Maritz (Part V)

Part I can be found here (Then you can follow the links to each of the other parts).

That low point in Maritz’ new life in Germany was to be the pivotal event that led her and challenged her to chart a new destiny for her. Yes, she married for love and because of that love, followed her sweetheart half a world away from her home. But that did not mean that she would just waste away her youth, her time, her talents and skills waiting on her man and waiting for him to come home from work every night.

There was a time when she contemplated on leaving Germany and going back to her family – whom she was missing so terribly. But now, she is thankful that she did not succumb to the urge to run away then.

Up to that point and a few more months afterwards, dear hubby would give her monthly allowance for whatever she wanted to buy. But being her family’s breadwinner when she was single, she was not very comfortable with the idea of depending on her husband. In fact, she found it a torture! She could earn her own money, anyway. She was not an invalid and she had a college degree. She knew she had the right tools to earn a living – if only to affirm her own identity and independence.

She recognized what was keeping her from doing that: the language barrier. So, she enrolled in an intensive German course and within three months, she was conversing in German already! Her husband was pleasantly surprised! He must have been very proud of his persistent and determined wife. Her newly-acquired language boosted Maritz’ confidence since people started to talk to her already. She realized at that time that her hunch was correct all the while – people were aloof because they did not know how to communicate with her.

But that was not all. Going to her German classes opened up a whole new world of friends and possibilities for her. In the language course, she met other people in the same situation – learning German in order to get around and get by. Maritz realized she was not alone in her dilemma and that there is hope for her!

Her life took on a whole new perspective and renewed energy. All of a sudden she felt the same gush of exuberance to make it – just like when she was dead serious to make it as an entertainer. Perhaps, her earlier experiences like shedding her inhibitions and believing in herself prepared her for this challenge.

Finding renewed inspiration, she proceeded to getting a job for herself. She did not need the money to survive, but she needed to affirm herself, to legitimize her existence, and prove to herself that she can overcome these obstacles and find her happiness in that corner of the world. It was tough for her for the first year but deciding to take up German lessons and opening herself to the possibility of being employed again changed all that.

She was childless then (and now still, by choice, but that will be in the next part of this story) so there was nothing to hold her back from fulfilling her dreams, much like the same way she pursued her musical career. At first, her hubby was not so keen on her working but she persuaded him, justifying herself with the fact that they did not have children anyway, so what would she do with her time and her life?

So, after her year-long German course, she started looking for a job. Having done a lot of travelling to last a whole lifetime for only two years, and having a degree in Business Administration – Accounting, it was only natural for her to drift into the travel industry. When she got employed as a Bookkeeper in a travel agency, it was all systems go for Maritz. Her interview lasted only ten minutes and when she was said that she could start the next day, she was the happiest girl in the whole wide world.

At first, she was confined to just doing the books. If her struggles with the language proved almost overwhelming to her, they were nothing compared to the new challenges that faced her in the workplace. In Germany, she was not the little star people admired for her music anymore – she was just one of the employees. She had to learn everything by herself.

She learned to be as frank and direct as her colleagues. If she did not know something, she tried to discover it on her own, as people would frankly tell her that they got no time for her – it was not just the culture, you see. This might be shocking to Filipinos, who are always on the ready with a smile and a helping hand, particularly towards foreigners. But it is how things are in Germany and Maritz had to go along with the music.

Even on the homefront, Maritz had to come to terms with the same cultural trait. When she was still jobless, she would cook dinner for her hubby, only to be told that he was not hungry. He did not mean to hurt her – it was just plain German frankness and honesty. Tough, eh? But she married a German man she loved and she had to make those few adjustments. At first, she would just cry because of such blunt refusals and the hubby would be genuinely perplexed. Then, she learned to not “serve” him and just let him find his way to the kitchen if he was hungry. Now, it’s been reversed – it’s the hubby who serves her, he he he!

Anyway, after a year in the travel agency, she was presented by her boss with a form to fill up. She was being promoted to handle the whole Accounts and Finance Unit and the form was needed for her to be included as a signatory to company bank transactions! Not bad for someone who almost went home because she could not speak German just a few months earlier.

A month after she took on the new position, the company’s main Accountant got fired and Maritz found herself as the new Finance Officer. Another year thereafter, she started learning the reservation system and selling flights on her own initiative – though she was never expected to. Her boss noticed that and allowed her to be the Finance Officer and at the same time do sales.

Then her travels as part of her work started. It was like the dream happening all over again, only that this time, it was not her dream for her music but for travel that was coming true. She has free travel or familiarization trips and add to that her private holidays with her husband, we have one travel-spoiled lady!

Maritz’ life is nothing short of charmed. She got her second-best job and at the same time still pursued her love for music. Yes, because while she works fulltime in the travel industry, she sings on the side as well. Didn’t I mention that? But, oh! that will be for next time, ok?

Maritz Part IV

If you haven’t read the previous chapters of this story, you can go to the first part and then follow the links for the succeeding ones.

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We have seen how Maritz reached her dream to be a singer and sent her two younger sisters to college in the process. We have also talked about her persistent suitor and how she came to finally “surrender” and admit that it was him she wanted to be married to.

So, on January 3, 1994, Maritz left Manila for Hamburg, Germany, a city with around 1.5 million people, to marry her German sailor. At 9:00 am that day, she arrived in what will become her second home – something of a drastic change from her two years of wandering lifestyle. During those two years, she was like a nomad – moving to where there was a gig for her, living in hotels and between airports. Now, it was all to end to give way to a more stable, regular and routinary existence. However, that does not mean life would be ordinary again. On the contrary, it was to even get better.

Maritz’ first impression of Hamburg was that of cold, gray and lifeless. It was snowing when she arrived and naturally, trees looked dead and streets were deserted. It was quiet, clean and peaceful, alright but right then and there, she was beginning to miss the busy, noisy, thickly populated streets of Manila. The place where she came from and the one she just arrived in couldn’t be more different from each other! Maritz’ predominant thought that time was: “Where in the world am I?”

Resilience and adaptability are key traits of Filipinos wherever you find them in the world and Maritz was no exception. She had to adjust to the culture and to the world-famous German precision. Maritz was just so amazed at how on-the-dot the Germans are – and very organized, disciplined and structured, too. Surely, no one can get any more efficient than the Germans and Maritz had to adapt or else…

Sadly, these traits also mean (at least in the eyes of our heroine) that they are cold and distant – oh! so very different from the friendly and warm people she left behind. For Maritz, accepting and learning to cope with that kind of reception from people was the most difficult thing to do during those early days of her life there.

Fortunately, her husband’s family was very good to her, which helped a lot in making her feel welcome and give here a sense of belonging. Though they could not communicate very well because she could not yet speak German and they could not speak English as well, the whole family welcomed her and tried hard to reach out to her.

Then, her hubby started introducing her to his friends, where that coldness and distant attitude she observed among the people confronted her again in the face. The usual question they had was “Where and how did you meet?” They seemed to sum her up and look at her from head to toe. They seemed to not know what to make of her and it hurt Maritz so much to be treated that way. She was wondering if her inability to speak German was the reason why they did not want to talk to her.

One of the lowest points of her life happened not long after she arrived. While in a meeting of the Sailing Club where her husband serves as the president, Maritz was left to sit in one corner all to herself as nobody seemed interested to chat with her. The husband was busy presiding over the meeting so she was left to fend for herself, so to speak.

For someone who owns the stage when she performs and is used to attention, this was just too much to bear. She walked out of that place feeling so dejected and feeling really down. She was crying out of frustration. At that moment, she sorely missed her family and friends and the independent life she used to have. She did not know where she was going but she didn’t care. Then, she realized that as she walked and walked, she reached the woods and it was dark already. And she was lost. It took her husband three hours to find her. That was the first bitter experience Maritz would never forget.

Next post, we will witness how Maritz turned things around and made her life wonderful again.

PS,

Maritz traveled all the way from Hamburg, Germany to visit me the other weekend here in Luton, Bedfordshire, England and we had a great time catching up and eating the Filipino dishes I prepared for her. She stayed with some friends in a neighbouring town and they all came to our flat. It was nice to chat with fellow Filipinos again. The lively chatter was so relaxing to me.

Then, they all went shopping but left Maritz with me for a few hours. We had a great time catching up and simply reminiscing the old days. We just snuggled in the sofa and talked the time away.

Of course, I let her go only if she took some of the food I prepared for her so here, I packed some of the Igado and Laing which her friends liked as well.

Igado is native to our province of Cagayan. It is a pork dish with pork liver, peas and capsicum. This was how the dish I prepared for my friend looked like:

But this one was what Maritz liked the best: my saluyot (jute) dish. You shold have seen us enjoy it! We were like little girls given lollipops!

So, there you go. Til next post, my friends!

Pinoy Signs That Beckon Me Home

Filipinos indeed have their own unique brand of humour - self-lacerating humour, that’s what it is. The following was sent to me via email by one of my friends here in the UK. Being the homesick expats that we are, anything about home is worth passing around - never mind that it’s self-lacerating by nature.

We put so much premium on “good English” so much so that when we see mistakes in the way the language is used, we tend to make it a laughing matter. Here in the UK, the British do not make fun of people who cannot speak good English - they understand that it’s a different language from a foreigner’s lingua franca. Besides, they also sound the same when they go to Spain with their rusty Spanish, or to France with their struggling French (well, not all of them but a lot of them).

But they are British and we are not so let us smile (and laugh at some points) and forget about the woes Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is causing our country and our people - let’s just read the following:

PINOY SIGNS

Well, it’s just a misspelled word, ok? It’s easy to get messed up what with the jeans brand “Jag” so popular in the country.

He wanted a waitress, ok. It’s now filled-up.

Now, this one is quite tricky to understand. But I think it means there’s a cashier to ask inside.

Oh, you get the meaning, right? Just text the guy for your questions.

Isn’t this a very encouraging signage? Who wouldn’t want to live in love?

Uh-oh, there’s a problem here.

Another problematic entrance.

Heed the warning, ‘tupid (Oh, I didn’t mean you, my dear readers)! It’s the thought that counts.

I can’t answer for this one. But at least, let’s admire them for their guts.

If you heard of the phrase; “Only in the Philippines..” you will understand that this is quite possible.

That’s very sweet, indeed!

I tell you, Pinoys are good at playing with words.

This is just about the most extensive dinner choices I have ever seen.

This sign makes me stiff.

Poor cockroaches. But with their population in the Philippines, they are far from total annihilation.

Yeah, so I see.

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So there you go, some signs that remind us of home and our own tenacious, resilient kababayans who boast of being the only English-speaking country in Asia. Hmmmm, makes me want to go home soooooon!

Note: All comments are mine.

Maritz (Part III)

You might want to read Part I and Part II first.

Love on the Go and a Forgotten Promise

And so it happened that Maritz was traipsing around the world, wherever her music took her. Following close behind was her German boyfriend whenever he had the chance to go see her - Thailand, Manila, Singapore, Dubai, Malaysia, Bahrain, etc.

This is the most unusual if not bizarre long distance relationship I have ever known. Every three months, for two years, while she travelled with her band, she would be visited by the guy. Then, he would go back to Germany to resume his normal life until it was time to go see his sweetheart again. Five times, he travelled to Manila to see her before Maritz finally saw that he was the one. Oh, and he burned the lines, too. Yes, he called up Maritz long distance everyday. It didn’t matter where she was. If that did not spell commitment in bold letters, I don’t know what does.

Only a patient and determined man would be able to pull off such a demanding (financially and physically) relationship. Surely, while things were going steadily stronger between them, the anxiety of separation and constant moving would have been a cause of concern.

So, how did he pop the question to Maritz? That, in itself was one interesting event in their story.

One time, there was a special occasion in the hotel where they were performing and since Maritz was not sure up to what time their gig would be, she told him to just wait for her call, instead of him calling her. They were in Holiday Inn Bahrain, that time.

There is an American base near that hotel and so, there were a lot of Filipino and American fans and admirers of the band. They were there to watch the show every night. At that time, they were the best band in Bahrain, having won the Bahrain “Battle of the Bands” - the first Filipino Band who achieved such a feat. It was always the British bands who took the top prize. Winning brought with it not only fame but also a lot of opportunities to perform. They were always invited to perform and they were like celebrities that time. Maritz was having an awful lot of fun.

So, our heroine was having fun and it came to pass that she forgot all about her promise to call him up. That made the guy nervous, really, really panicky – thinking that his ladylove has forgotten all about him in faraway Germany. A week later, he would be knocking on her hotel room door.

The following day, they are already at the gold souk (a sort of a marketplace in the Middle East) to shop for an engagement ring and a wedding ring at the same time. The guy did not believe in a very long engagement (wink and smile). In Maritz’ own words: “I couldn’t escape anymore, so that’s it. Bye Bahrain, bye Band! There I had to end the first chapter of my singing career.

Meeting the Manugang (Filipino word for son- or daughter-in-law)

Maritz is a Roman Catholic and so the guy had to convert to the faith before they could get a date for their church wedding. I’m sure it was not easy for him to take it all in - new faith, alien culture, new extended Filipino family, but love prevails most of the time and so, marrying her would mean him embracing not only her but also her family and her faith.

Before finally agreeing to marry him, being the traditional, conservative Filipina that she is, Maritz was adamant that her groom should go meet her family in her hometown. The bride-to-be was impressed that he agreed to go. That willingness all the more endeared him to our heroine.

One funny story that stands out from Maritz’ recollection of the events leading up to their wedding was the first meeting of the groom and his mom-in-law-to-be (MILTB). The MILTB is very, very religious. Her first question was: “Do you believe in God?” The guy, being German, frankly and directly said “No” – no inhibitions, no second thoughts. It was not going on very well then.

The MILTB was shocked beyond words! Filipinos are generally religious and God-fearing. Meeting a Caucasian man for the first time who unashamedly admits that he does not believe in God is shocking enough. But to think that he is planning on marrying your daughter is way beyond shocking, if I must say.

At this, point, Maritz left me to my own imagination’s devices so I guess, they agreed to set aside the issue of faith for the time being and get on with becoming man and wife. But she points out that the guy respects her religion and all the rituals Maritz does in relation to practicing her faith like lighting a candle and giving a simple offering in remembrance of her Dad.

Moving on from that shaky start, the two got married and Marita Daludado became Mrs. Mohr, who is now better known as Maritz Moore. In 1994, she arrived in Germany to start her new life in a new country and with more exciting possibilities. She easily fulfilled her dreams as a single woman and an artist. How will she fare as a married woman, this time? Will she have the chance to sing again? Watch out for the next big thing in Maritz’ life.

Maritz (Part II)

You might want to read Part I

Music, Life and Love

So in 1990, Maritz left the Philippines to try her luck as a singer. She toured around Asia with her band, performing in luxury hotels in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, the Middle East and other popular destinations in the continent.

Along the way, our heroine met significant people who motivated her and trained her to perform with confidence, to shed her inhibitions and to come on as an honest, world-class artist/performer. Maritz was not always poised and self-assured as a singer. As a young lady, she was very conservative, a bit on the shy side. But she grew and matured into the seasoned performer that she is today.

In those days, when people in our country hear that you are a singer or performer abroad, they look down on you. There was this connotation that you are merely in the flesh trade, disguising as a “performer”. Maritz could not care less. She knew that she was earning an honest, decent living. She went on improving and using her rare talent to earn money to support her two younger sisters and make her dreams come true. She has always been and always will be thankful for her talent, something that she is putting still to good use.

Performing abroad also made Maritz realize how much impact she makes on her audience. She saw that people look up to her as a little star. They recognize her efforts onstage to make people happy. Sadly, the same cannot be said about the Filipino audience. According to her, Filipinos are more difficult to please, they are just waiting for performers to make mistakes and laugh at them.

Her travels abroad did a lot of other good to our heroine. Exposure to different cultures meant that she learned to adapt and to do it fast. Her outlook in life totally changed. She matured not just as a performer but as a woman. Her audiences included rich, well-heeled people – businessmen, travellers, tourists.

As a young woman in the entertainment industry, she did not lack admirers, but they were all duly discounted by Maritz as her focus then was supporting her family. In her itinerant and demanding lifestyle, a boyfriend could not just fit and so for two years, she was successful in ignoring men who had an interest in her. Never mind that her bandmates called her “manang” – loosely translated as “old fashioned”.

Love Comes Sailing Round

But love comes when it is meant to come. What started as a high-flying adventure to follow her dreams turned into one of the most romantic love stories I have ever heard. After two years in the entertainment circuit around Asia, the band was offered a new contract for them to perform in Phuket, Thailand at the Le Meridian Hotel. That was in December 1992.

On December 3, a group of German sailors came to stay in the hotel where Maritz and her band were contracted to perform. Little did she know that the Germans’ arrival would be the beginning of the next chapter of her music-filled life.

It was the King of Thailand’s birthday. To honour him, it is the country’s tradition to invite good Sailors around the world to compete in the King’s Cup Regatta. The Germans were there for the event.

Every single night, the German contingent watched their show, though Maritz was totally unaware. One of the Germans had one pressing reason to watch – the diminutive lady entertaining them every night with her soulful singing has caught his eye and fancy. Not a single word was exchanged between them, no introductions made. In fact, Maritz was just totally oblivious to the fact that she was having a tremendous effect on one German sailor’s heart.

When the two-week Regatta was finally over, Maritz’ band was to perform at the Awarding Ceremonies. The German Team won 2nd Place and after that, the now fast falling in-love sailor presented his medal to Maritz! The next day he was gone.

Maritz felt a mixture of anger, frustration and disappointment. All the while, she was made part of a one-sided courtship without her knowledge. She didn’t know the guy’s name, his face and much less anything else about him. She had his medal alright and what to do with it?

Exactly a week later, which happened to be her birthday, Maritz received a long distance call. Who else, but our love-struck German guy who did not have the guts to come up and introduce himself to the girl he admired?

At last, shielded by the relative anonymity of a phone call, he summoned enough guts to introduce himself, as Maritz had no idea who he was. She asked him to send her a photo of himself, as she just could not conjure up an image in her mind from the throngs of people she sang to every night. He did send her a photo and that was the start of their long distance relationship.

Any woman courted the way Maritz’ German sailor did to her could not help but be intrigued, interested if not attracted to such a man. It was a courtship described only as mysterious but honest in its intentions. He wanted to get Maritz’ attention and attention he got.

A long-distance relationship is hard enough to maintain and nurture. But theirs was not merely separated by distance with both of them located in two different but permanent places. Maritz was always on the move and chasing her around would be the only apt description whenever the guy wanted to see her. And that, my dears, is what I am going to tell you about in the next chapter of Maritz’ story.

See you later, guys!

Part III

Reality Bites

Last month, I posted about “Imagine a World Without Filipinos” in Read on and Be Proud. Now, I will post about how this phenomenon they call mass exodus, affects the the country of our birth, the Philippines. It’s like looking at the same thing from opposite perspectives and I am sure, after reading this, you will not like what you see.

In that post about how Overseas Filipino Workers are positively affecting their host countries, I lauded our combined contribution to the world. This time, I think we should face up to the bitter truth.

It is a bitter pill to swallow for the country, the government and the whole Filipino race. But we are left with no choice. We put leaders in position who are content to send us all away to distant shores so that we can send back home dollars to keep a floundering economy afloat, rather than getting their acts together to stop corruption, improve commerce and business and create jobs. It is frustrating but who is to blame?

I found the following article in my email today and it just shook me to the core to be reminded once again of the dire consequences of our government’s failure to keep its manpower within its borders to ensure its growth and development.

Read on and be sorry…

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Philippines pays for geek exodus
By Joel Adriano

MANILA - While investigators sift through the wreckage of last month’s Philippine ferry disaster which killed over 800 people, one overlooked culprit for the national tragedy is the mounting brain drain of the country’s best scientific minds.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) failed to issue proper storm warnings before the Princess of the Stars left port in Manila and into the path of an incoming typhoon. The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said it recently invested US$40 million in new equipment at PAGASA, but that the agency lacked the qualified meteorologists and climatologists to put the advanced technology to proper use.

That’s in part because PAGASA has seen at least five weather
forecasters, two weather observers and a hydrologist all leave the agency in the past year to take higher-paying jobs abroad. When the ferry disaster hit, all of their positions at PAGASA were still vacant.

Other specialized science- and technology-oriented agencies, including the Mines and GeoSciences Bureau, are also fast losing science and technology experts to overseas recruiters and failing to fill their vacated posts. The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development has lost some 75 English-speaking staff over the past two years, most of whom have migrated for higher-paying posts in Canada. Others from the agency have headed to richer pastures in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.

The Philippines has the third-largest population of outward migrants in the world, according to the United Nations. It is no longer just Filipino laborers who are heading overseas for better job prospects than the Philippine economy can provide. In recent years, doctors, nurses, teachers and pilots have all left in their professional droves for overseas opportunities.

Now, a growing number of the country’s best and brightest scientists are being lured abroad by higher-paying salaries and better-funded research prospects, taking with them hopes the country will ever make the jump from a slow growing commodity-based to a fast growing knowledge-driven economy.

Many migrant Filipino scientists take higher-paying work with international aid organizations or private firms involved in information technology, consulting and biotechnology and pharmaceutical research, according to DOST under secretary Graciano Yumul Jr. International assistance organizations, including the World Bank, the United Nations and the United States Agency for International Development, have been particularly aggressive in poaching English-speaking Filipino scientists, one Philippine official notes.

The Philippine government already estimates it needs an additional 4,100 agriculture researchers, 2,000 fishery and marine science experts, 1,300 biotechnology staff and nearly 1,000 energy and environmental scientists just to meet rising challenges from higher energy and food costs.

At the same time, the non-governmental Center for Migrants Advocacy expects that more science and technology professionals will look to leave the Philippines as the local economy slows, inflation rises and countries like the US more aggressively bid to fill their severe shortage of science and technology workers.

While Philippine universities and trade schools churn out close to 150,000 science and technology graduates every year, government statistics show most of these are in medicine and nursing and that fewer than 2,000 receive degrees in the so-called pure and natural sciences, such as chemistry and biology. Those low graduation figures have stayed steady over the past 15 years, despite a doubling of overall college enrollment figures over the same period.

Because the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration does not keep records of outward migrants based on profession, precise statistics measuring the scale of the scientific brain drain are not available. The United Nations-affiliated International Labor Organization estimates conservatively that the number of science-oriented professionals that have left the country has exceeded the net addition in new graduates since the 1990s.

Local observers, however, are more alarmed about the gathering brain drain and its long-term impact on the economy. “The impact in the long run is actually happening now,” said Patricio Faylon, executive director of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development.

“There is a shortage of manpower to do research and once we retire there will be no people to manage our already few labs,” said Faylon. “Now you have non-technical people, mostly lawyers and uniformed men, working on science-based planning for sectors such as agriculture and environment.”

Regional laggard
The number of scientists and engineers currently engaged in research and development (R&D)activities across the Philippines is about 8,800, representing a 20% decline from the figure recorded in 1996, according to DOST. That figure pales in regional comparison. Singapore, which has a population less than half of Metro Manila, employs 19,377 scientists and engineers involved in R&D activities, according to DOST’s 2007 Compendium on Science and Technology Statistics. Regional competitor Thailand boasts more than 30,900 R&D-related staff, while Indonesia has 92,800, and even Vietnam employs 41,100.

That has resulted in lower scientific output. The Philippines recently ranked 29th out of 30 countries surveyed for their respective science and technology abilities, in a survey conducted by the Switzerland-based International Institute of Management Development (IIMD). The IIMD survey of world competitiveness from 2006, which compared various measures across 61 countries, ranked the Philippines 58th in scientific infrastructure. Recent statistics also show the Philippines badly lagging behind regional countries in the number of patents applied for and received.

The main reason for the science and technology brain drain is better pay abroad and lack of opportunity at home. A Filipino scientist working with a private biotech firm can on average earn between three to 10 times more in developed countries than locally, according to local industry sources. Over 70% of local scientists are employed by the low-paying state because of scant employment opportunities in the private sector.

Giovanni Tapang, chairman of Advocates of Science and Technology for the People, laments that the Philippines lacks the domestic industries needed to absorb the scientific scholars and engineers the university system produces each year. He chalks up the deficit to a “market failure”, driven in part by the country’s rocky politics, which have discouraged investors from making long-term R&D-related commitments to the country.

“The industries present in the Philippines are only light-manufacturing, construction, public utility and mining enterprises dependent on imported equipment and raw materials,” said Tapang. He noted that automotive manufacturing in the Philippines focuses narrowly on assembly and testing, while the few foreign semiconductor firms situated in-country work on older technologies and provide little to no technology transfer for product innovation.

The lack of a critical R&D capacity is discouraging new foreign investments in manufacturing, including in the crucial electronics and computer sector, some experts say. US semiconductor giant Intel, which has a manufacturing presence in the Philippines, has developed a fabrication process based on exotic materials such as Hafnium for its next generation of Pentium computer chips. However, the US firm is said to be leaning towards establishing production facilities for the new chips in lower-cost and more science and technology-minded Vietnam rather than the Philippines, according to industry sources.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization recommends that developing countries allocate at least 1% of their gross domestic product (GDP) towards science and technology to maintain competitiveness and sustain economic growth. Philippine politicians have failed to make those budgetary earmarks. Despite recent increases in funding for science-related activities, including budgetary earmarks worth 3.7 billion pesos (US$81 million) in 2007, the allocation is still lower than the 3.8 billion pesos made in 1998.

The current budget’s allocation for science and technology related activities comes to a paltry 0.14% of GDP, or half the amount of Thailand’s 0.26% and about a mere fifth of Malaysia’s 0.69%. The figures are even more miserly when measured in per capita terms, with the Philippines spending only $6.20 per head, while Thailand commits $19.70 and Malaysia spends $61.90, according to the World Economic Forum’s most recent Global Competitiveness Report.

Apart from meager budgets, Filipino scientists and researchers complain that there are no concrete policies to channel and facilitate research outputs into marketable products or uses. Philippine research grants seldom if ever include monetary provisions for spinning-off research results for commercial applications, including the high costs of acquiring intellectual property rights for new innovations.

Scientists also recommend that the government moves to establish science and technology dedicated universities with better functioning and more modern R&D labs. Instead, the government recently launched its new “Balik Scientist” program, which aims to reverse the brain drain by encouraging overseas Filipino scientists to return home and share their knowledge and experiences with up and coming local scientists.

The government has provisionally targeted alternative energy, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and information and communication technology as areas of priority for what it has referred to as a “brain gain” program. But without financial incentives to lure scientists home, the program has over its first five months received only five applications - considerably fewer than the estimated number of scientists who have left the Philippines over the same period.

Joel D Adriano is an independent consultant and award-winning freelance journalist. He was a sub-editor for the business section of The Manila Times and writes for Asean BizTimes, Entrepreneur Philippines, Masigasig and People’s Tonight.

Maritz (Part I)

This story took a long time to come along because it deserves enough time to be composed and re-written to do justice to its drama and excitement. It is all about Maritz Moore, a Filipina who found fame, love and home in Hamburg, Germany.

I should begin this story in a big national high school in Cagayan Province in the Philippines. She was one of those few who would be regularly called upon to render a song during school programs. Maritz, or Marita back then, does not have a good singing voice – she has a fantastic, awesome singing voice. It is not the operatic, dulcet type but the husky, bedroomy kind of voice that will surely grab your attention if not captivate your heart. It’s the kind of voice you want to hear if you are feeling romantic or simply want to sit back and unwind in a dim room sipping wine or an after-dinner coffee. Imagine a room full of noisy people talking animatedly. Put Maritz on stage and ask her to start singing and there will be no one who will not start listening.

Having said that, let me backtrack a bit and share more about this petite, talented lady who, by the way, regularly tours around Europe and the rest of the world in connection with her job as a Travel Consultant and sometimes, as a singer - with her band, of course.

Maritz in one of her promotional photos

Maritz is the middle child among a brood of five. Her parents were school teachers. Sadly though, her father died before she could finish college. The dutiful big sister in her took upon the responsibility of making sure that her two younger sisters will graduate from college as well. Meanwhile, her eldest sister helped their second sibling, a brother, through college.

So, straight from business school, she flew to an Asian city with her band where they were to start their years of touring around the continent as performers / entertainers. She was with this band during her college days – as she was performing professionally since then, to pay her way through university.

Early on, she was clear about following her dream – that of sharing her music and making life better for her and her family. It so happened that the realization of these lies somewhere outside the country. In fact, the Philippines was too small for her to conquer and so, there was only one option – to pursue them outside of her motherland.

This is an excerpt from her own letter to me about how she started on the road to her adventurous life: “I left the Philippines right after my Graduation in 1990. I had a band when I was in college and my manager at that time offered me a contract to tour around Asia. I had to grab that opportunity since I really had no intention of working from 8 to 5 for less money, more stress and couldn’t see any prospect at all to stay in the country. I wanted to explore more. I knew I have my talent as a capital. I knew I could strike anywhere. But the main reason why I had to leave was that I have two younger sisters who had to go to college too.”

A sister, a dutiful daughter and now, a successful career woman who lives life to the fullest. Follow her story here as I recount it to you in succeeding posts.

Next time… the German sailor who followed her around the world.

A Thank You Note to a Favourite Visitor

I intended to post the first installment of my next true story of Pinoys around the world but something amazing and special and humbling all at the same time came up. I only saw it posted by other bloggers but I never imagined it to be passed on to me.

You see, Jena Isle of Gewgaw Writings awarded me - take note, I have an award! She presented me with the Arte Y Pico Award. I honestly do not know on what aspect the awardees are considered. According to the Arte Y Pico site, there is no English translation for the Mexican phrase (arte y pico) but it roughly translates to lo maximo or “wow!”. Maybe it is an appreciation of a certain blogger (the one who conveys the award) for all his favourite blogs, whatever. One thing is certain, though: I am absolutely caught by surprise because one may look at it as insignificant, yet, for me it’s so wonderful that my writing has been recognized (for the first time at that!).

Not only is the gesture touching, but the person who gave it to me is one of my favourite bloggers/authors as well, so that makes it doubly special. As with most blogging-addicts, Jena Isle maintains a multitude of blogs - Gewgaw Writings is just one of them and it particularly showcases the author’s serialized fiction works. She writes with ease and a natural talent. One can perceive someone from the academe just by how she expresses her thoughts and constructs them to create a comfortable flow of the scenes and the plot as a whole. In other words, this blogger is worth reading. Go check her out to believe me.

To Jena Isle, thank you ever so much! I’m afraid I can’t yet give my five awardees at this time. I need to carefully give it a thought and then formally post it here as well. In short, this is simply a thank you note to you.

Graphics from Microsoft clipart

Adjusting the Palate Away From Home Part III

This is the last installment to this series. I could have stopped at Part II but I feel the need to elaborate further on my personal thoughts and feelings about food and why being away from home has such a great impact on my gustatory satisfaction.

Being a vegetarian and an Ilocana at that, I have subsisted mainly on vegetables known oh! so very well by me and my fellow GIs - saluyot (jute), okra (ladies fingers), eggplant or aubergine and all the leafy vegetables we just pluck from whatever is growing near the kitchen door - malunggay, ampalaya, alugbati, etc.

A few months ago, I started feeling this overwhelming longing to eat saluyot and labong or plain saluyot if that is all that I can find. Unfortunately, it is not that easy to find fresh saluyot leaves here. I have seen the frozen variety in an Oriental store here but I had some misgivings. I preferred the fresh variety.

So, I went on with life for a few months suppressing this craving. Then one day, when I could not fight it any longer, I tried buying the frozen saluyot I saw in that store I mentioned. Then, I went straight to the aisle where there are rows and rows of canned vegetables and found a big can of bamboo shoots. I was not that optimistic but I had no choice. I just had to make do and do best with what I had.

I still had a few drops of my fish sauce and went to the kitchen straight away. I could not wait to eat it so that while my hubby was still on the phone on an important phone call, I dug into the bowl of steaming saluyot and bamboo shoot dish and ate half of it. This was how it looked like before I started with it:

What a delight to my eyes!

Of course, I will not show you how it ended up after I had my way with it. Suffice it to say that it calmed my tormented soul and brought about a deep sense of peace and calm, making me feel so satisfied and overwhelmed all at the same time.

It is funny how one can shun the grand, elaborate and more enticing dishes of a foreign country and yearn oh! so desperately for the humble dishes he has grown up on. That is how I feel! I have no desire at all for the famous and popular fish and chips or the savoury lamb chops or the creamy desserts - well, I have a deepening love affair with their wines but that’s all, promise. I only have taste buds and gustatory desires for our native pinakbet and dinengdeng and the lowly munggo. And how can I ever forget camote tops salad with fresh tomatoes for breakfast coupled with salted eggs? And of course, I dream of adobong kangkong and more of saluyot and labong!

One day, when I am able to go home, I promise, I will not let any single day pass without cooking and enjoying these native dishes. I remember one close friend of mine whose brother lives in the US and went home to the Philippines for a short break. I swear, he ate pinakbet or dinengdeng every single day of his vacation. All his housemates were so sick and tired of the dishes they all wanted to throw up but the guy never missed a single day without indulging in his favourite native vegetable dishes.

I”m gonna do the same thing and more - I will have midnight meals alternating all my favourite vegetable dishes until it’s me who wants to throw up.

Tinay (Part IV)

You might want to read previous parts of the story first: Part I, Part II, Part III

Love the second time

Tinay’s marriage could not last long. She was sensible enough to realize that there is no hope nor a future for them. For as long as her husband prioritized gambling and the easy “single life” over their family, it was doomed to fail no matter the amount of hope she held in her heart.

Besides, in a society so supportive of single mothers or abused women, Tinay was predictably going to ditch her husband anyway – and she did. She knew she could survive given support from government, employers and her personal circle of friends. It was a low and difficult phase of her coloured life. She has been through a lot of suffering and hardships from which she emerged unscathed. This phase was no different. In no time, she was bouncing back – and how!

Shortly after the separation, Tinay’s life got charmed again. Her friend who introduced her to the Englishman who had cold feet whom Tinay met before getting married, set them up to get re-acquainted. This time, true to Tinay’s go-getter attitude, she made sure that he knew how she felt. She did not give him any room to doubt they had a future. In simple terms, he had no way of denying they could have a future together.

The famous Filipino saying “Sa hinaba-haba man ng prusisyon, sa simbahan din ang tuloy,” can’t be more appropriate. But they did not end up literally in marriage but in each other’s arms, nevertheless. Having been badly hurt by her first marriage, Tinay had second thoughts about committing herself in that way again. Well, the guy did have plans to marry her, but how she ended up having her way is yet another sub-plot in this story.

Right after she moved into her boyfriend’s house, she immediately set about to put her own trademark on the whole place. In her own words, the place was “ugly”, which must be an exaggeration or just an effect of living in opulent royal houses back in Jordan. Besides, what can one expect from a bachelor’s place, anyway?

She asked him to finance a renovation. Tinay wanted a nice, re-fitted kitchen to be built to her own specifications, which does not come cheap, by the way. So she was given a choice between a brand new kitchen and a wedding. Tinay the ever practical girl, chose the former. This pleased her partner, who commented, “ At least you are not after me”. The man must have realized that Tinay is not after legally binding him to her to have her hands on his money or property. She wanted to make a nice home for the three of them, even if it means leaving her with no legal hold on any that the man owned. The man was pleased, I suppose.

Now, the house clearly exudes a home atmosphere, no doubt due to Tinay’s relentless efforts.

I am happy for Tinay, who has found the love of her life, at last. I know their relationship is for keeps, having found someone who loves her and cherishes her as a person. She has come a long way from the barrio girl who was not even offered a glass of water after trekking for hours to ask for a few kilos of rice. Now, she drives her own car – a gift from her boyfriend. Having a supportive partner and a wonderful daughter, she is at the harbour of her life at last.

When we first met one cool evening in the summer of 2007, she told me as she was seeing us off after a BBQ in their residence, “You are my friend now, not your husband anymore.” When I heard that, I realized, this is one quality that makes Tinay so resilient – the ability to open her heart to someone or something new – be it an adventure, a friendship, a challenge. She opened herself to me as a friend the very first time we met and that made me remember her. It is a privilege being her friend and being the one to share her wonderful story.

The author with Tinay (seated) in her stunning kitchen

The End

For our next feature story, I will tell you all about a diminutive Filipina entertainer who can put to shame some of today’s famous singers. A true performer, she considers the world her stage, though she calls Hamburg, Germany her home these days. Watch out for Maritz Moore!