My Batam Trip

Departure Area

Been to Batam for a few times already. I enjoyed going there with different friends when we have longer holidays off from work. It helped us relax for awhile and this gave us refreshing auras once we returned to Singapore.




As for my experience, my trips there were hassle free. If you've never been to Batam and planning for a trip, you can book your ticket online via Prima Ferries or Pacific Ferry or any other online booking for Batam. Otherwise if you have the time, you can go to Harbour Front Centre which is connected to Vivo City where Batam Ferry Terminal is located and buy your ferry tickets.. Two way fare was around 50 SGD.

Another way also is to check hotels which offer accommodation and pick up transportation. The price depends on the hotel and the place where you go.  

Public taxis are very common near the port areas. You can also hire motor cycle if you want to be be dropped off to the place where you want to go. Just try to haggle about the fare as drivers tend to ask for higher prices. 

 It is better to go with someone who can speak Malay language to communicate well with the locals. Or try to learn some quick Malay words which will be useful during your travel.

Foods are every where in Batam. It is very affordable and accessible especially if you are in Nagoya. 

Try going around also and you will find other food stalls nearby. I did this irregardless of the tedious warning from friends. Just be careful though.  

                                                                                              

There are things things that can be done in this place. Resorts are available in this place where in you can go swimming. If you're not into it, you can also try spa and massage. Head to Nagoya shopping mall to shop for cheaper goodies but beware not to buy and take with you to Singapore fake items especially CD's and VCD's if you don't want to be fined for a hefty amount. Singapore banned items like this.                                                            

Ifugao Folksong

Just want to post what my grandma taught us when she was still alive almost 2 decades ago. This might not be the right words as I and my siblings were too young at the time she was chanting this. If anyone of you know this, please feel free to correct or add more. Thanks..:)

Hi Bugan na'k Dammita-a-an
Bale dan nalagita-a-an
Babuy dan nabakgita-a-an
Manuk dan napaghinga-a-an


Bugan ud yang u, Bugan panguluwan u

Panguluwan Immaya, Immaya'n mamaypaydo

Mamaypaydo balili, balili'n hinikyadan

Hinikyaddana manding.

Manuk uy puko, Manuk uy gal gallaton
Timmayap ad Hallipan
Kuk-kuk-kuk-kulon  Bugan

Bugan udyangku
Bugan panguluwan u
Panguluwan Immaya
Immayan mamaypaydo
Mamaypaydo balili
Balilin hinikyaddan
Hinikyaddana Manding

My experience from an agent

I just want to share my experience before and upon arriving in Singapore as a foreign worker. 

Year 2011 when I posted my resume on a Filipino website (which I think is somehow accredited by the POEA) looking for work abroad. A certain agency contacted me immediately and asked me to submit the necessary documents for assessment.  I processed and submitted all the requested documents and in a week’s time I already had my IPA. I paid the agency fee and flew to Singapore.

I was fetched by another agent who was a partner of the agency in Philippines when I arrived at Changi Airport. She invited me for a snack nearby and asked for my documents and even my passport (and really I was nervous at that time) which I hesitantly gave to her. While we were having snacks, she looked on my papers and then gave me instructions not to talk and listen to other people especially at the workplace. After she scanned my papers, she explained me something about my work as a childcare teacher, my salary, amount to be spent for the house, transportation, food and other daily needs. She offered to lend me money if I did not have enough with me but with an interest. I declined since I was confident I had just enough money for my needs. She then told me about her agency fee worth 4, 000 SGD to be paid by installment for 4 months before I could take back my passport. I was so surprised by the amount since the agency in Philippines did not inform me about this. I thought that the agency fee I paid was already okay. She further told me not to divulge anything we talked for safety reasons otherwise I would be like the other foreign workers who ended up in trouble for not listening to her. I was just quiet and still could not believe of the amount I needed to give her in exchange of my passport. I was then turned over to another agent whom I didn’t know at that time that it was an agent for the house I will be staying. He drove me to my new house and paid for his fee as well.

Two days after my arrival, my agent brought me and another Filipino foreign worker to MOM to apply for our work pass. She told us not to tell anything other than personal details to anyone in the MOM office and that in case they ask us if we were with an agent or under an agency, we must say NO otherwise they would not approve our pass. This made me ask why it would be like that but she cut me in and told me not to ask questions because “It is like this in Singapore!” She was suddenly pissed off and directed us to queue up.

When we were done with our work pass application, our agent brought us to a snack shop located at a nearby mall. While eating, she showed us a paper to be signed which she verbally discussed to me when she met me at the airport except for some changes. Instead of $ 4,000 agency fee it would be $4,500 to be paid by instalment for four to five months or $2,000 cash at that moment before our passport would be given back to us. I asked her why it became $4,500 and told us she just had the paper from her secretary (who is unfortunately a fellow Filipina married to a local) and she forgot that the fee recently went up. According to her, it was a new policy by the Singapore government. She also stated it was mandatory for us to attend some seminars she would be choosing at our own expense. She consoled us that once we paid $4,500, (likely $1,000+ monthly deduction from our salary for 4-5 months) our passport and ATM cards would be returned and would be on our own already. I noticed the agreement paper has no heading or company name. This made me doubt her already but I kept my silence. We signed the papers and agreed to meet the day when we would open our ATM account.

The day we met to open the account, she fetched me near my school. She was talking on the phone while she was driving. I could say she was getting irritated because she could not find a nearby bank and was asking for direction. I told her I didn’t know. She begun to scold the person she was talking to on the phone and turned to me to scold me also for not knowing the direction. She was driving real mad so I kept quiet. Inside the bank while we were on queue, I asked her for a copy of what we signed. She suddenly flared up and asked why. I told her I just needed a copy for me to know about the conditions I was to pay. She got mad and told me I was not allowed to have a copy because even the domestic helpers do not have. She said I can only see and read. I reasoned out that I deserve to have one for reference purposes only.

Her voice rose and accused me of bringing the paper to a lawyer before she marched out from the bank. She was mumbling something while I tried to catch up and heard her saying she would send me back to Philippines. She stopped and turned to me telling she has money to go to a lawyer. I followed her to her car and told her we needed to settle that thing professionally and not walk out on it. She was really angry and told me I was wasting her time for she was a very busy person. I was quiet but my mind was arguing either to shout back at her or ignore her rants. I just kept quiet and listened to her telling me how come I did not trust her when she was the one who found me a job. We did not open an account that day. My boss asked about our transactions so I honestly told what happen even if at that time I was having doubts if I should trust her after the warnings I had from my agent. My boss decided to accompany me to open an account.

It was payday already when I met my agent to en cash my cheque. My salary at that time was just enough for a month’s expenses so she did not take her $1000 agency fee but she took my ATM card. For the succeeding months, she would withdraw all my salary and took $1000. The rest of the amount were given either in their office or outside like café’s or restaurant. At times, she would take $100 from me as a payment for a seminar which she told me to attend but I never went.

I searched for her agency’s name through internet and found out it was registered as a maid agency only. I did not find the agency’s name in the list of the accredited agency also. I heard once that the agency was raided by police and now they transferred somewhere in Eunos. She was using a space inside an office which was not registered as her office.

Parents In Singapore Who Abuse Their Own Children

Parents In Singapore Who Abuse Their Own Children

In a society considered relatively pampered, the majority of us have grown up in surroundings protected by our parents and a life of considerable comfort, compared to some of our counterparts; sometimes even perhaps to the point of being overly protected. However, what’s lurking around besides the seemingly pristine picture of happy families, cheery smiles and material luxuries?

There’s always a hybrid mix of stark contrasts in every society that we see. There are the minorities and family tragedies that we tend to overlook. Sometimes, it’s hard not to feel jaded by all these news that we hear of all the time. However, once in a while, we do need to be jolted awake to remind ourselves of how very lucky we are to have everything that we most probably take for granted at times. These are not cases that we hear about in other countries, it’s about Singaporean children and it’s only right that we take more personal interest in them.

Parenthood comes with a responsibility tag, whether we like it or not. At the end of the day, it’s the children who are the innocent victims as a result of adults’ mistakes. 

Similar pressures from work, upkeeping the pace of your lifestyle may also lead to parents abusing their very own children, which is a very sad truth indeed. Physical maltreatment is the major form of abuse, which leads to emotional scars as well.

In order to tackle child abuse issues better, the Singapore government has recently revised the manual on Management of Child Abuse in Singapore. MCD - MCYS also aims to provide help to and protect affected children. Singapore Children Society has also conducted research on topics that range from physical child abuse and neglect to parenting.

Please report of any case you might know of to the relevant police authorities. A life might be at stake. For more information on family violence, visit http://fcd.ecitizen.gov.sg.

Such harsh realities make us think back of how often we might have bickered with our parents and how non-appreciative we are of the nagging they give us, despite them having the best intentions. It’s only when we become parents ourselves, then we can better understand them. It’s best to appreciate parents who are great indeed. After all, not everyone has good parents that they deserve.http://www.todaysmotherhood.com/2010/01/child-abuse-in-singapore/

Child protection from violence, exploitation and abuse

Protecting children from violence, exploitation and abuse

All children have the right to be protected from violence, exploitation and abuse. Yet, millions of children worldwide from all socio-economic backgrounds, across all ages, religions and cultures suffer violence, exploitation and abuse every day. Millions more are at risk.

Some girls and boys are particularly vulnerable because of gender, race, ethnic origin or socio-economic status. Higher levels of vulnerability are often associated with children with disabilities, who are orphaned, indigenous, from ethnic minorities and other marginalised groups. Other risks for children are associated with living and working on the streets, living in institutions and detention, and living in communities where inequality, unemployment and poverty are highly concentrated. Natural disasters, armed conflict, and displacement may expose children to additional risks. Child refugees, internally displaced children and unaccompanied migrant children are also populations of concern. Vulnerability is also associated with age; younger children are at greater risk of certain types of violence and the risks differ as they get older.

Violence, exploitation and abuse are often practiced by someone known to the child, including parents, other family members, caretakers, teachers, employers, law enforcement authorities, state and non-state actors and other children. Only a small proportion of acts of violence, exploitation and abuse are reported and investigated, and few perpetrators are held accountable.

Violence, exploitation and abuse occur in the homes, families, schools, care and justice systems, workplaces and communities across all contexts, including as a result of conflict and natural disasters. Many children are exposed to various forms of violence, exploitation and abuse, including sexual abuse and exploitation, armed violence, trafficking, child labour, gender-based violence, bullying (see UNICEF, Too often in silence, 2010), cyber-bullying, gang violence, female genital mutilation/cutting,child marriage, physically and emotionally violent child discipline, and other harmful practices.

There is significant evidence that violence, exploitation and abuse can affect the child’s physical and mental health in the short and longer term, impairing their ability to learn and socialize, and impacting their transition to adulthood with adverse consequences later in life.http://www.unicef.org/protection/57929_57972.html