The Stroke, A New Journey

On September 22, 2011, Teresita Glinoga had a stroke. Her blood pressure and blood sugar were excessively high for days. Her speech was affected. Her left side is paralyzed. There was one point, according to her sister Regi, that her left leg was jerking. Angiogram was peformed. Soon after that, her blood pressure and blood sugar level stabilized and normalized.

On Friday, September 30, 2011, Regi posted an update on ICAM Alumni Association Group account on Facebook. Tess will be released from the hospital either on Monday or Tuesday. Monday is a significant day because October 3 is Tess's birthday. What a wonderful gift to her!

According to her neurologist at UERMMMC, due to the stroke, the artistic side of her got affected. However, it seems that what her doctor told her did not even bother her. She was awake the entire day, started talking about her high school days and how she danced Singkil and performed as the princess, how she won first prize for her book, "Tao Gumising Ka", which she wrote overnight. She had a lot of stories to tell. It is very true. Tess had a lot of artistic achievements.

Regi's post said:

thanks so much to all who donated for my sister,teresita glinoga of batch 74.she says thank you and appreciates your gesture. as per her neuro she can go home on monday or tuesday (in time for her 56th birthday :>) but needs to undergo PT.
yesterday,she was awake the whole day.after the neuro said that the artistic side of the brain was affected,naku she started telling stories about her hs shool days.her being the princess dancing the singkil,writing her original piece,TAO GUMISING KA,w/c she wrote overnight and won the first prize. she had a lot of stories to tell.nakakatuwa kasi despite what happened to her,she had a lot of achievements and still wanted to achieve more."

Yes, despite this episode in Tess's life, those people who know her, all agree that she will overcome this hurdle. She had overcome a lot of trials in her life, but never considered them as misfortunes, but rather, lessons to be learned and she, in turn, has unselfishly shared them to all those who needed it. Tess will come out of this triumphant again, with God's help. She will be able to continue her projects she left behind. This woman with a vision will continue to help others through her experience and knowledge. This stroke will not devastate this woman who had a lot done for he fellow Filipinos. Nothing will stop her.

For more information on the type of stroke Tesay had, you can visit St. David's Neuro Texas Institute or read the scanned version of their article on Right Brain Stroke.

Tess will go through her stroke rehabilitation for six months. Your donations will never go unnoticed. Please continue to pray for her and help her with her financial needs to pay for her ongoing medications and physical therapy. If you would like to donate, please visit the donations page or click on the "Donate" button on the right hand side of the website.

read more "The Stroke, A New Journey"

Post Elections

Tesay Glinoga would like to thank all of her supporters for being there for her, for believing in her vision, for standing firm and for backing her up to stand against the political machineries in the Philippines. Tesay Glinoga, you are are a winner to your supporters.

The numbers she got were almost exactly what she expected. The funds she was expecting to help her with the campaign did not materialize. What did she do? She continued with the campaign with zero funds, no machinery. Was she irresponsible? No, she waged an honest campaign and made a political statement.

She is going to write about her experiences and her observations for her two-cents’ worth. The votes she got are a political statement; they are pure. Imagine, a virtual unknown and her supporters trusted her with their votes. She would like to think that they are not wasted.
This is just the beginning for Tesay Glinoga. Now that the elections are over she will make a great impact by exposing what she had observed and experienced before and during the elections by writing in detail—most especially ”the poverty or the pseudo poverty that government, both local and national, have created a monster of and is now almost beyond solution and the rampant vote buying.”

“I am quite happy that I got less than 2,000 votes…..from people who truly believe in me”, Tesay said.

The next chapter of Tesay Glinoga’s campaign will be about this.

read more "Post Elections"

An Interview With Manila Times

In her small niche in her office, Bilancia, and even before that, she prefers to work quietly in an almost semi-hermitic life for the past years, modest as not to announce her little achievements, and chooses to be forgotten. With so much of humility to stay in the sidelines, Tesay now finds it difficult to advertise herself in her political battle against the perceived political giants who have learned the art and skill of making noise and empty promises during election season.

Her aching soul dictates that she took her fight to a higher level against the ills of the city. Maria Teresita “Tesay” Glinoga-Hizon, by a twist of fate, might suddenly find herself on center stage if and when she becomes the first woman Mayor of the City of Manila.

Tesay Glinoga sat quietly and very unassumingly for the interview with Manila Times. It was not until she started discussing her passion through advocacies centered around street children to drug users; from women’s rights to youth empowerment; from her projects “March Na! An Ode to Women” to “Men for Women Movement;” from “Kulay Malaya” to “Lambong” that Tesay proved that she is not only tough, but she has compassion for the poor and the abused.


She is a combination of a spritely spirit and a heart of steel. Most people would not expect that she is definitely made of tougher stuff than most that have gone through similar experience she had underneath her quiet and simple façade. The dark nights of her soul catapulted her spirit to the service of God through her advocacies for the rights of women and children, the poor and the oppressed.

Mission-Vision

Thus, she summarizes her Mission-Vision in a poem she wrote:

I called;

No one answered.

I spoke;

No one believed my words.

I cried;

I cried alone.

I picked up my pieces

And answered my mission

To respond

When you call,

To believe

Every word you say, to sit beside you

And offer my shoulders

When you cry.

Let me hold your hand

And lead you

To where I am NOW

And beyond…

What the Left Hand does, the Right Must Not Know

Tesay, after a long process of discernment, decided to step up to the challenge of undoing at least 25 years of neglect of the city that rendered its progress paralyzed. Easily and expectedly, Manila has been overtaken by its more progressive and competitive neighboring cities in Manila and its counterpart in Asia.

“Neither do I have the delusion nor illusion that the task can be done overnight. The least I can promise is I will not dip my fingers in any money that is not mine; and I shall do the spadework for others to follow,” Tesay says with conviction..

A Battle Between Good and Evil

Tesay feels that the city of Manila has become virtually unlivable; it has made life tremendously difficult for women and children to protect themselves from the dangers of urban living. Its present state has reinforced evil to lurk in every nook and cranny, easy bait for hungry stomachs to slip into criminal activities. She says, foreboding, “The good is being overtaken by massive evil; the good must get out of their comfort zones if we want to win the war. We do not have the right to make other people’s lives miserable.”

Tesay had literally shielded women with her own body to protect them from their tormentors: their pimps, lovers, husbands, boyfriends regardless of the place and hour of day or night. It is almost instinctive; she would not think twice to rescue them unmindful of her own safety. In her small businesses, Tesay would hire out of school youth with past criminal activities while others would avoid them like plague; and she would offer them another chance to reform themselves.

“Jesus left ninety nine of His flock to look for just one lost sheep. We cannot turn away those we perceive as sinful or immoral. We cannot alienate them and discriminate against them. Society must be kinder. We cannot cast judgment on others.”

Tesay’s deep compassion is not without its stories from her early awareness of inequality and injustice in her midst as a young girl. Those experiences developed her keen sense of justice in treating children, women, the poor, the oppressed, OFWs, the disabled, the sick, the dying, and the old.

Jack-of-all-Trades

A Jack-of-all trades; Tesay acknowledges that, “God has been so kind to bless me with so many talents that have in fact been subject of envy by some. He had given me so many dark nights; and He has opened my eyes to see injustice where others cannot; and feel true compassion while others have become apathetic. I have shortchanged God by not maximizing the use of my talents. Now is the time to use and share my gifts to the optimum.”

Value of Industry

Tesay was five years old when her father suffered a serious stroke. It used to be that the family lived a life of comfort; and how she dreaded those American shoes her father brought her from his travels abroad. But when he was out of job for a long time, she experienced extreme poverty. She would go to school in worn-out pair of shoes; her big toe protruded through a big hole. Tesay learned her lesson the hard way to value everything that is achieved from hard work. But she also observed that the change in status was never an issue in the family. Her mother used her talents and skills in arts and crafts to earn for the family while her father was sick and out of job. She got employed and was still able to do her charity work. So Tesay learned to value industry; and that there should always be dignity despite one’s status in life.

Love and Care for the Elders

Her grandmother, Rita, was very loving to her. She forbade any one to scold Tesay when she was naughty or when she made a mistake. In her sickbed, she would call Tesay to her side twice a day, summoned all the cousins to be the captive audience, and prodded Tesay to dance, sing, recite a poem and sing for her. Tesay lives with the memory that she had made her grandmother happy in her final days; and that it is important how we should be kind, respectful, and loving to the elders.

Disparity Between the Rich and the Poor

When she was eight years old, Tesay recalls her first initiation to the reality of the disparity between the rich and the poor.

There was an incident in their home province in Lucena, Quezon. Their ancestral house was situated on a sprawling compound. Just across is the hospital of the sister of her grandmother, Dr. Milagros Correa, the first woman who topped the Medical Board Exam. Children in the neighborhood were not allowed to play in the hospital zone. One morning, Tesay and her best cousin, Pilar, were sent on an errand to town. They were met by a dozen boys aged between seven and twelve at the boundary of their private road and the public road. They all carried rocks the size of a child’s fist. Sensing danger, Tesay felt it was her duty to protect Pilar since she was two years older than she. The boys started throwing stones at them. The boys were actually preventing them from crossing the boundary. So, it was a matter of survival to cross the threshold as fast as they could.

Tesay asked her cousin if she knew the boys. Pilar said it was her first encounter with them. So, who are those boys and why are they stoning us with so much anger?

Does not Buckle in War

But the more difficult task was to come back home. Tesay ordered Pilar to pick up as many stones as she could; and prepare for the fight ahead. True enough, the boys were waiting for them at the boundary. As the boys started to throw stones at them, Tesay counter attacked. Tesay seldom missed her mark. As soon as they passed the boundary, the boys stopped their attacks. Pilar asked if they should tell the elders about the incident. Tesay said no, there was no need; they were safe home.

That was and is Tesay. She never buckles from any battle in life. She does not even have to ask her parents for help to fight for her own war.

The following morning, they were again sent on an errand. This time, Tesay was prepared with more stones and more courage to take the war. She walked right in the middle of the street and waited for the first volley. She could see the volleys of the stones and she ducked at the right moment to avoid being hit; but she had more agility and precision to hit her mark. Deep inside, she cringed every time she hit her target; but she had to face the battle and win, otherwise, they would be bullied. When they came home from the errand, nobody was waiting by the boundary; the street was empty.

Rooftop-her Recluse; Other’s Misery

Tesay remembers that every afternoon she would climb an Iba tree which she discovered led to the rooftop of the house. She then made the rooftop her playground her secret recluse. It was the highest point she could reach the skies and search for God and Angels among the clouds; and she would perform for them in case they watched. She would shout at the top of her voice reciting poems or dance ballet; or sing songs from the “Sound of Music.” She remembers the eyes of children from the ground below; she performed for them as well as they listened and watched her mini one-girl-concert. Could they be the same boys who hurled stones at her and envied her position of privilege to be allowed to make so much noise in a hospital zone; while they were driven away by the security guard for just making the sound of shrill fun laughter?

Tesay could only make certain deductions from what had transpired in those fateful mornings. The scene was like it was lifted from the movie: Sa’yo ang Cavite, Sa Akin ang Tundo. The children were protecting their turf as they must have interpreted the situation as inequality between the rich and poor.

Several years later in one summer vacation in Lucena in the 70’s, Tesay would be serenaded at least once a night by teenagers she didn’t know. Could they be the same boys at the boundary hurling stones at her, now serenading her to apologize, ‘We’re sorry?’

Seeing the Children through the Eyes of God

Every summer in the mornings, Tesay spent time in the Nursery of the hospital to take care of the abandoned children. But she also witnessed how the children when they grew a little older were abused and maltreated by their adoptive families. Her heart ached for the injustice done on the children. They were her joys and it gladdened her heart every time she came to the nursery to play with them. Their laughter had been replaced by cries every time they received beatings for petty mistakes. There were no more smiles on their faces but deep traces of anguish.

In Manila, almost every weekend, she would sleep at an orphanage with her nurse-aunt. Every mealtime, Tesay noticed she had special food different from the rest of the orphans. Before going to bed, Tesay would be treated to soft boiled egg and a glass of warm milk. She virtually forced herself to eat. For how could she swallow the food when the children she had been playing with all day were peeking through the door, watching in self pity?

Tesay would take her afternoon nap after class, and then taught catechism to their neighborhood kids in Tondo. Her mother would prepare snacks to attract attendance.

Inequality in Sexes

At the time, Tesay’s world was genderless: What the boys could do, she could do better. Everyone was equal. But her perspective changed when she was in Grade 4.

There were a couple of boys in class who were teasing her during class hours because one of the boys had a crush on her. During recess, the boys were still having fun at her expense. She was determined to make the teasing stop. She accosted the group and asked them to stop teasing her; but they just laughed. A squabble ensued because the boys would not apologize. The nun was called and reprimanded them. Tesay recalls in hindsight that she was rather aggressive to engage in a fistfight; “But that showed I have always been fearless. I fight for my rights. Although I faced the consequence of my actions— I was disallowed to be a member of the Eucharistic Crusade for conduct unbecoming of a girl. “Girls should not fight with the boys,” the nun said. But the boys were never punished for the unkindly teasing and were even allowed to become members of the Knights of the Altar.”

This opened Tesay’s consciousness on the disparity in treatment between boys and girls. Boys are allowed to behave in certain manners even if girls are aggrieved in the process. As the boys grew to become men, this manner of behavior has been tolerated by family and society and in fact been accepted as part of their masculine traits to exhibit burly behavior. Thus, this culture has become deeply ingrained in the psyche of people making life lopsided in favor of men in many aspects of society.

They are tolerated to whistle and study the contours of the physical anatomy of women’s body as they salivate in lust as women walk by; while women have been indoctrinated to passively accept that behavior as part of the growing culture of machismo: Just ignore them; the girls were told. Women were taught early on how to suffer in silence. Women’s freedom to express their feminine nature had been stifled or they run the risk of being preyed upon by men. “That is inequality in sexes. That is injustice.”

Value of Honesty

After a long period of time without a job due to his stroke, her father soon found a job as Administration Manager of one company in Saigon, Vietnam at the height of war. One day, Tesay heard her father telling a few relatives that he would ride in a helicopter to deliver millions of dollars in salaries for the staff to far flung areas in Vietnam. He would be geared in a parachute, and would be ready to jump any time in case the helicopter was shot at.

The danger her father faced was just too much to bear; Tesay decided to talk to her father and pleaded him “to tell his boss that he dropped the millions of dollars from the helicopter, take the money home, and come back home.” Her father nipped the bud at a crucial time to drive home the importance of values. In a language that a child would understand, her father looked her in the eyes and patiently and firmly processed her thoughts, “Those men are fathers too, like me. They have children like you. If I take the money, they will not be able to send their children to school. They will have no food to eat and they will grow hungry and get sick.”

Because Tesay understood sickness; she understood how to go hungry; she understood poverty; what her father said left an imprint in her heart and mind the value of hard work and integrity. Poverty can never be an excuse to steal. But Tesay also understood how to live a life of comfort and one cannot use money to oppress other people.

We cannot be Our Own Slaves

Her father found a job as Consultant in Lagos, Nigeria; and he would later build his own manufacturing company of sewing machines and other appliance. Tesay as a teenager saw the great injustice done to the African slaves.

One morning, in their kitchen, the steward dropped a Pyrex dish of newly baked custard pie. The steward was so afraid; he fell to his knees before Tesay and started kissing her feet begging for forgiveness, at the same time preparing his body to receive beatings yet pleading to be spared of punishment. Tesay screamed in disbelief and horror. Her mother came in the kitchen and instantly ordered the steward to stand up from the floor. The steward, a muscled tall man, was reduced to tears until her mother assured him that there would be no beatings. “How can they be subjected to such debasement? It’s inhuman. We can only be slaves if we allow it. They can control our bodies but not our spirits.”

Vocation for Religious Life

It helped in the spiritual formation of Tesay to have nuns and priests in her family. The hospital had a chapel; and a chaplain, Fr. Obsulio, was assigned. Tesay thought as a child that they had a private chapel and a priest under her grandmother’s payroll. Fr. Obsulio would always be available for her and Pilar for confessions, even if he knew that sometimes it was all part of their routine children’s play; but he ministered to them dutifully. Unknowingly, Tesay has slowly developed the habits of weekly Confessions, everyday Eucharist, everyday mass, three mysteries of the rosary each day, Angelus, and novenas. This led to her serious desire to enter the convent when she was in high school.

But the nun advised her that she was too young to decide and she must learn the ways of the world and perhaps have a boyfriend. But her heart was really for the religious vocation. However, this dream of becoming a nun was shelved when her father suffered six strokes in a year that rendered his left side of the body paralyzed. Tesay had to work odd jobs from being an account executive, to sales clerk, to appearing on television and selling encyclopedia, while pursuing her pre-med course in Psychology. She scrimped on buying books to save money; and buried herself in the library to research. She was consistently in the Dean’s list.

Drug Rehabilitation

On top of these, during martial rule, while most of the teenagers took advantage of the curfew to hold their pot sessions in stay-in parties, Tesay co-founded a theater group comprising drug users, out-of-school youth, and juvenile delinquents who had committed various crimes from petty theft to murder. The foundation helped the youth to stay out of drugs and trouble; and offered them better things to do and focus on something more productive. Her mother was worried for her safety, but her father was supportive, “Let her learn.”

Tesay would later undergo a drug rehabilitation program that can be applied to any form of addiction like smoking, shopping, gambling, sex, etc. It is an attitudinal training designed for self-discipleship.

Naturally a curious mind, Tesay’s world has been colorful and happy. Tesay thought she already knew about life—that man is intrinsically good because no harm came her way. She would realize much later that life would offer more lessons to learn the hard way.

Dark Night of the Soul

In 1997, the end of the 15 years of marriage was forthcoming. Tesay believed that the marriage was long over when her husband remained uncommunicative, “How can there be marriage when there is no any form of communication?” But Tesay did not expect that she would be deprived of her children who are much part of the reason for her living. It’s been over 12 years now that Tesay have not been with her three sons, “I tried hard, according to our mission as parents, to raise them properly with all the love we can offer. I have to let go and I have surrendered them completely into God’s loving Hands. They have to take the journey where God leads them. The time will come when we will all be united.”

“My separation from my children is the darkest of all dark nights of my soul. I never questioned God. I asked Him what I should do with all the experience He allowed to happen in my life”

Dark night is when you face situations one perceives as having no solution. One can go through state of depression or even suicide. God allows this for man’s purification. It is a gift to suffer with Christ in His Passion and to be humble before Him. It is a Dark Night when one is able to rise from his situation and has developed an intimate relationship with God in the process. It is a Dark Night when one is able to use one’s “woundedness” to heal others in theirs.

read more "An Interview With Manila Times"

The Decision to Run for Mayor of Manila

Ma. Teresita Glinoga Hizon is Teresa, Tess, Nognog to others, like me because of her curly hair. I know, it wasn’t politically correct, but the nickname was our way of being affectionate to her. I am writing about my best friend from high school….a friend whom I have not seen in years. We were both intense individuals, and, still are, very intelligent, innovative, creative and self-less. Tess also had a great sense of humor. It was not until I heard that Tess is running for Mayor of Manila that I was able to contact her. She is the same Tess I remember from high school at Immaculate Conception Academy of Manila in Gagalangin, Tondo.

High school was the best time for us. That was then. This is now. Tess is Tesay and is running for Mayor of the one of the largest cities of the Philippines. Through emails, Tesay shared the new Tess. She is running as an Independent and is campaigning on her own. Here I am, from the other end of the world, sharing to you, people of Manila, who Tesay Glinoga is.

Kilalanin po ninyo si Tesay Glinoga Hizon….

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

I love my name, Tess. There is a certain mystery in it— in the person who owns it. However, not in this part of the world, it isn’t! Nakakasira ng araw, no matter how Juliet rhetorically asks: What’s in a name? A rose is a rose and will smell as sweet. Dito kahit sa mall, sa kalye, sa palengke, if someone calls, “Tess,” sampu kaming lilingon. Sayang ang energy na lilingon ako’t sasagot tapos hindi pala ako. Nawawala ang uniqueness…and identity! I was in Australia n 1998. A group of excited children were running towards me and calling out, “Tess.” I thought: Aba, bakit ako kilala? Then I was taken aback when I realized they were running after their pet rabbit! Hanggang Australia ba naman?

Of course, we mean different to different people. So no matter how you call me, Tess or nog-nog or knogs, or nogs, or Teresa, Theresa, terry, or tesay would not matter nor change how you feel about me. I am so happy, thrilled, in fact, that you remember me.

TYPHOON ONDOY, THE TIPPING POINT TO RUN FOR MAYOR

That Saturday during the onslaught of the typhoon, I was trapped in San Carlos Seminary from morning till afternoon. The rains were strong and the traffic was not moving anymore. A neighbor called me up to inform me that floodwater was rising to knee-deep. I was not really worried kasi mataas ang lugar ng office. When there were floods in the past, people took shelter in my office. Nagpapainom pa nga ako ng kape pag minsang merong stranded sa harap ng office. But not this time; my office was not spared. Anyway, I could not return to check my office; everywhere was flooded. I went home to my condo unit here in Legazpi Village. I was able to check on the office on Monday afternoon yet.

I saw everyone was cleaning in the streets, nagbibilad ng mga gamit. When I opened the door of my office, it was like a tornado hit the place. The smell was like estero already. Black, everything was black from mud na madumi. Everything was damaged.

It so happened, that another condo unit in Quezon City, where I kept my belongings, was sold already. I had to move all my stuff from that condo to my office. So kung kelan ko pa nilipat mga gamit, dun pa nabaha. There was no memory of everything I worked so hard on—my personal effects, writings, everything. I just scoured through the ravage for my children’s photos and dried them.

That was the tipping point of my decision to file my candidacy for mayor.

I took it as cleansing of the past and starting with a new life. We all have to let go. I felt light actually. We have a strong tendency to be so attached to the past: Past glories, memories etc, for posterity. But posterity for what? I had a truckload of garbage I had to dispose.

SEMI-RETIREMENT IN QUEZON

Even before that, sumisiksik sa isip ko mag-mayor. It was not in Manila, though. I was about to buy an ancestral lot in Quezon. It is at the foot of the mountain, overlooking the Pacific. I planned on building a modest nipa hut with a roof deck for my meditations and a clean toilet. My uncle and other relatives used to be mayor there. Para kaming dynasty doon. Haha. Pero good kami ha. Walang nagpayaman. Yung mga associates ng uncle ko, pinipilit akong mag-mayor dun; they will support me. Ako naman, umandar na naman ang utak. You see, people there are starving. You know— the big farm owners, (isa kami dun;) and the kasama, the farmhands. I envisioned the things I’d do to make the place a big tourist attraction. Sayang ang tubig-dagat at mga isla na idle lang dun. I thought of national and international regattas, waterfun, etc. Ang laki ng potential. It’s mainly fishing industry there na hindi naman naalagaan ang dagat at isda. So I will come up with a scheme na maalagaan ito, at idevelop pa.

NO CREATIVE SOLUTIONS

Walang ganung programa ang Quezon, o ang ibang probinsya, o ang Maynila, kahit ang bansa. We’re stuck as a people, I see that clearly. Walang creative process na nangyayari kaya tayo mahirap. It is the perennial inferiority complex as a people that we accepted it as a fact that we are perennial victims of the West. Hindi tayo aware doon; but it is in our psyche.

If we assess our past actions and directions as a country, we are wasting our gifts as a people, as individual persons, as a country.

NO TELEVISION

So, going back to earth… I’ve not had television for the past 5 years or so; a personal choice. It’s trash. I just have a regular solicitation of Inquirer and Newsweek and other stuff. I have a decent library na nadurog sa baha. Nakakaiyak kasi I packed some books to donate them. Well…

GANG WAR

One day, I was reading the newspaper and I saw a seven-year old boy armed with rusty icepick on one hand; and a broken beer bottle on the other; geared for war. Gang wars, fraternity wars happen every night in places like Baseco, Parola, Sta Ana, San Andres, Moriones. Hindi na mapasok ng pulis yan. All police and the local government can do is impose curfew. By now, as we know from martial rule, curfews can only ba effective to a certain point. It’s band-aid solution, that’s all. Buti pa ang Newark, it is virtually a ghost town at 5pm. I’ve been there; I’ve seen it. Only the warring factions are seen in the streets at night. But here, it’s alive every night. People co-exist and they have accepted the situation as part of their life.

ADVOCACY FOR CHILDREN

When I see street children, I cry a lot; and I really do not have an idea where all those tears are coming from. I have so much pity for them. If they are given opportunities, who would want to scavenge through the garbage?

I trained as Casa Gal or Court Ad Litem, where we are the voice of children in court. The training was undertaken by no less than the Supreme Court, Ateneo Law School, and the Unicef. But I was never called to duty. I don’t even know now if it was ever implemented in juvenile courts.

I was deeply involved in the Consortium of Metro Manila NGOs for children. But I was disappointed how the officers of the various NGOs used the money to suit their personal needs when I was sincere in giving my services for free to help them. Corrupted na rin. Actually there are many fly-by-night NGOs; however, even legitimate NGOs use the funds for their personal end. The NGOs would just report anything to justify their programs to their foreign donors who are most of the time clueless and approve their expenses which run to millions.

The system hurts me. Any system that is tainted with corruption hurts me. I decided to go solo.

One day I had a wishful thought: If only I could be a little like Mother Teresa who embraced smelly dirty children and touched and cared for the sick, then my advocacy would be complete. The rest of the story—I hope to tell you later, in person. Again, it was a mystical experience.

The advocacy for children, I called it Kulay Malaya. I expanded it to those “Mangangalakal” or those scavengers; and those who live in “kariton.” I called the project “Lambong,” or Mantle. I did my own research on them. Interviewed them one by one and each has his own problem.

So I concluded that the solution to poverty cannot be just linear. The solution should use social engineering to identify the problems; and address them accordingly. Hindi pwedeng housing lang; or feeding; or giving land titles. Those are band-aid solutions.

BILANCIA

That’s when I decided to put up Bilancia, Italian word for balance, our zodiac Libra, balance as in dance, or balance in music as in a symphony, balance of the mind-body-spirit. I set up Bilancia to house everything I do from arts and crafts, fashion design, to psycho-spiritual counseling that I designed myself , my advocacies for street children, abused women, abusive men, and any Juan and Juana who need to talk, healing, house visits for the sick, praying for the sick and the dead, and those who have various wishes.

Tesay Glinoga

read more "The Decision to Run for Mayor of Manila"