely centered around chasing out bad spirits and luck, and inviting in the good luck: A mixture of Catholic and Chinese tradition that is uniquely Filipino, but borrows heavily from other cultures. Indeed, the day ends with a Mass at church, before everyone’s Media Noche celebrations. Generally, the New Year is almost religious in nature, second only to All Soul’s Day or Easter in the liturgical calendar up there.

This year, Media Noche consisted of a pig being slaughtered, cooked into Lechon, along with Pancit, Cagayan style (With livers and both Bihon and Canton noodles). There is a basket of fruit, with 13 different ROUND fruits, one for each Apostle, plus Judas (Since Jesus “would have forgiven him”… Bananas don’t count.) In our basket, we had Pomelo, Calamansi, Mango, Green Mango, Longan, Oranges, Grapes, Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Atis, Santol, Pineapple, and Guava. Each person is given 13 peso coins to carry in their pocket for luck (I was running around to the sari-sari stores trying to get change).

Throughout the day, carollers come to the gate. In Abulug, there are normally two groups of carollers: Kids (5 pesos) or Aeta / Igorot. In particular, we always try to give the Aeta a little “something extra”,  Negritos (NOT considered derogatory), as they are referred to locally. Mama has a very soft spot for the Aeta… They are very gentle, and kind, people, and they nursed her for two months when she caught “fever” in the mountains many decades ago. This year, we intended to give canned sardines (They really appreciate those), but they got flip flops instead. The songs the Aeta sing are traditional, tribal, and sound completely different from normal Filipino carols.

During the day, on New Year’s eve, Becky’s brothers head out to the rice paddies with fireworks to scare away evil spirits (and the carabaos), and to the fish ponds to do the same thing (and stop in the fishing village for a cup or two or three of lambanog.

After Mass, we start with fireworks (Mostly made locally in Bulacan, much more powerful and CHEAP by US standards, if somewhat dubious quality), ending with starting every engine in the house to ensure that they start and run easily over the coming year (Aircon, generator, pump from the well, washing machine, saw, chainsaw, and tractor). Abulug sounds like a battlefield on New Year’s, with some people even setting off dynamite! Finally, we eat, and go to bed at 2:00 AM. Father Carlos helpfully wakes us at 6:00 AM New Year’s day for Mass (for those who didn’t go the night before) by ringing the church bells (I really like you, Father, but why does God have to wake up so early in the morning?).

On New Year’s day, the “bigis” (Little old ladies from the Church) go house to house singing prayers, giving blessings, and bringing the Baby Jesus from the nativity into each house to cleanse it from evil spirits, Aswangs, demons, and any other creatures that may be lurking about. This is also when we make tinubung and chocolate (Both previously written about). New Year’s day closes with a quick visit to the cemetery to offer food, drink, and candles to the family’s ancestors (Hey! Ghosts have to celebrate too!).

Mama had me change my shirt… It was black, and she was afraid that it would bring bad juju into the house… So I changed. She said, “You are in sales… You don’t need any bad luck!” I told my boss this, and we had a good laugh. A couple of hours after changing my shirt, I got a call from California… We just received a nice contract on New Year’s Eve! Mama’s precaution was evidently true! My boss said, “You had better listen to that old woman!)”

An interview with Ray Bacon

If you have cruised the Internet much over the past 15 years or so in search of information about the Philippines, there is a good chance that you know who Ray Bacon is.  I first came to know of Ray about that many years ago, or so.  I used to operate an e-mail list in the early to mid-90’s called “Asialink” which was mostly a group of men who were married to Filipina wives.  We gathered on this on-line e-mail chat group for support, sharing information and such.  After a few years, the group splintered into two groups, and that other group later splintered again, and a new e-mail group called “Mag-Anak” was born.  Ray was one of the original founders of the Mag-Anak group.

Over these many years, Ray Bacon has been active in assisting people who have married Filipinas.  He has assisted people get through the Immigration process so that the couple could be re-united in the United States and begin their families.  While the process of a wife immigrating to the USA has been fairly straightforward, when a problem does arise, or for those who are unsure how to proceed, Ray has been a godsend.  As a matter of fact, on the Mag-Anak group, Ray has a nickname, or at least he used to in the days when I was active on the group.  Ray is known as “The Pope.”

I don’t normally write about issues regarding marriage in the Philippines and that kind of thing.  It’s something I did a very long time ago (nearly 20 years already), so it is not something that consumes me anymore.   This site tends to focus on expat issues instead.  However, nobody can argue that there is not a cross over between the two issues.  Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of requests for information on this sort of thing, lots of questions like, “Bob, I just married a lady in the Philippines, what do I do now, I want her to come live in the States.”

So, because of the interest that I get on this, I decided to do a little interview with Ray Bacon.  Ray is a guy who can help you greatly if you need this kind of assistance.

So, here is my interview with Ray Bacon.

Hi Ray, nice to talk to you again, it’s been a long time since we’ve been in contact.  I remember that you used to do a lot to help people who got married or engaged here in the Philippines.  Helping with things like Immigration and such.  Are you still doing that, and if so, can you direct the readers how to get to your website, or how to contact you?

We maintain a resource website called Multi Ethnic Services with links to immigration-related sites, our enhanced versions of the latest U.S. immigration-related forms and some information about what we do.

A lot of people ask me, what is best… getting married in the Philippines, or getting married in the States.  What do you think, in terms of the Immigration process?

It’s a personal choice, but sometimes influenced by the fiancee’s parents.  The Spousal Visa procedure, after marriage, has a stronger legal basis for the young lady’s eventual Immigrant and Green Card status, but currently averages about 2 months longer than the Fiancee Visa process.

Are you able to help people with immigration concerns in countries other than the USA?

We have assisted with Immigration paperwork for nationals from more than 10 other countries inthe last year.  The requirements are the same for most countries, except for minor local procedural differences once the paperwork arrives at the foreign U.S. Consular Post (Embassy or Consulate).

What kinds of visas are available for wives or fiancees of American Citizens?

Spouses of U.S. Citizens are eligible for the Immigrant Visa, CR-1, or the Non-Immigrant Two Year Spousal Visa, K3.  The K3 Visa was originally touted as getting wives to the U.S. much faster, but that is no longer the case, though a one to two-month faster timeframe may still be experienced with the K3 Visa.  Use of the K3 Visa, however, results in significant extra expense and waiting before the young lady can get an SSN, work approval or Green Card once in the U.S.

About how long does the immigration process take?

From 7 to 10 months, on the average.  Any “Fiancee or Spouse of a U.S. Citizen” Visa taking longer has experienced unusual delays due to improperly prepared paperwork or failure to have all evidence available when needed.

After getting the spouse to the States, are they then US Citizens?

U.S. Citizenship is not available to spouses of U.S. Citizens until the spouse has Green Card Status for 2 years and 9 months (for filing an application).  If the immigrant enlists in any branch of the U.S. Military, it is possible for U.S. Citizenship to be available much sooner than 3 years.

Once the Immigration is complete, are there other steps that must be completed in the future?

Yes.  If on a K3 Visa, the entrant must apply for Adjustment of Status, to get a Green Card, within two years of arrival in the U.S.  If in the U.S. on a Spousal Immigrant Visa, CR-1, and the marriage is less than two years upon arrival in the U.S., she must apply for “Removal of Conditions” to obtain a 1-year Green Card before her second-year anniversary of Green Card issuance arrives. This requirement also applies to K3 entrants who’s subsequent Green Cards were issued for only 2 years.

After the lady arrives in the States, what if she wants to become a US Citizen?  How long does it take?  What is the process?

After she receives her Green Card, she can apply for U.S. Citizenship at 2 years and 9 months from the Green Card issue date.  If the marriage terminates before then, or she is not married to a U.S. Citizen, she must wait until 4 1/2 years from the Green Card issuance.  The Naturalization Application fee is currently $675 and requires submittal of Form N-400 with supporting documents.  After acceptance, she will be scheduled for biometrics (fingerprinting), then an interview and test consisting of civics, history and basic English questions.

How long have you been doing this kind of service, Ray?  About how many people have you assisted?

We have been doing Immigration-related work for fees for about 10 years.  We started by assisting with Citizenship Applications on a contract basis and assisted about 2,000 Citizenship Applicants at different locations around the country.  When that private contracting program was terminated, about 10 years ago, we began working primarily with Fil-Am couples doing fiancee and Spousal petitions and adjustment of status packages.  We’ve probably worked with about 600 couples, as well as other relative categories during the last 10 years, from at least 14 different countries.

Last question, Ray, because you are a busy man!  I believe that you have an online group that delves into this whole type of thing, can you tell me about that?  Who can join?  What is the procedure to join?

We assist in moderating Mag-Anak, an online listserve, with a Yahoo Groups messaging application. This group, Mag-Anak, has been active for more than 10 years.  Information about this Online Community can be found at:  Mag Anak Website or Yahoo Groups Mag-Anak page.

The Mag-Anak Web Forum, linked from the Mag-Anak website is no longer active.

Thank you very much Ray, for sharing your expertise and information with the readers of my LiP Web Magazine!  All the best to you and Ampee.

Thank you, Bob, for your longtime help to the Expat Community in the Philippines!

____________________

So, that wraps up my interview with “The Pope,” Ray Bacon.  If you have needs for Immigration assistance I highly recommend Ray as a resource with experience and a great deal of knowledge.

I would like to point out that I receive no remuneration from this interview at all.  I only recommend Ray because I really believe that he is the best man to provide the type of assistance and information that somebody would need and desire if they are embarking on the journey of helping their wife or fiancee immigrate to the USA.

I just sent her money for the airfare…

I hear those words regularly from people… “I just sent her money for the airfare, she is coming soon.”  Hmm… Let me fill you in with a little more.

Because I write in a number of places, and most of my writing is related to the Philippines in some way, a lot of people contact me with various requests for information when they need to find out something.  The requests range, everything from information about finding a hotel, getting married here, relationship problems with a Filipina (or Filipino), all kinds of information about something in the Philippines.  I get these every day of the week, every month of the year.

But, one of the very common requests is about relationships through chatting online.  People will write and tell me about some wonderful lady that they met online six months ago.  They chat every day with each other.  Sometimes they even talk on the phone.  The guy will go on to tell me that he has been very good to the girl, sending her lots of money for this and that.  Doctor bills are almost always part of the equation.  Parents always need medicine, so he sent money for that too.  Maybe college tuition needed to be paid, so he sent that, of course.

His e-mail often ends…

I am so excited, she is coming to marry me soon.  I just sent her $2,000 to pay for the airfare.  She told me that she would use that money to buy the airplane ticket.  I can’t wait.

Oops.

Sorry, my friend.  I need a little more information before I can help you.  You say that she is coming to marry you.  Have you ever met her before?

Oh, of course, we meet online for chat every day.  We didn’t meet in person yet, because she is in the Philippines and I am in the United States.

Red Lights start flashing.  Sirens can be heard.  My friend… the United States Government will not just give the girl a Visa to enter the United States.  For a fiancee visa you must come to the Philippines and meet the girl first, then YOU must apply for her Visa as your fiancee.

Umm… what?  What do you mean?  I never applied for any Visa for her.  She told me that she needed $2,000 so she could come and be with me.  You don’t know what you are talking about, Bob.

Sorry, my friend, you have just been scammed!  The girl just took you for $2,000 (for that supposed airline ticket), and all that other money for doctor bills, school, medicine and everything else over the past 6 months!

You see, the vast majority of these young ladies in the Philippines can’t just buy an airplane ticket and go to the USA, or the UK, or Germany, or Australia or anywhere else except for a very small number of other Asian countries that will allow them to travel Visa free.  At the bare minimum, these ladies must first go get a Visa to come.  Problem is that 95+% of them can’t even get a tourist visa to go to the countries that I mentioned, because they don’t have the financial means to show that they will be returning to the Philippines.  They will be denied if they apply for a tourist Visa.

Bob, I knew that you didn’t know what you are talking about!  You don’t even listen!  I told you, she is coming to marry me!  Of course she won’t be returning to the Philippines, she will live with me here in the States.  Whew!  Now I know that my $2,000 is safe!

No, my friend… I am sorry.  You see, she cannot get a Fiancee Visa unless you have met.  As I said before, it is highly unlikely that she can get a tourist visa to even come for a visit.  You know what?  If she happens to get a tourist visa and comes and marries you, she has just committed Visa Fraud and will be deported.

Visa Fraud?  What do you mean?

Based on everything you told me, she knew that she was coming to marry you.  She got a tourist visa, but she is not a tourist, she is a fiancee.  So, she lied in obtaining the tourist visa, because she has no plans to return.  As soon as the Immigration people see what she has done, she is subject to deportation, and can never enter the United States again.

Honestly, I feel sorry for these guys who have been scammed.  Often, they won’t even listen when I explain to them that they have been defrauded of the money, and they will even continue sending money.  I have actually known a number of Americans who have sent more than $25,000 in a single year to girls who are doing nothing but scamming them.

Remember… these girls cannot just come to the United States anytime they want.  Even though an airline ticket is out of reach, it is only the smallest of the problems that will be faced in coming to the USA for a Filipina.

Rule of thumb… if you start chatting with a girl here, and she starts asking for money, she is trying to scam you.  Moms get sick, Dads need operations, school has to be paid, yes.  But, these things were somehow, miraculously being handled before you sat down at that keyboard and started chatting with the girl.  So, be careful.

One of my favorite all-time quotes comes into play here.  This is a quote from General Russell Honore during the Katrina catastrophe in New Orleans:

Don’t get stuck on stupid!

Things that worry me about living in the Philippines

As much as I love the Philippines, and I enjoy living here, the place is certainly not perfect.  After all, there is no place on the face of this earth that is perfect, much less the Philippines.  To be honest, there are things that worry me about living here.

These things that worry me are not things that I lay awake in bed at night thinking about, nor do I think about them each and every day.  But, at times I do wonder to myself if I am doing the right thing by living here.  It’s important to note, though, that no matter where in the world we live, we have things that we worry about, or consider if we are doing the right thing, so this is not a crisis.

Now, I know, many of you are thinking that I worry about violence, kidnapping, war and that kind of thing.  Frankly, you could not be further from the truth.  Things like that are really of no concern to me.  Could they happen?  Sure, any one of those things could happen later today, or they might never happen.  The odds are that they will never happen.  The other thing about those kinds of events is that they could happen if I still lived in the USA.  Kidnappings do happen in the USA, and probably just as frequently as an American would be kidnapped here in the Philippines.  So, those are not even on my radar as far as things to worry about.

My number one thing that I worry about from time to time is if I am doing the right thing for my kids.  There are many advantages for my kids in terms of living here.  For one, my oldest son Chris, who is mentally retarded, has a much better life here than he could ever hope for or expect in the USA.  So, living in the Philippines is very good for him.  My daughter, Jean, is actually my niece, although she has lived with Feyma and I for around 7 years now, and we consider her as our daughter.  So, for her, having us live here is a good thing, because she would not be part of our lives if we did not live here.  So, my periodic concern comes down to my other two boys, Aaron and Jared.

Both Aaron and Jared are smart kids, very smart.  They will go far someday in whatever they choose to do in life.  But, the thing that concerns me is the question of whether I am taking away opportunity from them.  I mean, in another 10 or 15 years, what will these two do for work?  Aaron is 13 and Jared is nearly 10 years old.  The job market here is certainly not attractive.  There are opportunities for upper level positions, but those are limited.  I don’t want them to be faced with a future of working at Jollibee or McDonald’s flipping burgers.  I don’t want them to be out in the street picking up garbage.

One consideration on this for me is that at the current time, the job market all over the world is looking very limited.  Who knows what we will be facing in a decade from now when these two are just entering the job market.  It’s certainly not a good thought to think that their prospects will be limited whether we are in the USA or the Philippines, but I suppose that it is some consolation to think that in either place things could be limited when it comes to job opportunities.

My hope for my kids (including Jean) is that they will be entrepreneurial, like I am.  Instead of going out looking for somebody to hire them to do a job, I hope that they will be looking for ways that they can create wealth themselves, doing something that they love to do.  Perhaps they will employ others to assist them in their businesses.  However, I also accept the fact that not all people are born to be entrepreneurs, and some have to be the workers.  I do feel, though, that in a place like the Philippines, there is a lot of opportunity for an entrepreneur, and not as much for a person who is destined to work for somebody else.

Another upside of living here is that my kids can get an excellent education, at a higher level than I could afford to provide for them in the USA.  If things get back to normal in the world economy, perhaps my kids could leverage the education that they can get here and go land a nice job in the USA, or even elsewhere.

Overall, I am very happy with our move to the Philippines.  From time to time, though, the thought crosses my mind that I hope that my happiness here is not selfish, something just for myself, and that it won’t hinder the opportunities that my kids have in life.  Honestly, I don’t think it will, but it’s not a good thought when it does cross my mind.

Every decision that we make in life has pluses and minuses.  The best thing we can do is to decide things that have more pluses than minuses, and then work to accentuate the positives, and to minimize the negatives.

I hope that I can say that I am doing that.

Helping out!

I am so happy that the year 2009 ended good for all of us here on LIP. We were giving away stuff. The year 2010 starts as a good year for us also. We started the year with helping out others.

Today I am writing about a teenager, his name is Jonathan, and he is  wanting to study here in the Philippines. He comes from the USA. While browsing over the net to look for more info about the Philippines particularly Davao, he came across Bob’s name. Of course who wouldn’t be?   So then he contacted Bob a few months ago and was asking about Davao. Bob’s been kind enough to give him lots of information that he wants to know about Davao.

Finally just after Christmas Jonathan and his mom and family came here to the Philippines to see the place for themselves. They liked it. I forgot to mention that Jonathan has a Filipina girlfriend that lives here in Davao City too. So they met for the first time just a week or two ago. One reason for him to stay here and be with her hopefully after they finish up college. Right before New Year Bob and I met up Jonathan’s mom and her boyfriend. They are really nice people. They want to meet us because they knew that Jonathan’s been reading our site and his been corresponding with Bob before coming here for the visit.

She also wanted that she had somebody here that can help out Jonathan if he needs any advice. I guess being Bob’s from the States and me having lived in the States for a long time can understand Jonathan’s needs of advice. He might misunderstand the Filipino culture or he might be misunderstood here. We also brought in Bebe (Bob’s Bisaya teacher) to meet him because she can also teach a bit more with the culture. We all did this out for our care for him. It’s our human nature I guess to help out.

The parents of Jonathan seems a bit relieved him being here for himself that some people did care for their son here. We told Jonathan that its going to be okay for him to live here in Davao, but not to be shocked and disappointed because he will get frustrated here sometimes and he will have lots of stuff to be adjusting to. He could even be depressed sometimes and its normal. We told him if he feels like that to just text us and we could talk to him and help him. Even Bebe said that too. She’s also helping Jonathan meet some other expats here and brought him to the school that she’s teaching and meet up lots of students that the parents were missionaries.

Last Sunday Bob and I brought Jonathan to the church we go to. We let him meet up the pastor and the head of the youth group. He already had the cell phone number of the head of the youth group I’m really happy about that. After church we brought him to our house and we talked a bit about life here and adjustments. After we talked I brought him around town and showed him the banks that I go to for  the  ATM machine that works good for foreign cards. I showed him some other churches since he still searching what church to go to here. We told him to not be shy on asking help from us and from other people here.

Jonathan really loves his girlfriend a lot. They both tried their best to study hard and be finished, then hopefully settle down later. I don’t really ask Jonathan yet regarding his girlfriend’s family. It seems that he really had fun with them when they were together. Jonathan’s mom speaks good about the girlfriends family. She wished she had more time when she’s here. She just had few days to spent, she had to go back to work. Hopefully Jonathan will be staying here for a long time and I’m pretty sure his mom will come back then and maybe stay here for awhile and enjoy her stay.

His mom really enjoyed the fruits here in the Philippines. I hope she tried the durian before flying back to the States. While we had her over to our house she’s talking about trying it. I forgot to ask Jonathan about it. She’s just amazed of all the different kinds of fruits thats available here. She tried the pomelo and she likes it and said its more juicy compared to grapefruit.

To Jonathan  best of luck in staying here. If you need any advice we are here to help you. You can text us anytime. Don’t give up easy, its not going to be easy making adjustments here but Bob and I try our very best to help you in anyway we can. Good luck on taking the entrance examination soon. Good luck also on getting your student visa. I hope it’s quick to get it. Have a good stay here in Davao.

Cheers!

Where do your loyalties lie?

I have had this article in mind for a number of months now, but have been hesitant to write it, as it is somewhat of a delicate subject.  I feel that those of you who have yet to become expats will have a hard time understanding the feelings of somebody (like me!) who has lived abroad for a long time now.  I will try to approach this as delicately as I can, and I ask for your understanding.  Let’s not fight when it comes to the comments, if we differ in opinion, let’s talk it over and see if we can reach a feeling of mutual understanding, OK?

My topic today is summed up in the title of this article.  Where do your loyalties lie?  Let’s say it like this… hypothetically, of course…

If some kind of disagreement erupted between the Philippines and the United States tomorrow, where would your loyalties lie?  Let’s say that somehow the two countries were to be at war against each other, what would you do?

That’s a tough situation.  Let me start out by saying a couple of things:

1. I don’t believe that such a thing would happen within my lifetime, but anything is possible.
2. I understand that all of my readers are not from the United States, but I am, and the biggest percentage of my readers are, so for the sake of this discussion, just substitute your country where I said “United States.”

I am proud to be an American.  I love the United States of America.  There are things I disagree with in the USA sometimes (as I am sure we all do), but that does not lessen my degree of love for the Country that I originated from.

I am also proud to be living in the Philippines.  I have even considered, and am still considering, obtaining Philippine Citizenship.  I love the Philippines.  I have been here for a decade now, and have no thought of ever leaving the country.  I love the people of the Philippines.  There are some parts of the country that I disagree with, some parts of the Culture that I have a problem with, some things that annoy me about the Philippines without a doubt.  However, this does not lessen my love of the Philippines.

So, if there were some kind of major disagreement between my country of citizenship, and my adopted country, where would I stand?  It is a very difficult thing for me to even consider.  I have deep conflicts when I think about this.  I am not even sure that I can give an answer to my own question, to be perfectly honest.

I suppose that it would be deeply important to know first the reason for the conflict, or what it was all about.  My first inclination would be to carefully consider the situation, and decide in my mind who I thought was right, given the question at hand.  I would probably side with whichever country I felt was being more honest and forthright in the dispute.  My first inclination would not be to automatically support the USA.  Ten years ago, or more, when I lived in the States, my first inclination would be that the USA was right, regardless of the dispute.  However, having been away from the US for a decade, I no longer feel that way.  I am not anti-American at all, but I think I am more objective and would want to examine the situation before deciding.  Nothing would be “automatic” at all anymore.

My other question was what if there was a war between the two countries?  This is extremely unlikely, but, what if?  Well, again, it would depend on the reason, the cause, I suppose.  My reaction, though, would not be to just leave immediately and return to the USA.  There would be a lot of considerations:

• What caused the conflict?
• If there are Americans staying here, how are they being treated?
• Does it look like this is something that will be resolved quickly, or drawn out?

Plenty to consider.  Like I have said several times, it is doubtful that any of this would even come to pass.

What about you, what would you do?  Where do your loyalties lie?

The Ghost of Bulala: Rebecca’s Ancestral Homeland

(This article should be considered a joint effort by both John and Rebecca. This largely relates to her family history and she contributed and edited the text.)

I was always fascinated by ghost towns in the Western United States. Very seldomly, with a few exceptions (Bodie, Eagle Mountain, Bisbee, Jasper, Mogollon), do they ever even begin to resemble what you see on TV, with playing cards still on the table. Normally, what you see is just some foundations or old mine tailings. When I lived in New Mexico and California, I used to grab my camera and visit these old relics on the weekend, frequently shooting up to ten rolls of film (For you photographers out there, infrared film gives some really creepy effects in these old towns). Indeed, I even have visited ghost towns in places like Tierra del Fuego and Iceland. The fascination is still the same: What makes an entire community just pull up roots and leave? Most of the time, these towns were founded upon a single industry, like a mine, and gradually faded away after the mine played out. Sometimes, a river may be dammed, flooding the entire town. Other times, some form of natural disaster may occur, forcing people to leave. This is what happened in Bulala, more properly referred to as a Ghost Barangay, or semi-ghost town, and Rebecca’s true home.

Becky identifies herself as Ybanag, and she has some Ilocano blood also. The Ybanag people, according to a very rough, family oral history, originally were Igorots who came from the mountains in Kalinga province, down to the coastal plain inhabited by Ilocanos. Ybanags were warriors, and did not particularly get along with the Ilocano farmers, and they established their own towns. This happened hundreds of years ago, and the original participants are long dead and gone, merely ghosts and vague whispers recalled from elderly minds. This is also why people in Abulug speak Ybanag, and only 15 km away in Ballesteros, they speak Ilocano. Tuguegarao was primarily Ybanag, as was Aparri, Linao, and Tumauini and some towns in Isabella province.

Bulala was Ilocano. There is STILL, to this day, some rivalry between the groups. If you haven’t married into a clan there, you would not know it, but as recently as 50 years ago, Rebecca’s aunt was referred to as a “half-breed”, because of her ¼ Ilocano blood. Becky’s Grandfather was from Abulug, and her Grandmother was from a town 20 km east, Bulala. Her great-grandfather, Don Alfonso Laguimun married a half-mestiza, Nanay Paran, and owned a huge tract of land once encompassing thousands of hectares stretching from Ballesteros town proper all the way to the Cagayan River, a distance of about 8 km (Around 64,000 hectares in the Spanish time). At the center of this tract was Bulala, a fishing and farming village that served as a supply station for the rice paddies in the adjacent alluvial plain: rich farmland that had plenty of water and perfect climate. There were large herds of carabaos, cattle, and horses there. In those days, tobacco was a luxury, so her ancestors traded land for tobacco, literally smoking away their heritage.

Fast forward to the 1960’s, when Rebecca was born. The land holdings had been drastically reduced down to a few hundred hectares through land redistribution, tobacco trading, inheritance, and confiscation by government officials. Bulala still thrived, with a few thousand residents, and Rebecca’s Grandmother was one of the town elders. When Rebecca’s father was killed in 1970, she and her brothers were sent to Bulala to live with her Grandmother, and that is where she grew up. It is still home, even though her family is still in Abulug now, and she owns land, including the fish ponds, there.

Today, there is still a town of Bulala, populated, but not particularly thriving. In reality, it is a dying community. It is merely a remote outpost that time seems to have forgotten. The road leading there is still dirt, and people pretty much live the same way they always have. Some of the houses are even similar to the old Ingorot houses in Kalinga: On stilts, with living quarters up top and pigs down below. However, the barangay Bulala Norte, the old town center, is a ghost town. A few people live there, but not many. What happened?

Around 20 years ago, one of the numerous annual typhoons in Cagayan hit Bulala directly. The typhoon was a bad one… Really bad. Bulala sits right on the Babuyan Straits, the epicenter of the Philippines’ typhoon belt. In addition to the wind damage, most of the beach was washed away by the storm surge, right up to the barangay hall’s foundations, and washing away a significant portion of the town cemetery. The barangay Bulala Norte was essentially abandoned and never rebuilt.

The remains in the cemetery that could be recovered were moved to Abulug, since most families had relatives there, and the town died a very abrupt death.

What’s in Bulala Norte today? Well, the remains of the church, barangay hall, gymnasium, and some cement houses are there, abandoned to the elements. Another typhoon washed some of the beach back into place, but there is a sheer drop-off to the water now (This is a volcanic, black sand beach, like portions of Hawaii). Some families, mostly fishermen, have built nipa huts on top of the old ruins, but no cement or cinder block construction. In its’ heyday, at any given time, there would be hundreds of bancas on the beach at Bulala… Now there are only a few that remain. The town essentially shifted 300m South to the main road, but most of the businesses never returned, leaving just some houses along the road, some now saline rice paddies, and a few sari-sari stores as the only commerce in town. The rest of Bulala is a slowly dying little village.

Today is New Year’s Eve, and we were returning to Abulug through Bulala from the Linao banca dock (We had to go to the bank in Aparri). Linao still resembles Bulala when it was in its’ prime. Rebecca always gets a little teary-eyed when going to Linao because very little has changed there… A few more cement houses, and everyone has cell phones, but otherwise unchanged. Kids still swim naked in the river. Every house is made of nipa and has a banca. Children help in the fields after school. People still keep their pigs under the main house. She remembers the carefree existence when her grandparents were alive, before everyone left for overseas and money jealousies crept into the picture. Before the elders all passed away and their children moved on to Manila, or other greener pastures. She remembers Nanay making calamansi juice for them after helping to dry the palay. She remembers Christmas in Abulug at her Grandpa’s family, and New Year’s in Bulala with her Grandma’s family, both celebrations with over 300 people around, simply enjoying each other’s company and being a family. These ghosts are all that remain there… Haunting, yet reassuring in that they were THERE. Rebecca has two Aunts and an uncle remaining there now, and they struggle to keep the old traditions alive, but without much success… What has been, is now gone forever.  However, our son, Juanito, was born there, and shares the same blood. Hopefully, by the time he’s old enough to realize what these traditions mean, there will still be enough there for him to see. The pictures below should give some idea about what is left.

My LiP New Year’s Resolution

Well, we are all enjoying (hopefully) the year 2010 now, but the year is still young.  We still have plenty of time to make plans, make promises to ourselves and generally prepare to try to make 2010 our best year yet.

One thing that many people do every year is to make a New Year’s Resolution, or even more than one.  I never have been big on making such Resolutions until the past few years.  One of the problems with New Year’s Resolutions is that most people do OK for a couple of weeks, then tend to fall back on their old habits.  Soon, the New Year’s Resolution is forgotten, until the end of the year, when these people wonder to themselves how they failed to follow through.  Well, I have been lucky that over the past few years that I have begun seriously making such Resolutions, I have been able to follow through and keep my resolutions for the most part.  Not 100%, but more like 75% or 80% of my resolutions, I have kept.

This year, I have decided to make a LiP New Year’s Resolution.  That’s right, I am going to resolve to do something on this site that is different, and I feel better than what I have done in the years of it’s existence so far.

So, what am I going to do?  I am going to liberalize my linking policy.  What I mean is that I am going to provide links to more related sites in the future.

I believe that LiP is the biggest site of it’s kind, on it’s topic.  I know of no other blog related to expat issues in the Philippines that even has close to the amount of readers that LiP has.  Because of that, in the past, I have gotten a LOT of requests to provide links to other sites.  I usually have been a bit tough on who I will link to, and most sites have not passed the test, thus I don’t link to them.

Whenever anybody starts up a new site about living in the Philippines, or wanting to move to the Philippines, they always come to me first asking for a link.  My experience is that most of these sites will end up with 3 or 4 articles over a month, and then they die.  They will still be online, but not updated for months, even years.  That is why I have never linked to new sites.  However, I am going to modify my policy on this.  I still will not link to brand new sites, but if somebody has a relatively new site, if they are still posting on it after a couple of months, and posting regularly, I will provide a link in the future.

It is not, nor has it ever been my goal to keep these other sites secret, or keep my readers from finding out about new sites.  I don’t believe in that.  I want to “share the wealth” with new sites and help them achieve success in the niche.  However, for me to do that, the author of the blog must show that he/she is serious about doing it.  I don’t want to link to dead sites.  So, if you start a site, and you have made it active for a couple of months, please let me know, and I will provide a link to your site!

I have always had a policy that for people who write on this site, they automatically get a link to their site (if they have one) on the sidebar.  That, of course, will continue, and I am also going to let all writers know that if they have multiple sites, I will provide links to all of them.

All of this being said, let me emphasize that there are certain types of sites that I will not link to, though.  For instance, Adult sites about the bar scene or that kind of thing will not be linked to.  I also will not link to sites that continually bad mouth this site.  Hey, if you have a problem with LiP, let me know and let’s see if we can work it out.  Or, if you write something critical of LiP one time, no problem.  But, if it is article after article criticizing this site, please don’t ask me for a link!  I mean, why would you want to be linked by a site that you hate?

I also ask that if you want to have a link to your site from LiP, please be fair and provide a reciprocal link to LiP.  That is only fair for both of us.  Also, if you write about me, or write about LiP in an article, I would ask that you also link to LiP, that is just proper netiquette.

In the near future, I will get this all set up.  On my sidebar “Blogroll” I will have links to my sites, and links to the sites of people who write here on LiP.  For other links, I will set up a “Links” page that will have links to outside sites.  I should have this done in the next week or so, but you can feel free to write to me with link requests anytime.

So, that is my LiP New Years Resolution… sharing the link love with other related sites!

Rudolf Kotik joins LiP

It is my pleasure to announce that my good friend, Rudolf Kotik is joining the Live in the Philippines Web Magazine as a regular writer, beginning later today!

Rudolf is a long term expat resident of the Philippines, having lived here since sometime in the 1980’s.  If I recall correctly, I think he moved here in 1987, but I could be mistaken on that.  Rudolf is originally from Austria, although now he has been here so long that he is practically Filipino already!

Rudolf and I have known each other for some time.  We originally met in 2001, when I hired him to do some consulting work for me while I was living in General Santos.  After meeting, we quickly became friends, and have been ever since.  In fact, Rudolf’s partner, Margie, is also one of Feyma’s (and mine) very best friends as well.

Rudolf is currently splitting his residence time between Manila and Cebu.  He originally lived in Cebu, but due to business reasons, his home base has been in Manila for a number of years now.  He still spends a fair amount of his time in Cebu, though, where his children live.

Rudolf is the man behind a company called RK Franchise, which is a Franchise Consultancy firm here in the Philippines.  Rudolf has been responsible for developing hundreds of Philippine Companies into Franchises, and he continues to do so, and very successfully.

I am very happy to welcome Rudolf as a regular writer here on LiP.  He will be focusing on writing about Franchising, since that is his area of expertise.  I believe that with the combination of Martin Bazylewich and Rudolf Kotik writing here on Business matters for Expats in the Philippines, there is no other site on the net that will offer such a breadth of Business information for expats.

Welcome aboard Rudolf!

Farewell Madame Ambassador

All good things come to an end sooner or later, and in a week or so, a really good thing, in my opinion, will be seeing it’s final chapter.

United States Ambassador to the Philippines, Kristie Anne Kenney will be ending her assignment in the Philippines in a little over a week from the time this article is published.  Although Kenney has served in other diplomatic roles in Geneva, Argentina and Jamaica, her assignment as Ambassador to the Philippines is second position in the role as an Ambassador.  She also served as the US Ambassador to Ecuador.  In addition to the countries listed, Kenney has also served in various roles at the State Department in Washington, DC.

Kristie is the first female US Ambassador to the Philippines.  I think that when she first came here, some people questioned how good she would be for the role, at least I heard some people saying such things.  However, in my opinion, she has proven herself to be a perfect fit for the job.  If you are of the opinion that a US Ambassador has the job of fostering good relations between her country and the place where she serves, fostering friendship with the people of the country she is assigned to, I believe there has no better US Ambassador than Kristie Kenney.

Kenney is a career diplomat, and not a political appointment.  Although she was assigned by President George W. Bush, she really has not shown what her personal political beliefs are, and that is exactly correct for the position, as I see it.  In her role working for the Department of State, she has served under both Republican and Democratic Administrations, and effectively so.

Kenney is a real “personality” here in the Philippines, and is known and loved by the Filipino people.  She is a big fan of Ateneo Basketball, and attends many games.  She also, for a couple years now, has been an avid Scuba Diver, and travels to various areas in the country to dive the Philippine waters.  Kenney also appears regularly on Philippine TV shows, representing the United States, and showing friendship to the Filipino people.  She often dances on TV too, having even participated on a Filipino dancing show!

There have been a number of US Ambassadors who have served in the Philippines during my time of living here.  But, in the past when they have gone, it really didn’t matter all that much to me.  Many of them served honorably, some were controversial in one way or another.  But, I am actually quite sad to see Kristie Kenney leave the country, and I know that many Filipinos are as well.  Madame Ambassador, I wish you all the best as you go back Stateside.  I have heard that your mother is ill and that you will be taking some time with that, and I wish you and your mother all the best.  I feel quite certain, though, that you will go on to serve our country again in the future, and I wish you all the best with whatever role you take on.

In November, President Obama nominated Harry K. Thomas Jr. to be the next US Ambassador to the Philippines.  Thomas will be the first African American to represent the USA in the Philippines.  I hope that he will be an effective representative of my country, and serve well.  I also hope that he will foster excellent relationships with the Filipino people as he moves in and gets going with the job.   Thomas has already been confirmed by the US Senate, and although no firm schedule is yet in place, it is my understanding that he will probably arrive in the Philippines some time during May 2010.  Thomas has also served under both Republican and Democratic Administrations.  This will be Thomas’ second assignment as an Ambassador, although he has served in other roles in India, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Peru.  He previously served as US Ambassador to Bangladesh.  Thomas also speaks several languages (although no Philippine languages), which impresses me.  I welcome Ambassador Thomas, and hope that he is successful in his mission to the Philippines.

And, again, good luck and best wishes to Ambassador Kristie Anne Kenney.

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