I’m sure that Martin was thinking of what I wrote back then when he wrote this entry. I was willing to be open-minded about it and give him another chance, I might have reacted too strongly just because he attacked the subject I teach. But with his recent proposal to pass all students this year due to storms, he just sealed his fate. You just gave me another reason NOT to vote for you, mister.
First of all, we still have a few more days before the first half of the school year ends. It is too early to say that, there is still a lot of time left for the schools to recover from the tragedy brought about by Ondoy and Pepeng. Granted, not all topics can be covered, but the teachers can still teach something. Lighten up the requirements maybe, but do not throw away the entire year altogether. I shudder to think of the efforts made by the teachers to prepare their lesson plans for the entire year, only to be wasted by a stupid statement from a certain politician.
Second, he says there might not be enough funds to rebuild the schools, and priority should be given to the agriculture sector and repairing of roads and dikes that were destroyed. Heh, there would have been enough money if politicians didn’t spend it in lavish dinners and other whatnots. The outpour of donations from other countries are huge. Are you saying that it will still be not enough? Well it won’t if certain people are pocketing portions of those donations.
Third, he is leaving an impression that education is not important to be successful in life. When something bad happens, the first thing he sacrifices is education. I won’t be surprised if he will reduce the budget for education once he becomes president. He claims that he represents change in his campaign, but I don’t think that the changes he is proposing will benefit our country.
This guy has no respect for education, doesn’t he? I am now more inclined to believe what the others are saying: A vote for Chiz Escudero is a vote for a dumber Philippines.
I strongly suspect that this move of his is just to impress the students. Guess what, Mr. Escudero: You didn’t impress all of them. Hell, the ones who will like this proposal are not even old enough to vote for you next year. Elementary and high school only, folks.
I wonder how this statement will affect his bid for the presidency…
I’ll be out of touch for the next three days, meaning that I’ll take a break from all the tweeting I’ve done for the past couple of days. But the relief operations in the Philippines will still continue, so let me just leave you a few links:
- Help for Typhoon Ondoy Victims in the Philippines (via Google) – Compiles relevant information about the disaster, including a volunteer-maintained map of persons needing rescue and a list of relief organizations accepting donations.
- OndoyManila – Contains a map of disaster areas, missing/found people database, as well as rescue and relief operations contacts. There is a form you can fill up if you want to help update the information on this site. If you want to help their team, you can send an email to typhoonondoy@googlegroups.com.
- Ondoy Victim Directory – Database of missing people, collated by Ateneo Task Force Ondoy
- Bayanihan Online – They collate messages (mainly via Twitter) on areas in need of volunteers, donations, transportation and relief goods. They also collate reports on abuse. (looting, red tape, etc.) You can help their team by leaving comments on their site, or via Twitter (@bayanihan_)
- PAGASA website – For updates on Pepeng.
- bicolanodevil at Twitter – If you are not happy with the frequency of reports by PAGASA. He also gives updates from other sources.
- Sahana Forum – Online forum to help collate information. (I have to admit, it’s been a while since I was last active on an online forum.)
- Tulong Tayo – Collecting information via text.
- Embassy of the Philippines – For information on sending donations from overseas.
- Department of Social Welfare and Development
If we all do our part, we can survive whatever storm comes our way.
Stay safe everyone! I’ll be back online on Tuesday.
DOST-PAGASA MTSAT-EIR Satellite Image for 2 a.m., 02 Oct. 2009
Dear Lord,
Spare the Philippines from this strong typhoon. We are still trying to pick up the pieces from the last one.
Amen.
Dear Lord,
I appeal to You in behalf of my dear sweet angels who will brave the storm to deliver relief goods.
May their good intentions not be hindered by evils brought about by greed, deceit and desperation.
May their light shine so brightly to keep darkness at bay.
Protect them from all harm.
And send word back to me if they made it home safely.
This is all I can do for them. I’ll leave them in Your loving hands.
Amen.
I understand that a lot of people are skeptical with giving donations because the money might not make it to the ones who need it. So fortunately, the Philippine National Red Cross created their own Paypal account: give@redcross.org.ph
This is all I can do for the moment, since I am not physically in the Philippines to help with the relief operations.
I also noticed that the relief operations are having problems with coordination. Some centers overmanned, while others are undermanned. Some areas receive a lot of relief goods, while other areas are still waiting for aid. I understand the need for someone to coordinate information so that resources can be distributed properly. And since Twitter is the fastest way to disseminate information, let me just pimp the Twitter account of my friend Chuckie, who has been busy retweeting people in need of volunteers.
Go go go! Let us do all we can to help Metro Manila and the surrounding areas get back on their feet.
I feel so useless. Detached from where I am. Here I am surrounded by people who live their lives normally, while I worry about my friends back home. The work assigned by my advisers had to be abandoned for the moment. All this time, I am asking why on earth am I here being useless.
I first heard about it early Saturday morning. I checked my Facebook news feed, and even if there is a storm going on, people are more concerned about not being able to harvest their farms in Farm Town or Farm Ville. I was not worried, for I knew that it does not flood in our area.
The mood quickly changed on Saturday afternoon, as the first batch of photos appeared online. Holy crap, it looked like Metro Manila followed Atlantis to the depths. Suddenly, I wasn’t so sure about what happened at home. Suddenly, everyone is keeping tabs on each other, checking if they are still alive.
Suddenly, everyone was paranoid. And for good reason.
I was finally able to contact my family on Sunday morning. They’re okay. The water was waist-deep in our house, some of my books and notes are ruined. But I started laughing. Those books and notes can disappear forever for all I care. I’m just glad that they are safe. We are still lucky compared with others.
Watching from outside, it is inspiring to hear my former students and friends taking the initiative in volunteer work. I salute you all. Keep up the good work. And I wish that I could be there with you. 
