Bigas todo
KUNG paniniwalaan mo ang sinasabi ni Joselito Banayo na bagong hepe ng NFA, maiisip mong “ang laki” naman ng problema niya.
Akalain mong “naliligo” pala sila sa bigas ngayon? E bakit hindi man lang matalsikan ng ipinaliligo nila kaming mga hampaslupa na matagal nang nangangarap na makapagsaing at makakain ng murang bigas?
Sa huling basa ko ng sarbey ng Social Weather Stations, apat na milyong kabahayan ang nakararanas ng gutom sa bansa nating nililiyag. Kung may karaniwang anim katao sa isang kabahayan, aba’y 48 milyon na agad ito. Ano pa ang hinihintay ng NFA, Pasko?
Kung lumalangoy ang NFA o nagtatampisaw sa sobrang bigas, dapat e ipamigay na agad iyon sa mahihirap nang wala nang esep-esep bago pa man tuluyang mabulok ang istak gaya ng nangyayari umano sa ilang bodega nila na halos hindi na maisara dahil sa umaapaw na bigas. (Bweno, medyo exaggerated naman na hindi maisara ang mga bodega, pero mismong si Joselito ang nagsabing naliligo sila sa bigas. Sabagay mas masaya ‘yun kesa sa ginawa noon ni Manny Villar na lumangoy sa dagat ng basura.)
Ang kaso, marami pang kuskos-balungos itong NFA. Kesyo kelangan pang pag-aralan kung pabababain ang presyo o alamin kung sino ang may kasalanan sa pag-aaksayang ito at paglustay sa pera ng bayan.
Pwede nilang pag-aralan kung anuman ang gusto nilang pag-aralan – bumalik pa sila sa eskwelahan kung gusto nila – basta ipamigay na sa mga nangangailangan ang bigas. Wala na silang magagawa, tutal nariyan na rin lang ang sobrang suplay at nalugi na ang gobyerno sa sobra-sobrang inangkat na bigas, hayaan na lang pakinabangan ito ng mga tao. Tapos habulin nila ang mga simbergwensa at walang pakundangang nag-angkat ng bigas.
Resulta nga ba ito ng panic-buying ng gobyerno o ng pagkaganid ng nasa kapangyarihan? Maaalalang kailan lang e umangkat din sila ng sobra-sobrang asukal dahil nagkaroon ng artipisyal na pagmamahal nito sa palengke. Meron bang nakaalala nito? May nagreklamo sandali pero dahil makakalimutin tayo, nailibing na lang ang isyung ito sa limot. (Huwag sanang mangyari ito sa kaso ng Ampatuan massacre. Hindi ba’t kay Dayunyor na lang nakatuon ang pansin ng lahat at nakalimutan na ang pangako ng military na magpaliwanag tungkol sa mga armas at bala na may tatak ng DND na natagpuan sa pag-iingat ng mga Ampatuan?)
Hindi pa tapos ang kalbaryo umano ni Joselito; meron pang darating na isang milyong sako ng bigas galing Vietnam at sasabay iyon sa anihan dito sa Pinas. Ibig sabihin nito kukumpitensyahin ng imported na bigas ang lokal na bigas. E dahil mas mura ang imported na bigas, dehado ang lokal. Mapipilitang ibenta nang palugi ng mga magsasaka natin ang kanilang produkto.
Ang solusyon ng NFA, pakiusapan ang Vietnam na huwag munang i-deliver ang bigas. E sigurado namang sasabihin sa kanila ng Vietnam: “Ano kayo sinuswerte? May kontrata tayo at saka puno na rin ang mga bodega namin, wala kaming paglalagyan niyan.”
The Gypsy Soul by Casiano Mayor
The essays in this book are mostly about the political and social malaise in the Philippines, the author’s home country, and the plight of the migrant Filipinos who are forced to look for greener pastures in foreign lands due to the tight economic situation in the home front.
The author, who works as an editor with the Saudi Gazette, also included in this book some personal experiences – both secular and spiritual – in his search for meaning in life that he hopes “will find echoes in the hearts of other people.”
The author throws in universal themes in most of his essays that even readers from other races and cultures could easily empathize with his writings.
Many of the 33 essays in this book, largely written in literary prose, are haunting, starting with his first essay, ”Remembering Ginablan,” a recollection of his adolescence in a small farming village in Romblon where he grew up.
Remembering, he says, was “like walking into a time machine where I found myself retracing faded footprints of a lost past,” The essay recalls a rustic life In a small village where the girls smoke cigarettes “with the lighted tip in their mouth,” the “changing hues of crimson sunsets” that he loved to watch each time he went fishing with a cousin and “a dusty road that cuts across rice fields crawling up to the foot of the hills.”
A left-of-center activist during his college days, the author did not hide his deep-seated disdain for the Filipino politicians whom he blames for the tight economic situation in his country that forced millions of Filipinos to look for greener pastures in foreign lands.
He bewails that the “thievery” of politicians in the home front and their endless wrangling to stay in power have given majority of the Filipinos a sense of hopelessness to drive thousands of them to leave the country every day.
“It is sad that our economy is in bad shape but I think it’s not the primary reason that gives us a sense of hopelessness. It is our politicians’ endless and senseless bickering because we know that they are not clawing each other for our sake … but to score political points for the next balloting,” he writes in his essay, “The Tragedy that Befalls Us.”
“The tragedy that befalls our country is that our politicians, who are supposed to lead us in solving our problems, have become our biggest problem.”
He also takes a dig at the government for its empty platitude for the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as modern-day heroes because their remittances have been propping up the ailing Philippine economy.
“I’m an OFW but I’m not a hero. I did not come here out of my sense of patriotism, but as a husband and a father who wants to see a new dawn for my family, no matter if that dawn unfolds in another country,” he riles in his essay “Strangers in Our Own Country.”
“I have come to terms with reality. Like millions of other Filipinos who sought greener pastures in foreign lands, I have hitched the family wagon to a caravan of Filipino migrant workers who have become strangers in our own country.”
Bits and pieces in the book open small windows to his past when he “strayed to atheism” after enrolling in anthropology that taught Darwin’s theory of evolution, but later returned to the Faith – after he felt a lingering “sense of emptiness” deep within him.
His spiritual journey gave him the material to write the main essay, “The Gypsy Soul,” which he first wrote for the defunct newspaper Today in Manila where he used to work as subeditor before going to Saudi Arabia.
“In my wanderings since I left Romblon, I have come to believe that man has a soul longing for home … Our soul keeps on driving us in search for meaning in our lives, no matter if we live on a craggy hill in some remote villages or in the jungles of sky crappers in mega cities, probably to remind us that this world is not our home,” he writes.
He followed it up in his essay, “Pilgrims to the Life Beyond.”
“There is an empty space in our being that we may never understand, much less manage, if we do not pause for a while to take a closer look at life until we realize that we are not pursuing life itself but its palavers, until we realize that we are not lost gypsies but homing pilgrims whose dreams ought to be lofty enough to rise beyond our graves.”
Though deeply a man of piety, he has a strong fascination with science which enabled him to write his easy “Love in the Age of Neuroscience” wherein he pokes fun at the findings of neuroscience that emotion is not a feeling oozing from the heart but neural firings in the brain. He banters, “In the age of neuroscience, can we still say, I love you from the bottom of my heart?”
In the second foreword to the book, the author professes to be a Christian who believes that “science is not an enemy of religion but a window to take a peek at the marvels of God’s infinite wisdom.”
Raising two sons and a daughter while the father is away
Raising two sons and a daughter can be complicated and extremely hard but not actually as difficult with the help of my husband who dotes on the children, my parents who really love their grandchildren (perhaps more than their children) and my mother-in-law who has always been there for me in the absence of a babysitter or house help.
True, there were tough times when I almost surrendered to impatience and wish I could resign as a mother but realizes that motherhood is a permanent position with a job description that calls for the flexing of the muscles, extending of patience till it reaches the heavens, wit that is always challenged and intelligence far more than Einstein’s.
While the two older boys – almost four years apart – were toddlers, they both told me: “Nanay pakakasalan kita paglaki ko (Mother, I will marry you when I grow up).” Same thing with our daughter who also told me when she was about two years old: “Ikaw ang gusto kong asawa paglaki ko (I want you to be my wife when I grow up),” to which I replied: “Hindi puwede. Nanay mo ako (You cannot. I am your Mother.)” My daughter retorted: “Sige, si Tatay na lang. (Then I will marry Father).” To which I answered: “Hindi puwede. Tatay mo siya (You cannot. He is your Father.)”
Unrelenting to be unmarried, my toddler daughter quipped: “E, di si Kuya na lang (I will marry my big brother then).” I was almost laughing when I told her: “Hindi puwede, kapatid mo siya (You cannot marry your brother).” Finally exasperated, this daughter realized: “E, di hindi rin puwede si Diko?” (Then I cannot marry my other brother?).” Yes, I said, explaining to her that she cannot marry anyone in the family.
“Hindi na lang ako mag-aasawa (Then I will no longer get married),” she finally resigned.
The boys’ and her concept of the family at tender age revolved around us five – father, mother and siblings – who eat, play, work and live under one roof. Nothing more, nothing less. So much so that when my husband went abroad to work, the five of us were all devastated. Separation is the most painful feeling for a child (and adults too).
We all dread the day when my husband was scheduled to fly back to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to work as an editor in an English newspaper there. He has been leaving the Philippines yearly for 13 years but we never became used to it. Once we lost sight of him when he boards the tricycle (my husband is so used to simple living that even when he is already earning dollars he prefers to take public transport), the two boys would go to their room hurriedly. The eldest son would lie on his bed facing the wall; the second son would bury his face in the pillow, sobbing. The daughter waits for an airplane to pass by and waves goodbye thinking that her father is always in every airplane.
As for me, I tell myself that nothing and nobody can break our family. The husband writes almost every day and play puzzles and whatever games that can be had on paper with the two boys. The toddler daughter writes back to his father in scribbles telling him how she misses him and asks him when he is coming home again.
Sama-samang Pagkilos
Ito ang tawag noong simula ng batas militar sa mga kilos-protesta laban sa diktadura at sa mga pagkilos para sa pagbabago sa panahon ng martial law saan man ginagawa ang mga ito – sa mga paaralan, sa mga pabrika, sa mga komunidad, sa mga tanggapan ng gobyerno gaya ng Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) o sa mga lansangan ng Metro Manila.
Anuman ang gawaing magsusulong sa kilusang antidiktadura at sa kilusang pambansa-demokratiko noon, mapasentro man ng lungsod o maging sa mga liblib na lugar sa kanayunan, sama-samang pagkilos ng taumbayan ang itinaguyod ng mga aktibista mula sa mga simpleng pagpupulong hanggang sa mga petisyon o pagpirma sa mga kahilingan at delegasyon o maramihang pagtungo sa mga opisina ng gobyerno; mula sa mga paglilinis ng mga kalye hanggang sa misa-prusisyon sa mga komunidad at mga rali- demonstrasyon at mga martsa at lakbayan sa mga punong-lungsod at bayan.
Ayon ito sa ilang pundamental na paniniwala. Di kakayanin ng iilan ang pagpapabagsak sa diktadura at ang paglutas sa mga suliranin ng bayan kaya kailangang palayain at umasa sa nagkakaisang lakas at mapanlikhang kakayahan ng masa sa pagharap sa marahas at, sa unang malas, ay nakakatakot na halimaw na batas militar at kailangan ding pandayin at sumandig sa matibay na pagkakaisa ng iba’t ibang sektor ng lipunan na naghahangad ng pagbabago.
Kung tutuusin, may malalim na salalayang pangkultura naman ang mga paniniwalang ito. Matatagpuan ito sa pagbabayanihan ng mga Pinoy. Hindi banyaga sa mga Pinoy ang pagtututulungán at pagdadadamayán sa pagharap sa anumang hamon, sa anumang suliranin, sa anumang gawain. Unti-unti ngang pinalaya ang lakas at kakayahang ito at pinaunlad ang pagkakaisang ito sa pamamagitan ng paglulunsad ng iba’t ibang anyo ng sama-samang pagkilos sa konteksto ng batas militar mula 1972 hanggang sa umabot ito sa rurok noong EDSA 1 ng 1986.
Di naman nawala o nalimot ang aral na ito makaraan ang EDSA 1. Kung tutuusin, isa sa mga naging buzzword pagkatapos ng EDSA 1 na hinango sa aral na ito ang nilalaman ng salitang Inggles na “empowerment.” Iyon nga lamang, di gaya nang panahon ng paglaban sa diktadura, di naisalin sa realidad ang salitang “empowerment”.
Sa halip na palayain ang mapanlikhang lakas at kakayahan ng masa at ipagpatuloy, palalimin, palawakin at paunlarin ang sama-samang pagkilos ng taumbayan, di ito minabuti ng mga may hawak ng kapangyarihan sa lipunang Pilipino noon lalo’t ginagamit ito laban sa patuloy nilang pamamayagpag. Kaya kahit wala nang batas militar, patuloy pa ring tinugis, ikinulong at pinatay ang mga nagtaguyod nito laluna iyong mga nasa probinsya at kanayunan.
Ngayong may iniupong bagong administrasyon, puno ng pag-asa ang mga naghahangad ng pagbabago. Gayunman, sila man ay naniniwalang di kakayanin ng isa o ng ilang tao na isakatuparan ang mga kinakailangang pagbabago. Kung di man lubos na napalaya ang mapanlikhang lakas at kakayahan ng masa at di napaunlad ang sama-sama nilang pagkilos pagkatapos ng EDSA 1, ngayon marahil ang panahong maaaring isakatuparan ito para lubos na mapasakamay nila ang kinabukasan at kapalaran ng bayan na sila rin naman ang bumubuo.
Pagpapaunlad man ito sa ekonomiya o kabuhayan ng bansa, pagharap man ito sa mga kalamidad gaya ng pagbaha at iba pang suliraning pangkapaligiran, pagtugon man ito sa problema ng edukasyon o ng kalusugan, di kukulangin ang bayan ng mangunguna sa kanila sa bawat larangan. Sa bawat panahon at pagkakataon, sa hanay din ng taumbayan lumitaw at pumapaibabaw ang mga nanguna sa kanila.
Ngayon pa man, pinapasigla na ng kanilang pangunguna ang iba’t ibang larangan na nangangailangan ng pagtugon at ng pagbabago. Kung ito man ay maisakatuparan ngayon, mapapairal din sa realidad ang isa pang buzzword makaraan ang EDSA 1. Nasa wikang Inggles din ito – ang idea ng “democratic space”. Ibig sabihin, di lamang iilan ang magtatamasa, makakalahok o o makikinabang sa demokrasya kundi ang mga mamamayan mismo. Lalalim pa ang pagkaunawa sa demokrasya: na ito ay di simpleng pagboto lamang sa panahon ng eleksyon lundi tuwirang paglahok at pagkilos ng taumbayan sa mga usaping mahalaga sa buong bayan.
Tuwing magpapalit ng liderato ng pamahalaan, isa ring naging buzzword ang salitang “reconciliation” lalo na ngayong mayroong Aquino, Macapagal-Arroyo, Estrada at Marcos sa gobyerno.
Kahit na humaba ito nang kaunti at naging “no reconciliation without justice,” di naman problema sa mga naging lider ng bansa ang pagbabati. Makaraan ang Rebolusyong 1896, ang Digmaang Pilipino-Amerikano, ang Ikalawang Digmaang Pandaigdig at ang Batas Militar, lagi namang nagbabati ang mga naging lider ng bansa o ang lideratong elite na nahati sa bawat panahong nabanggit. Ang hindi nila binabati ay iyong mga patuloy na nakipaglaban para sa interes ng bayan na patuloy na tinugis, ikinulong at pinatay nang sila na ang nasa poder.
Sakali mang palayain ang mapanlikhang kakayahan ng taumbayan at pasiglahin ang kanilang sama-samang pagkilos sa pagharap sa mga suliranin ng bansa, baka dito pa magkaroon din ng katuparan ang salitang “reconciliation” lalo’t ang taumbayan naman talaga ang initsapuwera ng lideratong elite di lamang sa pagtatamasa ng tunay na demokrasya kundi ng pakinabang din sa anumang kaunlarang pangkabuhayan na nakamit ng bansa.
Mabuti na lamang at pasensyoso ang taumbayan. Pero sa paglipas ng panahon, di naman humahaba ang pisi nila. Ang totoo, natatakot sa mapanlikha nilang lakas at kakayahan gayundin sa kanilang sama-samang pagkilos ang mga naghahari-harian sa lipunang Pilipino. Kaya nga patuloy silang tinutugis, sinusupil, pinapatay. Ngunit handa na bang makipagbati ang lideratong elite ng mga naghahari-harian sa bansa na makipagbati sa taumbayan? Kung handa at kaya na at ito ay isasakatuparan, masusumpungan na rin marahil ang katuparan ang minimithing kapayapaan at kaunlaran para sa bansa at bayan.
Pag-igib at pag-ibig
Tuwing nagkakaroon ng krisis sa tubig – gaya ngayon – naaalala ko ang kabataan ko sa Navotas na laging lubog sa tubig pero hirap naman sa tubig.
Kapag high tide, lubog ang gitnang bahagi ng kalsada sa lugar namin, at para namang binibiro kami ng tadhana nagkataong sa harap lang iyon ng tinitirahan namin. Napakaraming tubig pero wala kang mainom, ika nga nitong si pareng Coleridge sa tula niyang “Rime of the Ancient Mariner.”
Ewan ko kung marami nang may sariling koneksyon ng tubig doon pero noong panahon ko e kokonti lang ang “panginoong may tubig” sa Navotas at naghahari-harian sila lalo na sa panahong taghirap sa tubig.
Sabagay, balita pa rin ngayon na nagkakainitan sa mga pilahan ng tubig sa Metro Manila. Ibig sabihin, luho pa rin para sa maraming Pinoy ang magkaroon ng tubig na dumadaloy sa sarili nilang gripo.
Dahil ako ang madalas maiwan sa bahay noon, ako ang taga-igib sa pamilya. Katunayan, ito ang sinisisi ko kung bakit ang tatangkad ng mga kapatid ko samantalang ako’y hindi; kahit pa madalas kong lagyan ng margarinang “pampatangkad” ang kanin ko.
Buti na lang at bespren ko ang isang anak ng panginoong maytubig sa amin kaya hindi masyadong malungkot ang pag-iigib. Kung minsan, tinutulungan pa niya akong magtulak ng kariton ng tubig hanggang sa bahay namin habang nagkukwentuhan. Labindalawang containers – tambor kung tawagin – ang laman ng isang kariton at kinakailangang buhatin ito mula sa pinto ng bahay hanggang sa kusina na kinalalagyan ng bakal na dram.
Meron ding poso na libre ang tubig pero superhaba ang pila. Parang sa pelikula na meron ding nag-aaway at nagliligawan sa pila. Sa mga hindi masyadong pamilyar, doon galing ang salitang “pila-balde” na ginagamit na rin ngayon sa ilang bagay lalo na sa di kanais-nais na… k’wan… yung may isang babae at maraming lalaki.
Kung akala n’yo ay sa probinsya lang nangyayari ang pinag-iigib ang babaeng nililigawan, nangyayari rin ito sa syudad lalo na kapag namamayagpag si El Ninyo. Hindi ko naman naranasan iyon pero isang kabarkada ko ang gumawa noon. Kung hindi nga lang LPG ang kalan ng nililiyag niyang chikas e baka pinagsibak din niya ito ng kahoy.
Ang konswelo de bobo na lang sa kahindik-hindik na kwentong ito ng kakulangan sa tubig para sa mga Pinoy, e mas mahirap ang tubig sa ibang parte ng mundo, lalo na sa Africa at sa disyerto ng Saudi Arabia.
Mas mahal ang tubig kesa sa gasolina sa Saudi at naranasan ko na ring mag-igib doon dahil madalas mawalan ng tubig ang tinitirahan naming apartment. Sa tindi ng kakulangan ng tubig doon, madalas magpatawag ang hari ng maramihang pagdarasal para sa ulan.
At hirap ang mga Pinoy na maghanap ng matitirahan doon dahil ayaw ng mga may-ari ng apartment ng “magastos sa tubig.” Araw-araw nga naman kung maligo ang mga Pinoy kaya madaling matuyo ang imbakan nila.
RP Embassy confirms deaths of OFWs in Kuwait
The Philippine Embassy in Kuwait confirmed onTuesday the deaths of two overseas Filipino workers in separate incidents.
Astria Samad Abdul, a Maguindanao native, was tortured to death by her employers, spouses Abdulaziz al Falekh and Rabagh Mustafa Sahata. Both are Kuwaitis of Egyptian descent.
The couple admitted to the Kuwait police of torturing the Filipina to death and leaving her body in the Kabd desert area. The police found her remains on July 17.
The remains will be subjected to further forensic examination and then repatriated to the Philippines.
Criminal charges have been filed against the couple.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has authorized the Embassy to secure the services of a private law firm to assist the local prosecutors in handling the case,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said.
Under the Revised Migrant Workers Act, the uses of the Legal Assistance Fund have been expanded to cover both the legal defense and prosecution of employers who maltreat their Filipino workers.
Meanwhile, Cotabato native Norhaisa Nasa Andaw was stabbed to death by her Egyptian husband, Atallah Mohammad, at a salon in Jabriya.
According to the Embassy, Andaw’s husband allegedly stabbed the Filipina wife due to jealousy. She suffered 31 stab wounds before her husband fled the scene, leaving behind the knife and his slippers.
The case is already with the prosecutors, as a warrant of arrest and hold departure order have been issued against the husband, the DFA confirmed.
The Embassy is closely following both cases, and are in constant contact with the DFA on the developments, according to the DFA press release.
It further said the DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs are also in close contact with the families of the victims and promised to provide assistance.
The ‘Warays’ are the haves
By Gloria Esguerra Melencio
Waray is a Samar-Leyte word which means none or nothing. How the word became a collective name of people living in Samar and Leyte, two islands that lie closely to each other in the Visayan region in middle curve of the Philippines, is not yet known in history.
Some Filipinos condescendingly refer to this group of people as “waray upay” (poor) or “waray kuwarta” (no money). Stereotypic images of Waraynons vary as “waray upay nga mga tawo” (good for nothing people) to mean they are drunkards, thieves or gamblers for men; and prostitutes, dancers or housemaids for women.
Recorded was Jesuit priest Pedro Chirino’s account describing those people in Samar and Leyte as “good-for-nothing” people because all they responded to the friars when they asked them about everything – the name of the place where they berthed, for directions , or for the names of people who were not yet and who refused to be baptized as Christians were: “Waray” (I do not know) or “waray gad” (nothing if you please) or “waray man” (truly nothing) or “waray kunta” (absolutely nothing).
Early Samar-Leyte people must had invented many versions of that waray word to cover up what had really been happening from middle of 16th century up to the whole of 17th century.
The word connotes negativity, but for the Waraynons it means vigilance, bravery, intelligence, wit and survival. Had the early Spanish conquistadores only known that the word covers up the “turugpo” (meetings) or “tigaman” (congregation) in the “pantaw” (temporary makeshift altar) every “ginmata” (full moon) or a reaction to the Spaniards’ burning of the babaylans (mostly priestesses) at stake and beheadings of Bancao (Carigara, Leyte) and Sumuroy (Palapag, Samar) – they could had directly named these “docile” yet “warlike” people as cimarrones, remontados, paganos, erejes, insurrectos or suversibos.
Yet, they call them as such in their 18th and 19th century Spanish documents. But while the Waray word had stuck just the same, the bravado of the Waraynons has continued even during the American period up to this day.
The 20th century Balangiga Encounter (Americans refused to call it such and prefer to call it the Balangiga Affair) in Samar where Waraynons successfully penetrated and defeated the American encampment had been a result of a well-planned attack.
What’s in a name? Spaniards refused to give the Samar-Leyte people a name that would show their resentments and their wit in the battle of the minds. Americans deny that the Waray people are capable of retaliation: At times when Waraynons cannot face cannon balls, guns and swords, they used a different strategy. Lack in arms did not mean losing the war.
Next time we are tempted to think of the Warays as all members of the Waray-waray Gang who does kidnap-for-ransoms, or the “waray upay” people who drink gin till they drop dead in Tondo or Navotas side streets, or the GROs along Ermita and Quezon Avenue or the housemaids in the neighborhood, always remember the ancestors and babaylans in 1521, Bancao in 1621, Sumuroy in 1650, the heroes of the Balangiga attack in 1901 and many more who did not make it in written history because they were not rich and famous.
Waray has become a beautiful word.
New warning on drug mules
The Philippine Consulate Generals in Hong Kong and Macau have reiterated its warning to Filipinos to be extra wary of accepting offers from individuals or groups to carry illegal drugs in their luggage or in their person when going abroad.
Earlier, Hongkong and Macau airport authorities arrested Filipinos in three separate occasions there for alleged drug trafficking.
In Hong Kong, Consul General Claro Cristobal said authorities arrested two Filipinas on separate occasions for alleged drug trafficking.
The first arrest was made on June 2 when immigration authorities at Hong Kong International Airport refused entry of a Filipina.
As a customary procedure before deportation, her luggage was taken to the customs checking area for inspection. Authorities reportedly found 1,040 grams of heroin hidden inside the soles of three pairs of shoes in her suitcase. The estimated street value of the drugs was HK$930,000 (US$119, 500).
The Filipina is currently under custodial remand at Tail Lam Centre for women, and her case will be heard in Tsuen Wan Magistrate Court on September 2.
In a letter to the Consulate-General, the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department informed them of the arrest of another Filipina on June 24. The said Filipina was charged with drug trafficking the next day and was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital to extract the drugs from her body cavity. The doctors managed to extract about 876 grams of heroin from her body, with an estimated street value of HK$780,000 (US$100,300).
She is currently confined at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and will be brought for custodial remand at the Tai Lam Centre for Women.
“The Consulate-General will ensure that these Filipinas will have legal representation in all their court appearances and will continue to monitor the said cases,” Consul General Cristobal said.
Meanwhile, the Consulate General in Macau reported that a Filipina was arrested at the Macau International Airport on June 26 for allegedly smuggling almost one kilogram of drugs hidden in three pairs of sports shoes in her luggage. The arrest was published as a headline of the Macau Post Daily.
“We have made arrangements with the Macau authorities to visit her and we will extend necessary legal assistance to her,” he said.
Consul General to Macau Renato Villapando said that they are concerned with the increasing number of Filipinos serving sentences in Macau for drug trafficking. The number of jailed Filipinos now stands to 17.
Department of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos has continuously issued warnings to Filipino travelers against becoming drug couriers.
“We warn our countrymen not to accept packages which they suspect are drugs. If they are caught carrying illegal drugs, they will face very dire consequences,” he said.
Drug trafficking of 50 grams or more of illegal drugs in China is punishable by 15 years in prison, life imprisonment or death. In Muslim countries, drug trafficking is punishable by death, according to Shariah law.
Hunyango
HINDI na nakagugulat ang dagsa-dagsang paglilipat-bakod ng mga pulitiko sa Partido Liberal. Sa isang kisapmata naging mayorya ang partidong ito sa Kongreso dahil ito ang partido ng nanalong pangulo ng Pilipinas.
Ganito ang kalakaran sa sawimpalad nating bansa dahil wala naman kasing tunay na prinsipyo ang nangungunang mga partidong pulitikal. Pwede silang magpapalit-palit ng kulay gaya ng hunyango o chameleon depende sa kapaligiran o kung saan sila makikinabang.
Kaya ’yung dating mga tuta at tagapagtanggol ng dating presidente e biglang lumipat at kumakahol ngayon depende sa kumpas ng bagong amo. Kaya ’yung mga pulitikong walang kahihiyang nagsayaw ng Cha-cha para kay Aling Gloring e walang kahihiyan ngayong nangangakong sosoplahin ang panukalang Cha-cha ng dating pangulo na ngayo’y kasama na nilang nakatira sa Bahay ng mga Kinatawan.
Nakakapanindig-balahibo ang kakapalan ng mukha ng mga pulitikong palipat-lipat at papalit-palit kahit walang malinaw na dahilan kundi sariling kaligtasan o ganansya. Alam kasi nilang hindi mapuputol ang dating ng kanilang pork barrel kung kakampi nila ang namimigay nito. Alam na nila kung sino sila.
Ang kabilang dulo ng mga partidong “mainstream” e ang ilang makakaliwang partido na may tendensyang maging “sectarian” naman o panatikong sarado. Isang halimbawa ang ginagawang pag-atake ng isang grupong makakaliwa sa dating kakamping sina Etta Rosales at Risa Hontiveros dahil lamang kakaiba ang bersyon nila ng pagiging “kaliwa.”
Nanghihinayang ako at hindi nakapasok sa Senado sina Hontiveros, Ka Satur Ocampo at Lisa Maza dahil nagkaroon sana ng kinatawan ang kaliwa kung nakapasok sila. Sigurado namang hindi magbabago ang sistema ng pamahalaan kung naroon sila pero nagkaroon sana ng boses ang masa kahit mahina.
Nakalulungkot ding makita na hindi na nga solido ang kaliwa, personal pa kung magbanatan sila sa publiko. Sino ang maniniwala, halimbawa, na kakampi ng human rights violators si Etta Rosales at hindi siya bagay ilagay sa Commission on Human Rights? Sino ba ang tingin nilang bagay sa CHR? Hindi ba dapat silang matuwa na ang “burgis” na pamahalaang ito e handang humirang ng mga taong galing sa kaliwa at sa gayon ay mapalawak ang larangan para sa tinatawag nilang rebolusyon?
Ito rin ang linya nila nang akusahan si Hontiveros ng pakikipagkaisa sa mga berdugo ng bayan at mga panginoong maylupa noong panahon ng kampanya; ginagawa nila iyon habang ipinagtatanggol nila ang isa ring panginoong maylupa at inaakusahan ng corruption na si Manny Villar.
Hindi ba sila pwedeng maging masaya para sa mga hindi nga nila kakampi pero nagmamalasakit din sa bayan at pinapayagan ng administrasyon na magsilbi?
Ang totoo nga niyan baka hindi rin magtagal sa pwesto ang mga kagaya ni Etta tulad ng nangyari sa mga Leftists na itinalaga ni Tita Cory sa gabinete niya noong katatayo pa lamang ng kanyang “revolutionary” government.