The Top Ten Things Every Filipino Should Do During These Difficult Times

After Typhoon Yolanda (International Name: Haiyan) swept our nation, we could not help but post our reactions online and make people know what we think about the relief efforts. On one end of the spectrum, there are people who are very hopeful and would give their all to help the typhoon victims. Then there are the naysayers, the critics who think they can do better than those doing the relief efforts. And there are those who are very ambivalent, those who are neither hopeful nor cynical. And from what I saw online and discussed with my friends (over coffee, hakaw, and facebook), I have decided to list down the ten things that we need to do to pro-actively respond to the aftermath of the calamity.  

1.       Team up!
Alone we can do little, but together, we can do so much. No one person can bear all the problems that the typhoon has left. Can you imagine organizing a relief effort or saving an entire province by yourself? In the spirit of bayanihan, we should work with groups that are organizing relief efforts, whether they are government, non-profit, Church, private corporations, or schools. This way, we can ensure that more gets done and our individual effort is multiplied a hundredfold.  

2.       Honor the good that is being done.
When you check your Twitter or Facebook account nowadays, there’s a chance that you’ll see people criticizing the slowness of the relief operations. It is so difficult to get things going on the ground. In previous typhoons, it was easy to coordinate relief efforts. After Yolanda, it took at least a day or two before relief operations started because communication lines were down. It is a gargantuan task to mount a relief program, so the best we can do is to honor them for the good that they do despite the many difficulties they face. And if they do have to improve on anything, let your criticism be constructive.

3.       Inspire each other to do good.

Being positive during this time is difficult. It is easy to just sit back and think that the relief work is someone else’s job. But can you imagine the scope of work that needs to be done?  This is the time for us to remind each other that we have a role to play in all of the recovery process. We cannot remain indifferent of the plight of our brothers and sisters down south. It is an imperative for us who have been spared to share what we can to those who have been affected by the typhoon. No one is too poor that he cannot give.

4.       Think of ways by which we can contribute to the rehabilitation process

Relief is but a short-term solution. Have you ever asked, “So what’s next?” There is so much work to be done. The magnitude of the problem is so great that the solution must also be great. We need to maximize our skills and expertise to rebuild the provinces that were heavily damaged the typhoon.  A lot of professionals are needed in the affected provinces to start the rehabilitation process, not to mention the amount that we need to raise to rebuild. If you are in the position to offer any assistance, do not hold back. Give like you have never been given before!

5.       Share correct and updated information

Some things that have triggered the fury of many netizens are articles and pictures from previous typhoons, going as far back as Ondoy. This does not help at all. Before reposting anything on Facebook or Twitter, check the date the article was written. Ensure that all information, including the telephone numbers and bank account details that you post are updated and correct. Furthermore, if you have live updates from relief centers, post them on the internet so that people would know what kind of help is needed and what kind of goods are lacking. This way, our relief efforts become more effective and people's time and resources are not wasted.

6.       Get a wider perspective on the issues at hand

On social media, people have the tendency to look at the news about the typhoon as fragments rather than taking them as a whole. This causes people to react on the basis of one article without necessarily understanding the big picture. People will talk about the speed of the relief without really considering the damage that the province has experienced, how difficult it has been to clear the roads, or even the fact that this is the strongest typhoon that ever made landfall in the history of the world. Before we criticize, let us make sure that we have a good understanding of the realities on the ground.

7.        Stop spreading negativity.

No one brought the typhoon here. It went through the regular storm path and it also happened to be the strongest typhoon the world has ever seen. Do not blame local government officials for the death tolls. No one could have prepared well for a typhoon of that scale. Even the richest of nations would not have been able to withstand the onslaught. There’s also no point in comparing our response to that of Japan during the tsunami in 2012. So why should we even bother cursing at people on Facebook and wasting our brain cells to criticize people?  Let us rechannel our energies to creating positive impact on the lives of those who were affected by the typhoon.

8.       Strengthen preparations for future disasters.
Truth: Yolanda broke international scales when it made landfall, therefore it is the first of its kind. Due to climate change, we can expect stronger and more violent typhoons. This means that we have to be better prepared for the future - whether it means reinforcing our roofs and walls at home, or creating better disaster risk reduction measures in our workplace, or even having emergency response kits. We should take into consideration the gravity of the damage that typhoons can cause. Let us do better research on what we can do and use Yolanda as a learning experience.

9.       Educate.  

More than just sharing useful information on social media, it is also important that we start educating poor communities who have little to no access about the possible impacts of future typhoons. Whenever there are natural disasters, the poor are always the first to suffer and the last to recover. We must make sure that they know what to do when typhoons like this come. We still have two or three coming before the year ends, so we have to start educating people as soon as possible to avoid casualties.

10.   Walang iwanan. (Leave no one behind)

In times like these, we should find strength in God and in each other. People would ask, “Where is God in all this?” A lot would feel abandoned and cursed for bearing the brunt of the typhoon. God is in everyone and he calls upon us to be our brothers and sisters’ keeper during this difficult time. He is in the mother that comforts her child after the trauma surviving the typhoon, in the army officials who do the rescue operations, in the volunteers who sacrifice their time and resources, and in the people working 24/7 to ensure that people get the help that they need. There is so much to be done and we can only achieve so much by not leaving anyone behind.  The road to recovery will be long and hard. There will be times that we will feel like our efforts are futile because of the length of time needed to recover. Let us be patient.  Let us have faith that we can get through this. WALANG IMPOSIBLE KUNG WALANG IWANAN.

A Life That Matters

Ready or not, some day it will come to an end.
There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days.
All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten,
Will be passed to someone else.

Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance.
Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear.
So, too, your hopes, ambitions, plans, to-do-list will expire.
The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.
It won't matter where you came from,
Or on what side of the tracks you live at the end.

It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant.
Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.
So what will matter?
How will the value of your days be measured?
What will matter is not what you bought,
BUT HOW YOU BUILT.
Not what you got,
But WHAT YOU GAVE.

What will matter is not your success, but YOUR SIGNIFICANCE.
What will matter is not what you learned, but what YOU TAUGHT.
What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage,
Or sacrifice that will enrich, empower, or encourage others
To emulate your example.

What will matter is not your competence, but YOUR CHARACTER.
What will matter is not how many people you knew.
But how many will feel a LASTING LOSS WHEN YOU'RE GONE.
What will matter is
HOW LONG YOU WILL BE REMEMBERED,

BY WHOM AND FOR WHAT.

Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident.
It's not a matter of circumstance but of CHOICE.
Choose to live a life that matters.

--

I love this poem. ♥ Not an original, btw. :)

Finding love, finding God

Okay, so despite the fact that I think I'm about to crack, I'll just maximize my energies to send GV to everyone. Life has been a bit of an adventure recently, and somehow I got taken aback by how fast everything has happened. I actually regret not being able to really focus on my thesis, though. I'm still feeling a bit confused about it and maybe the next few days can help me clarify my thoughts.

I've also had my fair share of frustrations for the past few months. I hope not to dwell on them, but it's quite difficult. Yes, I easily get anxious and so I get caught up in things I should not even think about. I don't know, I'm just a magnet for these sorts of things.

Anyway, I should get back to the topic.

So yesterday, happened to be invited to the Iftar Dinner by the LSPO. I did not expect myself to be there because I did not put it in my calendar. Yes, I'm quite terrible at these things. I doubted if I should have even been present there. I went anyway. I happened to be sat at the table with a Shiite scholar and some of his colleagues. Br. Ricky was also at that table. At one point, they were discussing the context of faith in this generation of believers. One of the main points raised was that we should always think about how to deliver God's message to the youth.

It sort of set off so many thoughts in my mind, but I preferred to sit and just listen. I think what struck me the most is the point where they said, the youth today find God, sometimes, in the strangest of places. Yes, I do agree. I am a person who believes that God manifests his love through different ways. To me, I feel privileged that I get to do the work I love the most. I have a passion for development (and maybe planning. Haha!) and one of the greatest gifts I have received is working at GK DLSU as a Coordinator. Yes, the work is stressful (sometimes) and I have traded it for heaps of security and comfort that my old work place probably gave me.

Then again, when I think about it, it's all worth it. Yes,  I have to put off many luxuries so that I can do more with what I am given. But nothing compares the experience of finding God in the poor. Most of the time, it is a real struggle to work with them, especially when you're not on the same plane. It is difficult to extend love to them because they are not exactly my family. I find comfort in working with them because I know that life as a wannabe nation-builder makes sense because they are there. They are armed with hopes and dreams and they are ready to fight for a better future. Their ambitions are even greater than what we think. In so many ways, I respect so many poor people more than academics. Many of them have experience that even the smartest people in the world would never even have. They are my inspiration because working with them has enabled me to dream beyond myself and beyond what I thought I was capable of.

Working with them is like going to the wellspring of life to get rejuvenated. I have found my raison d'etre because of the nature of my work with them. They have taught me so many things that my professors in Development Policy never taught me, and I couldn't be more thankful. My faith makes sense because they always give me a reason to put it into action. Solidarity with the poor makes sense because they have opened up themselves to me and made me feel welcome. I have found God's kingdom. I have found my vocation as a nation-builder. Thank God and praise Him, I have found love in the strangest of places.

07/29: On multiplying the loaves and fish.

Today's gospel reading is about the miracle of the feeding of 5,000. 

This is not new. In fact, this was a topic in almost every religion class I took at St. Theresa's College. But I think that the first time I gained an appreciation for this story was during the sixth grade. Mrs. Turla, my  Christian Living teacher then, asked the question, "What do you think was the miracle there?" Naturally, for many of us, we responded, "the multiplication of loaves." She went on to explain that it was when Jesus turned the hearts of people from stone to gold as his prayer was for them to share what they already had. They ended up having a surplus of food.

I regained my appreciation of that gospel today. Br. Mike Broughton, very often has teaching moments with me. I don't know why, but this morning at mass, tears were streaming down my cheeks as he spoke about the gospel. Maybe whatever he said struck a cord with me. This was the gospel story that inspired his vocation. The main lesson I got from his sharing was that we all have gifts that God has given to us. These gifts are meant to be shared with others. When we choose to share our gifts, God finds a way to multiply it so that it makes an impact. In the gospel, the boy who shared what little he brought to help feed the five thousand was God's instrument. His choice to use what little he can became the cause for the miracle to be performed.

In the past few months, I've been having "inner tensions" if I'm really doing things right at GK DLSU.  It has been easier for me to think of giving up on an idea when it was difficult. In fact, my work has been hit or miss lately, I think, and not so much of really striving to do well. When I heard the sharing yesterday, I realized that I should not even entertain the thought of giving less than what I can because many people whom I am called to serve do not deserve that.

Instead, I should follow the example of the boy in the gospel. I should ask myself more often: What am I capable of giving? Am I a witness to God's love and generosity to the last, the lost, and the least? Am I a witness to God's grace to the people I meet? How much have I given of the gifts I have to see God's plan work? Have I shared enough so that God can work miracles not only for me, but also for those who have been entrusted to my care?

In our society today, many people continue to suffer from poverty. So many injustices have been brought about by the lack of caring and sharing among people. In the Philippines alone, poverty in all forms has become a plague. But this is not to say that we are living in a society that has no hope. Like the boy who has generously shared what little he had to start feeding the 5,000, we who have been blessed with the gift of education are also called to use our gifts to make our country a better place. 

"For the rich and educated, there is no quality of life, no dignity for them if they don't share their excellence and creativity with those who by virtue of birth have been deprived of these." -Tony Meloto

As a development major, I am called to use what I have learned in the classroom to help raise the dignity of many Filipinos. I know enough to be able to start change in the lives of many poor Filipinos. My energies and creative juices are maximized when I use them to benefit others. I am so blessed that God has given me the opportunity to multiply the use of what he has given to me through my service in Gawad Kalinga. This has been God's way of telling me that there are so many ways for us Filipinos to turn this country into one that we all deserve. Furthermore, this can become a platform for many other nations in the world to rise from their poverty.

The only way for it to work is for us to give. The more we give as we serve, the bigger the space that God has to work his miracles. We don't have to become superheroes, but through the simple use of our talents, we all contribute to creating a society that God has planned for us.

Sense, sensitivity and sensibility.

I am not sure if I will make sense, but I will attempt to do so.

For the past months, I have failed to put everything that has been happening into words. Writer's block, maybe. Or maybe I have not taken any time out to just push that pause button. My life has become an organized mess in the past months, and at times, many things just drove me up the wall. But maybe that is why life hands you lemons -- so that you can make the most out of it: lemonade, lemon curd, lemon meringue, lemon pie... and the list goes on.

Over the past week, I have been able to take time to finally push that pause button. Of course, this could have been because I spent at least two days of my life in transit, and that just allowed me to stop thinking about the many things that I have been preoccupied with. It allowed me some detachment from everything. Although I wanted to do some work while I was on the airplane, there was that voice inside me that just told me to let go.

I had to look back at the months that have passed and make sense of it.

I am no stranger to suffering, and this is something that I have had to deal with for most of my life. Sometimes, I get caught up in my own crosses that I forget that more people suffer more than I. And this is something many of us take for granted -- that if we were to measure our life against others, our sufferings would pale in comparison with others who have to eat it for breakfast and stare it at the face almost everyday of their lives. And this is where I began thinking, we have been talking about the impeachment of the Chief (In)justice of the Philippines, but is he really THE Chief Injustice?

This just slapped me right in the face. Over the past month, I have heard from many people how people have objectified the poor as recipients of charity and loose change, and it struck me when it came from a KB leader in Baseco. For many years and months, we say we are going to do something for the poor but the truth is we just did something  because it makes us feel good. And there are many who use the term "poverty" so loosely in academics. In my field alone, I could not count how many research have been published for the sake of being published that criticize existing policies. I do not even want to begin yapping about the readings I have had to do throughout the course of my studies in Masters.

And because the term has been used so loosely, some people have become indifferent about the issue. It has become a given to the point that we have lived with it. We have talked so extensively about what causes poverty that we have stopped when we found out why people were poor in the first place. And this, to me, is where injustices start -- when those who have been endowed so much can give so less than they could and  those who are at the bottom of the pyramid stay there because they have had to settle with what little we could give them.

I just felt a twinge in my heart when I began to realize how much we have let the poor down when we failed to genuinely looked into their concerns. Many times, I have become unjust to them myself because I looked at my own limits and settled for my limitations. In many ways, I have become part of a system that continues to pervade the problems that we try to respond to.

Just last week, I went to Toronto for five days. Yes, you've read it right. And in the midst of fighting the jet lag and attending the Summit, I realized how much work needs to be done. We cannot remain still. We cannot rely on theories to provide answers to our question. We will get left behind if the knowledge we continue to produce is the kind that is manufactured from a laptop and based on empirical data that we cannot make sense of by ourselves. The action is on the ground and real learning takes place there. And if we get stuck, we will never find answers. We will be laggard. We will not be excellent.

It's not too late. No, not at all. Epiphanies or breakthroughs exist for a reason. We have to make sense of what is going on in society so that we can awaken our sensitivities to the many problems that plague society and bring some sensibility to the patchwork of solutions that we develop.

Because grad school just seemed to have started yesterday...

It wasn't too long ago when I made that impulsive decision to take up a graduate degree. Yes, it was just something that popped into my mind one day. My condition for enrolling then was that if I get the scholarship, there's no looking back. Honestly, I didn't exactly know why I did it at that time. For me, it just meant having to do something else, so that when I get asked, I can say a lot. Haha. Now, almost two years later, I am about to complete coursework! Yey! It's kind of a bittersweet thing. I love being in a classroom, somehow. But I have to move on and study for my comprehensive exam and start preparing my thesis... and graduation! (2012, please be good to me!)


There were some unexpected twists and turns as I took my units up. Most of the time, I found myself in a difficult position trying to balance everything out. I have to admit, I sometimes had to "wing it" because God knows I barely have the time to do everything.

I am especially grateful that along the way, I've had awesome classmates and great professors as well. (Although I wish I had less classes with Dr. Levy. I had 3 in coursework! Even she says that she would've wanted us to have other professors aside from her!) In a way, coursework showed me a host of perspectives in pursuing development. It also allowed me to look into deeply rooted problems that ail Philippine development and act on them. I've learned to look into more sustainable practices rather than small projects that don't make a significant impact on society. It has allowed me to look at challenges and see that there is still hope in the Philippines. That despite the fact that people would choose to take the first plane out of this country, being in MADEPOL challenged me to look at how we can make development work for the country. It has challenged me to raise my level of patriotism, that no matter what dismal statistics are presented to us in class, I would still choose to invest in this country's future.

Now, the way  I see it, it is important for us who study development to not just come up with solutions that will work in theory. Rather, we must find avenues by which our research output can be used to actually make this country better. It's not just about getting published, it's about making it real and tangible. It would be such a waste if we just allowed our papers to get shelved after each trimester. That is our duty to God and country, not only as Lasallians, but also as Filipinos.

I can't wait for thesis now. I can't wait to have the opportunity to conduct research that will be relevant. But first, I have to hurdle compre... and my last few papers! Haha! :)

Think Different. :)

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do. - Apple Inc.