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.

Siem Reap

     A little over fifteen years ago, I went to Siem Reap with close Malaysian friends to see the famed Angkor Wat. It was one of the longest trip I had in order to benefit from the zero fare of Air Asia. We went to Cambodia  with free air  tickets we booked three months earlier.

A pose with the gigantic Angkor Wat ruins

     There were many things unforgettable of that trip with my close friends.

     We visited all the ancient temple ruins for at least three days. I have seen the enormous beauty of the temples which made me wonder on how were they able to construct them during ancient times.

     We tried the happy pizza, or pizza with marijuana, which is legal to eat in Cambodia. There was no effect on me though it seemed one of my lady friends had it. I can't explain why I am unaffected.

     We visited Tonle Sap lake, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, seeing the lives of the people in the floating village. We saw how people live adapting to the environment.

     It was probably the cheapest trip I had, where one USD is highly appreciated. You can go around and pay in USD bills.

It's Damn Cold Again

     It feels so cold, it penetrates up to my bones. My extremities are all feeling cold. When I checked the temperature, I realized it explains why it feels so cold. I have been to winter countries, been exposed to snow in Norway back then but I dont't know why at this temperature I feel so cold. Brrrr.

It's 17-18°C out there