The More Important Things In Life

Patricia Tamayo, 08A

The girl’s name was Angela. A year ago, at about the same time as it were now, she was a fourth year student cramming and racking her brains off for her final examinations- an eager high school senior who just lately then found out that she passed the entrance test to the most prestigious university in the Philippines.

It’s 2009 at present and the girl is already in UP Diliman, this time, enduring the headaches brought about by her unsuccessful pursuits for the sleep which always eluded her. She always had something to do- not a moment of peace to think things through. For that one subject, she had a 20-page research paper to finish; for that second one, she had to finalize her report to be presented in class; for another one, she had to prepare a persuasive speech that should last about seven minutes or so; another one entailed watching a theatrical play and critiquing the piece; another one required her to think about rebuttals for the debate on the existence of God; yet again, she was to have her finals in more or less five subjects, all in a completely single week. She was in the deepest, most inescapable tortures of hell.

She didn’t have time for things other than studying. Yes, she did not have time for anything at all besides coping with the new world she was so ecstatic to be a part of one time in the past. That time seemed so long ago to her now. But she did not actually dread the things she was experiencing. Ironically, she saw these as obstacles that she will soon surely pass. She always did like challenges and she saw college as just that. If you could imagine yourself a painter who cannot let go of his paintbrush and lose sight of his canvass, the girl was equally immersed with the fresh fountain of knowledge she was quenching her thirst from everyday, with the realm she was now freely treading upon.

Motivated as she was, she felt something inappropriate inside her, like her chest had become utterly bare and hollow. She did not understand what the strange feeling was all about- she was undeniably contented in her present state, so why the ruckus? After thinking it thoroughly and still emerging with no rational answer, she decided to let the matter go. Her heart and her subconscious knew it, but she did not. The thing she was unaware of? Sadness. Yes, sadness. It was silently piling up like granules of sand, looming and threatening to fill her entire being up. She was definitely sad. And she was definitely clueless regarding the matter.

She awoke with a start at the sound of her cellular phone ringing. Because it was two in the morning and she just slept a couple of hours ago, she didn’t bother to pick up the call. She figured that no one in their right minds would dare to disturb other people’s precious time of rest, so whoever it was must just be suffering from severe insomnia. Trying to go back to sleep proved to be impossible. The caller was apparently persistent, so she gave in, got up and reached for her phone which was lying on top of her messy study table. Looking at the caller id, she was a little surprised to find out that it was her mom giving her a buzz all this time. Pressing the answer button quickly and sticking the phone up to her ear, she was taken aback at how her mother’s voice sounded so weary, so worried, and so helpless- like her life was in jeopardy.

“Mommy! Why?! What’s the matter?!,” she yelled, losing the fight with the fear creeping up her spine, sending strong shockwaves of chills throughout her entire body. Her mom never got worried for naught. This sudden expression of fear from her was so unusual that the only moments she could remember her ever acting this way were in the rare occasions wherein a family member encountered an accident and takes in a few bumps and bruises here and there. She recalled when she fell down from a bike, her mom was by her side in a flash, crying and persisting to apologize, insisting to take the blame. The memory just seeped right in and made her all the more anxious to know what was wrong, what was troubling her carefree mother that she began to shriek again, “Ma! What?! Tell me what’s wrong!”

“Angela!,” her mother began, “Didn’t you watch the news?! There’s a very strong hurricane wrecking everything in its way and it’s heading right for Quezon city now! Don’t bother getting your things; just get out of there right now! Go straight for the terminal and come home! Hurry! I beg you, hurry!” Her mother was practically frantic, letting loose an odd edge to her voice, and as she absorbed the shocking dilemma in her head, she heard her mother’s gasps. Her mother was crying. The little sobs soon began to vanish, giving way to the unstoppable flow of warm tears. She and her mother both knew it- there was no hope for her to survive this. She was going to die without seeing her family- her grandparents who brought her up with great showers of affection, her dad who always tried to deliver a decent joke and give them a laugh in times of worries, her brothers and little sisters whom she always quarreled a lot with and schemed childish plans with and her mom who always sacrificed her own happiness just to see her family have theirs.

She could not move even an inch from where she stood. She put down the phone from her ear, clasped it tightly between both hands and hugged it to her chest. Mixed waves of emotions surged through her and she realized that streams of tears also trickled down from her eyes. She closed them tight now and images of her loved ones began filling up her head. Out of nowhere, a throbbing pain started to strike her from deep inside. This felt quite familiar, she thought to herself. It was the same ache that always visited her, but did not present itself directly. It gathered up its strength now and was giving her gut punches with its mighty force. Now she knew. Now she understood what it was. She guessed she was actually waiting for this. She knew they’d come eventually- the uncountable and unfathomable regrets. When she was a little girl, there were none of these. But ever since she decided to stop being a kid and let go of her tight grasp on the innocence that only a child can hold, she knew they’d silently accumulated. Like a devious murderer lurking in the shadows, it was waiting for the fitting time to take the kill. Apparently, the destined moment was now.

She regretted not helping her older sister when their mom asked them to take care of the chores; she regretted not listening to her dad when he advised her to learn the piano; she regretted not wearing the sweater that her lola saved up for and bought her for Christmas; she regretted not teaching her little sister how to draw; she regretted not tutoring her little brother in Mathematics; she regretted not answering her mom’s flow of text messages most of the time when she did not feel the need to; most of all, she regretted every minute that was spent not telling every single one of them how she loved them deeply, how she’d give up anything for them, how truly grateful she was that it was them whom God made to be her family. She pitied herself for not grabbing hold of the numerous opportunities wherein she could have kissed them or given them a tight hug.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself standing on the beach, the trail of her footprints evident behind her. The wind was gently turning into an average breeze, sweeping her hair backwards as she looked out onto the sea. The waves were fun to watch as they crashed just before the shore. And when you listen to it intently, you could almost hear peace, you could almost hear serenity.

A memory proceeded to present itself again. This was one of her entire family and her on the beach back home when she was just twelve. They had been celebrating for something, but she could not recall clearly what it was- her birthday perhaps? Anyway, as she searched through the scene, she began to long for the sheer purity of the plentiful laughs the family had that day. How she missed them, she thought again.

Just then, a man appeared by her side and smiled at her. He reached for her and touched her face. She did not know she was crying again. And when she realized this, she began to wail harder. The man knelt down on his knee and motioned for her to come to him. She was surprised with how the gesture made her happy and she ran without any hesitation, breaking to a stop when she’d come to hug him. He spoke, saying:

“See how life works? We always assume that some things in life are far more important than others- that these things must be prioritized and given much, much more attention. When the time comes for us to leave the world, that’s when we comprehend that we neglected what was really significant, that we pretended to not see the real things that would have given us the contentment we were always trying so hard to search for.”

The girl replied, “I was such a fool to be blinded with the requirements of living a good life when in fact, there were really no such things to begin with at all. And now, I cannot ever forgive myself for overlooking what would have easily made me complete.”

Then the man said, “I don’t do this very often, so let’s keep it a secret between the two of us, agreed?” as he winked and let out a chuckle. His voice was so soothing- like a melodious lullaby playing softly in the background. And what he said ignited every sense of optimism in the girl. Listening to him made the girl drowsy, but just before dozing off, she also winked and agreed, saying: “Yes. It’ll be our little secret, Father. Whatever it is…” Then her eyes shut and she felt as though she’d taken a deep slumber in a beautiful meadow with the birds chirping, the flowers dancing with the cool wind, the big tree hiding her in its shade and the strange man kissing her forehead and whispering:

“Now that you know how quick and sudden life on earth could end, grant me a favor and live yours without any regrets this time, alright, my child? Here’s your chance to go back. Always remember that I’m with you every step of the way. Now,awake little missy.”

She awoke with a start at the sound of her cellular phone ringing. She picked the call up at once and when she saw who the person at the other end of the line was, she touched her chest and realized that the hollowness was gone, she smiled, answered the phone and breathlessly said, “Ma, I love you!”

The World Travel

Rachel Bautista, Alumna 01

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) estimates that, from direct and indirect activities combined, the T&T sector now accounts for 9.9 percent of global GDP, 10.9 percent of world exports, and 9.4 percent of world investment.

How much of this was the Philippines’ share?

From a BCG matrix point of view, the Philippines has an abundance of strengths in terms of: 1) Natural Resources 2) Cultural Resources 3) People’s affinity for Tourism 4) Price Competitiveness 5) Ease of access for most International tourists. However, these may not be fully realized into competitive advantages if our biggest weakness is the lack of a strong, unifying framework on how we will develop and promote the country as a premier tourist destination. Tourism Development is not the responsibility of the DOT alone. Because the Travel & Tourism Industry’s scope overlaps with other departments such as DOTC, DENR, DOH, DTI to name a few – all these have to work together. Too often we see that the initiative of one government agency is hampered by conflicting/limiting policies of other agencies. Too often – we lose sight of our ultimate goal – to make the Philippines THE place to visit.

To cite a few examples, the recent shortage of the new Arrival/Departure cards for arriving and departing travellers could be seen as lack of proper planning and execution by a government agency. This is owing to the fact that the Bureau of Immigration issued a memorandum that effective January 1 this year, only the new cards will be accepted for use.

Another example is status of our Air Transport Infrastructure. In 2009 alone, several incidents of power outages at the NAIA T-1, closure of runways at the Caticlan Airport, the lack of appropriate navigational equipment and even the ongoing legal problems concerning T-3 are some of our weak points.

In terms of environmental sustainability, it is sad to note that some of our most popular destinations are threatened by a slow but sure demise due to the lack of proper policies that would foster sustainability. The reality is that short term monetary gains are favoured over modest but long-term financial returns brought about by a sustainable tourism plan. Boracay is a classic example.

How can we attract new investors when it takes us twice as long to start a business (52 working days) compared to countries such as Pakistan, Algeria, Uganda, Serbia, and Montenegro. It takes us three times longer compared to UAE. We have so much more to offer as a destination compared to these countries – why can’t we streamline the process for investors?

These are but a few examples that signal the need for a thorough look into how we manage Tourism. Our ranking in areas such as Prioritization of Travel and Tourism (#59), Business Impact Rules on Foreign Direct Investment (#97), Transparency of Government Policy making (#85).

With the National Elections only a few months away – this would be a good time to check the candidates’ platforms on Travel & Tourism. We should look at what their specific plans in terms of the T&T Industry. It would be a shame to see other countries surge ahead not because they have more to offer a tourist in terms of experience and product – but only because the destination is better managed than we are.

Non-motorized Transport and Tourism

Patricia Joyce Tamayo, 08A

What’s really lacking in all the hubbubs about the non-motorized modes of transport (an emphasis on walking and cycle tourism) is the clear definition on how such approach in transportation could possibly help in bringing about sustainable development, and sustainable development in which context, at that. Because a very troubling diversity exists between the vast aspects of the modern world- the likelihood of being able to achieve sustainable development in the environment whilst doing the same for tourism or any other commercial industry in the economy is no more than managing to walk across a hair-thin line.

Applying the concept of opportunity costs, which states that the cost of something is what you give up to get it, we see why the significance of non-motorized transport in the realm of tourism is, more often than not, overlooked. Tourism exists within the confines of a clearly defined measure of distance, length of stay and purpose for the visit. Non-motorized transport evidently does not exactly fit the requirements; as such modes cover short distances. But most of all, we are in the generation where technology reigns supreme. No one can deny how much contribution to the accessibility (a major factor in tourism) of a destination, and thus a motivation for travel, contributions from technological advancements have become. In addition, fast-paced living is the dominating trend nowadays, so it is fairly understandable that people opt for battery-powered means of transportation which serves their said current lifestyles. Everyone’s practically in a hurry, and no mere strong legs or tuned bicycle can get them to where they’re going fast enough.

On the other hand, the viewpoint in which non-motorized transport is considered as part of the entire tourism experience (either in being a transport network, an income generator or a device fuelling the promotion of destinations) is certainly a strong prospective opportunity that should thoroughly be examined and acted upon. And it, actually, already is happening. One very appropriate example is how Venice maximizes its canals by letting gondolas prevail upon them. Admittedly, any tourist would not miss the chance to ride a gondola and be serenaded by the timbre of a Venetian boatman’s voice. And in that note is the importance of the art of marketing in this venture.

Let us take the case of cycle tourism. Reasons for people to try this activity out include recreation and restoration of the feeling of well-being, among others. With the proper marketing mix that will cater to the different market segments (e.g. coming up with worthwhile activities such as treasure-hunt trails, family cycle packages, a track leading up to a high terrain overlooking the sights, etc.), we’re almost there. Of course, still a large chunk of the matter is the fact that a hefty sum of capital investments is called for once we talk about the necessity of infrastructures. But, the essence of marketing is that it comes first before the product.

All in all, non-motorized transport systems are still a very integral part of tourism, though not acknowledged by everyone. In my opinion, one definitive explanation is that, for the most part, walking and cycling, for instance, are just too simplistic, common, and routinely to suit everyone’s taste. When people hear the word “travel”, they imagine leaving the invisible bounds of the country, flying away in an airplane- not walking in the beach, or riding a bicycle to the park. But imagine the experience those would make for a tourist’s experience- walking in the sands of Boracay, or riding a bicycle around Europe.

WWJD (What Would Jesus Do)?

Paola Valdescona

We live in a world where there is food to eat, water to drink and money to spend. Nonetheless, this world is imperfect just like all of us. Though we’re simply a part of it, we are social beings that need attention and companionship in order to survive. We are as what a scientist called us “human beings”. We eat and drink to live. We are by nature, made to interrelate with beings similar to our kind. We are bound to commit mistakes as none of us living in this world we know as “earth” is ever perfect. However, 2000+ years ago, the Son of Man came to existence and he otherwise proved himself worthy to be called the right hand of the father. Whatever our religion may be, we are all familiar with what he did and who he is. For the purposes of being understood better but with all due respect to the readers’ religions and, I will name him Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ was born and raised as a human being though he is by nature, a God. He is perfect – he knows what shall be done in times of uncertainty. When he was tempted by Satan - his very strong opponent, he defended very well his principles and God’s will. As a proof, he had never ever committed a single mistake in his entire subsistence, indeed he was perfect. Often times, just like him, we face situations where we have to choose between what we WANT to do and what MUST be done. The WANT part constitutes the “incorrect” and probably “immoral” choice and the MUST part defines the “good” and “right” thing to do. How about trying to ask ourselves this question - WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) before making our decisions during perplexing circumstances? Maybe then, we’ll be guided by his light and we’ll be able to make right and wise judgments.

Through out this column, you, my dear readers will come across some familiar situations which best depicts a person who is facing the dilemma of choosing between the WRONG-BUT-CONVENIENT choice and RIGHT-BUT-COMPLICATED one.

I am now a 4^th year college student and I can’t deny the fact that ever since I studied, I have been continuously tempted to cheat (copy answers during exams, prepare then use codigos, copy homeworks, etc.) and you must agree with me that once in your academic life, you faced this very same predicament. One time, I failed to review for an exam because I was so busy doing some other stuff that is considerably much less important, a good example would be that I am constantly updating my facebook account. On the day of the exam itself, I don’t know the answers to the questions. I may be able to answer some items but it wouldn’t be enough for me to pass. At that exact moment, I was torned between the thought of passing but cheating and the thought of not cheating but failing. Indeed, they were very complex options and so, if I am a senior student, graduating that very semester and this exam is my make or break point, what shall I do? Do my best to sneak on my teacher and check on and copy my seatmate’s answer to pass or do I just answer to the best of my ability and wholeheartedly accept it if I fail? Just like how I started this column, I am simply a human being and I believe that 80% of my mind will tell me that I must pass. Of course, I would not want to miss graduation and who cares; I would not be caught cheating anyway. But let me ask you this, will this be the very same action Jesus would’ve done if he came to face this same problem?

>>> The answer my dear is No. I am guessing he will be frustrated that he won’t be able to graduate alongside his friends but he wouldn’t compromise his principles for such as a small thing. He knows cheating is wrong and he, by his nature, will always choose the right thing even though he sacrifices himself or just part of him – this was the very principle he showed us when he unconditionally accepted his faith as the humankind’s savior. God gave his only begotten son to redeem us; to free us from sin, because he knows that it was the right thing to do. And Jesus Christ sacrificed himself because he agrees with God the Father – it was indeed the best and right thing to do. Where could the humans be now if not for him? This I still ponder on.

There are innumerable likely instances where the WWJD question would have fit but I want to leave it all up to your imaginations. Still, here I am, telling you guys about taking chances on figuring out what would Jesus have possibly done in times of despair but I personally haven’t even tried it once. In my 19, turning 20 years of existence, I have already committed an awful lot of mistakes that I do not even sometimes regret doing. At least I am honest enough to admit that I was like this. But, when I come to think of it, maybe asking myself the WWJD question would’ve possibly worked, and no! Rather, it would have always worked.

However, this is not only about me or my regrets in life. It is about all of us and how we view things. It is about how we settle on our chosen alternative. Admit it, we are not and will never be perfect, but, we can always try to make ourselves less imperfect. Now, if Jesus was one of the readers of this column, What Would He Do? The options are not for me to give but for you to come up with yourselves. Ultimately, I would like to throw this challenge – Can we live the life God and Jesus lay before us?

Briefs to TTCI

Paolo Abellanosa, 08B

Few souls in this college and university are aware that something of a Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report exists in the world, and probably less than half of this handful has had the chance of reading the more-than 200-page essay of the World Economic Forum. What most of us don’t know about this report is that it ranks our country as 86^th in competitiveness (from over 133 nations); nose-diving five places from 81^st in 2008 (from over 130 nations). It’s like the Indonesian, Namibian, Honduran, Trinidadian, and Syrian injected themselves in the line leaving the Filipino further from prerog (while most of us will ask where in the world Namibia is). Nonetheless, without the intention of saving this government from fault, the intensity of the report is not with the ranking. Yes, doubtlessly the Philippines has achieved a negative climb, but let us stick with the cliché that there’s always a rainbow after the rain.

I start with a little background of the legendary T&T Competitiveness Index. Like every report and data-gathering, TTCI is a human being that has evolved from other species of experiences. It has its deoxyribonucleic acid, or unique code, aimed at measuring “the factors and policies that make it attractive to develop travel and tourism sector in different countries”.

Now, this TTCI has 14 body parts. These are called pillars of T&T competitiveness, and they are grouped into three systems of bare bones, or subindexes, whose broad scope drives travel and tourism. The first subindex is the T&T regulatory framework composed of the pillars policy and regulations, environmental sustainability, safety and security, health and hygiene, and prioritization of travel and tourism. Pillars air transport infrastructure, ground transport infrastructure, tourism infrastructure, information and communications technology infrastructure, and price competitiveness in the T&T industry belong to the T&T business environment and infrastructure subindex, while the subindex T&T human, cultural, and natural resources has the pillars human resources, affinity for travel and tourism, natural resources, and cultural resources.

These three frameworks summarize the three essential components of T&T. From Tour 120, we have learned that accommodation, transportation, attraction, etc. are the components of tourism. In a wider sense, the World Economic Forum suggests that there are basically three—regulation; business and infrastructural; and human, cultural, and natural resources—all of which determine the effectiveness of T&T development in a given area.

From these 14 pillars and three subindexes, the survey was done. The hard data were retrieved from international organizations such as the International Air Transport Association, the UN World Tourism Organization, and the World Travel and Tourism Council, while insight papers and feedbacks were obtained from companies that range from Airbus to Rolls-Royce, from Emirates Group to British Airways.

What sets aside this survey from common surveys is its sample population. You won’t virtually find yourself being interviewed for raw data, unless ten years from now you are to be the country manager of a major airline company or international hotel chain.

Why, you may ask, should the World Economic Forum narrow down its target population to executives and business leaders of the global community? Why disregard the perception of common citizens to their own country’s and other place’s attractiveness in T&T?

Its answer is because these men and women are the individuals that make the investment decisions. Whether they invest in infrastructural expansion or participate in capital flight due to political instability, the impact they give to economy is significant enough for their opinion (their opinion almost alone, unfortunately, in this case) to be considered.

The implication with this kind of survey is clear. Not being the hypersensitive activists who would argue that this tolerates social stratification, we may see that the point of the survey is to really know where industry-leaders are leaning to. From here we can be aware of the characteristics of the specific destination in a spectrum of different factors.

Switzerland, Austria, and Germany are the front-liners for 2009 (the same order in 2008). France, the country that many of us look up to in the industry, comes in fourth (from 10^th in 2008), followed by Canada (from 9^th), Spain (from 5^th), Sweden (from 8^th), United States (from 7^th), Australia (from 4^th), and Singapore (from 16^th). The United Kingdom, like the Philippines, has plummeted 5-notches from 6^th in 2008 to 11^th.

The report explains what is not wrong with Switzerland, Austria, and Germany. The three excels in the number of World Heritage sites—culturally and historically significant areas declared by UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee for preservation. In fact, Germany has 32 (the Philippines has 5). Moreover, these countries are host to numerous international fairs, conventions, forums, and exhibitions. The report claims Germany to have a 2005-2007 average of 395.7 international fairs and exhibitions annually, with Austria having 201.0 and Switzerland 177.0 (the Philippines has 31.3).

They have very high levels of security (Switzerland is 8^th and Austria is 6^th) and sophisticated transportation infrastructures both for ground and air. Additionally, there are clear policies and priority for travel and tourism.

Within the Southeast Asian region, our country is proudly at 16^th place. Australia is stubbornly at 1^st place with Malaysia 7^th and Thailand 8^th. The report highlights our country’s openness to tourists. We are leveled 3^rd in the rank for the fewest requirements for VISA (although Malaysia is ranked first) and 16^th in price competitiveness. Nonetheless, the Forum notes that there is a need to improve protection on property rights and transparency on government policymaking, and to lessen the difficulty in starting up a business.

This kind of ranking may be associated with the wrong kind of impression. If one were to hear about our country lunging five notches from 81^st, that person might think that the Philippines had been careless with a T&T variable or the quality of the industry here is near the worst.

In a nutshell, there is little significance with our present rank. It ambiguously denotes either a decline or stagnation, or even an increase with a variable that, caused by comparison of growth rates of other areas, has become a minor adjustment.

Like the one I indicated in my first paragraph, the essence of this report is in the criteria. In a study by IATA published in Chapter I of the 2009 report, there is a proven strong relationship between the total number of passengers arriving at and departing from a given country and the tourism competitiveness factors of TTCI. Authors Selim Ach and Brian Pearce, concluded that improving the pillars would likely improve tourist arrivals.

The tourism department and T&T authorities can utilize these data of the World Economic Forum to evaluate the efficiency of their programs and strategies. And if they deemed these very useful, they may come up with a better set of schemes, something that is cost-effective, well-organized, and long-term.