Shipping Complex at Sangley Point?

There was an item in the Philippine Daily Inquirer yesterday that could give a clue to the future of Cavite City.

The news article was titled "Chinese Shipping Firm to Build $3-B Complex in Sangley." It talked about how a giant Chinese company plans to transform Sangley into a transshipment point.

Here's part of that story:

A Chinese shipping giant will build a $3-billion shipping complex at Sangley Point in Cavite City, outside Manila, to serve as its main hub in Southeast Asia, Malacañang announced Monday.

China Ocean Shipping Group Co. (Cosco) chief executive officer Wei Jia Fu informed President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of the investment plan during a courtesy call Monday.

Ambassador Francis Chua, special Philippine envoy on China trade and investments, said the Cosco investment would generate 100,000 jobs, particularly for Filipino seamen.

Sangley Point is being developed as an international transshipment point through the creation of a special economic zone.

A Malacañang statement described Cosco, founded in 1961 as the pioneer international shipping carrier in China, as a $17-billion global company that operates 600 types of ships that call at 1,300 ports in more than 160 countries.

I wonder how this ties in with earlier reports that Arroyo had "given" Sangley point to former Senator Ramon Revilla as a birthday gift , for building into a major port. How many Sangley Points are there for her to give away? When I last checked, there was only one Sangley point, currently the home of the Philippine Naval Base in Cavite City.

Obviously, Sangley is a much sought-after piece of real estate and one strategically located in terms of shipping and transport. In the early 1990s, there were plans by the country's biggest taipans to build the International Airport in Sangley as well, but the plan was shot down by former President Fidel Ramos.

But I couldn't help notice in the story how this company comes into the picture with apparent absolute certainty that it will get Sangley. Have they consulted the people of Cavite City at all in this, and have they conducted studies regarding the environmental effects of such a project?

I can almost imagine Sangley as a container port, maybe something like the North and South Harbors in Manila, container vans crowding narrow streets, dark fumes filling the skies, stevedores and their families squatting in narrow alleys, crime and poverty infesting the city. Is it the End of Days for Cavite City?

"From San Francisco, Goodbye!"

Daly City, California--The San Francisco Giants are playing the Oakland Athletics on TV as I pack my bags for my trip back home to Manila tomorrow. A long drawn out game that started before sundown, it went into an extra inning, with the Giants eventually losing out to the A's.

I am not a baseball fan in the same way my friend Wella is a follower of the Oakland A's. But I practically got treated to a despedida of baseball because, as usual, I had tons of stuff to squeeze into my two maletas and my carry-on bags and I had to do it in my parents' living room. Chocolates, T-shirts, books are scattered and cluttered in front of the TV set which was tuned in to my parents' favorite TV sport, baseball.

While I was packing and while Giants star player Barry Bonds was getting TV mileage, my aunt Gigi called my mom from her home in Milpitas.

Aunt: Ya llama Ruby. Di ritira ya rin pala eli ora (Ruby called. Turns out she's going home today).

Mom: Ha? No eli ya talda aqui (What? She didn' t stay long)?

Aunt: No, five weeks lang eli aqui. Ora daw di ritira (No, she stayed only five weeks. She's leaving today).

Mom: Sana mañana ya lang para junto ilo di Gina (She could have gone home with Gina tomorrow).

Aunt: Cosa ta haci Gina (What is Gina doing)?

Mom: Ta qui. Ta ci empake aquel dos maleta (She's here. She's packing her luggage).

Aunt: Pirmi ya lang ansina, ta ci siksik todo (It happens everytime, her squeezing her stuff into her luggage).

Mom: Alli lang buso mañana (Are you staying home tomorrow)?

Aunt: Di ci babysit Dale mañana cun Marcos kasi tiene fundraising sana Leslee y Alyssa. Ta cumbida comigo kasi tiene daw silent auction. No ma niso di pudi anda na airport ha, kasi di pinta casa esti mi marido (Dale's babysitting Marcos because Leslee and Alyssa have a fundraising event. They invited me to this silent auction. We won't be able go to the airport because my husband has to paint the house).

By the time the Giants-A's game ends at 11 pm, I am packed (at least that's what it looks like). There are little bits and pieces of pasalubong and personal things lying around which I'm sure I will forget. I'd like to take everything home, but that's not always possible.

Anyway, the game ends with the sportscaster's farewell, "From San Francisco, goodbye!" My own farewell: "San Francisco, till next time!"

Chabacano in California-2

Concord, California--I am hearing Chabacano spoken again in, of all places, California, where some members of our family are based.

Over lunch at the newly renovated home of my cousin Leni in Concord, we partook of a typical Filipino lunch, which meant an overloading of food to eat and to take home.

We were celebrating the birthday of my cousin's wife Leslee, and noodles for long life were a must. The pancit was homemade, even if the rest of the food was ordered out, and it became the subject of a conversation between my mother and aunt, snippets of which went this way:

- Tu ya cusi este pancit (You cooked the pancit)?
- Si, yo ya cusi esi (Yes, I cooked it).
- Sabroso (It's delicious)!
- Saca pa tu (Get some more)!

You'd have to be alert to catch the Chabacano conversation which came in bits and pieces, as when my aunt said, "Ta duli ya mi ditras (my back is hurting)," or "Quiereng quiere esi con su lolo (He loves his grandfather so much), referring to her grandson. It came naturally for my mother and aunt to speak the language and, sad to say, I failed to take mental notes, because it seemed like the most natural thing for them to do, I forgot to listen intently.

Anyway, this is my way of resuming blog posts, which I have been remiss in writing since leaving Manila two weeks ago. Apologies for the long break, but I am with native Chabacano speakers, which means more blog entries, hopefully.