Denouncing Suffrage

The first time I voted was in 1998. It was also the last.

The voting precint is right next to where we live so I don't think it's an inconvenience.

Sloth is a sin I don't think I've ever been guilty of. Just take a look at the number of posts I did in the last 2 months and I assure you, you cannot accuse me of being lazy.

So why, oh why, denounce a right that so many suffragettes fought for???

Philippine politics, in my humble opinion, is in a state of decadence. Sheer and utter decay. Public service turned into self service. What should be a noble profession is merely a business transaction.

Let me start with the candidates. Take your pick - celebrities, ex-matinee idols, ex-burlesque queens, boxers, retired basketball players, and my favorite category - the next of kin - the husband, the son, the daughter, the son-in-law, the daughter-in-law, heck even the grandchild of the incumbent want their share of power. Kamag-anak Inc. There is only a handful of sincere candidates out there (less than 10, IMO).

Don't get me started on Pork Barrel. I've already written something on it on my The Philippines Through the Eyes of A Filipina post. In case you didn't read it, I'll say it again. The Pork Barrel A.K.A. Countrywide Development Fund (CDF) A.K.A. Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) are funds given to members of the Senate and Congress. These are discretionary in nature so it is up to the senator or congressman to identify the projects that will be funded from these funds. Correct me if I'm wrong, senators get a whopping P 200 million (about $4.65 million USD) each, while the congressmen are allotted about P 70 million (about $1.62 million USD) each. Sheesh, I'm starting to sound like a broken record. So where, oh where does all the money go??? oink oink oink. Let me just give you an example, or better yet, I'll show you.................

Congressmen (esp. women) love building waiting sheds and plant boxes........Pardon my ignorance, but THAT, to me, looks more like a rubbish bin............. Again, I'm really, really ignorant, but..............

Hair & Makeup + Diamond earrings + Color Separation + Tarpaulin printing > GI pipes + scraps of plywoodIs it because it's way cheaper than building schools or spending on infrastructure??? Even if I add the cost of these monstrosities, I mean waiting sheds, I do not think this is worth millions in taxpayer's money............

Potholes galore.........Why not at least spend on that???
Just asking...........

What about the squatters in Metro Manila??? This happens to be right behind a huge goverment facility, and I'm not telling where.............. Did you notice the huge service drop??? Did you also notice that there is NOT A SINGLE ELECTRIC METER???!!!! No wonder our electirc bills continue to sky rocket............

Principles, my dears. Something I think every person should have, only a handful have, and (almost, I'm not saying all) no politician thinks he needs...............

Only in the Philippines, Filipino 'SIGNS' of Wit

I received an email a couple of weeks ago from dear Ate Mel, and again from Joseph R., on Filipino wit. Why settle for mere words when you can capture it on film. Some of them are blurry as they were taken (by me) while on a moving vehicle.

Here they are...........


Asan na si Bob Barker???
Jailhouse Rock??? Di ba kanta yun, tapos naging movie pa ni Elvis Presley??Ano ba to motel o restaurant???Ever heard of CUISINART??? Here's the Filipino version..........I'm sure you can...........O taya na................Shoes, I'm confused............Ooooohhhh, so this is where all those funds went.................Ay sus ko po........... Mr. Bean, Filipino style.......... Whatever happened to Victoria's Secret???

Why end at signages when you can even print it on shirts?

Sorry for the cloudy shots. I took these from afar as I don't think they'll let me do this inside the store. I edited the originals so you can see them much better..............

More than meets the ????

Care for some coffee? I mean, ice drop................The Fat & The Furious..............

I'd really rather not say anything..........
Starring Tom Hunks and Tim Alien...............

There's more to come, promise.................

Abangan.............

Only in the Philippines, Mga Pamahiing Filipino

Filipinos, by nature, are very superstitious. Pagkarami rami nating mga pamahiin. Most of our pamahiins envelop a broad spectrum of daily activities influencing even the way we behave, think and react. I find a lot of them are baseless. Well, at least some of them. Some are totally hilarious and insane. Here are some of them and my take on them...................


If you face a mirror at midnight you will see the reflection of your future husband.
No matter what time of day, you will always see one reflection........YOURS. If you happen to see any other reflection other than yours, scream and run. That's probably a ghost.

Never sweep the floor at night or you'll sweep all the good luck out.
I think my luck would be perfectly fine as I rarely sweep the floor.

Wearing a diamond protects the bearer from bad people.
Quick!!!! I need to alert my husband. Pwede bang 5 carats???

If you drop a spoon, you'll have a lady visitor; a man if you drop a fork; a child if you drop a teaspoon.
What if I drop a knife? Eh papaano kung may party? Papaano na yan?

Do not mend your clothes while wearing them, or harm will befall you.
I agree. Baka hita mo na pala ang nasusulsi mo.

Bees found inside the house will bring you good luck.
Bees belong in a garden. If you see them inside your house, run. Putakti yun, hindi suwerte.

If a person gets sick, it means evil spirits are playing with him.
Aren't they called bacteria and viruses?

Do not place your handbag or purse on the floor or you won't prosper.
Never have, never will.

If your right palm itches, you will receive money. If your left palm itches, you will spend money.
Did you not consider washing them?

During New Year's eve, jumping 12 times as the clock strikes 12 will make one grow taller.
Yeah right. I have been doing this every every year since I was 12. I'm still petite.

During New Year's eve, swallowing 12 grapes at midnight will make one's wish come true.
Not at the same time though unless you want spend the New Year choking.

Trimming or cutting a newborn's eyalashes will make it grow long and thick.
Make sure that you a have a 20/20 vision. If you do not, pray that you do not trim past the lashes. Baka mamaya eyelids na pala ang nagugupit mo.

Twisting the head of a match on the cheeks of a newborn baby will create dimples.
I think my parents made a serious mistake by twisting the head of the match on the wrong set of cheeks. My dimples are nowhere near my face.

Eating papayas everyday will help diminish sexual urges.
I love papayas. I eat them everyday. Seriously, my husband does not think this works haha...........................

P.S. Due to insistent public demand (feeling) [read: 3 people namely Mon, Ruth, and my Dad (yes indeed, my Daddy religiously reads my posts)] I'm using larger fonts. Apparently they have to squint to be able to read my posts, especially my Dad. Daddy, you are the reason why I cannot go any 'greener' haha Luv ya mwah mwah...............

Pinoy Folk Illnesses

Like I said, two days ago was my day off. I had to catch up on a lot of things, reading, cleaning my boys' room, ours as well. That included catching up on my most dreaded household chore, ironing. Two hours, fourteen polo shirts, three khakis, five denim pants and more than a week's worth of my boys' school uniforms later, I took a long, warm bath. Yes, I took a bath immediately after ironing. I could almost hear my Nanay Cora saying 'Huwag na huwag ka maliligo pagkaplantsa, mapapasma ka' ('Don't bathe after ironing, or you'd get pasma').

I actually used to believe that. That is, until I started scouring through pages of health and medical guides, I wasn't able to find the medical term for it, not even an appropriate English equivalent. I may not be doctor but being a nerd does pay off. Filipinos have so many mythical beliefs, some funny, some absurd, some just plain ridiculous. Allow me to illustrate:


Pasma - They say after doing hard manual labor, i.e. ironing, drawing/ drafting, even long hours in the computer, you are not supposed to get your hands, sometimes even your whole body anywhere near water, otherwise you'd get this. They say pasma is characterized by excessive sweating of the palms and tremor-like shaking of the hands sometimes even pain.

This is a very useful ploy for getting off the hook when it comes to other chores like dishwashing or doing the laundry. Extremely useful to design students, ahem guilty, when I was in College, I'd use drawing as an excuse to not do the dishes. Same goes with my sister Roselle who would always use this as an excuse to exempt herself from every possible household chore there is hahaha. The award for 'Most Guilty' goes to Joel for using this ploy since high school, all throughout college, hanggang ngayon. Kidding aside, it's usually his mother who would tell all his sisters, 'o nag drawing si Joel, hindi yan pwede maghugas ng plato'. Thereby sparing him from washing the dishes, every single time hahaha..........

Pilay - Everytime someone gets fever and flu-like symptoms you'll be sure to hear this. The only pilay I know is a person with a limp. It's either fever or flu, stop calling it pilay.

Tigdas Hangin - Whenever my kids would have small rashes anywhere, with no fever-like symptoms whatsoever, I get to hear this 'tigdas hangin yan'. Tigdas is the local term for measles. E ano yung tigdas hangin??? Air measles haha

Lagnat Laki - Whenever I had sinat (when I was a kid), meaning fever with a temperature reading of less than 37.8 degrees, my lola would sometimes say 'lagnat laki lang yan'. I'd even be glad then to have that fever in hopes of getting taller. Alas, useless din, maliit pa rin ako huhuhu....................


Are there any other Filipino folk illnesses I missed??? Please remind me.........