Children in Philippine Jail

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Lauren dragged me to watch a special viewing of Bunso (The Youngest) last saturday. Bunso is a poignant documentary film by Filmmakers Ditsi Carolino and Nana Buxani about three boys – Tony, 13, Diosel and Bunso, 11 – struggling to survive in a crowded Cebu jail alongside adult rapists and murderers. The two streetsmart boys paint us a picture into the surreal world of children caught between extreme poverty and the law.

These boys talked about their hunger and how they resorted to stealing just to survive. One boy stole from a sari-sari store because he could not bear the hunger pangs any longer. The owner did not press charges but the father wanted to teach his son a lesson by sending him to jail.

The boys are in prison for petty theft and robbery. Anthony claimed that he stole huge amounts of money to feed his family when his mother neglected his siblings. Bunso was on the streets because his mother did not “send him to school or care for him”. He resorted to begging for money at first, but when he couldn’t get any money, he stole. Then he started sniffing glue and needed more money to fund his addiction.

“I’d sniff first then eat,” he said in the film.

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Mom the Backseat Driver

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Lauren started driving at 18 years old, rather I enrolled her at a driving school when she turned 18. I figured that she’d learn to drive a car using stick-shift just like I did at her age, instead of an automatic. We didn’t own an automatic car that time. I pride myself in being a teacher to my kids in (practically any topic) ever since they were babies but not driving. No, no….no

I want you to watch this youtube video of Happy Slip and Kevin as the latter learns to drive a stick-shift car. View it till the end because that’s the way I felt after I went on a practice driving session with Lauren the first time.

Put it in Purse

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Parents and Our Children on Truth and Communal Action

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I first met Sister M, at the wake of Luijoe in May 2000. I looked around for the motherly Sister T, the principal that I knew, the nun that exuded that holy aura around her. Instead, before me stood a seemingly cold Sister with steely eyes. I turned away from her. Somehow, I felt uneasy. There was just something about Sister M that wasn’t right.

 

Three years later, the parents were divided on the fate of Sister M who was facing criminal charges at the Makati Regional Trial Court, and a civil suit at the Department of Labor and Employment plus numerous anomalies on diversion of school funds. How sad that my two daughters faced corruption from an authority figure. Moral fiber of the principal deteriorated right in front of their faces.

I took the side of a small group of fearless parents seeking the “truth”. We, the parents held a secret meeting and decided that the school board and the Department of Education (DEC) sat on our complaint for over two years. Yes, two years passed by and in spite of the complaints sent, no course of action was done to improve the situation. So what else was there left to do? Rally! What an impossible feat, never ever done in any High School in Philippines!

daughters rally.jpgHow impertinent we, rebel parents were! What pathetic examples we were to our children. I never imagined myself being such a “bad example” to my daughters. I risked L’s impending high school graduation or M being stripped of her honors. Together with my husband, we made banners “Parents-Teachers want the Truth”. Wearing black, we marched in front of the school grounds together with our kids chanting ““Sister, resign! Sister, resign! Did we get the justice we fought for?

If you read Lauren’s entry on You’ll never silence the voice of the voiceless, there were veiled threats of our children being sanctioned for joining the rally. Both girls marched out despite teacher’s feeble attempt to lock them inside their classrooms. The threats did not materialize because we, rebel parents and the School Officials reached an amicable settlement with DEC as witness. Children of rebel parents were not to be penalized for the mass actions we initiated. To make a long story short, Sister M was forced to resign two months later, after the Department of Education ordered the school closure if she didn’t resign. Though L already graduated and M moved to another school, justice was served nevertheless using the legal process but it wouldn’t have gotten DEC’s attention without our cries of justice. Truth finally set us free.

So why am I bringing this up? The other day, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said in a statement signed by Archbishop Angel Lagdameo that [The] truth challenges us now to communal action. .

What is this truth? As Candido Wenceslao asked, Is truth the one that the political opposition, militants and civil society groups believe: that everybody in Malacañang is corrupt? Or is truth the one insinuated by the Arroyo administration: that it is clean?

What is communal action? Do I storm on the streets and cry for “truth”? Do I join groups planning to do radical actions? Should I support the University Council of the University of the Philippines Diliman call that GMA must go? or agree with the Lawyers’ groups as it calls for Arroyo’s resignation ?

While CBCP “challenges us now to communal action”, do I influence my kids to join me?

Dine wonders But sometimes we parents worry what if they go overboard? what if they suddenly want to do it their own way?. I will be the first to admit that I will worry if my children join mass actions. These are exactly the thoughts that face me as a mother.

I leave that choice to my children, to decide on the communal action they will partake. Once upon a time, I decided to venture the radical path while listening closely to my father when it came to safety issues. I trust my children will know what is right for them and the future of their country.

Gloria ResignThough not a popular choice by our Catholic Bishops, I believe, GMA has to go. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has to go. I truly believe that The President and her people have engaged in so much lying that they can no longer recognize the truth even if it stared them in the face. (PDI) As to the next step to take, I will take one step, one day at a time. I do not have the answers yet but in time, I will discern it. Our Filipinos will discern it. I will be there at the The Interfaith rally, at the Ninoy Aquino Monument in Makati City at 5 p.m, Friday , February 29.

I enjoin you to read Ricky Carandang’s report on Treason and Spratly Islands and Manolo’s Today the Spratlys, tomorrow Palawan. My husband has this to say on Treason:

Having sworn to uphold and protect the Constitution, she has likely delivered the country, or at least a significant part of the national patrimony, to a foreign power. This is treasonous conduct, by any measure.

The video best explains it:

and the rest of the video on The Correspondents – Kung ‘di ukol, bubukol (ZTE-NBN)

Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

The President’s Sons are Spoiled Brats

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I was watching Gina de Venecia interview on “Strictly Politics” where she called the President’s sons — Pampanga Representative Juan Miguel Arroyo and Camarines Sur Representative Diosdado Macapagal-Arroyo as Spoiled Brats. Gina de Venecia said “the Arroyo children in the House are ““drunk with power,” and that the move to remove her husband was not done out of national interest.” They were instrumental in removing her husband, a vendetta for their son’s Senate testimony linking Jose Miguel ““Mike” Arroyo – their father – to the controversial national broadband deal with the Chinese firm ZTE Corp.

Were they acting as spoiled brats? or as loving sons to their mom and dad? Then I remembered my kids reaction the night of ex-speaker Jose de Venecia’s (JDV) impassioned speech.

Upon learning that the two sons played a part of the JDV’s exit, my girls pretended to have that the spoiled brat attitude , Oh daddy, can you buy me an island?

Blood is thicker than water, said my husband.

It may have been understood that JDV knew of his son’s plan to expose the ZTE broadband deal and didn’t stop his son.

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The Family That Cooks and Blogs Together

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My dad often told me to look at the silver lining when the going gets rough. An old quote says that “THE OPTIMIST sees the doughnut; the pessimist sees the hole.” Two wonderful opportunities came out of the family’s financial challenges in 2004: (1) More Family Meals at home and (2) Butch learning to cook.
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I learned to bake before I tried my hand at cooking because I grew up in a bake shop that mom started when I was nine years old. By the time I was 21, I lived off-campus with my dorm mates which forced me to learn how to cook. Even the sauteeing and frying scared the hell out of me. I learned from watching. Soon, I got tired living in apartments that I built a house with my dad’s funds by the time I was 23 years old. Having my own home paved the way for me to experiment on cooking fancy dishes. I relied on my mom’s dishes and experimented or innovated on existing recipes. Having a degree in BS Food Technology helped me to be more creative with recipes. Through the years, I’ve accumulated these perfected recipes in a black notebook.

Baking hit the peak of my life when the girls were very little. I baked and iced their birthday cakes because the commercial cakes tasted dry and ordinary. How my girls marvelled at my Barbie or Disney themed cakes. Not only did they look magical, my cake tasted special. These days, I bake simple pies or desserts. Recently, I purchased a convection oven which ensures even temperature throughout the baking. Friends often wished I start a bake shop but I believed the bake shop’ stress caused mom to die early from breast cancer. I vowed never to venture into a large scale bake shop operation like mom did. Maybe one day, I will open a small coffee shop with baked goodies.

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Filipino Kids and Their Lifestyle

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cartoons.jpgAre you curious about the lifestyle of 7 to 14 year old Filipino children? Sure, we know they have the inherent ability to assimilate new technology and adapt to change at such phenomenal rates but how much? Today, I attended the presentation of Cartoon Networks’ New Generations Philippines results of the first fully-localized study dedicated to Filipino kids with previous studies done in 2003 and 2005. Cartoon Network believes that such study is an integral part of its on-going quest to learn about kids, their lifestyle , opinions and behavior. The approach in conducting the study was based on face-to-face interviews with 1,000 child and parent pairs, surveying Filipino kids aged 7-14 years and their parents from socio-economics classes A to D in three metropolitan areas of Cebu, Davao and Manila in September and October 2007. Synovate Philippines was commissioned to conduct the survey.

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The results are quite disappointing. TV is the number one choice for kids among various forms of media consumption.

  • 46% are internet users of which three quarters have their own homepage.
  • More than 75% go to malls with their parents at least once a month.
  • They’ve got PHP 37 billion to spend annually.

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A Childlike Mind

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halloween treatsThe girls are now in their twenties and they have their own gimmicks these days. I can’t even schedule a photo shoot for a family portrait because their schedules always conflict with the date. The only occasion for us to be together is when we dine out or shop. Yesterday afternoon was one of those rare moments when they wanted to be with me. I was invited to the “All Treats No Tricks” event of All Flip Flops and Marta’s Cakes at the Bonifacio High Street where we get the chance to ice cookies or cupcakes. The girls thought it was an excellent idea to go to the swanky Bonifacio High Street and hie off to their favorite hangout, The Fully Booked bookstore. (Asides, I think Andres Bonifacio would rise from his grave if he saw his namesake being used for such a ritzy shopping complex. )

halloween treats
My dear husband offered to drive us (thank goodness) and meet up at the Fully Booked after the event. So we were at the tent across All Flip Flops and sat down to work on our cupcakes and cookies. My two lovely daughters sat across me and suddenly memories of their childhood flooded me. Those memories where we often did arts and crafts and even icing the cookies together. Where did the good old days go? As I iced my own cupcake, I know deep inside the girls are brought back to their happy childhood memories. Those were the days when I devoted a lot of my time cooking and baking. Those were the days we would look far and wide for a playground. These memories never die. Our childlike mind always lives in us and it is a good thing.

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Bringing Up A Mom (Blogger)

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momandme.jpgThe day Lauren wrote her essay on “Generation Next, Generation Net” 11 years ago, I had no idea I’d end up being a blogger just like her. During those days, diarist or online journallers were relegated to the twenty something and below. Moms did not blog. Our kids must have been so influential in inspiring moms like me to blog. I am not alone. Take a look at JAngelo and his mom, Dine or Aaron Roselo and his mom blogging at AMomandMore.

Having read Lauren’s blog for many years sublimally prepared me for the launch of my blog 10 years later after she started in 1996. Let me count the ways:

1. Content (Good and Original) is King.

Good content shows the blogger’s own personality and flavor. Her story-telling style made it very interesting for her readers of all ages. Good content built a strong readership which she continues to enjoy until the present time. The power of stories to connect, captivate and persuade, creates a great way to grab hold of a reader.

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Pinoy Moms Sexy New Look

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Hear Ye, All Ye bloggers.

We have a new look over at the Pinoy Moms Network (PMN) which officially launched its ezine format at 12 midnight . With the new look comes new content. As I write this entry, the section editors are still awake at this unholy hour tweaking their entries . This just shows how much labor of love went into this new endeavor. Connie is right in saying that “it’s even misleading to talk about how much blood, sweat and tears went into the transformation of PMN.”

Speaking of Pinoy Moms, I invited a few moms to a small intimate gathering as part of my mini 50th birthday celebration. Thanks Dine, Chats, Lisaflor and Jane for making it knowing you had family affairs to attend to.
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What I love about hosting parties is that I am forced to cook and bake. Ever since the girls went to college, I have relegated the grocery and marketing to my dear husband and merely supervised the daily meals to the household help.

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