As I write this, two victims of human trafficking are about to graduate from their one-month on-the-job training at Fernandina 888 Hotel in Cubao, Quezon City. I am proud of these two women. They have been through a lot. One of them was physically abused while in Malaysia. The other one was falsely accused by her employer which led to her arrest and incarceration. Both women are now reunited with their families and enrolled in our training program specifically tailored for victims of trafficking and illegal recruitment.

In a few weeks, the Blas F. Ople Policy Center headed by yours truly, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority led by Director-General Joel Villanueva, formerly CIBAC party-list representative, will start a pilot project that would offer distressed OFWs and their families a menu of second chances.

In partnership with the Asian School of Hospitality Arts, a sister company of the Center for Culinary Arts and the Cravings chain of restaurants, our wards at the Ople Center would now be able to enroll as scholars in short courses such as baristas, executive housekeeping, hotel bookkeeping, kitchen work, professional culinary arts, and front desk managers.

In partnership with e-Scribr Inc, a Makati-based business process outsourcing company engaged in medical and other transcription services, OFW dependents would soon be accepted as our scholars for call center-related services.

And still in partnership with Hotel Fernandina 888, we would be able to provide on-the-job training on housekeeping hotel work.

The Blas F. Ople Center continues to keep an eye out for prospective businesses that could offer on-the-job training for skilled OFWs who have since returned to our country but have not been successful on the job front. By re-tooling their skills and restoring their confidence, we hope to be able to provide them with second chances at a new career, and in remaking themselves from victims to success stories, from retirees to productive individuals, and from the hopelessly desperate to the hopefully determined.

I have seen how gaining new skills as basic as turning on the computer and learning how to use Microsoft Word had opened new doors to over 20,000 graduates under the Microsoft-OWWA-Ople Center’s Tulay computer literacy program. Administering this program is like giving eyeglasses to a person with a blurred vision, and did not even know it.

This is why I am just as excited over these upcoming partnerships for skills and development training for our modern-day heroes including those who were not too successful in their desire to work abroad. Imagine a former household service worker learning how to become a professional cook! Or for an out-of-school child of an OFW who never made it past college, learn how to whip up a delicious cappuccino for yuppie customers. Or that of a retired OFW, highly-skilled and educated, who can now accept transcription jobs while working from home.  Indeed, given the right skills training, the possibilities for second chances are endless.

For those interested to learn more about our new scholarship programs for OFWs and their dependents, please visit my blog at www.susanople.com or call up the Blas F. Ople Center at 833-5337. Please note that we would be prioritizing the trafficked victims under our care as our initial batch of scholars. We will also have a selection committee to process the applications of succeeding batches. Second chances don’t come easy. A prospective scholar would also need to demonstrate to us his or her willingness to learn, and desire to rise above present circumstances. Let me thank Edwin Fallorina of e-scribir and my good friend, Ricky Rivera of the Asian School of Hospitality Arts and of course, Director-General Joel Villanueva of TESDA for working with the Ople Center on this worthy project. Special mention also goes to Jojo Alvarado, owner of Hotel Fernandina 888 for helping our two wards complete their one-month course.

In life, it is important to keep on going no matter how great the temptation to quit. I have had my own share of difficulties, but the load is always lighter when shared with the Almighty. And so here’s a heads up to all those who feel that life is no longer worth living, that the end of the road is here, and that the white flag of surrender  must now be hoisted – living your life no matter what is your best guarantee that the best is yet to come. Don’t be afraid to take detours. Don’t close your mind to new possibilities. You and you alone, define your life.

Know that with God, nothing is impossible. Believe in that. Whatever your status in life, and no matter how you got there, remember that there is always room for second chances.

Personal Note: This writer will give a lecture on effective communications together with Manila Standard columnist Jojo Robles and DZBB anchor  Jimmy Gil. The seminar, entitled, “Media Relations 101”, will be held on October 21 at the Astoria Hotel. For more information, please text Estelle of Biz Whiz consultancy via 09178594891 or call landline numbers 5450934/9759559.

(Send your comments to toots.ople@yahoo.com. Follow me thru www.twitter.com/susanople)

In a few days, the Aquino administration will turn a month old, with old and new faces in the Cabinet. The President’s State of the Nation Address will mark the tone of the next 100 days. Given the state of public finances, it would be somber yet hopeful, with stress on transparency, truth and justice – a government more accessible and accountable to the common man.

Obviously, much thought has been given to the new set of Cabinet officials. Many cheered upon learning that the Department of Interior and Local Governments would be headed by the distinguished Magsaysay awardee, former Naga City mayor Jesse Robredo. Robredo is known as a true reformist, one who does not settle for “puwede na” when clearly the bar of public service can be raised. The labor and employment sectors were pleased to see a familiar and respected face at the helm of the labor department. Atty. Rosalinda Baldoz, a career official at DoLE, has done remarkable work wherever nook and corner of the department she was assigned.

Advocates against human trafficking are excited about engaging the feisty and courageous Justice Secretary Leila de Lima in a serious conversation about cases stalled or forgotten. Cesar Purisima at the Department of Finance with Kim Henares at the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Lito Alvarez at the Bureau of Customs is a triumvirate of tough revenue hounds – patriotism to them is a well-funded government.

Some are queasy about having too many Abads in power. I’m not. Julia Abad has always been a quiet and elegant presence in the Senate, faithfully serving then Senator Noynoy Aquino as his chief of staff. I recall seeking Julia’s help for a distressed OFW who had a relative in dire need of medical assistance. Julia responded quickly and gallantly. Why shouldn’t she be given a chance to shine on her own as head of the Presidential Management Staff? Butch Abad was campaign manager during the senatorial bid of Noynoy when his mother, former president Corazon C. Aquino was still alive. Luis Abad, a hardworking and dependable young man, has been tapped by Secretary Purisima to be his chief of staff. Both Julia and Luis share the same family names but have given enough of themselves during the presidential campaign to be noticed and trusted by their respective bosses.

Friends and fellow bloggers Manolo Quezon and Ricky Carandang have decided to craft messages and create the necessary feedback mechanisms for P.Noy. These two are giving up a lot because as journalists, they now embrace the velvety cloak of partisanship, as official members of P.Noy’s communications team. Innovation and transparency in government would be their just rewards. P.Noy can be our first Twitter-ing president. These two young guys would have to make sure that substance reigns over showbiz under a P.Noy-style of governance.

Ging Deles knows the ins and outs of the peace process. She can be expected to lead the way with a steady hand. Fellow Hyatt 10 member Dinky Soliman is back to her sunflower-filled room at the Department of Social Welfare and Development. Fate and political fortunes gave both yet another chance to reboot old programs and come up with new ones, without the drama of the distant past.

Undoubtedly, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo would be listened to in Cabinet meetings as the most senior Cabinet official there. The international community yearns to hear more about Philippine foreign policy directions under the new administration. Secretary Romulo will serve as a trusted bridge between P.Noy and the diplomatic community and moreover to our OFWs who have high expectations of better onsite services from our embassies and consulates.

I have never met Atty. Jojo Ochoa, but I heard good things about him and his father from friends in Pulilan. It is correct for him to keep a low profile as executive secretary. One would have a difficult time watching someone else’s back if his own back needs to be covered, too. I only hope that the new executive secretary is getting good advice. The first memorandum circular that his office issued would have rendered so many bureaucrats jobless, though his second “refined” copy still needs to be reviewed. As a labor advocate, I believe that discretion over which assistant secretary should go and which director should stay, is best left to every Cabinet and/or agency head.

The P.Noy administration may have a few glitches since its assumption but over-all, it has had a good start. Still, the people are waiting for much, much more than just uneventful appointments and a “wang-wang” –free metropolis. As he gears up for his first SONA, here’s wishing President Noynoy not just a good start, but an even greater journey, in advancing our country’s best interests. (Send comments to toots.ople@yahoo.com)

What it’s not — a springboard to immediate deployment as nurses overseas. Foreign hospitals usually look for more qualifications (specialization, academic records, actual work experience and where, etc) than just a six months OJT for the nurses they hire. BUT- for fresh graduates and non-practicing nurses, this is a good stepping stone in your career as well as a feel-good way of helping your community, at least for 6 months. Note however, that the slots are few and spread throughout the country; competition will be stiff. But hey, if you’ve got time, a hometown that you love, and a nursing diploma in your hands, why not apply?

What it is — on-the-job training cum community service program where successful applicants will be paid P8,000 in allowances (hopefully to be matched by the corresponding LGU with another P2,000). To reduce costs, the nurses under NARS Program should be locals – meaning, from the communities they would serve, rather than city folks being assigned to rural nursing stations where they will be complete strangers.

Press release issued by the DoLE on the NARS Program follows …

Labor and Employment Secretary Marianito D. Roque said interested nurses may file their application at the nearest DOLE regional office, or online at http//www.nars.dole.gov.ph where application forms can be downloaded.

Roque said the DOLE would entertain applications and conduct selection of nurses for deployment to rural areas until March 22, 2009, adding an initial 5,000 nurse-trainees would be selected for deployment beginning April 1, 2009. While on training, the nurses would receive a minimum stipend/allowance of P8,000.00 per month.

The DOLE Chief said that unemployed registered nurses who are physically and mentally fit and willing to serve in their hometowns and who meet the following requirements may qualify for the training cum employment under NARS: a) with valid nurse license issued by the PRC, b) not over 35 years old, c) resident of the identified municipalities; d) no nursing-related practice for 1-3 years.

He also said that another batch of 5,000 nurse-trainees would be recruited between Aug. 15- Sept. 30, 2009. Deployment of the second batch to rural areas would commence on Oct. 1, 2009.

NARS, which stands for Nurses Assigned in Rural Service, is a training-cum employment scheme wherein the hired nurses would be deployed to their hometowns in rural areas to undergo six-month training in providing public health services and in performing clinical functions under the guidance of participating nearby hospitals and other medical facilities.

Launched by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during the Multi-Sectoral Summit on “Joining Hands Against the Global Crisis” held recently in Malacanan Palace, the NARS program is a collaborative undertaking of the DOLE, the Department of Health (DOH), and the Professional Regulations Commission’s Board of Nursing (PRC-BON).

source: Information and Publication Service

Yesterday, I was at a well-known hospital in Quezon City to visit an ailing relative. It was also an occasion for me to chat with the hospital staff who were waiting for their shift to end.

I learned that the hospital has a thriving business in kidney transplantations with patients flying in from the Middle East. Is this part of our medical tourism program, I asked? They couldn’t say for sure but commented that the Arabs in need of kidney transplants occupy the biggest rooms in the hospital. They avail of a higher-priced package which includes the matching of donors with the patients.

Intrigued, I probed deeper into what the hospital staff observed. Most of the donors are in the prime of their lives, from 18 to 35 years old. Some of them have agents that facilitate the transaction. Donors are paid from P150,000 to P200,000, they said, but only once the transplantation is done.

I did a google search on organ donations in the Philippines and found out that kidney donations fall under the Philippine Organ Donation Program, a unit under the Department of Health. This program produced a manual of procedures to prevent strangers from walking into a hospital to sell their kidneys.

The process includes attending a pre-transplant seminar, psychiatric evaluation, a medical evaluation and another evaluation by a hospital ethical committee composed of a social worker, a priest, a civilian with experience on transplantation, a transplant physician, and another doctor unrelated to the procedure. Only after passing through this elaborate process can a donor’s name be included in the National Kidney and Transplant Institute’s registry of donors and patients.

This being the Philippines, however, not all hospitals follow this manual of ethical guidelines. Arabs and other tourists come here, wealthy and sick. Kidney donors are compensated, in cash and a long scar as a permanent reminder of a missing organ. The donor will have to watch his diet, refrain from lifting heavy objects, be more conscious of his vulnerability to kidney and other ailments. He or she cannot work as overseas Filipino workers when their physical condition is made known to foreign employers.

One of the hospital staff told me that at one time there was a whole barkada of young men who came to donate their kidneys. An Internet search would also yield so many other real-life stories about organ donors who sell their kidneys out of desperation. Rather than talk about this in whispers, I suggest that a frank discussion among health experts and policy wonks be encouraged on the issue of organ donations.

On the part of impoverished kidney donors, they say that what they do with their bodies are their own business. Some medical practitioners  try to finesse the whole exchange by preferring to use the word “gift” or “gratuity” instead of “payment”.  Call it by any other name, the truth is that poverty drives the jobless and desperate to be “generous to a fault” with their organs. The question from a policy perspective is: will this now be added to our list of competitive advantages under the benign category of medical tourism? And if truly, the sale of kidneys and other organs by the poor to the wealthy and dying cannot be stopped or regulated, then how do we balance patient care with donor’s rights? Our Times believes that only a frank discussion of the ethical, financial, moral, and medical aspects of this issue at the national level can yield the best answers.

My New Year’s resolution is not to have one. I believe this is the best way to start the year right – to be absolutely candid about my capability to stick to the rigid demands of purposeful, forward planning and just yield to the biorhythms of life. I resolved to do away with the usual resolutions right smack in the middle of Ayala Avenue while awaiting Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay’s digital clock to strike 12 midnight on New Year’s Eve. In a sea-crowd with all eyes heavenward in anticipation of a pyrotechnic sky, I felt secure enough, alive enough, old enough to welcome 2007 without a fig leaf of a plan, except to simply do things better.

Fortunately, there are institutions and individuals who prefer to be more responsible and goal-oriented. The labor department helmed by Secretary Arturo Brion began the year right with bold initiatives resulting from a planning and learning session, which he convened last week with senior officials and labor attaches. I particularly appreciate the announcement that the Department of Labor and Employment shall soon implement a global mapping and profiling system for Filipino migrant workers.

I fully support the DOLE’s policy shift of leaving the low-end market for overseas domestic helpers behind in favor of a no placement-fee, US$400 minimum salary grade for Filipino domestic helpers. Indeed, this will reduce the number of welfare cases involving abused household workers. We must be alert, however, to the reality that this new policy will also be exploited by underground syndicates to lure prospective job applicants away from responsible, legitimate recruiters into the unscrupulous, insensitive, uncaring arms of human traffickers. Political will is needed to stop the nefarious practice of passport tampering and fraud and an airport “escort” system, two factors that have made illegal recruitment as well-entrenched as jueteng. I also hope that legitimate recruitment firms that would be hit by this new policy can be given opportunities to make up for the loss through more viable, humane and stable markets.

At the Department of Foreign Affairs, I am happy to report that progress is being made on the establishment of a machine-readable passport system that is up to par with internationally accepted standards. This undoubtedly shall be an enduring legacy of the current administration and its well-respected Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alberto Romulo. The DFA’s Office of Consular Affairs led by Acting Assistant Secretary Domingo Lucenario is in charge of this long overdue project, which was delayed because of some disadvantageous provisions in the previous contract that has thankfully been rescinded.

Over the holidays and shortly before the New Year, I have been in touch with Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis and Ambassador Mar Dumia of the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs on the release and safe passage home of three Filipino women trapped in Syria. Marife, Anamarie, and Alicia were victims of the barter trade among foreign agents in the Middle East. Alicia, for example, was supposed to work in Jordan but ended up in Damascus at the mercy of her broker. Dindo Amparo, notable bureau chief for the Middle East of The Filipino Channel, referred the three women to the Blas F. Ople Policy Center. Congratulations to Undersecretary Seguis, Ambassador Dumia, and our honorary consul in Syria for a job well done!

In Kuwait, the rapes committed against women including our own compatriots are a serious concern. The Blas F. Ople Policy Center was able to help two victims of multiple rapes in Kuwait when they arrived in Manila. To them, just bringing them to a gynecologist for a medical check-up was already a huge thing. The Ople Center is in close touch with Labor Attache Pol de Jesus, an old friend and a staunch crusader for migrant workers’ rights.

I salute the courage of an 18-year old Filipina from Mindanao who is seeking justice against 15 Kuwaiti men who allegedly abducted and raped her on December 14, 2006 after she ran away from her employer. Secretary Romulo has instructed Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Ricardo Endaya to engage the services of competent lawyers to represent the Filipino victim in court proceedings. She came face to face with all 15 suspects at the Kuwaiti Prosecution Department in the presence of embassy officials and her designated lawyer. She identified each of the suspects and vowed to pursue the case against them.

It is for her sake and for so many others caught in a human barter trade overseas that we rely on government and civil society to embark on bold initiatives to make things work. On a more personal note, I wish to thank the Makati city government for enabling so many of its residents and guests to start the year right with a magnificent New Year’s Eve party which also doubled as a fundraising event for the victims of Typhoon “Reming” and “Seniang”. I am proud that Manila Bulletin was among the major sponsors of this memorable event. Kudos to Mayor Binay and his wonderful staff (thank you, Joey S.!) for a meaningful and joyful kick-off for 2007.

Some of you are probably asking why I have not been as active as before in blogging my thoughts. Well, an incident happened a few nights ago that made me lose my appetite for words. It was too horrific to write about. Even now, I still shudder each time I close my eyes and remember …

It was the night my 23-year old computer geek nephew was shot. Fort and I just stepped out from watching the X-men use their powers to save the child who was The Cure. My cellphone registered several messages. It was about Carlo. The first message said we should hurry to Philippine Heart Center because they, my brother and sister-in-law, would be bringing my bleeding nephew there. Second message: the Heart Center turned away Carlo so my brother, Raul, decided to bring his son next door, to East Avenue Medical Center. My partner and I rushed to the hospital’s emergency ward. It was a mess.

The doctor had jabbed a gloved finger into my nephew’s side to probe for the embedded bullet. Carlo’s shouts of pain were muffled by the oxygen mask that covered his nose and mouth. I could see from the way his eyes widened and nostrils flared that the pain was unspeakable. No anesthesia was applied, not a single painkiller tablet was given to dull the pain. The bullet was found, and the doctor who was, by the way, also attending to three other patients, said that X-Rays needed to be taken of his patient’s lungs and stomach. Because there were no nurses and orderlies, my brother, my other nephew, Carlo’s friend, and Fort pushed the gurney from the emergency ward to the X-Ray Room. Because there were no nurses and no orderlies, the same people lifted Carlo’s body so that the X-Ray film could be placed underneath him. Because there were no nurses and no orderlies, the technician ordered my friend, Fort, to ask around for gauze to place on the open gunshot wounds.

The X-Rays were taken and Carlo was wheeled back to the emergency room. By that time, his space was taken by someone else. The ward was full. We lined up his gurney along the corridor and waited for the doctor to once again check on his wounds. An intern said that Carlo should sit up so that she could take a look at his wounds. He did, once again, with the help of family members and friends. The intern said, she will suture the wounds. Again, without the benefit of painkillers or anesthesia, the intern sewed his wounds shut. Someone asked her if Carlo could be given anesthesia. She answered back, “Why, did you bring any?” My sister-in-law was too stunned to venture a reply. I watched this with a million questions running through my mind, and while trying to dodge the gurneys and wheelchairs that travel the length of the corridor. “Is this still the Philippines?,” I thought. There were just no words to describe the blood, the pain, the chaos, and the poor patients who had nowhere else to go.

Carlo’s mother, herself a registered nurse, asked the doctor about tetanus shots. The doctor quickly wrote out a prescription for one. I lined up at the pharmacy to buy the precious vials. After the anti-tetanus shot, the doctor said we could move Carlo out to a private hospital. We asked for an ambulance to bring my poor nephew to Medical City.

I volunteered to be his advance party. Fort and I went to Medical City’s emergency ward and informed them that a patient was on the way. The lady doctor on duty looked at our bedraggled state (it was nearly 3 am, I looked tired and Fort still had blood on his hands), and gently said, “Baka di po ninyo alam. Mahal ho dito, ha?” I assured them that we knew how expensive a private hospital can be. “Dito ako inoperahan ng hysterectomy at ang nanay ko dito din ginawa ang kanyang angioplasty,” I told her, while ticking off the names of the doctors who treated my mom and I. I called up my sister-in-law and asked her to pass the phone over to the doctor tending to Carlo so that he could explain to our lady doctor what needed to be done to help my nephew. I overheard bits and pieces of their lengthy conversation. “So nakuhanan niyo ba ng blood test?,” the lady doctor asked. I was too tired to even snicker.

An hour or so, Carlo finally arrived at Medical City’s emergency ward. He was met by an orderly and was quickly attended to by the lady doctor with the help of several nurses. After examining him, the doctor said, “We need to stick a tube to drain your lungs.” Carlo whispered, “Doc, may anesthesia ba?” She said,”Yes, meron.” Weakly, my nephew smiled and said, “Okay, go.” Tired and hurting, Carlo finally could let down his guard and go to sleep.

This is real life – not in Darfur, not in Baghdad, not in Patikul, Jolo — but peacetime in the metropolis that we all know, in a republic where majority of the poor live, in real pain, in real time.

Tomorrow, Carlo will undergo surgery to remove the third and final bullet from his body. He will be placed under general anesthesia. My family and I made sure of that. And as I write this entry, I feel my heart turn heavy with grief and sadness and outrage because I know we could be better than this. Spare me the spin and empty rhetoric. In real life, everything hurts. I call on our political leaders to spend even just one night helping out or getting treated in the emergency ward of East Avenue Medical Center or any other government hospital. Then perhaps, like me, they would lose their appetite for words in favor of meaningful and urgent action.

Would you like to work in Australia? If yes, visit www.poea.gov.ph and find out about the forthcoming Jobs Expo sponsored by no less than the Embassy of Australia. Word of caution: specific job skills/occupations are needed so take a look-see at the list of job categories that are open for applicants. Also on the POEA website: jobs vacancies for medical staff in Marshall Islands!

For Local Employment, check this out:

1) Norwegian Cruis Line, LTD. wants to hire 50 casino dealers with previous experience on boad passenger vessels; applicants preferably must have a valid US visa. They are also looking for 30 nurses, with experience in tertiary hospitals; previously assigned in ICU/ER/OR; preferably with ACLS certificates. Apply now at C.F. Sharp Crew Management Inc., Casa Rocha, 290-292 Gen. Luna St., Intramuros, Manila with tel. nos. 527-6031 to 49. Please bring resume, employment certificates and recent ID photos.

2) GINGERSNAPS is looking for a fashion designer/graphic artist/artist; must be female, not more than 35 years old; experience in kids and ladies wear for expat or local market. Fashion savvy self-starter with strong freehand & computer skills; please bring portfolio to Warehouse 19, Armal Compound II, m. Eusebio Avenue, San Miguel, Pasig City; telephone nos. 9161542 & 9161553, look for Ma-an. Bring resume with 2X2 photo, transcript & NBI clearance. Also in dire need of store managers, management trainees, cashiers, promo staff, receptionist, office clerk, warehouse crew, tagger, sorter, truck drivers (restriction 3) and delivery helpers.

3) Mini Shabu-shabu is in need of staff for new branches:preferably college graduate or has completed 2 full years of schooling; maximum age = 24 years old; with dining experience of at least 1 year; skills should include good communications facility, smart, fast and flexible, exposed to restaurant work, a professional image. Positions available: waiters, waitresses, receptionists, cashiers, cook (Japanese style of cooking), accountant, accounting assistant, graphic artist (corel draw, photoshop) & delivery van driver. Send/mail application to: Mini Shabu-Shabu Restaurant, Shangrila Plaza Mall, EDSA corner Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City. Walk-in applicants can drop by between 2 to 6 pm. For inquiries, call 672-3721. Applications via e-mail: minishabushabujobs@yahoo.com.ph

Well, I’m back after several blog-free hours. The awarding went fine. I requested for a few minutes to give a thank you message and managed to slip in a few words against Charter change. It may have been inappropriate, (PASATAF was celebrating its 50th anniversary), but nevertheless a wakeup call was needed. The nationwide organization of Filipino teachers must be alerted to possibly another round of vicious language debates once the Charter is dissected and torn apart by a proposed Interim Parliament.

But this entry is not so much about PASATAF and the posthumous award they gave to my late father (most appreciated by the family and his friends). My story for today is about how a late dinner in Carmen, Pangasinan on our trip home led us to the emergency ward of Medical City in Ortigas Avenue.

 Thankfully, the evening drive on the long and winding Kennon Road was uneventful. Estelle, my only child, was sleeping soundly in the backseat of the car when we stopped at a Chowking outlet along the highway for dinner. The car clock registered 9:00 pm. My nephew ordered braised spareribs, my niece had rice toppings just as I did, and my daughter ordered a bowl of beef mami wanton noodles. Even then, she said that her order was greasy and the beef did not taste good. After dinner, we continued on our journey and after dropping my nephew and niece at their house in Quezon City, we went home. It was a few minutes past 1 o’clock a.m.

A few minutes before we arrived, my daughter complained of a stomach ache. She ran to the bathroom several times and even lost consciousness for a few minutes. She was so pale and weak that I decided to bring her to Medical City’s emergency ward. While kept under observation, Estelle kept apologizing for causing me to worry. The doctor on duty said it would be best for her to be admitted for more tests. They had the diarrhea under control but were concerned that there might be more to her fainting spell. We explained to Estelle and she agreed. It was past four in the morning when she finally settled down in a small but cozy private room.

(It turned out that minutes before the person behind the counter took our order, Punch, my nephew, spotted a rat on the food counter and whispered to Estelle about it. They decided not to tell me as I was already next in line and they all knew I was hungry. Before writing this entry, I learned that my nephew and niece were unable to visit Estelle because they, too, had stomach pains. Punch is down with both fever and diarrhea. Paging Chowking’s management, please check out your Carmen, Pangasinan branch right away!)

 I am not sharing this to cause harm to the Chowking chain of fastfood restaurants. The owner of this chain is someone I personally admire because he had a humble start and prosperity came later through hard work and discipline. I am sure that he would not countenance such lapses that could affect the over-all image of his popular food chain. I am writing this down on my blog to tell you that (1) I am so blessed to have such a sweet and brave daughter; and, (2) much as  parents like me want to protect our children, lack of adherence to strict quality standards by food outlets and consumer-driven chains make our jobs more difficult. It took a whole day for my daughter to finally get better. She had to go through a blood test, an IV drip, and several other medical tests to ensure that her health is fully restored.

All throughout the ordeal, the world, as I knew it, receded in favor of my daughter’s well-being. I am so proud of her. She took everything in stride and never complained. She was quick to smile at all the doctors, nurses and hospital staff who dropped by her room.

My former boss, Secretary Silvestre Afable, once told me that it in life, it takes only one sincere and loyal person to believe in you and support you all the way regardless of the twists and turns of life. I have that one person in my twenty-year old daughter, Estelle. This sweet child of mine is worth the world to me. The good news is that she is okay and will soon be discharged from the hospital. We praise and thank you, Lord!