Heroism in a time of an ascendant dictatorship

It was Heroes Day yesterday and I just feel sad that  our brave heroes of the past can not now defend us, our freedom and our imperiled way of life.

For this is a time for heroes but there seems to be a sorry lack of them.

We need to be united and we need someone to lead us in defending our freedom and even our very lives. But most of us seem content with airing our gripes in social media when the frontline is in the streets and in public places where people struggle to make a living and live real lives.

And we pretend that our country has not been taken over and we insist on believing that our constitution is still functioning when it has been totally gutted and our major democratic institutions coopted. We can not properly honor our heroes if we cowardly close our eyes to the truth and pretend that things are still normal, and that our democratic and constitutional processes are still functioning reliably.

Despite our current situation, I believe it is just right to have a day remembering and honoring our past heroes whose example may give us ideas on how we can be heroes of our time.

Setting the Filipino Mindset and Barangay Tutorial Centers

Although education is supposed to be "free" in the Philippines, its quality leaves much to be desired. It is horrifying to realize that in many public schools, students graduate without really acquiring basic education skills depriving them of a chance to make a better future for themselves.

Obviously there is a need for thorough education reforms and maybe even a complete overhaul of our education system. But to do this will take a lot of time while millions of Filipinos go through to the motion of getting an education without substantially learning anything or learning what is important.

In order to address this problem, I wonder if it is possible to distill basic concepts and principles in the various fields of knowledge so that at least, Filipinos will have a unified mindset for at least basic ideas and notions. Every Filipino should at last have and share these knowledge with their countrymen.

For example, in history, we should at least have a common knowledge of several important events that shaped and brought us into our present. Then in science, we can also know basic principles and laws critical to our survival and progress. Other fields that can be covered are Mathematics, then Religion, Sprituality and Morality (RSM).

This project can be carried out through schools but it can also be carried out as a barangay project conducted by volunteers in a yet to be created Barangay Tutorial Centers.

The Patero Barn Lamps

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Hats off to Marikina and its 'Bayani'

Just a regular and  ordinary street in Marikina

Every time I go to Marikina which is not really very often, I am always impressed by how clean and orderly it is.

I believe this transformation of Marikina began during the time of Bayani Fernando. But even he had finished his full term, the local residents continued with what he has started. And for that I take my hat off to residents and the former Mayor of Marikina.

I believe our country can still benefit much from the leadership of Mr. Fernando even if it is only in his capacity as an ordinary citizen. He should put in writing his vision and idea and style of leadership. It will be a book worth reading.

If the government and people of Marikina can do this, I wonder why other places in the country can't follow.