Taiwan OFWs and their legal rights

May, 2011. Changhua, Taiwan -  I spent my last day in Taiwan with our Filipino Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). I attended the Sunday masses twice that day wherein Filipinos usually attend the regular sunday masses in a  church in Changhua. I even became a reader as requested by Fr. Loloy Nespiere of the Apostleship of the Seas (AOS).

Fr. Loloy jokingly  commented that the church could have been "fullpacked" if not for the fact that it is the payday weekend, so most OFWs are in Taichung "shopping."

Based on Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) 2009 records, Taiwan was third largest Asian destination for OFW. As of 2009, there are 33,751 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) working in Taiwan. out of t he total 260,995 landbased  OFWs in Asia. The OFWs from Taiwan came from companies of that country’s electronics, metal workers, and semi-conductor industries,

However, due to the recent global economic recession,  remittances from Filipinos in Taiwan dropped sharply by 52.71% in 2009 as  lay-offs were implemented due to the filing for bankruptcy of these companies and retrenchment of workers.The Philippines received about US$92 million from Filipinos in Taiwan in 2009 compared to the US$194.071 million received in 2008.

I delivered the paralegal lecture on the OFW legal rights twice, one  in the afternoon and one during the evening mass. I explained  to them, in essence, the substance of the amended  Filipino Migrant Workers Act.' An essential feature of the amended law is the insurance requirement  that was introduced by the Philippine government and took effect on November 8 last year. The act applies to all categories of OFWs who are hired by agencies and who are leaving the country for the first time. It also applies to workers hired with new contracts by agencies. The insurance policy covers natural and accidental death and permanent disability, repatriation costs, medical repatriation and three months’ salary for every year of the migrant worker’s contract for cash claims that arise from the employer’s liability, among other benefits.

 Last february 2011, friction erupted between taiwan and philippines due to the  Philippine government’s "deportation mess"  of 14 Taiwanese to China. the Philippine government allegedly ignored its request to deport toTaiwan 14 Taiwanese suspected of defrauding several Chinese of $20 million. MECO expressed regret over the Philippine government’s deportation of the 14 Taiwanese to China stressing that the decision to deport the Taiwanese to China was based on the government’s one-China policy.

In the event the fiasco was not resolved, it was feared that the country stands to lose some 600 million Taiwan dollars or roughly P900 million in yearly remittances from Taiwan-based OFWs.

The government does not directly deal with Taiwan, especially on political matters, but only on trade and economics.  

happy birthday mama

 Mama should have turned 71 this month , May 14, 2012. It was ten years ago when we were able to greet her for the last time a  Happy Birthday as well as Happy Mother's Day.

My mother, fondly called Mama Linda, died  on May 17, 2002 due to pericarditis and lymphoma or cancer of the lymph nodes after almost a month of confinement at the Philippine Heart Center. and three days after she celebrated her 61st birthday.On April 14, 2003, papa  was rushed to Las Piñas City Medical Center after falling down from the stairs — a day short of the one full year from mama’s hospitalization. A year and six months after mama’s death, my father, Papa Ponching to many, died  November 16, 2003 a Sunday, due to pneumonia after being bedridden for almost eight months brought about by complications arising from an operation on his brain (hydrocephalus). I have told relatives and friends that  Papa could have been dead during the second week of April due to the gravity of the hydrocephalus  if not for that incident when he fell from our stairs. Maybe Mama pushed him so that the hydrocephalus and tumor could be detected.

In my blog “KAMATIS” LOVE AFFAIR OF PONCHING AND LINDA GORECHO I wrote that if I will submit the love story of my parents to “Maalaala Mo Kaya,” I will use the title “Kamatis.” The wedding line, “Till death do us part” will be replaced by “But death will not set us apart.” All throughout their more than thirty years of marriage, we never saw them engage in physical fights. Although we were accustomed to Mama’s masungit and mataray lines, we knew that was just how they expressed their emotions: only through words and eye contact. Laging sinasabi ni Papa: Bago pa man magkasala si mama sa kanya (siguro sa pagiging mataray ni Mama) pinapatawad na nya si mama. If mama was angry, Papa would just step back. Di nya sasalubungin emotion ni mama.

They have a reverse role: Mama took care of the financial well-being of the family while papa was in charge of the spiritual and emotional needs of the children. Mama was the breadwinner and Papa was the house caretaker. 

When we were growing up, I remember times when Mama scolded us, “Buti nga kayo di nyo naranasan ang magtinda ng kamatis sa palengke.” Then she would cry. Perhaps, this was her way of saying that whatever the benefits we were enjoying then were due to their hard work..This is something that children have to realize: that parents will sacrifice a lot for the future of the kids. If mama would say the “kamatis” story, Papa, on the other hand, would tell us stories when he was still a security guard in a government agency before they got married in July 1968. Papa was a security guard by day and a student by night taking up library science. When he graduated, he proceeded to be a librarian in the same office until he retired in early 1990s

 We did not have money but we had the respect of people, especially the fact that two of their sons entered the priesthood, Fr. Philip and Bro. Stephen. At first Mama could not accept the fact that two sons chose to serve the lord but later realized, according to Papa, that they gave up two sons but regained the whole religious order as their new sons and daughters. Tuwang-tuwa sya pag tinatawag sila na Papa and Mama Gorecho. They had five sons and one daughter, two entered the priesthood, i became a lawyer and the other son went into photography, the business which Papa engaged into while he was alive.

 

As a young kid, I fondly remember that we were always waiting for her birthday since it was also the summer outing of the reyes clan that usualy coincide with the company outing of RICEL, the export company of her sister, our Tita Elsa Parreno. We had several pictures of beacheneering then with my cousins and titas/titos. Smiles, laughters, stories over somewhat endless food. And of course, the mahjong set will not be absent.

I belong to the more than 40 “apos’ or grandchildren of Damaso and Maria Reyes. I never met my lolo who died before I was born but his absence was greatly compensated by the love and caring that Lola Maria has given to her grandchildren. Their children (Mario, Bert, Odol, Elsa, Julieta, Linda, Malou, Elvie, Mel, and Tita) followed the proverbial phrase “ go and multiply” thus out we came, the 40 plus grandchildren.

  happy birthday mama! Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day

 If your mom is still alive, greet her "Happy Mother's Day." You are still lucky since you can say that to her. For me, the last time i had the chance to say that to her personally was  May 2002, almost nine years ago a few days she left us. At present, i go to Manila Memorial Park almost every other week to visit mama and papa after attending mass in the park's chapel. 

My mother, fondly called Mama Linda, died l on May 17, 2002 due to pericarditis and lymphoma or cancer of the lymph nodes after almost a month of confinement at the Philippine Heart Center. and three days after she celebrated her 61st birthday.On April 14, 2003, papa  was rushed to Las Piñas City Medical Center after falling down from the stairs — a day short of the one full year from mama’s hospitalization. A year and six months after mama’s death, my father, Papa Ponching to many, died  November 16, 2003 a Sunday, due to pneumonia after being bedridden for almost eight months brought about by complications arising from an operation on his brain (hydrocephalus). I have told relatives and friends that  Papa could have been dead during the second week of April due to the gravity of the hydrocephalus  if not for that incident when he fell from our stairs. Maybe Mama pushed him so that the hydrocephalus and tumor could be detected.

In my blog “KAMATIS” LOVE AFFAIR OF PONCHING AND LINDA GORECHO I wrote that if I will submit the love story of my parents to “Maalaala Mo Kaya,” I will use the title “Kamatis.” The wedding line, “Till death do us part” will be replaced by “But death will not set us apart.” All throughout their more than thirty years of marriage, we never saw them engage in physical fights. Although we were accustomed to Mama’s masungit and mataray lines, we knew that was just how they expressed their emotions: only through words and eye contact. Laging sinasabi ni Papa: Bago pa man magkasala si mama sa kanya (siguro sa pagiging mataray ni Mama) pinapatawad na nya si mama. If mama was angry, Papa would just step back. Di nya sasalubungin emotion ni mama.

They have a reverse role: Mama took care of the financial well-being of the family while papa was in charge of the spiritual and emotional needs of the children. Mama was the breadwinner and Papa was the house caretaker. 

When we were growing up, I remember times when Mama scolded us, “Buti nga kayo di nyo naranasan ang magtinda ng kamatis sa palengke.” Then she would cry. Perhaps, this was her way of saying that whatever the benefits we were enjoying then were due to their hard work..This is something that children have to realize: that parents will sacrifice a lot for the future of the kids. If mama would say the “kamatis” story, Papa, on the other hand, would tell us stories when he was still a security guard in a government agency before they got married in July 1968. Papa was a security guard by day and a student by night taking up library science. When he graduated, he proceeded to be a librarian in the same office until he retired in early 1990s

 We did not have money but we had the respect of people, especially the fact that two of their sons entered the priesthood, Fr. Philip and Bro. Stephen. At first Mama could not accept the fact that two sons chose to serve the lord but later realized, according to Papa, that they gave up two sons but regained the whole religious order as their new sons and daughters. Tuwang-tuwa sya pag tinatawag sila na Papa and Mama Gorecho. They had five sons and one daughter, two enterered the priesthood, i became a lawyer and the other son went into photography, the business which Papa engaged into while he was alive.

 

 Mother's day usually fall within the week of my mama's birthday. As a young kid, I fondly remember that we were always waiting for her birthday since it was also the summer outing of the reyes clan that usualy coincide with the company outing of RICEL, the export company of her sister, our Tita Elsa Parreno. We had several pictures of beacheneering then with my cousins and titas/titos. Smiles, laughters, stories over somewhat endless food. And of course, the mahjong set will not be absent.

I belong to the more than 40 “apos’ or grandchildren of Damaso and Maria Reyes. I never met my lolo who died before I was born but his absence was greatly compensated by the love and caring that Lola Maria has given to her grandchildren. Their children (Mario, Bert, Odol, Elsa, Julieta, Linda, Malou, Elvie, Mel, and Tita) followed the proverbial phrase “ go and multiply” thus out we came, the 40 plus grandchildren.

 

 

 

 What are the philosophical underpinnings of mother's day?

  Ancient Greece imported the Mother Goddess cult from Asia Minor, in the form of a festival to Cybele, a great mother of Greek gods. It was held around the Vernal Equinox around Asia Minor. Originally they identified Cybele with Rhea, the mother of gods. The details were not recorded, and we only know that the goddess was attended by galli

Ancient Romans appropriated the cult to Cybele/Rhea in order to absorb culturally the Greeks and the habitants of Asia Minor, honoring Cybele in the Hilaria festivals, from the Ides of March (15 March) to 18 March. But the Romans were horrified by the Greek celebrations; they quickly associated the cult to the Roman version of Cybele and they made up their own customs.They also made a separate festival in April dedicated to Magna Deorum Mater Idaea, a version of Cybele that was even further separated from Greek customs.The two goddesses, Cybele and Mater Idaea, were eventually merged into a single entity that was completely Romanized, although they kept using galli.

The festivals of Cybele evolved into the Christian festival of Mothering Sunday, honouring the Virgin Mary and your mother church (the main church of the area) It's now a long standing tradition, part of the liturgical calendar in several Christian denominations, including Anglicans, and in the Catholic calendar it is marked as Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday in Lent. Children and young people who were "in service" (servants in richer households) were given a day off on that date so they could visit their families (or, originally, return to their "mother" church). The children would pick wild flowers along the way to place them in the church or to give them to their mothers as gifts. Eventually, the religious tradition evolved into a secular tradition of giving gifts to mothers.This festival survived in the UK and Ireland for longer than in other European countries, and it was repopularised in the 20th Century. Most people are unaware of its historical origins, and regard Mothering Sunday and Mother's Day as the one and same festival.

Happy mother's day!!!

i miss my lola maria

I miss my LOLA MARIA…..

This is how I felt after I watched "LOLA” again in Viva Cinema cable channel. I  first saw it at the FEU last year. It was again shown at the  Italian film festival at Greenbelt. It is a digital film of Brillante Mendoza that tackles the story of two elderly women who will do everything for the sake of their love ones as one will be the suspect and the other one will be a victim.

Lola tells the parallel stories of two elderly women, Puring (Rustica Carpio) and Sepa (Anita Linda). Driven by selfless love, the two scrape the bottom of the barrel to raise funds for their respective grandsons. Sepa wants her dead grandson to have a decent burial despite barely having enough to get by in life decently. Meanwhile, Puring wants to free her grandson after he is incarcerated for killing Sepa's grandson. After “pawning”their remaining properties, she gave lola Sepa P50,000.00 as some sort of “blood money.”

Although the film was identified with the great actress Anita Linda, I had the impression that she was somewhat “overshadowed” by the other lola in the film, Rustica Carpio.


The film is not easy to shoot, I guess. Imagine scenes where frail grandmothers were drenched in rainwater as they individually attempt to seek financial help from other people—they turn to neighbors, city officials, and even lending institutions. In the film's most beautifully shot sequence, the funeral procession for Sepa's grandson goes on not with a motorcade but with a handful of boats. The white casket is decorated with colorful flowers that contrast with the bleak surroundings. After a long struggle, Sepa and her family take their beloved dead to his final resting place.

Rustica doesn’t mind being second fiddle to veteran and awarded star Mona Liza. The role was initially offered to Mona Liza but she suddenly suffered a stroke. She was already in a wheelchair. She’s also a noted stage actress, playwright, researcher, book author and one time member of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board during the Ramos administration.

Again, I miss my lola Maria. I belong to the more than 40 “apos’ or grandchildren of Damaso and Maria Reyes. I never met my lolo who died before I was born but his absence was greatly compensated by the love and caring that Lola Maria has given to her grandchildren. Their children (Mario, Bert, Odol, Elsa, Julieta, Linda, Malou, Elvie, Mel, and Tita) followed the proverbial phrase “ go and multiply” thus out we came, the 40 plus grandchildren.

My recollections of Lola Maria includes the following (a).the Alhambra cigar which she smoked “baligtad” the lighted side was inside her mouth (b) making sampaguita necklaces from her garden (c) she will measure our feet by drawing a sketch of the feet’s outline for our sandals.

We were told that she was really pretty during her younger years. She was even crowned as “Miss Baliwag.”

I think Lola Maria died when I was still in my elementary years. Nevertheless, her love still reverberates until this time amongst her reyes descendants.

Speech of Sis. Annie Balatayo

 Speech of Sister Annie Balatayo during the SCPS 2011 Alumni Homecoming, April 30, 2011, SCPS grounds Pasay City. She was directress in the early til mid 80s.


Good evening.   Alleluia to all!.  It is difficult to put into words what my heart wish to say to you this evening.  Only the Lord, will be able to comprehend this feeling of mime at the moment.   As the saying goes: “when the heart is full, the mouth is silent”.  I am in this predicament now.  However, it would be against the norm for this activity to keep my mouth closed.    Allow me then to say anything under the stars for the purpose of this occasion.

            I am very happy.  Extremely very happy indeed.  Your initiative is allowing this occasion to happen, for us to come together again, on Easter Season 2011, is overwhelming.  We would sing alleluia to the Lord, for the wonders he has done for us.  Praise the Lord.  What shall we say to the Lord at this point in time, “SALAMAT PO PANGINOON”.  The main purpose of having reunion is to give thanks to God for all the blessings He has poured upon us through the years, successes and gift of ourselves.  We should all rejoice and make this occasion a happy and an unforgettable even in our life.  And please be reminded that we should not only give praise to God for our triumphs in life, but also for the pains and trials we have encountered.  All joys and sufferings in life are blessings from the good Lord.  Naniniwala ba kayo dian?

Reflections taken from the feast of the Anunciation:

            Many things that happen to us are announcements from God, telling us He is involved in our lives and cares for us.  Many events bear God’s fingerprints.  Everything that comes into our lives has meaning and purpose, and can be understood in the life of faith.  It depends on how open we are to the spirit, how willing we are to see God’s bigger plan, and how humble we are to notice it.  Maganda diba?  It effaces heavy hearts and joy takes over.  Food for our souls.  Baon ninyo yan ha?

When my Mother
General told me I would assigned here in Santa Clara Parish School, my instant gesture was, “ayaw ko”.  All boys, what will I do with these boys, I am not trained to handle boys”.  It was almost at the same time I was pulled out from Pagadian City, was involved in community organizing on one of the remote barrios there.  I encountered NPA supporters in his area.  As soon as, Mother Josefina, (my general at that time, may se rest in peace) notice my negative gesture, spontaneously she told me on the spot in her office,  “kaya mo man ang NPA-bakit ang mga boys sa Pasay, napatawa ako, at na challenge ako.  Kaya from her office, I packed my things for St. Mary’s Pasay Community, to report to Santa Clara the following day.  What made happy when I entered here, the students were very happy for the first time, may MADRE sa Santa Clara Parish School.  Ako na ang muse.  Nainggit ang iba sa inyo.  Hehe!  The students welcome me and how they did  it, by going to my office in groups or individually.  The students and I had so many underground secrets and movements.

In spite of the odds in those days, hindi ako nag  give up , almost 4 years ako dito.  In fact, ayaw ko ng umalis, if not obedience – my vow.  Grabe and story of love naming ditto makulay.  The teachers and personnel learned to like me after 2-1/2 years.  This is understandable – adjustment is a long process.  All these happenings inspired me during my stay with you.  Many things that happen to us are announcements from God, telling us he is involved in our lives and cares for us.  Many events bear God’s fingerprints.  Everything that comes to our lives has meaning and purpose and an be understood in the life of faith.  It just depends on how open we are to the Spirit, how willing we are to see God’s bigger plan, and how humble we are to notice it.  See the realization.,

            My greatest advantage as far as intimacy is concerned, I had two (2) jobs in the school.  Directress and Christian Living Teacher for the 3rd and 4th years class.  It was quite a heavy bag on my shoulders, but I had to do this because no lay Christian living teacher would handle the higher years.  This arrangement was again a contributing factor in my closessness with the students.  It was a blessing in disguise.  Our negative experiences in your Alma Mater were a learning process.  We were teching each other in the journey.  I learn from you and you also learn from me.  Our journey was full of pains and joys, kaya matinik at Masaya talagang samahan, the reason for after sometime, missing each other.  I know some of you missed me a lot.  Naniniwala ba kaio diyan?  The graduating class that time were very much involved and affected by the signs of the times.  We became tight to each other in principle because of the events that went through in the journey to wholeness. Hindi ba malaking inspirasyon yan? Salamat, before I left, there were signs of improved camaraderie.

            Marami pa ang mga inspirational instances, but you know recalling stories in the past knows no end.  No amount of time can accommodate stories of the past.  It continues to pop up and becomes more interesting as we go on.  We shall never be able to this – limited time we have.  Important is to realize and remember that we have been together once in a lifetime and we tried our best to become an inspiration to each other for better or for worst till we meet again tonight.  Le us continue to praise God for what has been and will be – Santa Clara will stand forever in our hearts.

            We should acknowledge that the most significant inspiration for us all is the fact, until up to this time, the RVM Sister are still herein your beloved Alma Mater, to continue the ministry of education entrusted to them in this institution.  Le us give them a warm of applause.