CORRUPTION in the PHILIPPINES

Once again, the Philippine President is under scrutiny because of the ZTE broadband deal. Being listed as one the corrupt countries in Asia, this is not a news anymore. From the lowest elected or appointed officials up to the highest elected or appointed officials, everyone is prone to corruption. Even the SK (Sangguniang Kabataan) officials are not immune to this "way of life."

To combat corruption in the Philippines, one has to demolish the very nature of the Filipino psyche. Whether we admit it or not, one of the weaknesses of the Filipinos is being "impatient".

"Mainipin ang mga Filipino. Ayaw maghintay nang matagal. Gusto ay matapos agad ang anumang bagay sa lalong madaling panahon. Ang gusto ay biglang-yaman. Kaya nga, mahilig sa mga sugal, jueteng, lotto, sabong at kung anu-ano pang sugal na madaling pagkakitaan ng pera."

The Filipinos are impatient. They do not want to wait long. They like to finish anything in a very short time. They want to be instant millionaire. That's why they like gambling, jueteng, lotteries, cockfighting and any other games that give them easy money.

And because of this attitude, instead of falling in line, those who have extra cash will transact business with an "insider" or a "fixer" for a certain fee so that they can get their documents faster.

Everything in the Philippines has a price. From birth certificates, passports, driving licenses, vehicles registration and even your votes.

The second way to eradicate corruption is to destroy the close family ties of the Filipinos. "Blood is thicker than water" is followed word by word by the Filipinos. "Kanino pa ang sarap kundi sa kamag-anak."

If you want to be elected in any public position, you need tha votes of your immediate family, your extended family by blood or my marriage, your neighbours, friends, the friends of your friends, and eventually the whole barangay. If you win, the" debt of gratitude" will haunt you. You will do something in return for those who voted and supported you.

How can you say "NO" to your brother if he asked you to give the building contract to his company? Can you say "NO" to your "inaanak" if he asked you a vacant position in the municipal hall?

You will serve a limited time in the public office but those who voted and supported you will be your family, neighbours, friends and "kabarangay" forever.

To combat corruption, the Filipinos have to change their attitudes NOT necessarily their leaders.

Second Week of Cross Stitching

After 12 - 19 February 2008, my cross stitch looks like this....

The 80th OSCAR is OVER

The 80th Oscar Award is Over! And the winners are:
Best Actor - Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)
Best Actress - Marion Cotillard (Le Vie En Rose)
Best Supporting Actor - Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men)
Best Supporting Actress - Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton)
Best Director - Joel & Ethan Coen (No Country For Old Men)
Best Picture - No Country For Old Men

An Aussie filmmaker - Eva Orner of Melbourne - won an Oscar for her documentary "Taxi To The Dark Side".

Mind Your Own Business

MYOB or Mind Your Own Business is the name of one of the most popular accounting softwares here in Australia. It is commonly used in small to medium scale businesses. I tried to enrol at TAFE (Technical And Further Education) in Mt Druitt for an Introduction course in MYOB last week but the course was cancelled because of few enrollees. What I did next was to order a book entitled "MYOB Training in a Book" from MYOB website. It will be a self-teaching book and I will sit for an assessment after I finished reading and doing all the assigned tasks.

Sana naman ay matuto ako kahit na self-study lang.

How to Kill the Time

(The first week 05-12 February 2008)

My friends are asking me how I managed to pass the time in the Middle East aside from the 7-6 job, Saturday to Thursday.

Well, I choose a hobby that kills the time. First, I pursue my liking of writing short stories. Then, I teach my self how to cross-stitch. Cross-stitching is a kind of embroidery that you make a "cross" or an "x" on an Aida cloth.

My first cross-stitch is The Mona Lisa of Leonardo Da Vinci. I gave it to my cousin Gloria.

My second is a painting by the Philippine National Artist Vicente Manansala entitled " Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread". I am now making my third masterpiece, a painting of Jose Blanco's "Paul at Eight". Week by week, I will pose on this page the progress of my work. I started this endeavour on the 5th of February, 2008.

Matagal ang paggawa ng isang cross-stitch. Inaabot ng buwan o taon. Nakakasakit ng mata at iba pang parte ng katawan. Wala lahat ang sakit kapag isinasabit mo na ang iyong "Obra Maestra".

"WE SAY SORRY"

(Photo from www.abc.net.au/100 years/ with thanks to the owner).

The Labor government of Australia under PM Kevin Rudd has done another milestone in Australian history. After signing the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change in December last year, the Prime Minister, in behalf of the Australian Government and Parliament, said today "I'm sorry," to the Lost Generations.

Addressing the House of Representatives this morning, 13 February 2008, in Canberra, Mr Rudd said the Parliament apologised for laws and policies which had "inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians."
"For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry," he said.
"To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.
"And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry."

Sa pagtanggap ng bagong pamahalaan sa maling patakaran ng mga nagdaang gobyerno, sana ay maging hudyat na ito ng bagong pananaw sa mga naunang tao o tinatawag na "aborigines" ng Australya. At sana ay sumunod na rin ang iba pang bansa na humingi ng paumanhin sa mga lahing kanilang niyurakan ang pagkatao at dangal.

Empire State Building Run-Up 2008

Suzanne Walsham of Australia and Germany's Thomas Dold both defended their titles in the 31st Annual Empire State Building Run-Up with a time of 12 minutes, 44 seconds and 10 minutes, 8 seconds respectively.

Ang bilis naman nilang akyatan ang hagdanan ng Empire State Building. Baka abutin ako ng bukas kapag ako ang umakyat doon.

(Photo downloaded from www. smh.com.au. Original photo from AP)

XIN NIAN KUAI LE!

That's "Happy New Year" in Mandarin! Tomorrow, 07 February 2008, is the start of the Chinese New Year. 2008 is the Year of the Rat.

My sister is a believer of feng shui, chinese charms and crystals. Today, she advised me to buy 8 different kinds of sweet and round fruits and to put them in our table until tomorrow. Nothing to lose, I purchased a pineapple, a mandarin, an orange, an apple, a melon, a ripe mango, a peach and a bunch of green grapes. These fruits symbolise wealth and prosperity. I also bought a piece of rice cake and "kakanin" from the Filipino store in the Mall. The stickiness of the cake and its sweetness is for the maintenance of sweet and sticky relationship in the family.

Here in Australia, particularly in Parramatta where we live, the local government and the Chinese community organised a Twilight Noodle Market at Prince Alfred Park where everyone has a chance to taste Chinese foods especially different kind of noodles.

Pupunta kami at nang makakain ng pancit canton, bihon, miki, lomi at kung anu-ano pang noodles. Ewan ko lang kung kakayanin ng bulsa ko kasi may bayad! Hindi kaya magkabuhol-buhol ang mga noodles na ito sa aking katawan.

COMING "HOME"

Abu Dhabi Intenational Airport (View from the Departure Area)

Being born and raised in the Philippines, I considered Australia my second "home". My family and I migrated here in September 2005 but I have to leave in September 2006 to work with my former boss of 10 years in Saudi Arabia.

On 1st February, I have to leave Saudi Arabia and go back to Australia on my second 3 months break. This is necessary to fulfill the residency requirement to get an Australian citizenship.

I left our Camp at 10:30 pm and arrived in SABTCO station in Al-Khobar at around 12:00 midnight. The bus to Bahrain left at 1:57 AM, 02 February 2008 and arrived 3:30 AM in Bahrain. I was hold at the check-in counter for about 5 minutes to verify my boarding pass to Sydney. Probably, it never occured to them that a Filipino from KSA was going to Australia. The airplane that took me to Abu Dhabi left at 5:50 AM and arrived at around 8:00 AM.

There were full of passengers at the Abu Dhabi International Airport. As usual, most of the attendants manning the duty free shops are Filipinos.

Before boarding the airplane to Sydney, I was again questioned at the documents verification stand. It really surprised the officer that a Filipino was boarding a flight to Sydney. After asking a few questions, I was clear. I was the only Filipino in the flight, excluding the 2 stewardesses.

The almost 13 hours flight from Abu Dhabi to Sydney seemed endless. I watched Maricel Soriano and Aga Mulach's movie " A Love Story" and a film thatI forgot the title. I wanted to watch "Bee Story" but the film was not available in my monitor. I tried to sleep but I guessed I only had 2 straight hours.

I arrived at Sydney airport at 7:12 AM, Sunday, 03 February 2008. My wife's PAL flight from Manila and Melbourne arrived late at 12:08 noon. Philippine Airlines (PAL) lived to its expectation of coming late. (PAL = PALaging Late). My wife and son did not know that I was coming so they were surprised to see me. My brother's wife Emy fetched us from the airport.

My journey was carried out by Etihad, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates.

Umuulan ng araw na iyon. Tila sinasalubong ang aking pagdating.