MikeLigalig.com

hey again everyone,

how are all of you? thank you for your kind words. I have always been attracted to the cause of justice most of my adult life and I had the privilege to be a part of a bigger movement. The more I reflect back though, I know and unseen Hand continues to help guide me.

I preface this whole experience in saying my first intent was to go back home, but it came down to a trust issue with the networks I made in the Philippines, ironically, I was more comfortable heading out to Viet Nam with familiar faces, a people with a culture I got introduced to in the Gulf...

by the time i get to our homeland, I might be more Vietnamese than Filipino! (but if you ask me, our creative hybridity, talent to adapt and flexible identity is very Filipino too)

I share with you a reflective snippet:

"Do not mix up knowledge and language!"

I teach a group of social service staff in Saigon.  I was talking to my supervisor after one lesson.  Since my teaching methodology for English has been catered for college students who have a strong command of English, and noticing their English skills were below previous students, I asked "Did most of the staff attend a University?".

My supervisor, strong-minded, battle-tested Sister D shoots back in English: "Do NOT assume they are not educated because they do not speak English!  You are mixing up knowledge with language ability, some studied English some did not, all of them have a bachelor's degree in their fields of work.  Remember to not make that assumption, remember how smart our grandparents and the generations that came before them were, and they didn't know how to speak one word of English!"

I could see how ignorant my question was, I assumed some attended college, some did not, but didn't know they all went. It's unfair to make that assumption, and that last statement, "how our grandparents" didn't know how to speak a foreign language....for us Filipinos, we have an asset in our English language command, but I remember, my grandfather just shutting himself off from the world in America. Once the honest, charismatic popular superindendent in South Cotobato who spent the last years of his life in a Florida home watching the Price is Right, talking to no one, taking care of us bratty kids...I never had a full conversation with him. He never knew enough English, I never knew enough Visaya. I'll never assume he wasn't a man of great knowledge.


Living Miracle

There is this woman, we call her Chi Hoa.  She is a patient at the HIV Center I teach in.  A seminarian said, "doesn't she have the most beautiful smile?" She was playing with a newly arrived 1-year old baby patient. "She was once 20 kilograms (around 40 pounds) and lost her 2-yr old child, you could see her bones, she is a living miracle." Chi Hoa, who regained all her weight helps out everyday taking care of the other children and other adult patients. 

Each time I enter the center, the kids are usually outside playing and shout "HEL-LO CHU LEH-OH! (hello uncle leo!)" There's something more holistic I see in patient care out in this Center, it's not a sterile, all functioning hospital, but a serene environment with a children's house, an adult house for men and woman, a moat where it has a place to pray, fruit trees and a mausoleaum where they pray over their friends who pass. Chi Hoa does have the most beautiful smile.

Chào các bạn và gia Ä'inh Boholanos!
(Hello friends and Boholano Family!)

I know it has been a couple months, but I have not forgotten all of you. I hope you all find this message well, as some of you know, I was trying to find a way to do meaningful work in the Philippines, but my life's direction has taken me to Việt Nam (VN). I have been volunteering for about 2 months here, teaching English, my NGO partners with the Daughters of Charity in VN.  They head many social services throughout the country and it is in this context I teach English. To witness the Sisters' ardent dedication to the people is beyond uplifting and I can say I have gotten closer to my Faith due to seeing their Love in action.

I have so many stories to share which I will be sharing from time to time. I did meet a couple of Cebuanos who was a seminarian and a Sister in Saigon. There is a small community of Filipinos here I am trying to get to know.

If any of you are in Saigon, please feel free to msg me. I will be in the city for another two months.
In other news, I am also worried about the recent bombings in Mindanao and I am praying somehow the region reaches peace.  I am still planning to visit Bohol/Mindanao this Fall..

Ok, that's all for now, take care everyone!
-Leo

I am very late in this topic. much has changed as I started to volunteer in Viet Nam.

I wanted to chime in, this post brought back so much memories of my time in New Orleans and Mississippi.  The crawfish boil is a staple in just relaxing, sitting outside and drinking beer, we often preferred Heineken with it.  The best crawfish is homecooked, complete with butter, cayenne, orange juice, garlic, lemon and onions, andoulie sausage, and corn, potatoes.  With the Vietnamese community, we also often ate it alongside balut and other delicacies they have.

On the subject of Creole food, we also can't forget GUMBO, crawfish etouffee, jambalaya, red beans and rice.  If I ever meet any of y'all one day, I have to make you my crawfish etouffe, u have to get this only in the Gulf Coast of America to taste this special region of American food.

Hello everyone,

Language is always political.  It's interesting you say the majority of Pilipinos speak Visayan-Cebuano because in the states I grew up with a predominantly Tagalog-dominated population.

I can't speak on what the national language should or should not be, but as far as pragmatics, it would sound an arduous process to campaign for a Visayan national language and have it replace all official documents and related national culture/legislative happenings.

I wonder what is the language policy in the Philippines related to national documents and forms of business? Do they have to make sure all material is translated to the respective dialects?


Now to illustrate the politics of language, you have an international meeting with investors and top government officials about military contracts, at the end of the day, what is the language used for business? English? Tagalog? Visaya?

hey everyone,

the way I understand the Citizenship Retention and Re-acquisition Act of 2003, I can be a natural-born citizen of the Philippines if my mother or father was a Philippine citizen during the time of my birth.

is that correct?

thats so sad kiamoy. I hope you're safe too, the ones to hurt us the most are likely the closest ones to us....that makes me mad.

another thing that makes me mad is arrogant bosses.

Lorenzo,

I respect your adamant stance with Israel, but I am also a citizen of the US who will not blindly support Israel nor its "defensive stance" to unleash chemical air raids.  These effects echo of our own military tactics of Agent Orange to the Vietnamese, and Saddam's gassing of the Kurds, effects that WILL LAST GENERATIONS.

Yes it is a strategic logistical dilemma but underlying all the defensive strikes, the terrorist suicide bombs, the Islamic fundamentalists, is an occupied Palestinian territory and people whose resources (outside of the Hamas schools, hospitals, daycares) are completely controlled by Israel: <a href="http://www.fmep.org/analysis/analysis/water-and-the-palestinian-israeli-conflict">access to water</a>, border patrol and entry, economic licenses. So once again, this terrorism breeds into the lives of peoples' impoverished realities for the request of self-determination. 

In terms of nation-building, lets also remember the formation of Israel's nation included "terrorist" activity through the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagana">Haganah and Irgun paramilitary Israeli groups that bombed British personnel and its railroads and organized illegal immigration.</a> There is a consensus in Israel even today, that the recent attacks in Palestine <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/world/middleeast/27mideast.html?ref=middleeast">did not go far enough</a>

To not even critically acknowledge the "enemy's" point of view, to the world as they see it, we will only perpetuate Bush's "with us or against us" mentality that he promoted after September 11. This only has caused more wars and there will be no common ground.  It is this rhetoric that had us backing a pattern of oppressive military regimes from Saddam to Marcos to Diem.

I remember the atmosphere all over America after September 11 very deeply and our first reaction was to "bomb  those sand n**gers" never an understanding of our own histories intertwined with the Iraq, Afghanistan and the Arab world.

And it is no secret Islamic fundamentalist celebrate any type of death as martyrdom for their cause especially after 9/11. Those actions I condone but at the same time I have never agreed with Bush's War----<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_for_sale">the most privatized war in our nation's history.</a>  I spoke with people and development workers in Iraq and presence of Halliburton & Blackwater is more telling of our motives than the lack of armor they go to combat with.  They come with many stories of taking "pleasure trips" to the Philippines and Southeast Asia as well, not all our soldiers are wrapped up into that but I have friends who refused to participate in those activities.



In moving forward, what would a humane solution be?

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the Israeli Defense Forces:




Any given day there are tanks in the Gaza Strip neighborhoods searching for terrorist, this is a daily activity for kids growing up.


Israeli armies and its violence are always glorified,




But in our support of the Israeli army, do we support the use of chemical weapons?

These chemical bombs leads to this:




Now in no way I am supporting Hamas' tactics, ideology, and violence on innocent victims, but to solve this issue by more genocide, chemical warfare, and more bullets...will only create a new generation of hatred (refer to Lorenzo's pictures)



From a Palestinian citizen:

“Let them go in on the ground and take out Hamas, but spare the children,” said a taxi driver from the camp who identified himself by his first name, Yasir. The missiles from the air “do not differentiate,” he said.  (From New York Times article, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/03/world/middleeast/03mideast.html?hp)

That recent topic on EU aid is interesting. 

So what does everyone think the solution should be?   

The problem with Hamas is it truly does meet some social needs of Palestinian people, but the overall goal is the destruction of Israel and a whole people.  So their popularity rises when they see Israel pull out of some disputed territories and rises more when people look to Hamas to conduct basic government services the previous Fatah has failed to provide.   

According to the Council on Foreign Relations: http://www.cfr.org/publication/8968/#1


"Is Hamas only a terrorist group?

No. In addition to its military wing, the so-called Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigade, Hamas devotes much of its estimated $70-million annual budget to an extensive social services network. Indeed, the extensive social and political work done by Hamas - and its reputation among Palestinians as averse to corruption - partly explain its defeat of the Fatah old guard in the 2006 legislative vote. Hamas funds schools, orphanages, mosques, healthcare clinics, soup kitchens, and sports leagues. "Approximately 90 percent of its work is in social, welfare, cultural, and educational activities," writes the Israeli scholar Reuven Paz. The Palestinian Authority often fails to provide such services, and Hamas's efforts in this areaâ€"as well as a reputation for honesty, in contrast to the many Fatah officials accused of corruptionâ€"help to explain the broad popularity it summoned to defeat Fatah in the PA's recent elections."

Families of suicide bombers are also given compensation for their sons terrorist act: "After a bombing, Hamas gives the family of the suicide bomber between three thousand dollars and five thousand dollars and assures them their son died a martyr in holy jihad."

So the situation is very problematic as the violence is now religious and justified throughout its social services, without any alternative. 

I really pray the day that there will be some outlet for Israeli people and Palestinian people to start mutual communication and not give any power to militant leadership.

Terrorism is truly the battle for the minds/faiths of people, and any violent aggression that kills innocent civilians will just harbor more terrorism and hatred across the world.

"your people will judge you on what you can build and not what you destroy" - Barack Obama to Muslim leaders, I think it should go both ways.

Quote from: Lorenzo on January 18, 2009, 08:00:10 AM
The liberal news media has always been anti-Israel. Anti-Jewish. These terrorist organizations either they be Hamas, Hezbollah, etc have within their platform and goal; the destruction of the state of Israel.

The Islamic Madras throughout the Middle East pronounce and reiterate the destruction of the Jews and the state of Israel.

Israel is surrounded, and is forced to defend itself in order to secure the existence of its nationhood and for the security of its people.

These Arab nations have threatened Israel before in 3 wars. And in all three wars, Israel has humbled all of those who would threaten her existence.

wait, wait, I don't understand, when the media is hated by the right, we always accuse it being ran by our Jewish population, now when the media is reporting Palestinian civilian casualties on the ground, they are now labeled anti-Jewish.

I hope we can try to understand at least both sides by critically reflecting on its history. Bottom line is that over 600 human beings have perished due to violence. I have still a lot to learn about the Palestinian/Israeli conflict so if anyone has any life experiences about this, please share.

The little history I do know: the formation of the Israeli state has roots in the occupation by the British, French and Italian nations (having occupied the territories after WWI).

Britain's declaration of the state of Israel postponed/disregarded the current Arab population's request for nationhood.  (Does this sound like Philippine Revolution deja-vu?) Once Israel's nationhood was recognized, the 6-day war occured, and massive amounts of Arabs were displaced creating the Palestinian refugee communities, destroying their economy and way of life.

Now the effects of this quagmire has polarized every facet of life in both communities where it is a culture to degrade the other. And the people who suffer the most are the children. Here is a documentary that depicts daily lives of children in Palestine: (the British director was sadly gunned down by Israeli troops)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06655i1Z-p0

Now I am no way disregarding the fact that there are many Arab nations who wish to destroy the state of Israel, and not debating the topic of sovereignty. But Israeli's occupation of Palestine---it's policies and development--- are simply unjust and inhumane.  Why does Palestine have to resort to militant conflict and not political ones?

Death/Martyrdom is a way of life for the Palestinian people and just like with the rise of the Black Power militants in the US, the Hamas organization appeals to the desperate situation of the Palestinian people and sadly it is the only party that takes a stand on their social needs.


Until somehow there is a way to address the dire social injustices happening in Palestine, people will always resort to violence.  Until somehow there is a change in rhetoric and culture in valuing human lives, there will always be violence, whether through Palestinian rocket launchers or Israeli tanks and air-strikes.

To label this situation as merely defending Israeli sovereignty turns a blind eye to social injustice, human rights and condones more violence. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Ghandi are surely rolling in their graves.  Where does the Christian rule of "love thy enemy" come into play?

To apply this situation to us, what would happen if we displaced all our Moro peoples in Mindanao? Or if it was Philippine state policy to roll tanks every 24-hrs in their villages, have designated curfew times, and establish border check points throughout your town?   

-Leo

Quote from: Lorenzo on January 24, 2009, 03:08:35 AM
An empire founded by war has to maintain itself by war.

Charles de Montesquieu


What do you think?

Yes. Do we have any other examples of empires founded by nonviolence and peace? Also, let's not forget the definition of "war" can go beyond military means.  War in terms of hard economic sanctions, threat to stop foreign aid, or ideological war.

The sole concept of building an empire is warfare too, you are charged to control the ideology, preserve your principles, and deliver and exploit the necessary resources for your citizens. (e.g. Iraq War, Philippine-American War)

Quote from: ayessa on January 25, 2009, 02:59:13 AM
A good point of reflection. Why are women ostracized or even despised when they commint adultery while it is socially tolerable and even a macho point when men commit concubinage?

I think its the history of women viewed/treated as property to men.  There are modern persecutions of the Scarlet Letter still exists, just imagine if President Bill Clinton was a woman caught messing around with a male intern?

Quote from: Gener on January 21, 2009, 08:29:01 PM
Filipino â€" It’s Not Where You Are But Who You Are

There is nothing wrong in one’s adapting certain practices of other country especially if the situation calls for it. In fact, it’s expected for a Filipino to show respect to a host county for which he/she is a foreigner by doing what is customary to that country. On the other hand as I put it, only to “certain” practices as long as you’re comfortable of doing it. In doing so, one must draw the line between adapting and imitating. The former is appropriate but the latter is disgusting especially if it is unbefitting. The problem begins when one’s adaptation of foreign practices repulses the culture for which he or she was raised and much more; if such adaptation is highly uncalled for. Perhaps, the question should be rephrased by: “When and when not to adapt?”

Gener,

Welcome to TB, I don't think I've commented on your post yet.  You are correct, we are Filipino no matter where we go, it's who we are.  And I am still on my journey in discovering what does "Filipino" really mean.  Outside the Philippines, we are reminded of our Filipinoness internally---within our family network, or externally---through racial identification, like the US (e.g. oh! you're Filipino? i love your food, your people are so funny...or I have a Filipino wife)

On the subject of Retention vs. Adaptation vs. Imitation, let's look at a specific, practical case.  I am the offspring of our Filipino migrants, my mother, who raised me to be highly adaptable to the US.  I believed she instilled in me the Filipino trait of cherishing the value of education, the ability to look after my family, and a determined Faith in God.  But, she didn't teach me Visaya because she was worried it would conflict with my English studies.  Would that make her pathetic?  Was that a conscious decision to be indignant to her roots of being a Filipina?

My answer is she followed practicality, and she could have logically assessed, if my children are not going to be speaking Visaya, they don't have to learn because our family can already communicate in English.

Culture and identity if not practiced daily, will one day die out. When we talk about adaptability, I believe it is unproductive to look at culture as extremes, because there is no pure culture (but there is pure ideaology).  I do believe, like other Anthropologist, there are a range of practicalities immigrants do when they enter a country, they can either:

1. isolate themselves: they have no contact with host country due to linguistic, cultural barriers

2. acculturate, when they have shared contact with host and immigrant community and mutually exchange cultural practices, or

3. purely assimilate, where they completely cut off immigrant origins and practice host country values

And if I play out your logic, the process of imitating is equal to a process of uncritically assimilating to one's host country.  That, I agree.

Is the following example of "imitating"? A Filipino migrant in order to have a voice in the US,  registers to vote.  There is a ballot initiative to support America's War on Terror, she will be viewed unpatriotic if she does not vote for it. Is she less Filipina if she supports a US-Foreign Terrorism policy that gives more manpower to support GMA's raid on local labor unions in the Philippines?

With love,
-Leo

ms da binsi,

thank you for sharing that rendition.  I don't think I would classify myself as a "first time american lover", i was born here and recognize the privileges and sacrifies my mother's generation made to get here.

if anything, the Obama campaign proved that we can remake ourselves, and renewed the American dream.  I have a special affinity for him because he was one of the very few federal politicians that ever visited my local work during Hurricane Katrina and he spoke about our specific issue regarding environmental justice in the Vietnamese community just at the right time. now we put him up top, so he is truly in my eye the closest person in DC that has started his approach "from the bottom-up"

Fellow Boholanos,

It is with honor and pure jubilation that we welcome our new president of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama.

For us in the States, it demarcates one step closer to the realization of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech and his call for a <a href="http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkatimetobreaksilence.htm > "radical revolution of values." </a> 

His candidacy has tapped the energy of millions of Americans that are committed to social change and an excitement I have never seen before in my life.  I am proud to be part of the new majority in this country and I will be working even harder to make our initiatives a reality.  We will make sure this is truly a new America as Obama has already begun to challenge our generation in face our problems we currently have (video of his inauguration speech below).

It is a monumental event as we welcome the first African American, the first Hawaiian and post-civil rights community organizer into the highest office in the US.

One quote that struck me during the speech, "The world is changing, and we must now change with the world."   I truly hope it signals a different direction in our foreign policy and approaches we have to globalization and global warming.  We will be keeping a vigilant eye on it.

Question: In addressing Philippine-US relations, what would you tell the new Obama Administration?

With Obama's exposure to Southeast Asia as a child in Indonesia, his upbringing in Hawaii, some say (and time will tell) by his surroundings, he's possibly the closest thing we have to a U.S.<a href=http://bpimentel.blogspot.com/2008/02/obama-first-pinoy-us-president.html > "Pinoy President" </a>. 

With love,
-Leo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjnygQ02aW4

Quote from: Lorenzo on January 19, 2009, 05:07:45 AM
No offense taken, Roy,

It is just a personal preference on my part. I'm attracted to women who are educated professionals, but their ability to cook good food, and hold a home is a key feature. For the benefit of the family unit, imho. Sure both husband and wife should both play a role in raising the kids--but a Mother's role is prime.

Just a view,

Cmon Lorenzo! you got to cook too!

Ha, the day I find a compatible girlfriend that can cook better than me will be an extra bonus.  Let's remember women's roles have changed too.  I'm still idealistic that the role of care-taking should be equally shared and respected, it's the optimum benefit to the kid(s)

does this go both ways for Filipino men to marry a foreigner?

they will be in my prayers.

May God bless this man for his compassion to serve our people, and at the end of the day his actions will be evaluated accordingly.

If he wants to stand on the only accomplishment of his results on protecting the country, he deserves that as the following will never be forogtten:


-To the 12 million undocumented immigrants that fear for their lives due to state-sponsored immigration raids and a new found sense of xenophobia pushing them further to the shadows, the Department of Homeland Security puts both terrorist and undocumented immigrants in the same light.
In some states, it is a crime to drive without your citizenship documents and ID. To all the Americans deported from this effort.

-To the citizens of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama that still struggle to rebuild their lives  after Katrina, and to see their communities disappear to state interests (in 2008, it was estimated 40,000 people alone in Mississippi Coast were still in trailers)

-To the millions of Iraqi civilians who have been killed and continue to be displaced by our taxpayer money, in a war justified by false information and economic interests just like the Philippine American war, only America's intent is the gateway to the Middle East

-To the 1000s of American Iraqi soldiers who died in the most privatized war in modern history

-To the people who suffered from the new anti-Muslim sentiment, Middle Eastern and South Asian immigrants have fled to other cities in this fear, and have been more than frequently been the targets of new racial enforcement profiling and some even forced to make up a story to get out of detention

-To the children left behind through a dismal No Child Left Behind program, where our teachers are forced to teach to the test and not anything else

-To the millions of homes foreclosed as subprime lending was rampant in 2001 in an unmonitored, unregulated free market

-To the millions of families who lost their jobs in the worst US, global depression since the Great Depression

Those are just some of the critiques of his "results"

We cannot demand for change any sooner.

ha, what was Rizal's main conflict in going back to the Philippines?  This is an interesting phenomenon because he had cohorts who were abroad with him in Spain too, korek?

I always thought I identified more with Andres Bonifacio..

but thanks for the compliment, albeit met with daunting, idealistic expectations, I just have a passion to listen to our people.  And I know there are more Rizalians, Bonifacions, Gabrielas, constantly carrying on their legacies in our homeland and abroad.


Speaking of inspiring, great Filipino/a leaders.  On the Filipino American side, have you read Carlos Bulosan's "America is in the Heart"? That was the book that really empowered me during my undergraduate years.  He depicts the collective experience of our "Manong Generation" that emigrated to Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast in the 1920s.

Another person I look up to is Philip Vera Cruz who had organized Filipino day-laborers & helped create the United Farm Workers with Caesar Chavez.

Quote from: ayessa on January 16, 2009, 05:12:53 AM
The problem in Mindanao, is not only separatism but social injustice.  Land grabbing is pervasive in several places.  Even the Manobo in Bukidnon were at danger to be displaced from their ancestral domain because of land grabbing.

hi ayessa,

thank you for your comprehensive insight.  the microcosm of your class in Mindanao seems hopeful, but it sounds like they are facing deep, structural forces outside the university.  i'm still trying to understand "land grabbing" in this context. 

Who does the land grabbing? Is this through foreign investment for development that gentrifies the area? or is this through government coersion through eminent domain? or am I totally off?


Also, I don't mean to ask such a broad question, but through your research on gender, did you see some glaring cultural similarities of gender roles in the Maranao communities and mainstream Philippine Catholic communities? I've always thought the bridge to any division is to understand our common good, and our common oppressions.

thanks.

allow me to make my free-write debut on TB!

Wide-eyed
with a pencil and paper
in hand.
my voice squeeked at the
age of nine
with a question that
forever
changed my mind:

"What's the history of the Philippines?"
I asked my Lola.
She was the only person I knew
outside of the Encyclopedia
that would answer my question.
My report was due in two days.

"It started as a major island called an
A-R-C-H-I-P-E-L-A-G-O..."
I thought it sounded like a scary lizard.
She then explained to me people were like
our Indians in America from Malaysia and Indonesia
that took care of the land
until a man named Magellan
came by who tried to take it away
then a funny sounding name, LAPU LAPU
had killed him in his tracks.

I always thought why would our people kill a nice Spanish sailor?
She taught me of the birth of Christianity
along with people who practiced Islam,
and how King Philip ruled our land from afar
then in the 1800s the Filipinos fought for their independence
only to be sold to the United States...

I must have wrote for 2-straight hours that day.
hands sore
but ears open and
my heart proud.
I started to unwrap my history.
The many lessons the best teacher taught me.

-L

that is such a classic, great piece to coincide with MLK commemoration.

Lorenzo,

Thank you for your remarks, and I hope one day it's not a rarity for Fil-Am youth to have access to our own history and our connection to RP.

Your experience with your Lolo is really touching.  He seemed willingly to speak English to communicate with you all but you all made the effort to speak Visaya and met in the middle. It is really my life's regret not being able to talk about these topics with him and learn so much more  because I couldn't speak Visaya and his health was already in his last days.  I know he must have felt isolated with his grandkids. My grandparents actually raised me, so etched forever in my mind is my Lola's stern pride, ultimate work ethic and fearless leadership.

On the topic of honoring one's family by honoring our roots, this is a point of conflict for me.  On one hand, I respect the risk and the 20+ year journey for our mom's side of the family to relocate to the States, worked extremely hard and raise myself, on the other, I am discouraged from ever going back from my own mother and everything RP-related is devalued.

It is such a radical ideal for her to understand I want to proceed with some sort of education or possible work abroad, and I really hope she is not taken that as a slap in the face of her life's sacrifice. Not to mention, I still have a father and a whole other side of a family I have never met in Southern Philippines. 

In the irony of it all, I think if I chose a place in Europe to study I would be praised or not questioned, but to Bohol or Northern Mindanao, I am crazy.

So as you can see, my passion for a more transnational identity isn't just out of nostalgia, it's personally tied and morally tied as a matter of social justice.

Manay,

It sounds like you have very successful stories reminiscent of my family's story in the States.   Are you still living in the Philippines? If so, it must be discouraging to see everyone leave.
With your question speaks to a harsh reality and its a view I think my mom would sadly agree, but it's also disheartening to hear ourselves not perceive any worth of our Philippines.

We cannot discount the opportunities that are so abundant in the States, but I would not want success at the expense of Filipinos' continued disinvestment of the Philippines. 
It sounds very idealistic, I know.  And the sad reality is our Philippines depends at least 10% of GDP from overseas remittances. 

I respect my family's generational sacrifice for my (relative) stable future. But if we perceive or measure our homeland's worth, just in terms of the economy as "inferior" to America, at the end of the day, does that make us inferior? Does that make Filipinos in the Philippines "inferior" and are we now "superior" as Filipino Americans? 

That logic can make us fall into that trap of dividing, degrading ourselves without addressing our collective betterment, we all want a safe place for our families, access to work, and a government that works.

If Filipino Americans like myself approach going back to the Philippines as "superior", we will be just as bad as the foreigners and the elite class who continue the cycle of unequal Philippine development, and we miss out on opportunities for true mutual learning towards one another.


Manay---you mentioned your involvement with Anti-Vietnam and Anti-Marcos campaigns.  That is amazing as I do remember the start of 1960s Filipino American activism had both agendas. How has your view of the Philippines changed since then?

Thanks! btw---your daughter has a pretty name, and it's the first time I heard a Filipino take a Japanese name..

-Leo

Manay,

I would love to hear your perspective on my writing as I am currently trying to understand that part of our history.

Thank you for trying  to understand my context---I am a 2nd generation Filipino American.  I am in my mid-20s. I was born in the States, with my grandparents growing up from Bohol, and my mom in Oroqueita City.
When I attended undergraduate studies I was involved in a campaign to establish Asian American Studies at the University of Florida.   After college, I've spent the last 3-years as a community organizer in New Orleans and Mississippi organizing with the Vietnamese communities an equal and just recovery from Katrina.

Currently, I am transitioning out of that role and I've made it a personal goal to visit & understand my own family history before I pursue my graduate studies.  The goal is to start understanding the personal, economic, political, cultural contexts that led to my family's decision to leave for the States.   A side project of that is an interactive Oral History that our family would like.

At the same time, I feel a strong, personal need to just absorb, learn from and understand the current reality in the Philippines. You can call it my next step in my life's education and an intentional way to stay connected.

And joining the TB community is a part of that goal 

Quote from: kiamoy` on January 15, 2009, 06:19:21 PM
I have mine but it's not a blog site.  Only thru friendster, multiply and  myspace.
Do you really earn $$ when your blog is viewed?

kiamoy, i do know of professional bloggers that get sponsored. Meaning, just like a newspaper, if you advertise or write entries about their product, that is one way you can get paid.

For the most part, bloggers do it for free out of their hearts.  Though, it wouldn't hurt to investigate different grants, programs, companies that encourage editorial/investigative writing through blogging.

she can laugh with me (sometimes at me..ok)

she is passionate about something positive, and

she can dance!

I'm just curious.  The last news I heard from PI was that the Courtship system was modernizing, in any case, what are the current differences from people's experiences? Which one do you prefer?

Quote from: Lorenzo on January 15, 2009, 12:24:43 PM

Do you think that IF the Philippines was, hypothetically placed as an American State, that its untapped natural resource would be targeted by industrial corporations?

That can be seen both as a risk or as a blessing to some.  Maybe the existing barangays would have a strong advocate infrastructure for conservation and it will be declared Federally protected lands. 

I'm just trying to look to familiar models like Hawaii, they have a hidden population of poverty and cost of living is enormous.  And they have never achieved high political capital in Federal legislation. They are on the margins. Or let's look to further West like the island of Palau, poor island that was seized for US-site on nuclear war testing, or closer to the States such as Puerto Rico that suffer environmental/toxic degradation from their US Bases. Or our Chamorro people in Guam that are in political/economic limbo being a U.S. territory despite the UN's recommendations for a more permanent status.

Quote from: Lorenzo on January 15, 2009, 11:04:41 AM
Leo brought up a good point in one thread;

the opposition of conservative isolationists and nativists to the notion of American acquisition of the Philippines.

I never thought of it--but he does make a good point.

Considering the growing American hostility towards illegal immigration--I wonder what the American view is towards possibility of Philippine Assimilation.

I'm just speaking from my own Filipino American point of view, just think of how the current dialogue of "illlegal immigrants" (don't we call it 'TNT'?) will be heightened?

Just think, it was even hard to get a Hawaiian in office and people still demand a copy of Obama's birth certificate. 

I can only speak from the American side because our people who've experienced the Philippine system, at the end of the day, truly have the expertise to decide what is best for themselves.

In terms of US policy----I could see more debates rising in terms of social services, the issue of wealth disparity & universal healthcare will sky rocket. 

For example------How will the US dollar equalize the Philippine peso system?

There will be strong advocacy against accepting the Muslim autonomous region.  And there will be more incentive for more American corporations to carve out and gentrify places like Bohol's Chocolate Hills as our Appalachian Mountains faces.  My main point is power relationships will always exist.  That's my reality seeing different the development of different parts of the United States.  The South rural disinvestment to the industrial north, rising cost of living in US cities, will be magnified in a place that will model the statehood of Hawaii's "paradise".

On the other hand, I feel the US can learn so much from the Cooperative and participatory democracy models of the Philippines. I was sharing in my blog how even after Hurricane Katrina, we were arguing for similar region-wide legislation like the 1991 LGU code for the recovery of our cities like New Orleans and Mississippi Coast.  Local entities had no control of the Federal money for those intended.

Quote from: benelynne on January 15, 2009, 11:31:53 AM
and build me up as a person without demolishing others.

Well said.

And to be sure, I do not mean to prejudice anyone, restrict conversation on this board or intend to have made someone uncomfortable, they are all just personal observations to understand our world, with the intent to bring us closer as human beings.

in the end, i believe the universal God-given value of love.

Quote from: Lorenzo on January 15, 2009, 11:24:11 AM
Leo, perhaps you can share with the Filipinos of the Philippines some aspect of the cultural problems, hot topics affecting the young Filipino-Americans?

Lorenzo, that will definitely be covered. you should start one too!

Thanks, A Layman. I look forward to reading---that is the most classic "about me" description!

Hey everyone!

Kumusta ka? I would like to invite everyone to post your BLOG.

And what's it about? Why did you start it?

If you don't have a blog, feel free to link a blog you like.   It can be a journal, source of news, favorite food blog, etc.

Personally, I'm looking for a lot of Boholanon and Mindanao-based blogs, link away! I promise I'll comment too. and please, they don't have to be only in English!

Btw---here is mine:

http://poplockpoetry.wordpress.com, this is about my love/critique about being Filipino American, Activism, Current Events, Hiphop Dance, and Poetry.  Those are my passions.

Salamat!

Lorenzo----im based out of south mississippi, but soon going back to my hometown in jacksonville, florida.....you?

I'm really longing to go to Bohol and Northern Mindanao to connect with family.  Na mingaw ko!

If you're a history lover, there's a few of us in blogworld.  Some places to start would be these places:

http://filamfunk.blogspot.com,  my friend who talks Filipino colonization through a hiphop cultural performance lens

and myself:

http://poplockpoetry.wordpress.com, a place where i'm going to unpack some personal history being Filipino in America, activism, breakdancing, and some poetry.

if you have a blog, please post it! 

back to the Religion topic....I broke up with my first girlfriend because she was INC and I was Catholic, sayang.

Quote from: Lorenzo on January 15, 2009, 10:28:04 AM
Also, one thing I noticed which I would like to inquire from you, Leo, is that after the United States arrived in the Philippines--so did the growth of Protestantism. Did you know that? Growth of Baptists, Lutherans, Seventh Day Adventists, Evangelical Born Agains, and even Mormonism, etc.

Did you notice that?

Compared to the homogeneity of Roman Catholicism by the Spaniards?
A cultural-religious discourse. Since Americans are mostly Protestant compared to Catholic Spain.

fantastic observation.  that topic im sure has been thesis-worthy: to look at the Americanization of Philippines through religion through the Protestant missionary work in contrast to Spain.  I wonder if the same missionary work promoted a more aggressive form of Capitalism, that history still exists today as (cheesy) it is my star football quarterback from Univ of Florida proudly flaunts his missionary work to our homeland!

I knew that the indigenous development of the Iglesia Ni Cristo was connected to Manalo's experiences in America.   What's your take on that development, I see it as an importance for Filipinos to claim a Christian faith as our own, but its not without critiques of their practice.

I'd like to ask everyone's experience with INC in the Philippines?   Or if you are Iglesia, what is your take on its acceptance and relationships with other faiths? As a Catholic, I was really shocked at their approach in trying to recruit me by denouncing what I've practiced all my life.

Ka lisod ni religion ka sabot! pls correct my grammar someone...

I value their principles of forming a relationship directly to God, but not at the expense of demonizing the Catholic faith.

Quote from: Lorenzo on January 15, 2009, 10:13:41 AM

What I do find rather entertaining is that the anti-Imperialists arguments in not taking the Philippines was for rather racist reasons. They feared that acquiring the Philippines would lead to the migration of 'Asiatics' into the United States. Most of the unedecuated American referred to the Filipino at the time as a , "Brown Nigger". Which is rather correlative to your mention of the Jim Crow Laws.

I really forgot that angle.  It would be interesting seeing an Anti-War coalition today complete with peace activist and ardent White Supremacist and Minute Men!

So knowing your history obviously, I have to push back and factor in the racist/anti-immigrant logic for your past article.  Wouldn't ardent isolationist and anti-immigrant/nativists/conservative Christians be the first to reject a hypothetical Philippines' application for US statehood?

We can move this over to that topic...


(question answered) you have a knack at conjuring pretty detailed essays in 5min!

Yes. I am aware of that genocide, unfortunately, even that is left out of our US History textbooks.  You know I didn't even learn about the Philippine-American war until college in my own readings??  There are so many parallels with Iraq-US and Philippine-US.

Have you read "The Forbidden Book" by Helen Toribio? It connects US racism/Indian genocide to US colonization and imperialism in our homeland.  All of the Filipinos drawn in our political editorial 19th century cartoons were "Blackenized" to denigrate us as uncivilized people together with Africans Americans at the same time.

Lorenzo,

Thank you for that great & concise historical summary.  So on one hand, we had Christianization through culture and economy; on the other, Americanization by military force and the .45 caliber pistol.

It's interesting to see the viewpoints of US policy, "Taming of the Moro" people to the "Protracted War"  that a lot of our Leftist Filipino American lit reports.

Would you say the American military effort in Mindanao was also an extension to secure "Manifest Destiny" ? Otherwise, if they really advocated the conquering of the Moro lands based on practicing slavery, that's very hard to believe with what 1900s Jim-Crow US looked like.

Quote from: ayessa on January 07, 2009, 04:09:28 AM
Religious intolerance may be purely religious, but can be a "cover story" for an underlying political or cultural motive.

very true.  To me, we can never separate religion and politics, because religion is how man (at the expense of woman often) organized society's spiritual needs.

On the other hand, it's the foundation that has built my loving family, our unity was symbolized by our nightly prayers of the novena.

i am raised an ardent Catholic and still practice, but do not support the foreign policies our Religious Right in the US has stood behind.  Maybe it is the backlash of fundamentalist violence, but patriotism, nationalism, (sometimes xenaphobia) and Christianity are extremely tied together in towns across the US.

In mass we always pray our fallen soldiers but I can't stop thinking of the millions of civilians that are often left out of our minds and the media. Does that make me less Christian?

For some of you that's been closer to the autonomous Muslim region in Mindanao, how was the relationship during Spanish rule? Did violence heightened after the US took over? or stayed the same?

Quote from: ms da binsi on January 15, 2009, 02:07:44 AM
Leo naa mi eyebal sa March. ug gusto jud ka ug kukabildo  nga way pugong2x apil karong March! hahahah tan awon nato ug inig uli nimo sa injo ug di ba ka mag binisaja! hahahha

ha, if i understand you correct, it is pretty ridiculous if i go to the Philippines and can't speak visaya!  I will most likely have a lot of "binuang" moments on TB!

sayang wa ko basa visaya, pero like my lola always said i will keep trying "little by little"

did that make sense to anyone? We're way off topic, sorry ko.  How about the importance of teaching 2nd generation Filipinos abroad their mother dialects! Thus, we lose our connections and get laughed at by our own people.

salamat.

I could see that. There's plenty of movies where we see that tension.

In politics, I think we're seeing an unprecedented youth voice that voted for Obama, and it can be interpreted as a generation "disobeying" their parents allegiance to the conservative right. 

I view the youth's new allegiance by two reasons:  the narrow policies and dismal domestic performance of the Bush Administration, and the idealism and pragmatism identified with Obama.

I've never seen so many young people, or people in general take to the streets of all the cities of the world and celebrate a political victory.

kiamoy--thanks for the acronym translation! so when ms. da binsi says,

"

Quote from: ms da binsi on January 14, 2009, 03:56:21 AM

Maybe you should EB us in March! so you'll practice talking with card core visayan TB people. How about that?

"

Are you all suggesting I watch you all in March? The literal translation is "eyeball us in March," and now I am totally confused, where would I watch you all? Is there an interactive event going on?

Excuse the ignorance, I've just exposed myself as an illiterate Filipino American.  I know a little Spanish and Vietnamese though..

Quote from: hofelina on January 14, 2009, 05:42:46 AM
This is a historic event, first African American president kasi, eh. Many said this is the final nail in the coffin of racism in America.”

I beg to differ as importance as it is symbolically, there is still a huge wealth disparity between people of color and white households in the US; neighborhood segregation, environmental degradation and anti-immigrant (pro-White) sentiment within our browner communities throughout the US.

If anything, it is a giant leap TOWARDS a new conversation on race and progressive policy.  I hope that's what we voted for to "change".
--------
We've heard a lot about the head Filipina chef, we're grateful that she still represents her country and maybe one day between the first African American President and the first Filipina chef we will have the first Filipino/a American president.

Quote from: ms da binsi on January 14, 2009, 03:56:21 AM
Were you born here Leo? I think you have the same problem with Lorenzo, but he tries his best to speak the dialect bisan nag ka tu-eres! ahahaha

Yeah reading the threads here would help you. But again interaction to some extent makes it different.

Maybe you should EB us in March! so you'll pratice talking with card core visayan TB people. How about that?

unsa ng "EB" ?  That sounds like a great ideal though!

TB World, I hope you can bear with me and correct my attempts at "binisayan".  I'm moving closer to my Visayan family soon so I hope being in an all-Visayan atmosphere will help. 

Yes, I was born here in the States, but my goal is to at least speak Visaya fluently before an immersion trip to the Philippines this summer.  Like a 1-yr old child, I can comprehend more than I can talk and cannot put into correct grammar. 

It's been 20 years since I stepped foot out there and I've been longing for that history and look forward to learning more when I get there.

Quote from: ayessa on January 13, 2009, 06:32:03 PM
depende lagi sa parents, kung mabinisaya sa balay, dili makalimtan ang language bisag naa sa gawas sa nasud namuyo

that's true, but unless you have a large visayan community and institutions around you abroad, i don't think we have any incentive to speak visaya outside of the house. i can understand basic visaya, but i cannot speak it. reading the comments on these board help..

they don't even teach credited tagalog in the US university schools outside of california.  with the amount of our workforce abroad, maybe we are underestimating the value of our lingua franca

grazie---thank you for that explanation, i never joined a forum and felt so absolutely hungry! na gutom ko, is that how you spell it & say it?

to kiamoy---you're now not the only one with massive economic problems, its forecasted we're going to be in a deep recession for at least another year, too many of us are living beyond our means and there were a lot of international greedy players...

Quote from: ayessa on January 04, 2009, 09:17:52 PM
Do we wish to produce english speaking domestic helpers, nurses, doctors working as nurses abroad?

It is just sad that we focus our framework of development on exportation of our most important resource, our labor force. and we want to push for the betterment of the english  language for that purpose.

Yes, that's the sad reality of unequal development and power in this world. I remember reading an article that said the Philippines is the top exporter of health care labor worldwide.  There's a book called "Empire of Care"  by Catherine Choy that documents how the US created the Philippine nursing schools for the intent on serving the US needs abroad, not at home in the Philippines.  So it contributes to the larger brain drain our homeland suffers from.

Thus is the two-edged sword with our proficiency of English.

On one hand, it is a huge asset and skill advantage; on the other hand, it facilitates migration and disinvestment out of the country.

---------

I agree with Abiotiz points---the need to practice English but hand in hand with our original dialects.  Losing a language is truly losing a worldview and a connection.  I argue further it makes us even less effective to service those who do not have the privilege to learn English.  The anti-immigrant sentiment in the US has pushed an "English" only agenda, but how is this going to affect our non-speaking elderly who also navigate the court system, medical hospitals, voting booths? There are real consequences to the lack of access...

last point.. personally, in my upbringing my mom did not see the need to teach me visaya and overemphasized and valued english, i think the next generation of Filipino Americans really might be only monolingual at the rate we're going, and I think if we keep overemphazing English at the cost of not learning our homeland dialects...we further disconnect ourselves from our homeland and our family's experiences. thus, we are conditioned with a western superiority complex devaluing where we're from.

am i crazy? what are your experiences with your american born relatives going back to the philippines to visit or to work? is there a disconnect?

philippines: the silenced democracy by raul manglapus &
dreams of my father by barack obama

ayessa-

this is a great question as I'm trying to understand the political terrain of the philippines,

what are the roles of the current centralized form of government in interfacing national legislation with local government units & barangays?

in the US, it is extremely hard to involve federal intervention in state's jurisdiction as in the case with Hurricane Katrina recovery, there were no resources for local entities to manage the disaster and recovery and a lot of the funds went towards state-controlled agencies/contractors that never reached people at the local level

what was effective to a certain extent were private foundation investment directly towards local entities + faith based resources creating local non-profits in executing recovery and rebuilding programs; but with all the good political will from the national federal budget, a lot of our resources went towards marketing the tourist economy vs. building local homes + businesses

Quote from: Lorenzo on October 26, 2008, 06:22:57 AM
Good point, Mr. Ferniz.

Filipinos already control America.

10% of the entire American Medical System is Filipino.
There are 20,000 + Filipino Doctors practicing in the United States, and over 200,000 Filipino Nurses who are serving in hospital systems.

The Filipino population in the United States is around 2.3 million. Yet the American population is 303 million. Think about it in these terms; 0.69% of the American population controls 10% of the ENTIRE Health System.



We have thousands of Filipino-Americans who are practicing attorneys here in the United States. And Filipinos have served as governors. Hawaii, in particular.

speaking from the Filipino American-side, we by no means have as much political power as we should.  Look to the campaign for our Filipino WWII Veterans for Full Equity which has been almost a 60+year struggle requesting the U.S. Congress to pay for full benefits.

Thank you for the drinks, a Bahalina, mixed cocktail, salabat and redwine all sound good. Though "Bahalina" sounds like the scolding phrase my mom says, "Bahala na!" Are the meanings related?

Also,  can you please tell me where you're from? and what city/country you currently reside and how u like/not like it.  Hope that's not too much!

Me - I'm in Biloxi, a town in South Mississippi, U.S., it's a very quaint town filled with casinos, shrimpboats and relatively diverse communities.   It got hit real hard by Hurricane Katrina, but the town is slowly coming back.

Thanks!

-Leo

This is interesting. 

What are the reasons for her to request a term-extension?
What are people's thoughts on this?

Hey everyone,

My name is Leo, I am told I have roots in Duero, Mabini and Baclayon.  My grandmother was Salud Vallejos Ello and grandfather Florencio Ello.

I look forward in learning more about Bohol from all of you! Also, my Visaya is really awful and my Tagalog is non-existent, but please feel free to type away in visaya as I'm trying to learn the language.

-Leo

Hello everyone,

My name is Leo and I am looking for family relatives in Mabini, my grandparents were Salud Vallejos Ello and Florencio Ello.

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

My name is Leo.  I am the grandchild of Salud Vallejos Ello and Florencio Ello.  Do we have any Vallejos family here? Please get in contact with me, I would like to know how everyone is doing.

Thanks!