ALTERNATE REALITY

So what has changed during the past six months I was away ? Geographically - it's very little the roads and streets are just the same as it was even on the shops in the public market are unchanged at all , I had a feeling that my surroundings are the same but very different somehow. Though the environment is not alienating, it is somewhat different from where I left off - not like I woke up on a totally different universe but more of like the same reality with a different scenario.


For now I'm trying my best to catch up on things I left off six months ago, It made little progress but at least I'm not totally socially disoriented on what's happening around me - I try to fit in as much as I can. Anyway this vacation will be just short lived for me ,as the financial needs back home have already grown to triple the size that it once was in only six months As what I mentioned earlier on my entries most of the funding is put on medical needs.


As per usual procedure on my company, any crew returning to the Philippines must report back to the office 24 hour after arrival, So on the 26th of December I returned ( as much as I hate it ) to settle things and at the same time deliver the remaining two packages left.


Was a very quick visit on the office , probably because most of the crew employees of career are too lazy to report and conduct business after Christmas or maybe that some of them even think that career shipping is closed at this time. Anyway whatever the case.  it took me only about two hours of stay to accomplish getting my final wages on the accounting department, update my next job objectives at the reporting booth, and report back to my respective department superintendent ( which to my luck wasn’t  Mr. Ho thankfully).


During the report Me and Oiler Lague was asked if we have in any way have an "Appraisal" report (kind of like a letter of promotion). Me and Oiler lague both said we don’t have one and the superintendent was puzzled we why don’t . He didn’t enquired any further when we both said we don’t know as well why we don’t have any appraisal reports given to us when we disembarked. After that he just only said happy vacation and that was it.


I got back to the reporting counter to clarify some few details and was told that both my passport and GTF certificate document were already expired and had to be renewed, as well as after that I had to have that GTF certificate be "COP" with marina. The receptionist at the booth told me that "GTF" certificate (general tanker familiarization certificate) no longer exist and is now replaced with a term "BTOC" (basic training on oil and chemical tanker).  So to sum up the next primary agenda I'd be dealing with is this


1. Renew my passport
2. Take BTOC certificate at the local training centre to replace GTF certificate
3. Take BTOC COP Certificate at Marina office.
4. (OPTIONAL) TAKE ATOT Seminar
5. (OPTIONAL) TAKE ATCT Seminar
6. (OPTIONAL) TAKE COW/IGS Seminar if there is still enough money left


Unfortunately for me, last I heard from O.S. Bilbao. BTOC seminar now cost at about 7000 Php plus on the wallet. Pretty expensive for only a week's lecture class  and will only be usable for about roughly 5 years. Definitely way impractical !!!!


Sailors always brag about earning a lot of money on work  but it turns out now that the huge money he / she earns is just ending up (and legally "Robbed" ) on the deep pockets of training schools and government agencies like M.A.R.I.N.A. ,  being a Filipino sailor in the 21st century is basically impractical and expensive - too costly for a job that is just equivalent to a "menial labour" category 


Upon the receiving my remaining wages from Career shipping last December 26th via cheque, I had to wait a couple of days for it to be cashed out  on the 29th of December due to bank holidays.



On the 29th of December I did try to cash out the cheque , but apparently since this is the only day in this week that the bank is open , all of the work load intended got dumped on that day as well. Resulting that the whole bank was swarming with customers ,


Worst part on that day at the bank was  I had been to be put on the on a long queue line just to cash out this piece of paper and when I got there, there teller on the booth told me at the last minute that I was put on the wrong booth and had to go to another booth just to sort the cheque. Seriously I wasn't laughing that those dumb fuck tellers haven't told me sooner about this and had to wait for two hours just to be informed that I was in the wrong area. The badass part of it was that the teller tells me (or implies) to have it deposit first on an account , preferably a Bank of Philippine Islands bank account. What the fuck !!!! - I don’t have a bank account ! She added also that I can't deposit this cheque to my sisters BPI bank account since the cheque is named after me - so it definitely means that I'm the one who should open up my own bank account.


Does she have any idea how troublesome it is to open up a bank account ? In other countries it may be simple but here in the Philippines it’s a lot more complicated and have more "rules and policies" that it's much more practical not having one.


Since the previous teller wasn't helpful and don’t have any idea on how to deal on my situation, she asked me to go to another  booth to solve my problem



Again I had to wait another a couple of hours just to get my name to be called by the teller. I told her about my predicament that if ever I could cash out this cheque and convert it to Philippine Peso. Good thing that this teller was able to resolve my issues and handed me the money, however the poor customer service of Bank of Philippine Islands was so poor that it was already past 12 noon when the transaction was finished .


Soon after collecting my remaining salary, I went to my sister located on the local "BAYAD" centre nearby were she pay usually pays the house utility bill and immediately gave her the 10 thousand pesos to back up on other urgent financial matters. The rest of the remaining 5k Php I had will be spent in upgrading / replacing equipment I had for work.


After cashing out the check, I went back home to help our mom get some paper clearance from the local town hall (barangay hall) needed for her charity request for a few free sessions of her medical dialysis. Mom is very frail and could hard stand up - good thing we had a wheel chair around handy for her, she sat on the wheel chair while me and my younger cousin pushed the wheel chair towards the town hall. We got on the town hall which is just only a few couple of meters away from our house and got some of the paper documents called "Certificate of indigence" . This form will be forward to the local social worker to a municipal office, to give us from "Free" session of dialysis.


Right after getting the papers, we headed back to our house. I'm concerned about my mom's health, I had no idea that it was this bad - she never even walked at all and was strapped in the wheel chair all the time but when I looked at her when we got home. She was gasping for air and really looked exhausted, she fell asleep within minutes. A year ago she wasn't like this, in fact she was so active that she just walks here from our house all the way to the public market (about 3 kilometres far) - now I fear for my mom's health, I'm not sure on how long will she last and how fast her health deteriorates. It's very obvious that she's no longer fit to travel or walk alone in her situation.  I never imagined that one day mom would end up like this - very frail physically , her face covered with sorrow.


Words that my younger sister told me a few days ago , still fell hard on me every time I look at our mom. I'm still in disbelief …….


Changing the subject ….


I had no idea what exactly means of the word "INDIGENCY" but after looking at it on the dictionary this was the actual meaning of that word (noun: suffering from extreme poverty). After reading what it says , I had 100 percent idea on what indigence is.


Obviously me and my sister is far beyond the thing called POVERTY, but the thing here is this , we had to pose as dirt poor citizens - so we can get access to government health care (normally in some countries this is universal and generally available to all regardless of social status, however in the Philippines it is very restrictive and not available to all citizens). I know that this sounds deceptive that we are getting the supplies meant to the people in need more, but I had my reasons besides there is no effective health care system at all in the Philippines - They say they have but it's all just government propaganda not the grim reality.  


Government hospitals in the Philippines are one of the worst in south east Asia. Life there had no value and the doctors are simply cruel and cold blooded people who think they are gods and decides who live and who dies. Doctors that have serious legal and ethical issues, enough even for the Europeans or Americans to be horrified.


If one day I'd end up dying at some point in my life , I don’t want to die in a Philippine government hospital - I want to have at least a little dignity and respect on my last moments in existence , I don’t want to be strap in a government hospital bed being cursed, mocked and laughed at by arrogantly feeling "high and mighty" Filipino doctors or seeing government nurses right next to my death bed,  gambling and betting on how long I can live. Dying in a Philippine government hospital is one of the most bitter and shameful death known to man. There is no honour in dying there


If I'm going to die one day, I want it to be in a private hospital - were I can die in peace and be treated with honour worthy of esteem and respect on the last few moments of life.