Sunday, April 11, 2010

My Encounter with the Arts

“There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again. “ ~Elizabeth Lawrence.
Recalling memories from my ignorant years, I can still picture myself sitting next to my sister watching her do her art projects. Every time she arrives home, I would linger for that moment when she brings out her art materials. Back then, I used to be her assistant artist wherein I had the privilege of getting hold of her art materials and handing her whatever she needs. I may not have been able to identify what the colors were, whether complementary or supplementary colors, but one thing’s sure in my eyes, they are all surrounded with dazzling lights! There’s just something I wanted to share ever since, however I feel guilty the moment this recollection come into mind. Candidly, whenever my sister is not at home, I would sneak into her room and search out for her art supplies. Subsequently, I would go to our living room and do “my thing”, sketching through vague curves and strokes, well on the brighter side, that makes me a good abstract artist right? The living room then turns into an enchanted place with me as the Princess Artist along with my enchanted colorful equipments.


Every day seemed to be a culprit-day until the very special day took place, the day when I acquired my very OWN set of coloring materials. Just like an average kid does, the next thing I did was bragging it to our neighbors, and flaunted how great I am in drawing, blah blah blah. That was back then, when everything I knew about art was just simply in forms of drawing and crayons. When I enrolled in kindergarten, I encountered a different arena. Moreover, there were tons of new things ahead of me, new set of playmates, teachers, etc. Thus, I was introduced to the world itself, nature. I had classmates who had the same interest as me. So we would usually draw and color together. During dismissal, while waiting for my tiya to fetch me, I would sit in the playground’s merry-go-round, and observe the different scenarios of individuals.


Little by little, I was able to contemplate that random scenes can be put into a single portrait, and vice versa, that a single portrait can be interpreted with various panoramas. Until then I was able to widen my horizon as an artist in my own little ways. I grew more matured not just as an artist, but as an individual as well. I created crafts way better than during my ignorant years. Goodbye innocence, hello to world of creativity. Nonetheless, those creations during those years somehow had aided me towards becoming an open-minded artist. Hence, it served as a stepping stone towards self-discovery. Sometimes, to pursue a new idea, the artist must forfeit his deposit on an old idea.


Later on, I was introduced to the art of music. I used to sing in our comfort room (though I’m usually out of tune). But then again, I found music as an art. It’s just astounding how poetry goes along pretty well with harmonies; rhyme words and melody. Just like in portraits, you would be able to express what you feel in a form of a song, from love songs to songs of praise. Furthermore, I was inspired to compose songs. I managed keeping some, yet unfortunately, others were put into dust. I may not be a good singer, yet with a major ingredient of determination, at least, I can have an alternative of being a composer someday.

My high school years were pictures of good memories. My friends and I take pictures in major school activities. Often times, we spare some time during weekends to have movie marathons. It made me think that photography and film make such an excellent art! After pondering on that notion, before uploading pictures to my blog site or social networking accounts, I edit pictures first, adding themes and adjusting contrasts. Every birthday gatherings, my friends would usually let me edit movie presentations with regards to the profile of the celebrant. These are the major reasons why I chose taking up Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication.

The growth of an artist is a constant extinction of character, a continual self-sacrifice perhaps. From today onwards, I hanker to encounter greater things even if it may lead me towards the world of jeopardy. We already are in that world of this day and age anyways. There are no definite methods of escaping the world than by following Art. Thus, there are no definite methods of relating oneself to it than by Art. As of today, I’m still on the road towards self-discovery as an artist. Every single scene we encounter each day is an art, and we are the artists. We are the artists of our own future, it is in our hands to decide whether or not, to sketch and color our lives with passion towards knowing the purpose of our existence.

INITIATIVES TO COMBAT PROSTITUTION; Development Communication Research Project

INITIATIVES TO COMBAT PROSTITUTION


Proper Implementation of Law
Republic Act No. 9208
Section 10. Penalties and Sanctions. - The following penalties and sanctions are hereby established for the offenses enumerated in this Act:
(a) Any person found guilty of committing any of the acts enumerated in Section 4 shall suffer the penalty of imprisonment of twenty (20) years and a fine of not less than One million pesos (P1,000,000.00) but not more than Two million pesos (P2,000,000.00);
(c) Any person found guilty of qualified trafficking under Section 6 shall suffer the penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of not less than Two million pesos (P2,000,000.00) but not more than Five million pesos (P5,000,000.00);

Unfortunately, this law is not being followed by some authorities particularly in our target community. According to SPO2 Rosalito Hinabay, only a fine of 50php is collected to any pimp or prostitute caught. Thus, the number of prostitute and pimp increases due to the little fine.

There must be a proper implementation of this law to prevent the increasing rate of prostitution and to slowly evaporate syndicates. Primarily, it is the government’s responsibility to strictly implement laws; it is their responsibility to conduct investigations to every sector of the country whether or not, such laws are being followed. Let’s site the case of Davao as an example. Davao is noted as a crime free city essentially because they have a strict implementation of law. If Davao has succeeded, there is a great possibility that Cebu too, particularly Brgy. Kamagayan, shall succeed, if and only if there is a strict implementation of law.

What we are stressing out is that the sanctions noted in the RA 6208 should be strictly followed by the people in authority in Barangay Kamagayan. If the barangay officials would strictly implement the sanctions noted in the RA 9208, there’s a greater possibility that the increasing rate of prostitution would lessen since it is already in human’s nature to be afraid of heavy penalties especially that it is evident that women cross the threshold of prostitution due to poverty. They would be able to contemplate that being sanctioned with such penalties is more of a burden than having a decent job.

• Promulgate rules and regulations as may be necessary for the effective implementation.
• Monitor and oversee the strict implementation
• Direct other agencies to immediately respond to the problems

Proper Dissemination of Law

To have a proper implementation of law, proper dissemination must also be done in order to prevent prostitution or human trafficking. Authorities must be properly acquainted with the different laws that need to be implemented especially in the case of prostitution.
Schools should also take part in disseminating information especially that some women engage in prostitution are students. They should include such in their curriculum in order for students to somehow be alarmed and inculcated with regards to the cons of such act. Though school administrations are not responsible for the students personal life, still they are ought to guide the students to the right path especially that this issue involves dignity and respect among women.

• Coordinate the conduct of massive information dissemination and campaign on the existence of the law and the various issues and problems attendant to trafficking through the LGUs, concerned agencies and NGOs.


Sufficient Facilities of NGO’s

SECTION 16. PROGRAMS THAT ADDRESS TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS. - THE GOVERNMENT SHALL ESTABLISH AND IMPLEMENT PREVENTIVE, PROTECTIVE AND REHABILITATIVE PROGRAMS FOR TRAFFICKED PERSONS. FOR THIS PURPOSE, THE FOLLOWING AGENCIES ARE HEREBY MANDATED TO IMPLEMENT THE FOLLOWING PROGRAMS;
(B) DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL WELFARE AND DEVELOPMENT (DSWD) - SHALL IMPLEMENT REHABILITATIVE AND PROTECTIVE PROGRAMS FOR TRAFFICKED PERSONS. IT SHALL PROVIDE COUNSELING AND TEMPORARY SHELTER TO TRAFFICKED PERSONS AND DEVELOP A SYSTEM FOR ACCREDITATION AMONG NGOS FOR PURPOSES OF ESTABLISHING CENTERS AND PROGRAMS FOR INTERVENTION IN VARIOUS LEVELS OF THE COMMUNITY.
(G) PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE (PNP) - SHALL BE THE PRIMARY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY TO UNDERTAKE SURVEILLANCE, INVESTIGATION AND ARREST OF INDIVIDUALS OR PERSONS SUSPECTED TO BE ENGAGED IN TRAFFICKING. IT SHALL CLOSELY COORDINATE WITH VARIOUS LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES TO SECURE CONCERTED EFFORTS FOR EFFECTIVE INVESTIGATION AND APPREHENSION OF SUSPECTED TRAFFICKERS. IT SHALL ALSO ESTABLISH A SYSTEM TO RECEIVE COMPLAINTS AND CALLS TO ASSIST TRAFFICKED PERSONS AND CONDUCT RESCUE OPERATIONS.
(J) LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS (LGUS) - SHALL MONITOR AND DOCUMENT CASES OF TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS IN THEIR AREAS OF JURISDICTION, EFFECT THE CANCELLATION OF LICENSES OF ESTABLISHMENTS WHICH VIOLATE THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT AND ENSURE EFFECTIVE PROSECUTION OF SUCH CASES.

Most women engaged in prostitution are handed over to DSWD. Unfortunately, as quoted by Señior Chief Inspector Chyrel Boniao, DSWD is having a problem with regards to facilities(shelter) which lead to the escape and going back to the used lifestyle of some detainees. Higher Officials must give attention to this problem. It is stated under Section 16 that DSWD is ought to provide temporary shelter and develop a system for accreditation among NGOs for intervention in various levels of the community. It is the responsibility of the government to reach and help out to organizations principally if it’s for the common good.
Proper allotment of the people’s money (tax) should be achieved.
Programs


“Pagpukaw sa Obligasyon sa mga Ginikanan Project”

Family is the basic unit of the society; basically everything starts within the family. Due to poverty, some women are engaged in this kind of job. In the case of the individual we’ve interviewed, “Anna” (not her real name) her parents are not aware that she and her sister are engaged in this filthy job. They are not even aware that “Anna” started engaging in this job when she was still in 17 years of age. To prevent this kind of situation parents must be exposed to programs that would make them aware of their responsibilities as parents. They should set as examples for their children, that despite of poverty, dignity and self-respect shouldn’t be used as exchange coupons towards inhalation of development.

“Diversion Project”

The primary objective is to qualitatively conduct Prostitution Diversion Project (PDP). The inquiry aimed to attain a hermeneutic phenomenological understanding of the project by collecting the plural voices of the stakeholders involved in the PDP. Another objective is to contribute to the body of literature on “restorative justice”, and the role of social work within prostitution diversion programs.

A program that would radically change the way organizations would conduct enforcement on street level prostitution particularly in Barangay Kamagayan. Conventional approaches to enforcement have had little impact on the crime of prostitution and have been a constant drain on manpower and resources from NGO’s, due to a revolving door between jail, probation, and the only life they know on the streets. Instead of viewing prostitutes as criminals, such organizations would approach them as victims, bringing resources and services from a large cross section of organizations into the streets where the prostitutes work.


“Operation Second Chance”

Aside from poverty, most women engage in prostitution due to their feeling of being outcasts in the society. Furthermore, they don’t tend to change due to their way of thinking that they already are “used” and wouldn’t be accepted by the society.

The operation second chance project aims to make victims of prostitution feel that they are accepted and will always be accepted for as long as they are willing to amend their ways. To make them reflect that every individual has the right to change. To make them contemplate that there are various ways/solution to fight against poverty. That money should be gained through honest sweats and not just for an hour of “pleasure”.

Organizations responsible for the diversion of prostitutes should coordinate with companies that can give these women jobs and scholarships. Hand to hand, we can make a development, however development starts with our own selves, and what we’ve developed should be shared to others. Together, we can make a big step of development for the world we live in.

• Coordinate the programs and projects of the various member agencies to effectively address the issues and problems attendant to trafficking in persons.
• Direct other agencies to immediately respond to the problems brought to their attention and report to the council on action taken.
• Free legal services which shall include information about the victim’s rights and the procedure for filing complaints, claiming compensation and such other legal remedies available to them.
• Medical or Psychological services.
• Livelihood and skills training
• Educational assistance to a trafficked child
• Sustained supervision and follow through mechanism that will track the progress of recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration of the prostitutes should also be adopted and carried out.

COMA, A silent Epidemic

Affective

"While there's life, there's hope.” The documentary film was jam-packed with a variety of contemplations. It portrayed lives of different patients from different walks of life and their experiences in the world of “COMA” and its unfortunate benefits.

It’s heart-weakening to see the unconscious patients lying on the bed for weeks, months, and years. But it was evident that their families are in more pain more than anyone else. It should have been upsetting and frustrating for a person's family to see someone they love in a coma, and they must have felt scared and helpless. I could only imagine how agonizing it feels knowing that the least you could do is to help in taking care of the person. Taking time to visit in the hospital and read to, talk to, or play music owing to the fact that it may be, or may not be possible for the patient to hear what's going on, even if he or she can't respond.

In some ways, “hope” may be the only resort you can cling on. You may never know what’s going to happen in the next few hours, or even seconds, you may never know if the 25% of survival may climb up to 99%, so essentially, the only thing you could count on is the single hope for a miracle.

Every single component of our body truly is significant for the entire body to function. So basically, we are ought to take care not only our brain, but chiefly everything. We may be in the state of “healthy” today, yet we never know what’s going to happen in the days ahead of us.

The documentary film made us contemplate that we should put into account how essential life is and as well as the people around us. The behavior of the recovered patients may not be normal as what they were before; still it is important that we should not make fun of them as what most of the kids do these days.

We are really blessed that we are not suffering from this kind of dilemma. It enables us to think wisely, how we could avoid being in this state of situation. The film does not only give us information about COMA, it also gave us reasons to give much importance to our brain, to ourselves, and to the people whom we are loved.

Psycho motor

“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.”

We don’t know what the future holds for us, but the doors are still open, and that whatever we can do to make those doors swing in the right direction, we’re going to do. So as much as possible, we should avoid incidents that may be harmful to us.

Coma, a silent epidemic can be avoided as much as possible; one of the various reasons that may result to coma is drug addiction. As a human being it is our responsibility to take good care of ourselves. Drug addiction or drug overdose can ruin our life most especially the functioning of our brain which would lead to the abnormality of our behavior so we must not abuse drugs. We must take in to consideration that medicines are invented for health improvement purposes, and not to be taken lightly, for too much of something may lead us to the world of jeopardy.

We can stay away from heart attacks by controlling our emotions and eat nutritious foods to keep our heart healthy. With regards to accidents, we never know when and where an accident would occur, so the least thing we can do is to take extra care of our actions.