Christmas Love
Today, my mother, Susana, my siblings as well as my daughter and I, will have lunch together at my brother’s condo unit in Quezon City. Each sub-family will bring food to share, and I am quite sure that my Kuya Bulos in Los Angeles, California and our eldest brother, Luis, who is based in Geneva, Switzerland, will call my mom on her mobile phone which will then get passed around like a box of yummy chocolates. Such happy family reunions that straddle both the virtual and non-digital worlds make the Christmas holiday season really a joy to behold. One can tell from the constant uploading and tagging of photos on Facebook that this season has been both busy and happy, celebrated the Filipino way. Today, we give thanks for the birth of our redeemer,...
Year 2011
I was born in the 60’s. I was too young to recall why an angry mob shooed the Beatles away from our airport but old enough to remember the soundtracks from such TV comedies as “M.A.S.H” and “Welcome Back, Kotter.” My father owned a blue Chevrolet Impala with a leather backseat big and wide enough to swallow me up. I imagined it as a spaceship, with its oversized built-in radio and a near-panoramic windshield. Soon enough, that car gave way to a succession of other vehicles – including a Ford Fierra that was so springy that my brothers and I had to hold on to something every time the tires hit a pothole. My nieces and nephews don’t know any of these things – the Love Bus, music cartridges for car stereos, long-playing albums and 45...
The Magnificence of Change
Jerwin Alcantara is a farmer from Jaen, Nueva Ecija. All his dreams in life were contained in a single document: his Philippine passport. Unused and hidden as one would a cherished belonging, Jerwin thought that his passport was the golden pass to a better life. One day, two ladies went to his rustic barangay. They were recruiters in search of grape-pickers for Cyprus. Honey-tongued and urban-dressed, they were treated as celebrities, like game hosts about to proclaim the lucky winners. Except they were neither, and the job offers for Cyprus were non-existent. Jerwin was among those who fell for the scam. Worse, he used the family’s rice land as collateral for a loan to pay off the illegal recruiters. Unable to pay off his loan, the private lender had...
Second chances
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...
Understanding the DoLE’s NARS Program
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...
Susan “Toots” Ople
My friends call me Toots. Am the youngest of seven siblings. Our family hails from the coastal town of Hagonoy, Bulacan and we are proud of our roots. My daughter's name is Estelle and she's a brilliant debater/person. I love dogs! And I enjoy writing in the dead of the night.
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