Congested

Netherlands will close 19 of its prisons over the next few years because the cost of maintaining them is too high. The reason why the prisons aren’t cost-efficient, however, is something of a national blessing: thanks to the country’s steadily declining crime rate, thousands of prison cells are going unused. (ultimatefmonline)

There are people whom I know (even former students) who are now incarcerated mostly because of drugs. Some of them were known drug pushers and some are new to the trade but got busted: nipped in the bud. The number of detainees in the BJMP is escalating one would wonder how could they sleep in there.

I visited someone in there one time with my brother. We vowed to do these since the deed is one of the corporal acts of mercy. That was the time when I realized how boring and wasted life could be in there. How could I be productive inside? This was the question to haunt me as I glimpsed the shirtless individuals on the floor behind bars. Is this "hell" on Earth as what those poets are claiming? There are even instances when I'd read my eyes out when I will be stranded in an airport with less things to do. How much more if I will be contained in a claustrophobic space where only dark thoughts can be created?

Is this caused by the weak parenting strategies or the influence of peers?

But then I always adhere to the empowered individual. A person who is strong enough to understands who he is and what are his limitations. He could fail in some areas but not to the point that self-destruction is going to be embraced.

Still, human nature is complex. There are factors to consider why there are persons who thrive on negative deeds and wallow in negative thoughts. There are weaklings who could not bounce and mature since their growth is hampered by parental abuse and mental impairments could be considered.

But that's beyond my point.

I am just worried on what would become of the persons inside the jails with their dignities trampled on the ground. How could one have a shift of mind and become a better person with less opportunities of doing so? I'm always a teacher. My heart is beating with this interest to humanize people for them to become functional beings. But what if the person would choose otherwise?

I still have to visit them. I might give a spark of hope and create more positive ripples.

Running

                                               (photo: bradfordhealth.com)

Dexter, not his real name, is a runner. He is not an athlete who dashes on the tracks but a drug dealer. Raffy, not his real name too, is the adult who gives him the contacts. He often brings sachets of "shabu" to those who text him given by Raffy. After the delivery, the minor gets the money and gives it back to the adult. The latter would then give him his commission: a hundred or two. Dexter could then buy something to eat. He even would buy some food for his parents who then eat the meal with gusto.

There was a time when Dexter was invited by Raffy to have a hit with him. Since he got curious about it, he tried the prohibited substance and he liked the high. The act continued and since Raffy is gay, the boy was then exposed to homosexual escapades that he even experienced to be sodomized by the adult.

The dealings continued and his addiction escalated. He was then traded by Raffy to other gays for a fee. The boy learned that in this world, people are going to use you but then it would be OK for a price or two. His values, which were not built on strong foundation anyway, became twisted. The world of the young turned upside down and school became an option.

His adviser was alarmed with his absenteeism and his physical appearance. For weeks, he looked unkempt and pale. His weight has dropped and his clothes looked dirty. He then asked Dexter about his whereabouts and the boy divulged his condition. The teacher was aghast and went to the Guidance Counselor and discussed the case. The latter was alarmed and informed the principal about the situation.

Inside the principal's office, Dexter was silent. His eyes had these empty expression and he got distracted with even the hum of the office's air-conditioning system. The school head did not know where to start... the he said: You're still interested to come to school? The boy answered with unblinking eyes: No. "Why?" the adult continued. "What for?" the minor responded.

Together with the class adviser, the principal went to visit the parents of the boy. The makeshift bridge towards their house seemed to complain with their weight. The smell was not friendly and the people around looked at them as if they were aliens. The house was tilted towards the river and there was a little child crawling on the dusty floor. When the adviser asked the parents if they noticed that Dexter had money most of the time, the mother nodded. "You did not ask him where he got it?" asked the teacher. "No, I'm only interested with the food he brings," the mother quipped.

The principal could not take it anymore and went out of the house. He looked for Dexter and found him inside a shed, sleeping. He looked at the young one and wondered how many boys are like him. He roused the boy. Dexter sat up. The school head was engulfed with pity as looked at the wasted face of the kid...

"Come on, let's eat," the adult said. The boy's eyes lit up and he gave a painful smile.

We Ride Our Trains

The zombies pile up an ran to you like inevitable facts. Instinctively, you run away from them afraid that you will be bitten and become part of the problem. There are efforts done to shy away from the toxic bites of these challenges but later, you realize that you need to fight back. By confronting the zombies and using your initiatives in solving the maze-like problems, one could be victorious in the end.

The Train to Busan becomes your own life. In it are different individuals who try to live their own lives. Inside your train/life you will encounter people who are struggling to exist and need help; you meet people who are selfish and would even put your own life at stake for their personal interests; you will experience the love of family members as well if you just open yourself to them...You will also encounter friends who die for you...

There are instances that work would overwhelm us to the point that we forget why we are working. We work for our families. Yet, there are instances when we forget them. Our children sometimes suffer from this emptiness that they talk to themselves since we are absent. Then, we fill in our gaps with gifts only to realize that these are hollow stuff. Most of the time, we forget that we already gifted them with such, creating a chasm so difficult to fill in.

But what caused these zombies around? Are they the persons who got intoxicated with the worldly things that they give their lives to them even at the expense of others? Why do they kill the normal ones and infect them to become living-dead? How could you prevent from being one of them? You have these queries since you could see a lot of them running around competing with each other for new cars and piling up money even if they are causing death, psychological torments in the young and the darkening of their hearts. Are you going to be selfish and unfeeling too? Will you allow to be bitten or put up a good fight to be different...

Still, there is love. This is the most powerful weapon you have. If you are a father, you could sacrifice your own well-being for your child. You take the hurdles along the way so that the young one could have her future. You could take toxic bites for the sake of love. If you are a husband, you sacrifice your comfort for the benefit of your wife and the child she carries on her womb, If you are a lover, you take the toxin with the one you love... That is the key to loving: SACRIFICE.

In real life, we are all surrounded by zombies. They are the people surrounding us who are trying to kill our efforts to love. There are those who will bite and pressure you to be like them posing as true friends. We might as well be zombies with hearts poisoned with envy, insecurity and materialism. These cause the death of one's spirit allowing you to walk or run around with the sole mission to be the fittest, the best.

Here's hoping that our trains lead us to Busan, er, to our envisioned destination.

Shrapnel

                                                  (photo: rappler)

Fourteen lives were spent as the bomb exploded in the night market in Roxas, Davao City. The president declared a State of Lawless Violence in the country and the Armed Forces so with the PNP are now roaming the parts of the country waiting for the president's instructions. This is not a time to panic according to the Palace and the Veep also told us to stay calm.

Amidst the president's War on Drugs and the discourse on the alleged extra-judicial killings, the Abu Sayyaf has to meddle and make a name for themselves since they must put up a good fight against the offensive staged to them by the military. As if the beheading that they did to some tourists was not enough, they must do the only thing they're good at: give terror.

The Filipinos who are still warring on their political beliefs and "die-hard" supporters of the elections flooded insensitive commentaries on social media accusing both sides of the terrible bombing. There are those who blame the president and there are those who are irked with such that they rant back with their full-support forgetting the pain the bombing gave to the families and to the country in general.

When I checked my phone early this morning, the news feed was infested with the sad incident in Davao. What came to me first was worry about the well-being of my friends, relatives and former students who are there. Then, I felt the pain of those persons whose loved ones were killed. I know that they are asking for the "reason" of the death of their loved ones. What if this happened to one of my cousins or siblings? God forbid!

What has become of our country? This was the next question to visit my thoughts as I reflected on the things happening lately. I was shocked to realize that some of my acquaintances are into drug-dealing. There are even teachers and school heads who are being closely-monitored by the police since they reek of unexplained wealth... Then, there are the killings and the brouhaha on human rights violations and the mud-slinging in the legislative areas.

I grimace on the thought of having kids in the school who are products of dysfunctional families and who could be considered amoral since they could not draw a line between what is good and not. I am scandalized by the thought that there are adults who pose as professionals who are engaged in the drug trade. I worry about friends who are leaving their families since they think that leaving their their kids fulfills their happiness. Then, the bombing.

Of course it could be unhealthy for me to dig deeper on these things and find messianic solutions. Still that question lingers.

All I could do is to pray. I don't have the background on political science but I understand human nature, I believe that grief is being experienced by the people who are affected by the terrorist act. I know that our psyche as a people is being stained with anxiety as well, A concerted effort to do good and dwell on the positive side must flourish. This is the secret of successful lives.

But then, I could not help but to get angry. I have yet to define what I'm angry of. But I know that blaming and pointing fingers do not help. As an empowered person, I must do the things expected of me and create ripples.

Shrapnel

                                                  (photo: rappler)

Fourteen lives were spent as the bomb exploded in the night market in Roxas, Davao City. The president declared a State of Lawless Violence in the country and the Armed Forces so with the PNP are now roaming the parts of the country waiting for the president's instructions. This is not a time to panic according to the Palace and the Veep also told us to stay calm.

Amidst the president's War on Drugs and the discourse on the alleged extra-judicial killings, the Abu Sayyaf has to meddle and make a name for themselves since they must put up a good fight against the offensive staged to them by the military. As if the beheading that they did to some tourists was not enough, they must do the only thing they're good at: give terror.

The Filipinos who are still warring on their political beliefs and "die-hard" supporters of the elections flooded insensitive commentaries on social media accusing both sides of the terrible bombing. There are those who blame the president and there are those who are irked with such that they rant back with their full-support forgetting the pain the bombing gave to the families and to the country in general.

When I checked my phone early this morning, the news feed was infested with the sad incident in Davao. What came to me first was worry about the well-being of my friends, relatives and former students who are there. Then, I felt the pain of those persons whose loved ones were killed. I know that they are asking for the "reason" of the death of their loved ones. What if this happened to one of my cousins or siblings? God forbid!

What has become of our country? This was the next question to visit my thoughts as I reflected on the things happening lately. I was shocked to realize that some of my acquaintances are into drug-dealing. There are even teachers and school heads who are being closely-monitored by the police since they reek of unexplained wealth... Then, there are the killings and the brouhaha on human rights violations and the mud-slinging in the legislative areas.

I grimace on the thought of having kids in the school who are products of dysfunctional families and who could be considered amoral since they could not draw a line between what is good and not. I am scandalized by the thought that there are adults who pose as professionals who are engaged in the drug trade. I worry about friends who are leaving their families since they think that leaving their their kids fulfills their happiness. Then, the bombing.

Of course it could be unhealthy for me to dig deeper on these things and find messianic solutions. Still that question lingers.

All I could do is to pray. I don't have the background on political science but I understand human nature, I believe that grief is being experienced by the people who are affected by the terrorist act. I know that our psyche as a people is being stained with anxiety as well, A concerted effort to do good and dwell on the positive side must flourish. This is the secret of successful lives.

But then, I could not help but to get angry. I have yet to define what I'm angry of. But I know that blaming and pointing fingers do not help. As an empowered person, I must do the things expected of me and create ripples.

Votes Unite Not Divide

(photo: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk)

For years now, I've been studying how to conquer emotions. You see, a lot of major decisions and even failures are based on poor judgments anchored on emotional bias. Take anger for example and how we give in to hurting others because we are angry. Others even resort to killing another person because of anger and personal issues. Families sometimes are divided because of the feuds founded on emotional setbacks and feelings.

"You are not your emotions," as a wise nun told me some years ago. You can control them not the other way around. This concept was then supported by the international bestseller of Stephen Covey when he published " Seven Habits of Highly Effective People". A chapter on that book delves into how we could choose our actions towards a stimulus.

There are some friends of mine who are asking persistently on who will I vote as president this May 9. I would then be entangled into a lot of thought processes since I could feel that they have their weapons ready for a word war. First, I have my own choice and they must respect that, No amount of cajoling could lead me to be influenced by them since I have my own discernment on how to vote wisely. Then, I find it counterproductive to argue on things which are sometimes based on how others FEEL about the candidate. Of course, feelings are important but the mind must be used as well since the election is not just about you and me. It has a macro effect that could cascade to generations.

Here's something: I like fruit scented colognes and my brother prefers musk. I could tell him the benefits of having the sweet scent over the woody one. He could also give his reason on how others find one attractive with a musky scent. But will we allow our choices to mar our relationship? Will I become a victim of my own insecurities of not being listened as an older brother? In the end, it is our personal choices that matter. It is how we exercise our freedom to choose that allows us to become better individuals.

It is OK to be a supporter. It's even OK to be angry when truth and justice are not prevailing. But it is not good to divide the country because of the petty reason of supporting per se. After the elections, it is not a good picture when we continue to be divisive and not become team players in molding the nation we love. What would happen to our efforts to build a better country if we allow division based on emotions to rule over our sanity?

I still believe that our individual efforts are the most important ones that count. In pursuing Management,  I realize time and again how proactive actions of individuals in an organization matter. Thus, we are the ones to run our own little "areas".

When my brother pursues his master's degree, I could continue inspiring and supporting him even if I realize that most of his friends chose musk cologne as the best there is than the fruity ones. What matters most is the fact that my own beliefs and convictions are respected and not ridiculed. 

What I feel is important. But what I think and feel could be better.

Killing a Mockingbird

                                                    (Photo: Manny Pacquiao)

Someone asked my take on the Paquiao and the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community's rift on the latter being tagged by the world champion as "worse than animals". I heard about it when a video of an angry Boy Abunda appeared in the news feed of a social networking site. I practiced being stoic so that I could think straight and started listening to both sides. And being a member of the Editors Guild of the campus papering movement, I shied away from giving biased remarks.

The LGBT community is hurt. Evidence are the nasty comments on the face of Manny's mother as more likened to an animal and their side comments on Manny's "stupidity" since he is allegedly not well-educated. The absences incurred by Pacquiao in the legislative endeavors are also underscored.

Of course, the infamous boxer asked an apology for seemingly hurting the gay community. But then, the damage has been done and emotions perked up to Mt. Fuji. His fans and supporters aired their side as well bombarding Vice Ganda and questioning him and other comedy-bar artists on their jokes and the use of Mommy Dionisia's antics as if she is the ultimate laughingstock. They also release words such as "bakla na dapat mamatay at ipako sa krus". The word bigot is being hurled to both sides.

I'd like to walk-through with self-discernment. In the new Bloom's taxonomy of learning, REMEMBERING belongs to the low-level thinking and CREATING is on the higher order thinking strand. The latter includes creating ideas and insights. These original ideas or influenced insights are well-thought, organized and based on data. Meaning, a person's idea and intellect could be inferred from the number of books he studied and ideas he performed with careful dichotomy. In my own opinion, I could qualify the accusations of some that Pacquiao's ideas could be tagged as mediocre. This could be gleaned by the words he utter during interviews. 

In Malcolm Gladwell's "Outliers", he theorized that someone could be good with a certain skill (i.e. communication, idea-generation, etc.) if he will practice for 10,000 hours on that skill. Thus, most intellectuals immerse themselves into complex discourses and reading resulting to the desired skills either deliberately or accidentally, So, Manny's ideas especially in terms of human equality and the fallacy of generalizations might be on the amateurish stage. I bet he could not give a reaction on Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird" much to empathize to Oprah Winfrey's plight to end slavery.

I'm an educator. I believe in the importance of such things because they are tagged as life skills. But could I say that Manny Pacquiao is stupid? Of course not. It was Howard Gardner's revolutionary theory on Multiple Intelligence which opened doors for the schools' effort to deliver Differentiated Instruction. Pacquiao is an intelligent athlete. This could stem from the number of hours he trained as a boxer. Probably, he was able to reach 10,000 hours of practice since he has a lot of belts to be proud of.

Now what is the lesson out from this brouhaha? Simple. Don't venture on unknown territories. You might encounter situations where you could pass as incompetent and inconsistent. Learn first, er, train first before fighting. 

I could understand how he got this enlightenment stage with his "Christian" friends that he clung to the Bible and utter words from it. I don't have anything against the Bible, in fact, I could not live without it. I also share things I learn from it especially with the religious community I belong. But I do not PREACH. That's one thing Manny should learn. I was informed by a priest that they have some sort of a masters degree in Philosophy to be able to preach, I think he must not use his neophyte ideas with the bible since he is an international figure. If he wishes to, he must take a degree in religious studies prior to the preaching.

Another: I'm a devout Catholic. I don't take offense on the religious preference of others. I don't criticize their ways of praying. In fact, I am trained to perform CENTERING rather than giving a prayer when conducting international or national training so not to offend other religions. So, what is this seemingly-borrowed wisdom from a new-found religion?

On the other side of the fence, I also dislike the lewd comments of those LGBT members who seem to have some sort "resbak". They seem to go below the belt with their comments involving the athlete's mother. Who and what give them the right to say those words? OK, they are offended. So, it is their anger? I think giving in to bigotry is dangerous. The concept of learning first before reacting could be applied here as well. When one displaces unacceptable comments, allow him to receive the consequences.

Being severed from Nike is one. Now, let's learn to see each others as equal. Even if he sees you as animals, see his mother differently.

Waging War on Prejudice

When a sex video goes viral not just on the social media site but with the individual phones as well, it is always anti-women. The victim is either a woman or a child.

I am not interested with the "scandal" issue here in town as some (even teachers for crying out loud!) ogled on the video of an alleged college student from a local university, I was in deep thought what have become of the capacity-building activity I had with the educators to be child-friendly. Are the provisions on R.A. 9262 being cascaded to the public servants or ignorance simply prevails? I heard comments from people giving prejudice to the woman and nary a comment from the man who could be filed with statutory rape since the girl is allegedly a minor.

I have been asking around if local legislators regulated the "boarding houses" in the municipality for who could be accountable of such crimes against women? Violating their rights of privacy could be a good discussion in the legislators' hall. But then again, they might be busy with their early campaigns.

If the woman consents having sex with someone, does she deserve to be videotaped and be ridiculed by others? What about the man who probably was the one who initiated the whole event? We could not put the blame on him? What is it in our culture when we put a lot of respect to men even if most of them are weak enough to rear a family? And what is the state of mind of those peeping toms who recorded the sexual escapades?

Recently, I visited the detention center of the BJMP to spend some time with an inmate who doesn't have a family. Drugs. As I listened to the different MO's on how to deal methamphetamine, I was scandalized to hear stories of some guys allowing the girls to hit some "shabu" for the girls to endure hourly rounds of kinky sex. Of course, I could scream on the gals for consenting but whose intention was it?

I might sound as an all-out feminist but I'm not. I respect a lot of men who excel on their work and who are responsible enough to be real men. What I am questioning is that stigma on females who seems to be the only person to be blamed when infidelity and sex videos appear. It takes two to tango, you know.

With these gender-sensitive times, we must look at the equality of sexes. We must not marginalize women and children for they are also human beings: prone to commit mistakes like that of men. It would take a lot of education and tons of books to read I know, but we could start from a vantage point of reason and simple psychology.

Parents should also be aware of their children's rights. If I am the parent of the girl, I would wage war against the system. I need to face the shame and seek for justice. Why? It is simply because my daughter is more important than shame. I might not have a perfect family and outstanding parenting skills but NO ONE has the right to push me and my family towards something we do not deserve.