Convenient Life in the Philippines
We all think (well, almost) that life in the United States is more convenient than in the Philippines. That is part of our colonial mentality that we still had since the Philippines was colonized by Spaniards and Americans.
Still, I believe (or discovered) that life here in the Philippines is more convenient than in the United States (or other countries, deemed by Filipinos as “Land of Opportunities“.) As part of my post this Independence Week Celebration, here are some reasons why:
Malaya? Ows?!
Kuha ng watawat sa harap ni Rizal sa Luneta
Araw ng kalayaan natin ngayon pero bakit lahat yata ng Pinoy ay kumakayod? Bakit hindi tayo malayang naglalamyerda sa kung saan sana natin gusto?
Marahil dahil din sa kalayaan. Nagawa ni Madam President na i-urong ang isang National Holiday sa isang mas maagang araw, para nga naman hindi ipit ang bakasyon. Gayunpaman, kakaiba pa rin na ganuon-ganoon na lang ang pagrereschedule ng isang makasaysayang araw para sa bayan natin.
Hindi naman ako magpapanggap. Naenjoy ko rin naman ang long weekend dahil nga kahapon, Lunes, e walang pasok. Pero hindi ko naramdaman ang dahilan kung bakit paid holiday kahapon. Hindi naman kasi ika-12 ng Hunyo, di tulad ngayon. May pagkakaiba talaga ang kahapon at ngayon.
Para tuloy tinutuya ang ating “kalayaanâ€. Malaya kuno pero, tingnan nyo, kayang idikta ng isang tao kung anong araw natin gugunitain ang ika-109 na taon ng ating pagiging malaya sa mga mananakop.
Kung sabagay, hindi rin naman tayo tunay na malaya sa mga makakapangyarihang bansa sa paligid natin. Kung tunay tayong malaya sa kanila, e di sana Piso lang ang katumbas ng isang dolyar at hindi na kailangang magpaalipin ng mga kababayan natin sa bansa ng mga puti, itim, singkit, at may-anghit.
Hindi maitatanggi na marami pa tayong bigas na itatanim, aanihin, tatahipan, isasaing at kakainin bago tayo maging tunay na malaya. Pero sa ngayon, ganito muna tayo. Sa parehong araw, 109 na taon na ang nakakalipas, kung kailan nagdiwang ang mga kanuno-nunuan natin nang akalain nilang iniwan na sila ng mga tisoy na Kastila, tayo ay kumakayod; kumakain ng All-American Big Mac, French fries at Coke; nagbabasa ng latest Harry Potter book na padala pa galing London; nanunuod ng pinaka-hot na Koreanovela sa TV, hawak ang remote control na gawa sa Taiwan sa kaliwang kamay at ang Cellphone na galing Finland sa kanan!
Lacking a sense of local history
Crossposted from my weblog.
MUCH has been said about the Filipinos’ weak sense of history, a topic that usually becomes a flavor of the month in June. Or more specifically, flavor of the week where June 12 falls as the country celebrates its annual Independence Day.
The spartan celebration of its 109th edition last Tuesday at Naga city hall — which had Juan Dialino, Camarines Sur 2nd district commander of the Veterans Federation of the Philippines, as guest of honor — brought to the fore another glaring deficiency: we sorely lack a sense of local history as well.
Dialino’s address — where he took the Arroyo administration to task for neglecting its promises, including the basic social benefits our aging veterans richly deserve in their twilight years — might sound like an old refrain.
Intercon bFast, Mexican Taco, Senor KFC, Guacamole
Let me share some of the food I tried when I was in Mexico.
 Please click [HERE]
Saludos.
What My Previous Blogs Have Taught Me – IceTubig.tk
Life is designed in such a way that an individual always grows with each passing day. We are confronted with obstacles, tasks, and problems, and no matter how we choose to overcome it, no matter if we win or not, we still learn and grow from it.“Everyday conquered is equivalent to a day of growthâ€, as I always say.
PinoyBlogero wasn’t the only blog that I have wasted time on. Over the past years I have created and maintained a number of blogs that didn’t even come close to being known. Now, they are either shut down or left to rot beyond the shadows of other blogs.
“Mr. Licudine, are you listening?â€
In spite of this, they were the ones that taught me a lot of things in blogging. They have taught me the dos and don’ts, what mistakes to avoid, and what to do when spam finally found your way onto your comments. I made use of these lessons as the foundation for building PinoyBlogero.
Now that my blog has officially launched, I look back to my past blogs and recall the lessons that they have taught me.
Who knows, maybe you too could learn from my mistakes?
The First Round of 2010
However, the US Ambassador to Manila sees the victory of the opposition as “democracy in action,†singing the tune played by Malacanang. Of course, who else do puppets mimic in the first place? No one else but the master who holds the strings.
So which is which? I think the salvaging and abductions of political dissidents are things that do not happen in a “democracy in action.†Neither is the harassment of progressive militant parties like Bayan Muna and Kabataan.
Philippine Airlines’ First Photo Contest Launching
Ross Capili
invites you to the unveiling of
the Philippine Airlines’ First Photo Contest and Cocktail Media Launch
Kalayaan: Bayan, Bayani, Bayanihan
Kalayaan 2007 : Bayan (nationalism), Bayani (heroism), Bayanihan (community spirit) is the Department of Tourism (DOT) and Philippine Convention and Visitors Corporation’s (PCVC) response to our country’s 109th procalamation of Philippine Independence. It showcased & honored top-caliber Pinoys from different disciplines.
The event made me feel very proud and at the same time utterly sad. There we were, witnessing & celebrating some of the greatest talents the Philippines has… yet outside the four walls of CCP, people were clueless as to what is happening inside. The event could have made a greater impact if more people came. Politicaldivide is clearly tearing up and hurting the country. It’s about time that we Filipinos take a stand and work for a better Philippines.
ZsaZsa Zaturnah – in the being of Eula Valdez – said (not the exact words), “lahat tayo ay superhero na may kanya-kanyang labang dapat ipanalo” after their performance of “Ikaw ang Superhero ng Buhay Ko”.
Indeed, we all have roles to perform that’s why I am more than proud of the artists who came to perform in the event as FILIPINOs representing the PHILIPPINES. They truly deserve the loud cheering and enthusiastic clapping of the crowd who all came to see them that night for one reason – to celebrate the country’s rich history and culture that continuously evolve with time. They may have reservations and second thoughts, but they still came and performed in the spirit of bayanihan and maybe a bit of heroism as well.
I truly pray for our country and our countrymen… we are a great nation. In Tony Meloto’s words, “let us move towards greatness”. And that is not an empty statement. Let us stop blaming and pin-pointing. Whatever the state of our country is now, it didn’t take just one person to bring this about. If you will look and observe closely, maybe then you will realize that we all brought this to ourselves, to our country; by living in mediocrity and in indulging too much in democracy… Have you ever tried asking yourself what have you done or given so far to improve the state of our nation aside from the compulsary (heart/pocket-breaking) taxes you pay?
I came in that event because I don’t want DOT & PCVC’s effort to go to waste. I came there as a Filipino who supports other Filipinos. I came there as a Filipino, who believes in my fellow citizens’ talents, skills, & capabilities to do GREAT things, because we are after all a great nation from great ancestors. Our generation just have to completely believe in it for us to see that.
I dream for the day when all Filipinos celebrate our country’s Independence Day with pride. Even in our own silent ways I hope that we can all give each other the reason to be inspired and be proud to be a part of this nation. Maybe then those who refuse to see Philippines’ reality, can finally open their eyes and contribute something to finally bring about independence to our people in its truest sense. Let’s all set aside our differences, let these differences be our strength and not weakness not just as individuals dealing with other individuals, but more importantly as a country, building a nation.
The Magical Technorati Button
I hypnotize you to click on the Biggest Technorati button on the web!!!
Well, maybe no one will bite but as he says:
Oh well how lame does it look to make a simple and stupid technorati button which has no use? But thats not really the point here. The button is magical and has awesome authority powers (Lets just not say Technorati Authority powers lol).
You want to see the magic? Click the button and see the magic in the air
Well, I’m just simply looking for some Technorati love. Please add me if you may. Let’s Exchange the Technorati love. 
Educating High School
Tomorrow, Imma will start its new school year, and I am handling 2nd Year. I was thinking, how am I as a High School student in Lycee D’ Regis Marie? Luckily, I found LDRM’s 2003 Friendster account and found a list of “favorite” things to do in its profile:
“Ma’am real’s classical music, sir navarro’s physic’s projects, sir acol’s b003’soring lectures, maam valdez’s never-been-heard words, Read more
