Piracy in the Philippines: What a Shame

With the entry of the Philippines to globalization, the problem in piracy emerged. This kind of piracy has become a threat to the copyrighted industry locally and internationally. It caused a lot of losses and disadvantages.

The problem of piracy is not limited to the Philippines; it is everywhere. The difference is that, in our country, piracy is somewhat tolerated while in other countries, piracy is a very serious issue. As a proof, about 400,000 to 600,000 copies of films are produced illegally in the Philippines alone.

In our society, the practice of piracy has already been an accepted norm. People who are involved with it are simply acting according to the norms. In the Philippines, being a culture-dominated country, it is seen that Filipinos do whatever that they do based on the actions accepted by the society, whether it be legal or not. Thus, supporting piracy, although illegal, is considered a norm nowadays.

The problem of optical media piracy has caused a lot of harm to the different industries involved—the movie industry, music industry, and the computer and video game software industry. The same kind of harm has been caused by the piracy industry to the Philippines, specifically to the Philippine movie and music industry.

Such harms have made the Philippines famous all over the world for being one of the piracy capitals. This recognition, however, does not do anything good to our country; instead, it is currently giving all Filipinos a hard time to clean up its name after so many disgraces it acquired.

Piracy here in our country has always been an illegal act. It is considered a form of stealing in a way that when you use, which includes producing and selling, or buy pirated materials, you are already using one’s product without the owner or producer’s consent.

Although piracy is considered an illegal act, its rampancy is obvious nowadays. Filipinos are known to be movie and music lovers, and with the emergence of newer forms of technology, Filipinos are already into the use of computers for playing games and doing other things related to the use of these newer forms of technology, like mixing and editing sounds and making movies, which require installation of computer softwares.

These pirated materials became widespread during the late 1990’s. The existence of these gave the masses a chance to own CDs and DVDs that contain their favorite songs and movies and computer softwares that they needed without spending too much money.

By 2001, the Philippines was among the top three producers and sellers of pirated materials among the countries here in Asia and ranked number seven as worst Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) violator.

The Philippines was recommended by the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), “a private sector coalition formed in 1984 to represent the U.S. copyright-based industries in bilateral and multilateral efforts to improve international protection of copyrighted materials,” to be on the Priority Watch List in 2002. On February 2006, the Philippines’ standing went down to just “Watch List.”

The inclusion of the Philippines in the Priority Watch List was due to the rampant production and existence of pirated materials throughout the country. An estimated loss of US$ 120.1 million on United States copyright industries was due to piracy in the Philippines during 2001.

The continuing existence of these pirated materials will surely cause the Philippine and international movie and music industry and the computer software industry to fall. The Philippine film industry used to produce around 240 films each year but in 2004, the number crashed down to 40 films per year. If piracy in our country will still go on, it would not be surprising anymore if the number will fall to only maybe 20 films per year. The Philippine movie industry loses around three billion pesos in income every year. Producers and owners of original materials will lose profits and eventually, they might just be part of the growing piracy industry.

We have many talented and great singers here in the Philippines yet they still cannot go higher than just a national singer or artist. Most of our singers want to make a name in the international scene but piracy is a huge hindrance for the achievement of these dreams. Piracy is sure to be one of the factors that limit the ability of our musicians and composers to gain international acceptance.

More materials will be pirated and with the continuing rise of poverty here in our country, more Filipinos will engage in the piracy industry—more Filipinos will produce and buy such products.

Stressing the Stress Out

Whatever reason one may have, every human being will go through some stress in his life. Be it from work, school, family, illness, or social issues, stress will be stress. Some stress can motivate an individual like for example, it can help you finish a task and beat the deadline. Some, on the other hand, are dangerous to the health and to the mind. Usually, stress means an extreme feeling of anxiety that gives a person an uncomfortable feeling that may last for long or otherwise. Stress can be short-term, which one can experience when you are taking your exam, or it can also be long-term, the kind that one gets when doing his thesis for the entire semester.

Stress, specifically the long-term ones, can lead to illness as severe as heart diseases that may start with sleeping and eating disorders and depression. People who are stressed will experience loss of appetite, sleeplessness or even too much sleep, crying out of nowhere, and headaches. Most of the time, they will feel alarmed, frustrated, and hopeless. Sometimes, one will try to escape stress through prohibited drugs and alcohol which is a bad thing.

It is important that you manage your stress and you do not allow stress to manage you. Everything starts with a positive mindset. You should realize that not everything is under your control and that it is natural that you commit mistakes. But then, even though you cannot control everything, you can still control your reaction to every situation that may stress you. For instance, the results of your exams were not acceptable, instead of crying over it at night, just post it anywhere you can always see it so that you will always be reminded to study better for the next exam.

Managing stress includes having a healthy lifestyle also. This means that you should have enough sleep—not over and most probably not “undersleep.” Most of the time, lack of rest only intensifies stress. Exercise is also an effective stress-reliever. Just some jogging, or weight lifting or just dancing off your butt can help release a hormone called endorphin which makes a person happy. Exercising regularly helps you obtain a fit body and a fit body helps fight stress better than an unfit one. And, of course, eating a well-balanced diet is included.

It is also helpful if you know how to set limits and realistic goals for yourself. This will include setting your priorities and determining which to accomplish first. This way, you will be able to finish one thing at a time and you will also be able to focus on each of the things that you need to accomplish. For instance, you have an exam coming and your organization will be having a huge event the same day. Being a student, it is more important that you concentrate on your exam first and maybe later, after the exam, you can go and help your fellow members on your organization’s event.

You should know when to say “no.” If your plate gets full and you can’t take anything more, just let go and refuse. It is not your obligation to do everything at once. Do not commit to something when you cannot really give your time to it. Aside from stressing yourself out because of it, you will also just disappoint those who have expectations from you.

Learning relaxation and proper breathing techniques can also be a great help in managing stress. Meditation has been proven to be very effective in controlling stress. One should know how to clear his mind with disturbing thoughts.

Again, managing stress starts with one thing—be positive. Not all stress is risky to the health after all. Stress, the short-term one specifically, is actually helpful for our memory. Stress causes more glucose to be delivered to the brain, which makes more energy available to neurons. This will then help enhancement of memory formation and recovery. On the other hand, if stress is prolonged, it can delay the glucose delivery and disrupt memory.

When stress becomes unbearable, it is advisable that you seek for medical attention already. You may choose to see a psychologist or a guidance counselor in your school.

Review: Wag the Dog (Robert de Niro)

Why does a dog wag its tail? Because the dog is smarter than its tail. If the tail were smarter, the tail would wag the dog.

The American populace, being the larger body in the movie, is represented by the dog while the media and the government are considered as the tail. With the combined intelligence of all the American citizens, they should be the ones dictating what the “tail” should be doing considering that they are in a democratic society. But what happened in the movie is that the tail was the one who manipulated the dog. It was too easy for the government and the media to manipulate the facts that were presented to the people—from the staged war of the President against Albania, to the hero (Sgt. William “Old Shoe” Schumann), to the theme song for this hero. Despite all odds, the spin doctor, Conrad Bream (Robert De Niro), with the help of a movie producer, Stanley Motss (Dustin Hoffman), managed to get away with everything until the bogus hero was killed accidentally during their “trip back home.”

On another perspective, the dog can be the media, being a very powerful sector in a country, and still, the government is the tail. The government has been manipulating the media and the media was too dumb to believe whatever the government said.

The Government and the Media as presented in the movie

The government and the media are presented in the movie as real as they are in real life. The government was very manipulative. To cover up for the President’s scandalous deed, two weeks before the election, those in-charge of keeping the President’s name clean did even the most impossible thing—staging a war with a country living peacefully.

The media, on the other hand, was very passive of the issues that came up. They would report whatever it was that would sell. Not one was critical enough to question the statements of the President about the war.

Unang Nobela - Chapter 2

Bagong salta sa bayan namin si Lemuel. Lem na lang daw for short. Isang buwan pa lang siya dito sa bayan kung hindi ako nagkakamali. Apo siya ni Ka Simon, 'yung may-ari ng isa sa pinaka-malaking tindahan na nasa bayan. Nasa gilid lang ng munisipyo ang tindahan ni Ka Simon. Kilala si Ka Simon sa bayan. Lahat yata mula sa mga ka-edad ng mga magulang niya na nabubuhay pa hanggang sa mga paslit na pumapasok sa Day Care sa looban ay kilala siya. Isa na nga yatang pagkakakilanlan ng bayan namin ang tindahan niya.

Mabait si Ka Simon. Minsan nga lang, masungit siya sa mga tambay sa tapat ng tindahan niya lalo na kapag sobrang ingay ng mga ito at inaabot ng alas-diyes ng gabi kung kelan nakasara na sana ang tindahan niya. Pero iginagalang siya ng lahat. Pati ng mga tambay na madalas niyang nakakagalitan. Sa maniwala kayo't sa hindi, ni minsan, walang nagtangkang pagnakawan ang tindahan niya. Matulungin din kasi si Ka Simon. Kapag may nangangailangan, basta't mayroon siya ay magbibigay ito ng tulong. Kunsiyensya na lang ng taong maisipan siyang gulangan. Madalas ay sinusulsulan siya ng mga tao na tumakbo sa eleksyon para sa kahit anong posisyon sa bayan namin pero ni minsan ay hindi siya napilit. Ang sabi niya, hindi naman daw kailangang may pwesto ka para makatulong sa mga kababayan. Hindi siya mayaman, pero hindi siya nawawalan ng kahit anong maibibigay para itulong sa mga nangangailangan.

Naaalala ko pa noong nag-aaral pa lang ako sa elementarya, nahulog 'yung pencil case ko sa creek na malapit sa looban. Laman ng case na 'yon ang lahat ng lapis at pambura ko. Pati 'yung paborito kong ballpen na may mabangong amoy ay andoon. Inanod ito ng tubig at hindi ko na alam kung paano ko pa makikita ulit. Hindi ko na muna sinabi sa mga magulang ko dahil sigurado naman ako na pagagalitan nila ako. Sasabihin na naman nila na hindi ako marunong mag-alaga ng mga ibinibigay sa akin. Pinapahalagahan ko naman lahat ng ibinibigay sa akin. May mga pagkakataon lang talaga na may mawawala o masisira. Ganun talaga eh.

Pumasok ako sa eskwela na walang dalang kahit anong panulat. Naisipan ko na lang na manghiram sa mga kaklase ko. May nagpahiram naman sa akin pero kukunin din daw niya pagkatapos ng klase. Nang mag-recess, pumunta ako sa tindahan ni Ka Simon kung saan ako madalas bumibili ng pagkain ko. Madaldal ako talaga. Ma-kwento. Kaya noong pumunta ako noong umagang 'yon sa tindahan niya, nahalata niya agad na malungkot ako. Nang malaman niya ang nangyari sa pencil case ko, walang sabi-sabi, kumuha siya ng paninda niyang pencil case sa tokador niya, nilagyan niya ito ng dalawang lapis, isang pambura, at isang kulay itim na ballpen at saka ibinigay sa akin. Siyempre natuwa ako. Kahit hindi mabango 'yung ballpen na binigay ni Ka Simon, masaya pa rin ako siyempre dahil may kapalit na 'yung inanod kong pencil case at hindi na ako mapapagalitan ng mga magulang ko.

Kung gaanong kabait si Ka Simon, siya namang sungit ni Lem. Antipatiko, maangas pero hindi naman hambog. Suplado pero magalang naman sa mga nakakatanda. Madalas nga ay siya na ang nagbubukas at nagsasara ng tindahan ng lolo niya para naman maka-pagpahinga naman ito ng maaga. Noong una kaming nagkakilala ni Lem, nanananghalian siya at sobrang tagal niya bago lumabas kaya nainis ako. Masungit siyang bumungad sa harapan ko kaya lalong uminit ang ulo ko. Napagkamalan ko pa siyang katulong ni lolo dahil wala namang asawa ni Ka Simon para pag-isipan ko na mayroon siyang apo. Si Lem, apo pala ng ate ni Ka Simon.

Si Lem.

Unang Nobela - CHAPTER 1

Bukas magkikita kami. Sa tapat ng malaking orasan sa bayan—doon kung saan sa kabila ng walang tigil na paggalaw ng oras ay ang pagtigil ng bawat sandali habang magkasama kami. Sa bayan. Maraming tao. Maingay. Masaya. Sa bayan.

Hindi mahirap mamuhay sa bayan namin. Simpleng pamumuhay ng mga simpleng tao. Halos magkakakilala lahat ng tao dito. Ang bayan ng El Dionisio. Dito ako ipinanganak, nagkamulat, natuto. Andito ang pamilya ko, mga kaibigan ko, ang buhay ko.

Sa bayan. Maraming sasakyan. Kung ang mismong bayan lang ang pagbabasehan, maaari ko ng sabihing maunlad na ang aming bayan. Maraming establisimiyento, maraming hindi naman matataas pero magagandang gusali. Halos magkakatabi lang ang simbahan naming malaki at lumang-luma na, ang munisipyo, at ang plaza. Sa gitna ng parisukat na plaza ay ang isang matayog at matabang poste. Sa itaas nito ay ang orasan. Ang orasang ito ang basehan ng bawat kilos at gawain sa aming bayan. Mula sa paggising, hanggang sa pagpasok sa eskwela ng mga kabataang nag-aaral, hanggang sa pagsisimula ng pagsisilbi ng mga opisyal ng bayan sa munisipyo, hanggang sa pagsisimula ng maingay na kalakalan sa palengke, hanggang sa oras ng paghahain ng tanghalian, ng hapunan, sa pagsasara ng tindahan ni Ka Simon, hanggang sa pagtulog ng bawat mamamayan ng El Dionisio.

Sa palibot ng bayan ay ang mga kabahayan kung saan naninirahan ang bawat mamamayan. Taliwas sa itsura ng bayan, sa tinatawag naming “looban” (lahat ng parte ng El Dionisio na nasa labas ng mismong bayan ay ang looban). Magkakalapit lang ang mga bahay sa lahat ng looban. Walang bahay ang makikitang nag-iisa lamang sa isang parte at malayo sa ibang kabahayan. Kung gaano kadami ang mga bahay sa looban, ganoon din kadami ang mga puno sa paligid ng mga kabahayan kaya kahit gaano kataas ang sikat ng araw, hindi sumasakit ang balat ko sa init. Dahil sa lahat ng parte ng looban, may masisilungan ka. Hindi tatama ang sikat ng araw sa balat mo nang ganoon katagal dahil tatakpan ito agad ng mga dahon ng mga nagtatayugang puno.
Payapa sa bayan ng El Dionisio. Lahat masaya, lahat kuntento.

Bukas magkikita kami sa bayan. Sa dati naming tagpuan. Sa tapat ng orasan. Ang orasan na palihim na kumukontrol sa bawat buhay ng mga taga-El Dionisio. Sa buong El Dionisio. Ang orasang siyang magtatakda ng buhay ko. . . ng kapalaran ko.

Bukas magkikita kami sa tapat ng orasan. Bukas, dapit-hapon, alas-singko y media ng hapon. Bukas, magkikita kami ni Lemuel.