Food / health savvy? Read this.

I've visited this website for health buffs, where they seem to count every calorie on every menu item/product of every company/fast food chain in America.

I thought, wow. You really must be a sucker for healthy living if you follow everything they say here. But then, if you aren't, you'd want to get your money's worth. You'd want to go for those large helpings and calorie-laden items. And, let's admit it, we don't really care for the calories, do we?

Actually, this magazine couldn't possibly find a market here in the Philippines, since our primary concern when eating out or shopping for food at the supermarket is the price. Bargain buys are always better than healthy options. In fact, you're already lucky to eat enough for a day. Millions of families survive on only P90 a day, while some even live on only around P50 to P60 a day.

How's that, health suckers? Yeah, buy another exercise machine. Renew your membership at a slimming salon. Chuck out all that "junk food" in your fridge to the waste bin. And you're free to consume all non-fat, low-calorie whatever on sale on those posh supermarkets.

After all, you're the only ones who can afford that kind of lifestyle. While us mere mortals (especially those who are mired deeply in poverty) survive on MSG-heavy cup noodles and instant mixes—sometimes on plain salt (that's sodium to you) and coffee (caffeine in your book).

Yeah, not very healthy, but unlike you, we don't have a choice. They don't have a choice, at least if they want to survive. It's not even a question of "what will you eat?" but a question of "do you have anything to eat?"

Beyond charity

I would never claim to know everything there is about Philippine society. Only a fool would proclaim that, for to do so is an admission of one's ignorance and presuming arrogance.

Nor would I claim that I fully understand the big picture. For I have lived and experienced only a fraction (my social exposures are limited to a mere few days or hours at a time), and while some would say that that is enough to estimate the rest, I beg to differ.

To fully understand poverty, you need to experience poverty. Just the same, to fully understand the situation within a community, you need to immerse yourself in that community. Live with the people, live like them. You need to communicate with them. It makes the difference between simply knowing the facts and understanding the situation. Doing so gives faces to concepts like poverty and social inequality; it gives whole new meaning to these concepts.

Studying theories and knowing hard facts and statistics can only do so much. Without actually stepping out of one's comfort zone to mingle with the masses, one is but an armchair activist. All talk, no action. It's like standing inside an ivory tower, seeing and knowing everything that goes on, but not doing anything about it. (In fact, I think I am guilty of this. There's this community I promised I'd return to, but I still hadn't found the time. Before this semester ends, I hope I can return and live some time with the people there.)

And when I say concrete action, I do not refer to charity and all those condescending "acts of mercy" of the elite. Many non-profit organizations and/or charity institutions don't really "act." They just "help"...or they think they help, without fully understanding the conditions of the people they are helping. It's enough to paint them as poor and pitiable, without even considering why and how they came to be poor.

They don't realize that only by understanding the how and why of things can we come up with real and lasting solutions, beyond charity and short-term aids.

Sa pagbasag ng mga ilusyon

Reporma. Ang sarap pakinggan, di ba? Yan ang pagsusulong ng pagbabago sa lipunan sa pamamagitan ng mga batas. Maraming porma nito, isa na ang sinasabing extension ng CARP na may halong reporma (CARP extension with reforms, mababasang nakapaskil sa labas ng DAR office sa Quezon City).

Iyan din ang pagkakaiba ng Katipunan ni Andres Bonifacio sa La Solidaridad nila Jose Rizal at ng iba pang mga ilustrado.

Reporma ang isinusulong ng La Solidaridad. Gusto nilang pairalin ang karapatang pantao sa Pilipinas. Hindi soberanya ang hiningi nila, kundi awtonomiya lamang. Gusto nilang maging probinsiya ng Espanya ang Pilipinas.

Subalit sa huli, ang nagpasya naman ng "kalayaan" (sana, kung hindi umeksena ang Estados Unidos) noon ng Pilipinas mula sa mga Kastila ay ang rebolusyong pinamunuan ng masa.

Ngayon naman, kung magpupumilit kang sabihing reporma ang solusyon, isipin mo ito. Ang problema kasi sa pagsulong ng reporma ngayon, may mga pinangangalagaang interes ang mismong mga nakaupo sa pwesto—ang mga may hawak ng kapangyarihang isulong ang pagbabago sa pamamagitan ng batas. May mga lupang hindi kailanman ipamimigay, mga korporasyong nakikinabang sa batas na mababang pasahod at kontrakwalisasyon.

Mamamatay tayong dilat ang mata kung hihintayin nating "makita nila ang liwanag" at bigla na lang ipamigay ang kayamanan nila para mawala na ang kahirapan sa bansa.

Repormista o rebolusyonista? Sa huli, masa naman ang mapagpasiya. Masa ang magpapasya.

Progressing vs. Regressing (Song lyrics, 1st batch)

I don't want to write anything now, I still feel a bit too agitated for me to assure you that my post will be coherent or if it will be plain ranting. So. I'll just post song lyrics here.

Tatsulok

Buklod

Totoy bilisan mo, bilisan mo ang takbo / Ilagan ang mga bombang nakatutok sa ulo mo / Totoy tumalon ka, dumapa kung kailangan / At baka tamaan pa ng mga balang ligaw / Totoy makinig ka, huwag kang magpagabi / Baka pagkamalan ka't humandusay dyan sa tabi / Totoy alam mo ba kung ano ang puno't dulo / Ng di matapos-tapos na kaguluhang ito / Hindi pula't dilaw ang tunay na magkalaban / Ang kulay at tatak ay di syang dahilan / Hangga't mas marami ang lugmok sa kahirapan / At ang hustisya ay para lang sa mayayaman / Habang may tatsulok at sila ang nasa tuktok / Hindi matatapos itong gulo / Lumilikas ang hininga ng kayraming mga tao / At ang dating lunting bukid ngayo'y sementeryo / Totoy kumilos ka, baligtarin ang tatsulok / Katulad mong mga dukha ang ilagay mo sa tuktok / Hindi pula't dilaw ang tunay na magkalaban / Ang kulay at tatak ay di syang dahilan / Hangga't mas marami ang lugmok sa kahirapan / At ang hustisya ay para lang sa mayayaman / Habang may tatsulok at sila ang nasa tuktok / Hindi matatapos itong gulo

And I See
Datu’s Tribe

A B C D CPP, CIA KMU PNP / DOH CBCP, IMF WB / Now i know my ABCs / Ilang taon na lang magiging NIC / A B C D ADB, RAM YOU AFP / DOJ NUC, MNLF PACC / Now i know my ABCs / Ilang taon na lang magiging NIC / Lupa galing sa libingan / Patungo sa kabusugan / Patungo sa kabusugan / Ang dami nang naghihintay / Lahat nagaaway-away / Patungo sa kaunlaran / Patungo sa kaunlaran / Patungo sa kaunlaran / A B C D NBC, DSWD PCGG / DPWH ERB, MWSS PLDT / NUCD, LDP, PCHR, DAR, KNP / BAD, DOLE, DFA, GADD / Now i know my ABCs / Ilang taon na lang magiging NIC

Buksan ang iyong puso

Buklod

Ano kayang bukas ang darating / Sa bayang may pasakit pagka't biyaya'y pinagkait / Kayrami nang batang nagigising lamang / Sa maagang pagpanaw ng pag-asa o buhay / Buksan ang iyong puso / Huwag ka nang magsawalang-kibo / Pagluha'y di sapat / Ang kailangan ay pagganap / Ibahagi ang iyong panahon / Sa pagtugus ng nilalayon / Damhin mo ang hapdi at pait ng kahirapan / na ngayo'y nararanasan ng iyong mamamayan / Ilan na bang mga musmos ang sinawi ng dalita / Ilan na bang mga bayani ang nag-alay sa lupa / Kailan mo pakikinggan ang tawag ng bayan / Ngayon na ang panahon / Ang pagkilos mo'y kailangan / Nagpipiglas ang damdamin / Maayang bukas ay yakapin / Buksan ang iyong puso...

Tumindig Ka

Buklod

Tumindig ka ipaglaban ang karapatan / Tumindig ka ipagtanggol ang karapatan / Daangtaon na ang nakalilipas / Ilang pangulo ng ang nagdaan / Wala pa ring asenso si Juan / Subsob pa rin sa kahirapan / Tumindig ka ipaglaban ang karapatan / Tumindig ka ipagtanggol ang karapatan / Daangtaon na ang nakalipas / Ilang pangulo na ang nagdaan / Wala pa ring masilungan si Juan / Tagpi-tagpi pa rin ang kasuotan / Tumindig ka ipaglaban ang karapatan / Tumindig ka ipagtanggol ang karapatan / Daangtaon na ang nakalipas / Ilang pangulo na ang nagdaan / Wala pa ring sariling lupa si Juan / Nakikisaka't baon sa utang / Tumindig ka ipaglaban ang karapatan / Tumindig ka ipagtanggol ang karapatan / Daangtaon na ang nakalilipas / Ilang pangulo na ang nagdaan / Kulang pa rin ang sweldo ni Juan / Wala pa ring sariling lupa si Juan / Wala pa ring masisilungan si Juan / Subsob pa rin sa kahirapan / Tumindig ka, tumindig ka / Ipaglaban mo si Juan / Tumindig ka, tumindig ka / Ipagtanggol mo si Juan

Whoa! Pilipinas!

Datu's Tribe

Napakarami pang kagiliw-giliw na mga bagay na maipapamalas sa bayan ko na maaaring hindi nyo nakita nung kayo'y unang bumisita rito / Kaya't halina't tuklasin ang ilan sa mga kaganapan at tanawin na higit na makapaglalarawan sa mga hindi binabanderang aspeto ng / Whoa! Pilipinas

Nangingibang-bayan ang aming masisipag at matatalino / Ang pangunahing eksport nami'y nagugutom na mga desperado / Kinabukasan ng nakararami'y sinasalalay sa Lotto / At ang mga pag-asa ni Pepe'y tumitira ng rugby sa kanto / Whoa! Pilipinas

Umiimport kami ng mga binabasurang produkto / Mga mamamahayag nag-eendorso ng alak, gamot at shampoo / May mga titser na nagbebenta ng insurance, damit at tocino / Karaniwang pasahod kasi'y sapat lang bumuhay ng aso / Whoa! Pilipinas

Ang bagong relihiyon ng masa ay tele-pantasya / Kaya mga artista dito'y mga pulitiko rin at vice-versa / Andaming kampon ni Bonifacio na nasa center na ng mga elitista / Na nagiging tambayan ng mga bagong burgis na dating aktibista / Whoa! Pilipinas / Galamay ng sindikato ang mga pulis at sundalo

Nagiging congressman ang mga sugarol at babaero / Pwedeng-pwedeng maging milyonaryo sa sweldo mo sa gobyerno / At umuupo sa pwesto mga di naman nananalo

Halina't bumisita / Whoa! Pilipinas / Halina't bumisita / Whoa! Pilipinas / Nang inyo nang makita / Mga di ninyo nakita / Halina't bumisita / Whoa! Pilipinas / Halina't bumisita / Whoa! Pilipinas / Nang inyo nang makita / Mga di pinapakita sa inyo / Mga di pinapakita sa inyo.

UP Naming Mahal
Alternative version

UP naming mahal / Pamantasan ng bayan / Tinig ng masa / Ang siyang lagi nang pakikinggan / Malayong lupain / Di kailangang marating / Dito maglilingkod sa bayan natin / Dito maglilingkod sa bayan natin

Silangang mapula / Sagisag magpakailanman / Ating ipaglaban / Laya ng diwa’t kaisipan / Humayo’t itanghal / Giting, tapang ang dangal / Mabuhay ang lingkod ng taongbayan / Mabuhay ang lingkod ng taongbayan

Silangang mapula / Sagisag magpakailanman / Ating ipaglaban / Laya ng diwa’t kaisipan / Malayong lupain / Di kailangang marating / Dito maglilingkod sa bayan natin / Dito maglilingkod sa bayan natin

Middle class rant

I can't seem to find my voice to find a suitable retort. I know the right answers but I'm just one, and they are so many...

I badly need to release my thoughts, so here I am now.

I remember I said to someone that I don't want to become rich. Why? Because that would be the biggest insult of all — acquiring worldly wealth in a country where 75 percent of the population is poor, where millions of families live on less than P100 a day. Then I'll condescendingly give them a fraction of my earnings and call it charity.

No. I don't want to become rich. I don't want to be one of those glittering, fake people who smile and wave at cameras. Showbiz people or politicians, there isn't much distinction in them. They are all whimsical butterflies feeding on the masses.

The problem with acquiring wealth is that you can never get enough. Because of competition, you need to struggle to remain at the top—stepping on a million others to get what you want.

And this culture of endless acquisition, of excess, of surplus, is an inherent trait of the current system.

I have other dreams. Being famous or rich isn't among them.

I feel uncomfortable with contradictions. But I know that someday, I must break free from my middle class woes, fight against middle class aspirations and finally tell my family what I want to do in life. Of course, disappointment is to be expected. I don't really plan to put my course to use. Maybe I'll get a job for several years, but I'm not sure if I'll stay on. Nothing's definite in my future, I guess (but then, whose future is really certain?). But in the end I will have to leave.

I just hope that, despite the disappointment, my family will be able to accept and respect my decision when that time comes. Along that, I hope they'll accept what I have to say, they'll accept me still.

Why am I saying this? Or better yet, what am I talking about? I don't know.

But it feels good to know that I have something to go back to in times when my resolve is weakening.

Indulging in excess

What's the essence of Christmas? Is it the gift-giving, the merry-making? Is it spending all you have to celebrate?

Does a "merry" Christmas equate to the amount of worldly gifts you receive, the amount of noche buena food you partake in?

If so, then Christmas might just be the most convenient excuse to indulge excessively.

I'm really quite the pessimist.

On police brutality

Crime rates are pretty high during Christmas, so this is not off-topic, is it?

I don't think my blog has ever been this alive before, so forgive me for posting every now and then today. It's just, I don't have anything much to do, so I spend time thinking (in between the pages of the manga I am reading), and sometimes those thoughts have merit so I blog them.

Anyway, a few days ago, December 16 (Oblation run and before the centennial lantern parade, so I won't forget), I covered a crime story along with three group mates for my BC132 (Broadcast documentary) class.

We camped out in Camp Karingal in QC, the CIDU headquarters to be precise, from 7 pm till around 11 pm. We transferred to Station 10 of the QCPD in Kamuning at around 11 but decided to return to CIDU after about 15 minutes of sitting idly.

It was promising to be a peaceful night. Until, around 1 am, the phone in the CIDU rang informing us of an encounter between the anti-carnapping unit of QCPD and two "riding-in-tandem" robbers. Both robbers were killed.

I won't tell you the gruesome details of the crime scene. (That was my second crime coverage, so the shock wasn't really much, but it's enough to turn the stomachs of the uninitiated) But I noted something which made me really think.

The robbers were armed, of course. They took a scooter and led the police to a merry chase to *that* road (I won't mention where). But the position of their bodies caught my attention.

First, they abandoned the scooter they nabbed. I think the bodies were two to three meters away from the vehicle.

Their positions indicate that they weren't in the offensive. In fact, they were running away.

Another: the shots they took were fatal. Actually, both robbers died of head shots (I told you it was gruesome).

So what's my point, you ask? The robbers were escaping when they were shot. In the head. By the respondent police unit.

Some would say they deserve it. But (I'm not justifying robbery or anything), let's think about it. There are objective conditions which would have led them to resort to robbery. Poverty, mayhap. Man is not inherently evil, there are circumstances which drive us to do what we do.

So perhaps the robbers were in the wrong. But we need to understand their reasons instead of merely painting them black. And that's where police interrogation comes in, along with due process. If you ask me, their lives were too high a price to pay for whisking off a scooter. It wasn't balanced.

That brings me to my second point. Why aim for the head? Why aim to kill them? Granted, they were armed, but there's such a thing called "shoot to disable," where you aim for the arms and the legs of your quarry. In fact, that's a more difficult shot to execute than aiming for the head...which was the case in this particular story.

Besides, if my observations were correct, even if the robbers were armed, they were in the process of running away. Not fighting. So there wasn't really any real danger involved. Deaths could have been prevented had the police acted responsibly.

Where's the justice in that? There was no due process involved. You did not bring them in; you chose to silence them forever. The rule of the gun took over.

It's a challenge to the police force of the country. To serve and protect us Filipinos, and to avoid deaths when it can be prevented. Being a criminal doesn't make you inhuman. At least, in the case of petty crimes such as theft and robbery.

One's life is too high a price to pay for that. Or was that the message, to scare off would-be criminals? That's a disappointing logic which treats human lives with impunity.

I think we ought to reconsider. Even those who hate wrongdoers so much. Let's not stereotype them or anything as naturally evil. Then maybe we'll understand the country's situation better.

P.S. It's Christmas and I'm thinking dark and heavy thoughts. Will there be a moment when I won't think of such anymore?

Christmas in crisis

It's December 24 today. Christmas eve later, in Catholic customs.

Our dining table was totally empty earlier today. The electricity was busted too, until about an hour ago when it was finally fixed.

It's promising to be the most pathetic Christmas. Ever.

The Philippines is really in crisis. But then, we are in perpetual crisis that we don't realize just how dire our circumstances are. In Philippine culture, we must continue celebrating even if there' s no reason to do so, even if we do not have the means to do so. That's how it is; even if it would drain all your resources, you must have that one special day or meal, way better than your regular fanfare. The more extravagant, the better.

I think it's money and consumption which comprises the celebrations. I realized that it's true, too, that money makes the world go round. At least in present conditions and the current system. If you don't have money, you can't even feel excited about Christmas. Or any other holiday for that matter.

Money. The one thing that controls everything else in the capitalist world.

Nowadays, happiness really does come for a price. And, in most cases, that price might just be too high to pay, we just don't realize it.

P.S. Last week I had to go somewhere and stay there for several days. Well, in that lane where we stayed, there was only one house full of Christmas lights. The rest didn't feel like they were celebrating at all. I think it indicates just how the crisis has affected the Philippines today.

By the way, this post has everything to do with holidays and the current crisis (which everyone seems to believe has passed, but I beg to differ. There's no denying poverty everywhere). I'm not criticizing Christians or whatever (technically, I'm Christian too). While I believe in religion, and I respect each religion, since it's a matter of choosing what actually works for us, I just don't think that religion and religious customs should be used to control people. Nor do I believe in using religion to sell, or to urge them to consume more than they can.

So yeah, I guess I am criticizing Philippine culture as pertaining to Catholic customs.

Waiting

I can't wait for it to happen. I know chances are bleak that I would witness the completion.

And I know that to rush things would be a grave error which might only delay things more.

So, I wait. I do my best, and I wait.

I'm beginning to think that waiting may be the hardest part.

Money, money, money

Yesterday (or rather, earlier today), I journeyed home at 1 am. Despite a *slight* mishap at Q ave, I managed to go home safely. Since there are no more buses going to Malinta then, I had to use the Monumento route and ride a jeep there. I noted several things while on my way home.

One, there are many *bars* in Caloocan. And not the high-end or even standup comedy sort of bars. The sort where there are lots of women and there's videoke and drunk men all over (I passed about four or more of those, almost side-by-side). I wonder why that sort of business is tolerated...

Anyway, beyond that, I also noted just how many people are still journeying home at that time. And not the well-dressed yuppies (call center agents), too. Some are those who have blue-collar jobs and stuff.

Then I thought, in a year or so, will I be one of these people, going home during witching hours and having little rest before another day? After all, that is the working drill, right?

But then, I can't help but think, it's just money. Why are people so wrought up about it? Why must you work so much to earn so little (or to earn some more)? They're just pieces of paper and metal, after all.

The answer, however, came to me in a moment: money is what makes this world go round, at least with the current system. With a culture of consumption and capitalism, money is needed to survive. We must always strive to have more; such is the culture fed to us. For there is no such thing as "enough," we must always acquire more profit, more possessions. There's no level of satisfaction.

In a capitalist society, money is one of the most essential things to survive. I guess, then, that this is why we always strive for more. And this is why many among us work to the wee hours of the night. We need money to buy more, consume more. Money, after all, is our capital. And this is a capitalist society, driven by money.

I hope to see a time when money (or lack of it) is no longer a big issue. So that we can stop killing ourselves to live and survive.

Assuaging consciences

Charity is bad. Nothing good ever comes out of it.

I got your attention, didn't I? You'd probably say I don't have a heart; that I am one of those *apathetic* souls who don't give a whit about the social realities around me.

On the contrary, though, I care. I care a lot.

Remember that old phrase, "Give a man a fish and he survives for a day, teach him to fish and he'll survive for many days" (or something like that)? Well, that is practically the point. Except that in my case, I don't believe that even "teaching" someone "to fish" would really solve the problem. With a problematic social strata like the Philippines, no matter how talented/gifted you are, you can never reach your full potential if you have to worry about basic necessities still. In short, these objective conditions will impede one's growth and shrink opportunities for development.

Anyway, back to charity. I started with *charity* on mind, too. However, I realized the so-called evils of charity soon enough.

Okay, let's take it one at a time. Let's start with small-time charities (e.g. giving alms). This sort of charity, well...the shallow analysis would be that it breeds laziness. But actually, the "evil" of this type of charity actually pertains to the giver, not the recipient (for in actuality, even if you are physically capable to do jobs, there are, again, little job opportunities in the country which you can take on). Charity of this sort, I believe, makes the giver feel good (smug, even), that he/she has done something morally right, as dictated by social standards. Thus, the level of social awareness will never go beyond giving alms or that sort of act. You give a peso or two and forget the social reality you saw. It soothes our bothered consciences; therefore we can put it at the back of our mind until another beggar comes along and stirs that deep-seated conscience once more.

Now, big-time charities (oh, you know all those charitable institutions, so I won't mention them). The sort that the rich occasionally take part in, in the spirit of generosity and giving and whatever crap they want to call it. Still, it's charity. And for me, it's still bad. Why? Well, essentially, what these charitable institutions do are kind of okay...however, to allow such acts to proliferate, we are actually sanctioning the state to abandon its duties to these institutions. Instead of providing funding for social services, the state then relies on charities to provide what its citizens need. And that, people, is what makes it bad. It becomes a scapegoat, an excuse for the government to shirk its duties.

Also, *some* charities are rather discriminating; there are some charitable institutions whose help is exclusively available to a certain sect or group (again, I won't mention names) alone. That nature of charity alone causes disparity and rifts among members of different groups, social classes and whatnot.

Point is, charity may be the entry level of social awareness, but to remain caught up in romanticizing charity as compassionate acts of kindness makes me retch. Charity may assuage our consciences for a moment, but in the end, we have not initiated true change.

More on dichotomy

Damn it. This is not a feminist blog. It just so happens that everything I seem to ponder on recently is the gender inequality on Philippine society (and even that topic's debatable to be a bourgeois pursuit/interest).


Well, more on the virgin-whore dichotomy. I think that it invariably has an effect on the way women's minds work, as well. I just realized...the enmity I felt for several girls in high school could have been caused by this very dichotomy fed to society through media and literary works.

Why?

Well, simply because, as I recalled the resentment I felt, I began caging our personalities in the bida-kontrabida context (with me as the bida, of course). I felt antagonistic against those girls because I framed them in my mind as the whore I have to compete with. I skimmed the surface and never dug deeper to objective conditions which led to our misunderstanding. Sometimes, I even argue just for the sake of fitting our roles—I felt the need to argue, not because I really wanted to, nor needed to.

But, the thing is, I realized...such petty quarrels are exactly the sort we must let go of, the things we must rise above of. Maybe, if everyone didn't think in that frame of mind, there'd be less misunderstanding in the world.

Or then again, if such petty quarrels no longer exist, then we are no longer living in a socially stratified world. If liberalism and individualism were set aside for a bigger, common goal...

Social injustice and inequality may cease to exist in this world.