A Positive View in Malabon City

If you are up-to-date with the news in the Philippines, you will definitely agree that there are more negative stories nowadays because of the NBN ZTE controversy. And all of us are hoping that this will end soon and pray that it will end for the good of the country.
A few days ago, we went to a medical mission, where our church participated with, in Malabon City. It was my first time to visit the municipal city of Malabon and I could say that it was an orderly place. While there, I began roaming around and the swimming pool nearby caught my attention. There were some children in the pool and they were not just swimming for play or fun. They were being trained to be good swimmers.
I approached one of the caretakers of the place and I asked about the kids and the pool. She said that the pool is open to public for free. One just needs to get a permit from their office ahead of time. The kids in the pool were being trained and any of them can be chosen for competitions in the future.
I went inside the premises of the pool and talked to the coach this time and he told me that there were about 30 kids under his training. I thought for a while that this is a good way of discovering future champions in sports.
But it was not only kids doing some swimming lessons that I saw there. Inside the covered area of the Oreta Sports Center, there were teenagers being trained in basketball. This is a good program for the youth so they may have something better to do in their spare time and not be involved in gang wars or drug addiction.
If all the municipal cities in the Philippines will do the same, I believe we will have our elusive Olympic gold medal in the near future. This is a very positive view I saw and experienced in Malabon City.

The Jun Lozada Fever and Remembering EDSA 1

Today, the Philippines commemorated the EDSA 1 Revolution. It’s been 22 years now. If you are in your 30’s, certainly you have some recollections of EDSA 1. The noise barrage; People on the streets; nuns, priests, and military men. The yellow color signs; the “L” hand sign that signified the word “Laban” (fight.)
So, where were you those three days? If you were here today in Manila, you will see the same things, almost the same things. And you would experience first-hand the Jun Lozada fever. The every hour flash news is now worth the time watching as each day’s “what will happen next?” unfold. But still the news on TV is not enough to satisfy us, so we go to the internet to search for more information. There, we discover a lot of people really talking about it and even making fun of it in some sites.
The uploaded videos about Jun Lozada and the ZTE thing in the youtube.com are not all comic after all. There are some serious ones. I took notice of this one video with an original song. The message of the song is very timely. I hope you will be inspired also by it.

I DON’T LIKE HAIRCUTS

When was your last haircut? Mine was just a few hours ago. I like it very short so I won’t be coming back to the barber shop only in a few weeks. It’s because, even when I was young, I didn’t like haircuts. It’s uncomfortable and you feel itchy from the neck down just after your haircut. But it’s one of those things you can’t do without unless you stop growing your hair. But then again, I’d rather go through my regular haircuts (which is every 45 days), than be bald for life.


I have nothing against bald men but for me a person’s hair really adds to his or her overall individuality. It’s really unexplainable how one can change looks just by a simple haircut or change of hairstyle. I must also add that a regular haircut is essential in maintaining good grooming especially with men.
When I go out of the country, I would surely have my haircut first because haircut is quite expensive abroad. What I pay in an ordinary barber shop along the road in Manila is only about US $2 and in a mall or in an air-conditioned barber shop is about US $3 to $5 and sometimes it even has a free massage (ha ha ha..). It’s even cheaper in the provinces or countryside. If you are living or working in another country now, I am sure you know the big difference in the price. But don’t be stingy with getting your much needed haircut there. Maintaining your long hair can be more expensive as you will consume more hair shampoo and other hair needs plus more time consumed in grooming it.
If you are planning for a vacation, don’t get a haircut yet. Have your haircut here. It’s one of those less expensive things that you can do when you go back to Philippines.
You may also include in your list the dental visit, physical check-up and other medical-related tests as these are very expensive abroad. I think that’s a clean-cut advice and not just a kwentong barbero (barber’s hearsay story.)

Filipinos Are Like The Pinoy Adodo

Cooking is one of my hobbies. I thank my Tatay (father) who hails from Pampanga for teaching us how to cook Pinoy foods. Two nights ago, I was thinking of what I’d like to eat for dinner and I want something simple, easy to prepare and cook. And the best choice for that criteria is adobo (chicken or pork – I chose chicken this time.) But I want it tastier so I prepared it with gata (coconut milk.)
As we all know, adobo is claimed to be an authentic Pinoy food. It will definitely be on the top five lists of popular Pinoy foods. Adobo is a favorite choice for picnics, potlucks, or pambaon (packed food) because it lasts long or doesn’t spoil easily. And no matter how lowly adobo is, I consider it a Pinoy gourmet food - tasty and delicious.
Another thing about adobo is no matter how simple or basic its ingredients, somehow Maria’s adobo taste a little bit different from Virginia’s cooking. I have tasted a lot of adobos; some are saucy, others are dry or fried a bit, still others are spicy, a bit sour, salty, sweet, and some have black peppers and bay leaves; but they are all good. It’s such an easy recipe to cook that even a first-timer will be able to make it deliciously good.
As I was cooking it, I find adobo to be so Pinoy.
1. It’s simple, easy to prepare and cook – very much like a Filipino who is very friendly, easy to get along with and easy to please.
2. It’s a favorite bring-along food – a Pinoy is the life of a party; a storyteller; a comedian; an entertainer; always ready to give a helping hand; an asset rather than a liability; a Pinoy is a favorite friend to bring along with in trips or just plain shopping.
3. It doesn’t spoil easily – Filipino’s are very resilient, enduring, and patient and can easily blend with other cultures.
4. It’s tasty and delicious – Filipinos possess pleasing personality, God-fearing, peace-loving; they value friendship and family relationships, and they are one of the “Happiest People” of the world.
5. It comes in a variety of concoctions - Filipinos excel in many fields, there are engineers, architects, doctors, nurses, teachers, singers, artists (name it, we have it), and the many Filipino workers scattered around the globe which contribute much to the development and economy of many nations.
With this, we can say that adobo can possibly be a candidate as the Philippine’s national ulam (dish). Others on the list will be pancit, bistek, sinigang, paksiw, kare-kare, lechon, pinakbet, or menudo; but my vote will go to adobo.
We really enjoyed our chicken adobo with gata that night and if you haven’t cooked one yet, here’s how: First, I’m sure you have your own way of cooking the simple adobo recipe. Juts cook it and then when it’s done, pour the gata into it and boil for a minute or two. Add a little salt or soy sauce as you please. In this way, we are preserving your own way of cooking your adobo; we just added the coconut milk. Here’s a pic of our leftover which will still taste good a day after.

HOW I MISS PHILIPPINE TV ADS!

When I’m away from home, I get to see TV programs from other countries. Usually I notice the TV ads and I can’t help but compare them with the Philippine TV ads. I would say that the Philippine TV ads are very creative and entertaining. And I have to say it’s because the artists and creators of these ads are very good.
Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of our TV ads that are so well created and produced that they serve for what they were created for – and that is for the viewers to remember them even after it’s no longer on broadcast or even after some years have passed.
Let me mention some unforgettable local ads. Will you remember these ones?

1. Rufina Patis – with its music lines saying “Ang patis Rufina’y, pampalinamnam… Rufina patis, Rufina Patis”
2. Caronia – the nail polish with a foreign language song but how it clicked.
3. Magnolia Ice Cream – and its monthly “Flavor of the Month” feature song.
4. Palmolive Soap - where two former classmates after some years saw each other while on escalators and the companion of one commented “Classmate mo ten years ago? Bakit mas mukha syang bata sa ‘yo?”
5. Mr. Clean – with Sylvia La Torre singing “Labadami..Labango”
6. Royal True Orange – and its claim of having real orange “pulp bits” in its softdrink.
7. 680 Home Appliances – “Why don’t you shop around with your friends..”

Here are some Philippine TV ads, 3 old ones and one recent. The first is superwheel soap, then, Baguio Oil, and Coke which featured Tito Vic & Joey. The last one is Fita ad. I’ve seen a lot of very good commercials, but this Fita ad is something I can’t forget for its very creative concept. Hope you enjoy these ads even if the video quality of the classic ads are not so good.

Can You Live Without TV?

Honestly, my answer to that is yes and no. That is because my addiction to TV viewing is seasonal. There are times when I really don't feel like watching TV, and there are times I would really rush for home just to catch my favorite evening shows. I could get hooked into a well-produced soap opera. Mind you, Philippine soap operas are getting better and better.. Thanks to Channels 2 and 7 for always coming up with very good TV programs.
I guess, I can survive without TV. I will die with no food and water but I won't die without TV. When I was a child, I liked watching cartoons (Popeye, Space Ghost, Mighty Mouse, Captain America..) , but we don't have TV. I go to our neighbor and sneak in their window to see those TV programs. Those were the days.
Unlike years ago when there were only a few TV channels, we now have cable TV that offers numerous TV broadcasts, local and international. This makes millions of people glued in their TV sets.
Are you a TV addict. Try to take this simply quiz and know if you are..

Can You Survive Without TV

Personality Quiz by Quibblo

Missing Those Philippine Child Games

One thing that a Pinoy really misses when he is overseas are the games we usually play on the streets of Metro Manila or even in towns in the provinces. Remember those days, just right after school, we go out and play with friends in the neighbors. And we have our favorite street games. Mine is Taguan (hide and seek), what’s yours? Before, our street games are so physical, which was good, because besides enjoying the game, we are unconsciously doing physical exercise. That’s why we are so tough and we don’t get sick easily as compared to children nowadays as their games are very electronic like computer games or hand-held electronic games.
So, do you recall playing these games?

1. Piko – where we try to outnumber the “bahay” (box spots) of our opponents.




2. Tumbang Preso (Hit the Can) – how many times have you become “bagoong” (or the prolonged “it”) in this game?


3. Agawang Base – where we catch the other’s teammates to become our captives.


4. Patintero – the maze-like game bounded by lines guarded by the opponents.




5. Holen or Jolens – tossing round marbles out of a small circled-area on the ground.


6. Teks (small comics or cartoons cards) – we buy these cards and play with them and we either lose or win all our cards to our opponents.


7. Goma or Rubber Bands – those colorful rubber bands that we braid, the longer the better.


8. Chinese Garter – a girl’s game where they jump over an elastic garter, although this game is rather very Filipino and did not originate from China.


9. Syato – the game with two sticks where the loser has to run and shout the word “Syato”; a good vocal exercise.


10. Luksong Tinik (Jump over the thorns) – how we jump as high as we could.

Other games : Jackstone, Langit Lupa (Heaven & Earth), Touch The Color, Bahay-Bahayan (Playing House), Sipa (Kick) and some others.

But like the games children play today, we sometimes get addicted to playing. My brothers were like that. They sometimes get hooked with playing resulting into lower grades in their school cards. How my father boiled my brother’s boxful of teks cards and made him drink the broth, yuck! Not only that, he buried his jolens on the ground somewhere and burned his braid of rubber bands.
I wonder what kind of games will the children be playing in the future? Why don’t we try teaching our children our old games? I’m sure they will enjoy them as much as we enjoyed them some years ago.

Something Good is Happening in Marikina

Wednesday night (January 30, 2008), I came home from my sister's birthday get-together dinner in SM Mall of Asia (MOA). Although it was my second time to go to MOA, I couldn't help myself but compare it with some malls in Singapore, in fact, it felt like I was in Singapore. And again that wishful thinking, when will Metro Manila become like Singapore? At home, after an hour's drive, I relaxed a bit on our sofa and watched some of the new teleseryes on TV. Three new teleseryes started this week in ABS-CBN Channel 2: Kung Fu Kids, Palos, and Lobo. After these teleseryes, came the news program, and then one of my favorite news-magazine programs, The Probe. Something caught my attention in one of its segments - and it was some good thing happening in Marikina.

Have you heard anything about Marikina lately? We all know that it's called the shoe capital or the shoe city of the Philippines. But nowadays it's more than that. It's being tagged now as the Singapore of Metro Manila. The city is totally clean, yes Maria, you don't see garbage around. There are no sidewalk vendors so the sidewalks are clear and wide for the sidewalkers to sidewalk by (I mean pedestrians to walk on the sidewalks.) The markets there are sanitary and are not smelly. You don't see half-naked men roaming on the road nor do you see them having a drinking spree along the streets as these are ban in Marikina. And the once over-polluted Marikina River is now being revived, cleaned and now a romantic spot in Marikina Park. So many scenes in movies and TV programs have been shot there. The residents there have discipline; they follow their city's laws and regulations and they obey traffic rules. It's fantastic; it's unbelievable for a city like that to exist in Metro Manila. If you're planning to go back home, then you should visit Marikina. Besides the Marikina Park, where it's big enough for you to spend the whole day roaming around, they have a new swimming resort, a butterfly park, and a shoe museum where you can find the world-record biggest shoe in the world. I'm not into politics so much, but allow me to mention the person who started it all in Marikina who is their former Mayor and now the Head of MMDA (Metropolitan Manila Development Authority) Chairman Bayani Fernando. But at present, the leadership in Marikina is passed on to his wife, Ma. Lourdes Fernando, now the mayor of Marikina.
But what really got my attention about Marikina in the Probe program of Ms. Cheche Lazaro? It's the recycling garbage system that they have implemented among the public school students and their parents in their locality. Oh, what a big deal, it's just garbage! Yes it is, and it involves about thousands of students and their parents in Marikina and the total income generated from this effort is translated into millions of pesos. How's that? The students in public schools are instructed to tell their parents at home to segregate their garbage - that is to separate the paper, the glass bottle containers and the plastic. The students bring these to the school where it will be weighed and recorded accordingly in each student's passbook. They earn points for bringing the recyclable materials; the more they bring, the more they gain points. One point is equivalent to a peso. If a student brings a kilo of used paper, and if a kilo of used paper is five pesos, then he gets five points. The student is paid fair and square. The accumulated points gained by the student can be exchanged for some grocery items in the school, like cooking oil, biscuits, instant noodles, spaghetti, or maybe laundry soap - what's good about this is they don't exchange this for cash as the students or the parents might be tempted to use the money in some other way if they get the cash. Because of this program, the students and the parents are encouraged to recycle their garbage. Likewise, the students learn to save or be a part of a small livelihood. The big picture in this is the city has reduced its garbage disposal by over 30%. The city government also saves in paying for the garbage trucks that collects the residents' garbage as there is less garbage to get. It also creates jobs as the business of "junk shops" (I think it would be better to call them "recycling shops") thrive on this so they expand and hire additional workers. Most of all, we save the environment from so much garbage disposable.
As I was watching the segment in The Probe program, I was sighing "that's very very good..." Only, if all the cities in Metro Manila or even all the cities in the Philippines will copy that.
That something good in Marikina is just a drop of water in a bucket but I'm really hoping it will create ripples everywhere.
To know more about Marikina’s vision as a model city, click on this link http://city.marikina.gov.ph/

When Do I Start Missing Philippines?

"Hinahanap-hanap kita Manila, Ang ingay mong kay sarap sa tenga, Mga jeepney mong nagliliparan, Mga babae mong naggagandahan" (I miss you, Manila, Your noise that's good to the ear, Your fast-driving jeepneys, Your beautiful girls) So goes the song of "Hotdog", the band that started the "Manila Sound"... remember their other songs "Pers Lab" and "Ikaw ang Miss Universe ng Buhay Ko"?
What are you really missing in the Philippines? Is it the sound? the sights and the scenes? The stories - whether newsworthy or plain gossips? The succulent food? Our People - the super resilient Pinoys? who have weathered 3 or 4 EDSA revolutions and several coup attempts? (I was there on the streets of the 1st and 2nd EDSA's but not on the last ones.) I guessed, with that, you have already a close figure of my age in your mind. But going back to my question, when do I start missing Philippines when I live in the Philippines? I do, but I travel a lot, mostly around Asia. And when I stay in an Asian city for more than 2 weeks, that's when I start missing Philippines. What more for those many of our Pinoys staying out of the country for years, like my brother who has been working in Japan for more than 10 years now..
I start missing Philippines when I have to get bus cards or train cards when I go out to go to shopping malls in Singapore or to some shops in Hong Kong, where jeepneys and metro manila buses are nowhere in sight. I start missing Philippines, when I hear Chinese music, instead of Basil Valdez or Regine Velasquez on the radio. I start missing Philippines when I can't buy green or raw sampaloc (tamarind) in their markets so I can cook my favorite sinigang. I start missing Philippines when I can't knock on my neighbor to ask for a pinch of salt because I forgot to buy some the other day. Ahhh, so many things that will make you miss Philippines so much when you are living abroad even if for just a month or two.
So, what to do when I have a planned trip.. I bring some of the things that I will miss. Some sinigang broth, music CD's of my favorite Pinoy artists, a kilo of calamansi, 2 kilos of Philippine-made hotdog (I need to share some), chocnut, raw papaya for tinola, bagoong, instant noodles, instant pancit canton... I could go on and on. . And ten kilos of my baggage are these stuff. But food is not the only thing I miss... Lots and lots more of other things.
Hey, I created this blog just for that. Every now and then, I will be posting things that we start missing in the Philippines. We will have stories, photos, music, even videos.. Promise, I will bring some of these things here closer to you...