Pakiki alam sa buhay ng may buhay

Kung may kaibigan ka na nakikita mong medyo nalululong sa isang bisyo, dapat ka bang maki-alam o mas maigi pang pabayaan mo na lang dahil tutal, buhay naman nya yon?

May kaibigan kasi akong nasa ganitong sitwasyon. Pero hindi naman talaga sya adik dahil hindi naman siya sa mga ipinagbabawal na droga nalululong.

Mahilig lang siyang kumain at sa ngayon, pagkalaki laki na niya. Dahil dito, minsan, parang hirap na siyang lumakad.

Bagamat hindi ako doktor, alam ko mailalagay ang kaibigan kong ito sa kategoryang morbidly obese.

Gusto ko siya tulungan. Pero ano ang magagawa ko kung siya mismo ay parang hindi masyadong binibigyang halaga ang kanyang kondisyon. Ang ina-alala ko, baka magalit pa siya sa akin kung pilitin ko siyang harapin ang isang bagay na parang hindi niya masyadong binibigyan ng pansin.

Mabait ang kaibigan kong ito at sa tuwid na landas siya ni Noynoy kung lumakad. Marami siyang kaibigan na alam ko ay may malasakit sa kanya. Sana kahit paano, maka impluwensya ang mga kaibigan niya na mapalakad siya sa landas ng pagpapayat tungo sa kalusugan.

(eto lang muna ang maisusulat ko matapos ako mawala ng pagkatagal tagal)

A Fight for Life- But Whose?

Proponents of the Reproductive Health Bill claim that their objective is to give the people the power to determine the size of their families and provide them assistance in order for them to attain their objectives.

On the other hand, opponents of the bill, mainly the Catholic clergy claim that it is anti-Life and immoral. Thus, by their opposition to it they claim to be pro-life.

Personally, I think the debate about the RH Bill with the Church on one side and some progressive thinking people on the other is a fight for life. However this life they fight about is not that of the unborn but of the Church itself.

Every moral decision that is left in the hands of the people is an erosion of Church influence and power over the people. This explains the violent opposition of the Church to the RH Bill.

But why should government bend over backwards for the Church when government has a job to do and should have its own moral reference to guide it in the performance of its job?

Let Government do what it must do and so too the Church to its flock of believers. But let not the Church interfere with the affairs of the State.

No to Hero's Burial for Marcos

When Ferdinand Marcos was ousted by People Power in 1986, Filipinos rendered a supreme and final judgment on him.

- Marcos was a dictator who ruled ruthlessly. He was responsible for the deaths and suffering of thousands of people.

- Marcos was a kleptocrat who stole from the people and left a legacy of indebtedness, poverty and corrupted institutions.

- Marcos was a fake war hero whose shame should be confined only to him and those who embrace him.

With this verdict, there is no way for the people to allow Marcos to be buried with honor anywhere in the Philippines. To do so would not only be to accede to the vanity of the Marcoses in disregard and contempt of the pain of those who suffered under him. It would also contravene the validity and correctness of the 1986 People Power Uprising which no single person or arm of government has a right to do.

Giving Marcos even a muted military honor will also signal to other aspiring autocrats and despots not to fear history as people can get to be forgetful and history can be tweaked and twisted. Marcos turned the military against the people and used it as his main instrument for his iron hand rule. To allow the military to honor him despite this is to concede that the people have not completely gotten their military back .

In this light, the “win-win” proposal by Vice President Jejomar Binay to allow the burial of Marcos in his hometown with military honors should be flatly rejected. It may be a win-win for the Marcoses and the Vice President. But the Filipino People will clearly be the losers.

The Marcoses have really no option but to simply give their man a solemn private burial if they want to give him a decent burial at all. (If they want, they can even invite Vice President Binay as their special guest). They should be made to understand however that there is no point in time they can wait for when self respecting Filipinos who value truth, fairness and justice will relent to give in to their illogical and unacceptable demand.

On the other hand, the government’s response to the Marcoses after saying no should be to intensify and speed up all legal processes in pursuit of getting justice for all the Marcos victims.

It is not the burial of Marcos that will heal our nation but justice for our people he oppressed.

Pahiyas 2011

Karaniwan sa mga litrato na nakikita ko sa Pahiyas ay kinuha sa umaga. Pero sa bisperas pa lang ng pyesta, maaari nang maglibot at mag-obserba ng mga bahay na tapos na ang pagkakagayak o ginagayakan pa lamang. Siguro matatawag natin itong Pahiyas-by-night

Sa araw ng pyesta, eto ang itsura ng mga bahay. Ang Pahiyas ay dinaraos sa pyesta ni San Isidro Labrador na patron ng mga magsasaka. Sa isang banda, ang Pahiyas ay parangal din sa mga magsasaka at manggagawang bukid.



Pero hindi lahat ng bahay ay nakikisabay sa tugtog, ika nga. Meron ding mangilan-ngilang bahay na walang gaanong gayak tulad na lang nitong nakuhanan ko ng litrato. Sa halip, ang ginawa ng may ari ng bahay ay naglabas ng sound system upang mabigyan ng musika ang kapaligiran. Kaya lang, nang nasa lugar ako na kung saan matatagpuan ang bahay na ito, ang tinutugtog ay isang jazz version ng kantang "Our Love Will Go On" mula sa sineng Titanic.

Hindi ko hinangad na mapakinggan ng buo ang tugtuging ito kaya umalis kaagad ako sa lugar na yon. Iniisip ko siguro mahilig sa mga barkong lumulubog ang may ari ng bahay na ito. Kung ganito nga, siguro naka line up pa na tugtugin ay ang We May Never Love Like This Again mula sa sineng Poseidon Adventure at yong awit na the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.




Isa sa nakita kong display ay ang saging na ito na may bungang nyog. Naalala ko tuloy na minsan
ay may nakausap akong matanda na nagbabalik tanaw sa nakalipas na panahon na kung saan maginhawa raw ang buhay. Ayos lang naman ang ganitong pag-iisip kaya lang nang sabihin nya na noon daw ay may mga punong may iba-ibang bunga, ang naisip ko ay "Aba, e loko yata ito ei!"


Maganda at masayang okasyon ang Pahiyas at certified na pang-akit ito ng mga turista. Ang kailangan lang siguro ay mas mabisang matugunan ng mga otoridad ang problemang dala ng tagumpay ng kaganapang ito tulad ng matinding traffic at kakulangan ng matutuluyan ng mga turistang dumayo pa mula sa malayong lugar.

Graveyard of Culture

Someone told me about a biodiversity exhibit at the National Museum partly supported by the French Embassy and suggested I see it if I want to see how the French Government supports science cooperation projects here in the Philippines.


I did go but I was a little disappointed to see that when I got there, there was hardly anyone apart from me viewing the said exhibit. Not that the exhibit was really worth a special visit especially with an entrance price of P100.00 to the museum. Actually it was a free day when I went since it was a Sunday but even so the free entrance could not make the people come in.



While walking alone inside the deathly quiet corridors of the museum leading to the exhibit, it occurred to me that in our country, the National Museum serves more like a graveyard of our culture instead of a venue of mental enrichment.

I don't think people are to blame. In our country Culture has mostly been the preserve of the privileged and the rich. The ordinary people have far pressing problems to attend to and maybe they simply refuse to become props for the privileged few's illusion and social self pleasuring.

I can imagine how the organizers have gathered during the launch of this exhibit, agreeing about the importance and relevance of the exhibit's subject, toasting to their accomplishment and forgetting everything as soon as the ribbon is cut.

The Big News Today

Photo sourced from Yahoo news image

Not only Americans but everyone and anyone who loves freedom and democracy can rejoice and heave a sigh of relief at the permanent elimination of terrorist OBL. Finally, justice has come to his thousands of victims whose only fault were to be in the wrong place when he sowed his terror.

But justice should not just be the preserve of a people of a nation that happens to be the mightiest in the world with the capability to demolish life on this planet would its leaders please to do so.

There is a people too of a weaker nation who cry for justice in relation to the September 11, 2001 terror attack. A people whose country was invaded and ruined on the basis of a lie by a reckless and enraged former leader of this same mighty nation that now savors the joy of justice.

This leader lied to his people and the world to rain death and destruction on a hapless and innocent people with nothing to do with what he accused them of. His lie led to the loss of lives many many times more than what Bin Laden had taken and it plunged the living into a life of deep misery and poverty. Surely these people too deserve justice.

Americans lost a building but this people lost a nation. How will they ever get justice?

For the world to heal, justice must cover all.

Mayo Uno....

Para sa mga relihyoso, ang araw na ito ay simula ng panahon ng pilgrimahe tulad sa Simbahan ng Antipolo para sa Ina ng Kapayapaan at Mabuting Paglalakbay o kaya naman ay sa Manaoag, Pangasinan para magdasal sa Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Manaoag.


Ngunit para naman sa mga militante,ang araw na ito ay ang pagdiriwang ng Pandaigdigang Araw ng Manggagawa kung kaya sila ay nagtitipon tipon sa lansangan upang igiit ang kanilang mga kahilingan habang nagwawagayway ng bandila na karaniwan ay pula.

Image sourced from Yahoo Image Search

Saan kaya mas mabisang manawagan? Sa langit o sa pamahalaan?

Sincerity is not a Substitute for Correctness

Picture sourced from Yahoo Image search


The good news is that Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez has resigned.

Ms. Gutierrez is one big boulder removed from the rocky road to a clean and honest government. While we can rejoice a little we should not forget that we still have a long way to go and our path is still littered with obstacles including a crown of thorns.

In her wake, there is a need to determine the extent of the rot that has infected the entire Office of the Ombudsman. Her replacement must be ready to make deep surgical excisions to remove all those who have contributed and made her blighted term possible. This include those who profess support and loyalty to her - they have either benefited from her or have shown an incapacity to determine right from wrong. What for are they in the Office of the Ombudsman?

We can not relent in our WAR FOR JUSTICE in which among the main goal is the apprehension, prosecution and punishment of those who have conspired to do us wrong.

Ms. Gutierrez did not resign quietly and in contrition. In her press conference announcing her resignation she protested her non- culpability and claimed that what she did was in the service of the Filipino people.

She can say what she wants and we can even grant that she is indeed sincere in what she was saying.

What we must all understand however - and the resigned Ombudsman most specially- is the principle that Sincerity is not a substitute for Correctness. She was impeached for not doing the right thing(s).

Heart Talk - not enough to be normal

Yesterday I had a blood test as part of my (ir) regular cholesterol monitoring. Except for Cholesterol which was a frustrating 30 points higher than normal, all the other indicators such as triglycerides, LDLC, VLDL fell within the normal range, albeit on the high borderline side. The good news is that I also have a high HDL count.

Considering that I usually exceeded the normal limits in my previous tests, I thought I had reason to celebrate. But I was told that in my case, since I am also prone to hypertension, I have to bring down my results further.

I thought I can maintain my cholesterol levels by sheer lifestyle modification thru diet and exercise. To some degree, I believe it helped. But for the new target set for me, I guess I have no option but to go back to a maintenance drug again. Hello Simvastatin!

In taking care of our heart, I still believe that diet and exercise are the best options. Drugs should only be a last resort.


Image credit: Image sourced from the internet.

Danny D.

I came to know Danny D. when we were accepted in the Presidential Management Staff, Office of the President (PMS-OP) during the time of President Cory Aquino.

Since we got in at almost the same time, we trained together along with a handful of other recruits.

It was just a couple of years into the Presidency of Mrs. Corazon Aquino and People Power fever was still strong. In fact it was the honor of working under President Cory's administration that lured most of us to work in the PMS, an office mainly tasked to attend and service the official needs of the President beyond what was provided by the line departments and special offices. Admittedly, the mandate and functions of our office at that time were on the vague side, but it was in this vagueness wherein lay its vast potential influence and power.

What I remembered of Danny D. was that he was then a fresh graduate of La Salle University but was already married with two kids. He had a healthy sense of humor but spoke softly. He had a La Sallean idealism with him and he believed in People Power, or his idea of it.

But Danny D. never made it through training.

Maybe because he believed that the government under President Aquino would be different that he thought it should be doing right. Thus, when he saw something that did not seem to be right, he asked a question out loud in one of the offices he was sent to for training.

He noticed that during meetings, the office he was training in tend to over order food much more than what meeting participants could consume. After the meeting, the staff would then partake of the excess food. Since this was what he saw, he asked if it was right to do so.

For this simple question, he became a pariah among the office staff and all directors deemed him to be a potential troublemaker. Some of the directors were holdovers from the past administration and some were new. Not one of the directors though would take Danny in and so effectively, he had nowhere to go after the training and had to leave.

This was a silent injustice that Danny D. faced alone in the administration of a President he admired and wished to serve - but because of a simple innocent question, he lost his chance.

I could not do anything for Danny D. then. All I could do was not to forget and by writing about it now, I stand as witness. I believe it is my duty to do so - not to get justice for him but to give him comfort in the knowledge that there was a person who saw the wrong done to him and who believed that this wrong should not be visited on others.

Some people may think what happened to Danny D. was trivial, but his story partly explains to me why despite the saintly personality of President Aquino, our country never got out from the grip of anomalies, corruption and poverty.

We changed a President, but we did not change as a people.