In English, please...

I guess you can say that I have been fortunate enough with the gift of words. Speaking well both in Filipino and English always came naturally to me and I have been complimented more than once for it. Early on, I discovered a passion for writing and as I was growing up, an innate skill and love for public speaking. 

When I first started out in the world of business and knowledge process outsourcing, the constant dilemma was speaking in English. No, not that I wasn't good enough at it but its always a challenge to turn off your native tongue. Some Filipinisms in one's speech is a little too inconvenient at times. It was then I first entered EOZs (English Only Zones) and learned to embrace EOP (English Only Policy).

In general most Filipinos are also lucky - we are adaptable to changing our accents as easily as we adapted them. This is also the reason by BPO/KPO operations began flooding in from neighboring countries years back.

Coming back to English and its improvement, I did some online reading and digested some information which I think would be beneficial for those of you who wants to keep on improving their knowledge of the language.

But then you might ask, why is it important again?


All right, let's go through some quick facts. The origins of English began in the 5th century AD with the Anglo-Saxons. It is divided in to 3 periods: the Old English, Middle English and the Modern English. So as you can see, it is an old yet very much alive and equally rich and growing language.

Having been around for that long time, numerous historical and significant word has been uttered, written or expressed in this language. To date, about 1.5 billion speaks English making it one of the most widely used language worldwide.

The number one benefit of improving skills in speaking or writing in English is: efficiency. In this fast-phased world we live in, when we communicate, we want to make sure we understand what the other person or party is saying and of course, we also want to be understood. It saves time, builds people's confidence and boosts your morale.

So, how do we improve then?

Expand your vocabulary.

Writing this I am currently doing research on social media revolution. I saw this video on YouTube which stated that there are about 540,000 words in the English language, so when people tell you you should learn at least one word a day, its probably wise not to settle. Try going for 5 or 10 since the average person lives for only 25,000 days, figure might look a little too grim but 25,000 days roughly translates to 68.49 years.

So to help you get started, here are some tips I digested from some trusty sites:

• Be honest. Admit that you need improvement in some areas and be sure to identify them.
• Have a goal. This defines clearly what you want to achieve. Goals will help you get motivated and will determine whether you have succeeded or not.
• Study. You might say this is the oldest trick in the book but this is also the only one that works. Without that commitment to improve and actually working on it, you're not gonna make much progress not just in English, but in anything. Give it a few minutes a day, that's all there is to it.
• Read. Newspapers, books, blogs - reading different materials both printed and electronic widens your vocabulary. It also offers familiarity with the arrangement of words, grammar and colloquialisms.  
• Write. The written words are different from the spoken ones. When we speak most of the time we immediately blurt out what's on top of our heads. This is different in writing since you get time to choose the words and even edit them before sending, saving or printing. Start a blog - make it a personal journal, who knows you might enjoy it and find a niche.
• Listen. Music, conversations, radio programs and pod casts not only help in expanding your vocabulary it also helps your diction. It augments gap between knowing and using some words because most of the time, even if we are familiar with a word or words we avoid using them because we don't know how to say them properly.
• Speak. Practice makes perfect. Confidence will come only if you get used to speaking the language as if it were your native one. Speech is the most basic form of communication and everything you've learned in the last four bullets above is best put to test via execution - hence, speak.
• Review. Taking notes of what you've learned whether in detail or through codes and bullets, its always wise to review to make sure things are committed to memory - like the new words you learn and certain things are understood - like tenses of verbs or the plural form of some words.
• Get others involved. Make it an effort to get some sort of support group - your friends, family classmates or co-workers can contribute a lot to your progress if you let them know what you are working on. 
• Explore. There are a lot of mediums to choose from and the internet provides you with limitless resources you can use. Online subscriptions, tests, learners networks, podcasts and countless others. Take advantage of technology.
• Take it easy. Don't rush, it'll only make learning less effective. Allow yourself some mistakes, after all they are building blocks which will makeup your proficiency.

And the last 2 tips: practice and have fun!

X: Remembering 9/11

It’s been 10 years after that fateful day that changed the world.

I remember staring at the TV, stunned. Unable to move, I cannot believe that what I was seeing was from the news. It was so surreal, something you’d expect out of a movie in 2001: the twin towers of the World Trade Center hit by airplanes and then collapsed.

And that was a decade ago.

I thought of writing something for the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks weeks before. It seemed timely as we associate events with numbers and certainly the 10th is something short of a milestone.

I watched documentaries of the attacks from previous years and did not get to finish watching the memorial on Ground Zero the other day. I also caught some important parts of Vice President Joe Biden’s speech about the 9/11 Generation at the memorial service on the Pentagon.

Despite everything that was happening that day, the reading of the names on the former WTC site and Biden’s moving speech about the heroes, victims, victories and losses, and the lessons we should never forget, in a way it’s still hard to believe.

BBC’s documentary, The Day that Changed the World” gave a detailed account of what was happening behind the scenes – the outs and abouts of the Bush administration that fateful day when the unprecedented events happened.

When I realized it was almost September, I decided to dig up online resources, videos and articles about the attacks to give a more meaningful and appropriate tribute. It was an important number after all: the first decade.

Paying respects to those who perished and showing compassion to their bereaved loved ones, analyzing how and why a handful of people were able to penetrate inside the US and get close enough to actually pull the whole thing off, what could have been done to have the whole thing prevented and to finally get justice and start healing were the main areas I was looking to write about. I meant to write something that would both chronicle and narrate what happened, what I felt about it and how it changed me, and my reactions to the things that happened thereafter.

It was meant to be more of a narrative.

Instead I was surprised and overwhelmed when I saw various sites and materials online about the 9/11 attacks. I honestly asked myself what had I been doing the past 10 years, so much material has been written about 9/11 one can’t hardly tell which is fact and fiction. Deciphering all these literatures is like watching 24, ALIAS and Sleeper Cell all at once. The twists, claims and counter-claims, reports and counter-reports looks like it came out of a Clancy, Loodlum and Brown collaboration...a plot that Hollywood has yet to come up with.

I meant no offense or belittlement to anyone, the lives of 3,000 people is no laughing matter after all and if anything, I wish all these is just a bad joke we can walk away from.

Apparently, writing the piece will take a lot longer than I expected. The amount of information is astounding that saying something intelligible would prove to be a challenge if one has not gone at least half of the materials and understand where they came from or why they exist.

Officially, it is said that a bunch of Muslim terrorists affiliated with Al Qaeda did it. Conspiracy theorists say it was all the government’s ploy. Scholars claim there was a cover up. The media said they reported the truth. Critics said there are gaps and misinformation was used. Experts say the whole thing could have been averted. The whole thing had been over-sensationalized and went out of hand.

However, whatever the case might be and whatever is indeed true, let us remember that 10 years ago, people died. A lot of people died and no matter what we did after that or what we’ll do in the next 10 years, we can never bring them back. Let us remember them: the lives they lead and the families they left behind.

We owe it to them to never forget; we owe it to them to fight for justice; we owe it to them to find the truth. Though truth and justice can never give back to the families left behind what has been taken from them, we owe it to the men and women who lost their lives on that September day. We owe it to them.

Of Heroes, Filipinos and what Fallows had to say

I originally intended this post to say something about what I learned during the Ninoy Research for my WordPress post entitled He who believed in Us. However, in memory of hundreds of other Filipinos whose valor and courage we remembered yesterday, I saw a bigger picture and deeper perspective.


Given our history - centuries of enslavement and suppression, its not unnatural to have a long list of heroes, Filipinos who gave their lives for the good of their country and its people. Acting individually or collectively, there is always somebody to look up to in every generation.


We have the scholarly Rizal and the rugged Bonifacio from the Hispanic Era and countless others who rallied and joined the revolution. Rizal, the pure genius who took on the challenge of enlightening the Filipinos and foreigners as well through his work and Bonifacio who passionately fought for his beliefs.


The succeeding years after the Spaniards left, when we were oppressed by the Americans and the Japanese our Filipino ancestors rose up to the challenge and defended our land and championed the welfare of their "kababayans".


When foreign occupation finally ended but we faced abuse and denial of our basic rights and liberties from our ruler, the great men and women of this country again did what they could to protect our freedom...and Ninoy Aquino is but one of them. When Pres. Marcos and his martial rule abused his power and killed democracy, hundreds of unknown and some never seen or heard of again fought or spoke against the repressive regime.


After 2 decades, we finally decided that it is enough and we will no longer tolerate martial law. People marched out on the streets on what became known as the People Power Revolution and Filipinos showed the world something it has never before seen: a bloodless rebellion.


People power brought Ninoy's widow, Cory Aquino to the presidency and for the most part of her term, she was left to clean up the mess the conjugal dictatorship and their cronies left. There were also violent attempts to grab the power away from Pres. Aquino. I guess you can say by this time, the evils and flaws of democracy has returned.


It is also noteworthy to mention that People Power made Cory Aquino a global icon of democracy and the champion of goodness. Time Magazine named her Woman of the Year in 2009 for her contribution and influence in championing the cause of freedom.

Mrs. Aquino was succeeded by one of the former close aides of Pres. Marcos, former Constabulary Chief Fidel Ramos was elected president and he prodded privatization of government corporations and other assets and made sure he traveled enough to promote the Philippines.


Former movie actor Joseph Estrada was elected as the 13th president after Mr. Ramos and I guess you can say that this was when we abused democracy. When people were no longer satisfied with the job being done by Erap and after the impeachment trial against him took an unexpected turn, we Filipinos again rallied out the streets and drove him out of office through what we now know as EDSA Dos.

And so, by what we initially thought as divine intervention, then Vice Pres. Gloria Arroyo was sworn in as President and she got herself re-elected 3 years later making her one of the longest ruling elected official in contemporary history. Unfortunately though, what began as seemingly an act of God turned out to be one of the most scandalous and perhaps most expensive though not as violent as the Marcoses presidencies in years.

Hyatt 10, ZTE Scandal, Hello Garci controversy, Fertilizer scam, Oakwood Mutiny, Jose Pidal account during Mrs. Arroyo's time in the Palace then and the most recent: PNP Chopper scandal being investigated by the Senate these days.


The passing of Former Pres. Aquino in August 2009 showed an outpouring of love and support for her children as if everyone in the country wanted to make up for their loss and for the sacrifices their parents had given for the love of this land.


Until Cory's burial, Ninoy's funeral march has been regarded as one of the longest in recent times. The procession lasted for 11 hours. Cory's took about 14.


The same outpouring of love and support prompted the Aquino's only son, Noynoy to run for presidency. A race he won thanks to a venerated family name from his beloved parents and an influential younger sister.


Not to berate the capabilities of PNoy, we all know that he hasn't accomplished much in the entire length of his political career and the question is posted clearly by Time Magazine when they featured "The Next Aquino" on their cover, "Can Noynoy save the  Philippines?"

“There are more desperate and brutally-run countries than the Philippines, but I don’t know of any whose self-limiting cycle of politics is sadder.”

Then I remembered James Fallows' controversial article called A Damaged Culture: A New Philippines which appeared on the Atlantic Monthly back in 1987. In the said article he pointed out and criticized cultural flaws of Filipinos and how these are affecting, if not destroying us all.

An American who spent months in Manila prior to writing the article, Fallows got first hand accord of what our not so pleasant traits. Compared to our Asian neighbors at the time, we were supposedly faring better, we got our democracy back and we were rich in natural resources.

However certain Filipino characteristics have caused us to be left behind. Japan has managed to rebuild itself and become the world’s second largest economy at one time, before China entered the superpower scene. Back then the Philippines was richer than Korea, today Koreans look back to a time when they as poor as the Philippines. Vietnam used to be poverty stricken, now it is one of the fastest developing countries in Southeast Asia. 

"Unfortunately for its people, the Philippines illustrates the contrary: that culture can make a naturally rich country poor."

Mr. Fallows went on further that the triumph of Cory Aquino isn’t something new. He even questioned why we let ourselves be deprived and abused by the Marcoses for 20 years. And recalling Ninoy’s words, “I believe that if we Filipinos cannot fight for our freedom we do not deserve it.”

I am now left thinking that if Ninoy had lived, if the Americans did not turned their backs on Marcos, would we as a people have found the courage to fight back?

The article pointed out that People Power should not be seen as a revolution but merely a restoration of the old order. The Marcoses were nouveau riche, the Aquinos and Cojuancos (Cory’s clan) were old money, both were political and landowning elite.

Come to think of it, majority of Filipino politicians today are either from the old rich or political dynasties.

Politically speaking, nothing great was to be expected from Mrs. Aquino’s term as president, she was after all cleaning up after tyrants who ruled for years. The country was very much broke and indebted and industries were monopolized by Marcos cronies. Most of the laws we have today, including the Constitution can be credited to the Aquino administration.

It is ironic however that one of the most defining legislation passed during her administration and given the efforts to redistribute wealth through the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program is also Pres. Aquino’s biggest failure. Almost 20 years have passed and the plantation of the Conjuancos, also the 2^nd largest family-owned piece of land in the country, the several thousand acres Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac is yet to be distributed to 10,000 farmers who are legal beneficiaries.

This is not to say that James Fallows was prophetic, it’s a simple fact: he stated the truth. He’s been to upscale neighborhoods in Makati and the slums and shanties of Smoky Mountain and was angered by the rich being ridiculously rich and the poor so miserably poor. The wide disparity is so evident that the rich had servants swatting flies for them while the poor feels fortunate to have garbage to sell. He even quoted Senator Ninoy Aquino early in his career who stated that: 

“Here is a land in which few are spectacularly rich while the masses remain abjectly poor…Here is a land consecrated to democracy but run by an entrenched plutocracy. Here , too, are a people whose ambitions run high, but whose fulfillment is low and mainly restricted to the self-perpetuating elite.”

Really, Mary?

Growing up I always avoided being called Mary. It somehow felt that the name did not suit my character...it simply wasn't me!

I was too undefined and unruly to be Mary. I am unconventional, I love too much fun, I couldn't be Mary. I wanted a name I could live up to so I chose to use a more relaxed name: Beth. This is who I was known in school and at work: Beth.

Then I started working for OTD and they called me Mary.

Sometimes I still check myself to see if they were really talking to me because they are referring to Mary...and I'm not sure if was me!

I remember an article I read some months ago in Facebook talking about something that's uniquely Filipino: our knack for crazy nicknames! Like calling kids "Baby" or "Boy" as if they would never grow up, hence we end up having Lola Baby or Girly and Lolo Boy for our grandparents. My personal favorite is the "-ing" and the repeated syllables like: Bing, Ping, Ding or Kat-kat, Jon-jon and Bek-Bek. Mine is actually a combination of both: Ning-ning.

According to family legend, I was given that nickname by my brother when we were little. It was allegedly one of the first words he uttered: Ning-ning and so I grew up with close friends and relatives calling me by that name.

Then again, this is the Philippines. Our president's nickname is Noy-noy. His father, a senator and martyr, whose death anniversary we're celebrating today and also perhaps one of the most intelligent and charismatic Filipino we'll ever know is known affectionately as Ninoy.

To add more, we Catholics in this country once entrusted our faith to a cardinal named Sin. One of our respected lawyers and lawmakers is called Joker...so sure, why not? Call me Mary.

It is after all just a name and it is my name. I'll be more than happy to live up to it and let everyone know that I'm still me. The same fire, the same caliber perhaps a little smarter and a better writer sharing a side of me I'm beginning to discover!