A photo essay by Bullit Marquez/AP/ Text by Howie Severino

When I arrived at last week's Carabao Festival in Pulilan, Bulacan, I was met by the exuberant photojournalist Bullit Marquez of the Associated Press, who immediately showed me the muddy spot on his pants where a carabao just kicked him. That turned out to be the same carabao that would later run wild through the parade route, the first time in memory that the parade was disrupted by a crazed carabao. Bullit sent me his photos below, which were also circulated around the world through AP:



The lumbering, gentle carabao is the Philippine countryside's iconic image. But every farmer knows it is also capable of explosive fury when provoked or sexually aroused.



That probably explains the havoc created by the Bulgarian buffalo above, a cousin of the Philippine carabao. Passing the town church, dozens of carabaos in a long procession were made to kneel by their masters, not just a sign of piety but docility of these gentle giants. The unusually large participant above refused to kneel, then ran away from the men trying to hold on.



As the water buffalo toyed with its handlers, a mini stampede occurred beside the church. Townfolk and visitors from neighboring municipalities had thought this would be a fun afternoon spectacle.



Moments after this photo was taken, the carabao would begin its long manic run through the crowd, wildly towing its wagon and three other carabaos tied to it.



I saw this woman run over by the carabao, but did not appear seriously hurt. Bullit stayed behind at the church to continue shooting the procession, but my cameraman Tenten Bautista and I chased after the buffalo and videotaped the mayhem it caused along the way. Our three-minute story that appeared on 24 Oras on Friday night can be seen here.

We documented much more, including how the animal was pacified and brought home to Plaridel, Bulacan where it was returned to its bucolic existence of farming and mating with a small harem of fellow Bulgarian buffaloes. It will all appear in our I-Witness documentary about the trusty Kalabaw (well, not always trusty apparently) on May 25. Watch out for the TV plugs.

And oh yeah, for those who have been wondering, they do have water buffaloes in Europe, especially including those in Italy and Bulgaria, where t best known for producing milk for mozzarella cheese. According to owner Bobby Gatuz, the wild one's harem in Plaridel produces abundant milk which he sells to his neighbors who use it to make Bulacan's luscious pastillas.

And you thought they were domesticated?

It wasn’t exactly a bull in a china shop, but a water buffalo that ran amok during a town parade did as much damage. At last Thursday’s annual Carabao Festival in Pulilan, Bulacan, panic ensued among thousands lining the parade route when a carabao that was apparently agitated by the crowd suddenly started running at full speed.


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Its master fell off the wagon that was attached to the carabao, as it careened into spectators and knocked over motorcycles and vendors’ carts. I saw one woman get run over by the carabao and three smaller carabaos tied to the same wagon. She was helped to her feet and did not appear to have serious injuries.

The creature was actually a Bulgarian buffalo, a cousin of the native kalabaw. A growing number of farmers are breeding and raising the imported species for its size and quantity of milk. It is apparently less docile than the native variety, which is known as the Filipino farmer’s best friend and a gentle giant.

This water buffalo was anything but gentle. After creating havoc along a kilometer-long stretch of the parade route, it stopped to catch its breath next to a waiting shed. Some brave souls detached the wagon and tied the carabao to the waiting shed. A policeman hit the carabao on the head with a plastic chair, provoking the crazed creature into charging spectators who until then were enjoying the rare spectacle. The carabao ripped the waiting shed from its moorings and dragged the metal wreckage a few hundred meters.

No other carabao has run amok in the long history of the Pulilan festival, according to town mayor Vicente Esguerra. He also approved of the town police’s decision not to shoot the Bulgarian buffalo in the midst of its rampage, despite some calls from spectators. “There are so many people here because of the fiesta. If the police used a gun, someone could have been hurt,” Esguerra said.

About an hour after the carabao became the unexpected attraction, it was too tired to resist any longer and was loaded on a trailer for its trip home to Plaridel. Mayor Esguerra said he would not allow Bulgarian buffalos to participate in the parade any more.

"May mga kumokontra at hindi kaagad makapasok yung aking mga tao doon (fish cage areas). Medyo may mga maiinit ang ulo but it's ok, umaatras muna kami."



Taking on one of the more ambitious governance projects in the country is none other than one of its most glamorous governors, Vilma Santos Recto of Batangas, who is attempting to stop Taal Lake's ruin. Surrounded by 11 Batangas towns, the lake produces nearly half of Calabarzon's entire supply of tilapia. But it has been doing so in a growing quagmire of fish pens that were polluting the lake and decimating native species, like the endemic delicacies tawilis and maliputo.

A campaign was launched in June 2008 by the first-term governor to start reducing the fish pens by half, from 12,000 to 6,000, by next year. That became a job creation program for the 200 or so lake-side residents I witnessed taking apart abandoned fish cages and cleaning up the coastal area around Talisay municipality. The narrow Pansipit River, the only exit for lake water into the sea, has already been cleared of fish cages, opening up the ancient passageway of the maliputo from Balayan Bay to the lake where they grow up to become a much desired food fish.

Talisay Mayor Florencio Manimtim Jr. is currently in a battle of wits with Governor Recto, who has been careful to convince, some would say charm, lakeside mayors into cooperating with her plan. But Manimtim's town has the most number of fish cages, about 6000, so he's been dragging his feet in choosing which 4000 of these cages will be demolished so Talisay meets its quota of 2000. Recto has not imposed a deadline, or even threatened to do so, still hoping she can talk the mayor into start winnowing the cages. But the stand-off is a test of Recto's nerves and political will.

Backed by a crackdown consensus among local governments around the lake and an active network of environmental NGOs, Recto took charge of the enforcement of lake policies last year with a sophisticated mix of diplomacy, muscle, and seriousness. Her role was sparked by yet another example of the tough-talking but spineless Environment Secretary Lito Atienza's failure to do his job (the DENR has been inutile too in Isabela's efforts to crack down on illegal logging). As a protected area, Taal Lake is actually a national responsibility, but the national government through the DENR sat on its hands while the fish pens were rapidly turning the lake into the world's biggest toilet. The first-term governor explains below why she had to take action. I interviewed her last week.

Howie Severino (HS): Bakit kailangan nang umaksyon sa Taal Lake?

Gov. Vilma Santos Recto (VSR): Give it let’s say another 5 to 10 years, burak na ilalim eh. I was there and I saw it. The report that I got, hindi na maganda at nabababoy na talaga ang lawa ng Taal. Unang-una alam natin na ang maliputo at tawilis, sa Batangas lang nakikita yan at doon lang sa Taal, ...Meron nang mga nakakaing isda na medyo naglalasang putik na.



HS: Mga dalawang daang tao yung nakita naming nagbabaklas ng mga kawayan doon, ng mga fish cage.
VSR: This project is no joke. Ah political will lang, kailangan talaga political will.
HS: Tsaka may political risk din yan dahil...
VSR: Of course may mga magagalit sa iyo, may tatamaan...

HS: At tsaka marami ring mga livelihoods na naaapektuhan.
VSR: Yeah may mga natulungan na tayo, nabigyan natin ng mga baka.



HS: Ilang beses sinabi ni DENR Secretary Lito Atienza na ang gusto niya zero fish cages sa Taal Lake.
VSR: Twice na kami nag meeting with Secretary Atienza and parang yun yung sinasabi niya na walang negosasyon, kailangan complete wipe out at talagang walang matitirang fish cages diyan. But you see sometimes kailangan magpakatotoo tayo. I mean there are things madaling sabihin pero mahirap gawin. And pag ginawa namin yang drastic move na yan, kami ang babalikan ng tao. Kung tutuusin mo ang ang responsibilidad talaga ng Taal Lake ay national DENR), dapat yung provincial government nag au-augment lang o tumutulong but the way things are going, kami lahat ang sumasalo even financially. The budget, nanggagaling lahat yan sa provincial government, and the budget na ginagastos namin diyan is no joke, last year six months, we spent about 5 million, and now we allocated 10 milllion, for just Taal Lake.

HS: Sabi niyo kayo ang babalikan ng tao, ano ang ibig sabihin na kayo ang babalikan ng tao?
VSR: Hindi natin maiaalis na magkakaroon ng resistance, lalo na yung iba diyan tinatamaan yung kanilang hanapbuhay, although kahit tanungin mo sila, alam naman nilang illegal. Pero dadaanin ka nila sa 'saan kami kikita ng pera?' Kaya nga sabi ko we cannot move drastically, kasi pinag-aaralan yan. Ok tinamaan 'to, meron naman kaming nakalaan sa inyong alternatibo muna. And then later on pagka naayos naman namin lahat yan, I think we will go also doon sa suggestion ng BFAR na allowed yung 6,000 fish cages na kahit paano’y makakatulong pang rolyo sa mga mangingisda doon kasi sa BFAR allowed naman yung 6,000 fish cages around the lake eh.



HS: Ano yung mga naging resistance sa ginagawa niyo?
VSR: May mga kumokontra at hindi kaagad makapasok yung aking mga tao doon. Medyo may mga maiinit ang ulo so its ok, umaatras muna kami. Sasabihin lang namin, sige we’ll give you another day and then maybe dialogue muna tayo. So hindi naman kami yung nakikipag-away, hindi naman ganun. Pagka medyo may resistance at ayaw muna ng mga tao, papahingahin muna, hindi tayo makikipag-away, and then after a day or two, let’s go back and have a dialogue with them. Ipaliwanag niyo kung ano yung programang ito, and then later on, with the support of our livelihood program, ask them, saan kami pupwedeng makatulong naman sa inyo.



HS: Malaking porsyento ng fish production ng Southern Tagalog at kahit sa Maynila ay galing sa Taal Lake.
VSR: Of course, 40%, 40%.

HS: Hindi kaya makakadagdag sa gutom ng mga Pilipino yung programa ninyo?
VSR: Siguro naman na may kailangan tayong konting sakripisyo kasi mas mahirap naman na masyado tayong sigurista and then after 5 years wala na, hindi na makakakuha ng isda doon dahil ang makakain na nila lasang putik. I’d rather sacrifice now, and then do it little by little kesa naman give it what, 5 years, 10 years from now, hindi mo na rin papakinabangan ang ibang mga isda diyan.

HS: Ano yung political risk sa inyo?
VSR: Ang political risk dito, hindi mo maiaalis na may magagalit sa iyong mga tao, dahil siyempre tatamaan mo yung kanilang pangkabuhayan. Pero para sabihin natin na takot ako, baka magalit sila at hindi ako mananalo, I’m not scared of that, hindi ako takot, because maganda ang intensyon ko. Plus I personally believe ang lahat ng bagay nakukuha sa dialogue, nakukuha sa tamang pag-uusap. That’s why I told them I don’t want to make drastic moves na hindi pupwede, kailangan dialogue kasi. Kailangan malaman ng mga tao na we really have to do this whether you like it or not. Kasi later on, kami mapapalitan, pero ang Taal Lake will remain in Batangas and ang makikinabang niyan, mga anak ninyo. At pag hindi natin ginalawan yan ngayon, balang araw, wala nang tawilis, wala nang tipalia, wala nang maliputong aabutan ang mga anak ninyo.

Excerpts from this interview and coverage of Governor Recto's crackdown on Taal Lake fish pens on my documentary tonight, Taalapia, on GMA7's I-Witness.

An I-Witness documentary



Tonight at midnight, April 27, on I-Witness GMA7, delayed by a day or two and airing in earlier time slots on Pinoy TV overseas.

From nearly any perch in Tagaytay, Taal Lake offers one of the country's most stunning vistas, a serene panorama of water, islands, and volcanoes.

Howie Severino and his I-Witness team go down to the lake to know a different truth: Thousands of dirty fish pens are rapidly turning the lake into the world's biggest toilet. Big businessmen in cahoots with local officials are skirting laws and installing careless laborers. The delicious native fish like the Maliputo and Tawilis are disappearing. Small fishermen are getting desperate. All of this is happening in the shadow of one of the world's most dangerous volcanoes, which can erupt at any time.

Batangas's glamorous governor, Vilma Santos, has decided to plunge into this mess. Backed by small fishing communities and local environmentalists, Gov. Vi has dismantled illegal fish pens, confronted mayors, and sent out armed night patrols to prevent the secret creation of even more fish pens. But if she cracks down too hard, Luzon will lose a primary source of its food and one of the leading producers of tilapia.

Scuba diving into the lake's murky, polluted waters, Howie learns that this is a race against time, as the lake may not withstand much more abuse before it becomes nearly useless for almost anything, including fish production. While he still can, Howie also experiences some of the lake's summertime charms, riding horseback to the volcanic crater and building a sailboat for exploring the lake.

Under the direction of Cinemalaya filmmaker and finalist Tara Illenberger, Howie documents the struggle for Taal Lake’s survival in “Taalapia,” airing this Monday midnight on I-Witness over GMA-7 after the late night newscast Saksi.



Director Tara Illenberger on the right and executive producer Noi Cuanang, center. Assistant cameraman Jam Morales is on the left.

President Arroyo announces a ban on Pinoy sailors in the Gulf of Aden, but it's probably unenforceable.

My seaman correspondent Ben has just boarded another ship. Readers of this blog may recall his harrowing account emailed from his cargo ship early this year of their journey through the notorious Gulf of Aden, where hundreds of sailors have been held hostage by Somali pirates and where the US Navy took dramatic action recently to free an American ship captain. Ben had reported during his last trip that a ship just ahead of them had been attacked and Ben's ship was threatened. This time, Ben has opted for a cushier route far away from the pirates' den.

According to Ben:

RORO passenger ship po ngayon ang nasakyan ko. Ang trade route ay europe lang, around the baltic sea: germany at finland lang. Tumanggi po muna ako sumakay sa ibang trade especially yung dumadaan sa Gulf of Aden, masyado kasing risky ngayon dun. I'm still working as an engineer... with a six-month contract.

He probably signed his contract before President Arroyo decided to prohibit Filipino sailors from the same route he wants to avoid. There seems to be some confusion about the extent of the ban, and some questions over whether it is even enforceable, considering the need for Filipino sailors on the ships plying pirate waters:

Guy Morel, secretary general of Intermanager, the trade organisation for the managers who employ many ships’ crews, said the Philippines was a very important country for the shipping industry.

“If the Philippines were to suspend the sending of, or limit the travel of, seafarers to the pirate area, that would definitely disrupt world shipping,” he said.

The Philippines’ government spokesman’s announcement suggested a presidential decree had banned all Filipino seafarers from Somali waters. However, the country’s Department of Labour and Employment last week issued more limited directives to manning agencies. They said ships with Filipino crew should stay at least 200 nautical miles off Somalia’s east coast. In the Gulf of Aden, they should stay within the designated transit corridor in the middle of the area, which is watched carefully by international naval forces.

If one were to judge based on the OFW ban in Iraq, this one's a non-starter. Just as thousands of Filipinos evaded the Iraq ban to work on US military bases there, this new pronouncement will just fuel illicit recruiters gouging desperate sailors. Those serving on ships sailing through the gulf are given hefty extra pay, more than enough incentive for many to risk their lives and liberty.

Former senator and long-time labor leader Ernesto Herrera has scoffed at the so-called ban:


Continue reading "Ben sails again but avoids pirates"

One small step towards becoming a true maritime nation again.



It was a novel family summer activity, to say the least. When my wife the birdwatcher and retired diver announced out of the blue that we would build a sailboat over the weekend, my bemused reply was: Yeah, right. But not only was our nuclear family of three mobilized for this unique Taal Lake event, so were her parents, siblings, and pamangkins. It turned out to be great fun, as clumsy as I was with using a power saw. For one, it was a group social activity that involved more than just gorging ourselves. We created something big and functional.



Even Alon and his young cousins had a role, helping hammering, sanding, and painting the boat into shape. We were actually just the biggest among about a dozen families involved in the annual Family Boatbuilding Weekend organized by a group of boat-building enthusiasts who usually just meet online at http://www.pinoyboats.org/.



As one of their members, Rolly Perez, told me, "We just want more Filipinos to enjoy the water. We have forgotten our boat-building and sailing traditions. Many Filipinos don't even know how to swim!"

Our family at least knows how to swim. But sailors we're not, and building anything more than Lego empires seems overambitious. So boat builder Rolly and friends downloaded a design for a home-made sailboat called the Summer Breeze (also called a skiff) and emailed it to us before the event. We still ended up needing their close guidance, especially in using power tools. In the process, we got to know this fine group of craftsmen fired up by the idea of making us a true maritime nation again.



The Summer Breeze is one of the simplest and cheapest sailboats one can make. We paid P8500 for all the pre-cut wood, materials, and use of tools; the boat-building instruction came free courtesy of the club. As our instructors kept reminding us, our boat was less expensive than many cell phone models.



The rudder was one of the last pieces installed. One of the benefits of this event was finally learning the various parts of a boat. Guess what a skeg is? (Google it) I even learned how to do a bowline knot, the Swiss-army-knife of sailing knots.



We painted the hull with a gray sealant. We would later paint over the gray with colors of our choice. The hull, by the way, is the main body of the boat, including the bottom and sides.



At weekend's end, we joined the other boat-building families for a ceremonial photo session with our new pride and joy. Many thanks to the Taal Lake Yacht Club for hosting this event. (Don't be misled by the name: there's not a single yacht docked there. It's mostly hobiecats, catamarans, and simpler sailboats.)



A few days later, we were back at the lake with the newly painted family boat, still to be named (our son denied permission to name it Taalon, Noi's suggestion), and my gung-ho father in law, who is as active as ever after open heart surgery in January and was raring to sail.



The octogenarian father-in-law wanted to show off the sailing skills learned as a boy on the lake. The wife was excited to sail the boat she made with her bare hands.



You build a sailboat for moments like this.

The deaths of colleagues returned reflection to my Holy Week of reveries.

In our hyperconnected age, the news of death comes from assorted sources. I learned about Elvis Sadia's passing through the Manila Chronicle alumni facebook page, Noel Cabrera's through a text message, Jane Subang's through another ex-Chronicler's invite to go to her wake, Joe Capadocia's through gmanews.tv, and Nelly Sindayen's through Pete Lacaba's Plaridel yahoo groups.

I had run into them at different points in my career. I was in my late 20s when I would bump into Elvis and Jane in the sunset of the Chronicle's heyday.



Nelly Sindayen of TIME magazine

Nelly Sindayen, the Time magazine correspondent, I saw most often because she seemed to be everywhere there was anything important happening. As Time's resident Philippine hand, Nelly shaped a global readership's view of the country during history's crucial moments: Ninoy's assassination, EDSA 1,2, and 3; the coups.

She was always smiling and wearing a malong. I knew she was Muslim at a time when I hardly knew any. She seemed to revel in her Tawi-Tawi roots (born in Siasi). Yet she was every bit a woman of the world, able to call some of Time's most grizzled journalists by their last names and earning a reputation as a human videoke machine that had lyrics of a thousand songs programmed into her brain. Every major city in the world has a Nelly -- a media personality compelling enough to convene both news makers and journalists in her apartment for dinner gatherings... and sing-along sessions, in between whispered scoops and leaked information.

Knowing of her proud Mindanao origins, I sent her a copy, nearly 20 years ago, of one of the first documentaries I produced, a piece about children caught in the crossfire of war in Mindanao ("Hadlok", meaning fear in Bisaya). Soon I was surprised to find Hadlok reviewed in Time, with my name in a magazine I had been reading since I was a teenager dreaming of telling stories for a living. I'll never forget her for that, because it helped push me on this path of exploring our country in search of more stories, following Nelly in her mission to add bits and pieces to this vast mosaic we call a nation.

One of the coolest guys in Baguio's Wright Park is Scott Madon, the new president of the local pony boys' association. The association is composed of the men who own and care for the horses for rent along Wright Park's riding oval, a popular tourist trap in the summer capital. Many of the original pony boys, like Scott's father, adopted a cowboy pose and swagger, complete with the ten-gallon hat. But pony-tailed Scott is different -- his inspiration seems to be the American Indian, or the natives of America, like the Ibalois like Scott are natives of the Benguet highlands.



In gratitude for his assistance on our latest I-Witness opus ("Igorot Cowboys"), we presented Scott with a new addition to his wardrobe...



... which he proceeded to wear for the next several days. As they say in Ilocano, taraki! (asteeg)



If there is American Indian-inspired style, there is the more common cowboy flair of Wilner, complete with the horse-mane and leather bag.

What a difference a hundred years make!



On my way down from Baguio last month after another merry social weekend, I got a text message from the Baguio-based culinary artist Laida Lim that her beloved central vegetable market had just burned down. So much for the city of pines' celebratory centennial mood.

Most regular Baguio visitors know the Baguio market's charms, brimming with colorful veggies and flowers, even if some of the produce is now sourced in China. So those market lovers scattered around the world who gathered in facebook accounts to mourn the loss were filled with nostalgia for childhood trips, barkada adventures, hearty meals, and the market's succulent strawberries.

The photo above shows Baguio's open-air market in its early days, when goods were brought by cattle-drawn wagons and Session Road in the background only had buildings on one side of the street. The picture is from the US Library of Congress and was sent to me by Jack Cariño, who emailed me the following description:

Lower Session Road in the background. Bull carts are parked in what is now People's Park (Malcolm Square). At time of this photo, there were twin buildings which served as the market buildings which were to the right of the photo. The market crowd in photo were actually in front of the twin market buildings, if you shot a photo from lower Session Road.

Baguio is celebrating the centennial of its charter this year, and has been so loved by so many for so long that it's almost unimaginable that there was a time when many lowland Filipinos hated the idea of an upland vacation destination.

That's what I learned when I read City of Pines, a classic history of the origins of Baguio by UC Berkeley geographer Robert Reed (reprinted by A-Seven Publishing in Baguio). I picked up the book while attending the Baguio Centennial conference at UP Baguio in late February.

Before Baguio the city, there was just rolling pasture land, nippy air, accommodating Ibaloi people, and treacherous trails up the steep Cordillera mountain range. The plateau's isolation came to an end when US colonial authorities decided to execute a Spanish plan to establish a "hill station" for the recuperation of soldiers and the enjoyment of white lowland residents who missed the cooler climes of their home countries. It was also believed that lower temperatures were better for the health.

The problem was constructing a decent road to Baguio turned out to be hell, costing hundreds of lives and delayed by typhoon weather and landslides. After two years of turtle-like progress, the public-funded project was handed over to Major L. W. V. Kennon, a talented US Army engineer who assembled a labor force of forty-six nationalities to finish the job by 1905. Kennon Road is still the quickest among several routes to Baguio from the lowlands.

Even with winding road access, Baguio in those days was still primarily a retreat for Americans and wealthy Filipinos, and thus the frequent target of populist ire. Robert Reed quotes a 1912 editorial in La Vanguardia, a Spanish-language newspaper in Manila:

If they want to make Baguio a city for aristocratic pilgrimages and the center of luxury and gaiety, why do they not spend the money of the persons directly interested? Why do not all those who applaud the idea -- bureaucrats and millionaires -- contribute with their own funds instead of pillaging the people, who only see the imperial city in dreams?

The "imperial city in dreams" in 1912 eventually became a real place for the hundreds of thousands of non-millionaires escaping the helter-swelter of the lowlands at this time of year.



Among the well-known things to do in Baguio are the pony rides in Wright Park in Pacdal (although many horses are actually big racing thoroughbreds like the one I'm riding, a gentle creature named Santiago). I hung out there for a few days in March getting to know the pony boys who would compete in the Panabenga Gymkhana, a series of races and other horse events with cash prizes. I found out from my main source about the gymkhana, Feliz Perez, that the first one organized in the 1970s was the idea of horse enthusiast and former Miss Universe Gloria Diaz, who rode bra-less and bareback in that steaming 1975 classic, Ang Pinakamagandang Hayop sa Balat ng Lupa.

My I-Witness docu on Baguio's horse-riding traditions is pasted below (complete with two clips of maiden Gloria astride a horse in the sartorial condition described above):



Part two is here, and part three is here.

The widespread violation of rights of domestic helpers in the Philippines, the non-enforcement of wage laws, and the dismal living conditions of many -- that's the real outrage. But lawmakers would rather fulminate against a columnist in Hong Kong.

Chip Tsao finally apologized for saying what many in Hong Kong already believe, that the Philippines is a "nation of servants." Surely that is an exaggeration, since I know many Filipinos who are not servants. But if you lived in Hong Kong, never stepped on our shores, and have a simple mind, that is an easy conclusion to make, since over 100,000 Filipinos in Hong Kong are indeed servants, and on Sundays when tens of thousands of them gather in public parks it could seem that Pinay domestic helpers are taking over the city.

Imagine all of them wanting to strangle Tsao for his sneering remark. So his apology was in his self-interest, especially since he himself has a Pinay in his household who can easily plant red ants in his underwear. Once the outrage subsides, our incensed officialdom must know that the truth hurts. If it is Philippine government policy to encourage millions to leave and work overseas, many of them as servants, then Tsao's artless notion is what much of the rest of the world is going to think.

Despite one man's public scorn, Hong Kong is actually a better place than the Philippines for Filipino servants. It has high compliance with a minimum wage law even for foreigners, a labor tribunal that addresses complaints against employers, a legal obligation by employers to pay for medical care, and one day off a week required by law -- safeguards that are absent in their country of origin. The widespread violation of rights of domestic helpers in the Philippines, the non-enforcement of wage laws, and the dismal living conditions of many -- that's the real outrage. But lawmakers would rather fulminate against a columnist in Hong Kong.

A few notable regulations regarding the employment of foreign domestic helpers include:

Employers' requirements and obligations

- a household income of at least HK$15,000 per month for each foreign domestic helper employed;
- a levy of HK$9,600 for employing a foreign domestic helper, for the duration of a 2-year contract;
- payment of a monthly salary of no less than the minimum allowable wage set by the government.

Helpers' rights and obligations

- required to only perform the domestic duties outlined in the employment contract.
- not allowed or required to take up any other employment with any other employer during the effective period of the contract;
- required to work and live in the employer's place of residence, and to be provided with suitable living accommodation with reasonable privacy;
- entitled to one "rest day" every week, with the rest day being a continuous period of not less than 24 hours

According to an employment web site:

Aside from their monthly salary, Hong Kong domestic helpers are also entitled to a one day off every week, a food allowance of not less than HK$ 500 or US$ 65, medical and dental services, and leave pay when they are sick. They should also be given a seven-day paid vacation leave when they have already completed one year of service.

In the wake of the Tsao controversy, my friend Alan Robles circulated the Arab News clipping below, published last year before its text made the egroups rounds. It's a poignant reminder of the latent power of OFWs.

I read this anecdote in a travel photo blog :

While walking at the Castello Sforzesco grounds in Milan, I saw a blind man and his friend. They walk arm in arm as the sighted friend describes the castle in detail, in lovely soft Italian. I thought those things just happen in movies. The vision was so beautiful and moving, it just made the trip for me.

That aroused in me a distant travel memory that I left in the comments section:

Reminded me of a similar experience with a major variation in Inverness, Scotland many moons ago -- I was a traveler trying to find my way and happened to ask a stranger. He told me the way and offered to guide me around his gorgeous town, if I would tell him what I was seeing! Turns out he had become blind a few years before and had to retire from being a butcher. I would tell him what a particular place looked like and he would tell me all about it. He was holding my arm while we walked, two complete strangers dependent on each other in different ways.

At this stage in my career, few things give me more satisfaction than seeing my younger colleagues achieve, with or without any help from me.

Among those achieving her dream is the director and my longtime colleague on my I-Witness documentary team, Jazel Kristin Villamarin, a versatile artist who just staged her first exhibit in France of her unique photographic collage art. Jazel jars and charms by marrying bits and pieces of imagery from her wide travels, often in surrealistic combinations. Her self-portrait above is an example of her kaleidoscopic vision of the world. More where that came from here.



Another talented colleague left us last week, just as he was dreaming of bigger things for himself. VJ Rubio, third from right above in a team photo in December 2007, was strangled in his car in an apparent robbery and carnapping, his body thrown into a grassy part of San Mateo, Rizal, before his killers abandoned his car after it ran out of gas. There are two suspects still at large.

VJ was a popular former editor of the Philippine Collegian who worked on our team for several months in 2007 as a researcher. He did thorough, thoughtful work. Researchers on our documentaries don't just do paper research, they find interesting people for us to interview and feature as the embodiment of our message.

On an episode about blind children, we were already satisfied with the three young characters we found when VJ reminded us that they all came from the same middle-class background. He suggested including a poor, loving family with four blind brothers, an excellent find that gave our story balance and emotional ballast. VJ himself did the interview with the youngest brother Jaybee Garque and drew out earnest answers that impressed and charmed our viewers.

At the wake, I had a long conversation with VJ's heart-broken mother, who has been living for ten years as an OFW in New York so she could put her four kids through college. She told me that VJ, the eldest who was a college lecturer at La Salle at the time of his death, had applied to teach at UP Los Banos and was also planning to apply for a scholarship to Columbia University in New York, presumably so he could spend quality time with his mom.

A crowd of young writers, filmmakers, journalists, and artists had gathered nightly at his wake in Rosario, most of them alumni of the Philippine Collegian, lovingly called Kule. Reading some of the blog entries about VJ, I realized that he was almost an institution at Kule, having spent so much time there. And as an older student, he was considered a mentor who knew how to listen.

According to one remembrance:

si vj ang isa sa mga taong una mong tatakbuhan 'pag may problema, kahit gaano man kababaw ang problema mong yan. nang minsang nakaranas ako ng "heartbreak," si vj ang sumaklolo. syempre 'pag iniisip ko na uli ngayon ang cheap lang nung problemang yun, pero 'pag si vj ang nakinig at nagpayo sa'yo nagkakaroon ng substance ang kababawan. may famous line nga si vj noon, sabi nya: kung mga kontinente nga naghihiwalay, mga tao pa kaya? si vj lang makakapagsabi ng mga ganyang very cool metaphors.

VJ was just 28.

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- Darting between jeeps and avoiding
pedestrians, 15-year-old Bryan Lee is riding like the wind. His horse
Palomino appears unperturbed by the chaos of the city as he and his
master gallop towards their date with destiny. It's the day before the
big race that Bryan has been looking forward to for months.



The son of a doctor, Bryan will be racing against the pony boys of
Wright Park in Baguio, youths toughened by poverty and the daily
chores of caring for dozens of frisky horses. Bryan is like any shy
teen-ager who likes hanging out with friends. But he also has the
blood of the Ibaloi cowboy streaking through his veins.



Before the Americans arrived a hundred years ago to build Baguio, much
of Benguet province was cowboy country. Horses and cattle ruled the
land where Session Road and Burnham Park are today. Today the grazing
lands are all gone, replaced by pavement and buildings. The horses are
now confined to small spaces like Wright Park where children and their
parents can ride them while being pulled by pony boys, most of them
descendants of Ibaloi cowboys. In their spare time, these young men
ride their wards around the park at break-neck speed and race against
each other. Howie Severino and his team decide to focus their lens not
on one of the Ibalois but on their adopted brother Samson, a stable
boy from Pangasinan who has learned to love and ride horses like a
native. And now he dreams of locating his long-lost youngest brother
and teaching him to be a pony boy in Wright Park so they can finally
be together.

Every year, the pony boys' association invites visiting racers to
challenge them in a gymkhana, a traditional series of races on their
dusty home track: Wright Park's riding oval. Bryan won a big race last
year and now a year older and stronger, he is favored to beat the pony
boys again. But the locals are determined to win this time, pairing
their fastest horses with their most skilled riders. Samson is
preparing his favorite horse Silver Blade to beat all challengers and
has recruited the Ibaloi champion Paul Bagnos to ride him.

Bryan's grandfather too was an Ibaloi cowboy but he died before Bryan
was born. But even before his teens, he learned to love horses and
soon became one of the fastest racers in all of Benguet. His father is
a local politician, his mother a pediatrician, yet his best friends
are fellow horse lovers, some of them out of school youths who care
for the horses owned by others. Bryan is idolized by a talented girl
rider younger than he who has also entered the races in Wright Park,
one of the few girls to do so. Shaila Esteban too is the apo of Ibaloi
cowboys. But her strict father is threatening not to permit her to be
absent from class on that day.

On the day of the races, a crowd has gathered to see if Bryan
continues his winning ways. It's uncertain if Shaila will be excused
from school. Silver Blade appears to be in tip-top shape. A series of
surprises awaits the protagonists. It becomes a day Bryan will never
forget, and not for the reason he was hoping for.

(This I-Witness documentary airs Monday night, 12 midnight Manila time
on GMA7, a day or two delayed on PinoyTv overseas)

Executive producer: Nowell Cuanang
Cameraman: Disney Carreon
Researcher: Cris Sto. Domingo
Writer/narrator: Howie Severino

Vintage photo courtesy of Jack Cariño.

A special spinach recipe may have sealed the deal for Sampaloc-born presidential chef Cristeta Comerford, who was the object of a foodie lobbying campaign to replace her.


Photo: Kevin Lamarque of Reuters

If there were any remaining doubts that Pinay chef Cristeta Comerford is the White House's chosen one, here is the only endorsement she will need:

Mrs. Obama had high praise for the chef’s healthy creations, remarking on the creamless “creamed” spinach on the menu that evening, and she spoke glowingly of several “creamed” soups Chef Comerford had made that were also without cream.

This report describes the current upbeat mood about food in what may be the world's most important kitchen, including another shoutout about the now-famed Comerford creamed spinach:

(Mrs. Obama) invited television cameras into the White House kitchen and made a point of praising the chefs’ nutritious creations, including creamed spinach without the cream.

(Psst, Comerford's creamed spinach recipe way below)


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