PAL RAINE

The only festival that I've witnessed and experienced is Kadayawan Festival here in Davao City. I'm very happy when Mati LGU invites us again to witness their Sambuokan Festival: Indak-Indak sa Sambuokan 2019.

Indak-Indak sa Sambuokan is a street dancing competition, accompanied by the drumbeats and singing (chanting) by competing contingents by categories.

13 contingents are participating the Indak-Indak, secondary/tertiary category and elementary category.

Each winner per category will receive the following cash prizes:

*P100,000 for the Grand Champion,
*P75,000 for the Second Place and
*P50,000 for the Third Place

For your information, City Government of Mati already released P100,000 subsidy for each contingents joining the Indak-Indak 2019 last October 2, 2019.

Rain or shine all participating contingents really give their best and enjoyed their presentation they have practiced for almost a year, together with the outpouring support from their families, friends, relatives, teachers, etc. for me, they are all winners.

Here are some of my photos during the event:

Secondary/Tertiary Category:

1. GRAND CHAMPION - Immaculate Heart of Mary Academy (IHMA) P100,000

2. 2ND PLACE - Mati National Comprehensive High School P75,000

3. 3RD PLACE - Dawan National High School P50,000

BEST IN MUSICALITY - IHMA
BEST IN COSTUME & PROPS - Mati National Comprehensive High School

Elementary Category:

1. GRAND CHAMPION - Matiao Central Elementary School P100,000

2. 2ND PLACE - Don Luis Rabat Sr. Elem. School P75,000

3. 3RD PLACE - Rabat Racamora Mati Central SPED School P50,000

BEST IN MUSICALITY, BEST IN COSTUME & PROPS - Matiao Central Elem. School

The highlights are not the event of activities, but to see the togetherness of the people of Mati, starting from the LGU, Barangays and the Community of Indigenous People.

The UNITY or the "BUOK" as they utter in their native dialect – the ONENESS, the wholeness of Mati communities.

Congratulations and thank you to the City Mayor of Mati, Michelle Nakpil Rabat and also to Mati LGU headed by Sir Ben Tesiorna, Ms. Marivic “Bula” Sencio and Sir Clyde Martin.

With Mati City Mayor, Michelle Nakpil-Rabat

In travelling, we normally bring our camera to take photos in every place we visited, just to have copies of good memories.

The idea is to have a knowledge in photography. This will help in capturing moments, even if you're a hobbyist or a professional photographer, you really had to know the basic skills & tips in capturing great memories.

It will be a great help if you attend workshops like DAGWAY SA SAMBUOKAN. A Photography Workshop with the renowned Photojournalist/columnist Jojie Alcantara.

Last October 12, a workshop was held at Baywalk Hotel, Mati City, organized by Mati LGU headed by Ms. Marivic 'Bula' Sencio and Mr. Clyde Martin. Sponsored by Fuji Film Philippines, FujiInstax, Dhan Store, CASA ROSA, MX3, COCO Bioskin, Angels & Crystals.

"Giving back and sharing my knowledge that I learned from my work as an artist, writer, photographer and a columnist is my main goal in life." said by Jojie Alcantara.

The main objective of this workshop is to help photographers who are beginners, amateurs, and hobbyist to capture great photos, especially this coming Sambuokan Festival.

Listen. Learn. Listen 😆😁😊😉

This is my second workshop with Ms. Jojie, and two things I've learned about photography:

(1) In getting a subject you need to set a story, to make a story out of your subject and to convince your viewers & readers what are you implying for.

(2) Go deeper with your photos, know some tips & tricks, learn to enhance and have a good photo that you will cherish forever.

Honestly, I don't know how to use a DSLR camera. That's why I prefer to use mobile camera, because it's handy & safe to carry. Lucky to have my new mobile, Huawei Honor 10 Lite and I am excited to use it by applying what I have learned in the workshop. Together with the 30+ participants from Davao Oriental, we explore the beauty of Mati City, to capture great photos that we can be proud of.

BAHIA BEACH RESORT located along Manggihay, Mati City, Davao Oriental.

So quiet and the place is so wide, good for relaxation and taking pictures. Here are my photos which I considered #mybest!

AMIHAN BEACH RESORT located at Dahican, Mati City

The place of the famous Amihan Boys, these are the children who love to swim, surf and skimboarding. That time we haven't seen them, so we look for other subjects that would give us great photos about Amihan. So I got these.

PROVINCIAL CAPITOL OF DAVAO ORIENTAL, Mati City, Davao Oriental

It's my fourth time to see this place. My first time is way back 1997 and we stayed in the old capitol then. After 20 years, I came back together with my VDSF Family. And now, this is my 3 consecutive years of travelling here, and I'm still overwhelmed seeing this beautiful capitol of Mati.

After the outdoor activity, we head back to the hotel and announce the winning photos. Each winner receives products from different sponsors. This man is so lucky, he won the latest FujiInstax S6, by Fuji Film Philippines.

Congrats BobCat Gregorio and to all the winners and participants! 😉😊

One of my photos was also chosen, in another category, this time a photo contest together with my Social Media colleagues. My photo receives a consolation prize courtesy by Angels & Crystals bracelet.

Thank You ANGELS & CRYSTALS

#MyEntry is the Provincial Capitol of Mati building. ☝️☝️☝️ scroll up!

Once again #ThankYouAteJojie #DaghangSalamatMatiLGU for the invitation and accommodation. 🥰😘 #MaganahayNgadi

Photo Credit: Ms. Bula Sencio

For more photos regarding Dagway sa Sambuokan, please visit their Facebook Page.

And to all participants for the Sambuokan Photo Contest, good luck to you guys! #MakeItMati

Lamoiyan Corporation Licealiz Head Lice Treatment Shampoo was initiated in 2016, the KILUSANG KONTRA KUTO, an advocacy campaign that is battling head lice infestation nationwide for a kuto-free Philippines.

This is my second year supporting the campaign and every year same scenario, you will face students from public schools for a yearly nationwide shampooing activity in eliminating the social stigma associated with" KUTO" or LICE (Pediculosis).

Many cities in the Philippines, including my city — Davao City, where included by Licealiz Kilusang Kontra Kuto for educational talks about head lice. Lamoiyan Corporation is visiting 30 schools nationwide and targets to shampoo around 6,000 head lice infested students.

Educational Talk
By: Dra. ANA LIZA LANUZA
Family Doctor

Today, October 9, a gathering of students from Cesareo Villa Abrille Elem. School (formerly known as Bucana Elem. School) in Brgy.76-A Bucana, witness and experience how Licealiz Shampoo help eliminate their head lice and at the same time teaching them how to practice good hygiene.

Lice will infest to anyone. No matter who you are regardless of hair, gender, age, and even social class. ~ Ms. Ruby Rose Cavestany, Lamoiyan Corporation Mktg. Director

1. Wash hair with Licealiz Shampoo

2. Let it stay for 10 minutes

3. After 10 minutes, get "suyod" or the lice comb and comb your hair vigorously.

4. Wash & Rinse it properly.

The symposium was made possible by the Lamoiyan team headed by the Assistant Brand Manager, Ms. Cristina Martinez in partnership with the Department of Education.

Lamoiyan was able to raise awareness and debunked misconceptions surrounding pediculosis by spreading the correct information together with the Drugstores Association of the Philippines (DSAP) and Mommy Bloggers Philippines to further help disseminate the correct information about pediculosis and widely reach the grass roots.

PROTECT YOUR CHILD

1. Avoid physical contact - though lice don't have a wing to fly, physical contact especially with hair must be avoided. So tell you kids not to play ..oh-oh kids are kids..what to do? We can ask our children not to share personal items like combs and hair accessories. And also hats, caps, that will make lice and nits present.

2. Pillows, Clothes, Blankets should be washed in hot water and then let it dry from a high heat, this will kill lice and nits.

3. Clean the house thoroughly, the floor and furniture can also be infected.

4. Most of all, don't forget to use Licealiz to treat your children's hair & scalp.

Licealiz, a non-toxic shampoo used to treat and prevent from having head lice and their eggs to grow.

It comes in two variants, the Regular with conditioner for softer,smoother, healthier hair and the Soothing Coolnest which have the menthol for a cool, refreshing feeling on the scalp. The 10ml and 60ml contains 20mg of Pyrethrin, which is safe for children as young as two years old.

Lamoiyan Corporation is inviting everyone to join the campaign to fight against head lice and be part of the KKK or Kilusang Kontra Kuto Year 4. To know more, visit www.facebook.com/licealiz

Our house is near "talipapa" or a smaller public market. It's full of different stalls and stores selling fish, pork, chicken, beef, vegetables and much more. But what other things you can see here in our market is the presence of the local and foreigners collecting money from smaller merchants.

Yes, the so-called financial saviour, the famous 5/6 from money lender like the "Bombay" or the Indian financiers. No matter how President Duterte warned us about the negative impact 5/6 to our lives, still people are embracing it as their last resort. I interviewed some of the merchants, here are their stories.

PROTECT YOUR CASH

"From the start I open my chicken stall here, I did not expect that my life would change because of a financial problem. I am not ready to face the reality that I am losing everything because of the 5/6".

"To have a chicken meat shop, all you need is a sufficient funds for starting the venture. Then, a little more than a weighing scale, a butcher’s knife, and a cutting board, slowly you will need to add more in order to increase your selling. So I decided, why not join the bandwagon of 5/6, there everything changes not for the better but for the worst."

~ Aling Mercy, 51 years old
Owner — Chicken Meat Stall

DON'T DEPEND TO MUCH

"I am Sally and I rented a Barbeque stand. I entered 5/6 for additional capital. But I don't have any idea that too much lending will lead me to doom."

"I have five lending companies, two is from a "Bombay" and three from other lending companies. Alternately, I paid them daily, but sometimes I cannot pay because it depends with my daily average income."

"Little did I know that when you miss a day without paying, the next time you ask for a renewal they will say yes, but the truth is they will never renew your booklet."

~ Nang Sally, 59 years old
Owner — Barbecue Stand

Pool Funding very popular also here in our barangay, aside from the 5/6. Mostly stall owners and/or vendors do this to add income to their capital.

"We usually collect a certain amount from each other then the next thing we do is "bunutan" or casting lots to know who will be the first to use the funds."

“The cons here is that we cannot get funds easily if our names is not yet on the schedule so we need to wait. How about for emergency purposes? Here were 5/6 enter and another easy way to get money. No hassle — no required documents needed, but the only problem is that you need to pay daily. Our daily payment is flexible; if we fail to pay one day, it's understood that we must pay for the day missed the next time around.“

~ Beverly, 52 years old
Street Food Vendor

“Most of us here are ambulant vendors, selling smoked fish, veggies, fish balls, Kwek-Kwek, barbecue and the like. Some owned a stall, but in our case we rent a stall or we have our own rolling store. Some had a good capital to start, while others are in need of financial support."

“Nothing beats the 5-6 money lenders, they collect every day. That's why we need to work in order to earn too! They will collect a nominal interest rate 20% over an agreed period of time. Just like me, I just borrowed P1500 from a 5/6 money lender over a period of two months repays. A P30 per day for 60 days they get P1800.“

~Benjamin, 27 years old
Buko Juice Vendor

As Our Last Resort

“Though we enjoy having it as our last resort in getting additional funds to our capital, the problem arises when daily collections started. Out of 100% vendors in our market 40% borrowed money from the Indians, the others came from Filipino lenders.“

"They collect and we suffered. And what we do in order to increase our profit we need to sell our goods at a higher cost. At the same time, financial crises hit us, we have no choice but to increase our dependency on Indians.“

Minerva, 55 years old
Sari-Sari Store Owner

In Thoughts...

No matter what we say about "5/6", borrowers remained dependent with their lenders — they both survived especially to the Filipino society downturn. Though it helps us, but the "utang" goes on and on — it never stops! Instead of having a good business to give us as "pamana" or heritage to our children — loan will be there burden till the end.

This is my 4th post for the #PlsSaveMe campaign.

Thank you for reading my final post about financial literacy for Filipino.

A Disclaimer: Some photos are from pexels.com for illustration purposes only.

It's not wrong to be ambitious, to reach the impossible star — but you should know your limit.

Being a "sikad" driver doesn't need educational attainment, most of them never finished their studies due to financial problems.

As a part of #PlsSaveMe campaign for financial literacy, I interviewed our neighbor Kuya Emmanuel, a trisikad or sikad driver here in our barangay. He ended up working as a trisikad driver because for him it is easier to earn money than going to the office and have a minimum salary that can't sustain his family needs. Read his story below.

For him, driving a sikad is one of the fastest ways to earn & support his family daily needs.

˝Just call me Eman, a high school graduate and I lived in with my Aunt when my parents died in an accident. At a very young age, I make my own living and help my Aunt with her finances. I learn to be independent & responsible in everything.˝

˝At age 26, I got married and have a son. I'm still living with my Aunt together with my family. In my 34 years as a sikad driver, with a daily income range around 200-500 per day, for me, it's better compared to apply for a government position, having a salary of 300-400 per day with deductions.˝

˝My dream is to have my own house. To enroll myself in college, to send my son to a private school. And to have our business.˝

DRIVE SAFELY

˝My ordeal started when I got hooked with the Small Town Lottery(STL) game. I have an average income margin 201-400 plus, 60% so in a month I have 6,030-12,000 more or less (depend also with the weather).˝

˝I was so relaxed with my income that I never imagined I will be in a situation that I don't know how it started. All I remember is that I was curious what the others are doing, lining up going to an STL Booth. And I try, why not for "pampalipas oras". My friend taught me how to go starting from a P5 bet to P100+ more. Well, the number bets are designed to bring in more money, the more the closer I am into a winning percentage. And this time, it's not "palipas oras"., it's not anymore a game - I bet from P5 now I can spend P1000+++ more, now I'm into gambling.˝

"The swertres 824 for example, is amounting to P50 and if you're lucky, you win P25,000. And for 4D=P10 and your bet numbers are 0824 you will win P40,000. I keep on gambling, sometimes I won and mostly I loss. For almost six years playing STL, I did not notice that I was already addicted to the game, my finances were slowly decreasing.˝

˝My family suffered a lot, and I'm so thankful that President Rodrigo Duterte ordered stoppage of all gaming schemes operated like Lotto and Small Town Lottery. And after he lifted the ban of lotto, STL remain CLOSE here in my city due to the many violations.˝

"Gambling really changed my life, and I know it will be impossible for me to achieve my dream, to enroll myself in college, to have our own house, to send my children to private school, to have our own business with my wife, all these did not prosper. I know that even those who have a better-paying jobs would feel the pinch of exploitation: LOTTO, STL all about gambling will STOP your dream & ambition in life."

"Today, I'm beginning to renew myself. For me, lotto and STL are not my primary tool to lift up from poverty. Go back to basic, to work hard and always think the welfare of the family. Almost all - if not all - people here in the Philippines are exploited in this kind of gambling. Some are not aware they are into that thinking, ˝I'm not like them˝, ˝I can handle my gaming˝ etc.. This is because we are not satisfied with the money we make out from our job, in effect, our family & relatives will suffer a lot."

It's OK to play games, but now, NO TO GAMBLING.

Safe Drive.

Know your LIMIT.

~Kuya Eman, 50 years old
BUSCOPUDA Sikad Operator
#158

Kuya Eman will not see himself suffer again from the exploit of gambling, if he only thinks of his family's welfare. I surmise that Kuya Eman is, in a way, lucky to have no employer. He may not be living the life of what he's aiming for, but in reality nobody would tell him what to do or not to do.

A single man with two jobs, but having difficulties crawling up from pawn to pawn. Heard about this kind of a scenario, wherein you need to "PRENDA" or PAWN your own ATM card deposited as security for a debt? Here's a story of RJ Garcia.

"I work as a bartender in a hotel and a Sepak Takraw Coach in a prestigious school. I didn't know that even I'm doing two separate job at the same time, I will be sacrificing this kind of a loan debt."

WRONG MOVE COACH

"I'm confident enough to tell that I'm earning well, but recently the feeling of stress of having two jobs when getting my salary every 15th & 30th of the month, to budget what is left after pawn deduction, and the battle of meeting my budgets is taking a toll on me."

"Honestly, I am hook to different online gamings and I used my ATM card as my collateral in purchasing VPN, etc.. Yes, I don't have problems with my house, water, electric bills because I am still living with my parents. And the only thing that made me decide to pawn my card is because of my online games addiction."

"My monthly expenses are too spread out with my addictions. I'm not even left with enough money to buy my girlfriend gift or date her in a restaurant".

"Yes, I surrender all of my ATM's in exchange for money to feed my online gaming addiction. I purchased online and I'm happy doing that for almost two years without thinking how much is my savings."

"How much left for me is a REALIZATION. For how many years I am wrong with my moves, not in my two jobs, but with my PROFLIGATE expenses."

REALIZATION

"Having two jobs is not a problem if you know how to manage your time and track your budget wisely. I have so many REALIZATION with my experiences, I think of it as the vital step in facing the realm of Financial world. To categorize your budget list: the living expenses should be priorities such as food supplies, health insurance, and the like. Followed by less important expenses such as VPN and Online Gaming purchases that happened to be more expensive compared to my everyday normal budget."

"I am very wrong, having that confident thinking of my two jobs can help me ease my burden. So now, I'm stretching up my budget and give me room to start again. Eliminating unnecessary expenses --- the NEEDS and WANTS and decide which are needed to let go to free up space to start investing rather than wasting!"

-RJ

Do you have the same story with RJ Garcia? What will you do if you happen to be in his shoes? Comment down below, share your thoughts. Thanks.

***This is Pal Raine 2nd posts for #PlsSaveMe campaign.

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