Monday, August 29, 2005
Love or Leave your Country
I had an interesting day today. I couldn't normally finish house chores unless Trent's around to watch Aden. I've never left him in daycare unless you count the one in the gym where they page me overhead every 5-10mins.
Trent got called for jury duty for the first time since we moved up here in Lincoln. He's usually out the door around 5am but thank goodness for jury duty, he was able to sleep in and he didn't have to work overtime. So I took advantage of the fact that I have extra hands. I was able to scrub our kitchen floor, clean all the toilets, do some laundry, vacuum 4 rooms out of our 5bedroom house and took Aden for a walk at the park. Aahhh... the life of a domestic diva...
After lunch, I did a favor for a friend. My friend called me late last night to ask if I could go to the remittance bank to send money to her mom. I could sense the urgency in her voice and she doesn't normally trust anybody with money. There's no doubt money is a very sensitive issue but if your parent(s) owned a business that was gravely hit by the economic crisis in the Philippines, you'll understand the gravity of the situation.
I know a lot of Filipinos who want to leave the country for monetary reasons. I constantly discuss this with my mom who is in the same predicament. Corruption is an institution in the Philippines. I know because my family is experiencing it first hand. My mom used to own a successful garment manufacturing company and my step-dad had a multi-million construction company. Both companies still exist but have negative revenue.
Just last week, the president of the country recalled projects for the public works and highway. My step-dad was looking forward to a project that would've earned a little. It turned out to be a huge loss and the project never even materialized. A week before the recall, Congressman Bingbong Crisologo (through one of his aids) asked for a 10% bribe money from my step-dad (tito Butch) to get the project. Tito Butch was given a deadline and he was able to come up with Php500K ($1=Php55.20). A few days after, the news broke about the recall.
Now, since the project didn't push through, don't you think he should get his money back?? He asked the "aid" to ask his boss, the Congressman, to give back the money since the project was cancelled. The answer he got was: "Wala kong nalalaman dyan" (I don't know anything about that)
This is just one example of the many cases of corruption in the Philippine government. Tito Butch's brother who was also hoping to get a project gave bribe money to Jaworski amounting to Php800K. Then there was another congressman who asked and got PhP3M!!! None of them got it back.
These kinds of unjust acts make me sick to my stomach. Where is the moral principle of all these people?
I truly sympathize with the victims of all these chaos. Since I left the country in 1999, a lot has changed. This doesn't apply to everybody especially to younger generations who are just starting and striving to succeed in life. Not too long ago, I talked to at least 3 of my friends who were asking for help to find a job here in the US or any country outside the Philippines. My friends are all well educated and well brought up. But with their future's uncertainty, I don't blame them for wanting to leave the country.
I'm proud to be a Filipino but I'm glad I'm a US Citizen. As a mom, it is inevitable for me not to think of my son's future and do whatever it takes to give him every best opportunity.
***************
I found this article by a Korean student studying in the Philippines. See what your thoughts are...
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Trent got called for jury duty for the first time since we moved up here in Lincoln. He's usually out the door around 5am but thank goodness for jury duty, he was able to sleep in and he didn't have to work overtime. So I took advantage of the fact that I have extra hands. I was able to scrub our kitchen floor, clean all the toilets, do some laundry, vacuum 4 rooms out of our 5bedroom house and took Aden for a walk at the park. Aahhh... the life of a domestic diva...
After lunch, I did a favor for a friend. My friend called me late last night to ask if I could go to the remittance bank to send money to her mom. I could sense the urgency in her voice and she doesn't normally trust anybody with money. There's no doubt money is a very sensitive issue but if your parent(s) owned a business that was gravely hit by the economic crisis in the Philippines, you'll understand the gravity of the situation.
I know a lot of Filipinos who want to leave the country for monetary reasons. I constantly discuss this with my mom who is in the same predicament. Corruption is an institution in the Philippines. I know because my family is experiencing it first hand. My mom used to own a successful garment manufacturing company and my step-dad had a multi-million construction company. Both companies still exist but have negative revenue.
Just last week, the president of the country recalled projects for the public works and highway. My step-dad was looking forward to a project that would've earned a little. It turned out to be a huge loss and the project never even materialized. A week before the recall, Congressman Bingbong Crisologo (through one of his aids) asked for a 10% bribe money from my step-dad (tito Butch) to get the project. Tito Butch was given a deadline and he was able to come up with Php500K ($1=Php55.20). A few days after, the news broke about the recall.
Now, since the project didn't push through, don't you think he should get his money back?? He asked the "aid" to ask his boss, the Congressman, to give back the money since the project was cancelled. The answer he got was: "Wala kong nalalaman dyan" (I don't know anything about that)
This is just one example of the many cases of corruption in the Philippine government. Tito Butch's brother who was also hoping to get a project gave bribe money to Jaworski amounting to Php800K. Then there was another congressman who asked and got PhP3M!!! None of them got it back.
These kinds of unjust acts make me sick to my stomach. Where is the moral principle of all these people?
I truly sympathize with the victims of all these chaos. Since I left the country in 1999, a lot has changed. This doesn't apply to everybody especially to younger generations who are just starting and striving to succeed in life. Not too long ago, I talked to at least 3 of my friends who were asking for help to find a job here in the US or any country outside the Philippines. My friends are all well educated and well brought up. But with their future's uncertainty, I don't blame them for wanting to leave the country.
I'm proud to be a Filipino but I'm glad I'm a US Citizen. As a mom, it is inevitable for me not to think of my son's future and do whatever it takes to give him every best opportunity.
***************
I found this article by a Korean student studying in the Philippines. See what your thoughts are...
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