March 13, 2010 finally arrived last Saturday and for Filipino boxing fans everywhere, this meant sitting in front of their (or their friend’s) widescreen HDTVs and watching the Pacquiao-Clottey fight on HBO pay-per-view. As I mentioned in my previous posts, this was supposed to be the biggest fight of our generation, Pacquiao vs. Mayweather, but as fate would have it, we were dealt with Clottey instead.

Which wouldn’t necessarily disappoint boxing fans because Clottey is a respectable fighter, except that once your boxing appetite has been whetted by Manny vs Money, everything else pales in comparison.

Still, almost 50,000 people packed the Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas, the third biggest crowd to watch a boxing match in the U.S. ever. Even though people had to spend close to $100 just to be on farthest seats, they were at least compensated by state-of-the-art electronics provided by the stadium–notable two 80-yard (yes, YARD) widescreen monitors. Televisions wider than a football field and almost as long! And the resolution was so crisp that even when focused on the camera, it was still clear!

However, the size of the crowd and the stadium were sadly the highlight of the evening, as the match between the two fighters was lacking in excitement, most of which to blame was Clottey. From the start of the fight all the way to Round 12, Clottey had his hands up, barely punching back. Pacquiao was the complete opposite as he was his usual attacking self, punching away at Clottey’s body. The outcome was expected–an uneventful runaway victory by unanimous decision for Pacquiao. So lopsided was the punching statistics that at the end, Pacquiao threw about 1,200 to Clottey’s 400–for every punch Clottey threw, Pacquiao was throwing three!

Some say Clottey was afraid, but some say Clottey was smart; he had already won $1.25 million the minute he signed up, he just needed to last the 12 rounds and not get hurt.

As uneventful as the fight was, we still had some excitement at least for a few minutes, courtesy of a touching rendition of the Star Spangled Banner by three of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders.

Last weekend I read this interesting article about the Philippines. It was about karaoke–a favorite pastime in the Philippines–and how deadly it can be. As you know, there are as many karaoke bars in the Philippines as there are Starbucks in the US. Actually, maybe more. And over the years, there has been one song that Filipinos consider to be the “national anthem” of songs: “My Way” (Frank Sinatra’s version). As it turns out, this song is so sacred that anyone who sings it out of tune is putting their life in danger.

If I were back home and reading it in a local newspaper, I wouldn’t have given it much thought. I would probably smile at the silliness, shrug and move to the next column. But having lived in the United States for almost a decade and absorbed some of its cultural persona, I can now absolutely understand why this sort of news would be considered weird or ridiculous.

Let me try my best to explain: Music is a big part of life in the Philippines. Filipinos growing up in the Philippines have imbibed music into their lives, whether consciously or unconsciously. From the time Filipinos are born (lullabies), to childhood (children play songs), to teens (boyfriend/girlfriend theme songs), to marriage (wedding songs), to the time they are laid to rest (funeral songs), music is a part of their daily lives.

Most households will have at least one musical instrument. A family may be poor and may have to find ways to provide for the next meal, but most probably they will have an old guitar in their home.

Music, along with humor, is what allows Filipinos to temporarily escape their daily predicaments and feel good about themselves and the world in general. So if you ever find yourself in a karaoke bar in the Philippines and plan on singing My Way, you better have the voice to back it up. If not, I really hope for your sake that you know karate.

Last time I wrote about some snags in the ongoing negotiations for the fight between Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao and Floyd “Money” Mayweather. It all centered around Mayweather’s demand to use Olympic-style blood testing for the fight. Well, a few developments have happened since then:

• Pacquiao pushed through with the defamation suit against the Mayweather camp–Floyd Jr., Floyd Sr., Roger Mayweather, Oscar De La Hoya and Richard Shaefer (of Golden Boy Promotions). Pacquiao is not suing for the money–he’s basically asking for the minimum amount for a defamation suit, and besides, he has tons of it–he’s suing because he wants to clear his name. He doesn’t want people to think that he is indeed using steroids. His success is the result of years and years of hard work and discipline. Short of a public apology, this is the venue for reclaiming at least some of your tarnished reputation.
• The impasse with the negotiations went to an arbitration with a retired judge. They tried negotiating for a few days, and the negotiators for both sides agreed on a compromise: Pacquiao and Mayweather would take the blood tests 24 days before the fight. Pacquiao was ok with this, but Mayweather wasn’t. This was the end of the negotiations. The next day, Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, declared the fight dead and said he was looking for a new opponent for Pacquiao.
• After looking at different fighters, Pacquiao has decided to fight Joshua Clottey next. This should be an interesting fight, because Clottey is strong, but of course this is not the fight that everyone was clamoring for.

We’ll see what happens in the next few weeks. Maybe a miracle will happen and the fight pushes through. If not, we can only hope it happens later this year.

Seeing as how it’s another New Year (2009 went by so fast!), I thought I’d write about some Filipino customs that we practice in the Philippines during New Year’s eve. I think a lot of it came from other countries like China and Spain, so it would be interesting to know if something similar exists in Mexico or India.

Firecrackers

No New Year’s eve is complete in a Filipino home without firecrackers. It is a custom we got from the Chinese that is supposed to scare away the bad spirits for the coming year.

Money in Your Wallet

We were told to make sure we have money in our wallets before the new year arrives, so that we are sure we will have enough money for the coming year.

Round Fruits on the Table

Always part of the New Year’s eve feast are round fruits, preferable seven different kinds (like oranges, grapes, apples, etc.). The round shape is supposed to symbolize financial blessings for the coming year as well.

Keeping Lights and Windows Open

We made sure all lights and windows in the house were open, in order to “welcome” the good blessings for the coming year.

Jumping at Midnight

As kids, we were told to jump up and down at the stroke of midnight. This was supposed to make us grow higher in the coming year. (didn’t really work for me )

And of course, being surrounded by loved ones at the stroke of midnight. We have a saying that whatever you were doing at the stroke of midnight, that will be what you will be doing for the rest of the new year. So if you are caught eating at midnight–well, you have a lot of exercising to do

After back-to-back spectacular knockouts this year against bigger fighters–Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto–Manny “Pac-man” Pacquiao had cemented his status as the current Pound-for-Pound (PFP) king. Since the previous PFP king, Floyd “Money” Mayweather, had come out of retirement after Pacquiao forced Oscar “Golden Boy” De La Hoya into retirement (one in, one out), many have been clamoring for a Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown (as I mentioned in one of my previous posts).

The week after the fight with Cotto, talks had already started between the two camps. For a while everything was surprisingly smooth sailing. Surprising, because in the world of boxing–especially the more famous fighters–egos tend to get in the way of arranging a fight. Even the order of the names in the billing (Pacquiao-Mayweather or Mayweather-Pacquiao?) can make or break a fight. A date for the fight, March 13, had been firmed up, even though the venue has yet to be decided. MGM Grand in Las Vegas, which has hosted a lot of the two fighters’ previous bouts, seem to be favored, even though other venues in places like Texas, California and New York City have bidded for the fight, knowing how potentially big the fight will be.

Well, lately the negotiations have run into a snag, because now the Mayweather camp is asking for Olympic-style blood-testing in addition to the standard urine testing by the Nevada State Commission. Pacquiao is ok with doing the blood test three times: in January, 30 days before the fight, and right after the fight. Mayweather wants it random, which might mean up to a few days before the fight. Pacquiao does not want this because he believes it will weaken him (physically and psychologically) for the fight. Many believe this is all a smokescreen, and that the fight will eventually push through. However, they think the Mayweather camp is using this to affect Pacquiao mentally and to plant the idea into fans of the possibility that Pacquiao might be doping. This back-and-forth has been serious enough that now Pacquiao is threatening to sue Mayweather. To paraphrase his latest statement, “enough talk, let’s fight!”

“Paluwagan” is a Tagalog word that roughly translates to “loosening”, and is the word that is used to describe a type of money pooling that is similarly practiced in Mexico and India. In its simplest form, a group of people give equal amounts of money to a pool on a periodic basis, from which each individual takes turns getting paid. In the Philippines, this is usually done in offices and other workplaces, where each participant’s contribution coincides with the company’s pay periods. A lot of times this is also done in places where small businesses are located, such as wet markets. A designated collector goes around and collects the money from each participant, and is also the one responsible to give the money to that period’s recipient.

Why is this done? Most frequently, if helps people make big purchases that they otherwise will not be able to afford. Of course, they can save the money on their own, but taking part in the paluwagan will force them to save because they are obligated to pay. For some people, it is easy to save for a big purchase because they have the discipline to put aside the money and not touch it (i.e., delayed gratification). For others though, this is very difficult because they may be easily tempted to spend the money on something they want, even though they should be saving it (i.e, instant gratification).

In our workplace, we are starting the New Year with a paluwagan of our own, but one with a twist. Since not everybody can afford the same amount of contribution, we have devised three separate groups, so that those who can only afford one can join just one, and those who can afford more can join all three. I think this will be an interesting experience

On September 26, 2009, Typhoon “Ondoy” (international name “Ketsana”) made landfall in the northern part of the Philippines. In a matter of about six hours, the storm dumped a month’s worth of rain that exceeded that of Hurricane Katrina’s. The result was mass flooding in the National Capital Region (Metropolitan Manila) and surrounding areas. In some parts of the metropolis, waters as high as 20 feet were reported, causing residents to move to their rooftops.

Current estimates put the death toll at more than 300, with more than 380,000 displaced and seeking shelter in evacuation areas. Damages to infrastructure and agriculture are estimated to be more than 4 billion pesos, government officials said.

Here is one of the popular videos that circulated during the height of the storm:

The video was taken by a group of students who were themselves stranded on the upper floors of a school/hospital. The woman who climbed out of her car was a doctor and the man who dove into the water to save her was a janitor.

On the lighter side of things, here is another video of what Filipino kids would typically do during floods:

http://lite.facebook.com/p/Filipina-Ng/562325746/video/Life-after-typhoon-Ondoy-recto/146224080746/

You can just imagine how a four-lane underpass  filled with water would look like, and how a street lamp post suddenly resembles a diving board

My family back home was fortunate in that they only had ankle-deep water enter the house. According to my parents, some of our neighbors weren’t so lucky; in the lower parts of the subdivision, waters neck-high entered the houses and submerged almost all of the furniture.

If anybody is interested in making donations to the relief efforts, here is a link that you can use to donate using your PayPal account or credit card:

ABS-CBN Foundation – Sagip Kapamilya (PayPal and Credit Cards accepted) – https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=8540894

August 1, 2009 was a sad day for the Philippines. Early that day, former President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino–Cory Aquino to the masses–finally succumbed to a lingering illness. She had been battling colon cancer for the last 16 months.

Time Magazine Cover - Corazon Aquino Time Woman of the Year 1986

She was the 11th President of the Republic of the Philippines, but she was better known around the world for much more than that. She was the face of democracy everywhere, especially in the 80s and 90s. On August 21, 1983, her husband Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr was shot dead at the Manila International Airport while disembarking from a plane. Ninoy Aquino, erstwhile in exile in the United States, was a former senator and had been a vocal leader of the political opposition to the Marcos administration, which at that point had already been in power for 18 years. It is widely believed that the Marcoses were involved in the shooting. Asked why he would choose to return even though he knew there were threats on his life, he famously replied, “The Filipino is worth dying for.”

The assassination triggered an avalanche of social uprising which forced Ferdinand Marcos to declare snap presidential elections in 1986. Opposition forces joined together and collected one million signatures in one week to convince Aquino to run against Marcos. Despite widespread reports of electoral fraud, Marcos was declared the winner by the government’s Commission on Elections. At the same time, an independent electoral watchdog, the National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL), declared Aquino the winner.

The days that followed were punctuated by both sides claiming power, but on February 22, 1986, two of Marcos’s closest aides, Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Armed Forces Vice Chief of Staff Fidel Ramos (who would later on succeed Aquino as Philippine President) resigned from their posts and declared their support for Cory Aquino. The then archbishop of Manila, Jaime Cardinal Sin, went on radio to ask Filipinos to come and support Enrile and Ramos and to help prevent the government forces from reaching their location.

What happened in the next few days will come to be known as the world-famous “People Power Revolution.” About two million people converged on the streets. The mood was festive and people were singing nationalistic songs. On February 25, 1986, after most of the Armed Forces had defected and with millions of people in the streets, Corazon Aquino was sworn in as the new President of the Philippines. Marcos held his own inauguration, but with people slowly converging on Malacañang Palace (the presidential residence), the Marcoses were feeling more pressure, until finally at about 9 PM that evening, they were flown to Hawaii by American aircraft.

Thus ended the non-violent revolution that installed the Philippines’ first female president, and inspired similar non-violent revolutions in Asia and around the world, culminating in the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

Manny "Pac-Man" Pacquiao lands a punch against Ricky "Hitman" Hatton

Last Saturday, May 2, 2009, was a very special day for Filipino Sports fans everywhere. Yes, it was the night when the Boston Celtics won game seven of the their playoffs with the Chicago Bulls–both teams very popular with Filipino NBA fans. But more importantly, it was the night when the Philippines’ “Pambansang Kamao” (”National Fists” in Filipino), Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao, took Las Vegas by storm.

Manny Pacquiao, the number one pound-for-pound boxer in the world, fought Ricky Hatton, the erstwhile IBO junior welterweight (140 lbs) champion, and the most famous boxer in Great Britain. The boxing match, which was held in the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, was huge even by Vegas standards. Manny Pacquiao, who didn’t have a title but was the more popular fighter, was guaranteed $12 million while Ricky Hatton, who was the reigning champion, was guaranteed $8 million. This is not counting their share of pay-per-view sales, which is estimated to top $100 million.

Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer, had said before the fight that Pacquiao will knock out Hatton in the thrid round. He was wrong. Pacquiao had knocked down Hatton twice in the first round, but in the dying seconds of the second round, Pacquiao landed a left hook on Hatton’s chin (which, according to boxers, is the sweetest of sweet spots to land a punch) which knocked out Hatton even before he hit the canvass. The referee didn’t even have to count; it was clear from the dazed look on Hatton’s face that the fight was over. He had to lie down for several minutes to recuperate, and he was sent to the hospital after the fight to be examined (everything checked out fine).

Such is the punching power and speed of Pacquiao that he has been dubbed the “Mexicutioner” because of his triumphs over Mexican boxers: Héctor Velázquez, Óscar Larios, Jorge Solis, Érik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Márquez and the very popular Oscar De La Hoya (a U.S. citizen but of Mexican descent)

He is only the second boxer in history (next to Oscar De La Hoya) to have won titles in six different weight divisions.

It is said that when Manny Pacquiao has a fight, the crime rate in the Philippines drops to zero–because everybody is glued to their tv sets. There is no traffic in the streets and the government troops and communist rebels stop fighting for a few hours.

Images of the fight at The Telegraph’s website: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/picturegalleries/5266901/Hatton-v-Pacquiao-action.html

Earth Day having been last week, I thought I’d write something about being green. No, not about having a green mind (although it might come naturally to me), but rather about having a green outlook in life.

I find it mildly amusing that people living in the United States are now just starting to realize the importance of recycling.  In some instances, being green or kind to the environment is viewed as more a novelty and not a way of life. It might come as a surprise to them that all the habits associated with being green–reusing, recycling, or basically getting the most use out of something–is an everyday reality in  the Philippines.

When my parents came to visit last year, their habits reminded me of the habits I used to practice but have now forgotten. My mom would save plastic spoons and forks, and also the napkins. My dad would make sure that the garbage bag was full–really full–before throwing it out. They would both use old shirts for wiping, rather than paper towels. They will use a cup when brushing their teeth, and won’t let the water running. They will use newspapers to soak and wipe spills and they would use old fashioned mops rather than Swiffers.

They do these things not because they are concerned about the environment. Well, maybe, but it wouldn’t be their main motivation. They do these because they are trying to avoid waste. They will try to reuse things so as to avoid having to buy new ones. The main motivation is to save, because living in a not-so-prosperous country will force you to become resourceful and frugal.

These same habits I used to practice, but when I moved to the U.S. they were slowly replaced by new ones, like using paper towels, disposable wipes and Swiffer. Yes, more expensive, but now the motivating factor is convenience. And I have been living here for only nine years, so what more of Americans who have spent their entire lives living this lifestyle? It seems ironic that in a way, prosperity is what leads humans to become more wasteful, even if they don’t realize it.