Blessed are the Persecuted

The headlines today sparked very strong emotions.

I am surprised at how quickly we can be led to question our faith in the priests and bishops who do the Lord's work in the far flung areas of our poor country. Why is it so hard for us to believe that the bishops will use these vehicles for their work with the poor, marginalized and the sick? Why are we so quick to think that these bishops are self-indulgent and elitist?

This isn't the first time the PCSO made donations to religious groups. The bishops weren't the only recipients. Clearly there is a reason why these bishops are being singled out.

It pained me to see the bishops questioned in the Senate. The sight made me remember other hearings such as the ones held for General Carlos Garcia or Lt. Col. Jacinto Ligot. And yet, these people came forward(which is better than how a current Senator answered his own accusations), humbled and ridiculed as they are. They took responsibility and apologized, and returned the vehicles in question.

To me, this was government-backed persecution and very few of us really tried to defend them. But as the Beatitudes go, they have been blessed for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

People Power and the Animal Farm

I recently read a columnist’s sentiments entitled “25 Years On, Philippines Offers Lessons for Egypt. At first, I thought her column would boast of the greatness of our EDSA Revolution. After reading it, I felt enlightened and somewhat sad about the truths she wrote.

Then one night, while discussing some of these points with my wife, she said mentioned something I haven’t thought about in along time. I guess it was something second nature to her, being in the field of English Literature. To me it was something from from way back in high school, about George Orwell’s Animal Farm, a fable and an allegory, which made reference to Communism and Socialism.

Reading it again in light of the EDSA Revolution Anniversary made me think again about the Philippine situation.

The main theme of Animal Farm was the failed revolution, which only succeeded in ousting the negligent drunkard Farmer Jones. The dream of a utopian society never really got underway as Snowball, the only pig who genuinely worked for the improvement of the farm and the lives of animals was chased away by the dogs of Napoleon, an even darker, more sinister tyrant.

Just like our 1987 Constitution, the animals came up with their version of the constitution, the 7 Commandments of Animalism, which was slowly amended to justify the actions of those in power. By the end of the story, even the most important of the commandments, “All animals are equal.” was changed to “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” No wonder some sectors are really wary about any move to revise the constitution.

Whether the present government or all other regimes that followed the Marcos dictatorship was more oppressive is already a point for argument, but I think most of you will agree that with the many scandals that have been brought out into the open by whistleblowers and media, graft and corruption is at an all-time high. In fact, we’re actually just waiting for the next government scandal to hit the news.

Much has already been said about how the pigs abused their power. I guess my take on the Animal Farm after decades out of high school is its warning and its challenge to an indifferent, ignorant and forgetful society.

We, myself included, can be likened to many of the characters in the book. We are like Boxer who just worked harder and harder until he could work no more, or Mollie who moved to another farm, lured by sugar cubes and ribbons. We still believe the slogans of the chanting sheep or the propaganda of the spokesperson (or spokespig) Squealer. What about the donkey who didn’t really care about what was going on? Last May 2010, did we take the time to see which candidates were like Snowball? Or did we set aside our convictions for a more “winnable” candidate.

The failure of Animal Farm was not just in its leadership, but also in the animals that let things be. I remember my depression after seeing the results of the general elections last May 2010. It was supposed to be our chance for change, and yet we elected politicians of the same old mould. There were so many actors and members of old political families. So far, how much change have you seen?

I'm Broke!

It’s been such a long time since I’ve been this broke. It was Javier’s birthday yesterday and boy am I glad I had just enough cash to last the day yesterday. We celebrated with a simple dinner and then, at his request, Timezone. My last Peso was spent to pay for our parking ticket last night. Today, I have zilch for cash. And to be supporting a household of 5, my financial status is quite uncomfortable.

One thing that made my day yesterday was this moment as Javier and I were walking back to the car. We ran to the parking lot, laughing as we did, and walked a few meters before the exit to rest. While walking he said, “Daddy, I enjoyed. Thank you.”

Little Boy Gets Sick Again

I'm a zombie again today because I stayed up for my little boy. He developed a fever the other day and now his lymph nodes are swollen. He has a bad cold and has difficulty breathing. Dimetap doesn't seem to work but we give it anyway.

If he doesn't get better today, I think I'll bring him to the doctor tomorrow.

No Smoking Please

Before you read through, let me issue a warning that what you will read is my opinion of smoking and of the smokers that I’ve been with and have seen.

I grew up asthmatic. Every year when I was young, I'd be absent from school for a week twice a year because of the change in seasons, which would in turn cause allergic reactions with my lungs. Due to the weakness in my lungs, I was asked to stay away from dust, pollen and smoke. It’s my Achilles Heel, the one area I try to keep strong because when that gives in, I'd be down and out for such a long time.

Everyday, as I go to and leave work, I pass through groups of smokers outside our building. Before passing through, I’d take a deep breath to avoid inhaling the air in the vicinity. To some people, this might seem like an over reaction. To me, I’m just trying to minimize the amount of smoke that gets into my lungs.

Before, I would periodically pass through Emerald Avenue in the Ortigas Central Business District to pay for a bill in one of the banks along the road. The sidewalks on that road are usually filled with people taking their break, smoking. As I walk through, I usually have no choice but to inhale the smoke-filled air. Even on a windy day you can smell the smoke in the air.

There is something about many of the smokers I see. Many of them don’t seem to understand how seriously people need clean air so they let the smoke drift to an area where people may breathe it. Many don’t seem to care enough to keep their smoke away, even from babies and the older folk. Many of them just throw their cigarette butts on the ground as if they were organic and biodegradable.

This is why I appreciate organizations that make their areas smoke-free areas to promote clean air. I also appreciate organizations that designate areas for smokers that are well away from the non-smokers. I appreciate those smokers who move away when they know there are non-smokers around. And I fully support government efforts to ban cigarette ads and increase sin taxes on cigarettes.

To all the smokers that took the time to read through this, I hope you understand where I’m coming from. Peace!

Parent-Teacher Conference

I went to my first parent-teacher conference today. I got to his school early in the morning so that my wife and I could line up early and finish early as well. I wasn't really worried about what the teacher would say because I knew my son is such a good and smart boy.

The school implemented a priority number system so all we had to do was pick a number and wait in line. We first went to his class adviser, picked a number and sat down. After a few minutes, my wife and I decided to talk to his Chinese teacher first because there were some parents already in line for his adviser.

Our son's Chinese teacher is a young Filipino-Chinese, who could speak fluent Chinese and English. I thought this was good since I knew some Chinese teachers were mainland Chinese who spoke just some English. We didn't have to wait long to talk to her. We just expressed to her that we were concerned that we didn't know Chinese and that we couldn't tell if he was pronouncing the words correctly. We asked if she would recommend a tutor. The teacher told us not to worry since our son was one of her most attentive students in class. Feeling somewhat relieved, we decided to talk about our son and how he likes Chinese. We mentioned that he would offer to pray or sing in Chinese and that from time to time, he would teach us Chinese words. I could see that she was happy to hear that. We left her feeling good that we didn't have to worry. We kept repeating what she had said: He was one of her most attentive students in class.

When we got back to his adviser, we saw that the line had hardly moved so we decided to have breakfast. After a hotdog and an order of siomai, I asked my wife if she planned to discuss anything with our son's adviser. She just mentioned our son's complaints about a classmate who was often rough with him.

We got back in line and after around half an hour, it was finally our turn.

Our son's adviser said our son is a model student. He is always so well-behaved and he recites frequently. She explained that she would ask the class to behave like our son, making our son quite well-known in class. We were also told that he is a bit slow in writing and coloring exercises and so we 'll need to support him there. Then we brought up the complaint of our son about his rough classmate. The adviser laughed and said that while it's true that the other boy can be quite rough, that boy actually declared that our son was his best friend, hence all the attention he showers onto our son.

When I think about this whole experience, I can't help but smile. My son is a good boy. Of course I already know that, but it's nice to know that other people think so too. I also realized that my son has this whole world now that I am not a part of. My son is experiencing the world on his own and he is coping quite well. He is forging his own friendships, facing his own challenges and learning new things from other people.

I better get used to this, I guess because that world will get bigger and bigger as he grows up.

The Speed of Trust

I'm at Summit Ridge Hotel right now for an overnight seminar on The Speed of Trust, one of the programs offered by FranklinCovey and a leadership book written by Stephen M. R. Covey. This is a new experience for me as I've never been to anything like this for work before. As the name says, it's all about trust, building it, restoring it and making it work for you on the level of Self, Relationships, Organizations, Market and Society. It's actually a good book too. Yep, I spent a number of nights trying to finish reading the book before the seminar.

So far, there are good things that I noticed and some bad things. I'm really trying to make the most of it. For the first part of the seminar, I "volunteered" for the trust fall activity, and I was picked to be table leader to help facilitate table discussions. So much for the chance to kick back and relax. Well, I actually enjoyed those moments.

Anyway, I am truly grateful for this experience. It's nice to be spending the night in a hotel. It's also nice to have all day long free wifi, flowing coffee, free meals, etc. It's really great meeting so many new people from the seminar.

I guess I just miss my wife and little boy.