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For the past 20 years, The Filipino Express has provided the Filipino American community the best news, arts and entertainment coverage from around the United States and the Philippines.
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PHNOM PENH – Celebrating a birthday away from home and loved ones could be disheartening and emotional. This happened to my buddy, Patrick, a Scottish fellow who is temporarily posted here like myself.
Patrick was quite unhappy on his 41st birthday on August 4. Although he has been in extended field assignments in Africa, Afghanistan and Kosovo, he felt particularly forlorn on his special day.
Nobody from among his close friends here knew it was his big day until Jason, a young chap from Canada, overheard him talking to his three-year old daughter, Mackenzie, over his cellular phone, while on our way to work that morning. Mackenzie had called him.
After his conversation ended, Jason said Pat was teary eyed as he turned his face away from him and Pat looked through the window of the bus. It was as if he was remembering his wife and precious daughter back in New Zealand, his adopted homeland. Despite receiving a call from his loved ones, he wasn’t in his usual jolly mood, which was manifested throughout the day.
Some of us may have been in the same situation as Pat was. Or perhaps some are undergoing what I call an emotional coop-up feeling in our lives. I myself am on the threshold of it but with a strong will to overcome such signs of anxiety, I am motivated to keep still and get moving on what I am supposed to do here.
I am reminded of a book I just finished reading about Marcus Aurelius, a Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 AD. He once said: “Very little is needed to make a happy life. It is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.” Note that in this quotation, some key points are emphasized: happiness, attitude, inner peace, positive thinking, focus and choice.
In this life, we ought to discover what our purpose is. If we find it, we are challenged to make a choice: do we pursue our purpose or ignore it? Many times, some people are lost, not knowing which direction to take. This affects their attitude towards life; they find themselves empty with no inner peace. They resort to negative thinking and end up angry and bitter with everything and anything but themselves.
Considered one of the great philosophers of his time, Marcus Aurelius, also said: “The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable virtue.” Here, he talks about the same theme of happiness, thoughts, emotions and feelings.
If Pat had a notion of what his real purpose was in this life, he would have not felt lonely, depressed and even lovelorn. While having a great family cannot replace anything else, there are moments in life that true friends are more than like brothers or sisters that we could learn from and lean on.
I think a proverb confirms this to be true, which says: “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity,” and another adage that says: “Do not forsake your friend and the friend of your father, and do not go to your brother’s house when disaster strikes you – better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.”
Our current assignment is one of those moments.
I think about the soldiers in Iraq who have been assigned there unbeknownst of what their fate would be. They are conditioned to remind themselves of one word, which is, obey. And yet despite their being away from friends and family, and deployed in perhaps the most hazardous, life threatening mission today, some remain good-natured. They have friends and support groups that keep their spirits up and about.
It is the power of positive mental attitude that makes most people achieve their goals in life. And again, I think Marcus Aurelius is also correct with what he said: “Execute every act of thy life as though it were thy last.”
If anyone began today and everyday with the strength of a purpose-driven life, wouldn’t they have a better vision of what life brings? Unfortunately, some people, perhaps unconsciously, sulk in misery. Like being stuck in mire, they are unable to free themselves from it. And when that happens, another adage says: “Misery loves company.” You know what people end up doing.
It hurts to be away from home and loved ones. It could also drain our emotions. But with prayers, a purpose-driven life, a healthy mind and body, a fellowship with friends; and good, inspiring books to read, who can feel unhappy?
There is some sense of truth to what Marcus Aurelius said: “If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself but to your own estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.”
There are inspiring words to live by even if one is away from home and loved ones. One’s happiness does end with what we have temporarily left behind; it begins within us, on what we consider a full life to be no matter how brief it is.
There is an eternal life we should be more concerned about.
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Absentee Voting Decision Empty Victory?
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CHICAGO, Illinois (JGL) -- The Philippine Supreme Court recently teased the Overseas Filipinos (OF’s) when it issued a per curiam (unanimous) decision, allowing Filipino dual citizens to vote in absentia in the Philippine national elections.
At first blush, the victory chalked up by Atty. Loida Nicolas-Lewis and ten other Filipino American dual citizens or “duals” was reason enough to pop away the champaign bottles.
But at close scrutiny, any celebration will be premature.
For instance, how can the duals vote in subsequent elections if the power-hungry President Arroyo’s Cha-Cha train prevails over the presidential system?
According to the High Court decision, overseas Filipinos can now vote for president, vice president, senator or party-list candidates.
But if Cha-Cha succeeds, the SC decision would become an empty victory since the proposed charter change will only be electing “Members of Parliament” as national officials, not president, vice president, senator nor party-list candidates.
OF’s Vs. Cha-Cha
The decision suddenly becomes an open invitation for the OF’s to oppose Cha-Cha if they want to preserve their right to vote.
On the other hand, if the Filipino people can derail the Cha-Cha train, here’s another challenge for them to surmount: the Philippine Commission on Elections had set the deadline for duals to register by the end of this month if they want to vote in the 2007 senatorial elections.
How can the majority of OF’s register at their corresponding consulates and embassies in so short a notice? Majority of them don’t know that the deadline for registration is by August 30 this year.
This concern was aired by Attorney Lewis when her friend, Marlon Pecson, congratulated her for pulling a resounding victory on absentee voting from the Supreme Court on behalf of the OF’s.
And the upcoming deadline for registering is just one of the battles waiting to be won for the OF’s.
Allow Registration & Voting By Mail?
Also, will the Philippine Congress, for instance, now amend the Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003 (Republic Act No. 9189) to allow registration and voting by mail?
If we keep the status quo, it is very likely that only a very small percentage of OF’s will be able to exercise their right of suffrage. Why? If OF’s live in places very far from their nearest Embassy or Consulate, it is sure bet that they will not be spending a fortune to buy plane ticket or take long drives just to register and vote and undertake those two trips.
I’m sure, OF’s will not be voting in droves even if the Citizenship Retention and Re-Acquisition Act of 2003 (RA 9225) has declared that “unmarried child, whether legitimate, illegitimate or adopted, below eighteen (18) years of age, of those who re-acquire Philippine citizenship upon affectivity of this Act shall be deemed citizens of the Philippines.”
RA 9225 also allows absentee voters to run for such positions as president, vice president, senators and party-list representatives. Those candidates for or are occupying any public office and those in the active service as commissioned or non-commissioned officers in the armed forces of the country, which they are naturalized citizens, are not eligible to run for national offices in the Philippine elections.
And last but not the least, will Congress now amend the law that in case Cha-Cha will prevail, OF’s can still vote for Members of Parliament or any national elective positions, for that matter? If this becomes a law, then, and only then, can OF’s really pop their champaign bottles and light up their cigars! (lariosa_jso@sbcglobal.net)
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( From Thailand, a friend sent me a piece called “Five Great Lessons”. The article resonated. Unfortunately, the author’s name was not attached. In any case, here are five lessons you’ll find useful beyond the classroom -- Juan L. Mercado.)
No. 1 -- The Most Important Lesson
During my sophomore year, the professor gave a pop quiz. A conscientious student, I breezed through the questions -- until I read the last one: “What is the first name of the janitor who cleans the school?”
Is this a joke? I had seen him several times. He was tall, skinny and in his 50s. But his name? I handed in my paper, leaving the question blank. And as class ended, one student asked : would the last question affect tour quiz grade?.
“Absolutely,” said the professor. “In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say ‘hello.’”
I’ve never forgotten that lesson. I also learned his name was Manuel.
No. 2 -- Pickup In The Rain
One night, at 11:30 PM, an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway, lashed by a rain storm. Her car had broken down. Soaking wet, flagged down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, unheard of in those race conflict-filled 1960s.
The man took her to the next town and put her into a taxicab. She seemed in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. A week later, there was a knock on the man’s door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was with a note was attached. It read: “Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband’s bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others.” Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.
No. 3 Always Remember Those Who Serve
The waitress put a glass of water in front of 10 year old boy who sat down at the entered a hotel coffee shop table. “How much is an ice cream sundae?” he asked .. “Fifty cents,” replied the waitress.
The little boy studied the coins in his hand. “ How much is plain ice cream?” he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table. And the increasingly impatient waitress snapped:. “Thirty-five cents”
Again, little boy again counted his coins. Plain ice cream please,” he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, with the bill and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table.
There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies. You see, he couldn’t have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.
No. 4 -- The Obstacle In Our Path
In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the kingdom’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by, and simply walked around it. Others loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear. But none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.
Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon seeing the boulder, the peasant laid down his crates and tried to shove the stone to the roadside. . After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.
As he bent to pick up his load of vegetables again, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. It was filled to bursting with gold coins --- plus a . a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.
That peasant learned what many of us never understand : Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.
No. 5 -- Giving When It Counts
Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I met a little girl named Liz. She had a rare and serious disease.And her only chance of recovery was a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother. Miraculously, the brother survived the same disease and had developed the needed antibodies.
The doctor explained the situation to her brother, and asked the little boy : would he give his blood to his sister? I saw him hesitate for a moment. Then, taking a deep breat, he said : “Yes, it will save her.”
As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister . He smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and, with a trembling voice, asked : “Will I start to die right away?”
Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor. He thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her. You see, after all, understanding and attitude, are everything.
“Work like you don’t need the money, love like you’ve never been hurt, Give as much as you can, and dance like you do when nobody’s watching.”
Have a great weekend.
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NOT even a month has passed when Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was boasting that money was no worry for the massive infrastructures she was reciting she was going to build all over the country to produce a bustling economy.
Then disasters struck one after the other. The Israeli-Lebanese war. The Mayon volcano eruption. The massive floods that two or three successive typhoons produced, which had hardly received the attention they deserved.
The series of misfortunes (divine reminders?) showed up the conditions of unpreparedness of the government to respond. It would have been somehow forgivable if the lack of resources to respond happened in the natural course of economic events which the government could not control. But no. A Senate invesigation appears to show that the money that could have been used to evacuate the overseas contract workers in Lebanon was allegedly diverted and illegally spent to carry out massive electoral cheating in 2004. Just allegedly like what happened with the 628 million peso scam of the fertilizer fund.
As of the present time, about 30,000 more OFWs are still stranded in Lebanon. And Israel is readying a massive ground invasion to drive out the Hezbolla guerrillas from that country. The possible casualty among the Filipino workers when that happens is hard to predict. The two Philippine Navy light vessels which will travel 15 days to carry an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 evacuees out of the war zone are the most we could muster as of now.
Meanwhile everybody is left guessing what happened to the 7-billion peso fund Filippino foreign workers were forking from their pockets as they pass the long processing lines of OWWA on their way to their jobs abroad. They were trust funds to be used only for their sole benefit --for the workers themselves. Already admissions have started getting out from some government auditors that the funds were illegally used.
The Senate has started inviting concerned government officials to answer their quesions about the OWWA fund. Malacanang replied they will heed the summons when they are good and ready. The stench from the rotting carcass of corruption gets stronger and stronger. Wait until the Filipino worker casualties start rising.
As we file this column, word gets out that for the Mayon eruption victims, only about 2 million pesos of the calamity fund is available.
Meantime, the Filipinos just gritted their teeth to suffer another economic crunch, the latest price increase in gasoline and petroleum products. We are tired of hearing that this is not the fault of GMA. But the runaway corruption has devastated the economy and has produced millions of poor people who cannot find work. It is this mother of all disasters that we are afraid will bring the country down. After their daily diet of “dimples” -- poor man’s noodles -- there’s nothing else to look forward to. Even the heavens will pour down.
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PERSONS CONVICTED OF CERTAIN SEX CRIMES MAY NOT PETITION FAMILY MEMBERS
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IF you’re engaged or even married to a U.S. Citizen or a lawful permanent resident who was convicted of certain sex crimes against children, he may not be able to petition you or any other family member, under the recently enacted Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (“Adam Walsh Act”).
That law, signed by President Bush on July 27, 2006, is designed to protect minors (under 18 years of age) from sexual exploitation and violent crime, child abuse, and child pornography, promote Internet safety, and to honor the memory of Adam Walsh (a 6 year old boy from Florida, who was kidnapped and killed), as well as other children who were crime victims.
Under the Adam Walsh Act, U.S Citizens and lawful permanent residents (green card holders) who have been convicted of any “specified offense against a minor” are prohibited from filing any family-based immigrant petition on behalf of any beneficiary, unless the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) determines (in DHS’s sole and un-reviewable discretion) that the petitioner poses no risk to the beneficiary. In other words, the petitioner would need to obtain some sort of “waiver” in order to petition family members.
The Adam Walsh Act also prohibits U.S. Citizens convicted of these crimes from petitioning spouses or fiancés for a “K” non-immigrant visa (i.e.: may not file a fiancée visa).
The term “specified offense against a minor” means an offense against a minor that involves any of the following:
(A) Kidnapping
(B) False imprisonment
(C) Solicitation to engage in sexual conduct
(D) Using a minor in a sexual performance
(E) Solicitation to practice prostitution
(F) Video voyeurism (watching the child on a web-cam)
(G) Possession, production, or distribution of child pornography
(H) Criminal sexual conduct involving a minor, or the use of the internet to facilitate such conduct
(I) Any conduct that is by its nature a sex offense against a minor
The Adam Walsh Act applies to all petitions that are pending on or after the date of enactment. (July 27, 2006)
In a related matter, the President also signed into law the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Re-Authorization Act of 2005 (VAWA 2005). Included within VAWA 2005 is the International Marriage Broker Regulation (IMBRA), which provides that a U.S. Citizen who files a fiancée visa (K-1) or alien spouse (K-3) petition, must submit, along with his or her petition, information on any criminal convictions for any of the following crimes:
A) Domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse and neglect, dating violence, elder abuse, and stalking.
(B) Homicide, murder, manslaughter, rape, abusive sexual contact, sexual exploitation, incest, torture, trafficking, peonage (slavery), holding hostage, involuntary servitude, slave trade, kidnapping, abduction, unlawful criminal restraint, false imprisonment, or an attempt to commit any of the these crimes.
(C) Crimes relating to a controlled substance or alcohol where the petitioner has been convicted on at least three occasions and where such crimes did not arise from a single act.
Under IMBRA, if the petitioner was convicted of any of these crimes, he will need to submit certified copies of all court and police records showing the charges and the disposition for every conviction. The Embassy will also disclose this information to the beneficiary during the consular interview.
IMBRA also limits the number of fiancée petitions a citizen can file or have approved. If the petitioner has filed two or more K-1 fiancée petitions at any time in the past, or previously had a K-1 visa petition approved within two years before filing the current petition, the petitioner must request a “waiver” of the limitation on the number of fiancée petitions.
IMBRA differs from the Adam Walsh Act in that the Adam Walsh Act primarily dealt with convictions for certain specified crimes against children. IMBRA deals with specified convictions against any person, which demonstrate that the petitioner may have a history of violence or drug or alcohol abuse. The U.S. Government wants to make sure that a citizen with a violent criminal past does not petition and does bring over a fiancée and then batters or beats her.
In the past, it had always been important to evaluate the beneficiary’s background (or criminal conduct). These new laws now require same sort of evaluation of the petitioner’s background.
That is why it is important that you seek the advice of a reputable attorney in connection with family petitions, because there are now so many issues and requirements that could affect the success of your case.
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