Live Life! Love Life!

Social remittance as a concept is not something new in the Filipino diaspora.  In the 1800’s, considering the novels of Dr. Jose Rizal and the writings from the La Solidaridad by Filipino heroes, we see that their ideas paved the way for a revolution. In the 21 st century, blogging is the new form of social remittance of Filipinos working and living abroad.  Through their blogs they are publishing their stories online to inspire others. They also advocate causes, help others and muster support from their readers to help effect change in their own little ways. For more than 30 years Filipinos has been in constant motion for greener pastures due to poverty and limited job opportunities in the country.  Today the unemployment rate is still high at 7.2%, not to dismiss that among those employed many considered themselves underemployed. Diaspora is more than  a phenomenon; it is a necessity when Filipinos migrate to work or reside permanently in the West and other developed cou

The May 18 Memorial Foundation is recruiting once again international interns. Below is their letter to their contacts, I was an intern myself beloging to the pioneer or first batch in 2005 . Greetings friends of The May 18 Memorial Foundation, As 2012 is approaching, we would like to announce that we have opened the annual internship program application. The internship program is an imperative part of the Foundation’s mandate to promote international solidarity and further the promotion of human rights across the world. Through the internship program the Foundation aimsto build concrete solidarity through the exchange of human resource and also to nurture outstanding individuals to lead global civil society. Thus we would like to request for your help to spread our call for the 2012 International Internship Program. Please click at the attached link to find out more about our 2012 international internship program. Best regards, Solidarity Team, The May 18 Memorial F

Antonio Salac Santos, 55 He was a lecturer, creative consultant, actor, baritone, stylist, decorator, landscape artist, essayist, poet, culinary artist, editor and sage—the late Antonio Salac Santos couldn’t be pigeonholed. To many, he was the perennial Peter Pan, playful, adventurous and idiosyncratic despite the thinning, salt-and-pepper hair at 55 years old. Friends described him as “brilliant” and “genius.” Like a genie, he could do anything on the spot at your command. Although Santos never completed his degree in AB Broadcast Communication, he was invited to lecture because of his experience in media. He played Emilio Aguinaldo in Johnny Manahan’s epic TV series “Kasaysayan ng Lahi”; worked in the advertising sections of Business Day and Philippine Daily Express; edited Man, one of the early magazines in the ’90s catering to male readership; and joined big ad firms such as Hemisphere-Leo Burnett and J. Romero & Associates. Since 1999, Santos has done pictorial direction fo

Related news -  http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/10/11/11/contest-ofw-bloggers-launched NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 10, 2011 International Blog Awards to honor the homecoming of OFWs & Filipino Expats MANILA, 10 October 2011 – Pinoy Expats OFW Blog Awards, Inc., an international alliance of OFW & Pinoy Expatriate Bloggers will put to center stage the return of Philippines modern-day heroes as PEBA 2011 celebrates the “homecoming” of OFWs and Filipino Expatriates. Joining this year’s celebration are Ayala Malls, Nokia and Globe Telecoms. PEBA is on its 4th year of recognizing Blogs written from all over the world by Filipino workers and expatriates. This year is unique from the previous awards night as it will also honor the talent of Filipinos abroad in the field of photography. “We wanted to bring a message to the world that despite the hardship experienced by our fellow Filipinos working or residing abroad, we co

 Another beautiful email message forwarded by a friend. Sharing it with the rest of you dear readers.... BALANCE SHEET  OF LIFE Our Birth is our Opening Balance!   Our Death is our Closing Balance!   Our Prejudiced Views are our Liabilities   Our Creative Ideas are our Assets   Heart is our Current Asset   Soul is our Fixed Asset   Brain is our Fixed Deposit   Thinking is our Current Account   Achievements are our Capital   Character & Morals, our Stock-in-Trade   Friends are our General Reserves   Values & Behaviour are our Goodwill Patience is our Interest Earned  Love is our Dividend  Children are our Bonus Issues  Education is Brands / Patents  Knowledge is our Investment  Experience is our Premium Account  The Aim is to Tally the  Balance Sheet  Accurately.  The Goal  is to get the Best Presented Accounts Award.   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Some very Good and Very bad things .. The most destructive habit....... ........ ......Worry  The gre

Blog post for Blogger's Unite - International Day of Compassion in honor of Dr. Patch Adams Sulyapinoy  August 2010  Issue

Another historic event in the making in the Congress while I am doing this blog. Well I hope that signing up for this will not just be historical but also historic in economic returns, let see.  I saw at facebook's friends status update about churpchurp, so joining the bandwagon am reposting info about it here in my blog. And the Ombudsman is impeached! Her case will now be sent to the Senate for trial! Anyway going back...  This is from the blog of the company with the link here - http://ph.churpchurp.com/blog/2010/12/04/churpchurp-is-now-in-the-philippines/     CHURPCHURP IS NOW IN THE PHILIPPINES! Hi Future Churpies! ChurpChurp is now in the Philippines! ChurpChurp is indeed a community of Social Media influencers and we’d like you to be part of it! Sign up now and be among the first among your peers to pick up the latest news, personalize it and share it to your friends and followers all over your social media networks. As a community, we’ll be having events,

I am joining a Bloggers Association here in the Philippines. The official name is still being finalized. Also, Filipino expats and OFWs find "national" (for a National Bloggers Assoc.) as limiting and may not encompass their global presence.   I previously worked for an NGO that emphasizes the importance of CO – community organizing. We help communities organize themselves, train leaders and identify issues in their community.  Organizing is a form of empowerment especially among marginalized groups who are uneducated, poor, lacking of resources, does not have connections. The only leverage they have to be listened to and have their issue addressed is through their organized force in their effort to lobby, negotiate and meet face to face those who are in power. I have seen urban poor leaders that we have trained consummate their community issues. Their initiative and effort of organizing  their communities and effecting change in their lives and making their settlements mo