December 10: Human Rights Day

This International Human Rights Day ought to be different from all the other human rights days in the past 10 years, after all, a new President has been installed, one whose family has also been a victim of human rights violations. But, sadly, I can smell nothing new in the air.

Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno, both I knew from college, are still missing. Jonas Burgos is still missing. The Morong 43 is still incarcerated and the Ampatuans of the Maguindanao Massacre infamy still has to be made accountable for their crimes. These are high-profile cases that have hogged the headlines at some point in time. Still, the wheels of justice seemed to have had a flat tire, moving forward at an ever slow rate. If these high-profile cases have not been given due attention and justice, I can only imagine the smaller cases' fate, the ones that only few people know about, the ones that don't land the headlines and generate as much attention.

I have written an article in OFFCAM magazine about human rights in the country. Please do get a copy.

Meanwhile, listen to this haunting song written in homage to all those who have disappeared because of their political views.


Desap by Karl Ramirez

Para sa desaparecido. Para kay Karen Empeño, Sherlyn Cadapan, Leopoldo Ancheta, Rogelio at Gabriel Calubad, Gloria Soco, Jonas Joseph Burgos, Prudencio Calubid, Abner Hizarsa, Alex Beloy, Celina Palma, Cesar Batralo, Danilo Macapagal, Domingo Delas Alas, Esteban Pastor, Federico Intise, Felicidad Katalbas, Honorio Ayroso, Johnny Orcino, Jr., Joseph Gonzales, Jovito Velasco, Mario Detroz, Narciso Parani, Nelly Intise, Nilo Arado, Patricio Abalos, Philip Limjoco, Richard Collado, Roger Viray, Roland Porter, Romulos Robiños, Ronaldo Comiso, Ryan Supan, Sergio Viray, Virgilio Tranquilino at sa lahat ng dinukot ng estado dahil sa kanilang makabayang paninindigan. Para sa kanilang pamilya, kaibigan, at kasama na patuloy na naghahanap ng katarungan, patuloy na naninindigan.


Desap
Music and lyrics: Karl Ramirez

C
Lumilipas ang gabi
Am
Abang ang pagdampi ng 'yong labi
F
Kahit sandali
C
Kahit sandali

C
Nangungulila man
Am
ang pusong naiwan
F C
alam naming wala kayong kasalanan

Am F
At hindi kami susuko
C G
Hindi kami susuko
F C
sa paghahanap
F C
sa mahal naming anak
F C
Magulang, kaibigan, asawa, kasama
Am G
Hanap namin sila

C
At nangungulila man
Am
kaming naiwan
F C
hangad ng damdamin ay katarungan

Am F
At hindi kami susuko
C G
Hindi kami susuko
Am F
Hindi kami susuko
C G
Hindi kami susuko
F C
sa paghahanap
F C
sa mahal naming anak
F C
Magulang, kaibigan, asawa, kasama
F G
Hanap namin sila

Am F
At hindi kami susuko
C G
Hindi kami susuko
Am F
Hindi kami susuko
C G
Hindi kami susuko
F C
sa paghahanap
F C
sa mahal naming anak
F C
Magulang, kaibigan, asawa, kasama
F G
Hanap namin sila

Am G
Hanap namin
C D F
Hangad ng damdamin
C
Ay hustisya

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My Flower Collection: Part 2 (Can't stop Window Shopping Online!)

Christmas is the season of eternal hope and joy. This year I’ve got a lot on my wishlist for Santa, mainly for the little boy coming into our lives when the new year opens.

For myself, I’ve only got my wishful thinking. The other day I browsed The Flower Collection’s site and saw a lot of clothes that I would love to have and wear this Christmas. In fact I have written about the preggy outfit that I would want to wear to Christmas dinners.

I’ll share with you another outfit from The Flower Collection that I would love to wear IF I am not pregnant.

Presenting the 2 Kailyn.

I love how it falls and drapes the body. I’m not sure though if the fabric can accomodate my preggy belly, but the overlapping neckline design is perfect for breasfeeding.

Or this Olina dress. It comes in other colors, but I love this one in acqua.

Another thing that I love about this is its versatility. It can be worn as a simple day dress or as a more formal one. One only needs to change accessories and shoes to change it from a daytime to a night-out outfit.

I also love this Kevin shorts. Buit maybe it's inapproriate for a Christmas dinner. So I'll go for this Hance pants, instead, for modesty's sake. :)

paired with this wonderful top, Dax, in a very sexy red!

If I am not pregnant, I would definitely wear this dress. But because I am, I’ll be sticking to the other collection that you can read here.

Merry Christmas everyone!

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ZEST AIR Nightmare: My ticket to Php10,000!!!!

I have never flown Zest Air. In fact, I’ve never flown anything at all. I’m a flying virgin. All my travelling have been monotonously confined to city and provincial buses. It is a joy to be able to go to new places and experience new sounds but travelling , by air, sea or land, has its ups and downs.

And I can just imagine what hell it must be for someone to be hassled and then made to pay for it! Batang Yagit shared a horrible customer experience as a patron of Zest Air. And it elicited a number of reactions from his readers who can empathize with him one way or another.

In a hypothetical situation that Zest Air would reschedule my flight, which turn out to be non-existent when I availed it, and then had the guts to penalize me for not showing up for it, how would I react to it?

I am not normally a violent and confrontational person, but all this pregnancy hormones get the better of me at this point in time. When I get angry, I shake all over. My voice breaks in high-pitched tone. My hand shakes. Blood rushes to my ears and my face is red all over. I simply cannot hide being angry. And this kind of situation would undeniably fall into that category when I turn into a monster.

Firstly, being the customer whose rescheduled flight was non-existent, I would immediately file a complaint by calling the office up, or better yet, emailing them about it so that I’ll have a record of it. There’s nothing like a complaint in black and white.

If I get a call that is not addressing my grievance like they should be and instead is asking me to pay the penalty for not showing up to my non-existent flight, I would ask for the supervisor or manager in charge of rescheduling the flight. If the business is done online, with email exchanges, I will print out copies of it and slap it to their faces!

It wasn’t my fault in the first place that my flight was resheduled. It was they who resheduled it. In fact, they should be held accountable for that alone. What if I had something important already scheduled for that day, following my original flight schedule. And secondly, if there were no Zest Air schedules on the date tof my rescheduled flight, that’s not my fault either. I SHOULD be the one penalizing them for inconveniencing me!

If however they continue to press the matter of penalty, I would not press charges against them, but I will file a complaint in a DTI or any agency that covers their business. I don’t have the time nor the resources to battle them in court, but I will launch my fight in a whole new arena – the cyberspace.

Any self-respecting business knows the power of the word-of-mouth. I will tell all my friends about this horrible experience and will ask them to help spread the word to their friends and their friends’ friends and so on. Nothing will be more damaging to their business than a dent in reputation. So hypothetically speaking I will bring Zest Air to its knees without resorting to a lengthy and expensive court battle! Bwahahaha!

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