THAInk You...

Rice, rice, rice, this is the shout of many hungry Filipinos. Sobrang dami ng tao ang nahihirapan makakuha ng affordable rice. Just like my previous blog about rice, I again saw a long line of rice buyers near our barangay hall. Super dami ng tao na parang may artista silang hinihintay na lumabas sa barangay hall. It’s really sad to think na while I’m enjoying my rice some people are really working hard and lining up to be able serve rice on their table.

During a crisis like this, the government needs to stand up. It needs to show the people that it can handle problems like this to gain the people’s trust. Well, I believe that the government is doing its best to look for a solution. Agencies concerned with this have been monitoring the sales of rice to make sure that no one would abuse the situation. Aside from this, the government has already talked with other countries to become our supplier. I recently read from an article that Thailand would be one of the countries that would be willing to supply us with the rice that we need. The transaction would be government to government to ensure that the price of the rice would be within the reach of common Filipinos.

Partnering with other countries is really helpful during times of distress. This is one thing that the government should maximize especially with its neighboring partners. Hay we really should THAInk Thailand for doing this partnership.

Happy and Violent ! 2 in 1??

Happy people that is what most foreigners would say after visiting and touring the Philippines, of course they would say this because we always welcome them with big smiles and warm hugs. But have you ever thought that our beloved country could be considered as one of the most violent countries in the world? Well, my fellow Filipinos for your information we are 27^th in the list of most violent countries in the world. Imagine, at the back of our warm smiles lay the dark side of the Philippines.

Guys, na-shock ba kayo sa balita ko? Ako hindi na coz whenever I open the TV or listen to the radio news, I always see or hear how violent Filipinos are. Sa mga welga pa lang na pinapakita sa TV makikita na natin kung paano maging violent ang mga Pilipino. I am not saying that all Filipinos are violent but we should admit it that we really have the tendency to be violent like other people. Minsan hindi rin natin masisisi kung bakit nagiging violent ang mga Pilipino, ikaw ba naman ng ulanin ng mga problema tulad ng tumataas na presyo ng bilihin, gasolina, at bigas. Kahit ako mahihirapan maging cool noh.

But what I really can’t understand is if it is really necessary to resort to violence when we are fighting for our rights or the causes that we believe in. Can’t we just try to resolve issues peacefully? Ako kasi personally naniniwala na everything can be solved if we just try to understand one another. Oo minsan hindi tayo napapakinggan, hindi tayo napapansin pero that does not give us the right to be violent. Tingin ba ng mga tao violence will bring them any good? Actually, makakadagdag lang yun sa problema nila.

Ano ba mga kapwa ko Pilipino, hind ba tayo nahihiya??? Dati we’re considered as one of the happiest countries tapos ngayon nasan na tayo? We’re one of the most violent. Isipin nyo nga, pakitang tao lang ba ang mga ngiti at halakhak na pinapakita natin sa mga foreigners? Are we just doing that to cover up for the bad side of our country?

Our Poor Country...

Poverty has been the problem of our country for many years. The government has been implementing programs to fight poverty but it seems like the situation of the poor Filipinos just worsens. It looks like the programs are not really responding to the needs of the poor.

For 20 years I have been living near a squatter’s area, but I still don’t know the reason why many people there are poor. During my childhood days I remember going to that area to play hide and seek and my mom always scolded me at home because according to her “maraming addict at lasinggero sa taas, Kae. Gusto mo bang ma-kidnap?” Pero marami talaga ang hirap sa buhay sa barangay namin. I always see this whenever we have rummage sales in our garage kasi minsan kahit limang piso na lang yung pinagbebenta naming pinag-iisipan pa ng ibang tao kung bibilhin ba nila or hindi. There was even one time when a walis vendor dropped by our house during the sale and he saw that we had a rubber shoes for sale. It was only worth Php30 but he was really hesitant to buy it. Being exposed to these situations makes me think about what the government does to help these people. Whenever I see them I really feel how lucky I am to belong to a family that may not be rich but can survive everyday with some excess.

As a student, I may not be able to really help them rise from poverty but I can continue praying for the government to do its role in social development. Let’s just hope and pray that the day will come when no one has to live in poverty anymore.

LPG buses on the road

Heheheh siguro nag-iisip kayo noh??? LPG, hindi ba pang kusina lang yun??? I’m sure yan ang tanong nyo. Well, you’re wrong kasi pweded rin sa mga vehicles ang LPG. In fact, DENR has welcomed the plan of having LPG buses. This project might be implemented after 2 years. According to Atienza,this could lessen air pollution in Metro Manila dramatically.

There is already a plan and prototypes have been delivered to DENR, the remaining concern will be convincing bus operators to use LPG instead of other petroleum products. I believe that DENR’s plan will be of great help but it should also focus on how to implement the program because every program needs proper implementation to be effective. DENR should be able to convince operators to follow because the program will be useless if operators will not support it. It should make operators realize the importance of reducing pollution so that they will be more encouraged to support the program. At the same time people should also be encouraged to patronize LPG buses once they are available because when operators see that more people prefer environment friendly buses, they will be more motivated to use LPG.

DENR’s plan is another program that may bring great changes. I just hope that it gets implemented properly and most importantly I hope people will support it.

Ooops! Wrong Move!!!

Whaaaatttt the heck, have you read, seen or heard the news about a baby who was accidentally left by his parents in an airport in Canada? Grabe I just read it this morning at na-shock ako. Sa lahat naman ng malilimutan di ba? Yung anak pa nila. I really don’t understand these people. Hindi ba uso sa kanila ang cellphone? Pwede naman nilang tawagan yung mga kasama nila para malaman kung na kanino yung baby. Are his parents that eager to leave that they did not even bother to check who the baby is with??? Hindi naman ganun kaliit yung bata para malimutan lang basta basta. Dapat kasi nagsabay-sabay sila pumasok sa plane. They should have checked whether they were complete before boarding. Yan tuloy, kailangan pa nilang mag-return flight to get the baby. Luckily talaga, a security guard saw the baby and not some bad guys. Laking iyak siguro nung parents kung nawala yung baby nila.

After reading this shocking article, I just realized that I am really lucky to be the daughter of my parents. My parents have their own flaws but I’m sure that they will never forget me anywhere. I know that my parents will always be checking on me and I’m lucky for that because it shows that they are really concerned for me. Hehehe kahit ganito na nga ako kalaki, kapag aalis kami dapat sabay-sabay and dapat nasa gitna kami ng parents namin tuwing sasakay kami sa plane, bus, jeep, MRT or ship. O di ba yan ang responsible parents hindi ka hinahayaang mawala sa paningin nila. Hehehe pero minsan sumosobra nga lang. Anyways, I’m still thankful to have parents like them.

Power to the people

The price of oil has been continuously increasing. Every week we wake up with 50 cent or a peso increase. This phenomenon has been hurting us especially the people who use oil in their daily work. With the continuous increase, the transport sector has been demanding a fare hike from the government. However, the government really has no say to this because of the Deregulation Law. This law provides oil companies the power to dictate the price of oil. The oil companies have all the power while we become powerless because we have no choice but to pay the price that they set.

It’s really a bad thing that in our country the poor and common people are the ones left helpless while the rich people are the ones given the power. Should it be like this? Shouldn’t the government be protecting the common people against situations that put them in deep waters? With the rising oil prices, the government should try to rethink its purpose. This may be the time to improve the Deregulation Law so as to give more power to the common Filipinos.

Let’s be positive. I still believe that some people in the government still know their purpose. I believe that sooner or later these people will emerge and rise to fight for the good of all Filipinos.

The Domino Effect

I am really amazed on how some people are able to do the domino effect because it takes patience and determination to be able to successfully topple down lines of dominos. Aside from that, I am also amazed on their creativity because they are able to create figures with the used of dominos.

Watching the domino effect happen is really fun but the fun stops when the domino effect happens in the prices of commodities. This could be seen on how certain situations affect the prices commodities. A good example of this is the current upsurge in the prices of fish in the market which was caused by the rising oil prices. Fishing is dependent on oil because fishermen use fuel to make their boats run and to deliver fish to the market. Aside from this, the latest hog disease also affected the prices of meat. Prices of commodities today, continue to rise because of situations that are sometimes inevitable.

Hay, it looks like the domino effect in prices will never be prevented from happening. I think we all need the patience that we can have to be able to surpass this crisis in prices.

I-SHUFFLE mo!!!

Ang ipod may shuffle, sa cellphone pwede rin i-shuffle ang music, ang baraha shinu-shuffle din pero maliban dyan pati mga tao sa gobyerno pwedeng i-SHUFFLE.

I read from an article that it’s shuffling time for cabinet members. If this is the case, I think President GMA should play her cards right because shuffling of cabinet members should be done to improve the system not just to eliminate people who have no use for her now. Pres. GMA should make sure that the people whom she would place in a certain positions are people of credibility because with the current problems of the country the president needs people who would make the Filipinos feel secured. The president needs to gain the confidence of the Filipinos again so her cabinet members should be able to do their jobs well. Aside from that, I hope the president would keep in mind that only deserving people should be given a position in her cabinet.

I really hope that the shuffling and revamp of cabinet members would be able to help the country rise from its current state.

Peace, my friends...

Violence can never resolve anything because violence only results to casualties. However, this seems to be ignored by the military and the Muslim groups in Mindanao as well. I know that both are just trying to protect their interests and what they think is good. But can’t they do it peacefully? Why do they have to use guns? I don’t get the point of trying to kill each other. Aside from that there are times that innocent people are accidentally killed because of them.

I believe violence will not help solve the problems in Mindanao. This should be seen by the government and the Muslims as well. For peace to flourish, both parties need to talk to each other so that they would be able to listen to each others’ views and opinions. This would allow them to really know and understand the problems of the other party. I hope the conflict in Mindanao would be settled so that we could live peacefully as one country.

“Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of creative alternatives for responding to conflict -- alternatives to passive or aggressive responses, alternatives to violence”- Dorothy Thompson

Greener pasture or darker future?

The Philippines is currently struggling. Many storms have hit the country. I am not referring to storms that bring hard rain and wind. I am talking about the issues that shook the whole nation.

Together, with the country, The Filipinos also struggle to provide food for their families. Filipinos see working abroad as a way to find a greener pasture for their families. This is the reason why many Filipinos choose to leave the country and be separated from their loved ones. They go there with the hope that they would be ale to provide for their families’ needs. However, sometimes they just end up with a darker future for them and their families. They sometimes end up dead or waiting for the sentence of their crime.

It is really sad to bid your loved ones goodbye. But it is saddest to welcome a family member, who was once full of hope, enclosed in a wooden box.

If you want to read latest news on the Filipina sentenced to death visit
http://www.yehey.com/News/Article.aspx?id=209606