2022 Philippine Election

     I voted for this year's election kind of nostalgic because the last time I voted locally was 1986. After that, I became an OFW from 1993 to 2019 thus I  voted overseas although not in all the elections.

Indelible inked finger 

     The last time I voted, it became invalidated in some way because the 1986 People Power overthrow the regime of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. I was a college student then and I seem to have been influenced by the elites' thinking thus from then on I supported the Aquino administration. Then I went abroad to work and saw the political systems in those countries, and saw the responsible media in Malaysia and Singapore. I had to be back home after I had a stroke unfortunately.

     This is the first election that I voted not as an OFW. I saw the campaign this time, and decided who to vote just to make sure not any of the co-horts of the Aquinos come into power again because 1986 to 2016, the country didn't improve. So in 2016, I was OFW then, we installed Rodrigo Duterte overwhelmingly as the country's top leader which saw a lot of changes and minimizing bureaucracy. Thus preventing the yellow to hold power is a must otherwise the positive changes initiated by Duterte will all go to the drain. It has to be continued. I voted for continuity. I know about half of my friends are all out yellow, pro-Leni, while another half are for BBM-Sara.

Five New Puppies

     For a day, Massy, one of our dogs, was missing. We called him but no reply until two days ago, he came back, I think he was so hungry. After feeding him, we watched where he ran. He went into the thicket behind our hut, just before going down into the stream. We followed him and we found a puppy. We brought home the puppy thinking it was only one and Massy will come home. Night came, Massy went back to the thicket. So the next morning we asked our nephew to bring the one puppy to the thicket again, only to find four other puppies. We all brought them home now and Massy  came home.

Massy with the puppies

     They are now in the house and we are able to feed Massy regularly. The puppies were born on May 3, 2022. They are so adorable.

Aren't they cute?

Camote

    We planted sweet potato solely for the purpose to have them for vegetable leaves anytime we need, sometime in early December I think. Today we hired someone to weed out our mini-garden. As she was doing her round, she found out that our sweet potato have roots, the edible camote, as we call them in the vernacular. She took out some of the crops filling almost a basin. We didn't know they've grown big crops so we didn't harvest them. 

Sweert potato crop

Philippines To Be the Next Singapore?

     I like Isko Moreno''s vision of the Philippines to be like Singapore if he gets to become President. It is very necessary in a way for a leader to have in order to set milestones of how achieving them.

Ambitious?

     I don't know if I am speaking right but what he said will remain hallowed words without clear plan to fruition. No, it is still extremely distant for the country to achieve that status.  I don't think he studied enough of how Singapore reached what it is today. There are many stumbling block to reach the status of Singapore. I worked in Singapore for ten years and I feel I have seen and felt how its political system is far different that what we have. 

    First thing a good leader must do is extract the root of poverty. In a country where the oligarch, a small percentage of the population, controls the economy and politics while the great majority wallow in poverty, there is very serious problem in the country. He must address to uproot this broad inequality existing in today's society. The oligarchy controls the lands and the industries. There is no clear structure to allow the poor population to improve. 

     Many of the landowners, the politicians often control the lands, and I see a lot of idle lands which I believed are owned by the wealthy landowners who are far away. The rural countryside is so underdeveloped and unproductive. People are influenced, especially the teens, by social media, they are preoccupied with TikTok. Their endeavor is unproductive which defenitely is bad for the economy. Before I was here in the Philippines, I learned the country leads in TikTok and vlogging, I felt so proud thinking it's the Filipino creativity. I didn't know it is their main occupation which is bad for the economy, now I realize

     The worst is the first EDSA revolution instilled in the people the skewed concept of freedom, no emphasis on responsibility. This is what is lacking in the Philippine society today, a major difference with Singapore. In Singapore, there is responsibility and the government ensures it sticks with responsibility. As the saying goes, your freedom ends where the freedom of others begins.

Blessed Good Friday

     Second day with sunshine and it's Good Friday. What a blessing, thanks God.

Blessed Good Friday

    The typhoons have gone out of Philippine Area of Responsibility and we can enjoy the sunshine, and it's Good Friday among Christians, one of the holiest days in their calendar.

    Prepandemic, reenactment of the nailing on the cross would be common in many areas of the country. Not sure if it is revived now that Covid seems to be on the low, not sure if it is really low or because elections are coming.

     Station of the cross would be common during Good Friday. 

The Sun Is Out

     After several days of gloom and rain due to two typhoons, Agaton and Basyang, one after the other rendering a stormy weather in the country, the sun has come out. Thanks God the typhoon did not carry strong winds thus the damage is very minimal in this area although there are some towns in Leyte like Abutog with severe flooding. I can empathize what the people there went through.

What a beautiful day after stormy days

     It's time to hang those wet clothes and sheets, a time for the moist surfaces in the house to dry. I pray to God for more great weather onwards. 

State of the Union (SOTU) Address

     I am watching the first State of the Union (SOTU) address of US President Joe Biden, similar to the State of the Nation (SONA) in the Philippines. I can't help but notice the huge difference to local SONA. In the US, it is very business-like and formal, very dissimilar to the pomp in Philippine SONA which looks like a gala.

Formal, business-like get-up

    Philippine SONA is dominated by the gowns of women, the wives of politicians highlighted as they walk in to the hall. It shouldn't be the highlight, but the media is playing it up thus it becomes an unwanted highlight for a formal event.