OFWs stick it out

The recession is real. It has affected not only locals here in Australia but expat workers including Filipinos.

I recently talked to one of the hundreds of Pinoy OFWs working here and he said that they had to assist another OFW who was resigned to just ‘go home’ after the latter’s position was declared redundant. True enough as for most Pinoys here, optimism has its own reward, the OFW was able to find another job just before the expiration of his visa.

The difference between the unemployed here and our OFWs returning to the Philippines without the possibility of employment is that locals have the support of the government. I remember my colleague’s
fiancé who urged her to take it easy in saving. He explained that ‘the government will take care of them.’ It was quite easy for the man to tell his Asian fiancée that it will be alright because they are used to some fallback in times of trouble. Of course, this is not all true all the time but the fact remains that most of the time, it is true that Pinoy OFWs despite their contribution to the economy might find themselves fending for themselves in this time of recession.

Pacquiao proves he’s world class

Pacquiao did not waste any chance nor mocked around and showed the world that he is truly world class.

Manny Pacquiao knocked down reigning IBO and Ring Magazine light welterweight champion Ricky Hatton. Hatton claimed that he will be able to defeat the Filipino fighter with Oscar De La Hoya suggesting that it will be a one-sided fight for the British. Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, remained optimistic and gave a fearless forecast that Pacquiao will win.

While the fight wasn’t long enough to give ticket holders and pay-per-view viewers a reason to hold the breaths and be entertained enough, it was surely a good six minutes of boxing that will long be remembered and for Filipinos was just satisfying.

British media, however, were slow to pick-up on the news and described Pacquiao as brutal. Some British readers of BBC suggested that the win was expected as “Hatton is not the fighter he was” because his “age and lifestyle” deteriorated the best of his boxing skills. There were some suggestions that Pacquiao also had an unfair advantage during his non-title fight with Oscar De La Hoya.

Well, despite these suggestions Pacquiao is optimistic that he will continue fighting giving his “100%” in every fight.

Closer to home, the Logie Awards is the biggest news (aside from the Influenza A/H1N1 outbreaks) today. The Logie Awards is the TV industry awards here in Australia. More re the Logie Awards here.

Swine Flu is a Misnomer

The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) has issued a statement lamenting the misnomer on an emerging disease that originated from “a virus circulating in Mexico and the USA and involving person to person transmission.” In a statement, OIE clarified that the there is no evidence to link the cases of influenza in the USA, Mexico and other countries to possible animal cases such as swine. It said that they have not yet isolated the virus in animals.

The OIE said that it was unjustified to call the circulating disease as Swine Influenza or Swine Flu with the absence of its link to pigs. It suggested that the new disease be named as “North-American influenza.”

Some scientists also backed OIEs claim with one article calling to a stop on blaming pigs and “blame simple biology” for the disease mutation.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has since corrected its reference to the disease and now calls it Influenza A (H1N1). While the media has yet to pick-up on the correction, it is slowly referring to the disease as just H1N1 in most of its headlines. The US Center for Disease Control now refers to the disease as H1N1 but does not drop swine flu as another name for the disease. The confirmed cases of Influenza A/H1N1 were recently raised to 615 in 15 countries according to a WHO update.

The OIE and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) are monitoring the influenza A/H1N1 situation with FAO sending technical experts to affected areas to investigate if the influenza has some links with the swine population. Scientists admitted that they are struggling to understand this latest mutation of influenza.

This situation has shown that international crises such as SARS, bird flu (H5N1) and influenza A/H1N1 have yet to be coordinated smoothly among international organizations. It has shown some flaws in the international cooperation framework that the UN agencies agreed to abide to. Although these agreements become formal during specific crisis they have previously agreed to exchange information and coordinate actions. This influenza showed that there was no information exchange and panic immediately prevailed.

As a former communications officer for an organization involved in the bird flu (H5N1) outbreaks, I have witnessed how scientist struggled to understand the disease. This has given so much pressure for most communications officers in the Region as they were asked to produce an immediate message regarding prevailing risk behaviors that might promote the spread of bird flu.

Most of the communication messages that were produced dealt on risk behavior relevant to human influenza and not on the source of the disease during that time–avian species. While the behavior change campaigns remain relevant for pandemic preparation, it did not address the continued spread among animals thus putting farmers at risk.

I guess for the zealous scientists (and PR and communications specialists) during the bird flu outbreaks, the pandemic that they’ve been waiting for has finally arrived. The WHO has warned that measures previously implemented for other diseases such as SARS has no effect to the current influenza outbreak (but only to the economy).

However, there’s always the silver lining as WHO Director-General Margaret Chan always claim “the world is better prepared for an influenza pandemic than at any time in history.”

Doubtfuls

There seems to be a contagious feeling of doubt both here in Australia in the Philippines. While the cases here in Australia might be ‘bigger’ compared to the issues in the Philippines, cases in both countries elicited doubts from many parties.

Australia

• Another boat load of refugees tried to enter the country only to meet an accident as their boat was being towed towards a detention facility. The boat exploded killing three people on board. A total of five people are now dead as a result of that accident. The rest of about 49 people on board were either treated for minor injuries or still in intensive care. There were doubts on the government’s sincerity in giving information on what really happened during the accident. At the same time, there were doubts among refugee groups in Australia that the latest incident might have negative repercussions to asylum applications. Reports said that some refugee groups accused the latest asylum seekers as ‘jumping the queue’ to get into Australia. The government is still consulting with its legal team on where the asylum seekers will be confined after they recover from their injuries, i.e., whether they will be an off-shore or on-shore refugees.
• After declaring that Australia is better off, doubters finally realised that it is just a matter of when for Australia. And that time has come. Australia is in recession.

Philippines

• As the drama unfolds, doubts surfaced on the how one of the country’s top broadcast journalist’s wife died. Lawmakers finally realised (what was long public knowledge) that the police force needed to be professionalized, if not more training is needed.
• There are doubts that the automation of election in the country will result in cheat-free elections. There are acknowledgments that it might not be fool proof but election officials seem to be taking it one step at a time or are they just leaving it just like that so there will still be a window of opportunity to change the course of history?

These are just a few of the issues in the past few weeks in both countries. A lot has been happening that I’ve lost track of most of the important ones. On a personal level, it’s been a trying time for me as I try to write formalize a chapter in my thesis. Wish me luck. 🙂

The business of War: RPs Abu Sayyaf

Terrorist group Abu Sayyaf threatened to behead one hostage if their demands are not met. The terrorist group’s demand was the withdrawal of the Philippine military from some areas in Jolo where they are holding three Red Cross workers (Two foreigners and one Filipina) unless stakeholders paid ransom money.

The military complied, however, it did not satisfy the terror group as the latter claimed that it was not in the specific areas that they requested.

The vicious cycle of events in the deep south of Mindanao continues and everybody wonders why Abu Sayyaf is so resilient. Some people might blame poverty that this group, hiding in the guise of fighting for ideology and faith, has resorted to banditry.

However, it is not only the Abu Sayyaf that might be the root of the problem the military has its own share of the problem since it has not acted proactively in solving the high profile bandits, i.e., the Abu Sayyaf.

Whether the military will claim lack of logistics, training among others could be anybody’s guess. And I guess this is the reason they have insisted on keeping the assistance from the US.

A Mindanaoan colleague told me, the problems in Mindanao all boils down to money thus the persistent graft, corruption, lawlessness and human rights violation.

But with the need for money comes ignorance (stupidity, foolishness, etc. call it whatever you like) that these bandits are targeting innocent people (remember the priests that they kidnapped and the children before this current crisis?). They are so mentally disturbed that they would even hurt people who would be willing to go their way in trying to help, even the Abu Sayyaf.

The Master and the servant

A best selling author and columnist (so he claims. I don’t even know this guy) just made a swipe at the Philippines for claiming a stake at the disputed Spratly Islands. He did not go far to rant about the Philippines’ move to put into law its claim at Spratlys, he confronted his Filipina helper, who he claimed was a holder of International Politics from the University of Manila (in effect maligning the quality of citizen that the Philippines has).

He lectured her about the truth on who really owns the Spratlys and threatened her that if this development continues, he will not increase her salary (now think about the shallowness of the mind of this guy).

To say that the article is a racist rant is an understatement. I could not comprehend a guy of his caliber, as what he claims to be, could rant carelessly about something he does not fully comprehend. His impulsive action shows his immaturity and lack of decency on all levels. He might be a former BBC reporter and a writer for a number of English magazines but he has made himself vulnerable to ridicule of how low his state of mind is.

He went as far as threatening that if the Philippines dared to bring the dispute to a higher level, the Philippines will suffer the fate of Argentina during the Falklands War.

Reyna Elena returned the favor to this Chinese writer and called on every Filipinos both expats and local to “suck up this ugly and xenophobic Chinese remarks and continue cleaning their f****g toilets, save the water and use it to cook for their food.”

Now to this Chinese guy… Mr. Chip Tsao, that was really a cheap shot.

Overseas Absentee Voting

The Philippines will hold its national election next year and with more than 1 million Filipinos working abroad, the opinion of these Filipinos away from home is crucial in possible swings in the elections.

The approval of RA 9189 or The Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003 provides the facilities for expat Pinoys to vote anywhere provided that there is a Philippine consulate or embassy where they can register and/or vote.

The Philippine Embassy here in Australia advised Filipinos in Australia to register at the Embassy in Canberra between 1 February 2009 and 31 August 2009. I inquired with the embassy as to how will other Filipinos, who are not in the Australian Capital Territory, be able to register for the OAV. An embassy employee advised me to inform the local consulate. The representative also suggested that if I could gather 200 Filipinos here in Perth and surrounding cities wanting to register, the Philippine Embassy will send a team to facilitate registration for these Pinoys.

The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) said in its website that prerequisites for the registration of an overseas absentee voter are as follows:

• Passport
• Filled up application form
• Capture of biometric details

Former Filipinos who recently re-acquired Filipino citizenship need to show their dual citizenship oath of allegiance or order of approval while seafarers need to show their seafarer’s book.

Filipinos based in Perth and nearby cities need to contact Mr. Gerald Donnelly, the Philippine Consul General here in Western Australia if they want to register for the OAV. Alternatively, if you can gather few of your friends to register please contact me and indicate how many of you will be able to register. I will then coordinate with the Philippine Embassy in Canberra and the local consulate here regarding the number of Filipinos wanting to register as OAVs.

Please register and be counted.

Thinking of migrating Down Under? Think again.

Effective yesterday, Australia is enforcing a new policy in its immigration laws. The changes virtually shuts the door for most foreign workers whose professions are not listed in the critical skills list. The Australian government explained in a fact sheet on its immigration website that the changes “is more responsive to the changing needs of the economy.”

Early last year, Australia, specifically the state of Western Australia, was in dire need of workers from plumbers, farm workers, rangers among others. However, as the world recession took its toll on the economies of a number of countries, both developed and developing, Australia was not spared.

The changes in the immigration policy of Australia will not affect those who have already filed an application. This will only affect people who are applying under the skilled migration program without a sponsor to Australia. If your occupation is not one of the 42 critical skills identified then your application would probably encounter some delays (you must consult with your immigration agent to confirm this). As this new Australian immigration policy was introduced, a Philippine senator made a press statement that he had discussed with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd “the prospects of allowing Filipino workers in the medical and non-skilled sectors.” Talking about riding the wave, the policy does include medical professionals… so should that count for his pogi points for 2010? 😉

Law and disorder

A local court found three men not guilty of bashing a police officer who was left semi-paralyzed after the incident.

The charges stemmed from an incident last year in Joondalup, north of Perth, when the three men were involved in a fight with another group. Constable Matthew Buthcher was part of the police group responding to that disturbance. He was head butted from behind by one of the men. A report from Perthnow.com said that “defence lawyers argued [that the three men] acted in self defence when confronted by police, who they said acted with excessive force as they attempted to arrest them.”

A camera video phone shown on national TV showed police having a hard time controlling the men while the three accused men continued to assault officers. Constable Butcher tasered one of the men. It was then that one of them threw a flying head but that left the constable dropping on the ground head first. He fell into a coma after that. The tasered man later suffered a heart attack.

Family members of Constable Butcher later alleged that one of the accused men told the paralyzed police officer right after the trial that “we should have killed you.”

The verdict has been received with mixed reactions. The police commissioner reminded the police force to remain in focus. Some criticized the prosecution for not getting it right while others cautioned the public form being emotional. One of the commentators explained that the jury only acted on the evidence that was presented and it was not a show of lack of support to the police.

In the Philippines, there were a number of incidences that police recently figured prominently including the infamous Parañaque shootout. I may not have the facts now but I could only note the big difference between Australia and the Philippines. I might be wrong in my assumptions but one could only wonder.

In the Philippines, police are definitely feared (sometimes respected) by criminals but sadly even peace loving citizens especially journalists. In Australia, law breakers seem to have an upper hand. Here, police fires a gun and an internal investigation is already underway, the police involved will be stood down or their firearms confiscated. Jails are far more comfortable here (which might explain some people love going to jail?!). Some of the laws have a lot of loopholes, which makes me wonder sometimes whether their lawmakers would want an exposure trip overseas to “survey” better criminal laws.

I saw one police reality show on TV, which showed a police interrogation. The police officers were addressing the suspect “sir” and despite the suspect spitting on the camera, the police officers showed professionalism and maintained their composure. I was surprised as this is something you’ll never see in the Philippines (that suspect would have seen a hand landing between his eyes).

Going back to the topic of this post, there are fears that police will have second thoughts in responding to violent incidences as they are certain that there will be no law to protect them (to think that they are the law enforcers). There are many ironies here in Australia. Whether this incidence showed the lack of teeth of its laws or legals system will just be one of my many assumptions and I might have to say that I am one with Constable Butcher trying to comprehend what happened. Yes some people could just walk to the police officer and break him emotionally and sometimes physically. Sadly, there is always that big possibility they could walk away from any wrongdoing scott-free.

The Beast has risen

Dubbed as the Beast, Agence France-Presse reported that US President-elect Barack Obama’s new Cadillac “is a hulking, snazzed-up upgrade from previous presidential limousines, and will give him a better view of his inaugural parade than his predecessor.”

Screen grab of "the Beast" courtesy of news.com.au/perthnow

The photo of the US President’s new service was leaked on the internet, the AFP reported. The US Secret Service would not give details of the vehicle’s specification as it is classified but the AFP report said that “the vehicle is thought to have bullet-proof glass, a heavily armoured body, run-flat tyres and a completely sealed interior to protect against a chemical attack.”

The Cadillac is also reportedly able to withstand a rocket propelled grenade attack.

Philippine Presidents have a bullet proof Mercedes. I remember the one used by former Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos was given as a gift by the Malaysian Government. Gloria is currently using a Mercedes Benz S600 W221 similar to this one.

Mercedes S-Class (W221) Program by BRABUS