Sunday, August 28, 2011

PHOTO OF THE DAY: Sharjah Road

Sharjah road near Rolla during Iftar time. Photo taken by a cellphone camera

It is very unusual to find this road near Rolla in Sharjah almost empty. But during Iftar time in Ramadan where our Muslim brothers come home early from work, driving thru this road is a breeze.

On normal days this road is the battle neck going to Dubai and is one of the preferred access to Dubai from Sharjah and Ajman.



Sunday, August 21, 2011

Filipinos in UAE caught in credit card trap


A re-post of the article published in Inquirer.net on August 22, 2011 regarding the dragging problem of Filipinos on credit cards. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates—Before she arrived in this mecca of migrant labor at age 48, Evelyn Naces, a Filipino nurse, had never owned a credit card. Soon she had 14 credit cards—and like thousands of other foreign workers here, a trip to debtors’ prison.

The Philippine Embassy held a financial literacy program in June. Some workers borrowed at rates of 50 percent or more.

“When they put me in shackles, that was the worst,” said Naces, who had $27,000 in unpaid bills, mostly from helping her grown son start a business back in the Philippines that later failed. “I felt so degraded.”
For years, banks all but threw credit cards at the foreigners who come here in droves to work the malls and fill the office towers. The workers, many of them raised in poor countries and new to easy credit, spent beyond their means.

Staggering losses followed, with jail terms common for those who could not pay.
Whether cast as reckless lending or heedless borrowing, the stories of these foreign workers offer an unusual glimpse of the hidden emotions—webs of pride, guilt and family obligation—that follow millions of migrants across the globe.

Some shopped for pleasure, but many ran up bills by answering pleas from poor relatives for needs as varied as livestock and medical care. The ability to say “no” seldom felt like an option.

Still others, feeling uprooted, built houses back home that they might never occupy. Some mothers who left their children behind tried to salve guilty feelings with expensive gifts.

Vicious cycle

“The family back home often thinks the migrant is earning a lot and raises its expectations,” said Grace Princesa, the Philippine ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who has made debt reduction a part of a government campaign to improve conditions for migrants.

“The poor migrant goes deeper into debt just to answer. It’s a vicious cycle,” Princesa said.

Such was the case with Naces, now 52, a single mother who left her infant son with her parents and went to Saudi Arabia to make money to support him. By the time she arrived in the UAE in 2007, he had already grown up without her.

Though she could not get a credit card in Saudi Arabia, she could scarcely avoid one in the UAE. Salesmen stalked nurses outside hospitals and worshipers after Mass at a Filipino church.

Naces bought furniture, clothes and meals for herself, but her biggest expenses involved her son, whose affection she feared she had lost. She built him a house in the Philippines and bought five cars with credit cards so he could start a rental business.

“I felt guilty for being away and not raising him,” she said. “I was trying to compensate.”

Both mother and son went to jail—he on drug charges and she for debt.

Debtors clog jails

While the government does not disclose how many debtors have been jailed, a legislative body several years ago estimated that 10,000 of them were in the courts or prison.

The Dubai police chief has complained that debtors needlessly clog the jails, and employers have warned the Ministry of Labor that debt problems distract employees.

About 85 percent of the UAE’s population—and 99 percent of the private workforce—consists of foreign workers, and local officials keep watch for signs of discontent.

“The employers were saying, ‘This is a priority to us,’” said Qassim Jamil, a senior official in the labor ministry.

The Central Bank tightened lending rules this year, and the labor ministry sponsored a financial literacy program for migrant leaders.

“What do we want? Freedom!” Ambassador Princesa chanted at a session for Filipinos. “Freedom from poverty! Freedom from credit card problems! Freedom from bank problems!”

Aggressive lending

If migrants spent heavily, lenders encouraged them. Traditionally, credit card use was low (in part because of Islamic strictures against charging interest), but banks spotted a new market and moved aggressively.
With foreign banks like HSBC and Citigroup fighting locals for market share, the number of cards leapt to four million in 2008, a fivefold increase in five years, according to the Lafferty Group, a London research firm.

But the UAE lacks a reliable credit bureau, so lenders could not tell how many cards or how much debt the borrowers carried.

“Banks were falling over themselves to lend, and they didn’t have proper credit checks,” said Andrew Neeson, a Lafferty analyst.

Courted with gifts and teaser rates, few borrowers understood the costs. The average interest rate in the Emirates last year, at 36 percent, was more than twice the global average, and banks routinely add another 10 percent for disability and death insurance.

With penalties, some workers were borrowing at rates of 50 percent or more.

Intoxicating

Anyone can be tempted by easy credit, but migrants raised in poverty can find the glittering malls here especially intoxicating.

“The first time I used my card, I felt amazed,” Naces said. “It’s a feeling of excitement, power—greatness even.”

Rex Arcenio, a Filipino optometrist, accepted a gold card because it came with a Montblanc pen and a limousine ride to the airport for his annual leave.

“It was like a status symbol,” Arcenio said.

He ran up $50,000 in debt—for his children’s education, his brother’s cancer treatment and a house in Manila—and was briefly jailed.

Bouncing check

Technically, debtors go to jail for bouncing the blank “security checks” they must sign when accepting a card. If borrowers fail to pay, banks can deposit the checks for the sum owed, and bouncing a check is a crime.

Whether foreign or Emirati, borrowers must repay the debt after leaving jail, though banks often accept reduced terms.

Skilled workers here are generally treated better than in neighboring countries like Saudi Arabia, which can make their debt travails a shock. Jail conditions in the UAE are described as comfortable, but the accused often appear in court in leg irons.

“My world collapsed,” said Arcenio, a proud man in a white lab coat.
Aisha Alambatang, 54, who served a month for one card in February, could be jailed again for others. A Filipino nurse with three grown children, Alambatang spent most of their childhood years abroad, supporting them from Saudi Arabia.

When she arrived in the UAE eight years ago, she got a raise and six credit cards.

‘My heart was broken’

Alambatang built houses for herself and her daughter, and helped the children start several failed businesses. Then she paid for two daughters to move to Abu Dhabi to job-hunt.

Soon she had a monthly salary of $2,200 and debt service of more than $3,000. When Alambatang arrived in court, her daughter was already there.

“When my daughter saw me with a chain on my foot, I felt like my heart was broken,” she said. Worried about returning to jail, Alambatang gets palpitations when she sees the police, and she sleeps with her daughter for comfort.

“I’m not in jail anymore, but here,” she said, hand over her heart, “I’m more in jail.” New York Times News Service

Friday, August 19, 2011

Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin - Final Episode


Last episode na ngayong gabi ng Minsa Lang Kita Iibigin sa TFC. Ang papalit ata ay yong bagong palabas na tampok naman si Kim Chiu at tatlong magagandang lalaki na sila Jolo Revilla, Xian Lim at Matteo Guidicelli.

Kagabi lang naaliw ako sa isang eksena ni Lora (Amy Austria) at ni Tomas (Tonton Gutierrez) kaya madalian lang itong blog at may maikwento lang.

Nag pang abot si Lora (Amy Austria) at si Ka Diego (Ronnie Lazaro). Sinumbatan ni Ka Diego si Lora dahil sa pagtalikod nito sa samahan. At nong aakamang barilin ni Ka Diego si Lora biglang lumabas sa damuhan ang nagtatagong si Tomas, binuhat si Lora papalayo habang nag paputok si Ka Diego.

Pinabilib ako ni Tomas at di man lang ininda ang ilang balang pinakawalan ni Ka Diego. Nang makalayo, nagkaroon sila ng oras ni Lora para magkausap at paiyak na humingi ng tawad si Tomas. Deny to death naman itong si Lora at dahil siguro sa tindi rin ng sama ng loob tinalikuran si Tomas. 

Bigla na lang natumba si Tomas at doon nakita ko na marami pala itong tama sa likod gawa ng pagkabaril ni Ka Diego. Bumalik si Lora para pilit ibangon si Tomas. Nagkaroon sila ng closure at nagkapatawaran. Naabutan sila ni Ka Diego sa tagpong yon. Akalain mo kahit kinakapos na ng hininga, biglang bumangon pa itong si Tomas at nag pangagaw pa sila ng baril ni Ka Diego sabay sigaw kay Lora na "Takbo". At dahil siguro wala na ring lakas itong si Tomas natumba sya ulit at sa pagkakataon yon binaril sya ni Ka Diego sa harap. 

Dumating ang mga sundalo at sumibat papalayo si Ka Diego.
Doon na binawian ng buhay si Tomas. Ang haba ng buhay ni Tomas! 

Kung sabagay teleserye lang naman ito. Nakakaaliw lang.....


Manila Street in Singapore

Manila Street in Singapore

I was surprised when my visit to Singapore when I chanced upon a street named after the Philippine capital. The nearest landmark to Manila street is Bugis village located along Victoria street.

I don't know the history behind the naming of the street. But Philippines and Singapore have shared many things in common. Besides a strong Chinese influence in both cultures, Singapore is host to about 160,000 thousand Filipinos working as professionals and household workers.