Achieving Happiness

Am reading pop philosopher Alain de Botton’s Status Anxiety, and I’m reading a chapter on Meritocracy. I am re-familiarizing myself with Jean-Jacques Rosseau’s argument on social inequality.

Rosseau said that the powerful had, since the dawn of time, assumed and maintained their position by means of robbery: "The first person who, having enclosed a plot of land, took it into his head to say this is mine an found people simple enough to believe him, was the true founder of civil society. What crimes, wars, murders, what miseries and horrors would the human race have been spared, had someone pulled up the stakes or filled in the dicth and cried out to his fellow men: "Do not listen to this impostor. You are lost if you forget that the fruits of the earth belong to all and the earth to no one!" (Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, 1754).

Civil society. Ano daw?!

Back during my SocSci and Philosophy classes in UP,when I still wasn’t tibak, I always felt uncomfortable with the explanations my professors offered about civil society. That it was possible for the governed and the govern to work together in harmony, without conflict just so long as there was constant consultation.

None of the explanations mentioned the specifics of economic or political interests of those governing and the governed. There were, however, the supposedly given considerations on the fact of nobility of the governed as they chosen by virtue of skill, wealth, intelligence, etc etc and thus they can and should be expected to think of what is primarily to the benefit of society at large. Thus can they be expected to cooperate with those governed and guide them towards improving their lot in life.

Such naivete, I thought. Civil society exists in a vacuum. And the real world isn’t it.

Those in the so-called Civil Society in the Philippines go only so far as to to point the ills in society; but when it comes to the presentation of alternatives, the house of cards falls apart. The so-called civil society groups in the Philippines refuse to acknowledge the class differences in society, and admit that these differences are at the core of social conflict.

The brains of these civil society groups agitate themselves over long and seemingly erudite observations and explanations on why the Philippines remains such a violent, turbulent and backward country, but the most they can come up with is corruption. They simply do no want to admit that the sectors - or more precisely classes - in society are in constant upheaval because their interests intrinsically oppose and attack each other.

Or rather, the classes in power undermine the welfare of those classes not in power. 

Civil society groups refuse to go near the genuine roots of inequality because among themselves there are those who tend these roots and keep them sturdy, firmly imbedded in the very foundations of Philippine society, it’s politics, economy, and culture.

Among themselves there are those to whom the perpetuation of inequality would prove most efficacious in their goal to maintain their own high standards of living, improve their own quality of life, and increase their own status in society.

They will only do battle when their own welfare is affected; or when their supposed ‘moral sensibilities’ are affronted or slighted.

A hundred years after Rosseau, Karl Marx expounded on the latter’s theory and made his arguments and justifications for them more scientific.  He said that however humane the burgeoisie might seem (even those in civil society, affecting or expressing concern for the general ills that plague mankind), monstrosities in nature and character abound beneath the surface.

"You may be a model citizen, perhaps a member of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and have the odour of sanctity to boot,but you are a creature with no heart in its breast." (Das Kapital,Volume 1, 1887)

Reminds me of Lucio Tan who stole billions in taxes that could have been used to build schools or hospitals, but he gives to charity. In 1998, he brought thousands of those white and red Petron Christmas lasterns which cost about 5,000 each and the proceeds were for charity. The parols were hung in various Churches all over the metropolis.

Then there’s Henry Sy. His SM group of companies have these donation boxes set up in the malls, encouraging people to donate used clothes, books, toys,etc for orphans. Yet what does Henry Sy do? He hires workers on a contractual basis — to deny them the rights of regular workers such as collective bargaining and joining progressive unions which will represent their economic rights. So he won’t have to pay for sick leaves, vacation leaves and lose more than 1 percent of his yearly profits.

Don’t let me get started on the hypocrites who are the Lopezes. I would very much like to admire Bantay Bata of the ABS-CBN Foundation, but fuck,if the Lopezes would only quit stealing from their Meralco company customers through robbery-level electrity rates, it wouldn’t be so hard for me to applaud their efforts at saving kids. The Lopezes steal from the parents, so doesn’t that mean by extension that they’re also stealing from the children?

And so on and so on with the members of the Makati Business Club, the ECOP, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry who are also involved in civil society and its efforts.

I don’t believe in civil society, but I believe that power does reside in the CS.

Jeez. Now my lunch has gone all cold.

Sige, magsisihan pa kayo.

Walanghiyang gobyerno at mga tagapagtanggol nito!Wag daw sila ang sisihin sa nangyaring gulo sa Wowowee na nagresulta sa pagkamatay ng higit 70 na maralitang Pilipino.

Sino-sino ang ano ba ang nagdadala ng walang kawangis na kahirapan sa Pilipinas?  Sino kung hindi ang mga pinuno at opisyal ng pamahalaan na walang ginawa kundi mangulimbat, magsinungaling, at makipagkutsabahan sa sino mang magpapanatali sa kanila sa kapangyarihan at kasama na dito ang mga dayuhang gobyerno at korporasyon.

Ano kundi ang isang sistemang nakatuon sa pagpapalago ng kapital at tubo, kahit laksa-laksa pa ang magutom at mamatay dahil sa kawalan ng kabuhayan at serbisyong panlipunan unang-una na ang kalusugan.

Hala, sige -magpasahan pa kayo ng sisi habang malinaw pa sa nakakabulag na sikat ng araw ang katotohanang KAHIRAPAN ang dahilan kung bakit naganap ang trahedya ng Pebrero 4, 2006.

KAHIRAPANG hindi iniibsahan ng mayayaman at makapangyarihan sa gobyerno na walang inisip kundi protektahan ang mga pansariling ari-arian.

KAHIRAPANG pinalalala ng mga patakaran ng gobyerno na nagbebenta sa mga ari-arian at yaman ng bansa sa pinakabarat na halaga; pinapaubaya sa kontrol at pagsasamantala ng mga malalaking dayuhang kumpanya at ng kanilang mga kasing-ganid ding katapat sa lokal na ekonomya.

KAHIRAPANG hindi kailanman maiibsan hangga’t nanatili ang mga bwitre at buwaya sa pamahalaan. Hangga’t hindi napapalaya ang kultura at sining at nahuhubog ang mga ito hindi lang upang salaminin  ang mga tunay na kalagayang panlipunan, kundi na rin upang maging instrumento ang mga ito ng pagpapalaganap sa kamalayang wawarak sa pagka-api at pagka-dayukdok ng diwang siniil at pinanatiling atrasado.

Sige, sisihin nyo pa ang mahihirap sa kanilang sinapit na trahedya.  Ipatong nyo pa ang inyong paninisi sa ga-bundok na bitbit na nilang problema, ang kanilang mga pang-araw-araw na suliranin kung saan at paano makakakain; kung saan  babaling pag kailangang magpagamot; kung saan sisilong pag giniba na ang mga dampang yero, karton at plywood.

Sisihin nyo pa sila dahil hindi nila kayang disiplinahin ang kanilang mga kumakalam na sikmura; ang kanilang mga naghihingalong dibdib na inuubos ng tuberkulosis at pulmon;  ang kanilang mga utak na sobrang balisa sa dami ng iniisip na problema.

Sisihin nyo pa sila habang kanila ngayong ipinagluluksa ang isa’t-isa, ang mga namatay na asawa, ina, anak, kaibigan at kakilala. Sisihin niyo pa sila habang hindi pa sila magkamayaw sa pagkalito at pagkalungkot at pagkagulo kung saan pa kukunin ang pambili ng kabaong at pambayad panlibing.

Sige, sisihin niyo pa sila. Pagkalipas ng isang linggo, isang buwan, isang taon kung di pa kayo sawa,  sisihin nyo pa sila kung bakit sila mahirap at kung bakit pa sila hindi na lang lahat mamatay nang wala nang problema at kayo na lang ang matira sa lipunang matagal na ninyong nilalason at pinaghaharian.

32-year old Filipina dies of lung disease in Sheung Shui

by Ina Alleco R. Silverio

HONG KONG - A 32-year old Filipina working as a domestic helper in Sheung Shui died last Jan. 23 of severe chest infection and endobronchial infection. Her body was flown to Manila last Feb. 7.

Virginia Nogales Mortera, a native of Villasis, Pangasinan had been working for three years in Sheung Shui when she fell ill last Dec.28 and was admitted to the North District Hospital (NDH) because she had difficulty breathing.

The initial diagnosis was tuberculosis and the NDH doctors prescribed her medicine. Virginia, however, got significantly worse until it became necessary to put her on a feeding and breathing tube and placed in the intensive care unit (ICU).

NDH recommended her transfer to the Prince of Wales hospitals citing the latter’s better medical equipment and capability to remedy Virginia’s then steadily deteriorating condition. She remained in the ICU, and on January 18 underwent an operation to clear her lungs and breathing passages.

The operation did not result in any positive change in her condition.

According to Virginia’s elder sister Pacita Montera, Virginia’s strength was gradually whittled away as the days passed until she was no longer even able to open her eyes.

“Virginia’s mouth and nose were stuck with tubes, but before she got worse she was able to write messages and communicate with her eyes. Soon she was unable to do any o those things and instead just lay there in bed, very pale and wasted. From Jan.15 and up to her death on the 27^th, she did not open her eyes,” she said.   

Pacita was severely frustrated because the nurses and doctors allegedly did not inform her the details of Virginia’s illness. “All they have were generalities. At first they said that my sister’s condition was stable, and then suddenly after I’d gone home after visiting hours, a nurse suddenly called me and said that my sister might die anytime and that I should go back to the hospital immediately.”

“Hindi nila pinaliwanag sa akin kung ano talaga ang nangyari sa kapatid ko. Biglang-bigla talaga ako nang mamatay siya. Palaban kasi si Virgie, hindi sya basta-basta sumusuko,” she insisted.

According to a report given Pacita  by Virginia’s doctor in NDH, Dr. Jiu Kin Lok, Virginia had “a medical disease.”   

Dr. Yap Hwyi, consultant of the ICU at Prince of Wales hospital, however, wrote on his report of which a copy Pacita showed HONG KONG NEWS that Virginia had “severe chest infection and endobronchial infection.”

According to an article in The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2006 Issue 1
(Copyright © 2006 The Cochrane Collaboration. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd)   endobronchial infection is what afflicts patients with cystic fibrosis, a respiratory disease. It is characterized by progressive obstruction of the airways and loss of lung function because of inflammation caused by chronic bacterial infection.

The same article states that recurrent endobronchial infection in cystic fibrosis requires treatment with intravenous antibiotics for several weeks, usually administered in hospital. This affects health costs and the quality of life for individuals and their families.

It was further said that it is still relatively unknown whether people receiving intravenous treatment at home have better or equivalent health outcomes, if costs are reduced or if it is preferred to in-hospital treatment. Home treatment requires training of individuals and caregivers, and usually needs a few previous days in hospital.

Virginia was reported to have been suffering from a persistent cough, a symptom of the early onset of lung disease, as early as January 2005. Her cough persisted the entire year with no noticeable improvement. She did not receive any medical attention apart from occasional visits to a local clinic where she was only prescribed cough and flu medicine. Her employer, school teacher Hung Lei-Lei admitted to Pacita that she regretted not having Virginia confined sooner.

Virginia was admitted to the hospital only in late December when she complained of severe breathing difficulty.

UNIFIL HK chairperson Dolores Balladares said that UNIFIL is also pondering over   calling for investigations on the possibility that Virgie’s sickness was misdiagnosed.  She said that in such a case, the records of private and public clinics where Virgie went as well the two hospitals where she was eventually confined and where she died would be placed under scrutiny. 

“We will seek the help of both the Philippine consulate and the Hong Kong authorities on this matter,” she said. 

In the meantime, Virgie’s family can expect nothing more from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) in Hong Kong apart from what the said office already settled with Virgie’s employer. According to Pacita, Virgie’s final salary and benefits amounted to $7,740, or P49,536 if the peso-HK dollar exchange rate is pegged at P6.4 to the dollar.   

OWWA Hong Kong welfare officer Lisa Mendizabal said that Virgie was not an active member of the OWWA so her family will not receive anything from the OWWA’s insurance and health care benefits. OWWA allots a life insurance fund of P100,000 for members who die of natural causes, and P200,000 for those of die of accidents. Total burial benefits amount to P20,000.

“We have no records of Montera’s membership to the OWWA, neither here nor in the Philippines. If you’re not an active OWWA member, you get no financial assistance,” she said. OWWA, however, is providing airport assistance to Virgie’s family, having sent a repatriation advisory to the OWWA officers assigned at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). The OWWA Repatriation Team facilitates the processing at the worker’s document relative to the release of the body in case of human remains.

Mendizabal said that OFWS should make sure to renew their membership to the OWWA as soon as they renew their contracts.

Balladares in the meantime decried the existing OWWA policy on membership. “Basta OFW, dapat awtomatikong miyembro ng OWWA at entitled sa mga benefits nito. For the sake of our kababayans, the OWWA should be more service-oriented and adopt a more responsive policy when it comes to the needs of OFWs, taking into consideration their lack of sufficient awareness of such a system of eligibility for benefits,“ she concluded.#

                       Ano pa bang klase ng kamatayan ang gustong makita ng gobyernong ito bago nya aminin na matindi, malalim at laganap ang kahirapan sa bayan ko?

Nadapa, naapakan, nadaganan at nadurog ang 88 na Pilipino sa desperasyong makapanood ng isang noon-time show na nangangako ng biglaang yaman. Namatay sila sa  paghahagilap ng pangarap ng kaalwanan; mga maliliit na pangarap na walang gaanong kahulugan o bigat para sa mga nagsasamantalang  malalaki at makapangyarihan sa lipunan na panandalian kong iniwan.

"Gusto kong makatapos si Junior…"
"Pinaghahandaan namin ang graduation ni Nene…"

"Kailangan ng operasyon ng asawa ko sa baga…"

"Squatter lang po kami at gusto po sana namin magkaroon ng sariling bahay kahit maliit lang…"

"Baon na ho kami sa utang dahil pinanlibing namin sa tatay ko ang naipon naming pera na pag-eskwela naming magkakapatid…"

Mga linya sa pelikula na mga salita ring binibitiwan sa riyalidad — sa araw-araw na luhaang karanasan ng mga kababayan ko.Mahaba at walang katapusang kwento ng kawalan ng pag-asa at kagipitan; mga larawang masakit tignan ngunit hindi matatakasan kahit nandito ako, malayo, sa isang  dayuhang lipunan kung saan bukambibig ang paggastos, pagwaldas, at pagkamal ng pera at tubo.

Ipikit ko man mga mata ko nakikita ko pa rin ang kagutuman at kawalan. Malayo man ako sa Pilipinas, hindi nababawasan ang sakit na pilit pinagagaling at pilit binabawasan para muli na akong makabalik.

Anong klaseng lipunan ba ang pinagmulan ko kung saan natutulak ang mamamayan na magnakaw at pumatay, makipagsapalaran kahit maaring mamamatay para lang may makain?!

Anong klaseng gobyerno at sistema ba ang meron sa Pilipinas at ipinapaubaya  ang responsibilidad ng pagbibigay ng trabaho at kabuhayan sa mamamayan sa mga palabas tulad ng "Wowwowwee?!!"

"Malas o swerte…

"Pana-panahon lang yan…

"Sa tulong ng panginoon mapipili akong contestant at mananalo…"#

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I came here this morning to the office to work. I’ve a few stories to finish, and I thought I’d get a headstart on next week’s load. First thing I usually do is turn on the computer and scan the news. The news about the stampede was what first caught my attention. Caught it and kept it, like a fish on a hook, wriggling and struggling to get free but all in vain.

I cried for some ten minutes, and then my Indonesian friend Fanani came in with his wife and small son. I told them about the stampede, and they looked grave.

"Things like that happen in Indonesia whenever the government is giving out food and welfare certificates. People get hurt, but at least no one dies," he said. He shook his head and told me to try and forget about the news for the meantime.

"No one in your family was in the stampede, right?" He added, apparently thinking that this would comfort me. "No one you knew what hurt or killed."

I nodded and turned away.

You’re right , Fanani, I thought to myself. I don’t  personally know any of the people who were  injured or killed; but I very well know why they were there, and what fragile, tenous hopes they carried with them as they lined up and pushed against each other as they waited for the gates to open.

The awareness and knowledge of what drives my people to such depths of despair is what makes me feel as if I’d known each one of them all my life.

Mula sa Inq7.net:

SCORES of people were killed during a stampede at the Philsports arena in Pasig City on Saturday morning.

Police said tens of thousands of people who were waiting outside the stadium to watch the ABS-CBN noontime show “Wowowee” pushed and shoved for about an hour starting at 6 a.m., trying to get inside. This resulted in a stampede an hour later, with dozens of people getting trampled.

Pasig Mayor Vicente Eusebio said at least 66 people were killed, 63 of them women. He said most of the dead were in their 40s. No child was killed, he said, although there were several children in the crowd.

He said the bodies would be brought to the Medical City Hospital in Ortigas so relatives could identify them.

Relatives of the dead said they were told that tickets to the show were supposed to be given out starting at 6 a.m. By 7 a.m., the restive crowd started pushing and shoving to get inside the gates.

Some were clambering up the roof while others were squeezing their

bodies inside the gates that were being opened at times.

As of 10 a.m., hundreds of people were still waiting outside the stadium, apparently waiting for a final decision on whether the show would go on. Bodies covered with blankets were still lying on the street outside the stadium as paramedics prioritized those still alive so they could be taken to hospital.“Wowowee” was planning to give away big prizes, including 1 million pesos, a house and lot, and a car for its anniversary…."