Marawi Siege: Economic profile of a ‘failed’ city
Marawi City, considered the heartland of the Islamic faith in the Philippines’ southern island of Mindanao, provides fertile ground for ISIS militants. The city is the provincial capital of Lanao del Sur, part of Central Mindanao, which for decades has been home to a Muslim rebellion. The city’s Mindanao State University is a hotbed of activism. BusinessWorld Research collated economic data, comparing Marawi not only with Manila, but also with Davao to show the disparity even within Mindanao.
5 pro tips that’ll spark your photos
An audience of twenty‑somethings, sitting on space‑saving plastic stools, willingly crammed themselves into the area provided for them in Camerahaus, Megamall, all ears to hear what award‑winning street photographer and Fujifilm brand ambassador Rommel Bundalian has to say about taking unique, artistic photographs of his travels.
It’s not surprising that more and more young people are flocking to opportunities that will refine their photography skills, now that being a social media influencer is becoming a legitimate job, while big business advertisers are pressured to shift to digital. Influencer Sara Melotti took to her blog with a confession entitled “Instagram created a monster ‑ A no‑bullshit guide to what’s really going on!”that has become controversially viral. She detailed how influencers, whom she called “walking billboards,” reach “consumers” (their followers) through ethical and unethical methods.
Controversy aside, it pays to have good photographs (pun not intended), if not because the modern world increasingly depends on visuals, then for the beauty of keeping memories.
Mr. Bundalian gave his lecture with the Fujifilm’s X-series in mind (his gear consisting primarily of the Fujifilm X‑T1, to be specific), but newbies who have yet to see if they are worth a pro camera may practice on their mobile phones or tablets, he told SparkUp. “But if you’re into serious photography,” he warned, “I won’t recommend that you use mobile devices.”
“Whenever we travel, we always want to capture the beauty of the place,” he began. But tourist spots are often crowded places, all of them taking photos of the exact same thing. How can yours stand out?
The people in the tourist spot can be put to your advantage, Mr. Bundalian advised. “If you look at my photos, there’s always a person that I use as a scale.” See a photo of a mountain is just a photo of a lump of land, but a photo of a man climbing the mountain shows the magnitude of the place, how old the earth is compared to the person who just happened to be walking past. “When we travel, we always want to capture the beauty of the place but always put the scale,” he said.
He favors shooting locals over his friends or fellow travelers in his travel photography. “Minsan hindi na ako nag-papaalam (sometimes I don’t ask for permission),” he admitted about taking photos of strangers, adding there are no laws prohibiting stolen photos in the Philippines. On the other hand, he cited France as an example of a place with strict photography laws. The French civil code protects the rights of its citizens not to be photographed in the streets in a way that would make them recognizable in a published image.
Speaking of France where everyone will most likely take a photo of the iconic Eiffel Tower, he said people get a “sense of place” from looking at a photo. “Iconic sights are important. That’s why we always take photos of them when we travel,” said Mr. Bundalian. “It establishes a sense of place, all it takes is one look to know where it is.”
To expound, a Filipino looking at a photo of a jeepney traversing a long bridge should know that the photo was taken at the San Juanico Bridge. A foreigner looking at the same photo should, on the other hand, get a sense that the scene took place in the Philippines. Festivals and local events should also give viewers a sense of place.
Another tool that a photographer can use to stand out? Google. “Before going to a place, google it,” he said. “There you’ll see what is the best shots of other photographers. You’ll observe that they’ll all see the same photo.”
And after you’ve taken that iconic shot, the same way others have done before you? Be creative. “Know the rules and break the rules, if you want to stand out,” he said. Explore, look at the place through different angles, let wanderlust take over logic.
“Photography is a waiting game. If you think you can get a good shot, you have to wait,” Mr. Bundalian said. He gave as an example a photo that he had to take for an automobile company. Parking the car that he has to shoot by a roadside cliff in Sagada, he had to wait for hours so that fewer pedestrians will be caught on camera. Some of the people, he recounted, even drew on the dew that stuck to the car windows (which he had to wipe clean). The waiting (and cleaning) paid off, and he was able to take a perfect shot of a lone car surrounded by nature, the sun hitting its windshield at just the right angle for a perfect starburst.
Patience is a key trait that extends to the uploading of images. “Marinate your image,” he warned. “Don’t be too excited to post. The photos that you just took, all of them would look good to you because the idea behind taking them is still fresh in your mind.” Detachment, he added, would help you decide if the photo is as beautiful as you initially thought it would be. It would also save you from spamming social media with so many photos of just one place or event.
But the most important thing in taking a good photograph, Mr. Bundalian said, is this: “Don’t take photos for others to like. [Instead,] take photos for yourself. Shoot from the heart.”
“Keep on practicing. Go out and shoot. Always bring your camera,” he said, a feat that is made easier now that cameras have gotten more portable and affordable from the hulking DSLRs of the ‘90s. It’s also important for the photographer himself to smile. “Smile. Talk to people so that you’ll be more comfortable taking photos. At least thank them, and if they talk to you then you’ll also get a good story to back your photo.”
And one not need travel far to take that perfect travel photo. Some of Mr. Bundalian’s iconic works have been taken within the Metro Manila area—Bonifacio Global City, Roxas Boulevard, and Laguna de Bay. In the end, it’s all about having a trained eye, gained through practice, patience, more practice, and more importantly, heart.
Fujifilm Philippines will be holding its 21st Graphic Expo from June 1 to 3 at the SMX Convencion Center, Mall of Asia. A photography workshop and thanksgiving party for Fujifilm users entitled Different Stories will be held at the Green Sun Hotel, Makati City on June 3.
Female powerhouses sound off on what it’s really like to be a woman
“Wnever spend enough time to listen to women,” said Ambassador of the Republic of France to the Philippines Thiery Mathou—a man—before an audience of female powerhouses.
Last May, the embassy he helms staged a forum entitled “She for She” at Century Mall, Makati, to commemorate the 70th year of Franco‑Philippine friendship, and also to uphold an endeavor shared by the two countries: the defense of women’s rights. Not to be confused with the UN Women solidarity campaign called HeforShe, which engages men and boys as agents of change for gender equality, this forum gave women a chance to talk to women about women.
“The Philippines ranks even higher than France,” the ambassador pointed out, referring to the 2016 Global Gender Gap report where the Philippines ranked first in gender equality in Asia, and seventh in the world. “But if we compare the situation between the global index and the reality at the grassroots level, we know that there are discrepancies.”
Philippine Senator Risa Hontiveros, chair of the Senate committee on women, and sponsor of the Anti‑Discrimination Act, emphasized that politics is still a male-dominated field.
“From 1998 to 2013, there has been a steady increase in women’s participation. But when compared to men, the gap is overwhelming,” she said in her speech, citing as an example that there are only six women in the Senate today (with one of them in jail).
“The political language, behavior and values of our beloved country are still beset by a culture of misogyny and sexism that belies any statistic,” she noted.
“It is completely unacceptable that we have elected officials who profess to love their wives, sisters and daughters, and yet flagrantly defend cheating on them,” Ms. Hontiveros said. “How can we ever claim to be a nation that stands for equality when our leaders make offhand references to a woman’s legs and fully expect that to be regarded as a compliment, without the woman’s consent? How can we have officials catcalling a reporter in the middle of a press conference and not acknowledge such disrespect? How can we have a head of state that treats rape as a laughing matter, or for that matter, other government leaders who apologize on behalf of his sexism?”
“The short answer is,” she continued, “we can’t.”
“Anyone familiar with the cycle of abuse knows that violence begins with language. It is when we allow one, two, or three offhand remarks to pass and say, ‘well, he doesn’t mean it,’ that we give another power over us,” Ms. Hontiveros added. “This is where victim‑blaming comes from. One cannot claim to work for the welfare of a woman, and, at the same turn, silence her for speaking her mind.”
Aside from the Anti‑Discrimination bill, two other bills filed by Ms. Hontiveros—the Safe Streets and Public Spaces Act of 2017 and amendments to the Anti‑Rape of 1997 to raise the age of statutory consent from 12 years old to 18 years old—are now in the plenary.
The political language, behavior and values of our beloved country are still beset by a culture of misogyny and sexism that belies any statistic.
For her part, Diwa Partylist Representative Emmeline Aglipay&Villar, chair of the House committee on women and gender equality, said: “In Congress, we have filed bills that seek to repeal or amend discriminatory provisions in existing laws or propose new laws that promote women empowerment and gender equality.“
Yet, she also noted, that some of these bills, like the expanded maternity leave law, are opposed by fellow women. “This speaks a lot of how far we have to go,” Ms. Villar said.
“Legislation is, in a very real sense, nation‑building. And if you want to build a nation where women are both free from active discrimination and the inertia of prejudice then we must create and support laws that belong to this nation,” said Ms. Villar. “What you can do is to put pressure on our Representatives to take up these bills and make them move in the plenary.”
On the other hand, Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) Executive Director Emmeline Verzosa said that in the House of Representatives, women’s participation is increasing. “In the House of Representatives, representation is constantly increasing, there are now 68 women. In terms of the Cabinet, there are now four, it used to be five but Environment Secretary Gina Lopez was not confirmed. And in the career executive service, or third level deputy level up to the undersecretary level, we only have a 43% composition of women, short of the Magna Carta of Women mandate to have 50‑50. There’s still a lot of work that need to be done for women to take more courage to take managerial positions and also for appointing authorities like the President to consciously appoint women to such decisions.” To recall, the PCW is under the Office of the President.
Lots of laws protect women. We’re very good at making laws but it’s the implementation part that we really need to work on.
“Participation of women in politics and decision making is still hindered by reproductive roles, conservative mindsets, and also because of the high cost of running a political campaign,” Ms. Verzosa explained. She added that there is still no law that requires a quota for women representatives in the legislature.
“There’s still a lot of work that needs to be done in media, especially in social media,” Ms. Versoza said. “We do have laws that protect women and children but these are not enough and enforcement is still wanting.”
She also flagged the issue of women migrant workers. “More women contribute to the remittances (by) migrant workers but we still hear incidents of exploitation, of economic and sexual abuse, inhumane treatment. Although the government is currently addressing reintigration programs, a lot still has to be done.” Locally, she added that rural women still live in poverty.
“Lots of laws protect women. We’re very good at making laws but it’s the implementation part that we really need to work on,” Ms. Versoza said.
Vice‑President Leni Robredo delivered the closing remarks to the forum. “Witnessing the struggles of these (abused) Filipinas allowed me to understand that true independence comes from economic empowerment,” said Ms. Robredo. “I believe that when women are liberated from fear and self‑doubt, they thrive and flourish and, most importantly, they become instruments for other women to achieve their own independence.”
Ms. Robredo added that gender empowerment is not about competing with men. “Gender should not hinder anyone from taking on opportunities for growth and development. Gender should not dictate who has a seat at the table nor should it dictate anyone’s limitations.”
“Let us not be afraid,“ she said. “Sometimes, fear can freeze us into inaction,” she said. “When that happens, remember that the Filipina today is stronger and smarter than she has ever been.”
“A feminist theology is succeeding in making religion work for, not against, women,“ said Sister Mary John Mananzan, current executive director of St. Scholastica College’s Institute of Women’s Studies and former chairperson of Gabriela. “Feminist theology deconstructs what is oppressive and reconstructs what is liberating in religion.”
Sr. Mananzan put in very comprehensive terms what makes a feminist. “First, are you aware that there is a discrimination, oppression and exploitation women as women, and that this cuts across class, race, creed and nationality? We call this the woman question. Second, if you recognize that there is a woman question, are you willing to change the situation in any way you can? If your answer is yes to both to them, you are a feminist, even if you are a man.”
She added that what the clergy and bishops say about reproductive rights (“I am a nun, but I am for reproductive rights,” she said.) should not be confused with the assorted opinion(s) in the Philippine Catholic Church. “The clergy and the bishops are only 2% of the Catholic church.”
In her presentation, Sr. Mananzan explained that because the Church has set up schools for women, a lot of religious women tend to be educated. “Almost all women leaders were graduates of Catholic schools,” she said. Religious women have also provided medical missions, spoke out against issues harming women, and have aided in mobilizing people when the abuse of human rights by the government has become intolerable.
This is a huge turnaround from the status of women in the Philippines during the Spanish era, when Catholicism became a tradition among Filipinos. “The coming of the Spaniards did not enhance the status of the Filipino woman,“ she said. During the Pre‑Hispanic period, Sr. Mananzan explained, a woman’s value did not rely on her virginity, and that she had enjoyed equal status, importance, inheritance, and education as men did.
If you do not educate the men, they will be perpetrators of abuse of women.
The Filipina, even before the identity of the ‘Filipino’ was established, has always been strong.
“There has been a lot of progress to feminism in the Philippines. I am the oldest feminist here in this forum so I can say this,” she added. “When we were starting in 1970s, people were saying we were destroying the family. Now, we are (the) having a gender mainstreaming in all universities. Isn’t that awesome?”
Sometimes, she is not always for she and he is sometimes for she. “We should differentiate between education of women and conscientization of women,” Sr. Mananzan said on how some women perpetuate the harmful gender roles that feminism seeks to abolish. “But when the men are really enlightened about their own patriarchal conditioning, they become the partners of women in enhancing both the good of the men and the women. If you do not educate the men, they will be perpetrators of abuse of women.”
There are many non‑government organizations (NGOs) for women’s rights. Attending the forum were some organizations supported by the French Embassy. “We’ve long been involved in cooperation projects and activities in the humanitarian sector,” said French Embassy Press Attache Camille Conde in an email to SparkUp. “Each year, we launch a call for project proposals for funding (amount varies every year), and we regularly host gatherings that promote the aims of the NGOs. Also, it would be interesting to add that the largest number of French volunteers in Asia is based in the Philippines.”
Maria Irene Divina Lopez, human resources officer of ACAY Missions Philippines, was one of the first beneficiaries of the organization in 2000. Now a graduate of business administration, she shared her experience with the forum’s audience, including her beginnings as a street child who begged, stole and did drugs: “I needed to survive. That’s the only thing I wanted to do. That’s the only thing I knew had to do.”
She was detained briefly when she was twelve but was soon released because she was a minor. “But it’s so hard to change if you don’t have any place to go or anyone to be with to help you,” Ms. Lopez said. “You will go back to the same routine everyday.“
“I met the sisters (of ACAY) and I told them that I want to study. Because education is really important,” she said. Still, she remembered the temptation of going back to the streets, calling the organization of the world outside “too structured” which conflicted with the need to be independent was cultivated by her being a streetchild. She is thankful now to the nuns from ACAY who would run after her whenever she escaped. If not for their persistent guidance, she would never have finished her studies.
“It’s a healing process that we are doing with our young people, listening to their trauma, crisis, deep pain and wounds,” Ms. Lopez said about her work with ACAY. “If they are sexually or physically abused, if there is violence at home, whoever wants to talk about it. The first thing that we ask is if they want to be helped.”
“Change starts within. We cannot help anyone if they don’t have any desire to be helped.” Beneficiaries of ACAY, all young men and women, cheered for Ms. Lopez as she delivered her speech.
Another organization helping abused women is Cameleon Philippines, based in the Visayas. Currently enrolled in a Personal Reconstruction Program are 110 young women ‘age 6 to 23 years old’ from Negros and Panay islands who are survivors of sexual abuse, some by their own family members.
To help these girls, Cameleon conducts individual and group counselling, empowerment workshops as well as assists in filing cases.
“In Cameleon, we help them understand that their bodies, spirits, and minds belong to them,” said Cameleon director Sabine Claudio.
Perhaps unique to Cameleon’s approach is rehabilitation through—get ready—circus training. “The circus is an innovative way of reconciling her with her own body,” Ms. Claudo said.
She shared quotes from some of the girls in the circus program: “It developed my self‑confidence, it also empowered me to face audience, people, it learnt me how to control my fear (like [stage fright]),” said a certain Ana. “When I entered Cameleon, I was broken. It’s like you have negative energy… that feeling of being so alone, useless, that you’ve been shattered… but when I performed circus, when the audience clapped their hands, when other people smiled at me, shook my hands, congratulated me, it was like I regained myself… I regained my identity. And at the back of my mind, in my imagination, a little light of hope begun to come out, and little by little, I constructed myself again.”
The girls of Cameleon performed in a Circus Show entitled “Metamorphosis” on May 29 at the Mall of Asia Music Hall.
Lawyer Jazz Tamayo, President of Rainbow Rights Philippines, pointed out that another challenge faced by the LGBT are stereotypes in the work place. “Most people look at me and think that I should be driving a tricycle because lesbians drive tricycles,” Ms. Tamayo said. “It’s a very good job but we’re not all in the TODA.”
She said that there are many workplace stereotypes that need to be shattered, for example, that individuals who belong to the LGBT spectrum are not promoted because they “don’t have a family.”
Other challenges cited by Ms. Tamayo are the difficulty of gathering data (“You can’t just knock on doors and ask how many people in your family are gay or lesbian,” she said.) and the absence of LGBT in the law. “If we’re in the law, it’s usually to prohibit, like how homosexuality is a ground for legal separation,” she said. “What we need is protection.”
“We are tolerated, not accepted,” said Ging Cristobal, Project Coordinator for the Asia and the Pacific International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. “They say it’s okay for you to be human but don’t ask for your rights.“
“To families of LGBT couples, we don’t have rights,“ she added. “If my partner would pass away, my daughter goes to my partner’s family. If she gets sick, I don’t have any right to bring her to the hospital, and if she dies, even her family can say stay away.”
The forum also shed light on transwomen.
“The essence of my womanhood is my self‑determined gender identity,” said Gender and Development Advocates (GANDA) Filipinas Executive Director Naomi Fontanos for her part. “There are many issues that transwomen in the Philippines face, one of them is the violence. The violence that we experience as trans and women are people who deny who we are.”
Ms. Fontanos criticized the reaction of some people to the case of Jennifer Laude, who was killed by US Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton in 2014 upon discovering that Ms. Laude was a transwoman. “When people found out that she was trans, her gender identity was denied. The tendency of most people who were looking outside‑in was blaming her for what happened to her. This is something that transwomen need to challenge and deal with as women in Philippine society.”
Misogyny right now is a great challenge that every woman faces, especially the danger of misogyny being placed in a position of power, like in Malacañang.
Babaylanes Executive Director Meggan Evangelista cited the discrimination transwomen face in the workplace.“Misogyny right now is a great challenge that every woman faces, especially the danger of misogyny being placed in a position of power, like in Malacañang.” She did not hold back in her criticism of the President. “We cannot let Rodrigo Duterte get away with his misogyny, as feminists. We also cannot allow women who pretend to be for women and then enable misogynysts in positions of power.”
The identity of woman is not restricted to the gender that we were born with. “A common factor on what makes us women is identity. We all identify as women,” she said. “If you’re a woman and you enable a misogynist then, girl—you cannot sit with us.”
Inspiring advice about digital—so you won’t fall behind
The continuous discovery of new things to ease current business operations is seen to flourish until the future. During the Digital Transformation Summit 2017 held last May 24‑25 at SMX Convention Center in SM Aura Premiere, Taguig City, tech leaders from all over the country shared their thoughts about artificial intelligence, deep learning, Internet of Things, big data, and analytics.
I’d been talking to senior executives in the Philippines in the past two years and for them, digital transformation was a hype, like big data… Now it is [a] reality. We need to break it down further to more understandable components so that executives—those who will make decisions on digital transformation&mdashcan understand.
Business value is also accelerating because of digital transformation. Before, value was created by big companies. But now, value is created by digital companies.
Technology is accelerating. And a lot of things that we are seeing were science fiction in the past. What do you think will shape the future? The question should not be what—it’s who.
The thing that will shape the future is not technology; it’s the people. People will direct, teach, adapt, and train AI’s to be able to serve humans. We have to design a technology for humans. And that’s the trend: technology by people for people.
The winners in this digital transformation are the ones who make the rules.
The opportunity is in our people. The key and most important thing in digital transformation are the people—how fast they can adapt.
Technology is very harsh to those who do not want to innovate because if you look at it, if you don’t innovate, you’ll fall behind. Technology now dictates companies how to be more deliberate in what they want to do and their objectives.
There has to be a right balance between technology and how you get to infuse it in your organization.
Digitization is coming and big data is something that is essential to all our businesses.
The car ownership model is going to be changed. The millennials’ mindset of transportation and mobility is completely different from ours.
Digital transformation is all about culture. It involves changing the mindset of everyone in the organization, up to the executive positions.
We are living in this unprecedented time. The technological advancement and adaption rate is so much faster. And you can look at this digital transformation in two ways. You can look at it as an opportunity, but in some ways it can be seen as a threat.
We call artificial intelligence really as the weapon of mass disruption. It is a game changer. For one who knows how to see opportunities, it’s a weapon of mass progression.
With digital transformation, you will no longer need cheap labor.
If we don’t see what’s around the corner and see the great value and potential that data, data analytics, industrial internet can bring to our businesses, any sort of industrial business will be left behind.
Digital strategy drives digital maturity. Digital maturing companies are five times more likely to have a clear digital strategy.
Cybersecurity is not just about technology and computers. It’s about the people, information, and culture you have in your organization…When we talk about cybersecurity, it’s very important that everyone in the organization is aware of the things that they need to do as they implement security control. Information security is very important for a business, but the key thing is that, are all the people in the business aware of the things that they need to do on how to implement effective security measures and controls?
Money hacks you didn’t learn in school (that you must practice NOW)
Everyone who walks out of school in a toga is confronted with this question: What is the next step?
The traditional views run along the lines of getting a job and saving money, and all for the same purpose: to get by and provide for a family.
These all sound very practical, but altogether vague.
It’s been over a decade since we graduated from college ourselves, so we’ve condensed lessons from life, books, articles, seminars, and workshops into five attainable steps.
Get a job, yes, but don’t limit yourself.
On the side, you can try your hand at business, real estate buy‑and‑sell, jewelry, or even paper assets like stocks and bonds. Your employment plus entrepreneurial gains are considered your active income. To complement this, you can also have passive income. These are earned from renting out property, royalties from your intellectual property like previously written work, invented patents, or composed music, or yield from investments. There is so much money available, find out how to get your share of it from all sorts of ventures.
There is a difference between getting by in life and getting more from life, and the secret is in this formula: INCOME ‑ SAVINGS = EXPENSES. Most people spend their salaries the moment they receive them, either on necessary bills or other wants; but sometimes there is none left for savings, or worse, their expenses exceed their earnings resulting in debt. What has helped us through the years is setting aside a specific percentage of our income, while also ensuring that the expenses we have fit well within our means.
Younger generations lose their foresight when they hear of 3‑day sales or presented with the latest gadgets. With consumerism bombarding our senses from billboards to social media, it is becoming increasingly difficult not to want want want now now now; but this is the trap that causes people to live from paycheck to paycheck. With so many delayed payment options now available, some fall under the illusion that their purchases will pay themselves off. Some forget that credit cards are merely representations of their actual money, and assume that swiping is the end of the transaction. Be smarter than that, and prioritize.
Believe us, it is how the rich became rich, but it is not only for the rich. Nowadays, you can open stock market and mutual fund accounts with just ₱5,000. The trick is finding an investment vehicle that will yield higher interests, higher than those the banks offer for your deposit. Invested money can only grow over time, so be patient and put into your portfolios regularly—this goes hand in hand with paying yourself first.
Why now? Because it gives you the chance to decide if you want to retire earlier than the government‑mandated age of 60. You can stop working any time you want if you can secure provisions for your future. Decide on the age you want to retire by, and compute the numbers needed to sustain the lifestyle you envision. Retirement is the end goal to financial freedom: it means you no longer need to work for money, but you have your money work for you.
These steps are just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many opportunities out there waiting for you to tap into them. Don’t put these off until you have a better job or a bigger paycheck.
Remember: It’s not how much money you make, it’s how much money you keep.
Clarissa Seriña‑de la Paz and Sharon W. Que are financial literacy advocates and the bestselling authors of “I Wish They Taught Money in School” and “Money Grows on Trees.” Check out their books at www.lifestyleupgrade101.com.