Mentors

(Picture courtesy of cartoonstock.com. Thanks!)
In my working life, I am very fortunate to have a lot of mentors that helped shaped my career and my life.
These mentors made me realized that in order to be relevant to this world hard work is not enough. They taught me that people come first and dignity of the person should be upholded always.
My first mentor was Mr. Cesar V. Almendras. The man is amazing when he is dealing with customers. He is the Pag-IBIG Lucena manager who treats clients as a real Kings and Queens. It is very common to find him walking around the office to see that all employees adhere to the common purpose of serving the customers. Later I found out in my MBA that Mr. Almendras’ style is what we called Management by Walking Around (MBWA). It was my first job and in my 3 years of stay at Pag-IBIG Fund, Mr. Almendras taught me the proper way to delight customers.
When I transferred to Ayala, Makati in Pilipino Telephone Corporation (PILTEL), I was even allowed by Mr. Almendras to file a leave of absence first and resign only if I feel that I fit in my new company. The man is amazing!.
My new company then is a sister company of PLDT. That time we are launching the first cellular phones in the country. The pace of work is different and stress is part of the territory. In PILTEL output is paramount. We work early and stay late. Working in a big company means better pay but the work is damn demanding. The bosses will not accept excuses and everybody is required to deliver. The Damocles sword is always in your head that you feel you can be fired anytime if you fall short of what is needed. In this big company one advantage is having numerous mentors who are expert on their fields.
One of them is Mr. Tony Ramirez. He is the HR Manager and I was under him. My unit is General Services and my job is to handle building administration, janitors, security, fleet and insurance. Mr. Ramirez is very passionate on written communication. It is very common that he issues memorandum and policies on a weekly basis. He required us to make policies and procedures and he is relentless on following it up. I wrote more than 20 HR and Administrative policies and that 20 were subjected to frequent revision, consultation before he signed it. The standard of the man is very high that he himself edited the policies before endorsing to the VP. Mr. Ramirez taught me that I need to put in writing all that is relevant to the organization. To Do Lists, Weekly report, monthly report and to report all of them orally became my ordinary activity. To express my views without being penalized was his legacy to me.
My supervisor in PILTEL was Noel Dacanay. A graduate of Cebu Institute of Technology. Noel is a mechanical engineer who guided me in the intricacies of building administration. The man is simple and very supportive. I made mistakes but he always understand me. Noel taught me that being simple, reliable and understanding worker were the traits of a good supervisor. I will never forget his kindness.
After Mr. Ramirez was promoted, a new manager arrived. His name is Bayani M. Castro, son of the famous Dakila Castro. The man is very good in numbers and costings. His forte is Administration and to him I learn that in order to be a good administrator I should be good in details. It is in the details where company succeed or fail. He never approved what is not necessary and negotiation on the prices should be the norm. Being cost conscious and always thinking what is beneficial to the company were his legacy to me.
In my current works, three nuns I considered my holy mentors.
Sr. Letty Garcia, DC was the former president of Sacred Heart College. She is a nun who believed that every person possessed talent that should be utilized and compensated properly. Her unflinching belief in my ability helped me work harder that I never done before. Her constant teaching about family and her large collection of rare books which I was allowed to borrow were another significant and unforgettable moment in my working life.
Sr. Rebecca Felizardo, DC was the former Dean of Sacred Heart College. She is instrumental of my good performance as a Chairperson. Although our professional relationship is short I learn from her the value of forgiveness and dedication.
Sr. Remedios T. Tidor, DC my current VP practices what she believes in and always thinking that dignity of a person is more important than anything else. She is a nun who trusts her people and as return her people remember her even though she is reassigned to other mission. They have a vow of mobility but this do not prohibit her to be an active administrator.
These mentors of mine made my working life colorful and meaningful which made the work related problems not a burden but a temporary cross that I should carry and move on with confidence of a good future.

INVESTING THE FILIPINO WAY

I received numerous e-mail requesting ideas on how to invest their money, the Filipino way.
It is a given that we are different from the western countries in terms of economy and availability of investment opportunity.
In the U.S. of A. alone there are thousand mutual funds while in our country we have less than 20.
In the U.S., there are blue-chip growth funds, emerging market stock funds, international aggressive fund, targeted retirement fund, KEOGH, 401 etc. In our country we have none of these kinds.
It is very obvious that the investment opportunities for Filipinos are very, very limited.
In order to enter and survive the Philippine Stock market, a typical Filipino investor need to buy 12 stocks . This is very difficult to a common investor because it will costs him more than P500,000. For the majority of us it is not only difficult but impossible to raise P500,000.
So how will we enter the stock market and buy a dozen stocks without raising P500,000?.
First, invest in INDEX FUND that will automatically give you a stake in more than a dozen companies. The index fund will guarantee a piece of best performing stock that already exists or might emerge later and more important it will give you adequate diversification. You may read BUSINESSWORLD newspaper to check the list of index fund as a starting point. The Index Fund should cover 90% of your investing money.
The remaining 10% should be invested in stocks. Surf www.citiseconline.com.ph as another starting point.
This technique will give you the joy of investing and at the same time minimize risks and maximize hope for profits.
My best regard to all my blog readers.

Para sa mga Pilipinong Investor

Wala atang Tagalog sa Investor. Kaya pala kulang ang ating kaalaman sa paghawak ng pera kasi karamihan sa atin hindi tinuruan sa eskwelahan o sa bahay kung paano bumasa ng stocks, mutual fund at iba pang investment. Bakit nga ba?. Ako natutuhan ko lang ang lahat ng ako ay 30 years old. Kund hindi pa ako tumuntong at gumastos na isandaang libong piso sa Ateno ay hindi ko malalaman and pagkakaiba ng index fund sa index card. Kayong mga kabataang bumabasa ng aking blog hindi nyo na kailangang mag-MBA para matutuhan ang paghawak ng pera. Eto na nga ibibigay ko sa inyo ng libre.

1. Gumastos lamang ng ayon sa inyong kinikita. Pag bibili ka ng sapatos o cellphone at uutangin mo pa kalimutan mo na lang. Isang alipin ang maraming utang.
2. Maging matipid pero hindi madamot. Alam mo na ang kaibahan nyan.
3. Huwag mangutang, hanggat maari. Sa Pilipinas daw hindi maari ang walang utang pero kayang gawin. Itapon mo na ang credit card mo. Payag ka bang singlin ng 18% na interes. Binabaon ka kasi limang taon mo yang babayaran. Gusto mo bang limang taon kang bugnot?
4. Maghanap ng trabaho na mahal mo. Araw-araw kang papasok sa iyong trabaho kaya dapat andoon ang puso mo. Kung wala, nasa impyerno ka ngayon at kailangan mong tumakas.
5. Kung gusto mong maging eksperto dapat babad ka sa ginagawa mo at hindi kung anu-ano ang pinagkakaabalahan mo.
6. Kung gusto mong madagdagan ang pera mo at ayaw mong maghirap ka sa pagtanda bumili ka ng stocks o mutual fund.
7. Alamin kung saan napunta ang pera mo. Baka naman nauubos lang yan sa load, sayang.
8. Kung walang magbigay sa iyo ng trabaho, ikaw ang mag create ng trabaho mo. Sabi mo magaling kang magbenta ng t-shirt, gawin mo.
9. Huwag mong pansinin ang problema ng mundo. eh ano kung tumaas ang presyo ng diesel, may magagawa ka ba para ibaba ito. Ang magagawa mo ay pansinin ang buhay mo.
10. Huwag kang maging magaling sa maliit na bagay kung hindi sa malaki. Gusto mo bang makilalang pinakamagaling sa pagdidilig ng halaman. Mas mainam kung kilala ka bilang mahusay na landscape artist. Andoon ang pera.

Kaya daw ang Pilipinas ay hindi umunlad dahil iilan ang marurunong sa pera, karamihan singkit pa. Ayaw ko namang umasa sa aking mga anak sa aking pagtanda. Ewan ko sa yong bumabasa ng blog ko. Hanggang ngayon ba hindi mo pa kilala ang pera mo?

Changing the face of the earth

Today we are now experiencing the non-stop rise of oil, food and transportation prices. If we will think about it it will give us tremendous opportunity by focusing on what we can do.
1. The expensive price of oil means there will be less cars on the road. This means pollution will be cut by at least 30% this year.
2. The expensive food prices will bring us back to the basic. No more eating in expensive restaurants and no more drinking alcohol till dawn. Imagine the psychological and financial benefits of cutting expenses.
3. The high cost of transportation will forced us to use public transportation which will forced the government to provide us a more efficient one. In New York many people don't drive cars because they have excellent subways. The politicians, with their bright minds and pork barrels, will be peppered by demonstrations to bring down the cost of transportation. They will be forced to think of alternative and they will not be an absentee in congress or else their constituents will boot them out come 2010.
4. We will now on the mode "think first before spending". That's a blessing for a parent.
5. Our children will be forced to eat a lot of vegetables harvested from our own backyard. The high cost of meat will make us vegetarian causing the Cardiologists to be out of job.
6. Instead of buying i-pod or the latest cellphone, we will be forced to read books borrowed from the public or private library. There will be an exponential rise on intellectual prowess in the country.
7. There will be less or no use of the air-con because of the high cost of electricity and as a result we will have enough money to invest in stocks and mutual fund which can benefit us upon retirement. In addition we are not contributing to the global warming which according to scientist will worsen for the next 10 years.
So, don't worry if doomsayers broadcast that you will be dead because of high prices. We are made to innovate that is why you got brain bigger than a pea.
Cheers!

Reunion QNHS Batch 1983

I am a product of Quezon National High School. I belong to the proud batch 1983. During our time QNHS was a tough school. The classrooms are crowded,the library lacks books, and we need to hop from one classroom to another to attend each subject of ours. You can get mugged, you can see students punching one another when there is a fraternity rumbles and you attend class in the Alcala stadium, beside the stadium and even under the stadium. We were even required to sell candies during our first year.
The environment was tough and as result you NEED to stay tough. We share books when we study, we forced ourselves to attend class on saturday, we walked from QNHS Iyam to Bayan because there are often times we have no money,we borrowed everything from each other because we know our families can not buy what we need. As a result, we develop an ability to survive that can not be found in a convent-bred-catholic-private high school graduates of our time.
Today many of my batchmates are gainfully employed or working abroad. Many are still struggling to survive but the lessons we got from the arena called QNHS are enough reasons to require us to stand in our feet. We are a survivor and the hard lessons of QNHS toughened us.

Man of Action

I do belong to the tribe who would like to act rather that sit or watch things to happen. If there is shortage of cash I did not wallow on grief but rather do things legally to make money. If there is a problem in the family or in the office, I do not rest until it is solved. That's why all my bosses are happy to give me something to do because they are sure that I will do it and do it well. Sometimes I asked myself if I am a Type A personality but I am not aggressive though signs of assertiveness are visible.
If I am on the right track, I will finish what i started regardless of criticisms.
I protest everytime their is injustice and sometimes resulting to the detriment of my body and soul. I can not prohibit myself in expressing my views eventhough a thousand dagger looking eyes aiming at me. This sometimes result in sour relationship.
But I am rather proud that for twenty years that I am working, I contributed a lot to all companies who hired me.
There are a lot of pain of being a man of action but there are exponential product of being one: you produce results and you make your world go FORWARD.

Shortage,skills and country

I can not believe what I saw in the Lucena Public Market yesterday. A long line waiting on their chance to buy 2 kilos of NFA rice. This is the first time that I saw the physical evidence of extreme poverty haunting the country. The high cost of food prices are starting to inflict pain on everybody that families are giving up everything that are not food related such as clothing and education in order for their meager income to buy food that will fill their hungry stomach.
But as eternal hopeful, I am praying that this crisis awaken us and make the present generation realized that their elders are failing them in providing a secure future. The young should now show that they can overhaul this country by arming themselves with knowledge and skills needed to transform them and their families.
Do not be bother on the political noise (the are just tenant) nor the food crises (there is always a remedy). You should focus on developing yourself and make you better than the Vietnamese, the Thais, the Indonesians, the Chinese and even the Japanese.
Carry the banner of the Philippines so that when you go abroad, the people will not look down on you because they know that your skills are incomparable.
It is not only your life that is at stake here, it is also the future of your beloved country.
Carry on!

The Secret

(Photo courtesy of Adithya Bhelke.Thanks Adithya!)
1. The secret to life -- get good teachers who will not only train but inspire and
work well with the student.
2. The secret to financial security -- spend below your means and make the money
work for you.
3. The secret to peace -- love.
4. The secret to integrity -- signed every work with excellence.
5. The secret to friendship -- respect, trust and open-mindedness.
6. The secret to success -- never give up.
7. The secret to health -- eat all things in moderation.
8. The secret to happiness -- follow the 10 commandments.
9. The secret to intelligence -- childlike curiosity.
10. The secret to leadership -- truthfullness, accountability and vision.

If you notice they are really very common and most of them just under our nose. The secret USE IT!

Arnel

The Agony of the Poor

Mang Jose is praying at the garden of Gethsemane in Lucban, Quezon. His callous hands were trembling in the same rhytmn as the grumbling of his stomach. He got only P25 pesos in his pocket. His jeepney fare going to work will cost him P15 and the remaining P10 can only buy 3 skyflakes for his lunch. As he walked into his construction barracks , he remember what his daughter said to him. "Tatay, if the cost of jeepney fare ate a lot of your daily income it means our economy does not benefit the poor". He can not understand what his daughter told him but what he experienced daily taught him that he is in much worst situation than before.
In the store near the construction place, Aling Maria replaces the price of rice. The Sinandomeng that Mang Jose bought every payday now costs P32. Mang Jose shook his head as he estimated that he can buy only 5 kilos of rice for his family this coming payday. As he is riding the jeepney going home, his Pareng Jun, a jeepney driver told him that the drivers will go on strike next week to demand P8 jeepney fare. Mang Jose did not say anything as he felt a sudden anger on his soul that he need to let it out or else his mind will explode. I could not take it anymore..... I could not take it anymore....
Meanwhile, the moneyed class are in their usual mode. They go on shopping abroad, watching concerts of foreign artists in Araneta and buying the latest Italian shoes & bags.
The upper class can not feel the pain of their poor brethren and sisters.
Our country is not blessed of people who love their country deep.
The poor will think of first of having something to fill their stomach before they feel that they are part of country.
The upper class will need a painful lesson before they feel that they are part of country.
The middle class need to be awaken in order for them to rekindle the feeling that they are part of the country.
Meanwhile, Mang Jose is now thinking of something radical. On his head he will go on a riot if he can not feed his family in the coming days. He has nothing to loose because he feel that he is already dead anyway.
We got few days to help Mang Jose and his kind in convincing not to do it. Let us talk to Mang Jose that it is against God and the law to go on a riot. But will they listen to us?.
Jesus said that the poor will be in our midst always but he did not say that we let the poor starved.

Beatlemania

(Photo by Brian Craig. Thanks Brian!)
For a Beatlemania like me, the film "Across the Universe" made by renowned director Julie Taymor and written by the prolific writers Dick Clement & Ian La Frenais, forces me to sing and dance on the classics songs of Beatles when I watched it last night.
"Across the Universe" is a 2007 Academy Award-nominated musical film that incorporates 34 compositions written by members of The Beatles.

The film is a love story set against the backdrop of the 1960s amid the turbulent years of anti-war protest, mind exploration and rock 'n roll, the film moves from the dockyards of Liverpool to the creative psychedelia of Greenwich Village, from the riot-torn streets of Detroit to the killing fields of Vietnam.
Songs such as "Girl" ("Is there anybody going to listen to my story, all about the girl who came to stay"),"Hold Me Tight", "All My Loving" ,"I Want to Hold Your Hand" , "With a Little Help from My Friends" (both The Beatles' and Joe Cocker's versions) ,"It Won't Be Long" ,"I've Just Seen a Face", "Let It Be"; in a gospel rendition,"Come Together" ,"Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" , "If I Fell" ,"I Want You (She's So Heavy)"; "Dear Prudence","Flying","Blue Jay Way" , "I Am the Walrus" ,"Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!", "Because", "Something","Oh! Darling" ,"Strawberry Fields Forever", "Revolution"; ,"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" as a memorial to Dr. King, "Hey Jude" , "Don't Let Me Down" "All You Need is Love" in a cappella.
All in all is a total joy ride!

Philippine Patriot

It is quite clear that our country is divided. The daily printed announcement on newspapers of people for and against GMA made me wonder if this country is really in the right direction. If their purpose is to make the newspapers rich, they are doing it great. But rather the paid announcements are pathetic that it creates more negative energy zapping our collective strength.

While these politicians amazed us with their never-ending talent on “talking”, the lower and middle class are now experiencing the cost of living that is the highest in Philippine history. The era of cheap food prices are over in case you didn’t notice.

Prices of rice, sugar, coffee, fish, meat, LPG and all other necessities are sky-rocketing or to follow the jingo of FVR pole-vaulting. More families are starving and these problems will explode in our face through class struggles.

The poor will reach the boiling point that they can not take it anymore and will do everything including crime in order to survive. These people have nothing to loose and that is fearsome. If they will have access to murderous weapons, the peace loving middle class will be the first to be hit because they are accessible.

We don’t want bloods in the street.

The politicians and the Filipinos in general are focusing their strength on an issue that will not put food on the table at the end of the day.

Their issues are political issues and should be solved by politicians. The Filipino people will be happy to see and hear the truth but they should not depend on it as if it can save the Philippines. The church is right in protecting the witness but they should not negate their primary responsibility of promoting good human behavior on their flock. Because the accused came from their convent and exclusive schools, they have a failure that until now they can not face the truth that somewhere in-between they are involved.

Meanwhile that the country is suffering on the pain of divisiveness , the scale not seen during the time of Marcos, many families are experiencing nothing to eat. The unemployed are thinking of various ways on how to feed himself and his family. His ways are possibly illegal and violent. The newly graduates can not find a decent job and some are forced to accept job that is not related on his skills or education, that will pay him less and working in long hours.
The price of food in the public market and mall and tuition fees continue to rise that those who are earning fixed salary can not stretched their money anymore and their tightened belt need a lot more tightening thereby sacrificing nutritious foods in exchange of anything that can fill their stomach.
The church,ahh the church. I am looking for the church that will go back to the ways of the early apostles. More time with the poor, less time in the temple.

At this point, we have only one country, I guess, loving it will make us one. We can do that, right?.

The Right Moves

Stanford University announced February 19, 2008 that attending Stanford University next year will be a lot more affordable for some undergraduate students by eliminate tuition for students with annual family incomes totaling less than $100,000. It also will pay most room and board for students with families making less than $60,000.

Financial aid director Karen Cooper says the move comes as middle-income parents express concern about paying for a Stanford education.

Meanwhile Harvard University announces sweeping middle-income initiative by sweeping overhaul of financial aid policies designed to make Harvard College more affordable for families across the income spectrum. The new initiative focuses on ensuring greater affordability for middle- and upper-middle-income families through major enhancements to grant aid, the elimination of student loans, and the removal of home equity from financial aid calculations.
When will you act ADMU, DLSU,UST,................?
Can't you feel the trend?

Killing the Middle Class

In this country, the middle class are the pawns. The politicians ignored them by taxing them to death and by not making laws providing them opportunities to fulfill their aspirations. With only the lower class or the "masses" they always try to pleased because of their sheer number that can translate into votes. The middle class which are only few are the least priority of these politicians. How many of them stand up to defend them? How many write laws to protect them? How many wish to make them numerous?.How many of them feel that they are now financially squeezed?.
One of the key aspirations of middle-class families is to provide their children with the good education they’ll need to maintain — or exceed — their standard of living when they enter the work force. But the financial security of the middle-class has been strained by the rising cost of higher education, which has risen faster than overall inflation for much of the past decade.
The GMA regime failed miserably in protecting the middle class due to her extreme busyness in making sure of its survival.
Meanwhile, the middle class is facing the biggest question of their life: leave the country to survive or survive by fighting until death for this country?

What I learned from the Ateneo

The MBA program that I gone through at the Ateneo Rockwell demanded the best in me. The classrooms there are swanky, the equipment brand new, the technology updated and the professors rich in business experiences. But I learned a lot not because of them but because of the the sharing of my classmates in our case analysis and the rich collection of business and liberal arts books that shaped my thinking.
At the Ateneo, they are proud of their library and it is not a boast that in the country they have the most number of business books available.
In that library I am a constant visitor.
That is the place where I met colorful people who got great minds and best advice not found in the classrooms. Some of them are: Confucius who advised me to be humble in the face of business uncertainty, Freidrich von Schiller who pressured me to take calculated risks, Benjamin Franklin scolded me to have an emergency fund of 3 months living expenses, Miguel de Cervantes notified me not to put my money in one basket, Warren Buffet informed me that the best way to own stocks is through an index fund, Edwin Lefevre conveyed that I should be patient on my investment, Peter Lynch revealed to me that I don't need to time the market and John Kenneth Galbraith imparted that I should borrow only to buy assets that appreciate. These are some of the people who made my stay at the Ateneo worthwhile.
The cost of all the books I borrowed and read in the Ateneo Rockwell library may reached more than P200,000. More than half the fees I paid.
I already forgotten what my accounting professors taught us but I am forever grateful to the large collection of books I read and enjoyed.
The Jesuits are charmers and their snakes are libraries.

Lucban,Quezon

My family hails from Lucban, Quezon. A place well known as the summer capital of Quezon Province. Tourists flock to our town to see the famous Pahiyas and to eat the equally famous longganisa and pancit lucban. My ancestors were one of the pioneers of the town that is why you can find Cadeliña streets honoring them. There are lot to thank for my town. The climate, the people, the rain and the mountain. These are the reasons why artists abound in my town, they can be easily inspired by the environment.
The last time I visited Lucban, I was disturbed. Though it is still cold there but not as cold during my younger years. The people are still pleasant and hospitable but are now so numerous that water pollution in the once clean canal are evident. Surely, Lucban is now overpopulated. With its very small area, the throngs of people polluting the river will affect the drinking water which is the primary source of Lucena, Pagbilao and Tayabas.
There will come a time that Lucban will loose its luster and it's not because of the nature but because of the people who slowly destroying it.

Father Eduardo Hontiveros, S.J.(20 December 1923 – 15 January 2008)

I met him only once. Born in Molo, Iloilo a Jesuit whose simplicity will make you feel that you need nothing but faith. His passion will put ashame all persons who dont' have one. His courage will extinguish the fear in you. His love for music will make you sing and even will make you cry.
He is Father Eduardo Hontiveros, SJ the father of Philippines Liturgical Music.
In the past 25 years, millions of people all over the country sing his hundred hymns including " Papuri sa Diyos"; "Magnificat", "Maria"; "Luwalhati"; "Kordero ng Diyos"; "Bukang Liwayway"; "Pananagutan".
He is an inspiration to generation of composers. His songs of praise, thanksgiving, petitions, contritions and love for the Almighty enriched the rituals of the Holy Mass.
Fr. Hontiveros passed away last January 15, 2008 and buried yesterday at the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches.
Good bye Fr. Hontiveros and for sure Heaven is waiting for you with thousands of angels singing your hymns!

My 2008 predictions

There are a lot of predictions flying in the air since January 1. I will leave the prediction who will die or who will get pregnant this year to Madam Auring.Let me predict simple things that will affect us in the year of the rat:
1. There will be recession in America and the economy of the Philippines will be
affected. The Americans will tighten their belts and will hold on their purse in anticipation of freeze on salary or layoffs.The subprime and property mess causing default of loans will aggravate the recession. This means they will consume
less and import less from other countries including the Philippines.
2. The stock market will not have a stellar performance like 2007. Though this will be an opportunity to buy mutual fund with a cheap NAV or a stock with a cheap price.
3. There will be more Filipinos who will be OFW because of lack of job in the
country.This will mean more dysfunctional families.
4. The cost of electricity,water, LPG and other utilities will continue to rise.Thereby penalizing millions of poor families.
5. There will be a lot of middle class that will slide to lower class this year.
This will propel them to take action hopefully a productive one and non-violent.
6. The cost of sending somebody to college will continue to rise because private
colleges and universities also need to survive. They have no other way but to increase their fees. The parents will be left with only one option: sending them to state colleges.
7. State colleges will also increase their fees because of less subsidies from the
government.They will accept more students looking less on their qualifications in order to get funds to pay their teachers.
8. The church will scrutinize itself if they meet the needs of the masses. They
already know that they are ineffective in providing solution to the poverty that engulfs the masses.They have the will to help but lacks cohesive action.
9. The President knows that she got only 3 years to leave a legacy. This year she
will do everything to make the economy resilient completely disregarding the corruption ghosts that haunts her administration.With the military on her back, she will survive this year.
10. It is up to each Filipino family to survive 2008. This year, they will do everything to feed their children legit or non legit. They are given a free will and many will stick to their values while others will throw away their towels seeing no hope.
These are predictions hence two sides of a coin:may or may not happen.

Hijaking of Christmas

Yes it's true, Christmas is hijacked by the mall and thrown in the sea of consumerism.
Christmas is not anymore praying together but eating and drinking together until we dropped dead.
Christmas is not anymore simbang gabi but disco sa kalye.
Christmas is not anymore christmas wreath but alcoholic drinks.
Christmas is not anymore 12 days of celebrating Christ but 12 days of celebrating Mammon.
Christmas is not Silent Night but Karaoke Night.
Christmas is not anymore caroling but shopping.
Christmas is not anymore Bethlehem manger but debt counting.
Christmas is not anymore celebration of faith but celebration of family fights.
Christmas is not anymore rejoicing but dwelling on pain and loneliness.
We hijacked the true meaning of Christmas and people asking themselves why they are not joyful this Christmas season.
How will you be joyful:
1. celebrate reconciliation this Christmas.
2. Celebrate reconnection this Christmas.
3. Celebrate the spirit of generosity.
Celebrate simply and if possible with little expenses.
Have a blessed Christmas.

The Consumer Country

Mario (not his real name) is an MBA classmate and officemate of mine when we were working then in Ayala. We have a lot of qualities in common that’s why we were at ease with each other for at most 10 years. One thing that differ him from me is that he is a spendthrift. Every payday I save money to invest in my house and college education of my children. Mario is different, he spend as if there is no tomorrow. Branded clothes, shoes, neckties, handkerchiefs and regular dining in fine restaurants are his usual “investments”. He is known in the office for being maporma. Me? I am just a regular guy.
When we reached 30 years old, Mario and I decided to have a small drink at the Greenbelt. After we downed 2 bottles, Mario got under the influence. He began to tell stories to me that he is heavily indebted. More than hundred thousand because of the plastic (credit card!!!). He can not pay anymore the loan because he has other loans with lots of people. He is about to be kick out from his apartment if he will not pay the rent which is due for 3 months. His girlfriend leaved him when she learned that he is bankrupt. Mario is totally devastated. Victim of zero savings habit and 100% consumptions propelled by his eveready credit card.
My life was reversed of him. I am not rich but I have a house and lot , college plan for my two children are paid in full and I have investment in mutual funds all before I reached 30. Not bad for a regular guy.
Mario and I parted ways when we both leaved PILTEL in 2001. I never heard any news about him. But I see a lot of Mario’s in our country. Children of OFWs, government or private workers and sabungeros. Only few people I know who has the propensity to save and invest.
Our country is a consumer country. With the exception of the Tsinoys and some enlightened brownmen the norm in our blood is to spend and consume. Postponing pleasure today in order to have a pleasant future is somewhat a blasphemy in our culture. To exorcise this spendthrift demon, some like Mario need to suffer first before expelling it while others kill it even before it step on their door mat.
The roads are difficult for the latter but sure as the sun shines it brings reward.

Mang Kulas

I met a family man called in my neighborhood as Mang Kulas. He is a father of three children and his wife is not working because of lack of education. Mang Kulas is a carpenter and a skilled one. He earns P300 per day and his earnings are erratic. Sometimes he earns P6000 a month especially during summer and there are times he earns nothing. Everytime we meet in the neighborhood he always flashes his toothless smile and at first glance strangers may say he has no problem at all.
One day I saw him in the mall and as I watched him he keep on glancing on the people eating at Chowking. I notice his daughter, about the age of 5, pleading that they eat also at Chowking. He never answers his daughter. As he walked away I called him and say kumusta and he answer ok lang sir pauwi na. As he talked to me I noticed that his body is shaking. His daughter innocently told me that they have not yet any meal since yesterday. I bought them food from Jollibee and accompany them in their home.
As I glance around the house of Mang Kulas, there is no appliance at all. A long chair made of bamboo, the flooring is not concrete but loam soil, a roof made of old g.i. sheet which are full of holes and a small table maybe use for eating, studying or even sitting.
When I leaved the house of Mang Kulas, I kept on asking myself how he managed to survived the onslaught of high prices of all commodioties and utilities. As a mathematician in me I compute it in my head:
Monthly Earning of Mang Kulas...............P6,000
Expenses:
Food Fish P140 kilo/day x 30 days........... 4,200
Jeepney fare P7.50 x 2 x 4 persons x 30..... 1,800
Electricity.................................. 150
Water.........................................130
Balance (negative).......................... -280
Imagine if Mang Kulas has no carpentry job. Where will he get the money to feed his family?.
This is new cancer that attacks our poor countrymen. The cancer that brings hopelessness, that brings crime and even death.
Everytime I see artistas showing off their new cars, new houses and even new nose I really get angry.When politicians distribute or receive corrupt money my blood hits in the boiling point. They are insensitive to the plight of the poor. The Pinoy Big brother is a big joke because his house is made of illusion. The real life and the real house we can find it in Mang Kulas. But the TV network will not even try to house celebrities in Mang Kulas house because they know they will not earn any money from it. The jokes are on us and damn it we laugh on it.

Yusuf Islam

Last night I watched a concert of Yusuf Islam. The DVD is aptly titled Yusuf's cafe Sessions and was captured live in the Porchester Hall in London. Songs such as Father and Son and Peace Train touched my soul that every lyrics haunted my inner being.
Yusuf Islam is Cat Stevens. Those who are familiar with Cat Stevens, he is a famous singer during the tumultous late '6os and the fiery early '70s. His hit songs such as Moonshadows, Peace Train and Father and Son were the national anthem of the youth of '70s. He abandoned his career in 1978 and converted to islam.
In our present times wherein Islam is portrayed as nest of terrosrist, Yusuf is the answer on the correct meaning of Islam. Moderate, peace loving and family oriented.
Hear his songs or better buy his DVD "Yusuf Cafe Session" and experience the true meaning that songs should be intended to love one another and praise God.
Cheers!

Amazing Grace

I am a person who is not afraid of taking risk even at the expense of being hurt badly. This recklessness of mine caused me and my loved ones a lot of heartaches. From the failures that I experienced those who gave the most deepest pain were the one who made me stronger. The tears gave me the decisiveness to say goodbye to the past, thank the present and hope for the future.
During my college days it is very common that I go to the university with money enough only to pay the jeepney fare. Merienda was as rare as ligthning. The person who saved from the agony was my girlfriend who lovingly pay for my jeepney fare, provide lunch and dinner when I have none. The challenge for me then was to graduate and lift myself and my family out of poverty. It was an amazing grace that I graduated and found a job right after graduation.
I have been working for the past 20 years and it is clear to me that in order for us to have a food in the table and a regular job we need to be a blessing to everyone we meet. I have been lucky to meet persons who gave me graces that up to now I still thank them in my prayers. Yes..... it is an amazing grace.
Everytime that I hear the song of John Newton, it touches me because it said a lot about me. The lyrics are :

Amazing Grace Lyrics

John Newton (1725-1807)


Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me.
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

When we've been here ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

Marianette Amper

Sa bayan ng Maa, Davao may isang batang gumawa ng isang bagay na nagpaiyak sa akin. Si Marianette, anak ng isang karpintero, ay nagpakamatay dahil sa lubhang kahirapan.
Sa kanyang mga sulat hiningi nya sa Diyos na tulungan siya at kanyang pamilya na maiahon sila sa kahirapan. Sinabi din niya na hindi siya makapasok dahil wala silang laging pera para pambili ng pagkain at pamasahe.

Simple lang ang hiling niya, sapatos, damit, bag at bisikleta para makapasok sa eskwelahan.

Sa pangyayaring ito, si Marianette ay nagbigay sa atin ng isang matinding pahayag: ang matinding gutom at kahirapan ay nasa ating bansa. Anumang pagtatakip na gawin ng pamahalaan sa pagsasabing bumababa na ang bilang ng mga mahihirap ay kabaligtaran ang nagyayari sa tunay na buhay.

Kapag ang gobyerno ay walang kahihiyan sa pagsangayon sa pamimigay ng pera sa mga congressman habang maraming pamilyang Pilipino ang walang makain. Panahon na para dumalangin tayo na bigyan tayo ng sapat na lakas ng loob upang harapin ang dilim ng pangaapi.

Survival Thinking

Today more than 50 million Filipinos considered themselves as poor. We can see countless countrymen of ours living under bridge, in the stinking estero, in the cariton and even in cold pavements. Truly the government for the past 20 years failed to deliver their promise to uplift the economy and provide decent life to Filipinos.
Since we can not rely entirely to the inept government of ours, it is time to chart our own course. How can we then change? Let us start by aiming for survival thinking. Yes, before our poor thinks of buying anything they need to be enlightened on how to survive.
First is food. The member of the family should ensure that there will be food in the table. Food that will nourish them and make them work productively. How can this be possible when many poor people are without job?. That is the challenge. We have to act as a nation to provide cheap food for everybody. There are many ways to do it. For example, let us plant vegetables in the garden so that we can give or sell in a lower price for the poor. There are many creative ways we can do. Our failure to provide food for our family means our children can not go to school, can be sickly and unproductive and the country will produce mendicants rather than producers.
Second is water . We should ensure that the water we drink is safe and the source protected. Imagine if Lucena will not have water for one week and we will experience chaos. For a nation and a family to survive, water should be readily available. We should do everything to protect the source of water in Lucban, practice wise use of water and support the effort of the water district to improve their facilities.
Third is energy . A nation and a family will remain poor if there is no available energy to fuel the businesses and the homes. A nation that can not even provide electricity to a city harnessed unemployment. A nation that utilizes energy is a powerful nation. Just look at Russia. Our country is blessed with enough energy and we should try everything to protect it.
Fourth is stability in population . We should accept the fact that high population means more consumption of food,water and energy. In a typical family those who belong to a big family need more money in order to survive. The same thing in a country, those who are more populous are poorer than those who are not. We need to have a stable population.
How many politicians you meet discussing survival thinking? In Lucena have you experienced somebody advocating the need of the family and the country to survive? If none we have to act now. We only have one country and all of us will sink if we will not swim.
ALC

Letter to the People of Burma(Myanmar)

Dear Brothers:
Your country is experiencing a decade long repression that as a people you are not only given scarce but misleading information. You can not communicate outside of your country whether mobile or internet because the junta cut it off. Do not be intimidated my dear brothers. What is happening to your beautiful country , we experienced 20 years ago when the Philippines was under a dictatorship.
Hold on to your belief. We know that the junta raided your sacred monasteries, beat up monks and shooting unarmed students. These acts are desperate attempt to salvage their decaying regime. Remember my dear brothers that everytime they hurt you, their morale were attacked in return.
We are praying for your country. May you find consolation in our EDSA revolution 20 years ago when we marched unafraid. We were students who at that time were not thinking to oust a regime but to express our outrage to the assasination of Ninoy Aquino. But our outrage was rewarded by ending a 20 year dictatorship.
The Burmese people will also be rewarded and the Junta knows it. That is the reason my brothers why they are using violence. They inflict fear but deep inside their heart they are the one afraid.
I pray for you courageous Burma and may the faith continue to guide you. One day when the darkness is defeated (because it will surely come), I am the first Filipino to salute you.Even though we are ocean apart my heart is with you. Because once I stood up with more than a million Filipinos in 1986 against a regime quite similar as yours.
At the end you will be triumphant just like us. Just hold on!.

Arnel L. Cadeliña

Hot Dog Hazard

It was mentioned to me by a friend a long time ago that eating hotdogs are hazardous to one's health. I did not believe her until Dr. David C. Paik of Columbia University issued these findings Eating cured meats such as hot dogs, smoked fish, bacon or salami may double your risk of lung disease. People who ate cured meats more than 14 times a month were almost twice as likely to have pulomonary disorders, chronic bronchitis and emphysema than those who don't. The hot dogs got nitrite (SEE THEIR LABELS!!!!) which causes our lungs to age.
Eaters beware!

The Zagorsky Truth

A professor of mine was so brutal that he once said in our Finance class that intelligence and wealth are not linked. He convinced each one of us who claimed that we excel academically that we should rethink our position. He ended up saying that high intelligence is not a complete advantage. Just look at the car of bright professors, he said, they are old low value vehicles. The lesson is simple as the Zagorsky truth "Your IQ has really no relationship to your wealth. And being very smart does not protect you from getting into financial difficulty,”
Zagorsky is the famous Jay Zagorsky, Ph.D. of Ohio State University who is one of the top researcher in America.
He confirmed that when it came to total wealth and the likelihood of financial difficulties, people of below average and average intelligence did just fine when compared with the super-intelligent.How come because, Zagorsky found out that high-IQ people are not saving as much as others.
So for those below average and average students don't be despair you too have a chance to be wealthy just like the high-IQ people provided you know when to save and when to splurge.

Thank you Mother Teresa

A new book " Mother teresa: Come be my Light" was launched last month. It consist primarily of correspondence between Teresa and her confessors and superiors for a period of 66 years. It was dark indeed because the book reveals her doubt about God's existence. That she did not find Jesus in her heart or in the eucharist.
Why I am thanking the saint?. It's because all people experienced some doubt about his or her faith, about Jesus and about God. Especially when we are bombarded with problems that we felt the absence of God. It is only natural for us to experience this "dark night" and we need the help of other people to regain our spiritual equilibrium. Mother Teresa had one by the help of Rev. Joseph Neuner who counseled her resulting to tremendous sense of release.
This is what we need when we are confronted with a spiritual vacuum somebody who can tell us that there is no human remedy for doubt; that to have a proof that Jesus is present by having a craving to His graces and that experiencing doubt happens to everybody.
Now we know that as fellow travellers of this world it is not shameful to doubt our faith but rather see it as a tool to help the needy even we believe less.

ALC

Parable of the Pigeon

In the pigeon kingdom the King called for a meeting. There is trouble in the wersel forest and we need somebody to take care of it, said the King. So the pigeons started debating to one another and before sunset arrives they voted for the gray pigeon to head the wersel forest. Obedient as he is, the gray pigeon began transforming the troubled wersel forest. He wake up early and sleep late. For 24 months he never tires flying with the pigeons of wersel forests. He even teached them some tricks of flying. The gray pigeon made the wersel forest pigeons believe in themselves. The gray pigeon love it because he feels that they look at him as a pigeon who can fly wherever he like.
Then one day the gray pigeon was called by the King and entrusted a new job. He tried to reason out to the king that he still need to attend the wersel forest. He said that there is trouble in yako forest and he need my expertise. How can you say no to an insisting King?. So the gray pigeon work in the yako forest without explaining to the pigeons of worsel. While the gray pigeon is flying in the dark forest he met a sickly old hawk. She's begging for food but the gray pigeon said that the food is owned by the wersel pigeons and he need to give it to them. The plea of the sickly hawk melted the heart of the gray pigeon and gave her the food without realizing the consequences of it.
So the gray pigeon returned to wersel forests and brought no food. The wersel pigeons began to feel betrayed that after a long time of absence he brought them nothing. Many of them refused to fly with the gray pigeon. Some of them even gave an angry look.
After several days, the gray pigeon made stories that the food fell to the ground while flying. Who would believe anyway that the food for pigeons were given to a hawk? They would not even understand why a hawk and not a pigeon.
So for several sunset and sunrise the gray pigeon was disturbed. Sleep refuses to visit him. For him there was no reason staying at the worsel forest because no one accompany him to fly.
So one night the gray pigeon bravely apologized and told the truth to the wersel pigeons. There was complete silence, question and hesitation.Who can blame them? The gray pigeon flew in the dark forest without informing them. As tears fell from the cheek of the gray pigeon he realized their disappointment, his failure and ask for their forgiveness.
Is the gray pigeon forgiven? Will the gray pigeon be the same again? Will he sit on the same branch or look for a different nest? As the gray pigeon look in the sunset he can not find the answer. Maybe tomorrow it will come.

Paretto Principle

One of the best learning I got from the Ateneo was learning the Paretto Principle. Our Operation Management professor shared the Paretto Principle or the 80-20 rule very simple but with a lot of passion that after the class we were became believers.
What is this Paretto Principle?
The Pareto principle is also known as the 80-20 rule. Is the law of the vital few and the principle of factor sparsity which states that, for many events, 80% of the effects comes from 20% of the causes. Simple?.
Business management thinker Joseph M. Juran suggested the principle and named it after Italian economist Vilfredo Paretto, who observed that 80% of income in Italy went to 20% of the population.
It is a common rule of thumb in business that "80% of your sales comes from 20% of your clients.
How do experience this principle in our lives:
1. we wear our 20% most favoured clothes about 80% of the time.
2. we spend 80% of the time with 20% of our acquaintances.
3. 80% of a country's wealth was owned by 20% of the population.
4. Relationship: 20% of the people you know (friends, colleagues, family) provide
you with 80 percent of nurturing support and satisfaction.
5. Business: Twenty percent of customers will account for 80 percent of profit.
6. Productivity: Twenty percent of your activities will account for 80 percent
of your success.

How can we put the 80-20 principle to good use?
The Pareto principle is great to increase focus. Don't try to do more. Just do more of the right things. For example, out of our many maladaptive behaviors, twenty percent of it will contribute to 80 percent of all our hardship and misery. So working on just these 20 percent can greatly contribute to our personal growth. Time management is another area where the rule can be very effective. If you have a lot of work to do, break it down to specific activities and figure out what twenty percent of the tasks listed contributes to eighty percent of the results you seek. Second, give your maximum concentration to those 20 percent tasks.
Thanks to Joseph M. Juran, you created followers beyond your dreams!.

alc

Best with Friends

There's no doubt about it, the ingredients for happiness includes good relationships. If I am with my TRUE (italics mine) friend I am happy, alert, cheerful and motivated.
When I interact with them my attention is to them and not to me. I fought depression by talking to them and their conversation stimulates me.
It is very hard to look for a good friend nowadays. From my experience you can say you have real friends if:
1. We have mutual benefits.. I endorse you to the next job and you invite me to a birthday party.
2. Relationship without exploitation . I am truthful to you and you are truthful to me. We never take advantage of each other.
3. Are not static . Meaning you are a friend all the way and not only when you have an influence, money or even power. If you are invited by a friend to attend an event even though you are far away the relationship is not static.
4. Provide emotional and intellectual stimulation . Meaning I can cry, laugh and frown without feeling embarrassed. We can talk a lot of things and love our differences. Silence to us is a mortal sin.

I remember a Chinese proverb that says:

If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day, go fishing.
If you want happiness for a month, get married.
If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune.
IF YOU WANT HAPPINESS FOR A LIFETIME, HELP SOMEONE ELSE.

alc

Latin Mass

The Catholics around the world were not surprised when the Pope took the steps last July 7 to revive the ancient tradition of the Latin Tridentine Mass in Catholic churches worldwide. For one he is a conservative priest from the beginning who savor the sweet tradition of the faith.

Pope Benedict XVI signed a universal indult — or permission — for priests to celebrate again the Mass used throughout the Church for nearly 1,500 years.

The Vatican said the New Mass remained the "normal" form of Mass while the Tridentine version was an "extraordinary" one that would probably only be sought by a few Catholics.

When the pope said few he means group of Catholics who only like to hear mass in Latin.

My generation has zero experience of hearing a latin mass and it may bring excitement for others to attend one.

If this move can bring back strayed Catholics backed to the fold, so be it.

Time to Save

The time to save in order to buy stock mutual fund or stocks in the future is our answer to the last Friday, July 29, 2007 stock market sharp fall after a massive selloff in Wall Street.
For those who eat business news you are very much aware that the PSEi plummeted 140.92 points its steepest single day fall since August 28, 1997. The PSEi closed the week sharply lower and dropped 5.87% to 3,518.76 points from 3,738.28 points last week, as investors reacted with alarm to a massive overnight sell-off on Wall Street driven by US housing and credit market concerns. On July 27, the PSEi shed 140.92 points following the second largest single-day decline of the Dow Jones this year at 311.50 points.
There is also the Fitch ratings who expressed doubts on the ability of the government to limit its fiscal deficit within P63 billion this year. It pointed out that with economic growth expected at 6.5% in the first half of the year, the 3.4% increase in tax receipts was rather poor. Add to the announcement of GMA that she issued a memorandum to all government owned firms to remit more tha the minimum 50% of their income to help cover the big tax collection shortfall.
We need this noise to filter down, wait for the market to reach the bottom, hold on to our cash and then when the right time comes buy stocks mutual fund and other equities. The Chinese are right, in every problem there are opportunities!.
ALC

State of the Family

Our President delivered her State of the Nation address yesterday. The ordinary folks didn't even bother to listened. Her messages were applauded not by the common people but of the elite who circled around her for the photo-ops yesterday. They always ask why Gloria has a negative ratings. Let me provide the answer by sharing to you the State of the Family.

1. The typical Filipino family is paying the most expensive electricity in Asia. A family who consumed an average 82 Kwh is now paying around P680 per month. For the elite it's a small amount but for those who earn a basic daily wage of P300 it's an agony.Who needs a super-region when a family is paying a super expensive electricity?

2. The Filipino family is forced to send one of its members to go abroad due to lack of opportunity. The unemployment and underemployment in the country continue rising with college graduates comprising the biggest chunk. Divorced and broken homes are the result of this malady.

3. The Filipino Family continue to have lesser spiritual guidance from their churches. Whatever denominations you belong the spiritual leaders of this country are not Christ-like in terms of serving. There is no Mother Teresa or Martin Luther King among them.

4. The Filipino family are under attack by the government whose weapons are taxes to plugged their deficit. Whenever a family eats outside, buy groceries, medicines, house materials & others the 12% VAT will be slapped to them. Now the VAT income will be allocated to the war in Mindanao.

5. The Filipino family continuosly experiencing the low quality of education on all levels throughout the country. This is the areas the government should focus into. Everything can crumbles in the country, the senate and the congress can be abolished but providing affordable quality education to all will give a fair chance to the masses to uplift themselves.

6. The Filipino family are brainwashed by the media that they are learning distorted values. The soap operas, the news and the gossips shows are one way or another contributed to the decline in the belief of true values. With the TV network focused on the profit, the values are thrown in the window.

7. The Filipino Family are earning less while prices continue rising. Their solution is to provide instant noodles in order for their budget to be stretched.

This is the state of the family. For them the state of the nation is nothing because daily they are under attack. Stop wondering why the rating is negative.

Most Lucrative College Degrees

As a parent I am always on guard on what are the job trends for the future. I have a daughter who will be in college three years from now and I am guiding her on what course she should take. She may have in mind a different course and it may differ on what I proposed. The important thing though is that I fulfilled my role as a father, that is informing her on what will be in demand in the future. For my friends reading my blog this may guide you also. But take note that this survey was done in the US of A where statistics is a passion. If you believe that the trend in the US is also the trend in the world , read on:

Summer 2007 Survey

1. Chemical Engineering
2. Computer Engineering
3. Electrical Engineering
4. Mechanical Engineering
5. Computer Science
6. Civil Engineering
7. Economics
8. Management of Information Systems
9. Finance
10. Accounting
11. Business Admin/Mgmt
12. Marketing
13. Political Science/Government
14. History
15. English
16. Sociology
17. Psychology

Source:National Association of Colleges and Employers
If you notice the top ten most lucrative degrees have roots in mathematics. We need to guide our children to master their numbers and as the survey confirm....it pays to be a nerd.
ALC

Quezon Del Sur?

This month congress will open and will endorse for signing of the President anytime this month a bill aiming to divide Quezon into 2. The bill proposed by then Senator Wigberto Tañada and then congressman Rafael Nantes aim to divide the 862,676 hectares prvince of Quezon into a Quezon del Norte and Quezon Del Sur. If the president signs the bill it will be put into a plebiscite coinciding with the presidential election in 2010.
According to the bill Quezon del Norte will be composed of Lucena, Burdeos, Nakar, Infanta, Jomalig, Lukban, Mauban, Pagbilao, Patnanungan, Polillo, Real, Tayabas, Candelaria, Polillo, San Antonio, Sariaya and Tiaong. The Quezon del Sur will consists of Agdangan, Bunevista, Catanuan, Gen Luna, Macalelon, Mulanay, padre Burgos, Patnanongan, San Antonio, San Francisco, San narciso, Unisan, Alabat, Atimonan, Guinyanagan, Gumaca, Lopez, Plaridel Quezon, Tagkawayan.
For Quezon Del Sur the capital will be Gumaca and for the Quezon del Norte will be Lucena.
The primary aim of the bill is to propel economic growth. The question though can this realistically possible?.
Let us analyze:
1. Dividing the province into 2 will create a new batch of politicians that will rule Quezon Del Sur from the Governor down to the Board members. This means that the taxpayers will shoulder their salaries, their honorariums and other expenses.
2. Judging from the history of dividing provinces like Surigao del Norte, Surigao del sur; Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur; Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental;These provinces are among the poorest in the country. Therefore there is no assurance that dividing the province will ensure growth.
3. There is no consultation on every sectors in the Province if this is really a need.
This is a country where politicians passion is to to rename streets, dividing provinces and approving their own pork barrels. When will this curse end?

The Rains of July

July is a contradiction. The rains are fierce and the sun sometimes fought it by shining fiercer. The Roman Senate named it 'Julius', in honor of Caesar who was assassinated in a plot hatched by a group of 60 senators, including Gaius Cassius and Marcus Junius Brutus. As Caesar entered the Senate, he was stabbed 23 times. After Ceasar was assassinated, Rome experienced another 13 years of civil war.

Why is July so synonymous with conflict and revolution?. Is it because July is usually the hottest month of the year in the Northern Hemisphere while its winter months in the Southern Hemisphere? Or is it because the climate is mild in most of the Southern Hemisphere, while its cold and rainy in South America?

There are lot of wars that happened in July. Battle of the Somme that resulted in the start of World War I on July 1, 1916. The Japanese and Chinese troops clashed, beginning the struggle that became World War II, July 7, 1937. Second Battle of the Marne in World War I began, July 15, 1918.Scientists set off the first atomic bomb, Alamogordo, N. Mex., July 16, 1945.

What will you bring us July this time for our beloved Philippines? The newly elected politicians will again occupy their offices and start spitting one another. They will again feast on their pork barrel and commissions while millions of Filipinos are starving. Will you July visit the halls of congress and Malacañang and remind them that your rain are poisonous and deathly. Will you please July sing a song for them:

Just after the death of the Filipinos,
And before they are buried in their poverty,
There comes a July season
When politicians,pork barrels and commissions all aglow.
They may feast right now
But judgment day will be ours.


ALC

Need to Grow

Everybody needs to grow. The universe keeps on expanding, the trees keeps on growing, the ozone layer continues to thinned out and our nails keep on growing even though we cut it every week. It is nature for a person to examine himself and ask if everything grows or stagnates. Indeed a life examined is a life worth living. But what avenue of life we need to examined?
1. Our Relationship . Everything in this planet will change even the persons around us. The challenge then is to grow our relationship with one another by strengthening and solidifying it daily. Positive relationship coming from mutual trust and respect are basic to achieve this. ASK: Am I contributing in making our relationship to grow positively?.
2. Our Dreams . Mark Twain is right. Let us sail our boats away from the ports and discover. Every tree around us have a dream of growing big even though they can not speak we can see it. Humans should be more of a dreamer than the tree because we are equipped with brain. Let us dream and dream big!
3. Our influence . This is two-sides of a coin. There are alcoholics who can influence their children to drink alcohol early. We focus on the other side. We influence for good. Kindness to friends and strangers, love of the poor and helpless, we have 24 hours to influence one another. Only our effort is needed. My father used to say that he wants to die that even the undertaker will say sorry. I did NOT understand it first. Now that I am old enough and having my own children I analyzed that dying is easy but people remembering you for a legacy is very hard to forget. I will also meet my undertaker in the future and am also wish him to say .....sorry to my children.

ALC

Fathers Day

To be a father is difficult. You will have a responsibility to feed, clothed, give shelter, provide education and guide your children. The minor things such as telling bed time stories, eat out at the mall I tell you may reached hundred times but you do it in order to make your presence felt.
Those father who take it easy I admire but I am also guessing if their children remember them as a good one. My late father was a government employee doing blue collar works such as welding. From him I learn the value of persistence and sticking to what I believe in. When he died, I was only fresh out of college and as the eldest I took over his position including sending my brothers to school.
Today I have a two children of my own whom I try to mould as a good, patriotic and independent minded Filipinos. They say that good fruits came from good roots. I hope I am on the right path.

CATHOLIC PROSPERITY

There is an economic boom among Catholics in the US of A. According to Lisa Keister, a sociologist of Duke, Catholics have watched their personal wealth shoot upwards and they have erased the gap that used to separate them from mainline Protestant.

How can Filipino Catholics imitate their American brothers and sisters in faith?

1. We should begin to converge our Catholic values with Protestant values such as work ethic, ingenuity, diligence, entrepreneurship and respect for markets.
2. We should strengthen our marriage, make our family highly stable and never waiver on the opposition to abortion and divorce.
3. We should be more future oriented and less bound by neighborhood and extended family.
4. We should strive for better and quality education by enrolling our children to schools known to provide excellent education.

Add the research of Margarita Mooney, a Princeton Sociologist, who demonstrated that Catholics who attend religious service regularly are more successful than those who don’t.

Everytime you attend the Holy Mass remember that you belong to a faith that provide opportunity to be prosperous.

Aren’t you glad you are a Catholic?.

Desparecidos

It's deja vu. Way back in 1985 a friend by the name of Abet Enriquez was abducted by armed men right after his speech denouncing the conjugal dictatorship. If my memory served me right it was August 21, 1985, the anniversary of Ninoy Aquino assasination. Abet and I were invited but only Abet was the speaker since he was more militant and eloquent. When we parted ways, he rode in a tricycle going home but according to several witnesses, armed men stopped the tricycle around 6:00PM and Abet was forcibly taken. Since then he was never found. After 22 years Abet remains desparecido.
Weeks ago armed men abducted Jonas Burgos and a UCCP pastor. The two remains missing as of this writing. We are a country where perceived enemy of the state are targetted as potential desparecido. We have a legal system wherein the right thing to do is to bring the accused to court and let the justice system rolls. Sadly this legal system was bypassed to kill, maimed, torture or make people disappear.
Peru, Columbia and other countries who practiced illegal methods created a divided country. Gen. Pinochet was hailed a savior for persecuting his enemies but at the same time hailed as a butcher. His country remains poor compared to other Latin American country. Are we heading in the same direction?.

It's Election Time

If you lived in the Philippines for a long time you will find the election period a source of amusement. Every part of a city, barrio or barangay whether its a gate or a trashcan you can find posters bearing faces of politicians. It's only in the Philippines where complete disregard of COMELEC designated area is a norm. How this damn politicians get away with it? I voted several time since Marcos and never a single candidate was disqualified for violating rule on putting posters in non-designated COMELEC area. Mr. Abalos is a complete personification of a lameduck.

The excessive expenses of candidates in their TV, radio and print ads only shows that ours is a farce democracy where "showbistockracy" rule. A candidate knows that Filipinos vote based on popularity and name recall. That is why senatoriables are spending millions in advertisement. Where can they get their money back? Of course from the P200M/year pork barrel allocated to them. This pork barrel came from our taxes and the senators don't give a damn to the poor once they are elected.
Among the candidates who seen in the TV almost every night with their irritating jingles and slogans there are none who present their programs for the poor. Only the "Kapatiran" party presented a sensible program but sadly they can not win the election.
I was convince by my wife to vote on Monday but I believed we are in the crossroad. The middle class are already pushed in the wall. If they can not find a decent job in the country and foreign jobs become scarce, a revolution of the middle class will begin. The middle class who did not believe in the leftist ideology and oppressed by the current elite democracy have no other recourse but to make the Philippines a better one in a method never seen before.I maybe wrong on this but I am sure it will happen in my lifetime.

Graduation Ceremony

I was asked by my sister-in-law to attend the grade 6 graduation ceremony in a public school in Lucban, Quezon. Since the child is my godchild and his father in Australia, I agreed to accompany the boy. The graduation ceremony is supposed to start 1:00 PM and as an eternal early bird me, we where there before 1 PM.
We sit beside the covered court and my godchild was ordered by her teacher to get 2 plastic at the back. Upon checking, it's a sandwich and a juice for merienda. The graduating students were not required to walk formally toward their seats. To my horror, the principal announced that the graduation program is not yet available and it will be a magic if it will arrive by 4:00PM. The program was started by an opening prayer where nobody cares and followed by the awarding of honors. Then the mayor, vice mayor and their entire party arrived of which the program was stopped by the principal to announce the arrival of the local politicians. Then the vice-mayor suddenly delivered his remarks in the masquerade of advising the students but in reality a campaign speech. The program was continued but after 20 minutes, the candidate for congressman and board members showed up totally disrupting the graduation ceremony. To make the entrance of the congressman impressive, he brought with him a fiberglass basketball frame complete with his name. I shook my head when I saw this blatant disregard of the sanctity of a graduation ceremony. The board member and the congressman ate 1 hour speaking in front of the hapless audience. I almost choked when the principal announced that the Mayor will also speak afterwards.
This is the mirror of how this politicians treat all of us. They have no respect of our time and of our feelings. The teachers,pity them, they are willing pawns of these leeches.
The graduation ceremony stretches to 8 hours. The longest grade 6 graduation ceremony I attended. My frat brother Tim said that I should trust the system. But Tim, the system of election needs to be overhauled or change first. If election caters only the moneyed and the dynasty it is a complete failure. We need to cleanse the system, but how that's the problem this country faced since its inception.

ALC

Brother, France etc.

My youngest brother Ricky decided to settle with finality to France. His Cathay flight will bring him to the massive Charles De Gaulle airport on April 4. My mother, the usual crybaby, keep on worrying that her bunso will be forever away. I can not blame her, she might not see him anymore since she's already 68.
Temporarily I will be the surrogate father of my brother's 2 children. This is the sad reality of the Filipino diaspora. The rate of family break-up caused by immigration and/or overseas employment keeps on rising. How can I convince my brother to stay?. He got a dream that the Philippines can not provide.
The campaign advertisement of a senator claiming "pangarap kong tuparin ang mga pangarap mo" smacks of deception and unethical cum misleading statement. Only a fool will fall on this nonsense.
My brother's dream is to provide a good future for his family and no amount of political gimmicry can assure him that the solution is at hand.
The pain of separation in exchange of the mighty euro is not easy for my brother to decide on. To soften the impact of his absence, I assure him that I will take care of his children.
Yeah, it's painful to see him go but I am also thankful on the opportunity he will be having.
Yeah, I am a brother's keeper.

ALC

Of local elections and other nonsense

For the past one month, we are bombarded by TV , radio and print ads of local and national candidates. In Lucena City and Quezon Province, the mood is like a big fiesta whenever a candidate arrives in a barangay. Who cares about platform? Who cares about graft and corruption? Who cares if a candidate is a jueteng lord or an ex-convict?. What is important to the poor people of Lucena is that they can have free lunch and a chance to rub shoulders with the mighty. To receive money from them later after a campaign is a given. This is a sad reality in my city of Lucena. Nobody from the local candidates talk about the following:
1. The rampant illegal gambling that destroys the fabric of the family.
2. The existence of government sponsored short-term lottery which pervades the
culture of gambling.
3. The bastardization of Perez Park wherein the pea-brained politicians replaced
the monuments with disneyland castles. It is not a sunken garden anymore.
Maybe the old Perez is grumbling in heaven!.
4. The lack of long-term plan to generate employment.
5. The lack of long-term plan to improve infrastructure.
6. The lack of long-term plan to improve the quality of education.
The local candidates are running to PROTECT THEIR OWN INTEREST. They are promising a lot of hot air but without substance. They will give to the people what they will get from the people. Cry my Lucena! Can you blame me for not voting this coming May?.

ALC