Crisis Management, Immigration, and Devolution

It’s an interesting time to be in the UK, where the Mother of All Parliaments, the House of Commons, has been roiled by infighting and discouraging economic news.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer ignited a firestorm of protest last week: see Chancellor Alistair Darling warns slump could be the worst for 60 years, precipitating a slump in the Pound Sterling and a furious debate over whether he acted irresponsibly or not. In many ways the entire thing -including debating whether government ministers ought to be blunt or Pollyanna-like in their official statements, the reliability or unreliability of official statistics, the question of whether the chief executive should take the fall to prevent the decimation of the party- sounds eerily familiar and because of that, oddly comforting.

The Brits are working through issues not very different from our own and it seems to be there isn’t all that much of a difference between the way British and Filipino politicians are trying to do damage control: orare ignoring public opinion altogether while politicizing previously relatively partisan-free civil service institutions.

The Times in a recent editorial (which came at the heels of the paper’s report that a sacking was in the offing), The twilight of Sir Ian Blair, looked at the controversial head of Scotland Yard and took him to task in all-too-familiar (for Filipinos) terms:

His responses are by now well practised. He believes that near-constant pressure to quit is an occupational hazard to be shrugged off if not actually ignored. And he believes mutinous disloyalty from senior colleagues is an inevitable result of radical reforms of which he is fiercely proud.

The trouble for Sir Ian is that his reforms have not made him indispensable. Nor can he be sanguine any longer about the calls for him to go. His support from the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Home Office has crumbled: his contract will not be renewed in 2010. This makes him a lame duck not only in the view of his many critics, but in fact. If his record were spectacular, this newspaper would back his bid to stay in office until the 2012 Olympics and beyond. Unfortunately, it is not.

What sets the British media apart from our own is the deeper sense of memory, whether institutional, national, and personal, that the media, the politicians, and commentators have. For example, Libby Purves in Why did Alistair Darling choose 1948? points out a fascinating detail, concerning 1948 as a watershed year for Britain despite postwar austerity:

The disreputable anomaly of plural voting was abolished – previously university graduates could vote in two places, and business owners had an extra vote at their place of work.

The odd thing of course being that there are frustrated middle and upper class Filipinos who continue to think plural voting might be a good thing.

The business and finance media, too, write clearly and informatively, something hardly ever seen at home. The Business Editor of The Times pens an analysis: This slowdown has a long way to go yet — so just look forward to the sales. And there are short, but richly informative reports that contextualize the economic news. An article Is the party over for pubs? points out British pubs are closing at the rate of four per day and also ties in the various economic trends (crashing property prices, increasing food and labor costs, etc.) into the uncertain future of a British institution.

In Britain 2028: we need ten new cities, please, Camilla Cavendish looks at the immigration policies of the UK, something that ought to be of interest to Filipinos living and working here.

Just today, Gordon Brown to increase Holyrood’s tax powers focuses on the great Labour project of restoring the Scottish Parliament and increasing its powers over taxation and budgeting: again, this ia a debate erupting in Britain which should be interesting to proponents of Federalism.

Update: Only Blair could save Labour now provides an insight into how more “mature” democracies factor surveys into the political situation, and how past and present leaders can add and detract from their party’s future prospects.

A great pleasure is reading the obituaries published in the British papers. See K.K. Birla: industrial tycoon and philanthropist.

 

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Manuel L. Quezon III.

638 thoughts on “Crisis Management, Immigration, and Devolution

  1. Corruption is international in scope. P.I. U.S. Russia, China, everywhere, corruption is a way of life. Politicians wanting to be elected to office will pander on the weakness/gullibility of the electorate. “papogi” effect. P.I. or US, or other democratic countries, they don’t differ from each other.

    But to insinuate that we have nothing to envy about the U.S because she just the same as Pinas is an understatement. U.S has a great past and her political landscape had been dominated by political giants, Lincoln, Washington, even Robert Lee just to name a few. Her people built them monuments so generations to come will honor them and make Americans proud of their past and hope that this pride will guide their future.

    We have no political giants in our landscape, not that I know of, and we even mistake our villains our heroes and vice versa. Part of our identity crisis lies in the fact that we really don’t know whom to honor and whom to despise.

    Viewed from the period by which our heroes had interacted with the events in their times we have classified some as heroes but in the same breath we viewed them as traitors.

    Aguinaldo was hero to some but not to the Macabebe troopers of Pampanga. Jose P. Laurel was hero to some but not to those who suffered under the Japanese regime.

    Fast forward that confusion to the present millennium. Ask someone from Ilocos and he will tell you that Mr. Marcos is a war hero and the greatest President that graced Malacanang. If you ask a Kapampangan, it is GMA who holds that distinction although she is not a war hero.

    When our people started looking truthfully whom to despise, we are called upon to be magnanimous in the spirit of reconciliation and allow our wounds to heal because those who robbed us are willing to repent and return part of the loot they have taken. The mass media that are just as corrupt as our leaders would peddle the most vicious lie to the masses and help sanitize outright villainous acts of our leaders and they started painting them halos that would give Mother Theresa a great competition.

    This continuous charade of rebranding of heroes to villains and vice versa had emboldened our next leaders to plunder because if caught, they will return part of the loot, or hire mass media to refute any allegation of indiscretion and repackage their image and appear as reformed villains and therefore are free to move back into the political stage again.

    Erap may be again our next President after GMA.

    I have not found this villains and heroes rebranding in the political culture of America. This is something we have to envy about

    America may appear a fractious society from the outside world, but in time of crisis, she acts in one voice. America acted as one voice immediately after 911, but after she has considered the wrong on her has been avenged, Americans under the spirit of freedom and democracy started going separate ways again. This “division” is not the kind of division we see in us. This division in America is a sign of strength of her institutions, that though her people may vehemently disagree with each other, there are great institutions in place that will not allow their disagreement to spiral into bloodshed.

    We do not have these great institutions that is why our division spirals into bloodshed and we started killing each other again.

    So if you think that America and P.I. are the same, think again.

  2. I don’t like comparing apples to banana. It’s not fair. One has its weaknesses and its strength. The stronger America is alone in her journey. She has to find friends around the globe. She has to find allies. As for Philippines, all she needs is to go with the flow, maintain, or strengthen. The Philippines do not need to really prove herself. She has always been lucky. I am fortunate enough to experience both sides of the world. Very few white people have experienced what I have experienced. I can be an american when i’m the US or I can be the typical island girl in the Philippines… I can do both.

    The flexibility of many filipinos to deal with the bullshit of others is our strength.

    I have not suffered an identity crisis for a while. One thing I know for sure, I was filipina once and will always be filipina from the Philippine island… hahahah

    The grass is not greenier on the other side. Take the money and run home… you know what I mean. Let’s be smart here. Think about it.

  3. if US falls, she will really fall bad. Philippines cannot fall. It can only rise. Where would you be?

  4. ^ now thats what i call positive attitude..

    haha the really big advantage when your down, i mean really down, is that you have nowhere else to go but up

  5. “With the unceasing criminality, corruption, conflict, etc….”

    even G7 countries still experience them, possibly in a bigger magnitude than in ‘Pinas. in rich South Korea, corruption is already a given

    “The flexibility of many filipinos to deal with the bullshit of others is our strength.”

    agreed. our only weakness is the internal bullshit

    “I have not suffered an identity crisis for a while. One thing I know for sure, I was filipina once and will always be filipina from the Philippine island… hahahah”

    i hope thats not “nationalism by convenience.” Pinoy migrants to North America are ever ready to say “We’ll always be Pinoys at heart” while clutching a green card or its equivalent up north

    “The grass is not greenier on the other side. Take the money and run home… you know what I mean. Let’s be smart here. Think about it”

    agreed. but more Pinoys are not inclined to “thinking about it”

    I wonder how Pinoy migrants felt when they discovered that their new home is not corruption-free, not criminality-free, not recession-free, not unemployment-free (though the food stamps and the universal medical coverage is a big help)

  6. previous post about Pinoys working 24/7 in U.S. in reference only to medical field, nurses, pt’s and doctors. this field has never had a slump in demand for workers.

    I apologize if i think that you are really out of loop. But US had stopped recruiting doctors several decades ago. Physical therapists from the PHilippines were in demand in the middle of 1990’s until some vocational courses on occupational therapists were offered in city colleges or private colleges that hospitals gave more preference in their hiring.

    The hiring of nurses from the PHilippines came to a stop after the Relief Nursing Act expired. The hiring was only resumed with the strict implementation of the patient-to-nurse ratio in some states and the billing intensity accounting for hospital. Don’t ask about the latter, It will take me a semester to explain this to be understood by laymen.

  7. “But US had stopped recruiting doctors several decades ago.” – C at

    I’ve heard of Filipino MDs entering the U.S. as nurses. Are there really such cases? Is it widespread?

  8. “Samak Sundaravej has ended his bid to return to power as Thailand’s prime minister, an aide said Friday, after a revolt within the ruling party torpedoed his re-election in parliament.”

    He got kicked out for Cooking chicken.

    When will we finally have the spine to prosecute GMA for cooking the last election?

    I know, people like Bencard will say, forget about it, kalimutan na, patapos na term niya…but still GMA shouldn’t go unpunished.

  9. my wife recruits nurses from the Philippines. The demand for Filipino nurses was always there though there was an attempt to curtail it but it did not materialize because of the strong lobby of Fil-Am nurses group.

    doctors come as nurses and work as nurses in the U.S. Some doctors come as doctors to do residency work in U.S. hospitals.

    PT’s are still being hired though with quite a stringent requirement added.

    i think someone is out of the loop but not me.

  10. my wife recruits nurses from the Philippines. The demand for Filipino nurses was always there though there was an attempt to curtail it but it did not materialize because of the strong lobby of Fil-Am nurses group.

    doctors come as nurses and work as nurses in the U.S. Some doctors come as doctors to do residency work in U.S. hospitals.

    PT’s are still being hired though with quite a stringent requirement added.

    i think someone is out of the loop but not me.

  11. Anthony,

    I have to explain what “take the money and run” is about. I don’t want people to misunderstand me…

    it means, retire in the Philippines or for others, some works 6 months in the US and some go home for 6 months. or invest their money in small business in Philippines… buy a jollibee franchise ( example only) or any other franchise proven to work for those who don’t know how to start a business. any business that will work in the smaller cities of Philippine provinces will help employment.

  12. Panis na yung topic about PI and RP, but I just have to say this or else I’ll lose sleep.

    No one can really stop you from using PI if you think it’ll make you sound “alluring”, in the same way no one can stop you if you add “h” to your name, say from Jay to Jhay, if you think it’ll make you posh.

    I think whether you use PI or RP is more an indication of your education rather than your allure.

  13. About doctors.

    Me first cousin ako doctor sya(surgeon),hahabol sya sa tate para sa makasama ang misis nyang nurse.
    di siguro kasing dami ng tulad ng decades ago ang recruitment ng mga doctor; me ilan pa ding MD na pumupunta dun as mds.
    Niloko ko nga na iwasan nya si Teri Hatcher.

    leytenian,

    you don;t have to expalin yourself everytime someone “misunderstands you” ,although minsan medyo malabo nga,pero pag inexplain mo lalo pang lumalabo eh.

    Thailand:
    buti naman kung di na babalik, the other day kasi pundits from CNN expect him to return together with his cabinet with in a few days.

  14. KG,
    malabo nga.. sabi nga ni the Cat. that it will take a semester to explain everything to a layman…i don’t think you are a layman. you are just refusing to understand that’s there always two sides of the story. If you cannot say nice thing to people, maybe you should zipped your mouth. You don’t understand how to evolve among your peers especially here. I am sensing a superiority complex in your part. Try to be fair… i think you are a nice guy.. maintain it.

  15. “though the food stamps and the universal medical coverage is a big help)”

    true but you are referring to low income families. Most Pinoys do not belong to that category.

    A negative Blog by Benigno: It says that filipinos in the Philippines are not assets but liabilities..
    http://www.filipinovoices.com/being-proud-to-be-pinoy-not-as-easy-as-we-think

    On the positive side, there’s plenty of options to increase employment. The link below present a more realistic approach to our problem. It’s positive in a way that it engage many to voice out their opinions, negative or positive. But in the end… it provides a feeling of HOPE.

    http://cvjugo.blogspot.com/2008/08/framework-for-making-food-subsidies.html

  16. The following could be a reality check for those professing ‘feel good’ about the Philippines from the comforts of their American homes. Talks of a “barangay suicide” in Palawan.

    A toilet for a country – NO HOLDS BARRED
    Armida Siguion-Reyna 09/12/2008

    “Oh, but being Filipino these days is like living in a toilet with no windows, breathing alingasaw 24/7. If you are offended by the statement, you either put this paper down and join the exodus out, or you do something about the stink.

    There is a third choice, taken by the desperate. Michael Tan in his Philippine Daily Inquirer column wrote about what approximates to a “barangay suicide,” somewhere in Palawan, where residents talk about almost nothing else but how best to take one’s life. ”

    http://www.tribune.net.ph/20080912/commentary/20080912com5.html

  17. PSI,
    on reality check? of course.. everybody knows that there are responsible people in office. here’s the other reality:
    “Never mind the figures, on the Internet courtesy of the Office of the Provincial Treasurer. Gov. Bren Guiao (father of present Panlilio arch-foe and defeated gubernatorial candidate Lilia Pineda’s running mate, Vice Gov. Yeng Guiao) from 1993 to 1994 collected P3,823 million; Gov. Lito Lapid from 1995 to 2003, P69,176 million; and Gov. Mark Lapid from 2004 to June 2007 P81,345 million. All of them collectively made just P154,344 million, while on his own and within one year, Panlilio’s quarry collection reached P230 million. ”

    your link is telling me that the people mentioned by Michael Tan are somewhat ignoring the reality.

    on the positive side: “The Trade department in the region has also used this approach by clustering industries within the sector. And the result, based on the report of the agency, is very positive considering that industry clusters have had resulted to more business and more jobs .”
    http://www.mindanaotimes.com.ph/story.php?id=21210

  18. LEYTENIAN,

    I know your personality to be “sunny” and “amiable” from reading your posts,but you get a little bit feisty and tight skirted towards KG.. . i think KG was just joking about the explanation getting “muddier” , and if he isn’t, maybe we can evolve more tolerant behavior towards other who have other views and cannot understand us.

    you see, i can’t understand HVRDS most of the time and I call his attention about it. he has some violent reactions… but don’t be like him. remain alluring and likeable, i think you have that personality. 🙂

  19. jcc,
    “little bit feisty and tight skirted” hahaha. sorry about that..

    anyway, hi manolo great pictures you have there in london. did you try fish and chips? looks like you had fun…

    have a good weekend..

  20. “I think whether you use PI or RP is more an indication of your education rather than your allure.”.Cat

    Fully agree with that statement , Cat., and so with my friend in AJ of SD.

    “Some doctors come as doctors to do residency work in U.S. hospitals.”…jcc

    I also agree with jcc. In addition, these residents will eventually go on to practice as regular MDs either put up their own practice or be employees of government, local or federal or HMOs like Kaiser.

    The difficult part is how to get into residency training. Immigrant Fil MDs will just apply in the matching program after passing the national board (years ago it was FLEX, a three day exam, easy to pass especially when the Fil. MDs have residency training in reputable Hosp. in RP).

    Residency training in RP by the way is not credited in USA. Every newcomer will have to go back to PGY 1 (postgraduate year one level) regardless of your status in RP, resident, fellow, attending, diplomate, professor, whatever, you go back to PGY1 level.

    For those who are not immigrants, maybe there are still a few slots for J1 visas. They mostly work in research labs then, with good graces from the chairman, maybe, they will advance to residency training after several years in research. The problem with J1….they are obligated to go back to RP after 7 years in USA from day one they touch US soil.

    Decades ago, they have what they called VQE…visa qualifying exam. Pass this test and you are almost an immigrant in terms of qualifications in job hunting, etc.

  21. The biologist Charles Darwin noticed that similar species evolved along separately and differently depending on their geographical location.

    The same with humans. However human evolutionary psychology is also dependent on their physical evolution (struggle for physcial survival.) This more than anything else defines human nature.

    Where we are born and live geographically will predetermine our psychology. Our politics and culture will be defined by the level of our standard of living. That standard of living and the sustainability will be determined by the level of economic development.

    Ethical and moral standards will differ accordingly.
    Thus you see the utter lack of ethical and moral standards based on more mature countries in supposedly incorruptible CA justices coming from even the top schools and universities of the country.

    One even had the nerve to say that he was a member of the Opus Dei and thus can be trusted.

    No country has ever prospered having an intolerable justice system. But the Philippines is a superficial state with a superficial system of representative government.

    Majority of lawyers and judges in the country are unethical and downright crooked. The degree of holding power to account in the country is very low. Economic survival in the country is dependent on connections with the power structure.

    Thus we have to become pragmatic moralists and become immune to the daily assaults on fairness and decency.

    Imelda and the rest are living testimonies to the utter deficit in moral standards in the country. Unfortunately we still have not had a morally upright royal family ruling this collection of fiefdoms. They all have that neo-colonial attitude of raping the country and transferring themselves to more advanced countries.

    Thus when the ‘serfs’ are freed and move on to more advanced countries with more evolved social formats they prosper and look on at the fiefdoms they left. Little do the ‘serfs’ realize that they are responsible unwittingly for keeping the fiefdoms going.

  22. Leytenian,

    Why don’t you ZIP your mouth instead.
    I know you are eager to share stuff,but if you don’t have anything relevant to say.keep your hands of the keyboard.

    Bilangin mo pangalan mo sa lahat ng mga post simula ng nagstart ka nakakasiguro ako na lamang ka sa akin sa halos tatlong taon ko dito.

    ok lang yung mga counter arguments mo naintindihan ko na kailangan depensahan mo sarili mo by saying that the one who attacked you does not understand you or misunderstood you.

    bahala ka na nga.

    Go forth and have multiple irrelevant comments!

  23. I believe that the Philippines must revert first to a community of fiefdoms explicitly before it can evolve to be a community of peoples with a representative form of governance.

    In that respect , Chavit Singson is perfect as a leader and as a member of the National Security Council.
    Ethics and morality stem from the political economy. It is not about good and evil. It is about evolving.

    http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/09/12/1382073.aspx

    By NBC News’ Shahid Qazi and Carol Grisanti

    “BABAKOT, Pakistan – In a tangle of bushes and trees outside a remote village in southwest Pakistan, six close male relatives of three teenage girls dug a 4-foot wide by 6-foot deep ditch, on a sweltering night in mid-July, and allegedly buried the girls alive.”

    “The girls’ crime: they dared to defy the will of their fathers and the customs of their tribe and choose their own husbands. The mother of one of the girls and the aunt of another were shot and killed while begging for the girls’ lives, according to local media reports.”

    The brand Hezbollah literally means “Party of God’
    Gov. Sarah Palin says that the U.S. is doing God’s work in Iraq. The U.S. kuno has been given a sacred mission to spread democracy and freedom to the world.

    So now we know that a particular segment of the Republican party is also wanting to make their own Hezbollah movement in the U.S. “Death to the Infidels”

    Now both the Muslim Hezbollahs and the Republican Hezbollahs can mouth the same slogan. “Death to Infidels”

  24. please visit my site for relevant post. it is entitled: Open Letter to Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno

    http://jcc34.wordpress.com/
    September 13th, 2008 at 6:39 am

    Open letters in blogs seeking judicial relief are totally worthless. Hopefully the alleged aggrieved lawyer filed his manifestation with the SC formally addressed to the CJ and the members en banc. Also the administrative unit within the SC that oversees lawyers credentials.

    A full page ad would be helpful. Castigating the judiciary while in a foreign jurisdiction while knowing fully well that one is dependent on his credentials on the same set of judicial officers is obviously shortsighted. It betrays an anarchic way of looking at things.

    May tama na ang professional reputation.

  25. KG,

    Relax lang. Sabi mo nga, para lang tayong nagkukuwentuhan dito. Katulad ng karaniwang umpukan, maraming tahimik, may iba pa jab-jab lang, at mayroong din nagdo-dominate ng huntahan.

    Hopefully, hindi naman usapang lasing, di ba? 🙂

  26. More on the psychology of the evolving simian called human.
    The Social Animal
    By DAVID BROOKS

    Near the start of his book, “The Conscience of a Conservative,” Barry Goldwater wrote: “Every man, for his individual good and for the good of his society, is responsible for his own development. The choices that govern his life are choices that he must make; they cannot be made by any other human being.” The political implications of this are clear, Goldwater continued: “Conservatism’s first concern will always be: Are we maximizing freedom?”

    Goldwater’s vision was highly individualistic and celebrated a certain sort of person — the stout pioneer crossing the West, the risk-taking entrepreneur with a vision, the stalwart hero fighting the collectivist foe.

    The problem is, this individualist description of human nature seems to be wrong. Over the past 30 years, there has been a tide of research in many fields, all underlining one old truth — that we are intensely social creatures, deeply interconnected with one another and the idea of the lone individual rationally and willfully steering his own life course is often an illusion.

    Cognitive scientists have shown that our decision-making is powerfully influenced by social context — by the frames, biases and filters that are shared subconsciously by those around. Neuroscientists have shown that we have permeable minds. When we watch somebody do something, we recreate their mental processes in our own brains as if we were performing the action ourselves, and it is through this process of deep imitation that we learn, empathize and share culture.

    Geneticists have shown that our behavior is influenced by our ancestors and the exigencies of the past. Behavioral economists have shown the limits of the classical economic model, which assumes that individuals are efficient, rational, utility-maximizing creatures.

    Psychologists have shown that we are organized by our attachments. Sociologists have shown the power of social networks to affect individual behavior.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/12/opinion/12brooks.html?hp=&pagewanted=print

  27. on the other hand…@rodolfo

    I think if you are an Pompous, este Opus, Dei member you should not be made a judge or be given a government post in the first place..you have to be may tama sa ulo to join opus dei..

  28. Hvrds, Rodolfo;

    “ Open letters in blogs seeking judicial relief are totally worthless. Hopefully the alleged aggrieved lawyer filed his manifestation with the SC formally addressed to the CJ and the members en banc. Also the administrative unit within the SC that oversees lawyers credentials”.

    “A full page ad would be helpful. Castigating the judiciary while in a foreign jurisdiction while knowing fully well that one is dependent on his credentials on the same set of judicial officers is obviously shortsighted. It betrays an anarchic way of looking at things. HVRDS

    jcc getting a Manila-based lawyer to help with his case seems appropriate. Rodolfo.

    cursory reading of my open letter with your bias confounds the issue. It is like shooting one bird with 12-gauge, one or two pellets may find their mark but 98 per cent of the pellets go to waste.

    That open letter was received by SC Puno September 8, 2008. The issue has already been settled as far as my alleged “professional misconduct”, but to say I have to go back to Court en banc or the Court Administrator (administrative unit that oversees lawyers credentials), or that I sue the Supreme Court are the, is naïve and outright senseless. In this case, 100 per cent of your pellets were wasted.

    My open letter is clear enough. While a case is pending in court, the issue should be resolved in the court, but once it is settled, that issue can be brought into public consciousness and the court should defend its action in the halls of public opinion under the principle of constitutional public accountability and judicial responsibility

    This is elevating public accountability to a degree which according to HVRDS:

    “The degree of holding power to account in the country is very low”.

    As regards my “anarchic view” of looking at things, again, HVRDS, shows his “know-it-all” side personality.

    That letter has a second purpose of getting into the bias of the Committee of Bar Examiners of California and this “shortsighted lawyer” is using that as an argument to by-pass this credentials from the SC of the Philippines because this “short-sighted” lawyer is being professionally persecuted by the Philippine Supreme Court. Americans would protect “those who were being politically persecuted”, with this letter I can argue the point that America should also protect those who were being “professionally persecuted”. You really consider jcc a dumb, anarchic and short-sighted lawyer ! ! !.

  29. Pompous Deii… sounds appropriate.

    Guilty of the fallacies of (i) that all men think alike/that all men behave alike and therefore should think/behave alike per their rules; (ii) the false dilemma where two alternative statements are held to be the only possible options (corollary : and the only one acceptable is what they propose).

    Their proof based on another fallacy —– Nirvana fallacy — when solutions to problems are said not to be right because they are not perfect.

  30. to jcc: Oh, I get it!!! So you are gaming the American system so you can claim persecution. Your effort is laying the groundwork so you can ask California to ignore a decision of the Philippine Supreme Court .
    Have you asked a Michigan-immigration lawyer about this?
    Are you acting as your own lawyer on this matter?

  31. jcc,

    Watch your BP, ang puso mo! You invited people to look at your letter to SC Chief Justice, that is, you practically blogged it. Be ready to receive their comments, nice or otherwise.

    Sabi nga ni KG, nagkukuwentuhan lang tayo dito. Ang pikon, talo.

  32. leytenian,

    no need to explain. i know what you mean and what you didn’t mean.

    saka its nice to hear that most pinoys in the US don’t belong in the low income category

    pero baka naman dahil a good many of Pinoys there hold 2-3 jobs, thats why they’re not in the low income category. people say nurses-for-hire are expensive in the US so many nurses moonlight as such outside their hospital work

  33. my wife recruits nurses from the Philippines. The demand for Filipino nurses was always there though there was an attempt to curtail it but it did not materialize because of the strong lobby of Fil-Am nurses group.

    Since when.

    the Relief nursing Act expired in 1995 thus hiring of nurses was stopped.

    if your wife is recruiting nurses in the philippines, can you tell me how long can you bring the applicant to the US?

    You just came to the UJS 2000 and you’re not aware that the nursing functions were delegated to CNAs and LVNs until recruitment was opened again.

    you make so many claims that you stubbornly defend even when it is far from truth.

    i want to inform you that i have been in the nurse staffing long before you came and five in the family are nurses.

  34. I’ve heard of Filipino MDs entering the U.S. as nurses. Are there really such cases? Is it widespread?

    There are doctors who studied nursing even before they practise so it was just a career change.

    It is not as widespread as others think.

  35. people say nurses-for-hire are expensive in the US so many nurses moonlight as such outside their hospital work.

    they are not called nurses for hire. They are called nurses on call or are traveling nurses. Some of them do not have to moonlight in other hospitals. In low-staffed facilities, they work double-shift. in the second shift, they are paid one and half per hour.

  36. Just like Cat, 6 of my relatives are nurses, two of my sister are PT and 4 of my uncles are practicing MDs here.

    I have 3 more relatives in the Philippines who are registered nurses and two neice who are license PTs. We have been trying verything to bring them here but to no avail.

    On the other hand my cousin in law who is aUP law student and whose wife is nurse for 12 years now took Up LPN 4 years ago. He is now working in Lincoln Hospital for as LPN immediately after graduation . And now is now attending a night classes to get his Nurseing degree through as an scholar of the of Lincoln Hospital.

    So I again I will go with Cat on this…

  37. cat

    “You just came to the UJS 2000 and you’re not aware that the nursing functions were delegated to CNAs and LVNs until recruitment was opened again

    you are the one who is stubborn and making wrong assumptions.

    nursing functions are never delegated to Cnas, and neither to LVNs. actually it is LPN, (licensed practical nurse).

    The act stopping US from recruiting nurses did not materialize because of the lobby of Fil-Arm Nurses.

    There is a hard time getting nurses to US not because of the issue that the migration of nurses are being curtailed but because of the Immigration Policy of the US which is not intended to limit Filipino nurses.

    You see US immigration allocates certain number of immigrants that come to the US for the entire world. Let’s say 1,000,000 for the entire world for one year, and let us say that the Philippines quota is 50,000 out of that one million.

    The quota for the Philippines most of the time are exceeded because most of these numbers were taken by Filipino dependents, parents, and even brothers and sisters. So the quota for the Philippines are taken up mayber up to year 2010 or beyond that year.

    There is no glut for Filipino nurses. You only see the picture as if it is hard to recruit nurses from the Philippines because of the exceeded quota, not because nurses are being replaced by LPN’s and CNAs.

    LPN is a 2 year degree course. They can attend to a patient but there are certain limitations of their functions as far as health administration on the patient.

    CNA or certified Nursing Assistant are those that do the diaper/dress/grooming aspect for the patient. Not a nursing function at all.

    US health care is evolving on a highly speacialized field that each aspect of management is being assigned to specific people.

    But the evolution has nothing to do with your assumtions that it was intended to replace Filipino nurses with LPNs and CNAs.

  38. psi,

    not at all against any reaction to my posts. all i am saying is that before one makes a reply to have a decency of reading the post, at least with some attention, on the details. 🙂

  39. rodolfo,

    if you only read the open letter carefully you would not even say that I am trying to ask California Bar to disregard the decision of the SC. Only to disregard the claim of the SC that despite the lapse of my suspension for one year, SC still considers it in effect. As if I was suspended “indefinetly which is not the case.

    It is really nice to shoot a bird with a 12-gauge, hoping that one or two pellets will find their mark. 🙂

  40. rego,

    send your relatives to my wife…. processing might take one or two years, but the papers are being processed and not being disapproved by USIS as long as the credentials are all right. 🙂

  41. to jcc34: What I inferred is that the Philippine Supreme Court still consider as suspended your license to practice law in the Philippines. Also, the Phil Supreme Court sent official notification to the California Bar of this determination. Sa aking kuro-kuro, ubod ng bigat ang timbang noong sulat ng Philippine Supreme Court. I am not a lawyer but it makes sense to me that the California Bar will NOT want to provide a California-license to a lawyer whose license to practice(in Alabama or Philippines or Australia) is currently suspended.

    You are the one who studied Califonia law. Is there a California or Federal-case that says letters from overseas Supreme Courts can be ignored by the California Bar?

    Mukhang mahaba pa ang labanan na hinaharap mo…. good luck in your efforts to get a California law license!!

  42. rodolfo,

    i am no longer suspended. if you read the adm. case and my letter, it ended in April 2007, but the SC-Philippines still communicated to the California Bar that I am still suspended, which is not true.

  43. jcc: As you said, SC-Philippines still communicated to the California Bar that jcc is still suspended. Hard evidence as it were.

    I think you need to encourage the SC-Philippines to send a follow-up letter to the California Bar that jcc’s license to practice law has been reinstated effective month/day/year.

  44. jcc: Doesn’t one have to re-apply for REINSTATEMENT OF LICENSE TO PRACTICE LAW?

    I have seen such references — the requirement to repply for REINSTATEMENT OF LICENSE TO PRACTICE MEDICINE AND SURGERY.

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