NAMFREL 2004 Operations

I would like to thank and honor the NAMFREL volunteers in Davao City last May 2004 for their courage, hard work, professionalism and dedicated service for the country. Far more than just a citizen's quick count, the operation was a success due to the outpouring of citizenry's desire to have a fair and honest elections.

Here are the glimpses of courageous faces, the unsung heroes of the modern time:


One of the Press Conferences at the Finster Multipurpose Room


One of the Executive Meetings at the Basement Headquarters


Special Christmas Party of Secretariat last December 2004


Thanksgiving Rest and Recreation with Bobby Orig at Samal Island

For more pictures, visit here

Roughcut at Kanto Bar: MC350

MC350 Nonlinear Video Editing Class presents their MTVs at Kanto Bar-Matina Town Square last February 24, 2005. Click below for more pictures.

An Invitation

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for, and if you
dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love,
for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon.
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow,
if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled
and closed from fear of further pain. I want to know
if you can sit with pain, mine or your own,
without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or
your own, if you can dance with wildness and
let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers
and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be
realistic, to remember the limitations of being
human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling
me is true. I want to know if you can
disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear
the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own
soul; if you can be faithless and therefore
trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty, even
when it's not pretty, everyday, and if you can source
your own life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours
and mine, and still stand on the edge of the
lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes!"

It doesn't interest me to know where you live
or how much money you have. I want to know if
you can get up, after the night of grief and despair,
weary and bruised to the bone, and do what
needs to be done to feed the children.

It doesn't interest me who you know or how
you came to be here. i want to know if you will
stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink
back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with
whom you have studied. I want to know what
sustains you, from the inside, when all else
falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep in
the empty moments.

Oriah Mountain Dreamer, from the book The Invitation
published by Harper SanFrancisco, 1999
www.oriahmountaindreamer.com

The Controversial Video: Ethel Booba

The previous week, the controversy hit the tv news and dailies: Ethel Booba alleged video was circulating in the net and in the airwaves (through cell phones with either Bluetooth or Infrared device). A quick search in the net using googles was a-plenty of sites featuring free downloads of the video. Ethel denied it was her video.

This led so many people to ask ... was the video for real? Or that was just a hoax foisted by sleazy people eager to gain quick cash in the net.



And now you are more interested.... You, you, you.

"And because you do not believe in my nobility of soul you think to purchase me with money?" she said. The Gambler, Chapter V Fyodor Dostoyevsky

I saw this link from a praning.com chatroom that led directly to a downloadable file. Tsk tsk tsk. What a sad day for families involved, another life broken. Rubbish.

Mass Communications

Some of my students in nonlinear video editing.

Meet the Kalasagers

Dinhing dapita sa Ateneo,
Adunay usa ka banggiitang grupo;
Mga miyembro nay nagkadaiyang talento,
Ug siyempre pa maanyag ug ambongan kaayo.


Sugdan nato sa among pangulo,
Usa ka maanyag nga dagang bibi;
Matinabangon ug chicks pa jud kaayo;
Way lain kundi si Coise na to....

Kung sapi ang istoryahan,
Si Myka imong kinahanglan;
Basta amigo mo way angay kabalak-an,
Tanang imong maibugan, ipa-O.R. niya tanan.
(Joke, joke, joke!)

Dinhi na pud ta sa mga litrato,
Ayaw baya'g kumpyansa kung ginpangisi kag todo;
Basin ang gi-picturan tapad ra nimo,
Kung sa picture, wa kay ulo, si Nites sad-an nimo.

Dinhi pud baya diro taong balaknon,
Sa mga tula ug sulat siya mabalantayon;
Basin pati kani iyang sawayon,
Nathan, patalikda sa ko una ko nimo libakon...
(hehehe)

Kini siya ang ulo sa tana, kon toooot na gani hisgutan,
Tall, medyo dark ... hand... ay buotan;
Ian Fel iya pangalan a.k.a. Freudian,
Kung naa kay tuyo dapat nimo siya pahinumduman.

Karon gidungagan ang lima ka batikan,
Walo ka binuhat ang napilian;
Ang opisina nahimo bag-ong tambayanan,
Saba na kaayo kon magtapoktapok tanan.

Magsugod ta kay Inday Palad, ay, May diay,
Tabian, abtik seryoso usahay;
Sa pagka-green di jud siya makalikay,
Secret founder man tingali ka sa AGS day!

Si Jackie usab bayhanang talentado,
Sa pagbuhay ug tula hawd kaayo;
Sa mga trabaho wa siyag reklamo,
Naa kay plano pulihan si Coise no?
(Hehehe)

Naa pud diay mi Star in a Million,
Talagsa kang siya masakpan sa opis intawon;
Mga allergies niya murag plano padaghanon,
Unsaon lami man jud daw ang bawal kaonon.
(O, ayaw tagai ug laing meaning ha!)

Tawag namo kay Ina, bugasera,
Pero wala mo kabalo dapat Reina Lakwatsera;
Tabian, ug Garfield ingon sila,
Apan kanako, Catwoman ka.
(Kung makapiyong akong mata!!! Hehehe)

Si Jaypee, Junior 1 na ang ngalan,
Sa office siya suki masuguan;
Pero ok lang kay taas daw iyang ... salabotan;
Malingaw na dayon siya basta imong picturan.

Si Junior 2, Alvin ang tinuod nga ngalan,
Daghang chicks maski dili ana kaambongan;
Sa iyaha, unsa kaha ang nakit-an?
Tingali ... ang iyang .. dako... nga kasingkasing sa tanan?
(Bhen, ayaw kasuko ha!)

Si Marianne ang pinakalingaw sa tanan,
Sa videoke andam makipaglaban;
Ang tanan pwede daw masabutan,
Pero sa negosyo "walang kaikaibigan."!
(Upa ka newsprint, piso lang!)

Ug ako inyong uyamot nga ulipon,
Tabian usahay, usahay sapoton;
Ayaw katingala kon mohilum nako dayon,
Tambal lang ana, pagkaon.
(wish ko lang manaba ko...)

Karon inyong naabi-abi,
Mga miyembro sa Kalasag dinhi;
Sa kamera ayaw kaayo'g ngisi,
Kon sa yearbook di ka gusto ma-starring pirmi.

(So, sa gusto mag-react, react lang... isulat tapos ibutang dayon sa pigeon hole sa Kalasag Office para naa sad koy mabasa. Hehehe!)

-April

A Genius Bids Farewell

A GENIUS BIDS FAREWELL

If for an instant God were to forget that I am a rag doll and gifted me
with a piece of life, possibly I wouldn't say all that I think, but
rather I would think of all that I say.


I would value things, not for their worth but for what they mean. I
would sleep little, dream more, understanding that for each minute we
close our eyes we lose sixty seconds of light.

I would walk when others hold back, I would wake when others sleep. I
would listen when others talk, and how I would enjoy a good chocolate
ice cream! If God were to give me a piece of life, I would dress
simply, throw myself face first in the sun, baring not only my body but
also my soul.

My God, if I had a heart, I would write my hate on ice, and wait for
the sun to show. Over the stars I would paint with a Van Gogh, dream a
Benedetti poem, and a Serrat song would be the serenade I'd offer to
the moon.

With my tears I would water roses, to feel the pain of their thorns,
and the red kiss of their petals!

My God, if I had a piece of life, I wouldn't let a single day pass
without telling people I love that I love them.

I would convince each woman and each man that they are my favorites,
and I would live in love with love. I would show men how very wrong
they are to think that they cease to be in love when they grow old, not
knowing that they grow old when they cease to be in love!

To a child I shall give wings, but I shall let him learn to fly on his
own.

I would teach the old that death does not come with old age, but with
forgetting. So much have I learned from you, oh men!

I have learned that everyone wants to live on the peak of the mountain,
without knowing that real happiness is in how it is scaled.

I have learned that when a newborn child squeezes for the first time
with his tiny fist his father's finger, he has him trapped forever.

I have learned that a man has the right to look down on another only
when he has to help the other get to his feet.

From you I have learned so many things, but in truth they won't be of
much use, for when I keep them within this suitcase, unhappily shall I
be dying.

I hope you dance

I HOPE YOU DANCE
by Lee Ann Womack

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small when you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances but they're worth taking
Lovin' might be a mistake but it's worth making
Don't let some hell bent heart leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out, reconsider
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)

I hope you still feel small when you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
Dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
I hope you dance
(Where those years have gone)

(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)

Bagong Taon 2005

Dumaan na ang 2004. Lumipas na ang nakaraan. Hayaan ninyong gunitain ko ang mga nangyaring mahalaga sa nakalipas na buwan:

Disyembre 2004
Sa antas institusyunal
- nagkaroon ng bagong presidente ang Ateneo de Davao University, si Padre Antonio S. Samson, S.J. (presidente rin siya ng Xavier University);
- naging Asst. Dean ng School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) si Elvi Tamayo;
- naging Dean ng SAS si Dr. Regina Q. Pimentel;
- nailimbag sa unang pagkakataon ng ADDU Planner sa tulong nina Igy Castrillo, Pam Castrillo, Bobby Ching at Ali Figueroa;
- naging matagumpay ang 2004 Alumni Homecoming sa "The Venue";
- napirmahan ang bagong CBA sa pagitan ng pamantasan at ng unyon;


Sa antas na personal
- nagkita kami ni Tonette (Lapus), kaibigan noong nasa ADMU pa;
- narinig kong magpapakasal na si Geoderick E. Carbonel ngayong ika-5 ng Enero 2005;
- may batch reunion ang Philo/ Pre-Div 1993 sa Baguio (sayang di ako makakapunta;
- nakausap ko na rin si Joanne Jesena (pamangkin ni Fr. JJ Jesena), kaibigan rin;
- nagkita rin kami ni Dr. Ginny Ann Bacaltos sa Ateneo Alumni Homecoming;
- naging masaya ang pagsasalo ng mga kamag-anak sa Puan kasam ang mga Balagtas at Salaver
- nagkita rin kami ng doktor ko noong college kung nagkakasakit ako, si Fr. Manny de Belen, SJ;
- nakapunta ako sa Xavier University, nakilala si Custard;
- naranasan ko na rin ang Maria Cristina falls, ang Tinago Falls (na isinara na dahil nalugi, balita ko ang Land Bank of the Philippines na ang may-ari);
- nakita na rin si Fr. Cal Poulin, S.J. (dating SD sa San Jose), Fr. George Esguerra, S.J. (dating Dean ng ADDU), Fr. Nil Guillemit, S.J. (dating guro sa Greek); Fr. Terry Barcelon, S.J. (dating presidente ng ADDU);
- nagkita rin ang mga Josefino sa kaarawan ng anak ni Nonoy Tomacruz kahapon, Jan 2, 2005 sa Harana: sina Toots Bunachita at ang anak na si Aedan, si Paul Pernia at ang asawa, sina Jon at Salve Gales kasama ang anak na si Diwani Maria "Diwa", si Tristan at Pinky Pineda kasama si Colette;

Dreams in Bethlehem

Dreams in Bethlehem*
by Roque Ferriols, SJ

What are your dreams my little king,
asleep on the manger straw?
Are you dreaming of play
'mid stars in a swing
That cherubs rock to and fro?

But from his cheek rolls a little tear
and angels whisper in my ear,
"He is dreaming of saving you."

(*From Fr. Eric Castro AB Pre Div 1992)

Gitara, Lapis, atbp.

Davao City. The Philippine Business for Social Progress held its annual membership meeting at Marco Polo Hotel today. My office was invited to showcase the Muslim Bridging Program dubbed as "Ateneo Human Resource Training for Muslim and Lumad." The program actually is an assistance/grant for poor Muslim and Lumad in Ateneo de Davao University.

Different corporations also featured their interventions to the dismal situation of education in Mindanao, especially ARMM where 69% of the population lived below poverty threshold with the lowest literacy rate for decades. Foremost of the companies which presentd their programs as corporate citizens were Philam Life represented by Max Ventura, SMART COmmunications represented by Mon Isberto, Microsoft Philippines, and PNOC.

I made a 10 minute documentary of the Ateneo program which ran in looping mode for the entire day. It featured our annual seven million pesos scholarship grant for poor kids in Mindanao, with preferential option for the poorest Muslim and Lumad. Our Muslim scholars who manned the booths complained that they had memorized already the script of the documentary! Just imagine watching it 54 times in a day?

On the last part of the business meeting, there was this Grade 5 kid from Lamitan who made a speech in Tagalog. It was a very moving speech of gratitude. I was mesmerized that aside from initiatives exerted by the private sector and NGOs, still the devastation and havoc done by war and violence had made this child's future a dream. Her innocence had been stolen from her. And this was just a single child with a dream for a better world, a peaceful Basilan. What more if we are talking of communities in Mindanao, displaced and homeless because of war?

And this child fights to make her dreams come true. She told her mother, "Nay, mag-aaral ako kahit wala akong lapis at papel." Her mother had to laundry the child's only uniform every day so she could go to school. Her mother had to borrow money so she could have a baon of dried fish for school. Other times, "Di ako makapasok dahil basa pa ang uniporme ko. Minsan, may tuyo para sa kanin, minsan walang tuyo ni kanin." She had to share her book in school with three other kids.

And this kid was shy. But now she speaks to CEOs and company presidents, cabinet members of the government, leaders of local government units, presidents of schools and universities. She further said, "Noon mahiyain ako. Yan ang ako NOON. Sino naman ako NGAYON. Di na mahiyain dahil meron na akong dalawang uniporme. May mga tao na nagdala ng mga gamit isang araw sa amin. Sabi ng titser ko, iskolar daw ako. May dala silang lapis, papel, may bag pa."

She spoke for 15 minutes without faltering. She memorized out from her heart her speech. Her voice was penetratingly groping for a glimmer of hope from the heart of each one in audience. In closing, she shouted "Mabuhay ang Pilipino!"

She was burning with hope.

I still believe in dreams. But what I was hearing was not a dream. It was a dream come true.

xxx

There will be concert in Davao by Noel Cabangon and Joey Ayala, come December for the benefit of these children in Mindanao. CDs will be released three weeks from now, titled "GITARA, LAPIS, ATBP" featuring original compositions of two artists for the education of poor children in Mindanao. If you buy a CD, it will cover a month of school supplies of one child. Visit www.pbsp.org.ph for more details.

If you want to support other poor scholars who are now in the tertiary level, you can buy christmas cards from Ateneo de Davao University (c/o Elvi Tamayo). A card (Php 20.00 or US$0.45) covers a meal for a hungry scholar in Ateneo.

PAGPAPASYA AT PAGPAPAUBAYA

PAGPAPASYA AT PAGPAPAUBAYA

Suntok sa Buwan. Ika-19 ng Oktubre, 2004. Mahalaga ang araw na ito sa Ateneo de Davao. Bukod sa ikalimang araw mula sa pagsisimula ng Ramadan, isa rin itong pagbabalik-tanaw sa labindalawang taong pamamalagi ko sa Davao City. Dumating ako dito noong Mayo 1993, kasama ang dalawa kong kaklase: sina Geo Carbonell at Eric Abriam.

Tanda ko pa noong buwang iyon, abala ako sa paghahanda sa bagong yugto ng aking buhay: buhay pagtuturo habang nagmumunimuni ukol sa mahalagang pagpapasya na gagawin sa buhay. Oo nga. Sa Davao ang lugar ng pagpapasya, minsan pagpapasyang tigib sa pasanin ngunit nagpapalaya.

Ngayon, katatapos lang semestre. Nagpapahilom ng sugat ang Ateneo. Ngunit ang sugatan ay kailangan ring bumangon at magpatuloy. Kailangang harapin ang susunod na yugto ng buhay. Ang halaga ay nasa abot tanaw. Hindi ang pananatili sa putik ng pagsisi at sisihan.

Ewan ko kung anong mangyayari sa bukas. Ang bukas ay pinapaubaya sa kamay ng Maykapal, na may hawak ng kapalaran, ang Maykapal(aran). Hindi ba ang gaan ng pasya ay nasa dulo nito .... magpasya at magpaubaya.

Ganyan ng pag-aasawa. Magpasya at magpaubaya.

A Tribute to Serafin Dinsay

Serafin Dinsay was a friend way back in 1985-86 in St. Augustine Academy, Bayawan, Negros, Oriental. These news came as a shock to me two months ago after I searched his name in the net. The search was out of curiosity, from a desire to get connected with former classmates and friends. Here are the unfortunate news I have copied from the Visayan Daily Star:

THE VISAYAN DAILY STAR [May 10, 2002]
Four killed in payroll holdup
BY JUDY FLORES & ALEX PAL

The paymaster and two others government employees as well as a resident of Sta. Catalina town were killed by about three still unidentified gunmen, in what was tagged as a payroll robbery in barangay Maninihon, Bayawan Negros Oriental, at about 3 p.m. yesterday.


Initial reports from Sta. Catalina identified three of the fatalities as paymaster Librado Dagat, bookkeeper Winnie Capunong, 42, and Serafin Dinsay, 30, driver of the town's L-300 van.

All three were employed at the Municipal Treasurer's Office of the town. The fourth victim, Virginia Edrial, 52, was a midwife who had hitched a ride from Bayawan.

The victims were returning to Sta. Catalina after withdrawing P372,000 from the Land Bank in Bayawan City when they were stopped by two men armed with .45 caliber pistols.

Provincial Attorney Erwin Vergara said that after the victims were divested of the payroll money, they were brought by the suspects to barangay Omod, in Bayawan City, about five kilometers away, where they were shot to death. The suspects fled on two motorcycles, described as a black Honda TMX 155 motorcycle and a blue Kawasaki motorcycle, towards Mabinay town.

A witness called the police to report the incident. The bloodied bodies of the victims were found inside the van which was abandoned in the middle of a sugarcane field. The victims had been shot in various parts of their bodies.

The glass on the right door of the van was shattered and its door riddled with bullets.

Sta. Catalina Police Chief Sr. Insp. Crescenciano Pagnanawon said it was possible that the motorcycles and one of the robbers had been waiting in the sugarcane field, in preparation for their getaway.

PNP Provincial Director Sr. Supt. Drusillo Bolodo immediately ordered hot pursuit operations and the setting up of checkpoints in the towns of Mabinay, Bayawan, Basay, Pamplona and other towns in southern Negros Oriental.

Bolodo, who immediately went to the crime scene, also ordered the PNP Crime Laboratory to proceed to the area to gather fingerprints, that could be used to identify the suspects.

Raymundo Ybanez, OIC of the Provincial Treasurer's Office of Negros Oriental, said it was also possible that the suspects were known to the victims, so they were all killed to prevent identification.* (with reports from Romy Amarado)

THE VISAYAN DAILY STAR [May 10, 2002]
Cops eye local boys in Bayawan rob-slay

BAYAWAN CITY, Negros Oriental -- The Police are pursuing leads indicating the possible involvement of local boys in the Wednesday daytime robbery-slay in Sitio Kamandagan, Barangay Maninihon in Bayawan City that left four government workers of Sta. Catalina town dead.

Provincial Police Director Supt. Drusillo Bolodo said that initial police investigation had identified at least one of the suspects as a resident of Bayawan City.

Bolodo, however, did not reveal any names as hot pursuit operations continue in the hinterlands of southern and central Negros Oriental, where the suspects are believed to have exited from the crime scene.

Spearheading the police investigation are Bayawan Police Chief C/Insp. Alexander Gaudiano and Sta. Catalina Police Chief Sr. Insp Cresenciano Pagnanawon.

On Wednesday, the police said witnesses saw at least two armed men on board the government-owned white L-300 van that carried the four Sta. Catalina municipal workers, speeding along a dirt road up into the interior barangay of Maninihon.

What had attracted the attention of many witnesses was that while the vehicle was moving, the door to the driver's seat was open with an armed man seated close to the driver.

A witness phoned the police while the robbery was still in progress.

The van, with the four dead people inside, was found abandoned near a sugarcane field about six kilometers from the national highway in Sitio Kamandagan minutes later after the witnesses initially saw it speeding past then.

Police and forensic experts from the Negros Oriental PNP Crime Laboratory found empty shells, slugs, and live, expended but warped bullets of .45 caliber from the crime scene.

Ballistic tests are now being conducted even as PCCL Chief Sr. Insp. Alet Virtucio says he believes at least two .45 caliber pistols were used by the suspects.

Except for the driver who sustained two bullet wounds to the face and the upper left portion of his back, the other victims succumbed to a single gunshot wound either to the head or neck.

Killed in Wednesday's rob-slay were Sta. Catalina municipal treasurer's office workers, Serafin Dinsay, Librado Dagat and Winnie Capunong and the local government midwife Virginia Edrial.

Meanwhile, agents of the National Bureau of Investigation in Dumaguete City are now taking DNA samples from personal belongings that were recovered by the police at the juncture of the national highway and the dirt road that led to the crime scene.

Police believe these items belonged to the suspects who may have changed into military attire before they pulled the heist.

A cartographer from the NBI in Bacolod City was also scheduled to arrive in Bayawan City yesterday afternoon to talk to witnesses.

Cartographic sketches of the suspects will be released to the public soon even as Bayawan and Sta. Catalina local officials are set to discuss the possibility of putting up reward money for information leading to the arrest of the killers.*JSF

THE VISAYAN DAILSY STAR [August 2, 2002]
Rebel official under probe for Bayawan holdup-slays
BY VICTOR CAMION

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group is now investigating the alleged connivance of a top official of the Revolutionary Proletarian Army Alex-Boncayao Brigade with two of the three persons accused in the Bayawan hold-up slay.

The probe had been based on reports that the two suspects are now the RPA-ABB top officials, who have refused to turn them over to the police. One of the three suspects surrendered to the police a few days after the incident.

P/Insp. Crisaleo Tolentino said they are also looking into the motive of the report, as this could either help come up with the real picture of justice or destroy the peace agreement between the government and the group.

The CIDG said they still believe in the credibility of the group but added that nobody is above the law.

If the report is true, the respondents will be charged for obstruction of justice and for harboring criminals. Provincial Intelligence PNCO SPO3 Herbert Arinaza, in a separate interview, said they also received reports that the amount taken by the hold-uppers in Bayawan was divided into three. "The first 50 percent was supposed to have gone to the regional command of the group, 25 percent supposedly went to the district command, and the remaining 25 percent was allotted for operations.

RPA-ABB Regional Commanding Officer Reynaldo Mallari had earlier offered help to Provincial Director P/Sr. Supt. Drusillo Bolodo in nabbing the suspects.

Mallari also admitted that the three suspects, Raul Villar alias Ka Drilon, the Amaro brothers, Julio and Jaime, were all former members of the RPA-ABB but are under disciplinary action.

The three are now facing charges of robbery with multiple homicide. During the Bayawan hold-up slay they took more than P300,000 in payroll money.

Killed during the incident were Sta. Catalina municipal employee paymaster Librado Dagat, bookkeeper Winnie Capunong, driver Serafin Dinsay and hitchrider Virginia Edrial, a midwife. *VC

Joys and Sorrows: High School Friends/Classmates

This is one of the unusual days. I happened to contact one of my high school classmates way back in 1985-86 at Bayawan, Negros Oriental, Misailah Renacia-Evardo. My last contact of her was when she phoned in 1999, she was getting married at that time in Dumaguete City. Yesterday, I got Ian Espartero's message from Friendster that he was from Bayawan and knew a lot of people from there. After a few exchanges of messages, I got Joy Guevarra's email address, Sr. Marcelle de la Cruz, AR email address [she was our school directress in St. Augustine Academy at that time] and Misai's cell phone number.

I also remembered Marlo Mariño and Serafin Dinsay who were my close barkadas at that time. Unfortunately Serafin was murdered last 2002, I just knew it this year after I search the net: Four Killed in Payroll Holdup. May he rest in peace.

It will be very nice to see old classmates in Bayawan, visit some places there. Bayawan was a memorable place for me. I was there when Evelio Javier was murdered, I was there when EDSA revolution happened. The locus of my young formation was St. Augustine Academy. It was a Giancaldo in the Cinema Paradiso. It opened possibilities for my young mind and heart.

I was assigned to St. Agnes first year class. I was in the second row, last seat to the left of Mrs. Cynthia Villarin class. Since I came from Western Visayas, I did not speak Cebuano. After three weeks, I was speaking Cebuano, thanks to the eloquent speakers like Serafin Dinsay, Misailah, Joy Guevara, Chanet Moncal, and the quiet Marlo Mariño, Maria Aileen Ege, and Dom Pantalita. I had also some classmates who spoke Ilonggo, I think his name was Alvin. And most of all, Sr. Noemi Manzano, who spoke broken Cebuano mixed with Tagalog (sounds like Davao saksak sinagol).

I could remember faces, but names I could not. Some vivid faces: a tall dark girl from Sta. Catalina who really spoke good bisaya, Kristine Armstrong (we got some exchanges of emails before, and I learned she married a Mexican surmaned Carlos), the Carcasonas, the lanky male twins, Edson Teologio whose mother was teaching in SAA, Marilou Oro (my neighbor in NONAS, I lived inside NONAS.).

Misai, pls supply some names... please.....

Meron na meron

Padre Roque J. Ferriols, SJ: Guro, gabay, liwanag at higit sa lahat, kaibigan

Magtatanong tayo, si Padre Roque, nagteteks? Oo naman. Kung babasahin mo ang unang yugto ng kanyang Pilosopiya ng Relihiyon, bukod sa umaapaw ito ng pagtatalakay sa hiwaga ng presensiya at pakikipagtagpo, hindi maiiwasan ng tao na makipagtagpo sa kapwa tao katawan sa katawan, diwa sa diwa. Ang telepono ay sangkap na materyal, ngunit sa pamamag-itan nito, naipapamalas ng tao ang kanyang presensiya sa kapwang nasa malayo, diwa-sa-diwa, habang sa lalim ng kalooban andoon ang pagnanasa na sana man lamang makatagpo ang kapwang nasa malayo sa isang harap-harapang pakikipagkapuwa; diwa sabay katawan.

Nanaisin kong sipiin ang sumusunod mula sa Pilosopiya ng Relihiyon, pahina 14:

Si Alyosha ay nagdadalamhati sa kamatayan ng kanyang minamahal na guro. Itinuturing siyang santo ng mga tao, kaya 't inaasahan niya na hindi mabubulok ang kanyang bangkay. Nagbulong-bulungan ang mga tao. Nalungkot si Alyosha, hindi dahil sa pagkabulok, kundi dahil sa mga bulong-bulungan. Doon siya nakadanas ng hieropaniya: na ang buong buhay makalupa, hanggang sa nakalilitong dalamhati nito, ay pagsasaatin ng banal. Nakatulog siya sa lamay at napanaginipan niya ang namatay. Noong nagising siya, tumayo siya at lumabas sa mabituin na gabi.


"Ang katahimikan ng lupa ay parang naghahalo sa katahimikan ng langit. Ang hiwaga ng lupa at ang hiwaga ng mga bituin ay nagkaisa.

Tumayo si Alyosha, tumanaw at bigla siyang napataub sa lupa. Hindi niya malaman kung bakit niya niyakap ang lupa. Hindi niya masabi kung bakit niya hindi mapigilan ang kanyang pagnanais na halikin ang lupa, halikin ang buong lupa. Hinalik niya ang lupa, umiiyal, humihikbi, dinidiligan ang kanyang luha. At taos puso niyang isinumpa na iibigin niya ang lupa, iibigan niya magpakailanman."

Salin ni Padre Roque sa "The Brothers Karamazov" ni Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Fyodor: Ang Hiwaga ng Buhay

Sa bawat yugto ng buhay minsan, kailangan ng inspirasyon. Ito ang bumubuhay tuwing tuyo na ang bukal at balon. Oo nga, hindi naman ako nadadala ng tukso na mawalan ng pag-asa, ni ng paggagayuma ng kawalan ng pag-asa. Ngunit ang mahalaga sa lahat, buhay ang binhing nagpapatuloy na mag-paalab sa puso, kahit na nasa krisis (ang Pilipinas?). sa isang saglit, nagbabago ang anyo ng buhay kung susubukan kong tingnan uli ang mga ito:

Morning Moods

I have to shoot ASAP some pictures for Fr. Daniel Ross SJ, the executive secretary of ASEACCU and JCEA. Here they are:


Finster and Canisius Halls


University Chapel



Finstel Hall along Roxas Avenue

All Rights Reserved 2004

Yugto ng Pakikipagkaibigan

As I browsed through the internet sites, I accidentally saw this long missing article Tag-araw ng Pakikipagkaibigan: Yugto ng Pamamahinga published in Tambuli ng Maralita in its original form. Thanks to the Center for Southeast Asian Studies-Northern Illinois University for putting the article online.

All Rights Reserved 2004

The Rubbish of Men

Now rain spattered in at the window from the trees and bushes, and it was as dark as a cellar, so that it was barely possible to distinguish objects as faintly darker patches in the blackness. Svidrigaylov , stooping down and leaning with his elbows on the sill, stared into the obscurity for a full five minutes. Through the gloom of the night sounded a cannon shot, then another.

Ah, the signal! The water is rising, he thought. Towards morning, in the lower parts of the town, it will swirl through the streets and flood the basements and cellars, the sewer rats will come up to the surface, and amid the rain and the wind people will begin, dripping wet and cursing, to drag their rubbish to the upper floors...

Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment, Part VI, Chapter 6

All Rights Reserved 2004

For Fyodor from Chisdes

Do you do or think you do?
And if you only think you did,
Did you do what you wanted to?

Body in action does mind's bid,
But not if mind doesn't stop.
Is thought in action hid?

Do you worry if it will flop?
Hesitate for twenty years;
Don't be a soldier or cop.

Such, with purpose, never veers;
With deed, fully alive.
But what use with no fears

If unaware of own strive?
Why bother to even be?
Why bother to thrive?

But if only hear and see,
Contemplate what it's all about,
Questions alone can't make free

To do, to go, to shout.
Do you do or think you do?
"I think, therefore I doubt."

All Rights Reserved 2004