Vigilance

Vigilant citizenry is essential for a progressive community or nation.

We were called to be vigilant and to protect our votes against fraud during the May 14 polls. Nonetheless, we are exhorted to be watchful of suspicious individuals who dwell and visit our communities and to report them to proper authorities, especially that the threats of terrorism threaten our peace today.

Our vigilance does not end there. It extends to our duties of obeying laws like the simple observance in disposing household's refuse and proper use of pedestrian crossing and overpass when we cross the street. And the list goes on.

Police Regional Director Silverino Alarcio reported a dropped in crime figures for the period of January through May of this year, caused maybe by the deployment of extra police teams for the ASEAN Summit and, of course, the undying support of vigilant communities. Index crimes like robbery is downed by 29 percent in Cebu City, 31 percent in the province and 31 percent in Mandaue City compared to the last year's. (Sunstar, 10 June 2007)

Statistically speaking the situation has improved for the same period since 2005. However, there is no reason to celebrate and be complacent. The threats of robbers, murderers, thieves, terrorists, etc remain in our midst waiting to strike, without warning, another unwilling victim(s), shattering our peace. Besides, the numbers only showed the reported crimes. Few, if not many, reports had never even been penned in the crime logbook or the so called police blotter. Many victims chose to keep their silence.

Late evening of May 17, my younger sister, on her way home from overtime work, was robbed at gunpoint by an unidentified man, who wore a black jacket and baseball cap, near the corner of St. Jude Street and M.J. Cuenco Avenue in Mabolo. The hoodlum immediately boarded a passing passenger jeep taking with him my sis' wallet, cellphone, ATM cards, company ID and some cash.

I visited my sister the following morning to inquire if she had reported the incident to the authority. She didn't and reasoned me out that it was just some of an isolated case because the place has been relatively peaceful since she had rented last year a boarding house nearby. I learned, however, that her fellow tenant was a victim of such, a week before. This alarmed and concerned me.

Two days later, my fiancée and I went for groceries and spotted a police precinct on our way back. Knowing that it has jurisdiction of the said cases, I urged her that it's opportune for us to inform the authority.

At the precinct, an officer, who is not in uniform, approached me. He tinkered my grocery bag and tried to get hold of it. He, perhaps, thought that it was my gift for them. So I smiled and told him my business.

I was, then, referred to another officer, who is in complete uniform. I relayed to him the incident but I was told to bring my sister instead. I tried to talked him to heed my side but I was cut-off in mid-sentence for similar reason that victim should personally file the complaint or blotter.

Shaking my head in utter disappointment, I went out the precinct forgetting to get the officer's name. Anyway, I didn't plan to tell his superior. My fiancée could not believe what she just witnessed. We were just acting as good citizens of the country.

The officers' actuations would sometimes leave people to think that it's intentional not to heed such complaints for any reported crime unresolved under their jurisdiction is a demerit to their rank's or unit's performance. We hope that this is never a practice.

I conferred with my best friend, who is a police officer in Caraga Region, if police blotter should only be personally filed by the victim? He said, “ Any person who has knowledge of the event can do so.”

We opted to file the report not to pressure them to hunt the culprit and retrieve my sis' belongings because, after all, it's been 48-hour since the incident and any action from them would only be futile. We did it with the sincere hope of providing our security force relevant information which they can use for their future crime prevention efforts that they may undertake. We took our chance so that similar events will be marred from reoccurring and to give employees who lives there, especially during paydays, the freedom from fear of being robbed while passing on said location.

This is, however, not to condemn the whole police force for, like many of us, we sometimes need to be reminded of our onus and duties so that we can perform better. Nor this is to dishearten people.

Let this be a challenge for us to be trustful yet vigilant of our authorities so they can deliver genuine public services. Let us be watchful and be concerned about our securities. Let's make reporting any crime and anomaly in our community to concerned agencies a habit and our little contribution for the prevention of crimes so our communities will be safer.

an answer to my previous doubt

My question of what will happen next after the finding of 15 spurious Election Returns (ERs) of Bogo has already been answered. This is somewhat different to what is usually being done in other election "hot spots" in the country.

After the winner has been identified, proclaimed and sworn to office, the issue of cheating is left in the trash bin. Nobody cares about finding who are the cheats. A very apparent reason why the issue of cheating continue to flourish in every election because nobody is held accountable and being punished.

Cebu depicts a different picture since civic-religious organization and the would-have-been victim congressman vowed to sue the responsible individuals including, of course, the personnel or officials of Comelec, as reported by the local news (sunstar-cebu).

We wish that similar efforts are also done in other places.

What's Next?

Distrust on the Commission on Election (Comelec) has ensued brought by issues of massive electoral fraud and the "Hello Garci" Scandal that beset the 2004 National Election.

Election experts considered the 2007 May Polls as evaluation of Comelec's credibility to perform its constitutional mandate.

The exercise went orderly last May, except the contest between Migz Zubiri of Team Unity and Koko Pimentel of Genuine Opposition for Senate's 12th seat and the race for Congress between Salimbangon and Martinez in the 4th district of Cebu, which rather turned out to be legally bloody.

Comelec, convinced that the questioned 15 Bogo electoral returns (ERs) are "spurious and manufactured", will soon proclaim the 4th district representative.

The question of 'who won in last election' is settled. Supporters of both camps would soon mellow. Media coverage would falter, too.

The matter of 'who is (are) responsible' for the 15 phony ERs, however, remains unresolved. It is the most important side of the issue that people often forgets to examine and, therefore, deserves the scrutiny of the public, media, church and commissioners.

Will somebody be implicated? An election official(s) sanctioned and dismissed? A supporter, relative, etc. from any camps held accountable?

Let us see what the commission will do. Or this could be another vital issue, which can rekindle people trust on the electoral body, left to simmer down, with the proclamation of the winner, and to die its natural death.

Fiestas of Camagong

It is envelope in Filipino Culture, being the only Catholic Nation in Southeast Asia, the annual celebration of fiesta in any barrio across the country; north to south and west to east.

I was raised in a farm-barrio of Camagong in the Municipality of Tago. It is nestled in the central part of Surigao del Sur. The barrio residents being mostly Roman Catholics celebrate as many as five (5) patronal fiestas every year.

These celebrations were part of every Camagong native's life. I sometimes wondered why such a lot of fiestas celebrated in one barrio? What I understood then was a barrio had only to celebrate one (1) fiesta a year except those fiestas celebrated by other religious sect like that of Pedong's Fiesta in Brgy. Sumo-sumo in southern part of Tago. The one in Camagong are all Roman Catholic Patron Saints Fiestas.

I tend to rationalize that, perhaps, the lumads of Camagong were financially well-off during Decada '60s to Decada '80s. I also learned from my "Apohan" that farmers and residents of other barrios and the town of San Miguel passed through the barrio on speed boats, manually operated barotos (bancas) and bamboo rafts fashioned with a temporary tent for shelter on their way to the Poblacion to market their harvest and buy essential provisions for their life in the farm.

Brgy Camagong is composed of many sitios namely Kapilihan, Kinabhangan (Upper Puro), Puro Ubos (Lower Puro), Camagong Taas (Upper Camagong), Camagong Ubos (Lower Camagong) and Pagi-pagi. All of these sitios celebrate its own Patronal Fiesta.

Kinabhangan's fiesta is scheduled every May 17; Camagong Taas on June 30; Puro Ubos on June 24; Camagong Ubos on September 10 but was adjusted to September 11, a day after the Patronal Feast of San Nicolas in Tandag City; and Pagi-pagi is on every June 24, the Feast of St. John the Baptist.

In the late '90s to the early 2000, Pagi-pagi, Kapilihan and Camagong Taas faltered to celebrate these fiestas for many of the then residents have migrated to the Poblacion. It is only this year that lumads and grand children, so to speak, of this beloved barrio, brought back the celebration even many of them don't have houses anymore there.

Temporary shanties were made just for the occasion. Camps and tents, lined on the barangay road, housed the fiesta's guests.

I hope that this tradition of celebration will continue even many of the natives of this barrio have found home in other progressive place. Let us not be oblivious that our has many fiestas than others and its record of most fiestas celebrated in one barangay was only beaten today by the Poblacion.

The Poblacion today celebrates as many fiestas as its member purok through the new mandate implemented by the Parish Priests of Tago.

back in cyberSpace

it's been awhile that i wasn't able to update or post new article(s) in my blog. i was just so busy plastering pieces of my life outside (read: in the real world).

the month of November last year was not so good for me.. i got flu and cough which did a tremendous effect on my health.. i was skin-and-bone after the illness..

my holiday vacation last December was literally spent recovering my health and gaining some muscles for my then so thin and weak body.. i had also a chance to attend the wedding of my best friend in college on the 22nd of December last year. it was just a simple yet solemn wedding ceremony. few friends in college and the couple's families and relatives attended the celebration. it was just unfrotunate that marichu otagan, glenn uy, jesus lorente and ronnie palangpang weren't present. the wedding should have served as our reunion too.

hope that a new change will happen to my life this new year, Year of the Fire Pig. hope that i'll be back in government service, which i already miss after my resignation in June last year.

The Scholars: The Ultimate MT Experience

This is not to chronicle the lives of these 16 (17 including the wildcard) scholars who dwell in safeguarded eagle's nest at the heart of the busy Makati City. Nor to narrate their (wild) experiences having to brave dirty flood water and to wake up at wee hours in the morning so everybody has finished taking a bath before 7a.m. Moreso, to share the feeling that we're like having a house party everyday. Imagine the scenario of cooking he right amount of food and 16 people having breakfast and dinner together daily.

This is purposely to ink what and how I remember my co-scholars. There are certain special things that shouldn't be put to oblivion. There are few things that are also good materials for laughter.

Now, prepare to guffaw and meet the scholars:

Sir Benz - The Ultimate Lola (Grandma)

I've never come to know him (her) better since he was expelled two days after we arrived at the house. The ground for his expulsion: Violation of House Rule #1 which expressly provides " Sa panahon ngayon BAWAL ang magkasakit... kung wala ka naman talagang sakit!"

He doesn't own the world, the world owns him. Hope you get what that carabao english phrase means. He is often lured by the tranquility of the deep blue water and the ocean alway beckons him to come (wow, serena!).

He offered to share his bed with Jun on our first night at the house. Jun and I stayed at the girl's room for one week.

SIR VIC - The Original Tatay (Father)

A father of two from Bacolod City and the first ever sholar to voluntarily exit the house. He is "Mr Paperjam". My fellow scholars usually sought his assistance everytime the printer gets jammed. Nobody would ever forget his famous "chopsuey" dish. I even learned some cooking tips from him.

KRISTINE - Romeo's Juliet

She was the second expelled scholar. Believe it, she's the only person who kept a textmate for more than a year without hearing his voice and seeing him in person. Carry n'yo? That's what (pure) textmate is all about, anyway.

She's a lady full of love quotations e.g. love can move mountains.

KAT - The "Can-I-Answer-You-In-English" Lady

Text votes failed to save her from being expelled. You can speak to her in Bisaya, Waray, Tagalog and English, however, let her answer you in English if you can't comprehend the bisaya thing.

She had once doubted if she's a man with a woman's body. (Grabe na revelation... hehehe...) ... hehehe...)

JUNRY - The Cebuanong Bol-anon

He speaks Cebuano with Bol-anon accent. An aspiring comic who lacks timing in throwing his punchlines. He loves to sing modern alternative Visayan songs. A person who easily gets healed by one phone call from his wife (read: GF).

The ultimate "stewart" assassin of the house. Loves milk na galing sa dodo ng cow.

SYD - The Adventurer/Sporty Lass

A petite lady, my surrogate sis, who loves high altitude adventure or sports. She's into wall or rock climbing. I doubt if she's 5ft. tall (peace, sis!). She isn't muscular though she has this kind of sports.

A very friendly and accommodating lady. We couldn't forget what she did the first day we're in the house. She didn't know this but she made us feel, at least, comfortable and at home.

VINCE - Mr. Vanity

The bunso, most organized and vain among the guys. He can't have breakfast without his MILO drink. He has the guy's version of kikay's kit which we can always depend on.

VICKY - The "early-morning-laundry" Lady

You can always find her cozy in the comfort of her room. She seldom talks but she's gregarious.

She does the laundry almost everyday and if she misses one, she does it early (4a.m.) in the morning.

I couldn't forget the late night "talk-to-your-BF-before-you-go-to-sleep reminder.

TED - The Auditor

The auditor as they often say works to find hole in any transaction. He did and reports it in detail to management, even the affairs of the house (joke!).

Anyway, all I know about him is he's one of the oldest (permanent) tenants of the house. He is excited to visit Boracay (who'll not be excited).

We were always awaken by his "encatandia" theme alarm clock alert tone every morning (lupad na si Danaya).

LUCHE - Ms. Clean-Perfect

You chip-chop the veggies but you shouldn't slice the meat unless you wash first the knife. That shows how meticulous this lady from Davao when it comes to cleanliness. That's an excellent practice, anyhow.

She is Vicky's secret crime partner doing the dirty clothes before dawn.

ROD - The Sexy Chef

She can turn any ingredients into a perfect dish. She cooks sumptuous calderita and tamang asim na sinigang (bangus). She, however, doesn't eat fish except bangus belly.

She is one of the promoters of the "bangongot" craze in the house and she woke up late at night (mid-night) to feed her hungry tummy even she had a heavy supper.

CHARITY - House (not Senate) Miriam Defensor-Santiago

She got the height and body of a ramp model. She is candid and vocal regarding issues and her feelings. She even had a prepared speech but her SONA was cancelled (laugh!). She is a good cook too.

If I am to write her a dialogue,it goes like this - "I'm not a BALL. I said, I'm not a ball...! So, don't make pasa-pasa me..!" (peace, sis!)

CARL - Mr. Clean-All

He is the man of the kitchen. He will make an excellent cook. He also dreams of being a teacher.

One thing you should be cautious about this guy is you shouldn't leave your place(things) messed up. When his system gets him cleaning, he is not gonna falter until everything is crisp and into their proper places. So, you better be ferreting in the trash bin for your lost toothbrush, comb or even undies the very next day.

ANNE - The "Bangongot" Queen

She seldom speaks yet shes the originator of the bangongot craze. She gave medical practitioners another reason to research and explain the cause of "bangongot" and "sleep walk" aside from the known one.

She is a good secret-keeper according to Bing.

JAD - The Surrogate Tatay (after Sir Vic)

Don't know the reason why the "tatay" thing. Maybe because Sir Vic wasn't at the house anymore. The age, perhaps, for he is the youngest (read: oldest) in the house.

He was busy, somehow, at the kitchen. He spent Sundays sleeping at the house while his co-scholars were out milling the shopping malls and occupied playing on-line games at net cafe.

KC - The Wildcard

She is a CPA. She was once a tenant, transferred to Davao and was shuttled back to the house. She talks squarely and doesn't want working at Sales Department.

She is a lady with a Broken H _ _ _ _!

BING - The Sosy Mommy

She has two babies left at Cebu. She is the mommy of the house, of course, but she has not married nor been married.

You'll remember her banging thrice the bedroom door with strong force and complaining in a loud voice why the door won't close when she already knew from the very first day that it has a damaged door-lock.

She hated floods yet she had walked on a kilometer-long almost knee-deep flooded street last Sept 8. She learned to launder and iron clothes and cook at the house. She is a good kitchen assistant.

WHO do you think would be the declared the ultimate survivor(s)?

They are not those who can survive the restroom which resist to drain and instead form two seeming bathtubs. They are not those who could stay at the house for 2 or more years.

They are those who could fashion their lives better whether inside or outside the house. They are those who could live a complete and happy lives.

Hope our paths would cross again. God bless us all.. Misyah!

I-MAXperience

People cravings for some things get intensely higher by the dozens every year or even every day. When T.V. in blck and white format was introduced, they desire for a colored T.V. The wanting increases to acquiring a cable-ready T.V. to falt screen adn to the wide flat screen for their home theatre experience.

The same goes with movie houses. They needed to adopt new innovations for their products or services to complement the needs of their customers. Moviegoers want a close-to-real sound experience. So the advent of digital sound system with clear sorround music technology, which are installed in every modern movie theatre.

From Dolby Digital Sound, movie addicts wanted a real-life movie experience. Thus, the introduction of a large-format movie presentation or the so-called IMAX Theatre. Its screen is 10x bigger and wider than the screen of regular movie houses. It has a dolby digital sound system.

People around the globe hunger after the IMAX experience. Well-off Filipino families splurge a considerable sumto watch at the theatre abroad.

Now that SM Mall of Asia has an IMAX theatre, we don't need to save a lot of money to have a share of the experience. And I don't plan to miss it, much more that I'm in Manila from August to September.

On the 21st of August, I watched the movie "Ant Bully". It was a superb movie experience. I could imagine myself as the director or the cameraman. As if, I was present at the set. It's like you're with the actors or actresses in the movie. Korina Sanchez was right when she said that she could actually kiss Mr. Superman.

I should have watched "Superman Returns" then but I hve watched it already during its opening in Cebu City. Anyway, the movie was also great.

If you're gonna watch there with your friends or family, be sure to get a ticket in advance for tickets sell like hot pandesal. I was able to get my ticket then because peole came in two's or groups. I actually got the last ticket for that screening.

The downside of it, if I should say, is you have to be there before the screening time. Fifteen (15) minutes to be exact. Reasonis you can't repeat the movie. Unlike in regular cinemas that you can wear your heart out fromthe day's first screening to the the last full show.

I am planning to watch "T-REX" this September. Hope you'll have to experience it yourselves. It's exhilaratingly awesome!

Trip to Mall of Asia

There had been a lot of talk about SM Mall of Asia even before it opened. Everybody seems so excited to go shopping and be entertained knowing that currently it claims to be the biggest mall in Asia. If not, it’s the largest and the biggest mall in the country.



Being here in Makati City for a vacation since 7 August 2006, I don’t think I could afford to go home without paying a visit to the now famous Mall of Asia. The mall is a two jeepney-ride from our place, anyway. I don’t have to shell out a bigger budget since a Multi-cab, waiting near the LRT Gil Puyat Station, can transport me to the mall at P7.00 only. And I don’t need a lot of cash to enjoy the Sunset in Manila Bay. Fact is, you can watch the beautiful sunset for free.



The mall is nestled in Pasay City near Baywalk, the ultimate hang-out avenue in the city at night. It faces the Manila Bay, which affords its shoppers the experience of Sunset in Manila Bay.

Watching over the sunset provides an exhilarating feeling especially for people who live in the east coast. I haven’t seen a sun peacefully setting down in the horizon. But I have seen the sun, more often than not, rising every morning for I lived in Surigao del Sur that is situated at Northeastern Mindanao.

Since the mall had just opened months ago, few of the boutiques were not yet opened but still a wave of people across the country or the world, perhaps, are coming to visit the place.



Mall of Asia comprises of four major/mega malls: Main Mall, Sunset Avenue, Marina Way and Entertainment Mall.

At its center is the Main Mall. The Main Mall houses various specialty stores or boutiques. The Olympic-size ice-skating rink lies invitingly there.

At the North Parking or the Sunset Avenue in the left wing of the Main Mall is homed to SM Hyper Mart. Unmistakably the first and the only Hyper Market in the country. DELL Call Center is resides at the second floor.

At the South Parking or the Marina Way, which joins the Main Mall on the right side, is where you can find SM Department Store.

Both left and right wings of the Main Mall are complete with fast food and fine-dining restaurants. Brick-covered pathways at the lower level and concrete bridges at the second floor connect them to the Main Mall.



The Entertainment Mall or Seaside Boulevard is located at the back of the Main Mall. It is where you can enjoy the freshest bay breeze. It is where the favorite and talk-of-town IMAX Theater is situated. It is the first and only IMAX Theater in the country and one of the biggest IMAX Theaters in the world.

Fine restaurants specializing in different cuisine lines the Seaside Boulevard. Coffee houses and shops are also strategically located here. What’s good about these coffee shops and restaurants is they offer affordable rates and the foods are deliciously sumptuous.

If you’re in Manila for vacation or business trip, don’t miss the chance to visit Mall of Asia. I guarantee that you’ll have an ultimate shopping and entertainment experience.

SdS' Latest Tourist Attraction

Being a Surigeño, the so called name for people who dwells in the twin province of Surigao, I wonder why amidst the many natural resources - virgin forests and prestine waters Surigao del Sur (SdS) hardly gets foreign and local tourists' interest.

I have been crisscrossing the province, up-North and down-South, during my work at the Department of Trade and Industry. In some occasions I encountered fellow Surigeños jokingly tells me the Latest Tourist Attraction of the provinces. I'm flabbergasted that they are referring to the badly damaged national road that snakes from the Iron Mountain of Surigao down to the Municipality of Lingig. Of course we know that SdS offers a great variety of spots that tourists would surely love and admire.

They told me that if you desire to promote SdS as the Prime Eco-Tourism Destination in Caraga or in Mindanao, the tourism campaign banner should go like this - "Enjoy a Luxurious Trip and Experience a Rollercoaster-like Ride like no other... That's the Way We Usher Your Visit to Surigao del Sur, the Prime Eco-Tourism Destination of the Philippines."

Their translation of that banner: "luxurious" translates to "lukso-lukso" and "rollercoster-like ride" literally means "the feeling you get having to experience those bumpy roads".

I remember one time on my way home from Barobo, I was accidentally (incidentally) seated in the bus with a fair lady who happened to be from Davao and was visiting a friend in Tandag. It was February then and we know that on this month the weather/climate in our province gets even wetter and wetter, if you know what I mean. Having this weather condition running from November to March, the national road which are mostly unpaved gets badly damaged that it's difficult for vehicles to pass. In the words of one of the paticipants in the seminar we conducted - "Sa una maagihan pa yaon nan sakyanan. Pero kuman bisan kabaw dili na makaagi." That is, of course, an exaggeration.

Experiencing the "rollercoster-like trip" i.e. the bus tripping off to the right, to the left and then the driver applying the break abruptly every interval of 10 seconds, the lady asked me, "Dili kaha matumba kaning bus." Apparently, I told her the most logical answer that "dili ang bus matumba". And we both laugh at the thougth of it.

That is the perennial problem of commuters, residents, businesspeople, et. al. traveling in-or-out of the province during the "very" wet season. Surigeños fabricated this so-called latest-tourism-attraction to refer to the bad condition of the national highway as a pretext to endure one or more days, weeks and even more years having to traverse this road. And never to lose hope that one day the National Government will notice this predicament the people of SdS are undergoing for several years now especially in the transport of province products to the market.

The governor had spoken last month that his job to maintain all provincial highways were already done. Concreting the national highways is not the governor's job but he had vowed to bring the matter to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The Surigeños hope and dream that the President would heed the call of the governor and made this project possible before her term ends. The Surigeños believe that with good road network this would open an efficient and productive trade and commerce in the province. Of course, it would also provides tourists, foreign or local alike, easy access to the different tourist spots in the province. Indeed, the province would become the Prime Eco-Tourism Destination of the Philippines in 2015.

Britania Seaweed By-Products

Surigao del Sur is home to a variety of forest, land and marine resources. It prides itself of having virgin forest and untapped mineral resources. Of its 19 municipalities, 17 are coastal towns possessing an abundant array of marine faunas and floras.

Surigao del Sur, being a coastal province, has great business potential for marine culture. For many years now, lot of Surigeños got their livelihood from fishing. Many also tried seaweed farming – a lucrative business since there is bigger demand for seaweed worldwide.


Understandably, only few farmers were able to earn a lot of money from marketing their farm harvest while a lot of middlemen profits from peddling the poor farmers’ harvest they bought at unreasonable prices but sell them at a higher one.

Britania Peebles Cooperative (BPC) located at Brgy. Britania in San Agustin, Surigao del Sur, through the suggestion of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) staff, ventured into food processing. The cooperative usually sell their harvest to middlemen.

With the help of DTI’s Rural Micro Enterprise Promotion Program (DTI – RuMEPP ) and Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (DTI – CARP), BPC members were able to appreciate the profit they could gain by processing their farm output.


The group has started to manufacture seaweed by-products since Britania’s water is home to cultured seaweed (euchema). The group produces liquid agar – a semi-processed seaweed. Initially, they are processing and marketing seaweed yema (milkballs), nata de guso and seaweed pickles. Processing other seaweed-based products, i.e. seaweed cookies and candies, are on their lists.

The group first market exposure was during the 2nd Kaliga Festival or Araw ng Surigao del Sur. An Agri-Tourism Trade Fair was held on June 19-20, 2006. They are scheduled also to attend the Kaliguan Festival ’06 which will run from June 21 to June 25 at Cagwait White Beach.


The group dreams of being the largest producer or processor of Nata de Guso – a product that could compete and substitute the costly Nata de Coco and Kaong.

From my standpoint, BPC’s dream will soon be a reality. I am fortunate that, in one way or the other, I have been part of this dream and their transformation. I believe that one day, they would not be mere farmers but successful businesspersons.

For inquiries and orders, you can contact BPC Chair Antonio Bag-o at (0910) 367-1174 ; BPC Manager Nora Sarmiento at (0920) 828-6376 or you can contact DTI – Tandag and look for Neneng Bautista at (086) 211-3029.

How Modern Love Letters are Written

I saw this at the net and i think it's worth posting here:

SAMPLE OF A MODERN LOVE LETTER

Things on the love landscape sure have changed
over the years...

Dearest Julia,

I am very happy to inform you that I have fallen in
love with you since Tuesday, the 17th of August
2001.

With reference to the meeting held between us on
the 17th of August 2001 at 1500 hours, I would like
to present myself as a prospective lover. Our love
affair would be on probation for a period of no less
than three months and depending on compatibility,
would be made permanent.

Of course, upon completion of probation, there will
be continuous relationship training and relationship
appraisal schemes leading up to promotion from
lover to spouse. The expenses incurred for coffee
and entertainment would initially be shared equally
between us. Later, based on your performance, I
might take up a larger share of the expenses.

However, I am broad-minded enough, to be taken
care of, on your expense account. I request you to
kindly respond within 30 days of receiving this
letter, failing which, this offer would be cancelled
without further notice and I shall be considering
someone else. I would be happy, if you could
forward this letter to your sister, if you do not wish
to take up this offer.

Thanking you in anticipation.

Yours sincerely,

Hugh




REPLY TO THE MODERN LOVE LETTER:

Dear Hugh,

Please refer to your letter dated today. I am
pleased to inform you that I hope to accept your
proposal for romance.

However, you should be informed that there are
certain conditions of acceptance. Promotional
prospects are to my satisfaction. However, please
enlighten me as to your retirement benefits.

Gratuity should be generous.

I also need to be assured that there is sufficient
security with regard to this commitment. If there is
any chance at all of retrenchment or consequent
disinterest on your part, then I should receive
monetary compensation according to union
standards.

Due to the nature of my position, I am sure you will
agree that an expense account should be arranged
for my access in light of the VIP I shall be
entertaining. In addition, housing and transport
allowances should be in order and nothing less
than a Jaguar is in order.

Please also note that there should be no
moonlighting restrictions placed on myself. If you
are still interested in the relationship, please reply
on an urgent basis as other prospective lovers have
sent letters of interest.

Please also note that my sister is happily employed.

Yours perhaps,

Julia

CARP at 18

The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) turned 18 this month. The program originally runs for 10 years but was extended for another 10 years through the enactment of Republic Act 8532. CARP was first implemented in 1998 under the Aquino Administration.

CARP is the debutante this year.

At age 18, a person is formally presented to the society. It is the transition of people to womanhood or manhood. A time often called in legal parlance as the entry to legal maturity.

As in every debut celebration, it is welcomed with a great feast – sumptuous foods, overflowing drinks and a never-ending merriment.

After 18 years, should we hold a party tantamount to the feast we prepare in every debut of our loved ones?

Of course, we should!

Debut celebration signifies independence. CARP debut also indicates independence. If not to all, it is for many Filipino people who are recipients of this program. An independence from the choking hands of the capitalists. An independence from the bondage of soil. An independence from the grip of poverty.

This month, it is not the CARP implementers who celebrate the founding of this program. This is a celebration of farmers and fisherfolks for the economic liberty they have achieved through the CARP program.

It is an understatement to judge that the program has failed to deliver its true purpose to the people. It is an understatement to say that the program has deeply buried the poor into poverty instead. It is an understatement to contend that apparently the program has favored the rich, influential landlords. It is an understatement to claim that the program is used just to access the wealth of the Marcoses.

Truly the success of CARP doesn’t lie on the hands of the implementers. Program implementers sweat blood to deliver the services to people even to outskirt places only accessible by foot. They have traversed rough seas, climbed mountains and hike, uphill and downhill, three to five kilometers just to bring the needed services.

The program success deeply resides on the values and acceptance of the beneficiaries. It flourishes in areas where people have developed a heart for their economic undertakings.

I am grateful that I became part of the program, as a CARP implementer, in our province. It is heartwarming to see big smiles on the faces of our beneficiaries. It is overwhelming to experience that somehow we have become one of the instruments for their economic independence. It is amazing that these people have hundreds of thousands or millions of pesos gross annual income and we only earn a meager amount.

Indeed, the 18th Anniversary of CARP is worth celebrating.

Happy 18th Anniversary CARP implementers and beneficiaries! Mabuhay tayong lahat! Mabuhi kita tanan!

SDS version of Hundred Islands

Many people, Filipinos and Foreigners alike, have known the famous Hundred Islands of the Philippines. Philippines, of course, being an archipelago. Currently, the so-called grandiest tourist destination of the country has adopted a program wherein certain people or group can adopt an island and name it to themselves. He would then be responsible for the preservation of the faunas and floras native to the island.


Surigao del Sur also prides itself to have its own version of the Philippine's Hundred Islands. Nestled at Barangay Britania in the Municipality of San Agustin is a seascape backdropped by 24 islets. Accessible? It is a kilometer motor-ride or hike from the national road.


A tranquil surroundings and fresh breeze from the Pacific Ocean welcomes every visitor. Its prestine clear waters are inviting, nobody can resist to take a dip into the blue.

It is best to enjoy island hopping during high tides. If your interest is to frolic in sand, a number of islets proffer fine coral or white sands. The "Naked Island" commonly known as the "White Beach" is highly recommended for beach lovers. It hosts white coral sands, however, the island doesn't have natural trees to shade you when the sun is at its piercest heat. It is also best to visit the site during low tide.


Various water activities and sports can be hosted in the area. The coral reefs are good for scuba diving. Kayaking between islands provides another alternative aside from swimming on the beautiful beaches.

On the 1st day of June 2006, I and a couple of friends a sea junket, touring the 24 islets.
Barangay Britania has already come up with the Britania Tourism Development Plan and they are inviting interested people or groups to help promote and develop the area. This might put Surigao del Sur on the Tourism Map of the Philippines.

Career or Family?

This was sent to me thru the yahoo!group service.. i find this interesting and worth posting (sharing) here.

EVERY moment in life, we are faced with a choice.

Which should command our preference -- the demands of our job or the duties to our family?

IF there is a board meeting today at the same hours that our son

graduates from school, where should we go -- to the boardroom or to the graduation ceremony?

IF we have to make a very important presentation tomorrow,

so as to advance our career, but our wife says she has to see the doctor

on a suspicionof cancer, which appointment should we keep?

THESE are the daily battles of conscience we have to wage,

trying to keep a balance between our responsibility to earn a living

and our opportunity to live a life.

And our choices invariably reveal who we really are.

OUR preferences indicate our true character.

Our priorities are the best indicators of our real identity.

What profits success?

I know that many of you out there would go for career on the pretension that after all,

you are doing all these for the family.

MANY of us, would rather become outstanding employees,

model personnel instead of being doting fathers or loving husbands.

MANY of you would opt to perform exceedingly well in the office even if you work 12 to 16 hours a day,

going home only to change clothes or catch afew hours of sleep.

BUT what for? At the end of the day, what have you accomplished?

What profits a highly successful professional or wealthy businessman if ultimately, he loses his family,

wrecks his marriage or dishonors the name he will leave to his children?

WHAT has a rich man accomplished if he has built a fortune and

founded conglomerates of highly profitable companies

and yet drives his own wife to vices or infidelity,

his children to drugs and delinquency and himself to spiritual decay and total burnout?

WHAT matters most? Look around you.

The evidence is overwhelming and irreversible.

Families are shattered. Marriages are broken. Lives are reduced to utter emptiness.

EVEN as man advances in wealth and success,

he deteriorates on the basic standards of joy, peace and serenity.

As we all compete and struggle forpower and possessions, we often neglect what really matters most.

In our insatiable mania for supremacy over the rest,

we often forget the most important things in life.

I WILL respect your choice. But as for me, my priorities are clear.

Between career and family, I will always go for family. I can forego that board meeting

and earn the ire of my boss or make a bad impression on my peers.

But I shall not inflict a lifetime trauma on my son by sending him alone to graduate without his dad.

I can forget that business presentation and lose a valued client or waste a career promotion,

but I cannot leave my wife alone in her moments of anxiety.

MEANINGLESS.

WHY should a well-known public figure commit suicide given all his fame and fortune?

Can his wealth and wisdom compensate for ruptures in his relationships?

WHY should a wife of a famous politician commit adultery...?

Is it lust or vain fixation for the pleasures of the flesh?

Or is it the pain of being neglected and ignored by the husband she used to adore?

WHY should a son cut his wrist or a daughter drink poison despite all the luxuries

and pleasures they are showered with?

Can money replace love?

Can pleasure take the place of affections?

THE ULTIMATE HELL

TO succeed in career and fail in the family is, to me, the ultimate hell.

John Grisham, that famous author of legal fictions wrote "TheTestament,"

which tells of a highly successful industrialist who made billions of dollars but lost his family.

In the first 10 pages of the novel, he jumped to his death from his multi-story building

in front of his self-centeredchildren.

By his will, he disinherited all of them and bequeathed his entire estate

to an illegitimate daughter who refused to accept it.

THAT is the ultimate irony; those who lusted for money lost it.

Those who were given all the money refused it. In all his dozen masterpieces,

Grisham tells us about the importance of family.

"A Time to Kill" tells of a father who went to jail for killing his daughter's rapists.

INDEED, we...should learn from the mistakes of others.

We should straighten our lives and put our priorities in order.

I DON'T know about you.

But as for me and my house, our credo is:

There is no success in a career that can make up for a failure in the family.

BUT if forced to make a choice between career and family,

I'llgladly choose the latter.

This is my philosophy, my article of faith.

I pray and work hard to live up to it.

Shared by Joe Gatuslao
Philippines

my speech for JS Prom '03

I have come accross the speech I addressed to the Senior and Junior students of Purisima School, my Alma Mater, in my YAHOO!MAIL and I think it is worth posting/sharing.

Here it is....

Greetings…..

Beforehand, I would like to relay to you the story on how I have come to Converse with you tonight. Engr. Secarro, together with his two comrades, approached me last Tuesday morning and told me about this affair and their plan. I was hesitant to accept the invitation for three reasons: First, I am not well-verse at relaying insights with regards to this sort of affair considering my being young and my experiences. Second, I don’t have ideas on what to talk for they said the activity doesn’t have any theme. Third, I do still have school chores left undone. As a matter of fact, I am absent from my classes this time. However, as Paulinians or Purisiminians as we claimed, I could not muster enough courage to turn down the invitation. Moreover, they are saying that it would be of more facile for the listeners to grasp the message if the speaker is of their class, I mean, of their age. I hope so…

You are celebrating, tonight, JS Prom and Bequeathal Ceremony. A two distinct significant events in the lives of high school’s students that are fused into one. I bet, your idea of this evening affair is concentrated merely on JS Prom that is considered by most of you as the time when the ambience turns to be poignant and romantic. A time when you are afforded an opportunity to be with your campus crush. Undeniably, that remains true. Yet, that is not the only definition of this occasion. What you have accomplished now is one of the manifestations that Purisimian Family is one and united. That love, fraternal love, flourishes among her members and even extend beyond the school premises. That camaraderie is nurtured and rapport among Purisimians is maintained and valued. This is the image that you, Seniors and Juniors, must be able to depict to the younger Purisimians and to the society in general, being their role models.

“Purisimians should make a difference.”

How could I ever be oblivious of these words of my then high school principal, Sr. Mediatrix Delos Santos, Spc, that keeps to linger in mind until now? I could still picture her reprimanding us, my batch, every morning after the flag ceremony instilling in us that same phrase. I couldn’t even vaguely remember if my batch had missed one of her sermons (let may say, her reminders) on school days. However, we are very much grateful to her for her ways paved the way of making us refined men and women today. But of course, that is coupled with our own sacrifices and efforts.

What my principal would like to emphasize when she say “Purisimians make a difference” is - First, we should convene our efforts and aim our shots on excelling in our chosen field of endeavor that would simultaneously lead to a socially buxom lives. In short, to live a morally, modest, and upright lives. Secondly, we should strive to hone our skills and traits of being a leader. Basically, we are to develop the so-called “Servant Leadership” conceptualized by Robert K. Greenleaf.

We will also witness, tonight, the Bequeathal Ceremony. The handing-over of responsibilities by the Seniors to their successors, the Juniors. The delegation of obligations by the Seniors doesn’t necessarily means that they have relinquished their duties towards the school. It only marks the commencement of a greater responsibility towards the school and the community. It is, indeed, fitting to elucidate the concept of “Servant Leadership” I have had mentioned a while ago. We may say, perhaps, that it is impossible that two roles, that of the Servant and Leader, be fused in one real person, in whatever level of status or calling.

Let me share to you the story Journey to the East written by Hermann Hesse. In the story we can see a band of men on a mythical journey. The central figure of the story is Leo who accompanies the party as a servant who does their menial chores, but who also sustains them with his spirit and his song. He is a person of extraordinary presence. All goes well until Leo disappears. Then the group falls into disarray and the journey is abandoned. They cannot make it without the servant Leo. The narrator, one of the parties, after some years of wandering finds Leo and is taken into the Order that had sponsored the journey. There he discovers that Leo, whom he had known first as servant, was in fact he titular head of the Order, its guiding spirit, a great and noble leader.

We can deduce from the story that the great leader is seen as servant first. And that simple fact is the key to his greatness. Leo was naturally an all-time leader but he was servant first because that was what he was, deep down inside him. Leadership was bestowed to a man who was in nature a servant. Leadership was something given, or assumed, that could be taken away. His servant nature was the real man, not bestowed, not assumed, and not to be taken away. Leo was servant first.

The servant-leader is servant first. It begins with a natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice stirs one to aspire to lead. That person is extremely different from one who is leader-first, perhaps because of the need to assuage power drive or material possessions. The leader-first chooses to serve after leadership is established. The difference is clearly manifested in the care taken by the servant-leader first to make sure that other people’s highest
priority needs are being served. Not that efforts are channeled to self-aggrandizement and selfish interest. Purisimians must not wait to be elected or ascribed first as leaders and then serve. You must do the otherwise. Everyone can be a leader. The new leadership definition recognizes the greatness and unique contributions of everyone. “Everybody does have a leader inside,” says Robert Reich of Harvard University. It is our task to uncover and cultivate the leadership skills we have. Leadership is no longer exclusively “top-down” rather it is “bottom-up” and “omni-directional.” Leadership is not only the assignment of elected or chosen one but it sips down among the different integral parts of the system for in the final analysis, it is not the general who wins, but the army.

It is noteworthy, however, that leadership entails greater responsibility. A leader has accountability towards the led. To effectively lead, a leader must have a vision, principle, and passion. A vision to see the potential in every situation. The principle that give him integrity and the passion to pursue his vision even at great cost.

My fellow Purisimians, I exhort everyone of you to be a servant-leader. In the words of my high school principal, Sr. Mediatrix Delos Santos, Spc, let may say, “Let us make a difference!”