Waka-waka…It’s time for Africa!

During my Philippine Institutions 100 class last semester, we were asked to race back our roots. Knowing our family tree would somehow give us the idea about the previous lives our ancestors lived and how we were related to some of our classmates. I was having a hard time getting as much information about my great great grandparents. Thanks to Claverian decree, I made my own theory on how my family name sounded Spanish yet I look like more of a Chinese. I thought maybe my ancestors were Chinese merchants that ventured into the country and for survival, they changed their family name conforming to the Spanish regime.

 

With this formulated theory of mine, I was contented. At least it was far better than to think that I was really an aeta, although I also acknowledge the fact that somewhere in my past life I do have a percentage of their blood.

 

However, after watching the Genographic Project conducted by the National Geographic Society and IBM another revelation surprised me. Human being regardless of colors and other physical attributes are actually related and came from one homeland, Africa.

 

So I was not just a Chinese merchant, an aeta but also most surprisingly an African. This discovery is the starting point of my family tree. A starting point that I share with all individuals which I believe could be a key to somehow lessen the degree of racial discrimination. Thus the considered to be one of the most impoverished countries gave birth to the human civilization.  A realization supported with facts that not all people are aware of. Lucky are those who have known about the project but for those who never heard of it, the grounds for racial discrimination still evidently exist.

 

 

 

What should watch dogs do?

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/PageMill_Images/media_monkeys.jpg

The media is considered to be the watchdog of the society. They are entitled to render service among the people in being objective in giving out information. However, there overlapping of duties with the government is also unavoidable. As a Media and Communication Studies student, I considered the August 23 hostage taking as one of the best examples that shows the conflict of interest between the government and the watchdogs.

The intention of delivering the new somehow jeopardized the operations of the government. Although the police and the authorities are really the ones to blamed, the press had somehow made the situation worst. As a result, the House of Representatives came up with the House Bill 2737 that requires media blackout during crisis situations. I believe this is considerable a “positive” response from the government because it simply shows that government is becoming more sensitive that they are trying to prevent the reoccurring of such tragedy. However it totally stops the duty of the media to deliver news that concerns the public and the country.

The role of the media does not stop when the government restrains them from their function. Media practitioners are known to be obsessed with facts up to the point of endangering their lives. The implementation of this bill is not enough and its content is not even justifiable in a country like ours. If they want this bill to be beneficial to both parties, revisions should be done or how about instead of proposing this new House Bill, why not just focused on strengthening the government and media agreement or the PNP Media Relations Policy? Working out on what is available is easier than to start all over again…and I doubt if the whole media community adheres to this action from the government.

I do believe that even in crisis situations, no such guidelines or protocols are well implemented and followed. On the part of the media, their being objective ends when they do not practice self-regulation and when they risk, not only their lives but the whole state just for their search of truth.

Does objectivity in the world of the media even exist?

What I like about “Dear Miss Manners”

After almost four years of visiting the library and just staring at this encyclopedic like book, I finally got to open it and read its content…Just the first few pages of course since I got classes to attend.

The book which I find interesting is about how people should act with etiquette even in the most unexpected situation. Dear Miss Manners gives the readers the simplest solution in dealing with day-to-day problems with confidence and grace.

As I was reading, here are the quotable lines which I really like…

“If one does the right thing, one does not have to read nasty little books about how to deal with guilt”

“You wouldn’t trust a preacher who never experienced the temptation of sin”

“Who says there is a right way of doing things and a wrong?”

“Two wrongs make a blight”

“We now have a world full of new, improved people who are really ready to move on to improving others. This had better stop before there are no good people left”

“Most people can be trusted to behave personally well when they are in love and perfectly dreadfully when they have been dumped”

“Magazines are full of suggestions to help one fool people about one’s identity”

and the one that struck me most is…..

‎”The bride’s wish that the wedding be “the happiest day of her life” came true. Each succeeding day was slightly less happy than one before, finally they divorced.”

Moms don’t Always Know What is Best

Maternal or Women’s Care is the 5^th Milennium Development Goals of the United Nations. It aims to lower mortality rate and unwanted preganancies.

According to United nations Develoment Programme, in the Philippines induce abortion is the foruth leading cause of maternal death. Also, out of 3 million pregnancies over half of births occurred at home and one-third of them were assisted by traditional birth attendants (TBAs).

In Barangay Lumangan, survey shows that majority of the respondents in Lumanggan are practicing modern maternal care methods but rarely participate in seminars and forums regarding family planning. On the other hand, there are still few who adhere to the traditional means like “hilot”. Age could be considered as an intervening factor since those who prefer “hilot” are the ones who conceived at the year 1970’s.

During the pregnancy stage, 6 out of 9 respondents had their regular check-up at their health center and nearest hospital while the remaining 3 still believe in “hilot”. This could also be attributed to lack of financial resources and the presence of “hilot” and midwives at their barangay.

The survey also shows that majority of the respondenst which is 6 out of 9 gave birth to their children in their home with the aid of “hilot” and midwives. The remaining 3 gave birth in the hospital.

When it comes to family planning, there have been no case of abortion occurred during their pregnancy and the use of contraceptive is not prevalent. This is due to the fact that 5 out of 9 did not participate in any type of forums or seminars conducted by the government or any volunteer group. The remaining 4 attended the seminar about family planning conducted by volunteer groups of UPV and other institutions.

Women in Lumanggan should participate in the activities by the government intended to widen their knowledge about modern maternal care. This will be beneficial on their part since they will learn new ideas and practices given the right methods and proper supervision. They should not rely solely on traditional birth attendants since there are risks involved before and after pregnancy.

Wanted Perfect Boarding House

There were reports that some operators of boarding houses in Miagao do not comply with the rules and regulation set by the municipality. Also there were persistent rumors that most boarding houses do not issue receipt upon the boarder’s payment of monthly rental.

In accordance to these, the researchers conducted a census in order to find out whether these claims have enough grounds.

“Boarding House” as defined in Miagao’s Municipal Ordinance No. 96-04 is any house where boarders are accepted or accommodated for compensation by the week, or by month, and where meals are served to boarders; or where boarders occupy space only. For the purpose of this ordinance, a boarding house includes any dormitory.

It is essential that there are clear standards governing the care provided in these settings, and that these standards are monitored and enforced effectively.

This report concerns monitoring of boarding houses based on the requirements cited on Miagao’s Municipal Ordinance No. 96-04. The purpose of this report is to outline findings from our inquiry that will highlight serious problems with the way boarding houses are being managed.

Most Boarding House operators do not abide on the Ordinance which regulates the operation of boarding houses in the Municipality of Miagao.

The reporters conducted an initial interview with at least 10 boarders and owners to assess the common problems among boarding houses. In addition, a municipal ordinance was requested from the municipal office to serve as the guidelines in making the questionnaire.

In order to determine the trend, the reporters conducted a survey among 20 respondents. Each of the respondents comes from a particular boarding house in Miagao town proper or private dormitory within the UPV dorm area. A questionnaire is given to the respondents for data gathering.

The study is limited to the following boarding houses and private dormitories:

1. Car An’s Place

2. Royal Angels

3. Romyr’s Apartment and Dormitory

4. Pink House

5. RL

6. Fajarillo’s Residence

7. Nafunar’s Residence

8. Mumbay

9.  Balay Cawayan

10. Susan’s Dormitory

11. St. Michael’s Dormitory

12. Rey Dumalag’s Fashion Corner

13. Nonato’s

14. Monte Claro Building

15. Neild’s Apartel

16. Saquian Boarding House

17.Natonio’s Dormitory

18.Nochete Boarding House

19.Kamalig ni Cano

20.British House

The research and interviews from various sources showed that:

• 12 out of 20 boarding houses do not issue receipt for the boarder’s payment of monthly rental.

Issuance of receipt is important for taxpaying purposes. If operators of boarding houses do not issue receipts, it only means that there is a big possibility that they are not also paying their taxes exactly to the government.

• 11 out of 20 boarding houses do not provide a registration form to the boarders upon admission. (See Table 1 on page 10)

This violates the Sec. 9 of Municipal Ordinance No.96-04.(No owner, manager or operator of a boarding house shall accept a boarder unless he/she has signed his/her name, entered his/her address, residence certificate and personal circumstances in a register of boarders.

• 10 out of 20 boarding houses do not have fire exit.

This violates the Sec. 4 of Municipal Ordinance No.96-04.(The house must be installed with a fire alarm system and have an adequate fire exit aside from the main door.)

• 6 out of 20 boarding houses do not provide a printed copy of house rules and regulation in each room and reception room. (See Table 1 on page 10)

This violates the Sec. 10 of Municipal Ordinance No.96-04. (The owner/operator of the boarding house shall post in each room and reception room, in printed form, a house rules and regulations for the information and guidance of the boarders, shall prohibit, among others, gambling, use of prohibited drugs or regulated drugs without a doctor’s prescription, and other violation of laws, rules and regulations.

• 5 out of 20 boarding houses do not provide/institute safety and health measures for the boarders.

This violates the Sec. 11 of Municipal Ordinance No.96-04. (It shall be the duty and responsibilities of the owner or operator of boarding houses to maintain cleanliness of the boarding house and sanitation of the premises… It shall also be the duty of the owner or operator to provide and institute safety and health measures, such as fire escape, locked doors, first aid kit or cabinet and others.)

• Some of the concerns that were pointed out by the respondents were on the issue about sanitation, maintenance, privacy, security and lack of water supply.

The data show that only three (3) boarding houses were able to comply with the guidelines provided by the municipal ordinance of Miagao on the operation of boarding houses and private dormitories.

The issuance of receipt and securing the tenant’s information on or before admission are given the least attention by the owners of these commercial establishments.

Also, most boarding houses do not have fire exits but the owners have provided fire extinguishers which are not enough to secure the boarders.

If these problems will not be addressed properly and immediately it can cause future problems between the owner, tenants and the government.

Commercial establishments should adhere to the rules and regulation in order to provide quality services to the students and to other tenants.

Boarding house owners should issue receipt to serve as proof of payments and to make sure that they are exactly paying their taxes. They should also provide fire exits or backdoors in case of fire and other unavoidable circumstances. The cleanliness of the area should also be maintained for the convenience of the boarders and for health reasons. They should also give privacy and secure the things of their tenants such by providing security device on the doors, lockers, and drawers. In order to monitor the operation of the boarding house, owners should allow and give permission to the government to inspect, check and examine the area and the facilities provided.

The issue on sanitation and water supply should be given proper actions in order to provide convenience to the boarders and to compensate to the amount that they are paying.