Moonlighting in “The Land of the Rising Sun”

(As we witness the damage and loss of life in Japan after a devastating earthquake, I can’t help but think of our kababayans in Japan who have chosen to make the Land of the Morning Sun their adopted land. Below is my tribute to these Filipinos, some of whom have been my closest friends.)

(July 20, 2006) I HAVE nothing against our Filipino women wanting to help their families, or even their own selves, by taking the risk of going abroad and working as domestic helpers or even as entertainers. While in the beginning they may have felt like they would be facing some form of ridicule because of the kind of work they have chosen to do, they would soon realize that suddenly, or ironically, they would turn out to be “heroes” in the eyes of the public who clamor for dollar remittances. 

In the early 80s, even before the Marcos regime was brought down, we’ve seen our neighbors, especially the “girls-next-door type” disappearing. In my baranggay, my friend’s sisters, some of whom used to be our “dreamgirls” were gone, and reportedly among the “lucky ones” to have been able to go abroad and work there. It was as if they were “special” or they possessed special skill or talent that allowed them to leave and work someplace else. A few I’ve seen years later. At least one sister of my compadre, who has her own family back home, I never had the chance to see again before immigrating to the U.S.

They had a special skill alright – it was “entertaining.” Either they were good dancers, or singers, but they had one striking similarity – at least in my own point of view – they had a “pleasing personality.” Though I don’t want to called a “sexist”, but they were the pretty breed of young women, at least from where I grew up. I knew them personally, you know, and I can think I can describe which ones are pretty.

Sadly, I learned that some who were “employed” as “entertainers” ended up in the hands of what we coined as “Mama Sang,” which, to my recollection, is more of a pimp, who peddles women to customers looking for good time. Soon more names – denigrating as they may seem – cropped up, including the most humiliating, japayuki.  From the Internet’s Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, japayuki means “prostitution in Japan.” Though most of us didn’t mean that to be, we verbally abused the word and referred to the women whom we knew who went to Japan as “entertainers” as this  – mga japayuki.

During the my stint at the airport in the late 80s, I would see hordes of young Filipino women – some I knew who were supposed to come from more prominent families and unfortunately some I knew were the young girls running in my neighborhood – arriving at the airport, boxes in tow, lining up for customs inspection. They may have had decent work, but there was a stigma that came along with their being from Japan, which is the most advanced country on earth, in tech terms.

Expatriates in Japan, I believe, are supposed to be engineers, even if they have many of this professionals, or trainees sent by tech industries from the Philippines, and admittedly band members who did make waves in the “Land of the Rising Sun”, where people spoke little or no “engrish,” let alone sing Western songs.  It really is a “Lang of the Rising Sun” because our kababayans work overnight and get to rest only in the daytime. Instead of being greeted by sunrise, they get blinded by such daily occurrence.

Personally, I couldn’t even say hello to the ones I knew, or whose brothers or sisters I knew then when they arrive.  There was always a lump in my throat that I always tried to overcome with the thought of their personal, albeit universal, reason of “entertaining” Japanese customers in karaoke bars, lounges, and God forbid, prostitution dens for a few “lapads” (one lapad, which means wide because of its size, is worth Y10,000). And even if I hated to turn a blind eye when I see them, things got worse when our very own kababayans continued to prey on these hapless young women. It was a trade unworthy of a country which boasts of being the only Christian nation in Asia.

Now comes this latest story that “Japan will accept entertainers — POEA.” The story says that “Overseas Employment Administration chief Rosalinda Baldoz (has) expressed optimism Japan will still accept Filipino entertainers because of the measures the government is pursuing to rationalize and fine-tune the deployment of overseas performing artists to that country.”

Even if it carried a warning that such arists called “OPAs” not to enter Japan without valid working visas, the report states that “other schemes” to enter Japan “have proliferated,” that results in flesh trade.

I think this is just dumb. While we try to prevent more victims ending up in white slavery, we seem to be promoting the idea that yes, you can still go to Japan and entertain. Such jobs of course normally require wearing costumes, if not skimpy skirts or very revealing leotards, and gyrating to the delight of “hardworking” Japanese customers – leaving nothing to the imagination of some sex-hungry paying patrons.

The report says that according to Ms. Baldoz, “The use of tourist visas, temporary visitor visas, and spouse or children of Japanese National visas have gone up...Under these visa categories, Filipino entertainers are able to work in Japan but without protection under Philippine or Japanese laws.”

Protected? I’m not sure about that.

Hopefully, the government of Japan, through two decades of PHL supplying entertainers to its citizens, has set in place ways and laws to really protect our kababayans. Or, have they?

We know why they go to Japan. Sadly, we still produce millions of college graduates who will not be hired

as they wished to be employed. The future is still not bright. Going to Japan as entertainers will never make it

brighter.(RFL)

Brotherly love under the dictatorship

“We are all full of weakness and errors; let us mutually pardon each other our follies — it is the first law of nature.” – Voltaire

(September 29, 2006) GOING through an actual political upheaval is a unique experience, though sometimes bloody. The difficulties of democracies going through transitions, especially from an autocratic or despotic rule on the way to a new democratic government, may sometimes take years. But I didn’t expect that such a phase would drag on for several years in the case of our Motherland,  the Philippines.

There is democracy in the Philippines alright since we have been electing presidents every six years (or supposedly after completing their term as president under the Constitution), but the political machineries set in place by two decades of Marcos rule are still being run, where grease money is used with hopes of an easy ride in running for public office.

The Philippines maybe is a basket case (full of bananas) in that the vestiges of dictatorship are all still too present, particularly among the past participants and their cohorts, some of whom remain moneyed and powerful.

These people are just waiting for the right opportunity or the right public officials to peddle their corrupt ways, which by the way, is still rampant in almost all graft-ridden agencies of the government – from the Palace to the legislative and judicial branches, all the way to the provincial, municipal and, believe it or not, barangay levels where the barangay captain and tanod positions are being held by a “chosen few” to capture the budget, while also exploiting what could be nationally-owned lands and resources to fatten their wallets in cahoots with local officials and contractors.

But what I didn’t know and just found out is that the 20 years of martial rule would also divide what was supposed to be my family outside of my blood family. I’m talking about my fraternity, which I joined during my high school days, when martial law was just four years old. Little did I know that as solid as I thought it was during those days, growing up under the dictatorship would bring about different political beliefs in many of us, thus, affecting some of our views later on in life.

Just like many other organizations, perhaps, some of our brothers may have had connections with the Marcoses and probably earned businesses through these, while some fought hard fighting it on the streets of Mendiola during the Second Quarter Storm. I, for one, had become an inactive member because we were busy trying to topple the dictatorship, together with anti-Marcos forces of newly-established organizations that replaced what used to be fledgling fraternities in schools. Being politically active in the 80s paved the way for my becoming a journalist and was kept busy by the numerous political events that prevented me from even saying hello to some of my fraternity brothers then.

While others sought protection elsewhere after the fall of the Marcoses, the “liberators,” hardened by the struggle with some now occupying government posts, continue to promote “democratic ideals” even in our organization that is now trying to regroup, thanks in part to an egroup which now allows anyone from any part of the globe to keep in touch with their members. Fraternities in the Philippines have since become unpopular and faced many roadblocks as far as mustering former members and in recruiting new ones inside universities because of frat wars that have occurred before. It has been made more difficult by hazing reports that sometimes resulted even in deaths of neophytes of some other fraternities.

With the advent of group emails (and now Facebook), however, we are now realizing how polarized some members have become, at least in our very own fraternity, whose members come from different regions and religions. Those who have settled abroad and are raising families who are now citizens of their adopted lands, also have differing views as far as where the country is headed. I guess remitting billions of dollars every year make some feel that they should have a voice on how the country should be governed – strengthened by a law that allows for dual citizenship and absentee voting.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “We may have come in different ships, but we are in the same boat now.”

A few of us, especially those now living in foreign countries, may not share other people’s beliefs. But that what makes an organization more dynamic, where diverse minds converge for a universal cause. “Toleration is the best religion,” Victor Hugo added, imploring us to always keep an open mind, telling us to live with others with different opinions. I, myself, was blinded by the early years of Marcos rule. I still clamor for social justice and total freedom from economic bondage our countrymen are still facing. I have chosen to depart the country, but our lofty goals of achieving a better nation will always remain in our hearts, either away from or while in the country. We are, by the way, still Filipinos, if not in our current ways, at least in the food we eat, our culture and language, in the way we treat our families, in paying respect for our elders, and most especially because we belong to the same fraternity.

To my fraternal brothers and sisters, Long live Gamma Epsilon and Gamma Lambda Epsilon Sorority!

Stop the war on all fronts

(Note: I wrote this in 2007 and it’s still relevant. Maybe, because there’s still conflict in Iraq (not to mention Afghanistan) and we’re still working on our own peaceful negotiations to end insurgencies in the Philippines)

(January 11, 2007) AFTER three weeks on the east coast, traveling from Maine, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York, I have learned so many things from this trip that I don’t even know where to begin. Meanwhile, as I struggle with this little dilemma of mine, there are also a lot of issues, both on the U.S. and Philippine fronts, that I think are very important to the Filipino-American community.

At any rate, what I have in mind is to discuss a little bit of this and that before they all become too stale that I might eve forget to talk about them. Our trip to the eastern seaboard to me was discovering America on my own terms. 

When I was young, I used to read about the several states, their industries, their economies and their way of life. But it’s still different to experience the place, the people and to interact with them firsthand in the communities where they live. Except for Maine, all the states we went to are among the original 13 colonies that give you a glimpse of the values and attitude of the people of Europe where they once came from, especially in small towns where homes are historical landmarks or home of authors, some dating back to circa 1600s. 

In Millis, Massachussets where we mostly stayed, wireless internet service was almost non-existent except in a few libraries and at Starbucks. You have to be hooked literally to access the internet.

Thirteen weeks in a place other than California gave me a lot of material to write about, maybe even a book.  But I don’t want to bore you, so I’ll stick to the news that I think will affect most of us Californians. 

On the local front, many immigrants may find it reassuring somewhat that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada has filed S. 9, Comprehensive Immigration Reform, as soon as they were back in Capitol. Though details of this bill have yet to be published, even from the senator’s website, this is what he had to say when he introduced the bill: “America needs comprehensive immigration reform.” He said that although he is strongly opposed to illegal immigration, it is “a national security issue of critical importance” and, “We need to know who is in our country and who is crossing our borders.” He added, that “every worker must have legal authorization to work. Reform will allow us to focus our resources on criminals, terrorists, and those who wish to do us harm.”

But what is important is what we have been advocating in that the bill will allow undocumented immigrants currently in this country a pathway to citizenship. Reid said that as long as undocumented immigrants worked hard for several years, learned English, paid their taxes, passed a criminal background check, and paid fines and penalties for being here unlawfully, they can become U.S. citizens. That is of course if the bill is approved, which is expected to face some rough sailings.

And while I was in Boston, there was a story in the Boston Globe about Washington’s idea of recruiting foreigners to serve in the U.S. military and earning U.S.  citizenship – after they have served in Iraq or any other war of course, just like when the U.S. bases where still in the Philippines where recruits of later years were allowed to become citizens after their military service.  The Pentagon said this plan might shore up the number of U.S. soldiers to meet their recruiting goals. 

There is even a proposal from some security analysts of recruiting even illegals to serve in the military and become citizens in the process. And just like what some critics have said, the U.S. would rather have foreigners fight their own war rather than have Americans getting killed. Knowing many of our kababayans who want to leave town and become U.S. citizens someday, I’m looking at a very long line at the U.S. Embassy if this plan is implemented and Filipinos considered for the draft.

Well, we have heard or read President Bush’s address asking for a surge of troops in Iraq. My simple response is, stop the war, bring the troops home. The conflict in Iraq is no longer a terror war which was what the U.S.  soldiers were supposed to be fighting for. At first, I didn’t like the idea of leaving the Iraqis in their present state because of what we did to them, but they have to realize that they have to stop killing each other. I am going to repeat what has been said that getting rid of Saddam Hussein is not the same as the opportunity of seeking revenge. 

The next few days will be interesting to know if the surge in troops will be funded, and if there would be a withdrawal of troops instead. The president’s speech may indeed be the defining moment of his term.  Speaking of war, the Philippine military meanwhile announced that they will defeat the communist insurgents by 2010. A strategic victory, they said, which also falls on the year when President Arroyo leaves office.  

The New People’s Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, was established in March, 1969, one of the longest, if not the longest-running insurgencies, in the world. The mountains and the geographic make up of the country have helped the NPAs exist this long and because it is difficult to identify the guerrillas who are farmers by day and fighters by night.  Just like in Iraq, I now want the conflict in the Philippines, be it communist or Muslim insurgency, done with. 

The people are tired of war. Though much of the problems that have caused the insurgencies are there – poverty, human rights abuses, cheap labor and other forms of social injustice – it is time that we address the problem the right and humane way. 

Four decades of domestic war is too long. The notion that the NPAs will not stop their protracted war until they have seized power is no longer relevant. If people have jobs, able to feed their families, have homes to live in, a future to look forward to, the insurgency will die a natural death. And let this be a warning: Their will always be an armed struggle if there remains an oppression of economic rights to where the insurgency is mostly rooted from. 

The NPAs have been waging war for so long they will not even entertain peace negotiations if the government demands that they lay down their arms. And if I may add, China and Vietnam, both of which rose after years of communist revolution, are now the fastest growing countries in East Asia.(RFL)

Marooned in paradise that is Hawaii

(August 24, 2006) HONOLULU – For someone who hasn’t been back to the Philippines for a long time, almost 12 years now, Hawaii is almost like home because of the weather (hot and humid though not sticky unlike in Metropolitan Manila), and the water around it.

For a first time visitor like me here in the island of Oahu, Hawaii is truly a paradise, where all you have to think of is having a good time. But be warned, as we’ve always been told, and which I will repeat, Hawaii is very expensive. Not that I’m saying that only those who can afford can come here, as I urge everyone to visit these magnificent islands, the advice is you have to be creative, and at the same time accept your fate sometimes because you will have no other choice but shell out the dough when you are here.  (Warning: Don’t let your kids rule your entire vacation, they want to savor all what Hawaii could offer.  Don’t let them read too many brochures.) 

It’s Wednesday when I was writing this, or a week since our first arrival. We hit the beach the first day we came, and the next, and then went to the International Market, where we bought stuff you could afford and be entertained too by what they sell and by the dancers and the trio of musicians. Here at the market, I bought myself a ukulele. I wanted to buy the one made of koa – a precious type of wood which is highly rated for acoustic guitars, but I had to settle for rosewood, which is mellower than mahogany in terms of sound, and since the finish on the rosewood is better if you also have learning kids.

For provisions, ABC Stores are all around you.  There are 7-11s, but ABC is at every corner, every street here in Waikiki. It also here where I met several Filipinos manning the registers, just like in the hotels where they are employed. There are about 170,000 of our kababayans here, according to local newspapers here in the Aloha State, which was once governed by Ben Cayetano, a Filipino.

For those who have yet to visit Oahu, Waikiki could be compared to Roxas Blvd., sans the bikinis, surf boards, the foul smell of the polluted Manila Bay (that is what I used to remember and hoping it has changed) and the homeless. The sidewalks of Waikiki along Kalakaua and adjacent streets are littered with people the whole day and until late night, with street entertainers and the tourists, who may only be wearing bathing suits by day and or shorts and t-shirts by night. 

Both Costcos east and west of Waikiki are the usual, except for inflated prices, which is normal in the islands, where produce and other goods need to be shipped, and because the lifestyle calls for it.  While the housing market in the mainland may be headed for a not so soft crash landing, a 15% spike in housing prices was reported here in Hawaii just a couple of days ago. Such is life in Hawaii, where mainlanders would rather go to have a taste of tropical paradise, while still enjoying top level of safety and security since you are still in the United States.

Investing in Hawaii thus makes sense if you’d like to buy properties here, just like what my brother did, where the soil is red (described by Dole as decomposed volcanic soil), which is very fertile, with constant weather and with minimal or sometimes nonexistent hurricanes. It has a history of tsunamis, of course, but it is very well prepared for it, just in case.   

The freeway (H1) going to Hanauma Bay, east of Waikiki, is spectacular, more so past the national preserve, which I will present in my photos later. The waters are crystal clear, the surroundings pristine and very clean, unlike when I used to sail our fishing boat off the coast of Manila, where our FUSO 4DR5 diesel engine (used by minibuses) could only muster a few prawns and squids as there were more plastic bags floating (that reportedly suffocate dolphins) and other debris from Pasig River and other tributaries that feed the bay with human and industrial wastes. 

I really envy places such as this where even millions of people who swim in its oceans, eat by the shore, lay barely clothed by the beach couldn’t spoil its beauty and even preserve them for the generations to enjoy. I just wish that the next generation would be able to see a cleaner Manila Bay, where the suns sets in a much more spectacular setting than here in Waikiki. 

What makes you feel good though is the thought that we also have world class beaches in Boracay, Cebu, Palawan and Mindoro. I guess you just have to make travel plans away from Manila if you’re looking for some tan and naked torsos too. (As I’ve mentioned in my last week’s column, security at the Ontario International Airport was tight, but not stressful as I guess it would’ve been if we flew via LAX. Please take out all your belongings if you have carry-on bags for a quicker way of going through X-ray screening. We did not experience any delays, nor hassles. My suggestion, follow the advise and use regional or alternative airports other than LAX. Mahalo.(RFL)

Aid vs. sovereignty

(January 4, 2007) IN MY last column, I said the U.S. showed us who’s the boss and recent developments tell us how this is done and why we had to follow.  Washington said they didn’t force the Arroyo administration although President Gloria Arroyo said she was “pressured” to hand over Lance Cpl.  Daniel Smith to U.S. custody pending appeal of his rape case.

I also said in my last piece that the country was about to lose part of the $114 million military package, aside from the cancellation of the US-RP joint military exercises, if Smith was not handed over. That is a lot of money, but beside that, the Arroyo administration could not afford a strain in the US-RP relations. It is not going to be her who will make this happen at a time when there are Muslim terrorists in southern Philippines, although I believe that this is more of an economic problem and can be resolved domestically without outside help, and when U.S. budgetary resources, including financial aid, are stretched to the maximum because of the war in the Gulf region.

It is unfortunate that some of our kababayans would agree to the manner in which the Arroyo administration bowed down to the demand of the United States. But I am most appalled at the way the president used that it was in the “best interest of the Filipino people.” Wait, wasn’t it that an American military personnel was found guilty of raping a Filipino woman? I cannot emphasize anymore that not only is Arroyo a woman president, the Filipino nation must learn how to stand up on its own two feet. So what if we lost U.S. aid? So what if the military exercises were cancelled?  

I’ve always been a proponent of the Confucius philosophy of teaching someone to fish instead of giving him the fish. The Philippines, being an agricultural country, awash with natural resources and with a very fertile soil, must be able to feed itself. The waters around us is filled with all the marine life that can feed the entire 80 million Filipinos, which brings to mind the irony of holding military exercises when we cannot even go after illegal poachers that are stealing our fishes and other marine life.

All the financial aids we have received must have been enough to run the engines of the economy. If Malaysia, Indonesia and now even the communist Vietnam, are marching towards progress twice or even thrice the rate of that of the Philippines, then we shouldn’t be dragging our feet and just watch them leave us behind. Instead of building a strong military, we should be acquiring technology and equipment to improve our manufacturing sector. 

We should be building fishing boats with the latest in catching gear, a more advanced canning industry and establishment of fish markets that can compete with Japan’s, where tunas are sold in thousands of dollars, where every ounce of fish meat is sought by the highest of bidders. We can do the same in the Philippines, given the same type of technology in refrigeration, fish wharfs and ports.  Heck, bangus is even better if it comes from Taiwan, where they are better cultured and raised in controlled environments. Mas malalaki daw at mas mataba. 

Actually, the real reason is that Taiwan did the marketing. We failed to use our friendly alliance with the Americans to harness our milkfish industry so that we could’ve captured the bangus-loving folks all over the world, including even the Chinese. Doesn’t that even bother you?

It is high time we stop begging for aid, especially when such assistance has conditions attached to it that we sometimes forget that we are a sovereign nation. We have been subservient to many occupiers, who have denied us our right to exist peacefully and freely. We should exploit our very own resources, but we should not rape our ourselves.(RFL)