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184. Towards Rizal’s moral Philippines
[ Posted: 12/29/02 ]
The need for a moral Philippines is incontrovertible. It is the dream of Rizal, our heroes and ancestors. Rizal said that the loss of the national spirit had reduced Filipinos to mere brutes, and the desire to restore their humanity would move them to action. The call of the hour then is to regain the spirituality of our race. Only by responding to that call could we bring about Rizal's last unfulfilled prophecy. In Las Filipinas Dentro de Cien Anos, he intimated that the Filipinos, remembering the past and regaining their good old qualities, would one day enter openly "the wide road of progress."
183. If You Want to Know Who We Are
[ Posted: 12/19/02 ]
The issue of ethnic origin and racial background is not as pronounced anywhere in the world as in America, a nation still in the process of finding itself. It is a nation unique among all others in human history. It was created out of an idea, and towards this idea, as the famous poem by Emma Lazarus states under the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island, the world’s wretched come to stake a new life. According to historian Howard Zinn, America’s founding fathers probably never intended a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-gender nation, but here it is. Barring the possible precedents of the Roman empire and pre-Reconquista Spain, America may be the first and only multi-everything country ever.
182. Why are Filipinos so Poor?
[ Posted: 12/19/02 ]
What did South Korea look like after the Korean War in 1953? Battered, poor - but look at Korea now. In the Fifties, the traffic in Taipei was composed of bicycles and army trucks, the streets flanked by tile-roofed low buildings. Jakarta was a giant village and Kuala Lumpur a small village surrounded by jungle and rubber plantations. Bangkok was criss-crossed with canals, the tallest structure was the Wat Arun, the Temple of the Sun, and it dominated the city's skyline. Ricefields all the way from Don Muang airport -- then a huddle of galvanized iron-roofed bodegas, to the Victory monument.
181. Pattern for Filipino Renewal-Part IV
[ Posted: 12/18/02 ]
In every major library with a Philippine collection, there should be photographs of that war with the United States. Look closely at the Filipino dead in their trenches -- most of them are barefoot. They were farmers. And so it is today -- the common enlisted man of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the ordinary cadre of the New People’s Army are farmers -- the great grandchildren of the same peasants who, a hundred years ago, fought and died for this nation’s freedom. I am convinced that in some future time, when our internal contradictions will finally be resolved, it will be the same anonymous Filipinos with mud on their feet who will yet redeem my unhappy country.
180. Filipino-American eyes seat in California legislature
[ Posted: 12/18/02 ]
Christopher Cabaldon is a bright, articulate college administrator, council member and former mayor of Sacramento's sister city across the river, West Sacramento. He becomes the latest Fil-Am to carry the spear for his community's campaign for political recognition and clout in a trend-setting state.
179. Louie Reyes: Livin’ la vida in America
[ Posted: 12/18/02 ]
She began her professional career with an all female singing trio called Babsie, Chit and Louie, established herself as an accomplished performer with the popular New Minstrels, recorded and released several albums, and received standing ovations for her stage and theater performances in the Philippines and abroad. As the Philippines' Queen of Jazz, she performed with several mainstream jazz artists such as Joe Sample, Bob James, David Benoit, Noel Pointer and Dianne Reeves.
178. Am I White or am I Flip?
[ Posted: 12/18/02 ]
I was six, so I’m told, when I held up my palms, pale and pasty as bread dough, and showed them to my parents. "Look," I said. "I’m white." In retrospect, what I’ve always known becomes truer as I age: some things are just too obvious to deny. Hard as I tried, I could never really deny my identity as a Filipino American -- dynamic and complex as it may be.
177. José Rizal and the Propaganda Movement
[ Posted: 12/18/02 ]
Between 1872 and 1892, a national consciousness was growing among the Filipino émigrés who had settled in Europe. In the freer atmosphere of Europe, these émigrés--liberals exiled in 1872 and students attending European universities--formed the Propaganda Movement. Organized for literary and cultural purposes more than for political ends, the Propagandists, who included upper-class Filipinos from all the lowland Christian areas, strove to "awaken the sleeping intellect of the Spaniard to the needs of our country" and to create a closer, more equal association of the islands and the motherland.
176. The Philippines: A Unique Nation
[ Posted: 12/18/02 ]
The Philippines is an archipelago of more than 7,100 islands, with a total land area of 115,707 square miles. In terms of land area, the Philippines is almost as large as Italy, larger than New Zealand, twice as big as Greece and very much larger than Britain.
175. A True-Blue (brown) Filipino Scientist
[ Posted: 12/18/02 ]
Dr. Ramon Gustilo is an orthopedic surgeon by profession. Fixing broken bones and joints and replacing them is his job, and he's very good at it. Dr. Gustilo grew up in Negros Occidental, and he came from a very big family. He had six siblings, five girls and one boy. He studied at Manapla Elementary School then studied high school at the Negros Occidental Provincial High School
174. Fray Balweg & Liberation Theology
[ Posted: 12/18/02 ]
Liberation Theology is a set of beliefs with a dose of Marxist ideas added. It asserts compassion and care in the catholic sense, but also use guns in order to protect and serve the poor. Liberation Theology is a deviation from the merciful work of Catholics in a way Marxism projects its anti-capitalist ideas. A brief description of what it is can be seen below.
173. Filipino Traits and Customs
[ Posted: 12/18/02 ]
It is difficult, if not impossible, to define what a Filipino is. All that can be done is to pick out some traits common to the average Filipinos and to separate those that are obviously Spanish or American. The common traits are probably basically Malay and characterize the Filipinos as a people.
172. PinoyLit: Jose Garcia Villa
[ Posted: 12/18/02 ]
Poet, critic, short story writer, and painter, Jose Garcia Villa was a consummate artist in poetry and in person as well. At parties given him by friends and admirers whenever he came home for a brief visit, things memorable usually happened.
171. Just One of the Guys
[ Posted: 12/18/02 ]
Pete-Reuben Calixto's first inkling to move from the Philippines to the United States can be traced back to the simple task of reading textbooks in nursing school. The books were written by American authors, and Calixto, RN, noticed that the technology they described was a far cry from the equipment being used in his country's hospitals. He was eager to immerse himself in the latest medical practices and was inspired by the stories of fellow Filipino nurses who'd returned to tell of their adventures in America. In 1979, he decided to pursue a job in the United States-and he's never looked back.
170. One Nation, Overseas
[ Posted: 12/17/02 ]
Need (hired) help? Try the Philippines, the forerunner of tomorrow's distributed economy, supplying nurses, teachers, techies, and sailors to the global village.
169. ARMAND SERRANO: MASTER OF HIS CRAFT
[ Posted: 12/17/02 ]
A Filipino art designer is showing his skills at Walt Disney animated movie production creating important parts of several films that became box office hits including "Mulan"
168. Help For Our Married Nannies
[ Posted: 05/14/02 ]
Rosita is a nanny who came to Regina in the late 1980s. Her arrival in Canada was like a window of opportunity that opened up to her and her family. She is a married woman with two children and a husband who could hardly support the family. Leaving the family was heartbreaking because the kids were still young. But there was her mother and the extended family who would look after them in the Philippines. So this did not complicate things. She was happy to leave for another reason. In seven years of marriage, her relationship with her husband had deteriorated partly due to poverty and partly due to sexual inequity.
167. Our Own Voice
[ Posted: 05/14/02 ]
An estimated 2,500 to 3,000 Filipinos leave the Philippines every day. Most of them go out on work contracts, one to three years in length. Others migrate permanently. In this issue of Our Own Voice, we have gathered literature on the temporary migrants, Filipino OCWs. They have been called the new heroes of the economy—their annual remittances (over US$6B) are the country's largest source of foreign exchange. Non-profit organizations for Filipino migrant workers worry, though, that this income is used for short term comforts rather than to develop the deep economic infrastructure needed for long term growth.
166. The Philippines To The World Foundation, Inc.
[ Posted: 05/14/02 ]
Almost four years ago, formerly Riyadh-based and 1990 POEA Bagong Bayani awardee Rhoel Raymundo Mendoza had a brilliant idea. Inspired by several projects he had in mind (foremost of which was to bring the Philippine Centennial spirit to Filipinos in Saudi Arabia), Rhoel invited his friends - OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) like himself, family & friends, as well as ex-overseas workers - to join him in putting up a non-stock non-profit organization whose aim would be to utilize the power of media and entertainment in promoting the welfare and well-being of OFWs, promoting the Philippines and the Filipinos, and supporting charity works.
165. ‘Warranty’ for government projects proposed
[ Posted: 05/14/02 ]
A five-year contractor’s warranty will soon be prescribed for government infrastructure projects.
164. Malaysia’s high leap
[ Posted: 05/14/02 ]
I saw a dripping roasted chicken facing me on the sidewalk. The Chinese stall owner offered me a seat at a round table. The meal which I "devoured" in less than 10 minutes cost exactly $1.00. I thought that in Manila the meal would cost more than double the KL price.
163. Culture of cooperation and not politics of greed
[ Posted: 05/14/02 ]
It's high time our leaders and politicians rise above personal ambitions and partisan politics, and pro-actively address the needs of the country and our people before they are swept by the growing tide of peoples' expectations to the rocky shores of political oblivion.
162. A breakthrough for Filipinos abroad
[ Posted: 05/13/02 ]
Of course, they have all the freedom on what to do under the law but as always, as good citizens, they are expected to be mature and intelligent in the exercise of their new role as participants in our increasingly democratic society. Good citizens, as they say, don't rely on government. Government relies on them, as it were.
161. Build Your Own LCD Video Projector
[ Posted: 05/12/02 ]
A while back I got frustrated with the fact the LCD Projectors cost so much money to buy, and figured that it couldn't be so hard to build my own.
160. Drilon, De Venecia push OK of dual citizenship bill
[ Posted: 05/12/02 ]
Senate President Franklin Drilon and House Speaker Jose de Venecia have agreed on the immediate passage of a bill granting dual citizenship to expatriate Filipinos and giving them the same rights, privileges and responsibilities as Filipinos.
159. Common sense
[ Posted: 05/12/02 ]
His words buzzed around my head for days after that. It's true, I thought, we tend not to take pride in our work for the most part. We tend not to know our work, or to want to, for the most part. There are of course exceptions to the rule, and the reason they appear to us as marvelous is that they are exceptions.
158. The Jesuit lands
[ Posted: 05/10/02 ]
ACCORDING to Father Pablo Fernandez, O.P. who did all the marvellous research on the friar estates in his book, "History of the Church in the Philippines", the Jesuits weren't friars. The other religious who came to the Philippines were described as belonging to mendicant orders, which I presume the Jesuits were not. I am not at all clear why the Dominicans, Recollects and Augustinians were considered "mendicants", never having seen any of them begging on street corners.
157. President GMA honors General Miguel Malvar
[ Posted: 05/10/02 ]
There is no denying that there were Filipino guerilla forces that continued to fight the Americans after April 16, 1902, especially among the muslims in the island of Mindanao. The fact that General Miguel Malvar, however, was designated by the Revolutionary Junta in Hong Kong as the Chief of the revolutionary forces on July 31, 1901 lends credence to the theory that the Philippine-American War ended upon his surrender to Brig. General Franklin J. Bell of the US Armed Forces.
156. Breaking the Glass Ceiling
[ Posted: 05/10/02 ]
He stopped dreaming of ever becoming president of an automotive company in the country five years ago. He knew he could never make it; the glass ceiling for Filipino executives, he realized, was just too thick for him or any Filipino to crack.
155. Light Up The World
[ Posted: 05/07/02 ]
The goal of LUTW is to be instrumental in providing White Light Emitting Diode home lighting, by both humanitarian and local entrepreneurial means, to one million people in the developing world by 2005 - thus enabling children to study in the evenings.
154. A model of ourselves
[ Posted: 05/07/02 ]
He or she or they, whoever steps forward, must delve deep into that past to find the reasons for our failure and confront these to bring out of the rot. That will not be easy. Indeed one of the reasons why we have failed is our reluctance to face up to an environment of inequality and domination from outsiders that have remained with us from our colonial past. We left it to hardcore leftists to articulate that essential dissatisfaction but who themselves sought outside models that were unacceptable to our chosen way of life. That is the first gridlock we have to overcome.
[ More ]
153. OFWs to learn English again
[ Posted: 05/07/02 ]
The Philippine government is embarking on a program that would oblige overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to attend proficiency classes to maintain their competitive edge over other foreign workers.
[ More ]
152. Scenes we'd like to see
[ Posted: 05/07/02 ]
I have repeatedly called for an end to politicking, for everyone to rise above selfish interest and petty self and rally around our efforts to push this country forward. I know this cannot happen without everyone making a personal sacrifice, without giving up vaulting ambition for an even more vaulting aim, which is the common good. I know that many groups boycotted this summit from the suspicion–a not unreasonable one–that underneath its apparent earnestness about tackling the roots of this country's problems lurks the political agenda of keeping me in power after 2004.
[ More ]
151. Letters
[ Posted: 05/07/02 ]
WHENEVER I find myself in a foreign library or archive, my first impulse is to seek travelers' accounts of the Philippines. These first-person narratives, though often biased, give us in the 21st century an authentic, sometimes "raw" look into the Philippines' past. There is some nostalgia for a world that is unknown to us and I presume this is the same motivation for installing time capsules under monuments and buildings in our day. We in the present are leaving something of ourselves for the future.
[ More ]
150. Renting A Farm Has Its Own Merits
[ Posted: 05/06/02 ]
There are a number ways of getting into farming. One is to buy a farm that you cultivate yourself to make it productive. Another way is simply to rent a farm so you can do your own kind of farming.
[ More ]
149. Reflections on Bayang and Karbala
[ Posted: 05/05/02 ]
On May 3 a hundred years ago, 300 to 400 brave Maranaos were killed in Bayang, Lanao. Among them were the Sultans of Bayang and Pandapatan.
[ More ]
148. Filipino expat & suffrage
[ Posted: 05/05/02 ]
So, if we want to change the character of our voting public, then we should allow the Filipinos abroad to vote. We should allow them to have a say in the future of this country that they love now with double longing and a doubled sense of responsibility. They are the new Filipinos and if we allow them to vote they will help change the political landscape of this country. May they be given their right to suffrage soon.
[ More ]
147. Making democracy work in RP
[ Posted: 05/05/02 ]
TODAY, capitalism reigns supreme. Its great anti-thesis, communism, has been swept into the dustbin of history. The supreme irony in this is that communism as an ideology appealed to the higher impulses of men. The economic underpinning of communism is that each person must selflessly contribute to the economy all his talents while responsibly getting from the economy only what he needs. Or as stated in their slogan, "From each according to his abilities and to each according to his needs."
[ More ]
146. Remembering Peacetime II / And now vacation time
[ Posted: 05/05/02 ]
"The growing youth of today," Mr. Lopez continues", will never be able to taste (nor can they ever imagine) the glorious beauty of Manila: fresh air, simple living, a family could eat well on a budget of P40 to P50 per month, honor and integrity were at their peak," Honor, integrity Yes, Virginia they did exist before and in abundance. Some top and certainly medium-level government officials lived in humble residences, ride the tramvia and other public means of transportation to their offices. Such political magnificoes as Claro Recto, Jose Laurel, Manuel Quezon and Sergio Osmena traveled officially abroad. They took care to list every expense. And what they did not spend, they returned punctually to the treasury. I remember my father, a top bureaucrat in the government’s accounting bureau. He was somewhat fastidious in dress., if we can call it that. Always be suited up in alpaca or de hilo (he shunned sharkskin) with necktie to match and his baston Mama took care to press his suits to immaculate perfection. Papa always took the tranvia, handsomely dressed. He was certainly imposing in his trim Panama hat, walking the distance to F.B. Harrison St. as though he was traversing Champs Elysée.
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145. Looking for democracy
[ Posted: 05/05/02 ]
The very phrase used to describe the kind of democracy we have shows its flawed aspect- "elite democracy." As awesome, or awful, a contradiction in terms as you can get. But which is pretty graphic in referring to a political or social system that is democratic in form but elite in substance. We have free elections, we have civil liberties, we have laws. But we also have a few families controlling the country's wealth, we have a culture that allows government officials to treat public domain as booty, we have one set of laws for the poor and another for the rich. We have in sum the formal properties of a democracy but the substantive elements of an autocracy.
[ More ]
144. The Road to Adventure
[ Posted: 05/05/02 ]
The concept of keeping the business compact and hands on - every piece hand chosen and personally sourced- has stood the test of time , with thousands of satisfied repeat customers supporting this thriving business. In 1988, availability of antiques and traditional furniture from exotic locations was not the "norm" and bringing such specialty items into a marketplace flooded with locally produced items was a gamble that has earned the success it sees today.
[ More ]
143. Outward migration has its merits also
[ Posted: 05/05/02 ]
The jobs that the migrant Filipinos give up when they pack up and leave are taken over by those who follow them in the pecking order. With the country's schools producing thousands of graduates every year without a corresponding increase in work opportunities, the competition for available jobs is reduced by the number of those workers who have sought greener pastures abroad.
[ More ]
142. The crisis of political parties
[ Posted: 05/04/02 ]
The political party system in our country has been in crisis since the early '70s. It is caught in the rituals and vocabulary of a borrowed 19th-century model of political rivalry that bears no relation to the actual divisions in our society. It has been unable to respond to the growing activism and self-organization of various sectors of our people. Filipinos vote for individuals, not parties. They don't take political parties seriously.
[ More ]
141. OFW Negosyo: Filipino entrepreneurs can invade US shores
[ Posted: 05/03/02 ]
A COMMERCIAL building in Daly City. A new house in Pinole--a beautiful suburban community 30 minutes from San Francisco. A vacation lodge in Lake Tahoe. Not bad.
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141. OFW Negosyo: THE SEAWEED INDUSTRY OF THE PHILIPPINES
[ Posted: 05/03/02 ]
S eaweeds in the Philippines, particularly the Eucheuma variety (commonly known as "guso") used to be gathered from the wild and exported as dried seaweed. At the height of its uncontrolled exploitation in 1966, the country exported 800 metric tons of Eucheuma seaweeds.
[ More ]
140. Profile: The Antique Province
[ Posted: 05/03/02 ]
Antique passed through several historic periods namely. Pre-Spanish Period, Spanish Occupation, Philippine Revolutionary Government, American Occupation, Commonwealth (transition period), Japanese Occupation, and Philippine Independence. History reveals that in the early time, ten datus from Borneo with their families, followers and slaves landed in Panay at a place called Sinogbuhan near the present site of the town of Miag-ao, Iloilo. The Borneans found the place inhabited by Negretos living under the rule of Merikudo from whom the Borneans under Datu Sumakwel purchased the island for one gold sadok and one gold necklace. The island was later divided into three "sakops" namely. Hamtik, Aklan and Irong-Irong. In later times, Hamtik became Antique, Aklan became Capiz and Irong-lrong became lIoilo Hamtik was placed under the superior datu named Sumakwel, who found a place known as Malandog, the first Malay settlement in the Philippines.
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139. Do we change the charter to succeed? Or, do we succeed first before changing it?
[ Posted: 05/03/02 ]
But I would follow her when she said that "We must change the character of our politics in order to create a fertile ground for true reforms. Our politics of personality and patronage must give way to a new politics of party programs and process of dialogue with the people." I believe that under the present Constitution, it is not possible to change the character of our politics and no one knows this better than President Macapagal-Arroyo as she works for a mandate come 2004. She may be miscalculating the ability of the Filipino electorate to elect on the basis of ‘successful’ economic policies inspired by President Clinton’s landslide reelection. The Philippines is not the United States of America.
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138. Hopeless only because aimless
[ Posted: 05/03/02 ]
Everybody’s talking social volcano these days. Filipinos posted the best economic performance in most of Asia in 2001, yet surveys show that a good number of us feel worse off today than the year before. Some are wont to blame the media for negative reporting. Unemployment is down, for instance, but editorials harp on the four million still without regular work instead of the clear turnaround that created more jobs in the first place. They didn’t even get it right; they doubled the figure to eight million. Others blame it on an order that waits for economic gains to merely trickle down over several years instead of distributing wealth in an instant.
[ More ]
137. Remittance of OFWs, now numbering more than a million, reached P55.3 billion for 6-month period
[ Posted: 05/03/02 ]
The total remittances of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), now numbering more than a million, from April to September 2001, reached P55.3 billion, up by P.2 million from the P55.1 billion remitted during the same period in 2000.
[ More ]
136. 280,882 OFWs deployed in less than 4 months
[ Posted: 05/02/02 ]
A total of 280,882 Filipino workers were deployed overseas in less than four months this year or as of mid-April this year as new markets have sprung up while traditional overseas markets have maintained their preference for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
[ More ]
135. Philippine Workers Go Abroad to Help Families Survive Back Home
[ Posted: 05/02/02 ]
Contrary to popular belief, slavery is alive and well, and rampant on a global scale. The modern-day slaves are migrant workers, and there are more than 85 million. According to the UN, this statistic will be 100 million by the year 2000.
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134. "EDSA 3: A SURPRISING UPRISING"
[ Posted: 05/02/02 ]
The tremors of the May Day Riot shook more than the gates of Malacanang. The Edsa Dos forces were quick to distinguish their brand of people power from the gathered mass. That this uprising of the "great unwashed" provoked such sharp reaction from the left is truly telling. Not only did the riot police have to contend with their mass; as the following commentaries reveal, the prospect of an Edsa 3 put the keepers of Edsa 2 on the defensive, and it left them more than a little reflective.
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133. History in Oriental ceramics
[ Posted: 05/02/02 ]
There are experts in the Oriental Ceramic Society of the Philippines who can go one step further than dating and tell you exactly which kiln in China, Thailand, or Cambodia a certain piece is from. There is so much specialized knowledge involved in Oriental ceramics which is probably why I do not collect it. However, each time I see these antique bowls, plates, saucers and jarlets found in abundance in the Philippines, I stop and notice if only to remind myself that pre-colonial Filipinos were not savages who required civilization when Ferdinand Magellan arrived in 1521.
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132. Norway bans RP seamen for 'malpractice'
[ Posted: 04/28/02 ]
Malpratice of local maritime training institutions have struck apprehension to foreign employers of Filipino seafarers adversely affecting the employment chances of some 250,000 Filipino seamen, after Norway banned Filipino seamen off their vessels starting Jan. 2, 2002.
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131. OVERSEAS CONTRACT WORKERS: NEW HEROES
[ Posted: 04/30/02 ]
The Philippine government call us the country's new heroes. I am one of them, the so-called OCW-Overseas Contract Workers, and there are more than millions of us scattered worldwide. We remitted billions of U.S. dollars to the Philipines' ailing economy. What we got in return? Dead bodies in a sealed coffins? As of this writing its about 2 arrived dead daily at Ninoy International Airport. Money is the compelling reason why most of us work overseas. It boils down and scalds my balding head, into earning money for general survival of the family left behind at home; and saving a lot more to secure one's financial future. Working abroad may not worth the strain, anguish and sacrifice of the family separation. It's some kind of gamble one to take. You may be lucky sometimes and emerge richer yourself and the family still intact after the stint. To some, their purpose is different. It's the adventurers and the tourists, the lotharios and the whores, the criminals and escapees from the law that contaminate the name OCW with an obnoxious meaning. And not to degrade the domestics, who because of their menial work, lend the Filipinas name a derisive meaning.
[ More ] local copy
130. Where we are headed?
[ Posted: 04/28/02 ]
ONE does not have to be a seer to know that as a nation we may be heading toward disaster. We live in a time of great affluence and of astounding possibilities for human happiness and fulfillment, and this only makes the degrading poverty in our country so scandalous and so unnecessary.
[ More ] local copy
129. People power as utopian politics
[ Posted: 04/28/02 ]
What followed after People Power I contradicted these expectations. The aftermath was anything but revolutionary; in fact, it paved the way for the return of the old system of elite democracy that Marcos' martial law had tried to bury. We know this was farthest from the minds of those who joined People Power I. But because political power remained securely in the hands of the elite, and in the absence of a new vision and new leaders that could guide the reinvention of the nation, the energy of People Power I was quickly contained and placed at the disposal of conservative forces.
[ More ] local copy
128. Don't change the Charter, we may get a worse one
[ Posted: 04/23/02 ]
THERE is one very good reason why the Constitution should not be changed or amended now: Our congressmen, who are pushing for the charter change, cannot be trusted.
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127. Exodus
[ Posted: 04/23/02 ]
YOU must have noticed that no matter how serious the national situation may be, no senior official ever gets in front of the cameras to address the nation and say, "Mga kababayan, we are in crisis." Rehabilitation centers call this attitude a state of denial, a ''normal'' state with addicts. But perhaps that's what politicians are--addicts to power and money.
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Now Accepting Article Submissions
[ Posted: 04/14/02 ]
Good news! Nymia's eZine is now accepting contributions in the form of essays, poems, news, op-ed or any type of written article about OFWs. Interested parties can email the article to nymia20001@yahoo.com for posting.
126. EMPOWER THE OFWs
[ Posted: 03/20/02 ]
There are almost eight million Overseas Filipino Workers abroad. And a Filipino abroad, no matter how many years he lives there, whether or not he acquires permanent residency in a foreign land – remains a Filipino. He longs for Filipino food like sinigang and chicken adobo; he often strums the guitar or sings an old kundiman, he looks forward to the day when he can return or retire in the land of his birth amongst relatives and friends and loved ones.
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125. 10 countries identified for
pilot OFW absentee voting
[ Posted: 03/20/02 ]
TEN countries with large Filipino populations will serve as pilot areas for initial implementation of absentee voting in the 2004 presidential election. These will include Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Italy, Spain and the United States.
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124. Congressional Migrant Workers Scholarship Program (CMWSP) for OFW Dependents
[ Posted: 03/20/02 ]
A scholarship program extended to the immediate descendants of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who intend to pursue courses in the priority fields in Science and Technology. Availment of the program is only one per family.
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123. P.5M needed to free OFW facing death in Saudi
[ Posted: 03/20/02 ]
The only thing that can spare Yncierto's life is a letter of forgiveness from the family of victim Arnold Mengit, also an overseas Filipino worker based in Saudi. Nelia, with the help of the non-government organization Kakammpi and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, is moving heaven and earth to raise 500,000 pesos as "goodwill money" for Mengit's family.
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122. Overseas Filipinos' Voting Rights
[ Posted: 03/20/02 ]
Our new heroes, the overseas Filipinos. With particular emphasis on the Filipino workers abroad, for decades the object of platitudes and empty gestures, their substantial remittances have been helping keep our national economy afloat for decades. Heroes precisely because, prior to the fair and faithful implementation of the Party List Law, theirs has been a sector that persisted despite the absence of representation in either house of Congress. If at all, most efforts at their concerns have been less than desirable.
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121. Editoryal - Totoong proteksiyon sana sa mga OFWs
[ Posted: 03/20/02 ]
NAGPALABAS kamakailan ng bagong regulasyon ang Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) sa mga recruitment agencies tungkol sa pagdadagdag ng kanilang capital, cash bonds at escrow account na ang layuni’y para maprotektahan ang mga overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Nalilito kami at hindi ganap na maintindihan kung ito na nga ba ang pinaka-da best na paraan ng DOLE para maprotektahan ang mga tinaguriang "bagong bayani". Hindi pa rin kami makumbinsi na kung magkaroon ng malaking capital ang mga recruitment agencies ay garantiya ito upang ganap na maprotektahan ang mga "bagong bayani".
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120. Hold talks for Angara law, government asked
[ Posted: 03/20/02 ]
The Philippine government must conduct bilateral negotiations with various Middle East countries to enable hundreds of thousands of Filipino domestic helpers to vote once the law on absentee voting is implemented, Sen. Edgardo Angara said in Dubai, United Arab Emirates yesterday.
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119. Deportasyon ng 1,000 OFWs sa Malaysia pinasisiyasa
[ Posted: 03/20/02 ]
Nanawagan kahapon si Bayan Muna Partylist Rep. Crispin Beltran sa Foreign Affairs at Labor departments na imbestigahan ang umano’y hindi makatarungang deportasyon ng mahigit sa 1,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) bilang bahagi ng ipinatupad na crackdown ng mga illegal immigrants sa Malaysia kamakailan.
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118. OFWs made it home
for Christmas after all
[ Posted: 03/20/02 ]
DESPITE the global economic crunch and terrorist threats, more than 100,000 overseas Filipino workers made it home for the holidays. Bureau of Immigration and Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration statistics showed the number of OFW arrivals topped the 100,000 mark a couple of days before Christmas and continued to rise through the rest of the holidays.
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117. Business as usual
for Filipino workers
[ Posted: 03/20/02 ]
The deployment of Filipino workers to the Middle East and other parts of the world is continuing at the same pace, said Rosalinda Baldoz, head of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
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116. Why OFWs are safe
in the Middle East
[ Posted: 03/20/02 ]
THE WHIPPING UP of mass hysteria over the safety of overseas Filipino workers in the Middle East continues in the Philippines with Migrante, the non-governmental organization that deals with migrant worker rights, adding its voice to the shrill cacophony of doomsayers.
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115. Housing loan for the OFW
[ Posted: 03/20/02 ]
Dante Vana, 27, left Talavera, Nueva Ecija, at 4 a.m. Tuesday. By 6 a.m., Vana joined the queue of some 100 early comers at the Department of Foreign Affairs consular office at the Philippine Christmas Village here. By past noon, passport seekers like him swelled to more than 500. Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, is Vana’s destination. His place of work is only two countries away from Afghanistan, where the United States-led military offensives against terrorism began on Sunday.
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113. Housing loan for the OFW
[ Posted: 03/20/02 ]
IMAGINE an overseas Filipino worker (OFW)—away for several years—returning to his or her native land only to realize that he or she doesn’t even have a decent house to come home to. Now, that is “homesickness” taken to a different level. A Filipino entrepreneur has come to the aid of the true homesick overseas worker.
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112. OFW by yet another name
[ Posted: 03/20/02 ]
FIRST, they changed it from OCWs (Overseas Contract Workers) to OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers). The change in name may be slight, even inconsequential to those who hire them. But to the recipients of those tags, it means a whole world of difference.
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111. High-Tech Migrant Labor
[ Posted: 12/19/01 ]
Guest workers: They're not just picking vegetables anymore. A new class of "migrant workers" is taking shape in America's Silicon Valley and other technology centers. These immigrants are not sneaking over U.S. borders—they arrive by jet from India, the Philippines, China, and Taiwan to take jobs in computer programming, software design, and information services.
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110. Sidebar: Immigrants on Campus
[ Posted: 12/19/01 ]
Among the many things destroyed along with the twin towers on September 11 was the opportunity for many children of illegal immigrants to go to college.
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109. Feinstein's Rule
[ Posted: 12/19/01 ]
Senator Dianne Feinstein has never been shy about grabbing hot-button law-and-order issues. So it was hardly surprising in the days after September 11 to see the California Democrat leading the charge for tougher visa restrictions and other controls on foreigners in the United States. As she pointed out, most of the plane hijackers who crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon had been in this country legally.
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108. The New Politics of Immigration
[ Posted: 12/19/01 ]
The sudden competition between Democrats and Republicans to demonstrate concern for illegal immigrants must surely rank as one of the most improbable bidding wars in recent political history. In politics, illegal immigrants have typically been seen less as objects of opportunity than targets of fire. That was especially true for much of the 1990s. In 1994, California voters approved Proposition 187, which imposed such draconian limits on public services to illegal immigrants that it even sought to expel their children from public school. In 1996, the official Republican platform endorsed a constitutional amendment to deny automatic citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants born on U.S. soil. Barely five years later, President Bush and Congressional Democrats are now discussing proposals that could allow millions of undocumented workers to step forward and work legally in the United States; the Administration is expected to reveal at least some of its thinking on September 5, when Mexican president Vicente Fox arrives for a state visit. ''A consensus to overhaul our broken immigration policies is within reach,'' insists Frank Sharry, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, an immigrant advocacy group.
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107. Asian Development Outlook 2001 Update
[ Posted: 12/19/01 ]
The global economic slowdown has led to a sharp decline in exports, although relatively robust domestic demand has partially offset this fall in the Philippines. GDP growth over the rest of the year is likely to be weighed down by continued external sector weakness. Decisive measures are needed to improve public finances if growth is to be sustained in the medium term.
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106. Developing Asia and the World - Economic Developments and Prospects
[ Posted: 12/19/01 ]
Growth in the world economy accelerated to an impressive 4.8 percent in 2000, more than a percentage point higher than in 1999 and the fastest in over a decade. The very strong per-formance for the year as a whole, however, masks a significant downshift in the second half as the United States (US), in particular, reached a cyclical peak and began to slow. As a result, the world economy entered the current year with considerably less growth momentum. Notwithstanding considerable uncertainty about near-term prospects, the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2001 is cautiously optimistic that the world economy will experience only a relatively shallow and short-term slowdown in 2001 before returning to trend growth in 2002. On the other hand, there are some significant downside risks in the near-term outlook. Should these materialize, a much less favorable outcome may be possible.
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106. World Bank warns RP vs hike in ODS imports
[ Posted: 12/19/01 ]
The World Bank has warned the government anew that it may have violated the 1987 Montreal Protocol when it allowed increased importation of ozone-depleting substances (ODS) in 1999.
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106. A Century of the Nobel Peace Prize
[ Posted: 12/19/01 ]
THE world has entered a new millennium and with it goes a century of the Nobel Peace Prize and of people who have been outstanding in their generation, winning for themselves an award that has created both interest and concern in a century of unprecedented material progress, gains and losses, active nationalism, and expanded frontiers.
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105. US foreign policy targets ASEAN
[ Posted: 12/19/01 ]
WHEN President George Bush took office, America’s foreign policy was not at the top of the new administration’s agenda. Far from it. The new president was focused on domestic issues and there was not even a foreign policy debate during the presidential campaign.
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104. Our oldest Christmas story
[ Posted: 12/19/01 ]
The Philippines does not have a classical Christmas story. But we have a historical Christmas story that antedates Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol by over a century. Here is the way I narrated it in the past:
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103. Imports plunge sharply due to weak economy
[ Posted: 12/19/01 ]
A sharp drop in imports coupled with weakening exports helped boost the country’s October trade surplus to its highest level since February, preserving foreign exchange reserves but indicating a weak economy, analysts said yesterday.
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102. US Filipinos send home fewer dollars
[ Posted: 12/19/01 ]
WASHINGTON--When America sneezes, it is said, Filipinos catch cold. Now that the United States is in recession, what does this mean for the Philippines 11,000 miles away? It means less money sent to families back home. It doesn't look good for the Philippine economy, either.
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101. Filipina prostitutes in HK: The untold story
[ Posted: 12/19/01 ]
She was shaking like a leaf as she told her story. Anna (not her real name) said she had agreed to come forward so other Filipinas in the same situation as she was would be saved.
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