The Grand Engagament of Romance and Politics

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They had made it public alas, at a time when so many politicians especially those who are aspiring for the highest position in our land are mustering all their efforts and riches to make their names register on the short attention span and memory of the voting public and hopefully get their precious votes too come May 2010 without shedding any additional cash. And others are burning thousands of cash to speed their way to Las Vegas to watch the fight of Pacman vs. Hatton leaving all their desks at the House of Representatives languishing with dusts and mites.

Senator Mar Roxas and veteran ABS-CBN broadcaster Korina Sanchez are now engaged.

This has long been known. But the grand scheme of things according to the political scriptwriter of Sen. Roxas has to make the right timing I think. And obviously now is the right time when the administration is at its lowest satisfaction and trust rating, and strong contenders Sen. Villar and Sen. Lacson are stabbing each other in the Senate floor.

Surely the wedding will not be as silent and secret compared to Juday and Ryan that has surprised and frustrated many of the devout members of Judaism including my good blogger friend Yatot.

They made the announcement during the noontime show Wowowee that not only ironically reminds me of Willie Revillame being the most powerful showbiz personality in the country today earning about 1 million pesos everyday, but also of the so many precious hopeless poor souls of the tragic Wowowee stampede still screaming for the elusive justice to come their way. Justice is not yet served but Revillame and all ABS-CBN executives are still on the loose racking in millions, capitalizing from the desperation of the masses.

And after some special moments of exchanging “how much I love you”, tears ran through the cheeks of Sen. Roxas. How sweet. And to put icing on the cake, he donated 10 pedicabs to Wowowee to be given as prices for the poor (you can watch the video here at Carlo Ople’s blog and of Sen. Roxas
blog). Sweeter? Hmmm…All part of the romantic script. I just hope that these pedicabs will not bring another stampede in Philippine TV.

With the engagement of Sen. Roxas and Korina Sanchez, the tide and hue of the race to the highest post of the land would also be changing significantly. Presidentiables are already battling it out against one another, opening cans of worms, eating them and spiting to their opponents to the media’s delight. Millions of money that sadly may have come from the coffer of the public are already circulating through expensive TV commercials; once again to the media outfits’ delight. What I am trying to say is that we are already rowing on the murky side of the political water this early; and once again the media parties like hell.

Before Sen. Mar’s engagement, his political ambition is already known even to those who are totally passive about political exercises and discussions. However, there is a good question that was raised: Will the public vote for a president who is single, no wife or children? Is the public ready to have a presidential palace with no first lady? A bachelor president?

This significant question I must say should have also been a strong and important consideration of the Roxas camp and strategists on launching his political propaganda and campaign to successfully capture the presidency.

The Filipino nation in the present modern age when the youth adores Britney and Paris, the Jonas Brothers and Miley, and always live on the fast lane is still one of the most unique in its kind. Despite the so many influences around that pushes people to choose joining reality shows with cameras peeping through even their secret moments of farting instead of going to school and take the long and winding road, the Philippines is still strongly a family-oriented nation. The family is still the key here. “My family, my family…Oh my gosh”, remember? :D

Many Filipinos can’t imagine a relationship without the family as the springboard of thought or the overriding idea. We are dreaming, aspiring, moving and conquering because of our family. We join reality shows, go to work on far away lands as OFWs, study hard and vote (and some of even sell their votes) during elections because of our family; or to put it this way, we are doing all these things for our family. Unlike the US and the European nations, our concept of the family is still the age-old traditional structure Adam and Eve: father, mother and children. We judge, analyze and opine consciously or unconsciously with the family at the back of our mind.

Taking all these important reality of what we are and what we have as a nation, the recent survey of Sen. Mar Roxas lagging behind the names of Vice-President Noli de Castro, Sen. Manny Villar and Sen. Chiz Escudero are just but affirmations of his not-being so popular and his not being appealing to the voters because of what he is.

First as an elitist politician. Remember Erap? To be an appealing politician but not necessarily good who can muster votes to his way, the masses especially the poor that comprises a big chunk of the voting public should have this feeling of “I can relate to that candidate”, that you are not really different from them and through their life and personality they can feel being one with you. Though he came from a time-tested clan of heroes, it is also a clan of rich few.

What he did before? He took the name Mr. Palengke. Ingenious.

What he is showing now? He drives and steers the pedicab right in the heart of a poor area in the country. Still to be seen.

Second is that he is a bachelor. Remember Erap again? Though he has lots of mistresses here and there trying to beat Sen. Revilla Sr. on the top spot of being the politician having the most number of children compared to his age; he was neither condemned by the public nor was ousted to power because of this. The public accepted him because most of the male voters are like him; they can relate to him and he affirms their actions too. What a way to boost one’s ego eh. And many families are like his family. Ironically, though we as a nation have a very family-oriented culture, this however is also a very patriarchal or even chauvinistic society. Though this is not really a very scientific conclusion, I will still opine that his being a bachelor is a strong factor that diminishes his appeal to the voting public and could cause also his losing the presidential race despite having the financial power and political and governing skills.

What to do?

After long years of being into a relationship widely-followed by the public, it is but logical both from the emotional and political situations that Sen. Roxas has to take it to the next level.

Marry Korina Sanchez who is very much popular and loved by the public before the May 2010 presidential elections.

Ms. Sanchez is the great equalizer if not the secret weapon. Her long years of being a broadcaster having widely-followed radio program and TV show has established her credibility as a person with integrity, love for the poor and the average person. “She could become a very lovely and good first lady”, the voters would say. In a nation where the people wants change and seeks integrity, credibility and accountability, there is no more appealing way but to put on the hot list to vote those who advocates these sacred values.

If Sen. Mar cannot pull in much votes for his candidacy, for sure Korina could do the rest to topple others down the stretch.

Of course, ringing wedding bells will not secure victory for Sen. Roxas. It is still a very long race to go; more trash talking, lots of money to stash from banks and more tricks.

Let us see if they will get married before the elections and also see for ourselves if Korina could land the knockout punch to Sen. Mar’s opponents.

Do you think that Sen. Roxas and Korina Sanchez's engagement is part of the political plans for presidency of the former? What do you think are the implications of their most publicized engagement to the presidential race for 2010?


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A Kiss of Death to Lady Justice

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The Court of Appeals has laid silent its gavel; Lance Corporal Daniel Smith is not guilty and is now a free man.

He can now loose weight, get back to his old great shape when he raped Nicole in Subic, be back in the service of the US Military if and only if he is acquitted by the US Military Court in Japan, shoot some bullets and sing proudly the Star Spangled Banner. And maybe become Oprah’s next favorite chef. And as I predicted, he has gone with the wind off from the US Embassy without any word to the government official assigned to him; off from this beleaguered land that made him a household name. I would not wonder if some children will be having Daniel, Smith, Corporal or Lance on their IDs. We are quite fond and creative on this one.

If the Subic Rape case would have happened at the Embassy Bar of Tim Yap and his Gucci Gang, certainly it would have been handled differently and Smith would have not bloated like a toy balloon with the press having a feast day pricking him.

One sure thing: Daniel Smith is now a free man. And he could become one great chef. :D.

I would have just let this issue pass, and as a matter of fact, I did not write anything on it for I was quite confident that despite Nicole's recantation, Smith would still rot in jail not at the US Embassy. But it is not the case anymore; I am putting up my flag on this one once again.

What happened over this sad and very frustrating issue is but a shadow of another Filipina raped in Japan by a US Serviceman but ended up defeated with a beleaguered spirit and dignity. I am no math genius but let me just blog about this thing that has burdened my spirit through simple mathematical presentations. I just hope my algebra teacher will not stumble on this blog, or she should surely humiliate me on this one.

Nicole's alleged rape case + Public Outrage + Judge Pimentel = Smith is Guilty

Smith is Guilty + Anti-VFA Sentiments + Appealing the Case at the Court of Appeals = Stalemate Situation

Stalemate Situation + Question of Custody - No action from the government via the Solicitor General + Dirty Hands working under the Table = Nicole getting Frustrated

Frustrated Nicole + American CIA Agent dressed up as a Suitor and Confidant + Slow Process of Justice = A Leaked Court of Appeals Draft Decision that Smith is not Guilty

Leaked Draft Decision – Supreme Court Ruling of Custody + Nicole’s Recantation = Surefire American Victory

Surefire American Victory + Nicole is in the States living the American Dream with his Brother + Obama’s Call 2 + Court of Appeals Ruling of Smith as Not Guilty = American Victory

American Victory = Another blow to Philippine sovereignty, justice system and nationalism + Another frustrated blogger in Cavite.

Of course there no more remedies on this one, Nicole and his brother being in the US and eating hamburger, pizza, apple and shouting their hearts out on the roller coaster rides in Disneyland.

It was a kiss of death to Lady Justice. And it sucks!

What is your opinion of the acquittal of Lance Corporal Daniel Smith and his quick exit of the country? How do you judge Nicole’s recantation and starting anew in the US?

Write your comments here and your own mathematical presentation; you can also subscribe to always be updated on the happenings on this blog.

Is math ok? I hope you are not my math teacher, LOL!

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A Sold Out Senate Boxing, Wresting and Shooting Match

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The once refuge of the people through its perceived inner sanctum despite the pervading immoralities of corruption, cheating and lies in the government has become a laughing stock of the people. This place may not be a place of holies of holies nonetheless, the public so long been thirsting for transparency, accountability and the elusive truth found its ally and defender in the Philippine Senate. However, the public is now left in a disarrayed spirit after the recent display of pride and self-fulfilling actuations of our beloved Senators regarding the Php 200 million double-entry road project against Sen. Manny Villar being investigated by Sen. Ping Lacson of the ethics committee.

Senators confidently sported childish antics in front of the camera as they battled it out on the floor to the great appreciation of the media with cameras endlessly rolling and flashing. Exchanging tirades, accusations, bad-mouthing and spitting blood and molten lava were the sight to bear. Senators fighting each other, defending each other and senators confusing each other were the things that made me think of what the hell are they doing?

Now, the sanest of them all, the lady senator from Iloilo Miriam Santiago who once promised to jump off a cruising plane and fire off a bullet on her temple tries to referee the two warring camps and offered to resolve the issue in an ingenious way: a boxing match on which Sen. Lacson would win; a wrestling match, on which Sen. Villar would end up winning; and a shooting match which will make both of them end up in the morgue.

Very ingenious! Clap, clap, clap! Bravo Ms. Denfensor. This is the reason why she was not made a justice at the international court. Certainly the people at this organization did their homework very well. I am just so glad they did, or else we could have seen another Pol Pot.

In this sad event of high officials displaying their raw behaviors in front of the now confused public, questions are raised and thrown on this tainted chamber and a few good points were made.

1. That our senators are not different from the people of the Palace and the House of Representatives as we once perceived them to be when they opened the floodgates of investigating corruptions here and there.

2. That the aspiring next president of the republic is not as good as he is seen on his paid ads everywhere. He hides under the skirt of the big-mouthed Sen. Cayetano to defend him always on this issue. His presidential ambition therefore is at stake and obviously tarnished. Php200 million is still Php200 million.

He may not directly received a single centavo from the project, but surely he earned more than Php200 million and stands to earb even more in the years to come on all the road projects that he sponsored leading to all his vast tract of lands and subdivisions. Just make your way from Las Piñas down here to Cavite guys by using those roads he sponsored and you will see for yourself the gold mine.

3. That we saw the real color of the man from Pateros Sen. Cayetano. His prowess against corruption during his stint as the Blue Ribbon Committee Chairman is now nothing but an apparent display of creating a good image to the viewing public during those telenovela days in the Senate. He is now content on lawyering his boss Sen. Villar forgetting of doing his job of releasing all those reports that should have long been accomplished under his Committee such as the Fertilizer Fund and NBn-ZTE Deal Scams. Maybe, when Villar wins the presidency he will become the little president of the Palace just like Executive Secretary Ermita? Hmmm, not far from reality.

And I never thought that he is one great paparazzi in barong too; he got a copy of the draft resolution by using camera phone? And he not reveal his source, am i hearing the always unfazed Jarius Bondoc in you? Wow!

4. That Senator Estrada has this noble virtue of showing a copy of the resolution to the Villar camp “without malice” take note, "without malice". Nice, seemed too good to be true. Thanks, but no thanks. Now, Senator Cayetano has no more reasons not to reveal his mole; the mole has spoken "without malice".

5. That Sen. Lacson has been the same old man. Doing his tricks with all honesty and wit yet with dirty hands; being the crusader and the Clint Eastwood of the Senate in a subtle way. This issue will either boost or shoot down his candidacy for presidency if he runs; that if Villar and his gang would not inject Mancao and Dumlao some pills to point out Lacson as the mastermind on the Dacer-Corbito case. Money speaks and move mountains in a country and a government mired by greed.

6. That the senators shown their real selves; all for their own ambitions and interest. Partisan politics is still the game wherever they are, which unfortunately made them all look like fools on TV pulling off tirades against one another without knowing what they are really up to. Right Senator Pimentel and Enrile?

7. That Sen. Santiago still never really fails to prove what she is really made of. Her great advice on how to resolve the issue between the two warring factions is I think one of the best that I heard so far from her. Her simplistic advice is I think one of the most profound that she did so far. Bravo! I just hope that she has also given this advice to the Palace occupant and her lapdogs. What then a relief.

8. That Sen. Lapid is always consistent to what he is and what he does inside the chamber: a spectator doodling the Pinatubo and lahar on his paper pad, always waiting for the sessions to halt for a recess or end and go home. He is up for an award: Most Consistent Senator of the Present Congress.

With the elections getting nearer, things are getting dirtier and nastier. Dogs are bitting the hand of the one’s that feed them. Masters are turning into insane dogs. Demarcation lines are now getting more visible and walls are slowly towering against enemies; and insane ideas cropping up out of the blue.

In the end, the public is still the loser in this match. But the public could also make them pay their dues making them accountable of their actions…hopefully next election.

And if this boxing, wrestling and shooting match happens, I so sure that it would surpass the Pacman vs. Dela Hoya pay-per-view sales. And I will not wonder if Madam Santiago would assume the post of Bob Arum as the newest promoter in town.

On whose camp are you? Villar? Lacson? Or would you help out dear Santiago on refereeing the boxing, wresting and shooting match?

Who do you think would end up as the Senate sole survivor?

It would certainly a great fun to read all your comments here. Don’t worry, Madam Miriam would not aim her guns at you. LOL!

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The Father That I Have Come to Love

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I really appreciate all of you my blogger friends for all your prayers and affection to what I and my family are individually and collectively going through right now. Certainly all your prayers and kind messages to me are sources of strengths in this time of trial. Today, permit me not to talk about politics or news or blogging for a while.

Yesterday, my father was already discharged from the hospital and is now resting and recuperating in our house in the province.

My mother told me that he is always in great pain. He cannot move that much and every little action entails an agonizing pain for my father and a sad and helpless view for my siblings. He is into liquid diet something that he really resents. The doctor put on bandages over his chest down to his abdomen to let the fractured ribs and his wounded lungs heal. Everytime he coughs, he is spitting blood. Being away from his side working here in Cavite, I just cannot imagine the pain he is going through and the emotional burden my mother has to carry on her wearied shoulders, as if the long years she was with him was not yet enough.

This is the first time in my life that I saw my father so helpless, cringing in pain and shedding precious of his rare tears. This is the father that I have not come to grow with. I don't know if he is crying solely because of the physical pain that is punishing him or also because of the heavy emotional burden of being so helpless in this circumstance. But I would try to believe it to be both.

My name Gerson actually was derived from his name Generoso (like the name of the cheap brandy on sari-sari stores that keeps him company on many depressing occasions). I grew up angry at him, something that I was not proud of. I was angry at him for so many reasons, reasons that a son won't usually be proud to share to his buddies and to total strangers.

I could say that he never shed much sweat and blood to toil for our family's needs and welfare. He only stays at home, do some household chores, watch his select favorite TV shows and go to bed early. That is his routine. Being an eldest son that I am, who grew up in poverty but reared by my mother with a spartan spirit, I resented having a father like him. My young mind and tender heart looked for a father that I could be proud; a father who is a stellar model of industry that I could put side-by-side with my buddies' hardworking dads.

But he was not one of them; he was not like them.

He is so distant, something that a son could only see, but could not touch and reach nor embrace like the clouds and stars we dream of reaching. I haven't heard from him asking me how I was doing, how was school, or was I hurt or am I happy? Maybe all fathers are like that, I used to reason out, something to justify what I have.

I could only count on my fingers on a single hand the times he attended my countless recognitions and graduations to pin my medals. I could only count on my fingers the rare times he signed my report cards. He never visited me in the seminary or called me up on my phone to check how I was doing on my religious formation? Maybe all fathers are like that, I still used to reason out. But the bricks of anger were filling up up my young heart, soon to tower like a wall.

On all these times so difficult and hurting for me, the only person that has become my refuge was my mother. Her strength, wisdom and virtues of telling me to understand my father despite of everything for he was just a victim of his own historicity and more importantly for he is still my father no matter what, slowly toppled down the wall of anger that I was building out of sheer frustrations and resentment. My mother's warm love and her strength all throughout the years of being there for us as a great mother and a father; nourisher and provider at the same time, softened my heart for my father. My mother was my security. If my mother loved and tried to understand my father for so many years without showing any stain of vice towards him, how can I not do the same?

My mother was a woman of great virtues; devout wife and mother. Call her a martyr, but for me she is a saint. Without her, I could have become the man that I hated; the man that is my nightmare.

I have slowly come to understand and love my father just the way that he is. It was not an easy road that I have taken, but I am just glad I did.

I can never forget the one instance he told me he loves me and how proud he is of me: when he was so drunk, and gave me 20 pesos as a gift. I was so surprised and so joked him that I wish he is always drunk.

He was an unwanted child. My grandmother being so preoccupied with her work, tried to abort him for a couple of times. But my father maybe just wanted to live, though was born premature. My auntie who sent me to school told me stories about my dear father that slowly opened my heart to embrace the man I once told myself that I would never wanted to become.

When he was still a child, he was so fickle, so sickly and shy. His IQ is below average and he is slow to pick up lessons on school. To this my grandmother hired a nanny and tutor for him. But to no avail. He once run away from school, went home full of tears and begging my aunt and my grandmother not to send him anymore to school for he really can't comprehend everything.

My father maybe is just but a victim of circumstances. This is the father that I once hated but now so much loved.

Last Tuesday, he fell from the roof of hotel. He is working there together with some of my uncles. At the age of 53, he said that this would be his last hurray. He wanted to show to us his children that he can work to provide for his family's needs; that we can be proud of him.

But the accident came.

Now I miss him. He may not change or become the affectionate father I once dream of having, I can surely become a father to my children the way I wanted a father to become to his children. I may not receive from him the things I wanted to feel, but I can surely give to my children the things I would have wanted to receive, for I truly know what children wants from their fathers; and maybe only then that I could truly feel satisfied.

I am proud of my father.

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I Am Back; One Quick Post

I have not been able to make a post for the last 5 days. My blogging big brother Jan already sent me an email which only now that I have read asking what happened to me. They haven't even seen my shadow on the blogosphere.

So many news already happened, with the most prominent that of Ted Failon. I wish to make a post on this one but I simply can't. No, I am not resigning from blogging. There is a more important concern for me right now.

Apologies to all my blogger friends. I haven't visited or posted comments on my favorited blogs on my blogroll.

Last Tuesday, I was scheduled to make a post, but I received a text message from my sister. My father is in the hospital; quite in a critical situation.

He fell from the roof of a hotel that they were working on together with my uncles and nephews. He fell so bad that he has cringing of severe pain. After getting examined by the doctor at the Riverside Hospital, he suffered from 2 broken ribs. He was given some first aid by the attending physician but my father still kept on cyring, something that you would very rarely see from him.

My uncles brought him to another hospital and he was reexamined, and the doctors saw this time 3 broken ribs and has pierced his lungs and caused four wounds on it. The doctors then made some procedure to save his lungs from deflating because of the wounds.

To make things worse, they discovered that he has tuberculosis.

My father is not really a chain smoker but can smoke an average of 6 sticks a day. Many years ago, I told him to stop from smoking if he wants really to enjoy his family. Being the eldest among 4 siblings that I am, and having some authority in our family, he followed my wish. But after 6 months, he is back to his old habit.

Having a TB is curable, but having a father at his age of 53 so hard-headed that he is, this illness is so fatal.

This family tragedy I must say that has caught us off-guarded kept my away from blogging fro 5 days.

My father is always crying because of so much pain, that only some injected medicine could make him sleep and not feel the pain only for a moment.

We are not that close; he is not touchy, not showy, not talkative. He never shows his emotions to his children. He does not tell us how he feels. He is like a wood, unaffectionate and distant. I used to feel bad about this, used to be so angry at him being like that as a father to us. But the years changed me, and just accepted him the way that he is; he is jus a product of his own historicity.

And this tragic accident made me also reflect on my love for my father; the things that I have not received from him and the things that he should have shown us. But he is my father...and came this fear on me of losing him this early. This moment made me think and feel on my own solitary moment how I cherish him and love him with all the despite of and inspite of.

I made this post today quickly just to dispel from my blogging friends their worries of how I am doing or where I am, of why I am not blogging for days.

I am now on my way to buy some medicine; just made a stop at an internet cafe to make this short post.

Sorry, this is just quick. Quick check of Twitter and instant message. Can't visit yet my friends' blogs. Can't check yet all the mails.

Hopefully, everything will be just fine for my father...and our family.

I wish for all your prayers for his speedy recovery.

Thanks for all the understanding guys.

Hope to be back next week.

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Easter Reflection

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The Lord is risen. He is truly risen!

This is one Easter greeting from the Eastern Church that they do still practice today. But for us 21st century Christians, we simply greet Happy Easter, and so there goes the egg hunt and the dancing bunnies in the malls to our hearts' delight.

One great thing that this day not only reminds us believers but also brings us is the clear message of hope for everyone...for all those who believe and for all those who have faith to a Being greater than ourselves. The Paschal Mystery of Christ's resurrection which is His suffering, death and resurrection is also a reflection of our way of life that gives us the guiding light to trod not because of a blind type of following, but because be deeply believe. Despite of all the trials, disappointments, heartaches, unlucky circumstances and our individual subjective experiences of dying, there is this perfect reassurance that there is joy, truimph, grace, abundance and happiness so long we hold on to Him who never gave up each and everyone of us.

There are three virtues that I wish to share out of my own personal reflection (and may I not sound too preachy about this post) on our celebration of our own personal stories of sufferings, death and resurrection. I wish that these three virtues could guide us in living a good life, as much as I try myself to live up these things and reflect these things on my daily dealings; difficult but not impossible.


Faith

When I was young, I used to be so amazed with people on flowing white robes with smoking golden jars and stuffs, and old women praying incoherent Latin prayers and songs. Maybe this is one reason why once in my life I dreamt of becoming a priest; I got so engrosed with rituals, religiousity and ceremonies. I believed then that being religious is being faithful. But is now a precious experience of the past.

Faith for me is something that one holds so dear. It is something that is so precious to you that you can even offer your life for it; you can exchange your life for this truth or this thing or this experience more than anything else when circumstances ask it of you.

The early Christians, many of which became saints of the Church through martyrdom are classic examples of my simple understanding of faith. They did not hesitate to get decapitated, crucified on the cross upside-down, burned to death, fed to wild beasts or tortured up to their last breath, all for their faith; faith for the resurrected Christ of Nazareth. They hold their faith so dear that dying for them is nothing but a way to be with the One whom they believed and loved so much more than the world's riches or promises.

Faith is something that guides our lives; it is something the helps us on the way see things, judge experiences and our response on them.

Let me give a classic example. A husband who truly loves his dying wife or child, he will be confronted of the question of what is the most important for you in your life? And most often than not, a father or a mother would say, if I could only give myself in the place of my dying chid.

But there are also people who hold in their lives money, power and prestige as the most important things more than others. These are the things that they hold so dear more than relationships, service, family or sometimes even self. They can steal, cheat, kill, silence dissent or even manipulate the truth to protect these things. Sad to say, there are so many of these kinds of people today.

I realized that faith is not about golden robes or towering candles, incoherent prayers and public display of a belief system. though celebrating your faith with the community is also important. But faith is your own authentic personal relationship and constant encounter with your God; the God who probes the mind and heart, who knows your silent screams and your loud protestations. Faith is the murmuring of your soul and the joy of heart in front of your Creator.

Service

One of the most misunderstood and misjudge song during its time is that of the band Yano, with their song "Banal na Aso, Santong Kabayo". They were unfortunately at the receiving end of the outrage of the Church. But for me the song is only but reflective of the sad truth of many of us Christians as simply occasional Christians (maybe during Sundays or even only during Lent and Simbang Gabi) doing only a lip service out of what we believe in.

Our faith is nothing, is dead according to St. James when only confined to ourselves. The greatest symbol of Christianity is the cross and on it are two lines. One is vertical, while the other one is horizontal. Our live of faith should lead us to two relationships, one that is between us and our Creator and the other one is between us and all the people around us.

I got strucked when I saw this big crucified Christ hanging on a wooden cross on one little chapel. The man hanging in there has no hands! And below is short scrip writeen, "You are now my hands".

Our beliefs to simply put it should be transformed into actions of service, not only to those people we love but more importantly to total strangers, the voiceless and faceless, for what merit will it have if we only serve those people who are already dear to us?

And for me, this is one of the most difficult part of living. To be an authentic believer.

Communion

Our belief to something profound and our works for others out of the generosity of our hearts is an affirmation of our communion and solidarity with our community; a deeper consciousness that we are parts of whole and what is happening to the whole body would certainly affect us and what we individually do also affects the bigger family.

This is why when Jesus went to temple, he got so angry with all the peddlers not really because of the solely putting up businesses in the temple area but because fo the unjust and corrupt ways that the peddlers are doing that hurts most of the poor Jews to goes to the temple. Jesus was angry because he felt the pain of unjust being a member of a community of believers.

My pesonal moments of silence are also my special moments to reflect on what I am doing with my life; where I was, where I am and where I want to go, not not necessarily inside the church, usually inside the toilet, ehehe! Living a life of authenticity is a struggl for me personally, but I am willing to pay the price. At least when I die, I could say the one Creator when I faces him that at tried.

Happy Easter everyone! May we all find our inner peace amidst a noisy and troubled world. Hope I did not sound preachy here LOL :D

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I am Jaypee's Top Commentator for March!

image by blogohblog

What a way to get back at blogging after missing the blogosphere as I went to Hong Kong...ows sorry, from the hospital for a couple of days.

Today is Maundy Thursday but I just can't simply temper my feeling of joy after alas, I won the top spot at Jaypee's blog on technology, gadgets and blogging tricks as his March Top Commentator!


Hurray!

This March, the battle was not as bloody as last February, that up to the last hour no one really knew who is to win the contest; the two top commentators were trying to psyche each other and reach each others' move from some remote computer screens. In that case, my blogger buddy Jan went home with Jaypee's cool prizes and I landed on the second spot. I am totally happy for him, for the deserved that really. I never thought Jan saw me at that moment as a fierce competitor, LOL! (read his comment on this here) Nevertheless, he is totally right that sometimes we just need to set aside biases to see the diamond from the rocks. And now, he is one cool blogger buddy, minus as all the funny and out-of-this-world tricks and advices he is giving me, hahahaha, LOL! Maybe I have lost the top spot at Jaypee that month but I won a great friend...huhuhuhuhu...:D

On winning the contest this March, I have at least fulfilled one great birthday wish for myself; that I should win at Jaypee's Top Commentator Contest for March and give it to myself as a gift.

I registered 43 comments and guess who comes next trailing behind me? It is not other than my buddy Jan at 30 comments.

Now, I am going to take home $15 via Paypal, some Wordpress schwag pencil, pen, stickers and temporary tattoo and a WordCamp Las Vegas or Wordpress T-shirt. Wow, isn't Jaypee's prizes fabulous? Thanks Jaypee, you are simply so generous.

You can also join us and many more buddies at Jaypee's blog, and maybe April is for you, and if not, for sure you will gain precious blogger friends.

Adios!

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Blog Covergence, Conversation, Conversion

I did not voluntarily present myself to be lashed out, crowned with thorns and be crucified under the scourging summer sun in a little hill in Pampanga. But after five days, I am resurrected in the blogosphere with the same zest in blogging but with obvious eye bags and body pains. And take my word guys, don’t go near me, or you’d think you are beside an old grandpa who has made a perfume out a liniment oil and tattooed himself with salonpas.

After suffering from Twitter-withdrawal syndrome, I can say that I am totally healed! (May himala!) Hahaha! And I am actually now contemplating of taking to live up to the coined-term of Ate Bingsky of being a Twittarted (twitter retarded). Nah, maybe I am still quite far from that.

I have been to the hospital for four days; stayed in there and five days seemed like eternity, and now I am back in front of the PC to make my post.

So I my apologies guys for the delayed post, hope you understand. You better do, ehehehe! Sorry guys, effects of many sleepless nights and fatigue.

Kidding aside, when I went back to check my blog, there were a great number of comments on my posts especially the most recent one about the Philippine educational system, that I have to reply with worthy comments. I must admit that replying to all the comments of my friends and readers is one hell of a task; their comments are all challenging and exciting, I could certainly pretend to be some dumb blogger with them.

However, I must make a confession that I am not totally satisfied. For some bloggers, they may be automatically elated with 10 or so comments of visitors on each post that he/she makes. Not with me.

Because for me, a blog is not a freedom wall in a school, or dilapidate arm chair screaming of so many scribbles and graffiti that no one hears. It is not something that only receives and nor a place that only gives.

A blog is a place of convergence, conversation and conversion.

That is why, my primary concern that I have brought with me beside the hospital bed is how can I make my commenters return on my blog posts to reply to the comments I made out of their comments? Sounds incoherent? Or simply stupid? LOL

Well, maybe you have experienced this one way or another. A visitor or blogger friend read your post and made a comment. You replied eagerly with all the niceties and substance on his comment to create a conversation, dialogue and interaction. But then, no more replies that follow up.

My goal to simply put it is to make my blog a place of convergence of different peoples and bloggers. To converse with one another through my blog posts. And maybe at the end of each comments and replies, we are all converted in some way to have a wider understanding of things and a wider vision of the horizon ahead of us.

So I tweeted and emailed some blogger friends to share their wisdom and tips in order for me to satisfy my craving. Here were their replies:


"commenters actually have a choice when they post comment to a blog whether they want to be emailed when a new comment is posted." im4pinoy


"hi elmot! im using a WP plugin to do that, im not sure if blogger has one though. i'll try to check and let u know." Jaypee


"Hmmmm..medyo mahirap yan. Some commenters would go back again to your posts for your replies and then comment again . some don't." Bingsky


"Regarding your inquiry, I am using a plugin in Wordpress that sends email
to commenters when somebody replied to their comments.

I am not so sure if there's such a thing with blogger. Perhaps, you can
try signing up with JS-Kit comments and place its code in your blogger
blog.

Meron ata ganung functionality yun." Bloggista


"aw.. nasa commenters na yan kung babalik sila.. yun ang di ko alam sa akin eh, balik ng balik.. hehe " Jehzeel



"Re: How to make readers check back to see the replies to their comments, I have a suggestion. Takes a lot of work - but do Jaypee's style. When he replies on your comment, he emails you a copy of his reply to your comment. That reminds you of the comment you left on his site right? Di ba, most of the time you return to continue the conversation, especially if it's an interesting one? I don't know of other ways though. Except of course for the old fashioned bribery. lol" Jan


Using blogger as a plaform for your blogging is definitely has so many limitations compared to wordpress that has plugins. In this case, blogger lacks the automatic program to send your commenters an email notification thanking them of posting their comments on your blog, and in effect, you are connecting to your readers in a more personal manner that almost always would make them come back to continue to conversation on your blog post. Maybe, I need to invent one eh? LOL!

Therefore, commenters are left with the liberty to follow-up and continue the conversation and dialogue and the blogger is made to be more creative in reaching this goal on his blog.

And I am doing it with my favorite blogs (many of them). I make my comments and click on the tiny box that says automatic email notifications on comments below the comment form. And voila, I can instantly be updated of the conversations on the blog posts I have just visited and could easily go back to make my follow-up comments.

What am I left to do now?

Well, as a blogger, I think I should improve more on my writing skills. I may not be a savvy writer but building good relationships with your readers, visitors and blogger friends is of essence. There is indeed no better advice than writing good and engaging posts.

If still, nothing happens, maybe I would have to follow Jan's advice of an old and tested way: bribery. LOL!

Do you also share the same concern with me guys? What pieces of advice could you give me regarding my concern of creating an atmosphere of active dialogue and conversation on my blog through my posts?

Would you folow Jan's advice of bribery? Hehehe! LOL!

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The Windmill of Philippine Educational System

photo by missioncreep


Celebrations, sad background music from Mr. Lauchengco and cases of booze have already ended and our fresh graduates are now faced by the stinging reality of landing a job that they dreamt of and they deserve. Many are flocking the registrars’ office snaking their way through the empty halls to get their papers, and then some of them will soon battle it out with other fellow graduates to gain the favors of their prospective employers.

But many of them are completing their papers to get their Transcript of Records (TOR) sealed with a red ribbon and immediately fly to work on foreign lands with thoughts behind their minds of a better life.

The exodus of many of our compatriots and most saddening of our fresh graduates in the past recent years is not something remote. Rather this phenomenon that results to the breakdown of our country like termites eating the very foundation of a home comes from a system that we were first forced to live with and now condoned to have; a culture that we now call our own. And the growing numbers of the best and the brightest that we have leaving our country to get what they deserve is only one of the serious problems that this windmill brought us about. And have we taken ourselves on this ride?

My heart is always torn into many shattered pieces whenever students approach me and say, “Kuya, I am going to stop from going to school. My parent cannot afford to pay my tuition anymore.” Or whenever I am faced by words from other people everytime I share about the topic of education for the poor; peppering me with sharp words saying “How can you say that you are for the poor when your tuition fee for a nursing course for one semester is P70,000?” I am not an apologist, and I have no other recourse but to give the affirmative to their opinions.

I came across this table of tuition fees from a financial planning blog, and hope it will give us at least a peek into the windmill of our educational system.



Looking at the table, though it may not be that accurate, we are still seeing a problem that the educational system of our country has espoused for the longest years. With high tuition fees skyrocketing to amounts unimaginable to millions of Filipino youth, having a good education is now mostly nothing but a daydream if not a nightmare.

Imagine this scenario: One of our students takes up a nursing course that she has to complete for four years (and now the Commission on Higher Education wants to extend it to a 5-year course). Every semester she pays P70,000 for her tuition fee of which when she reaches her 3rd year and 4th year, her tuition fee dramatically increases to P80,000 per semester! These numbers of course excludes all the miscellaneous fees and other expenses the she has to incur during her studies. If I may compute, one of our student is going to pay approximately a staggering P600,000 as tuition fees alone for her four-year nursing course. I could have already sold all my kidney and internal organs to foreigners but could not yet have this amount to send a child to school for a nursing course. Maybe selling some illegal drugs would do? Hmmm…

This scenario which is not far from reality breeds the following problems and issues in our educational system which should have been aiming to educate our young for nation-building.

1. Because we only want to give quality education as a lasting gift that no could steal from our children, we are forced to send them to these expensive (and almost always Catholic schools) which let us all admit are really the best that we have in the country. And since the government is only giving priority to kickbacks and commissions on government projects, our educational system has been left on the hands of the giant schools and built and culture of “elitist educational system”.

Suffice it to say that this has widen the gap between the reach and the poor; with the poor looking up and rich staring down to the millions of people who are living at the fringe of the loot.

2. This elitist educational system which certainly is a spring of so many prevalent issues in the country that has forgotten to build its own nation leads to an elitist system of job seeking and giving. Many may argue but so many companies mostly if not, only accept graduates from our local Ivy League schools. They are those who work from cubicles and board rooms and those graduates from some unknown school located in a far-flung barrio infested by NPAs end up doing the dirty work. This may not be the general rule in the workplace but it is the prevalent system that the lowly has to endure.

3. The exodus of our young talented and skilled people is mostly also results from this system of education that we have come to embrace. Let me go back to the scenario I presented above. After graduation, that student of mine after passing the board exam went on the work for two years in a private hospital here in the province in order to gain experience and go abroad. Her monthly salary is a meager P10,000 as a nurse! And this will still shrink down after all taxes and other payments are to be deducted from her pay. And for sure, it is always a melodramatic moment whenever she takes a peek at her pay slip; that if she even tries to take a peek at it.

After she spent more than half a million pesos for her education to become a nurse, after her parents sold some of their farm lands and livestock, and barrowed money from some 5/6 men on scooter, this is the salary that she only has to receive. Common sense and our innate disposition will naturally drive us for the best and just that we deserve. And there is nothing else than going abroad for which my Aunt who is a nurse in the UK receives £1,800 every month!

Education so they say is an investment, and investors are clever, not lunatic or chimps, to put on the table hot cash and leave the room empty handed; at least they need to get even. Parents toil their hearts out to send their children to school not to indulge from the labors of their children when they already have their own jobs but to make sure that their children will live the good life, far much better than what their parents endured.

4. Sad to say, I could see that this system of education that we have, because of the sheer incompetence of our government is something that we have come to embrace and espoused as ours. It has become a culture that is eating up the very fiber of our nation economically, morally and intellectually. The effect maybe is not as scary at the present but the continuous silence and denial of the government that is primarily tasked to pursue the equal good for both the rich and poor, will lead us to a day of reckoning of the things that we permitted to happen and the things we have come to accept and our excuse of helplessness or disenchantment would not suffice.

We will be slaves of our own making only until the day that we force a systemic change that should start from the way we teach our youth. The great Jose Rizal was totally right saying that the youth is the future of the motherland. And without the conscious effort to bridge the gap between the rich and poor that starts from our schools, playpens, churches, governments and homes, we will continue to called a nation of servants, with our brightest ending up as domestic helpers; something that they don’t deserve, a name that we don’t deserve, but contains morsels of truth in it.

We deserve something more, better, just nobler.

You may or may not agree with me, but this is just some of my ramblings while chirping tweet, tweet, tweet on my sleep.

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