My favorite nephew, a UP PolSci student, frequently texts me famous quotes/timely proverbs. Sometimes, I am irritated because I find this a waste of money (Tito naka-unli ako!). But, always, I appreciate his thoughts, and especially the messages that many times jolted me to realities.
One message I received from him was: 'Dapat, dito ka o doon. Walang middle ground.'
The message was simple. But it was one of the few he sent that I could not ignore.
Last month, I used the message as the gist of my speech in a speaking engagement for the youth. You can only be in one place - dito o doon. Walang middle ground. Just like in the issues buffeting our country. You have to take sides. Whether you're pro- or anti-, it does not matter. You have to take sides. Walang middle ground. Walang passive. You have to take action. And when you grow old and feel irrelevant, you will be comforted by the fact that when you were young, you took action and made a difference.
Sa issue sang HR 1109 o Con-Ass, ano bala ang dapat naton himuon? Dapat, diri ka o didto. Wala sang middle ground. Kon ano man ang inyo opinion, make it known. Voice it out! This could be the time for it. Tomorrow can be too late.
Ang iba sigi lang reklamo. Wala man ginahimo. Could it be that we REALLY deserve the kind of government we have?
Please click here for an article on Con-Ass. You can find many other relevant articles in the internet.@
Saturday, June 6, 2009
On HR 1109: Dapat dito ka o doon. Walang middle ground.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Tiny, sweet, native bayabas
When I was living abroad, whenever I passed by a fruit stand selling the small variety of pears, I bought at least 2 boxes of the fruit because they resemble and had a similar taste with the native Philippine guava. I ate the pears while I slouched lazily watching TV or reading the papers. I loved them. The pears helped me re-live my days in the remote barrio of my lolo and lola, climbing and eating guavas with nary a care in the world.
I like guavas or bayabas, the native wild variety (Scientific name: Psidium guajava L). Today, whenever I am in the farm, I just stand near one and reach for the nearest fruits. I don't have to move around or climb the tree. The fruits are within reach and so many you can have free merienda by just standing near one. Ngaa mangita pa ko pizza o hamburger?
In our farm, there are also the commercial variety called guapol because they can be bigger than apples. However, the fruits must really be wrapped with plastic from the time they are still buds, and must be handled with extra TLC. Otherwise, the fruit will contain worms.
Guava is believed to have the highest concentration of vitamin C among the local fruits in the Philippines. The leaves and bark are known to be astringent, vulnerary, and antidiarrhetic. The bark is used in the chronic diarrhea of children. The fruit is known to be anthelmintic, and is used for high blood pressure, poor circulation, diabetes and asthma. Ti, ano pa ginapangita nyo?
Ti sa abroad may bayabas man? Ipabugal na lang ninyo ang pear. But nothing beats the original.@
Sunday, April 26, 2009
You know Haloy?
Haloy, as his name suggests, grew up before the coming of the Spaniards. According to accounts of old folks, many of whom are now dead, Haloy was real. However, his origin was embellished mostly with myth.
Haloy was born in the central plains of what is now known as Iloilo. His family lived along the bank of what is now known as Tigum River. Haloy helped set up the settlement which would later become the municipality of Cabatuan.
Humangin was Haloy's father. His name is Kinaray-a for wind. According to legend he ran as fast as the wind. When he threw a spear, he could outrun it as he could reach the target before the spear could. Humangin's father was Kilaton, a brave warrior who was the first to settle in central Iloilo. Kilaton's twin brother was Hotik who settled in what is now known as Antique. Many times Hotik would visit his brother by travelling over mountains and gorges. In one instant, he jumped over a gorge, lost his balance, and fell with a loud crash. The fall was forever recorded with what could be the gigantic imprint of his buttocks. The gorge (somewhere in the mountains of what is now known as the town of Maasin) where the imprint is found is, up to now, still referred to by the locals as Ginlumpatan Ni Hotik (Where Hotik Jumped). Kilaton and Hotik were among the early settlers who sailed from Borneo.
When the Spaniards came, Haloy was given the name Alonzo. His wife was christened Amas. They had seven children, all boys. They led a happy and prosperous life. There was a saying that referred to them, 'Si Alonzo pilakan, si Amas bulawanan.' Literally, this translates to, 'Alonzo is moneyed, Amas is covered with gold.'
During that time, the Spaniards were busy building their churches. So the Spanish government issued an edict called quintos which ordered all the fifth sons of couples to render free labor to the church. These sons quarried, carried, and hauled tons of stones to build the massive Christian churches. To identify the fifth sons, the Spaniards gave a different surname to every couple, with the children carrying the surname of their parents.
Alonzo loved his sons so much. He did not like them to become slaves of the church. Therefore, he gave his seven sons seven different surnames.
Sabidorio, or Bido, was one of the sons of Haloy. His surname was different from the surnames of his siblings. Bido's children and decendants carried his surname.
Bido fathered five children, 3 boys and 2 girls. His eldest son was Francisco or Kiko. Kiko fathered Pedro and 9 others. Then Pedro fathered Simeon and a host of others.
Simeon was hard working and cunning. He was said to be fair skinned inspite being an indio. He owned tracks of land. He married three times as his first two wives died. In his third marriage, he had three children. The eldest was Urbano.
I would like to cut short the story of Haloy. By now, you might be already wondering how on earth did I bump into Haloy and his story?
Well, Urbano who was Haloy's great great great grandson and who died when I was in first year high school, happened to be my father.@
Note: The Haloy clan composed of seven families holds its reunion every three years. All decendants of Haloy until the sixth generation are recorded.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
What to do this summer? Have money. Will travel to Banaue.
Try to visit Banaue. It is famous for the Rice Terraces - a showcase of Filipino resilience and ingenuity, and a United Nations world heritage site. It's about 8 hours from Manila. At around dusk, we passed by Lankawe, the capital of Ifugao. The place was still sleeping so we went on. Then at about 6:00 am we passed the welcome arch of Banaue. The kids were ecstatic. It was drizzling but they preferred sitting at the open back of the pick-up. They didn't like to miss any scenery. They were aching to see the rice terraces as they craned their necks at every zigzag turn. Then we headed for Baguio.
If you are interested to visit the place, better hurry up because modernization and neglect are about to obliterate what has seemingly stood with impregnability and practical usefulness for centuries.
Banaue is a tourist place. Affordable lodges that cater to families and big groups abound. An authentic 'ulog' can also be rented for an authentic Ifugao experience. Curio and antique shops dot the streets.
The Rice Terraces that was printed on the PhP 1000 bill is about 2 kilometers further atop the mountain. There are other postcard perfect terraces which could be visited. A Tourist Assistance Bureau office is near the market. The office can arrange tours, usually walking tours, to any detination.
My family, composed of my wife, siblings and our respective kids, visited Banaue last April during our annual long travel. This is a time for our bonding. (Our bonding time or annual long travel, which I initiated in 2002, requires a separate post.)
We left Manila aboard 2 vehicles at 10:00 pm. As we exit Manila at the SLEX, we passed by the usual gasoline station to gas up, and take our midnight snacks and coffee from the adjoining fastfoods. This could be the last decent meals we had as we ascend the Mountain Provinces in the middle of the night. The kids love and look forward to this long travel. And to them the meaning of long travel is literally days of non-stop travel.
At 2:00 am, we stopped somewhere atop the mountains of Nueva Ecija, where most of the cargo trucks were parking for rest and quick meals. We had some coffee in a small restaurant, which was open and lighted but deserted. The caretakers woke up and attended to us when we were already seated and and tinkering with the wares they were selling. We stretched, used the CR, then continued with our travel.
We stayed in Banaue for 2 nights and 2 days, more than enough to explore what most tourists wanted in Banaue - the rice terraces.
Baguio City is less than 4 hours via paved roads. But there is no public transportation linking the 2 tourist destinations. The answer is obvious. The roads maybe asphalted/cemented, alright. But there are no side bars. And as the road zigzags precariously on the sides of the tall mountains, it is easy to imagine that you are in an airplane because the view from the car is the same view from the window of an airplane on crusing altitude. With a small miscalculation, the land vehicles may just be literally flying offroad. And offroad means hundreds of feet of sheer vertical drop.
I think the best view from Banaue on the way to Baguio was atop the gigantic Ambuklao Dam. Don't forget to stop and take pictures on the rest spots. I you are faint hearted or if you love your family too much, this could be the only chance you pass this way. The roads maybe good but very risky. @
Ga-patad ka sa LOTTO? I-memorize ang numero nga ini....
