It seems that as a general rule Filipinos refuse to be bothered with their past.We live for the present and look to the future, but seldom do we glance back at the past. Three hundred sixty-seven years of Spanish colonial policy made sure that Filipinos paid no mind to their pasttheir pre-Hispanic customs, traditions, folklore, beliefs, as well as their pagan Malay culture.

So engrained in our collective psyche is this need to dismiss our past that 114 years after the Spaniards left our shores, we Filipinos still continue to do it. Examples of this abound just about everywhere you look: For instance, we never bothered to preserve or archive the early Filipino movies we produced so that most of them have been lost or destroyedthe same is true with early TV shows; old houses and buildings are left to decay and are then torn down so that next to nothingof old Manila still stands in todays Manila.Even relatively recent historical events like the EDSA People Power revolution are understood by the youth only in the most perfunctory of ways.

Unlike other cultures that cherish their history and preserve it as best they can, we Filipinos seem more inclined to toss out our past like we do a worn-out pair of socks. Unfortunately it is a shared past that unites a people. Only when Filipinos of today look back and truly appreciate the sacrifices and struggles that their forefathers went through for their sake, can there be a united Philippines. Lacking that, we are simply a conglomeration of individuals with nothing in common except distrust for one another.

With that said, here is something all Filipinos (and Americans) can proudly look back and share. April 9 has been designated as Araw ng Kagitingan(Day of Valor) and April 5 to 11 is Philippine Veterans Week. This year is also the 70th anniversary of the Bataan Death March. On April 9, 1942 between 90,000 and 100,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war were forcibly marched by their Japanese captives from Mariveles in southern Bataan to San Fernando, Pampanga 55 miles away. Along the way, they were forced to endure beatings, food, and water depravation all under the tortuous heat of the sun.Hundreds died while hundreds more were killed by their brutal Japanese captors. Then they were crammed like sardines into railcars which took them to Capas, Tarlac where they were again forced to walk the final 8 miles to Camp ODonnell. Only 54,000 made it to ODonnell, those who didnt were either dead, or had somehow managed to escape to the hills.

The Japanese imperial army would have conquered a lot more territory had it not been for the gallant efforts of our forefathers who answered the call of duty and put their lives on the line for their country. We salute the Philippine and American Veterans of World War II: the Philippine Scouts, the USAFFE troops, the guerillas, and the countless civilians who risked their lives to fight off the invaders. We are forever in your debt. What you have done will never be forgotten.Published 4/6/2012

Remembering "RM"Ramon Magsaysay

On March 17, 1957, Ramon Magsaysay, the third President of our republic, perished in a plane crash in Cebu with 27 companions; only one survived. Millions grieved over the passing of our nations most popular and truly beloved President who united our people in our socioeconomic and political development. Across newly decolonized Asia, Ramon Magsaysay, or RM, loomed large next to its great founding leadersMao of China, Nehru of India and Sukarno of Indonesia.

But today most Filipinos do not know RM. Many others hardly remember the Guy. In his time, the Philippines was a leading country in East Asia after Japan. Fortunately, since 1958 the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation has yearly recognized leaders in Asia who have shown the greatness of spirit and selfless service that RM exemplified in his short public life. In this way he lives all over Asia as our nations humble model of transforming leadership for democracy and good governance.

What did the people see in RM? To the so-called masses, he was their man, their leader and hero like no other president ever was before him. They saw him as one of them, for them and with them because of what he said, did and symbolized. He reinforced their image of him by his simplicity, honesty and visible action. He stood out in his adherence to subsidiarity, the principle that in a democracy, the people are sovereign and must actively take part in their governance, and must be served by the government and their leaders and civil servants.

As a congressman, RM was known to his constituents in Zambales as Monching, the former guerrilla leader, mechanic and transport manager of TryTran. As President Elpidio Quirinos defense secretary, he reached out to the troops and the people in the successful campaign against the former anti-Japanese Huks and the communists. He helped Quirino ensure free and peaceful elections in 1951 and make up for the notorious presidential election in 1949. He would help resettle former rebels in government settlements in Mindanao.

Before Magsaysay, candidates depended on the local political oligarchy and family dynasties in their limited national campaign. But RM introduced the barrio to barrio campaign where he made direct contact with the voters to the tune of Mambo Magsaysay. In effect, he bypassed the local political bosses without making them feel ignored by him.

No doubt RMs propagandists were skillful in reporting on his policies and actions. But most people believed in him simply because they trusted him. Somehow they sensed that he was working for them and making the government attend to their needs as never before. As lowly people, they most likely did not know that they were sovereign citizens, the source of government authority as defined in the 1935 Constitution.

When television was still new and limited in its reach, radio and the print media maximized their projection of RMs image as a tall and ruggedly handsome man of action, of restless dynamism and high intensity. (Tall, demure and beautiful, Luz Magsaysay complemented her outgoing husband by tending to the family and avoiding publicity.) Journalists eagerly covered his frequent surprise visits to various government offices. They dramatized his visible impatience for results in making government officials and agencies serve the people. His quick temper was well-known, as were his regrets and apologies when he learned he was wrong.

On the day of his inauguration in 1953, RM opened Malacaan Palace to the people. He ordered its name changed simply to Malacaang, to symbolize its new meaning as the peoples palace, not the forbidding palace of colonial governors and Filipino presidents.

He formed the Presidential Complaints and Action Committee (PCAC), with Manuel Manahan heading a young and idealistic staff. The PCAC heard the grievances of thousands of people and recommended remedial action by the concerned government agencies. It served to boost the peoples morale and gave them confidence in the government, thus making good the Presidents promise that those who have less in life should have more in law. RM also told the people they could reach him by telegram for just 10 centavos.

Greg Makabentas portrait of RM is pertinent: People knew him as a former mechanic who did not have impressive grades in school. Jokes about him included his reported plan to repeal the law of supply and demand and the way he encouraged visitors to Malacaang to feel in the family waya Pinoy euphemism to feel at home.

The images that came across sharply in the media were those of a man who would take off his shoes and walk in the mud with the farmers, eat with his hands, leap over ditches. And from the time he became secretary of national defense up to his tenure as President, RM was portrayed as a no-nonsense reformer who cleaned up the military and the bureaucracy.

Although he did well as a young student, RM was dismissed from the University of the Philippines. He could have earned his commerce degree from Jose Rizal College by combining his credits there and at UP, but he was more serious with his daytime work at a transport company.

Growing up in a middle-class family in Zambales, RM excelled in dealing with workers and the common folk, knowing what they needed in their homes and communities, and what they wanted from the government. He learned intuitively and sensed the peoples hopes and feelings by mingling with them. As defense secretary, he sensed the roots of the Huk and communist rebellions and the rebels need for land and justice.

As President, he focused his administrations efforts on the barrios and the peoples basic needs for irrigation, roads, schools, clinics, peace and order. He initiated a national self-help community development program administered by a corps of professional community development workers. Inspired by his passion, private groups intensified their rural community self-help programs. He sought the help of bright, young leaders who shared his values, like Manahan, Emmanuel Pelaez, Raul Manglapus, Benigno Ninoy Aquino Jr. and Ramon Binamira; he nurtured them as his political heirs.

RM was the youngest Filipino President, taking on the post at the age of 46. When they became president, Ferdinand Marcos was 48; Diosdado Macapagal, 51; Corazon Aquino, 53; Manuel Roxas and Gloria Arroyo, 54; Manuel Quezon, 57; Elpidio Quirino, 58; Joseph Estrada, 61; and Fidel Ramos, 64. The incumbent, President Aquino, was 50.

And in the 64 years from Philippine independence in 1946 to 2012, RM topped the other presidents in the percentage of the votes he received in the 1953 presidential election69 percent of the total votes cast.

Jose V. Abueva, president of Kalayaan College, is preparing his second edition of Ramon Magsaysay: A Political Biography, which is to be launched on Aug. 31, on the occasion of the annual RM awards ceremony at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. He is a professor emeritus of political science and public administration and a former UP president (1987-1993).

Top 22 Tips on How to Quit Smoking

Nowadays, many folks (smokers) are not concerned about their health. Maybe because they are unaware or even if they are aware, they are just thinking that smoking is just a normal habit, but they dont realize the terrible effects of cigarette smoking in their body. And some smokers doing smoking for several years, its very difficult for them to stop smoking because they are addicted already. But with self-discipline and determination, theres no impossible. So thats why I made 22 tips how to quit smoking in an easy way manner.

1. Make an HONEST list of all the things you like about smoking. Draw a line down the center of a piece of paper and write them on one side; on the other side make a list of all the things you dislike, such as how it can interfere with your health, work, family, etc., Think about the list over time, and make changes. If you are brave enough, get feedback from family and friends about things they dont like about your use of cigarettes. When the negative side outweighs the positive side, you are ready to quit.

2. Then make another list of why quitting wont be easy. Be thorough, even if the list gets long and discouraging. Heres the important part: Next to each entry, list one or more options for overcoming that challenge. For instance, one item might be: Nicotine is an addictive drug. Your option might be: Try a nicotine replacement alternative. Another reason might be: Smoking helps me deal with stress. Your option might be: Take five-minute walks instead. The more you anticipate the challenges to quitting, and their solutions, the better your chance of success.

3. Set a quit date and write a quit date contract that includes your signature and that of a supportive witness.

4. Write all your reasons for quitting on an index card and keep it near you at all times. Here are some to get you started: My daughter, my granddaughter, my husband, my wife
You get the idea.

5. As youre getting ready to quit, stop buying cartons of cigarettes. Instead, only buy a pack at a time, and only carry two or three with you at a time. Eventually youll find that when you want a smoke, you wont have any immediately available. That will slowly wean you down to fewer cigarettes.

6. Keep a list of when you smoke, what youre doing at the time, and how bad the craving is for a week before quitting to see if specific times of the day or activities increase your cravings. Then arrange fun, unique things to do during those times, like some of the ones we recommend here.

7. Prepare a list of things to do when a craving hits. Suggestions include: take a walk, drink a glass of water, kiss your partner or child, throw the ball for the dog, wash the car, clean out a cupboard or closet, have sex, chew a piece of gum, wash your face, brush your teeth, take a nap, get a cup of coffee or tea, practice your deep breathing, light a candle. Make copies of the list and keep one with you at all times so when the craving hits, you can whip out the list and quickly do something from it.

8. When your quit date arrives, throw out anything that reminds you of smoking. That includes all smoking paraphernalia leftover cigarettes, matches, lighters, ashtrays, cigarette holders, even the lighter in your car.

9. Instead of a cigarette break at work, play a game of solitaire on your computer. It takes about the same time and is much more fun (although, like cigarettes, it can get addictive). If your company prohibits games like that, find another five-minute diversion: a phone call, a stroll, or eating a piece of fruit outdoors (but not where smokers congregate).

10. Switch to a cup of herbal tea whenever you usually have a cigarette. That might be at breakfast, midmorning, or after meals. The act of brewing the tea and slowly sipping it as it cools will provide the same stress relief as a hit of nicotine.

11. Switch your cigarette habit for a nut habit four nuts in their shell for every cigarette you want to smoke. This way, youre using your hands and your mouth, getting the same physical and oral sensations you get from smoking.

12. Carry some cinnamon-flavored toothpicks with you. Suck on one whenever a cig craving hits.

13. Think of difficult things you have done in the past. Ask people who know you well to remind you of challenges you have successfully overcome. This will give you the necessary self-confidence to stick with your pledge not to smoke.

14. To minimize cravings, change your routine. Sit in a different chair at breakfast or take a different route to work. If you usually have a drink and cigarette after work, change that to a walk. If youre used to a smoke with your morning coffee, switch to tea, or stop at Starbucks for a cup of java the chain is smoke-free.

15. Tell your friends, coworkers, boss, partner, kids, etc., how you feel about situations instead of bottling up your emotions. If something makes you angry, express it instead of smothering it with cigarette smoke. If youre bored, admit to yourself that youre bored and find something energetic to do instead of lighting up.

16. If you relapse, just start again. You havent failed. Some people have to quit as many as eight times before they are successful.

17. Switch to decaf until youve been cigarette-free for two months. Too much caffeine while quitting can cause the jitters.

18. Create a smoke-free zone. Dont allow anyone to use tobacco in your home, car, or even while sitting next to you in a restaurant. Make actual No Smoking signs and hang them around your house and in your car.

19. Find a healthy snack food you can keep with you and use in place of cigarettes to quench that urge for oral gratification. For instance, try butong-pakwan seeds, squash seeds, sugarless lollipops, or gum, banana chips, carrot or celery sticks. The last one is best if you are concerned about weight gain.

20. Picture yourself playing tennis. Or Go play tennis. British researchers found volunteers trying to quit smoking were better able to ignore their urges to smoke when they were told to visualize a tennis match.

21. Quit when youre in a good mood. Studies find that youre less likely to be a successful quitter if you quit when youre depressed or under a great deal of stress.

22. Post this list in a visible location in your house. Whenever youre tempted to light up, take a look at all the ways smoking can damage your health:
Increases risk of lung, bladder, pancreatic, mouth, esophageal, and other cancers, including leukemia
Reduces fertility
Contributes to thin bones
Affects mental capacity and memory
Reduces levels of folate, low levels of which can increase the risk of heart disease, depression, and Alzheimers disease
Increases likelihood of impotence
Affects ability to smell and taste
Results in low-birth-weight, premature babies
Increases risk of depression in adolescents
Increases risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure
Increases risk of diabetes
Increases your childs risk of obesity and diabetes later in life if you smoked while pregnant

It is better to prevent the disease than to cure it. So act right now before its too late. Do it NOW..

Computer leads ex-OFW to a healthy income

"Poverty should not be a reason for you to stop dreaming, to succeed in life."

It all started with the mouse. It was this computer peripheral that set Myrna Padilla on the path to becoming a player in the Philippine business process outsourcing industry.

I was a nanny in Hong Kong then and part of my job was to make sure my ward would do his homework before he plays with the computer. I was amazed when I saw him move the mouse and something on the screen moved, she recounts. I asked him what a mouse was, and the boy, lost for words, replied: I dont know Myrna. Ask the one who invented it.

Myrna realized then that she had to learn how to use the computer. She went to the Philippine consular office in Hong Kong and applied for a free course on basic computing, but she had to wait for three to six months because there were so many enrollees. But I persevered, and I did learn how to use the mouse. When I first learned how to copy and paste, I was so thrilled, she says.

Myrna is no stranger to perseverances evil twin adversity.

My father was a fisherman. There were times when my mother would cry because we had nothing to eat. Even my siblings were crying. I think I was the only one not crying, but I was crying inside, she says.

After high school, college was not an option. She sought work abroad and, in 1988, found one as a maid in Singapore. Taiwan came next after Singapore. Then, it was Hong Kong, where she ended up with a bad employer. I slept in the kitchen, with cartons for a bed, she reveals. Luckily, she found another job, with a wealthy family who helped her realize her dreams.

They allowed her to enroll in short technical courses and helped her with her work for the Mindanao Hong Kong Workers Federation, which she founded in 1999. After seeing Myrna pounding on a typewriter at 2 a.m. to write requests for her fellow OFWs, her employers gave her a laptop and a printer as a Christmas present.

The laptop became Myrnas window to business opportunities. Through it, she discovered the social networking platform and came upon one website where she posted a comment. To her surprise, the company to her and told her that her complaint was valid.

They said I was a very good bug tester. That was when I learned that before a software comes out, the developers need bug testers, she says.

She kept exploring the Internet for social networking problems until she found a company in the United States that wanted more of her feedback. It was two-way: They got feedback from me, and I learned from them, she says.

In 2006, Myrna went back to the Philippines to have her thyroid problem checked. It was supposed to be just a temporary visit. After the operation, however, she sent an e-mail to her employers and told them she was not going back. I told them it would be already difficult for me to work as a domestic helper. I asked them to understand my situation. I was surprised because they not only understood, they even gave me a long-service pay, she says.

She used the money to go into business process outsourcing. She began with just one employee. Her sister, who was also a domestic helper in Hong Kong, joined her later. Four years after she stopped being an overseas Filipino worker, she now has 19 employees, mostly programmers, website administrators and graphic artists.

People should not lose hope. Poverty should not be a reason for you to stop dreaming, to succeed in life, she advises.

Source: Global Filipino - The Philippine Daily Inquirer