Of Nannies and Philippine Economy

Consider the story of Juana Tejada who came to Canada in 2003 under the federal live-in caregiver program. After completing her three-year assignment, she was eligible to apply for a permanent resident status. In 2006 during a medical exam to obtain her clearance, she was diagnosed with cancer. Based on Canada's immigration laws at that time, authorities could not grant her request for an immigrant status.

A Troubling Health Care Issue

While the story I wrote in my post, A Very Filipino Christmas Story,  is a product of my creativity, it is based on stories that I have witnessed and heard of. In a news article on Philstar titled "Hospital Shopping a Dangerous Experience", the author noted that eleven women die each day from pregnancy and birth complications. Most of these deaths are preventable.

It is very troubling to see that instead of finding ways to establish a public health care system that would address this problem, the House of Representatives can only come up with a copy and paste Reproductive Health Bill. It does not solve anything. Opponents to this bill raised these major points:

A Very Filipino Christmas Story

Photo by Boyet Ignacio

It is a cooler night than normal in Dagatan, Lipa City.  Bright Christmas lanterns hang on lamp posts that line the narrow streets in this town a few miles south of Manila. Stalls selling rice cakes and ginger tea are open later than usual. 

One Day, Isang Araw

I overheard a conversation the other day in a subway train on my way to work in Toronto.

"You speak English well," he said. "How come?"

"English is the medium of instruction in our country," she answered. "We are a bilingual bunch of people."

Always On My Father's Mind

"He handed me a greeting card soiled with grease," my mother told me when I asked her how she met my father. They were blind dates in a bowling alley during the glory days of "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and hair pomade. How they fell in love. She was charmed by his natural ways, my father smitten by her strong yet graceful gait. They became "Paquito and Lil" to their family and friends.