Araw ni Bonifacio/ Araw ng mga Bayani

Marapat lang na gunitain ng magkasabay ang araw ni Bonifacio at mga bayani. Sana lamang ang pag gunita ng araw na ito ay hindi magtapos sa pag-aalay ng bulaklak o sa isang ritwal ng paggunita kundi maunawaan natin kung bakit ang nagawa ng ating mga bayani ay mahalaga sa ating buhay ngayon.

Lagi kong sinasabi, ang araw na kung kalian natin matutunan na magparangal sa ating mga bayani ay ang siyang araw ng ating paglaya.

Para sa akin din, hindi lamang ang mga bayani noong mga nakaraang panahon ng pananakop ang dapat nating gunitain ngunit maging ng mga bayani ng ating panahon at henerasyon.

Tatlo sa mga bayaning aking ginugunita ay sina Filomena Tatlonghari, Clarissa Ocampo at si Antonio Calipe Go.

A calamity named El Nino

Many of us are familiar with natural disasters like typhoons, storm surges, earthquakes and earthquake induced tsunamis and even volcanic eruptions

But a disaster that most of us are not aware of is drought induced by El Nino, the name given to the phenomenon of sea currents becoming hotter than normal.

With climate change, this El Nino phenomenon can only be more intense and more frequent. In fact there is one occurring now. What I am worried about is its intensity and duration.

A  prolonged drought in our part of the country will definitely be disastrous for all of us. Our agriculture will suffer as well as our energy dependent industries. And we might have to undergo extreme water and even electricity rationing.

When we talk of natural disasters, we tend to think of typhoons and bad wet weather. But I wonder if we have sufficiently prepared for its extreme opposite which is a severe and prolonged dry spell that can be just as harsh and calamitous.

A people's task

Fighting terrorism is a people's task.

I think terrorists are simply outliers in society and they just look for a vehicle to express their destructive impulse such as religion, ideology or social group e,g. fraternities

We tend to leave the fight against terrorism to our government but we the people have a role to root out who these potential terrorists are before they can even give vent to their madness.

Most of the time too, men seem to be at the forefront of fighting terrorism but we should realize that women too can play a greater role towards this end.

Tanim Bala Scam is Economic Sabotage

The 'Tanim Bala' scam is no ordinary crime. It is economic sabotage and its perpetrators must be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Those who hatched and engaged in this heinous activity thought so because they thought they can get away with it. But it is really up to government to show how wrong the crooks are.

Not to do so would show how feckless and weak the government is and how deserving it is of public derision.