Got this from Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan:

Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan is pleased to announce that our website: http://www.slb.ph/ is already accessible online. Our website features updated and relevant information about our organization, activities and advocacies that we are actively engage in.

Available in the same website are our free downloadable voter education materials namely: (1) Pinoy Voters Academy 2010 Edition Trainers’ Manual—English and Filipino versions, (2) Voters’ Guide—English, Tagalog and Visayan Vision, (3) Sample Ballot—For shading practice, (4) Voting Process Poster and other relevant voters’ education materials that partners in development works could utilize in their respective voters’ education activities.

Along the same line, we are pleased to announce that we will be operating once again “GABAY HALALAN” a text and call-center facility designed to provide accessible, unbiased information regarding the upcoming elections to the Filipino electorate in Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and overseas.

The said project will operate from April 15, 2010 to May 14, 2010 with an eight (8) hour shift 9:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. and a twenty four (24) hour shift, which will be manned by SLB personnel and volunteers, tele-educators, I.T. specialists and network partners. Details and information regarding the said project could also be found in our website.

Should you have any clarification and/or inquires regarding the said matter, please do not hesitate to reach us through our contact information: (02) 4265968, slb@admu.edu.ph, 09228600752

Manalangin. Manindigan. Makialam.
Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan

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TUMAWAG sa Gabay HALALAN para sa mga TANONG ELEKSYON.
LIBRE at WALANG KINIKILINGAN

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Mula sa kahit saang bahagi ng Pilipinas. No long distance charges o kahit anong bayad. Simula 9am — 6pm. April 15 to May 14, 2010

Some years ago, I listened to a CD called, “20 Speeches That Changed A Nation”. It was a list of 20 Speeches that changed, made and molded our country into what it is now. In homage to that, and borrowing from that idea, I am featuring 10 Videos that I think best represent, or show us what this country is all about. As with the other lists I have made (The 10 Greatest Self-Made Men in Philippine History, or The 10 Women That Changed Philippine History), this one is by no means definitive. But I have tried my best to get a good sampling from all over. Please add your own videos in comment section below if you find a video that you think should be included.

Our nation is a nation stained by the blood of nationalists and martyrs who came before us. There are proud moments for sure. And there are moments we’d rather forget. Here, without apologies, are the 10 Videos That Made our Country into What It Is Now:

10. The 1971 Plaza Miranda Bombing

The Liberal Party’s campaign rally on August 21, 1971 was held to proclaim the candidacies of eight opposition Senatorial bets as well as the candidate for the Mayoralty race in Manila. As a crowd of about 4,000 gathered to hear speeches, two hand grenades were reportedly tossed on-stage. Among those killed instantly were a 5-year-old child and The Manila Times photographer Ben Roxas. Almost everyone on stage was injured, including incumbent Senator Jovito Salonga, Liberal Party president Gerardo Roxas and Sergio Osmeña, Jr. The blast left Jovito Salonga blind in one eye and deaf in one ear. Ramon Bagatsing, the Liberal Party mayoralty candidate for Manila, lost his leg.

Then President Marcos blamed the communists for the bombing, took the opportunity to seize emergency powers and suspended the writ of habeas corpus — a prelude to declaring Martial Law.

9. Marcos Declares Martial Law

This is the iconic speech that shocked the whole nation. Rumors were afloat that it was going to happen anytime soon. And so when Marcos took over national television and gave this speech, it wasn’t so much a surprise, as it was a realization that we had finally come to what will be one of the darkest points of our nation’s history.

You can see the full text of the Proclamation of Martial Law in the PHILIPPINE PRESIDENCY PROJECT.

8. Assassination of Ninoy Aquino

Despite a convoy of security guards (all assigned to “protect” him by the Marcos government), a contingent of 1,200 military and police personnel on the apron, three armed bodyguards personally escorting him, and a bulletproof vest Aquino was wearing, Aquino was fatally shot in the head as he was escorted off the airplane. From the airplane, aviation security personnel were seen firing into the body of an unknown man dressed in blue, who was later identified as Rolando Galman. Aquino’s body was quickly loaded into a van and sped away.

The assassination of Ninoy Aquino, in the very tarmac that now bears his name, triggered a series of events that changed our nation and made us who we are.

7. Handog ng Pilipino Sa Mundo

This is our own version of We Are the World. Directed by the great Mike de Leon, it is the definitive video that captured the mood of EDSA 1 or the People Power Revolution of 1986. When this was shown on TV a few months after the revolution, people would cry and remember. Let us watch it too, and remember. Or forever lose that which marks us as a nation, and as a people.

6. cory aquino’s Speech in the US House of Congress

A proud, proud, proud moment in our country’s history. I cry every time I watch it. I don’t understand why. Maybe because at that point, Cory’s journey which she talked about in the first part of her speech, echoes the lives of every Filipino who fought for freedom and got it back. Maybe because the love and respect of the US House of Congress was very palpable when she made the speech. Maybe because it was one brief shining moment few and far between our country’s history. I cry for what was once lost. I cry for what we could have again. I cry because we always forget that we are capable of snatching victory from defeat.

5. Erap Impeachment Trial

One of the best telenovela of our times, the Impeachment Proceedings against President Joseph “Erap” Estrada created a whole new set of heroes and villains in our country. But it was an educational exercise for us Filipinos. And for the second time in our nation’s history, we ousted a President without shedding blood.

4. Hello Garci

This is not a video, but this is an audio tape that irritated Filipinos so much. But we were probably too tired to go to EDSA again, and the next option wasn’t a very good one, so we allowed Gloria Arroyo to continue. Because of this communal laziness and the fact that we have all but given up, we allowed GMA and her family to steal millions more from our coffers. Hope we don’t forget that she is the most hated President in the history of our country. Oh, and if the Garci tape is true, she would be the only Philippine president who was never voted to power!

3. GMA’s I AM SORRY Speech

I think this is the first time in the history of the philippines that a President apologized in front of national television. But we have not forgiven her. Because we only forgive people who change.

2. Maguindanao Massacre

There’s probably a pattern here somewhere. In the year 2009, something so barbaric and a throwback to the 1600s could still happen. I heard someone say that even the devil will be ashamed about the crime committed here.

1. This last video is still to be added. Because we look forward to the May 2010 elections. And the start of something new for the country.

One Wall, One World
URL: http://www.onewalloneworld.com/

Air pollution is everybody’s problem. Every time we drive a car or ride a bus, we add things to the air that harm other people. But we don’t need to only be a part of the problem, we can be part of the solution. There are a lot of ways to solve the pollution problem, but I think this has to be one the coolest things around.

Because now, Filipinos are given the power to ease Manila’s air pollution—and this is by painting one wall. Yup, BY PAINTING JUST ONE WALL!

This is the principle behind the One Wall One World initiative, an advocacy project of Pacific Paints (Boysen) philippines, the Clean Air Initiative– Asia (CAI-Asia), Partnership for Clean Air (PCA), World Wildlife Fund Philippines (WWF) and the Philippine College of Chest Physicians (PCCP).

Painting the walls of our house could help protect our family. Painting the walls of our school could help protect our children. Painting the walls around our neighborhood could help protect our community. If everyone in every community could paint one wall, we could help protect our town, our city, and our world.

FAQs

Why should I worry about air pollution?

According to the WHO, 3 million people are killed worldwide by outdoor air pollution every year. Mean while, a study by the European Commission estimates that air pollution reduces the life expectancy of an EU citizen by almost nine months.

Here in the Philippines , 1 of every 8 premature deaths is caused by air pollution.

What is NOx?

NOx are highly reactive gases containing nitrogen and oxygen. It is mostly generated by vehicle emissions, and has serious health and environmental effects. It forms smog (ground level ozone) and small particulate matter that can cause respiratory problems.

How does KNOxOUT clean the air?

Boysen KNOxOUT contains photocatalytic titanium dioxide, (TiO2), which upon exposure to light, transforms ordinary water vapor to free radicals that break down NOx and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the two components of smog. Harmful NOx gas is converted to nitric acid that is rapidly neutralized by alkaline calcium carbonate particle in the paint, producing harmless quantities of calcium nitrate and negligible amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) and water.

Does it really work?

The air cleaning technology used in KNOxOUT has been proven effective in a series of European trials in Milan , London and Paris . Photocatalytic coatings were applied in a tunnel, a school wall and an indoor carpark and all trials showed significant reductions in NOx.

In the world’s largest air cleaning paint trial, KNOxOUT was tested on a major Metrorail station along the busiest highway in Metro Manila. Early results of the trials show that the KNOxOUT painted on the station and surrounding embankment is estimated to be taking out 1.3 METRIC TONS of NOx per year, making the Metrorail station the biggest air cleaning station in the world.

Is KNOxOUT a low VOC environmentally friendly paint?

KNOxOUT has low VOC levels that would meet most international ecolabelling standards for flat water-based paint. But more than that, it has the potential to actually achieve a net VOC reduction in its lifetime – i.e. it will break down more VOCs in the air when dry than the small amounts of VOCs it has when wet.

Do I need special equipment to apply it? How much KNOxOUT would I need to cover a wall?

KNOxOUT is applied just like any ordinary water based paint – by brush, roller, or airless spray. You’ll need about 4 liters to cover an area of 25–30 square meters with one coat.

What colors are KNOxOUT available in?

KNOxOUT can be applied in white or pastel shades tinted with colorants based on inorganic pigments (yellow oxide, red oxide, black oxide, chrome oxide green, cobalt blue, etc.) Deep shades of KNOxOUT and use of colorants with organic pigments are not recommended.

Will the KNOxOUT paint film get dirty from pollution?

The same photocatalytic reaction that breaks down pollutants also makes it difficult for dirt to adhere to the paint film. It also makes the surface very hydrophilic, so these dirt particles can be washed away uniformly by rain.

This is partly a nostalgia trip. and partly an indictment of the things we have done as a country and as a people over the past fifty years. I hope we are shamed enough to do something about it. We have the capacity and the potential to be great once again.

This is Avenida. Notice the cleanliness and order. Nobody’s wearing slippers. San Miguel was number one. And they’re still number one till now because Filipinos are brand loyal.

Notice the streets and side walks: streets were “shiny”, much like the streets of Singapore and Hong Kong today. People were disciplined. They walked on the side walks and not on the streets. Everything was clean because stores cleaned their own mess.

It was a “walkable” city. People can walk and not be afraid of getting mugged or poisoned by the pollution in the air. Manila (and the philippines) was truly “pearl of the orient”. Oh, and I love how fashionable our people were. We could rival Europe.

I didn’t know our jeepneys were that small. Hehe. Dencia’s was famous for Pansit Mami. Mami sold for P1.50. Coca cola sold for 10 centavos, sarsaparilla was 5 centavos. Dencia’s was very near Villalobos and Carriedo.

Manila was just beautiful. Look at this aerial shot.

This is Dewey Boulevard (what is now Roxas Boulevard) from above. Environment was just so clean, air was refreshing, and take a look at the sea. Pretty right? Some parts of the world are still as clean as this.

I read this the other day and felt that it could very well be the best thing written on the flood that plagued the Metro. I like it because it does not justify nor spiritualize anything about it; while at the same time, it keeps its eye on the God who suffers with us in all these calamities.

It’s by Fr. Jett Villarin, President of my alma mater, Xavier University (where I went to for high school).

Servant
GOD’S WORD TODAY By Jose Ramon T. Villarin, S.J. (The Philippine Star)
October 18, 2009

One of my young friends from Olandes (a resettlement area named after the lowlands of Holland ) along the Marikina River , where I used to work weekends, wrote me: “lahat ng ating mga piktyur, … lahat ng mga antigo mong sulat sa akin mula noong 1989, tinangay at tinunaw ng baha. iniyakan namin yun. pero siguro papel lang naman ang mga iyon. ang tunay na alaala nasa puso at isip pa din. di matatangay ng kahit anong bagyo. ang pagkakaibigan di mailulunod ng baha.

“At siguro ang isa pa talaga naming iniyakan ay ang pagdanas ng hirap ng marami sa mga kakilala natin doon. pero kasama sa pag-iyak ang paghanga sa tatag at tapang ng mga tao sa kabila ng mga ganitong pangyayari.

“Yung tatay ko kakatawa, nung isang araw sabi sa akin: anak, wala na tayong tv. di na ako makanood ng telenobela…”

I remember that area being hit by a great flood in 1988. One of us even got to ride an amphibious truck to distribute relief to the weary settlers of Olandes. The trauma and the suffering eventually settled like sludge to the floor of the people’s memory. Three weeks ago, and more than two decades later, the sludge was agitated once more. The floods came back with greater ferocity and this time, it wasn’t just Olandes anymore.

“The Lord was pleased to crush him in infirmity.” What was the prophet Isaiah thinking? To be crushed in infirmity, I can take. But to be pleased? If the Lord was delighted recently to send two typhoons our way, one tsunami over Samoa, and a devastating earthquake to Indonesia , what then is the point of turning our gaze heavenward? What are we to hope for or believe in? I cannot make sense of the suffering just as I cannot believe in a sadistic and malevolent God who derives pleasure from seeing us helplessly drawn into a vortex of sorrow and death.

Be wary of such easy answers that rationalize suffering, even if randomness is repelling. When you see images of whole villages buried in a landslide, if you are honest, you know that the karmic equation or equilibrium does not hold.

Of course, there are technical answers. The physical world we live in is as imperfect and unfinished as we are. What we are seeing is a worked up Pacific Ring of Fire shaking those tectonic shelves underwater, and warm, unstable air over the Western Pacific stirring up storms. These non-linear, chaotic processes describe a world that can be as sensitive and unpredictable as we are. Complicated and incomplete, these technical answers do not even satisfy.

Admittedly, the adjectives “imperfect”, “unfinished”, “sensitive” are personified images of an evolving world. I use them because I do not think it possible to envisage a perfect and finished world devoid of us and disconnected from the action of heaven. Even Eden had us in the beginning. The divine and human longing is still to have us return to Paradise .

But how are we to return to Eden given the imperfection, the sensitivities and unpredictabilities not only of the natural world but of the human heart as well?

It is to this possibility of redemption that the prophet directs his prophecy: “If he gives his life as an offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in a long life, and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him.” Then we realize from his words who the prophet was thinking of: an anointed One, a servant who will suffer at our hands, and whose suffering will be transfigured as on offering for the forgiveness of our sins, which sins have already wounded us more deeply in this imperfect world.

As we scramble to recover from the ruins, may our desolation turn to contrition, and from contrition to greater resolve. Let our people’s suffering be not in vain as we marshal the little resources that we have away from the white elephants and political payloads that are the usual fare in and out of election season. Let this tragedy lead us to the things that have always demanded urgent action: jobs, food, health, education, housing, and the wise use of our land and waterways.

May we become who we truly are: icons and images of the suffering One, who “did not come to be served but to serve and give his life in ransom for many.” Thus becoming servants of the One suffering servant, we can then watch telenovelas at the end of a servant’s day, to our heart’s delight, with less fear of the dangers that stalk our broken yet beautiful world.

This one I got from the Business Mirror. My work constantly reiterates how there are really no such things as accidents. “Accidents”, as we know them, are really due to many man-made factors: lack of training, a lack of systems, or procedures to follow, and/or plain old stupidity. This is one of those things. 32 years ago, there was a study that showed how Marikina is unsuitable for development.

We did not listen to that study. And so it is proven for the nth time, there really are no accidents.

Government study foresaw flood–Palafox
http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/top-news/16610-government-study-foresaw-floodpalafox.html

THE government was warned 32 years ago that ceding control of urban development may have adverse consequences, such as the devastation experienced by the metropolis on Saturday.

“Some are saying it’s [the flooding of key Metropolitan Manila areas] an act of God. It’s not. It’s neglect on the part of the government,” architect Felino Palafox Jr. told the BusinessMirror on Monday as casualties of Typhoon Ondoy grew to more than a hundred dead and thousands of people displaced.

In the document sent by Palafox, the Metro Manila Transport, Land Use and Development Planning Project (Mmetroplan) already cited the Marikina Valley as among the areas deemed “unsuitable for development.”

The area that includes the city of Marikina were among those that sustained the most damage, according to news reports. In one hard-hit site alone, Provident Village, TV reports said 58 bodies had already been recovered, presumably people who never had time to leave their homes as floodwaters rose too quickly.

“Development should be restricted by the application of controls in three major areas—in the Marikina Valley, the western shores of Laguna de Bay, and the Manila Bay coastal area to the north of Manila,” said the report submitted in July 1977 to then-Public Works and Highways chief Alfredo Juinio.

“We’ve told government all along [that] this would happen because of the flooding [in] the same month in 1970,” Palafox said.

He said he was working for the government then when he and a group of researchers undertook this World Bank-funded study on a land-use plan that was finalized by Hong Kong-based consulting firm Freeman Fox and Associates.

Palafox cited a recommendation from the study that the government should monitor the Marikina Riverbank so that the water would not reach 90 meters. Likewise, no structure should have been allowed within nine meters from the riverbank, he added.

“Dahil hindi sinunod ’yun, parang massacre ang nangyari [Because the recommendation was not heeded, what occurred was virtually a massacre],” he said.

The three-volume report also noted that “urban development is spreading into [these] areas which are, in their present state, unsuitable for development—either because they are low-lying and liable to flooding, or because development is without adequate facilities for the treatment and disposal of sewage [the norm in Manila] and so will continue to contribute to the severe pollution of areas, such as Laguna de Bay.”

The study added: “The unsuitable areas for development, where pressures are nevertheless considerable, are primarily the flat coastal areas to the north where extensive areas are liable to flooding and where increased pressures for reclamation are likely to further exacerbate this problem.”

Another is “the Marikina Valley, to the east, where the land is liable to flooding and where development with inadequate provision for the treatment and disposal of sewage is contributing to the severe pollution of Laguna de Bay and where flooding is a problem in the adjacent areas.”

Finally, the study said the pressure for development, but requiring control, includes “the western shores of Laguna de Bay where development without adequate facilities for the treatment and disposal of sewage is contributing to the severe pollution of Laguna de Bay and where flooding is a problem in the adjacent areas.”

“In order to avoid development contributing to longer-term flooding and water pollution, it is necessary that the short-term development is restricted in these areas. Only when remedial measures to deal with the problems have been implemented, should the development of these areas proceed on a significant scale,” the study said.

“Lessons are to be learned, for sure, but these have been taught three decades ago,” Palafox said.

NO HOLDS BARRED
By Armida Siguion-Reyna
The Daily Tribune
10/06/2009

NEW YORK — Skype-ing with my brother Sen. Juan Ponce-Enrile the other day was an unusual treat for both of us, but especially for him, as it was his first time to use the technology. The Ilocano in him made him ask how much the conversation was costing, and boy was he amazed to find out it was for free, thanks to VOIP or voice over Internet protocols.

Johnny chortled at the first sight of me, and laughed when I said, “Sorry, ha? Natagalan ako, kasi nagkilay pa ako. Pagka ganitong nagkakakitaan na tayo pag nag-uusap, dapat naman, magpaganda ako.”

“My sister,” he said over and over again, “my sister.” He was clearly amazed at what was there before him on the computer screen, as I was when my children introduced Skype to me sometime last year.

The Senate President and I are not “techies.” We were born years before World War II, the age of manual typewriters and heavy, clunky telephones that first came into use with party-lines and operators that connected overseas calls, light years away from cell phones and computers and even just the concept of Internet.

As a probinsiyano from Cagayan on his way to meet our father for the first time, Johnny entered the Soriano Building, or the “Edificio Soriano” as it was then called, intending to go to the seventh floor where Papa’s law office was. Johnny stopped in the lobby, awed by people rushing in to go inside a small room where “there was an arrow similar to the arrow of a giant clock on top of the door.”

Natatawa siya, to this day, pag naaalaala niya ang una niyang enkuwentro sa elevator. He found it strange that those who entered the small room were not the same ones who came out. “The arrow, as it moved forwards, pointed to numbers 1 to 7… now and then it would stop at one of the numbers… then it would move again… it took me a while to decide whether I would enter the door or not. This was my first time to see a thing like that, I was afraid that I would not get out of that door.”

Senior citizens like us exhibit childlike delight when state-of-the-art gadgets are brought to our attention, even if we are not “techie.” It takes me forever to learn using a new cellphone, lalo na si Johnny, whose anger at his “vanishing” prepaid cell phone loads really came from his not knowing how to use his mobile phone the way teen-agers do. Informed by the telcom that he was charged for “downloading” a ringtone, he bellowed: “I cannot even text on my own, how can I download?”

Our generation is unable to master the ins and outs of digital stuff, but I tell you we appreciate it. We are grateful to have reached the era where scientific breakthroughas occur every other blink of the eye. The results of this medical exam I’m going to have, for instance, will be sent to me in Manila, through e-mail. X-rays and MRI’s are now sent through e-mail, from a doctor, say, in Manila, to a doctor in New York. The two doctors are able to confer if not through e-mail, through chat, then through Skype.

And just as you think Skype is the latest in computer overseas communication, hindi pala. There’s a newer one called Oovo, the free version makes it possible to simultaneously converse with two other persons at the other end of the line for a mini-conference of sorts. Of course I’ll never be able to operate this on my own, as even Skype has to be set up for me, but it’s heartwarming to think of how much easier the new protocols make it for families who live apart. Isipin mong nasa Dubai ang anak mo, and you don’t need to rely on snail mail that takes days to arrive. You also needn’t rely on texting alone. Pag talagang miss na miss mo na ang asawa, anak, magulang o kapatid, go on the Internet!

The recent “Ondoy” rescue and relief operations could not have been mounted without computer audio/video technology. Digital video shot on cell phones were transferred to Facebook and Multiply and other such Web sites with such speed, kaya naman ang bilis din ng response.

Two of my US-based granddaughters were fund-raising via Facebook. Another granddaughter based in Hong Kong was doing the same. And this were just my grandchildren, there were thousands out there, forwarding video of swirling water surrounding a family huddled on the roof of a shanty, of cars and vans trapped in the whirlpool of a center court of a hospital, shots through cell phone MMS showing how deep water was in specific spots, so please, can someone come to the rescue?

Kalinisan Steam Laundry Inc., in Quezon City does more than provide food and shelter to flood refugees and announces, first on FaceBook, free washing sa lahat ng apektado, for bed sheets and comforters, curtains and clothes that drowned in the muck, and again the response is swift. So, too, the praises.

And this turns out to be another wondrous thing about the technology. Ang dapat purihin, agarang napupuri. Ang dapat punahin, agarang napupuna. Heroes are lauded, heels are thrashed, pictures of styrofoam packs marked “Tulong ni Manny Villar” are displayed as are packs of noodles stamped by stickers bearing the likeness of Mr. Sipag at Tiyaga.

Hark back to way before Ondoy and recall how the tastelessly expensive Le Cirque dinner was discovered and so quickly spread, but through the Internet. As were all other fancy-schmancy high-priced meals. At the height of the storm a picture quickly made the rounds, that of someone who suspiciously looked Mikey Arroyo, squat on his haunches facing the liquor section of Rustan’s in Katipunan, looking for hard liquor.

The First Brat reportedly got depressed by the posting, saying it was malicious and completely untrue as he was in Malacañang “trying to mobilize rescue and relief operations for the people of Metro Manila.”

That Saturday of the storm, thanks to the Internet we knew that Malacañang was still at a loss and didn’t know what to do. Gloria Arroyo’s first declaration of the Palace as a relief center was recalled, it took days before evacuees where brought to the Ceremonial Hall “where the President traditionally meets foreign dignitaries.” The Press Office had to say this over and over in case we still didn’t get how philanthropic Arroyo truly was, but was curiously quiet over the congressman from Lubao’s claim that rescue and relief operations were going on in the Palace at the height of Ondoy.

The Internet is our boon, it’s the government’s bane.

(For comments, write to armida114@yahoo.com)

I give the floor this week to Randy David. Randy David’s article below is a great remembering of Martial Law, and the dangers it still holds for us as a nation. I hope we read it in the spirit of remembering but also in the spirit that warns and puts us on our toes. Tides are turning and a better philippines is just around the corner. But we have to fight for it. And we have to be constantly vigilant. We do not want to be caught in a darkness that will set us back another 20 or so years and another two or three generations.

Thirty-seven years ago
By Randy David
Philippine Daily Inquirer

When Marcos declared martial law in September 1972, my wife Karina and I were both just 26. We were university instructors freshly embarked on an academic career. Our first-born, a boy, was barely 2 and had just learned to walk by himself. The rest of our children, three girls, were born after martial law. Today, my wife is retired from government service, and I have less than two years to go before I say goodbye to my career at the University of the Philippines. Our little toddler has retraced our steps and has become a professor himself in the same UP campus where we started out as instructors. He and his wife are educators, and their newly-born daughter may likely be one too. Thirty-seven years can indeed constitute a lifetime—enough to create a sense of eternal recurrence, of events endlessly repeating themselves.

The precise feeling that I have right now is that, as a nation, we too are back to where we were just before Marcos assumed martial law powers. Marcos won an unprecedented second term in the presidential election of 1969, one of the dirtiest in the country’s history. That term would have ended in 1973, with no possibility of re-election.

A democratically-elected Constitutional Convention was winding up its work in 1972. Marcos had done everything to shape the final draft of the new constitution. He wanted the existing term limits lifted, under the same presidential system or under a parliamentary government. But the opposition was determined to stop him from extending his stay beyond 1973. This was the situation a few weeks before Proclamation 1081. The air was filled with rumors of an imminent martial law declaration.

The term held little meaning for many Filipinos; it was not yet part of their experiential map. The closest analogue to martial law that the older people could summon was the Japanese occupation. But we who were born after the war had no experience of this terror either. And so while impending martial law created in us a vague uneasiness we could not grasp, it did not bother us enough to prod us into making defensive preparations. Instead what we chose to imagine was the impending end of a hated regime, seeing in the threat of martial law no more than the hostile whimper of an exhausted presidency.

How wrong we were! We underestimated Marcos, and overestimated our people’s inclination and capacity for resistance. When the arresting military forces rolled out into the streets on that early morning of Sept. 23, picking up regime critics, protest leaders and potential rallying figures one by one, there were no countervailing forces to block their way, and no radio or television flash reports to announce their deed. There was only stillness, a silence occasionally broken by frantic phone calls. We spoke in whispers, and learned to communicate in a cryptic language that presumed the presence of a third listener. As the morning light settled in, we were told who had been arrested, but we had no idea who else was on the list.

That morning, the newspapers did not come, the TV screen was blank, and the radio emitted only static noise. Later in the day, Metro Manila would learn what had just happened: the whole country was now under martial law. Fearful and confused, people stayed home to await an official announcement from government. With clockwork precision, Marcos had taken over all the reins of government without resistance. Even as we had talked about its possibility, martial law still came as a surprise. The ease with which the dictatorship was installed—and the length of time (almost 14 years) in which it was able to rule our lives—still baffles me.

Martial law changed the whole political landscape in our country. It shattered all the certitudes which had previously governed the seasons of our nation’s life. Marcos erased all the existing boundaries of Philippine politics. While he took pains to cloak his actions in legal pieties, these came through as brazen and whimsical. No one knew how the dictatorship would end. The only thing about which we felt certain was that, to get rid of Marcos, everything was now permissible—including revolution. Whatever his ultimate motives, Marcos had unwittingly opened the road to radical social transformation.

Edsa I came as a lucky break for the moderate forces that had joined the battle against Marcos in the dying years of the regime. It pre-empted the birth of a military regime and the full ripening of a leftwing revolution. It reconstituted the old order, cleansing it of traces of the aberrant order that Marcos represented. The popular forces of discontent that had fed the revolution were subsequently absorbed into the populist campaign of Joseph Estrada.

Estrada’s unceremonious ouster from the presidency in 2001 revived the fault lines of the elite-led political order. The succession of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her decision to run for a fresh six-year presidential term in the 2004 election further exacerbated these instabilities. Ms Arroyo today is in the same position as Marcos in 1972—the position of someone who, having repeatedly bent the law to stay in power, can no longer afford to relinquish it. To continue in power at the end of her term, Arroyo has to get her allies to amend the Constitution, or, failing that, create the conditions under which she can continue indefinitely as president in a holdover capacity. Martial law is undoubtedly one of the cards she’s holding. Whether or not she decides to play it, I hope we are better prepared than 37 years ago to oppose it.

August 25, 1973

Fort Bonifacio
11:30pm
Mr. Benigno S. Aquino III
P E R S O N A L

My dearest Son:

One of these days, when you have completed your studies I am sure you will have the opportunity to visit many countries. And in your travels you will witness a bullfight.

In Spanish bullfighting as you know, a man – the matador – is pitted against an angry bull.

The man goads the bull to extreme anger and madness. Then a moment comes when the bull, maddened, bleeding and covered with darts, feeling his last moment has come, stops rushing about and grimly turns his face on the man with the scarlet “muleta” and sword. The Spaniards call this “the moment of truth.” This is the climax of the bullfight.

This afternoon, I have arrived at my own moment of truth. After a lengthy conference with my lawyers, Senators Jovito R. Salonga and Lorenzo M. Tanada I made a very crucial and vital decision that will surely affect all our lives: mommie’s, your sisters’, yours and all our loved ones as well as mine.

I have decided not to participate in the proceedings of the Military Commission assigned to try the charges filed against me by the army prosecution staff. As you know, I’ve been charged with illegal possession of firearms, violation of RA 1700 otherwise known as the “Anti-Subversion Act” and murder.

You are still too young to grasp the full impact of my decision. Briefly: by not participating in the proceedings, I will not be represented by counsel, the prosecution will present its witnesses without any cross examinations, I will not put up any defense, I will remain passive and quiet through the entire trial and I will merely await the verdict. Inasmuch as it will be a completely one-sided affair, I suppose it is reasonable to expect the maximum penalty will be given to me. I expect to be sentenced to imprisonment the rest of my natural life, or possibly be sent to stand before a firing squad. By adopting the course of action I decided upon this afternoon, I have literally decided to walk into the very jaws of death.

You may ask: why did you do it?

Son, my decision is an act of conscience. It is an act of protest against the structures of injustice that have been imposed upon our hapless countrymen. Futile and puny, as it will surely appear to many, it is my last act of defiance against tyranny and dictatorship.

You are my only son. You carry my name and the name of my father. I have no material wealth to leave you. I never had time to make money while I was in the hire of our people.

For this I am very sorry. I had hopes of building a little nest egg for you. I bought a ranch in Masbate in the hope that after ten or fifteen years, the coconut trees I planted there would be yielding enough to assure you a modest but comfortable existence.

Unfortunately, I had to sell all our properties as I fought battle after political battle as a beleaguered member of the opposition. And after the last battle, I had more obligations than assets.

The only valuable asset I can bequeath to you now is the name you carry. I have tried my best during my years of public service to keep that name untarnished and respected, unmarked by sorry compromises for expediency. I now pass it on to you, as good, I pray, as when my father, your grandfather passed it on to me.

I prepared a statement which I intend to read before the military commission on Monday at the opening of my trial. I hope the commission members will be understanding and kind enough to allow me to read my statement into the record. This may well be my first and only participation in the entire proceedings.

In this statement, I said: Some people suggested that I beg for mercy from the present powers that be. Son, this I cannot do in conscience. I would rather die on my feet with honor, than live on bended knees in shame.

Your great grandfather, Gen. Servilliano Aquino was twice condemned to death by both the Spaniards and the American colonizers. Fortunately, he survived both by a twist of fate.

Your grandfather, my father was also imprisoned by the Americans because he loved his people more than the Americans who colonized us. He was finally vindicated. Our ancestors have shared the pains, the sorrows and the anguish of Mother Filipinas when she was in bondage.

It is a rare privilege for me to join the Motherland in the dark dungeon where she was led back by one of her own sons whom she lavished with love and glory.

I ended my statement thus: I have chosen to follow my conscience and accept the tyrant’s revenge.

It takes little effort to stop a tyrant. I have no doubt in the ultimate victory of right over wrong, of evil over good, in the awakening of the Filipino.

Forgive me for passing unto your young shoulders the great responsibility for our family. I trust you will love your mother and your sisters and lavish them with the care and protection I would have given them.

I was barely fifteen years old when my father died. His death was my most traumatic experience. I loved and hero-worshipped him so much, I wanted to join him in his grave when he passed away. But as in all sorrows, eventually they are washed away by the rains of time.

In the coming years, I hope you will study very hard so that you will have a solid foundation on which to build your future. I may no longer be around to give you my fatherly advice. I have asked many of your uncles to help you along should the need arise and I pray you will have the humility to drink from their fountain of experiences.

Look after your two younger sisters with understanding and affection. Viel and Krissy will need your umbrella of protection for a long time. Krissy is still very young and fate has been most unkind to both of us. Our parting came too soon. Please make up for me. Take care of her as I would have taken care of her with patience and warm affection.

Finally, stand by your mother as she stood beside me through the buffeting winds of crisis and uncertainties firm and resolute and uncowed. I pray to God, you inherit her indomitable spirit and her rare brand of silent courage.

I had hopes of introducing you to my friends, showing you the world and guide you through the maze of survival. I am afraid, you will now have to go it alone without your guide.

The only advice I can give you: Live with honor and follow your conscience.

There is no greater nation on earth than our Motherland. No greater people than our own. Serve them with all your heart, with all your might and with all your strength.

Son, the ball is now in your hands.

Lovingly,

Dad

The past few months, I’ve taken a special interest on Philippine culture, politics and sociology. It’s an interesting topic. It really started when I was working with the youth in my “previous life”. I had to immerse myself in what they wanted, their desires, their fears, their problems, in the hope of becoming more effective in my work with them. I also had to study politics, culture, media and society for several MA classes in Ateneo de Manila.

And then professional life came and I forgot all about the youth and culture and politics. Until cory aquino got sick and eventually died. And my love for the study of culture, philippine sociology and politics was revived. The questions I ask myself these days have to do with our political culture and psychology. How do we think as a people? Why do we act the way we act? What leads our politicians to get money from our political coffers? Why have they become so thick skinned and without fear of punishment and public scrutiny?

And then on the other hand, is Cory Aquino. She is everything most of our politicians nowadays are not. She is sincere as most of our politicians are only political. Her (non)formula for People Power is this: “I don’t have any formula for ousting a dictator or building democracy. All I can suggest is to forget about yourself and just think of your people. It’s always the people who make things happen.”

The problem is that it seems the divide between politics and the people nowadays have become so wide that the feeling against politicians is generally one of cynicism and suspicion.

Cory Aquino is the antithesis of this divide. For her, politics was service to people. And her death is a reminder of this singular fact. Lest we forget, before all these cynicism and suspicion, there was a time, not too long ago, when politics is service. There was a time, not too long ago, when people hesitated to be in politics because it meant sacrifice. There was a time when in joining politics, serving your constituents is all that you think about, and your good name is the only thing you can bequeath to your children. And that would be enough.

Today, joining politics is one of the best get-rich-quick schemes around. Our economy is a POLITICAL ECONOMY: it is run by politicians, in one way or another. That is why if you want to protect your business, you either befriend a politician, or become one. I wonder when we started feeling that a good name is no longer enough for our children and their children. I wonder when we started seeing politics as a way to enrich ourselves.

This article is a way to begin the conversations and my attempt at beginning understanding. Using the philosophy of crowdsourcing, I would enjoin you to make your own articles on culture and social psychology and link here so more people can read and understand how we are as a people, and what we can do about it.

These are trends in Philippine culture. Comment or add your own below:

1) Star Power and the Influence of Celebrity

We do not have the exclusive hold of this trait among peoples, but it is very pronounced in our culture. Our actors become politicians and our politicians dabble in acting. Our politicians do infomercials and come out in shows like Wowowee and Eat Bulaga (popular noontime game shows). It says something about our culture that we had an actor for a President, and the King of Philippine Movies running for the highest position in the land. Imagine Clint Eastwood running for President of the US for example.

Just a theory: maybe Arnold Schwarzenneger won in California because he had a lot of Filipino American constituents?

2) Pinoy Pride

Thanks to Nike

Another trend is the gradual resurgence of Pinoy pride. We see it in iconologies around– Filipino flags everywhere, I AM NINOY plates, three stars and a sun shirts and jackets popularized by the late Francis M, that map of the philippines shirt worn by Mar Roxas when he declared his stepping down as standard bearer of the Liberal Party, yellow ribbons around the metro when Cory died. Pinoy Pride is also quite apparent in our music–themes of nationalism abound in songs made and those yet to be made, and the song Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo became an anthem for our people once again. And when Manny Pacquiao fights, our nation stops and prays and fights with him.

Read (or reread) the article on The Legacy of the Two Aquinos to get more ideas about this.

3) Philippine Insecurity

I have a pet peeve about us Filipinos. Every time a foreigner says something bad about us (think Filipino chocolates, or that Desperate Housewives scene where , or that HongKongese (?) writer who said that Filipinas are slaves)–our politicians are all up in arms and have to meet for a congressional or senate inquiry and ask for the issuance of a diplomatic apology.

My peeve comes from two things: (1) Many of those who call for a diplomatic apology should be called to task themselves by the Filipino people. Is there a way for them to issue a PUBLIC APOLOGY after their terms for enriching themselves at the expense of the rest of us? The height of hypocrisy is when you ask for a diplomatic apology from foreigners outside our country who may have said something bad about us, while you suck the blood, sweat and tears of Filipinos from inside on a daily basis.

(2) The fact that a Senate or Congressional inquiry/meeting/discussion is needed (and publicized) to discuss youtube videos and chinese articles show us how low and petty our politics has become.

I know this is a matter up for debate, and there are pros and cons to all these (we have to defend our honor, etc.) but still. Our insecurity comes out because we have to defend ourselves all the time and for the pettiest of things.

You can also read this article on The Myth of the Masa for more insights on this.

4) The Cult of the Small

If we look back at our history, it is the small we find: the nipa hut, the barangay, the petty kingship (three different kingdoms around a single Manila Bay! The sultan of Sugbu cannot even get control of nearby Bohol.), miniature artifacts, proverbs (mini dogmas), the short story as crown of our literary efforts, the decentralization in government (once a province becomes too big it becomes two provinces), our political parties keep spinning off and splitting off. More recently, we have the Tamaraw FX phenomenon (a tingi spin-off: pinoys can’t afford the taxi, so they divide the fare among themselves and came up with the FX), and the Smart and Globe e-loads with ridiculous increments of P10, P30, P50, P115.

I have talked about this in some length in an article entitled: The Heritage of Smallness. You might want to check it out.

5) The Culture of Migration

Since the 1970s, the Philippines — a country of about 7,000 islands peopled by diverse ethno-linguistic groups — has supplied all kinds of skilled and low-skilled workers to the world’s more developed regions. As of December 2004, an estimated 8.1 million Filipinos — nearly 10 percent of the country’s 85 million people — were working and/or residing in close to 200 countries and territories. [Migration Information]

Much of the country’s attention and policies, though, are focused on emigration. A film released in June 2005, La Visa Loca, captures an ordinary Filipino’s feverish quest for a US visa, the perceived ticket to a better life. In reality, the quest for a visa is not limited to the United States. Other promised lands in different regions — the Middle East, Asia, Europe, Africa, and Oceania — have become the objects of Filipino dreams.

In the last 30 years, a “culture of migration” has emerged, with millions of Filipinos eager to work abroad, despite the risks and vulnerabilities they are likely to face. A nationwide survey of 1,200 adult respondents in 2002 found one in five Filipinos expressing a desire to migrate.

6) The Fall of the Tisoy

From the 19th century until the mid-seventies, the ’tisoy’ and his culture were ubiquitous to the Philippine landscape. From the hallways of the country’s corporations to the billboards which trimmed our highways, the images of Spanish mestizeria could be found managing multinational corporations or modelling the latest fashions. Manning shop counters at the Escolta, counting cash behind bank windows, or serving coffee in the sky, mestizos and mestizas were everywhere. But in an amazingly ironic turn of events, from being the dominant culture which the populace yearned to emulate, they now find themselves marginalized and struggling to find their position in a Filipinas that has decided to fully embrace its Asian roots in the twenty-first century.

Just turn on the television or watch a movie and the glaring irrelevance of the mestizo will immediately stare back at you. Gone are the days of the artista male romantic lead in the mold of Rogelio dela Rosa, Edu Manzano, or Gabby Concepcion. Even mestizos de entresuelos (mestizong bangus or quasi-mestizo mestizos) like Kuya Germs Moreno or Redford White are also fast disappearing from the showbiz firmament. It’s obvious that the white skinned, aqualine nosed template has ceased to be the pinnacle of male physical aspiration and in its place we now find the chinky charm of the late Rico Yan or the moreno mein of Piolo Pascual or John Lloyd Cruz. And instead of living near to their forefather’s ancestral lands near the walled city of Intramuros, Spanish mestizos now find themselves commuting back and forth from the newer gated districts of Makati, Paranaque, and Alabang. The displacement of their home and their culture was a cruel fate that had crept up without warning.

Read more about this from Carlos Celdran’s blog.

7) Political Awakening

The other week, Senator Mar Roxas, the leader of the Liberal Party, gave up his seat as standard bearer of the party, along with months of preparation, political strategizing and infomercials, and passed the torch to the former President’s son: Noynoy Aquino. And while some people denounce it as another political maneuvering, and are doubtful of Noynoy’s capacity to lead the country, I would like to see it in another light.

Winds of change are blowing in our land. People are more aware of politics. People are more angry at untruths and the obvious disregard for right and wrong and decency. People are incredulous that our President could dine in two (we do not exactly know how many more) really expensive restaurants (the dinner worth more than a person’s salary for a YEAR!!!) at a time when the President who had the decency not to live in Malacanang was being mourned. It wouldn’t have mattered two years ago. Media wouldn’t even have investigated it.

People are angry that the Presidential son has a questionable SALN (or Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Networth). And that he could be so brazen in asking people to sue him. Winnie Monsod’s point is clear: it is the public official’s burden to prove that he is innocent, not the people’s. Delicadeza is what we need from our public officials. And it is time that we ask that from them now, more than ever.

See the Presidential son being grilled by Winnie Monsod. See him squirm in his seat and sweat. And watch your reaction. Your reaction is indicative of what is happening to the Filipino people:

And while other people see it as illogical that we vote for Noynoy just because he is the son of Cory and Ninoy, I see it with a different kind of logic. I see it with the gutfeel that a person who is the son of Cory and Ninoy will never FUCK UP their legacy. He does not have that luxury. Not after EDSA. Especially not after Cory’s funeral. At the same time, as a Jesuit I respect would put it, “The Presidency is earned, not inherited.” And Noynoy has to earn it, like anyone who is going to be President of the Philippines. A changing of the guards is going to happen, if a reform candidate is elected to the Presidency. It happened in the States with Obama, maybe it could happen here.

But we also know it is supposed to be more than that. We know that politics is not just about elections. Or about EDSA. Or about rallies. Politics–nay, CHANGE–is about the day to day. It is about the infrastructure projects and health care and farm-to-market roads, and the green agenda, and eradicating corruption, and shaming people who do not do their jobs because they could not get extra money from it. It is about a media who helps bring out erroneous and questionable government deals. It is about whistleblowers being protected and not prosecuted. It is about the BIG FISHES prosecuted–not just because you want to make examples out of them (that justice is not selective, blah blah blah), but because it is the RIGHT thing to do. It is about good ‘ol education and nationalism and making kids realize the importance of politics and nationhood.

That is what we should care about after all these noise about the elections. That is what matters after all the singing and dancing. That is what we need to do now.

8) From Family to Country

Beautiful! By Rick Valiente

Related to the political awakening of our people is the fact that a very recent trend among our politicians is their giving up personal ambitions for the greater good (it is not just Mar, but others as well).

But we shouldn’t be too surprised about this– we’re surprised that the people doing this now are our politicians. In fact, the common tao has been doing this for so long in the level of family. Mothers have given up their dreams of a more comfortable life by working as OFWs in Singapore, Hongkong, the Middle East. The movie Anak of Vilma Santos is a microcosm of this–but the sacrifice has always been for FAMILY.

If anything, the death of Cory reminded us once again that there is a bigger unit out there than our family. It was Fr. Catalino Arevalo during the funeral homily of Tita Cory who said, “Thank you, from a people forever in your debt.” This is because the sacrifice of Cory–and Ninoy before her– proved that there is more to life than family. That it is possible–and preferable?–to sacrifice for country. And I’m sorry to say this, but the people who think only of family die and are forgotten; but the people who sacrifice for the country are remembered.

It is a different order of priorities. But the Filipino has champions to remind us just that. We have Rizal, and Bonifacio, and the older and younger del Pilars, Magsaysay, Jopson, and that whole generation of nationalists in World War II and the Marcos years. And now we have our politicians (debatably) giving up their own ambitions for the good of all. We shall see how this plays out, but it is interesting nonetheless.

When we hailed the OFW as the Bagong Bayani (or New Heroes), we are really hailing people who love their families and love their countries but are forced to circumstances beyond their control. We have more than enough people who love their families more than they love their country (crooks love their families more than they love their country!). I say we need more people who love their country as much as–and when the times call for it–more than they love their families.

When President Marcos declared Martial Law, a whole generation of nationalists were eradicated from our country–they were either killed, maimed to submission, or they eventually left the country in disgust, or worse, they became part of the corrupt system of government they were fighting against. After that generation of nationalists, a whole generation of apathetic cynics grew up and took over. Probably because they (I should say WE) were just angry and tired of politics, our generation became generally apolitical. EDSA I and II were shining moments, but most of us could not sustain the gradual, day-to-day political movement that is needed for long term change. After highlight moments we tend to go back to our old apathetic cynical ways and refuse to go against inertia.

It will probably take one or two more generations before we get back what was lost and destroyed by the dictator. This is beyond all of us who are alive today. But we could plant the seeds of education in our schools, and informal education outside the four walls of the classroom. There is a need to bring our young to the streets once again, to the halls of our museums, to plays and movies about our culture, for them to know and understand that believe it or not, many people before us have died for our country, and that the Filipino is (still) worth dying for.

I am afraid that because our generation is a generation of apathetic cynics, we are raising our kids to be like us–to dream our shallow dreams and grow in cynical hopelessness. I am afraid that in our effort to give our children better lives than we had, we will kill their love for our country. I am afraid that in our sincere efforts to spoil our kids, we are raising them to be more wimps than we will ever be. I am afraid that because the future belongs to the few of us still willing to get our hands dirty, we have lost the birthright for a good future. I am afraid that we will have a great movement for our elections in 2010, and we’ll be so inspired like the EDSA movements in the past, but just like in the past, we’ll eventually lose our momentum and energy and go back to our old ways. I am afraid that our politicians’ children will grow up, be elected, and will be just like their fathers and grandfathers before them.

I am afraid that it will take more than two generations for the Filipino to rise again. I am afraid that 100 years from now, when people read this article, they will say that I was proven right.

Please prove me wrong.