The Economy and the Olympics

Pacquiao's boxing career has spanned over a decade, and he has been considered the best boxer in this era. But he has never graced the Olympics. Oh, but if you are to count the time he carried the flag during the Beijing Olympics...that's another story.

Pacquiao turned pro too soon to represent the country in the Olympics which fields amateur boxers only. Our two Olympic silver medals came from our boxers, Anthony Villanueva (1964) and Mansueto Velasco (1996). But can you blame the guy? Amateur boxing pays peanuts. Representing this country pays noodles.

So why do we bother to send athletes to the Olympics when we don't give them ALL the support they need to prepare and win? What is the use of the Philippine Olympic Committee when it cannot defend its objectives to the government to give them decent financial resources?

Derek Ramsay who was sent by TV5 to cover London Olympics must have been paid more than the athletes we sent to represent the country. The media men and women sent by giant TV networks must have received more decent allowances.

Seriously, does a country need to be rich to win gold?

Current Medal Standing (as of 31 July):

Kazakhstan has just received its independence in 1991 from the Soviet Union, and has 16.6 million population (2011). In 2006, the personal income tax in Kazakhstan was reduced from 30% in 2003 to a flat rate of 5% for personal income in the form of dividends and 10% for other personal income. Kazakhstan suffered a budget deficit level of 3.5% of GDP in 1999 to a deficit of 1.2% of GDP in 2003. Government revenues grew from 19.8% of GDP in 1999 to 22.6% of GDP in 2001, but decreased to 16.2% of GDP in 2003. In 2000, Kazakhstan adopted a new tax code in an effort to consolidate these gains. According to the 2010-2011 World Economic Forum in Global Competitiveness Report, Kazakhstan is ranked 72nd in the world in economic competitiveness. (Wikipedia)

And they already have 2 golds week one of the London Olympics.

Lesson: Let's fix our country. When done, let's send athletes to the Olympics.

Who Do You Go Home For?

"Para kanino ka gumigising?" Zsa Zsa Padilla recalled a TV ad which she now relates to her situation. It is a sad thought to have no one and nothing to serve as your reason to face the day with a smile, even with a scowl. The important thing is you get up and go despite. It is a sad state we are in when we just refuse to get out of bed to hide, to refuse to live because...

I don't have problems getting up in the morning for all the duties I have to attend to at work. I love my job. Seriously now.

But when half of the day closes and you're done, the other half of your life in a day draws in. Do you go home right away or while away the time, pushing the pause button of your life and allow traffic jam in EDSA, SLEX or NLEX to give you an excuse for it?

Or do you brave the rush to go home for, not to, people closest to your heart?

These are who and what I go home for:

Dolphy

I am part of the generation that was fed with old black and white Sampaguita and LVN films 7 am in the morning, and in the afternoon after Student Canteen. In the evening, there was PPP (Piling-Piling Pelikula)  in Channel 13 after the English news. And boy! Was it good!

The black and white films showcased the best looking actors and actresses who have yet to be outclassed by this generation's best. Even the supposedly "ugly" actors looked good on screen. The kontra-bida ones looked devilishly gorgeous. The comedians looked photogenically comic, not pathetic.

Only those who could sing, sung. Only those who could dance, danced. Those who could do neither did theirs with exaggeration, calling attention to their inability, and ended up forgivably funny and acceptable.

The various tributes to Dolphy after his passing have brought all the memories back. Dolphy playing extra. Dolphy playing the sidekick. Dolphy playing the star. Dolphy playing gay. Dolphy playing the Dad, the Mother, the Playboy, the Secret Agent, the superhero, the Chinaman, the Everyday Man.

Of all the Dolphy films I have watched, one movie has left a mark: Ang Tatay Kong Nanay, directed by Lino Brocka and co-starred with Nino Muhlach. It was one Dolphy film that wrenched my heart and broke the dam of tears from my very young eyes. When Coring (a gay beautician played by Dolphy), caught Nonoy (a boy he adopted as a baby played by Nino Muhlach) putting on lipstick to copy an Indian from a book, he scolded the boy out of fear of him turning into a homosexual. When the boy explained that he was only trying to copy an Indian from his book, Coring's fears vanished and he lovingly hugged Nonoy.

 As Dolphy's tomb was about to be sealed, people started clapping, and for some strange reason, I just started crying. Beauty does that to me. To borrow the line of Terry McKay to Nickie Ferrante.

It wasn't a sad affair. It was an affair to remember.

Students Today Should Have Their Own "Nilo Rosas"

As a child, I remember waking up early on a school day despite the rains, the typhoon, the thunder, and any form of weather disturbance, hoping to hear the soothing, re-assuring voice of Mr. Nilo Rosas declaring classes are cancelled for the day in all levels. His was the only voice listened to, anticipated for, and was never questioned, during calamities.

These days?

Whoever decided to change the old system must be nuts, was never a child, and wasn't thinking right.

These days, you wait for DepEd announcements for pre-school, grade school and high school class cancellations. For college, you wait for CHED. Well, good luck with CHED. This government institution doesn't even have an official Twitter Account. If you're lucky, local government units headed by the Mayor would issue an announcement at 9 AM when everyone is already in school.

No one wants to be accountable. Kanya-kanyang declaration. Now, they are proposing that announcements should come from barangay officials. Just what are the chances that your school is located in your own barangay? Many college students who study in Manila live as far as Cavite and Bulacan, haven't they heard? Will all barangay officials call the radio stations to make their individual announcements? There are hundreds of them in NCR alone. Will you leave it to school officials to make the decision and announcements? There are thousands of them! Besides, it is inefficient! You want the schools to text all its students about class cancellations. Do you know how much that will contribute to the school's overhead, when a single point of contact from the government will do, for free and more efficiently?

Common sense is so uncommon these days!