Living Healthy
It’s a given that a major part of a good life is good health. Even with its status as a developing country, the Philippine government has shown this commitment in ensuring that its citizens get what they need to stay healthy and happy. The Department of Health continuously conduct medical missions and free clinics to various barangays nationwide. Information campaigns about communicable diseases, their causes and cures, help the people realize the value of prevention and the practice of vigilance. Examples of such are the TB-DOTS for tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS program and STD. For government employees, they enjoy the benefits of PhilHealth and SCGEM that aid them financially when major operations, tests or hospitalization occurs.
Such moves to address health issues especially in small barangays in all regions of the country is an indicator of a road towards progress. People could throw all sorts of insults on its government, but they cannot deny the fact that in this regard (health) it has not failed. The free vaccines given to children and pregnant women cost thousands of pesos in private hospitals. Check-ups are usually being paid for but come free in government health offices and medical missions. The quality of treatment and service in both private and government hospitals are basically the same. One cannot pirate supposedly life-saving procedures and methods.
The big difference is in staying conditions and the processes you have to go through to avail of these benefits. You have to endure long queues, the heat, the chaos, the stack of papers to identify you as a real beneficiary. The living conditions in government hospitals and the sanitation of most are significant problems yet to be addressed. These are the aspects that contribute to health, good health, that have been gravely overlooked and must immediately be developed.
We all have struggles, and wherever we go we are bound to face hassles. But the road to a healthy, happy life requires one’s own desire to take care of him/herself. With the programs of the health department, we are being given the chance to be able to do something to ensure that we can maintain a tiptop shape. The choice, the desire to do take advantage of these benefits is in our hands. The ball is in our court, let’s make good use of it.
Especially Ordinary
A lot of teenagers are lucky enough to go to college. A number are privileged to go to prestigious universities. But a few, the chosen few, could get into the University of the Philippines and be labeled as one of the country’s brightest minds.
They say the UP student is the best of the best. He leads a simple life; is well-rounded and smart. The UP student is involved in the most pressing issues of the country because of his love for the motherland. He is willing to serve it even after he graduates—characteristic of a true iskolar ng bayan. He is noble, and he is proud of that.
Well, that’s what they think. Right now, this UP stereotype needs a reality check.
The ideal UP student is intelligent—an honor student, an achiever, a leader. Now, UP students are not necessarily intelligent. They are however hardworking and diligent—the reasons why they excel in the academe. Being a UP student is not merely struggling for knowledge and learning. It is constantly enduring the demands of school work together with extra-curricular activities and social responsibilities and of course, your personal time. But because you are from UP, the bar is raised higher as compared to the average college student.
The iskolar ng bayan is not the son or daughter of a business tycoon nor was he born to an old-rich family. The iskolar ng bayan is the son or daughter of a humble worker in the fields or an employee in government offices or small enterprises or even self-employed individuals just struggling to make ends meet. This why the ideal UP student is accustomed to and enjoy a simple lifestyle. But now, the UP student has his fair share of branded outfits and sophisticated gadgets. Havaianas footwear, signature shirts, and the best laptops only fall a little short of the ordinary. UP has opened its doors a little wider now for the higher middle class and even the elite.
The real UP student takes a lot of pride from where he’s from. You can see him in his UP jacket, UP shirt, UP lanyard, UP baller and everything else that screams “UP” to anyone who bothers to look. But where does this UP pride stem from? It is from the realization that the UP student owes his education to the taxes of the Filipino people, and he is supposed to give back what he owes. But what is there to be proud of when this is precisely what the UP student has forgotten?
UP pride is not anymore about being of service to the motherland. It is not the reason why the UP student excels in school. He continues to excel in school to advance his status in the competitive economic and business-centered world that will welcome him when he graduates. The love for learning and the eagerness to seek knowledge is not anymore the driving force in intellectual discourse. The UP student doesn’t anymore seem interested in making significant changes through innovation. He is merely struggling to keep his head above the turbulent waters of trying economic times. The priority is a better life for himself, because more than anything else, he needs to ensure his own survival first. He has become just like everybody else.
People may say that the UP student is the head of the pack of his generation. He has what it takes to make things happen. But people change and nothing stays constant. We may attribute these changes to an evolving culture or increased influence from all over the world. But we cannot deny that every individual still has his own choice. And given that UP is a symbol of democracy, free will and social responsibility, we can stay that the UP student has taken a stand for himself, one that people cannot question, a decision we can only hope is intelligent.
Rules are meant for breaking
The University of the Philippines Visayas SEAT-UP drivers are currently demanding for exclusivity of operation inside the campus. According to a SEAT-UP driver, this demand is due to the fact that each drivers’ organization has memberships according to the routes they operate in. The Malagyan drivers pay their membership dues in poblacion banwa, and SEAT-UP drivers pay their dues of three thousand pesos (P3,000) to the UPV Administration.
For UPV students in Miagao, waiting for around seven minutes before the UPV Seat-Up Tricycles drive off can be a burden, especially when they are running late for class. These students grumble to themselves and complain to their peers, but rarely do they complain to the authorities.
The rules and regulations for the UPV SEAT-UP operations are unknown to the students, and therefore, the thought of doing something rarely cross their minds.
The UPV SEAT-UP Tricycles have rules to follow, but the basic ones seem to be forgotten. What rules are these?
The Everyday Scenes:
Scene 1: Tricycle drivers wait with their vehicles in front of each of the dormitories on campus, one, sometimes, two at a time. Seems normal in the campus, but in the contract for the UPV SEAT-UP Drivers, there are only two (2) parking areas in the campus: the vacant area in front of the university library, and the dorm area/ staff housing guard house, commonly known as Box 2. Parking in front of dormitories is strictly prohibited, and the tricycles can only stop when there are students on the way out while the drivers are making rounds in the area.
Scene 2: Drivers wait for the tricycles to fill up before they drive off to wherever they are headed, however, in the UPV SEAT-UP Contract, it is stated that tricycles parking near the dorm areas and staff houses have only a maximum of five minutes to wait for passengers.
Scene 3: Sometimes, students become very desperate to leave that they make deals with tricycle drivers to have taxi-like services. On weekdays, they pay thirty pesos (P30) for taxi services, at night it may cost around forty pesos (P40). However, the price of the taxi service should not be more than the fare of five passengers. This would be equivalent to twenty-five pesos (P25) on weekdays, and thirty-five pesos (P35) at night or on weekends.
What this means
Given that the tricycles are the most popular and the only means of transportation in the university other than private cars, they have an existing monopoly in this line of service.
This aforementioned disregard for rules is a way for these tricycle drivers to maximize the potential of a limited client base. Given that they traverse only the roads of the university and cater to students, faculty and other people living within its boundaries, they could not afford to take only one or two passengers at a time. The cost of gasoline and the need to earn more in the span of time students and faculty go to and from school push these drivers to bend and break the rules. Waiting for their tricycle to be filled up and earn the maximum for every trip could somehow help them reach a break-even in operations cost and, it is hoped, even earn some profit.
This puts in the backseat the interests of the students they serve. These drivers know when the students are running late but seem oblivious of their being in a hurry. Blame the students who intentionally wait for the last minute to leave their apartments or boarding houses, but there are those who leave early but have to wait for the tricycle to be filled up and do not have much of a choice.
Most students would complain about this to each other but filed complaints only come once or twice a month to the Security Services Office. This goes to show that students are either not very alarmed or disturbed about the issue or they lack knowledge about the existing rules that govern the operations of these tricycles. They may not know too about the proper office to address. While these matters affect their daily lives, they seem content to settle with these practices as nobody gets seriously hurt, only seriously late.
The Security Services Office has confirmed the existence of complaints against crooked practices such as these. The complaints come mostly from the staff and students. Ms. Delia Palabrica of the Security Services Office said that it is part of the guards’ duties to monitor tricycle operations and ensure that they are following the rules. However, the guards have responsibilities that disable them from properly looking after these tricycles naming roving around the staff housing and chasing off stray cows among others.
This says a lot about the administration’s take on the matter. It seems that they are not concerned about the violations that these tricycles are making with regards to the rules made by the university and their association. They turn a blind eye to these malpractices and pass off complaints as nothing but trivial matters that could not possibly do great damage to anyone’s life.
The point however is that these tricycle drivers could not even abide by simple rules and at the expense of the market they serve. People in this university, commuters and drivers or operators, pass off these little glitches in their every day as merely minor adjustments that we all have to live with.
However, if we simply allow it to continue, we are not helping the development of the campus. We are serving the needs of one party and compromising those of another. Most importantly, we get used to small corrupt practices thinking they could do no harm when in fact they start the bigger ball of corruption rolling. If we can’t get small things right, how can we be trusted with the big things?
What others have to say:
When interviewed, a UPV SEAT-UP driver admitted to his knowledge on the rules and regulations concerning the waiting period and the maximum number of passengers in a tricycle unit. However, because of the competition with other SEAT-UP and Malagyan drivers, their earnings for each day are scarce, which is why he also asked for the help of students concerning the situation they are currently in.
When asked about the UPV administration’s implementation of the rules in the agreement, it was found that there were no drivers recently apprehended form their jobs, or called to the authorities when they breach rules in the contract.
Getting called by the authorities is rarely done because according to the UPV Security near the dorm area/staff housing, these days, they usually only write complaints and infringement reports, and send them to the Security Services Office. Whenever the renewal of UPV sticker applications come, those with a large number of infringements may not be able to renew their application.
In order for the security to do their job in apprehending drivers who breach the agreements as stated in the contract, students are encouraged to go to any of the security guards in respective areas in order to draw up an infringement report.
Distrust in the system
Some students were interviewed regarding the problems they usually encounter with the tricycle and the answers were similar to the violations cited in this report. The most common problem is the length of time spent waiting for the tricycle to be filled up and what this will cost them. A number pointed out that these tricycles wait and park right in front of the No Parking and No Waiting sign in front of the dormitories and even form a queue. Other than these, some complained about having to fill the front seat of the tricycle with three people when sometimes it seems the third person is already hanging dangerously by the side of the tricycle. These experiences as the interviewees claimed happen often.
When asked about what they have done about it, most of them answered they just vent out to their other friends. One said he sometimes talks directly to the driver and asks him if they could leave already or just pays up to keep from waiting for half an hour or so. All of them know that the tricycles should not be parking nor waiting given the sign outside the dormitory but none have tried to file a complaint.
The reason they don’t make an effort to file a formal complaint is because of the time it takes and how it gets nowhere anyway. They feel it is but a waste of time. They do not trust the filing system to be able to find solutions for the problem. They do not even know where they should be filing if ever they think of doing so.
As for the other rules violated by the tricycle drivers, the interviewees had no idea such rules existed. They are unaware of exactly where these tricycles are supposed to be parking, at what occasions they are allowed to stop by the dormitory and how many people is its maximum capacity.
Even with the problems they encounter, they claim to understand the need of the drivers to make a living and to earn the most from their services. This is also another factor that stops them from coming forward and reporting these malpractices. They said they don’t think so much about it and just go through the same dilemma everyday thinking that it’s just how it is, how it should be.
Nobody’s really happy and nobody’s actually learning from the culture that has come about from this disregard of rules. People have adjusted themselves to these problems in consideration of the welfare of the less fortunate. This then lead to the abuse of the monopoly and people’s sympathy. It is reflective of the Filipino value of emotional manipulation to the advantage of those concerned. But then again, does the end justify the means?
The UPV SEAT-UP Drivers are demanding exclusivity in their designated routes, free of Malagyan tricycle drivers’ competition. However, the rules and regulations as stated in the UPV Administration and SEAT-UP contracts are often breached. The UPV Administration rarely put the penalties in effect because the consequences for the violations in the contract will be more grave, considering the lack of warning.
Although students may understand the plight of the tricycle drivers, their sympathy only goes so far. Earning money is understandably hard, but for students who budget their given allowances, saving is similarly hard to do, which is why drivers should still follow the rules, especially when it comes to fare concerns. The number of passengers should be back to five per unit at most because the third person on the front seat of the tricycle is almost always put to danger, something that should not be taken lightly by anyone.
It is not in the matter of numbers anymore, but more on ethical reasons. If the UPV SEAT UP drivers do not abide by the rules of the administration, as well as of the association, then their demand for exclusivity could be questionable at best.
For the administration, which created and supposedly should be enforcing the rules, they have failed to do their part. Through interviews with concerned officials, it was found that while they are knowledgeable of their responsibilities, they have become lax in carrying them out. Their attitude to the complaints filed are passive, unalarmed for what could be the consequences, and unconcerned on whether these complaints will be acted upon or not.
For the students who are most affected by the disregard for the rules, must understand that the change in the system must start from them. By taking the necessary steps to put these issues to light, and by being vigilant enough to follow up the steps taken by the authorities, they may be able to improve the service that they are getting.
What seem to be lacking in these issues are the communication lines between the parties involved: the UPV SEAT UP Association, the UPV Administration, and representatives from the commuting public. By discussing these issues, a compromise may be worked out in order to cater efficiently to the needs of those involved.
Yay, I’m number two.
I was already tipsy last night but I could swear I heard the song playing on TV right. The song goes, “Would you be my number two?” And even in the daze caused by too much vodka, I wondered who in his right mind would go outrightly asking a girl if she’d be willing to stand in for the one who probably isn’t there at the moment, or the one who got away, or the one who just sometimes makes him wonder why he’s with her at all. It’s just like having a favorite ice cream flavor but every once in a while trying out the flavor of the month.
And what girl in her right mind would say yes? More importantly, why?
“I love him.” Now that’s what we call, a classic. It is the greatest epitome of human’s superior rationalizing ability. It makes everything sound so sensible that you’d find her three months later in her room eating a tub of ice cream and watching One More Chance over and over on DVD thinking she could be Basha or she could be Trish, and Popoy would be forever.
It is not only because of human’s superior intellect that they engage and get away with cheating. The world’s a stage and now everybody is in show business. So everytime your guy or girl is with someone of the opposite sex (or the same sex, but then that’s a different story), just the two of them together, they’re most probably, “just friends”. And you believe him or her because yes, “I love him.” And yes, “I trust him.” Besides, he’s never really done anything before to make you suspicious, right? Well except this time that you actually saw it with your own two eyes.
Trusting is when you accept what your partner tells you to be true, even when you’re halfway around the world or simply just in another restaurant and cannot actually see for yourself. Didn’t Jesus say, “Blessed are those who did not see, but believed”? Yes, blessed are they who have the dark to keep them company, the illusions in their head as comfort and the unwavering belief that their Prince Charming’s horse is only for two. They missed the fact that Prince Charming could have another horse? Or better yet, a brand new car. Some people are just so lucky.
So it started with “Will you be my number two?” -Joe Jackson
Then came “Secret lovers, that’s what we are.”-Atlantic Starr
The more popular “These are my confessions.”-Usher, which even has a part II.
Then “My girl’s in the next room, sometimes I wish she was you. I guess we’ve never really moved on.”-Hinder
It ought to close with, “I don’t want to walk out that door. I don’t want to take away his life. I don’t want to be, a murderer.”-Rihanna
But as I said, people are smart.
That’s why now in the club they’re singing, “(Girl) Whatcha say, ooohh that you only meant well, well of course you did. Whatcha say, that it’s all for the best? Of course it is. (Boy) Coz when the roof caved in and the truth came out, I just didn’t know what to do. But when I become a star, we’ll be living so large. I’ll do anything for you. Whatcha say?”-Jason De Rulo
Call Centers: The Sunshine Industry (Indeed.)
The Philippines ranks second to India when it comes to outsourcing in this side of the world. In recent years, numerous call centers have sprung up in major cities nationwide offering jobs to thousands of Filipinos especially fresh graduates. Together with the overwhelming phenomenon are a number of issues concerning health, ethics and sustainability. Despite these however, I believe that the rise of the call center industry is the best thing that’s ever happened to the Filipinos and the Philippine economy in recent history. In 2009, the call center industry incurred around $5 billion in revenues and is expected to double in the year 2010.
http://www.callcenterdirectory.biz/images/logo1.jpg
Call centers provide employment to more than 400,000 Filipinos. Most call center agents or customer service representatives are fresh graduates, professionals and working students. Call centers provide an opportunity for students to earn money to support their education and help their families. This is due to flexible work schedules, perfect especially for college students who do not have a rigid school schedule. The academic requirement of call centers allow these students to acquire employment while still in school.
Some argue that call centers become dump sites for unemployed professionals resulting in a brain drain or a displacement of skills. Taking the thousands of unemployed nurses in the Philippines for example, the lack of opportunities for them to work in hospitals pushes them to go into call centers and earn money. This seems a much better alternative than have our nurses stay home doing nothing and wasting their skills and time away. Others may say they can go into volunteering in rural communities to increase their competence. While this may be good and noble, we have to face the fact that Filipinos need money to support their daily needs and volunteering for little or no salary at all just doesn’t cut it for those families going hungry with children who can barely go to school.
Call centers bank on the English proficiency Filipinos have been known for. Its people are resources just as important and useful to the Philippines as its natural bounty. With English as a major language in the country, it is no wonder that call centers are a big hit with Filipinos. This propelled the enhancement of the English curriculum in all levels of the academe. The Commission on Higher Education claimed that such developments in the English programs are to increase competency of graduates in the global arena. This is a motivation for students to maximize their full potentials because they are being equipped with skills that could ensure them employment after they graduate. It is not merely learning, they are actually being prepared for the future, an earning future.
Call centers help in improving the Philippine economy. The numerous call centers in the Philippines incurring revenues of more than $2 billion each every year affect significantly the country’s gross national product. As of the moment, with the jobs it provides, taxes from thousands of Filipinos used to fund government projects come in bigger values. (If these taxes actually go to government projects is a different paper altogether.) Looking into its effects on the market, the employment it provides gives more people buying power. With such power, goods and services do not remain stagnant in the market because more people can avail and have the means to pay for them. In a nutshell, call centers do not only affect GNP but play a big part in ensuring the continuity in the flow of goods and services.
Among other industries in the Philippines, the reason why the call center industry is the most popular is because of high pay for minimal capital requirements. It feeds on the Filipinos’ ability to adjust and to sacrifice for the sake of providing better for their loved ones. There may be risks in call center jobs, more emotional and physical rather than situational, but these are no match to what one can get in his paycheck. It is the easy way out, the immediate answer to the prayer of a better today. What the Filipinos need at this time of crisis is something that will assure them food on their table everyday. And knowing Filipinos ingenuity, they will be able to find a way to turn the hazards into even more opportunities.
For this government, seeing the benefits its people can get out of this industry, they could use this to their full potential. Invest more and provide bigger, better benefits, improve the competency of their representatives, ensure a safe and healthy environment addressing any risks linked to health due to lifestyle. They can improve a lot of lives by providing more jobs. We are looking into a gateway to the future. We cannot turn our backs now.
Missing in tradition
I do not have the slightest idea about what could possibly make someone go swimming in a sea of sweaty, sticky bodies under the scorching heat of the midday sun. it’s Dinagyang time, a time of celebration in honor of Sr. Sto. Nino. I ask then, of all the people in the streets, how many of them have gone to Church to thank the Big Daddy for giving us the Son? How many of them even remembered this is what the festival is about?
It’s entertaining to see different tribes in colorful costumes dancing to lively music–until I found it more difficult to find the one with the Sr. Sto. Nino than the supporters of various politicians running in the elections. There are actually more campaign shirts than Dinagyang shirts in most tribe supporters. The sight makes me not only lose interest but made me realize that Ilonggos made this festival and Ilonggos have put it to shame. We have stolen the limelight from Him who deserves it to the lords of the political scene.
This probably goes to show not the new generation’s lack of religious belief but its misguided priorities. We’ve been taught to appreciate Iloilo’s very own mardi gras but weren’t reminded to offer Thanksgiving in His very own home.
We take pride in being the biggest Catholic country in Asia but take a look at this province and its take on religiosity. We indulge in merrymaking on the streets without finding time to genuflect in front of the altar to show some respect. It’s not that the roads are closed to traffic. It’s the very traffic of priorities in our lives that’s clouding our memories.
Cheating dilemma
(This post is a response to an article written by Conrado de Quiros entitled Interesting times in the Philippine Daily Inquirer dated January 20, 2010.)
The question of cheating in a fully automated elections is not as unimaginable as in the manual elections. Especially for Filipinos, the extent of discovery is merely the extent of one’s imagination. Coming up with results far different from the actual votes is a piece of cake with a number of computer-literate individuals in power and for hire.
It could not be the malfunctioning of machines that the people should be afraid of but rather the machines working perfectly leading the public to think that this time things will be different, this time Filipinos can get the elections right.
Machines are but machines no matter how brilliant they could be because still, it couldn’t perfect its operation without it being manhandled. Even with automation, cheating can exist and it will only be harder to prove.
The next question to answer after nailing this possible flaw in May 2010 is whether another EDSA is to be expected if the surveys’ champ Noynoy Aquino loses and claims cheated. Filipinos are indeed smart and more active in social issues than most people are willing to believe. I don’t believe however that the past EDSA revolutions could stand proof to it. The first one maybe but the thriving of the people power culture has ultimately become more of a habit than a necessity. It seems to have been abused, a last resort when there doesn’t seem to be any way out anymore.
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Is that all we can do?
Vote for a president and when something goes wrong, oust and vote again? If Noynoy Aquino ignites a People Power to reclaim what he lost if he doesn’t win as president claiming being cheated because surveys say he is at the top of the list, would we be serving justice or again tolerating a spoiled brat? How assured are we anyway that politics is not powerful enough to fight against his idealism and good name?
I have lost faith in politicians and empty words because words will always just be so easy to say. No matter who we put in power, corruption will exist. We cannot rely on an unjust system, only on ourselves.
Mind our own lives, exercise our rights, take up our own responsibilities and just live right.
As for Noynoy, if he does lose and claim to have been cheated, he can choose to spend his money, time and energy fighting for that seat he lost, a fight that would probably be futile against this slowpoke of a justice system or continue to do what he can to keep his promises and make this nation better for the people he comes across.
It’s not like there’s nothing he can do if he is not president. It would become a mockery of the value this country gave to the fight of his mom in 1986 if he merely uses it to ensure that he gets the seat he is vying for.
The presidency has added benefits but it would not and should not be the one to define him as a servant leader. Everyone can be servant leaders, we don’t need titles or recognition worldwide.
All we need is the heart which is lacking in the government. Given that, we, ordinary people, already have an advantage if we want to make our community better and then transform the world.
(Some insights formed from http://www.noynoy.ph/blog/2010/01/10/people-powered/)
