So Earth Hour was last night. It’s fun to see a lot of people participating when once upon a time, a lot of them would have scoffed at the idea of going without electricity for one hour. Every little bit helps, though, so it’s a good thing people are partcipating anyway. But what I particularly hate about Earth Hour is how people get all self-righteous just because they took part in it, with some of them deriding their neighbors who failed to “do their share.” Dear self-righteous people, saving the planet takes more than turning off lights, and for all you know, the neighbors at whom you sneer might be living a life much greener than you do throughout the rest of the year. Besides, Earth Hour is purely voluntary. Badmouthing anyone who isn’t taking part isn’t making the world a better place.

Yahoo! News Philippines currently features this article from Manila Bulletin. It highlights the thoughts of some of this year’s graduates from some of Metro Manila’s universities and colleges, and what they think about their futures. To some of them, I feel like saying, “Oh dear, you are so young,” but hey, I was eager and bright-eyed once, and I believed I was going to change the world. (Of course, I may just be biding my time.)

Instead of knocking their ideals, however, I will laugh at some of them because of their salary expectations. It’s interesting to note that the graduates of Ateneo and La Salle appear to have quite a skewed idea how much companies pay new employees who also happen to be fresh graduates, thinking P40,000 or P50,000 was all right, and another saying he wants P30,000 but expects to get P25,000. The people from other schools state an expected salary ranging from P15,000 to P20,000, which is at least completely realistic. Of course, who knows? Maybe the ones aiming for a salary range of P30,000-P50,000 would end up working for some hotshot company that hires inexperienced workers and is perfectly willing to take a risk and shell out that kind of money for them–which is a salary that not even people who work for years in one company command. Of course, there are major multinational companies who pay that salary without batting an eyelash, but as stories have it, they really make you work for what you earn (read: take over your life and work you to the bone).

As for their expectations when it comes to their future and the real world, they’re pretty spot-on when they talk about challenges, uncertainty, pressure to make money, and competition. No one needs to tell them about disappointments, plans that go awry, and the fact that they’ll inevitably be surrounded by small-minded, indecisive idiots who don’t deserve the positions they hold. They also don’t need to know yet how the real world will make them take a good look at themselves and figure out what’s really important in life. They’ll find out soon enough.

The New York Magazine has a pretty interesting article on intelligence tests for very young children and the pressure that is being piled on them at their age. Basically: Pass the tests and get into the best schools or fail and be doomed to live a life of mediocrity or failure, you have no choice in the matter, you fail and you have no chance of ever making it in life, so study hard, child, study hard!

I was actually quite surprised a few years ago when I saw banners around the city promoting review classes for college entrance exams–and pre-school entrance exams. Which is pretty odd. Your child’s a child. He or she is supposed to be going to school to learn and acquire knowledge, and at a young age, he or she isn’t equipped with a whole lot of it yet. If the child doesn’t do well in the entrance exams, then schools are basically blocking him or her from exploring his or her full potential.

So this commercial has been running for almost a year now, and I wish it would just die a gory death because it’s such a ridiculous ad.

In this ad, Kim Chiu, who’s so dangerously skinny that her arms are probably as fat as my thumb, is saying that the female hair is big and frizzy in the morning. To whoever came up with this ad, I say this: The hair of the girls in the ad isn’t frizzy, not by a long shot. It’s just messy. And if girls have messy hair in the morning, all they need to do is run a damn comb through their hair, not employ Rejoice Anti-Frizz right away. Besides, you don’t know from frizzy, not like the big hair that curly-haired people like myself have to deal with on a regular basis. No amount of shampoo can calm it down; it takes time, effort, and a cleverly maneuvered hair dryer or iron, and even then, our hair is defenseless in the face of humidity. Frizzy is either a hair’s default state or a reaction to excessive humidity, not something that takes place upon waking up in the morning.

I got to watch Isang Tanong just now, thanks to this YouTube channel, and ye gods, it did not help me make a decision at all as to who I’ll be voting for president. On second thought, no, it actually helped me. It made me realize that I don’t want any of those buggers ruling my country, and that I’ll just most likely end up scratching a long line on the ballot like I did last elections, assuming that the automated ballot counting won’t push through and we’re going with the usual ballot we’ve used for the past several decades.

I logged into my online BDO account and received a notification informing me about an electronic banking survey and asking if I wanted to participate. I clicked “Yes,” and the next message that popped up said, “Thank you. Expect a call from us soon.” What part of “electronic banking survey” does BDO fail to grasp? It’s the same thing with their applications for online banking. Sure you can fill out the form online, but you still have to print it out and submit it to a BDO branch. BDO: We find ways to make the electronic not electronic at all. Or BDO: We find ways to make ourselves sound modern and high-tech when we’re actually just doing the same old thing.

And the political ads are popping up like angry zits hellbent on destroying your life–except the ads and the people they feature are worse, because they really can destroy your life. Much has already been said about political ads, and I’ll toss in my own thoughts about them when I don’t feel so lazy. In the meantime, I just saw the music video from the surprise presidential candidate earlier this evening, and it left me reeling from Regine Velasquez’s caterwauling, the earnest expressions on the faces of Sharon Cuneta, Ai-Ai de las Alas, the infernal Kris Aquino, and Anne Curtis, among other celebs, with the exception of Marian Rivera who was gliding across the screen looking utterly confident that she’s the most gorgeous creature on the planet. I don’t care for Noynoy Aquino, the same way I don’t care for any of the presidential candidates who’ve been crawling out lately, and I don’t care for the music video at all.

And am I the only who thinks that this scene from the video looks like they’re marching onward and preparing to lay waste to wherever they’re heading?

Everyone was incensed when Gloria came out with a statement telling everyone that donations sent in from abroad will not be taxed so long as they’re addressed to DSWD. Everyone saw through this charade and suspected that the government will just squirrel away any donations addressed to DSWD anyway, and opted to send relief goods and other forms of aid to private groups. Still, there were others who complied and today, thanks to Ella’s report, which she was able to put together properly having worked as a volunteer, we all got to see where the donations really went. Hint: Not to the typhoons’ victims, but rather, stored away in DSWD’s warehouse.

Here is Ella Ganda’s blog post, reposted here in full along with the pictures as a back-up just in case her site crashes again from the swarm of her outraged fellowmen. Great job, Ella, and we’re all grateful to you for exposing this!

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Dear friends,

I’m asking your help to spread the word. Tulungan po ninyo akong ikalat ito. Beyond this, we should also demand action. I disabled a plugin so you can copy the photos of relief goods rotting in DSWD warehouses. You can link this post to your blogs, facebook, websites etc. You can also email the photos.

Philippine News (US based Philippine newspaper) will use this as its front page story this week. Every Filipino has the right to know where the tons of donations from the UN and other counties go. Kahit po nakakahiya sa mga nag-donate. Kung sa ganitong paraan, matutulungan natin ang mga nasalanta, then by all means, let’s do it.

For those who have the time, please try to volunteer sa DSWD warehouses. Getting in was not easy. A friend had to put in a word for us. Let’s see kung madali nang makapasok sa DSWD warehouse ang mga volunteers.

Please read on and good luck to us.

Ella

(This post was last edited Oct 22, 12:30 pm)

Kahapon, tinanong ng Philippine News si DSWD Secretary Esperanza Cabral:

Editor of Philippine News: Why are the relief goods in DSWD warehouses not moving?

DSWD Secretary Esperanza Cabral: Wala kasing volunteers.

This short interview was done over the phone. Philippine News wanted to hear her side pero ayaw niyang makipag-usap sa press. After four tries, pinasabi na lang niya ang maikling sagot na ito sa secretary niya – “Walang volunteers”.

I don’t want to accuse her of corruption but at the very least she is showing signs of being totally incompetent. We are in a state of calamity where every second counts. May namamatay araw-araw dahil sa sakit.

In my opinion, these deaths could have been prevented if Secretary Cabral had tried a little harder to do her job.

Deaths from Philippine storms nears 1,000

“Tropical Storm Ketsana left 420 dead and 37 missing when it flooded 80 percent of Manila on September 26, a disaster the government said affected 4.35 million people.

Some areas are still flooded three weeks later and 189,000 people remain in evacuation centres,

Typhoon Parma hit the northern Philippines on October 3 and lingered as a tropical storm for a week, triggering landslides that killed 438 people and leaving 51 missing mostly in mountain communities.

The government agency said Parma affected 4.16 million people, including more than 32,000 who remain at evacuation centres.”

During the first week after the storm, lumabas ang “bayanihan spirit” ng mga Pinoy. “Makatulong lang kahi’t konti,” katwiran nila.

kung walang volunteers, ano ‘to, komiks?

From Stella Arnaldo’s blog:

“At the offices of many civic groups and private organizations, hundreds of people showed up to volunteer in packing relief goods.

At the Tulong Bayan center at the Expo Centro in Cubao, Most of the volunteers were adolescents as young as 10 years old, along with their kuya or ate in high school and college.

They came in huge numbers, many of them barkadas, classmates or siblings, dressed just in their tees and shorts, wearing their Havaianas. All were just enthusiastic to do their share!

_{Photos by Leah Navarro}

Even grade school kids pitched in to help!

Youth volunteers repack detergents for distribution

Making beds from carton boxes

GMA asked world for donations

Our government begged the world for more donations. Sumagot ang buong mundo sa ating panawagan. In less than three weeks, dumaong ang mga barko, ibinaba mula sa mga cargo planes, i-diniliver ng mga trak at container vans ang sandamakmak na relief goods. Cash donations were in the millions of dollars.

But these donations must be coursed through DSWD

Nagpalabas ng directive ang pangulo. Individuals, private companies and other nations were ENCOURAGED to send their donations to DSWD. I blogged about it here and the video of her announcement here.

This PGMA directive sounded suspicious to me then. Now I know why. Here’s the story.

A group of eight people, your ate Ella included, went to one of DSWD warehouses to help in repacking relief goods. We know they need volunteers pero hindi namin akalaing WALANG TAO TALAGA SA LOOB NG WAREHOUSE!

As in sa isang humongous warehouse (1000++ sq.m) NA PUNONG-PUNO NG RELIEF GOODS HANGGANG BUBONG, ISANG DSWD employee lang at ISANG SECURITY GUARD ang tao!!

Kailangang magpa-register at i-schedule ang volunteering

1) UNICEF Registration (as a volunteer)

The warehouse can only take as much as 50 volunteers at a time or per shift. Here you will find that there is a 4-hour shift, and an option for a 6-hour shift for the volunteers to indicate their availability.

What “volunteers”? Nasaan?

Aside from the 8 of us? Nope, there was nobody there. Bakit kailangan ang scheduling? Feeling hindi ba magkamayaw at nagu-unahan ang mga volunteers?

I know somebody who wanted to volunteer many times. She was always bumped off, laging nirere-schedule kasi “there were too many volunteers” daw. At tuwing Sunday lang daw puwede. What the hell is going on here?

Nakatambak ang donations ng UNICEF sa warehouse, local and international

Mga banig na dapat ay nahihigaan ng mga nasalanta. Mga imported camp beds na hindi na yata masisilayan ng mga biktima. Mga kumot na hindi naman nakabalot sa katawan nila. At mga pagkaing hindi sumasayad sa sikmura nila.

The relief goods are not going anywhere

We arrived at about 8 am and left by midafternoon and yes, you guessed it right. Kami pa rin ang tao bukod sa isang DSWD employee sa loob ng warehouse maghapon. Walang ibang dumating.

The relief goods are not moving. By the way things look, they are not going anywhere. Hindi maglalakad mag-isa ang mga donations na ito papunta sa mga evacuation centers.

LET THE PICTURES DO THE TALKING

Note: Pinagbawalan kaming kumuha ng pictures sa loob ng warehouse. I wonder why.

“Not a creature was moving, not even a mouse.”

Parang haunted warehouse ang dating. May multo na yata.

Kahit na daig pa ang tindahan sa Divisoria sa dami ng naka-stack na kaldero

At walang katapusang kaldero pa ulit

Kahit halos natakpan na ang mga bintana sa dami ng mga kahon

Kahit umabot na hanggang kisame ang stack ng mga kahon

(Close up ng Coleman camp beds sa previous photo) Hindi ito kasama sa ni-repack naming goods. Para sa mga “special victims” kaya ito? Ire-repack kaya ang mga “imported” camp pads na ito ever?

Sabagay, may BANIG naman para sa “ordinary victims”. Ito ang kasama sa inimpake namin. Sayang ‘yung imported.

Ano kaya ang laman nito? Hindi rin pinabuksan. Pang-special victim din kaya ito? (teka, dito nga pala galing ‘yung mga kumot)

Mahiwagang mga kahon from Japan Aid.

(close up ng mahiwagang kahon) Hindi rin ito kasali, of course. Hindi namin alam kung ano ang laman nito. “Imported” are not included, we have concluded.

Marami ito, mga laruang kasinlaki ng tao. Hindi nakunan ng pic kasi nasa tabi ng sikyo.

PORK AND BEANS? Yup, you’d think kasama ito sa relief bag. Pork and beans lang ‘to, puwede na sigurong ipamigay,

Naaah! “Imported” pork and beans from Spain po ito. Sorry, hindi pa rin included

Now let’s take a look at what a victim will get from DSWD

Look Ma, sampung lata ng sardinas! How generous! Kaldero ang unang ilalagay sa sako. Sabong panglaba (bar soap) at sampung sardinas sa ilalim. Siyam na sabon sa gilid ng kaldero. Local goods lahat syempre.

Tapos papatungan ng isang tuwalya at isang pack ng sanitary napkin.

Sisiksikan ng tatlong rolyo ng kumot(?) ang blue water jug tapos ipapatong sa kaldero sa loob ng sako.

Last but not the least, lalagyan ng dalawang banig.

Sabay tatahiin na ang sako. O di ba, parang asong tinapunan ng buto ang mga nasalanta? Eniwey, busog naman sila sa SAMPUNG lata ng Mega sardinas

Do not delay

YOU THINK?? WTF is the matter with these people? Mag-iisang buwan na mula nang masalanta ang mga kababayan natin. ISANG BUWAN!! Do you mean “do not delay ang dati nang delayed”?? Shet.

Anong ginagawa ng mga donations na ito sa warehouse?? APAT na warehouse ang nasa loob ng compound na ‘yon! APAT na warehouse na punong-puno ng inaalikabok na relief goods! Relief goods na ayaw yata ibigay sa mga nasalanta. Halatang-halata.

Marami pang pabubulukin

Wow! May bagong shipment na naman! At the rate DSWD is moving, next year na madi-discover kung ano ang laman ng mga kahong ito.

“The first of two of the largest high-energy food shipments from the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) arrived in the country two days ago for victims of storm “Ondoy” and typhoon “Pepeng.”

The biscuits were fortified with essential vitamins and minerals for supplementary feeding to children, pregnant women and the elderly in evacuation camps. Another 100 tons of biscuits will arrive on Oct. 24, in a continuing effort to provide food assistance to flood victims.

Sige, ideretso ‘nyo ulit ‘yan sa DSWD warehouse. Para AMAG naman ang abutin ng biskwit… at sapot ng gagamba.

Conclusion

Sa maghapon namin sa warehouse,nakagawa kami ng 150 sacks of relief goods. 150 bags of relief goods lang ang lumabas sa warehouse na ‘yon that day. At nandoon pa rin sa loob ang mga imported relief goods, safe, sound and packed as the day they arrived.

Nakisakay kami palabas sa isang DSWD delivery van. Gusto sana kaming ihatid ng driver hanggang Makati pero wala raw siyang sobrang gasolina. Ibinaba na lang niya kami sa gitna ng EDSA. Millions of dollars in donations, walang extrang pang-gasolina.

Susulpot din siguro ang laman ng mga mahiwagang kahon at mapapasakamay din ng mga tao…sa ARAW NG ELEKSYON. O mabibili na nila ang mga imported goods na ‘yon sa mga puwesto sa Quiapo at Divisoria.

Suggestions lang po sa DSWD:

Alam ‘nyo palang walang mag-volunteer sa inyo, bakit hindi kayo mag-hire ng mga tao? Bayaran ‘nyo ng arawan para mag-repack. Ang daming walang trabaho, makakatulong pa kayo. Hindi naman malaking kabawasan ‘yon sa bilyong pisong donasyon na natanggap ninyo.

Isa pa, gaano ba karami ang mga sundalo natin? Hindi ba puwedeng ipagawa sa kanila ‘yan? Baka isang araw lang, tapos na ang problema ‘nyo

Bakit hindi ‘nyo ibigay ang trabaho sa mga NGO, churches, private charities, TV stations? I’m sure they are more than willing to help. Time is of the essence. Huwag kayong suwapang. Obvious ba, hindi ‘nyo naman kaya.

Kung talagang gugustuhin ninyong makarating agad sa mga kawawang biktima ang mga donasyong ‘yon, nagawa ‘nyo na ‘yan. Maraming paraan…kung talagang gusto ‘nyo lang.

You are the government. You have the power, the resources and the money. You just have to really care.