By AIDA TAGUIBOS
www.nordis.net

“Hindi po ako Igorot. Tao po ako,” this statement which was allegedly delivered as a joke (or at least intended to be such) by commediane Candy Pangilinan stirred not amusement but controversy as the statement implied that Igorots aren’t humans. The city council then declared Ms. pangilinan a persona non grata (unwelcome visitor). Bloggers, proffesionals, students, almost everybody, particularly our igorots brothers and sisters criticized Pangilinan. To cut the story, a teary Pangilinan appeared in national television in the presence of the City council and the Igorot people for public apology saying”What happened in Baguio is the most embarrassing, disappointing and painful moment in all my years in the industry,”. Though some of those who heard of the apology muttered and murmured disapproval, the city council decided to forgive the actress but told to undergo daw-es, a ritual cleansing.

Here are some reactions after commediane Candy Pangilinan was proclaimed forgiven for her tactless joke, “Hindi po ako Igorot, Tao po ako!” Read the rest of this entry →

By REV. LUNA DINGAYAN
www.nordis.net

We believe the Church is apostolic: It is commissioned by God as the courageous bearer of the Gospel of redemption to all people.

After discussing the unity, holiness, and universality of the Church, the question now is to what extent they are such? As it is always implied in our previous discussions, the Church can only be truly one, holy, and catholic when it is apostolic. When we say the Church is apostolic, we are not referring to the church denomination called Apostolic Faith. Read the rest of this entry →

By ALDWIN QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

We suffer primarily not from our vices or our weaknesses, but from our illusions. We are haunted, not by reality, but by those images we have put in their place.
Daniel J. Boorstin

According to the National Statistics Office (NSO), the unemployment rate as of April this year went down to 7.5 % (2.84 million) from the 8% (2.92 million) year-on-year. The government is again saying that it has been able to reduce the unemployment rate.

Contrary to this, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), expects the number of workers who will lose their jobs to reach 200,000 by mid-2009. Since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assumed the presidency in 2001, her administration posted unbelievable yearly unemployment rate of 11% in 2001 to 7.5% at present.

From 2001, however, more and more companies and business establishments were closing down and the government did not do anything seriously in making additional jobs to absorb the displaced workers.

The Arroyo government even acknowledged the information of DOLE that half of the total labor force in the country comes from the informal sector or self-employed workers.

Last June 12, during Independence Day celebrations, the government highlighted the event with “Kalayaan 2009 Mega Job and Livelihood Fair”. So many job fairs have been launched in this present administration. The latest job fair is a very clear manifestation on how the previous ones did not really address the growing unemployment problem of Filipinos. This is simply a failure to cope with the worsening crisis.

As Elmer “Ka Bong” Labog of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (May 1st Movement), said “The government wishes to project in a media hype the job fairs, saying it is drawing an ever increasing number of Filipinos who are seeking jobs. But why do more and more people troop to these job fairs if these fairs indeed provide jobs?”

If you are going to look at the jobs being offered at the job fairs, you will notice that more than half of the job offerings and openings are based abroad. This only shows how dependent our economy is in terms of employment and how this administration is bent on selling Filipino labor abroad for more dollar remittances. Instead of seriously looking for ways on how to strengthen the local economy, the government continues to depend on overseas jobs for its citizens.

Most of these jobs, if not all, employ contractual, temporary and are often low-paying jobs. This shows the failure of providing the Filipino workers job security and raising wage levels.

The historic struggles of our forefathers for freedom and independence are put into mockery by Arroyo leading the nationwide commemoration through illusory and fantasy-filled job fairs.
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Mineworkers of Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company (LCMC) still suffer from the work-rotation scheme employed by the company. LCMC implemented this scheme in November 2008.

According to the DOLE advisory regarding the implementation of such labor-flexibility arrangements, the duration is six months. Until now, however, surface workers of Lepanto are only working for 15 days a month.

Although underground workers have resumed regular work last month, their payroll is still delayed. # nordis.net