From Workers to Prisoners

               It was my first time to see the Hanjin Shipyard in Subic Zambales. The outside look of it is very peaceful and quiet. You don't even see the people working. Then I asked, "Bakit parang walang tao?" Kuya Mars, one of the leaders of SAMAHAN answered, "Kasi nasa loob sila ng mga duck na yan". Then I connect my thoughts. Kasing tahimik ng panlabas na anyo ng Hanjin Shipyard ang mga workers nito, hough hindi lahat, pero marami parin ang natatakot magsalita kasi they know that there's a big possibility na matanggal sila sa trabaho. Kaya din siguro hindi sila masyadong napapansin kasi parang hindi naman totoo. Kasi wala namang nagsasalita. Until that day, I found out that marami narin palang media ang nakipagusap sa mga leaders and members ng SAMAHAN at ng Friends of Hanjin Workers.

              I and Elmer from Friends of Hanjin Workers, went to Subic Zambales together with the staffs of GMA7's Reporter's Notebook to cover the issue of Hanjin workers and know their stories. For me, it was a privilege that I've met different Hanjin workers and the leaders of SAMAHAN cause I've learned A LOT from them. The stories that I've heard from Ka Renante's stories, totoo pala talaga lahat yun at mas marami pang nangyayari sa loob na hindi pa naisasawalat kasi natatakot ang mga workers na i-terminate sila sa kanilang trabaho. Damang-dama ko ang paghihirap habang sila ay nagke- kwento. Nakakaawa. Sabi ko nga, kung meron lang ako na alternative na trabaho na pwedeng ibigay sakanila, ginawa ko na. Pero dahil talaga sa kahirapan, they are all willing to take all the risks and sacrifices to survive and to feed their family. 

Here's the story: 

         When we went up the mountain to see the wide view of the Hanjin Shipyard outside, Reporter's Notebook's camera persons set up their staff to shoot the outside view of the shipyard. In a while, the security guard of the shipyard (is a Filipino) noticed us and stared as if we are criminals.I wasn't frightened at first but when the security guard (Mr. Manalastas) went up to where we were standing and brought a military person with him, I got scared, honestly. Then the Segment Producer of RN talked to them and explained everything. They want us to go inside and go to the information center and talk to their General Manager (a Korean). The Segment Producer said we will go inside when the permit is already okay. To cut the long story short, Mr. Manalastas insisted that we should go there and talk to the General Manager to clear everything. But we were surprised when we found out that our service van was already inside the Hanjin Shipyard. He said that their General Manager let our service van in. 

        Then after meeting the General Manager, the crew of RN got nothing. They didn't even let them shoot inside the shipyard and didn't even get an interview with the Hanjin Management. So, our next stop was the hospital where they usually bring the Hanjin workers, which is 45 minutes away from the shipyard. We went there to see the worker who is currently in coma because of the accident that happened to him inside the Hanjin Shipyard. When we got there, the camera persons were stopped by 2 security guards and didn't tell them why. The Segment Producer of RN was the only one who could go inside. Then after about an hour, the Segment Producer told us that they can't see the patient or interview any of his relatives because there was a not written from the patient's brother saying that they are no longer willing to do an interview in any media that will invite them to. The Segment Producer of RN also mentioned that the Finance Officer of Hanjin Shipyard was inside. Well, alam na natin kung anong ginagawa niya dun. Ang masaklap pa dun, nung nasa office kami ng SAMAHAN, nakausap pa namin yung Kuya nung pasyente na na-coma. The analysis is that the Hanjin Management forced the brother to make a letter to neglect any interview involving Hanjin because if not, they will not pay for the hospital bills of the patient. 

Isa lang ito sa pagpapakita na talagang may hindi magandang ginagawa ang Hanjin Management, kasi bakit nila kailangang pigilang magpainterview ang mga workers or relatives ng mga workers kung wala naman silang ginagawang masama?

Because of that experience, I convinced myself that I will become more aggressive on showing the unjust labor conditions that are happening inside the Hanjin Shipyard. I will do anything that I can to help the workers and to spread the issue for the people to become aware, informed and involved on the fight that these Hanjin Workers are experiencing. 

We can help in many ways, even in our own simple ways, yes we can do something to help these 23, 000 Hanjin Workers. Hanjin Shipyard is in their 5 years this year, 45 more years to come (5o years contract). Let's all make a stand to stop these unjust labor conditions inside the Hanjin Shipyard!

P.S Please watch Reporter's Notebook later 11:30pm after SAKSI on GMA7, they will be featuring the issue of Hanjin Workers. 

EYES: WINDOW OF OUR SOUL

                 What we see is what we get.

               "Eyes is the window of our soul", which I got from the preaching last Friday in Victory Malate. Somehow I could relate to this one because there were also times that I want to have things but it never happened. Not because I'm a bad kid and I just don't know why these things that I truly want seems like I could get only through my dreams. What made me sadder is that others have it and I don't. (I was not yet a Christian) WHY? oh WHY? Well I've known several people who became jealous of their siblings, their friends, their colleagues and trust me, it didn't give any good effect on the person who got envy. The best example of which is the story of King Saul and David. Look upon 1 Samuel 18:5-6 to understand what made Saul jealous of David. 

1 Samuel 18:5 "Whatever Saul sent him to do, David did it so successfully that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the people, and Saul's officers as well."

*16 "When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with tambourines and lutes."

Saul got very envious of David so the evil led him to a thinking to the point that Saul wants to kill David.

           See, even in the past there were already jealousy and envy which control us sometimes for us to make a sin. We let our eyes look on the negative side of the person because he/she has the things that you want in life that you don't have. We may not get the things that we got because maybe God has another plans for you. Kaya naman tayo naiinggit kasi we compare ourselves to others which is not right After we compare ourselves, jealousy now arises. After jealousy, we now tend to think of bad things towards the person that will hurt the person. And when that happens, nagkasala ka na? Now, sino and talo? wala na nga sayo yung mga bagay na gusto mo, dahil sa inggit mo nagkasala ka pa. According to today's gospel, let's think before we act. 

Now let me join you in prayer and as for forgiveness,

Lord Jesus, thank you for this wonderful moment that you have given me to realize all the mistakes that I have done and has been doing. Sorry Lord because I became jealous of my siblings, my friends and my colleagues. I know that envy is against Your will and I want to walk with You my Lord. Please help me to change my attitude and see things as Your wonderful creations for me to appreciate it wholeheartedly. Please also help me to accept who I am and all the things that I have and don't have. Cleanse my heart, my mind and my soul so I could walk with You in spirit and in faith. Amen

God bless you people! Spread the love and goodness of Jesus Christ! :D

PEOPLE POWER FOR THE NATION

PEOPLE POWER FOR THE NATION

By: Joanna Armenta

The State defines what the nation is. The State which includes us, the citizens, plays a very important role for one country to grow and become developed. Now if you are asking the importance of every Filipino as a part of the impeachment trial, I would say that Filipinos play a major role on this very important event that is happening in our country right now. To make a term for this major role, this is what we call citizens’ watch in Development Communication. Our voices must be heard because we made them to be the people who and where they are right now. The power of the people signifies the strength and the weakness of one person in the position. That’s why I think they should let the voice of the people be heard in the Senate.

I also think that through the awareness of so many Filipinos right now about the different issues in the country, this impeachment trial could be one of those topics that have been debating about in school and in the community. Filipinos now are smarter and it seems that everyone wants to share their stand and opinions about the issue. The people now are more willing to open their doors for discussion than about this issue than doing nothing and letting the people who cheated us pass by. Especially now that the impeachment trial became open nationwide and people are more into social networking sites nowadays, I think our opinions and insights could be more valid than the people who present themselves in the court every trial. Why the Filipinos are important? because we have the power to say whether they are transparent to the people or not. They are in the position to serve the people not to serve themselves. We have the power to put them in the position but we also have the power to bring them down through petitions and signature campaigns as an instrument for the betterment of our country.

            I think it is important for Chief Justice Corona to testify in the impeachment trial because the things that he will say also matters.  All this time, the trial wants to prove if he is guilty or not, to let him stay in the position or not, why don’t we also consider the things that he would like to say and to explain himself in able to validate the evidences that the persecutors are holding through Chief Justice’s words, gestures and facial expressions. We are not obliged to believe everything that he will say but we could also justify the points and arguments that the past trials has shown towards him if he testifies.

Testifying might look as he is defending himself after all the things that he has done, but it’s not about it. He will testify because he knows a lot that might help to make this trial progressive and see the result as soon as possible. It is important to hear his side because the evidences are not enough to reveal the truth the fastest way that we are expecting it to be done. It doesn’t matter if he will tell the truth or not because we cannot force him to do so. What will matter is the judgment of the people involved in this trial based on the things that he will say on the court. Now, I could say that the answer to how long do this impeachment trial will be, is still lying in our hands.

The World Will Be Watching (The Hunger Games: Movie Review

       Hunger Games Books 

         The series that became the most talked about topic on different social networking sites all around the world, recognized  for its cast and its huge sales on theater, the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins was awarded as the"Best Books of the Year" for the million of copies sold worldwide. The "against all odds" story of Hunger Games brought the series to a phenomenal fame.I haven't read the book yet so I can't say what the story is all about. Based on the film that I watched, let me interpret it the way I saw the film.

           The theme of the story is indeed against all odds, but the way I saw the movie, there's more. There's a deep interpretation for what the story of Hunger Games was trying to say. First, it depicted POVERTY. People are really struggling for food so they could survive. Millions of people around the world are suffering and dying because of HUNGER. Second, the film showed how the Class A manipulates Class E (based on the film) It's true! Some elites use their power, money and influence to control and manipulate poor people. Look at how the people in the City behave and what they eat, what they wear, these were all manifestations that they could get whatever they want and to entertain themselves they use the weakness of poor people which is food to add fun to their so called "perfect life" without considering how inhumane it is.

          If you will look on how I interpreted the movie, you will agree with me. Hunger Games is not just to entertain its audience. Let's always analyze the content of the movie and what does the message really implies. Trust me! You will enjoy the film more. :)

Someone's praying for you...

I liked somebody before but this time, I am liking someone at the same time I am praying for him. Everytime I say this to my friends,others don't believe me that one day he'll notice me. But actually it's not about getting him or for him to like me agad naman e. I am praying for this special person because I want God to show me if he is the right person for me to like and sooner or later to love. I am not expecting anything in return as much as possible because I don't want to decide for myself, I want God to decide. But of course, sino ba naman ang hindi gustong magustuhan din siya ng taong gusto niya diba? But when you know that God meant someone for you and believe that He is the author of Love, you will stop looking. You will wait. That is what I am doing right now that's why I am praying for that special someone.

We chat super rare. We talk in text super rare. We see each other super rare. (I used SUPER because it's more than rare but not NEVER, gets? :D) Usually our topic in these conversations were mostly about business not us. Why should we talk about us? He doesn't even know that I like him and I don't want to make the first move. But still, why do I like him? because I believe that nothing is impossible. Though he seems to be almost perfect for me. He's GOD-fearing (he's a Christian) first thing that I looked for a guy, he's a family guy, he's smart, he's hardworking, he's cute and he's simple. When I met him, it was unplanned. He just came. I stringly believe that God has a purpose on everything that He do. We met for a purpose. Whatever it is, I don't know. God can only know, that's why I am praying. God let me to meet this person, I know He has a reason.

If you will ask me what's our status, we're friends but we're not close. That's why I keep on praying that there will come a time that I could know him more and for him to know me more. I want to know what makes him laugh, what makes him laugh, what are he afraid of? What is his favorite food. I really like this guy, I really do. But if it's not on God's plans for me, then I will not pursue my feelings. Actually I don't care if he likes somebody else, I can accept it cause as long as he's happy I will go for it and it's true.

You, if it happens that you are reading this. I want you to know that I am praying for you. You mean a lot to me, though I know that you can't even notice me in that way. I know this is a little bit cliche but you really completes my day everytime I see you online (FB, Twitter and on Skype). I want to thank you for being my inspiration and no matter what, as long as you are happy. I will be here for you. I wish you would know that. May God bless your parents for bringing you here in this world and for your siblings for taking care of you. In God's perfect time and if it's the right time to say to you, I will tell you how much I like you. God bless you! :)

Hanjin ba kamo? Ano ang isyu?

HANJIN workers, narinig mo na ba ang isyu nila? Malamang hindi pa, pero sigurado ako yung iba sainyong nagbabasa nito e napansin na yung pangalan ng Hanjin na nakasulat sa mga malalaking truck lalo na kapag gabi. Tama ka, ang Hanjin ay isang korporasyon na pagma-mayari ng mga Koreano. Ang Hanjin ay tinatagang pang apat sa pinaka malaki at pinaka advance na art shipbuilding facility sa buong mundo na matatagpuan sa Subic Zambales. 

Sa dinami- dami ng lugar, sa Pilipinas pa. E syempre madaling mauto ang mga Pilipino e, sabi nila at mababa ang pasahod sa mga manggagawa. Ano namang meron? Anong isyu? Okay nga yun e, kasi nakakatulong sa pag unlad ng ekonomiya natin yung Hanjin Shipyard. Anong problema? Alam mo ba na halos lahat ng manggagawang Pilipinong namamasukan sa loob ng kumpanyang ito ay  nanggaling pa sa malalayong lugar? Meron sa Visayas, meron galing sa ibang parte ng Mindanao, Hilaga at Timog. Kaya ibig sabihin nun marami talaga ang manggagawang namamasukan dito. Iniwan ang pagsasaka at pangingisda dahil para sa kanila ang kitang makukuha nila sa Hanjin ay mas okay na kaysa manatili sila sa ginagawa nila na seasonal lang. 

Ang mga manggagawa ay sumasailalim sa 6 months na training bago sila maging regular. Okay na sana kaso ang masaklap doon, ibinabawas ng mga Koreanong namamahala sa Hanjin yung bayad nila sa pagkain at paggamit ng mga silid. Napakabait naman talaga noh,pero hindi lang yun. Pag naging regular sila, binibigyan sila ng uniporme, pero sa uri ng trabaho sa loob, hindi uubra ang isa o dalawang uniporme lang, kaso binibigyan lang sila ng bagong uniporme isang beses sa isang taon. Kahit punit- punit na ang kanilang mga damit at sobrang dumi na, wala pa rin pakialam ang mga Koreanong nasa likod ng Hanjin Shipyard.

Napakasipag ng mga Pilipino, biruin mo sa 3 buwan 5 barko ang napapaalis nila. Ganung kabilis at ganun kasipag ang mga manggagawang Pilipino. Kaya siguro ayaw din silang pakawalan ng mga Koreano. Pero pag may mga aksidenteng nangyayari, bagya ng maipadala sa ospital ang mga biktima, parang walang pakeelam ang mga Koreanong ito na nasa likod ng Hanjin Management. At mas malala,  pag may nasawi dahil sa aksidente, minsan hindi pa sinasagot ng Hanjin Management ang bayad sa punerarya. Saan naman kukuha ng pambayad sa ospital at sa pamburol ang pamilya ng mga nasawi, e mahirap na nga sila.

Nakakaranas rin ang mga manggagawa ng pangaabuso o harassment sa loob ng Hanjin. Paano? Binabatuk-batukan sila, tinatadyakan, dinuduraan, sinusuntok at sa huli sasabihin “joke only”. Pero dahil sa kailangang magtimpi ng mga manggagawa, hindi na nila ginagantihan bagkus ay pinapabayaan na lang nila ang mga ito kaysa matanggal sila sa trabaho. Nakakaawa talaga ng mga manggagawang Pilipino sa loob ng korporasyon pero walang magawa ang gobyerno, bakit kamo? E kasi mas mahalaga ang ekonomiya ng bansa kaysa sa kapakanan ng mga Pilipino sa loob. Sabi ni Ka Renante, isang lider ng SAMAHAN at dating manggagawa sa loob, maraming bese na rin na nagpunta si dating pangulong Gloria Macapagal Arroyo sa loob ng Hanjin, pero ang sabi lang niya, magpasalamat pa ang mga manggagawa dahil binibigyan sila ng trabaho. 

Kaya naman nabuo ang Friends of Hanjin Workers dahil rin sa pagnanais na mabigyan ng katarungan at maproteksyunan ang mga manggagawang Pilipino sa loob ng Hanjin Shipyard sa Subic Zambales. Napakarami pang isyu ang hindi ko nabanggit sa taas. Sana naman ay mabigyan na ng solusyon ang mga isyung ito ng mga manggagawa sa pamamagitan ng pagbukas ng mga mata ng mga iba pang Pilipino tungkol sa isyu, gumawa ng mga aksyon na pumpoprotesta sa mga maling gawain at pangaabusong ginagawa ng Hanjin management sa mga manggagawang Pilipino, mag hikayat ng mga taong pwedeng tumulong upang maipadala ang kasong ito sa korte suprema upang mabigyan ng hustisya at makapagtrabaho ng ligtas ang mga Pilipino at huli maging parte ng Friends of Hanjin Workers upang mapalakas ang suporta sa mga manggawang Pilipino sa loob ng Hanjin Shipyard.

What’s with the CROSS?

Photo credit: Real Life In Line With God 

For Catholics, Cross is a very sacred and symbolic object because it is what the Roman Catholic Church has taught them. For Christians, it is a manifestation of what Jesus Christ has done for us. Both interpretations are valid and significant. Whether you are a Catholic or Christian, CROSS signifies one thing, the death of Jesus Christ on the Calvary. But there are still some, actually a lot of people, who doesn’t know the real meaning of what the CROSS stands for. During the time of King Darius I, cross was cursed as a punishment for those who have violated laws or disobeyed the orders of the king. Meaning, cross was used to execute people and Romans adopted it as well for noncitizens and slaves. Crucifixion was sentenced to execute the Messiah. But this time it’s different, cross was used to save us from death. Jesus Christ was crucified to cleanse us from our sins and became the bridge so we could humbly come to the Father. According to 1 Peter 2: 24 “Who his own bare our sins in his own body on the cross that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose strips ye were healed”.

God gave His only begotten son (John 3:16) to save us. God became human to save us. Jesus Christ was crucified to save us. Now you’re wondering why? because He loves us so much. Isn’t that amazing? God gave up everything for us and His goodness didn’t stop there. He was raised from the death for us to see that He is the One, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Now, Cross has been the symbol for what God has done for us. We don’t need to become obsessed on the cross just to prove that we are holy but our faith on Jesus Christ is what God is requiring us in able to live an eternal life.

Let us all pray...

Heavenly Father, we humbly bow down to Your presence. We are sinners. We are nothing without You. We thank You for giving up Your life to save us from death. We thank You for Your everlasting love for us. We thank You for giving us a chance to praise You, to follow You and to love You. Thank You for the cross that you’ve used as an instrument that strengthen our faith in You. We want to give you back all the glory and honour through Your son Jesus Christ. We pray, in Jesus name. Amen.

God bless you my brothers and sisters!:D

Letter from the heart (for you)

To my dearest someone,

I know that God has a purpose why I met you. Not just even once but a lot.  I never asked for anything as almost perfect as you are, but still God insisted that we meet on the right time and at the right place. I always pray to God that when that perfect time comes, He’ll give the right person whom I want to spend the rest of my life with. And I’m not saying that my long wait is over because I found you, of course I still have to focus on my studies and career after. But I think God wants to test my faith and challenge if I’m still going to follow His will or my heart. But I believe, God is really a merciful God. He wants me to obey to His will and follow my heart at the same time. He wants me to like the person that He wants for me. Of course, who has the same faith as mine and who will accept me for who I am. I know it’s not easy to be in love but I really don’t want to think about it right now. All I know is that I am happy that I finally met someone who is different from most of the guys that I met, and that is you. Thank you for giving colors to my world and thank you for letting me like you. I just want to express what I am feeling right now. I don’t know what it is yet called but I definitely don’t want this to end. J

Love,

Jojo

How do you define purity?

              According to the dictionary, Purity means freedom from dirt, freedom from evil, innocence and correctness. Words that could be easily understood but so hard to apply. Why? because there are a of people who can easily be deceived on by how the world portray the way it see things, Christians and non- Christians. We are living in wordy world which means temptations are everywhere. We go to church, yes. We pray, yes. We confess, yes. We read the bible, yes. But why do we still experience impurity? Just to clarify things, PURITY is not just about doing the act that cause IMPURITY, it is also based on the way you think and how you process these thoughts on your mind. God not only wants me to act differently; He wants me to think differently --- to view love, purity and singleness from His perspective, to have a new lifestyle and a new attitude. - J. Harris

I admit I became a victim of this sin. I disobey God because of the lustful thoughts that I had. Because of what happened to me in the past, temptations follows me everywhere. Satan tested my faith. There were so many times that I told myself that I want to change this behavior but it took me few years to surrender everything. But the time has come for me to change and see what life God has planned for me. I don't want to stay in darkness and I wanna live life the way God wants me to be. because of this I wanna live a pure and holy life. I shared this because I know there are a lot of youth out there who experienced or experiencing the same thing that I had. Now. let's all pray together and humbly confess our sins.

Heavenly Father,
We humbly bow down to Your presence. Fill us with Your holy spirit oh Lord. Forgive us Father for we have sinned and disobey Your will. Cleanse us Father. We don't want to go back to that shadow which brought us to sin. We want to ask for Your forgiveness oh God. Please Lord fix us and change us. From now on, I will walk with You Lord. I will follow You and will always desire for the life that You want me to have and to be. Thank You Lord for never leaving me. Thank You for loving me. All of these we ask in Your most precious name, we pray. Amen

God bless you my brothers and sisters!:D

I am a WINNER

"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord. "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11 

This Bible verse is what I hold on and still holding on to after the controversial elections that happened. I lost the presidency, that's the big thing that happened. I lost 200 votes. When I heard the news that my opponent won against me, I don't want to believe it at first because I didn't see the official result with my own eyes. But then, when I went to school to confirm, indeed I lost. I texted my family and told them the shocking news. They all told me one thing, "Maybe God has better plans for you". The first people that I shared my tears with were my Student Council family. They comforted me and gave me encouraging words that made me somehow feel better. I told myself that I will not cry but I can't control it. When I think about everything that I will miss as a Student Council officer, it really makes me wanna cry up to now. 

Now I can say and as my mother said to me, "You passed the challenge of God". Instead of blaming God and get mad at Him, I looked at the bright side. God is an all-knowing God, God is a God of purpose. I believe that everything happens for a reason and I know God has bigger and better plans for me, as one of my friends said. When I checked my Facebook that night, I was surprised there were a lot of people who wrote a message for me saying how much they love and support me. That made me cry again. I don't know how to react to these people so instead of answering them back, I just read their messages over and over again feeling overwhelmed. 

The reasons that I think God wants me to realize are first, He wants me to depend on Him and enough relying on my own understanding because God wants me to make more time with Him. Second, God wants me to have a stronger faith in Him and His one way of testing me is when I sacrifice and let go of one thing that I really love. Third, maybe God wants me to use in different ways after I served inside the school. 

I believe God is preparing me for something which is the best for me and I will put my trust in Him. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people who gave their full support till the end. May God bless you all! :)