It’s about experience!!!!

IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO GO TO CHINA FOR A VACATION, I JUST WANT TO HELP ORIENT YOU ON HOW TO READ OR INTERPRET SIGNS THERE…  NAG-AALALA LANG AKO SA INYO BAKA MAHIRAPAN KAYO PAGDATING NINYO DUN!

PAG ETO SUMALUBONG SA IYO SA AIRPORT, ABA’Y DAPAT LANG NA MATUWA KA!!!

Oi itulak mo daw para buhay ka!

Anu daw? Bawal ata mag yosi sa loob o tinapang bisita ba?

Bawal tapakan natutulog daw ung damo.

Gawa sa china kya ilayo nyo sa anak nyo.

ihulog nyo daw ung anak nyo ng dahandahan.

Dito mura mag patabas ng paa .

sa mga gustong mag pakamatay dito daw kayo pumunta.

Ung mga sawa na sa buhay o mag babagong buhay.

Hahahaha anu bang gusto mong reaksyon ko ditoGawin bang bote ang lata?

PARA SIGURADO, DI BA ?!!

ISIPIN NIYO MUNANG MABUTI KUNG KAYA NIYONG KAININ ITO HA!

TO, IWASAN NIYONG PUMUNTA DITO AT MALUNGKOT DITO!!!

SIGURO NAMAN, OBVIOUS NA ETO… LIBRE NA NGA EH….KAYA DAPAT LANG SIGURO!!!

ME NAUNTOG NA NGA YATA EH… SABI NA KASING DAHAN DAHAN ANG PAG-UNTOG EH!!!

DITO, MARAMI KANG MAKIKILALA.. .. IBA-IBANG KLASE TALAGA!!!

KUNG GUSTO MO LAANG NAMAN….

ETO MEDYO NAGULUHAN DIN AKO… MASASAKTAN BA AKO KUNG DI KO IPE-PRESS O BAKA MASAKTAN AKO KUNG IPE-PRESS KO…. HMMMM… BAHALA NA KAYO MAG-DECIDE KUNG SUSUNDIN NIYO ETO O ANO….

DITO KASI, DI LANG ASO ANG DELIKADO!!!

SA MGA FANS NI FRODO AT SAM, DAMI KAYONG MABIBILING LIBRO DITO….

TEKA…… DI KO YATA KAYA TO AH……..BASTA IPUWESTO NIYONG MAIGI ANG SILYA AT PANATILIING MALINIS ANG MESA PAGTAPOS NIYO MAMATAY!!!

MALINAW NA BA?!!

LAST WEEK’S piece on “The 10 Most Irritating Pinoy Expressions in English” unleashed a torrent of responses, many of them contributions to a further listing of words and phrases that sound like fingernails on a blackboard. I’d clearly forgotten many more of these expressions, so let me take note of the choicest ones on my readers’ lists, as well as add a couple more of my own.

1. Actually, basically, honestly, as a matter of fact. Favorite opening lines, no matter what follows. I suspect that “actually” is the Pinoy’s translation of another phrase revered in showbiz, “sa totoo lang,” mouthing which is supposed to instantly enhance the truthfulness of one’s statement. “Basically” sounds more educated than “uhmmm” and “duhhh,” so it fills those gaps just nicely, like so much starch in a sausage. And don’t you just love it when someone says, “As a matter of fact…” followed by an opinion?

2. Stuffs, equipments, jewelries, evidences, baggages, luggages. Who said we didn’t know our grammar? Add “s” to form the plural, right?

3. As in, as if. These, to some Pinoys, are complete—albeit elliptical—sentences, as in “As in!” or “As if!” For the full explanation, grab someone below 25 off the street and torture him or her for the answer. That person will probably be dead before you’re satisfied.

4. “I want to be clarified.” Unless you happen to be a vat of syrup, fruit juice, butter, or petroleum, clarifying you will be difficult, even lethal. Some matters may need to be clarified, but not people, as dense or as confused as they may be.

5. “Like what you said….” What’s with the what? Like last week’s “wherein,” “what” has insinuated itself into our English in this very strange way: “As what the Golden Rule says, do unto others….” or “Independents can sometimes win, like what the last elections proved.” What? Not!

Not all Filipinisms are or should be annoying—although “annoying” depends on who’s getting annoyed. I don’t see myself ever using such words as “presidentiable” or “Imeldific,” but I can’t take them away from Filipinos for whom they’ve acquired a very clear and precise meaning. (My abhorrence for “multiawarded” stems from the crudeness of its construction, but I’m resigned to hearing it until I croak.)

We have as much a right to contribute to the ever-growing vocabulary and usage of English as other people who use the language. If we have to bend over backwards to understand what the British mean by “dressed to the nines” or what young Americans do when they “diss” someone, then it can’t be too much to expect them to figure out what we mean by “for a while” (which some of my readers roundly scored, but which I’ve come to appreciate for its certain charm).

Of course, things get tricky when we invent words, fully expecting others to understand and to accept them the way we do. Reader Peter Stitt suggested that “fiscalize” is Pinoy news-speak, and I had to Google the word to see that he was right (or nearly so—it’s used in an even larger sense by the Portuguese, who, asserts one article, have fiscals for everything, from college exams to food and drink and taxes).

If we banned the word “votation”—the ultimate solution to every argument in this country, next to knives and guns—no one would ever get elected, and nothing would ever get done (considering where “votation” has taken us, maybe that’s not too bad). And how can anyone tell the Aggrupation of Advocates for Environmental Protection (AGAP) or the Pagadian-based Baganian Aggrupation for Development (BAD) that they have no right to exist, because… there’s no such word? (Their defense will be to fall back on the precedent of the Concerned Citizens Aggrupation, which won many votes in Zamboanga in the early 1980s.)

As I’ve said in this corner many times before, the important thing is for those who use English to deal with the outside world to be aware of the difference between our English and theirs. Otherwise, whatever works, works. (And sometimes, English among the non-English can be marvelously mangled and crystal clear all at once, as when we were haggling with a seller of T-shirts in Shanghai last month and were told by the fat lady, “This one, that one, same-same!”)

How boring life would be if we all spoke like a BBC announcer (or, as they would say over there, “presenter”) or wrote like Henry James; tuxedos are silly when we should be wearing jeans. But to those for whom language is as important as clothing on the job, appropriateness is everything, and we should know when to put on that “grammar Nazi” helmet and when to let our hair down (or whatever’s left of it).

My friend and fellow English major Marlu Balmaceda wrote in to submit her pet peeve, which is the way “enjoin” is used by most people these days, as a synonym for “encourage”—“I enjoin you to support this project, etc.” Ernie Hizon of Unilab also disliked the word, reading it as so much corporate gobbledygook. Marlu’s objection came from the fact that “enjoin” originally meant the opposite: to prohibit (“I enjoin you from returning to these shores”).

“Enjoin” happens to be one of those words whose meanings have doubled or even reversed over time, so that today, curiously enough, it can mean both things, depending on the particular usage, although its older sense is largely forgotten. “Cleave,” “awful” and “fulsome” are three other such words. To cleave is to split something apart, but it also means to hold fast to something (“the ax cleaved the dry wood” but also “the child cleaved to its mother”); “awful” used to mean “awe-inspiring” in the reign of Henry VIII, but now means something considerably different; and “fulsome” doesn’t just mean “a lot,” but also—and more correctly, today—“excessive.”

Reader Jun Mongcopa enlightened (clarified?) me about the origins of the phrase “at this point in time,” which he traces back to the early ‘70s, when “every Tom, Dick, Harry and Jane of an American speaker/lecturer visiting our country started using the phrase. There was an article in Time magazine about it and it would seem that the phrase was coined by a Harvard professor. Locally, by the mid-‘70s, the phrase was picked up and popularized by the Asian Institute of Management. Every Juan, Tomas, and Maria who ever set foot upon the hallowed grounds of AIM, be it by attending lectures, seminars or taking up an MBA, had to use the phrase when asked to speak. It became the badge of distinction; when you used the phrase it meant you had some intellectual enlightenment from AIM, which was a really big deal at that time, AIM being touted as the Harvard of the Philippines and equally expensive as hell to enroll in.”

Durnit, I knew I missed something by not going to Harvard or AIM! Many thanks, Jun, and to all the others who sent in their contributions. I have a feeling we’re not done yet. I’ll get back to this topic one of these days—oh, I almost forgot another of your/our favorite expressions, the perfect way to end a Pinoy conversation: “Promise!”

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What a great post from a great writer I admire, Jose Dalisay Jr., aka Butch Dalisay. His writings as the “Penman” appears every Monday in the Lifestyle Section of the Philippine Star where this particular article also appeared. This post is now distributed as a viral email all over the internet without proper attribution to Mr. Dalisay. I searched on it online and that’s how I found out he wrote it! If you want to re-distribute this article, please give due credit to the original author- Mr. Butch Dalisay.

God was missing for six days.

Eventually, Michael the Archangel found him,

resting on the seventh day.

He inquired of God, “Where have you been?”

God sighed a deep sigh of satisfaction and proudly pointed
downwards through the clouds, “Look, Michael. Look what I’ve made.”

Archangel Michael looked puzzled and said, “What is it?”.

“It’s a planet,” replied God, “and I’ve put Life on it. I’m going
to call it Earth and it’s going to be a great place of balance.”

“Balance?” inquired Michael, still confused.

God explained, pointing to different parts of earth.

“For example, northern Europe will be a place of great

opportunity and wealth, but cold and harsh while southern

Europe is going to be poor but sunny and pleasant.”

“I have made some lands abundant in water and other

lands parched deserts.”

“This one will be extremely hot, while this one will be

very cold and covered in ice.”

The Archangel, impressed by God’s work, then pointed to a group of
islands and said, “What are those?”

Ah,” said God. “That’s the Philippines, the most glorious
place on earth.

“There are beautiful beaches, rivers, mountains and forests.

The people from the Philippines are going to be handsome,

modest, intelligent and humorous and they are going to be found

traveling the world. They will be extremely sociable, hardworking

and high achieving, and they will be known throughout the world

as carriers of peace and love.”

Michael gasped in wonder and admiration but then proclaimed,

“What about balance, God? You said there would be balance.”

God replied wisely, “Wait until you see the idiots I put in the government.”

LAST NOVEMBER, the folks at Oxford University came out with a list of “top ten irritating expressions” in the English language, by which I suppose they meant the English language as it’s employed in their corner of the English-speaking world, and not necessarily in what used to be the backwaters of the Bard’s dominion, in places like India and the Philippines. “Irritating” is, of course, a matter of cultural and personal predisposition. One man’s joke—such as the “Barack the Magic Negro” song that top Republicans passed among themselves—could be another man’s slur, and what annoys an American—such as a Pinoy texting in the middle of conversation—might be perfectly normal to the other fellow.

So the Oxford list might cause some of us to just go “Eh?”, but it’s always interesting to see what ticks off other people. Now let’s see which among the following words or phrases feels like a bug in your ear:

1. At the end of the day
2. Fairly unique
3. I personally
4. At this moment in time
5. With all due respect
6. Absolutely
7. It’s a nightmare
8. Shouldn’t of
9. 24/7
10. It’s not rocket science

Well, come now, that wasn’t too bad, was it? We hear these expressions hereabouts now and then, but not that often, so they don’t grate on us as they might with the English. For example, we hardly ever say, “It’s not rocket science,” because, well, we don’t have rocket science in this country. Indeed we have our own, uhm, fairly unique ways of putting things and of getting annoyed by them.

I’ve compiled my own list of irritating expressions in English as we Filipinos use the language among ourselves, with others, over the airwaves, in the office, in conferences, and in the papers. I’m sure you can add to this list—do send me your pet peeves—and this comes with the caveat that the annoyance may be entirely mine. If they don’t bother you, then don’t lose any sleep over them; Lord knows we suffer enough aggravations in this life and in this country without having to be upset by wrong or awkward prepositions.

(Speaking of which, a reader wrote in recently to say how he or she—there was no name in the email address—failed to appreciate whatever I was doing in my column-piece on getting a La-Z-Boy, because I had committed the grievous error of saying “in the mall” instead of “at the mall” in my first sentence. I said I agreed that “at the mall” was probably the preferred and “correct” form, but I also asked him/her to Google the whole phrase “in the mall” to see how it’s entered common usage. Language—unfortunately or otherwise—isn’t graven in stone like math, perhaps to the distress of ruler-toting schoolmarms; one billion people saying “1+1=3” isn’t going to make it so. But if enough people—including influential writers and editors in places like Newsweek and The New York Times—say “different than” instead of “different from,” which I’m sticking with only because it’s what I’ve been used to, then the language will change; it already has. This might as well be the place for me to remind readers that while I do teach English and while I deeply value and enjoy language as a writer, I don’t think of myself as a stickler for rules, as some would like me to be. I cringe at bad language and poor grammar, but there are far worse things in life to fret over, and some of the worst damage to English is being perpetrated by some fools in Congress who insist on an English-only policy when they can barely speak or write it. I once had to sit through a hearing where a congressman held forth on “the youngs, the youngs of this country!”)

But here’s my list of the ten most irritating Pinoy expressions in English—irritating not necessarily because they’re wrong (although some are), but because they’re everywhere you look and listen.

1. “In fairness.” The most popular phrase in Pinoy showbiz, where fairness is apparently in great demand. Every time I hear this, my mind goes, “In fairness to whom or to what?”, but you never get to hear the other end of the phrase, so much so that you begin to suspect that the speaker really means “In fairness to me!”

2. “As far as.” I don’t mean “as far as the eye can see,” but “As far as accommodations, everything is already taken care of” (or, more likely in these parts, “taken cared of”) or “As far as Manny Pacquiao, either Hatton or Mayweather will be okay for his next fight.” As in the above, I keep looking for the missing “is (or are) concerned” after “as far as”—but it looks like that’s as far as most people will go.

3. “At this point in time,” the Pinoy version of “At this moment in time.” I can recall precisely when I began hearing this wondrously redundant expression over the airwaves—during the coverage of the 1986 EDSA revolt and its aftermath, from which point (in time?) it became a staple of reporters and broadcasters. Why not just say, “at this point” or “at this time” or the even more economical “today” or “now”?

4. “Remains to be.” Not in the sense of “It remains to be seen if Filipinos will finally vote for the right person,” but rather “The deposit remains to be unclaimed” or “This painter remains to be unappreciated by the critics.” “To be”? Not to be!

5. “Wherein.” I don’t know how this word crept into the vocabulary and overran the place, rather like the carnivore snail someone imported that ate up all the other garden creatures both good and bad, but you hear it everywhere, taking over where (or wherein?) the good old “where” (or, sometimes, the more precise “whereby”) should suffice. Hear this: “The house wherein the hero was born will be turned into a museum.” Want to have some fun? Google these two words together: “wherein” and “Philippines.” You’ll find choice examples like “He entered the University of the Philippines wherein he studied Medicine.”

6. “Demand for.” I’ve already written about this before, but obviously no one in government and corporate officialdom reads me, so we still have signs screaming “Demand for your receipt!”

7. “Literally.” Don’t people know that “literally” means, well, “literally”? I’ve heard people say “I’m so hungry I could literally eat a horse!” Really? I tried horsemeat once, in little nibbles—no, it didn’t taste like chicken—so I guess I could say “I literally ate horse,” but literally eating a horse will require hunger the size of Africa.

8. “Whatever.” You ask someone a perfectly good question you’ve taken minutes to compose, and that person shrugs her shoulders or rolls his eyes and says “Whateverrrr….” Don’t you just want to strangle that person on the spot?

9. “Wholistic/holistic.” First of all, just how do you spell this thing? Does it come with a W or not? The medical dictionary defines “holism” (no W) as “the conception of a man as a functioning whole.” But then you have websites devoted to “The Wholistic Pet” and “Wholistic Health Solutions” (which, incidentally, sells the Home Colon Cleaning Kit). This word (with or without the W—whatever) seems to be one of those warm and fuzzy buzzwords that came in with New Age music, organic tomatoes, and NGOs. (I’ll talk about “stakeholders” some other day.)

10. “Multiawarded.” It’s No. 10 on this list, but it tops my list of Ugliest Frankenwords in the Universe. Of course, it’s popular because it does the job of saying “He (or she) has won not just one but many prizes!” Anyone should be happy to be multiawarded, and I should be honored that this word’s been often applied to me in introductions and such—but it isn’t false modesty at work when you see me wincing at the word. “Prizewinning” will do. Or, better yet, “many-splendored.” But that would no longer be me.

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What a great post from a great writer I admire, Jose Dalisay Jr., aka Butch Dalisay. His writings as the “Penman” appears every Monday in the Lifestyle Section of the Philippine Star where this particular article also appeared. This post is now distributed as a viral email all over the internet without proper attribution to Mr. Dalisay. I searched on it online and that’s how I found out he wrote it! If you want to re-distribute this article, please give due credit to the original author- Mr. Butch Dalisay.

From our home to yours, from one website to another, from the staff of Tatay Pepe’s Restobar in General Santos City, Philippines- all the best this Holiday Season and a prosperous 2009 to us all…

*Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon (Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year)!

Here’s a short Christmas Joke we found as a viral e-mail: Enjoy!

It was a romantic full moon, when Pedro said, “Hey, mamacita, let’s do Weeweechu.”
“Oh no, not now, let’s look at the moon!” said Rosita.

“Oh, c’mon baby, let’s you and I do Weeweechu. I love you and it’s the perfect time,”
Pedro begged.

“But I wanna just hold your hand and watch the moon.” replied Rosita.
“Please, corazoncito, just once, do Weeweechu with me.”

Rosita looked at Pedro and said, “OK, one time, we’ll do Weeweechu.”

Pedro grabbed his guitar and they both sang…..

“Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, Weeweechu a Merry
Christmas, and a Happy New Year.”

CELLPHONE AT BIBLE

Napansin nung Tiyo na yung kaniyang pamangkin na bagong salta sa America ay umiiyak sa tabi ng kaniyang nakatumbang bisikleta sa tabing daan. Tanong tuloy nung Tiyo, “Hijo, bakit ka umiiyak?”

Sagot nung pamangkin, “Angkol, Angkol…” Madaling kinorek nung Tiyo yung kaniyang pamangkin, “Hijo, ikaw ay nasa America na. Hindi Angkol… Angkel!”

Tinuloy nung pamangkin yung kaniyang kwento, “Angkel, Angkel, I rode my Bysikol…” Madali muling kinorek nung Tiyo yung kaniyang pamangkin, “Hijo, nasa America ka na. hindi Bysikol ang tawag diyan… Bysikel”.

Muling tinuloy nung pamangkin yung kaniyang kwento, “Angkel, Angkel, I rode my Bysikel to buy some Papsikol…” Madali na namang kinorek nung Tiyo, “Hijo, hindi Papsikol – Papsikel!”

Tinuloy ulit nung pamangkin yung kaniyang kwento, “Angkel, Angkel, I rode my Bysikel, to buy some Papsikel… en den I pel… now I heb a Bukel…”

____________

Letter “P”

Daughter: Mommy….. buy mo ako ng red ballpen.

Mother: Red ballpen!? Anhin mo ang red na ballpen? Ano ka Titser?

Daughter: Opo eh! Titser ako. Check ko un mga answers sa papel papel ko.

Mother: ah ok. Anak Kindly read this to mommy. And what letter is this? ( Mommy pointing the letter P )

Daughter: Mommy, I know naman that already. Wag mo na akong tanungin nyan. Kasi alam ko na yan eh……………

Mommy: (inis na si mommy) sige na anak read this….

Daughter: Ayaw….

Mommy: Sige na anak. What is this?

Daughter: Di ko yan read basta di mo ako buy red na ballpen.

Mommy: Sige na nga buy kita later. What letter is this?….Pointing the letter P again)

Daughter: Mommy oi, ang dali nyan…that is letter FE. (P)!.

Mommy: Na shock…..

Daughter : Sabi ko sau mommy eh, I know how to read that eh. Kaya wag mo na akong ask ha. ‘Galing si Yaya ko no!?. Sya turo sakin nyan.

Mommy: Ha!? Patay! YAYA………………………!

HAHAHAHAHA

____________

WARNING: PG-13

Tungkol sa Kulangot

Inusisa ni Totoy ang kanyang tatay.

Totoy: Bakit po masarap ang sex?
Tatay: Kasi, may kiliti o sensation iyon na katulad ng nararamdaman mo pag nangungulangot ka.

Totoy: Bakit po mas nasasarapan ang mga babae kaysa sa mga lalaki sa sex?
Tatay: Gaya ng nasabi ko, ang sex ay parang pangungulangot. Kapag nangungulangot ka, mas nag-e-enjoy ang iyong ilong kesa sa ang iyong daliri.

Totoy: Bakit ayaw po ng mga babae na ginagahasa sila?
Tatay: Iyang panggagahasa eh maihahalintulad sa naglalakad ka sa kalye,tapos, may lumapit sa iyo at kinalikot ang iyong ilong. Magugustuhan mo ba iyon?

Totoy: Bakit po ayaw ng mga babae na makipag-sex pag nireregla sila?
Tatay: Anak, kapag dinudugo ang ilong mo, nangungulangot ka ba?

Totoy: Bakit ayaw po ng mga lalaki na mag-condom kapag nakikipag-sex sila?
Tatay: Ikaw ba eh gusto mong mangulangot na may guwantes ka sa iyong daliri?

Totoy: Bakit po sa pribadong lugar ginagawa ang pakikipag-sex?
Tatay: Mangungulangot ka ba sa harapan ng buong klase mo?

____________

Mommy1: Ano ang pinapainum mo sa baby mo?
Mommy2: “promil” para sa matatag na
pangarap… eh ikaw?
Mommy1: “emperador” para sa totoong tagumpay!

____________

Lasinggerong Anak

GIN na ako iinom ulit, WHISKY kelan.
TANDUAY mo yan, tiTEQUILAN ko na!
pRHUMis po!

Your SAN,

MIGUEL

____________

AND Lastly, we leave you with another letter interesting letter of a mom to her child… We’ll let you judge if you she’s really daft or just playing funny!

Anak,

Medyo mabagal akong magsulat ngayon dahil alam
kong mabagal ka ring magbasa. Nandito na kami sa
Estados Unidos para bantayan ang bagong biling bahay ng kapatid
mo. Pero hindi ko maibigay sa iyo ang address dahil dinala ng dating
nakatira ang address para daw hindi na sila magpalit ng address.

Maganda ang lugar na ito at malayo sa Manila.
Dalawang beses lang umulan sa linggong ito,
tatlong araw noong una at apat na araw noong pangalawa.

Nakakainis lang ang mga paninda dito katulad nun
nabili ko na shampoo dahil ayaw bumula.
Nakasulat kasi “FOR DRY HAIR” kaya hindi ko
binabasa ang buhok ko pag ginagamit ko. Mamaya ay
ibabalik ko sa Walmart at magrereklamo ako.

Noong isang araw naman ay hindi ako makapasok sa
bahay dahil ayaw bumukas ng padlock. Nakasulat kasi
ay “YALE”, eh aba namalat na ako sa kasisigaw ay hindi pa din
bumubukas. Magrereklamo din ako sa nagbenta ng bahay, akala nila hindi ko
alam na SIGAW ang tagalog ng “YALE”, wise yata ito!

Mayroon nga pala akong nabili na magandang
jacket at tiyak na magugustuhan mo. Ipinadala ko na sa iyo
sa “Federal Express” medyo mahal daw dahil mabigat ang mga
butones kaya ang ginawa ko ay tinanggal ko na lang ang mga
butones at inilagay ko na lang sa bulsa ng jacket. Ikabit mo na lang pag dating
diyan.

Nagpadala rin ako ng tseke para sa mga nasalanta
ng bagyo, hindi ko na pinirmahan dahil gusto ko na
maging anonymous donor. Nakakahiya naman kung
ipagkakalat ko pa.

Ang kapatid mo palang si Jhun ay may trabaho na
dito, mayroon siyang 500 na tao sa ilalim niya. Nag-
gugupit siya ngayon ng damo sa memorial park, okey naman ang
kita above minimum ang sahod.

Nakapanganak na rin pala ang ate baby mo, hindi
ko pa alam kung babae o lalake kaya hindi ko pa masasabi na kung
ikaw ay bagong uncle or auntie.
Wala na akong masyadong balita. Sumulat ka na lang ng madalas.

Love,
Mama

p.s. Maglalagay sana ako ng pera, kaya lang ay
naisara ko na ang envelope. Next time na lang ha..

The current global economic crisis is a chain of events, primarily blamed on man’s dependency on foreign oil and the manufacturing companies’ dependency on petroleum for food production. Couple it with the mismanagement of creditors to lend money to people and businesses living beyond their means, which leads to more debts and not making enough money to pay the debts. In the end, all these contribute to foreclosures, bankruptcies, unemployment, high oil prices, high food prices, world wide inflation, and global crash or recession not necessarily in that order.

The United States regarded as a superpower based on its ability to influence the world in all respects, is the most hurt among nations. We wake up with the realization that there is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow…

This sense of hopelessness and fear isn’t only felt domestically. What it means for the rest of the world is that they will most likely be in an even deeper mess if a superpower like America can in fact suffer the way it has. For most anti-US countries, it is a cause for rejoicing but whether other nations favor the United States or not, sooner or later what is happening to the US will have a domino effect to the rest of the world. it is only a matter of time.

Already, in a surprising twist of event, Iceland- a highly-developed country in Western Europe has announced national bankruptcy. How can that be? People declare bankruptcy, companies file for bankruptcy but a country? an entire country?!

For those who think China is the new superpower, think again. They are a Socialist Republic run by communists. They have strong censorship dictating people what they can and can’t read or know. No freedom of expression at all. They even ban certain websites from being accessed. Can you imagine that if you live in China, you can’t even access Youtube or Wikipedia?! They practically control how people live there. Despite its huge economy, it’s not as strong as some might believe. They are as vulnerable as the next country especially when part of their economy is based on US manufacturing companies, outsourcing jobs in their country. These US companies have declining funds and they are shutting down plants abroad and closing stores domestically. China workers are suffering.

For the Philippines who rely hugely on overseas remittances, what is happening to the world around it most especially to the United States is utterly disconcerting. Last year, the 11 million strong overseas workers (that’s about 11% of the Philippine population!) sent $14 billion to pump the economy. There are 4 million expatriates from the US alone and about 2 million from the Middle East sending remittances, buying properties and creating businesses (=jobs) in the Philippines. This year while it is expected to remain the same, it is already forecasting a decline in 2009. Who knows how many of these 11 million overseas workers will be sent back home or will lose their jobs in the coming months?

While the US dependency on foreign oil is believed to be the major culprit of its economic fall, the Philippines’ major dependency on its biggest export- its human resources doesn’t seem to be a cause for concern at all for the government. In fact they even brag to the whole world that the overseas Filipino workers (OFW) are the lifeblood of the economy pumping those dollars to support the country’s stability and economy.

In short, thanking the overseas workers for NOT having have to lift a hand, for NOT having have to do their own laundry or wash their own dishes, for NOT getting their hands dirty, for NOT having have to sweat blood and tears because the overseas workers are doing it for them! They can be lazy on their jobs because they are getting huge financial support from overseas workers. They can continue with graft and corruption, the things they do best!

Oh as a consolation, they get to call us “modern-day heroes.” Did you hear about Pres. Gloria’s recent announcement that “From now on, call them Expats not OFWs!” She says further that “we should begin to call our overseas Filipinos expatriates because the nature of their job is increasingly more on skilled professions, and they should be called expatriates because expatriates usually get higher pay.” Huh, say that again Madam president?! Are you high?! OFW, Overseas workers, expatriates, slaves, servants- just semantics.

Seriously, that is not something to be proud about! It is a shame to say that your own countrymen are leaving the country of birth for greener pastures and opportunity. That is blatantly admitting that you the government, failed to protect your own people from poverty and unemployment and lack of better paying jobs! I would go back to the Philippines in a heart beat if I know I could survive there and live comfortably the way I can! The Philippines for all its inadequacy and destitution is a paradise to live in.

Does the government actually think we’re here abroad to enjoy the Grand Canyon or Disneyland or just enjoy the view at the Petronas towers where we can relish in the beaches of Boracay or Palawan or explore the rest of the 7,001 islands? We would not have to go to other nations and suffer if you the government can offer more decent jobs for us “expatriates.” This article shows how delusional President Arroyo is!

This article originally appears at Sinigang For the Soul. Pages 2 and 3 are on that site. Continue to read and be directed to the site…

September 10, 2008 marks the 7th anniversary of Tatay Pepe’s Restobar. Interested to know our story? Read it here.

If you’re in General Santos City, stop by tonight!! Jaz, my bestfriend and business partner is giving away lotsa goodies from where I am (US)… bottle openers, Keychains, post-it notes, pencils, luggage tags, T-shirts- all personalized! Come by the bar and have fun celebrating with us!!

Freebies, goodies, booze and music! What could be better?

Here’s the FINAL Schedule of Events for the 10th Tuna Festival forwarded to us by the General Santos City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc.

ENJOY the events! Stop By at Tatay Pepe’s, we have a lot of goodies and freebies to giveaway!!