Madame President, Did You Read the PEBA 2009 Entries?

"In private high schools, we finance half of the students.

We have provided college and post-graduate education for over 600,000 scholars.

One of them, Mylene Amerol-Macumbal, finished Accounting at MSU-IIT, then she went to law school, and placed second in the

last bar exams, the first Muslim woman bar topnotcher. Congratulations!"

Okay, that's my school, MSU-IIT or Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, its a 60% Christian and 40% Muslim university, but one of the best school in the country. I am proud that's where I graduated. I was one among those scholars to pay P10 per semester so long that I maintained my GPA of not more than 2.0.

But let us examine some of your praises and reports about OFW's and the rest of the Filipino's abroad.

"Sa hirap at ginhawa, pinapatatag ang ating bansa ng ating Overseas Filipinos.

Iyong padala nilang $16 billion noong isang taon ay record. Itong taon, mas
mataas pa.

I know that this is not a sacrifice joyfully borne. This is work where it can be
found — in faraway places, among strangers with different cultures. It is
lonely work, it is hard work. "

(posible po bang nabasa niyo o ng speech writer niyo some of the stories ng mga PEBA Nominees?)

Kaya nagsisikap tayong lumikha dito sa atin ng mga trabahong maganda ang
sahod, so that overseas work will just be a career choice, not the only option
for a hard-working Filipino.

(Yan po ang conclusion ng entry ng isang nominee from Qatar)

Meanwhile, we should make their sacrifices worthwhile. Dapat gumawa tayo
ng mas epektibong proteksyon at pagpapalawak ng halaga ng kanilang
pinagsikapang sweldo. That means stronger consumer protection for OFWs
investing in property and products back home.

Para sa kanila, pinapakilos natin ang Investors Protection Task Force.

Hindi ako nag-aatubiling bisitahin ang ating taong bayan at kanilang mga
host sa buong mundo – mula Hapon hanggang Brazil, mula Europa at Middle
East hanggang sa American Midwest, nakikinig sa kanilang mga problema at
pangangailangan, inaalam kung paano sila matulungan ng ating pamahalaan
– by working out better policies on migrant labor, or by saving lives and
restoring liberty.

Pagpunta ko sa Saudi, pinatawad ni Haring Abdullah ang pitong daang OFW
na nasa preso. Pinuno nila ang isang buong eroplano at umuwi kasama ko.

(There are still very many, Madam, di lang po sa kulungan. Some are suffering from injustices, some are confined in houses of hardhearted employers.)

Mula sa ating State Visit sa Espanya, it has become our biggest European
donor. At si Haring Juan Carlos ay nakikipag-usap sa ibang mga bansa para sa ating mga namomroblemang OFW. Ganoon di si Sheikh Khalifa, ang Prime Minister ng Bahrain. Pagpunta ko sa Kuwait, Emir Al-Sabah commuted death sentences.

We thank all our leaders, all world leaders who shown compassion
with our workers.

Our vigorous international engagement has helped bring in foreign investment. Net foreign direct investments multiplied 15 times during our administration.

Kasama ng ating mga Together with our OFWs, they more than doubled our foreign exchange reserves. Pinalakas ang ating piso at naiwasan ang lubhang pagtaas ng presyo. They upgraded our credit because while the reserves of our peers have shrunk this past year, ours reserves grew by $3 billion.

(I have one thing to confess. I voted for you the last election, and even asked the rest of my siblings to do the same. Since then, we are honestly disappointed. But we believe in being submissive to the rule of the land, and to those in authority, so I am still hoping you planted something good so my kid will see something good as well.

I am honestly hoping and praying that the one who will seat Malacanang after you is a good Filipino LEADER, if there is still one, out there.)

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©2009 THOUGHTSKOTO