I’ve already written about what it feels like to be a mom. I’ve also shared some of my thoughts and experiences as a scientist. But I have not written much about what it feels like to be all at the same time – woman, mom, scientist. And for good reason: it’s a lonely road. Not everyone can relate to my experience. In my circle of friends, I could always find someone who is a mom, or a scientist, but to find both at the same time – it’s like finding a needle in a haystack.

I’ve taken to reading several books and literature on women and their participation in science. And the statistics are disheartening. Experts describe the situation as a leaky pipeline: women “leak” out of the pipeline at every stage, beginning from students up to higher positions. Women describe their situation as akin to hitting a glass ceiling – a proverbial ceiling that prevents their ascension to the top. Thus, even if there would be a high percentage of women entering the scientific field at the very early stages of their career, only very few persistent ones manage to wiggle their way to higher positions. Understandably this is a reason for concern: how long would it be until I hit my own glass ceiling?

I now ask you to close your eyes and picture in your mind a scientist working in the lab. What is the image that first comes to your mind?
As it turns out, when asked to describe how a “typical” scientist looks like, many people would give these answers: male, wearing a white lab coat, and eyeglasses thrown in for good measure. People would think “Albert Einstein” – bearded, aged, and yes, still male. Very few people would actually conjure up images of scientists as women. In very much the same way that we always think of a woman when we think of a “nurse” or “caregiver.”

And I’m curious: how many parents out there do encourage their little girls to take up science as a profession? How many parents out there are supportive of the decision of their daughters to become scientists? And more importantly, how many husbands out there are willing to be flexible so that their wives could rise in their scientific careers? How many of them would be willing to relocate and change jobs as necessary to follow their wives? How many of them would be willing to be stay-at-home dads? Because we do hear of women doing these things all the time for their husbands. Would husbands be easily persuaded to make the same sacrifices for their wives?

Cover of the magazine where the special feature on Women on Cryogenics and Superconductivity appeared.

Lonely road. But there will always be comrades. These are some of those women.

These and other related issues were tackled in a special feature on women on cryogenics and superconductivity, which came out a few months ago. Several women were interviewed about their experiences as women working in the field. For me, it was an eye-opener – there are indeed other women out there, struggling to survive in a decidedly male-dominated field. And some of them are also moms!

Currently, I happen to be the only woman in our research group, except for our secretary who of course only does administrative work. And in most conferences that I attend, I could only count a handful of women out of several hundred attendees. In the university where I attended, for about a year or two I was the only female graduate student in the lab, until two undergraduate students came along. Hurray. Unfortunately, I found out that whereas it helped to know that there were other females in the same lab, it didn’t necessarily made things easier. Being a foreigner then became an issue. And since I was a sempai – a senior – it was difficult to relate to them on a more casual way. They treated me like a senior. And who wants to be buddies with a senior?

When I became a mom, I found myself juggling time between motherhood and career. I do not claim that I am making an excellent job at both. Sacrifices are inevitable. I can’t devote all my time to my daughter, and neither can I do the same to my job. The best I can do is to make my time more efficient at whichever role I need to be in. I am all too glad that I do not work in the academe, which does not really offer the same flexibility as in a research institute.

This is the juggling act of my life. I do find fulfillment in both roles, and I’m quite happy at the way things are turning out. And sometimes, just sometimes, it does pay to be a woman in this field. Why? Because people do notice you more. Being in the minority and all – it draws people’s attention to you, your presence seeming to beg the question: why on earth are you here? It makes them curious about you. Did you move heaven and earth just to be here? And depending on who you talk to, you might even find admiration in their eyes. In one poster session that I attended, after learning that I have a daughter (one of my former professors enlightened his female student, that’s why), the person exclaimed, “You’re a cool mama!” I could only wish that I had inspired her.

And above all, I am not alone. Our presence is a stark reminder to everyone that being a woman and a scientist at the same time is not impossible.

It’s a lonely road, indeed, but damn if I would give up trekking down that road. I love science too much to do that.

I woke up pretty early this morning – around 6:30 am – rarin’ to get out of bed and ready to go to work. It’s Friday, last day at work, and I just want to get this day done and over with as soon as possible. Can’t wait to get to the weekend!

Aya performs together with the other kids in her class. She is the second one from the right in this picture.

After a few minutes, Aya got out of bed and looked for me. I thought it was unusual for her to wake up so early in the morning – usually, I have to create a grand ruckus in our bedroom just to wake her up. But today was different. She spoke hoarsely. Then when my hand touched her skin – yikes! She felt so hot. I knew instantly that she has fever. I measured her body temperature, and the thermometer gave a reading of 38.0 C.

Sigh. So much for my Friday. I sent emails to our group telling them that I won’t be coming in for work. 🙁 Hey, work will always be there. Right now, my daughter needs me more than my work does. But I guess, I could also view it this way: I got my weekend earlier than I thought. 🙂

And so here I am, stuck in the house, caring for a sick daughter, and what do you know, finally getting to do some of the things that I’ve been postponing for a long time. Like cleaning our kitchen (the oil deposits are getting thicker by the day, and it’s been months since I cleaned the area!), tinkering with our new PC’s media center (thanks to Baggy who has been patiently setting up our new PC; Windows Vista has been a real pain in the ass, but now we can just sit back and enjoy) and uploading some pics and videos. Anyway, I realized that I have yet to blog about Aya’s first stage performance. I had been meaning to do this since last month!

And so, without further ado, here is a video clip taken during the musical performance by Aya’s group at the music school. The title of their performance is “Syamu Neko Kyodai.” In the performance, two different classes were actually joined together, although this was the one and only time that they saw each other and performed together. In Aya’s class, the kids had to practice singing and doing the actions for several weeks prior to the performance.

The tail that Aya wore for the performance was made out of one of her long socks, which was stuffed with soft yarn, sewn at top and fitted with a garter so she can wear it on her waist. I made it, of course. 🙂 Anyone interested in custom-made cat tails for kids? 😉

The stage was awesome – I didn’t expect it be so huge. And there was even a professional emcee – wow! Much to my delight, Aya didn’t show any signs of stage fright, unlike the other kid who held on to her mom for dear life (look for the girl at the leftmost side). Wow, I’m feeling like a stage mom already. 🙂 We stayed a bit longer to watch the older kids perform, just to get an idea of what Aya would be doing when she moves on to the higher class. We learned that the older kids get to play on the piano by themselves, cool!

Mag-inang pusa. Taken putside the hall after Aya’s performance. 🙂

This was the song they sang in Japanese:
シャム猫兄弟
全部で五匹
シロ、クロ、ミケ、ブチ、最後にトラ
チーズケーキを見つけると
仲良し兄弟
喧嘩しちゃう

シロ（シロ）、クロ（クロ）、ミケ、ブチ（ミケ、ブチ）、トラ（トラ）
シロ、クロ、ミケ、ブチ、トラ

シャム猫兄弟
お昼寝してる
シロ、クロ、ミケ、ブチ、最後にトラ
みんなくっついて寝てるから
ふわふわの毛布みたい

シロ（シロ）、クロ（クロ）、ミケ、ブチ（ミケ、ブチ）、トラ（トラ）
シロ、クロ、ミケ、ブチ、トラ

シャムは一匹もいないけど
シロ、クロ、ミケ、ブチ、トラ

And here is my rather clumsy attempt at translating it into English:

Siamese cat siblings
All in all five of them
Shiro, Kuro, Mike, Buchi and lastly Tora
When they chance upon a cheesecake
Chummy siblings will go on a fight

Shiro (shiro), Kuro (Kuro), Mike Buchi (Mike Buchi), Tora (Tora)
Shiro, Kuro, Mike, Buchi, Tora

Siamese cat siblings
Taking an afternoon nap
Shiro, Kuro, Mike, Buchi and lastly Tora
All of them sleeping close together
They look like soft blankets

Shiro (shiro), Kuro (Kuro), Mike Buchi (Mike Buchi), Tora (Tora)
Shiro, Kuro, Mike, Buchi, Tora

None of them became a Siamese
Shiro, Kuro, Mike, Buchi, Tora

Sometimes, despite the noblest intentions, best preparations, and even the best medical intervention available nowadays, tragic things happen. Sometimes they hit us without warning. We don’t know why they happen. We tear our clothes and cry to the heavens asking why, why on earth God allowed these things to happen. Some may even begin to doubt the existence of God.

Sometimes we hear of women dying from childbirth. Statistically this is quite low, given the recent advances in the field of obstetrics and medicine. Until recently, I have thought that this was something that could only happen in the small barrios in the provinces of the Philippines. In those places, more often than not, the women give birth in their homes, attended only by a midwife. Thus, when life-threatening emergencies happen, medical treatment is not readily available; the nearest hospital may be kilometers away. The baby is saved, but the mother loses the battle. We are all familiar with this story.

In a developed country like Japan, it is almost unthinkable that something like that could happen here.

Until last week, that is. When we heard of the story, we were shocked at first, then profoundly sad next. A Filipino woman, who also headed a church in Chiba prefecture, died after giving birth to her third baby in a clinic last Easter Sunday. She was en route to the hospital when she died. She was only 42 years old. She is survived by her husband, her newborn infant, and two elder children.

The cause? Postpartum hemorrhage. It is so unbelievable at first. What should have been an occasion for rejoicing became a terrible tragedy for the family. As the news sank in, we felt the terrible loss, not only for the bereaved family, but also for the church who lost their beloved Pastora. I haven’t personally her – such a shame really -but I mourn her passing with much regret and sadness. As a mother myself, I am greatly distressed for the newborn infant, whose entrance into this world has been unfortunatley marred by this misfortune, and who will grow up never knowing the one person who risked her life for him or her.

The last I heard was that the family was preparing for their trip back to Davao, where the remains of the mother would be interred.

Reality check. Women still die from childbirth. Even in Japan. It brings a sorely needed attention to the fact that childbirth, no matter how we look at it, should never be taken lightly. Lives are always at stake. Sometimes, as in the case of my sister’s harrowing experience, the baby could be lost, too.

I have shamelessly copied the following information from the website of POPHI (Prevention of Postpartum Hemorrhage Initiative) concerning postpartum hemorrhage and death in women:

The risk of maternal death from childbirth represents one of the greatest inequities in global health. Women in developing countries are more than 40 times more likely than women in developed countries to die in childbirth (1 in 61 women in developing countries versus 1 in 2,800 women in developed countries).¹ This rate is significantly higher than the ten-fold difference in risk for infant mortality between developed and developing countries, which is 5 per 1,000 live births versus 61 per 1,000 live births respectively.² Even within developing countries there is a striking differential risk of maternal death for women who have access to basic essential obstetrical care compared to those who do not. Within a country, as poverty increases so does the proportion of women dying of maternal causes.³

Obstetric hemorrhage is the world’s leading cause of maternal mortality, causing 24% of, or an estimated 127,000, maternal deaths annually. Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is the most common type of obstetric hemorrhage and accounts for the majority of the 14 million cases of obstetric hemorrhage that occur each year.⁴

In the developed world, PPH is a largely preventable and manageable condition. In developing countries, however, mortality from PPH remains high despite international efforts. While data are limited, studies have shown that PPH causes up to 60 percent of all maternal deaths in developing countries. For example, PPH accounts for 59 percent of maternal deaths in Burkina Faso, 53 percent in the Philippines, and 43 percent in Indonesia.⁵ PPH also causes considerable suffering for women and their families and creates major demands on health systems.⁴ (Emphasis mine.)

¹ WHO. Managing Complications in Pregnancy and Childbirth: A Guide for Midwives and Doctors. WHO/RHR/00.7. Geneva: WHO; 2000.

² Cunningham F, MacDonald P, Gant N, Leveno K, Gilstrap L. Williams Obstetrics. Nineteenth Edition. Norwalk, Connecticut: Appleton & Lange; 1993.

³ Rogers J, Wood J, McCandlish R, Ayers, S, Truesday A, Elbourne D. Active versus expectant management of third stage of labour: the Hinchingbrooke randomized controlled trial. Lancet. 1998; 351: 693–699.

⁴ World Health Organization (WHO) Department of Reproductive Health and Research. Maternal Mortality in 2000: Estimates Developed by WHO, UNICEF, and UNFPA. Geneva: WHO; 2004. Available at: www.childinfo.org/maternal_mortality_in_2000.pdf.

⁵ Child mortality page. UNICEF Monitoring the Situation of Children and Women. Available at: www.childinfo.org/areas/childmortality/infantdata.php. Accessed July 11, 2004.

The rest of the article can be found here.

Are you an overseas absentee voter? If, like me, you reside outside the Philippines and are registered as an overseas absentee voter, then by now you must have received by mail the ballots and instructions on casting your vote. Voting of all registered overseas absentee voters commences on April 14, 2007 and will end at 3:00pm (Philippine time) on May 14, 2007. You may elect 12 Senators and a Party-List Organization/Sector. The Certified List of Official Candidates and Party-List Organizations may be viewed here.

If you live in Tsukuba or somewhere near Ibaraki, you may be interested to know that there will be a “Kapihan” event entitled, “Hala! Halalan Na!” to be held this coming April 22. Please read on below for further details.

A distinguished panel of speakers is expected to discuss significant election-related issues during the community forum dubbed “Hala! Halalan na!” (Kapihan sa Tsukuba), which will be held on April 22 (Sunday), 1:30 p.m. at Friends International Mart, Amakubo, Tsukuba.

Leading the list of speakers is political scientist and former activist Dr. Nathan Quimpo of the University of Tsukuba. His talk will revolve around “Elitismo, Showbiz at Partidong Pulitikal sa Pilipinas.” Two top diplomats from the Philippine Embassy in Japan will also discuss the absentee voting mechanism and other related topics. Consuls Gerardo E. Tamayo and Felipe F. Cariño III have confirmed their attendance to the said forum.

To provide an OFW perspective to the discussion, Tonton Hernandez, a leader of Filipino migrant workers in the Ibaraki area, will speak on “Ang Kahulugan ng Halalan para sa mga Migrante.” Socorro (Yuko) Takei, spokesperson of the Philippine Women’s League of Japan, co-chairperson of the Coalition of Enlightened Filipinos in Japan and convenor of the UP Alumni Association – Japan chapter, will talk about election-related cheating and electoral anomalies.

A mock election for senators and party-list groups is also being considered. The discussion forum, which aims to heighten the awareness of Japan-based Filipinos on the significance of the May 2007 polls, will be moderated by Benigno Tutor, Jr. of Uninetwork Inc. and Philippines Today Online.

The Kapihan is being organized by the Association of Filipino Scholars in Tsukuba (FAST) led by Benjamin San Jose in cooperation with Philippines Today Online and Uninetwork Inc. The event’s main sponsor, ABS-CBN, will provide promotional t-shirts and caps to the participants.

An access map to the venue is shown below.

Don’t miss this event! And most of all, VOTE WISELY. Don’t waste that vote. 🙂

“Kayo po?” the woman standing behind the counter asked.

Baggy and I looked at the lady in surprise. We were at McDonalds near Hiroo Station in Tokyo. It came as a complete surprise, because right up to that moment the lady was talking to us in perfect Nihonggo. Then she overheard us talking to Aya in Tagalog, which prompted her to switch to Tagalog as well. I looked at her name tag, which was written in Kanji characters. That sort of confused me about her real identity, until I realized that she must be a Pinay married to a Japanese. Anyway, at that time Aya was taking a long time deciding on which toy to go with her Happy Set meal. The counter lady, trying to be helpful, brought out two of the toys so that Aya could choose for herself. “O, ayan, pumili ka.” she said. We’ve done this ritual several times before – that of Aya taking forever to decide on which toy to choose, and the Japanese guy/girl at the counter eyeing us with impatience. But in this case, no, this Pinay just beamed and smiled at us without any signs of urgency. Take your time, her eyes pleaded. Ah, the perks of being served by a fellow Pinoy. 🙂

Whenever we go to Europe, expect us to be wasted the first few days because of the jet lag. We’d hit the sack as early as 5 pm, skipping dinner in the process, then wake up at midnight or in the wee hours of the morning ravenously hungry. At first, we tried bringing instant cup noodles with us, but unlike in Japan, electric pots filled with hot water weren’t always available at our hotel rooms. So our solution was for Baggy to scout the area for some McDo store early in the afternoon and buy some goodies to go. And in the early morning we’d be munching on burgers and (cold) fries. I swear, when you’re so hungry you can eat a bear, cold burgers and fries would seem like the most delicious things on earth. But I digress.

What’s the connection, you ask? Well, to our amusement, it seemed as if in every McDo store we went to, there was always a Pinoy/Pinay working at the counter. While I may often be mistaken for a Chinese, there’s no mistaking Baggy for a Pinoy. So he always gets identified by fellow Pinoys at McDo. In Vienna, for instance, even before he could utter a word, the guy at the counter asked him, “Sir ano po ang order nila?” That made Baggy look up – for how often would you be asked in Tagalog, in Vienna of all places? Do they even talk to you in Tagalog when you order at McDo in the Philippines? As far as I could remember, they always talked to you in English, right? Anyway. When we were in Florence, Baggy was again served by a fellow Pinoy working at McDo. When he got back to the hotel, he was grinning from ear to ear as he handed me the McDo paper bag. Even before I heard his story I knew already that it was about meeting another Pinoy. Ang galing nila. Syempre, working at the counter and talking to the customers require them to be quite adept at the local language. We Pinoys are so versatile!

I’m pretty sure that in the US, the chances of meeting a Pinoy at McDo is also quite high. I heard that my cousins, when they first arrived there, got their first jobs at McDo. When I was in LA, there was a Pinoy (or was it Pinay?) at the counter. And even if he (or she?) talked in impeccable English complete with Hollywood twang, there was no mistaking about his country of origin. Heck, only true-blooded Pinoys could perfect that Hollywood twang!

The next time you see the word “Love Ko ‘To” in your McDo paper bag or cup, think not only of the Filipino consumers worldwide, but also of the many Filipinos who tirelessly toil in this fastfood chain. I bet some of those Pinoy dreams were jumpstarted from humble beginnings, like working at McDo.

Disclaimer: This is not a paid post for that food chain. 🙂 Just so you know. And yup, I did watch “Super Size Me” and was guilty for a day. Old habits die hard.

Have you ever applied for renewal of your passport? How about having it amended from your single name to your married name? Was it as simple as 1-2-3?

Because I live in Tsukuba, I am under the jurisdiction of the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo. Here, we can apply for passport renewal by mail. Yep, no need to appear in person at the Embassy. Hurray. All we have to do is submit our application by mail, and as long as our documents are complete and in order, we can expect our new passports to be delivered through the post office or takkyubin. As simple as that.

However, what I had expected to be a simple process could get pretty complicated sometimes. Read my “tales” below and judge for yourself. Pray, tell, was I amiss?

The One with the Passport Amendment

I got married in January 2001. My passport was expiring in March of that year, too. During that time, as far as I could tell, the Embassy still didn’t have any website that I could consult regarding passport procedures. So I sent a letter to the Embassy, inquiring about the required documents that I have to submit. This is the body of the letter that I sent, dated February 6, 2001:

I have to renew my Philippine passport which will be expiring next month. For this matter, I would like to request for an application form and other relevant information regarding the application process. I would also like to inquire what documents I need to submit if I would change my name because I recently got married. I would appreciate it very much if you could kindly send these by mail. I have included a self-addressed, self-stamped envelope with this letter.

Thank you very much for you kind accommodation.

Clear enough, eh? After several days, I received a copy of the application form, as well as a list of requirements that I needed to submit. I prepared everything, and submitted the documents on February 26, 2001.

However, even after about a month of waiting, still no passport. What happened? There was absolutely no attempt on the part of the Embassy to contact me if there was anything amiss with regards to the documents I submitted. By this time I was getting anxious, understandably enough, because my passport would be expiring in a few weeks. I tried to follow up by phone, but as you can read below, it availed to nothing. Read all about it in my next letter, dated March 21, 2001:

This is a follow-up letter regarding the application for passport renewal which I have sent by registered mail last February 26, 2001. Exactly a week ago I called up your office, but unfortunately could not get any direct answers from the person I talked to. Apparently there seemed to be no way to trace the status of the current application, because, as the person said, they were receiving up to 50 applications per day that they could not accommodate my request. Instead, I was directed to the “Personnel” department and from my conversation with the person there I was told that they have not received my processed passport yet. From there I was redirected back to the passport division, but I only got the answering machine. I was led to believe that it was all an exercise in futility.

Are the data for passport applications not stored in a computer where they could be easily accessed for referencing? It has already been more than three weeks since I have sent my application. My passport number is XXXXXXXX with expiration date March XX, 2001. It is very urgent that I get my new passport since I am also applying for a name change due to my recently acquired marital status (Maiden name: ______; I have included the marriage certificate along with the other documents in my application.) Without the passport, I could not make the subsequent changes in my name in all other important matters like the driver’s license, ACR and bank accounts. I would appreciate it if you could, at the very least, inform me of the status of my application for renewal. My sincere apologies if this letter has crossed with the mailing of my passport.

But, no dice. Para lang akong nagpalipad ng sulat sa hangin. Nobody bothered to acknowledge my letter, nor attempted to contact me at all.

I became extremely agitated. How much does it take to renew one’s passport here? Y10,500, or about $100. Surely this would have been enough to avoid the unnecessary aggravation? But I was so dead wrong. So dead wrong.

I gave up on calling the Embassy myself. I mean, what was the point? I would only be passed on to one person to the other – it was indeed an exercise in futility. Enter Baggy to the rescue. I made him call up the Embassy to ask exactly what happened with my application. Between us, he is the more patient one, and he has proven time and again that he is definitely more persistent than I am. Plus, kaya niyang makipagtigasan sa mga tao. Me? Nah, I’m too impatient and I tend to get angry when talking to dumb people.

To make the long story short, after talking to many persons, he finally ended up talking to the Vice-Consul. Matinik talaga si Baggy. 🙂 It turned out that my application lacked one vital thing – an authenticated marriage contract. Huh? I didn’t even know that there was such a process as authentication of a document. Turned out that this had to be processed in the Philippines, not Japan! Sheez! Now why didn’t they tell me that in the first place? And why was my application left to languish for more than a month? Time’s a-wastin’, and if I hadn’t taken the initiative to follow-up my application, I wouldn’t even have known about that document. Whoever sent me the list of requirements overlooked the fact that I was married in the Philippines, not Japan, and that I am married to a Filipino, not a Japanese. Why? Your guess is as good as mine.

And so what happened was that since there wasn’t enough time left before my old passport expires, I was issued a new passport using my maiden name. I was advised to submit the authenticated marriage contract and apply for the amendment of my name later on.

That was exactly what I did after several months of waiting (the marriage contract issued by the NSO (National Statistics Office) had to make the rounds of Malacanang and DFA to be authenticated). While I was able to get the amended passport without any setbacks, I still had to pay an additional amount of Y5,250 for them to “process” my request for amendment.

In fairness, when I applied again for the renewal of my passport early this year, surprisingly I didn’t encounter any problems. Nowadays you can consult the Embassy’s website for information regarding passport renewal and other matters. I got my new passport by mail after two weeks. So, some things can change after all! 🙂

The One with the Passport Renewal

I almost believed that things have changed for the better. But now comes Aya’s turn to have her passport renewed. I prepared the usual documents. I checked and double-checked everything; I downloaded the application form from the Embassy’s website. The application form comes in two pages – the first page being the application form itself, the second page bearing the details of documents to be submitted. Here is what it says on the renewal of passport:

Renewal of Old Passport

1. Duly accomplished passport application form available at the Consular Information Counter, or downloadable from the official Embassy website at http://www.tokyope.org.
2. Three (3) passport-size photos;
3. Old passport – to be presented for cancellation but will be returned to applicant;
4. Copy of the following pages of old passport:
a. data page (1st page)
b. visa page (with latest visa)
c. page bearing the signature of the signing officer (last page)

*If old passport is a brown passport, submission of an authenticated Birth Certificate from the National Statistics Office (NSO) is required.
Renewal Fee: ¥10,500
Additional Documents for Seamen:
1. Certification from the corresponding shipping agency in Japan or from the ship master;
2. Philippine Seaman’s discharge book
3. Landin permit from immigration

So I submitted Aya’s application, confident that everything was complete. Unfortunately, after a week, all the documents were returned to me, with a stick-on note stating:

PLS. SEND COPY OF MOTHER’S PASSPORT CONTAINING THE FF. PAGES:

PAGE BEARING THE NAME, LATEST VISA, AND SIGNING OFFICER

What the?!! ASAN YUNG INFORMATION NA YAN? It’s not just my time and effort that was wasted, mind you. From the Y10,500 that I sent, only Y9,400 was returned to me; the bills and coins were taped together and simply inserted into the mailing envelope that was sent back to me (huh? They can do that? I thought sending money through the mail has to follow the appropriate procedures? The very reason why we use a genkin kakitome envelope – the official and legal way of sending money through the post office? D’oh!). Apparently, the amount of Y1,100 was subtracted and used to pay for the sending of my documents through registered mail.

So what else can I do? I know it’s futile to argue, but I wrote them a letter anyway. I like writing letters – it allows me to express myself whilst documenting everything. And I was actually hoping that I’d push the right buttons for someone to answer me this time. Together with the documents, plus a copy of MY passport pages that they requested, I sent the following letter:

It was truly a total waste of effort, money, and time on my part to submit documents that were deemed incomplete by your office. It was a complete shock for me to have my documents and money (minus the postage fee) returned, with a simple note that says that I have to supply additional documents for my daughter’s passport renewal. After all, I followed to the letter the information available at your website.

All of these would have been avoided had you taken the effort to update the information you have posted in your website. There is absolutely NOTHING there that says that for a child’s passport renewal, copies of pages of the mother’s passport are still necessary. If there is, then by all means please let me know where I would be able to find it, and that I may advise other parents to do the same.

As with the first time, I paid for registered mail fee, plus the fee for the genkin kakitome (cash registered mail), amounting to a total of Y1,140.

After two weeks of waiting, Aya’s new passport finally arrived. Along with her new passport was the letter that I sent. No replies, no nothing. They just returned my letter. Gee, thanks for ignoring me. Hey, I am a nobody, I just happen to be a Filipino national, and I am absolutely NOT entitled to any attention from my own embassy. Gah, I suck at being sarcastic. Honestly, I do not expect any apologies; I am not even concerned about the money. I just want CLARIFICATION. I want somebody to explain things to me like I’m a four-year old.

The way I see it, the least they can do is update the information on their website so that parents out there who are going to renew the passports of their children would know exactly what documents to send. Or was our case special? How on earth would I know that anyway?

Again, let me ask you – was I amiss? You be the judge!