MABINI, GOOD FRIDAY AND THE YOUTH OF TODAY

How should we read the Bible? Concentrate on what it says and not relate it to Philppine history?

That is quite difficult is it not?

I was at a UP library and came across the ad of the Central Bank on the new money bills and coins circulating around. One that struck me was that of Mabini on the ten peso coin. He was the Brains of the Revolution against Spain and the United States at the turn of the century. 

He was purportedly poisoned after drinking a cup of carabao milk that was served him. He was donein because of his strong stance against capitulating to the 2nd set of colonizers despite having been exiled in Guam. Even an American high official took off his hat to him. 

I felt I had seen a figure at the library while about to leave it. It had long trousers, no feet, and white camisa chino with long sleeves. When I turned sideways to see who was it, there was nobody there. I told the clerk at the reception but she would not believe me. 

Then I remembered the image of Mabini and I wondered why he was still around. He had not moved out to the next world or to heaven. Then I surmised that he could have been an atheist or a mason like Rizal, as he and his colleagues were against the religion that the Spanish officials and priests were pushing for the people to embrace. 

It is Good Friday and we are observing the hanging of Christ on the cross. During my childhood, we were disciplined not to talk and to keep quiet until the following Black Saturday. But the children and youth of today are not that religious nor spiritually conscious at all. We are losing the youth to drugs and violent computer games where their aim is to kill, kill, kill. 

What for did Mabini and our other heroes and heroines die for?

WHEN DISTANCE CREATES DESPONDENCY

WE SHOULD ASK NOW:

Why do OFW children go wayward if at all?

Physical detachment from their parents is the no. 1 culprit. 

At a very young age, if a child experiences absence of the parent/s then neuroses could set in. 

How do we bridge the gap between the parents the children?

Media play a great role here. 

Unfortunately, when we listen or watch the news here, the contents are concentrated on local and national news, hardly on international news. 

Ergo, there is not much understanding about what is happening in the country where the parents are. 

Moreover, news from abroad are either about the weather, sports, or any unusual news that is attention-getter like about an act that a transgender has done. 

In other words, the children, or the relatives of the OFW are in the dark about the ins and outs of the happenings in the country where the OFW is, 

What they usually get are very personal accounts of the OFW. 

And so, the distance, the lack of close-up news really make the relatives despondent. 

It is time to overhaul the international news of our media here in the country. 

ECONOMICS 1: CONTRACTUALIZATION, UNWANTED HARNESS ON WORKERS' NECKS

 


A stable economy demonstrates steady, manageable growth in GDP and employment. Manageable growth means the economy grows at a sustained rate that does not spark inflationary pressures, result in higher prices and negatively affect corporate profits. An economy that shows steady growth for one quarter of the year, followed by a sharp decline in GDP or a rise in unemployment in the next quarter, indicates economic instability. Economic crises, such as the global credit crunch of 2008, causes worldwide economic instability, lowering production, employment and other measures of economic health.
https://bizfluent.com/info-10049313-economic-stability-measured.html

Let us analyze the above paragraph which tells us what a stable economy is and how it relates to our present economic situation. 
1.A stable economy demonstrates steady, manageable growth in GDP and employment. 

What this means is that our economy is stable if the GDP is okay. What is GDP? Here is how it is defined by economists: 

Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all final goods and services produced in a period (quarterly or yearly) of time. Nominal GDP estimates are commonly used to determine the economic performance of a whole country or region, and to make international comparisons. Nominal GDP.

In other words, our country must produce valuable goods and services on a regular basis in order to make our economy stable. 

Growth in employment means that our people can always or have a job that they can run to whenever they feel like working or are compelled to support themselves and their families. 

Question: What are the big sources of income for our country? Services. We are a service country. We have sellers, vendors, sales people, commercial marketers _ excluding real estate marketers, who sell products imported from abroad. Pens and pencils are imported; cars, rubber shoes, watches, buses, trucks, musical instruments like saxophones, trumpets, violins,  also; almost everything is imported. We do not produce our own except -- kulintang, bakya (if there are still any being sold, although they are not visible to me),  mats, baskets; in other words, products that can compete on a low level to other imported products. 

Sending workers and professionals to work abroad is also a form of service employment. They are left to the controls of foreign countries, although treaties are now being drafted to humanize the status of our Kababayan in them. 

This labor exportation provides the largest source of income for the government at the cost of lost family ties, or wayward children who in their formative years are seeking a warm home with both parents available to support them as they grow and try to find their footing in our society. 

Labor is also available here like those in the contractual sector. 

Ay there's the rub!


Our workers are being shortchanged. After working for several years, many remain as contractuals not enjoying the benefits of regular workers like definite vacation and sick leave benefits, bonuses like the 13th month pay. Etcetera. 

When President Duterte was campaigning for the presidency he promised that he would end contractualization -- which dismisses a worker after or even shortly before the sixth month is reached in order not to be called regular and thus make him or her entitled to all the benefits under the Labor Code. 

Now there is already an impasse in the negotiations between the companies that employ contractualization and the government. 

Here is my suggestion:

IF A COMPANY EARNS 500 THOUSAND AT LEAST FOR THE FINANCIAL INCOME YEAR, THEN TEN PERCENT OF THAT SHOULD GO TO PAY THE BENEFITS OF THE WORKERS, OR 100,000.00

IF A COMPANY EARNS ONE BILLION FROM ITS OPERATIONS FOR A FISCAL YEAR, THEN 30% OF THAT OR   P300 MILLION SHOULD GO TO PAY THE BENEFITS OF THE WORKERS.

What is the basis for this? The workers are partners in the manufacturing, production, marketing, and distribution  of the goods with the owners of the company. They labor for 8 hours and more for five to six days a week, sometimes even working for free at extended hours. Ergo, economic operations are a partnership between workers and owners and so it is only right that profits should be shared between them. 

Let us forego having a permanent work contract for the workers and instead think in terms of cents and pence. Let the income of the owners reveal how hard the workers have exerted effort to make them succeed in their business; how difficult their families experience loss of attention from their parents who have to really eke out a living to make them live, eat, get education and be happy. We need good company operators and owners but not so clever ones as to put one on over workers. Life is too short on this earth; any wealth accumulated will not be borne by the owner to the other life. It will be left behind as he or she faces our Maker. 

Is that difficult to see -- this partnership between owners and workers? 

It is very glaring as we compare the lifestyles of the two entities. No partnership exists at all. A partnership means an almost equal situation between them. And when we read that an owner is labeled one of the richest in the world we feel very depressed because behind that great wealth we know that the workers in his company are moving hell and high waters to make his business succeed. I have seen how cashiers and sales women work so hard, without the benefits -- not even overtime pay -- have to spend so much on cosmetics, high heels, stockings, and beautiful haircuts (especially the rebonded which can make them swish their hair left and right in great abandon) just so they would look indispensable to their bosses. 


More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. -- Chaplin. 

MONEY DESIGNER, MISCHIEF-MAKER

The designer of our Philippine money is one grave mischief-maker.       

1. The color of the P50 bill, PINK, is highly similar to the P20 bill, ORANGE when seen in underlit situations;

2. The new five-peso coin has the same size as the one - peso coin so that one could lose five pesos when paying the jeepney driver for the ride;

3. The one thousand bill is blue while the one hundred is violet -- not much difference in hues unless one is a painter or visual artist who has to deal with colors all the time;





4. The ten-peso coin is the same size as the one peso coin and has the same silver color. 

Why is the Bangko sentral coin and peso designer acting this way? Does he or she delight in seeing people quarrelling on what coins or bills are being paid?

Is there an intentional move to confuse the public in their financial transactions?

What kind of mindsets should be handling the design of our money?

I think this is a grave misgovernance to muddle our people's thinking about money and make us poorer all the time. 

IS THERE DEMOCRACY WHEN A FOREIGN GOVERNMENT INTRUDES INTO THE ELECTIONS OF ANOTHER COUNTRY?

What did Russian intrusion in the 2016 elections do to democracy?

1. It violated the right of the American people to give their permission for the current administration to operate the government;

2. It made a mockery of the representation of the citizens in the government. The representatives were rendered comical as they were left with nothing but to approve the fake elections.

3. It dismissed the rule of law, a democratic principle, as the Russian act was a lawless act, beyond the laws of any government in this world;

4. It sabotaged individual rights to vote with their conscience for the president of the United states; 

5. It continues to inhibit checks and balances as the current affairs now show a presidency that is beholden to no one, and can dictate how it should run the government and select only the people who would not have any independent political viewpoint with regard to the Russian intrusion into the elections.

Democracy as a form of government has developed through many decades and now, it has spawned a lot of convoluted processes for declaring a criminal act of stealing the people's votes through the foulest means. 

But the question still remains: IS THERE STILL DEMOCRACY WHEN A FOREIGN GOVERNMENT INTRUDES INTO THE ELECTIONS OF ANOTHER COUNTRY?

DISGRACEFUL, DEHUMANIZING TREATMENT

Now it can be told: an individual who has no background in sociological theories is bound to be anarchistic in his approach to political governance. First he shocked people with his pronouncements on what he would do to immigrants in the US; then he is mum about the intrusion of Russian hands in his own election; he has upheld the use of violent arms despite the many killings that have occurred in schools and public places. 

His latest caper is destroying the political careers of people working in the government:

 James Comey was terminated through a tv screen 

White House chief of staff Reince Priebus was  tweeted out.

 Chief strategist Steve Bannon learned about his removal while his boss was on vacation.

The latest: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was tweeted out of his job. 

I think this person really has no respect for anything, for any person, for the democratic principle of governance that upholds respect for every individual, sinner or saint, criminal or non-criminal. 

How long will the American people stand up for this disgraceful, dehumanizing treatment? 

ANSWERING THE CALL OF NATURE

Why do some malls not have soap and tissue paper in their toilets?

Why are three restaurants in one mall have only one toilet for use by both men and women?

Why does a coffee shop have only one toilet for a hundred customers?

I often go to this supermarket because the prices are low and they have soap in their toilet.

Why doesn't the health department ban the unisex toilet? It is too much of a burden to be subjected to long queues when you want to answer the call of nature right away.

Then this famous junk food restaurant always has dirty toilets. Just because the customers come from the lower classes does not mean that they shall get only third class service.

But the really classy mall I admire is this one at the former ice cream site. It is really very posh yet the foods are affordable and the goods are comparable to other malls. Parang pinag-isipan talaga ang disenyo ng mall -- lay-out is spacious, you don't feel cramped at all and the view is relaxing even if you  are faced with  many stalls encouraging you to buy, buy, buy.

WE MAKE CHANGE WORK FOR WOMEN

During the time of Cory Aquino's administration, our preparations for the celebration of March 8 started as early as September the previous year. The National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women, now called Philippine Commission on Women or PCW was very alert in informing all women NGOs, and preparing government women to join the celebration. 

Herstory:

The National Women’s Month Celebration  every March is part of the worldwide observance of the International Women’s Day (IWD).

The following issuances serve as legal bases for the annual activity:

• Proclamation No. 224 s. 1988 declaring the first week of March each year as Women’s Week and March 8 as Women’s Rights and International Peace Day;

• Proclamation No. 227 s. 1988 providing for the observance of the Month of March as Women’s Role in History Month; and

• Republic Act (RA) 6949 s. 1990 declaring March 8 of every year as National Women’s Day.

Please visit their site for added reports: http://pcw.gov.ph/WomenMakeChange2018

CONSERVATIVE MEN RULING THE COUNTRY

Ang mga babae ang nagbabayad para sa mga pagpapasya na gawa ng conserbatibong mga lalaki. Labanan ang pagpapababa ng kalagayan ng kababaihan!

What are we supposed to celebrate about our being women today, March 8?

1.The women in the legal profession are cringing in fear or disgust over the impeachment proceedings of the second woman chief justice of the land;

2. The women in the social welfare sector rue the change of the head of the Department of Social Welfare and Development the reason for which was political and not because she was not qualified for the post;

3.The women in the environmental sector just had to grit their teeth over the hiring of a general in place of a very capable and committed environment advocate;

4. Contractualization continues to hang in the air where most affected are women who contribute income to their families and who are trying their best to be economically liberated;

5. The Philippines ranked 17th worldwide and 3rd in Asia in terms of political empowerment,
yet there are only 6 female as against 19 male senators whereas the ideal should be 50-50 sharing of power. in the House,there are 292 members, and only 87 are women.

6, While March 8 should be a day for celebration, the House Speaker has chosen it as the day for the House  committee on justice to draft the impeachment complaint of the Chief Justice, for submission to the plenary for approval, thus displaying a brutal and sadistic streak for all women to suffer from.

We are being governed by men mostly from Mindanao. The President is from Davao, the House Speaker is from Davao del Norte while the Senate President is from Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental. 

Now that we are still in a democratic state, I think the male leaders from Mindanao should start reflecting on how they treat the women in their personal lives and their female constituents in the country. We, in the women's movement, did not move to reject the male dictatorship in 1986 only to bring our country to this state of affairs that smacks of machismo handling of governance.

The Philippines has a very high literacy rate.But where  does that brain go if not abroad? Of two million OFWs,fifty-three per cent are women are leaving the country. Is it possible that the young generation of today, the boys especially, who are facing a motherless family would also grow up either confused or would embrace that easy model of the cruel boxer,ready to kill his opponent in the ring at any time?

Let us ask, why are women leaving the country, abandoning their family ties geographically? Is money really a big gravitational pull to go abroad, despite the loneliness if not even death that could be experienced in those countries of destination?

CONNECTIONS WITH THE ILLEGITIMATE

When running for a political position, how close should the candidates be with their campaign managers? That's a 24-7 job, is it not? On a day-to-day basis, the candidates, so insecure of their future, would surely want to know how they stand with the voters from day 1 of the campaign period until the end of the counting. 

Things that the candidates would like to snoop about are:

1. how much funds are available still; 

2. how many fliers are available for distribution;

3. where is the next miting-de-avance?

4. what media strategies should be put up?

5. who are the campaign donors that can be tapped?

6. where are they going to sleep and dine if going out of town to court votes?

THE CAMPAIGN MANAGER COULD EVEN DICTATE which reporters would be allowed to talk to the candidates; who they would be having intimacies with; how many times the candidates could have a rest, and lots and lots of questions to ask. 

And so, I don't really know how a political campaign manager could ever lie about his connections to an illegitimate president.