Saturday, May 07, 2022

My candidates for #Halalan2022

Elections na sa Lunes! Here's my final list of candidates that I'm voting for on May 9.


I've already written my reasons for choosing these outstanding individuals for the top positions in this blog post: God's will doesn't just happen, we have to choose it.

President
1. Leni Robredo

Vice President
1. Kiko Pangilinan


I chose my senators for their pristine track record of fighting for the environment, social change, and the marginalized. Talagang inaral ko sila kasi nung una, tatlo lang kilala ko sa mga candidates sa listahan ko. But inisa-isa ko ang mga candidates. Yung mga convicted of crimes, yung may corruption cases, yung mga walang ginawa or may mga ginawang masama - delete from the list! Then yung mga natira, I studied each of them at eto na - my final list. It pays to do your research!

Senators
1. Teddy Baguilat
2. Roy Cabonegro 
3. Neri Colmenares
4. Chel Diokno
5. Luke Espiritu
6. Risa Hontiveros 
7. Elmer Labog
8. Alex Lacson
9. Leila de Lima
10. Sonny Matula
11. Monsour del Rosario
12. 
Carmen Zubiaga

Honestly, I'm aghast at the candidates for Mandaluyong's top positions. On one hand, I'm happy with our LGU's performance. On the other hand, should I vote for the families that have been sitting in power for as long as I can remember? I just think it's time to give chance to others. If you're from Mandaluyong, please tell me who you're voting for in the comments!

UPDATE: I've decided not to vote for any position for congressman, mayor and vice mayor. The other candidates have no online presence at all. No website, no Facebook page, walang paglalahad ng plataporma, nothing. That means they're not serious about running or serving the city of Mandaluyong. They're just there to make it look like the Abalos dynasty has competition. They didn't even try.


I checked out all the candidates for councilors and, for me, this candidate is young and eager to make a difference for Mandilenos. I checked his online platforms and I like his energy and the things he wants to do for my home city.

Councilor 2nd District
1. Regie Antiojo


There are 170 partylists and it took me a long while to narrow down my list. I took out the ones that weren't meaningful to my specific experience. So mga OFWs, BPOs, etc. Then there were several parties that were relevant to me and seemed to have noble causes but di ko type yung mga politicians associated with them so tanggal din sila. 

UPDATE: Paula Fernandez wrote a full list of dubious partylists here).

1. Akbayan - for the youth, students, and women. 


 
Final reminders for the elections!

1. There's still a pandemic so please wear your face mask.
2. Don't wear anything that has your candidates' names, faces or numbers. Don't bring campaign materials.
3. Bring your list of candidates. Don't put it sa phone niyo kasi baka hindi i-allow ng COMELEC na gamitin niyo phone niyo while voting.
4. Don't take pictures of your ballot.
5. Fill in the whole oval with the special pen COMELEC will lend you.
6. Ikaw mismo ang magpasok ng balota mo sa machine and check the names sa receipt! Make sure parehas ang lumabas sa resibo sa binoto mo. 

That's it! May time pa mag-research kung sinu-sino ang mga kandidato at kung ano ang mga nagawa nila para sa bayan. Please piliin po natin yung kandidatong marami nang nagawa para sa atin! Yung walang bahid ng corruption, yung walang history ng pagnanakaw at pang-aabuso, yung may malasakit sa Pilipino. 

So exciting!  


Friday, May 06, 2022

Vito's 11th birthday

My blog post last Monday reminded my Loyal Readers that my kids aren't toddlers anymore. "Vito is turning 12?" Yes! "Where did the time go?" I don't know. I still stare at them and wonder the same thing. 

I haven't been sharing the boys' birthdays anymore but let me quickly share Vito's 11th birthday party last year. I want to give you - those who still call him Jelly Bean - a peek at my not-so-little boy's happiness.


So this was in August and we were all stuck at home, but that didn't prevent us from having a great day! We had guests anyway - a retinue of penguins, foxes, and wolves to help celebrate the big day!


Look at how happy my boys are. They've been so good throughout the pandemic. I think they loved being cooped up inside, even if it dragged on for 2 years (and counting!). I could never ask for better boys. And it all started with the eldest one, my Vito.


Vito has always been easy. Easy pregnancy, easy childbirth, easy recovery, easy infancy, easy toddlerhood, easy everything! He's a happy, healthy, smart, and such a good boy. It's so easy to make him laugh. And he asks so little from us. Just video games and lots of food to munch on. That's it. He's happy.


His Papa once said, "I hope he never changes." And with Vito on the cusp of big change coming - adolescence! teenagehood! middle school! - I agree with his Papa. May this wonderful little boy never ever change. May he always be healthy. May he always be happy. May he always have love and support. That's all I ever want for him, the boy who changed my life. 

Wednesday, May 04, 2022

God's will doesn't just happen, we have to choose it

Okay, I don't usually mix my politics with religion so when I say I choose Leni as my President, it's because I looked at her credentials, her personal life, how she treats Filipinos, and how exactly did she perform as a public servant. And check-check-check! Siya talaga ang angat sa lahat!

But syempre, Born Again Christian ako so my political beliefs are also shaped by my faith. I need to live by what Matthew 22:36-40 says, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself,'" and also what Philippinas 4:8-9 says, which is "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." And choose and do those things, too! That is God's will and I strive to do it in every aspect of my life, kahit na mahirap.

So anyway, yung mga religious na kakilala ko are saying na by next week God's will is what will happen. I reject that. It's simply not true. Just because we vox populi doesn't necessarily mean it's vox Dei. For example, in the Book of Samuel, God didn't want the Hebrews to have a king, yet they insisted so ayan they got Saul and a whole lotta trouble. God permitted it because the people CHOSE it. In the same way I'm sure God isn't happily saying, "Oh, she got raped, just as I willed it." "That child became an orphan because of drunk drivers, just as I willed it." Why would God will evil??? It's not that God is helpless. It just means He will not impose His will on us. Kung ano gusto natin, kahit mali, He will not stop us from choosing it. Sadly, this is why there is so much evil in the world.

Kaya nga diba Jesus prayed, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven". Kasi God's will isn't happening on earth because of people's free will. And sorry na lang talaga but people will always choose sin. We will always choose what's wrong.

What God will do is see us through the consequences of our wrong decisions if and ONLY IF we ask for forgiveness for the wrong we've done. He will not spare us the consequences of our decisions.

Also, yung "Vox populi, vox Dei" belief or the "will of the people is the will of God" is just a part of the quote. The full quote is "Nec audiendi qui solent dicere, Vox populi, vox Dei, quum tumultuositas vulgi semper insaniae proxima sit."

Translation: "And those people should not be listened to, who keep saying the voice of the people is the voice of God, since the riotousness of the crowd is always very close to madness."

So how do we avoid this madness? If you believe in God, then by listening to the voice of God FIRST. And the voice of God says if all the people "will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

So nasa tao pa rin ang gawa. Seek God, find out who He is (He is good, He is LOVE, He is life, He is truth, He is justice, He is mercy), and then choose according to His will.

So sa elections for example, sino ang mga candidates who don't lie, who have lives devoted to public service, who have compassion for all especially the poor, who seek justice, who have no taint of murder or theft in their history, who have no whiff of corruption? Sila ang will ni God. And it's up to us to choose God's will. We don't have to, of course. Free will nga, diba. But if we don't and suffering results from our decisions (just as the last 6 years have been very bad for many Pinoys), then we can't blame God. It was not His will. It was ours.

I have enjoyed the election season immensely. Yes, it was stressful but I also saw how people rejected lies and corruption, how Filipinos from all walks of life (mula mahirap hanggang mayaman, mula street vendor hanggang National Artist, mapa-babae, lalaki at LGBTG+, bata at matanda!) gathered together to let their voice be heard, how we sang and danced and served each other.

Will we be the majority? I don't know. What I do know is mas maraming Pinoy na ang nakakakilala sa tama at mali, who are voting according to their conscience and what the country truly needs - a government free of corruption and will truly serve the Filipino through humility and compassion. I am praying that there's more of us.

May nagising na sa akin. At hindi lang ako. I know we are finally awake and listening, watching, and we are finally breaking the cycles and smashing the beliefs we inherited from generations of people who just chose who was popular and entertaining and matunog ang pangalan. We will build a better future for our country kahit sino pa ang manalo! I am so excited!


I will vote according to what I believe is God's will and choose the candidates that truly love the Philippines and the Filipino people. I hope you do, too! 

P.S. I'm for Leni-Kiko! Ipanalo na na10 ito!

Monday, May 02, 2022

Decor ideas for 3 kids sharing a small room

My sons are now 11, 9 and 7. They've always had 3 beds in their bedroom but they still liked cramming themselves into 2 beds, sleeping piled up on each other like puppies. But a few months ago, the eldest boy started complaining about how they don't fit, how his brothers steal his pillows or blanket, etc etc. I said, "You have 3 beds. No need to share beds." So off he finally went to the top bunk and he's been peacefully sleeping since.

I realize that the boys will be teenagers soon. They'll still have to share one bedroom since we live in a 2-bedroom apartment. So I've been Googling ways to redo their bedroom so that each one has a sense of peace and privacy. Check out my favorite finds for three kids sharing a small room: 

IBZ Store

This is the boys' favorite because each bed is on its own level. The boys' bed is already an IKEA Kura bed, which sadly isn't available in the IKEA store here. I don't know how we can buy another one! Maybe we'll just have it custom-made.

Ubuy

This is my second favorite idea. It has a more grown-up feel (if you see beyond the plushies).

Amazon

I like this because of the drawers under one bed. Always need storage in a small space!


This is great, too, because it has even more storage - a chest of drawers!

Just Bunk Beds

This has a study area. But it's just for one kid. Maybe I'll put bookshelves there instead.

Matrix Kids

Speaking of bookshelves, how about this one - a space for a reading nook. My kids like to read so a reading nook will be a great addition to their room. 

So there! I'll need to save up for a little renovation of their room. My eldest boy is turning 12 this year. Soon, I'll have teenagers! Can you imagine it? Time flies!

Monday, April 11, 2022

The kids are vaccinated!

My boys are finally vaccinated from COVID! They got their first dose of the COVID vaccine last month and they're scheduled to get their second dose next week. This means that in May, we can start venturing out into the world! It's been 2 years and 2 months in quarantine, save for a weekend in the mountains, and while we loved staying indoors, even introverted me knew my boys needed to interact with other people. And when they're fully vaxxed, they finally can!

Here are photos from their first dose:


There are more steps with the kids vs when I got vaxxed. When it was the adults, we registered, got interviewed by the doctor, then got vaxxed. So I'll make kwento the steps my kids went through.


Step 1: Register. I have 3 kids. So sumakit kamay ko filling out all the forms hehe. Bring their birth certificates and then your ID. And then xerox copy rin ng mga documents na ito as proof na ikaw ang parent. Kung taga-Mandaluyong ka, you need the household code of your Mandavax registration (register here).


Step 2: Kids get interviewed, part 1. Tatanungin lang sila kung sino kasama nila and if aware sila na magpapabakuna sila. Then they get weighed and have their height measured. 

Step 3: Kids get interviewed, part 2. This time, it's a doctor who checks their fact sheet and confirms the details there (may hika? may sipon? may ubo? etc). Again, tatlo anak ko so isa-isa sila because ako talaga ang ini-interview. So mas nakakatagal yung process kasi kahit na tatlo or apat yung doctors na available, we still went one by one. But di naman issue kasi mabilis yung process plus may TV to entertain the kids. 


Step 4: Here we go! Bakuna time! Super efficient, super bait, super fast! I truly appreciate all the care the medical staff poured on the kids. Thank you so much for taking care of my boys!

Hindi raw masakit. He was just obeying what they told him to do, "Close your eyes, baby!"

We are SO HAPPY they got their first dose! Mas nakahinga ako nang maayos. Hindi pa sila tapos, of course. One more jab soon and then relief. I've been highly strung about COVID for 2 years now and then my husband and eldest boy got infected despite our precautions! Mukhang wala talaga tayong escape. Kaloka.

A vaccine doesn't prevent a COVID infection but it does drastically increase their chance to fight the virus. They will likely not get seriously sick, be hospitalized, or die. As I keep saying, all we need is a fighting chance and now we have it!


Step 5: Waiting time. Fifteen minutes just to make sure the kids are near emergency services in case they have an adverse reaction to the vaccine. See that area in the back of the room screened off? That's where the emergency care is, just in case. Thankfully, wala namang nangyari. So the kids were kinda bored waiting. May TV din dito pero they were showing local government stuff so obviously hindi interesado ang mga bata.
 

Step 6: Talk with the doctor. This is just a quick chat where the doctor asks how they feel and tells them what to expect. Really fast. 


And that was it! We were done in less than 2 hours. If isa lang anak mo, malamang mas mabilis pa. It was a very pleasant experience. Thanks so much to Podium Mall for making the COVID vaccination of our kids a great time. 

Of course, even though we as a family will be fully vaxxed, we'll still be careful. We'll wear our masks and practice social distancing. 

Get your kids vaxxed, too! Hopefully, the pandemic will end soon and a fully vaxxed population is the best way to get there. We're looking forward to joining the world again! Have a great week everyone. Stay safe!