Change is Not "Pangyayari" So Should We Blame the Interpreter of Maxine Medina?

Wazzup Pilipinas!

"Pangyayari" is definitely not the accurate translation for "change" but that was the word used by the interpreter when he translated the English word "change" to "pangyayari" instead of "pagbabago."

I would have answered the question "What is the most significant change you have seen in the world in the last 10 years?" more eloquently and substantially with:

"In the last 10 years, the biggest change that happened in our world is social media. We are now always connected, well informed and very much engaged with almost everything happening around the world. Now people can watch us in real time via live-streaming, ....... and able to vote for me as the new #MissUniverse for 2016! Mabuhay!!!"

That is only if I referred to the English question. But the judges were not aware of this particular mistake, and Maxine, though she does understand the English question, had to fall back to the Tagalog translation.

I was in the comforts of my home and not in the shoes of any of the Miss Universe 2016 candidates. There were no audience awaiting my answer. I was enjoying the day watching TV while I live blog using my laptop, while eating fish crackers on the sides. Thus, unlike Maxine, I had time to construct my thoughts into concrete ideas without any worries I would get more bashing afterwards.

To be able to come up with an immediate witty and substantial answer is truly hard when you're the one sweating it out up there on the #MissUniverse stage. The nerve-cracking experience would never fade away no matter how well practiced or researched you are with current events and trends.

Add the sort of failed interpretation of a single word that could have made the difference for her. She could have mentioned "Changed has come, now that Rodrigo "Digong" Duterte is president of the Philippines. with his "War on Drugs" slaughtering all the suspected illegal drug users without due process of law. 

Hontiveros to Government: End Corrupt War on Drugs Permanently

Wazzup Pilipinas!

"Kung ano ang puno, siya rin ang bunga. Kung korap ang nagpapatupad, korap din ang kampanya. The Duterte government is guilty of implementing a corrupt war on drugs. It is but right for them to heed the people's demands to stop it."

This was Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros' reaction to  Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Ronaldo dela Rosa's order to stop the war on drugs as the police force focuses on "internal cleansing." Dela Rosa issued this  statement following President Rodrigo Duterte's admission that 40 percent of the police force is corrupt at a midnight press conference on Monday.

"Ako ay nagagalak at tumugon ang PNP Chief sa aking panawagan na itigil ang abusadong war on drugs na bumibiktima sa maraming inosenteng mamamayan at sumisira sa imahe ng PNP," Hontiveros said.

"With this move, the PNP owns up to its abuses and confirms that indeed the war on drugs operates on similarly corrupt foundations," Hontiveros added.

Public health approach and rules-based law enforcement

Hontiveros said that there is absolutely no need for the government to resume the abusive war on drugs, amid conflicting pronouncements of the PNP to stop it and Duterte's pronouncement that he will extend the drug war until the last day of his term in 2022. As an alternative, the senator proposes a strong public health framework to respond to the drug problem together with a regular and rules-based law enforcement approach to drug-related crimes.

72,000 deaths until 2022

"This should spell the end of the flawed anti-drug campaign. Internal cleansing will only restore moral authority to the PNP if the war on drugs, the unwarranted killings, is stopped permanently.  As it is, the government's war claims an average of 1,000 lives a month. To continue with this human rights-deficient anti-drug campaign until 2022, we will be looking at 72,000 deaths. This means creating the Philippines' very own 'killing fields'," Hontiveros remarked.

PNP worth saving

Hontiveros said that the PNP is not beyond redemption but warned that Duterte's statement on police corruption might pave the way for the creation of a "Metrocom-style" police force which will further undermine human rights.

"I am wary that the government, in the guise of internal cleansing to address police corruption, might create a new narco police force that is far deadlier than what some abusive officers and personnel have made the PNP today, to amplify the authoritarian tendencies of the Executive," Hontiveros said.

"I believe that many in the police force are honest. The PNP as an institution is worth saving. What we need are deep-cutting reforms such as stricter requirements at the recruitment level, better police benefits, capacity enhancement and infrastructure modernization. Through a professional and corrupt-free police institution, we strengthen our judicial institutions, we protect our citizens and foreign guests, and we keep our streets safe," Hontiveros ended.

Enhance Visa's Nursing Career Expo prepares Filipino nurses for employment in Canada

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Filipino nurses aspiring to work abroad can fill a brewing labor shortage in Canada through Enhance Visa’s series of events for nurses in the Visayas.

Graduating students, fresh graduates and registered nurses from all over Cebu City gathered at the Radisson Blu Hotel as they took part in the first Canada Nursing Career Expo on Saturday, January 28, 2017.

Nurses have long been on the skills shortage of Canada. The Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) had predicted that Canada would be in need of at least 60,000 nurses by the year 2020 to fill labor shortages.

Occupations listed in Canada's labor shortage include specialized nurses in burns, dialysis, cardiology, as well as psychiatric nurses and nurse technicians.

Featured in the event was guest speaker, Tony Burke, vice president of the OMNI College of Nursing in Vancouver, Canada.

"The average age of a nurse in Canada is 55 years old. If we don't get younger nurses into the workforce, there'll be an even greater gap that the country would need to fill in the future," said Burke.

The OMNI College of Nursing specializes in training internationally educated nurses in getting the skills required to meet Canadian standards and language in preparation for the Canadian Nursing Licensure exam.