My Honest Disposition
Coming back and residing in Bongao wasn’t really in my itinerary after college. Literally, who wants to live in a community where it is usual to have more than 36-hour power outage? Welcome to Bongao. Welcome to Tawi-Tawi, the forgotten island.
During my search for job in Manila, just before our contract signing with a multi-national company for a job I would be assigned there, my mom called asking if I can come here with her and eventually stay here while we patch things from my birth certificate errors to fixing our abandoned home, etc. As usual, I can never say no to the good persuasion skills and authoritative (not!) power of my mother. To make the story short, I did not push through with the contract or the job. I flew back to Tawi-Tawi, and got into Mindanao State University – TawiTawi College of Technology and Oceanography as an accountant (what else?). Just in case you are wondering, months prior to my jobsearch in Manila, I sent an application letter together with my college TOR and other credentials to MSU TCTO with the thought to give back to the alma mater that shaped me. Thankful enough, the chancellor accepted me, thinking that the admin people are almost to retire. #lol #sorryformentioningthat
Anyway, enough of my jobsearch.
During my search for job in Manila, just before our contract signing with a multi-national company for a job I would be assigned there, my mom called asking if I can come here with her and eventually stay here while we patch things from my birth certificate errors to fixing our abandoned home, etc. As usual, I can never say no to the good persuasion skills and authoritative (not!) power of my mother. To make the story short, I did not push through with the contract or the job. I flew back to Tawi-Tawi, and got into Mindanao State University – TawiTawi College of Technology and Oceanography as an accountant (what else?). Just in case you are wondering, months prior to my jobsearch in Manila, I sent an application letter together with my college TOR and other credentials to MSU TCTO with the thought to give back to the alma mater that shaped me. Thankful enough, the chancellor accepted me, thinking that the admin people are almost to retire. #lol #sorryformentioningthat
Anyway, enough of my jobsearch.
#ComingHome
Here I am, lying in bed on a lazy Sunday with the fan swinging in front of me. Am I just too happy to be able to enjoy this mini pleasure?! Because last night, I wasn’t able to sleep well due the power outage set by the Tawi-Tawi Electric Cooperative for 24 hours. It’s nothing new. Power outages can be as short as two seconds or as long as one week or so. I can deal with no electricity, but the worst of not having one is that the water distribution would not be efficient (worst, would not work). In short, we won’t have water to consume if there is no electricity. Thank you so much!
Moreover, it is not just the electricity that can cause you headache in this part of the world. Mobile access is another story. Just last April, we lost mobile access of Smart and Globe telecoms for more than a week. Few days ago, Smart went down again. Really, you cannot rely on ANY telecom companies here. I have no idea on what the real score is. But yeah, that’s how things go here. Again, welcome to my homeland.
The last thing I know the people are part of is the garbage. Literally? You can see garbage here and there. Illegal squatting means that some of the houses do not have toilets. And guess where they throw their sh*ts? Simple. ANYWHERE. Then, you’ll just be shocked to step on a cellophane bag full of sh*t. Everywhere smells bad esp if you happen to be walking past the Ridjiki Boulevard.
I spent my life in Iligan City trying to prove the beauty (of course) of my Tawi-Tawi. I tell everyone to come and visit (please do come!). And if I had money and connections, I would launch a tour for all my blogger friends just to boost the tourism of this little abode I call home. Yet, now that I am gonna spend some time of my life here, I am stuck with the question, should I really invite people? I mean, would I not cause them distress if they cannot call their families? Would they be happy to see that we heavily rely on generator sets for our electricity? I really don’t know.
I am still positive though. There is much to be done here. SO MANY THINGS. Too much work needed to patch things up, like what my mom told me when she persuaded me to come here. The officials need to be hand in hand in working to make things better in this southernmost frontier. I hope that Allaah will give everyone of us hidayah of what is needed to be done. This is a small place. So, it’s easier to manage if we come together.
#MakeAChange
I call on Tawi-Tawians to please cooperate and do your share – not just the government. Yes, I am talking to every Tawi-Tawian. If we do not push your right, we won’t be heard. So, let’s make our tiny voices into mighty one by moving forward and changing our ways to a better future. In clear sense, STAND and MAKE A CHANGE!!!! Stop acting like you do not care. You live here. You want a beautiful place. There’s no one but you to make it like one.
Here I am, lying in bed on a lazy Sunday with the fan swinging in front of me. Am I just too happy to be able to enjoy this mini pleasure?! Because last night, I wasn’t able to sleep well due the power outage set by the Tawi-Tawi Electric Cooperative for 24 hours. It’s nothing new. Power outages can be as short as two seconds or as long as one week or so. I can deal with no electricity, but the worst of not having one is that the water distribution would not be efficient (worst, would not work). In short, we won’t have water to consume if there is no electricity. Thank you so much!
Moreover, it is not just the electricity that can cause you headache in this part of the world. Mobile access is another story. Just last April, we lost mobile access of Smart and Globe telecoms for more than a week. Few days ago, Smart went down again. Really, you cannot rely on ANY telecom companies here. I have no idea on what the real score is. But yeah, that’s how things go here. Again, welcome to my homeland.
The last thing I know the people are part of is the garbage. Literally? You can see garbage here and there. Illegal squatting means that some of the houses do not have toilets. And guess where they throw their sh*ts? Simple. ANYWHERE. Then, you’ll just be shocked to step on a cellophane bag full of sh*t. Everywhere smells bad esp if you happen to be walking past the Ridjiki Boulevard.
I spent my life in Iligan City trying to prove the beauty (of course) of my Tawi-Tawi. I tell everyone to come and visit (please do come!). And if I had money and connections, I would launch a tour for all my blogger friends just to boost the tourism of this little abode I call home. Yet, now that I am gonna spend some time of my life here, I am stuck with the question, should I really invite people? I mean, would I not cause them distress if they cannot call their families? Would they be happy to see that we heavily rely on generator sets for our electricity? I really don’t know.
I am still positive though. There is much to be done here. SO MANY THINGS. Too much work needed to patch things up, like what my mom told me when she persuaded me to come here. The officials need to be hand in hand in working to make things better in this southernmost frontier. I hope that Allaah will give everyone of us hidayah of what is needed to be done. This is a small place. So, it’s easier to manage if we come together.
#MakeAChange
I call on Tawi-Tawians to please cooperate and do your share – not just the government. Yes, I am talking to every Tawi-Tawian. If we do not push your right, we won’t be heard. So, let’s make our tiny voices into mighty one by moving forward and changing our ways to a better future. In clear sense, STAND and MAKE A CHANGE!!!! Stop acting like you do not care. You live here. You want a beautiful place. There’s no one but you to make it like one.
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