Indonesia

Indonesia
BATU, Indonesia. Photo by Jes Aznar

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Kung Hei Fat Choy! (Tips from Feng Shui Master Hanz Cua)






Tonight, we welcome the Year of the Wooden Sheep with love, hope and loads of excitement. 

As has been our tradition, Jes and I celebrate Chinese New Year’s Eve with the Filipino-Chinese community as we embrace the prospects for the new year and say goodbye to the year that was as we thank the Universe for a kick-ass and meaningful 2014. 

And so with much love, I wish everyone a happy, happy and blessed 2015!

Here’s sharing with you my interview with Feng Shui Master Hanz Cua on how to attract good luck in the Year of the Wooden Sheep. Cua has a shop at Edsa Shangri-La.



1) De-Clutter. 

Master Hanz said there is a need to de-clutter the home so positive energy or the yang can come in.


2) Out with the Old, In with the New.


Related to the first tip, Master Hanz said it would be good to replace old stuff (i.e. chipped plates, broken glasses or cups, worn-out clothes) with new wares to attract prosperity.


3) Prepare the Dining Table.

Master Hanz said it would be good to have twelve kinds of fruits on the dining table. Some suggestions are grapes (considered food of Royalty), bananas (for better family relations), lemon
(wipe off negative energy), pears (to attract money), pineapple (to attract wealth and luck) among others. He also suggested tikoy, noodles and chicken (minus the head and feet).

4) Cheers!

To drive away negative energy, it would also be good to open the windows and doors by midnight. Master Hanz said it would also be good to make lots of noise through loud music, cheers and the dragon dance, if possible.

5) And finally,

Master Hanz reminds us of some age-old tips of attracting luck: work hard, keep things clean, do good to others and live a meaningful life.

Kung Hei Fat Choy to each and everyone! Happy 2015!

(Master Hanz is available for consultation and readings in his shop in Edsa, Shangri-La in Mandaluyong. He may be reached at 09228290382)



Photos by Jes Aznar


Saturday, February 7, 2015

My Latest Story for Womens eNews

Pope Dodges Birth Control Issue in Philippines | Womens eNews

Monday, February 2, 2015
Pope Francis leaves his pro-family, anti-poverty message echoing in the Philippines, where poor families forgo artificial birth control and migrant workers feel compelled to leave their homes and travel overseas into the hands of powerful employers.







Pope sign
Various groups called on Pope Francis to stand up against corruption, injustice and poverty in a rally in Manila on Jan. 16.
Credit: Iris C. Gonzales


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MANILAPhilippines (WOMENSENEWS)-- Riza Sepniowho is 25 years old, sits on the pavement with her 6-month-old son Jericho, the youngest of five children. Beside her, 2-year-old Jasphere, the fourth child, lies on a borrowed black and red stroller, drinking milk. He accidentally drops the bottle and cries out to his mother.
Her third child, Kaylo, runs to and fro on the road in front of her, playing with his favorite toy, a big round plastic ball with silver stars. Cars and jeepneys speed by the busy street. The two older children, 5-year-old Jenny Rose and 4-year-old Russel, are "just out there" playing with friends, says Sepnio, pointing to a nearby playground.
It is Saturday afternoon at the famed Luneta Parkthe largest public park in Manila, the Philippine capital. Sepnio earns a living as a vendor, selling a variety of goods -- from coffee to sardines -- in a makeshift store in one corner of the park while taking care of her children. Her husband earns tips from watching cars in a nearby parking lot. At night, she and her husband and their brood of five children sleep on sheets of cartons spread on a small corner of the park they call home.
Sepnio knows she has a big family and concedes that it can be difficult. She earns P300 ($7) on good days while her husband sometimes brings home P200 ($4).
In the same park a week ago, Pope Francis celebrated mass, the last event of a five-day visit to the Philippines from Jan. 15 to 19.
Six million people came to the park to hear the Pope. Sepnio was among those who saw the Roman Catholic pontiff. She felt blessed. She waved, shouted and cheered with the crowd and listened as he spoke.
The Pope said many things while in the Philippines, a country of 94 million people, 80 percent of whom are Roman Catholics.
He criticized corruption, inequality and social injustice.

Pope Defends Birth Control Ban

And on the plane back to Rome, speaking to journalists, Pope Francis defended the Church's ban on artificial birth control but said Catholics should not breed like rabbits.
"Some think that -- excuse the language -- that in order to be good Catholics, we have to be like rabbits. No. Responsible parenthood," the Pope was quoted as saying when asked what he thinks about the Catholic Church's position against artificial contraception and how this contributes to population growth, which in turn has been blamed for poverty.
Sepnio heard about this on the news.
She says there are lessons to be learned from the Pope regarding this matter.
"It's hard but we can manage, but if a couple cannot manage, they should not have a big family," she says.
Jericho, the youngest, will be the last, says Sepnio, who looks much older than her age, her face lined with wrinkles and her hair filled with strands of white.
"Five is enough. We will stop at five. It would be harder if we have more children," she says.
And yet, despite these promises to herself, Sepnio and her husband leave everything to chance when it comes to birth control. They cannot afford birth control pills or condoms and are not aware of the Reproductive Health Law, the country's measure enacted in 2012 that allows government spending on artificial contraceptives.
During his visit, Pope Francis repeatedly appealed to the country's leaders, the Church and ordinary citizens to help the poor. In the Philippines, a fourth of the population lives in poverty, or less than a dollar a day.
"As many voices in your nation have pointed out, it is now, more than ever, necessary that political leaders be outstanding for honesty, integrity and commitment to the common good," he said at the Presidential Palace.
"The great biblical tradition enjoins on all peoples the duty to hear the voice of the poor. It bids us break the bonds of injustice and oppression, which give rise to glory, and indeed scandalous, social inequalities," Francis also said.

Protecting the Family

As Pope Francis called on the faithful to practice responsible parenthood, he also stressed the importance of protecting the family.
"The pressures on family life today are many. Here in the Philippines, countless families are still suffering from the effects of natural disasters. The economic situation has caused families to be separated by migration and the search for employment and financial problems strain many households," he said in a gathering of Filipino families.
Every threat to the family, he added, is a threat to society itself. "The future of humanity, as Saint John Paul II often said, passes through the family. The future passes through the family. So protect your families! Protect your families. See in them your country's greatest treasure and nourish them always by prayer and the grace of the sacraments."
Determined to protect their families, mothers of Filipino migrant workers have appealed to Pope Francis for help.
As the Pope stressed the importance of protecting the family, Elizabeth Rufino, 54 years old, appealed to him to help her 37-year-old daughter, who is in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, working as a domestic helper.
Her daughter, Noela Garcia, went to Saudi Arabia in August last year to work and be able to raise her two children, but she ended up in the hands of an abusive employer who refused to pay her for her services and also didn't provide for her medical needs when she got sick with a urinary tract infection.
"What I want is for her to just be back home," says Rufino, who is part of the nongovernmental migrants group Migrante International, which has offices in places with a large Filipino population, such as Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and London.
She has appealed to the Pope through an open letter signed by Migrante to call on the government to provide jobs to people at home so they don't have to leave their families in the Philippines and endure harsh conditions abroad.



Elizabeth Rufino
Elizabeth Rufino, mother of a migrant, joined the rally, seeking the help of Pope Francis to intervene on the issues of Filipino migrant workers.
Credit: Iris C. Gonzales


Abuse, No Pay

Marina Sarno, 40 years old, also once worked as a domestic helper. She spent six years in Saudi Arabia where she also experienced no pay and being maltreated by her Arab employer. She returned home in June last year.
Sarno's employer locked her in a room and she was forced to drink water from the toilet bowl because she was not given food or drinks for several days. She was only able to leave and go back to the country with the help of Migrante.
Migrante believes that if there are enough jobs in the country, Filipinos wouldn't have to leave their families to work abroad.
"We ask Pope Francis for help. We hope he can talk to the country's leaders to stop forced migration. Forced migration is happening in the Philippines. It is a reality. It is destroying the basic foundations of society. What we really need are jobs so people don't have to go abroad," says Garry Martinez, chairperson of Migrante.
An estimated 5,000 Filipinos leave the country every day to work abroad. At present, there are some 12 to 15 million overseas Filipinos scattered across the globe.
It was raining on most days that the Pope was in the country. Despite the downpour, his words reverberated in the hearts of the Filipino people.
For the poorest of the poor, however, the hope is for everyone -- the government, Church and ordinary citizens -- heed the Pope's call to end poverty and social injustice, ills that lead to a host of other problems such as forced migration, destroyed families and neglected children.
"There are many children neglected by their own parents. Why is God allowing something like this to happen, even to innocent children? And why are there so few who are helping us?" said 12-year-old Glyzelle Palomar, a former street child rescued by a church-run foundation, in a speech to welcome the Pope when he visited a Catholic university in Manila.

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Scenes from the 2015 Bankers' Night

The annual tradition lives on. My 2015 Bankers' Night with fellow reporters and Central Bank Governor Amando Tetangco.