Pinoy Passenger

Joc Joc Bolante landed back on Philippine ground Tuesday night at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. It was around 11pm when the news was reported from GMA 7 news. The transfer from the United States back into the Philippines was so smooth and tactical that the press that came along with him from US to the country didn’t know they are actually in the same plane. Joc Joc Bolante was assumed to be in silence, not talking even to co-passengers while aboard the flight.

Joc Joc Bolante - Scam of All Scams

Jocelyn “JocJoc” Bolante was the former Agriculture undersecretary who got accused of maneuvering the P728-million fertilizer scam to fund Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s presidency, for her second term. According to my dad, the Joc Joc Bolante case is the scam of all scam. I cannot wait for the drama to unfold now before the media.

Senate has already issued an arrest warrant for Bolante. His lawyer accepted it in his behalf. The former Agriculture undersecretary is now in St. Luke’s Medical Center. I wonder why?

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PDA Little Dreamer Winner Cristina de Leon - and she has been a winner, most consistent in bringing outstanding, flawless performance as mentioned by her mentors and jurors. The sad part is either, the ABS CBN network is more inclined to promote the more “marketable” contestant, or that Filipinos may not be voting for talent, instead going for the kawawa and “underdog” type. I was there in their first ever live gala night, September 21 PDA Little Dreamer Gala Night.

Pinoys love underdogs, especially those who are having a poor plight in life. Yes, the poor deserves so much more in this life… but I hope that in cases like this, fairness should prevail regardless of social status. Yes, Cristina de Leon’s family is also financially struggling, and yes this contest is one of their best hopes in experience a better life. But this sad reality isn’t their main weapon in the PDA Little Dreamer battlefield - it’s mere outstanding talent.

She’s been exerting her best efforts not to make flats, and sharps, and to perfectly express the emotions of the songs well. Oh yes, the judges take notice of these remarkable qualities of her, saying she’s always giving an exemplary performance ABOVE the rest.. yet the results seem not to be on her side.

None in the viewing public are seeing the tally of text votes, right? None of us has ever seen who’s got the most text votes. So you can imagine how fertile these sort of popularity contests for manipulation.

That night, I think everybody was shocked even the parents of other contestants with the announcement of the winners. No offense to Philip and Amy because I do believe both kids are talented. But how could a contest who sings with flats, or someone not in the right tempo, be announced as the most outstanding PDA Little Dreamer?

The in-house PDA Little Dreamer mentors would now have a hard time deciding who among the kids need improvement - because the obvious one was named most outstanding. Too bad.

This post isn’t just meant to campaign for Cristina de Leon of Cavite. This is to urge the viewing public to VOTE FOR TALENT in the PDA Little Dreamer competition. And also, just a memo to ABS CBN that contest manipulation isn’t at all behind a dark veil. It can be so obvious, too!

PDA Blog Awards

Blog and Vote for Cristina de Leon: PDA Little Dreamer Winner!

Oh yes, I’m giving away prizes for the best blog posts about Cristina de Leon! Free tickets to Star City’s Snow World!

Here are the Mechanics:

1. In 150 words minimum, blog about Cristina de Leon of the PDA Little Dreamer 2008. Tell us why you think she should win.

2. Link to http://www.pinoypassenger.com/ using the Text: PDA Little Dreamer Winner. Link again to http://www.pinoypassenger.com/ in the last part of your blog post using the text: Vote for Talent! Vote for Cristina!

3. Send me the your blog address (your blog post about Cristina) by email at pdablogawards@gmail.com

4. I will then decide the best (top 3) blog posts by October 6 (Monday)

5. Wait for my email reply to check if you were chosen (will also post the winners here in this blog). I will send your tickets for Snow World at Star City via courier by October 7 Tuesday.

• 2nd and 3rd Price - free entrance at Star City & Snow World worth Php 160.00
• 1st Price - free entrance at Star City & Snow World plus ride all you can worth Php 325.00

And please do vote for her via text every Gala night! Go go go Cristina!

Philippine Economy - a lot of talk in the news today, probably around the globe, is the predicted slip of the US economy into recession. The cause being pointed out by many for the 2008 US recession is the unwise increase in the supply of money credit, which consequently leads to inflation. Economists, businessmen, and of course the Philippine politicians are out with their press releases on the effects of the US recession to the Philippine economy.

Malacanang is blatant in saying that RP can “weather the storm” because of our strong economic fundamentals. I wonder what “strong” actually means to them…

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Iron Man - It was Wednesday of last week when my boyfriend and I watched Iron Man. I thought it was gonna be another “for-boys-only-sort-of action-film”, but I was enticed the moment I saw Robert Downey, Jr. on the screen (super crush: Ally McBeal days). And when I got engaged to the whole eye-opener story…

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There is a question on the usage of the word “shortage” in the latest national issue battling the Philippines. Does the “shortage” in rice really exist? Maybe it does, but it doesn’t necessarily mean the significant decrease in the farmer’s yield.

I bet you’re thinking what I’m thinking – rice hoarding. As per Secretary Arthur Yap, there is really no significant shortage of rice in terms of yield of the Philippine’s staple food. There is just a dangerous sector called the “hoarding businessmen”, who in the desire to profit, stocks rice supplies intended for the table of Filipino families. Who’s that Chinese again who bought NFA rice, then re-packed it to sell high in the market? Very business-minded indeed (and very selfish too!)

Although it’s a known fact that more rice fields are being converted to residential and commercial areas, as compared to the early years. That is why the government is targeting 98% rice sufficiency in 2010. I strongly feel they should include the abolish of graft and corruption in the agriculture/trade and industry sectors too. Regardless of the hectares of rice you have, hoarding will still do its dirty work unless you act on it.

Anyway, just to lighten up things, here’s a quick to-do-list for Filipinos to conserve rice in the looming rice “shortage” era of the country:

• If you’re among the weight-conscious girls out there (but actually loves pigging out), order half rice instead of whole. Carbo can really grow your belly.

• Don’t order a cup of rice or more if you can’t finish it all when eating in restaurants. The Department of Agriculture (DA) is now urging food chains to offer a half cup of rice to their patrons.

• Try eating bread, or pasta. It’s a new variation of your usual rice meal.

• Singangag! I love it! Don’t throw away last night’s dinner rice left over. Saute garlic, butter/margarine, and left over hotdogs, corned beef, tapa meat, then mix with left over rice. Good breakfast meal.

• Don’t fill the entire rice cooker with bigas if it can’t be consumed completely. Just cook the right amount of rice appropriate for the size of the whole family.

• Last: share the rice you can’t finish with your boyfriend. He’ll appreciate it (men are better rice eaters than women).

In 5 Filipino families, how many do you think have relatives abroad? Relatives included in the pool of our overseas Filipino workers, or OFWs? I bet more than half of that number would raise their hands.

Just some quick stats about the Overseas Filipino Worker:

• There are more than 11 million overseas Filipinos worldwide. That makes up 11% of our total population.
• Filipinos are mostly deployed in the Middle East. This region contributes to a 68% share of deployment among all regions in the world.
• OFWs are mostly females. 59% as compared to 40.74% males.
• Majority of our OFWs are in the service-sector
• Filipinos were expected to send back $14.7 billion in remittances to the Philippines in 2007.

In one of my History classes in UP, we argued over the claim that our OFWs are the modern day heroes. As my professor once noted, they aren’t there because of a deliberate decision to make the Philippines more progressive. They made the decision to work abroad with their own families in mind. It is still a one-on-his-own survival tactic. So do you see any trace of heroism in there? I used to believe there is none.

I’ve been proven wrong. I realized I had quite a narrow view of things. When my cousin was finally admitted to a college study program that ensures employment after, I knew my relatives abroad were the culprit.

Our OFWs could have left us in the hope of providing a better tomorrow for their families. But in a larger scale, their contribution is way more than that.

Every time a Filipino youth is able to finish his or her education, every time the young generation gets a better chance to earn money whether via employment or entrepreneurship, the tiny ray of hope for the land becomes brighter.

Imagine how one graduate student who is able to find a source of living is a good minus in the number of ‘tambays’, ‘potential criminals (i.e. poverty-related crimes)’, etc. There is a better chance that the hopeful youth brings to heart the mission to help his/her siblings or anyone to finish school, as well. Remember that pass it forward mentality? How great the Philippines could be if we take it upon ourselves to help one another to move forward.