Release Jose Ma. Sison!

Release Jose Ma. Sison!

Newsflash: Prof. Jose Ma. Sison has been arrested by the Dutch government today based on a warrant issued by a Dutch court judge.

The warrant alleged that Sison, 68, was wanted for "multiple murder" and for "calling for more murders."

Prof. Sison has been subjected to a series of false and politically motivated charges in 1988, 1991, 2003 and 2006. One after the other, these charges have been dismissed and nullified by Philippine courts in 1992, 1994 and 2007. Thus, they have been proven as malicious and pure fabrications of the Philippine military, police and intelligence authorities.

Trumped-up charges, lies and state terrorism will never stop Prof. Sison and the Filipino people from fighting US imperialism and its puppets.

We call on the Dutch government to release Prof. Sison immediately. We call on fellow youth bloggers to post their support to the call for Prof. Sison's release, email the Dutch government and to troop to the Dutch embassies all over the world to push for the release of Prof. Sison. Young activists from the Phils will picket the Dutch embassy in Makati tomorrow.

I am reposting a paper discussing how Prof. Sison has been unjustly prosecuted by the RP, US and Dutch Governments.

Chronology of the Persecution of Prof. Jose Maria Sison

by the Philippine, US and Dutch Governments

Issued by the International DEFEND Committee

18 August 2007

Since his release from military detention and the nullification of subversion and rebellion charges against him in 1986 after the fall of the Marcos fascist dictatorship, Prof. Jose Maria Sison has been subjected to a series of false and politically motivated charges in 1988, 1991, 2003 and 2006. One after the other, these charges have been dismissed and nullified by Philippine courts in 1992, 1994 and 2007. Thus, they have been proven as malicious and pure fabrications of the Philippine military, police and intelligence authorities.

But the Philippine, US and Dutch governments have used the false charges to persecute Prof. Sison. The trumped-up charges of subversion in 1988 and multiple murder in 1991 and the charges of subversion and rebellion nullified in 1986 have been used by the Dutch government to prevent the legal admission as refugee and residence of Prof. Sison in The Netherlands. Even the most unfounded propaganda attacks from the time of Marcos to 2006, which never materialized into formal complaints, have been used by the Philippine, US and Dutch governments to malign him as a "terrorist." These governments do so even as Philippine prosecutors and courts dismiss and nullify the formal complaints and charges.

1. Under the Marcos fascist dictatorship, the Philippine government subjected Prof. Jose Maria Sison to arbitrary detention from 1977 to 1986 and to various forms of physical and mental torture, including water cure, punching, more than five years of solitary confinement, prolonged deprivation of basic necessities as well as medical and dental care and repeated death threats. He was arrested and detained without judicial warrant and was charged before two military commissions for subversion and rebellion. He was thus put in jeopardy of being punished twice for the same alleged offense of seeking to overthrow the Philippine government.

2. After the fall of the Marcos dictatorship, the Aquino regime released Prof. Sison from military detention on March 5, 1986. The two charges of subversion and rebellion against him were nullified through the dissolution of the military commissions as organs of repression. He joined the faculty of the Asian Studies Center of the state institution, the University of the Philippines in April 1986. From September 1986 onwards, he went on a tour for a series of university lectures and solidarity speeches in Oceania, Asia and Europe on the situation and prospects of the Philippines. The Philippine military authorities publicly attacked his lectures and pressured the Aquino regime to cancel his Philippine passport. They trumped up a new charge of subversion against him in September 1988. This became the basis for the cancellation of his Philippine passport.

3. After the arbitrary cancellation of his passport, Prof. Sison applied for political asylum in The Netherlands in October 1988. The Dutch Ministry of Justice used the false charge of subversion and related false claims against him from the Philippine government as the basis for issuing a negative decision on his asylum application in July 1990. The US State Department admitted publicly that the Philippine government intervened in the asylum case in order to oppose it. But the highest administrative court, the Judicial Department of the Council of State (Raad van State), made a judgment in 1992 annulling the unfavorable decision of the Dutch Ministry of Justice. It recognized Prof. Sison as a political refugee and criticized the ministry for using secret intelligence dossiers against him in contravention of the principle of fair administration and for delaying for more than four years the approval of his asylum application.

4. Despite the 1992 judgment of the Council of State, the Dutch Ministry of Justice refused to grant asylum to Prof. Sison. It also ignored the repeal of the Anti-Subversion Law by the Philippine government in 1992 and the consequent dismissal of the charge of subversion against Prof. Sison by the Pasig city court and the related nullification of the specifications against him. It likewise disregarded the resolution of the Manila city prosecutors in April 1994 dismissing as something based on pure speculation the 1991 complaint of multiple murder arising from the Plaza Miranda bombing in 1971. It continued to use the false charges against Prof. Sison and argue that to grant him asylum would run counter to the commitment and credibility of the Dutch state to its allies. Further, it cited raw intelligence dossiers to fabricate the claim that he is in contact with "terrorist" organizations. It was thus already using the "terrorist" label against him as early as in the years from 1990 to 1994.

5. In response to the new appeal of Prof. Sison in 1993, the Council of State, as the highest administrative court, issued in 1995 the judgment reaffirming its previous ruling that he is a political refugee under Article 1 A of the Refugee Convention and that he is under the protection of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. It ruled that Article 1 F of the Refugee Convention did not apply on him because there was no sufficient evidence against him for crimes that would exclude him from consideration as a refugee. It directed the Dutch Ministry of Justice to grant him legal admission as refugee and residence permit if there was no other country to which he could transfer without violating the Refugee Convention and without putting him at risk of ill treatment prohibited by Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. But the Dutch Ministry of Justice ignored the judgment of the Council of State and continued to refuse him legal admission as refugee and the permit to reside in The Netherlands.

6. Prof. Sison appealed to the newly-created Aliens Court in 1996 against the refusal of the Dutch justice ministry to grant him asylum. The court ordered the Dutch government to make a new decision. The Dutch government ultimately took the position before the Law Unification Chamber (REK, Rechtseenheidkamer) that it had the freedom of policy or discretion to refuse to Prof. Sison legal admission as a refugee and not to give him residence permit but to cease and desist from expelling him from The Netherlands in order to avoid the violation of the principle of nonrefoulement in Article 33 of the Refugee Convention and Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Being dependent on justice ministry personnel, funds and facilities, the REK upheld the position of the Dutch Ministry of Justice and dignified the brazen lie that Prof. Sison was liable for the false accusations of the Philippine government and for "contacts with terrorist organizations" on the basis of intelligence dossiers already examined and evaluated by the Raad van State in 1992 and 1995. It ran counter to the 1992 and 1995 judgments of the Raad van State, the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights in the Chahal case, the dismissal of all charges against Prof. Sison in the Philippines from 1992 to 1994 and the total absence of any criminal charge against him abroad.

7. In April 1998 the justice secretary of the Philippine government issued an official certification declaring that there was no pending criminal charge against Prof. Sison and referred to the 1992 nullification and 1993 dismissal of the 1988 charge of subversion as well as the 1994 dismissal of the 1991 charge of multiple murder related to the Plaza Miranda bombing. From 1994 to 2003, the Philippine government, including the military and police authorities, took a rest from filing any formal criminal complaint against Prof. Sison. The Philippine military authorities merely hurled propaganda attacks against him, despite the fact that the Philippine government had already requested the US government in November 2001 to designate Prof. Sison as a "terrorist". It was only in 2003 that they submitted to the Department of Justice a complaint against him for the June 2001 killing of the intelligence officer Col. Rodolfo Aquinaldo. The Filipino lawyers of Prof. Sison succeeded in having the complaint archived because of its patent falsity and political motivation and because of the lack of Philippine jurisdiction over him in the light of Philippine and international law.

8. The US government designated Prof. Sison as a "terrorist" on August 12, 2002 and the Dutch government followed suit within 24 hours on August 13, 2002 despite the completely clean legal status of Prof. Sison, despite the absence of any specific act of terrorism that can be ascribed to him, despite the absence of any kind of criminal charge or investigation involving him and despite the Hernandez doctrine in Philippine jurisprudence concerning political offenses and the absence then of any anti-terrorism law in the Philippines. The "terrorist" blacklisting of Prof. Sison by the US and other governments has placed him in a position worse than that of a convicted murderer. He is prohibited from gainful employment. He is deprived of his social benefits, including living allowance, housing, medical insurance, civil liability insurance and old age pension. His bank account is frozen. He is prevented from receiving royalty payments for the publication of his books. He is preempted from receiving compensation for damages due to him for winning his human rights case against the Marcos regime. His fundamental rights have been violated, including the right to the essential means of human existence, the right to the presumption of innocence, the right to defense, the right to be informed of reasons for the sanctions, the right to judicial protection, the right to private and family life, the right of free movement, the right against slander and defamation and the right to be secure against threats to life and reputation.

9. Out to please the US and Philippine governments politically, the Dutch government, with the open lobbying of Philippine authorities, pushed the Council of the European Union to blacklist Prof. Sison on October 28, 2002. Two days after the blacklist decision of the Council, the Dutch government repealed its blacklisting of Prof. Sison but persisted in violating his fundamental rights and causing material and moral damage to him by invoking the Council decision. The Dutch and British governments are the main interveners in support of the Council of the European Union in the case filed by Prof. Sison against the Council before the European Court of First Instance in Luxembourg since February 2003. The Dutch government is the main source of the lies given to the court that (a) Prof. Sison is liable for "terrorism" (and not for rebellion under the Hernandez political offense doctrine of Philippine jurisprudence) for being allegedly the Chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines and head of the New People's Army and (b) the 1992 and 1995 judgments of the Dutch Council of State and the 1997 judgment of the REK on his asylum case held Prof. Sison liable for "terrorism" (contrary to the fact that these courts recognized him as a political refugee under Article 1 A of the Refugee Convention and as someone protected by Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights).

10. In 2005 Arroyo and her henchmen in the Cabinet Oversight Committee on Internal Security and the Anti-Terrorism Task Force started to escalate false accusations against Prof. Sison in the mass media and pushed military officers to file baseless charges of common crimes (like murder, robbery, kidnapping and the like) against him in connection with incidents ascribed to the New People's Army in various parts of the Philippines. The campaign of slander was obviously intended to reinforce the "terrorist" blacklisting of Prof. Sison by various foreign governments and to justify the intensified extrajudicial killing, abduction and torture of progressive legal activists. It was also intended to link Prof. Sison to a broad united front of legal political forces striving to lead the people to oust the Arroyo regime for having cheated in the presidential elections of 2004. The filing of criminal charges against Prof. Sison culminated in an omnibus charge of rebellion in April 21, 2006 against him and 50 other people, including underground revolutionary leaders, progressive congressmen and anti-Arroyo military officers. The purported facts of the charge of rebellion covered the entire period, from the founding of the Communist Party of the Philippines on December 26, 1968 to the filing of the charge on April 21, 2006 and disregarded the nullification of charges and the amnesty proclamations from 1986 to 1995.

11. On April 23, 2007 the Council of the European Union sent to Prof. Sison a letter with a one-page statement that repeats the two lies provided by the Dutch government, as mentioned in No. 9 above. On May 22, 2007 he sent a letter of reply and told the Council that the statement of lies had already been presented by the Council to the European Court of First Instance, has been debunked in court and does not amount to a statement of reasons as required of the Council by the court in cases of "terrorist" blacklisting. Then the Council made a new decision on June 28, 2007 blacklisting Prof. Sison on the basis of the aforesaid lies it had made before. This new decision of the Council is obviously intended to serially perpetuate Prof. Sison in the 'terrorist" blacklist, continually violate his fundamental rights, cause material and moral damage to him and undermine or render useless any favorable judgment of the European Court of First Instance on his case against the Council of the European Union.

12. The European Court of First Instance issued its judgment on the Sison case on July 11, 2007 annulling the decision of the Council placing him on the "terrorist" list and freezing his financial assets. The annulment is grounded on the Council's infringement of Prof. Sison's right to defense, its failure to give a statement of reasons from the second time that it blacklisted him and the violation of his right to judicial protection. The court does not require the Council to pay for the material and moral damages suffered by Prof. Sison due to its decision and fails to mention that the Dutch government has invoked the decision of the Council in order to inflict material and moral damages on him. However, the court requires the Council to pay for the costs of the litigation to the lawyers of Prof. Sison as plaintiff and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines as intervener. Insofar as it can be established that the Dutch government has directly inflicted material and moral damages on Prof. Sison, he can take legal action to seek compensation for such damages. But it can be expected that the Dutch government will resort to every legal trickery to evade accountability.

13. In the meantime, Prof. Sison has won a resounding legal victory in the Philippines. The Philippine Supreme Court issued on July 2, 2007 a judgment nullifying the omnibus charge of rebellion and all the supposed evidence from 1968 to 2006 against Prof. Sison and his 50 other co-accused. In effect, the supposed evidence cannot be used again against all or any of them in any new charge. The solicitor general has publicly admitted that the value of the state's stock of purported evidence has been wiped out. This is the latest instance when Prof. Sison is cleared of a criminal charge. It previously happened in 1986, 1992, 1994 and 1998. At this moment, the Philippine and foreign governments persecuting Prof. Sison should be at a loss in holding him liable for any criminal offense or any semblance of this. The Philippine government can fabricate a charge of rebellion against Prof. Sison only from the date after April 21, 2006 and a charge of "terrorism" from July 15, 2007 which is the date the Human Security Act of 2007 became effective. However, the Human Security Act of 2007 is now under fire by a broad range of democratic forces, human rights organizations and legal experts in the Philippines and abroad for being patently unconstitutional.

Prof. Sison has won a significant legal victory with the July 11, 2007 judgment of the European Court of First Instance. But he still needs to complete his legal victory by contending with the preemptive June 28, 2008 decision of the Council retaining him in the "terrorist" blacklist and by filing a new application for annulment of said decision insofar as he is concerned. He still has to defend his fundamental rights and demand compensation for the material and moral damages inflicted on him.

We expect that the Philippine, US and Dutch governments will continue to persecute Prof. Jose Maria Sison by using against him their political power and the existing fascist "anti-terrorism" laws and decisions that they have devised in order to justify state terrorism and wars of aggression. We need to continue and intensify both the political and legal struggles of democratic forces and the people of the world in order defend the fundamental rights of Prof. Sison and other victims of the global trend of fascisation and aggressive wars generated by the imperialist powers and their reactionary puppets.

We must struggle to stop immediately the persecution of progressive leaders like Prof. Jose Maria Sison and the suppression of anti-imperialist and democratic forces and peoples fighting for national liberation, greater freedom, social justice, development and world peace!!!

Fore reference:

Ruth de Leon

International Coordinator

International DEFEND Committee

Email: defenddemrights@yahoo.com

Telephone: 00-31-30-8895306

Website: www.defendsison.be

By: Diane On August 28, 2007

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Garbage Village

I spent a day with Korean students Last July as an interpreter for their exposure trip at Smokey Mountain. People would think that it’s an easy task but believe you me, it’s rather challenging. My charges are of high school age and know very basic English. I in turn have to break down my sentences and thoughts into short sentences or phrases to get through to them.

How many times can you use the word hot in a conversation. We would like to compete with Paris Hilton and her posse please:

Korean Student(KS): The Philippines is hot here.

Me: Yes it is. It is even hotter in the summer.

KS: Korea is hot also. You like Kimchi?

Me: Yes I do. But we don’t eat it every day. It’s too, erm, hot.

KS: Very healthy. Hot?

Me: Hot. Spicy.

KS: Korea is hot also.

Nevermind. A laugh will end the conversation. Good thing we arrived at Smokey Mountain a few minutes after that conversation.

Smoky Mountain is a 9 hectare land owned by the government used as a dump site. It located in Tondo, Manila with a population of 30,000 people. It is where Metro Manila’s garbage ends up, thus the source of income for the majority of the population revolves around garbage… mainly as scavengers.

I will not sugar coat anything. The harsh reality is that, it is for me the most horrible place on earth. If I died and I would go to hell, THIS is how hell would look like for me. I almost passed out with the stench of burning rubber, plastic and all of the metro trash. The guide made us wear boots because the filth will take a week to take out of your shoes (if they survive) and feet. We went to see the summit of the garbage mountain where we saw the scavengers scouring the fresh trash dumped by the trucks. Afterwards we saw the place where they make charcoal (oh god the smoke), and the garbage barges (serious environmental issue alert!). After lunch the Koreans played with the local kids. I felt like we sunk deeper into hell. What do you do with 40 kids, 15 Koreans in a 40 square meter room? I was about ready to cry when I saw the kids thundering in. I’ve never been really good with kids. I can handle about a maximum of 2 kids but 40?!? I of course had to translate for them, which isn’t much work. The kids were just fascinated with the Koreans and gamely joined in singing Korean songs even though the Koreans cannot explain the meaning of the song even in English. The kids were given very nice clothes after play time. I just had to smoke 2 ciggies and a soda after all the commotion.

In Smokey Mountain there are so many issues to be concerned about but the most obvious is the health and environmental concerns in the area. The area is really unfit to live in. The #1 sickness in the area are respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases. True to its name the area is constantly, almost 24 hours in smoke from burned garbage or charcoal making. Even the community organizers from KADAMAY have their share of asthma attacks and hospitalization due to pneumonia in just a few weeks of staying there. Diarrhea and food poisoning must be common because of the consumption of pagpag or food from the garbage which they re-cook. Reheating contaminated food by God-knows-what microbes is not an assurance that there are toxins can poison, or bacteria that can infect you. A fact: a single tiny health center WAS NOT provided for by the government or sole politician but through the solicitation efforts of the local people’s organizations. During the elections, politicians flock to Smokey Mountain to campaign for themselves (or buying for votes as the locals tell me). Those politicians never bothered to make project for the long term use of the people there. Disgusting trapos. Luckily enough, that particular organization has the strong support of the locals there so the health center gets by fairly. But 1 health center is not enough for 30,000 people.

An environmental issue that has been affecting the fisher-folk near that area are the garbage barges that are polluting the water. Apparently, in trying to reduce the garbage that they put into landfills, the put it on barges. Excess garbage drop into Manila Bay, killing the fish and other aquatic animals that feed those who live near the bay. The people of Smoky Mountain had joint mobilizations with the fisher-folk organization of PAMALAKAYA to address the issue of water pollution but sadly they remain unheard by the government.

I do not want to return to Smoky Mountain if only for the reason that my health cannot take it. (Jhann, kahit ano pang sabihin mo, ayoko na talaga dun. You can convince me otherwise kung sasama ka sa akin doon and experience what I did.) To me it is the most horrible place on earth. The condition of living there is horrible. This thought makes me pity the people who are forced to stay there because they have no other means of earning a living. I am absolutely sure that if the government takes seriously long term projects for basic social services, these people will remain living at the dump site despite the danger to their health. Wala naman gusto ng busabos na pamumuhay pero kung ito lang paraan para mabuhay, gagawin mo ito. Pero sa ginagawa ng kawalang pansin ng sunud-sunod na rehimen sa kalagayan ng mga tao sa Smoky Mountain ay higit nabubusabos ang kanilang pamumuhay. Ang bawat sentimo ng pagmahal ng mga bilihin, ang kawalan ng programang pangkalusugan, pamamahay at edukasyon ay lalo lang nagbibigay ng dahilan para manatili sila doon. One of our new Korean friends asked, "Why are they poor and remain poor throughout generations?" I wonder how would Gloria answer that?

By: Diane On August 21, 2007

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Dream Come True!

One of my lifetime dreams just came true 2 days ago. We got a new dog... a black labrador puppy! (And yes, he has authentic papers.) I'm was so happy when we got him I cried like a baby. He's the most adorable, big pawed, black bundle of joy.

World, meet Bebong!

He's really smart too. He learned to go potty in the right place in 1 day (a few minor accidents but I don't mind). He's a curious little guy... he's so eager to explore our garden and my room using that perfectly black nose with big nostrils. :) And the best of all, he absolutely adores my half lab Bebang. He follows her everywhere and gets all excited when she's around. With this, Jhann and I named him Bebong.

I've been researching intensely about labradors these past few days. I'm so careful with his diet and exercise. I want the best for his health. I want to grow old with this dog (yeah, with you too Jhann). I never let him out of my sight. I'm planning to try a new method of training Bebong. I want to try out the Clicker Training Method. It's more effective and more humane (according to the forums and the site.

For those interested in dogs and training, check these sites out;
http://forum.dog-tracker.com
http://www.clickerlessons.com
http://www.clickertrainusa.com

By: Diane On May 11, 2007

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A Reply to my Brother

I wrote this as a reply to my brother's post. I think he embodies a typical sheltered kid very much similar to who I was a couple of years ago. I just want to make him understand where I'm coming from... i just hope it's COHERENT.

"..courses in the philippines are limited to nursing, pt, ot, and pre med."

Of course it's limited to those courses precisely because the government only provide for what Canada, the US or Australia need as workers. Right now, there is a demand for medical workers (nurses, caregivers especially) but it will reach a saturation point 3-4 years from now just like what happened with the computer technology world (and Nursing in the 70's even! Ask mama why she decided to take up nursing in the first place).

Graduating with a college degree does not assure you of a job in the Philippines. Graduating with a degree also does not mean you will end up practicing your field in case you are lucky to get a job. How many of my batch mates graduates of so and so degree from this oh so expensive university/ college end up in a call center? Mind you with out of school youth, a working student as a co-worker or even a boss! Even our own parents, relatives graduated with a college degree and how many of them actually practice in their field?

"...my sister isn't taking the working life seriously"

Thank you for making it specific to work. :P Though I might say that I am a bit hurt. Like I always say, money isn't always everything. We may need some but we don't need all. I hope you keep this in mind. I hope you learn that help in our family does not mean "financial" as our relatives in Canada have shown their support for you(though I do know some relatives here who ask for "help" and expect cash). That's what I do. I help people but not for or through cash. And I don't help just our family. Our family is in a far better situation compared to millions of other families here. This I take seriously I am willing to offer my whole self to it. It's what makes me happy and whole. I hope you try to understand. To understand, sometimes you have to put yourself in my shoes.

About parting ways, and still in connection to my earlier thoughts: Growing up or taking a path different from YOUR expectations doesn't STRIP love from us. The situation and the love is just different. You have built a relationship in the past but don't expect it to be the same and don't expect that what you want is the best way. (Di ba sabi mo love is a choice?) We must make a choice to love these people a different way. And anyway, that's what makes Filipino families distinct, we are extremely loyal to our families no matter what.

Yun lang. I'm sorry i made you away kanina sa YM. Magaling ka naman talaga magsulat pero minsan kasi... you're so Emo! Can i also claim that you got your talent from me?

Labyu.

---------

For reference this is my brother's post.

the irony of "home"

11 days abroad and i already have my own set of things to contemplate on. at first i never really wanted to go here for reasons i kept on pushing to myself like i'd be better off in the philippines doing my own thing, bumming around during summer. but now i realized that the promise of graduating in my mother country would not be fruitful when i would to decide that i want to go and work abroad. like hello? broadcasting? what do i do with broadcasting here in canada? it's a competitive course here unlike what i discussed with my parents and my relatives. medical courses on the other hand would be useful here since the dynamism of job opportunities for those courses in the medical field works and pays. and mind you there are far more courses here than i imagined since courses in the philippines are limited to nursing, pt, ot, and pre med. so i came to the conclusion of finishing mass comm and then taking a second degree in physical therapy. hey with two courses i could go two ways depending on what would be the best here after five years or so. after which i could get a stable job and visit the philippines annually and provide support for my parents, knowing that my sister isn't taking the working life seriously. so i hope i could keep this promis to myself, one thing that's been bugging me for a week already.

life at it's worst could'nt get better for the past few days. just met with my cousins, some doing fine; but some i can't even understand how they could stray away like that from a life raised in a developed country. compared to the philippines, a known corrupt third world country, shouldn't they be living better compared to us? i mean to me. my concern for my family and relatives is the only thing that motivates me right now to strive for a better life abroad. one major fact that concerns me right now is how time can strip relationships with people you love from you. aside from the fact that some of my cousins have schools to attend to, right now the time we spent during gatherings proved that we could never regain what we've built when we were younger. right now, i'm much closer with my kuya paolo, darryl, bucky ate lara and jay compared to bj which i seldom see right now. i mean, i knew we were best buds then but right now, it all seems wrong. well we're all growing up in different directions aren't we? so i think we've already crossed the point in which we could be that close and almost inseparable. but i miss bj so much, dang thank god i have my kuyas as drinking and smoking buddies here. i did open it up to kuya paolo but having all of them as company is the best temporary medecine for me.

i realized that i missed my relatives so much now that i see them almost everyday, that is until friday this week. i don't want to leave right now, i don't even want to go home at the 29th. it sucks that i have to go home to such a corrupt and disorganized country. i'm just glad that i won't be there during the hotter summer days and the elections. i can't take my mind of the fact that i'm seeing my favorite uncles here, uncle ray, june, nenec and ben, and my lovable titas, tita mai, joy and josie of course. this week has been both the best, literally of my whole stay here and emotionally the worst; it's a mix of both happiness and disappointment, i love my life.

now, realizing that the reason for my friends decision to leave for abroad had its important points. for one the united states lives for its taxes which is from the people and for the people; u.s.a. is an economical friendly country; the weather is fairly fine compared to the philippines' inhumane temperature rise every now and then; the positive look of people towards life and their jobs, bringing smiles with them to work; highways are better, which i mean better labled and directed towards destinations; lastly the fair and organized circulaton of money within each state in the country. don't get me wrong, i love the philippines but i can't help comparing life here abroad and at home.

i have at least three more weeks here, i still haven't met up with sean, red and king. hope the plan on the 28th would push through. in total i've spent 20 us$ and 50 canadian$. i haven't even bought my ipod, camera, and psp yet. i hope our trip back to oregon would be better that our 1st trip. now i'm wondering if i could bring souvenirs for my friends back home. i think i'll just bombard them with chocolates and lucky five will get their planned perfume, flip flops, etc. nyaha i can't please all of them right? i know i can bring rs myself back fit and safely, the only thing he wished for me.

another good thing in visiting relatives, aside from their support towards your goals in life is the blessings you get from them. besides the fact that i was able to spend time with them, getting backgrounds on job opportunities, the do's and dont's here, and driving!, they were able to give me so much more than words i can use in reaching my goal in life. all this time i wasn't expecting anything from any of them but i recieved money and a portable dvd player, a big wow for me since i needed one for myself. the television in my room doesn't fit the entire film on screen so it was a useful gift for me. i just hope mom and dad would'nt ask me to lend it to them. dang~ i love my relatives.

aside from my usual hobby of net surfing, volleyball, soundtrip, reading and games(somehow), my cousins hooked me up with cars, that includes parts, accesories, painting and the works. dang i want to drive a.s.a.p. not only that i want to drive a manual pickup truck- a pink one haha. hopefully tita josie could train me tomorrow or on thursday. well what else do i need to discuss here? weather's been great, it always feels like air conditions doing a full blast on all parts of your body exposed.

well that's it for now~ iv'e written all my concerns for people here a.f.a.i.k. including my relatives, cousins..., parents, life... well it's 11:50pm here and i'm retiring for the night though i'm still not sleepy. hope tomorrow would be a better day, a better night i suppose since there will be another family gathering at tita heidi's. that's the irony of home, the thought of going back, and literally how much better life is here.

By: Diane On May 11, 2007

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Tie a Blue Ribbon

My contribution to KABATAAN's cyber campaign. Our generation must do our part in nation building. Please support youth representation in congress. Vote for KABATAAN partylist on May 14.

By: Diane On April 28, 2007

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