Team Azkals will not stop with just 1Goal

After starting like a house on fire, the Azkals ended up collecting the ashes of their failed campaign to advance to the finals of the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup. But hey, that is no reason to feel bad. They may have been unsuccessful in their attempt to capture the championship title but they have certainly won the hearts of millions of Filipinos. They remained unfazed by many challenges, primarily the sorely lacking support from the government and proved that they can manage to bring glory to the country. Truly, they have fought a gallant fight, making everyone proud.

This is just the start for the Philippine National Football Team and without any shade of doubt, we can expect to see greater things unfold for them. It is my fervent wish, to see them one day, playing against the world's best football teams. 2022 in Qatar perhaps? Not far from reality. Their overflowing passion and unwavering dedication to the sport will bring them there, and probably a little support from the government, eh? 

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It makes me exceedingly grateful to be given the opportunity to work with them this year on one of the things I am incredibly passionate about and that is education. 

Members of the Azkals, together with their coaching staff and their Team Manager Dan Palami, who without a doubt, made things possible for the team in ways unimaginable, graced Global Xchange's 1Goal: Education for All Football Clinic which happened on August 7, 2010 at the University of San Carlos- Montessori Academy, Cebu City. 

The event was attended by more than a hundred out-of-school youths from Cebu City and has been covered by various newspapers and media channels which evidently helped spread awareness about the global campaign for education. 

Global Xchange Team 107: 1Goal Education for All Football Clinic

The Azkals standing and (posing) in solidarity with GX volunteers for 1Goal: Education for All campaign

Chippy Caligdong, all out in teaching this kid during the football clinic

Great header from this kid.

Chippy Caligdong and Patrick Dougherty during the exhibition match between the Azkals and Global Xchange. Fun times!

The man himself, Dan Palami, trying to score a goal for the Azkals

Paolo Pascual from the University of San Carlos, playing for Global Xchange. Phil Younghasband-esque, muy guapo!

And of course, this is a joke. We were lambasted by the Azkals, cant remember the score but it was miles apart.

With the participants, volunteers, and the Philippine National Football Team

"We may have lost the game but Team Pilipinas has gained the respect of many for the truly valiant stand against the footballing giants of the region. This is but the start of the Azkal's journey towards conquering greater challenges. Continue BELIEVING, and let's take that next step together. Go PILIPINAS!"-- Dan Palami, Team Manager, Azkals

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*Photos by JP Maunes

An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure (for HIV)

Exactly two weeks after celebrating World AIDS Day, a man has reportedly been cured of HIV infection through Stem Cell transplant. 

Timothy Ray Brown, aka the 'Berlin patient' has suffered from acute myeloid leukaemia which required stem cell treatment after going through a relapse in 2007. Doctors believe that the man has been cured of HIV infection as a result of the treatment, which introduced stem cells which happened to be resistant to HIV infection. The resistance was due to the lack of CCR5 co-receptors in his cells which happens to be the docking station of the virus. The entry of HIV into the CD4 cells requires an interaction with a cellular receptor, in this case, the CCR5.

The absence of CCR5 makes it impossible for the virus to penetrate CD4 cells therefore, inhibiting its mutation and the spread of the virus which will later on suppress the body's immune system.

As of the moment, antiretroviral treatment is available for people infected with HIV and with this report, it is indeed a breakthrough in the medical field considering that stem cells can potentially be a cure for HIV. 

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On a slightly different note, according to the United Nations Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic 2010, new HIV infections are declining. 

In 2009, there were an estimated 2.6 million [2.3 million–2.8 million] people who became newly infected with HIV. Th is is nearly one fifth (19%) fewer than the 3.1 million [2.9 million–3.4 million] people newly infected in 1999, and more than one fi ft h (21%) fewer than the estimated 3.2 million [3.0 million–3.5million] in 1997, the year in which annual new infections peaked.

Matter-of-fact, thirty three countries have reported a staggering 25% in the decline of HIV infections between 2001 and 2009. 

The number of people being infected with HIV is declining steadily over the past decade.

While there is a general trend of decreasing HIV infections in the world, it is quite alarming that the Philippines is exhibiting an opposite trend. Along with Bangladesh and Mongolia in the Asian continent, the country is seeing a continuous increase in the number of HIV incidences involving the younger population. 

My oh my! The Philippines, marked in red, is the only South East Asian country showing an increase in HIV infections.

The fact that the Philippines still remains as a low-prevalence country in terms of recorded HIV infections  should not equate to complacency. Adequate measures to safeguard the general public should be placed in order to curb the number of people getting the virus. Personally, the most efficient tool that the government has at its disposal is the provision of adequate education to its citizens. By being educated, people will have more informed choice.

Here in the Philippines, we have Republic Act No. 8504 or AN ACT OF PROMULGATING POLICIES AND PRESCRIBING MEASURES FOR THE PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF HIV/AIDS IN THE PHILIPPINES, INSTITUTING A NATIONWIDE HIV/AIDS INFORMATION AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM, ESTABLISHING A COMPREHENSIVE HIV/AIDS MONITORING SYSTEM, STRENGTHENING THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL AIDS COUNCIL, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 

It is good to know that such law exists in the country, however, while the government recognizes the importance of educating people, they miserably fail to enact what is stipulated in the law, particularly what is being stated in Section 2 of R.A.8504:

  a)    The State shall promote public awareness about the causes. Modes of transmission, consequences, means of prevention and control of HIV/AIDS through a comprehensive nationwide educational and information campaign organized and conducted by the State. Such campaigns shall promote value formation and employ scientifically proven approaches, focus on the family as a basic social unit, and be carried out in all schools and training centers, workplaces, and communities. This program shall involve affected individuals and groups, including people living with HIV/AIDS.

The strong influence of the Catholic church in the Philippines proves to be one of the most formidable barriers to providing a scientifically-based and comprehensive reproductive health education scheme which would effect significantly in the fight against HIV and AIDS in the country.

HIV/AIDS is a threat that warrants an immediate and prompt response not only from the end of the government but also from various stakeholders. In the past couple of years, HIV as a health issue was not given much attention due to the small, even deemed insignificant, number of patients suffering from its infection. But quite recently, we are taken aback with the continuous increase of people getting infected, this is why we need to collectively act as a nation to ensure that appropriate and adequate solutions are executed for the greater good.

Eat. Pay. Love (the environment)

Dude, whatever happened to this blog? It has been almost a month. Well, there's nothing I can do, lets just say I was trapped in a limbo which I refer to as work. At least for me its limbo cause I do not enjoy any bit of it. Corporate slavery is just blah. But my rest day is too short for whining, so better yet, I WILL WRITE. 

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Its already the 14th of November and we are just eleven days away from the biggest gathering of world leaders in recent history and that is the 16th Conference of Parties under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change happening on November 25-December 10, 2010 in Cancun, Mexico. 

Yours truly is one of the duly accredited young people who will participate in this meeting as part of the official Philippine delegation. But it was no easy feat and it requires an awful lot of dedication, responsibility, and commitment. Not to mention that we get no funding from the government. The six youth delegates had to fundraise for our airfare, accommodations, sustenance, and what-not in order to send ourselves to Mexico. The truth is, we have not reached our fundraising target just yet. But I am making a petition to the universe that from this day till the 24th of November, monetary provision will be overwhelmingly plenty.

On November 6, a benefit dinner for the Philippine delegation was held through the support of The Cravings Group and Center for Culinary Arts-Manila. It was an intimate gathering of friends, families, fellow environmental activists and supporters of the Philippine delegation.

Cravings provided us with really good food and the guests enjoyed it. And more than just being a fundraising dinner, we thought of inviting keynote speakers who will enlighten those who are present why such conferences are important. Moreover, they explained why the participation of young people should not be undervalued. 

The first speaker was Arch. Christopher dela Cruz, an advocate of sustainable building and founder of the Philippine Green Building Council which is an alliance of business and industry leaders from both the private and public sectors that promotes sustainable building practices to the property industry.

The second speaker was Commissioner Naderev Sano from the Philippine Climate Change Commission. I have known Commissioner Sano for quite sometime now. He is the father of one of my students before when I was still a student-teacher in a progressive preschool in Quezon City.  He used to be the Director of WWF-Philippines. He also helped us with our endorsement as official youth delegates. He talked about the dismal failure of COP 15 in Copenhagen last year and how we can change the story this year, bearing in mind that young people can contribute significantly in the climate negotiations. 

As a finale, Uli Oposa, brother of one of the delegates Anna Oposa, delivered a standup comedy routine and it was utterly mental. It was a different kind of standup comedy, not like what most Filipinos know about (no) thanks to Vice Ganda. 

And now, we have the official Philippine youth delegation to the 16th Conference of Parties--Karl Molina, Vivienne Zerrudo, Kester Yu, Esperanza Garcia, Anna Oposa, and Desiree Llanos Dee with Commissioner Yeb Sano.

Ipakita sa buong mundo kung ano ang tunay na Pilipino: isang magiting na lahi na dapat ipagpunyagi!

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*The Philippine delegation is still looking for sponsors who will help us reach our fundraising target. You may contact Karl Molina, Director for Finance and Fundraising at +63 916 605 8512 or at karlmolina.philycm@hotmail.com. 

*Upon our return, we are offering our sponsors a financial report of our expenses and a full report of activities during the conference. We will also be holding informative, comprehensive, and action-oriented capacity building workshops on solid-waste management and climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies for our sponsors. 

Am I Pregnant?

Now that I have moved on from this personal fiasco which I call family life, I will be panning to the bigger picture, the debate around the Reproductive Health Bill. The whole RH Bill debacle has already escalated from staging silent protests by way of petitions from the burgeoning number of supporters up to the most radical ones (i.e. Carlos Celdran). Adding more drama is the Catholic Church’s threats of excommunication that even the nation’s highest leader was not spared from. 

I just have three personal points to make regarding this issue which has been hovering around the heads of supporters and antagonists alike. I fundamentally believe that the RH Bill, considering its factual merits based on its full text, should be passed.

1. The Reproductive Health Bill is about educating people and allowing them to have an informed choice. By recognizing the fact that the bill subscribes to the purpose of educating the people and making sure that they exercise their rights bound by informed choices, there should not be any opposition to it. We must realize that in most instances the lack of education leads to bad practices and misaligned reason. 

RH Bill advocates the use of family planning methods, not to mention that it veers away from making a biased judgment or a preference whether or not one form of family planning is better than the other. It does not, in any way, favor artificial or modern methods of family planning over natural methods and vice versa. However, contraception is just one aspect of the bill which is overly emphasized. There are other stipulations in the bill which should also be given paramount attention and proper platforms for discussion. 

According to the Milllennium Development Goals Report by the United Nations in 2009, 536,000 women and girls die every year due to complications associated to pregnancy, the grim reality is that 99% of these maternal deaths happen in developing countries, the Philippines included (MDG Report, 2009; 26). Likewise, achieving universal access to reproductive health by 2015 is one of the targets of Goal 5: Improve maternal health, but sadly, 74% of maternal women in South East Asia do not receive proper and adequate prenatal care from a skilled health professional, the Philippines is again part of that statistic (MDG Report, 2009; 27). 

It is important to stress that the Philippines is one of the many developing countries with deficient health infrastructures which fail to address the needs of its people. However, it is worthy to note that we are capable of setting measures in place to respond to the problems we are facing. Sure we have a lot of laws covering every possible aspect of governance, most of which according to the great environmental lawyer Tony Oposa, are ‘languishing’ in a death bed of laws, but passing the RH Bill is the first step towards realizing the goal of lessening the number of maternal deaths in the country if not fully eradicating [it]. 

One of the guiding principles of the RH Bill found in Section 3 states that:

            Since manpower is the principal asset of every country, effective reproductive health care   services must be given primacy to ensure the birth and care of healthy children and to promote responsible parenting. 

Suffice to say, the bill is well-intentioned towards ensuring that maternal women are given the right medical attention they need. They are also provided with plausible options on how they want to have their families be like. 

Allow me to briefly go back to contraception, specifically the artificial modes; people should be aware that contraceptives such as condoms do not only serve a sole purpose which is birth control, but also safeguard people from contracting sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS. 30% of young Filipinos believe that AIDS is curable. The lack of proper information is a problem in itself aside from the actual disease.

2. The Reproductive Health Bill, contrary to what misinformed Filipinos believe, will not put forward the legalization of abortion. 

It is clearly stated in the guiding principles of RH Bill that it WILL NOT change any aspect of the law on abortion. According to Article M, Section 3:

            While nothing in this Act changes the law on abortion, as abortion remains a crime and is    punishable, the government shall ensure that women seeking care for post-abortion complications shall be treated and counselled in a humane, non-judgmental and compassionate manner.

Providing treatment to women who have undergone abortion is different from condoning abortion itself.  Most Catholics or rather most Filipinos who are devout in their chosen religions would play the morality card by saying that abortion, may it be in its pre or post stage should not be given support and warrants extreme condemnation, I beg to disagree. Wouldn’t it be contrary to their religious dogma which they perfectly put as a centrepiece to their table of arguments? They say every child has the right to be born, that is indeed true, but why let a 15-year old girl bleed to death due to unsafe abortion practices and be shown no compassion, is it not ironic? 

You may argue it was her choice, too right; it was her choice and hers alone. But what are the alternatives? The Catholic church has one, continue with your pregnancy for god rewards the faithful—in his own time and the lord loves the poor (Project Kino). So what, if your child goes hungry with the rest of your family, is it not worth the sacrifice when in the end, it is the kingdom of the heaven you are going to inherit? Apparently so, and that is how malevolently a vast majority of Filipinos plunge into the puddle that is called the doctrine of the Catholic Church. 

I am pro-choice, and so are the other supporters of the RH Bill. I am not anti-abortion but it does not mean I am pro-abortion. What I am just saying is that there are certain predicaments that should be valid grounds for undertaking such medical practice—in cases of incest, rape, and dangerous pregnancies. I am getting quite off tangent. So going back to my point, RH Bill is not the first step towards legalizing abortion; it will just extend the right to be treated humanely in the event of post-abortion complications. 

Just a side note, if people are keen about the atrocities of RH Bill and how they link it with abortion, I think it’s about time for them to re-examine their stance, why? Come to think of it, if people are informed about taking care of their reproductive health, they would not end up in a position whereby they will consider having an abortion which in most cases in the Philippines, is unhygienic and poses a grave threat to their welfare.

3. The Reproductive Health Bill is not the answer to poverty. 

People think that overpopulation is the reason for poverty. But is it really? I don’t think so. I would like to believe that poverty in the Philippines is due to various complex factors often found in developing countries. There is inefficient bureaucracy, the gross misappropriation of resources, and the perennial problem of graft and corruption. For me blaming overpopulation as the reason for poverty is a scapegoat for those people who think that our swelling population can be conveniently equated to why a lot of people remain poor. Even the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) recognizes that overpopulation is not the root cause of poverty. 

BUT can we or should we completely rule out the correlation? That is the grey area in the whole poverty and overpopulation debate. And while such assertion has been made, I am confident that it is not enough reason to kill the RH Bill, since by and large, an ideal population will allow better resource management. But what is an ideal population, you may ask, honestly, I do not know, what I do know, however, is that it’s not 90 Million or more Filipinos living in such a deplorable situation. 

Article E of Section 3 explains that:

            The limited resources of the country cannot be suffered to, be spread so thinly to service a burgeoning multitude that makes the allocations grossly inadequate and effectively meaningless.

Hence the need for controlling the population plus it should be coupled with immense resolve from the end of the government to address the democratic deficit that has long been present in the Philippine society. 

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*A copy of the Full text of House Bill No. 5043 (Reproductive Health and Population Development Act of 2008.

** Show your support to the RH Bill by signing the petition.

I support the RH Bill.

On using condom

Two days ago, one of my grandmother's amigas came knocking on our door. It was so loud that it woke me up from my siesta. When I opened the door, she hurriedly walked towards my grandmother, who by practice was reading her afternoon devotion in the balcony. Judging from the eagerness on her face she was probably going to tell her something urgent or important. 

NEWS FLASH: A 17 YEAR OLD GIRL FROM OUR NEIGHBORHOOD IS PREGNANT! 

I heard what I needed to hear and so I spared myself from eavesdropping further and hearing the rest of the story. If my notes are correct, she was the third girl who has been knocked up basing from what I have heard since I came back from Cebu last September. 

By some stroke of coincidence, that night, Juno was being shown on telly, and I thought it was the opportune moment for me to initiate a conversation about adult fertility and teenage pregnancy. I had the right audience at that moment, both of my younger sisters and my parents. 

I started by saying, "Uy, alam niyo, si *TOOT, buntis." My mother then made a brief comment, "Kawawa naman ang tatay, nagtratrabaho sa abroad tapos buntis ang anak. NAGKASALA PA!" I smiled sheepishly because of discontent and sheer disappointment, well, it’s because clearly that was not the message I was trying to send across but I figured there is no way they will get it due to what I call religious naivety. FYI, I probably have the most religious family in the whole universe, that of course, is an exaggeration. Let’s just leave it at that, shall we?

So, I interjected. This time, I had to be blatant, no wordplay and no read-between-the-lines sort of non-sense. Playing the brotherly role to my sisters, with confidence, I told them, "Kaya kayo, if you have to do it with your boyfriends, do it safe, use condoms." It took me only four seconds, but I reckon the message was powerful and straightforward albeit short. I did not stutter. I did not choke.

And then my father, with his collected and calmly demeanor, talked back, "Tumigil ka nga dyan sa mga pinagsasasabi mo." You think I was taken aback, NO, to hell with him. I stood my ground and said what I had to say. "If you want to do it, do it the safe way, not only you protect yourself from unwanted pregnancy, but also from getting STIs." And that is the truth. Neither did I lie nor invent some 'fact' to support my assertion. I am not the Catholic Church, okay?

Lo and behold, the biggest joke of the night came from my mother. According to her, we do not need condoms since we should not have sex prior to marriage in the first place--proper moral values are all we need. I cringed. My parents are still living in Medieval times I thought. And then she asked me, "Why, are you sexually active?" 

That I did not see coming, and I think most of you will raise an eyebrow with what I've said— I ACTUALLY LIED. I said no. I lied BIG time, if you know what I mean. Partly because I thought it was the only way for me to let them understand that I can be morally upright and be informed at the same time and get away with it. I dont have to be the black sheep who does not have proper moral values in order to justify why condoms are 'good' with reason. And also, I had to lie since inevitably, we will have to talk about my sexual practices, thereby disclosing my sexuality. I AM NOT READY TO GO ONTO THAT DEPARTMENT JUST YET. *winks lasciviously. HAHAHAHA!

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Regina George is the only plastic I like

In my previous blog, I mentioned about my participation at the 10.10.10 Run for Pasig River, which is said to be the largest organized run in the world. About 160,000 people coming from different sectors converged at the SM Mall of Asia for one important mission and that is to rehabilitate Pasig River. 

Such activities are good, but I strongly believe that more than exerting effort in the rehabilitation of 'dying' bodies of water, we should focus on how to take care of them. Too be honest, I am quite disappointed with some things that I have witnessed pre and post event. 

We went to Mall of Asia at around 9:00 pm on October 9 as per instructions from the organizing committee of the event to pick up our event staff IDs and the evaluation sheets that we will be handing out to the runners. We were told to proceed to the food booth in front of the IMAX theater and there we found loads of food. AS IN ANG DAMI! It was really an answered prayer for two of my starving friends. There were only about twenty people there, both volunteers and staff from ABS-CBN but there were at least 200 pieces of burger, 140 packs of Tapsilog in 'styro' containers and ten boxes of bottled water and loads of plastic utensils. That was just the beginning of over-flowing food and styro nightmare.

Ten minutes after, a second wave of food in styro containers came in and we were instructed to remove all the food on the table and replace it with the new ones. I was nauseous at that point just seeing all the styro containers. By the time we left the venue, another batch of food packaged in fucking styro containers found its way to the table. It was horrible. And this event, has easily became the most counter-productive event in all possible dimensions. 

I tried to get a close up photo of the table with all the food packaged in styro containers but I reckoned its quite weird and so I just captured a photo from where I was sitting. 

Guys, just so you know, polystyrene aka styrofoam is manufactured from petroleum and is highly flammable. In its production, it uses benzene which is known to be carcinogenic. It takes an incredibly long time to break down in the environment and in a lot of cases, these plastics cause animal deaths when ingested.

By the end of the event last Sunday, this is what I found: 

They may be able to rehabilitate the Pasig River but look at what they have left in the venue. For sure, it will find its way to the canals and eventually end up in another river then to the sea. What? Another fun run?

What I have seen last Sunday brings to mind my experience being a Global Xchange volunteer. In one of our Community Action Days, we have organized a coastal clean up in partnership with Ocean Care Advocates of Shangri-la Mactan. It was in the coastal community of Brgy. Mancao in Mactan Island, Cebu. 

Initially, we were told that we can finish the coastal clean-up in just thirty minutes since we will be doing it while its low tide. Oh but no, when we actually did an ocular inspection of the venue, this is what we found:

Anyare sa thirty minutes? Sure ba kayo na kaya yan in thirty minutes? Di kaya 30 days?

True enough, we were not able to finish it within thirty minutes, not even with the help of the community people. It was just impossible to collect all the trash, segregate them accordingly, and label them. And even if we were successful in cleaning the coastline, for sure, in just a matter of days, the trash will be replenished courtesy of people who indiscriminately throw garbage in the open sea. How frustrating and heart-breaking.

If only this child can teach his playmates not to throw garbage in the ocean.

Global Xchange volunteers and community members helped each other in an attempt to 'clean' the coastal area of Brgy. Mancao.

After two hours of tirelessly picking trash from the coastline, we managed to collect 70 sacks of garbage. You may think thats a lot but its not even 5% of the total garbage we have seen on site.

Would it be more wonderful if we just start segregating our trash, lessen our consumption of plastics, and start recycling?

AND I CHOSE TO END WITH A SAD PICTURE.