Recent Personal Happenings

Spring is definitely coming here in Shizuoka... they say, earlier than usual.   The start of the new school year used to be the time when the cherry blossoms are blooming, but it seems it will not be anymore.  Cherry blossoms are expected to go full bloom by tomorrow over here.  

Just in front of the church compound is the inner moat that used to protect Sunpu Castle, 

the last place where the famous Ieyasu Tokugawa lived.  It was from this castle that 

the declaration to persecute Christians was handed 

down.  The castle is no more.  But there is a beautiful park in it.  On dry, cold winter days, one can see the beautiful, yet, 

imposing Mt. Fuji, white and mysterious, as if Mt. Olympus was just a stone's throw.  

Come March 

29, it will be the elections of the City Parliament.  The way they conduct their campaign is something Filipinos should 

learn from.  They make their speeches on places where people usually pass through like train stations and city squares.  They do not make rallies... and I suppose DO NOT COERCE people to become the crowd of these rallies.  All they do is make their speeches heard -- perhaps targeting the "unattentive" passerby's mind, 

knowing that it will naturally sink into his/her own thinking process.

But what actually strikes me is the limitation of posters.  Yes, no big streamers or tarpaulins!  No stickers or a barrage of posters on walls!  Just the designated, temporary board with 

the designated size for only ONE poster per candidate.  We, Filipinos, may still accuse the Japanese to be barbaric 

World War II offenders... but elections is one proof that they may be less "barbaric" than us, Pinoys, when it comes to elections. 

Last February 22, I received a text message from the bishop to see him for an emergency talk.  I went to his office the next day -- my mother's birthday! -- and he told me the surprising news: that I am moving from Shizuoka to Kamakura to become assistant parish priest.

No, it's not a promotion.  It's just that the parish priest of Kamakura (Yukinoshita Church) really needs a replacement for one of his assistants (who will be parish priest of another church).  The bishop told me he specifically asked for me.  Flattered or not, this is one new challenge for me.  Yet, I just cannot avoid thinking of the fact that this is my 8th transfer in my 9 years in Japan.  I feel like one of the Israelites in Moses' time traveling for 40 years to get to the Promised Land.   

(Right: picture of the church that I downloaded from its website.) 

Pinoy sa Japan Series (2): Ang BILOG

BILOG is the colloquial term coined by the Filipinos here for people who are illegally staying in Japan. I personally do not really know the root of this term. Some say it is like another term for "LAPAD", the term for the 10,000 yen note. Some say it is like the action of someone who has to avoid the police. Anyway, it's a usual term here among Filipinos. "O, ingat kayo mga bilog! May mig-mig sa eki ngayon!" (Overstayers, beware! There are immigration agents at the train station now!)

There are different profiles of the BILOG in Japan. One could be a seaman who "jumped-ship" while docking in a port here in Japan. One could be an entertainer who has already finished her 6-month visa and opted to just escape from her handlers, since she would have to borrow money again to pay her recruiter -- while her present debt was not yet fully paid. Another could be someone who entered Japan as a tourist, or maybe a part of a group who came over for homestay or educational exposure. There are also former scholars in universities here who end up overstaying. There are husband-and-wife BILOG's -- either one had to follow the other to Japan to avoid any temptations to adultery or just the mere lack of money to sustain the education and life of their kids back in the Philippines.

Many BILOG's in Japan, unbelievable it may seem, have been here since the late 80's. I have even come to know a BILOG who has been in Japan for more than 20 years. He left his 3-year-old son, only to meet him 18 years later. His son visited him over as part of a group of Pinoys who came over as tourists. When they met, he came to know he was already a grandfather... of a 3-year-old boy!

I was in Tokyo for around 5 years. There are a lot of BILOG's living in the outskirts of the city. Rent is cheaper than living within the city itself. It is not an exaggeration that the ratio between a legally staying Filipino and the BILOG can even be 1:20... or perhaps more! Their jobs are usually the hard and dirty ones, small-scale companies that are into production or construction. Men are usually into small-time construction companies hired by Japanese owners who prefer to have foreigners because they have cheaper salaries. Women are in factories or laundry shops. Some also work in subsidiary o-bento shops. Never expect any BILOG to work in known companies. However, since these known companies also avail the services of small-scale ones, BILOG's also end up working on projects owned even by the government companies themselves!

The difficulty for these BILOG's would first and foremost be the salary. The owner sometimes delays giving the salary. He knows that they cannot complain, or else, they might be reported to the immigration. Plain, outright abuse! Add to the difficulty the tension of having to face everyday, praying to God that they might not be apprehended by any police or immigration agent while going to and from work, since they still have to work for their kids in school. They cannot even go around after work anymore. Some have the courage to do so, but end up getting stopped and questioned by patrolling policemen. The only place where they have more courage to go is to church on Sundays.

There has been a move since some years ago to rid Japan of illegally staying foreigners. The goal was to either reduce them to half or even more. They have allowed e-mail messages or anonymous calls to the police to report on foreigners living in their vicinity. Policemen and Immigration Agents (and many of them in plain clothes) seem to be so adamant to get as many foreigners as they can. There is a rumor that they seem to get rewards for that... and cash incentives, too, to civilians who report. That is why, sad to say, there are some Filipinos who report their fellow-Pinoys so that they get arrested.

I always tell groups of Filipinos who attend mass to not send everything to the Philippines but set aside some amount of money for anything that can happen. You know what they tell me? "No Father, God will protect me. He knows I still have to stay here for my kids. Nasa college na kasi sila."

And in my heart I ask the age-old question on what should come first, faith or practicality?