Note to the President

After having watched the live footage, listened when people talked and read the comments on the internet, I came up with my own version of a commentary and a solution. I have never given any unsolicited advice to the new Philippine President anywhere (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and I didn't plan on doing it now because I don’t know if he will get the chance to read this—I’m sure he’s been reading all sorts of reactions and advice as of late and wouldn’t know where to start, if he is thinking of starting to find a solution at all. I just need to get this off my chest and move on. So be prepared for a long read.

But first, I have a question: How much does the average policeman in the US (or Australia or even Hongkong) earn in a month?

In the aftermath of Monday's hostage-taking drama in Manila, the subject has been thoroughly discussed and ruminated on. You can't open your inbox or Facebook account or Google site without seeing a note that refers back to it. There are also so many links on how the tragedy could have been avoided being posted on every social networking site that it’s difficult to ignore. So if you're a generally optimistic person (which I am), you'd be experiencing a relatively depressed emotion right about now (which I do).

But this melancholy didn't happen all at once. It started with disgust when the hostage-taker-- a policeman trained to protect the lives of innocent people-- shot his innocent hostages in the end and got himself killed by a sharpshooter. (If he was so sharp, how come he couldn’t have done it sooner? But that’s another story.) It didn’t help that the entire episode was televised live for over 10 hours and that the whole world was watching with breath drawn and hearts pounding. It didn’t help that the first people off the bus were the Filipino tour guide (released as negotiating point) and driver (fled the scene after escaping out the window), leaving their hapless foreign guests to the mercy of the armed man. It didn’t help to watch the growing number of policemen, S.W.A.T. and media standing around, reporting the incident, running back and forth… in essence, DOING NOTHING to help neutralize the situation. Yep, I was disgusted and irritated that I had to get up intermittently because it was chafing to watch.

My antipathy grew when noted that none of our newly-elected political figures, except for the vice mayor of Manila (who, by the way, I commend for at least trying to show that he was doing his duty but who wouldn’t really know what to do in situations like this), were present, not even virtually, not even a phone call. If this had happened in the province somewhere in the boondocks, then yes, maybe it would be understandable to say they couldn’t get there on time. But this happened in the Capital City of Manila, in a parking lot big enough to hold a helicopter or two. What happened? They didn’t think the situation didn’t require their immediate attention? They thought the local police could handle it themselves? Anyway, I don’t get it.

My anguish grew when, after reading some articles and theories and stories behind the case, I was shocked to learn that the policeman involved—a senior inspector or captain and a well-decorated one at that—was only earning about P19,000-20,000 a month! He was a highly skilled government employee, permitted to carry a weapon and use it in the efficient performance of his duty, and he put his life on the line EVERYDAY. And yet I earn more than he did by simply sitting in front of a computer and occasionally going out and telling visitors about the beauty of my country. No wonder he went crazy when his only source of income as well as all future benefits that would come from his retirement was abruptly taken away.

Upset slowly set in when the world condemned the Philippines as a whole because of the lack of training and equipment in a highly-specialized field of law- enforcement. Travel advisories (Hong Kong has blacklisted us) were declared against our country, cautioning their citizens to be wary when traveling around here (France). Filipinos abroad, in Hong Kong especially, are today being looked upon as the lowest beings on earth (if not already). News reports about Filipinos being maltreated BECAUSE OF what happened are filtering in. In an article on Tuesday about the incident (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/08/24/bloomberg1376-L7NB8M6TTDS501-2UQKD4Q7O0QACV35AOVTARVN6B.DTL#ixzz0xaqQVnMB), the Philippines is ranked #130 out of 149 countries with the worst peace and order management evaluation (Global Peace Index).

All this, because an underpaid, overworked, upstanding citizen, sworn to protect and serve his country, was removed from active duty for something he claimed not to have done (the case is still under investigation, I hope). And it all boils down to the fact that the illegal act of extortion would not have become such a controversially public issue (it’s done out in the open and without shame on the part of the authorities) if our law-enforcement agencies were being properly compensated for the skill and training they go through in their line of duty. I mean, is the pork barrel absolutely necessary? Can any of our politicians honestly say that the wage they earn is not enough that they have to be reimbursed many times over for projects they think up for the country they are elected to serve? Can’t some of it be budgeted for a long-overdue salary increase for all those men and women who have to resort to harassing the ordinary citizen to be able to pay for things such as basic needs?

As I see it, we are at the lowest point in all history of modern-day Philippines. I believe the challenge is not just to President Noy, but also to the Filipinos as a whole. All of us. Filipinos in the Philippines and abroad today should do it. Now. Change the image. Change the process. Change ourselves. Is that too much to ask?

This video was posted on Youtube and Facebok and was made by, of all people, a Korean, someone who is a visitor to our country and has decided to settle here because they saw it was a good place to live… until now.

To Filipinos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpiaLQOB4zo

MOJO: Proudly Philippine-Made

How is one supposed to act when people find out you are related to royalty?

Me, I've always known someone in my family would become famous.  True enough, my eldest brother is the first Filipino Vice President of Sony-Columbia Pictures (in California), and even tried his hand at producing not one, but TWO full-length movies, the first of which won numerous nominations and awards in several film festivals in the US.  My eldest sister is a self-proclaimed tourism adviser and is actively promoting Philippine tourism to foreigners abroad.  My second sister is a high-ranking executive of Boeing, the makers of the longest running commercial airplane in the world.  She gets sent to Europe on business, and her husband gets to go with her for free!

But the subject of this blog is my second brother, who, at the young age of 12, was already dabbling in business and investments.  He started with selling bread in his dormitory in high school.  Today, he is in the process of expanding his footwear enterprise (better known as MOJO) from Manila to all over the country.  In fact he has outlets in almost every major mall, including SM, Ayala and Robinsons, and in the local malls like Gaisano (CDO).

Last June 2010, the brand was awarded Brand of the Month by Robinsons Pioneer in Mandaluyong City, having sold more than P100,000 in a single month.  Fantastic!  Then, just recently, he and his business partner successfully completed an interview with several marketing applicants in Cebu.  Interestingly, they will conduct another set of interviews in Davao later this year.  Awesome!  And to think, their products are made from pure Philippine rubber (found in Bukidnon), unlike the competition which still import their materials.

So what does one say when asked how they're related to Joey Cuerdo, president and general manager of MOJO Enterprises, makers of quality outdoor slippers and sandals (and soon to come, apparel)?  Me, I just say, "He's my brother," and smile.

MYFP (Make Your Family Proud)!!!

spotted at the Philippine Airlines (NAIA 2) 
pre-departure area on June 15, 2010;  
the logo is blurred but only 
one brand of sandals can be that simple

Rooms of Comfort

Have you noticed the great improvement in the quality of restaurant comfort rooms/washrooms lately?  Sometimes it's not the restaurant I evaluate for the standard I promote but the comfort room.  And it's not just the inside I'm talking about, but also the outside.  Coz when you have an interesting exterior, the interior will just be icing on the cake:

@ Sentro 1850, CDO City

(inside, you really feel like a prinsipe and prinsesa)

@  Max Restaurant, Cubao, Quezon City 

(cluck, cluck!)

@  Loboc River, Bohol

(eyh?  there's WiFi inside the comfort room?)

Continuing the Search...

Ports of Air

I have spent more time in airports this year than any other year in my life.  First, I went to Manila in June with Mama, to visit Joey and his kids (return 11 days later).  Then I flew from Cebu to Manila last July 24, so that I could attend Joey's first witness hearing and early July 28, I returned to Cagayan.  Then next month, I'll be in Manila September 3-6; and again in December 27-30.  Oh, did I mention that my Cebu-Manila flight was diverted temporarily to Clark Airbase due to bad weather?  Instead of arriving Manila at 1:30pm, it arrived at 4:30pm.

Arrival Area, NAIA 2

 Main Check-in Lobby, Cebu Mactan International Airport

View from the airplane, NAIA 3

 Welcome to Cagayan de Oro Airport

My observation and personal opinion:  it is more tiring to fly than to drive.  ;)

My Trip Up North (last part)

Our drive back to Manila took roughly 12 hours.  Mama wanted to stop over somewhere like La Union of Pangasinan and stay the night so that the drive wouldn't be so tiring, but Joey insisted to going all the way in one go, because he had a meeting the next morning at 10:00am.  It was dark and we were hungry when we reached San Fernando, La Union and so we stopped by this unique-looking restaurant called Riverfarm, a fishpond complex turned restaurant, which served fresh seafood and vegetables.  The smaller kids liked it because there was a TV near the kitchen and Spongebob Squarepants was on.

After dinner, we all piled back into the car and continued on to Manila.  Needless to say, when we reached my brother's house in Marikina at around 5:30am, we were tired to the bone and had to take a couple of hours rest before proceeding to our hotel.

It was a loooong road trip, but I'd do it again if only to be able to visit new places with my family.

Mabuhay ang Turistang Pilipino!

My Trip Up North (part 4)

Vigan Calesa Tour...

One other thing I liked about Vigan (other than the preservation of history) was the Calesa Tour.  Calesas are the horse-drawn carriages that people used as their main form of transportation way back in the Spanish times.  It's amazing how many of these old-fashioned vehicles are still in operation... as tourist rides.  For only P150 per hour, we were given a very interesting and pleasant tour of the city.  Now why can't something like this be done here as well?

So ended our tour in Vigan, where old traditions became a way of life...  (one part left)

My Trip Up North (3rd of 5 parts)

Vigan... The City That Time Forgot... but is catching up.

We arrived in the city center at around 3:00pm and found a quaint little inn that was a throwback to the early 1900s.  Grandpa's Inn & Restaurant was actually an ancestral home during the Spanish time until it was sold in the middle of the century.  As soon as you enter what looks like a small hallway, you are literally sucked into a world that screams HISTORY.  The inn owner kept everything -- from telephones, typewriters, pianos, furniture, to even the calesas that still plied the cobbled streets outside.

Outside, it was like the present had all but been absorbed by the past... there was nothing in between.  Old buildings were surrounded by electric wires and cable satellite dishes.  Monuments and houses, though preserved for their historical value, had been turned into money-making commercial spaces.  It was amusing to note that the new restaurants and hotels had been designed with cobblestones and bricks, but inside, it was all modern.

And of course, there was Calle Crisologo.  One of the few remaining cobbled streets in the country, where only bicycles and horse-drawn carriages are allowed to pass, Calle Crisologo shows signs of wear and tear but also of efforts to at least make it look inviting for tourists to visit.  Then again, tourists really go there to visit and to buy and to bargain and to buy.  For this street is where all the souvenir shops are found.

  

... to be continued...

My Trip Up North (second of 5 parts)

The Hotel was called Sea & Sky Hotel & Restaurant.  It is an old hotel, with the typical design of hotels constructed in the late 70s and early 80s.  It had an old-fashioned restaurant, with stained tablecloths and curtains just beyond the reception lobby and a rectangle-shaped swimming pool at the basement.  Cleaned regularly with a high concentration of chlorine, no less.

What I liked about the hotel was the family room they gave us.  It had two queen-size beds each with a roll-away cushion underneath it.  There was enough space to do the tango in and my brother's two small kids made full use of it by sprawling out while watching TV.  There was a terrace which afforded us a fantastic view of the La Union Bay and sunset.  Lastly, it had a bathroom fitted with a marble bathtub, and whose bath area also looked out onto the bay.  One could see the efforts of the hotel management to modernize by covering the old concrete walls with tiles.

That night, we had dinner at the downstairs restaurant.  Having psyched myself to the small proportions as seen in Manila restaurants, I kinda got carried away with ordering and we ended up with one dish too many.  We had fried chicken, sinigang na baboy, pinakbet, mushroom soup and pancit guisado.  Anyway, it was alright with the restaurant for us to bring the pancit upstairs, so that we could have it for breakfast.

 So after staying there one night, we were on our way to Vigan, Ilocos Sur.

My Trip Up North (first of 5 parts)

Last June 1, my mom and I flew to Manila to be with my brother and his kids.  We were in Luzon for 11 days.  Our activity there included a road trip to Vigan, Ilocos Sur (farthest point), a day trip to Bulacan to visit a soon-to-be resort which my brother was hired to develop, a day out with my best friend, Ning, at the SM Mall of Asia, and last but not least, a four-day stay at a new budget hotel called Go Hotels, in Mandaluyong City.

So where do I start?  At the beginning, of course!  The trip actually started at 3:00pm on June 2, so Mama and I had the whole day June 1 and the following morning to buy any last-minute necessities and to play with the kids.  As I browsed the aisles of snack food (however did 'junk food' become a nickname???), I discovered so many new manufacturers of local chichiria, like Marty's (by Oishi).  So I bought at least one big pack each to cover our long drive to the north.  Little did I know that my brother also picked up a load of chocolates and drinks that his children would really love as well.  In the end, we'd spent about P2,000 just on snacks.  Well, what would you expect with three adults (one senior citizen), one teenager and two growing children?

The trip to La Union took about seven hours.  My brother took care of all the room arrangements and we were finally sleeping in air-conditioned nipa houses at this resort called SeBay (pronounced sea bay).  The next morning, I found out why he had chosen this particular resort-- it was situated at the mouth of a popular surfing site and where he was like "The King" of surfing events organizers. 

We stayed there for two nights.  Supposedly only one night but the waves were really good (even to my untrained eye) and too good to miss, so my brother said.  We transferred to a hotel in San Fernando, La Union for the third night of our trip.

... to be continued...

... And We're Back in Business!

Hello!  Hello!  Hallelluia!  We have a new (reconnected) internet connection and it's faster than ever!  Hehe, just don't ask me what the speed is, coz I still haven't figured out where to find it.  But one thing I can tell you is that it's a great improvement from the frustrating putol-putol and pawala-wala that we had to go through over the last six months.  What company is this?  Just our old SOTELCO telephone connection. 

Apparently, when things were the bleakest (I had the connection cut last February because of poor service) I was not the only one who upped and left.  Also, this was the time when other companies like Globelines and DEARBC (local cable operator) were expanding their coverages, so those who were immediately touched by these expansions didn't think twice.  Unfortunately for us here, we still live in the middle of nowhere and our only connection to the outside (inside) world is by telephone.  Este... we do have cable but for some reason, internet doesn't come with it.

So... we got connected this morning and I'm almost back to becoming an internet junkie like before.  Just have to make up for the months of backlog and we'll be back in major business!

Go! Go! Go!