ON MARKETING MIRIAM

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago is very famous informally. People like her jokes, her one-liners. She was a presidential candidate who was cheated of victory. She is still tops in terms of being able to constitutionally reason out the illegality of the Bangsa Moro Basic Law. 

But how come, she does not reach the top of surveys as the best candidate for the presidency in 2016?

1. I think the Filipino people still have a discriminatory attitude towards those who have a Visayan accent. Name me one who has reached the top. Senato Aquilino Pimentel Sr. has a very strong Visayan accent and he never got the nomination for the presidency. 

2. There is a stereotype for a president I think in our country. We like to hear and watch someone who acts like he/she has stepped out of the movie screen. A Visayan accent would be for comedians or jokers not for the presidency. By the way, I wonder how Carlos P. Garcia, a Boholano sounded. 

3. To market Miriam as president is to make her speak more slowly. Even if she would speak with a Visayan accent; if she would speak slowly, people would know that she wants to communicate with us, not to display her erudition. I think we have a stereotypic idea also that those who speak fast are out to ram their ideas on us, which is wrong, actually. I am used to speaking in English and I don't mind hearing people speak very fast in English. 

4. Miriam can get over her lung cancer if she would trust us, that CHEWS lozenge can do the works on her. (By the way, the Chews4Health office number is 4152568. She can come over and listen to a talk about the product. We won't promise a miracle -- but we could always try, couldn't we?)

5. Miriam has to be seen with the poor, not only at posh places. Somehow, her mien is meant more for the upper and middle classes. Well, the majority of voters are in the lower rungs. So her campaigner better check where, in which scenery she should concentrate her visibility.  

6. Miriam also needs to be seen in informal costumes, not always in her formal "lawyer's" suit. Remember Ramon Magsaysay? We remember him as a mechanic and a president as well in his barong Tagalog. 

7. Miriam must be heard like Trillanes whose speech sounds more like that of a ... ah never mind. She should be quoted more often on radio, as more and more people are turning to this medium for immediate, relevant and quick response to issues. 

8. Miriam must promote women's issues as women voters are half of the population. The last time I heard of her, she was campaigning for Reproductive Health. Her media group should have a good grounding on women's issues so that she would always be relevant for us. For example, she could have asked how many women law graduates passed the board exams? How many women are dislocated by the Mamasapano raid of the AFP? How many women need to fill up senatorial and congressional seats?

9. Miriam must have platform, a great part of which would be what she would do for women and children if she gets elected. Since some other candidates might copy that platform, then she could say that she would work for greater legislations that would protect the rights of women and children. 

By showing her espousal of women's views, Miriam will endear herself to various women's groups which could exercise strong influence on voting in the country.  

10. Lastly, Miriam should promote herself, modestly, in a low key which would be very effective at this time. Grace Poe is not a competitor, not yet I think. The soldiers would be afraid of doing wrong under Miriam as commander-in-chief, not under Grace. 

So those are the ten things that I hope Miriam's campaigners would consider fully. 

Hala Bira! Hala Bira! 

JEEPNEY: A REAL VEHICLE FOR LIFE

     Pinagmamalaki natin ang jeepney na isang tunay na produkto ng mga Pilipino. Kahit saan nakikita natin ito, sa syudad, sa probinsiya, sa bundok, sa pilapil, at kung saan-saan talaga. Tunay na maipagmamalaki natin.

Pero ang tanong, is it convenient to ride the jeepney?

I have been riding our jeepney since time immemorial and I have begun to ask, how come it can't be seen abroad like the Mercedes Benz or Toyota, etc.? Why can't we make it exportable in massive numbers?

The design of the jeepney is beautiful from the outside. But once we ride it, that's where the problem begins. There is no uniformity of interiors among the jeepneys.

1. The step for entering could be one foot or one foot and a half from the ground. If you are wearing a skirt, then your thighs would show up and you'll see the driver viewing you from the mirror. Eeky is it not?

2. The handle to help you get inside is not safely put up. Some jeepneys have this iron cover for the  window which extends to the handle. So your hand could get hurt as you try to rush in especially when traffic is heavy on the road.

3. The ceiling could be high or low -- it is not fixed. So you could crouch low  or very low.

4. Then as you sit down, the seat could be softly padded or not at all. Also the width of the seat is variable, some are enough for you sit comfortably; with others, you only sit halfway because there is no standard for how wide or how long the jeepney passenger seats should be.

5. The drivers always increase the number of passengers despite the minimum that is stated on the side of the vehicle. So you could sit comfortably or always be sitting on edge.

6. If it is evening, you can hardly see your seatmates or even recognize your bills and coins simply because, either there is no light available or the bulb has very low wattage, or the bulbs are placed here, there, and everywhere and so you have to transfer seats if you want to read something or pick the right bills from your wallet.

7. Some jeepneys have blue or yellow bulbs. No uniform color for lighting.

8. Some jeepneys have their windows with plastic glass and then covered with several nickel-plated iron bars. However, when you sit down with it at your back, your skin could get hurt. The bars stick out so that when the jeep stops abruptly you could just cry "ouch." 

9. The driver sometimes has a companion who seems to challenge him as to how fast he could drive. So to display his wizardry he weaves in and out of the traffic at high speed. If you complain, he will tell you "Dapat nag-taksi na lang kayo." And so you have to reply, "Amina ang isang daan at magta-taksi ako."

10. Sometimes, a jeepney driver tails another vehicle and then brakes very hard when that  one in front stops suddenly. So as passenger, you will slide down the seat or hurt  yourself because you just bump on some part of the jeep. When you complain, the same response is uttered: "Dapat nag-taksi na lang kayo." My response to that is  "Dapat one-vehicle away kayo, hindi nakabuntot sa susunod." Usually the driver understands that and I think it is a new lesson for him. He keeps quiet.  He never had thought probably that his jeepney should really have space before the next vehicle.

11. When it rains, the "trapal" by the windows could be a very new plastic sheet, or a bit dilapidated, meaning to say full of holes. Then its clips for hanging could be complete or incomplete. It depends on whether the owner is generous enough to maintain the vehicle all the time. But brace yourself for the rains to drench your back.

12. If the seats get wet from the rains, the driver will provide you either with a clean or dirty rag. Don't be so choosy or he will give you a good glare.

13. Signboards are not readily visible especially at night. There are just too many words on a small plate. Then the driver is inclined to place too many signboards on the dashboard so that when you are outside and trying to decipher which one is best for you to take, by the time you are able to, the jeep has passed by already.

I really think we should only have numbers instead of words as  signboards. For example, going to Cubao from Quiapo via Aurora Boulevard, that would be 1. To Cubao from Quiapo via E. Rodriguez, that would be 2. From Quiapo to Project 2-3 via E. Rodriguez and Kamuning, that would be 3, and so on and so forth. When people know that one number represents one direction for the jeepney, then even the elderlies shall not have a hard time hailing the jeepney.

The same kind of numbering can be done with buses plying Edsa. For example, all buses plying EDSA shall have circular disks with 1-B, meaning from Monumento it is going to Baclaran. then vice-versa, the disk shall carry 1-M. If going to Ayala Alabang, then it shall be 1-AA; if to Muntinglupa, then 1-ML; if to San Pedro, then 1-SP. All the sidings of the buses should bear the number-letters also.

14. Jeepneys should also have, aside from numbers,  one color band above their dashboards to signify their directions. All jeeps going to Cubao shall have blue color. All going to Fairview, green; to Kamuning and Kamias, white, etcetera. Or they could have colored circular disks with the numbers also.  

These suggestions are being done in order to ease the transport problems of commuters. I am sure our kababayan are complaining but they just cannot voice out their opinions because they have to worry about the nitty-gritty of where they will get their next meal. I think we must understand that MetroManila is one great concrete jungle; so we must find ways and means to negotiate its streets in very simple ways.

So, please LTFRB, exercise your muscles and face the music. Let the jeepney be a REAL  vehicle for life.

Dear Honorable Chief Justice Maria Sereno

Greetings.

May I bring to your attention the highly unaffordable fees for filing cases against erring individuals. I am filing a case of non-payment of rentals for 20 months at Quezon City. Now I am being made to pay P3,500 for the filing fee. I have not earned a single centavo for 20 months and I cannot afford the fee. Is this the end of the line for me? Why should justice cost so much to be achieved? Please remove filing fees.

Respectfully yours, Wilhelmina S. Orozco

HOW TO BE A LEADER

An individual fishing for positive criticisms, or for accolades is highly insecure. If a leader, he or she should quietly lead and just wait for applause if any is coming.

ON APOLOGIZING

Who is left at home when children go to school? The yaya, if the family is rich enough to afford one; a relative; or the mother who pours all her love, attention and care for her children. If the child is male and the rest are girls, you can be sure that he will be able to grab the attention of not only the mother but all the close and far relatives, especially if he is the junior or the namesake of his father. 

Cory, having had a politician-husband, who was always busy outside the home could have done that -- pampered her son to grow up in the ways of the father, allowed him to get his own way, so that now, we have a president who refuses to apologize for what is a glaring mistake in the way the capture of a terrorist had been done. 

This question of "apologizing" should give us a lesson on how to treat boys in our family. 

CHILDLESS MOTHER

Amalia Fuentes (Muhlach) recently lost her daughter, Lizelle, to cancer. Unfortunately, the relatives of Lizelle's husband refused her visit to her funeral, and even caused her to miss seeing her daughter's body before cremation.

My sympathies go to Amalia, one of the famous actresses in the 50's ad 60's whose strong personality on screen somehow shaped the idea that women can stand up to men.

I think that mothers should be allowed to be with their children, regardless of the emotional entanglements they have had with the in-laws. It is downright cruel and inhuman -- as it feels like robbing Amalia of her womb where she had carried Lizelle.

Maybe we should have a law against that, or we should search for current legislations that will allow her to assuage her grief and dismissal of her right to see her daughter when she was still ill, her body, after dying, and during burial. Some lawyers should help Amalia restore her injured maternal feelings, especially as we are supposed to be observing International Women's Month in the country. .

.

A PASSION FOR LIFE

    

What is passion for life? Why and how do we cultivate a passion for life? Some people I think have lost that passion for life. 

They are so immersed in technologies, in earning money, in doing the day-to-day grind that they forget to enjoy the simple things in life like a flower, the trees that line the streets, or  the children playing on the sidewalks. Perhaps they would notice the children and to assuage their guilt would drop a coin or two on their palms. Then after that, off they go to the next meeting. 

Whenever I walk around, I try to see if there are flowers or plants that I can pick and bring to plant in our little space at home. Or when I get bored with the long travels say from UP or Cubao to Quiapo, I gaze at the trees that dot the streets. I compare their leaves -- one would have spread out leaves; another would look very stately simply because it is only a few feet away from the next tree. A botanist told me that trees that are spread apart say by 3 meters tend to spread their branches, while those that are close to each other, grow very tall. I notice such trees at UP. 

Suddenly, now I am thinking like an environmentalist. Why so? Because the issues besetting us are moving, in small steps but still moving. The Board of Inquiry Report on the Mamasapano is out and some people could be charged for their mistakes in handling the situation. 

Do you see Folks the necessity for us to have a peaceful political life? We can then concentrate on the finer things in life -- say watch a movie or a theatrical play; listen to music, watch paintings and enjoy their colors, etcetera.

So as my ride passes through EDSA, I rue the time when I wrote for the installation of the MRT in it. EDSA is no longer the wide avenue where when we look up we could see the skies. Instead we see the overpasses, and my goodness the high rise buildings built so close to the street. 

I wonder why they have to be crowding our street that way. Those high-rise buildings could pose a big danger should an earthquake happen. They could cause lost lives to the people walking in and riding vehicles plying the streets. Do not tell me that the building owners do not have foresight when they had those buildings erected. It is a very simple feeling that anyone could have, once they see a huge 23 or even 35-feet tall building. 

But what really irks me is when I see vendors being allowed to sell their wares along sidewalks and we can no longer pass through without sashaying through. At Carriedo, Quiapo, I notice though that space has been allotted for pedestrians, and the vendors are more wary about occupying that than before whence they used to occupy every inch of the street. 

But to my mind, the control of the crowds that line up to attend the Quiapo Church mass should be implemented. On Fridays, traffic is terrible fronting the side of the Church facing Quiapo Boulevard because the mass-goers spill to the sidewalks. I think that the Quiapo Church should be made to close the doors there in order to allow other MetroManilans to travel more safely, peacefully and conveniently. 

I believe collective worship is good, that is going inside the Church to hear mass with other people; however, when the activity inconveniences a lot of people, then some civil acts have to be done. It does not seem right for anyone to impose their style of worshipping on other people. Everyone is free to worship; we practice religious tolerance; however, we also need to respect other people's need to make a living without having to go through horrendous traffic all the time. In fact, many times I have quit travelling to Manila in the middle of the route simply because the jeep was not moving at all. 

Of course, corollary to that, someone should study the effects  of traffic on public and private drivers. Road rage is very rampant. Public vehicle drivers also lose their discipline; some would even get back at passengers by not stopping right away when asked.

So could we still have that passion for life amid the chaotic situation in MetroManila?

What is passion, but feeling human, feeling sensitive to oneself and others. 

We could cultivate that through meditation -- aside from thinking of Biblical passages and the life of Christ as well the saints', we could focus on breathing in and out, feeling the air passing through our nose and out, and not thinking of the day-to-day struggles at all. 

I actually do that while being seated inside the trains, and it helps a lot in overcoming the eeky feelings of being sandwiched by the crowds as I get in and out. That reminds me of the art exhibit at Tin-Aw Gallery whereby an artist drew on the label of a sardines can. He titled the can -- MRT, and on it were silhouettes of people. It was a very subtle indictment of a city problem of train congestion which is very real today. 

Another way to recover that passion for life is to avoid toxic beings. Some people have that nasty habit of unearthing problems all the time; of going to the past errors; or putting down another and rubbing off their achievements on others. I try to avoid such people because it is difficult to discuss with them. Should I bump into them, I just pray over them mentally and hope that God would do something with them -- erase their negativities and hopefully permanently. 

Some other psychologists would recommend treating yourself with what you have been wanting to do or eat. For example, you want to go to Baguio or to Boracay. So you save up for that and eventually hie off once you have enough funds. Or you want to have a cup of coffee at a posh coffee shop. That is cheap and can be done easily. But this one thing is best -- get an all-over massage at a parlor, or a half-massage at the Quezon City Hall where the blind masseuse and masseurs are plying their business. 

By the way, our kababayan there have better working conditions now. One told me that before their "barker" the one who would call for the customers would cheat them -- simply because they could not see the money. This "barker" would also pocket the tips meant for them. Now the workers have asserted their right to receive the payment from the customers directly, and just give the barker commissions. 

So things are changing step by step, and that is because our kababayan despite their disability, have a strong passion for life, for what is right, in order to survive, to live, with dignity. 

Yes, that's the reason for having a passion for life -- to be able to live with dignity. 

And as we grant ourselves that sense of dignity, so should we accord others with such regard for their own.

Is that so hard to do? To some people who have grown accustomed to being bowed to, to being called "Yes, Sir" or "Yes, Ma'am" I guess it becomes very difficult to soften up easily. But I remember one person who remained very, very respectful, not only of the powers-that-be but also the people who would serve her. The National Artist for Music, Lucrecia R. Kasilag or Tita King,  as we fondly called her. Did you know that she used to call Imelda, "Ma'am?" I asked her, Tita King why do you call her so when you are older than she is? And she replied that her office is under Imelda's and so she must defer to her. I just sighed quietly when she had said that. Then, the girls who served her food, washed her clothes and kept her home clean, were all very nice. She was able to train them to lay down the placemats and the silverware on the table, as well as  serve the food quietly and on the right places every time. Best of all, I never heard her raise her voice on them -- as I lived in her place for about a month one time. She was a very good artist and teacher within the academe and at home. Her niece, Emma took care of her during her later years more closely, as she became less mobile. 

Tita King had a great passion for life till her last days. She wanted to compose music, and because she had lost her eyesight, if I remember right, Edgardo de Dios or Dong, guitar teacher at the Philippine Women's University notated her music for her as she would dictate to him the melody and the accompaniment. Eventually Dong organized a guitar group and called it Kasilag Guitar Quartet. 

And so what drove Tita King to have that passion? Not only music but a firm belief in God. Whenever I would ask her, Tita King what inspires you to create music? Then she would point her finger up there. No more words to say, just a quiet finger-pointing to the heavens. 

Now there are some groups that have a blurry view of life -- "Life is suffering." On and on, they teach the people that in life, we can have no happiness. One can only attain Nirvana once we meditate. And so they teach people to be ascetics. 

I tried practicing that for quite some time. Of course, I lost my appetite for beer. But I could not lose my penchant for wearing earrings and lipstick. My mind goes to the T'boli tribe of Lake Sebu, South Cotabato where the women are beautifully clothed with colorful self-woven tapis (wrap-around cloth); and horse's hair earrings as well as red, red, brilliant redpplipstick -- some of which could have been sourced from "achuete" or annatto seeds I think.
Now why should I turn my back on the ways of our tribal group?

Right now, I still meditate, alone, and while the train or bus that I am riding in cruises along EDSA. Funny but I have an inner clock that makes me wake up before the station I am supposed to get off. I have managed to program my mind to wake up before starting the exercise and so voila, I open my eyes and go back to reality.

Back to the present. That's it, Folks. To have passion for life is to live in the present; to make our mind concentrate on what is now. 

SR. EVA: SURGEON OF THE MASSES

Yesterday, we had a good conversation with Sr. Eva Maamo, the President of the Foundation of Our Lady of Peace Hospital located at San Dionisio, Paranaque City. Before the arrival of the other sisters, she narrated to us how today, she feeds 280 children everyday in order to give them nutritious foods. The clients come from very poor barangays and their mothers are given finance in order to prepare and cook the food.

Sr. Eva is so tireless. I met her in 1979 when I was doing the film on the T'boli woman brassmaker named Ye Binto at Lake Sebu Cotabato. She was then a young medicine graduate and the Mother Superior had asked her to serve there.

One of her memorable patients was the sick wife of the datu who had 28 wives. She said she could not operate on her because there were many mosquitoes. Ah sister, no problem, we have a mosquito net. But she said, I have no anaesthesia. Sister, all we have to do is pull her hair so she would feel the pain on her head and not on her stomach. But we need to give her dextrose. A sister, we just give her buko juice. Then Sr. Eva found out that she had brought with her simple tools for surgery and so the operation went on smoothly and successfully , under the mosquito net.

It is a great revelation when we meet women like Sr. Eva who is able to rise above the challenges of the situations that need utmost dedication and service to our needy countryfolks. Never mind the polygamous character of the husband. The point was save the wife, or one of the wives, shall we say.

One guy whom Sr. Eva taught to succeed her as a community volunteer turned up in Manila. "O, why are you here?" "Sister I will be given an award because of my three-term service as mayor at Lake Sebu."

So, Sr. Eva is not only a surgeon but also a good mentor who knows how to impart her skills in encouraging the people to stand up and become good leaders of the people.

I think that the nunnery really has a good space to encourage women to become leaders, to hone their skills in order to serve the masses, and also to nurture their belief in spirituality, When we believe, we are being attuned to the universe, attuned to the needs of the people.

Unfortunately, some people are just enamoured with rituals and when meeting edgy situations start blaming others, not themselves.

WHEN MUSIC BECOMES A GOOD OUTLET

Summer is here and yet there are talks of typhoons coming our way. Well we have also political typhoons coming in deluge -- unfinished typhoon, the DAP-NAPOLES, Mamasapano incident, rising tuition fees, high and low oil prices, transportation fares that never come down despite the low oil prices, continuing traffic everywhere. Yet some people have the gall to declare that they will run for office come 2016. 

Are some of our people really that insensitive to the people's pulse? Does politics really make people insensitive?

I think that being in a political position can really desensitize people no end because there are always temptations, right and left, front and back for them to feel grand, to feel in command, to feel authoritative despite the brickbats that are being thrown at them through social media, the radio and teleradyo media, and of course the print media. Never have we known the vibrancy of the media until now. We marvel at how open our people are at expressing their feelings, how the media practitioners are feeling so het up about the lack of obedience to ethical standards of living and exercising political functions. 

Maybe we should have tarpaulins announcing: 'NO TO DAP"   or "RETURN NINAKAW" and not only "HUWAG KANG MAGNAKAW."  "GIVE GLORY TO MAMASAPANO SOLDIERS AND FAMILIES" and "RESIGN TRAFFIC MANIPULATORS" and many more. 

I think really what is lacking is a constant reminder to these people that we are in need of GREAT CHANGES in our country -- not paper changes. We are tired of hearing blaming and throwing the blame. We need action to erase, to solve, and to bring to the end all our problems. 

Are we dreaming or having a nightmare. Try music, a very good outlet

FINDING PEACE

We live in very difficult times. Travelling does not even bode a peaceful sojourn in any country. The extremists have made it very difficult for us, even simple people to enjoy life. Everywhere, there is danger of meeting untoward incidents -- a bomb here, an explosion there, a killing up there. It seems everywhere there is no more peace available. 

Not even in the confines of our bedrooms where locks could be unlocked with skeleton keys and important documents pilfered, or things displaced to induce amnesia. All in the name of State protection. 

What happened in Russia to Boris Nemtsov, a critic of Putin has a chilling effect on dissent in society. It means that the powers-that-be are ready to hold on to power without question, disallowing all forms of criticisms of the regime. 

Maybe we should ask ourselves, what philosophies allowed such things to happen to our world? What did the thinkers on this planet plant on the minds of people so that ideas seem to converge on restrictions, controls, monopolies, killings in the name of ideologies, and so forth and so on?

Right now, I am reading the Bible and trying to understand the mind of Christ. How did he develop his teachings? Why are his thoughts so life-affirming? And service is so ingrained in all of his preachings?

Marx dissected society and introduced the divisions in society -- which have been adopted by Lenin, by Mao Ze Dong in China, applying his ideas to the Russians and the Chinese 
peoples. Here in the Philippines, Jose Maria Sison also took up the ideas Marx, and added Lenin and Mao in order to round up his idea of a communist society. 

Is Communism really an option on this planet? Can we not build a place where deaths will not follow? Can we not find an idea that will inspire everyone to help themselves but more importantly help others as well in order not to experience hunger, poverty, homelessness, and all other illnesses that make one weak and non-fully participative in society?

Our problem in our Philippine society is that because of the advent of new technologies, the people have speeded up their intellectual progress so much so that the people in the bureaucracies are having a hard time to catch up. Our people have surfed through all kinds of societies in the world and seen with their own eyes how other countries could be so developed that it is a great wonder that our professionals and workers  have to go abroad so that they can send back home large sums that lift the lifestyles of their families. Or, have our taste for a good life changed, from being a simple home with a garden and trees around and the family supportive of whatever we want to achieve for our lives?

We can go on and on trying to find out where we missed a step so that some groups are now able to control the situation negatively. However, I still believe like Rizal, that education is the final solution to any conflict in society. Not the barrel of the gun. 

Let us continue our search for that solution -- if you have any alternative that will insure lives to be lived up to a hundred and above -- with great happiness, Folks, not just simply lazing around.