Bisdak Babbles

When I was still in grade school, I sometimes overhear conversations between my parents and their visitors. There were times when someone offered them to get a term life insurance. But upon hearing those words, they would be appalled and treat the topic as a taboo. My parents weren’t the only ones who thought so, but most of the people in the neighborhood. Little did they realize the importance of getting such an insurance.

Most of the families in the Philippines only have the father as the breadwinner.  When unfortunate things happen to that breadwinner, it’d very difficult to ones left behind, both emotionally and financially.  To avoid or lessen these problems, it’s best to avail even the government’s social security system. Just think of it as savings and it’d definitely help a lot.

I’ve always wanted to rant about Sulpicio Lines but due to the recent Princess of the Stars disaster, I’ve put this entry off a few weeks.

Anyway, I’d just would like to share some of my experiences with Sulpicio Line’s Dipolog Princess (DP). This ferry has been around for as long as I could remember.

Experience #1:
I was still a freshman in college, I boarded DP one Saturday night from Cebu to Iligan City. There was no problem when it left Cebu but it suddenly stopped 4 hours after departure due to engine trouble. It started running again 5 hours later. It was supposed to arrive in Iligan at 6:00AM, but due to the problem, we reached Iligan Bay at around 1:00PM. We were about a hundred meters from the port but the engine died again. The problem wasn’t fixed so they left us with no option but to transfer to a tugboat to the port. It was my first time riding a tugboat and jumping from the ship to the tugboat was really horrifying!

Experience #2:
DP is the only ship that goes to Iligan City from Tagbilaran City. My father died in Tagbilaran City so we had to stay a few days in Bohol waiting for the ship. DP was supposed to leave Bohol on Wednesday but, due to engine trouble (again), we left Bohol the next day. We were mourning and provoked by the ship’s delay. These drove me to my limit and I actually lost my temper when I found out that some people had the same bed number as my family and me. Moreover, we weren’t able to get the economy accommodation, so we got the tourist ones. The room was supposed to be air-conditioned but we weren’t able to get some sleep because the air-conditioning system was broken!

The only good thing I can say about Sulpicio Lines is that they serve good meals. Honestly, I like some of the Sulpicio Lines ferries, especially Princess of the Ocean. But they should let go of Dipolog Princess.

I think that not only Sulpicio lines, but also most of the ferries in the Philippines have major problems. Most (if not all) of the ships are old and have poor maintenance. Serious mechanical inspections are only done when tragedies happen. Security is tightened only when a bombing incident occurs. I just hope they won’t wait for another incident to happen before they do something.

For decades, my family’s been living in Lanao del Norte in Mindanao. Mindanao is very beautiful and we love living there, if not for the constant red alerts.

Yesterday, civilians from our neighboring towns were once again mandated to evacuate due to an impending rebel attack. Sadly, incidents like this have been going on for decades. A huge percentage of poverty-stricken Filipinos are located in the war-torn Mindanao. Obviously, these wars scare away investors, hindering the progress of many places in Mindanao.

The cause of these wars? It is said that our brothers from some separatist groups demanded the formation of an independent Moro Islamic state in Mindanao. Obviously, the Philippine government declined this demand.

Many of those separatists might still have noble intentions for such demand, but what if they are just being taken advantage of by some leaders for their own selfish goals? Rumor has it that the group recruits anyone who’s willing regardless of their ethnicity or religion. Who wouldn’t be tempted to join in exchange for a sack of rice a month and meager compensation? Better that than being jobless at all.

Poverty causes war. But war causes poverty. Wouldn’t it be better if we just fight poverty but not with war? Can’t we just live in harmony? After all, we’re in one nation, we’re all Filipinos.

This seems like an impossible feat but I’m still praying for all these conflicts to stop.
Let there be peace in Mindanao…
Let there be peace in the whole world…

Most of the time I catch my self complaining that I don’t earn enough, that my salary is way too low for an OFW working in the I.T. field, and that many of my acquaintances earn a lot more than me. Then thinking about my hometown always leaves me feeling ashamed of my self…

More than a decade ago, Iligan City held up to its name as the Industrial City of the South. The National Steel Corporation (NSC) was still prosperous and thousands of its employees were well-off. Suddenly, the company plummeted along with other companies. Thousands lost their jobs and many youths stopped going to school. The once fully-booked ferries bound for Cebu almost became deserted and many families moved out of Lanao del Norte to find a way of living somewhere. This downfall also affected small businesses like carenderias and jeepney drivers and operators. Almost everyone suffered. Until today, many of the people in my hometown are still having a hard time.

How are they able to survive? That also left me wondering and in awe at the same time. This crisis drove many to tread on the path of an OFW. Some are forced to rely on the support of other family members and/or relatives. Others are left with no option but to take on a job that pays way below the minimum wage, part-time employment. Some take on the initiative of competing for a small pool of consumers by putting up a sari-sari store.

Indeed most of us have been going through hardships but these don’t keep us from smiling. We always have this strong will to survive and unexplainable hopefulness.

To every Filipino who is struggling for the sake of his family and the nation, mabuhay ka!

“Men and women are supposed to be different.” *
I should have known and accepted this fact before my past (and only) relationship crumbled. If I had known this, this would have made a big difference and that relationship might have been salvaged.

I have just started reading the book “Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus” by Dr. John Gray with the hope of understanding why people in long-term relationships don’t usually end up together or why some marriages don’t last.

The first chapter points out harsh realities about relationships:

“Falling in love is always magical. It feels eternal, as if love will last forever
… But as the magic recedes and daily life takes over, it emerges that men continue to expect women to think and react like men, and women expect men to feel and behave like women.” *

“From those who are able to sustain love long enough to get married, only 50 percent stay married. Out of those who stay together, possibly another 50 percent are not fulfilled. They stay together out of loyalty and obligation or from the fear of starting over. Very few people, indeed, are able to grow in love. Yet, it does happen.” *

Indeed, many people out there want to stay in a relationship not only so that they could avoid the inconvenience of starting over. Many, if not all of us, are hopeful that we stay in a relationship because that “magical feeling” is still there…

“By validating and accepting our differences, creative solutions can be discovered whereby we can succeed in getting what we want. And, more important, we can learn how to best love and support the people we care about.
Love is magical, and it can last, if we remember our differences.” *

I’ll be sharing more points from this book that I find important hope you’ll remain with me ’til I finish reading this book ^-^… ’til next time.
———————-
* these are quoted from the book “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus”

Just couldn’t sleep without fulfilling at least one broken promise…

Child labor is a serious issue we have been facing in the Philippines. Despite the meager efforts of the government, children laborers are present almost everywhere, including sugar-cane plantations.

The GMA i-witness documentary: Uuwi na si Udong (Udong is going home) reveals the story of two minors , Udong and Toto, working as Sakadas (plantation worker). This documentary also gives us a glimpse of the harsh working conditions of the Sakadas.

Udong, around 15 years old, and Toto, 16 years old, were both compelled to work as Sakadas to pay off their parents’ debts. Udong’s father is also a Sakada while Toto had been sent alone, his father stayed at home. Everyday, they had to toil under the sun, for 12 hours.
To most of us, our consolations after a long, stressful day at work are good food and a cozy bed. But look at what they go home to: dirty, old container vans used as sleeping quarters which they fondly call as barracks (see picture on the left). Any mats? None. Pillows? A thin layer of folded clothes.

They had to work for 6 months without receiving even a peso. Everything they need, from food to clothing can be obtained from the store run by their employer. Of course, everything else would be deducted from their salary and each item obviously unreasonably-priced. If their family asks for cash advance, that too, would be deducted. Could they still get something at the end of their 6-month contract? Each worker’s 6-month hard labor is worth only Php14,280 (US$317). Please, do the math.

Toto got Php1,065 (US$22) after deducting his father’s debt, his family’s cash advances and his personal consumption. Bye bye to his dream of buying a TV set. But he was still glad. To him, at least he was able to help his family.

The plantation was in a different island so the workers had to take a barge to go home (see picture on the left). The travel might have took hours, the barge so crowded and dirty, but the approaching moment of being with their families again kept the workers in high spirits. What next? This story repeats itself… Udong might not like it… but he had no other choice but to go back to the plantation and work as a Sakada again.

Some of us might blame his parents for making him work. For me… it’s extreme poverty. Hunger does make people act irrationally. Who caused poverty, or who could help or at least initiate means to abolish poverty? We might have a common answer in mind.

But we couldn’t just waste time just blaming others, can we? There should be a little way that we could at least do. Any suggestion? How about something immaterial… a prayer? Yeah, prayer for Udong and his family today… then prayer for other Sakadas tomorrow? Probably a prayer for corrupt government officials?

For me, some rock music are noisy, heavy metal is unbearable and classical music - so boring. I was never drawn to Beethoven or Chopin, and opera houses was never appealing. I found it so weird why people would spend so much just to hear an orchestra playing. Not to mention, dressing up!

Then I watched the Japanese Drama: Nodame Cantabile. The drama made me see classical music in a new and different perspective. In there, I discovered the deep emotions that are integrated into the music. I never imagined classical music so complicated… and so beautiful! I am now convinced that classical music is the real music.

In the future if my budget’s no longer tight, I would never mind dressing up and spending a few bucks just to hear an orchestra playing live.