Filipinas For Sale

I borrowed the title of the forum I, and thirteen of my colleagues, attended on 15 October 2008, at the Seminar Hall right in the centre of Quezon Memorial Circle. The place is a stone's throw away from the office.

So what was the forum all about? It's about the sad plight of women recruited as overseas workers, when in fact they do not go abroad for employment but for prostitution. Sponsored by women's rights advocate, Gabriela, the forum actually had for its speakers two Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who have experienced this different, but sick, kind of recruitment. It was timely, really, my attendance at the said forum as the day before, a client came and narrated exactly the same circumstances of recruitment and what actually happens once the recruit goes abroad. Under the pretext of being hired as an entertainer, these Filipinas are actually being pimped, in the truest sense of the word. What's sadder is the fact that the recruiting is done by fellow Filipinas. But the saddest, I think, is the fact that the recruiters ask the recruits to shell out big sums of money to allegedly facilitate their employment. With promises of a greener pastures and the chance to alleviate their families from poverty, these poor recruits go to great lengths to come up with the desired sum, even agreeing to loans with outrageously usurious interests.

Once they reach their destination, the girls are housed in an apartment which turns out to be a brothel. And there, they are up for grabs; mind you, no protection, sexually or otherwise.

During the entire forum, I did the easiest thing that could be done: listen and sympathize. I haven't yet picked a placard and lobbied at every government agency. I haven't yet sent the pledge card of the Purple Rose Campaign. It's probably next to impossible that I join Gabriela. But I am aware of sex trafficking; and I try to do whatever I can to help, albeit within the confines of my own world. I sincerely hope that by blogging this, more people are made aware of this biting reality, and do what I couldn't - take an active part in helping trafficked women and children.

Please visit the Gabriela site and help in whatever activities they come up with for the protection of women and children.

P.S. For more pictures on the forum, click here.

Reaching Out, and Giving Back

In school, I was taught to give back to the less fortunate whatever I could to help alleviate their poverty. To make the 'giving back' more fun, the administrators opted for a Fund Drive - the section which could provide the highest number of goodies will receive a prize. It's not really the prize that drove my schoolmates to rummage for their old, but usable, clothes, nor ransack their magazine rack for old newspapers, nor even to plead to their parents to donate a sack of rice (which, by the way, could give the section more points), but the fact that that particular section will be recognized as the most generous. So, I was oriented with an outreach that merely required the giving of whatever stuff the less fortunate might need. The more stuff, the merrier they'll be.

Come 5 October 2008, a friend of my cousin (whom I consider a good friend too) invited me to a whole different outreach: it involves kids, and it involves me. The outreach I attended was sponsored by CCF (I apologize a hundred times for not knowing what this acronym stands for), a Bible-sharing group. The kids were those less fortunate kids from their barangay (a small community of people), but other members of the CCF likewise brought with them their younger siblings. So it was heart-warming to see these kids from both ends of the wealth spectrum being brought together to enjoy something which transcends social status - the Zoo, and Jollibee, the famous local fastfood chain.

My kid's name was John Paul, and he got so much energy, I had a hard time keeping up with him. But it was all fun, and I enjoyed playing nanny for the day; although by the end of the morning, I was on the verge of giving up, not because I didn't like what I was doing but because it was pretty tiring what I did.

Everybody was asked to assemble at the Multi-Purpose Hall of the barangay, then a bus took us to Manila Zoo. I vaguely remember having visited this zoo when I was a kid, but I explored the zoo like it was my first time. I didn't get to explore much though, what with a hyperactive kid in tow. I plan to go back, if only to explore the place at my leisure. About a few minutes before lunch, we were whisked off to Jollibee, CCP Branch. It was a delightful lunch, being tired and hungry. After we were fed and watered, the kids had lots of fun with the parlor games, and the appearance of Jollibee himself. I have to admit I was kinda delighted with his honor's presence (hahaha!).

The outreach was fun, and fulfilling. It wasn't only giving back; it was truly reaching out, as well. I can't wait for the follow-up come December.

P.S. More pictures are posted here.

Power Lunch II

As my cousin, friends and I are planning to put up a business, power lunches are to be expected. This time, we had it at Cucina Victoria at Power Plant Mall, Makati. Known for their pastas, we, naturally, ordered a variety of pasta for lunch: pesto (my favourite), lasagna, and pomodoro. Everything was simply delicious, even the pomodoro, and that's saying a whole lot as I'm not that into the basic tomato sauce for my spaghetti. And the lasagna was the creamiest I ever came across. You have to be wary about your budget though, because it is a bit costly. The dishes are good to share when you're a couple; but as there were four of us, we had to order more.

I haven't been to Power Plant Mall in decades. Coincidentally, a Baker's Fair was being held when we went there; as expected, my cousin and friends tried to sample every baked goodies they could sample. They ended up buying a box of brazo de mercedes (creme-filled log cake) from Vargas' Kitchen. The cake was a delight to our palates, except for my one friend who's not a fan.

Then it was off to her place, where we planned menus and stuff. I didn't realize deciding on menus could be so tiring. By the end of the afternoon, my head was aching. Last week, I had to cram numerous pleadings; hence, I was looking forward to a restful weekend. Apparently, this weekend was tiring as well.

P.S. For more Power Plant Mall pictures, click here.

My West Side Story

I'm no stranger to West Side Story, having watched it countless times on film and stage. My first taste of this wonderful musical was when I was in high school, with my schoolmates as casts. I fell in love with it since. So when my cousin informed me that a friend of hers got me a ticket to STAGES' West Side Story (yesterday's show), I was thrilled. It's no Broadway, but I know I'll be getting performances equal to it.

The musical is to be shown at the Meralco Theatre, running from September to October of this year. Tony, the main man, is played by Filipino balladeer Christian Bautista, while Maria, the lead actress, is played alternately by local singer-actress Karylle, and London West End's Joanna Ampil (a Filipina who has starred in musicals in London). The theatre-going public won't know who plays Maria until the start of the show. Mine had Karylle on it.

The STAGES production of this awesome musical was breath-taking. They really placed a lot of effort into the set, everything was just spectacular. The play does not require a big stage; the charm of it is its being performed beautifully in a compact setting, and this the production was able to magnificently do. They utilized each prop to its fullest extent. Music was superb; lighting was phenomenal; even the costumes were patterned as closely as possible to the movie.

And now, the casts. There was amazing dancing like never before seen on stage, and impressive performances from all concerned. I'm not that blown away by the singing of Karylle and Christian Bautista, though. The songs may be challenging for them, with high notes and all, but well, they were tapped to perform this musical, weren't they? I mean, they should have known the vocal prowess and range that the songs entailed. At any rate, it was a wondrous experience for me.

P.S. The picture is courtesy of Clickthecity.

Power Lunch

Unknown to me, a friend and my cousin planned Sunday's lunch with an agendum in mind: putting up our business. I will not talk about our business plans on this blog, not yet, anyway. When our plans have been realized, then that will be the only time I will write about it...everything about it. What I'll ramble about though is the lunch.

Lunch was at Som's, a small cafeteria-like establishment, located in Makati. I'm not really sure of the location of the other branches, but since my friend lives at Gloria Street, somewhere near Rockwell, we went to the one located quite near her place, a walking distance, in fact. Surprisingly, the place is famous for its authentic Thai cuisine, but it is far from those high-end restaurants one sees at the heart of the Business District. For one, as mentioned earlier, it looks like a cafeteria. Second, it's quite small, although they've set up tables and tents outside for that refreshing outdoor dining. Third, it's cheap. Seriously. For exquisite Thai dishes, and hefty servings, the price is waaay satisfactory.

We had Tom Yam, said to be the most famous soup dish;

Pad Thai, a dish of stir-fried rice noodles, garnished with various other goodies ;

Red Chicken Curry, and rice topped with beef. For drinks, both had Thai tea, and I had the usual, water.

Everything was delightfully delicious. I'm not a fan of Thai dishes, as I know them to be heavy on the chili, but the ones at Som's are alright, spicy-wise. I really enjoyed the Red Chicken Curry, and the Pad Thai. I loved the creamy sauce of the Curry dish, and I liked the way the sweet-sour blend of the Pad Thai tickled my palate. I'm not quite sure about the Tom Yam, but then one has to consider that I'm not that into soup recipes anyway. Although I've got to say that it's my cousin's favourite and that's saying a lot about the dish, as my cousin usually is hard to please when it comes to food.

Som's is definitely a place worth visiting again and again, and again.

P.S. The pictures are courtesy of Wikipedia, as I forgot my camera so could have done the pictures myself.