Reprimanding Myself

Dear Ivony,

You'd been there before but you still didn't learn anything. Ano'ng napala mo? Wala, 'di ba? Buti nga sa'yo! :P

You have been teaching on-line for Koreans for more than six years, and I assume that you already knew the rules.

You were born in the Philippines and sad to say, you have never visited other countries. You were not raised abroad so you knew that every year, you need to brace yourself against inclement weather.

From 2007, you have considered yourself an unnamed member of the Avengers,an invisible member of Justice League, or a wandering Marvel Superhero by going to work amidst heavy rain; by walking and taking a ride along EDSA for a few minutes just to get to work safely and on time. There were times that you had to force yourself to call your students and conduct classes on the phone while some of your countrymen were busy relocating to safer places. In spite of this, your effort was rarely appreciated and sad to say, those students of yours who were miles away were the ones who were worried about your situation.

Did you still remember the times when you had to walk along EDSA for ten minutes? Although you were aware of the dangers that you might encounter, you'd still choose not to take a pedicab,a taxi or a jeepney because you were too stingy; you didn't want to waste money since the office was just several minutes away. Did you still remember how you and your co-workers continue conducting classes until there was no phone line anymore? Wasn't it good to remember the day you arrived at 4:45 AM, only to find out that there was a power failure along EDSA Magallanes and having nothing to do, you'd just talked to your co-workers and signed out at nine AM, walked home and went back to the office at 1:45 PM, but the situation was still on-going? The managers and team leaders decided to call it a day at 7 PM although the electric supply had been back. It was fun. It was worth the risk.

Before I forget, did you remember how Malibay had been submerged into water courtesy of Typhoon Ondoy? Boss John was so nice. Although you were not a flood victim in its real definition because the room you had rented was fortunately on the second floor and the water just stayed on the ground floor of the entire house (unlucky board mates you had), he still gave you financial assistance. Sad to say, the company that provided you the comfort and convenience (putting other issues aside) met its end.

When the previous company you had worked with stopped operating, you had an option to teach; remember, you're a BSED graduate and you passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers. There were some schools that sent you interview applications and there were some friends of yours who advised you to go back to the field where you truly belong. Also, you had some former colleagues who were able to juggle classroom and on-line teaching, and they kept encouraging you many times to try your luck in public schools; some of them even offered help. But no, due to your stubborn nature, you chose to stick with the job that gave you a not-so-luxurious life that you had ever wanted. A job that required to to simplify all things; a job that had put your patience in dealing with your students and superiors. A job you once called a dead-end job, but there you go again. For some personal reasons, you chose to try your luck again in some companies wherein the nature of job is quite similar to your former one.

Last Monday, DepEd announced the cancellation of classes. Work in other companies were suspended as well. In spite PAGASA's warning, you still went to work because of perfect attendance incentive and after hours of continuous rainfall, you were thinking of how to go home safely. Some of you even prayed for power outage because that might be the last straw that might force your boss to send you home. But no, luck was not on your side and you stayed until one forty-five PM.

Came Tuesday, you bid goodbye to your perfect attendance incentive because the streets had been flooded since two AM and the major roads were impassable anymore. Your co-workers who were still able to go to work called themselves “immortals” and had not been the creek beside your apartment overflown, I was sure you would be one of those who received a doughnut and a cup of hot choco worth five pesos from the coffee vendo.

Look at your pitiful situation. While your husband and your other friends were staying at home, you were sharing the same sentiments with your co-workers. You see, the students already received message, that typhoon had been continuously unleashing its wrath and the teachers might not able to call them. They were confused. Most of them asked you how you managed to go to work. Some of them didn't expect your call anymore, so they were unprepared for the lesson. While some of them were aware of what was happening in your country, there were some who were not, or they were, they just did not know the right words to tell you. You were more saddened when you heard the news, that last Tuesday, teachers who work in the afternoon shift were allowed to go home as early as eight PM. You were now wondering why they were given a more favorable consideration than your shift. I mean, which is more dangerous; going to work as early as three AM or earlier to avoid being late, or going home as late as 11 PM? What difference could it make when they were allowed to work three hours shorter while AM teachers needed to work their entire shift? I know that missed classes would mean loss on the company's part , but no matter how hard I tried, I still couldn't figure out why. If they were able to shorten the shift in the afternoon, why were they not able to do the same in the morning? If they were able to sacrifice three hours in the afternoon, why wouldn't they do the same to be fair enough?

You know the answer, Ivony. Of course, if they do, that will be too much loss. On the other hand, the management knew that you and your coworkers aim for three thousand pesos. Three thousand is three thousand. Sa'n mo pupulutin yun? Teachers in the morning shift will surely risk themselves just to get it. Kesehodang madapa, mabangga, madisgrasya, magpapakabayani. In addition, there are employees who are still ineligible to avail incentive leaves and sick leaves and there were some people (like you) who had already consumed all leaves and absences. Imagine, if you don't report to work, you'll get deductions, your incentives forfeited plus, you will be given a memo. Again, three thousand is three thousand. Remember, the company just gave you Fortune Care health card worth 50K MBL, so okay lang na magkasakit ka. With three thousand pesos taxable incentive, pampakape rin 'yun ng asawa mo in case na mamatay ka. Oh sorry, ang morbid naman; pambili mo ng gamot pag nadisgrasya ka. O di ba? Oh by the way, please say thanks to your boss for giving you five pesos and a piece of bread instead of giving you a chance to go home early. Mabuti na 'yan kesa wala, di ba? Sayang, hindi ka nakapasok nung Tuesday, wala kang doughnut and coffee for free! Thank your boss for waiting for the decision of the board abroad rather than pleading them on your behalf since she and some of her assistants are in the Philippines.

So,ano'ng pinoproblema mo? You have a job, while others don't. You and your husband said months ago, if you remember, that this is way better than teaching in private schools with heavier workload, with lower (or same) salary bracket. You were planning to take refresher course to be qualified to teach in public schools where classes are suspended when typhoon comes yet you're still being paid. You're even planning to find another job next year. After that, what's next? Will you apply in call centers? Your hubby will not allow you, I'm sure. Find a job in government agencies? It's difficult although you passed the Career Service Exam long ago. Find another on-line teaching company where this incident might happen again? Work from home? Let's see. Teach in a real-school setting. Maybe.

It's your fault. You're not a victim here. You are a willing participant. Umulit ka pa e. They didn't ask you to apply in their company; it was your own will. It's the consequence of your choice, so don't complain. Sabi nga eh, MAGDUSA KA.

I'm done reprimanding myself.