The Law, a very long digression into Architecture and Planning, and the significance of Hardware and Software and a hop back into Architecture :P

I wanted to be a lawyer... operative suffix... -ed... :D    Like everyone else - I thought lawyers were cool - with specimens such as Ally Mcbeal, or Tom Cruise in the Firm... etc. etc. Of course it wasn't just a shallow, superficial career option... I really did generously think I had the... uh... powers of reasoning to cut it.

Of course this was well before I went all out into architecture... I told my folks about this thing with the Law... my mom was not so sold - she said that I'll have to pony up the grades to make it into a decent pre-law / law program. Dad on the other hand - in his typical response to non-architecture/design careers for his son - poo-pooed the idea as a product of youthful ignorance.

So I decided to take up Architecture instead - and as so often discussed in my previous blogposts - learned to love and cherish a profession - that in my mind gives me the best opportunity to help change / shape our world into something relatively better.

And as I got more into the nitty-gritty of design - as what usually happens to my peers - I evolved an even bigger ego and quite ignorantly got self-absorbed about the ability and omnipotence of the designer. As Winston Churchill pointed out - and I carelessly paraphrase - We shape our buildings, and our buildings shape us. I was proud about the fact that - not only did we think and imagine things - we produced tangible products. Something that couldn't be said about a profession that I used to aspire to - where lawyers spew out arguments - architects were designing and building real things.

But something interesting happened - the deeper I got into design - the more I realized how innately powerless the designer/architect was with respect to the much broader context in which we all operate in. This conflict is so pervasive in the history of Architectural and Planning discourse that it has birthed the Post-Modern movement in architecture - contrary to the massive tabula-rasa prescriptive change that the Modernists advocated for - Architects fell into the bottomless pit of petty form-making - resigned to being powerless to the real (albeit) harsh demands of the clients - developers - governments - and markets.

This scared the bejeezus out of me -  where does that leave me? An architect not so intent on "form-making" or "trending" or "imagemaking." Sure as hell - at least on a superficial level - I'm the furthest from trendy, fashionable, or imageable. Where does an oldschool, stuck-in-rational functionality, modernist like myself belong in an age where architects are turned by the fates into "make-up artists" for the built environment?

Koolhaas writes so well about this - (although I'm nowhere near this Starchitect's stature) he talks about how powerless he is when dealing with the reality and context of his work.

Then I went into Grad School - and during that short stint - I was rattled from my "architect/designer" frame of mind and was introduced to the concept of strategy and policy. While I was busy thinking about how to compensate for my lack of "form-making" ability - my professors dismantled the whole notion of form-making on an urban level and focused on the various factors that shape our urban environment. In their eyes (probably in everyone else's) - buildings were all the same - boxes.

Where the architect grapples about "puffed-up" mundane issues such as materials, the textures, windows, the "sexiness" of a building, etc. The planner sees numbers, populations, market demand, capital flows, traffic, etc.

That is the difference of architecture/design and urban/city/environmental planning. And as an architect trying to learn about urbanism/urban design - its embarrasing to be the mundane joe stuck at 1:300m while your mentors are busy hovering at 1:10,000m

That's when I realized that at the end of the day - design can only take you so far - hardware is as good as useless without the software to govern and help people use it.

Fast forward to today... with me serving  boyfriend BARops for Patring - seeing just a short segment of what is an entire spectrum of hard slogging in their development as lawyers. I get a glimpse of the software that governs and conducts everything else.

As I start seeing things on the other side of the fence - the more I am humbled as a designer - it puts things in perspective. Removing the blinders of specialization truly opens a whole host of doors into wisdom. While its good to build the professional depth needed to practice competently - it would be a tragic mistake not to build up the breadth of experience and understanding of the plural voices and factors that whirl in the real world's vortex.

It was good to see that - while idealistic "hardware" guys like my peers were learning the ropes - a fresh batch of equally idealistic "software" people were also being concurrently produced. God-willing - with a lot more of these kinds of people - hope is not lost.  

And taking a page from Rem Koolhaas - Maybe that's what separates the good architects from the true visionaries - the ability to see beyond form - into everything else. Its one thing to nit-pick a plan of rooms - its another to question the need for rooms and spaces. As architects - we're starting to see this trend - computers, technology and modern materials and techniques have allowed us to break down the previous cartesian limitations of form making - our more progressive colleagues have explored a multitude of tectonic possibilites - sexy indeed - but I find that the most relevant and interesting work comes from the designers who are able to question and disassemble the premises for doing the work and doing it a specific way.

The frontiers of design no longer lie in the notion of form - but in our ability to break and reassemble the program - the uses - the rules that govern how we work and the reasons for the doing the work.

Now... back to work.

GODSPEED TO PATRING AND ALL THE BARRISTERS! 2 weeks nalang! Todo na to! :D \m/ RAK!



 
  
 

From SG to MNL

3-plus months after making the jump from SG to Manila... I finally get the chance to sit down and write about the change... It feels like a past life - the 2 years I spent in Singapore have (on several instances) flashed before my eyes... the people I've met, lived with and worked alongside in grad school and P&T/Surbana... the life lessons... the fun and hard slogging that went hand-in-hand.

While the decision to move back was easy to make - the lead up to the leap back was fraught with worry and distress - although I had an idea of what I'll be jumping into, one never fully knows until you're in the thick of it. Emotional eating and weight gain aside - I don't regret the process and I've fully embraced the challenges of making my life in Manila work.

The truth is... we all wish for the best of everything - what we end up with is somewhere in between our best hopes and our worst fears...

I've exchanged my independence and stress-free environment for the warmth and love of my family - and the pressure / expectations of the family business and the responsibilities of being the proverbial glue in my family's dealings.

I've traded a long distance relationship - for a real-time, face-time relationship and have learned what it really means to be in one... the realization is that... long distance relationships become problematic not because of the distance - but because they make you comfortable with the idea of half-assing your efforts - token, stop-gap webcam time, emails and text messages can only take you so far... so much of relationships take place on real-time and it  takes a certain degree of self-deception to be "ok" with it.

I've temporarily let go of the idealism and prescriptive structure of Singapore and the practice of urban design - for the crazy free-for-all, free-market chaos of the Philippines - a part of me is at a loss trying to figure everything out - but another part of me (probably the Pinoy part) is happily taking everything in-stride as part of life "back home." Our time to make a change will come - in the mean time I shall partake in the spectacle that is our beloved country.

I've quit on the idea of being a small guy doing someone else's big work, and have taken on the challenge of helping build something I can say I am truly part of. I've taken the challenge to build the dream - no matter how small the steps are, how arduous the climb and how frustrating it is to build and grow an architectural practice in the Philippines.

Mahirap. Matindi ang kompetisyon. Hindi man napakaganda ng mga nakukuhang proyekto - pupuwede na rin dahil at least sa amin ito - kelangan lang pagbutihan - kokonti man ang bala - basta magaling at masipag - makakatama din kami.

Mahirap din kasi minsan - nakakakalimot ako na in a way, I've rescinded on my independence to take up this challenge - from a no-stress free-agent in Singapore - all of a sudden I'm back in College - being mentored by my Dad - ano nangyari? parang tumanda akong paurong - it takes a lot of prayer and introspection to remind myself na I'm in an old man's profession - and that I still need to learn from my old man - until I myself am an old man.

I've let go of the open-endedness for the chance to build. To build what - I'm not quite sure yet - its under construction.

Now enough of the talk - its back to the walk.

\m/  

 

Walking the Talk

Past 22 Months In Summary:

Lived independently
Spent countless hours on or waiting for public transport
Met new people
Built new friendships - Normanton Hometeam and SG Crew... repruhzent!
Did the readings
Did the projects
Walked the sites
Stood up for critiques
Walked some more
Prayed hard
Learned what it is to be a Filipino
Worked till drooling on the notebook PC...
and then waking only to write a post-it asking for Mac to wake me in the morning
Scrimped on the puny stipend
Overdosed on MSG
Walked some more...
Went postmodern caveman on sundays...
Learned to trust at work
Became less overbearing
Humored myself
Expanded my horizons - and my waistline
Learned to wash whites and colors separately... laundry discrimination
Ironed
Walked some more
Ironed again
Learned to shop... for clothes, for groceries, for friends and family.
Learned to cook... still learning... microwave and all...
Ironed again... learned not to use the high setting on polyester
Went home for Christmas break - felt like crap for having to leave
Overloaded my electives... and get punished for it...
Single-handedly present, defend and get hammered by a panel...
on 4 hours of sleep in 48 hours
Faced the prospect of being stipend-less and jobless by applying for work while studying
Wrote fancy resume/cvs only to have them backfire...
Forget that I have class on monday mornings... and interview on monday mornings anyway
Dissertated... :P
Joined my best bud @ P&T
Did the upstream Salmon rush-hour walk... fought the current and almost ran over helpless bystanders heading to Raffles Place
Soaked in the energy in Singapore's Financial Center... now I know what fastlane means...
Got an underused industrial-strength gym membership - thinking I'd be in that job for the next 18 months...
Graduated... Got the Degree...and kicked ass!
Worked for a workaholic, rapid-talking, kick-ass boss - who I still respect for being gracious to and being a mentor/friend to me despite whatever went down during the succeeding transition.
Did 50million iterations on a condo plan
Mastered the GFA Table- Baywindows till kingdom come
Learned the Singaporean vocabulary of design... pop-outs, slot-ins, clip-ons, ad infinitum
Worked countless hours on a pimpled building... leaving only @ 4am to go home, get some sleep and take a shower to get back to work ... only to have the project go KIV. (Killed-in-vitro)
Bought Coffee... este Kopi-C
Walked some more
Wore my Polo Barongs to work... trying to show the barangay of Pinoy staff that I'm not there to antagonize them... that I'm one of them... and that we're all in the same boat...
Wore my Polo Barongs to work... stood in the middle of Raffles Place... not afraid/ashamed to show people that yes... I'm Pinoy... and we're all running the same race as the locals... kaya natin makipagsabayan sa kanila.
Learned to drink... and then learned that I'm allergic to anything stronger than an IPA.
Maxed out the club freebies... MOS, St James, etc. - walang sinabi sa AmexcoPlatinum
Witnessed Long Distance Relationships take shape, climax and meltdown... learned too
Learned Singlish... Wa Lau Eh! Trying to unlearn it.
Got the fancy shiny Identity Card - salbabida kung sakaling manalo si Pacquiao as President
Get frustrated over brewing incompetencies at work... and pull the trigger on a resignation... Get a new job... manuevered my way to a seamless transition... just before the crisis hit.
Spent 2 weeks recovering from the first job's unforgiving pace... went out for dinner at Marche... met a visitor from Manila... spent countless hours in a little box with scrolling text
Started the new job... graduated from CAD Monkey to Paper Jockey to Powerpoint Monkey
Became plugged into the little red dot's matrix - paid CPF
Walked from Kent Ridge to Vivo City... took the bus back...
Heartland shock! from Raffles Place to sleepy Bukit Merah with all the uncles, aunties and ah bengs sipping their kopi in the morning.
Heartbroken to find out that YM is blocked at work...
spent even more hours YMing... left with 4 hours of sleep... but still going to work with that empowering feeling... looking forward for the next <buzz>, :D and <crickets>
Evolved from man to elephant to Godknowswhat :D
Became an asawa sa saudi
part-timed as family photographer on christmas eve
Went to mass, ate ourselves silly and then visited the lady of peace...
displaced a lot more polar bears traveling between Sing and Manila on an almost monthly basis...
Became a polar bear
Got a polar bear
Kept walking
Walked to West Coast Park... till my legs went floppy...
Became suki ng Singtel hot128 and HiCard Top-ups...
Asked Oliver to redeem all the free pepsi that the top-ups came with... katas ng LDR
Became witness to the blossoming of a short-distance relationship :P tipong 3 hakbang lang
Sunday dinners became the highlight of my trips home
Became unofficial agent for the Singapore Tourism Board... with family and Patring visiting several times
Traded Phuket and Bali backpacking with the flatmates for several flights home and business trips ad nauseum
Saw Brunei... had Chickenjoy there...
Visited Kampung Ayer, the 2 Main Mosques, saw downtown - all in 2 hours.
Saw Hanoi... got lost in translation... and only really care about wireless internet in my room
Sleptwalk through countless revisions @ work... only really caring about what's happening back home.
Spent countless hours planning for trips home... purchasing tickets by bulk...
Naging suki ng Muji at Ikea
Nakipagpatayan sa IT Show
Diminishing returns started to mount... Life in SG started becoming an out-of-body experience... existing in suspended animation till the next visit home.
God speaking in whispers... answering prayers...
Family responsibilities beckon
Opportunities aligned... as if a succession plan is in place...
Time to restart a life put on hold...
Time to step up to the plate and walk all the nationalistic talk...
Time to place my bets and earn my stake...
To be given a chance back home, to make it work and to succeed.
Yes... there is a Filipino Dream!

I'M COMING HOME! :D


Bakbakan na!     \m/    

On Storylines...

One of the things they teach in design school (probably as with most creative majors anyway) is how to distill an idea (whether its a marketing strategy or a design concept) into a storyline. 

This is usually to compensate/cover what would be a long, meandering thought process wherein you start-off thinking you'll end up a certain direction- wander-off to another... and then stumble into something else... which in the end looks like something you were thinking of in the first place. 

Why is it so important to mask this disorderly exploration... with a nice, tight, elegantly story-boarded, storyline? My guess is that... specially for design practices... we can't afford to come across as completely bohemian, artsy-fartsy and disorganized... not to our clients... because they pay good money to see that... ah! Mr. designer so-and-so, or Architect so-and-so is creative... but professional as well.   

And so.. we designers/architects - try our hand at amateurishly pitching these simplified nutshelled ideas to our audiences... whether they may be our clients, our professors, our colleagues/peers, our students... heck... even to ourselves. We do it several hundred times in a decade... creating bad habits. Heck... oftentimes, poor practitioners of this black-art get started without even cultivating any good habits. 

Instead of using the storyline to summarize both the products and the creative process... we use the storyline to shallowly post-rationalize our so-called "concepts"... Even worse... as is often the case... the process becomes subservient to the storyline... turning our products into a sad pastiche of interesting shapes, colours and patterns...  a collage of familiar buzzwords and repetitive taglines... like... "a new way of looking at architecture" or... "eco-city" or "exclusive enclaves" or... "organic pods"... "batik/fabric patterns" "new-age office" I've even heard one of the larger chinoy architects say that their project is following green architectural principles because it uses green, low-e glass... OMG! etc etc etc ad infinitum.

And then we wonder... what happened to our creativity? How come we're not rolling new ideas out? How come we come to the same things again and again? 

Indeed... people/audiences need their input broken down into digestible parts... and that general catchphrases/broad motherhood statements are great to tie a storyline together... but let's not turn ourselves into Dubya Bush... lets not reduce ourselves to a series of catchphrases... lets not reduce our clients into little kids... thinking they're not capable of taking in the depth/complexities of more important issues. 

Maybe that's why I'm a wee-bit disillusioned with the state of most Pinoy practices I see today... because my dad/mentor taught me about the fundamental layers... the core things which matter the most.  Coming from a small practice... working with clients who are usually self-made-men/entrepreneurs... they can't afford to listen and appreciate your fluff... because your fluff costs money... and is fluff anyway.

So... what is it that matters? how about efficiency? managing your costs? improving traffic by removing your chokepoints? lightening your structure so that your overall engineered cost goes down? THINGS LIKE THAT... because the sad thing about our architectural training is that... we're taught how to design... but not "practice" architecture... and practice is a helladifferent world compared to "design". 

Don't get me wrong... I'm not exempting myself/our firm from the criticism... in fact... its what drives me to help our practice find better ways to design... Let's not fool ourselves that... by talking about folding pieces, articulated forms, cheezy massing/volumes, bright colours and feature walls - we're talking about architecture... its so much more than that.

Let this be a challenge for my colleagues... to look beyond the typical client-architect dynamic

and cut through our own fluff... and engage our clients... educate them (not in form-making) but in the ins-and-outs of our work... but also to educate ourselves... to train ourselves that more than just selling a storyline to our clients... that we're bringing in much much, more added value to their business... than just a catchphrase.

   

Malabong Update

I've been wanting to blog for the past month or so... being off-the-air doesn't necessarily mean nothing is happening - on the contrary, events, people, places and emotions have all flown by so quickly during the past couple of months. Instead of talking about them and airing my thoughts/feelings out in catharsis - I figured that in a way I might be better off holding them in - lest I dehydrate myself of willpower and unhinge whatever underpinnings that scaffold my sanity/stability - and Lord knows I need every scrap of both I have in supply.

I'm worried - that the repetitive application of strain and release on the things that bind people together would in some way lead to fatigue, creep and collapse. I've been taught in school that no structure truly stands the test of time - and in fact any piece of construction is a continuing struggle against the laws of nature.

Concrete spalls, cracks, and dries-out... Steel corrodes, rusts, fatigues and bends - never to return into its previous shape. On-site - I've witnessed various iterations of this. I've seen beams sag under the undiscerned loads subjected on them - and I fear/know that I like any of the things all we humans work on - am no different; imperfect and subject to the vagaries of physics.

Ilang beses pa tayong magpapabalik-balik? Ilang beses pang magpapaalam? Ilang beses pang magugunaw sa lungkot at magigising para maisantabi upang maipagpatuloy ang pagtahak sa matarik na daan. Daang  pinag-dadasal  na tatahak pabalik sa dapat paroroonan?

Maybe I should stop thinking in terms of statics. We aren't structures. We aren't buildings. We can react differently. Maybe (I hope) this is less of physics - more physical education - like... weight training? As you keep doing reps/sets... those emotional muscles get stronger... with each microtear and fissure - you get used to the load.

I think I really need to go to the gym more often.
 


 

Jeepney Driver Republicans ;) may sense ito...

Tsuper ang sikreto ng Pagasenso ng Pilipinas 
by: Denverking D. Gomeceria 
 

Tsuper pala ang sikreto o susi ng pagasenso ng Pinas ang sabi ko sa aking sarili habang pababa sa jeep na aking nasakyan. Natawa ako pag naaalala ko ang sinabi ng tsuper na kausap ko lang kanina. "Para makaahon tayo sa hirap dapat nating itaas lahat ng bilihin. Itaas ang jeepney fare sa P25 kada tao. Tangalan ng tax ang mga mayayaman. Triplehen naman ang tax ng mga mahihirap" ang suhestion ng mamang drayber ng dyip na nasakyan ko. Mahaba ang aming napagkuwentuhan ng mamang drayber. May mga drayber kasi na sa kwento nila dinadaan ang pagkainip nila sa trapik dito sa metro manila. Maaring nagtataka na kayo kung paano nangyari yun. Hayaan nyong ilahad ko rin sa inyo ang kwento ng mamang tsuper. 
 
Nagmamadali ako papasok ng opisina ng maipit kami sa trapik. "Haaaay naku" sabi ko sa aking sarili. "Walang pinagbago ang pinas". Natawa ang drayber ng sinasakyan kong dyip. Sa unahan kasi ako sumakay kaya narinig nya ang aking nasambit. Mukhang nagmamadali kayo sir ah, tanong ng drayber. Sanayan lang po yan dagdag pa nya. Oo nga eh, kaya lang eh nakakaasar kasing isipin na ganito na lang ba tayo palagi sagot ko.Wala ka na ngang 
pera....trapik pa! Hirap na hirap talaga ang bansa natin ngayon. Lalong natawa ang drayber sa tinuran ko. "Sir" sabi nya, matanong ko nga kayo. Sure, sagot ko naman. Naniniwala ba kayong walang pera ang pinas? Hhhhhhmmmm napaisip ako bigla sa tanong ng tsuper. Tingin ko wala! Kasi hirap ng buhay ngayon eh sagot ko sa kanya. Wag kayo sanang magagalit sir, mukhang mali ata po kayo duon ang magalang na tugon nya. Nagulat ako dahil mukhang may alam yung mamang tsuper na di ko alam. Bakit mo naman nasabi yan manong? 
 
Kasi ganito po yun sir...may pera ang pinas kaya nga lang ay nakaipit sa itaas ang paliwanag ng mamang tsuper. Nakaipit po yung pera sa bangko ng mga mayayamang negosyante. At para pong dumadaan sa embudo ang pera pababa sa ating mahihirap ang dagdag pa nya. Unti unti lang po ang baba, sapat lang na tayo ay makakain at wag magpatayan. Kung mapapansin nyo po ay tila napakahirap na buhay natin dito sa ibaba. Napakahirap kitain ng pera kasi nga ay kaunti lang ang perang umiikot dito sa atin sa ibaba. Samantalang P42 lang ang dolyares ngayon at kung may katotohanan ang report ng gobyerno natin na umaangat ang ekonomiya... .eh nasaan ang pera, tanong pa nung drayber. Kung totoong kumikita ang pinas pero hirap tayo at walang pera dito sa ibaba....ibig lang sabihin noon ay nasa itaas o sa mayayamang negosyante ang pera, pagtatapos ng drayber. 
 
Magaling! sabi ko sa mamang tsuper. Ang galing nyo manong ah, dagdag ko pa. Matanong ulit kita sabi nya sa akin. Paano naman natin mababaliktad ang kahirapan natin ngayon? Mukhang pahirap ng pahirap ang tanong nyo manong ah. Madali lang yan sagot nya. O sige nga po manong...paano? Ganito yun iho, kung ako ang masusunod para makaahon tayo sa hirap dapat nating itaas ang jipney fare sa P25 kada tao. Tangalan ng tax ang mga mayayaman. Triplehen naman ang tax ng mga mahihirap.Manong Gyera po yung hinihingi nyo! Wala na nga ho tayong pambili eh...tapos imbes na pababain nyo eh...itataas nyo pa. Isa pa ho, pag itinaas nyo ang pamasahe eh tataas ang bilihin. Lalo lang hong magiging kawawa ng mahihirap nyan sabi ko sa drayber. Isipin nyo mataas na ang bilihin tapos triple pa ang tax nila samantalang yung mayayaman naman eh aalisan nyo ng tax..manong naman! 
 
Ganito kasi yun iho. Kaming mga drayber ang sukatan at madalas na idinadahilan ng mga mayayaman. Kami rin ang tagapasan lagi ng problema. Kada gustong pagagainin ng gobyerno ang buhay natin dito sa ibaba. Lagi na lang yung karampot naming kita ang kanilang pilit na pinabababa. Kasi nga naman pag mababa pamasahe eh makakatipid daw yung mga mahihirap dahil bababa din ang presyo ng bilihin. At kung mababa ang bilihin at 
pamasahe...eh di syempre mababa din ang pasuweldo.Para nga naman daw di bumagsak ang negosyo ng mga mayayaman at makahatak pa ng foreign investors. Pero kung gagamitan mo ng simpleng math...eh magkano lang talaga ang matitipid ng isang simpleng empleyado na gaya mo. Sa totoo lang ay malaki na P1.000.00 kada buwan ang matitipid mo at P12,000.00 sa isang taon. 
 
Aba manong malaki na pong tulong yung P12,000.00 sa mahihirap, ang sabi ko sa tsuper. 
 
Sige nga iho, ano sa tingin mo ang magagawa sa iyo ng P12,000.00? Sapat na ba iyon para makabili ka ng bahay? Sapat na ba iyon para mapagaral mo ang iyong mga anak sa magandang paaralan? Maari siguro na makabili ka ng second hand na telebisyon at maliliit na kagamitan sa bahay pero di yun sapat para mapaunlad mo kahit konti ang buhay ng iyong pamilya. 
 
Natigilan ako dahil may katwiran ang mamang tsuper. Bilang isang padre de pamilya na may tatlong anak...ano nga naman ang magagawa sa akin ng P1,000. kada buwan at P12,000.00 kada taon. Kung tutuusin eh sobra sobra pa nga yung kwenta nung drayber. Eh kung ganun manong ano naman ang iginanda nung suhestyon mo? 
 
Sa pagpapababa ng presyo, hindi ang mahihirap ang tunay na nakikinabang. Mas malaki ang natitipid ng mayayaman lalo na nung malalaking korporasyon. Kasi ay bumababa ang kanilang operational expenses. Bababa ang kanilang puhunan dahil mababa ang kanilang pasahod presyo ng na materyales. Milyones ang kanilang natitipid. Ibig sabihin lang nun ay mas malaki ang kanilang kikitain.Lalo na ang foreign investors, dahil ini-export nila yung kanilang produkto, syempre pa dollars ang kanilang singil sa international market. Kaya naman sa pagpapababa ng presyo sila ang tunay na nakikinabang at hindi yung maliliit na gaya natin, lalo na kaming mga tsuper. 
 
Hhhhhmmmm... .may katwiran nga po kayo manong! Tama nga po kayo! Kung hindi pagpapababa ng pamasahe ang sagot...eh ano po? 
 
Hindi mo kailangan ibaba ang pamasahe para matulungan ang mga mahihirap na gaya natin iho. Kung ako ang masusunod, kung itataas natin sa P25 ang pamasahe, wala ng dahilan ang mayayaman para di magtaas ng pasahod. At kung ako ang masusunod ay gagawin kong P1,500.00 ang minimum salary ng bawat mangagawa. 
 
Hehehe! Natawa ako sa tinuran ng drayber sa akin. Matutuwa po misis ko nyan manong hehehe! Imaginine mo ang laki ng take home pay ko. Pero kung ganun po ang gagawin nyo eh magrereklamo naman po yung mayayamang businessman. Sa laki ng gusto nyong pasahod eh wala na silang kikitain at baka magsara pa yung kumpanya nila. Matatakot din po yung foreign investor dito sa atin dahil ang taas ng labor cost. 
 
Hindi ka nakikinig iho,sagot naman ng tsuper. Kaya nga aalisan ko na ng tax ang mayayamang negosyante. Ihalimbawa na natin yung nakasuhan ng P25billion na tax evation. Di ba kung ano ano pang red tape at bayad sa mamahaling abogado ang ginawa nun? Sigurado umubos din sya ng milyon para lang di magbayad? Kung tatangalan ko sya ng tax....hindi na nya kailangan umubos ng milyon sa red tape at magbayad sa abogado. Kanya na yung P25billion. Sa tingin mo masama pa ba yun? Sa ganung paraan din ay mababawasan ang mga buwaya sa bir. 
 
Tungkol naman sa foreign investors... nakakalungkot isipin na labor lang ang kayang isipin ng ating gubyerno na panghatak sa kanila. Nakakalungkot din na isipin na ibinebenta tayo ng ating sariling gubyerno bilang murang alipin. Bakit di nila ipagmalaki ang kalidad o ang mataas na antas ng ating mangagawa? Mahusay ang mga pinoy magtrabaho at pulido pa. Dun pa lang lamang na tayo. Kaya nga mas gusto tayo ng mga arabo di ba? Di paulit ulit yung gawa kaya nakakatipid sila at naibebenta pa nila ng mahal dahil pulido nga ang pagkakagawa. Isa pa dapat din nating pakinabangan yung kung tawagin ng kano na strategic location ng bansa natin. Di ba kaya nga pilit pa rin na mga kano na magkaroon ng military activities o military base dito sa atin? Kung sa military ay importante yun ganun din sa negosyo. Puede tayong maging daungan at koneksyon ng mga barko at eroplano na naghahatid ng produkto. Mumura din ang presyo ng importation dahil bukod sa magigng daungan tayo ay meron pa tayong tinatawag na Globalization. Mura na rin nilang nakukuha ang kanilang raw materials na kailangan nila dahil sa bisa ng Globalization. Di ba yun nga ang purpose nun? 
 
Haaay naku mukhang napagisipan nyo na ng husto yan manong drayber ah? Pero may isa ho ata kayo nakaligtaan. Kung aalisan nyo ng tax ang mga negosyante.. .paano naman po tatayo ang gubyerno natin nyan? Paano na ang infrustructures natin nyan? Paano na yung operation expenses ng gobyerno natin? Dito mahihirapan na sya sa isip-isip ko. 
 
Napakamot ng ulo ang mamang drayber. Haaay naku iho di ka talaga nakikinig. Kaya nga ti-triplehen ko ang tax nang mahihirap o empleyado eh. Sige mathematics ulit tayo. Sa ngayon ay meron tayong 87milyon na pilipino. 10% lang nyan ang mayayamang negosyante, 20% ang middle class at 70% ang mahihirap. Sa mathematics ibig sabihin nun ay may 8.7 milyon lang ang mayayaman. Baka nga sobra pa yang bilang na iyan, dagdag ba ng tsuper.Yung natitirang 78milyon ay malamang na karamihan ay empleyado. Sabihin na lang natin na 50million ang nagtatrabaho para di tayo mahirapan sa mathematics. 
 
Kung dati ay nakakakuha ka ng tigpipiso, magiging triple yun, ngayon ay makakakuha ka na ng P3.00. Ibig sabihin nito kung dati nakakakolekta ang BIR ng P50million.. .magiging P150million na yun. Eh hindi lang naman 3piso ang ibinabawas sa tax ng isang empleyado. Mababa ang P500 sa mga iyan eh kung tatlong P500 yan! Sige nga iho imathematics mo nga. Mas magiging epektibo ang koleksyon ng BIR dahil di na nila kailangan pang maghabol. Sa ayaw at sa gusto ng empleyado ay babawasan sila ng tax kada buwan. Magdadagdagan pa ang galamay ng BIR sa pamamagitan ng mga employer at mababawasan ng malaki ang corruption sa ating bansa. 
 
Hanep manong ang galing nyo po ah! 
 
Isa pa iho, mas marami na ngayong ang magtutulungan na paangatin ang bansa natin. Imbes na 10% lang ng population ang magdadala... yung 90% na ngayon ang papasan ng ekonomiya natin. 
 
Oo nga po manong....kaya lang parang ganun pa rin iyon. Mataas nga ang sahod pero mataas din ang bilihin. Eh di wala rin po! Kayod marino ka pa rin nun dahil sa taas ng bilihin. 
 
Maaring ganun pa nga rin yun iho. Pero matanong kita ulit. Maari ngang mahihirapan ka pa rin. Pero alin naman ang mas pipiliin mo...yung nahihirapan ka na ang pagkain mo ay tuyo....o yung nahihrapan ka na ang pagkain mo ay fried chicken? 
 
Manong naman! tinatanong pa ba yun! Syempre dun ako sa chicken. 
 
Ano ang mas gusto mo iho....yung nahihirapan ka na nakahiga sa banig....o yung nahihirapan ka na nakahiga ka sa malambot na kama? 
 
Manong trick question po ba yan. Syempre naman dun ako sa kama! 
 
Eto pa ang isang tanong iho. Sa tingin mo ba may katotohanan yung naisip ko? Nangyayari ba yun. 
 
Naku manong drayber kayo na po siguro ang sumagot nyan. Medyo mahina po ako sa math eh! 
 
Natawa na lang yung drayber sa aking isinagot sa kanya. Di mo naman kailangan ng math dun eh iho! Ihalimbawa na natin ang mga bansang gaya ng Singapore, Japan, Hongkong, Canada, Australia, Amerika at England.Lahat ng bingangit ko ay may mataas na pasahod sa empleado. Lahat yun mga bansang iyon ay may buying power ang mga taong nasa ibaba. Lahat yun ay may kapasidad ang mamayan na bumili. Lahat ng mga iyon ay dinadayo ng foriegn investor dahil malakas ang kanilang kalakalan. Lahat ng iyon may maunlad na local na ekonomiya. Kasi iho basic lang naman yung ginawa nating solusyon. Naalala mo ba yung embudo na sinasabi ko sa iyo kanina. Sa pamamagitan ng pagpapataas ng sahod ay lumuwag yung butas sa embudo at bumuhos yung pera sa ibaba. At dahil nga may buying power ang isang simpleng empleado na gaya mo ay mamimili ka rin. Halimbawa na... dahil may pera ka na ay kaya mo nang yayain si esmi mo na kumain naman sa restaurant. Kaya mo na rin ibili ng sapatos ang anak mo. Kaya mo na rin bumili ng bahay at higit sa lahat ay kaya mo nang mapagaral ang iyong anak sa maayos na paaralan. Kada bibili ka yung pera mo ay aakyat ulit pataas dun sa mga negosyante. Ang nangyari ay umikot lang yung pera sa paraan na matitikman din nating mahihirap yung pinagmamalaki ng gobyerno na pagunlad ng ekonomiya at nung P42 per dollar. Imbes na sila lang sa itaas ang nakikinabang. ...hehehe medyo maaambunan na tayo. 
 
Kaya lang po manong eh....sa kanilang bansa siguro pwede yun! Dito po sa pinas malabong mangyari yun! 
 
Iho akala ko ba ay empleado ka? Hindi mo ba alam na taon taon ay nangyayari yung sinasabi ko sa iyo. Mayroong buwan sa isang taon na kung saan yung embudo sa taas ay lumuluwag. Taon taon yan...hindi nga lang triple ng sweldo pero doble naman. Kung sumasahod ka ng P10,000.00 kada buwan, may time sa isang taon na sasahod ka pa ulit ng panibagong P10,000.00. Kung ima-mathematics ulit natin eh tumatangap ka ng P20,000.00. 
 
Hah talaga ho manong? 
 
OO naman iho. Nung panahon kasi ni makoy iho ay may ginawang batas na tunay na pangmahirap. Yan ang tinatawag nating...thirteenth month pay! Sa bisa ng batas na iyan, walang choice ang mga mayayamang negosyante na magbayad ng doble sa kanilang empleado kada disyembre. Hindi ba iho, kada December puno ang mga pamilihan? Kami kada disyembre malakas ang pasada. Ganun din sa taxi at tricycle. Yung mga kumpanya malakas din ang sales gaya softdrink, appliances, sanmiguel beer at iba pa. Pag bumaba ang pera masaya ang lahat hehehe! 
 
Ang galing nyo po talaga manong! Hanga po ako sa inyo, Hanneeeep po talaga! 
 
Ang masakit nga lang nito iho....kung ako na simpleng drayber eh naiisip ko yun. Eh di lalo na yung mga mayayaman at politiko na nag-aral sa magagandang eskwelahan. Mas matatalino sila eh diba. Nasilip nila ang isang butas sa ating batas na hindi ako sigurado kung pangmahirap na batas o pang mayaman! 
 
Ano po iyon manong? 
 
Ang ginagamit nilang pansakal sa embudo na sinasabi ko para mapigilan ang pagbuhos ng pera sa ibaba ay yung tinatawag nating minimum wage law. Sa ganang akin ay hindi pangmahirap na batas yan. Sige nga kung talagang para sa atin yan....ikaw na simpleng empleyado na may tatlong anak....sa tingin mo ba ay kasya yung minimum na inaprubahan ng gubyerno na P350.00? Kahit siguro si Einstein ay mahihirapan sa mathematics na ginawa nila hahahaha! O sige nga subukan natin. Teka ha hmmmm....ok ganito....sa umaga bili ka ng bigas na mumurahin. Yung tig P25.00 tapos saing mo kalahati. Bili ka ng tuyo na tig P15. Sa tanghali isaing nyo yung kalahati ng bigas tapos bili ka ng itlog at 2 lucky me na aabot ng P20. Damihan mo na lang ang sabaw para magkasya hehehe. Sa gabi naman ay bili ka ulit ng kalahatin kilong bigas(P12.50) at 1 latang sardinas igisa mo sa bawang sibuyas at sangkaterbang tubig ulit hehehe, mga P20 ulit yan. Sa pagkain nyo ubos ka na agad ng P92.50. Syempre empleado ka papasok ka. Pagpalagay na nating P100. ang gastos mo. Magkano na yun P192.50. Eh kung may pinadede kang baby. at may pinagaaral ka na panganay. Kuryente, tubig at upa pa sa bahay. Project pa ng anak mo sa skul at tuition. Hindi rin naman pued na puro ka tuyo, itlog, lucky me at sardinas araw araw. Anong klaseng math kaya ang ginawa nila at nagkasya yung P350.00 hahaha. Kaya kung ako sa iyo iho sa sususnod na eleksyon ay wag ka ng pumili ng matatalino at eknomista. Kasi medyo nakakalito yung aritmetik nila eh heheheh! 
 
Ang mga halakhak na iyon ng mamang tsuper ang mga huling katagang lumabas sa kanya na aking naalala. Habang ako ay naglalakad patungo sa opisina ay naisip ko ang mga bagay bagay. Maaring marami ring butas ang suhestyon ni manong drayber. Pero maari rin namang sya ay tama. Ilang dekada na ba natin silang pinarurusahan. Ilan dekada na ba nating pinipilit ibaba ang pamasahe para bumaba ang lahat ng bilihin. Ilang dekada na ba na ipinapasa ng mayayaman ang pahirap sa mga gaya ni manong drayber. Maaari nga sigurong kapos sa pinagaralang ang drayber ng dyip na nasakyan ko...pero isa lang ang nasisiguro.. .ang kanyang sinabi ay mula sa kaibuturan ng kanyang puso!  

Brunei Set2

first pass dump...

Brunei Set 1

flew over to the Sultanate for work... was able to fit in... 2 hours a day of non-work time... walking around the city and taking snaps...

big heavy ears

angled up, craning,

my neck; listening to your

quiet, flare-lit sky