Before the televised fight of the Pacman and the Hitman, I checked out quickly the profiles of these two great legends in boxing, a refresher sort.

Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao
Age: 30
Division: Lightweight
Belt: WBC Lightweight Champion
Country: Philippines

Record: 48 - 3 - 2
KO: 36 (67.92%)
Rounds Boxed: 291 rounds

Height: 5′6 1/2″
Reach: 67″

Last five Opponents:
Oscar De La Hoya -W TKO 8
David Diaz - W TKO 9
Juan Manuel Marquez - W SD 12
Marco Antonio Barrera - W UD 12
Jorge Solis - W KO 8

Ricky “Hitman” Hatton
Age: 30
Division: Light Welterweight
Belt: The Ring Belt 140 Lbs
Country: United Kingdom

Record: 45 - 1 - 0
KO: 32 (69.57%)
Rounds Boxed: 274 rounds

Height: 5′7 1/2″
Reach: 65″

Last five Opponents:
Paul Malignaggi - W TKO 11
Juan Lazcano - W UD 12
Floyd Mayweather Jr - L TKO 10
Jose Luis Castillo - W KO 4
Juan Urango - W UD 12

When the fight was about to start, I couldn’t help but felt proud the whole time of Pacquiao’s introduction, even prouder when Martin Niviera sang the Philippine National Anthem and proudest when the Pacman finished the battle before the second round ended. And of course, he finished it victoriously! Hail to the Pacman! Hail to the Filipinos. I just couldn’t feel any prouder in the Filipino Race.

To the Brits, fist be with you! Better luck next time.

It’s Labor Day yesterday. It meant no work for me! I and Shean Chiva decided to go to Divisoria again since the time was so right. As we got down the LRT 1 Recto Station, we saw a big bulk of people rallying — shouting for their causes, letting the public be aware of the maltreatment they’ve been receiving from the government, reminding the government of its responsibility to its citizens.

The traffic jam was even doubled, much heavier than the usual days in Divisoria. Nevertheless, we still managed to squeeze into the busy streets. After three hours of haggling for much lower prices and beating the heat of the sun, we headed home. We almost forgot we had not eaten lunch yet. As soon as we reached home, we took out a meal in one of the fastfoods in town.

Reaching home after Divisoria wasn’t a day yet. After eating our late lunch, Shean headed for Laguna while I, for Makati. I had to go somewhere in Dian Street. A favor was asked to me that I couldn’t resist.

Therefore, Labor Day wasn’t really rest day for me. It meant work for me, still, only in a different perspective.

Permit me to speak to the deepest of my thoughts in my very words. I admit I am a no expert in this topic. Of what reasons that drive me to write regarding this notion I don’t know. All I have is my consciousness. To my fellow youth, this I speak: Our family loves us so dearly that they do everything in whatever ways they can just for our own good. They want us to live in our very comfortable ways amidst all the fickleness in life. Because they trust us, they gave us authority to whatever decisions we make. They share with us our joys if we make these decisions productive. If not even so, they are still willing to help us in however they can. They are even eager to carry all the burdens we experience, yet for our own cause. In other words, they gave us our freedom “ to choose how to live life, to live life to the fullest. But sometimes, we fail to recognize our family’s intentions brought by the kind of freedom they grant to us. At times, we become abusive to this liberty we have. How can I tell? Let us be aware on the issues around. See what’s happening to the youth. We are too involved on malefic crimes and unwonted concerns “ issues on drug addiction, pre-marital sex, teenage pregnancy, vices, and deception. These are some of the many clear manifestations of our irresponsibility. We thought we could handle these at our own risks. But is that what is happening? I don’t think so! A factor, however, that influences us to committing to these fruits of freedom is our exposure to the media. It cannot be denied that we have been so attached to the many possibilities of acquiring and learning these demoralizing acts. Peer pressure could also be one. Often times, we do atypical things for our companions because we want to please them even up to risking our whole self, without realizing the possible effects it may cause us. But haven’t we realized that no matter what we do, in whatever decisions we make, may it be influenced by peers or not, we still hold liable for ourselves? Why then we bait ourselves to the battle grounds of these fruits of freedom that bring-no-good to us? Why then we allow these disdainful things to affect and influence us to happen to us? Let us not allow ourselves to be victims of these irreverent transgressions. We must use our liberty over things, as entrusted to us by our elders, for our welfare “ to become productive, to become responsible youth. We should perceive freedom and independence commended to us by our parents as our strength to achieve our endeavors in life. After all, we don’t want to fail the expectations of our forefathers. I still believe in Rizal: the youth are the hope of tomorrow.

Some people get happy during election time. Why? They think it is the perfect time to receive alms from the officials-wannabe. It is the easiest way to solicit funds from the candidates without involving ones’ blood, sweat, and tears, all for free. All these, in lieu with what the candidates want – their votes. Sad, because they failed to recognize the value of their rights. Much sadder, because they failed to see the importance of their single vote that could probably change the society.

Some politicians at the same time feel the same. They feel happy because they receive alms from higher forms of beings. These alms may be given in kind or in cold cash, whichever from the two, a thing probably sure: as long as these candidates subject to the terms of these Martians, then everything would just go on smoothly with their campaigns.

What I exactly don’t like about politics is the very nature of it that has been passed on from one generation to the next. The politician’s character: being turncoat. Politicians go for whoever sways stronger and for whoever has greater influence. Sad, because as much as these politicians should have their principles intact and unbroken, what is happening now is that they’re eating up all their ideals just to belong. Isn’t this ironic? How they convince people to vote for them when all the while it makes no sense for people to be convinced?

I am mad at those politicians who are turncoat. A turncoat, not just to their slate mates, but a turncoat to the people. A big fake. Why would we vote for this kind of wannabes? For these candidates who fake citizenship to forward their interests, for people who use money as a revolving mechanism to manipulate the harmless members of the electorate, for people who use force to pursue what they want, for people who use their power, their position and maximize it all for campaign strategies? Fair enough? Where is justice now?

More intensely, I am mad at those people who ride on with the waves of politics. Who never thinks, who judge unsoundly, who persecutes partially, who do nothing positive and healthy and just, who know that they’ve been used yet they continue to be used. Where are your principles now? Thought you were educated and morally upright? Thought you were sincere and dedicated to serve without stains of personal pursuits? Where are all these? Gone. Bygones be bygones.

So what now? Do we have to be consumed with these saddening and maddening realities? I say, we don’t. And I am speaking here as a youth, with a fresh perspective and straight ideals, I say, we won’t, we shouldn’t. I would not let the youthfulness in me be departed. I would not allow myself to be trapped into the alley of fraud and deceit and hypocrisy.

Imagine yourself some years ago, when we were on our high school years and all we had were our creative and dreamful ambitions. I remember the very ambition I had at that time was to get myself to UP also known as the country’s premiere university. And not only it was my dream alone, I shared it with almost every high school student who believed that UP, more than it delivers quality education, is a state university for the lesser-privileged students who actually need subsidy to sustain their tertiary education.

Last year, on December 15, the Tuition and Other Fees Increase (TOFI) of UP

was approved at a Board of Regents Meeting at the College of Law. While we commend the efforts of the UP administration to solve the perennial financial deficit of the University, we in KAISA – Nagkakaisang Iskolar Para sa Pamantasan at Sambayanan, do not agree with the method by which it aims to solve this problem – by raising and adjusting tuition and miscellaneous fees.

As scholars and activist, we are fully aware of the University’s dire need to upgrade its infrastructure and teaching needs in order to develop the University as a world-class institution of higher learning. Yet the measures that the UP administration approves in order to reverse the University’s financial difficulties pose a great threat to the student’s ability to enter UP and finance his or her education. For one, information dissemination, not consultation, took place.

KAISA wishes to forward our own alternatives to the pressing need to finance UP education. First, repeal the approved TOFI, re-convene the Committees and re-design the studies to make it more inclusive. Instead, push for the productive utilization of the University’s idle assets. And second, fight for greater State subsidy.

In the face of broad opposition to the approval of TOFI, KAISA believes that it is wiser for the UP administration to reconsider its stance, get back in the drawing board, and ensure that all stakeholders will be involved in crafting viable yet just proposals.

No to TOFI! Yes to Productive Utilization of Idle Assets! Continue to fight for greater state subsidy! Let us show our protest to the approval of TOFI by involving ourselves with education discussions, fora, and signature campaigns as regards to this very untimely issue. This only not concerns the UP system alone but for all schools offering public education as well. Let us be involved, now!

Election is coming very soon. A clear manifestation of this is the almost deafening news we hear on T.V. We hear news on political issues mainly concerning on the upcoming senatorial and local elections. We hear sorts of them. But what excites me the most is not on who the candidates will be because this commotion is already trivial, but rather on the fact that indeed, I will already be participating in the elections. It will be my first time to vote this May.

I am very eager of this matter because I am aware that it is everyone’s right to vote, and now that I am already qualified to vote, I am looking forward to exercise this right.

Just this week, I went to my dentist for a monthly appointment. When I entered the clinic, everyone was talking about elections and registration. I just had to listen to them because for hygienic reasons I cannot talk and discuss these matters with them. So I just listened to the flow of the discussion. I was personally saddened by what I heard from my dentist’s colleague. She said she hadn’t voted for quite some time and that she can’t remember anymore her last time going to the precinct to vote. She stressed that she wanted to vote this time because a relative of hers is expressing an intention to run this election. She was basically asking on the registration procedure and tried to tell us how “having connections” in a government institution can actually help her in her registration without having to go over with the whole process. And she’s very proud that she’s voting this time, at last.

I cannot understand why we have this kind of mentality. It seems to me that what we supposedly know as a right, in this case, our right to vote, is molested because it goes beyond its principle. It seems to me that it does not serve its very purpose anymore.

It is very ironic how people interpret such right in different ways. As far as my objective understanding is concerned, I think that we have to exercise this right because it is our obligation as citizens of the Republic. We have to exercise this because it is our primary responsibility that we vote and elect deserving people accountable for our country’s development and for its people’s welfare.

What I would want to happen now is this thinking to be instilled in our minds: that it is our right to vote and that our vote matters. As I’ve said, it is imperative that as citizens of our nation, we must do good as well by selecting and electing the capable leaders that will lead the Filipino people into progress. I know that this sounds prophetic and idealistic but it’s always good to look back to this fundamental knowledge of being reminded once in a while of our rights, duties and responsibilities as concerned people of our country, some sort of a courtesy check in our system.

I always wanted to be in politics. That is my dream ever since I started climbing up the stage to campaign for my father’s candidacy. Ever since my childhood years, I already felt the passion to serve my constituents through the political arena. They say that it’s in the blood, politics runs in our blood.

And I guess I had proven this right when, five years ago, I ran for a government position representing the youth. It was my sole decision to run for that. I seek my parents for advice. Though my mom was against it, I still pushed for it knowing that my dad’s supporting my candidacy anyway. I ran. And I lost. It was very painful for me knowing that I had good intentions for the youth. I must say that I had great plans for my fellows, but it all halted when I lost.

At that time, I felt so much betrayed by everyone, especially by my friends who initially expressed their support for me and suddenly withdrew it at the very last minute for some practical reasons.

I thought it was the end of the world when I lost. I thought I had no more purpose in life so why live anyway? Good thing I had my family with me to console me every time I felt like crying. My father always told me that God has perfect plans for me ahead that’s why He didn’t allow me to win. I continued with my life, years went by, and I realized that after that defeat, here I am, and I am still here, much stronger than before and will be very ready to conquer the world very soon.

To my friends, I thought it was through but I practically understand them why they did that.

Had I invested my everything on it, I would not have survived this far. That was only my first battle and I know there are still many more battles to come that I shall conquer. Had I placed all my eggs in one basket, I would have rotten and not endured. Good thing I still have fresher and newer eggs that are placed in different baskets. I realized that forever I shall keep and abide the quote: Do not put all your eggs in one basket or else you’ll forever regret it.

We ask ourselves why do we migrate to other countries? Why is it that according to the Pulse Asia survey of 2005 one out of five Filipinos expressed their desire to migrate? According to an article titled “Globalization and Migration”: “In the last 30 years, a “culture of migration” has emerged, with millions of Filipinos eager to work abroad, despite the risks and vulnerabilities they are likely to face.”

Moreover, more recent Pulse Asia in 2005 found an increasing percentage of adult respondents — 26 percent in July and 33 percent in October — agreeing with the statement, “If it were only possible, I would migrate to another country and live there.” Interest in leaving the country is not limited to adults. In a nationwide survey in 2003 of children ages 10 to 12, 47 percent reported that they wished to work abroad someday. Sixty percent of children of overseas foreign workers said they had plans to work abroad. Let me take the country’s history in terms of its migration, “Since the 1970s, the Philippines…has supplied all kinds of skilled and low-skilled workers to the world’s more developed regions. As of December 2004, an estimated 8.1 million Filipinos — nearly 10 percent of the country’s 85 million people — were working and/or residing in close to 200 countries and territories. “

This rate of migration is actually increasing every year so that in 2004 alone, 933,588 OFWs left the country. What would be its implications?

Simple. The citizens of our country, especially the migrants and those who expressed their interests to migrate, have lost their trust to the state being an institution that would provide basic and other essential needs to its people. The push and pull theory of migration will explain this: People moved either because social and economic forces in the place of destination impelled them to do so, or because they were attracted to places of destination by one or more social and economic factors there. In the case of the Philippines, the first premise of the theory is true: Filipinos migrate because economic forces in here in our country impelled our citizens to do so. Why do this happen? Again, the issue will run in a cyclic manner. Why can’t our own country provide us with all our needs? Simple. The reason we Filipinos developed a “culture of migration” is the very “culture of corruption” that is creeping from one generation to the next. Kaya nga tayo di umuunlad, eh. This is, I believe, the very reason why we Filipinos go the same flow to what is “fashioned”, to what is “dominant.” The reason why we now are attached to globalization so deeply that even our concept of migration has gotten to the nerves of our people – even compromising family and societal relationships with one another – is that we think that because the United States head this, and because we think that US is strong and dominant and has a stable economy in a sense, we deduced that globalization is thus essential and inevitable and is therefore good; so why not adopt it and go where the orientation is so we’ll eventually be a super-power like the US? The sad fact is that it brings no good to us, no good to me and definitely no good to my family. Yes, I concede that it brings money to the family of the migrant and to the nation as a whole in the form of remittances, but it actually don’t do us any good more than the money it can offer. As a Filipino critic said it, “All over the world, dehumanization serves the interests of the multinational capitalists who regard people as human resources…to secure a condition of perpetual servitude, poverty, and exploitation for the next generations of Filipinos.”

So what are we going to do about this? To be honest? I don’t know. It would be hard if only dots of the whole imagery are only the ones working to whatever desirable change we can think of for our country. Our main problem here as I have pointed out earlier is the incompetence of our country’s leaders in running the government. So how can we address this? Change the set of leaders we currently have? Change the system of government? Then this will be another story all together. Then let’s go more specific. The very basic problem we have right now is the incapacity of the state to literally feed all its citizen (the very reason why Filipinos migrate – for survival, for greener pasture). Therefore, if we see it this way, then I think the best way to address this problem is for the government to adopt reforms in their programs that would address the basic needs of the citizens. Moreover, since migration has been a trend, the government therefore should establish programs that would promote and protect the rights of the migrants. I say not just establish programs that are beautifully written in paper but I mean programs that will be properly implemented for the protection of these unsung heroes. After all, they bring pride and extra help to our nation’s economy.

There have been tons of reading materials on globalization from all sorts of perspective but all of these perspectives boil down to its grass root level of definition, that is, globalization is a politico-economic strategy. Of who will benefit globalization, the perspectives have different stands on this. What my stand therefore will be based from Alice G. Guillermo’s definition on globalization:

“…globalization is not a diffuse universal trend, but is constructed from within the hub of American imperialist power from which it expands to cover the rest of the globe, particularly the developing, countries of Asia and Latin America..”

What is so bad about globalization is its implied way of how we are molded to live like Americans: that in the long run, despite the leading technologies they have, we will, like them, become totally strangers to one another. I always hate the idea of how, for instance, they “slowly kill” their olds. I mean sending them to home-for-the-aged makes me so sick.

Moreover, considering Dr. Jane Kelsey’s definition as cited by Guillermo, globalization for her is “the community of economies:” “it excludes from consideration any ‘non-economic’, social and political issues like human rights, poverty, employment, unless they are redefined in trade-related terms…States, governments, indigenous peoples, paid and unpaid workers, women, children, communities, and ecosystems are all irrelevant, except as vehicles to promote the interests of capital or resources to fuel production and profits.”

Personally, I don’t think globalization will bring any good to us, especially here in our country, a still-developing country, to put it in a beautiful term. Globalization is as if everything is run by trades, nothing more, nothing less. How about other aspects in our society? How about our interpersonal, political, social, moral development? We cannot risk these dimensions and say, “Hey, let’s unite and think in an economical sense. With this, everything good will follow.” This is impossible.

Though I concede that globalization, one way or another, has brought good to the lives of some of the migrants and their families in terms of uplifting their families’ economic capacity (including my family’s), and in the broader sense has actually helped the country’s economy in the form of remittances, it actually is in fact not a strong excuse for us to undermine other institutions in our society that basically weighs as important as improving the economy of one’s country and of the world as a whole.

If globalization has brought good to our country then why are we experiencing the dilemmas it has brought as an effect of its presence? On the next issue, I will be considering more issues on migration— on why Filipinos escape our country and move abroad.

(to be continued…)

Let me start this essay by saying that my mother is an Overseas Contract Worker (OCW) in the Middle East. She has been practicing her profession as a nurse for around eighteen years in Saudi Arabia. Since her contract is renewable every ten months, she gets to go home on the eleventh and the twelfth months respectively which is actually equivalent to a fifty day-vacation here in the Philippines. That means we in the family get to see my mother 50 days out of 365 days a year. And numbers will not lie that of my nineteen years now in this world, I have just lived with my mother physically present in our home for about 900 days only, equivalent to even less than three years.

I have one aunt and one uncle who happened to be younger siblings of my father. No kidding, I only saw them every time they get back to the Philippines. And how are they visiting the Philippines? Well, every five years. So that means I only saw them for less than five times in my whole life.

All because the three of them migrated abroad. All because of globalization. There were so many times I am saddened by the truth that my mother isn’t with us for almost twenty years. During my childhood, during my high school days, I had always wanted to understand the feeling of a home having a mother physically present to guide and take care of the three of us, her kids – to help me in my puberty stage (because I am the only girl in our house aside from our house help), and to manage my two younger brothers who always engage in so many fights simply because at times my father cannot handle them both. I mean, there’s always a big and clear distinction on how a father and a mother trains and manages the household, right? But then again this thinking has always been overruled by the fact that it is but about family survival and “good” living that pushed my mother for this option. Let me also stress that my father never wanted this idea of my mom leaving us to find a higher-compensated job abroad. My father had been the Chief Executive for 12 years and now a local legislator in one of the towns in Bohol. This idea of average and simple living in terms of economic wealth (because a town in the provinces is really poorer as compared to the towns and cities here in the Metro) yet living in a community where people get to respect you because of the family’s political background is still not a weighted reason for my mom not to leave the country. After all, how much does a local official get as compared to an OFW’s monthly salary anyway? My mother cannot just swallow in the idea of poverty creeping into all Filipinos as our country’s economy continues to flunk each day. On the other extent, I can’t blame my mother if she opts to work abroad for I know that all she is thinking right now, her very reason of leaving us and working overseas, is that she wants to give us fairer lives, better lives as compared to how people live in towns and provinces. I realized, I would not have been in UP right now if it isn’t because of my mom supporting me. The cost of living here in Manila is far more expensive than in my province. For instance, a meal here in UP would cost me P35-80 whereas that same delicious meal can only be bought for only P15-25 in my province. And this has been manifested through all other forms of living here in Manila as compared in the provinces so to say.

On the other hand, looking at my mother’s perspective, I cannot fully imagine how she basically was able to survive working in Saudi alone for almost two decades already. I can still recall when she experienced her biggest problem she encountered there as an OCW about five years ago. This experience she had is in fact a problem not just to her but mostly to all non-Arabian workers. In the case of the nurses there, miscommunication between nurse-patient will surely arise if for instance there is a culture gap (and obviously there’s really a culture gap knowing that my mom is a Filipino and all her patients aren’t). Some patients may not understand them the way others do. Some patients especially the natives of Saudi are really abusive to their rights as citizens of the country. Once these patients will actually file complain to the management to any non-Arabian nurse (mainly because of miscommunication), the Arabian government, without further and thorough investigation will automatically lean on to the side of the Arabian patient complaining so that the one non-Arabian individual will only have 25 per cent chance to win the case. Luckily, my mom has gained the administration’s trust thus she was able to win the case otherwise she would have been whipped 150 times or more if she had lose the case. This is only one of the many horrible stories our migrants experience abroad. The *** thing here is that my mom cannot actually do anything about it other than to abide more strictly to the country’s laws because obviously she cannot move and work here in the Philippines because of a very relatively low compensation here not even enough to pay for my college education. In other words, all these sufferings from culture discrimination, all these pains she experienced because of the fact that she is away from us, her family, all of these, she actually ate it all up for us, for her family. Never mind her condition there as long as she can bring hope and inspiration to her family, to me.

Needless to say, the impact of globalization on the very medium of migration has its pros and cons. But I would say more on the cons, as based to my experience.

On the next issue, I will be talking more on the definition per se of the term globalization and more on its impact in the migration side.

(to be continued)