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For the past 20 years, The Filipino Express has provided the Filipino American community the best news, arts and entertainment coverage from around the United States and the Philippines.
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JUNE in the Philippines is synonymous with the opening of school season. And almost always, the beginning of the academic year is an occasion to examine what ails the Philippine educational system.
Lack of classrooms, lack of competent teachers, lack of textbooks and school supplies, dilapidated desks and chairs, outmoded curriculum. These are some of the problems recited by school officials, politicians and media pundits at this time of the year.
The problem with these people is that they have poor memory; they only remember the problem at the beginning of the school year. It’s not as if these woes surface only at the start of classes. These are problems that our hapless schoolchildren have to contend with the whole year. And these are ills that have been festering our educational system since the 1970s.
And they miss the point. The problems enumerated above are just manifestations of a deeper, chronic malaise that has bedeviled Philippine education -- the root causes why Philippine education has degenerated from having the best schools in Asia up until the 1960s to being the bankrupt and backward system from the 1970s up.
What led to RP education’s failing mark?
Two words: government neglect. Providing quality education is the state’s responsibility, but starting with Marcos’s martial law years, the Philippine government has been remiss in this respect. It was Marcos who started the practice of pouring in more money to the military rather than to education.
With the government not giving the needed priority to education, our school system began its descent from being top of the class in Asia to pasang awa to bagsak or lagpak. Without government support, our educational system was not able to build more schoolbuildings to serve a growing population.
Without funds, we were not able to increase the salaries of teachers, who today would rather work as domestic helpers abroad than teach our young. Without money, we were not able to invest in school supplies and equipment and to buy new books.
It does not take a genius to know the answer to the question, “What ails Philippine education?”.
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PHNOM PENH --- Keith W, reacting to a previous piece I wrote, “Devious recruiters,” said in his e-mail: “I can’t imagine what it would be like to be stranded in a foreign country, victimized and then wondering if the government would see DHs [domestic helps] as a victim or a criminal.”
That’s the first reaction I had after reading the story. In our eyes as a fellow Filipino, domestic helps, are certainly victims of devious recruiters. What course of action do they have? Must they remain numb and unresponsive to the situation they are in and accept their fate?
My column ended, as you will recall, with the victims coming out in the open and presenting their case to the public. They are determined to expose these devious recruiters to authorities and seek justice to their plight.
It is only through this decisive act, they said, will they be able to regain their respect and dignity as a human being. They intend to put these recruiters behind bars and strip them of their acquired U.S. citizenship – which may have been obtained through fraud.
Further in Keith’s e-mail, he posed a pointed question: “Are they [domestic help] getting support from the Fil-Am community?” That’s a question which an advocacy group such as Gabriela or Philippine Forum can perhaps respond to. Both organizations, I believe, have programs supporting the plight of DHs that are abused by their recruiters or employers.
But Keith’s parting message has a tinge of hope. He says that “with luck, the marriageable ones will be able to meet men who will either help them stay or follow them back to the [Philippines] so that they can be brought back under fiancée or spouse visas.”
He adds that “there are plenty of good men here who would like to meet the right Filipina but are not interested in going to the [Philippines] to meet pen pals.” “I’m one like that,” he says, “I know that Pinays are more likely to help make a marriage last than a ‘Kana.’”
Before it goes on any further, I wrote back to Keith reminding him that this column is not a “Dear Abby” column nor am I a match-maker. I’m only a messenger of the many voices of the community.
Another reader, Andy M, writes that DHs or women who are in an environment of “abusive relationship” with their American spouses have a way out of their situation. Apparently, sometime in the mid-90s, a U.S. law was passed by Congress protecting their rights and they might be allowed to stay in the U.S. even if they were “out of status” with their visas.
He suggested that they need to contact a lawyer or the Philippine Consulate General in New York to assist them in their cases. A year or so ago, he said, a consul who is also a lawyer, assisted two Filipino women in protecting their rights.
I am almost certain that there are cases such as this which the Consulate have looked into. I recall Consul Edgar Badajos saying in a community event that they [the Consulate] would rather not boast of their achievements and emphasized that one of the Consulate’s objectives is to serve the Filipino.
As if knowing the identities of these devious recruiters, Melody K, wrote recently, to say that the “domestic help madam has struck again.” Recounting the plight of another domestic helper, she said that the recruiter issued a personal check to the woman in payment of a three-week salary advance for her work.
That personal check of the recruiter bounced due to lack of funds. Although the madam recruiter had collected the money from the domestic helper’s employer, she refused to replace the check and blamed the DH for depositing her check.
“The madam cursed her and told her she [the DH] was stupid for not listening to her instruction. She claims the DH was told not to deposit the check since the account was closed,” adds Melody. “In truth, the DH was never told not to deposit the check. It has now become a matter of one’s word against the other.”
In the first place, one wonders why would someone issue a personal check from an account that has been closed? What was the recruiter’s motive? If service has been rendered and the recruiter has collected from the DH’s employer, isn’t it reasonable for the DH to demand payment for her services?
Isn’t this an obvious display not only of a devious but also of a low-life recruiter? A proverb says: “A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin.” Perhaps that is the temporary consolation the DH can have at the moment. She should remain courageous and bold.
If I were her, I would keep the check until it gets replaced with cash. Or I would re-deposit the check for the second time and see what happens. “Lack of funds” does not mean the account has been closed.
Melody further claims that apparently such is the “modus operandi” of the recruiter. “All domestic helps are placed through an employment agency, a corporation in the state of New York with no signs of business activity,” she writes.
Finally, Melody wonders if this particular recruiter was paying taxes on fees she collects from DH’s employers. Well, if the recruiter could fool people, wouldn’t she take the chance of fooling the government as well?
I am reminded of Keith’s question: What can be done with them [DH]? Pressed by economic necessity and the promise of a good future in America, these DHs would do anything to stay. But these days, with immigration laws getting stricter, it isn’t that easy to stay here any longer.
If DHs continue to allow themselves to be abused, there will always be devious recruiters preying on them. But if they act decisively like the other previous DHs mentioned in earlier article, they will soon find justice and reclaim their dignity.
There are others who have expressed their reaction to the article “Devious recruiters.” Keith, Andy, and Melody summarize them.
A question comes back: Are these DHs victims or criminals?
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“Sky” burial in Tibet is choppy event
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AFTER their two-day trip to Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province in China, the Philippine delegation led by Senate President Franklin M. Drilon, Senators Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. and Richard J. Gordon flew to Lhasa, capital of Tibet.
Lhasa is nestled on a 4,000-meter elevation whose thin layer of oxygen (only 63 percent of the normal lowland oxygen level) literally takes the breath away of first-time travelers. The visitors are treated to a “breathtaking view of high mountain ranges” draped by layers of snow dotting the land below.
It is half the elevation of the world’s highest peak, Mt. Everest, at 8,848 meters. Or nearly a fourth the elevation of the Philippines’ tallest mountain, Mt. Apo, at 2,954 meters.
Senator Pimentel described his first night in Lhasa as “terrible.” He was hearing his heart “beating wildly” like a teenager falling in love for the first time. His head was “throbbing mad like the times I over-drunk in my youth.” He said he only managed to stabilize his situation three times after he breathed thru the oxygen tank provided in his room by the hotel.
Sleepless in Tibet – the “Rooftop of the World”
He wanted to leave the morning after the first night. But he was told to take “some 10 minutes of deep-breathing with the aid of the oxygen device in the room every time he had difficulty” breathing. When he did as told, he realized that he can stay longer at the “rooftop of the world” as did Senators Drilon and Gordon.
Their hosts led by Lie Chok, chair of the Standing Committee of Tibet’s Regional People’s Congress, informed them of their area’s modernization that was neglected by Dalai and Pachem Lamas.
The Pachem Lama is next in line in hierarchy to Dalai Lama although he cannot succeed the Dalai. When Dalai Lama dies, a search for a “reincarnated child” to succeed the Dalai is launched. The Lamas as chief advisers or tutors were the spiritual and temporal rulers of Tibet from the mists of history.
In the 1950s, the People’s Liberation Army of China occupied two Tibetan provinces Kham and Ando. In 1959, the PLA ran them out of office and replaced them with its own choices “to liberate the Tibetans from the evils of feudalism and serfdom” imposed by the old order.
Relaxation of Religious Freedom
For a time, Tibetan Buddhism was suppressed. But gradually, the Chinese government has allowed this religious freedom to the Tibetans.
Today, the 14th Dalai Lama is still in exile in India. The Chinese government has installed a Pachem Lama in a manner similar to the recent appointments of Catholic Bishops in some diocese of China.
The Tibetans have also been given the freedom to choose how their bodies will be disposed of when they die. They may be buried, cremated or be given “celestial” or “sky” burial.
The “celestial” burial may conjure a heavenly image. But Sen. Pimentel said it is actually bizarre because the remains is chopped into pieces and spread on top of a hill to be feasted upon by vultures and other birds of prey. If nothing is left of the remains aside from the skeleton, it is believed the spirit goes to heaven. If there is leftover, the spirit goes to hell.
Although, a thousand kilometers away from Beijing, Tibet is now connected to it by rail. It now has electricity and water supplies. It has rich natural resources. Its 1.22 million square kilometer of land mass that accounts for 2.8 percent of China’s total land area is dotted with rivers and lakes that provide water for industrial, agricultural and home uses. Not to mention the 5,000 species of flora and 142 species of mammals, 473 species of birds and thousands of insects.
It is also the “cemetery of China’s nuclear waste.”
Potala Palace carved in 637 A.D. by Emperor Sontsen Gampo atop Marpo Ri hill some 130 meters above Lhasa valley is one of Tibet’s many temples and abodes of royalty as relics of early Buddhist influence over Tibetan life.
Onward to North Korea
From Lhasa, the Philippine delegation flew to Beijing. From Beijing, they proceeded to Pyongyang, North Korea on the morning of April 22.
Thanks to the impressive reception given by Philippine hosts to the North Korean delegation led by Kim Yong Nam at the Interparliamentary Union conference in Manila in 2005, a Philippine Senate delegation was invited to travel to North Korea.
The Filipino legislators arrived at 2:25 p.m. on board Air Koryo commercial jet in Pyongyang to a cozy Baguio-type weather.
They were joined in the trip by Ambet Ocampo, chair of the Philippine Commission for Culture and Arts.
At the Kim Il Sung International Airport, 10 Air Koryo planes were being serviced while four others appeared flight-worthy. The China Air is the only foreign airline allowed to fly in Pyongyang.
They were met at the airport by Kang Nung Su, a vice chair of the Supreme People’s Assembly.
(To be concluded)
(lariosa_jos@sbcglobal.net)
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IT’S BEEN 18 months since Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña put up a P20,000 bounty for every “criminal” killed. City Hall today is necklaced with 162 murders by vigilantes. All remain unsolved. The likelihood of triggermen or masterminds being held to account is zero.
The killings have scared “criminals,” shrugs Osmeña. “I’m happy some of those killed are robbers. As long as there are fewer robberies and snatchings, it’s not so bad.”
Jose Maria Sison used the same argument, draped with a Mao Zedong axiom, to justify the assassination of communists who left the party like Popoy Lagman, Rolly Kintanar and Arturo Tabara. “You kill the chickens to scare the monkeys,” Mao explained after he slaughtered party dissidents.
Would delegates to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit in Cebu feel safer if they read streamers saying: “Until Further Orders from the Mayor, The Fifth Commandment Remains Repealed In This City”?
Ricardo Cardinal Vidal has led his Church in protesting summary executions. Murder forecloses options for reform, Catholic Church leaders have warned. Victim No. 161 fell with prison release papers tucked into his back pocket.
There are more important things than fulfilling a constitutional oath “to do justice to every man,” Osmeña retorts. Such as?
Such as laying out a P20-million barrio fiesta for over 800 foreign journalists. They’ll converge in Cebu in December when 17 heads of states gather for the Asean Summit, followed by the Asean Plus Three and East Asian meetings.
The cash would go to “entertaining foreign journalists, including rest and recreation, food and sports,” gushed the eager host. Focus would be on media from Japan and South Korea, because they’re major tourism markets. “We want them to have the time of their lives.”
The Grand Convention Center will be cordoned off as a dining area. He’ll swamp the foreign press with catalogues on tourist sites, etc. “Pasensya na lang [Bear with us], but it’s going to be lavish,” Osmeña said.
This mayor can host sumptuous barrio fiestas, especially if taxpayers foot the bill. But what if only istambays came?
Will journalists from Japan’s Nihon Shimbun Kezai, France’s Le Monde, British Broadcasting Corp., CNN, South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo or The New York Time, drive 18 kilometers, one way, from the summit site in Mactan, for a “lavish lunch”?
Osmeña listens only to Osmeña. But someone should set His Honor straight on the press, for his own good, let alone the country. The summit newsmen are not tourism PR hacks. They’re hard-nosed professionals covering a major conference with crosscutting issues.
How can the Philippines, as the region’s weakest link in the fight against terror, be helped to neutralize graduates of Mindanao’s training camps? How can we seal the seepage from Indonesia as that country cracks down on terrorists? There’s Burma’s arbitrary detention of Nobel Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. North Korea’s nuclear threat is on the table. China’s spiraling demand for resources, India’s emergence as a potential superpower, the impact of the new US immigration law on limited pools of trained manpower in Asean countries are of concern.
There’s no US position on Cebu’s summary executions -- yet. That may come in the US Department of State’s next annual global report on human rights.
US participation in Asean summits, and other dialogue partners like China and Australia, is not within a barrio fiesta’s ambit. That’s the President’s prerogative. She decides that issue in consultation with nine other Asean nations.
Osmeña therefore should not fret. After all, the heads of state will meet, not in Cebu, but across the channel, on Mactan Island. He should worry more if the monkeys aren’t scared despite the slaughtered chickens.
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Jolina’s New Yorker boyfriend enters politics
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“HOY, kanina ka pa diyan ha!” She jokingly cries to an admirer who keeps grabbing her arm. She is squeezing her way through a noisy throng of admiring fans..
Kalmot. Kurot. Halik. She suffers scratches, pinches and stolen kisses on another flying visit in Metro Manila. But she endures everything, she is used to these signs of worship, the price of overwhelming popularity as a showbusiness celebrity. More so now because it’s for a good cause. She is helping to launch a career in Philippine politics of her real life boyfriend -- Bebong Munoz. And she is Jolina Magdangal, diminutive multi-talented singing, dancing, acting television and movie star.
A month or two ago, the world of Bebong was a much different one. After obtaining a master’s degree in public administration at New York’s Columbia University, he plunged in consultation work with multinational corporations. His choice of employers was dictated by his ambition to serve the Philippines’ developmental needs.
He first hitched up with Development Counsellors International, whose thrust was the attraction of foreign investors to client companies. One of the countries he was assigned to was Puerto Rico. Next, he was recruited by Public Strategies Group, where he was exposed to the principles and practices of reinventing governments.
Former President Clinton and Vice President Gore were pioneers in the movement which had as its guru David Osborn, author of the corporate bible “Reinventing Government.” Among Bebong’s assignments were the New York Department of Finance and the State of New Orleans after the Katrina hurricane disaster.
Bebong’s undergraduate work in the Philippines were Bachelor of Laws at University the Philippines and B.S. in Economics at Ateneo University. His practical exposure in government was as presidential assistant on youth affairs of President Erap Estrada. So there. We can forget any doubts we may have entertained in the early part of this column about the opportunistic elements of Bebong’s pursuit.
His fate in being romantically linked with an awesomely popular star in the entertainment world -- it looks like a magical development for Bebong and Jolina in a TV “teleserye”. A la “Captain Barbell”. Icing on the cake.
It could be a reprise of the Ralph Recto-Vilma Santos and the Kiko Pangilinan-Sharon Cuneta political-show business tandems. Nobody can denigrate the academic, job exposure, and government experience of Bebong Munoz. As presidential assistance on youth affairs, Bebong became known as the one who first brought to public attention the danger OF the drug “ecstasy”. It was treated as a “status” drug of the wealthy. Bebong kept after the Dangerous Drugs Board to expose its real potential damage to the youth.
We knew Bebong when he was in New York. We learned he belonged to a political dynasty. The Asistio clan of Caloocan City. His mother Alita is an Asistio. The first time we brought up the subject then, his view point on the subject showed us his thoughtfulness on the issue and other issues important to the Philippines. He said qualifications to run for public office should focus mainly on merits. It is up to the electorate to discern the real qualities of aspirants to public office.
Further on, to break the seemingly endless chain of politics, power and corruption, a long term goal should be to lessen the people’s dependence on political leaders for everything, according to Bebong. Eventually, officials can concentrate on governance and they can regain the trust of their constituents.
Classmates and friends back in the US have their hopes riding on Bebong’s life in the Philippines. Bebong said they all want to go back and share their minds and skills and talents for the betterment of their countrymen. They are watching how Bebong will fare.
The research, analyses and planning that went into Bebong’s decision to to run for Congress next year amazed us. They combined the strategies he learned elsewhere and the local parameters of Philippine politics. Blessed with a sincere desire to help his countrymen, everybody should pray for and help Bebong. It was good to learn that a core group of such good dedicated unpaid supporters have pitched in and is growing. They are inspired by Bebong who wants to reinvent the government.
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The June 2006 priority dates
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THE priority date for Second Preference 2A (petitions of spouse and minor sons and daughters of green card holders) retrogressed (or moved backwards) by more than 10 months. However, the First Preference (F-1, unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens) moved forward 10 days, and the Fourth Preference (F-4, petitions by brothers and sisters of U.S. Citizens) moved forward by two weeks. The rest of the family petitions did not move at all, as shown in the monthly Visa Bulletin for June 2006, released by the State Department.
The priority dates for employment-based petitions for “other” or unskilled workers became unavailable, meaning no visa will be issued for this category. However, the priority date for professionals and skilled workers moved forward by two months.
Petitions by Citizens:
The priority date for the First Preference Category, F-1 (unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, over 21 years of age) moved forward by 10 days, from August 22, 1991 to September 1, 1991.
The Third Preference Category F-3 (married sons and daughters of United States citizens) did not move at all, and remained at July 1, 1988 (Note: There is now a difference of more than 3 years in the priority dates between unmarried and married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens.).
The Fourth Preference, F-4 (brothers and sisters of United States citizens) moved forward by two weeks, from October 15, 1983 to November 1, 1983.
Petitions by Green Card holders:
The Second Preference, F-2A (spouse and minor children, below 21 years of age, of green card holders) of Family-Based Petitions moved backwards by 10 months and one week, from March 1, 2002 to April 22, 2001.
The Second Preference, F-2B (unmarried sons and daughters, over 21 years of age, of green card holders), did not move, and remained at July 8, 1996.
Petitions by Employers:
The Third Preference (professionals and skilled workers) of Employment-Based Petitions (Labor Certification), moved forward by two months, from May 1, 2001 to July 1, 2001. The Third Preference (non-skilled workers), became unavailable. When it becomes available, the priority date would most probably return to October 1, 2000. The priority date for Schedule A workers (nurses/physical therapists) is current.
Michael J. Gurfinkel has been an attorney for over 25 years, and is an active member of the State Bar of California and New York, as well as the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the Immigration Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association.He has always excelled in school:Valedictorian in High School; Cum Laude at UCLA; and Law Degree Honors and academic scholar at Loyola Law School, which is one of the top law schools in California.
WEBSITE: www.gurfinkel.com
Four offices to serve you:
LOS ANGELES: 219 North Brand Boulevard, Glendale, California 91203 Telephone: (818) 543-5800
SAN FRANCISCO: 966 Mission Street, San Francisco, California 94103 Telephone: (415) 538-7800
NEW YORK: 60 East 42nd Street, Suite 2101, New York, NY 10165 Telephone: (212) 808-0300
PHILIPPINES: Heart Tower, Unit 701, 108 Valero Street, Salcedo Village, Makati, Philippines 1227 Telephone: 894-0258 or 894-0239
(This is for informational purposes only, and reflects the firm’s opinions and views on general issues. Each case is different and results may depend on the facts of a particular case. All immigration services are provided by an active member of the State Bar of California and/or by a person under the supervision of an active member of the State Bar. No prediction, warranty or guarantee can be made about the results of any case.Should you need or want legal advice, you should consult with and retain counsel of your own choice.)
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