"Dugo dugo" Gang Strikes

Image from the Internet

I still couldn't believe it would happen to me. But just recently our house helper received a phone call recently that I was involved in a terrible accident.  Our helper told the caller that I didn't have my car with me at the time, but the caller, a woman, said to her that I took a ride with an office mate and I was in a hospital because I was terribly hurt and can't talk. Our house helper started to panic, and she asked what hospital I was at.  The woman then asked someone on the other line to bring "me" close to the phone so our helper could hear me. The helper could hear a male voice mumbling something.  

The woman told her that I was in terrible pain, but I wrote about my money in my closet and jewelry.  That's when our helper smelled a rat.  She knows I don't keep money at home, and I don't wear jewelry.  She told the caller to get back to her as she would collect the money and jewelry.

Our helper called me on my mobile phone immediately when the caller hung up and told me the whole story.  I said I wasn't involved in an accident and did not even leave the office at the time.  I instructed her not to go out and to be watchful of our surroundings. I was worried the caller was just around the neighborhood waiting for her to come out.  

The scammer did not call back, but the experience scared us and worried us for days.

It was a classic "dugo-dugo" case.  It's a scheme where someone would call and tell whoever answers the call that someone from the household got involved in an accident and needed help.  They will then give instructions to find money or other valuables in the house and bring it to a place other than the hospital.  In other cases, the caller would pretend to be a family member who hurt someone on the road and needs money to pay for the damages.

It's good that our helper immediately doubted the story of the caller and didn't act impulsively.  But hopefully, this story will remind everyone that it could happen to any of us, so let's all be careful.

Poverty in the Philippines: An Assessment

image from worldbank.org

I recently attended a presentation on the latest World Bank study entitled, “Making Growth Work for the Poor: A Poverty Assessment for the Philippines.”   Dr. Xubei Luo, Senior Economist of the World Bank, presented the findings of the main study.  

Dr. Luo identified the three key messages of the study: the Philippines can overcome poverty; the Philippines needs to do more to overcome poverty, and it requires concrete actions by all concerned to do it.  Poverty had declined by 5 percentage points from 26.6% in 2006 to 21.6% in 2015.  The factors that contributed to this decline include the increase in wage income and movement of employment out of agriculture, which contributed 2/3 of poverty reduction.  Another driver of poverty reduction is government transfers which accounted for ¼ of the reduction.   Remittances also accounted for 1/5 to the decrease of poverty, with some 2/3 of Filipino households receiving domestic and foreign remittances annually.  

Luo noted that in spite of these developments, the Philippines continues to lag behind its peers in terms of poverty reduction.  Less than 1 in 10 Filipinos joined the global middle class while 1 in 10 remains vulnerable to getting poor.  The study showed that this is due to several factors including the limited growth in agricultural productivity in the past decade and the limited manufacturing base which can absorb low skilled workers from agriculture, most of whom end up in low-end service jobs.  High inequality also contributes to poverty in the country with only 1% owns half of the nation’s wealth.  Natural disasters and conflict further add to poverty, with more than a million people pushed into poverty each year due to disasters, while protracted conflicts in some areas exact a significant toll on the local economy and trap people into poverty.  Luo stressed that poor people start their lives at a disadvantage: they have limited access to good health, limited access to good education and thus lack the necessary skills to land good jobs.  This vicious cycle trap people in poverty for generations.

The report identified six concrete actions to end poverty in the Philippines.  Create more and better jobs, focusing on quality.  To do this, we must improve the business environment to attract more investments, upgrade the value chains, strengthen the backward linkages to create jobs for both skilled and unskilled workers.  Since 60% of the poor work in agriculture, improving productivity in all sectors, especially in agriculture, is crucial in poverty reduction.  This includes increasing productivity in agriculture and supporting agribusiness development.  Another action is to equip Filipinos with the skills needed for the 21st-century economy.  

Luo said education is essential, and people living in a household headed by someone with limited education will be more likely poor than someone who lives in a household headed by someone with a good education.  To improve education, we need to boost quality in basic education, increase secondary completion rate especially among the poor, and develop socioeconomical skills in people.  

Investing in health and nutrition is also crucial.  Stunting rate is very high with 1/3 of children under 5 years are stunted, and half of the children in poor households are stunted.  One out of 10 teenage girls are either pregnant or already had a child.  It is crucial to improve health care quality and equity, reduce child stunting and fully implement the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law.  

There is also a need to focus on poverty reduction efforts on Mindanao Two out of 5 poor people live in Mindanao, and more than 50% of the ARMM population are poor.  It is vital to increase public investment and resolve conflict and promote peace in Mindanao.  

Lastly, we must manage risks and protect the vulnerable.  Every year, 1 million people are impoverished due to natural calamities.  Improving natural disaster risk management systems and strengthening social protection systems are crucial to support the poor and protect the vulnerable.  

Luo also provided updates on the implications of recent economic developments to poverty.  Inflation, particularly food inflation, has increased very rapidly and remained very high. Economic growth outlook remains positive and is projected at 6.5% in 2018.  If we look at the composition of income and expenditure by income quintile, poor people spend more on food.  The poverty rate is seen to continue to decline, but with the uncertainty and high inflation, poverty reduction may slow down.  This means that everyone must act together to fight poverty.  

A Christmas Greeting

I want to wish all my followers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

Sunday Lunch at Qubiertos

We finally went to lunch at Qubiertos.  We always pass by this quaint diner along D. Tuazon we go on a trip and wonder what they offer because their parking lot is always full.  Each time we do, we promise to try eating there the next time we go out for lunch.  We finally did recently, and we think it's worth it.

The place looked like an old house that has been repurposed as a diner.  Upon entering the front door, you will set foot on what could be the living room of the house.  From here, you can see the kitchen which looked like those from homes built in the 1960s or maybe the 1970s. Anyway, the customer gets the feeling of having lunch at home with the family.  All that's missing was music in the background playing from the old stereo.

We did not order anything fancy.  We tried the ensaladang labanos at pipino or radish and cucumber in vinegar with chili ginger.  It's the only one in our food that we really didn't enjoy much because it was way too spicy and sour for our taste.

ensaladang labanos at pipino

For our main dish, we had the Ginataang Sugpo at Tilapia, or prawns and tilapia cooked in coconut milk.  The gata or coconut milk was sweet and contrasted with the taste of the fish and the prawns. It's terrific, and I personally liked it.

Ginataang Sugpo at Tilapia

To make our meal complete, we also got some lechon kawali or deep-fried pork loin with liver sauce dip. While I like this dish, the one prepared by Qubiertos is not so different from those in other restaurants.  For the rice to go with all our dishes, we chose the Qubiertos rice which was stir fried and topped with egg and chicken strips.  It's already a meal in itself!

Overall, we enjoyed the food we ordered. The prices were really affordable, and we were even surprised at how much the total cost was.  The staff was also attentive although since it was a hot day when we went there, the place was rather warm even with their air-conditioners working full time.  We want to go back and try the other items on the menu soon.

Here's the address of the branch where we had our lunch: Qubiertos Grill & Restaurant (D. Tuazon Branch) - 69 D. Tuazon St., Brgy. Lourdes, Quezon City.  It's very close to Quezon Avenue.

Collecting Stuff

You probably know by now how much I love collecting things.  I have a collection of Disneyland Pins, shot glasses, and mugs from places I have visited. For a time, I also collected PinkySt dolls up until the makers decided to stop producing them. 

I also have a lot of labbits and dunnys from Kidrobot, but the local distributor has ceased making them available.  Unfortunately, Kidrobot doesn’t accept my credit card, and the sellers at eBay price them ridiculously. So my collection stalled for now. I hope some enterprising person brings them back so I can go on collecting them.

It's the same with my 3A action figure collection.  The local distributor closed the shop, so I don't have a supplier anymore.  The nearest place to get them is in Hong Kong, and I am not into traveling overseas at the moment.

My collection of vinyl records, both old and new, is still a work in progress.  It’s my latest passion, and vintage records are so easy to get nowadays since there are online sellers and independent stores that sell them at reasonable prices.  I also go to the quarterly vinyl sale – and – swap meet, which is a good place to start a vinyl collection.

Another collectible I am amassing at the moment is the Funko Pop! line. I collect them because they’re so cute and have several items already. However,  they’re taking up some space in my room.  I think I need to slow down and only focus on Disney, Star Wars, and Harry Potter Pops for now.

So people ask me why I collect these stuff and I usually say, “I enjoy collecting them.  It relaxes me.”  I don’t know if I convince them, but I don’t really care if they agree or not.  I just enjoy collecting things that pique my interest.

I don’t usually let go of the items in my collections, and I don’t understand people who start a collection, and then when they grow tired or lose interest, they sell their items. I see a lot of items on Facebook for sale, and it’s sad. To some collectors, it's good because they can get items at lower prices, although the items show some wear. Anyway, to each his own as they say.  I’ll just collect until there’s nothing left to collect.