Notes before 6

At 6 p.m., this Habitat office in Timor-Leste closes. Now I am rushing to jot down some notes. I have noticed my last entry was on 03 Jan yet; and it's most excerpts from Isa's letter.

What can I tell you now? It has been raining here all week. I arrived here 09 Jan. Arnold Seloterio and Tony Irving were with me. Butch Batilong, the Habitat Director here, met us at the airport. He whisked us from the airport to the hotel, then to the office. We spent the whole afternoon planning for the poverty database project here which would be implemented in three out of thirteen districts.

In two days, the survey tools were translated into Bahasa and reproduced. Then for three days, all thirty volunteers were trained on the use of the survey tools. The field supervisors had been trained prior to this and they helped in providing inputs. Then the survey began almost simulataneously in all areas. As of today, barely a week after the start of the survey, a total of 190 questionnaires have been returned with complete data; the encoder has started the task of putting the data in the software called the Poverty Database and Monitoring System Software (PDMSS), developed in Bohol, Philippines by the Bohol Local Development Foundation, in cooperation with the Provincial Planning and Development Office.

Tony Irving modified the software based on revisions done on the survey tools. He left last Saturday, 21 January, for the Philippines with his job accomplished. He is now in negotiations with World Vision Timor Leste for his return sometime in March on a consultancy arrangement.
Arnold has accepted Habitat's offer of an extended three-month consultancy on database management.

We are proud of what these two guys are doing for Timor-Leste, one of the world's top 20 poorest countries. Their efforts will contribute to reducing poverty incidence here, no doubt.
Let's move on ...

Isabel's Letter

Here is a letter from Isabel Losloso-Rivera, a close friend and former classmate from Class 58 of the old Quezon Provincial High School in Lucena City. It was emailed last 26 Dec 06 to another classmate and close friend, Milwida Sevilla-Reyes, and forwarded to me the same day. As I read it, I was struck by Isa’s honesty, genuine concern for family, most especially her apo, Jayden, her account of how it was to live in America, and on the whole, her reflection about her role in the family. These are the stuff that make great literature – they focus on the particular and relatively small events, and yet they succeed in another level of consciousness to address universal themes. Isa has given me pemission to publish her email in our website to share it to a broader audience; yes, even in one’s family, you can be a change agent, a development worker.

The letter is printed here unedited, straight from Isa’s heart. The only thing we contributed was the paragraphing:

drinking coffee is something i did not embrace here in america. in the phil., i was drinking cocoa. i remember when all the brothers/sisters/parents came one by one -- they were disappointed not to find coffee in our household. i stayed pretty much the same here in america. and that's one of my wisdoms that i find myself repeating to my mom, brothers & sisters & when i do i find them yawning, leaving the room. adding to that statement that america has so much to offer, that if you are not engrained w/ good values/virtues you will end up embracing the wrong ones left astray.

i am witness how my own families fall from them. just like my mother,irene, elmer they became addicted to gambling then --- going to reno behind my back but all these really never escaped me 'cause i have friends/acquaintances who repeated seeing them.. my mom would even tell me when i told her about it," nanay, why do you have to go to reno -- para kang may santong sinasamba duon hindi mo naman ginagawa ito sa pilipinas,why do you have to start?." and my mom will retaliate saying: "why worry, hindi naman pera mo ang ginagastos ko."

now, whenever my nanay got greeted by her grandkids, they usually jokingly, say, "how's reno." i said to myself, thanks goodness that's something i do not want my kids/grandkids to remember me by. sometimes,in exasperation i would say" why, i am just the daughter, why do i have to be the parent to you."

come to think of it, that's the role i played all my life to my family,agonizing at their falls,rejoicing at their victories even rejoicing at insignificant ones. or should it be rejoicing too, at their falls because from them their inner self will get better & in the end,good is victorious over evil.

it's already monday, i am still feeling the effect of that coffee -- we went home past 11 pm from our family's x'mas party at jennie. my mom, nana pacita & myself were playing w/ jayden after my son, cesar&phoenix left earlier for antioch & joel for home. we seldom are together w/ my mom, so we made sure that there that's group picture taken. it was raining since 12 noon of christmas,even as we came home.

i always relay to my mom everything that jayden does/did, so my mom has enough time to witness all of them last nite. in the side of my eyes, i also witnessed how cesar took care of phoenix -- bringing him to the johns -- phoenix was well dress(matching pa) & carried it well too,changing his clothes to sleeping pajamas complete w/ one of a kind disneyland slipper before boarding his van back to antioch (my plan to go w/ him got axed as he said he already have plans for that day),protective of jayden (his baby cousin,his word) -- if he goes by the door, he runs toward the door w/ his hands stretched as a barrier. he was so suplado earlier in the evening as he awoke from his slumber but warmed up later on.

it was not hard for us to get his hug at nagmano pa kay nanay (learned fr. maternal grandparents/g.g.(?). gg stands for great grandma. that's how nanay is addressed here too. from downstairs, i can hear them laughing/making funs of poses in jennie's family album,etc., phoenix/jayden racing to the stairs,door,x/mas lites,w/ the latter touching anything his hands can lay on,passing/scurrying from one room to another, downstairs,uptairs -- never still parang "kiti-kiti."

phoenix was showing us all the punches, jumps of a karate kid from all the videos/tvs he watched & what struck me was his words that his dad was the best (because of my senior moment, i forgot what we were talking about).

for their take home, i packed several plates of pansit, tamales, turkey meat,mashed potatoe & stuffing. if anything else i will be remembered for my famous good/delicious turkey cooking (see jennie invitation). w/ almost 20 years cooking it, i have perfected it having read /watch in tv all the secrets thereat to produce one. allan, a man who like the rest of his family, knows a good/fine food when he tastes one, commented that he wants to know all of my secrets, and jennie had always rated mine on top of allan's mom and all the turkey that she had eaten in her life.

jayden is well loved. any baby is not hard to love. there's not enough of jayden for jennie&allan & i already dread the time in 2 more years when "boyhood" will pretty soon engulf :"babyhood."

nestor, just like when senior moments takes over our junior moments.mil read nestor's latest entry in his blog. i got disappointed, because i already added my private message & got erased & i cannot retreive it. i was trying to rewrite it again but senior moments took over, i cannot rewrite it. goodbye junior moments, hello, senior moments.

Laarni's Letter; April's Letter

For the past 20 Christmases or so, Mil Sevilla-Reyes, a close friend and former high school classmate from way,way back in Lucena City, has been carrying on the tradition of writing and distributing letters that tell friends about milestones in her family's life during the year about to end. Those letters have been a fascinating read; our classmates and other friends look forward to receiving this letter each year. It chronicles key family events which no Christmas cards can do. Mil used to write these letters until recently when she encouraged her daughters (April, Laarni and Carmel) to do so. This year, Laarni and April actually prepared a letter each. To give the wide readership they deserve, we will print them here in this section. I must thank Mil and Ces for keeping us in the loop after all these years.

Laarni's Letter:

Merry Christmas and Season’s Greetings to all! Hope everybody’s had an enjoyable year and doing well. Life over this way has been pretty good - another year swiftly gone though productively filled nonetheless.

My year began with another month long trip to the Philippines to see relatives and friends, as well as make the most of my three-month uni holidays. Some family friends from Sydney were also over at the same time so it was good to enjoy our holiday together. I stayed mainly in Manila and Lucena, but was able to spend time in Batangas and visit Villa Escudero with the Sydney folks. The month went by quicker than I expected and soon enough, I was back at uni beginning the first semester of my final year. I’ve actually just recently finished my course and am now awaiting the results to gain my degree in Bachelor of Arts in Organisational Learning.

Having majored in Human Resource Development, my plan is to find a job in the field sometime next year. For now, I’m still working as a casual in my retail job and I’d rather leave it that way so I can take a break, relax and have fun over the summer. Although there are no plans to go overseas this time, a few trips out of Sydney with mates won’t go astray.

April’s out of the country. She’s travelled to countless destinations since leaving in July for a yearlong venture. She and a friend are now based in London and by the sounds of all her adventures I’d say she’s having a great time. She’s started working with O2, a telco similar to Telstra, though not before she attended World Youth Day in Cologne and toured Europe. Definitely, a well deserved break from working life. She also flew to New York at the beginning of November to celebrate Lola’s birthday with the Reyeses. She had fun hanging out with all the cousins. Speaking to her on the phone the other night, she’s already filled me in on her next plan: to travel to South Africa sometime in 2006. Wouldn’t we all love to spend a year like that?

She and Carmel both moved back home at the beginning of the year, with April renting out her apartment to save money for her trip and Carmel focusing on completing her studies. Carmel has been working on her degree in Interior Architecture, while also teaching music (keyboard) to students in various primary schools. I think she’s gotten used to being called “Miss Carmel”. She always has funny stories to tell us about her kids. Approached by one kid’s dad, she began playing the piano for his local R&B cover band. She enjoyed performing different gigs around Sydney for a while. Heaps more active than I, she’s also taken up Capouera – a form of Brazilian street fighting/dancing. I guess it’s a really good workout and also a lot of fun because I always see it being performed in the City and attracting great crowds! Maybe I can take it up with Carmel as part of my New Year’s resolutions.

Now to Mum and Dad: they have yet another year of Bass High and ResMed under their belts, with Mum immensely enjoying her role as Librarian and Dad fully settling into his new work location and innovative facility. Mum’s still very happy at her school and I often wonder when she’ll ever get enough of it. Somehow I don’t think that will be for a while yet. Dad’s well and truly gotten used to travelling the distance to work everyday and is even keen to get me into a role related to my course with the company. We’ll see what happens.

The year saw a visit from Dad’s youngest sister, Tita Ludy, who flew in from Connecticut for a two-week stay here in Sydney. As well as doing all the sightseeing and touristy things around here, she was able to visit Cairns in Australia’s north when Mum and Dad and their friends flew there to celebrate my Ninang Salve’s birthday. Even though Tita Ludy fit in with all the ‘oldies,’ my cousins, sisters and I would often refer to her as our ‘big sis’! It’s always good fun having our relos from overseas visit so I wonder what (or who) is in store for next year.

Well, that’s about it from the Reyes camp for this year. As for the New Year, April’s still not definite about when she’ll be coming back, Carmel will be finishing her degree and I’ll probably be on a quest to find a new job. All the while having a good time no doubt! I hear there are plans for both Mum and Dad and the other parents to holiday in Las Vegas (?)

‘Til next Christmas letter everyone. I’m sure you’ll be filled in on the 2006 details then! Have great holidays and Happy Christmas!!!

Love, Laarni

Merry Christmas from London town!

Wherever you are in the world, I hope that this letter finds you well.

I have been very fortunate this year to meet and experience the people and places that I have. Laarni has summarised my year well and yes, my adventures have been brilliant! Before heading for London, I visited the Philippines in May staying most of the time in Lucena and spending some time in Bohol with the Pestelos family.

I’ve been in London nearly four months now and over this period have been able to settle in to this big and vibrant city. I’ve settled in my parish of Our Lady Queen of Heaven here in Bayswater, and joined a local hockey team. But there are things that I miss about Sydney – my family most especially, my friends and the good weather.

If I had to pick my favourite places so far, they would be Rome, Krakow and Prague. I’ve recently been able to visit Prague for the second time. My visit coincided with the opening of the Christmas markets in the old town square which had choirs from all parts of Europe performing, good traditional Czech food and it was snowing! It is a very pretty town.

Through my travelling adventures, I have also met some really great people from different parts of the world. And thanks to technology, we’ve been able to keep the friendships alive and meet up again on the road. Living in London has also meant that I have met many Australians, Kiwis and South Africans. It is true when they say that London is full of antipodeans.

The beauty of meeting so many fellow Aussies, is that we are travelling similar journeys and can share in each other’s experiences. The down side is that I’ve come all this way yet I struggle to meet English people!

On my agenda for 2006, is New Year’s Eve in Edinburgh, then Paris, South Africa (to visit my good friend Riefqah), Copenhagen and hopefully back to Spain and Italy. There is a lot to fit in before I head home to Sydney!

Happy Christmas and may 2006 bring us all blessings of health and happiness.

Love, April

P. S. Our thoughts are with Tito Pari as he and his colleagues celebrate their 40th year of ordination in his parish of Apad, Calauag on 18 December.

We’re also reaching out to Tita Laura Jardin and her children in San Diego. They are facing Christmas for the first time without Tito Johnny. He passed away on 2nd July

Senior Moments, Junior Moments

I just read an exchange of emails between my two close friends from high school, Mil and Isa. (Yes, we copy each other's emails). This last one was particularly interesting. Mil says she cannot remember something from way back and that it must be one of those "senior moments." Lapses of memory belong to the old, this phrase implies. But, then, it set me to thinking: perhaps we, as elderly, do have junior moments, too.

For instance, we are 63 going 64 and still we:

- dance the night away in a disco while surrounded by under-20s;
- remember the dress that our first date wore to the prom thirty years ago;
- memorize some cell phone numbers because for some reasons we do not want to store them in our phone's memory;
- eat roast pork as though there is no tomorrow;
- race up the stair and beat the elevator to the top floor;
- chat with our neighbors about the secret lives of singers and actresses we know;
-find our way to the john even during brown-outs;
-recite more than ten lines from a t.s. eliot's poem;
-use email rather than write letters or send postcards;
-drive a car even on rainy nights and not lose our way, or just park and call home for help;
-go to mass at 4.30 a.m. and still make it to the computer at 7.00 a.m.

More junior moments? I can't remember anymore what I jotted down over coffee. Well, Mil and Isa, this must be my senior moment creeping in.

Proposals

Whenever I meet old friends, and even a few new ones, I am always asked the question, "How did you end up with Habitat?" or something to that effect. Of course, the next query is almost always if I have met Former US President Jimmy Carter! In the popular consciousness, the name Carter and Habitat are closely associated due to several high-profile house builds that the former US President fund-raised for and personally led.

Yes, it's true, I have retired from UNDP after working in several projects mostly in South Pacific countries. I went home for good starting 14 Dec 2001. Home was and still is and, hopefully, will always be a village named Laya in Baclayon, Bohol. After three months of trying my hand in contour farming and mostly looking at our house helps raise native chickens, I felt if I had to live longer, I must go back to the chores I am used to for more than 60% of the lifetime I had lived. I need to do development work, identify problems, build a case for interventions, prepare proposals and other documents and basically move heaven and earth to get things on the ground, interest people to do their share, look back after all the confusions and resolutions and affirmations and endless reaffirmations of goals and shortcomings and new resolves and then move on to ... well, writing new proposals!

The need for writing project proposals was quite evident when I joined the provincial planning office on 01 April 2002. I looked at some office documents and felt the same way as before; this is another proposals factory. I felt the same way when I was with a public relations company that raised funds for civic causes; several NGOs in the past that were forever struggling; briefly with the National Economic Development Authority in a social mobilization project for children; and UNDP for twelve years trying to mobilize resources for atolls and other remote places that seemed invisible to planners.

Looks like the first skill to learn is how to write project proposals that will get government and external donors to fund. It is like you are thrown into the water and if you do not know how to swim, you will surely drown. Same way with development work; if you do not know how to prepare project proposals, you will not survive. Whether you are with an NGO, a government agency, a planning authority, an international UN agency or an international Christian ministry such as Habitat for Humanity International, you need to know how to put together a project proposals using formats prescribed by the donors or funders.

No way to escape this and my advice to romantics who have somehow ended up with development agencies these days; leave your literary biases behind or the illusion that you can just plunge into doing your chores based on your technical expertise. In most cases, the modality for the exercise of such skills is through projects, and you will first help produce the resources to enable you to practise such skills. Hence, it pays to know how projects get prepared, submitted, appraised and approved. Otherwise, you will have no project to hire to pay for the exercise of your skills.

Now I have not really answered how I came to join Habitat. You see, I have yet to finish this proposal I will submit to ... well, there is no end to this; I just had a break.

Bibo Bohol

For almost a week, prior to my trip here to Bangkok, I was preoccupied with Bibo Bohol. It was quite an intense experience from 25 November, when I had the trip to Bilar, to 03 December when I participated in a planning workshop at the Governor's Mansion in Tagbilaran City. I reflected on this experience 05 December on my trip to Bangkok on this Cathay Pacific flight via Hongkong.

Gardy Labad invited me to present the LPRAP (Local Poverty Reduction Action Plan) software being developed for the past two years by our Foundation, in collaboration with the Provincial Planning and Development Office. I had to present the context first before showing how the software works. After all, the software is just a tool to process the data from the household poverty surveys. We talked about the program framework on poverty reduction; the overview of the program based on the framework; the linkage of the poverty reduction program to peace and development efforts; the restructuring of the provincial government based on this new thrust; and the reallignment of the annual and medium-term development plans consistent with the poverty focus at policy level.

As always, Bea Zobel quickly responded to this development. I think she saw quite clearly that Bibo Bohol is part of the provincial development agenda. It is not something cooked up as a stand-alone initiative by the Metropolitan Museum of Manila and the local cultural and arts council. Its emphasis on what it calls the sunrise creative industries can be a potent intervention against poverty in Bohol. Heritage-based social enterprises and marketable eco-tourism sites can benefit directly Bohol households, 47.3% of whom are still below the poverty line.

I had to fly to Manila on from Bohol to work with Gardy Labad, Ino Manalo and Bea on a slide presentation on Bibo Bohol. The slides were critiqued by marketing experts from Ayala Foundation.

(Note: I am doing this on the run. I have to attend a presentation by the SGS group here at the Habitat regional office. Will get back to this as soon as possible).

3.00 p.m. It was a very interesting presentation by Robert Jourdain, assistant vice president of SGS about Habitat Thailand. SGS has been hired by Habitat for Humanity International Asia Pacific to assess selected affiliates in several countries (Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and India) in terms of global best practices of NGOs. It is an NGO benchmarking exercise. His findings can shed light on current problems and, hopefully, the national organization and the affiliates can move on from there to implement measures to improve performance.

Now back to Bibo Bohol. The slide presentation was seen and commented on and the following day, I joined Gardy and Ino and Bea to work on the revisions. It was a nerve-wracking exercise. Finally, thirty five minutes before the scheduled presenation at 10, we moved on to the Globe building in Mandaluyong.

It was like presenting a research study before a panel. Ino presented the revised slide presentation. Bea and Gardy provided inputs and answered questions. The Globe panel was cautious about making making cash commitments, but on the whole they saw the merits of participating in the Bibo Bohol program.

All of us were happy about the result. Bea treated us at the Shang Restaurant at the Shangrila, where Monette Flores joined us. Monette has had a remarkable track record developing eco-tourism sites and her expertise will be valuable for Bibo Bohol. She practically walked us through the process of developing such sites. Bea suggested we go to Calatagan, Batangas the following and continue our meeting there so we could take pictures of her bahay kubo (native house) that I could show to the architect who would design local houses for us in our place in Laya.

That trip is a story in itself. It is apparent that as we tackled issues related to Bibo Bohol and some possible projects, we were also learning details about our personal lives. In brief, we were actually engaged in team building efforts.

In the end, I can say, Bea's vision for Bohol hasbecome ours too.

Trip to Bilar

Gardy Labad first invited us to be at Sitio Ubos in Tagbilaran City at 1.00 p.m. We arrived at the Rocha-Suarez ancestral home at exactly the appointed time. To our surprise, lunch was being served. The people were expecting Luli, the President's daughter, but she did not arrive. Bea Zobel was there with her team and a local group identified with heritage and cultural preservation. We had eaten lunch, and so we spent the time instead to go about the house. It was my first time there. The house underwent renovation and what interested us were the artifacts and mementos of past centuries. This house stood there for ages, and five generations had lived there.

By around two o'clock, we were on our way to Bilar. We tagged along with the group. Bill Granert and several members from his NGO, the Soil and Water Conservation Foundation were there. There were also people from the barangay. We were shown the renovation taking place there, in this place that was once a Boy Scout's Campsite 30 years back. It also became known as the Magsaysay center in the past. Then the place deteriorated under the care of Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the LGU. Hopefully, with assistance from Bea Zobel's group, this place would hum again with activities.

In May, 2006, the place will host hundreds of young people from all over the country to camp together and undertake activities that will deepen their understanding of ecology and culture. Let's wait for May. Better still, let's contribute to make Bibbo Bohol a celebration of what we can do together to preserve the environment and our culture.

Gray November

Since I arrived home from Jakarta, it has rained here everyday, mostly in the afternoon. On my first day, 29 Oct., I could not resist the impulse of getting out in my shorts and t-shirt and had almost an hour under the pouring rain. Actually, my 12-year old son Odon had been there on the front yard, enjoying the rain. If you are 63, anything that brings you back to the delights of childhood will always be a welcomed event.

The following day, it rained again, also in the afternoon. It rained all the time, mostly in the afternoons until today, the 4th of November. When I look back, I can recall it always rains when it's around All Saints Day or All Souls Day. I cannot recall a rain-less first of November. The rains must be the reason why we always think of November as gray. Remember that expression, "When its gray November in your Soul." In my bohemian days, it refers to a pub in Manila where writers and artists and campus intellectuals would like to congregate and massage their egos, in addition to discussing topics about art and literature ... No such place now to spend your gray November days. Well, not in this place anyway. There's probably no need for one.

We can discuss about poverty anytime of day, in any month, and always we resolve to do something about it the following day. We have our own Poverty Cafe, a moveable feast of ideas meant for sharing and, hopefully, for doing something about this scourge that affects us all. Ah, November is gray indeed.

Action Items

Since I arrived home from Jakarta, it has rained here everyday, mostly in the afternoon. On my first day, 29 Oct., I could not resist the impulse of getting out in my shorts and t-shirt and had almost an hour under the pouring rain. Actually, my 12-year old son Odon had been there on the front yard, enjoying the rain. If you are 63, anything that brings you back to the delights of childhood will always be a welcomed event.

The following day, it rained again, also in the afternoon. It rained all the time, mostly in the afternoons until today, the 4th of November. When I look back, I can recall it always rains when it's around All Saints Day or All Souls Day. I cannot recall a rain-less first of November. The rains must be the reason why we always think of November as gray. Remember that expression, "When its gray November in your Soul." In my bohemian days, it refers to a pub in Manila where writers and artists and campus intellectuals would like to congregate and massage their egos, in addition to discussing topics about art and literature ... No such place now to spend your gray November days. Well, not in this place anyway. There's probably no need for one.

We can discuss about poverty anytime of day, in any month, and always we resolve to do something about it the following day. We have our own Poverty Cafe, a moveable feast of ideas meant for sharing and, hopefully, for doing something about this scourge that affects us all. Ah, November is gray indeed.

Holiday Mood

Both cities were in holiday mood when I left Jakarta and arrived in Manila. Jakarta was about to celebrate Idil Fitri or the end of Ramadan, while Manila was preparating for 1 Nov for All Souls Day when Filipinos go to cemeteries to remember the dead. The airports and hotels and the streets were filled with people all rushing to the provinces. The police forces in both cities have announced they are ready with full security during the holidays, 4-5 Nov for Indonesia and 31 Oct to 1 Nov for the Philippines.

Both countries announced they were in full alert against terrorism. The bomb blasts in India added to the paranoia. How could you enjoy the holidays with this threat in the air?

But the domestic flight I took last Saturday from Manila to Tagbilaran was quite full. I could not find any familiar face. It seemed all the other passengers were domestic or foreign tourists. Bohol is still the country's top tourist destination. If they are scared of terrorist attacks, nobody shows it. The beaches and the cemeteries and the malls are all full of people here in Tagbilaran City. Looks like everybody is determined to enjoy the holidays with or without this warning against terrorist attacks.

Back2Manila

10.00 a.m. Jakarta time, which is one hour ahead of RP time. I have checked the Blog section and found out my entry yesterday is missing. Where can it be?

Perhaps it goes to be saved somehow. So, for the moment, Jakarta Blues2 is on deck.

I arrived late this morning, almost 9. I usually come half past 8. The taxi I took from the hotel had a different route. What normally takes 15 minutes took us 30 minutes. Different drivers, I found out during the past 6 days, have different ways to go to the office from the Hotel Mega Anggrek. It's good in a way. I get to see different parts of the city.

But this morning is quite different. I was charged Rp 33,000, which is Rp 10,000 more than my usual fare. I could not argue with the taxi driver because he had this table that clearly showed what I would pay given the route we took. But, of course, he assumed I did not know some other routes which could be shorter.

It's like I am in Manila. Taxi drivers always prove to passengers they are smarter. How about putting them in one city or region, for that matter, and let them run things? Probably things will run better because taxi drivers anywhere in the world are smarter than the rest of us. They will always get you to the place you want to go - and they are so creative about the possible routes to take to bring you there.

Now I go back to this EU proposal I am preparing for Habitat Indonesia. Will Jakarta Blues3 disappear, too, in cyberspace? Let's see what happens.

Jakarta Blues

Still here at the Habitat office in Jakarta. Martha, the secretary, has phoned in to say if I need a taxi. I said yes, at 5.30 p.m., as usual. I have been here since Tuesday last week. The mission is simple enough; produce a proposal for EU funding. It will be similar to the Mindanao Peace Build project that Habitat Philippines submitted to EU last August.

Handoko, the Habitat National Director, assigned four staff to the project proposal team. We all thought at first that Manado would be the project area. When I checked the EU website last Wednesday, after a full day of taking down notes, I found out Manado was not among the five preferred sites for the donor assistance. Thursday we finally decided, after another day of reading, comparing notes and discussions, that we would zero in on Nusa Tenggara Timur or West Timor as the proposed project area.

More discussions last Friday enough grist for my mill during the weekend. I was not able to go the nearby Anggrek Mall. I just stayed in my room churning out around 30 pages of text. Today, most of the team members are gone. Vinon got married last Saturday. Pauline went back to Bandung. Handoko is on a mission to Manado. Glenn left for West Timor yesterday.

Fortunately, I was able to discuss things with Ricky and Lanny. They gave me fresh ideas. Now I have to revise substantial portion of my draft.

Jakarta is getting to be a ghost town. I was told when it's about the end of Ramadan, people go back to their hometowns for celebration, or in anticipation of the celebration of the fasting season. I read in the papers sales are slow in the shops because of low purchasing power due to the 126% increase in fuel prices here.

Now my taxi is here.

Old Friends

Old friends have kept turning up during the last two years or so. I am trying to figure out if there is some kind of logic behind it all. Or, is this just coincidence?

Richard Prado and Ces Adorna, friends from those UNICEF days 20 years ago, managed to visit us here two years ago. Mil Sevilla, my close friend in high school, visited us here during the same period that the two were here. Of course, I see Rem Torres, my closest friend in college, now and then. Last Oct. 2, we were with him and his wife, Kits, in Manila to celebrate his birthday, which was on the day before.

Bituin Gonzales, my kumare, was here in Laya, Bohol a couple of times this year. I had not met her for almost 20 years, I think. I met Ruth and Sammy Ruiz in Dumaguete City in early 2004 after years of not seeing them. I know Ruth from those NEDA days and Sammy from our UP Los Banos days. Talking about UPLB, I met Dr. Willy Padolina after decades of not seeing him on a plane from Jakarta to Manila. That was early August this year.

I just came back from Dili, Timor Leste. There I met Offie Valdecanas, our Mother General during those country programming days with UNICEF in the late 80s. She was with Dr. Arnold Calooy, my inaanak sa kasal.
There must be a reason why I have kept bumping with old friends in recent years. I feel happy seeing them again.

Still at BLDF

It's 6.25 p.m. Still here at the the BLDF office. BLDF is Bohol Local Development Foundation, the NGO which has pioneered the household poverty database system here in Bohol. It was quite a busy day here.

Arnold, our database management specialist, had to finish putting into the poverty database the Habitat home partners from two villages, Bool in Tagbilaran City, and Tabalong in Dauis municipality. We were quite excited when we finally was able to link the poverty status of each home partner to their home repayment status. This is a breakthrough. Now we at Habitat can be guided by the database on what strategy to take to improve the repayment rates of home partners. It is easy to see what to do with home partners who are no deprivation but still refuse to pay. This is clearly a case of wrong values and will have to be dealt as such. It can justify using the full force of the law to evict such home partner from the house for which he or she refuses to pay despite having the means to do so.

The others burdened by high deprivation levels need a different strategy. Perhaps our youth volunteers can help them identify a project to lessen their other burdens so that in the near future they can realize some savings and pay for the house.

We were also able to compare the poverty status of home partners with the rest of the households in the village where they live. The database can also compare the poverty status of home partners based on 12 core indicators.

Let's see the other home partners in other places, how they will rate based on this database. More next time.

Thanks, Rence!

Rence Sore, a friend from the Solomons, turned up in cyberspace and asked that I sent him a copy of the reply made by Miss International from the Philippines when asked what would she say to the rest of the world who think RP is a country of nannies. I gave him a copy of the email sent to me.

I am happy that on the second day of blogging again for Poverty Cafe I got a query from someone whom I have not not met for years. At least, someone read my entry. Rence is now with Commonwealth International based in London. Rence is making it big, quite a leap from those days going through the bureaucratic maze in the Solomons where you could easily get lost untangling web after web of conspiracies and counter-conspiracies. It was easy in those days to lose one's footing. The rules themselves would complicate things.

I am happy for Rence. Now he can focused his enormous talent and people's skills on development concerns. We hope we can work with him again someday. Perhaps not in the Solomons, but in more remote areas where they may be just starting create a state. Timor-Leste, perhaps?

A good thought to close the day and wish everybody good night.

Emotions, Emotions

There's this email sent us by a colleague from Habitat. It's about the answer made by the Filipina winner of Miss International. She was asked about what she thought the Philippines being known as a country of nannies. The answer brought tears to my eyes. I sent the email to all my close friends and associates.

Sounds corny but until early evening that answer still played strong in my mind, and I cried now and then. If you guys want to know her answer, email me at pestelos2003@yahoo.com. I'm too emotional now to even try to put it again to words.

Good night, guys. It's my second day of blogging.

Back Home

Well, back home. This is after dinner. I'm here in front of the laptop. This is a challenge. It's still early but I feel drowsy. Another tiring day at BLDF. Arnold and I are working out the database for the Habitat home partners here in Bohol. He has tinkered with the existing poverty database for two villages here where there are Habitat communities. Now it is easier for me to find out how each home partner ranks in terms of each of the 12 poverty core indicators.

Tomorrow, we will continue this tedious work. I have requested him to reflect the repayment status of each of the home partners. If we can link these to the poverty status, then we can systematically assist the households cope with problems that impact on their capacity to repay the house loan.

Let's see what happens tomorrow. Good night. I need to sleep.

We are back!

Looks like it is a good day to resume blogging. What can I say? My last entry was more than a year ago, in May last year! And to think that I was saying at that time that it had taken me a month to resume writing.

So many things to say. Where to start ... Here I am, at the BLDF office. I am actually waiting for Arnold to program something in my computer. It's almost 11 a.m. here in Tagbilaran City. We're in this new BLDF office.
Ok, Arnold, is finished. Must go back to work.

Will resume later.

Almost a month after my last entry? Sorry, sorry, sorry. I have noted that the journal has been visited 15 times this May. There's really no excuse.I must find time to make entries to this journal. I must. I must. I must.

I have a sore neck. It must be from this TV set which is placed too high in my room. Like many Filipinos these days, I depend on TV to keep track on what's happening in Congress these days. They are supposed to canvass the votes for the President and the Vice President. Instead, our honorable representatives of the people spent the past two days debating on the procedures. Last night, a woman spectator from the gallery sent a note to the filibustering Congressman who, incidentally, lost his bid for Senator to just shut up and start the counting. The honorable wants the whole Senate and Congress to act as committee of one to do the counting instead of having a 14-member committee to do the canvass as it was done before. The honorable congressmen and senators could not agree on which option to take.

Anyway, let us hope, the people will not be too impatient to take matters in their own hands. They may just barge through the barricades of policemen and the Marines to just scream their frustrations about the delay.

Meanwhile, here in Baclayon, more than 200 residents have signed a petition addressed to their political leaders that they support their proposed amendment to the road expansion plan to be implemented soon by the Department of Public Works and Highways and Korea's Hanjin Corporation.

Copies of the petition were also sent to the Office of the Governor, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, the Office of the Vice Governor, the Office of the Representative for District 1, Hon. Edgar Chatto. After a week, complete silence.

In a microcosm, you see here the indifference of public officials to the simple request of residents that the expanded highway should not destroy pre-World War II houses and other structures along a two-km. stretch of the town.

I still hope the bureaucracy can act a little faster to respond to this petition.

Meanwhile, life goes on. That means, I have now to go to the showers, dress up, eat breakfast, and rush to the office. Here's another day to live through despite all these distractions or, if you prefer, burning issues...

OK, my apologies. It has taken me a long time to get back to this journal. The usual excuse: lack of time. But if I look back, I could have squeezed in a few minutes before going to bed or upon waking up to drop some lines. Anyway, I am encouraged that some visitors do get to this journal. It must be frustrating or downright disappointing for them if they read the same stuff each visit.

It's for them that I must find precious time to write something on this journal.

Let's start with yesterday... We were in this workshop which is trying to build a research consortium among academic institutions,NGOs and academic institutions in the province. It is being conducted by Dr. Peter Urich of the International Global Change Institute. Yesterday was Day 2 of the workshop. We had the Planning Secretary, Hon. Romulo Neri, as guest. He gave powerpoint presentations on the basics of economics and also on his analysis of the country's political oligarchy. He said the election process is flawed from the start because it is the rich who bankroll political parties and candidates; he calls this group booty capitalists. The financiers naturally would like to get their investments back and for these investments to earn in return.

This is actually the third time I have seen this presentation. I have been hearing the same views from my college days three decades back. The only difference is that if you said these things in the 60s, you would be branded as leftist or a trouble-making radical. Now this is a member of the Cabinet saying the same things for which many of my friends were persecuted in the past. That's proof the democratic space has somewhat widened since the 60s despite persistent efforts of vested interests to capture political power and economic wealth. Many Filipinos will agree with this analysis. The challenge remains: how to address the situation within the framework of existing laws and conventions that an elite-dominated political process has put in place ...

We need to process his input in the context of the workshop's objective to organize a research consortium. In fact, there is a need to see the proposed consortium in the light of the provincial development agenda as reflected in the various development plans.

The Planning Secretary came with Director Romy Escandor of NEDA Region 7 and an old friend, Dr. Severino Cuevas of UP Los Banos. It must have been more than 20 years that I have not seen Seve. I was eager to bring him to dinner home but his schedule is tight this time. We hope to meet him again here in Bohol.

It's 6.37. I have to follow doctor's order, walk and up down this hill every morning. All these things we have to do to survive.