remembering the spirit of edsa
so tomorrow will be the anniversary of edsa 1 . . . walang pasok! hooray hooray!
what can be expected tomorrow? well, there are two kinds of rallies . . . first, from the anti-government . . . the other, the pro-government . . .
ang gulo na naman sa bansa natin . . . as much as we want to say we’re improving somehow economically, how can people notice or even feel it if what we’re seeing are corrupt politicians who get the advantage of this so-called improving economy of ours . . .
you know, whenever i go out for a couple of field works, everytime i ask my respondents, "kamusta ang buhay?" i can always expect an answer like "eto, mas mahirap ang buhay . . ." quite confusing, ‘no? as much as the government wants to insist that our economy has improved, bakit mahirap pa rin ang buhay ng mga mahihirap? whenever i probe further, i’d always end up with this idea: the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer.
it’s weird actually, because everytime you look at the socio-economic data of the country, you’d get an image like that of an hourglass that is, malaki ang ratio ng mayayaman, malaki din ang mahihirap, and the middle class keeps on shrinking . . . of course, the ideal set-up would be a diamond-shaped image . . . where the middle class gets the largest chunk.
of course, we can expect financial difficulties as one of the main reasons why people get discouraged over the administration . . . hirap ka na nga sa buhay, makikita mo pa sa news ang iba’t-ibang klase ng corruption . . . so inspiring nga naman, ‘di ba?
you know, as much as i want to have pity on our less-fortunate brethren, pero . . . ayoko i-generalize . . . i want to help people . . . but i want to help only those who help themselves. minsan, i just get frustrated (i remember sharing this frustration to mommy mai), when you talk to the less-fortunate people, tapos hindi mo nakikitaan ng effort to find jobs . . . nakakainis e . . . my belief is . . . you can not compain about life’s difficulty if you’re not doing anything to get out of that stage . . . i hate it when people expect others to get them out of there . . . hey, c’mon! it takes two to tango . . . so minsan, i just want to tell myself that it’s not totally the government’s fault why we’re still at this stage and the country has not improved totally . . . we just don’t have the attitude . . . the discipline . . . the patience . . . and most of all, the perseverance . . . add unity . . . then i’m pretty sure gaganda ang buhay nating lahat.
then, let’s shift to the idealist’s beliefs . . . a lot of the idealists would argue that they know what’s wrong . . . education, proper enforcement of the law, etc . . . ang daling sabihin, ‘di ba? and totoo naman e . . . ‘yun ang wala tayo. the thing is . . . i just hate the argument that people add with that . . . "’yan ang meron sa states at ibang first-world countries na wala sa atin." yes, totoo nga . . . but it’s easier than done. first-world nga sila e . . . third-world tayo . . . what works for them may not necessarily work for us. i guess what we need to do is to look at models of other third-world countries who have improved economically through the years . . . i think mas feasibile ‘yun . . .
and so going back . . . tomorrow is the anniversary of the first edsa . . .
i was young when that happened, have no memories of it, how people felt really . . . i just relied on textbooks and the accounts of those who lived during those times . . . what i experienced was edsa dos . . . and honestly, i felt my essence as a filipino that time . . . pero ang alam ko, iba pa rin ang unang edsa . . . siguro that’s why it’s the only edsa we celebrate . . .
i do admit this government is not perfect . . . i have worked in the government years back and that experience is enough for me to have an open mind and entertain the thought na posibleng may ganoong corruption na nangyari . . . kaya lang . . . as much as i want to say enough is enough because of the many scandals this government has undergone . . . i still would like to look at the future . . .
people . . . we need to look ahead . . .
it’s not just being able to overthrow a perceived corrupt government . . .
it’s also about who to put in that most coveted position after you’ve thrown that corrupt administration . . .
honestly . . . wala akong nakikitang politician na hindi corrupt . . . those in the government are people who have selfish intentions . . . it’s no longer about pure intentions of wanting to help the people . . . it’s now just about the privilege of being powerful.
as much as i’d like to join the rallies and say "tama na, sobra na!" part of me wants to say "2 years na lang naman e . . ."
i may be practicing a different profession now (which i totally enjoy, by the way) . . . but i am an economist by college degree . . . i do see the efforts of this administration with regard to the improvement in our economy . . . and sometimes, although minimally, i can feel the improvement . . . siguro naman, we can really take into consideration the improving peso, ‘di ba?
you know, in politics and economics, there’s a lag with regard to when we shall experience this improvement . . . i guess the problem in our country is that we’re not patient . . . we want immediate results . . . if we don’t get it, we want it over with . . . it’s not usually the case in economics . . . it takes years to reap the hard work . . . kaya nga minsan ‘yung efforts ng isang administration, ang makikinabang pa noon ‘yung next administration kasi doon mo pa lang mafi-feel ‘yung effect . . . economics often works that way . . .
in politics, it takes a year or two for the new administration to totally get the hang of it . . . transition period pa kasi. throw the administration right now, put in someone to replace, give it a year or two to get the hang of it . . . the next thing you’ll know, 2010 na . . . election na ulit. i think it’s gonna be a wasted effort . . . and so, i’d like to think at least with this administration there are already some good projects which have started, might as well continue . . . kasi kung ‘yung papalit is galit sa present government, of course you can expect that all projects, even the good ones will be shelved . . . sayang naman . . .
i again remember the moments i was talking to those people who said life has turned worse . . . they also shared they’d rather let the government finish its term . . . the reason? no other good options . . . as one said: "at least dito, umangat naman ang piso."
oh well . . . i wish our country luck . . .
–GI 30682
Current Affairs | Comment (0)ang gulo ha . . .
as mentioned in my previous blogs, i’m expecting hectic days ahead . . .
weeks ago, i got disappointed upon learning that february 25, was declared a special working holiday . . . nasira pa ‘yung pinaplano kong 1 day rest . . . *shoots*
but then again, looking at the bright side . . . i’m gonna have a deadline by the 27th so at least that added working day can cushion my hectic sked . . .
tapos, ngayon . . . special non-working holiday pala siya . . . hmmm . . . is this malacanang’s way of trying to calm the people? syempre, mainit ang government ngayon because of the zte scandal . . . e kung working day pa ang 25, e ‘di lalong mainit ang ulo ng mga tao.
so, at least now i can say i’d be able to rest on the 25th . . . then again, naisip ko lang . . . with the holiday, i’ll be forced to hand in my draft report on friday para ma-check na ni mommy mai . . . so, mas stress pa yata ang aabutin ko . . . *sigh*
oh well . . . bahala na . . .
–GI 30682
thoughts | Comment (0)it’s nice to feel special
there’s a rush project so i was sent to cebu for a couple of days.
well, i had mixed emotions as i had a couple of varying experiences the last time i went there (you can refer to my previous blog) . . . you see, although i enjoyed it the last time, some weird things happened as well thus, the nonstop "pang-aalaskas" in the office especially from mommy mai that goes "anak, basta ‘wag mo lang uulitin ‘yung lalaking masahista, etc." sabay tawa, ‘di ba?
i originally expected to be travelling the first time in legaspi and davao . . . mommy mai and i were supposed to travel together (tinanong pa ako kung cebu or davao ang gusto kong puntahan namin together and we both ended up choosing davao) . . . then come night time, she informed me of some changes we’ll have to split up because of lack of time. with that, she goes "gi, ako sa davao, ikaw sa cebu" sabay tawa ulit, ‘di ba? o well, what can i do? mommy ko siya e . . . *sigh*
as mentioned previously, not that i didn’t want to go to cebu (because i enjoyed it there talaga), but part of me as well wanted to experience travelling to places i’ve never gone to before . . .
so, left with no choice . . . i had to prepare for the things i need to do in cebu . . . i arrived there . . . quite excited yet tired (i travelled at dawn kasi). i was touched actually, because my "hosts" in cebu made sure my hotel room is already available by morning so i can still rest a bit since my meeting starts after lunch . . . ang saya because i was able to sleep a couple of hours.
but then, i also got sick . . . i guess due to exhaustion . . . a day before, i was rushing a certain project to be submitted to our client, i just had an hour’s sleep then i flew to cebu na . . . during my second meeting that day, i was already sneezing (add the change of weather in cebu, biglang umulan), i remember already apologizing to those i had a meeting with that i’m not feeling well so i might be sneezing every now and then plus the headache. at night, i was treated to dinner by my hosts but i had to cut it short, i really was no longer feeling well. back in the hotel, i slept agad.
the next day, mommy mai called from davao to ask how i was so i told her i got quite sick (thus, she made sure i’m ok na) . . . good thing i brought meds . . . haha . . .
now, here’s the nice part . . . the cebu team told me (sana ‘di ako binobola, haha) they were delighted it was me who got assigned to travel in cebu. apparently, just one person was informed that i’m the one being sent by the office to cebu . . . top secret daw, haha (apparently, because of something which happened the last time, which, in a way scared the hell out of me, it was their conscious effort now to make sure i’m well protected this time) . . . so, there goes the surprise! when i came to the meeting’s venue, there goes gi! hahaha . . .
i admit, i had a greater time in cebu the second time around despite the shorter stay i had. i guess, kahit papaano kasi i still had a couple of free time so kahit ‘di pa rin ako nakakapasyal, at least i had time to entertain the invites of my hospitable hosts for dinner and lunch before i flew back to manila. before i left, they gave me a bouquet of roses with the message "ms. gi, thank you for being so nice." i got touched with that, i don’t know what i did remarkable before and recently . . . i don’t know what i did which marked the most but i was flattered . . . i appreciated everything . . . how they made sure i’m well . . . susunduin pa nila ako sa hotel papuntang meeting venue and ihahatid pa ako pauwi . . . add the fact how they begged me not to tell mommy mai na i’m not feeling well kasi baka makarating sa mga boss nila at mapagalitang ‘di ako inaalagaan sa cebu . . . i’m so touched.
when mommy and i saw each other at the airport (we made sure our planes shall be arriving at the same time para isang sunduan na lang), we talked about our experiences in cebu and davao . . . i told her, "alam mo, mommy . . . mas nag-enjoy ako ngayon . . . mas na-feel ko na special ako sa kanila . . . i felt their warmth . . . and it was harder to let go this time . . ."
you know, i expected this year to be hectic . . . good thing our ultimate boss prepared our minds for it last year pa . . . and really . . . super dami talaga ng ginagawa namin since january . . . where being able to go home by 6:00 p. m. seems one in a million. i had been getting sick more often but i have to be thankful because my mommy’s so bait she’s always concerned about my health (buti pa siya . . . e ako walang pakialam sa health ko, hahaha). with those hectic moments at work, you know, it really feels nice that every now and then, you feel special . . . it makes you feel inspired . . . that despite getting stressed at work, mawawala lahat ‘yun basta alam mong naa-appreciate ka ng mga tao sa paligid mo . . . nawawala stress mo, promise . . .
and so, as i have projects starting to pile up . . . sana i shall continue to feel inspired by the many moments where people can make me feel special . . . you know what? somehow, i’m quite excited for my birthday . . . sana i’d be touched kasi i’m looking forward na mafi-feel ko ‘yung worth ko, in any way . . .
haaayyy . . . then again, i’m missing cebu . . .
–GI 30682
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