Minju in various stages

The almost two year-old Minju.


Minju a little more than one year!

Filipinos among the happiest in Asia

While waiting for my class, I am holed inside my room to read my notes on today's lecture. I received a text from comrades in the movement to proceed to Makati because a spontaneous people's rally is swelling. Others are thinking that this might be a prelude to another People Power. I immediately scrolled to the online news to find out what is happening.

It turns out, the leader of the Oakwood Mutiny (Antonio Trillanes) together with other military personnel walked out of their court hearing in Makati and marched outside and barricaded themselves inside a hotel. Trillanes is a newly elected Senator in a decisive vote last elections. He won even though he was incarcerated the whole campaign period and was not allowed to speak to the media. Some analysis points to the dissatisfaction of the people to the government and he became a symbol of protest.

As of the moment, the Arroyo government are once again scrambling to diffuse the tension in the city. Just a few days ago, the call for Arroyo's resignation has been revived following the blasts in Congress and another spat with the House Speaker. Is this where the interesting times are leading to? Is this deliberate to sow chaos in time for the traditional workers' demonstrations tomorrow? November 30 is a holiday to commemorate the birthday of Andres Bonifacio, a plebeian revolutionary hero during the Spanish period. This day is usually for workers to march on the streets and air their demands.

Ironic to think that just yesterday, a survey came out finding that Filipinos ranks second in the happiest people in Asia (after India). This was supposed to be content of my blog but I've decided to footnote instead the on-going Makati people protest.

Interesting times

These are interesting times in the Philippines. In political terms. The political weather has been full of exposes and explosions. In October, a blast shook a famous shopping mall at the heart of the business district in Makati, killing 11 people. The government and police attributed the explosion to an industrial accident but nobody really believes them. Two days ago, a bomb (this time, it was determined as a bomb) exploded at the House of Representatives killing 1 legislator from Mindanao, 2 Congress staff and injuring 10 people. Different theories as to who the culprit may be surfaced. But just like the mall blast, no conclusive explanation is offered to the public. These instances of open violence challenges the governing powers of the state.

Just in the last 3 weeks, the government was rocked with political scandals and accusations of bribery and corruption; just short of a full scale legitimacy crisis. Exposes in the form of whistle-blowers accounted the blatant influence peddling of some prominent government officials to approve a huge IT contract for a government TV network involving a Chinese company (ZTN). Due to the scandal, a high-ranking official of the government resigned. After a few days, the Malacanang (the seat of government) was pictured with governors holding paper-bags full of cash amounting to half a million pesos.

One conscientious governor divulged the information to the media because he was puzzled upon receiving such a huge amount with no corresponding receipts and too early to describe it as a christmas gift. This led to a more serious predicament for the government because no less than the President of the Republic called the breakfast meeting of all governors at the Malacanang. Issues of bribery and corruption at the highest levels were hurled by political pundits to the government. A few priests joined the fray and called for the resignation of Arroyo. However, this has not caught massive support from the masses as they gear up for the oncoming Christmas spirits.

Against this backdrop is the news of a 12 year old girl who committed suicide allegedly due to poverty according to her writings in a diary. The simple words of the girl detailing her inability to go to school for two weeks due to lack of transport fare has gnawed the public conscience on where this country is heading. A stark reality amid the beginning festivities for the December holidays. But where really is all these interesting events leading to?

In the meantime, the chronic and intractable war in Mindanao continue to rage after 14 Marines were ambushed by Muslim separatists two months ago. And the fate of the economic and trade agreement with Japan is currently being deliberated at the Senate. Some views that a political storm is coming. Others say it's but a common political life here in the country. Just the same, these are politically interesting times.

Just last night without any sign of a storm brewing, it starts to rain.

Land of the mist

This is a picture from the shorelines of Lima (Peru) where I've been in the last week of September. I've been told that this is a typical day in Peru -- cold, misty and gray due to its geographical location. But the people make up for the lost colors. Their indigenous clothes are colorful and their local paintings express how they view life which is a clash of colors. Furthermore, the people are very warm and hospitable. The Filipino in me sees many similarities with the Peruvian temper and way of life. Not only that it is a developing country like the Philippines but also of our shared colonial past with Spain. However, Peru is the home of the distinguished Incas. An ancient civilization that existed before the conquistadores declared that they are the only civilized society. The lost city of the Incas located in Cuzco and Machu Picchu is voted this year as one of the wonders of the world in league with the Taj Mahal and the landmark cross of Brazil. Although I didn't get to see the famous Machu Picchu, the old part of Lima city is also quite charming. The warm enthusiasm of the people despite language barriers, communicated their friendliness to foreigners like myself.

Climactic change

This is the first time I witnessed the Filipinos rejoicing when two consecutive typhoons hit the country's shores as of this writing. Named "Chedeng" and "Dodong", the two typhoons are treated like guests in this strange archipelagic nation. Considering that the Philippines have experienced the worst and tragic effects of typhoons, this is a cause to wonder. As a tropical country, the Philippines experience on average 30 typhoons a year. The rainy season usually starts on June, exactly in the middle of the year, until September if we are lucky, and December if we are really unlucky.

But this year, only 3 typhoons have entered the Philippine responsibility until the end of July. Droughts have been experienced in the north part of the country fearing unimaginable catastrophe for our agricultural crops. (In Mindanao which is the south part, this is not a problem because the region has 2 seasons: wet and very wet). Due to the unusual dry spell, water supply in the cities were announced to be rationed by mid-August. The Catholic church has called on a national day of prayer for rain! And the government has been sending feelers that it wants emergency powers to respond to the drought. (This is all hogwash because now that the rains have come, the government is still asking for emergency powers this time to address the heavy rains!). The government with its odd affectation for emergency powers (aka Martial Law powers) seem to reflect that it cannot move without additional powers.

And so, as the rains pour in droves outside as I am writing this blog, I am rejoicing. It's good to hear the rain. It's good to feel a fresh breeze from the rain. Just as we need and enjoy the sun, we also need rain and lots of it.

A walking and (sometimes) talking Minju

Here is Minju now. A walking and sometimes a talking 13-month old. In the picture, she looks like a cat who just swallowed the bird. Well, she was playing awhile before that with "chowming", our in-house cat. Actually, she's just showing off her new blouse sent to her by her "ninong" Shaun all the way from South Africa. A video of her oozing with "wow" can be seen on our web album.

It is now a delight to hear her say sporadic words, sometimes incoherent ones. She is starting to mimic the words we say like, "nana" for banana, "inju" for Minju, "wow for wow, and "eyes" for eyes, complete with her finger pointing at her eyes. Soon she'll be repeating our own words to her advantage. At home, we are now starting to guard our words as we know that kids tend to pick up words, even the unsavory ones, very quickly.

P.S. 'Ninong' means in tagalog to be 'godfather'.

Milestones

Perhaps Minju will talk first before she can walk. I've been waiting for Minju to walk for weeks and months. After her first birthday, my waiting is characterized as a nailbiting wait. She's definitely learning to walk but she still holds our hand as she grapples with her confidence. But maybe we are the ones who can't let go because we are so afraid she would free fall, which she sometimes do.

Four months back, she could clearly say "Mama". These words from her are like bells in my ears. Until she says it to the nanny, to my sister, to my mother and our neighbors' wife. Still, I consider this a milestone. There's no better words to hear than hearing your child say her first words and they are "Mama". It means that I probably have a profound impact on her because these are her first words. At the age of one year and one month, her vocabulary is slowly increasing. But she is uttering sounds rather than words. Even though she's not a cry-baby, our house is quite noisy with her babbles.

These days, I am not anxiously waiting for her to walk by herself. It is a matter of time. She determines her pace and I am confident she will walk when she's ready. At the moment, I am just enjoying the way she looks for my fingers to be with her when she explores the grounds with her two feet. I am content just the same just by looking at her learning her first steps. Even though she's not walking yet on her own, she can surely dance her way around your heart.