Article published in Ako ay Filipino magazine

(This is the article I previously mentioned in another post. Finally, it came out in the Vol9 No4 Oct-Nov 2007 issue of Ako Ay Filipino magazine circulated in Singapore and Hong Kong. I'm looking forward to writing more articles.)

Remittance Talk
By Windel Anne B. Lacson

Most of us are aware of the great benefit that our remittances bring to our country, hence the label bagong bayani upon us.

Through our remittances, we are able to provide better finances to our families which might have been the primary motivation among many of us to work outside our country, if the decision was not for personal reasons alone.

We also know that our remittances have helped our country’s economy greatly. The foreign currency, mostly US dollars, that we send back home increases the dollar supply in the Philippines thus making the peso stronger against the US dollar. The extra income that we provide to our families has supported the overall economy due to our consumption with the simplified equation that goes: more money = more things to buy = more income to businesses = more economic activity. These are just a few of the many benefits the country gets from our remittances.

Beyond the good news, however, we have to evaluate how our remittances have significantly helped us improve our lives. For instance, I came across the an article two years ago that says that working abroad have not satisfactorily improved the lives of a significant number of overseas Filipino workers mainly due to the fact that the workers are not able to save enough money for long-term use. Most of their income or remittances go to consumption-related activities as against investment-related activities.

It is understandable how consumption is very attractive to a person who has suddenly experienced an increase in income. We all desire good things for ourselves and most of the time this desire is the thing that pushes us to strive for better lives. The desire for nice possessions, stature and recognition may have been the primary reasons why we all find ourselves abroad. Hence, we find it very thrilling and satisfying to indulge in these desires once we find we have the means. Being Filipinos with heavy family-orientedness, we also often wish to extend that thrill and satisfaction of our gains with our loved ones, and we find that fulfillment through sending remittances if not for physically bringing gifts to the special people at home whenever we visit the Philippines.

There is every reason to celebrate a blessing to ourselves with the people we care about. Beyond that, however, I would like to remind every reader about having short-term and long-term goals. The article I mentioned earlier said that many OFWs find themselves without sufficient savings and investment to support themselves during repatriation after many years of working abroad due to a variety of reasons which include: the lack of consciousness to save money among many, and the tendency among many to overspend on large feasts for our extended families or even our local communities.

It may be surprising to find how our little acts of kindnesses may drain us of our hard-earned money. Unfortunately, some studies have found that to be true. I guess the lesson for us here is to know how to temper our “kindness”. Surely, there are ways to show kindness and gratitude to our kin and our community without having to compromise our future once we are back in the Philippines.

Also, I would like to caution our readers about how our remittances are made use of. A current study by Dr. Alvin Ang of the University of Santo Tomas reveals that the huge amount of money that goes into the Philippines through our remittances “have yet to be translated to value-added activities and investments which are more foundational sources of development and growth.” Simply put, we can ask ourselves, how has the billions of dollars of remittances sent by OFWs for so many years lessen the poverty in the Philippines? Have we seen a significant decrease in unemployment in our country due to investments, for example in small businesses, through remittances sent? Have we seen an upsurge in our economy due to the flow of dollars to our country? These are just simple questions that we ourselves can answer based on personal experience.

Dr. Ang says further that, “the bulk of the remittance money appear to be sucked into consumer spending that has spurred that rise of giant shopping malls across the country.” True enough, that was what I found when I came home to visit our country last June, a crowding out of giant malls, for instance SM City in North EDSA is now face to face with another giant mall called Trinoma. I’m sure we can all benefit from the convenience and variety of having more than one mall in the area where we live. But then I guess it’s also very important for us to ask ourselves the question: “Are malls and our ability to buy things that are available in them enough to make for a satisfying life among us?”

Reference:Philippine 2006 overseas remittances hit record 12.8 billion dollarsAgence France Presse, 15 February 2007

Fabulous Friday! God is Good - Part Deux

Friday morning, 12 October, I remembered that I wanted to watch ballet from the Dains Singapore Festival. I surfed the Net for info. Russian ballet, my initial choice, was sold out for Saturday night but there were available tickets for the second night of the Zurich Ballet. I remembered watching the choreographer’s interview over ChannelNewsAsia a few days ago and how the choreography struck me, so I decided to try my luck that night over the box office. My willingness to pay was $60, up to $80 if there’s no $60 worth left.

I left the office at 7PM, for no specific reason, mostly lethargy, I guess. I reached Esplanade 10 minutes before the show. I went into the ladies while they were announcing how it was only 10 minutes before the show and how we’re supposed to be inside the theatre soon.

I rushed to the box office, asked the lady at the counter if they still had tickets.

“For tonight’s show?” she asked.

“Yes,” I replied.

“Will you be willing to pay $60 for a $120 ticket?” she asked really graciously.

“$60 FOR A $120 TICKET???” I had to emphasize because I couldn’t believe what I just heard. Normally, it’s the reverse, right?

She said, “yes, because that man over there is selling his ticket” pointing to where my prince stood, gorgeous in his three-piece black suit.

Ok, there was no three-piece suit but there was this well-dressed Caucasian guy, around six feet tall, holding two pieces of $120 tickets. I asked him in front of the lady selling the ticket if his tickets were legitimate. They said yes.

“But I don’t have cash with me,” I said, which is the truth. “I can only pay by card.”

“I don’t have a machine with me,” he replied. Hahaha. Cute!

The lady suggested that we go to the ATM where I can get money to pay him. We searched until it was only six minutes before the show. By then, we decided to go back up because we might end up late. Along the way, I was asking him where his date was. He said he didn’t ask. I asked why. He shrugged. I offered an unsolicited advice, that next time he should. He said he won’t be staying for the whole show anyway.

He told me to just leave the money at the counter after the show where he’ll get it later on. I passed him my business card just to assure him that I’m not running away from my debt. He took it and said thank you. We hurried to the theater and made it to our VIP box seats just a few minutes to the curtain rise.

I had to ask if he worked in the finance company that sponsored the box we were sitting in. He said no, he just bought the tickets. He could be telling the truth. The tickets bore the booking fee charged by online reservation.

“Enjoy the show,” he said.

“You too.” I returned with a smile.

Entree. Very good.

Around maybe five to ten minutes into the show, my VIP ticket hero stood up and left just as he said.

I felt a bit sad for the guy if he indeed could not ask his date to the show. Meanwhile there was I, lucky stranger, who had two VIP seats to move back and forth to depending on the angle I required for the different numbers.

I enjoyed the night, nevertheless. Who knew there was a very good thing waiting to happen to me over a rash decision I made in the morning.

After ballet, I met up with Melvin for dinner. He was making up for not watching with me. We had fastfood sushi, Japanese cheesecake for dessert, and a wonderful Friday night to cap the workweek.

My lethargic mood was suddenly gone. Little magical moments can do wonders for a soul. Suddenly, my faith in God's care of me, in the good, was restored very convincingly. I am going to trust my Lord for all my needs, and they will be supplied.

Until now, the guy hasn't called me yet to collect. I'm thinking he might just let me go for free. I'm hoping he would, that would be perfect! Meanwhile, my prayers go with him wherever he is. I hope he receives blessings too for his good deed (not calling me :-).


Cello Suites, Winds in the Void (In den Winden im Nichts)
By Zurich Ballet, Switzerland
12 October 2007
Esplanade Theatre

I was struck by the dynamism of Heinz Spoerli’s choreography. His dancers moved in three-dimensional space and one is not limited to viewing flat figures on the stage. Instead, their formations are fluid so that a viewer gets to feel the height and the length, and more importantly, the width of the space where the dancers move. The dancers are also made to exploit different angles of the space mostly with their arm movements and their kicks. Bravo to Spoerli for the daring and imaginative occupancy of the stage.

A friend, nevertheless, complained of the repetitiveness of some moves, to which I agree. I was particularly baffled with a certain position when the male partner carries the female with her arms outstretched and her upper leg parallel to the ground and then the knees bent. Together, the partners look like they resemble an insect. The first view was a novelty to behold; but repetitive use of said position puzzles me completely and makes me ask what I am missing!

The whole concert is made up of different numbers which would entertain primarily for its variety and then of course with the excellent dancers’ techniques. Beyond that, however, the stories conveyed in each of the numbers are rather hard to comprehend.