Crowns and Thorns

I could not imagine how Chief Justice Renato Corona must have been feeling at this point. As the impeachment trial opens today, various thoughts have probably been rushing towards him.

Why me?
Why now?
What's next?

Who knows? Being interrogated is something traumatic, what more being impeached in the rule of law and in the perception of the public. I have a very limited knowledge about the rules of impeachment, but I'd like to share my thoughts about it.

1. Milestone- I think this impeachment proceeding is a milestone in the country's judicial process. For one, this is the first time that a Supreme Court Justice would be prosecuted under the rule of law. This may have pros and cons of course, but I think the pros outweigh the cons since this would create a big impact to the public that in our country, power, position, and authority are not tantamount to judicial immunity. For average the average Filipino like me, this sends a healthy "fear" i.e. fear not to do (or repeat) any wrong doings because there is indeed a justice system working.

This is also positive in a way that it will send a message to the world. This will debunk falsely written historical accounts that this country, prior to the arrival of Spaniards, does not have a system of government. This will prove that this country has had logic and justice deeply rooted within our consciousness and subconsciousness.

2. Circus- On the negative side, I think this impeachment has also become a circus for some. Not everyone showed professionalism within the process since some prosecutors have (I think) gone beyond the line. Showing evidences in public, in my opinion, is an outright trial by publicity and this is not good since not all Filipinos are skeptic and critical. I condemn this act because I believe these issues should have been settled DURING the impeachment proceedings and not BEFORE it. This has most probably led to prejudices among Filipinos. We have to always remember that at this point in time, whether they have shown or proven evidences or not, the Chief Justice is innocent simply because he has not been proven guilty, yet.

I also denounce any acts from ANY religious groups or sects that jump into this lowly mudslinging. The constitution clearly presents a demarcation line between the Church and the State, which means that the while churches may have the moral obligation to remind or make people reflect, they should not be making sides. Moreover, to those reading the Bible and believing in Jesus, we should remember that He himself teaches AGAINST politics in churches. How many times have he questioned the Pharisees and Scribes? Instead, I believe that they should be standing firm on the basis of peacefully resolving social and political issues like this.

3. Reflection of Bravery and Courage- Finally, I think this impeachment is a reflection of the growing vigilance and patriotism. It is also a reflection of Bravery and Courage both on the side of the Chief Justice and his prosecutors. To impeach a chief justice requires bravery and courage aside from intelligence. Similarly, to face such a trial needs more than bravery and courage and CJ Corona has proven he's up for the battle.

In the end, wherever this case goes and whatever verdicts it would bring, I pray that it would lead to a better Philippines.

Let's not just be contented to pursue justice. Above all, let's learn our lessons.

SLOW DOWN, GOD AT WORK

About 10 years ago, when I transferred to Manila to pursue my college degree, I unconsciously buried my laid back lifestyle here in Cavite and worked hard to live up with the fast-paced flow of life in the Metro. I have learned how to love what is fast: fast cars, fast computers, fast transactions, and yes, even fast decisions.

Because I was into debating, I thought finding out the most “sound” argument and spitting it out is enough to “escape” a situation. But I was wrong, I realized that bluffing doesn’t work in the real world.

10 years later, Jesus put me into a state of pause and slowed me down. This year, the Lord made me realize that being “fast” isn’t always good.

During my hiatus, I talked to our pastor and he taught me probably the best lesson I learned this year: DOING DAILY DEVOTION.

For almost a year now, I have learned that communicating with God every morning, before doing anything else (yup, that includes brushing my teeth or drinking coffee), sets the day right.

Ptr. Marlon was right. Because of problems, we are fooled by Satan. We are made to think that our problem is so big that Jesus is no match to it. But hey! If we’ll just learn to SLOW DOWN a bit and reflect before we face the giant in front of us, we’ll be able to crush it down, just like what David did with Goliath! Why do we always force ourselves to solve a problem when we haven’t even tried the best and most effective solution of all? PRAYER

My daily Bible reading (well, of course, I would admit that I have missed some days) coupled with prayers slowed down my mornings. Before, I thought I don’t even have a time to stop for a while to pray because of my busy life. But I have realized that it’s just a matter of commitment.

Another realization that I have learned this year is the fact that most often, we only pray when we need something, but we forget to turn to God when everything is fine. I learned that even during our happiest moments, we should still talk to God. In a family or office, you wouldn’t be happy if your mother or father or boss, will only talk to you when there’s something wrong.

2011 was also a year of mythbusting experiences. They say when you start your year with “bad luck” the rest of the year will go wrong. WRONG! I started this year with hell, and ended it up victoriously through the help of Jesus! He used a lot of people to encourage me. I was reminded of Romans 8:1, that there is no more condemnation once we are in Jesus. The world will condemn us, but Jesus will embrace us if we humbly confess our sins to him and ask for his forgiveness—just like what he did with the robber beside him during the crucifixion. Our God is truly a loving father.

There’s so many more, but I guess I’ll reserve it to my next blogs. Ideas are juggled inside my head, and so many ideas and reminders are coming out, and I’m afraid that this blog might end up incoherent.

I’d like to end by sharing my last devotion for 2011:

⁸ We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ¹⁰ We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

2 Corinthians 4:8-10

The world will persecute us. It will not be kind to us. It will discourage us. At times, we will fall, we will fail, we will falter, but never should we give up. Because if we really have Jesus in our hearts, then we should have a faith like a child, that NOTHING is IMPOSSIBLE with our Big GOD!

Thank you for reading. Have a blessed new year ahead of you! 






ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:


I'd like to thank a number of people who helped me a lot this year (I hope not to miss anyone)


1. My Family (mama, papa, ate, kuya obin, nene, and Robbie!) 
2. Kay
3. My Cell Leader: Ptr. Marlon Choa and Ptra. Michel Choa
4. My Cell and the SK Praise and Worship team
5. Team Bucal (for the Basketball nights)
6. Paolo
7. Ali
8. ...and many more! (the Lord will be the one to return the blessings to you! =) )

Ang Pasko ng mga TUNAY na LALAKE

Nung Thursday sa aming cell sa Bucal, shinare ko ang mga bagay na natutunan ko sa aking pagdedevotion: at ito ay tungkol kay Jose na isang TUNAY na LALAKE.

Sa New Testament, hindi kasing detalyado at “sikat” ang buhay ni Jose kumpara sa ibang karakter sa Bibiliya. Masasabing ang pinakaimportanteng role niya ay para mabuo ang isang “happy family” na eksena sa Nativity story. Maraming posibleng analysis sa karakter ni Jose. Isa na dito ang perspektibo ng kultura at antropolohiya. Pwedeng sabihin natin na dapat nandoon siya sa eksena kase kung hinde, magiging bastardo si Jesus—isang bagay na hindi katanggap-tanggap sa kulturang Hudyo noong kapanahunan nila. In fact, ilang Bible scholars ang nakapagsabi na “stoning” o kamatayan sa pamamagitan ng pagbato ang kaparusahan sa pagiging haliparot o kaya single moms noong panahon ni Jesus.

Sa Matthew 1:18-25, matutunghayan natin ang maiksing kwento at role ni Jose buhay ni Jesus (at sa kwento ng Pasko). At sa blog na ito, nais kong magpokus sa karakter na ipinakita ni Jose upang matutunan kung ano o sino ba talaga ang TUNAY NA LALAKE. Isa-isahin natin ang mga verses.

• Verse 18: “…Si Maria na kanyang ina at si Jose ay nakatakda nang pakasal. Ngunit bago sila nakasal, si Maria’y natagpuang nagdadalang-tao. (Ito’y sa pamamagitan ng Espiritu Santo.)”

Habang pinagbubulay-bulayan ko ang parteng ito, hindi ko maialis na ilagay ang aking sarili sa kalagayan ni Jose. E pano kaya kung sakin yun mangyare? Yun tipong ikakasal na kame ni Kay tapos malalaman kong buntis siya kahit wala namang nangyare sa amin? Grabe. Kung ako yon, baka makapatay ako.

Bukod dito, kahit ano’ng paliwanag sa akin na kaya siya nagdadalaang-tao ay dahil sa “pamamagitan ng Espiritu Santo” hindi ako sira-ulo o lasing para paniwalaan na mabubuntis ang isang babae ng walang pisikal na pagtatalik. Aaminin kong magdududa ako. At baka magalit pa ako dahil dinahilan pa ang Diyos sa kanyang pagbubuntis.

Buti nalang hindi ako si Jose.

• Verse 19: “Isang taong matuwid itong si Jose na kanyang magiging asawa, ngunit ayaw niyang mapahiya si Maria, kaya’t ipinasiya niyang hiwalayan ito ng lihim.”

Para sa isang karpintero, masasabing may mataas na pinag-aralan si Jose. O kung hindi man, may maayos siyang “breeding” at “ethics”. Hindi kagaya ng mga weakling na lalake sa panahong ito, hindi siya nag-astang siga, kumuha ng itak (o kaya lagare kase karpintero siya) at nag-amok. Hindi siya naghamon ng “Sino’ng siga dito?! LUMABAS!” o kaya “Sinong pu@#$%^& ang gumalaw sa SYOTA KO! ILABAS NIYO!” Sa halip ay “hiniwalayan niya ito ng palihim”. Pwede natin isipin na si Jose ay di naman totally matuwid at mabait, kase kung ganon, baket niya hiniwalayan si Maria kahit na palihim pa ito? Sa puntong ito nakita ko ang pagiging tao ni Jose. Tao lamang siya na may damdamin; sigurado ako, nasaktan siya ng bonggang bongga. PERO, gaya ng sabi ko kanina, hindi siya nag-amok. Sa halip, lihim siyang humiwalay at nagbulay-bulay.

Hindi rin siya nagpakamatay; isa pang gawain ng mga lalakeng supot.

• Verse 20-21: “Habang iniisip ni Jose ito, nagpakita sa kanya sa panaginip ang isang anghel ng Panginoon. Sabi nito sa kanya, “Jose, anak ni David, huwag kang matakot na tuluyan pakasalan si Maria, sapagkat siya’y naglilihi sa pamamagitan ng Espiritu Santo. Manganganak siya ng isang lalaki at pangangalanan mong Jesus, sapagkat siya ang magliligtas sa kanyang bayan sa kanilang mga kasalanan.”

Sa panahong hiniwalayan ni Jose si Maria, pwedeng isipin natin na baka nagpaka-Emo siya (di ko lang sure kung nagpagupit siya para magka-bangs at matakpan yung isang mata niya na may itim na eye shadow).

Hindi sinabi sa Bible kung naglasing siya. Pwede kasi natin isipin na baka naman hindi anghel yung nakausap ni Jose? Baka espiritu ni San Miguel yun, as in San Miguel Beer. Pero sa tingin ko, hindi lasing si Jose. Hindi ako Bible scholar, pero sa pagkakaalam ko lang, wala pang Gin bulag noon na kayang bilhin ng hamak na karpintero.

Sa verse 21, naisip kong baka badtrip si Jose habang nakikinig sa anghel. Pinipilit na nga siyang papaniwalain na ang pinagbubuntis ni Maria ay galing sa Holy Spirit, diniktahan pa siya sa kung ano ang ipapangalan! Pero si Jose ay may breeding at ethics. Kalmado lang siya. Hindi siya sumagot o di kaya’y nagreklamo. Quiet lang ang lolo mo.

• Verse 22-23: “Nangyari ang lahat ng ito upang matupad ang sinabi ng Panginoon sa pamamagitan ng propeta: Maglilihi ang isang dalaga at manganganak ng isang lalaki, at tatawagin siyang Emmanuel (ang kahuluga’y ‘kasama natin ang Diyos’)”

Sa verses 22-23 makikita natin ang dagdag na paliwanag ng Anghel kay Jose na kanya namang pinakinggan at inintindi. Hindi siya nagtanong or nakipagbargain. Pinakamahalaga ang huling dalawang verses…

• Verse 24-25: “Nang magising si Jose, sinunod niya ang utos ng anghel ng Panginoon; pinakasalan niya si Maria. Ngunit hindi ginalaw ni Jose si Maria hanggang sa maipanganak nito ang isang sanggol na lalaki na pinangalanan niyang Jesus.

Sa pagtatapos ng maikling salaysay tungkol sa kwento ng pagkapanganak ni Jesus, mahalagang bigyang pansin ang PAGSUNOD ni Jose: no ifs, no  buts, basta sumunod siya. Baket kaya? Dahil kaya lasing siya? Palagay ko hinde, kasi kung lasing siya kinabukasan matatauhan na siya diba? Pero sumunod siya dahil meron siyang matibay na pananampalataya sa Diyos.

At take  note, hindi lang niya sinunod yung parte na papakasalan niya si Maria. Hindi pa sila nagtalik ni Maria! Kung sa panahon ngayon, pihadong tampulan ng katatawanan si Jose ng mga nag-aastang “tunay” na lalake. Naiputan na nga sa ulo, hindi pa naka-iskor!

Pero naging matatag si Jose sa kanyang pananampalataya at nanindigan siya. Sinunod niya ang Diyos hanggang sa huli. Hindi gaya ng mga nasa teleserye na pagkatapos ipanganak ay ipinaampon o kaya tinapon ang baby, si Jose ay naging responsible at mabuting ama. In fact, sa mga susunod na yugto ng buhay ni Jesus ay ipinamalas ni Jose ang kanyang pagmamahal kay Jesus: mula sa pagprotekta kay Jesus sa mga kamay ni Haring Herodes (Matthew 2:16), hanggang sa noong siya ay maiwan sa Jerusalem noong si Jesus ay 12 years old (Luke 2:41-52).

Mahalaga ang role na ginampanan ni Jose sa buhay ni Jesus. Pero sa totoo lang, sa kabila nito, ang paalaala sa akin ng Lord sa aking devotion ay hindi i-venerate si Joseph sa kanyang ginampanang role. Kundi ang gawin siyang model ng isang Tunay na Lalake: may paninindigan, marunong magmahal (sa asawa at sa anak), at higit sa lahat, may matibay na pananampalataya sa Diyos.

Ngayong pasko, bukod sa mga regalo at parties, sana ay maalala natin kung baket ba ito mahalaga. Hindi ito isang celebration dahil may bonus o kung ano pa man. Ito ay celebration dahil ang kapanganakan ni Jesus ay nangangahulugan ng kaligtasan; ng kadakilaan ng Diyos na nagpakababa upang tayo’y abutin.

Ngayong pasko, huwag sana natin kalimutang mag-Thank You kay Jesus. Hindi dahil sa pagkaing nakahain sa ating harapan o sa regaling ating natanggap, kundi dahil sa Kanyang buhay na kanyang inialay sa mga makasalanang tao na kagaya natin.

Isang mapagpalang pasko sa lahat, mula sa isang makasalanang iniligtas ni Jesus!

Embracing Chaos

Looking back at the riots and rumbles that I have “participated” in way back high school, I admit that I still do not understand man’s quest for chaos. While majority of the social norms and morals would teach us to seek peace and spread love for each other, it seems that the animal in each human species kick in like a recessive gene hiding within an individual’s blood streams.

We seem to like inflicting pain to ourselves (sometimes to other people too) with the way we make choices and decisions.

It’s true that leaving something behind is very difficult to do. This may be the case since from Scouting to Citizen’s Army Training (C.A.T.), to Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (R.O.T.C.), we have been implanted with the negative impressions that “quitting” creates. “Quitters never win” is what we normally hear from our militaristic leaders.

While in some cases this saying may be acceptable, it is NOT applicable to all situations. In some cases, quitting is actually an act of courage because it is something difficult to do and in some cases, being frowned upon. Some of the many examples are the following:

Smokers who quit smoking

Alcoholics who quit drinking

Drug dependents who quit taking illegal drugs

People who quit relying on themselves (and instead surrendering everything to God)

I cannot help but compare the way Filipinos take the concept of “quitting” with the Japanese culture known as “giri”.  Of course, they are not synonymous, but the results that giri could create may lead towards “honourable” quitting. I have limited understanding about this, but roughly speaking, giri may be translated as “duty” or “obligation”. From what I understand, the highest type of giri is the giri to the world (which includes the emperor, i.e. the government, family, and other non-related benefactors)

Just this year, we witnessed how Prime Minister Naoto Kan expressed his giri when he resigned from his post as the highest political figure of Japan after his approval ratings had a nose-dive following the tsunami and nuclear crisis of Japan early this year.

You might argue: “Well, we had the same acts of resignations. Remember former Ombudsman Merciditas Gutierrez and former senator Juan Miguel Zubiri?” Yeah, well they resigned from their post as Ombudsman and Senator respectively, but only after too much pressure and imminent danger (i.e. being on the brink of imprisonment) loomed. Their decision could have been more laudable if they did it out of respect and honor instead of pressure and dolor.

At present, we don’t see a tinge of the ex-ombudsman and ex-sentaor’s decisions with the way Congresswoman Gloria Macapagal Arroyo takes her situation. Instead, we could observe the same resilience (or temerity?) that GMA has shown in her nine-year reign with the way she continues to “fight for her right” and delay things regarding her hospital arrest. For Gloria, “quitters never win”. But her camp has probably missed a probability on the other side of her battle cry: that not quitting doesn’t necessarily lead to winning.

In modern Philippine culture that is greatly influenced by Western thought, I still cannot comprehend why we seem to have disposed the equivalent of giri in our nation: the concept of hiya, and how we happily embrace chaos. 

Licensure Exams

"The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and the Board for Professional Teachers (BPT) announces that 10,243 elementary teachers out of 45,171 examinees (22.68%), 6 Accelerated Teacher Education Program (A.T.E.P.) graduates out of 216 examinees (2.78%) and 13,125 secondary teachers out of 41,729 examinees (31.45%) successfully passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers (L.E.T) given last September 25, 2011 in 18 testing centers all over the Philippines."


source: http://www.prc.gov.ph/news/?id=217


Another year, another set of examinees, another set of licensed educators (on the slim side), another set of failed hopes and shattered dreams (on the other)...


This year's grim LET result is not new. Last year (September 2010). the national passing rate was also below 50%: 19.58% for the Elementary; 7.21% for ATEP; and 25.86% for the Secondary. That same year (April 2010), there were only 15.44% passing rate for the Elementary; 3.67% for the ATEP, and 23.32% for the Secondary.


While there is an obvious increase in the percentage of passers in the Elementary and Secondary levels, the percentage of passers in the ATEP fell sharply. I can't help but I ask myself, "6 out of 216??!!"


Spell TRAGEDY.


For almost 3 years now, I have been monitoring the results of LET, and I have always wondered as to the reasons behind the unacceptable results. Of course, one can point his or her finger to everyone: to the Teacher Training Institutions, to the professors, to the students, and even to PRC itself. However, this unfortunate event has a lot of possible roots. Various questions may arise, such as: 


1. What kind of graduates have we been producing?
2. What kind of students do we have these days? What are their priorities and what motivates (or de-motivates) them?
3. Who teaches (mentors) our teachers? Are they qualified? Do they know how to teach?
4. How do TEIs implement the curriculum for Education majors?
5. What kind of support does the government provide to Teacher Education Institutions?
6. Is there something wrong with the NCBTS (National Competency Based Teacher Standards)?
7. Where does PRC get its questions? Do they validate it? If so, does that mean that the Board Exam itself is not valid?
8. What actions or steps does (did or will) the PRC undertake?


The list of questions may go on, and the list of answers may grow more ambiguous. But one thing is for sure, if this trend continues, we will have a shortage of public school teachers and a surplus of teachers who will be employed by "small" schools (which, most often than not, thinks of profits rather than education itself, sadly).


That's IF they will still have the motivation to teach... Worst case scenario is a disheartened education graduate who would turn to other (odd) jobs local or abroad, instead of trying it out again and stay in the teaching profession. Underemployment looms. 


I can't help but ask (again): How much advertisement (or encouragement) do we give to our youth? How much appreciation do we give to our teachers (both the "good" ones and the "not-so-good ones")? Do we encourage them to stay and teach (anyway, they will hopefully develop their teaching skills or attitudes)? Or do we push them away because we don't "like" them? Or because they did something "wrong"?


I know the problems. I even know the ill effects of this to the quality of education that our country will have in the next few years. But I admit that I do not know the answers. 


I may have some solutions in mind, but who cares?

BACOLOD Travel Tips

This would be my first ever "travel blog" (so to speak).

Last October 17-18, 2011, Kay and I had the privilege to attend the ALLT National Conference, which was held at the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod City. Aside from the tough times we had trying to prepare and "polish" our presentations, finding our way going to Bacolod was equally challenging (but it was fun!). The internet proved to be a very helpful source of information for novice travelers like us.

Similar to how we got to Pagudpud, Kay and I also browsed a number of websites and travel blogs to get some directions and tips. This post is somehow a "pay back" to those very helpful information that we got.


AIR TRAVEL


Despite Kay's occasional persuasion for us to travel by sea, I was able to insist that we travel by plane since it would save us a lot of time and energy. It was our first time to travel this far so I kinda "played" with Cebu Pacific's Online services. (Check out http://www.cebupacificair.com/ and try playing with it too! It's not that complicated.) At first, I thought this online service is limited to those with credit cards but I have discovered that we can buy tickets even without credit cards; we can pay through ATMs or through bank deposit. However, since we're not so good in this online and traveling thing yet, we didn't get the best price for the airfare. Nevertheless, it was a learning experience. Getting cheaper tickets requires booking early, a lot early!

From NAIA, we landed at the New Bacolod-Silay Airport.

LAND TRAVEL


At Silay Airport, travelers would be greeted by the famous Ilongo smiles. We didn't have a hard time figuring out where the shuttle services were. FX and Vans going to Bacolod city are available right outside the airport, so there's no reason to be lost. (TIP: If you can't speak Ilongo like us, better speak in English. A professor from USLS mentioned that Ilongos prefer speaking in English than Tagalog since English is their second language and Tagalog is usually L3 or even 4.)

Fares range from 100-150 PHP ($ 2-3)

From Silay, we were dropped at ROBINSON's Mall. Yeah...malls look the same so you wouldn't feel any tinge of "alienation". From there, we asked a guard who was very generous enough to instruct us that we should take the Jeep (which looks like bigger multi-cabs that we see in Buendia-Mall of Asia) with the signboard "SHOPPING-LIBERTAD". Jeepney fare is just 7 pesos since it's just near.

From Robinson's we were dropped at a Jollibee (and had our breakfast there...duh). USLS is just a few steps away from that Jollibee store.

BACOLOD-MANILA


Going back was a bit more difficult. Taxi is very expensive, about 400 PHP ($9.5) so we decided to take the more difficult route. We took a jeep going to SM and walked to the FX/Van Terminal. We arrived just on time because the FX and VANS have a time schedule. 4:20 PM is the second to the last trip and 6:00 PM is the last trip (according to a travel brochure handed out to us). Our flight was at 7:00 PM so we squeezed ourselves into the 4:20 van (luckily, we were sexy!)

We arrived at the Silay airport earlier so we still had time to talk and reflect about our brief but memorable stay in Bacolod. We weren't able to roam around the city (and visit the Ruins, poor us!) but we definitely learned a lot!

PALpak

Epic Failure beyond proportions

This is how I would describe the management style (if there's any) of the Philippine Airlines, the country's flag carrier.

I don't know so much about the technicalities of the on-going cases against them (mostly labor-related). But by mere extraction of information from newspapers and television covers, I have reached a conclusion that there MUST be something wrong with the current PAL management led by Jaime Bautista, its president.

PAL's mass lay-off, which added about 2,600 souls in the bowels of unemployment purgatory, has been deeply criticized by different labor groups because of the injustices that PAL inflicts to its loyal and long-time employees. PAL, in turn, argues about the "legality" of their move because if it will not make such drastic measures, the flag carrier might eventually clip its wings for good.

However, there are a lot of questionable angles in PAL's decision. As an outsider, I would like to know whatever happened to their profit. If in case PAL is getting beaten up by other airlines, like Cebu Pacific, I ask, "Is mass lay-off the win-win solution?" Didn't PAL consider the ripple that this will create? A ripple that in the long run, will turn into a tsunami that would wash them out totally. I ask, "What did they do to keep up with the competition?" Certainly, removing regular and long-time employees is never the best answer.

An even more questionable move is the decision to outsource labor. A clever move on "profitability" but not much on sustainability, I guess. One PALEA member asked a very important question during one of the rallies, "Kami matagal na sa aming trabaho, yang mga yan, tuturuan pa. Gaano nila kaalam ang magiging trabaho nila?" He makes a lot of point. If these outsourced personnel will be on a contractual basis, how sure is their efficiency, accuracy, and most importantly, customer relations skills?

These are just some of the questions that popped out of my head upon observations. I don't really know so much about management and all that. But yesterday, I am sure that again PAL's managers mismanaged. A lot of domestic flights were cancelled to the dismay of a number of passengers. They said they weren't even notified. One passenger who was interviewed said she was from Bataan and came all the way to Manila only to find out that her flight was cancelled. PAL could've sent a simple text message informing her about the cancellation and saving her from the hassle. Apparently, PAL didn't mind at all. They just posted announcements printed in bond papers. Duh.

If this is a demolition job to finally end the decades-long flight supremacy of PAL, it's working. More and more passengers start to choose other airlines.


Epic Failure beyond proportions, translation: PAL-pak