So for the record, yes, my wife and I have a wonderful sex life. I wonder if knowing that will make them happy.

Of course I digress.

When they prod further, I usually just say that “birth control works”, but what I fail to say is that our chosen birth control method is courtesy of the government. And we got it for a very low cost.

Yes — the government actually has an effective birth control policy, at least for our case. But it’s a loosely guarded secret.

You see, back in 2004, as part of the mandatory pre-marital orientation conducted by the Department of Health as a requisite for getting your marriage license, we got the following information. Note that this is all lifted from memory:

• The Department of Health facilitates various birth control measures at their health centers for free.  For example, a woman can have an intra-uterine device (IUD) planted into her uterus for no cost. This is the birth control measure that my wife availed of a few months after giving birth — however she gave a small contribution of a couple of hundred pesos to the health worker just to make sure she takes extra care of her, if you know what I mean. They can also give away condoms, injectable shots, and contraceptive pills, subject to availability.
• PhilHealth covers the cost for sterilization methods, like tubal ligation and no scalpel vasectomy (NSV). For the “macho” guys here who don’t like the idea of vasectomy but whom I might call sissies for being afraid to put their balls under a knife (wait — no scalpel means no knife, right?), the detailed procedure for NSV can be found here, instruction manual style. If the illustrations make you cringe – don’t tell me I didn’t warn you. It’s not for squeamish pansies.
• Men who avail of no scalpel vasectomy will actually be given money to the tune of 5,000 pesos by the government (not sure if it’s thru PhilHealth or SSS). I was amused when I heard this — be sterile and get paid? And keep your semen to boot? Cool! 

(UPDATE: After asking around, I have not been able to verify this from more recent attendees of the seminar. Has it been canceled? Or does my memory fail me?

UPDATE 2: My wife verified this with the DOH and they say that the incentives system must have been a program of the LGU concerned, but DOH definitely does not give any such incentives. The rest of the information above, however, is accurate.)

For the record, the orientation also included details on natural family planning, for the benefit of those who believe that artificial contraception is a sin or who have medical conditions that prevent them to avail of artificial contraceptive methods.

Anyway I forgot all about these things until a few weeks ago when a conversation with a friend (again, with the dreaded “wala pa bang kasunod yan question”) led to him asking how my wife availed of the IUD. He’s planning to get married and raise a family, and the information proved vital. But then he asked me — is there any article or document that you could show me regarding it. And so I searched.

That’s when I realized that the information is not available online.

I have tried for days searching through Google but all I found was muck; pro-life debates, details of the law in its proposal stages, etcetera, but not the enacting law itself. No Reproductive Health Act of 2003 (HB 812 — which I initially believed to contain the details for this program) search results reveal anything substantiative other than a news article containing comments about the bill.

So other than that orientation, I have no other evidence of the benefits. That leads me to believe that the entire thing is a secret kept by the government from sexually-repressed/deprived celibate prudes conservatives. Unfortunately it has a terrible consequence — many of the people who NEED to know about it do not. That includes live-in partners among the poor, especially those who do not have money to get married or get a marriage license.

Even for those who know about it, religious influences or the belief that it will cost too much money (as if having yet another child doesn’t cost too much money!) prevent them from availing of the program. Access to health centers, and in a broader sense — access to health centers with qualified health care professionals is another problem. Unscrupulous health workers who might ask for “donations” for the procedure might be another hurdle to those who have absolutely nothing to spare.

Now I understand that there are people who would not trust government health centers if their life depended on it. An alternative exists — FriendlyCare clinics are run by a non-profit organization and provide free family-planning related health services, including sterilization procedures I mentioned above, as well as temporary contraceptives such as injectable contraceptives, pills and condoms. They even provide cycle beads for those who prefer natural.

So if you’re running into the trouble of having too many children, avail of these benefits now. Before you (or your wife) gets pregnant again!

Do NOT take my word for it, however — if you want more information regarding the above go to your nearest health center, and your obstetrician-gynecologist as well for good measure. You can also visit your nearest FriendlyCare clinic.

I have to consult my mother, who took these pictures, with regards whether those poses were coached by her or anybody in the room. Otherwise it might be considered unethical photography, or a misrepresentation of 2 year old cuteness.

DISCLOSURE: Sarong from a forgotten stall in 168 Mall, Divisoria. Electric fan from SM Appliance Center. Vertical blinds from a forgotten shop in the razed and now demolished MC Home Depot in Mantrade. This post is in no way sponsored by the above merchandisers and this blogger will in no way profit, whether in cash or in kind, from the said entities.

My child, Carla Jacqueline Limjap, was in no way coerced nor abused in the taking of these photos. However she does not have the ability as yet to express approval or disapproval as to the fair use of these photos in this blog posting, and as such, parental discretion was used by me, Jacinto Limjap Jr., father, in the posting of these shots.

These photographs may in no way be used for purposes other than showing how early my child has learned to cam-whore. As of writing we have yet to determine where she got this trait from, but based on historical evidence, she probably got it from me.

The complete set of pictures (there are more!) can be viewed by clicking here.

Thank you!

I don’t understand what all this hatred is about, but this is the same person that caused me to put this blog in comment moderation over a year ago. Much worse, it appears that the person uses the identity of another person who denies any knowledge of the hate comments.

I wonder how lonely and insecure a person has to be to insult a two year old?

UPDATE: A little bit of research turned out a suspect; it’s likely to be a guy pretending to be a girl. Perhaps, that’s his frustration?

Of the 24 opposition, administration and independent candidates (I don’t really consider KBL’s fieldings as real senatorial bets), I can only think of 3 or 4 persons that I might vote, and my decision to vote them is still pending some research on what laws they did pass.

Hint: I admire that guy who had the guts to stay truly independent, and that guy who didn’t stay independent but whom I’m rooting for because I’m such a sucker for real rags-to-riches stories and pro-entrepreneurship lawmakers, and that guy whom I feel is Ferdinand Marcos reincarnated but at least passed some sensible laws.

Hell, I don’t even care about our local officials. The Pasay City political arena is in shambles. I don’t even know if I can renew my Community Tax Certificate this year without needing to survive some lame bring-this-guy-back-to-City-Hall “protest action.”

It’s sickening, and tiring, and I think I might as well spend election day playing games and watching TV with CJ.

My wife started blogging lately, and I hope you’d take the time to visit her personal blog. Her entry on CJ is an update on how CJ’s been doing, still despite the fact that she hasn’t been drinking her formula as much as the pedia says she ought to.

Honestly I don’t care about her formula anymore.

Back to my wife, Melynn finally put up her travel agency business, called I-NAV Travel and Tours. I’m putting up a website for it soon, but you may opt to contact me if you have any plans (I must say the rates for Boracay for October are great!).

We also visited the 17th Philippine Travel Mart at SM Megamall, which showcased the best travel destinations the country had to offer.

My conclusion: whoever said the Philippines was ugly must’ve stayed in Manila too long.

CJ’s reactions to the digicam are semi-automatic. Whenever her mom or I would hold the camera and point it at her, she would immediately smile and pose. That depends on her mood of course, but if her mood is particularly good (read: makulit) she’d egg you on to take pictures of her, again and again and again and again and again.

And then she demands to see the pictures on the digicam screen right after!

And she’s only nearly 1 year and 5 months old. I wonder how she’ll be when she hits 15?

Goes to show why she never fails to brighten up my day.

She normally takes a nap after her bath. Usually it’s her yaya who lulls her to sleep, but she saw me just after she got dressed and with her outstretched arms gestured that I carry her. I picked her up. Right after I did she put her head on my shoulder, simultaneously a sign of her lambing and antok. I took the bottle of milk her yaya prepared, set her down on my lap, let her have the bottle of milk, then swayed my legs so that she’ll have a makeshift rocking cradle. She fought her sleepiness a little bit, but eventually gave in and closed her eyes into peaceful slumber.

It really feels good to have a child fall asleep on one’s self. It’s the most tangible manifestation of the term “peace-of-mind”. I never imagined that I would be feeling this as early as my quarter-life though. It feels good nonetheless.

I could say that CJ is at a crossroads, however. She’s starting to exhibit separation anxiety. In the middle of the night she’ll cry if for some reason she doesn’t immediately feel her mother lying beside her. She cries whenever either of us leaves for the office. She has difficulty sleeping when her mother or I (but especially her mother) are out late. We’ll have to wean her soon, and make her get used to us being absent at times that she expects us to be there.

She’s also nearing her first birthday. A few weeks back we have again braved the traffic, both from vehicles and from people, to shop in Divisoria and pick up party stuff. Hello Kitty’s gonna be the mottif of her party, and it’s surprising what kinds of stuff you could get in Divisoria for three thousand pesos worth. If you’re adventurous in terms of shopping and travelling, Divisoria will never let you down. Later on I’ll be travelling once more, this time to Alabang, to give the magician we’re hiring the downpayment for his performance. Hope that that goes well.

Aside CJ’s upcoming birthday, I’ll have to deal with my own crossroads as well. I celebrated my own birthday last week; I just turned 25. At my quarterlife crossroads, I can’t help but remember an Inquirer Young Blood article I read a few years ago. It’s about a guy telling about his quarterlife goals; having a car, getting a good job, but instead he still finds himself riding a bus to work to do a job he doesn’t really like and he doesn’t get much pay for. I can’t exactly remember my own “when-I-reach-25 dreams”, but even though I don’t have my own car, at least I’m in a profession that I could say I really enjoy. And then I have Melynn and CJ.

That’s more than enough for me.

Further down these crossroads, I’m applying for a job that might be able to send me to the US to work as a consultant as early as next month. The experience that I’ll get would be invaluable to say the least.

Hopefully all goes well with the crossroads CJ and I are going to go through this coming month. If you’re religious, I’ll appreciate it if you could pray that they do hire me, and CJ gets over her separation anxiety. If you’re not religious, wishing us luck will be good as well.