My IO Experience

While waiting for our flight to Japan, I saw on Threads thing trend where people would post their experiences with the immigration officers (IO). This came after some reports of people missing their flights because their immigration officer asked for things that no one could normally prepare for like pay slips for the past few months or copy of diploma or some weird document.

Most of the entries in this trend simply had the IO ask them where they're going and when they'd be back then stamp their passport and let them through. I was quite amused that many of the posts also featured the Cebu airport and how much they love the IOs in the Cebu airport. One guy even mentioned that his IO in Cebu asked him so many questions but it was all borne out of curiosity and it was after he had stamped his passport and returned it to him. It was chitchat, basically.

I love the Cebu airport, it underwent a facelift a few years ago and Megawide-GMR really did a number on it and it's an airport the Cebuanos can be proud of. It's smaller, of course but it gets the job done well! I've often advocated to my friends from abroad that if their destination isn't Manila or Cebu that they should pass through Cebu if they could and avoid Manila at all cost. Some of my friends have said that they do this exactly because the Cebu airport is so nice.

But I don't have much in the way of IO stories except I did have a particularly bad one in 2023. It wasn't with the IO themselves. It was in how they managed their lines. It happened in the Manila airport on our trip to Bali. We saw a sign that said "Priority lane for seniors and those with infants". We were traveling with seniors and infants so we lined up there. The line was so slow as they only assigned one counter for the whole "priority lane" that it would've been faster for us if we lined up in the regular lane. The other counters also didn't think it was a big deal that no other counter accepted the others lining up in the "priority lane".

This time around in Cebu, however, the priority lines worked as intended. However, the reason for this post is when we got back from Cebu - it's a long intro, I know. We had just arrived from Japan and as a little test for the airport, I took note of the time we exited the plane and would stop it when we left the terminal. We had lined up for immigration after everyone went to the bathroom to pee. If we were all just adults, the immigration counter would've been done using that scanner and you do your own "stamping" on the passport. But since we had kids and they can't do all of that, we needed to go to a counter.

So our little group went to the counter and the IO called me out first. I went to the counter and took off my cap. I don't remember if he took my picture but he said everything was done and proceeded to call Joey. I picked him up so he could see him and he was done as well. I told Nikki that we would go to the carousel ahead to get our bags while Nikki, Pia and the yayas finished their immigration stuff.

Nikki was called last and the IO had more questions for her than the rest of us.

"Maam, imung bana ba, artista to?" (Ma'am, is your husband a celebrity?)

"Huh? Dili!" (Huh? No!)

"Ah. Mao ba maam? So negosyante to siya?" (Ah. Really? So he's a businessman?)

"Oo." (Yes.)

"Kay mura gyud siyag naay artista na kaparehag nawng." (He really looks like a celebrity.)

"Ayaw siya ingni ana kay mulupad gyud to iyang atay." (Don't tell him that coz he'll be flattered.)

"Ataya nimu, maam!" (Hahahaha!)

He then stamped her passport and let her through.

Well, Nikki was right. I was flattered and that all the more cemented my love for the Cebu Airport. It was probably a good day for me, looks wise. Or maybe it was because I wore a baseball cap which added to the "artista" look but whatever the case is, our IOs are friendly and I think that really makes the difference. Most IOs keep it short and simple. I think the Cebu IOs add a bit of the Filipino friendliness to the mix and you know what? I'm all for it.

The Smell of Leather

I never really liked the smell of leather. I remember we once had a car with leather seats and I didn't like it at all. The smell was off, the texture was off, the sound was off - it squeaked and hurt my ears. As such, I prefer to keep my distance from anything leather. Leather shoes are the only thing I would consider buying and that's only because it's needed for formal wear or school.

As I grew older I didn't have as strong a negative feeling towards leather as I did as a child. I bought a really nice pair of leather shoes for my wedding, for example and I decided to buy a watch with a really nice leather strap as opposed to a metal bracelet which I had always leaned towards.

During our recently concluded trip to Japan, however, that changed. I had been telling Nikki that I needed a new wallet for quite some time now. My old wallet was falling apart and I was looking for a replacement. I figured it was time for me to invest in a nice wallet that would last a bit longer than the ones I normally buy for myself. Japan did have a lot of leather goods stores and I tried perusing their items but nothing really called out to me. I personally wanted a dark brown colored wallet similar to my old one since I liked how it looked.

I figured shopping for a wallet in Japan was a dud but the search for my wallet would still continue. Little did I know that Nikki, together with Pia, found a nice wallet in a leather goods store in the Sapporo airport. They didn't know what kinds of compartments I was looking for but they decided to buy it for me anyway.

The wallet was black and leather, It could hold 6 cards compared to my older one which could hold more. It had one main compartment instead of the two I was used to. If we were checking boxes on a checklist, it ticked none of them. It was thick and it also had a very strong leather smell - another unchecked box.

If I saw this particular wallet in a store, I would never go for it. Why would I adjust to the limitations of my wallet when I can find one that will fit my needs? But this particular wallet was special. It somehow won me over. It was unassuming. Its simplicity drew me in. And most of all, it was bought by wife with the assistance of my sweet little Pia. I smelled the leathery smell and instantly fell in love. Probably some wiring in my brain associated the smell of leather to my daughter for some odd reason.

The smell is strong too! It could be resting in my pocket and I can just smell it and every single time, it evokes happiness in me. I'm embarrassed to admit but there are times I just grab it and take in one big sniff of the leather just for some happy hormones. I've even caught myself telling people to appreciate the smell of my wallet. I just realized it might not hit them the same way it does me but I didn't care.

As to the functionality of the wallet, I decided to bring along less cards with me and that basically solved everything! The wallet is still very stiff as new wallets are but I just need to break it in and it should feel much better.

That's all to say that I'm enjoying this new wallet very much and it's all really because of the story behind it rather than the actual thing.

My thoughts on CSE

Sometime this month, my mom came up to me saying she heard about this thing we should oppose. "CSE!" she said. I asked her what CSE meant and she just said she heard that it's very dangerous and that they're moving on it quickly. My next question was, "Who's 'they'?" My mom didn't know. So I asked my trusty sidekick, ChatGPT and Google but all they could come up with was "Computer Science Education" or "Civil Service Exam". So our conversation ended there. I assumed I could find something about it in the newspaper - there was none.

It was just last week that I chanced upon an ANC video on Youtube which showed former Chief Justice Sereno. The title had "CSE" in it so I assumed that was it and decided to watch the video. In it, CJ Sereno was describing a bill which would promote Comprehensive Sexuality Education and the harms it posed to the children and to families. The video was an hour long but CJ Sereno's part was just in the first few minutes. What followed was a parallel press conference which featured Riza Hontiveros debunking the claims made by Sereno's group. Both parties were referencing a video put up by a certain Project Dalisay which I decided to watch as well.

Now, my first approach to most political issues is one where I default to the other party having good intentions. That means when I approached this topic, I decided to give both former CJ Sereno and Riza Hontiveros the assumption of good will (i.e., both of them genuinely believe they are advancing the something good). I continue to hold this presumption until a point where I see that the person isn't showing good will anymore.

In this particular case, I've seen that Riza Hontiveros has NOT shown good will in this exchange. CJ Sereno has referenced numerous CSE curriculums abroad and DepEd orders that show that kids are to be exposed to things like masturbation, pornography, contraception, etc. What's tricky with CJ Sereno's case is that the bill in question and the DepEd orders do not mention these topics at all. This is a fact that she recognizes and states in her claims. She does, however, mention that the Senate Bill and the DepEd order reference a UN document which indeed does mention these topics. Riza Hontiveros counters this by repeating that the Senate Bill does not mention these topic at all. This fact has already been acknowledged by Project Dalisay and CJ Sereno so simply repeating the claim shows, in my opinion, a lack of interest to engage and thus a lack of good will on her part.

I did look into the CSE curriculum of UNESCO and I find it to be pushing things that would indeed go against my Catholic faith. Not only that, it promotes things that are contrary to reality! What bothers me as well is the lack of the option to opt out though I believe this was addressed in a replacement bill. Even with the option to opt out, the state should not be able to replace the parents in the duty to educate their children on such delicate matters. In fact, CJ Sereno says as much in her opposition to this bill.

I find it comforting that this bill never made it out of the senate but it does mean we need to really look at all the bills that might come out of congress to see which ones have poisonous elements lurking in their pages.

Election Time Again!

I wasn't heavily invested in this election cycle but for some strange odd reason (Social Media), I got sucked into thinking about who I should be voting for. I'm not a fan of this administration but I'm also not a fan of the opposition. Basically, I would be screwed either way. I'd need to vote for people I don't like. Then it hit me that there is one thing that could still be fought for in the senate - Charter Change.

Reviewing my older posts reignited something in me that made me want to take this election cycle more seriously. So I made my list of those candidates who are for a Federal Parliament form of government. While making this, I noticed many of my Facebook friends sharing who they want to vote for or who they're considering. What I found very odd was that some of them would vote for two different candidates who'd oppose each other. I understand the sentiment. Two politicians who are good people might disagree on a certain point. But voting for both of them would simple defeat your purpose. I quickly realized that I had, on my initial list, people who wouldn't push for Charter Change! I was guilty of the same fault I accused others of.

So I "purged" my list, so to speak and I filled it only with candidates who will push for Charter Change. My minimum requirement was dropped to simply, "does not oppose Federal Parliament". I also added that if I do not like a certain senatorial candidate or if I think they're "too stupid" to hold office, it would not matter to me.

I made a similar declaration to myself back in 2022. I don't care if I like a certain candidate but that candidate must fight for what I believe in, that should be enough. In this election cycle, I can think of several senatorial candidates who I have nothing against. They seem like good people and would be great senators but I will not vote for them because they simply because they might do too good a job in opposing what I believe is the right course of action for the nation.

To test this, I did a little mind experiment which went as follows. Say I have two politicians running. It would be nice to have two highly competent politicians and you'd simply vote for the one who you'd align yourself most to. But say one is highly competent but you highly disagree with their platform and the other one is no so competent but you highly agree with their platform. Where would my vote go? In this scenario, I would go for the latter simply because the highly competent politician might do such a good job at doing what I don't want him to do.

Similarly, I won't be voting for candidates who disagree on charter change as their votes might cancel each other's on the senate floor. They need to be on the same page on this issue. So I came up with a list. My brother-in-law asked me who I'd be voting for. I told him my criteria first as it would be difficult to explain some of my choices without context. As for him, he'll be voting for some of the candidates I removed because they oppose or have opposed moves for charter change.

I'll close by mentioning one other way people online have shared how they'll vote this May 12. With 66 senatorial candidates, this one netizen says he applied certain "filters" and will vote for who passes those filters. His filters includes things like: being from a political dynasty, being an entertainer, no public service experience or number of laws authored or passed. Several of my friends shared this netizen's post and it was very interesting. What it lacked though was policy. He seemed to be fine with voting for people who would disagree with him as long as this "senatoriable" had passed many laws.

We need a change - a charter change. We heard it time and time again. "Bulok ang sistema!" Why not change the system? And to change the system, we need to vote for people who will fight to change the system or at the very least, will not oppose it.