My first impression of her was something straight out of the Lonely Planet complete with sandals, road-worn clothing and a small tattoo on her left upper arm to boot.  With preliminary introductions done, we proceeded to barrage her with questions which she had to answer all over again when we got home and this went way past dinner.  She also informed us that she was going to Taal Volcano the next day and asked if we could just direct her to a place where she could get on a bus to Tanauan in Batangas.  We were stumped so to speak.  Here I was a Philippine-born man in my fifties and I would think more than twice about trekking Taal by myself.  I didn’t even have to foggiest how to get there by public transport.  We would have taken her around if it was a weekend.  I nor Nina and my wife have ever been on the volcano island.  And I thought I was pretty well travelled in the Philippines.

Nina said she would drop her off at a bus terminal along Taft Avenue and that they would meet up in Makati in the afternoon before returning home.  Apparently there is a Couch Surfing meeting place there where all the in-country backpackers converge.  My wife and I, like typical parents, warned her about the risks and dangers about travelling in the Philippines (or anywhere for that matter) especially for a single white girl alone on the road in a strange country.  She acknowledged our advice but I don’t think it would have made a difference.  She seemed tough and wise for her age and I suppose you get that way travelling around the world by yourself.  I was a bit adamant against visiting Mindanao and she assured us that she had no destinations in those parts.

The following evening she filled us in on her day and we again had our questions, more curious about how she fared alone.  She had no problem in getting to Batangas and in getting a ride to and from the island.   She mentioned that she had lunch in a street-side stall.  She even made friends with a Filipina on the bus and met up with other backpackers on the island.  She enjoyed the boat ride and the trek and had only good and kind things to say about the locals she encountered.  The following day I was to drop her off in the NAIA Terminal 3 for her trip south and asked if she could stay with us again after 2 weeks as her return to Manila did not coincide with her trip back to Vietnam.

Raisa stayed in touch with Nina while she was in the south and we kept track of her progress.  When we didn’t hear from her in more than a couple of days, we asked Nina to text her and check up on her.  I am not sure how this goes with other people in other countries but we felt concerned and responsible for her while she was in our country like we would for our own daughter.  Still, you had to admire the girl and her like for her bravery and sense of adventure.  We become hostages to our fears especially from hearing news of victimized tourists both local and foreign.   But in the process, we miss out on so much.

Raisa has since returned to Vietnam.  Nina picked her up the night she arrived from Palawan.  While away, she said that she was offered a job in Thailand and was moving there.  She had her next six months planned and sorted out but could see no further than that.  She was all praises for the beaches she had been to and the diving she had done and the countryside she had seen.  She was even able to attend a barrio fiesta and tried many type of Filipino food which she swore was better than Vietnamese food.  She mentioned that Vietnam or Thailand could not compare with what we had.  More importantly, she could not say enough about the people that she met and the warmth she enjoyed while visiting all the places she had been to.  She had always felt safe and was never cheated or taken undue advantage of.  She even signed up for a volunteer job planting mangrove trees.

More than glad that she had a good time, I am so proud of our kababayans who treated her well and welcomed her into their homes and hearts and who went out of their way to make her visit enjoyable and memorable.  Raisa is one girl who, despite her bravado and daring, arrived with apprehensions and left a fan of the Philippines and the Filipino people.  This also reaffirms the hospitality that we are so famous for.  Still, as one would do when diving, know the waters you intend to swim in.  If the water is murky then you would most likely see nothing. If the current is too strong you could get swept out to sea.  If there are sharks around you are asking to get bit.  And finally, many tourists and visitors who have gotten into trouble have had more than clean fun in mind.  If you have to deal with shady characters, go to questionable places or otherwise do things that are clearly illegal then you are almost certainly going to get in trouble where ever you are.

Stay safe, Raisa, and we await your return to the Philippines.

At earlier hours, the drive used to take 45 minutes to an hour all the way to my office in Makati from our home in Las Pinas.  As bad as that was, it became worse when portions of Vito Cruz were dug up for civil works including the stretch from the corner of Vito Cruz and Taft Avenue all the way past the new St. Benilde building.  Now, the drive takes an average of an hour and a half with 15 to 30 minutes negotiating 2 miserable blocks along Leon Guinto.

I would normally drive down this stretch of Vito Cruz dropping the kids in the corner of Taft Avenue on my way to Makati.  Otherwise, I would have to turn right past Estrada and turn right again on Leon Guinto to get back on Vito Cruz.  This was already undesirable then as the road to get onto Leon Guinto was narrow and double parked and Leon Guinto itself badly paved. 

Even with Vito Cruz at the corner of Taft Avenue open, there were always jeepneys parked near the corner waiting for passengers made worse by ambulant vendors on the sidewalk.  Usual with jeepney drivers, they mostly did not care if they were blocking traffic waiting for passengers or would stop dead in the middle of the road to pick one up and you can honk your horn or scream yourself hoarse and they would not care.  It is important to note that there is a police outpost on the very next left hand corner with Leon Guinto but seldom a cop in sight to direct traffic or shoo away the jeepneys.

Now, with the traffic detoured to Leon Guinto, the jeepneys drivers have taken the liberty of converting the corner of Leon Guinto and Vito Cruz into a passenger stop and parking lot, right beside the police outpost no less.  Past this corner, despite being single laned due to the actual road work going on infront of St. Benilde, the traffic starts to flow smoothly.

This road work started around April or May of this year.  Although it was the start of the first 2008 trimester of La Salle, it was not so bad since the other schools were out.  I assumed that they would rush the work and get done before the start of the normal school year and the rainy season.  It is now the start of the second trimester and the rainy season seems about to have ended already and they are nowhere near done. 

I mean, for Pete’s sake, doesn’t anyone else see this?  Are the powers-that-be afraid of these jeepney drivers that they can’t discipline them?  Or maybe they are afraid of losing something else?  I am no urban planner or traffic management expert but it doesn’t take a genius to see that a more thought out rerouting would help alleviate the situation if they can’t get rid of those damn jeepneys.  They are mostly empty anyway.  Why don’t they park further down Leon Guinto and get dispatched when the one waiting in the corner gets filled? 

Calling the attention of Mayor Lim of the city of Manila or Chairman Fernando of the MMDA as well as Secretary Ebdane of the DPWH, please, gentlemen, look into this.

I unexpectedly got an email from an old friend and professional acquaintance in the person of Jojo Marasigan.  He mentioned through his email that he had recently resigned from his job with Digitel and had rejoined Blue Media which was now involved with rolling out WiMax.  He was inviting me to a launch event in Taguig to be held on August 8, Friday, in the MBC Tent at the Fort.  The launch was also to coincide with a Gaward Kalinga (or GK) event which I found as rather odd.  In any case, I readily agreed to attend and brought with me my CTO Bon Diwajon.  We have been similarly thinking about deploying WiMax for our own use so this was something of interest to us.

We arrived promptly at 6PM and the number of policemen and bodyguard-types at the tent entrace made it apparent that the event was going to be well attended by some heavy hitters.  Immediately, I spotted Sen. Kiko Pangilinan and Mr. Tony Meloto of GK fame with British son-in-law Dylan Wilks who were quickly ushered in while we lined up to get our passes.  The reception area was already crowded and more people were arriving so it took a while before our turns came for a badge to pass beyond.  I noted the unusual backdrop in the reception area that simulated the facades of shanty houses common in the city slums.  It was a promise of interesting things to come.

Once inside the tent-proper we found a group of girls signing on stage providing entertainment to a considerable crowd, mostly standing, that had already formed.  I didn’t find Jojo after looking around a bit but I spotted some seats to one side of the place with a good view of the stage so I decided to comfortably camp there for the rest of the event.  I spotted architect Bobby Manosa who happens to be my baptismal godfather.  On the way in I also saw a group of police officials in formal attire.  This was turning out to be quite a mixed crowd.  Obviously, the event was not going to be about WiMax alone.

The entertainment stopped at around 7PM when the tent was almost filled to capacity and Mayor Tinga was introduced as the host and first speaker.  In his early 40’s, I learned earlier that he was a former technology practitioner so associating him with WiMax was really no surprise.  Still, I couldn’t see where his preamble was leading to in relation to technology.  After a while, he introduced Vice President Noli De Castro who naturally spoke about housing and the relevance of GK.  This led to the introduction of Mr. Meloto who turned out to be a revelation.

Recently bestowed the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership, it is just a matter of time before he gets some sort of international recognition for his efforts and accomplishments.  Listening to him speak, you will know he lives and breaths his mission.  More importantly, he is producing results and making further inroads towards the daunting if not impossible objective of providing homes to the many who need them.  He acknowledged as partners some in the audience including Mr. Washington Sycip of SGV, Mrs. Marixi Prieto of the Inquirer and Mr. Gerry Ablaza of Globe among other no-less imminent dignitaries supporting the GK cause.  The reason for the presence of top architects such as Manosa and Palafox became known when they announced a contest for a designer GK village to be established in Taguig.

After two or three more speakers, Mayor Tinga got back on stage and we got to the meat of the matter.  He spoke of making Taguig the first WiMax city with the attendant technologies and applications in security, information processing and telecommunications which must have made Mr. Ablaza more than a bit uncomfortable.  Mr. Tinga was obviously in his element by this time.  He was sounding more like a CEO of a high-tech company selling to a an eager crowd.  He had his show-and-tell and live demonstrations which included reading the plate number of a car parked outside the tent using Israel-made CCTV and a live teleconference between an OFW mother in some middle eastern country and her children who were on stage.  The mother, once on line, proceeded to scold the poor kids in front of the audience providing unexpected amusement.

Mayor Tinga is young, eloquent, obviously well educated, dedicated, with a vision and a mission and, just like the GK, is getting things done.  He presents a model for all other LGU’s to follow and I think he has the formula which he is willing to share with all who care to listen.  He is very aware of the issues, does not mince words and is not shy about them.  More importantly, he knows what the problems are and seems to know the solutions.  He did not appear to be asking for help but rather for cooperation.  He is definitely a man worth watching and listening to.

I saw Jojo Marasigan on our way out of the tent and we agreed to get together the following week to talk shop and possibly do some business.  In the reception area I noted that the backdrop had changed and now presented the façade of proper homes and buildings.  This completed the message of change.  We left with mantras of “Walang Iwanan” and “The Best for the Least” ringing in our ears.  I could not help feeling euphoric and hopeful.  Here was a once-obscure Local Government Unit working with corporate Philippines, Non-Government Organizations and civil society to solve real-life problems.  It can’t get better than that.

It has been two days since the event and I have not seen anything written about it in the newspapers, at least not in the Inquirer, despite the presence of columnist of note Conrad De Quiros.  We have read about the Mindanao problem, inflation, more corruption and scandals and other such doom and gloom.  A law must be passed to allocate equal print space to good and positive news.  Even if it was solely for his vision and intentions, Mayor Tinga and Taguig should have been front-page material.  The GK has had constant if not daily progress.  Why not provide a running tally of that?  I am sure that even government has something good to report regardless of how trivial or insignificant.  Are we so jaded that only bad news sell newspapers?  I hope not.