White Sands Island, Aborlan - Only us and the Moon

The Peace Corps encourages (up to a specific dollar amount) that PCVs share their expertise and help out other PCVs with special events.  This is known as a PDO (Professional Development Opportunity)  Petra  invited 6 other Peace Corps Volunteers to help her with a 2-day PDO activity designed to teach high schoolers about HIV and gender issues, including sexuality.  Some of the PCVs traveled 12 hours, first by banca, bus and plane to get here - and she rewarded them (and me, the crasher - perhaps because I had helped with her last PDO on gender issues) with an amazing trip to an island off the coast of Aborlan.  She apparently had been there before for a day visit - but a few of her fellow teachers were accompanying us to spend the night - on a night with a full moon. I didn't hesitate when she asked if I wanted to come along - Siempre!!!

So, I went with some of my favorite people in the world:  my anak here - mga lalake Matt and Will and mga babae Petra and Krystal.  Matt and Krystal, who are married, are with me here in Puerto.  Petra and Will teach high school - Petra in Aborlan (about 2 hours from Puerto) and Will in Narra (another 45 minutes south).  The out-of-province attendees were Jon and Emma from Luzon and Mel(issa) from Romblon.

We all met at Petra's and rounded up snacks and of course Tanduay rhum and coke...then walked across the street and asked the trike driver to take us to Hanging Bridge where we were to catch the banca.  For the first time I felt average height - everyone except Emma and Krystal was taller than me!!  But, the folks around us certainly stared - we were giants.

Hanging Bridge was literally the end of the road - and the poorly crafted bridge (I cut my hands in 3 places just walking to the middle) linked folks to the north side of hanging bridge, where an entire community thrived.

                                             

Hanging Bridge was busy!  Even the pig tied out in front was active - I loved him, my first pure black pig



Two boys gathered the boat's fishing net and proceeded to pull it into the banca - then sat for a long while separating each side of the long netting and wrapping it carefully for the next day's fishing.
                                                                    

                                                                           

 

People came over the bridge to go to town - trikes fill up with people - I counted 8 in this one.
                                

And others covered sacks of rice with a tarp and waited for a banca to arrive to transport the bags home
                                                                          

Schoolchildren came home from their studies and walked arm in arm across the bridge
                     

and Will took a pic of me on the rickety bridge
                  


Two little girls posed for me


                                                                                                  As did a young couple
                                                     
We waited quite a while - first for Sir Clem to show up, and then for the banca to arrive...but, one does not get irritated here - one accepts.  I'm sure that I'll reacclimate when I return to America, but it is pretty wonderful to feel that way.  I really, really wanted to get to the island before dark so that I could snorkel
(I usually take my mask and snorkel, camera and laptop everywhere I go, just in case)....but, it really didn't matter, so I sat and watched the activities around me.

Finally, the banca arrived, but only 5 could fit - so Petra and her fellow teachers went to set up the campsite
and told us that it would return for us.
                                     

I thought that the island would be a ways off, so was surprised when it returned so quickly - but, as it turned out, it was a completely different banca - and the island was quite a ways off.    Originally, I thought we were going to Sombrero Island....which my supervisor warned me about - "There are Nice People Around on Sombrero - be careful."  He went to the trouble of texting a pastor friend who lived on Sombrero and asked him to keep a lookout for us and let the NPA know that we weren't worth kidnapping.  We motored through mangroves, into the open sea, and arrived on the shore of a totally sand island - White Sands Island (or so we were told).



It was quite small - perhaps the length of 2 football fields and perhaps 30 feet in width - and totally sand.  You can see that it was getting dark - and I knew that we had to leave the next morning by 6am because we were being interviewed for the Peace Corps 50th Anniversary at the radio station in Narra....so I quickly threw my things on the sand and went for a snorkel.




It is very sad to see all of the dead coral here on Palawan - there had been little restriction of dynamite fishing and cyanide poisoning (fishermen pay off the government officials and continue their practices) - and tourism contributes also to the killing when bancas toss their anchors onto the living coral.  It is probably not surprising that many (most?) fishermen think that coral is rock - some think it is a plant....but few know that it is a living organism - an animal.

So, I paddled around dead coral for a while before I happened on some plants, with many fishes - I saw two that I'd never seen before - one a brilliant royal blue and black - about 2" long and the other bright black and white.  It was strange being in the middle of the ocean with just that island....I didn't venture too far out, but returned at the far end of the spit of land...and started shelling.  I wandered up and down and found some pretty little shells, but it wasn't much of a place for shell gathering.  However, I wile away my time this way when I can - meditation of sorts.

Returning to the campsite, I saw that Petra's friends had staked up two lean-to sort of structures and had even started a fire.  I didn't know then that everyone had eaten, and only after a couple of rum and cokes was given my 'plate' of food.   It was getting dark at this point and Matt told me that my food was squid and barbecue pork - he said that the squid tasted funny, so I didn't eat it.

But, the sky was on fire - to the east, the moon rose - an enormous gold ball, unfurling a wide expanse of gold
to our shore.

                                      

On the west side, the sun was setting and the amazing clouds here were making Picasso sketches as the sun
died down...and one brilliant star became clear.
  
                                                                                                                  Magical.

The moon shone the same color as the bonfire

                                 
                                                                                          and back lit the banca as they brought it up.
                                                                                  

Before long, we were rummaging through the lean-to for snacks


                                                                                     and sitting around the bonfire talking (and texting!)
                                                                               

Around midnight, I think, Petra's friends gathered the young PCVs to play some sort of a grid game.  I hadn't even had that much to drink and I couldn't understand the rules.  But, my camera captured some of the plays..


                                                                                    and some other weird maneuvers going on in the night
                                                                                   

At last look, the moon had turned to platinum....
and most of us slept (COLD - maybe a first for me!)                   
                                                                                             
                                    I heard the boatmen talking most of the night, and heard them when they roused,
                                    at 3am.  I finally arose at 5am when it was starting to get light and scrambled for
                                    my camera - I could see that it would be a beautiful sunrise.
   


Looking back in the near dark on our campsite as it emerged with the rising sun - and the lingering moon.
    

The campsite was stunning in the early morning blue
    


and the swirls of blue and pink in the sky just glorious
   
                                              

Too soon, we had to board the banca  
           

- this time we had to leave our Filipino friends behind
in order to get to a radio show for the Peace Corps 50th


Wending our way back through the open seas to the mangroves, amidst other early risers

Leaving us with incredible memories of sand, the moon, shells....

And the incredible squid ink that I spilled eating my

  dinner in the dark (it does not come out)

Thanks to Petra, Will and friends for a fabulous time!!!

The next Chief of Staff of the Philippine Military? General Sabban from WESCOM speaks

I've never liked the military - perhaps because I hate 90 degree angles, conformity, hierarchies and being controlled.   I've also been afraid of them for some reason - Law and Order.  Even this bias has been called to question here.

At the last joint meeting of the Palawan Chamber of Commerce and Industry/Palawan Chinese Chamber of Commerce, General Sabban, of the Western Command (WESCOM) was our speaker.  

It was fascinating to watch his entourage sweep into the ballroom at the AA Plaza Hotel where I was double checking that everything was set up correctly and arrived early - as did the General's scouts.  

I kept thinking that this one is the general..uh, no this one...I thought that 5 times.  He had so many people with him that I was definitely confused - and, of course, I have no idea of rank, so didn't address them properly.

They seemed quite affable when chatting, although one seemed nervous when he was frank with one of my questions - I assured him that I would say nothing (and, as my girls know - I forget anyway....I have no recollection of our topic!).  All of these lieutenants (or whatever rank they were) fluttered about, double checking my double checking - and asking me all sorts of technical and status questions.  

Some of the entourage - the PR Coordinator in Barong;

the Operations sergeant at the right who delivered the facts 

Here in the Philippines, it is extremely important to recognize the leaders in your audience.  It is fascinating to hear each speaker at a conference begin their lectures with "Good evening to you all, to President Sir Alex and Executive Vice President Sir Duff and to Mam Debra of the Peace Corps...etc.etc."    Everyone here is titled - usually with "Attorney Dilag" or "Engineer Rosario", and anyone commanding respect without such appellation is either "Sir" or "Mam".  I had to gather all of the titles to those people so that etiquette was followed.

Sir Bart and General Sabban

Finally, the 

General entered 

- what poise and grace!  

As he entered,  businessmen surrounded him and listened, as though to a guru - which I 

suppose he is.

 

I never notice rank, and chat with anyone...as I did with the General.  I tried to sit at the back of the room to take care of logistics, but was invited to sit next to the General at dinner.  What a charming man!  I really liked him, although appearances here are very deceiving...but he seemed very open, and held a question period after his lecture - mostly questions about the Spratlys - or Municipality Kalayaan, as we call it here.  There is a mayor of Kalayaan who reports to the Provincial Governor of Palawan, so all the contention over the Spratlys has nothing to do with government, but rather to do with oil and mineral rights.  

Apparently, there was a geological study done a few years ago, and China issued the report as the General quoted: "The Spratlys are a submerged Saudi Arabia when it comes to oil."   Ah, yes, now I understand why the USA is so supportive of its brother The Philippines....Power and money; power and money. 

When I was introduced to the General, he said, "Ah, the US minister of Defense told me I should connect with you."  Apparently, the military does a lot of do-gooder work - organizing a food program for indigenous people in Southern Palawan who are cave dwellers, as were their ancestors.  I've wanted to see these people, but the South is off-limits to Peace Corps personnel. The General was stumped as to why - he assured me that I would be well protected with his group.  So I hope at some point to accompany them to this site.  He also told me of various livelihood programs that the military has started and encouraged - especially that of growing and selling casava - a root crop used for many foods.  So, I expect that in the New Year, the Chamber of Commerce will enter into a MOA (Memorandum of Agreement - NOT the Mall of Asia) with WESCOM for community improvement.  That should be fun for me!!!

Bart's wife of 40+ years "Paz Aurora" known as Baby
 a businesswoman and started the Kitchen Incubation Project

I've lucked out with this assignment - luxury dinners

Palawan is a pretty safe place - and they want to keep it that way!

                                     He really held our attention

I was impressed - as was most of the audience - when the General addressed the issues of the Spratlys.  

He said that of all the nations involved, that the Philippines was perhaps the least prepared for military conflict...that many of the ships here were WWII vintage.  The US has donated a Vietnam War vintage aircraft carrier, but his main offering was that China, the major aggressor, was over 1,000 miles from the Spratlys and just couldn't send troops without refueling (however, reports of the new Chinese aircraft carrier were not brought up at our meeting).

Handing the certificate - from the Palawan Chamber and the Chinese Chamber

And, as entrances are so important, so are the giving of certificates of acknowledgment - my bet is that he has a secretary file these - just in case.

A great evening - and rumour has  it that General Sabban is favored to become the next Chief of Staff for the military - grabe!

Below is the press release about the meeting 

  PIA Press Release
Thursday, October 27, 2011

WESCOM appeals to business groups for the development of Palawan

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan, October 27 (PIA) -- The Western Command (WESCOM) has called on to members of the Palawan Chamber of Commerce, Inc. (PCCI) and the Palawan Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Inc. (PFCCCI) to work as key partners in bringing peace and development to the province of Palawan and the city of Puerto Princesa.

WESCOM Chief LTGen Juancho M. Sabban AFP made the appeal to the business groups during the general monthly meeting of PCCI and PFCCCI held recently to encourage strong partnerships between the armed forces and the business sector.

Gen Sabban said he recognizes the crucial role that businessmen and entrepreneurs play in bringing progress to the community.

Emphasizing the potent power of collaborative efforts, Gen Sabban called on to members of the business groups to work hand in hand with the military to be able to “build strong synergy and maximize the potential for development offered by cooperation.”

“Peace and security are not a monopoly of the armed forces. It is everybody’s concern,” Gen Sabban said.

The WESCOM Chief assures the members of the PCCI and the PFCCCI that the military are with the businessmen at the forefront of further improving the economic condition of the province and the city.

Gen Sabban recalled how Palawan has grown “in leaps and bounds” compared to how it was 30 years ago, when the only paved road in Puerto Princesa was the Rizal Avenue and only very few business establishments stood along its length.

Through partnerships with the stakeholders involved, Gen Sabban expects the province to continue to grow.

WESCOM has also taken the opportunity to conduct a Security Assessment, Validation and Evaluation (SAVE) forum, one of its programs that aim to protect Palawan, particularly its economy, from the threats posed by lawless armed groups such as the New People’s Army (NPA).

Though Palawan enjoys relative peace, WESCOM does not want to be complacent but rather takes a pro-active measure to preempt, negate and deter lawless activities that could affect the general welfare of the province.

With its SAVE program, WESCOM has already consulted members of the tourism sector all over the province and the industrial sector from Southern Palawan. It is planning to hold another one with members of the business sectors from Puerto Princesa and some municipalities of the province.

The essential aspect of holding a SAVE forum is to create a communication network between and among the military, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and concerned stakeholders so that information relevant to the peace and security of the province and the city could be relayed efficiently and addressed immediately. (Maj. Bogaoan-6CRG/OCJabagat/PIA4B-Palawan)

This is Palawan, an island Province in The Philippines

My friend, Bart, Vice President at the Chamber of Commerce (I found out tonight at their Board meeting that this is only because a foreigner was not allowed to be President, until tonight - they just changed their By Laws...although Bart - their VP for many years - has no intention of becoming President)  was a Peace Corps Volunteer back in 1963 in Pakistan.  He majored in Agricultural Economics and married a Filipina -  they have lived in the Philippines for 30 of his last 50 years - here on her native Palawan for the last 10 years.  He and I look at things the same way - and get frustrated by the same things as well.  We both love statistics - and he understands economics, which I don't.

These maps of Palawan address different issues faced here and show data by municipality.  I am in Puerto Princesa - the second largest city (geographically) in the Philippines...so statistics are slightly misleading there.  Because Puerto is a "highly urbanized city" (although the story goes that the mayor pulled some favors to get it declared such - in order to be re-elected, since his term limits had expired...he pulled it off and has been mayor for over 20 years!!!), it shows much lower incidence than other cities and towns; however, there are plenty of places outside of the city proper that are just as rural, poor and ignorant as those of the other municipalities.

This is the Palawan where I live.

Child Deaths, Age 0-5

Child Deaths are high - and, if they make it through birth and infancy, many have disabilities due to poor maternal care and awful birthing environments (most of the people outside of the city are delivered by unlicensed midwives - called "Hilot".  People here don't understand germs and the concept that washing your hands will prevent the spread of pink eye...so, the larger issues of infecting the baby's navel doesn't occur to them - and I've read that the stump is often packed with mud for some reason...which easily leads to mental retardation (not politically correct - but "intellectual disability" doesn't capture the problem).

I copied these maps off the blog of a friend of mine in Narra ( - but I was the one who told him that Bart had them....does that absolve me?).  And I read on his blog that the big Philippine birthdays are 1 and 7 years old, because they’re considered hurdles in childhood- if you’ve reached those ages you’re increasingly out of the woods in terms of childhood mortality. 

Malnourished Children, Ages 0-5

This is another cause of mental retardation.  Apparently, women here are obsessed with keeping their pregnancies small...not understanding that they are producing malnourished infants, with high risk of mental retardation.  I'm working here in Puerto with an NGO focused on Maternal Care (although they didn't realize the additional issues of producing birth defects from poor maternal care) - their mission is mother and child mortality.  We are now working to add preventing birth defects to their mission.

Percentage aged 6-12 not attending elementary school

In Rizal, nearly half of the children do not attend school - even in Puerto the numbers are high - above 20%.  And, if they do attend, there's no guarantee that they will find a teacher in the room.  Bizarre to me, but from elementary to university, teachers often do not appear for class.  Students are either texted to stay home, or arrive at class to find either a note, or nothing...at which point they have to return home.  As many things here, this is just accepted as a fact of life.  And that's the beginning - there is a lack of curricula and monitoring.  I've worked with university students here and have been appalled at the 'standards' and the poor quality work - of both students and 'professors'. 

Percentage aged 13-16 not attending high school

And the numbers go way up for high school - over 65% do not graduate - in several towns.  Again, teachers set low expectations - including accepting cheating and plagiarism....good role models are few and far between. 

Percentage households in makeshift housing

Many people are called "squatters" and build their homes from whatever is around, and can park on almost any piece of land - the barangay council has a very difficult time getting them to un-squat.  And many people are displaced from other areas, like Mindanao, with its constant conflicts, or like the Badjao people, a seafaring folk who are constantly displaced and resettled on land (but are not registered as indigenous because they do not own land - thus they also receive no benefits).

.

Percentage without access to safe drinking water

In towns, everyone drinks purified water - a native told me of painful parasites she got from the tap water in Puerto (the highly urbanized city).  But, this water is claimed "safe"...one can only imagine "unsafe" drinking water.

Most safe drinking water comes from filtration stations, with 5 gallon "slims" being delivered to my home for Php 35 (plus a 5 peso tip...so about $1US).  Many people just boil their well water, seems fairly safe. Perhaps "unsafe" means that their wells are near contaminated groundwater sources (as in Tagburos, where mercury from cinnabar can infiltrate into ground water).. And what access means is questionable - maybe that it is just too far to easily carry in?  Just glad that I'm in San Pedro, PPC, with great purified water only a text message away at "Keith's Aquifer."

Percentage of households below poverty level

Seems to be the closer you get to Puerto Princesa, the better off you are. However, Puerto has its share of poverty.  It has been said that people are poorer in the rural areas, but live better because they farm and have food.  

Percentage of households below subsistence income

This one’s pretty terrifying, and leads to really bizarre behaviors....like selling your children, or yourself to get some food in your, and your family's mouths.

Percentage in the labor force who are unemployed

Really low rates of “unemployment” here. I’m pretty sure they’re using a broad definition of employment, as far more than 11% of the adult population survives from one odd-job to the next or are self-employed as trike drivers, or sari-sari store owners, which brings in very little income. It’d be interesting to see rates for people with stable employment who are fully employed, that is, they work full-time year-round - my bet is that's a rather rare occurrence.  Another interesting phenomenon here is that they like to lend/borrow money - even if there is interest involved.  So, many/most of the population here will borrow money to pay their monthly bills....every month.  And, those who have money to lend are very happy to accommodate their needy neighbors....for a percentage.

Percentage who are victims of violent crime

Ridiculously low throughout. I wonder how much crime is reported compared to the developed world.  It’s interesting that areas in the south that have reputations as being unsafe have only marginally higher crime rates than the rest of Palawan.  And, as everywhere in the world, when the poverty rates go up and employment down, the crime rate goes up.  Most crime here is the "petty" variety - robberies - usually to sell the wares in order to get cash.  I've never felt unsafe here - even when walking home for a few blocks after 11pm at night.

Households without access to a sanitary toilet

Wonder what makes a sanitary toilet - assume it's a hole in ground with chemicals, but not sure.  My toilet doesn't "flush" but I assume it's sanitary.  I just hate it when it regurgitates its contents...and can never figure out why that is.

Proportion who are squatters

This data looks a bit odd to me - as though some municipalities just don't report it as a statistic.  Or else places like Roxas have a targeted effort to reduce squatters.

Women Deaths due to Pregnancy

And this map I just don't believe - again looks like folks just don't report the numbers.  Hopefully, by the time I leave, I can plant the idea of making a map for people with disabilities - I bet the Philippines, especially Palawan, has a very high incidence of Intellectual Disabilities (Cerebral Palsy, ADHD, Autism, Down Syndrome, etc) due to lack of education regarding Maternal care.  Most barangay don't keep records of PWDs (people with disabilities) because there's no need to:  PWDs don't receive benefits and the barangay doesn't have enough money to 'waste' on non-productive people.  Don't want to get depressed, but these are staggering issues that I can't even begin to address.  The Philippines has a long way to go.

This last map is from a different set and shows poverty levels throughout the Philippines and shows Palawan at perhaps 30% poverty rate versus the previous statistics of around 50%.  In any case, this last map shows the relative poverty rate in the Philippines - Mindanao showing the worst poverty rates of all.

I've never seen such a map for the United States, but wonder if this kind of poverty exists at home - certainly not on such a grand scale, but it is food for thought.

Harrison and me at 60 - OUCH!

Harrison Ford got an earring at 60....I got a Tattoo!

I came back from Olongapo a day before my flight.....my anak, Aja, had told me about hedgehogs for sale here and I thought I'd check them out...Ashley always wanted one and I thought that would be fun....  Then, Aja told me that they were illegal in California and Hawaii...so hedgehog purchase lessened in importance for this trip....and the thought of Tattoos once again filled my head.

It seems that everyone in the PC gets a tattoo....and I've entertained that idea since my arrival here.  But, I couldn't figure out what to scratch on that I wouldn't regret.  Or, where to put it.  Then, I decided that I was 60 for God's sake, and didn't regret much these days anyway....most of my regrets have been in not doing things.

There were many PCVs here at Pension Natividad from the previous batch (#268) - uniting for their last get together before COSing (close of service).  I'm batch #269 and still have a year to go....but see the end in sight and want to do a lot before I COS.   So - figured that if I could, I would get it today!

I'd downloaded a picture that I liked and took it into the OUCH! tattoo parlor in Robinson's Place, a short walk from the Pension.  The first artist said it was too intricate for him to do, but he estimated cost at Php 5,000-6,000....OUCH!  Mashado Mahal!  I told them I was a PCVolunteer and his uncle, Norman, the owner, said that if I printed out the picture, he would resize it and draw it small enough to get to 4,000.  OK!

I'd been by yesterday, and a couple from Australia had been getting tatts...today the guy was back to complete his ENORMOUS design, which he said would have cost him $6,000 in Australia.  I asked him to describe the feeling - he said it was like a pinch on the skin - a hard pinch at the worst.  I decided later that this man - Phil - a boiler maker from the West Coast of Australia - had many fewer nerve endings in his body compared to mine.  We were together for 3 hours and he kept asking me if my skin had numbed yet.  No!  OUCH! was the perfect name for me - it lived up to its name...for about 3 hours.




Norman getting all the inks and needles ready

















Cleanliness is next to Godliness

First, Norman drew the shark on my back

Then, the first of the needles hit - OUCH!

You can see how he hung the picture for reference on the lamp

Intrepid Phil - "it pinches"

But wimpo disagrees:  "OW, OW, OUCH!"

Then he starts to add the color

Dark blue first and then the lighter blue is added

Amazingly accurate to the photograph!!

Close up of the finished product, complete with white dots!

And, wow - I LOVE the result (well, at least today I did - they told me that in the next couple days my skin will scab over and that I have to wash it lightly with soap and water tonight and then be sure to keep it soft and moist, with Vaseline for 3 weeks until the skin heals.)  One of the PCVs here told me not to go in the ocean for several days because the salt makes the color fade - Yikes, no one told me that (but most people here don't swim, so I should have thought to ask).


Can't wait to get back in the water with the sharks now that I am branded.

Exciting day for this old fart - and like Phil said - How great that you are doing something NEW!

Totally agree!