Musings of Don Kishote….

In my previous blogs, i was ranting about the government’s inefficent program on rice research towards self-sufficiency.

Ok, so now even Jollibee confirms the rice shortage by offering half-serving of of the usual rice. This is not a joke anymore. And with 100 million filipinos in the next five years, rice shortage, or food shortage, is looming specter.

Jollibee aside, the latest news on the government’s attempt to encourage filipinos to look for altenative to rice is by way of PGMA’s endorsement of the Cebuano’s saksak-sinagol food, a combination of rice and camote.

In Basilan and Tawi-tawi, the locals are using cassava, instead of rice, as the major staple food.

Outside of Philippine rural areas, urban Filipinos knows of camote only as camote cue, and cassava, being a poor man’s rice.

Here in Nigeria, a country of 141 million people, rice has never been an issue. While they eat rice, but their main staple food is the Yam (Dioscorea rotunda). Yam is a tuber, belonging to the family of gabi and ube. It can be stored for at least six months without spoiling.

Yam is a versatile tuber. In can be cooked (boiled), roasted/grilled, or pounded.

The one type of cooking yam that i like is the pounded yam. I ate 2 serving of pounded yam with vegetable stew for my lunch. I didn’t feel any hunger well into the night.  That’s how heavy the food is. It tastes good also. During Sundays, we will have yam chips (fried yam cut in small slices like potato fries) with Star or Gulder.

I think yam (aside from camote and cassava) could be a great alternative to rice consumption in the Philippines. It can be grown easily in the country and the productivity of the plant is far greater than the rice production. And it is also easy to plant and propagate. It does not need fertilizer or insecticide — unless the insecticide companies will start developing strains of pests that will attack yams… Walla.

Besides, African yam has more nutrients than the well-milled rice. According to Wikipedia:

Yams are high in Vitamin C, dietary fiber, Vitamin B6, potassium, and manganese; while being low in saturated fat and sodium. Vitamin C, dietary fiber and Vitamin B6 may all promote good health. Furthermore, a product that is high in potassium and low in sodium is likely to produce a good potassium-sodium balance in the human body, and so protect against osteoporosis and heart disease. Having a low level of saturated fat is also helpful for protection against heart disease.

Yam products generally have a lower glycemic index than potato products, which means that they will provide a more sustained form of energy, and give better protection against obesity and diabetes.

Another crop that should be given support on food processing is cassava. Aside from the way we usually it cassava in the Philippines (boiled), Africans pound it and then cook it into sticky mash they call “Eba”. Eba is as versatile as pounded yam when it comes to mixes with other food like various type of stews.

When i have enough money, i am going to put a ‘no-rice’ restaurant in my village that promotes yam (or any local variety), cassava and camote as the main menu to replace rice.

I tell you, eating sinugba or kinilaw with yam or eba should be more tasty and fulfilling than with rice. Estofado or pakbet with yam? paksiw and yam? menudo and yam?

Do you know why Africans are taller and have strong white teeth?? It is because of their diet which is heavy in yam, tomatoes and beans.

Seriously, i think the Dept of Agriculture should consider transplanting yam and promote its consumption, together with cassava and camote.

Yam, yum…

REFERENCE:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yam_(vegetable)

This is for us OFWs working in Africa or less-developed countries (excluding RP, of course).

Maybe you heard of this in Filipino gatherings on Sundays…

There was an article by Inquirer columnist Michael Tan entitled “Getting rid of the Ugly Filipino abroad”. Tan talked about the attitude of Filipinos in non-Caucasian nation, tending to be arrogant and loud and have the tendency to put down the host country. And these are the pinoy tourists in HK or Thailand…

And he has yet to hear some overseas workers’ talk about the people and culture of the country they are working at, especially in Africa. And these OFWs who badmouth the locals are the ones who do only ’skilled worker’ jobs.

Many time i heard some Pinoys saying that the locals are so ignorant that when they see ‘any’ expat, they get excited, as if they have never seen an expat before. Well, the same thing for us in the Philippines. If we see any foreigner in our village, we all get excited also. It is a natural reaction. The same thing can be said to Europeans if they see an Asian in their estate. But for some Pinoys, they laugh at this reaction and think of it as something like a sign of uncivilized behavior.

Then there are some Pinoys who likes to brag that they come from a country where English is  a second language, ergo, all filipinos speak good english. But listen to them speak in Carabao English and you will cringe in utter embarrasment. I heard the locals spoke better english than them.

Some OFWs will not hesitate to badmouth the locals, addressing them as ‘baluga’ or ‘nognog’, not as a matter of ‘polite’ description but more on a derogatory and contemptous sense of the word.

I really don’t know why some of us behave this way. When we are in a nation that is considered more Third World than ours, some OFWs have the tendency to become arrogant and feeling ‘whitish’ as to the locals. But if the same person is sent to the US or any ‘white’ country, he will feel and act like a subjugated indio and will be more than willing to be at the receiving end of the abuse. Why is this?

Shades of colonial mentality, perhaps.

Although Michael Tan was talking about Filipino tourist/travellers, but his tips are as relevant to every OFWs, thus:

1. Take in the local culture’s sights, sounds and smells. St. Augustine once wrote: “The world is a book, and those who do not travel only read a page.” I’d modify that and say, “The world is a book, and the Filipino tourist, even when traveling, only gets to read pages condensed by others.” We’re afraid to try out new food, sticking to McDo and Kentucky Fried Chicken. We allow ourselves to be taken by tour operators to the standard tourist places, department stores, tiangge-traps, and then return to our hotels to watch cable TV.

How sad. Arm yourself with one of the better travel guides (I’m partial to Lonely Planet and Rough Guides). Take in a museum, a concert, and dare to explore out-of-the-way places. Many cities are actually quite safe—definitely safer than Manila—so poke around in the smaller streets and alleys, sidewalk eateries (but stick to properly cooked food) and shops. You just might find your travel allowance stretching a longer way.

2. Blend in. Learn the local cultural codes about proper attire, body language, etc. Pick up basic phrases, not from the travel guide but from local people. Struggling with the local language helps to temper our voices, make us sound friendlier. (And don’t, please don’t, make fun of the local language—I’ve heard Filipino tourists using a sing-song voice to parody the Chinese, Japanese, Thai.)
Combine your shopping with “anthropology”—I always ask people about the stuff they sell, where it came from (to make sure it’s not something Made in China!), what the designs mean, even what it’s called locally and what it’s used for. Sometimes, when people realize how interested I am about local culture, I end up getting invited to their homes, or to watch a local cultural event. In restaurants, I’ve ended up getting extra servings, a free beer, or even a special dish they don’t usually offer tourists.

3. Be inquisitive, not acquisitive. I think we sometimes come through as wanting to buy everything, take home everything. We’re notorious for our oversized luggage, balikbayan boxes, extra tote bags stuffed with hotel amenities, kitschy souvenirs, with room to spare for duty-free items.

Really, we should be thankful we have an overseas job. Let us be reminded that we are working overseas because our own country is a ’shitty’ place — dirt poor and with a corruption-ridden government.

 Maybe the POEA, in conducting PDOS for OFWs going to ME/A, should remind the workers to be mindful of their manners and be thankful to the host country and its citizens.

REFERENCE:

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/mindfeeds/mindfeeds/view/20080304-122658/Getting-rid-of-the-Ugly-Filipino-abroad

It spreads like a wildfire.

A year ago, two masteral students from DLSU made a thesis about the possible taxing of OFW remittance. I just couldn’t find my file of it. The .gif copy of the thesis was widely ciculated among OFWs, generating a lively debate and reaction online.  Nothing was heard about it since then.

Rumor:

An OFW went home for vacation. He ask a friend from overseas to send money to him via Western Union.

The Western Union officer asked him if he is aware of the impending implementation of 15% tax on remittances?.

The WU Officer said it was not a joke, that they received a circular already about the it. In fact, the 15% tax is now programmed in their system and they are just awaiting for the final memo from the government. He said that it has been reviewed by the Senate and approval is just a matter of time.

The truth:

However, after googling the issue, i found some websites which clarified the matter.

According to Migrante-ME’s John L. Monterona, it was not 15% VAT but 0.15% Documentary Stamp Tax.

Monterona said Migrante and other OFWs have got the information that the Arroyo administration will soon be imposing a Documentary Stamp Tax (DST) on all international transfer from a branch of Western Union based in the United Arab Emirates.

“Our sources have confirmed this impending imposition of Documentary Stamp Tax equivalent to 0.15% of the remitted amount,” Monterona continued.

“The said documentary stamp tax (DST) will cover all remittance companies and banks in the Philippines as confirmed by our sources,” Monterona added.

“If an OFW is to send US100 for his wife, which is Php.4, 160 based on the current exchange rate where 0.15% as (DST) amount is Php. 6.24 to be deducted from his remittance, (aside from the remittance fee of 35 Riyals (Php.130) charged by remittance center where he send his remittance). The remittance to receive by OFW family is obviously not enough in time of soaring prices of food and basic commodities,” Monterona added.

Monterona explained that tough 0.15% (DST) is relatively small but if imposed to almost 10-Million overseas Filipinos abroad this is roughly reach to an amount of Php. 62-M monthly income by the Arroyo administration.

If this one will push through, maybe then it is time for all OFW to unite and do something about remittance — like Migrante’s call to limit remittance.

The conspiracy theorists suspect that the reason the Malacanang is doing this (if it comes to pass), is because of the botched deal on NBN and JMSU. The loss of such huge kickback is a threat to 2010 plans. And walla, they found another way of generating funds.

I don’t know if PCIJ or our “pro-people” Congressional representatives ever heard of it. But this one is a very serious concern to all OFWs.

Sobrang pahirap. Hirap na nga mabuhay sa Pilipinas, kakarampot mong kinita sa pamamagitan ng ating luha, pawis at dugo, kokotongan pa ng gobyerno.

Kalabisan na.

REFERENCES: