OFFBEAT MAIL

There is something that keeps bothering me as I write this article. This is particularly true with the present recession that plagues the United States economy, whose wide-ranging impacts on the rest of the world is beyond compression. Albeit, it was at least good that President Barack Obama was able to prod US legislators to approve one of the biggest stimulus bills the United States has ever had without so much fanfare. As the implementing guidelines on how the billions of money could be distributed are still being worked out, I couldn't help but be amused at how the money, especially for the automakers' bailouts are being considered, in order to help the American automakers lessen their operational sufferings in light of the present economic situation in America, wherein tens of thousands of workers have now been given their pink slips because their employers could no longer afford to sustain their salaries. What is surprising, however, in this kind of economic situation is ...

Isabel Segal (not her real name), a young mother of three who works as a nursing assistant for a home care company in Long Beach, California, says she petitioned her parents way back many years ago, but failed. Despite her repeated explanations on the great advantages of living in America, her parents refused to bite her offer. According to her, all they could say is that they are contended and happy to live in the Philippines. Sison's parents decision to stick in their homeland contradicts to what other Filipinos are hankering as manifested by the long queue at the American Embassy in Manila. The same experience happened to Sonia Sabarre, a retired nurse in Chicago, who successfully petitioned her late mother to come to America in the 70s. Her mother did come and stayed for a few months. But the biting winter and windy breeze, not to mention the alienation that she experienced while alone at home, had all contributed to her mother's longing for home. Eventually, she did and...

It's a jigsaw puzzle as to why the Philippines continues to import rice from neighboring countries like Thailand and Vietnam. I understand that farmers in these two neighboring countries are being supported by their governments. This is in stark contrast to that of the Philippines where the local farmers are left to fend for themselves. Farm inputs like fertilizers are not subsidized by the government so that many poor farmers are left with no choice but to borrow money from usurers in order to catch up with the farming season, which normally comes twice a year in provinces where ricefields largely depend on rainfed water, rather than the irrigation system. While some agriculture officials are hell bent on sticking to their earlier stance that the country needs to import millions of tons of rice due to rice shortage, officials at the Philippine Rice Institute in Nueva Ecija were on the opposite side of the coin. They said there is no rice shortage in actual terms. The primary reaso...

Again, it shocked me to read about the Philippine government's impending plan to import rice from neighboring Asian countries. And I honestly believe there are two valid reasons why the country has initiated plans to import this staple from countries that only learned their rice technology from the International Rice Research Institute ( IRRI ) in Laguna , Philippines. One of the reasons could be that the local farmers did not produce as much rice because they could no longer stomach the high costs of inputs like fertilizers, which should be subsidized by the government but could not because it wanted to help the businessmen rather than the poor farmers. The other reason is that it is much cheaper to import rice and sell them in the local market rather than boost local production which is more expensive. Of course, it is not the fault of the local farmers if they could not sell or produce more rice considering that the National Food Authority ( NFA ) always wanted to buy their pro...

The White House announced today that President George Bush is set to grace the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games in China, despite repeated calls by international human rights organizations for him to stay away from the said games. This is contrary to what many believed that the US president should stay away from the Olympics, as part of the clamor from human rights organizations around the world for him to ignore the Chinese government's invitation due to the prevailing unrests in Tibet, where scores of people were killed already as chaos builds up in that part of the world. White House sources reasoned out that it has nothing to do with politics but the participation of the athletes in this worldwide sports events. I don't think that the mere absence of the US president will ever create a vacuum of attendance from participating teams once the Olympics started. It would be uncanny, however, if some of the participating teams from the west will decide to boycott the Olympic ...

A couple of days ago, a group of Filipino workers arrived to work at one of the casinos in Reno, Nevada. These workers, according to reports, comprised of both skilled and professionals who were hired by a recruitment agency in the Philippines that required them to pay at least some US$4,000 in placement fees. The amount includes their air fares and other expenses as part of their deployment to the state of Nevada. I learned that all of them would be working as kitchen aides and housekeeping cleaners in the said casino. From what I knew, my lucky countrymen are expected to be paid a salary of between $8 to $9 per hour, which is much better than working in the Philippines, where finding a good employment has become a deplorable ordeal for new graduates and some professionals alike. If ever they find jobs, the salaries are not even enough to sustain their economic needs nor support a family. And saving for the future is remote from reality. At least, what they were in right now is a ...

A couple of days from now, the Lenten season will be upon us. It is recollection of how our Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross to redeem our sins. It is the time when most people, especially the millions of Christians around the world, come together as one to reflect and atone for our sins. Perhaps, this is the best time for corrupt government officials to observe the sufferings of Christ on the cross, if only to allow them to realize the magnitude of our transgressions unto the Lord. It is incomprehensible as to why a lot of people still cheat the government, if only to amass so much wealth for themselves; feeding their children with money stolen from government coffer at the expense of others who try to survive on a dog-eat-dog competition and doing all they could in an honest way. And it is disheartening to know that there are people who can't make an honest living fairly and squarely, without resorting to illegal means to attain their sinister wishes in life. Those who are mos...