Tai Mo Shan, inakyat ng OFWs

Ni Regina de Andres

Pinakamalaking hamon marahil sa mga OFW sa Hong Kong ang pag-akyat sa pinakamataas na bundok sa lugar na ito, ang Tai Mo Shan. Ngunit napagtagumpayan ng 18 Pilipinang domestic helper na kinabibilangan namin ang hamon na ito dahil sa kagustuhan naming makatulong sa mga taong nangangailangan.

Isinakatuparan namin ang pagharap sa hamon na iyon noong Pebrero 14, tatlong linggo pagkatapos mag-yelo sa ibabaw ng bundok na ito dahil sa sobrang lamig na bumalot sa Hong Kong nang panahong iyon.

Marami ang nagkainteres na umakyat sa 957 metro ang taas na Tai Mo Shan, na ang ibig sabihin ay “malaking sombrero”, lalo na ang mga first-timer sa hiking.

Natupad ang pangarap na ito nang magyaya ang isang di-pormal na samahan ng mga kasambahay, ang “OFWs in Hong Kong”, sa Facebook page nito para mag-hiking patungong Tai Mo Shan upang makalikom ng pantulong sa isang dating OFW na ngayon ay nakikipaglaban sa colon cancer sa Pilipinas.

Labing-walo ang sumipot nang nagkita-kita ang mga kasama sa pag-akyat sa MTR station sa Tsuen Wan. Ang pagsama nila ay hindi lang dahil sa kagustuhang makatulong sa kapwa, kundi dahil na rin sa hangaring marating ang tugatog ng pinakamatayog na bundok sa Hong Kong.

Punumpuno ng interes ang lahat, lalo na’t puro kababaihan at mga baguhan sila sa Hong Kong.

Mula sa Tsuen Wan station ay nagkaisa ang grupo na magtaksi at magsimula sa Tai Mo Shan Country Park. Galing doon ay tinunton namin ang Maclehose Trail No.8 na nakapaikot sa ibabaw ng bundok.

Nagsimula kaming umakyat ng alas 11 ng umaga, at nakisama ang panahon dahil hindi mainit, makulimlim, at maulap sa bandang itaas ng bundok, na nakatulong sa pagbagtas naming sa 10 kilometrong landas.

Ang pag-akyat naming iyon sa Tai Mo Shan ay nagantimpalaan ng walang kapalit na saya dahil mula sa picnic site No.4 kasunod ng Hong Kong Observatory weather radar station sa tuktok ay napagmasdan namin ang napakagandang tanawin ng Hong Kong at Kowloon.

Ang hindi inaasahan ng mga baguhang hiker ay ang kakaibang karanasan na pag-akyat sa tagiliran ng bundok na tanging sa mga kugon lamang maaring mangunyapit upang marating ang tuktok.

Mula sa kinatatayuan ng radar, tinunton namin ang landas na bahagi pa rin ng Maclehose Trail No. 8 pababa naman sa dulo ng hiking trail, ang Shing Mun Country Park.

Mala-disyerto ang dinaanan naming bahagi ng bundok na may naglalakihang batong ibinuga ng dating bulkan.

Ilang kilometro pa pababa, sa bahaging iyon na nagsisimula ang kagubatan ay maraming unggoy sa mga puno at sa tabing-daan na tila naghihintay ng ihahagis na pagkain. Ilang hakbang pa ay iniwan na namin ang magandang lugar na iyon hanggang sa nadaanan namin ang Pineapple Dam.

May mga puno na iba’t iba ang laki at hugis na naghikayat din sa mga baguhan para pansamatalang tumigil sa mga oras na iyon at magkuhanan ng litrato.

Natapos namin ang hiking pasado alas 5 ng hapon sa tabi ng isang malawak na lawa ng napakalinaw at bughaw na tubig, ang Shing Mun Reservoir na isa sa mga imbakan ng tubig na iniinom ng mga taga-Hong Kong.

Mula sa pagkikita-kita namin sa Tsuen Wan MTR hanggang sa makabalik kami sa Tsuen Wan ay halos walong oras ang ginugol ng mga hikers. Ngunit umuwi kaming lahat na dala ang ibayong kasiyahan mula sa bagong karanasan.

Sa mga nagnanais umakyat sa Tai Mo Shan, siguraduhin lamang ninyo na nakahanda ang dalawang litro ng inuming tubig at mga pagkaing magaan na puwedeng kainin habang nasa hiking, dahil bukod sa walang mabibilhan sa bundok, napakahabang lakarin ito.

Sa pagkakaisa ng mga kasapi sa OFWs in Hong Kong, pinili na ng mga ito na magkaroon ng hiking sa iba’t ibang lugar sa lungsod na ito minsan hanggang dalawang ulit sa isang buwan.

Dahil sa ganitong aktibidad, nagkaroon ng magandang samahan at pagkakaibigan ang mga kasapi. Bukod dito ay nakakatulong ito sa kanilang kalusugan, at pati sa mga nabibiyayaan ng pondong kanilang nalilikom.

Sa darating na Marso 30, ang OFWs in HK ay magdadaos ng “gift giving and feeding program” sa isang bahay-ampunan sa lalawigan ng Capiz sa tulong at suporta na rin ng kasaping sumasama sa mga pag-akyat sa bundok.

Stroke leaves Pinay partially blind

A Filipina domestic worker is in hospital due to a stroke early this month that has left her partially blind in her right eye and feeling numb on the right side of her body.

The stroke which occurred on Feb. 3, also left 50-year-old Mediatrix R.’s speech slurry.

Mediatrix told The SUN that she was scheduled for a third CT scanning session, after two previous scans to look for blood clots in her brain yielded no findings.

“Na-CT scan na ako, dalawang beses, pero nahihilo pa rin ako at saka  di nakakakita sa aking kanang mata,” said the mother of three, who is in Ruttonjee Hospital in Wan Chai.

Mediatrix was taken to the hospital by her Korean lady employer on Feb. 3 after she complained of severe headache and dizziness.

She was admitted at Ruttonjee Hospital and moved to Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital for two days for the CT scan sessions and then taken back to Ruttonjee for observation.

Mediatrix, a native of Bangued, Abra, said she had been in Hong Kong for 20 years, spending the last 10 years working for her Korean employer.

Now she said her employer, whom she described as “very kind”, wanted to bring her sister over to replace her and, at the same time, take care of her. But she said the employer does not know how to go about doing this.

The Filipina’s concerns now are the expenses she would incur from her hospital stay, and what help she could expect from government agencies like the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the Social Security System. – VB Lumicao

Quirino High shares top prize in UN art tilt in HK

By Vir B. Lumicao

he winning team makes a courtesy call at the consulate and is welcomed by its officials led by Consul General Bernardita Catalla (extreme right).

Quirino High School in Project 3, Quezon City, has put its name on the world map by sharing first prize with Argentine and Spanish schools in a United Nations art competition to celebrate UN Day last Oct 26.

Consul General Bernardita Catalla was the guest of honor at the awards ceremony held on Feb. 21 at the Renaissance College in Shatin.

She praised Quirino High’s Supreme Student Government and students for winning the top prize in the collaborative mural category of the competition themed “Technology for Peace: The Great Challenge”.

She also congratulated Jecelin Bernales Pailano of St Mary’s College of Bansalan, Davao del Sur, who received a diploma (certificate) for her entry in the technological creation and innovation category for students 18 to 21 years old. This contest required participants to create or invent a technology that would help promote progress and peace.

“Peace and cooperation, in the last decade, has successfully harnessed the creativity and resourcefulness of young students from around the world in advocating peace and non-violence through the annual school award,” Catalla said in a message to the gathering.

Joaquin Antuña, president of the UN Peace and Cooperation Foundation which co-organized the contest along with the School of Creativity of Hong Kong, opened the awarding ceremony attended by diplomats and representatives of the winning schools from 19 countries.

The awarding was the highlight of the “Road to Hong Kong Exhibition” featuring the winning artworks.

Selection of the winning entries in various contest categories was held last Oct 26 at the Egyptian Institute of Madrid in Spain by a committee that comprised the 2015 Peace and Cooperation School Award International Jury.

Quirino High’s winning entry was a 50-meter mural showing children sending messages and letters of peace across the seas through a personal computer in the comfort of their home. Like the other entries, the mural was done collaboratively by students and teachers, according to the contest rules.

The Filipinos shared first prize with a group of students and teachers at Instituto Carlos Steeb in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and those from Colegio de Fomento Sansuena in Zaragoza, Spain.

The Quirino High delegation comprised Lory F Perjes, head teacher of the Araling Panlipunan Department; Rodel R. Rivera, adviser of the Supreme Student Government; Katherine Risell B Baltazar, SSG president; Claudia P Alturas, vice president; Christianne Mae C Ocampo, secretary; and Arra Jane V Batin, treasurer.

“I was moved to tears when our students and teachers climbed on stage to receive their award. I felt proud. It was a very heartening feeling,” said Vanessa Banares, a Hong Kong-based OFW and aunt of Ocampo, one of the creators of the mural.

Vice-Consul Alex Vallespin, head of the Consulate’s cultural section, handed the first prize award to the Quirino High delegation, then received the diploma for Pailano, who could not join the delegation. Vallespin said the award would be sent to Pailano by mail.

On Feb 22, Congen Catalla hosted breakfast for the team at the Consulate. She later took them on a tour of the premises and gave them a token.

The group flew back to Manila later in the day.

The winning team makes a courtesy call at the consulate and is welcomed by its officials led by Consul General Bernardita Catalla (extreme right)

The Quirino High winning mural is a collaborative work of its faculty and students (above photo) as a campus project.

Pro-Duterte pitch leads to ‘snubbing’ issue between Global Alliance, PCG

By Daisy CL Mandap

In a “message” sent through The SUN on Feb. 23, Global Alliance chairman Leo Selomenio accused the Consulate of favoring Philippine Alliance, the group from where they had broken away from early this year.

The protest stemmed from the no-show of Consulate officials at Global’s event, where Consul General Bernardita Catalla was named as one of the “honored guests” along with actor Robin Padilla and Sebastian Duterte, son of presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte.

Robin Padilla attracts big crowd Newly formed organization Global Alliance has decried what it perceived as unfair treatment by officers of the Consulate during its induction ceremony held on Feb. 21 on Chater Road.

Before the boycott, Congen reportedly opted to send Deputy Consul General Christian de Jesus in her stead, as it was he who presided over PhilAlliance’s induction earlier this year.

“We believe that PCG should treat their people fairly and not just support Philippine Alliance and exclude Global Alliance,” Selomenio’s letter said.

But in a rebuttal, Congen Catalla said the decision to stay away was due to reports indicating the event was co-organized with a group supporting Duterte’s presidential bid.

Congen cited the Omnibus Election Code prohibiting public officials from engaging in any election activity, directly or indirectly, or taking part in any partisan activity.

She said: “The sudden withdrawal of participation of PCG-HK officers in last Sunday’s activity of Global Alliance and Duterte Alliance was an act to uphold the law...Malice has no place in the decision and action of PCG-HK.”

Selomenio, however, insisted that the event was organized by her other group, Kabisig Society. The program billed it as an “Induction and Oathtaking Ceremony” by Global’s affiliate organizations and as a “Search for Hot Mama” contest. 

Padilla was supposed to just say hi and sing three songs, and not endorse Duterte.

“Ang binigay ko nga sa kanila was 30 minutes lang pero umabot sila ng 1 hour and half

Kahit singko wala akong hiningi sa kanila kasi ang usapan kakanta lang sya (Padilla) ng 3 songs,” said Selomenio in a message.

Speaking before a crowd of thousands, the actor not only talked at length about why he was supporting Duterte, he was also accompanied on stage by the candidate’s son who naturally also made a campaign pitch for his father.

Reacting to the allegation that it favored PhilAlliance, Congen said: “The PCG treats all Filcom organizations accredited to it fairly and equally”.

She said Global’s induction coincided with the Peace and Cooperation Awards Ceremonies, where the PCG was invited to award the certificates to members of the winning team from Quirino High School in Quezon City.

Thus, she decided that DCG de Jesus would go to Chater, taking note that he was also the one who presided over the induction of PhilAlliance officers. However, as he was about to leave for Chater, de Jesus was reportedly alerted by reports that the event was being co-organized by the Duterte Alliance, which made him decide against going,

An offer was made for the Global leaders to go to PCG instead for their induction, but they turned it down.

Selomenio confirmed this, saying the group’s officers decided they should not leave Chater in the middle of the celebration so they could go to the Consulate to take their oath.

Apart from Global Alliance, the other organizations slated to have their induction ceremony that day were Kabisig, Panay Overseas Workers Association (POWA), Abante Burgos La Union Association HK, Sudipen Society Hong Kong, Delfin Albano Foreign Workers Association and The United City of San Fernando Organization – all breakaway factions of Philippine Alliance.

Despite the snub, Selomenio said the event made history because more than 5,000 people came to Chater Road. However, most came in the afternoon, when Padilla showed up to campaign for his “idol” Duterte.

The induction of Global Alliance officers took place in the afternoon, with barrister Dee Crebbin who also acts as the group’s legal adviser stepping into the shoes of Congen Catalla as inducting officer.

In a brief speech, Crebbin, a former senior prosecutor, vowed to ensure justice is always served to migrant workers.

POWA’s officers took their oath before The SUN’s publisher Leo A. Deocadiz, who also serves as one of their advisers, while the other affiliate organizations were inducted into office by La Union budget officer Catherine Franco.

The new officers of Global Alliance are: Leo Selomenio, chairman; Aziz Tuano, president; Marites Nuval, vice president for administration; Virgie Buen, vp for program; Zeny Navarro, general secretary; Vice Tabarnero, secretary; Mel Guerrero, finance director; Nida Balcita, treasurer; Lindy Paclibar, general auditor; Bonnie Madelar, auditor; Gie Tacadao, PR director; Mila Agtarap, Tess Domdom, Francis Ita-as, founding advisers; Fr. Jay Flandez, spiritual adviser; and Dee Crebbin, legal adviser.

POWA is headed by Lindy Paclibar as president, with the other officers: Diana Estrellan, vp-internal; Thelma Frondoza, vp-external; Angeli Marie Maboot, secretary; Mayflor Pirote, assistant secretary; Sheryl Joy Jornadal, treasurer; Lyn Lorca, assistant treasurer; Analisa Bretana, auditor; Marites Genoguin, asst auditor; Armiets Roann, Lovely Jordan, Elisa Duran, Marilou Redulla Jimenez, PRO; Ronalyn Bayo-ang, Christian Je-ann Jallorina and Renaly Barrios, business managers; and Francis Ita-as, Merlinda Mercado, Katherine de Guzman, Rosabelle Woolf and Leo Deocadiz, advisers.

Robin Padilla attracts big crowd to Global Alliance’s event. Note Duterte’s face on the lower right corner of the backdrop.

Pinoy Jokes

No license needed for seniors

My neighbor was working in his yard when he was startled by a late model car that came crashing through his hedge right into his front yard.

He rushed to help an elderly lady driver out of the car and sat her down on a lawn chair.

He said with excitement, “You appear quite elderly to be driving.”

“Well, yes, I am,” she replied proudly. “I’ll be 97 next month, and I am now old enough that I don't even need a driver’s license anymore.”

“You don't need a driver's license anymore?!?”

“That’s right... The last time I went to my doctor, he examined me and asked if I had a driver's license. I told him ‘yes’, and handed it to him. He took scissors out of the drawer, cut the license into pieces, and threw them in the waste basket, saying, ‘You won’t need this anymore.’ So I thanked him and left!”

Is My Time Up?

A 71 year old woman had a heart attack and was taken to the hospital. While on the operating table she had a near death experience.

Seeing God she asked, “Is my time up?”

God said, “No, you have another 25 years, 2 months and 8 days to live.”

Upon recovery, the woman decided to stay in the hospital and have a face-lift, liposuction, breast implants and a tummy tuck. She even had someone come in and change her hair color and brighten her teeth!

Since she had so much more time to live, she figured she might as well make the most of it.

After her final operation, she was released from the hospital.

While crossing the street on her way home, she was run over by an ambulance and killed.

Arriving in front of God, she demanded, “I thought you said I had another 25 years to live. Why didn’t you pull me away from the path of the ambulance?”

God replied: “I didn't recognize you!”

On patch

Two guys get pulled over by traffic police while drinking and driving.

The driver tells his friend: “Peel the labels off these beer bottles and we’ll each stick one on our forehead. Now hide all the bottles under the front seat. Just let me do all the talking.”

The policeman walks up and shines his flashlight into the car. “Have you been drinking?” he asks.

“We haven't have a drink tonight.”

“Then what on earth are those beer labels doing on your foreheads?”

“We’re both alcoholics,” says the drunk. “We’re on the patch.”

Obviously, the patch for alcoholics, similar to the ones  for smokers, has not yet been invented. The driver went straight to jail.

Pinoy driver jailed 10 months for ‘causing death’

By Vir B. Lumicao

A Filipino driver was sentenced to 10 months in jail on Feb 24 after pleading guilty to a charge of “causing death by dangerous driving” in a traffic accident in Tai Po in May last year.

In addition, Ariel A. Beltran, a 36-year-old father of two, won’t be allowed to drive in Hong Kong for two years and must enroll in a driving school three months before his release from prison.

He was sentenced a day after pleading guilty to the charge before District Court Judge Amanda Woodcock.

Beltran was driving his employer’s car that hit a construction worker who was doing road works on a section of an uphill road in Taipo on May 4.

The driver had just fetched his employer’s six-year-old son from school and was headed home when the accident happened.

He told investigators he was driving at only 10 kilometers per hour because of his child passenger.

When he saw the road works ahead he veered onto the opposite lane to avoid the construction. He said he did not see anyone crossing the street and was surprised when he heard a loud bang.

In his confusion, Beltran said he stepped on the accelerator instead of the brakes, which was why the car sped and came to stop only several meters away from the accident spot.

But a police report said there were tire skid marks 5.4 meters long immediately before the impact spot, indicating that the car was speeding and the driver had to step hard on the brakes.

Other workers at the site also told the police the victim was working on the edge of the road when the car struck him. He was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The court heard Beltran is married, has two children, and was earning $11,000 a month.

“The deceased died of his injuries. The defendant will have to live with that for the rest of his life,” Judge Woodcock said.

Beltran bowed his head after hearing his sentence.

But his sister, Grace Beltran, a domestic worker in Hong Kong who had faithfully attended the hearings since July last year, flashed a smile, obviously relieved at the outcome of the case.

Pinay tourist charged for carrying cocaine

By Vir B. Lumicao

A Filipina tourist who was caught at Chek Lap Kok airport with more than five kilos of cocaine in her luggage appeared in Tsuen Wan court on a drug trafficking charge on on Feb 16.

Rizza Mae L. Argamaso was arrested on Feb. 7 upon her arrival from Cebu, said a report on the Customs Department’s website, after officers discovered about 5.3 kilograms of suspected cocaine in her luggage.

But other official sources told The SUN the Filipina had flown in from Manila.

The drug was reportedly found inside shoes, folders and handbags that 28-year-old Argamaso carried in her luggage.

The prosecution applied for an adjournment of the hearing as investigation was underway and it was waiting for a report on a chemical test conducted on the seized drug.

Magistrate Jim Chun-ki adjourned the hearing to April 15. The defense made no bail application and the magistrate ordered Argamaso remanded in custody. Jim told the Filipina she may apply for bail at the Court of First Instance.

Argamaso’s arrest came as Customs authorities stepped up a crackdown on cross-boundary and transnational drug trafficking at all of Hong Kong’s border control points, including the airport, during the Lunar New Year.

Over a three-day period, officers seized about 8 kilos of suspected cocaine, 5.8 kilos of suspected cannabis resin and 2 kilos of suspected ketamine with a market value of about $9.4 million, the Customs & Excise Department said on its website.

Argamaso was the third to be arrested in four similar cases just before the Lunar New Year.

The first case involved an incoming female passenger from Dubai on Feb 5. Customs officers found two biscuit cans and four tea cans stuffed with 141 pellets of suspected cocaine weighing a total of about 2.7 kilograms.

The arrested woman aged 36 claimed to be a businesswoman.

The second case involved an incoming male passenger from Kolkata, India via Singapore on Feb 6. During baggage examination, Customs officers found some foodstuff packages and toothpaste in two carton boxes.

In-depth examination led to the discovery of about 5.8 kilos of suspected cannabis resin concealed in 14 packs of foodstuff and 21 pieces of toothpaste tubes. The arrested man, aged 27, claimed to be a tailor. 

Huge amount of debts

By Francisco J. Colayco

For those with huge amounts of debts (personal or business), how would you advise them? What is generally the wisest first step when drowning in huge loans/financial obligations?

There are so many people in this unfortunate situation. They write to us, asking for help, and they sound like they believe we can fix their problem quickly.  Huge debts do not happen overnight so the solution cannot also be overnight.  It is a very painful process and takes a lot of patience and determination to get out of debt but you have to start as quickly as possible.

The biggest culprit is credit card debt and the second unfortunate culprit is losing all your money in business. Either reason is so depressing, but never lose hope because you are not the only one with this problem.

The first step is to know where you are. You have to make your Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).  In my books, I call it SAL.  But this is the same as the SALN, which the government requires for all government officials. This was the subject of heavy publicity during the impeachment of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Assess your assets carefully and objectively.  Do not let your emotions get in the way.  Many start thinking of the asset as their first watch or their first TV etc. Just think of  which assets do you really not need and/or don’t use?  No matter how small, if it has some value, consider how much cash you can generate if you sell it.  Make a plan for selling those assets.  Make sure that you are determined to sell.  Some offer their assets for sale but at the last minute, they change their minds.  Remember non-productive assets are not really assets.  They cannot help you if what you need is cash.

Be careful to set the money aside.  Do not for any reason use the cash to spend on something else. You sold for the purpose of covering your debts.  Make sure you are always on the right track.

Follow the G.O.O.D. (Grow Out Of Debt) using DOLP (Dead On Last Payment) method of David Bach.  It only means that you prioritize your debts. This is especially good for those who have many credit cards.  Identify the card that you can completely pay off quickly and pay it off first.  That way, you reduce your credit cards and it gives you a winning experience and confidence to succeed.

Huge debts because of failed businesses need other kinds of strategies.  

Mga sumasayaw sa One Billion Rising Revolution

Ni Marites Palma

 Taon-taon mula noong 2013 ay nagsasayaw ang ilang grupo ng mga kababaihan sa iba-ibang parte ng mundo para ipakita ang kanilang matinding pagtutol sa karahasan laban sa mga kababaihan.

Ito ang tinawag na One Billion Rising Revolution, ang kampanya na sinimulan noong araw ng mga puso, Peb. 14, sa New York ng kilalang manunulat na si Eve Ensler, na sumikat nang husto dahil sa kanyang Vagina Monologues, isang dula na nagpakita ng mga iba-ibang karahasang nagaganap sa mga kababaihan na kailangang supilin.

Tinatayang isa sa bawat tatlong kababaihan ang naabuso sa lugar ng kanyang trabaho, sa loob ng tahanan mismo, sa sekswal o pisikal man na paraan. Ibig sabihin, kung gagamitin ang populasyon ng buong mundo na pitong bilyon, na ang kalahati ay kababaihan, aabot sa isang bilyon ang bilang ng mga naabuso. Dahil sa nakakabahalang dami ng mga apektadong babae ay nanawagan si Eve Ensler na lumabas sila at makiisang sumayaw sa araw ng mga puso upang sama-samang ihayag ang mga pang-aaping dinaranas nila, at nang mawakasan na ang kanilang paghihirap.

Kabilang ang Hong Kong sa mga nakiisa sa OBR taon-taon, at dahil marami sa mga biktima ng karahasan dito ay mga migranteng manggagawa, nangunguna ang mga lider ng mga grupong tumutulong sa kanilang kapakanan sa pagpapalaganap sa kampanyang ito.

Ang isa sa mga nangunguna sa pagsasayaw taon-taon ay si Cynthia Tellez general manager ng Mission for Migrant Workers at dating tagapangulo ng Gabriela Hong Kong, ang grupo na nagsusulong ng mga karapatan ng kababaihang Pilipina. Kasama din si Dolores Balladares-Pelaez, chairperson ng Asian Migrants Coordinating Body na binubuo ng mga migranteng manggagawa mula sa Pilipinas, Indonesia, Thailand at Nepal.

Nguni’t hindi lang panay mga babae ang kasali sa taunang paggunita sa OBR kundi mga kalalakihan din, katulad ni Eman Villanueva ng Bayan Hong Kong at Macau at sina Aaron Ceradoy at Rey Asis ng Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants. Pati ang mag-asawang sina Norman at Janet Carnay ng Mission at pati ang kanilang panganay na si Lila ay kabilang din sa mga nagsayaw sa taong ito.

Isa sa pinakamatagumpay na OBR sa Hong Kong ay iyong ginanap noong 2014 sa Victoria Park, Causeway Bay, na itinanghal upang humingi ng hustisya para kay Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, na dumanas ng katakot-takot na pananakit at pahirap mula sa kanyang among Intsik.

Ginunita ni Ceradoy na kahit napakalakas ng buhos ng ulan noong araw na iyon ay hindi natinag ang mga libo libong migranteng manggagawa mula sa iba-ibang bansa sa pagsasayaw para ipahayag ang kanilang pagtutol sa nangyari kay Erwiana.

Sa pagkakataong ito ibinulalas ng mga nagsayaw ang mga kabuktutang isinasagawa laban sa mga kasambahay, mga pagmamalabis ng mga ahensiya, at ang hindi pagbibigay ng karampatang tulong ng mga pamahalaan.

Sa unang pagkakataon din ay dumalo sa paggunita ang global director ng OBR, ang bantog na aktres sa tanghalan na si Monique Wilson.

Ngayong taong kasalukuyan ay mas naging espesyal pa ang pagtitipon-tipon para sa OBR sa Hong Kong dahil sa pagdalo ni Ensler mismo, kasama si Wilson.

Ayon kay Ceradoy, taon-taon siyang sumusuporta sa OBR dahil naniniwala siya na sa pamamagitan nito ay matutulungan ang lahat ng mga kababaihang naghihirap at iyong mga walang kapangyarihan na ipaglaban ang kanilang mga karapatan.

Nagtagumpay daw ang isinagawang protesta para kay Erwiana dahil napatunayang nagkasala ang kanyang among si Law Wan-tung, na ngayon ay naghihimas ng rehas na bakal. 

Ayon kay Ceradoy, naipakita nila sa buong mundo na ang pagkakaisa ng mga kababaihan ay mayroong malakas na impluwensiya sa pakikipaglaban sa karahasan. Ngunit dahil nasa sistema na ang ugat ng mga problema, kailangan ang isang rebolusyon para mabago ito.

Sa katatapos na OBR nitong nakaraang linggo, kasama sa mga nagbigay ng pahayag si Sanika, isang Indian na mag-aaral sa International College Hong Kong at apat na taon nang sumusuporta sa adhikain. Kailangan daw na patuloy na ipaglaban ang mga karapatan ng mga kababaihan tungo sa pagbabago ng mga batas na sumasaklaw sa mga kanilang mga karapatan.

Sabi naman ni Laura Olaciregui, isang volunteer sa Mission na mula sa bansang Colombia, sumusuporta siya sa OBR dahil ito ay para sa lahat ng mga inaalipustang mga kababaihan saan mang panig ng mundo. Isang paraan daw ito upang makamit ang tunay na pagbabago.

Mula naman sa hanay ng mga migranteng Pilipino si Betty Maguinsay na hindi rin pumapalya sa pagdalo sa OBR. Aniya, may natututunan ang sinumang dumalo sa mga tunay na nangyayari sa mga kababayan nating naabuso, nagiging mas maalam sila sa mga karapatan ng isang mang-gagawa, at naipaparamdam niya ang kanyang pakikiisa sa pakikipaglaban laban sa karahasan.

Ayon naman kay Ian ng Filguys Gabriela na regular ding sumasayaw, isa itong mabisang paraan upang mapigilan ang karahasan laban sa mga kababaihan.

Ang tanging hiling ng mga nagtataguyod ng OBR sa Hong Kong na sana ay makiisa din ang mga iba pang organisasyon dahil ang ipinaglalaban ng iilan ay laban para sa lahat.

Sa pamamagitan ng simpleng pagsasayaw ay maipapaabot nila ang kanilang pakikiisa, at makakatulong para mabawasan, kundi man matigil na ang pananakit, pang-aabuso at panunupil sa mga kababaihan saan mang parte ng mundo.

A sneak peek at ‘Marcos Martial Law: Never Again’ by Raissa Robles

 By Menchu Aquino Sarmiento

The flurry of anti-Marcos activity at the start of the campaign period may seem a bit late in the game.  Pres. Corazon C. Aquino allowed the Marcoses to return from a scant five year political exile in 1991.  Since 1992 or barely a year after their comeback, the Marcos matriarch, the eldest daughter and the only son have held simultaneous elective posts. 

The saga of the Marcos Dynasty is an outrageous case study of impunity in our sad republic’s brief existence.  This year, Sen. Bongbong Marcos (aka BBM) is a serious contender for the Vice Presidency, or just a heartbeat away from the Presidency.  It is a nightmarish possibility for the tens of thousands who had been imprisoned or tortured during the Marcos Martial Law.  Back in 1999, when he was Ilocos Norte Governor, BBM sneered that “Some of these people who are claiming to be human rights victims have never been victims except (of) their own greed.”

With less than three months to go till the elections, the last week of February began with the launch of CARMMA: Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses to Malacanan at the UP Bahay ng Alumni.  Many in the crowd were silver haired, and needed canes or a strong arm to lean on.  Still they were in fine voice chanting the familiar: “Marcos, Hitler, Diktador, Tuta!”  It was profoundly moving to see how those who had once locked arms and stood down fire hoses, truncheons and teargas, now struggled to go up the low stage.  Their decades-old dream of a truly democratic Philippines eludes them but they are not giving up.  Time may not be on their side but they fight on for restorative justice.

This added to the urgency of the Feb. 23, 2016 launch of the first sixty pages (foreword, introduction and chapter one) of the exhaustive history  “MARCOS MARTIAL LAW: NEVER AGAIN” by investigative journalist and political blogger Raissa Robles [https://raissarobles. com] and published by Filipinos for a Better Philippines.  The full book will be out before April.  Robles has been writing about the Marcoses and other potentates for decades.  Since she is a journalist first and foremost, she was waiting for a bona fide historian to get around to writing a history of the Marcos Martial Law, particularly its systemic use of torture, “salvaging” and forced disappearances.  Her title makes it clear that this is not a generic martial law but one which BBM’s father Ferdinand E. Marcos created and kept going for 14 years.

BBM claims that the sins of the father should not be vested on his children.  Human rights lawyer and former senator Rene Saguisag, who wrote the book’s foreword, drily notes:  Ang bunga ng mabolo ay mabolo.  In English, the fruit does not fall far from the tree.  Robles found records showing that the Marcos children who reached adulthood midway through the Marcos Martial Law, were co-signatories in bank accounts holding billions of dollars, and Euros.  The death of at least one promising young man: Archimedes Trajano, has been linked to Imee Marcos’ government security detail.

Robles reflects that “Marcos Junior probably won his Senate seat due to the rise of an ominous demographic: by 2010, more than half of Filipino voters had been born after 1986, the year the dictator was chased out of office in a peaceful popular “People Power” uprising.  From 1986 to 2015, no school book detailed the human rights abuses of his father’s brutal reign.”  She warns:  “Bong Bong Marcos may not be our past, but he could be our horror-filled future.”

(Get a free copy of MARCOS MARTIAL LAW: NEVER AGAIN by emailing filipinosforabetterphilippines@ gmail.com)

Menchu Aquino Sarmiento and author Raissa Robles with first copies of the book.