Mga Bagong Bayani

Here I am at a hotel in Dubai, staying for 1 night on my way to Bangladesh. I was actually quite excited to stay in Dubai knowing that I would see Filipinos everywhere. It definitely came true. Their stories are not new or different than those I heard from returning OFWs at home or from  my English students aspiring to go abroad. Yet, they still don’t fail to hit me. I met one girl who in 2 years time had only gone home once on emergency – the emergency being when her mother died. She’s just from Muñoz, an area I know well and not far from our house in La Loma. Others work long hours – the same receptionist that checked us in at 7 PM last night is here again working since 8 AM this morning.

Mga bagong bayani, that’s what GMA calls them. And for once, she’s right. There is no lack of evidence proving that the money these brave and lonely souls send home is the onlyt hing keeping the Philippine economy afloat and keeping even more of our people from starving. Talk about foreign investment. Pero, what that means is kulang ang mga tao na naewan sa pilipinas para baguhin ang bansa. The best and the brightest, the masipag, the educated, are either working here serving foreigners or doing all in their power with the hopes of going abroad to serve foreigners.

Sama ba ako into that framework? I suppose in some ways, yes, in many ways, no. Pero sad talaga ang situwasyon natin when people who love their country are forced into economic exile. It’s a stark contrast to the mayabang and oblivious Fil-Ams who are all to happy to flaunt their blue passports or greencards. We’ve all got to work harder so our mga bayani can go home.

 

Rambling on Civil Society and Democracy

In response to this article, published by a foreigner in the Daily Tribune. He basically says that all the civil society groups mobilizing voters around election day (especially those involved in EDSA Dos) are self-righteous and their demands to be part of decision-making are useless.

Civil society/pressure groups/lobby groups are supposed to be part of the decision-making process. The reason behind and the role for a vibrant civil society in a functioning democracy is to aggregate interests and engage policy makers – thus becoming part of the decision making process. Unfortunately, in the Philippines civil society is most often in opposition to government figures. In other, working, democracies, elected officials actually rely on civil society to help formulate policy.

It is of utmost importance that we remember that democracy is not about getting your candidate elected, and then once elected that official has the mandate to do what they want. Democracy is an ongoing process and once elected an official is still supposed to involve multiple actors in decision making. Government officials don’t just earn the mandate of the people every time an election happens roll around – they’re supposed to earn it every day.

Personally, I think that what went wrong in 01 was not the groups that ousted Erap were too ideologically diverse. In a country of 90 million that is as complex as ours, the only way to get anything done is to appeal to a diverse group. Rather, I think the mistake was that the coalition broke up after regime change without following through on what came next. The trend of democratic backsliding across the world – not the least of such examples is our own country – really proves that regime change means nothing without some sort of managed transition. In other words, you take one corrupt, maniacal figure out of power without following through on some fundamental reform agenda and he or she will simply be replaced by another corrupt, manaical figure, and your country will likely be worse for it.

Yes, 01 was wrought with mistakes, but I think the approach of “after their candidate wins we won’t be left out in the streets” is the right one to take. Sure, people will have their personal agendas, but realistically, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. We don’t have to always lie to ourselves about being stuck to some lofty moral agenda. The idea of plural democracy is a bunch of different actors advocating for their own self-interests, and that results in something better for everyone (or at least a hell of a lot better than a controlled oligarchic state like what we’ve got now.) And so the challenge is yes, mobilize the electorate, but use that mobilization to prove that the Filipino electorate are energized and paying attention, and will hold candidates to reform post-election.

Furthermore, having disparate, personal agendas doesn’t mean such groups can’t work together post-election. They don’t have to agree on policy, nor should they. But, they can agree on some basic structural reforms that will benefit the vast majority of the country. We can’t count on vested interests to determine who wins the game, but we can count on a variety of different vested interests to determine the rules of the game. (Rawls, anyone?) For example, increased congressional control over the budget, increased transparency in appointments processes, regular reporting of government expenditures, a ban on re-appointments in upper levels of government, more independence for the office of the ombudsman, etc. At this point in our democratic development we need to focus on the basics of institution building to level the playing field. Far from the usual populist antics we are used to, these less-than-sexy political reforms can be advocated for by groups that run the gamut of the ideological spectrum, while still allowing them to remain “pure.”

One last thing – lets not forget that the Tribune is controlled by Erap. So take this editorial for what you will.

 

Thought for the Day: Socialism and the Corporation

Socialism can be likened to the corporate structure. As a corporation is a system which exists and engages in a variety of  often complicated activities for the benefit of its shareholders, a government does the same for its citizens. As a CEO has an immense amount of executive control over the economic policies of the corporation, but is required to act in the interest of and is answerable to the shareholders, so do socialist public officeholders exercise control over state economies, yet are responsible to their constituencies.

The advantage of socialism, however, is that it addresses two major shortcomings of the corporate system: inequality and short-sightedness. The corporate structure is inherently unequal: the more money you have, the more shares you have; the more shares you have, the more say you have; the more say you have, at the potential negligence of others. Socialism does not so discriminate. The corporate structure, furthermore, is inherently biased towards the short-term. If management is unable to deliver quarter to quarter, they are dismissed and can even face prosecution. Governments, however, are inherently long-term. Elections do not occur quarterly but after a number of years. When there is a working party system, there is an incentive to ensure the party’s longevity. When there is a true working socialist system, the goal is to ensure the longevity and development of the nation.

At least, those were my thoughts as I was having my morning coffee. We socialists love life.

 

Notorious

I just finished watching Norotrious, as a New Yorker stuck here in DC, I simply had to do it. I liked it. I really liked it and was surprised how much I actually liked it. Yes, it was a movie about hip hop, it was a movie where the music was a character and Brooklyn was a character, just as much as were Biggie, Faith, Puff, Kim and espeically Violetta. But more than the music, it was a story of a kid struggling to be a man. Even now, it was stilla  shock to be reminded that Pac was 25 when he died and Big was 24. The movie did a good job of showing both Pac and big as complex figures, who just like the rest of us, are neither all good nor all bad. But, at the end of the day, these two incredibly complex figures were just kids, faced with crippling poverty, responsibility and despair as children struggling ot make it through, and then suddenly presented with ridiculous amounts of money, guns, liquor, women and all sorts of temptation. We expected them to act like men, but they were still just kids playing a man’s game.

 

But what surprised me even more was how emotionally attached I felt. I found myself , to my own incredulosity, holding in tears while they showed Bk erupting in a spontaneous street party when Big’s funeral procession rode through. And while I definitely felt some ownership because there were parts of the movie that one probably just wouldn’t get if they weren’t from New York (DJ Enuff actually being the DJ for all of the scenes, Angie Mar’s voice on the radio, the constant shots of Fulton street signs), I really feel my strong emotional reaction is a testament to the true meaning of Hip Hop. 

Hip Hop is a culture; not a subculture, but a culture. It is the culture of the marginalized and provides a community for all of us who never really felt like we were or could be a part of mainstream white American culture. Hip Hop tells us that we have value. While mainstream America tells us we are stupid and immature and have no future because we don’t walk with the proper stiffness or speak with the proper lack of tone and twang, hip hop tells us that we can belong to something that is positive and valuable. I feel emotionally involved because I am emotionally connected to the hip hop community – the community which told me that I could belong to something as I am when mainstream America told me I had to put on a a front to belong.

 

This isn’t a new idea – it’s something I wrote about way back in my senior year of undergrad, but Notorious gave me a chance to revisit it. As I wrote back in 2006, 

[H]ip hop culture provides a vehicle through which … youth could establish themselves as the center, with the rest of the globe on the periphery. The focus of hip hop on the issue of “legitimacy” and “repping where you’re from” [and the joy repping N to the Y brings] allows creators/producers to marginalize their marginalizers. Hip hop is a community builder for the formerly displaced, including those who are not usually included and excluding those who are not usually excluded. 

 

2008 in Review

There are so many other things I should be writing right now…but I suppose it’s just as important to gain some persepctive. (Plus I was inspired by Tricia’s blog.) This has been kind of a downer of a Christmas/New Year’s season – the holidays are just different in the Philippines! So much more bombastic and fun than here in politically correct DC. Before I was in the Philippines Christmas and New Year’s was a big deal because it was the end of classes, final exams and papers and vacation. In the Philippines, well it’s just fun! This year it was anti-climactic at best. I found myself becoming very homesick and thinking of all the parties and whatnot I was doing at this time last year…

Yet, upon thinking about it, 2008 was a great year for me. Exceptional even. My life has changed so drastically over the past 12 months and I’ve grown incredibly as a person, a professional, a Christian and an activist. So, the year in review:

January

The parents and Sophia were visiting the Philippines. I spent the vast majority of this month vacationing around and telecommuting from Iloilo and Antique.

February

Mom and Sophia went back to the States. During the second week, I traveled to Belgrade and began with what has now effectively ruined my life – and loving every second of it. Upon my return to the Philippines, the country was in heightened Oust mode. Lots of late night meetings, strategy sessions, negotiations, and the occasional mass rally or two.

March

In the first week I traveled to Australia. Then back to a calmed-down Philippines where we were all trying to make sense and squeeze out the long term bang of the mobilizations that had occurred. Also, another trip to Iloilo for Uncle Ediong’s birthday and Holy Week in Boracay.

April

After Holy Week effectively took the steam out of the Oust movement, it was back to business as usual. Except there was now the realization that the unorganized MC could be mobilized – the focus turned to how to do so in a way that could support fundamental reform. Finally started dedicating full time to my research pet project – Election Forensics: The Effect of Socioeconomic Factors on Voting in the Philippines.

May

Started getting ready to go back to the States. Finished Election Forensics, the National Summit on the Political Party Reform Bill, did a bit of shopping, did a lot of partying. I returned to Newark on May 22. Had lunch the next day with Cheryl in the city. On the 29th went to Elmira to attend Uncle’s ordination. Turned 23 on May 30. I forgot to eat my cake.

June

And, 2 weeks after arriving in the US, I went to Thailand for 2 weeks. I returned to Jersey, couldn’t stand just being in the house, and began a job search.

July

Attended Rene and Julie’s wedding in Michigan.

August

Attended Joy and Sil’s and Michael and Jamie’s weddings in Toronto. Then, accompanied my parents to NC.

September

Went to South Africa for a conference on 4 hours notice. It was odd to be back in the political world after how many months of being a child at home. Then I flew to DC for my interview with NDI and then took the bus to NY for a meeting. Then the bus back down to NC. A week later I had the NDI job.

October

Started work with NDI on October 5th. Just eased into the first month. Friends from the PI came to the US and we also met in NY – got my insider update there. Had a fun Halloween with new friends!

November

I spent the second week in Belgrade, which was of course, amazing. Then Thanksgiving in Zimbabwe. My first time as a solo trainer. I really then started to remember who I am.

December

NDI Democracy Luncheon and logistical/administrative nightmare. Christmas in NC. Gospel music show at Church. Relaxed. Homesick.

So what does 2009 have in store for me? The better question is: what do I have in store for 2009? A renewed sense of self. The determination to make the most out of my time here and avoid falling into the American trap of work-home/sleep-work-home/sleep. To continue my activities outside of the 9-6 and build myself. 2009 will be what I make it.

 

Pinoys 5th hungriest worldwide – Gallup

It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted, what with starting the new job, moving, and overall adjustments, I just haven’t had time to sit down and write all the things I’ve been meaning to write [including my re-commitment to both socialism and democracy, how the last 2 years in the Philippines have changed me, the similarities between US Republican and populist (in the Phil/Latin American sense) rhetoric (actually, I'm kind of glad I held off on this one since the whole Palin phenomenon will just enrich it), and why electing Obama will be better for US national security interests (and the security of the whole world for that matter)].

As I was riding to work this morning, I was elated and inspired to see the long voting lines (as well as chucking to myself about what IFES now has to say to us.) Then, I read this article, which quickly brought me back down to earth. We’re not finished, people. We’ve a long way to go.

 

Voice of the people world hunger

 

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

By Darwin G. Amojelar, Reporter The Philippines ranked fifth in a recent global hunger survey, with four in 10 poor Filipinos going hungry in the last 12 months. In its “Voice of the People” survey, Gallup International said 40 percent of the Filipino respondents were found to have experienced an empty stomach in late 2007 to the present. The country landed in fifth place out of the 55 countries world­wide surveyed. The Gallup poll interviewed more than 58,600 people between June and early September 2008, and the survey represented the views of more than 1.5 billion global citizens. During the global survey period, inflation in the Philippines surged to double digits, averaging 12.03 percent from June to September. An earlier survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) revealed that 3.3 million Filipino families were suffering from hunger in the last three quarters. The survey was conducted from September 24 to 27, 2008. The SWS said incidence of moderate hunger, which refers to hunger experienced only once or a few times in the last three months, increased from 12.1 percent or 2.2 million families in June to 15.2 percent or 2.7 million families in September. Severe hunger, which refers to that experienced often or always in the covered period, decreased from 4.2 percent or about 760,000 families in June to 3.2 percent or about 580,000 families in September. The SWS survey also found that the hunger rate is highest in Metro Manila with 560,000 and lowest in the Visayas, 420,000 families. Poverty at 32.9 percent The National Statistics Coordination Board also earlier reported that the number of poor Filipinos in 2006 stood at 27.6 million or 32.9 percent of the population. The 2006 figure represented an increase of almost 4 million, compared to 2003 levels when the number of poor Filipinos stood at 23.8 million. The government had said that it aims to reduce poverty incidence to between 17 percent and 20 percent by 2010. The Gallup International survey said 55 percent of respondents in Cameroon have suffered hunger, followed by Pakistan with 53 percent and Nigeria, 48 percent. The poll also found that one-third of the population has not had enough to eat in Bolivia and Guatemala, both with 35 percent, and Ghana, 32 percent. Twenty-three percent of the respondents in Mexico and Russia declared lacking food often or sometimes in the last 12 months. Meril James, the secretary-general of Gallup International, said, “It is shocking to see that still so many people don’t have enough to eat even in the most developed regions.” Two in 10 of the world citizens surveyed or 19 percent declared to have lacked food often or sometimes in the last 12 months. Gallup International is registered in Zurich as a verein (association). It was established in 1947 and currently has member-agencies in 65 countries, conducting market and opinion research in more than 100 countries.

 

Basil Lime Honey Lemongrass Chicken

So now that I’m here at my parent’s house enjoying the quiet life…so far from the craziness of international political activism (and missing it like I can’t explain!) In the meantime I’m enjoying taking care of my family. Today I made some really good chicken by combining different recipes and fudging around a bit, so I figured I better write down what I did before I forget in case I wanna make it again! Of course, all measurements are approximate

Basil Lime Honey Lemongrass Chicken

about 1.5 lbs. of chicken breast

which I cut into strips (for faster marinating – don’t forget to cut against the grain) about an inch thick and then marinated in:

3 cloves (2 tbsp?) minced garlic

1 tbsp minced ginger

juice of 1 lime

3 stalks of lemongrass (which I cut in half, tied and muddled)

1/4 honey

1/4 c. minced basil

black pepper

I pounded the chicken a bit when it was in the marinade and marinated for about 2 hours.

then, i toased about

2 tbsp sesame seeds in a wok (had some extra, really old sesame seeds around the house)

I stir-fried the chicken on high and took it out when half cooked. Of course, while frying, I put a little salt to bring out some flavor. Then I took out the chicken and  stir-fried 3 stems of scallions just until soft, re-added the chicken and cooked it till it was just about done. Then I added:

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp vinegar

2tsp brown sugar

the sesame seeds

1 tbsp flour

which i had mixed together beforehand to make a sauce. I also aded the rest of the marinade. When it seemed the four had cooked out and the sauce was kinda thick, I added vegetables (some frozen veggies and a can of bamboo shoots that I had onhand) and some cashew nuts. I cooked it till all the vegetables were soft and everything was coated. I tasted it a couple times while it was cooking and added additional salt, soy sauce (it was quite bland as listed, so I actually added a  lot more salt) and pepper.

 

I served this 2 ways: over plain rice and also as a filler with bihon and rice paper, to make Vietnamese-style summer-roll inspired idea (thanks to my Brisbane Viet Tan peeps!). Both were really really good! I just used whatever vegetables I had on hand, but next time I’d like to try broccoli, cauliflower, baby corn, snow peas, muchrooms…all the usual in Chinese stir fry. I’d also probably add more ginger (my ginger was still frozen and so I had a hard time peeling it, and we were out of ginger powder) and cashews – i only added a handful of cashews to this batch and i think they didnt really lend anything to the dish in their small quantity. I’d also make more sauce on a second attempt – the sauce was really good! Also, now that I think of it I think you’re supposed to add salt to marinades (helps with osmosis?), so i’ll look it up and try it or not accordingly next time.

best of all, the tanglad, basil, and spring onion came fresh from my mommy’s garden (aka growing in random places in the backyard). yay!

 

Police State of the Nation

First, it seems I was not the only one who picked up on the complete lack of logic in Ermita’s statement, (see Ellen Tordesillas: “’Let the people be judge of GMA,’” Ermita said. The survey score is the people’s judgment.” Mon Casiple: “They illogically echoed each other, chorusing that ‘it is the people who will decide the popularity of the president, not surveys.’ As if the ones surveyed are not a cross-section of and scientifically representative of the people.” Conrado de Quiros: “It’s as if she’s saying, ‘What has being elected or serving the people got to do with being president?’ No, more than that, it’s as if she’s saying, ‘What has being disliked, detested and reviled by the people got to do with me leading them wherever I damn please?’”

Anyway, another gut reaction to another great thing Ate Glo has done. In preparation for the SONA address, several barangay leaders were “asked” to impose curfews and prohibit public drinking. This weekend, 120 people were rounded up and detained for violating this (I don’t even know what to call it…temporary and suddenly declared ordinance?), but, like so many, later released when it was found that none of the men had any criminal records or posed any actual threat to the safety and security of their communities. (see full story)

So despite our strong proclivity to brush such actions off as yet another unnecessary action, and one not so important because no one was actually harmed, I would like to point out several things wrong with this situation and how they contribute to the deterioration of our democracy:

1) This curfew is supposedly a city ordinance that applies only to a few barangays and, and uncoincidentally, barangays with high poverty levels. Yet, the very imposition of the curfew is illegal. It is difficult to believe there is an actual ordinace; it has no record. Furthermore, even if such ordinance exists, it must be published. Rehashing some of the arguments from GMA’s infamous curfew after the Manila Pen Incident last year:

1. As an inherent and extraordinary power of the State, police power is exercised through legislation. A curfew imposed without any law or legal order is illegal and unconstitutional. (Atty. Theodore Te)

2. The President has no authority to curtail freedom of movement. Also, such a directive needs to be in writing and has to be published. (Atty. Marichu Lambino).

3. The curfew imposition is unlawful and contrary to the Constitution — our right to liberty, our right to travel, our constitutionally guaranteed rights that cannot be curtailed or disregarded by executive order. Even curfews imposed in town and barangays need local ordinance. (Sen. Francis Pangilinan)

4. There is no right in Philippine law to impose a curfew on ALL PERSONS. There is only the ability to impose a curfew on minors. (Thanks to Dissenting Opinion. See also PCIJ.)

These legal arguments are, of course, in addition to all the overlooked  guarantees of personal liberty in the constitution.

2) The City “asked” barangay leaders to impose this curfew. Asked, in reality of course meaning the QC police went to the barangay chairmen and told them to impose a curfew. This not only brings into question whether or not barangay officials actually told their communities, but also the right of the City police department to basically co-opt the barangay. I don’t know the answer to this and I must admit that reading the Local Government Code of 1991 hasn’t left me with a clearer picture, but the LGU code as well as the 1987 Constitution portray an overwhelming spirit of the autonomy and limited sovereignty of the barangay, and are more explicit that the role of the city is “oversight.”

3) More generally, this temporary, suddenly-proclaimed, so-called ordinance is in direct violation of the basic legal principle that good law requires consistency and prior notice. A legal system where new ordinances can pop up all willy-nilly and be arbitrarily enforced is not systematic at all. It takes away one of the main purposes of democracy, which is some guarantee that government will be rational and not subject to the whims of a person or small group. Arbitrary laws (and the arbitrary imposition of laws) are authoritarian. (See Railway Express Agency, Inc. vs. New York, “Conversely, nothing opens the door to arbitrary action so effectively as to allow those officials to pick and choose only a few to whom they will apply legislation and thus to escape the political retribution that might be visited upon them if larger numbers were affected.” Kennedy’s opinion in Lawrence vs. Texas for expanded argument)

4) Once again, people were arrested, detained and then released and this is supposed to be alright.

• If the ordinance was real, why were they released? If they were guilty of committing a crime their arrests were justified and they should not have been released. Their relsease, at the mercy and benevolence of the authorities, would have been another example of arbitrary justice and patronage. It takes away from democracy becasue one’s fate is not longer determined by a ratinal legal system, but by the will of hte authority.
• More likely, the ordinance did not exist to begin with and the police rounded these people up becasue they could. The police simply wanted to assert their authority and send a clear message that if GMA can arrest people for doing something ordinary on a Saturday night, don’t even thinkabout speaking or acting against her. The people were then released after it was demonstrated that none of them had criminal records supports this second theory – the police basically rounded them up hoping to find a reason to continue detaining them, but couldn’t.
• Similar arrests, detainment and then release after it was shown that there was no need for the detainments in the first place have happened before. (Think the Manila Pen incident – a big hoopla and then all were unconditionally released for lack of case). The ability of the police to detain at will and then release without consequence. Detainment without being charged. This is basically a form of de facto imprisonment without reason. Check the Guantanamo arguments.

5) And the kicker, 120 people were arrested for drinking on a Saturday night! Come on people, open your eyes. What do people do on Saturday nights? They sit around with their friends, throw back a couple beers, and make kuwento. In most neighborhoods, but especially in urban poor communities, where homes are too small and hot and going to a bar will add to expenses, you sit and drink in front of your house. Filipinos work hard. Filipinos suffer. And now, you want to arrest them for one of the small joys they have?

Welcome to the police state of the nation.

 

Ermita’s Daily derrrr Moment

Reading the Inquirer website today over my morning coffee, I clicked on the first headline in the nation column, an article titled: “Let people be the judge of Arroyo.” Of course, my immediate reaction to this statement was a jubilant, “OK!”

But, much to my chagrin (and half-laughing, half-yelling at the computer screen), what I went on to read was a series of incredibly incoherent statements by EDSA hero-come toady marionette, Executive Secretary Ermita. A rundown:

The article begins by summarizing the Palace’s stance with “The people, not surveys, should judge President Macapagal-Arroyo’s performance.”

Um, excuse me, but isn’t the whole point of surveys to reflect the sentiments of the people? The Palace is not willing to go so far as to question SWS’s methodology, so in essence it accepts that the surveys that say the President has a negative 38 percent rating are sound measures of the nation’s sentiments. So, although Ermita accepts that SWS survey results = the people’s judgement, he says that people, and not the survey should judge the President. Yeah, I don’t get it either.

Ermita then went on to reiterate that much-loved Malacañang phrase: running and managing the country “is not a popularity contest.”

Well, I too will reiterate my main message in “Ready to Serve,” holding public office in a democracy is largely a popularity contest. You are always under obligation to answer to the will of the people; you serve only at the pleasure of the people. Telling the people that “you may hate me but I don’t care, what I’m doing is good for you,” is demeaning, it strips the citizenry of their dignity, and illustrates how this administration is just another perpetuator (patron) of the clientelist system.

Ermita then went on to “wonder” why all the good things that the President has done for the people haven’t been recognized, like the Katas ng E-VAT, NFA rice subsidies, and the ever-present “infrastructure projects” that supposedly create jobs.

So, the Presidency is not a popularity contest. Can anyone honestly and convincingly make the argument that these actions, are not populist in nature? Keep them poor, keep them dependent, and as a result we will keep them quiet.

Then, after refusing to question SWS’ methodology, Ermita went on to say “What is important is for the people to feel the effects of what the President is doing, so that they will see that the President has real concern over their plight.”

Oh, the people feel it alright. the highest inflation in 14 years, increasing rates of hunger, 71% of the people self-identifying as poor or very poor and 59% saying their situation has worsened in the last year, a decrease in personal optimism (in other words, a decrease in HOPE) and rise in economic pessimism. Of these and numerous other indicators, what hits me the most (and what should hit the President) is the decrease in hope, which is all that far too many families have. We feel what the President is doing alright, talagang ramdam na ramdam namin.

I only wish the President felt what she is doing to us. Despite my salty rhetoric I still have some faith that she is capable of mercy.

And finally, just for laughs, Ermita threw in that the President will prove in the SONA that “is a very active performing achiever, performing political leader, performing President.”

So, the record national disapproval ratings of the President, measured scientifically by a reputable (indeed, the Palace quotes SWS when it has results which are favorable to the administration) institution are not enough to prove that she is not doing a good job. We should look at the effects on the ground and the real difference in people’s lives. Okay. But wait, forget looking to the ground, a speech she will deliver next month will be enough to prove she’s doing a good job!

Yeah. The tortuous logic Secretary Ermita. Then again, he doesn’t actually like her, so maybe he’s incoherent on purpose. Sa abangan…

 

The Market NYC on 490 Hudson

So lots of people have seen me hawking the jewelry collection I brought back to the U.S. from the Philippines. It’s mostly freshwater pearls, semi-precious stones (like jade, turquoise, amethyst, jasper, etc) and murano glass.

Well, this Saturday, I’ll be showing off this stuff, some other pieces I’ve made, pieces I acquired in Thailand (mostly from Burmese traders who snuck them across the border, so they’re actually from Burma), as well as other Southeast Asian fare, such as woven bags, home decorations, etc.

I really hope that this takes off and can turn into a livelihod project for collectives and rural villages. So if you’re wandering around the Lower West Side anytime between noon and 7 on Saturday, please stop by! (The Market showcases a lot of stuff from young designers in the area, so you wouldn’t just be coming for me:))

The Market NYC at Hudson

490 Hudson Street (between Christopher and Grove)

12-7 on Saturday

Some examples of stuff: