Lamentations (2)

(This column appears in today's edition of the Leyte-Samar Daily Express)

Hi there! It’s another weekend. So sorry to miss you (again) last Monday. I still do not have my TV back, and am I missing anything? Yup, it’s the news, Discovery and National Geographic channels. To look at it from a different angle, my TV conking out made me appreciate something that I have been missing for quite sometime, the feel and smell of newspaper.

Talking about the news. So he wanted to be king again. At least that’s what Erap supposedly said after wining his first round at the COMELEC. The acerbic in me tells me to keep my mouth shut and signal no comment.

I never met him, certainly he was not aware of my existence, but Serge Remonde is someone
that one can’t easily forget. I suppose his name also spells c-o-o-l. Grace under pressure, I think that’s one virtue that the late secretary would have wanted us in government service to imbue in our persons.

Ahh, Jason Ivler; and yes, Marlene. What a mother’s love can do. Suddenly I remember one line which more or less went this way: Mothers do not have to build monuments of glory, their sons have built it for them. I suppose the person who said (or wrote) that was referring to mothers of great, or at least good sons. Otherwise, let’s go back to the Ivler case.

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Let me now give you the continuation of that article I left you with last week. I referred to it as lamentations of an OFW. If you have been following the news; and if you have relatives working in Dubai, you must have taken notice of the news about the near economic flimflam of the said emirate. It’s that news which led me a blog post (I forgot the name of the blog site) of an OFW expressing sadness over his plight in that area of the U.A.E. I first didn’t know if I had to take it seriously, smile at it or take it with a grain of salt. I decided that I would like to share it with you. I call the article ‘lamentations of an OFW”. I guess the same thing can be said about our OFWs who are working in other parts of the world, especially those who were not able to make it land in lucrative jobs like others we know. Here’s the second part of that article:

“Akala nila masaya ka kase nagpadala ka ng picture mo sa Burj Al Arab, Desert Safari, mall of emirates, Atlantis, Al Mamzar Beach, at iba pang attractions. Ang totoo, kailangan mo ngumiti kase minsan minsan ka lang makakapicture para mapadala mo sa mga mahal mo sa buhay.
Akala nila malaki na ang kinikita mo kase dirham na sweldo mo. Ang totoo, medyo malaki pag pinalit mo ng peso, pero dirham din ang gastos mo sa Dubai. Ibig sabihin ang dirham mong kinita sa presyong dirham mo din gagastusin. Ang P15.00 na sardinas sa Pilipinas AED3.00 sa Dubai , ang isang pakete ng sigarilyo sa pilipinas P40.00, sa Dubai AED 6.50, alangan namang puro cafeteria food ang kakainin mo aba mamatay ka sa highblood o heap nyan kasi nga umaapaw na sa mantika madumi pa! Mga kadiri, kaya lang pag naubusan ka ng pera no choice you have to take the risk.

Akala nila buhay milyonaryo ka na kase ang ganda ng bahay at kotse mo, nag pa-lypo kay Calayan at nagparetoke kay Vicky Belo, Ang totoo nag loan ka lang sa Mashreq, HSBC o CITIbank na huhulugan mo ng limang taon. Ibig sabihin, alipin ka ng bahay at kotse mo at ng luho mo at ng bansang ito!! Kasi nga mag-loan ba naman dahil sa luho bwahahaha!

Madaming naghahangad na makarating sa Dubai. Lalo na mga nurses at mga medsec at eto pa pati cleaners, mahirap maging normal na manggagawa sa Pilipinas. Madalas pagod ka sa trabaho. Pag dating ng sweldo mo, kulang pa sa pagkain mo. Pero ganun din sa ibang bansa katulad lalo na kaya sa Dubai madaming outlet ng stress mo! kasi walang bawal!!! Hindi ibig sabihin dirham na ang sweldo mo, yayaman ka na, kailangan mo ding magbanat ng buto para mabuhay ka sa ibang bansa.

Isang malaking sakripisyo ang pag alis mo sa bansang pinagsilangan at malungkot iwanan ang mga mahal mo sa buhay. Hindi pinupulot ang pera dito o pinipitas o iniigib. Hindi ako naninira ng pangarap, gusto ko lang buksan ang bintana ng katotohanan.

Mahirap mangibang bayan…sino ba ang may kasalanan na iwan sariling bayan? Manilbihan sa dayuhan at malayo sa pamilya ay may kahirapan. Hangga’t may pinay DH na nangingibang-bayan na simbolo ng ating kahirapan, kawawang bayan ni Juan patuloy na mapag-iiwanan. Kaya Juan iwan ka ng pera para sayo, para sa kinabukasan mo!”

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Belated Birthday greetings to Fr. Bernard Comilan (January 18) and Berna Cañada (January 14).

Wedding Bells: Anthony Din (of Rosario, Northern Samar) will get married to Flor Jaropojop (of Trinidad, Calbayog city). Msgr. Leonardo Guadalquiver will preside over their wedding mass at the San Damiano Chapel at Christ the King College. Reception will be held at the Cardinal Rosales Hall of the Centennial Pastoral Center.

Manuel “Noling” Lebario and Segundina “Gunding” (Merencillo) Lebario clebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last Sunday (January 17). Fr. Dennis Espiritu presided over their wedding mass at the San Roque Chapel in Dagum, Calbayog City. Reception was held at The Venue in Payahan, Calbayog City

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This is it for now. Have a nice weekend everyone! Ciao!

imbestigador

(This column appears in today's edition of the Leyte-Samar Daily Express)

Hi there! It’s another week and we are days away to the 111th Philippine Independence Day. Don’t worry there is nothing about history in today’s column (goodness, I sound like I’m not a history major). First things first, so sad to miss you the past two weeks. Yup, the past weeks which saw some senators take a break from what they do best (please don’t tell me it’s law-making). Go Johnny go! Fight Nene fight! That’s all I can say on the debate (or was it an argument?) between the two senior members of the senate.

And today’s title? Nope, it’s not a tribute to Mike Enriquez. So you think the imbestigadors will let go of the Hayden scandal? Not in a million years, or at least in your lifetime and mine. No need for me to elaborate on the circus, err inquiry that happened, may buhusan-ng-tubig effect pa. Well, some guys have all the luck, I mean Hayden. He gets to pose almost nude in the website of a clinic (yum!); he gets attached to a celebrity; he gets to fu_k the girls many ordinary mortals can only dream of; and now he rules the internet. Oh well. And yes, he’s gorgeous! (Oops, smile it’s a new week!)

Love her or hate her. One of the interesting offshoots of Manny Pacquiao’s fame is Aling Dionesia. Whether you love her or you hate her, she is one such character. So what about her? It’s just that I was uneasy upon reading some reports poking fun at the person. Yup, she is never camera-shy, with theatrics and all. But let us look beyond. She is one woman who is reaping the sacrifices she made on her son.

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Mayor Mal Sarmiento is back from Barcelona, Spain. He was there for the High-Level Symposium on Cities, Climate Change and Finance. He was invited by the event organizers namely, the City of Barcelona, the Government of Spain and the World Bank.

The event was aimed at promoting dialogue around climate-friendly city development paths and facilitating knowledge exchange within and between relevant stakeholder groups - city mayors, senior officials from government and city networks, business leaders, multilateral development organizations, leading thinkers form academia and research - from developing and developed countries.

The symposium, in particular launched the "City Twinning for Carbon Finance Capacity Development" program, which will be assisted by CF-Assist, World Bank with the support of the Spanish government; and aims at fostering partnerships among cities for networking among peer and knowledge sharing on carbon finance in cities.

The event was held in conjunction with Carbon Expo 2009 held in Barcelona, Spain on May 27 - 29, 2009. Said expo featured the focal theme "Cities and Carbon Finance" in its official Conference and exhibition.

Mayor Sarmiento's expenses for this trip were paid for by the event organizers.

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A new school for Brgy. Guin-on. The DepEd and Calbayog SICAP Center held an inauguration and turn-over of the Guin-on Elementary School last Friday (June 5, 2009). The said school is a joint project of DepEd Calbayog and SICAP. Present in the affair were Mayor Mel Sarmiento, SICAP Center Administrator Rev. Daniel Kim and DepEd Calbayog Superintendent Edita Paculan.

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The International Justice Mission (IJM), an international NGO launched its Samar Anti-Trafficking Project on May 21, 2009 in Calbayog City.

As per info from PIA-Samar, the US State Department has awarded IJM a grant to create a satellite office in Calbayog City to combat child sex trafficking.

The event commenced with a motorcade and it was capped by a program at the Joggers covered court. Mayor Mel Sarmiento led the guests which included Bishop Isabelo Abarquez and DILG-Samar Director Jovito Lacaba, among others. GMA 7’s Love Añover was also present during the program.

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The Social Scene. 50th Wedding Anniversary. Congratulation and Best wishes to Mr. Isagani “Ganing” De Guzman and Mrs. Guadalupe “PingPing” De Guzman. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on May 27, 2009. The wedding mass at the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral was presided over by Fr. Ferdie Figueroa. Reception was held at the Cardinal Rosales Hall of the Centennial Pastoral Center.

25th Wedding Anniversary. Molly and Bebi Olasiman celebrated their Silver Wedding Anniversary last Tuesday (June 2, 2009). Fr. Prix Cajes, ofm presided over the Mass which was held at the CKC chapel. Reception was held at the Cardinal Rosales Hall of the Centennial Pastoral Center.

Just got married. Jardee De La Rosa and Dimple Dean got married on May 23, 2009. The wedding mass was held at the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral. Reception was held at the Cardinal Rosales Hall of the Centennial Pastoral Center.

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This is it for now. Have a nice week everyone! Ciao!

a world at peace

(This column appears in today's edition of the Leyte-Samar Daily Express)

Hi there! It’s another weekend. A rainy one I should say. But that should be no big deal, it’s sweldo time and that’s what matters.

Weeks ago, TV viewers around the world were treated to the good news about the butcher of Bosnia being brought to The Hague. A few days ago, we were treated to the spectacle of the Chinese opening the Olympic games (I suppose anti-Chinese groups call that spectacle a diversion, you know, the issue on Tibet, human rights and what have you).

While the friendly competition among the world’s best athletes (well, as far as we see or hear in the news, it is friendly competition), competition of a different sort is being reported in the news: Georgia and Russia (hmm, reminds me of the Reagan’s U.S. and Granada, that nation no larger than Samar Island); and on the homefront, trouble in the Southern Philippines (my apologies, but what else is new?). Do we add in Darfur and Zimbabwe and Iraq and Afghanistan? Man never learned. One TV reporter said it right by saying that war does not result on who’s right, it’s always on who is left; and there was this memorable line from the Oliver Stone movie Heaven and Earth: Wars produce nothing but cemeteries, and in the cemeteries there are no winners or losers, only dead people.

So, is it a case of man never learning lessons of the past? I don’t think so. If my memory serves me right, my soc sci professor gave a very interesting analysis on the art, err, business of war. Yup business. There is money in war. You take it from there.

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There is a war of a different kind going on in another part of the globe (well, it’s kinda near our part of the globe). It’s that friendly sports competition called the Olympics. Forget about the athletes, most of the gold medalists will end up rich with money that can outlast their lifetime.

How do you explain the issue about the cute girl lip-synching her part during the ceremonies? On the other hand, it was a spectacular spectacle (hindi ba redundant?) of telling Chinese history and of that country’s great contributions to civilization. And indeed they succeeded in telling that to the world in a span of three hours and in one giant venue using all those high-tech gadgets and what have you.

Now take this, did you notice that many parts of the ceremony had participants flying in midair in harnesses or whatever, the highlight of which was the torch bearer hanging on his side striding in midair to light the torch. Ahh, it’s that part which tempt me to say that the present Chinese culture is not one characterized by pirated stuff, but one that has the touches of or greatly influenced by John Woo and Jet Li. (Smile! It’s a weekend!)

And the Philippine Olympic team. I understand there is a cash prize of one million (in pesos? or in dollars?) for an Olympic gold medal. Whatever the currency is, there is something bothersome about it. Kasegurista man san naghatag. You think it’s a solution to whatever is ailing Philippine sports? If ever it is, it’s not a long term solution and if I may borrow a line said by a friend of mine, it’s a blind shot.

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Local history. Last week, I featured in this column a report from the August 21 1920 issue of the Eco de Samar y Leyte. It was about the death of the first Bishop of Calbayog. Let me give you an account on the funeral of Bishop Singzon. The event happened exactly 88 years ago tomorrow. That account written by someone who took the name of PEOPE was entitled: The Funeral of Mgr. Pablo Singzon. My corrections / comments are in parenthesis.

“His precious body was removed from the epsicopal chapel to the cathedral last Saturday afternoon and buried last Monday morning, August 16.

If my pen could only transmit to the ears of my readers like when I speak and if I could only describe exactly the mourning of the faithful sons of these two sister provinces (Samar and Leyte) for the painful lost of our most Illustrious prelate Mgr. Singzon I could better express and transmit to my kind readers, but, though my pen is unusable to do so owing to the scarcity of my language, I would only limit to tell with the following description:

In the sorrowful afternoon of last Saturday, the precious body of our old and beloved Bishop was solemnly removed from the chapel of the episcopal palace to the cathedral headed by His Illustris the Apostolic Delegate Mgr. Petrelli, the Auxiliary Bishop Mgr. Sofronio Hacbang attended by the secular and regular clergy, the Paulist Priests with the Seminarians and collegians of Saint Vincent of Paul College, the Rev. Mothers of charity with the college girls of Medalla Milagrosa, the pupils of the public school, the prominents of the town (prominent Calbayognons?) and a great crowd of pious of different societies. The corpse was placed on a gorgeous and splendid tomb around which hanged different crowns with symbolic flowers as mementos of love and sadness. Then began the ceremonies, after which His Illustris the Apostolic Delegate faced to the public with a smiling face and addressed words of great significant like when the father advises to his sons. In a humble tone he said: “This symbolic crowns of flowers which perch around that magnificent tomb will soon be withered and disappear; but there is one thing that I would recommend you all and which I think (is) the best (way) to show your love; and that is to offer a confession and a holy communion for the better and eternal repose of the soul of our old and beloved Bishop”

The day was sad so (were) the hearts of all the loyal sons of the diocese, for if it is true that it is painful for the sons to lose the fathers from their eyes from whom we owe their precious lives it is true also that the lose (loss) of our old Bishop causes us pain and sadness, because in him we owe gratitudes (gratitude) so as (does) the country too. It was Monday – the day designated for funerals by His most Illustris the Apostolic Delegate. In the morning of that day the funeral strikes of the church bell began, the painful sound of which seemed to penetrate and awaken the sleeping hearts of the people. In the episcopal throne there was seated His most Ilustris the Apostolic Delegate, in his right side was Mgr. Sofronio Hacbang the Auxiliary bishop, in the presbyterium were the deacons and subdeacons of honor with the Seminarians; around the tomb were the representatives of the secular and regular clergy. What a sublime and painful occasion it was! The harmonious voices of the famous Aurora moved the hearts of the people into a painful feeling; the gaily song of the singers leaded (led) by the Paulist Priests caused to swell the palpitation of sadness among the crowd. The funeral oration was charged to R.F. Pedro Pampliega whose eloquence called the attention of the public. In his oration he touched the life history of our lost and beloved prelate and the meritorious labors he had done in his diocese. After the episcopal mass said by His most Illustris the Apostolic Delegate the precious body of our beloved pastor was taken to the burial place which is located on the left side of the episcopal throne. Tears rolled down from the eyes of the crowd whose hearts were touched with a painful feeling! MAY THE SOUL OF OUR FATHER IN CHRIST REST IN PEACE.”

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The Social Scene. Zoie Casaljay Bernate, the newborn of John Rey and Salita Bernate will be baptized today at the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral.

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This is it for now. Have a nice weekend everyone! Ciao!

Olympics and money-making

(This column appears in today's edition of the Leyte-Samar Daily Express)

Hi there! First things first. Mayor Mel Senen Sarmiento will turn a year older today. Happy Birthday!

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Today is the feast of St. Clare. It’s another week and yup, in the next two weeks, sports enthusiasts will be glued to TV and what have you observing (and absorbing?) everything and anything that is offered by the greatest show on earth, a.k.a. the Olympic Games which opened to much fanfare last Saturday. Ahh, I loved the lighting of the torch. That was indeed something. But nothing beats the drama of the Barcelona games, remember the archer lighting the torch via an arrow he shot from the ground? Anyway, we wish our athletes well.

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So, what’s with today’s title? Much has been said about the game, and one that caught my attention was Businessweek’s account on security preparations, and well, some issues on the side. If I may feature a few lines from that report:

Even as the likes of McDonald's, Adidas, and Coca-Cola spend millions of dollars trumpeting their affiliation with the Beijing Olympics, a different group of multinationals is less eager for the spotlight. China is spending some $6.5 billion on security for the Games, and much of that has gone to foreigners. But given the sensitive nature of those contracts—and a skittishness over being perceived as supporting China's authoritarian government—these companies are often reluctant to discuss what they're doing or how much they're making. "We want to avoid answering sensitive questions," says a staffer in the Beijing office of Panasonic, which has sold surveillance cameras for use at the Games.

That doesn't mean these companies haven't been aggressive in courting business. General Electric, IBM, Honeywell, Siemens, Panasonic, and LG have all won major contracts providing security technology for the Olympics—one of the biggest security-business opportunities ever, and a shot at lots of ongoing business for those that get in early. The Chinese are laying out more than four times the $1.5 billion that Athens spent on security in 2004, says the Security Industry Assn., a Washington trade group.

The hefty increase is due in part to the immense size of the 2008 Games. Beijing alone has 31 Olympic venues; six other cities—the most ever for an Olympics—will play host to soccer, equestrian events, and sailing. In attendance will be 10,000 athletes, 30,000 journalists, and more than 80 heads of state, including George W. Bush and France's Nicolas Sarkozy. "Hosting the Games is, in the context of the U.S., like having two Super Bowls every day for 16 days," says Harvey W. Schiller, chairman of New York risk consultant GlobalOptions Group and a former executive director of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Beijing's legitimate concerns about terrorism also are behind the big spending. On Aug. 4 two men attacked a group of policemen in western China, killing 16 of them. So China has deployed 34,000 People's Liberation Army soldiers and more than 75,000 other security personnel to keep an eye on the Games. Anti-aircraft missiles are in place around the "Bird's Nest" stadium, the centerpiece of the Olympics. And Beijing's airport was scheduled to shut down during the Aug. 8 opening ceremonies in the stadium. "Safety is our top concern here," Vice-President Xi Jinping said while touring Olympic venues on July 21.

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So, what’s my take on the games? There is money and the chance of making money in the games. Surely, gold medalists will be in for something more aside from the honor or accolades – the chance to endorse products and earn dollars, millions of it – and that’s where the real fun will be.

On the money spent to stage the party, I won’t say that it could have been better spent somewhere like helping the poor or helping the environment or promoting peace. I don’t think it can help. Evita (or, the composer) was right, or at least being realistic with this line from the musicale: “(the problem) from war to pollution, no hope of a solution, even if I lived for one hundred years.”

On the other hand, the green-eyed monster in me (read: drooling with envy) can only look at the stars and hope for the day when the country of Juan De La Cruz could do the same thing that the Chinese did last week. In the meantime, while we can’t do what the Chinese (or any Olympic city for that matter) did, let’s look for Gold, or well, I guess, Bronze will do (hey! It’s the Olympics!).

And yes, world leaders flew to Beijing to party, err, wish their athletes well, I’ll have my take on that next issue.

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Congratulations and Best Wishes to Councilor Monmon Uy and Angie Llever. They got married last Saturday. Fr. Bloi Guiuan presided over the Nuptial Mass which was held at the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral. The groom walked down the aisle with his mother and Congressman Reynaldo Uy. The principal sponsors included Mayor Mel Sarmiento, Vice Governor Jesus Redaja, BM Pamela Fortaleza, among others. Reception was held at the TTMIST Socio-Cultural Center.

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Let me leave you something to ponder about this week. I got this via email (and yup, it reminded of one of the issues in the U.S. elections. This poem was nominated as the best poem of 2006, Written by an African Kid:

When I born, I black
When I grow up, I black
When I go in Sun, I black
When I scared, I black
When I sick, I black
And when I die, I still black

And you white fellow
When you born, you pink
When you grow up, you white
When you go in sun, you red
When you cold, you blue
When you scared, you yellow
When you sick, you green
And when you die, you gray
And you calling me colored??

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This is it for now. Have a nice week everyone! Ciao!