Many presidential candidates favor giving a hero's burial to former president Marcos. Why? Is he a hero? What has he done to the Philippines and to the Filipinos?
In the 1960's, the Philippines was next to Japan in Asia as an economic power. He became president during that time. He declared martial law in 1972 supposedly to stop the terrorist activities of the communists. [I firmly believe though that he declared martial law because of the ambition to perpetuate himself in power, being ineligible already for re-election after having served as president for two terms]. In 1986, when people power ousted him from his office, what, where, how was the Philippines compared with the other Asian countries?
In the 1960's, the Filipino practiced good manners, had delicadeza, would rather bear hunger than steal food. What about now? Then, the police and the military had discipline and courtesy. Now, how courteous are they? Before, the government employee serves the people, now, he acts like your boss, won't do his job if you don't give him extra.
Because of Mr. Marcos, the Philippines became what it is today. Because of him, the Filipino has lost his sense of what is right and wrong and lived with "what is good for me and my pocket".
The Filipino sense of values has been distorted. The Philippines and the Filipino is sick. This is the legacy of Mr. Marcos and his martial law.
Now, they want to give him a hero's burial?
My heart is crying out, NEVER!!!
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
Prosecutor mutiny at DOJ
I have just read this news item from Inquirer.net over the issue of acting Secretary Agra, appointed just last March, issuing a resolution clearing the governor and vice governor-both Ampatuans for the murders in the infamous Maguindanao massacre.
How could he, in such a short span of time, found out a position opposite to that found out by the state prosecutors assigned to the case who have been at it since November, when he assumed office only in March?
Something is not right, something stinks here. Does Malacanang, whom allegedly the accused are close to, and despite claims of distancing itself from the accused, have a hand in this?
I was not born yesterday.
Can the Honorable Secretary Agra look at the families of the victims in their eyes and tell them these Ampatuans are innocent?
Where is our sense of honor? What happened to our sense of decency?
You, honorable lawyers out there, wouldn't you lift a finger on this issue? And you, decent citizens, what do you think?
Must we, again, light a candle to see the sun?
Right now I feel depressed, angry and frustrated.
How could he, in such a short span of time, found out a position opposite to that found out by the state prosecutors assigned to the case who have been at it since November, when he assumed office only in March?
Something is not right, something stinks here. Does Malacanang, whom allegedly the accused are close to, and despite claims of distancing itself from the accused, have a hand in this?
I was not born yesterday.
Can the Honorable Secretary Agra look at the families of the victims in their eyes and tell them these Ampatuans are innocent?
Where is our sense of honor? What happened to our sense of decency?
You, honorable lawyers out there, wouldn't you lift a finger on this issue? And you, decent citizens, what do you think?
Must we, again, light a candle to see the sun?
Right now I feel depressed, angry and frustrated.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
I was surfing the net early this morning, i woke up early and couldn't go back to sleep, and I came across a blog about a Mac owner who brought his unit to the store he bought it from, located in Makati, due to a battery problem. He was told that the problem had to be referred to Apple Singapore office. Several followups were made by him, each time he was given alibis for not having any positive response about his problem. To shorten the story, he found out that he was told lies by people from the Makati store after he personally got in touched with the Singapore office who informed him of the absence of any referral from Makati.
I was struck by this, because it is a reflection of what ails the Philippine society today. I have read a few days earlier about a foreign observer who mentioned about the Filipinos' damaged culture. Up front, I couldn't agree less. This is what is really happening to the Filipino, from the topmost of government, to the lowest level of society. Something is just not right. There is a loss of the sense of decency, honesty, respect, good manners, uprightness, integrity, etc.
This deterioration of our values is very evident in our daily dealings with people everywhere; in the workplace, in establishments, and worse with people in government offices. Of course, there are still many good people around, they may even be still the majority, but the actuations of the others on the opposite end of the spectrum are so observable, so visible that they seem to prevail. The deterioration is getting worse with time.
This decline has to be corrected because if not, I am afraid of where we as a country and as a people are heading to. I love this country, I want to still be a proud Pinoy.
GOD BLESS THE PHILIPPINES!
I was struck by this, because it is a reflection of what ails the Philippine society today. I have read a few days earlier about a foreign observer who mentioned about the Filipinos' damaged culture. Up front, I couldn't agree less. This is what is really happening to the Filipino, from the topmost of government, to the lowest level of society. Something is just not right. There is a loss of the sense of decency, honesty, respect, good manners, uprightness, integrity, etc.
This deterioration of our values is very evident in our daily dealings with people everywhere; in the workplace, in establishments, and worse with people in government offices. Of course, there are still many good people around, they may even be still the majority, but the actuations of the others on the opposite end of the spectrum are so observable, so visible that they seem to prevail. The deterioration is getting worse with time.
This decline has to be corrected because if not, I am afraid of where we as a country and as a people are heading to. I love this country, I want to still be a proud Pinoy.
GOD BLESS THE PHILIPPINES!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
It's been sometime since my last post. This is something that's been playing in my mind.
Life is short. When it will end, we never know exactly, that is why it is important to tell the people that you love that you do and you have to do it now because tomorrow may be too late.
I am not a very expressive person as far as feelings are concerned, especially to my father and my brothers, but I try to express my feelings for them, that I care for them through my actions, through what I do for them. I just hope that they get the message.
My father is old, I know he won't be with us for that long anymore even if we want to. In the remaining years that he is still with us, I only want him to be happy. And what makes him happy?
I think that now, all he wants is to see his children and grandchildren around him. Bisag pobre, basta magkapundok lang gihapon. I remember the only time I saw him cry, early last year when he told me that Boy, was leaving for where, he didn't tell him, to get away from the problems that resulted from the 'misadventures' of his wife, and to find a living to support themselves. Yes, that was the only time I remember I saw my father cry.
He was very happy sometime August last year when Boy came home and would be working in the house which my other brother and his wife were constructing out from the retirement pay she just got. This bayaw just retired at age 50's.
Now that the house is almost done, what is next for Boy? This is what I had been thinking. I want to be able to start something that could provide livelihood for him and also Norman, something that the two of them love and want to do, maybe a food business or raising chicken, something that would provide them income and still be here with our father.
I hope I can do something for them, for my father...
Life is short. When it will end, we never know exactly, that is why it is important to tell the people that you love that you do and you have to do it now because tomorrow may be too late.
I am not a very expressive person as far as feelings are concerned, especially to my father and my brothers, but I try to express my feelings for them, that I care for them through my actions, through what I do for them. I just hope that they get the message.
My father is old, I know he won't be with us for that long anymore even if we want to. In the remaining years that he is still with us, I only want him to be happy. And what makes him happy?
I think that now, all he wants is to see his children and grandchildren around him. Bisag pobre, basta magkapundok lang gihapon. I remember the only time I saw him cry, early last year when he told me that Boy, was leaving for where, he didn't tell him, to get away from the problems that resulted from the 'misadventures' of his wife, and to find a living to support themselves. Yes, that was the only time I remember I saw my father cry.
He was very happy sometime August last year when Boy came home and would be working in the house which my other brother and his wife were constructing out from the retirement pay she just got. This bayaw just retired at age 50's.
Now that the house is almost done, what is next for Boy? This is what I had been thinking. I want to be able to start something that could provide livelihood for him and also Norman, something that the two of them love and want to do, maybe a food business or raising chicken, something that would provide them income and still be here with our father.
I hope I can do something for them, for my father...
Friday, April 17, 2009
This week has been quite heavy psychologically/emotionally for me. The people that matters most in my life are now telling me to tell the truth. Does it mean that I no longer have their trust? This hurts. This is the baggage that weigh down on me. If my wife does not trust me, I can bear it, but when it's my children that don't anymore, it causes tears.
My younger brother, Boy, had been thru a storm and still is. Their house and lot had been foreclosed because of unpaid debts, courtesy of his damn wife but with his signature on the collateral, and which by next month they have to vacate. Several people have been looking for his wife, who had gone away for over a year now, to demand payment of debts, in big amounts. Another lending company had filed a case against him and his wife also for unpaid debts. When asked by my father what he will do about it, he said that he and his 13 year old son have no other recourse but to go away and hide, because he can't pay the debt. My father then offered his little savings, although not enough, to pay for the debt. I volunteered to put up what is lacking so that the case against him will be dropped, and he and his son don't have to go away anymore. This I did because I know that my father would rather have his four children, although having their own families already, living near and around him. Our father is 82 years old.
So, we paid the lending company, a little over a hundred thousand. Because my brother had no means of livelihood now, his little aluminum casting business had gone down also, I also offered to shoulder the tuition fee of his son. Although his daughter has a job, I know that my family's budget for half month is bigger than her monthly salary and what with three mouths to feed. My 13 year old nephew may not be able to continue his studies without other support. These things were known to my family.
Then one day, Boy and his son passed by our father's place and told him that they were leaving but without telling him where to. But we know that they will be back because Boy had ask a niece to enrol his son.
One morning, coming home from work at about 4:30 am, my wife asked me the whereabouts of the money that was put in the drawer, why only a little was left. I told her that that was all that was left after paying the lending company. Then, I went to sleep.
My wife woke me up at about 11 am and again asked me about the money. Deep inside I was irked because I was awakened from sleep just for that question. They all know that I don't want to be awakened from sleep especially in the shift that I am now in where I hardly, if ever, get enough sleep. I told her what I said to her that morning. But she kept on asking what other things I spent the money on. She was even murmuring wa ra bay aso makumkom. God!
Maybe she thought I secretely gave Boy some money to use for their travel because she knew early on that Boy wanted to borrow money from my other brother but was denied. Boy did not have any money from me. I wanted to give him three thousand earlier when I learned that he was unable to borrow money from our other brother, but he refused it. He told me ayaw lang manoy even though, I know, he needed it, maybe because he knew I still have to spend for his son's coming enrolment.
Maybe my wife is afraid that Boy might abuse my kindness, but I know him better, he's my brother. I know he has his own faults, but being an opportunist is not one of them.
I don't blame my daughters for maybe thinking the way my wife thinks. Whenever Boy and our youngest brother's names are mentioned in our conversations, almost always my wife talks about their faults and imperfections. Seldom is mentioned anything positive about them. Maybe this often mention of negative things about my two brothers had created a negative image of them in the minds of my daughters.
But does this explain why they think I gave money to Boy and hid this from them?
I am the eldest of us four brothers. Even if I already have my own family, they still are family to me. If I can help them rebuild their lives, I would. If there is anything I can do to help them stand on their own, I would do it. And there's no reason to hide it, if any, from my family.
Writing this has somehow eased the pain. It is almost 1am. Maybe I can sleep better now.
My younger brother, Boy, had been thru a storm and still is. Their house and lot had been foreclosed because of unpaid debts, courtesy of his damn wife but with his signature on the collateral, and which by next month they have to vacate. Several people have been looking for his wife, who had gone away for over a year now, to demand payment of debts, in big amounts. Another lending company had filed a case against him and his wife also for unpaid debts. When asked by my father what he will do about it, he said that he and his 13 year old son have no other recourse but to go away and hide, because he can't pay the debt. My father then offered his little savings, although not enough, to pay for the debt. I volunteered to put up what is lacking so that the case against him will be dropped, and he and his son don't have to go away anymore. This I did because I know that my father would rather have his four children, although having their own families already, living near and around him. Our father is 82 years old.
So, we paid the lending company, a little over a hundred thousand. Because my brother had no means of livelihood now, his little aluminum casting business had gone down also, I also offered to shoulder the tuition fee of his son. Although his daughter has a job, I know that my family's budget for half month is bigger than her monthly salary and what with three mouths to feed. My 13 year old nephew may not be able to continue his studies without other support. These things were known to my family.
Then one day, Boy and his son passed by our father's place and told him that they were leaving but without telling him where to. But we know that they will be back because Boy had ask a niece to enrol his son.
One morning, coming home from work at about 4:30 am, my wife asked me the whereabouts of the money that was put in the drawer, why only a little was left. I told her that that was all that was left after paying the lending company. Then, I went to sleep.
My wife woke me up at about 11 am and again asked me about the money. Deep inside I was irked because I was awakened from sleep just for that question. They all know that I don't want to be awakened from sleep especially in the shift that I am now in where I hardly, if ever, get enough sleep. I told her what I said to her that morning. But she kept on asking what other things I spent the money on. She was even murmuring wa ra bay aso makumkom. God!
Maybe she thought I secretely gave Boy some money to use for their travel because she knew early on that Boy wanted to borrow money from my other brother but was denied. Boy did not have any money from me. I wanted to give him three thousand earlier when I learned that he was unable to borrow money from our other brother, but he refused it. He told me ayaw lang manoy even though, I know, he needed it, maybe because he knew I still have to spend for his son's coming enrolment.
Maybe my wife is afraid that Boy might abuse my kindness, but I know him better, he's my brother. I know he has his own faults, but being an opportunist is not one of them.
I don't blame my daughters for maybe thinking the way my wife thinks. Whenever Boy and our youngest brother's names are mentioned in our conversations, almost always my wife talks about their faults and imperfections. Seldom is mentioned anything positive about them. Maybe this often mention of negative things about my two brothers had created a negative image of them in the minds of my daughters.
But does this explain why they think I gave money to Boy and hid this from them?
I am the eldest of us four brothers. Even if I already have my own family, they still are family to me. If I can help them rebuild their lives, I would. If there is anything I can do to help them stand on their own, I would do it. And there's no reason to hide it, if any, from my family.
Writing this has somehow eased the pain. It is almost 1am. Maybe I can sleep better now.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
emotions
I woke up at 4:30 this morning. Since I didn't feel sleepy anymore [Iwent to bed at 8 last night], I went to the sala intending to finally view Prison Break 3 on dvd, but when I saw the laptop, I changed my mind. I opened it and went to limewire and started to download christmas songs by the carpenters. When the first song 'merry Christmas darling' was completed, I played it while continuing to download. Completed next was 'I'll be home for Christmas'. I then played it next. When it started playing, I suddenly felt nostalgic and thought about my daughter who is studying in Manila. I imagined how she would feel hearing this song. I know she's homesick. I read about it in her blog which I saw last night just before going to bed. I couldn't help it, tears fell down my eyes. I feel the homesickness of my daughter, and I miss her.
I last saw her in August in Manila just before I went back to Cebu after my training there. We were also together going home to Cebu for his Lolo's birthday, August 24, for a surprise visit by her, and were also together going back to Manila, me to continue my training and her to go back to UP for her studies.
I don't know why, but since the time both of my daughters left home, this was last year, to pursue their studies, one going to Silliman for her pgi, and the other to UP for her master's, I easily feel nostalgia. Tears are very easy to come by. Their going away simultaneously sort of shocked me. I was fully aware that one day they will have to live their own lives, but still I was not really fully prepared for it. The realization that both of them are now away from us was slow to sink in, and, together with it, the feeling of loneliness, the feeling of having lost precious possessions slowly creeped in also. I know they're just away, and not gone. I know that this was just temporary, but the feeling of missing them is hard to control. Emotions sometimes gets the better of you, and you can't help it but give away few drops of tears.
Now, Ligaya is back home after completing her stint at Silliman, but Lani is still in Manila, for how long, I am not sure, but she'll be back home soon.
She's coming home this Christmas, December 17 to be exact, and that's only a few days more. We eagerly await that day, and who knows, she may even have a chance to come home before that date. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
We will all be together again, that's a fact, and until then, blogs and cellphones will ease and release the emotions.
I last saw her in August in Manila just before I went back to Cebu after my training there. We were also together going home to Cebu for his Lolo's birthday, August 24, for a surprise visit by her, and were also together going back to Manila, me to continue my training and her to go back to UP for her studies.
I don't know why, but since the time both of my daughters left home, this was last year, to pursue their studies, one going to Silliman for her pgi, and the other to UP for her master's, I easily feel nostalgia. Tears are very easy to come by. Their going away simultaneously sort of shocked me. I was fully aware that one day they will have to live their own lives, but still I was not really fully prepared for it. The realization that both of them are now away from us was slow to sink in, and, together with it, the feeling of loneliness, the feeling of having lost precious possessions slowly creeped in also. I know they're just away, and not gone. I know that this was just temporary, but the feeling of missing them is hard to control. Emotions sometimes gets the better of you, and you can't help it but give away few drops of tears.
Now, Ligaya is back home after completing her stint at Silliman, but Lani is still in Manila, for how long, I am not sure, but she'll be back home soon.
She's coming home this Christmas, December 17 to be exact, and that's only a few days more. We eagerly await that day, and who knows, she may even have a chance to come home before that date. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
We will all be together again, that's a fact, and until then, blogs and cellphones will ease and release the emotions.
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