I Am Buraot

Photo Credits: www.pcij.org

Like most Filipinos abroad that are eager to hear Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s last State of the Nation Address, I camped up late at night watching ANC and the internet for it to come.

It was supposed to be her “last” address, her last time to speak before a joined house of the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives without actually resorting to convene it to a constituent assembly. People are just waiting for her to speak about her presidency’s alleged legacy. Continue Reading…

As a Filipino working on a distant land, I am very much biased when it comes to fellow OFWs. Some people in the country look at us with joy, pride and gratitude for our collective part in the national economy. Some people from the bourgeoisie and hard-line nationalists view us as traitors and arrogant for leaving the country behind.

But that’s another matter.

What made me revel in those lines of thoughts was the recent case of May Vecina, the Filipina domestic helper who killed a 7 year old child In Kuwait. I was not aware of the case until my friend notified me about it and showed me the Inquirer story. Continue Reading…

The initial plan when I set-up this new site was to combine my different blogs into one hybrid site. As much as it would be better to do separate sites for different niches, practical matters needed to be considered.

Feature stories and literary writing was at the forefront of this site. Steady traffic was provided by the Entredropper script developed by my friend and tech guru KotsengKuba. Technically speaking, there are still lots of stuff that need improvement here. Continue Reading…

Conclusion

(Previously… Skirmishes In and Out of Sea)

Yes, I was pissed with his article. But I don’t blame Chip Tsao. He who loves to write satire, though his love of it that does not guarantee that he’s good at it, just wanted to make a point.

The way I understood, as I try to grasp the essence of his piece, is that it is mainly about the disputed Spratlys and not about the Filipina maids. It was more of his country’s bullying smaller nations, and less of the plight of thousands of underpaid but well-educated Flipina domestic helpers.

Like what my journalist friend said when I reacted violently to Chip Tsao’s satirical piece, we Filipinos had our own brand of stereotyping ourselves. And we are not less guilty… Continue Reading…

Third Part of a Series

(Previously… The Crude Awakening)

The group of islands called the Spratlys was first occupied by the colonial French at the time when it ruled Indochina. During the Second World War, the Japanese used it as a submarine base. After the world war, the French had it back but eventually had another with occupied Vietnam. While in 1946 the Chinese communist forces occupied the largest of the islands. Continue Reading…

Second Part of a Series

(Previously… Arrogance and Ignorance on the Spratlys Islands)

At least 6 countries, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, have filed separate sovereign claims on all or part of the Spratlys.

For years, the Philippines and the other small ASEAN member countries claiming the group of small Islands in the South Pacific (or at least parts thereof), have suffered insults from the mighty and powerful Chinese. Continue Reading…

First Part of a Series

I wasn’t keen on reacting to satirical pieces made by journalists as long as it is made with class. A joke sometimes creates something more meaningful than just a dose of laughter. It is art imitating life and thus the creator had nothing to do but become the messenger of what he or she sees.

It is the collective burden of the readers and the society as a whole to distinctively see the social irony that was wrapped in silly soliloquy. Continue Reading…