Manila Peninsula Drama

"Naglunch lang si Senador sa Manila Pen", replied one member from my Samasa Yahoogroups when somebody from abroad asked for a news update from back home.

It was anecdotal of the short lived attempt of Senator Antonio Trillanes and Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim to mount revolt against what they call a bogus President who won in an election marred by massive cheating. When he called for people's support to come to Makati after he walked out of the Makati City regional trial court, personalities identified with the opposition arrived in Manila Peninsula Hotel, like former Vice Pres. Teofisto Guingona, Novaliches Bishop Antonio Tobias, Infanta, Quezon Bishop Emeritus Julio Labayen, former University of the Philippines president Francisco Nemenzo, "running" priest Robert Reyes, columnist Herman Tiu Laurel and Atty. Argee Guevarra among others. Of course media people have been with them from the start of their court hearing and marching all the way to Manila Peninsula for a blow by blow coverage that ended having themselves handcuffed and dragged to Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City along with the Magdalo soldiers.

Listening from one radio station to another as I drove back to Makati at the height of the incident, I heared the Phil. National Police Chief appeal to different media management to recall their personnel from the scene as they are about to engage with the holed up soldiers whose numbers almost equal with the media men covering them. Then I thought of the media person's moral obligation to be truth tellers, their constitutionally guaranteed vocation to freely inform the public of matters that concern them, just as the police has also the obligation to protect them while doing their duties. In a typical war, journalists, like members of the Red Cross, are not a potential enemy but allies of both warring parties in their pursuit for truth and human well-being.

As a student of journalism, I personally deplore the act of removing cameras from the TV crews and all forms of communication gadgets that were instruments of a continuous truth-telling work. Even more, the move to handcuff journalists suspecting them as Magdalo soldiers in disguise, those distinguishable faces you watch daily on TV, is the height of police ignorance, if not blind obedience at the expense of violating the basic rights of journalists to perform their duties protected by the Bill of Rights specifically Section 4 and Sec. 7.

I sympathize with the cause of Sen. Trillanes for a corruption free, morally upright governance-- who else doesn't want that? Church leaders even call for it, senators and congressmen, too. But counter such media grandstanding in a high-end hotel with Simba armoured personnel carrier (APC), handcuff teargassed journalists and declare curfew at 12 midnight until 5:00am? If this is not what we locally call "kapraningan" or "sobra naman" then this might just be the beginning of the end of a story that should never be told.

Nakakahiya na kasi!

November 8

“Walang sino man ang nabubuhay para sa sarili lamang… Walang sino man ang namamatay para sa sarili lamang.” Thus says the priest in a mass I attended an hour ago. What brings me to Church?

Well, I have decided to serve as an altar boy. I wore a long, white garment with a little bell on the side. I genuflect as I cross the altar, palms clasped at each other on my chest, sometimes panning an electric fan wherever the priest would go. That was me in sixth grade at my home town in Iloilo. But that was long time ago.

What really brought me to church today is THIS DAY. Yes, today is my birthday, and it has been my family’s tradition that a birthday celebrator should go to Church and hear mass. Way back then, when church bells were still louder and carried an awe at every “basal”, my mother would wake me up at 4:30am so I could hear the 5:00am mass. But that is not the case today. Away from home for so long, work up to my neck, my only window would be the 6:00pm mass. So I went to a church not far away, actually a church that’s just across my window for I live beside a church.

St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Palanan, Makati, is also where I would always see Atty. Rene Saguisag, who met a tragic accident early this morning with his wife, Dulci, dead. Always, because he seem to be attending the 6:00pm mass every day, and that’s the only hour of the day I see him each time I arrive home early evenings. Today, he is never in his usual place. Often, he would just stand at the door side, holding a rosary. I never saw him get inside but I presume he had. With his busy schedule I guess, he will only drop off, pray, get along with the mass and get back to his waiting car parked near the main entrance of the Church facing Dian Street. Parishioners today certainly can feel the queer emptiness at his favorite spot of the church, missing the familiar smile and “hello sir” greet that I also do when our paths cross. The priest has only good words to say about him. Most people in the parish say he is kind, humble and religious. I agree, and add that he is so ordinary-- though I base my judgment on what I merely see. I have heard of his accomplishments as a human rights lawyer, but I come to know him more as Rene Saguisag who would always stand by the church's door holding a Rosary at 6:00pm mass daily just across my parking space.

This day, I went to church not so much to thank God for the life He gave me 38 years ago. I prayed for the life of Atty. Rene Saguisag, a remarkable human rights activist and churchmate, and for the soul of his beloved wife, Dulce.

Manny Pacquiao vs Mexico

The first round of Manny Pacquaio-Antonio Barrera rematch dubbed "The Will to Win" by Solar Sports once again highlighted the deep difference between Filipinos and the Mexican people.

While we are both a developing country once colonized by Spain and share an almost similar past in terms of politics, culture and trade, the Filipinos have not outgrown the propensity for idolising personalities-- reason why showbiz and patronage politics thrive as a business in this part of the world.

At Mandalay Bay Events Center, Filipinos and friends chant "Manny! Manny!" while the fans and countrymen of Barrera shout "Mehico! Mehico!" at the first round of the rematch. This contrast became apparent as the show went on. We complain of racial slur at the "Desperate Housewives" show of ABC Network insulting Filipino doctors, but we fail to prove to the world that we are indeed a nationalist lot to the core.

Manny Paquiao may have won the rematch bout but for me, the Mexicans won as a country, united and proud of their native son, win or loss.

"Philippines! Philippines!" What a sweet sound it would have been when chanted throughout the 12 round fight. We missed the chance to impress the world that we are a nation of great individuals, Pacquiao among them. Mexicans did it. Again.

Driving on LPG

About three months ago, I had my car converted from gasoline to LPG (liquefied petroleum gas). My primary reason was economy—LPG costs P22 per liter at that time while gasoline was galloping to P40 per liter. Of course I consulted several LPG users before taking the plunge, from taxi drivers to FX owners. The common feedback was they saved to a maximum of 40% from their usual gas expenses. And so, for a not so cheaper price of P24,000 for the installation and the kit, "Dumi" (my car's name) was confined for over an hour at NAIADSS Boni Avenue for the conversion.

There were secondary considerations then, though now, I believe, is more important and more noble. By using LPG, I have ceased to be among those culprits responsible for global warming. Carbon dioxide is among those chemicals that hasten the demise of our collective life on earth. This, and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) also used as car coolant long used by third world countries such as ours has contributed to destroying the ultraviolet layers of the earth’s atmosphere, making the human skin vulnerable to cancer. Other benefits of using LPG is that I no longer have troubles with my gas filters and carburetor due to a more efficient burning of the LPG.

Just recently, a Philippine Senator has filed a bill seeking to prohibit the importation of substances that harm the ozone layer.

Known as among the most ardent advocates of environmental protection in the Philippines, the senator proposed a penalty of imprisonment ranging from six months to six years or a fine of from P10,000 to P50,000 or both, for violation of the law.

Specifically, the bill would prohibit importation of substances enumerated in the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement signed by representatives of 44 countries, including the Philippines.

Most of the substances mentioned in the agreement are chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) formerly used to clean electronic circuit boards, and are now being used in aerosols and coolants, such as refrigerators and air conditioners. When released in the atmosphere, the substances’ molecules turn into chlorine monoxide that destroy the ozone layer. They have a life span of 10 to 100 years.

Ultraviolet radiation that reach the earth through holes in the ozone layer partly caused by the CFCs can enter the cells of living beings and destroy the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) of many life forms on planet earth. The destruction of the ozone layer also causes climate change that results in floods, droughts and other climactic catastrophes.

Scientists have already located a hole in the ozone layer somewhere above the Antartic, the size of continental America. If the ozone layer is wiped out, it might signal the end of life on earth, scientists say.

Coffee Creeps

Every time I go to my favorite Starbucks' counter, any crew would always say ahead of me: "Earl Grey? Hot? Tall sir?" and I would just nod and hand over the bill.

As the crew prepares for my tea, I would pluck that brown tissue and sift for the stirrer at the other side of the counter. By the time I arrive back at the claiming area my tea is done with 2 packs of honey sitting on its cover. And it becomes routinary.

This morning a lady crew asked me why I would always order for hot tea, every time. I told her in jest, now that you’ve asked, I can order for something else. “Can you please serve me a coffee with a tea bag in it?” In seconds, lo and behold, I got my tea-coffee, for a change! Just kidding— I just imagine how would Starbucks be if I can make my own concoction out of what they have.

Why hot tea and not coffee? Simple. Though I love its aroma and would really prefer drinking it than tea, I am allergic with coffee. Yes, maybe because of my allergy rhinitis. Every time I drink a cup of it, I would always sneeze and the uneasy feeling lasts until evening. Decaf coffee can’t help either. Sometimes when I indulge to at least 2 consecutive cups, I get this throbbing feeling and nervous palpitations. Tea-coffee? No, thanks!

Nakakainggit ang mga nagkakape!

I Won Starbucks Complimentary Beverage

After more than a hundred cups of Starbucks-- combine hot and cold beverages since I started visiting this branch-- my loyal patronage with this coffee company named after a Mody-Dick character has paid off. No, I wasn't paid off deliberately, it was luck that was kinder to me when the random cash register squirted a promo receipt with a costumer code for www.mystarbucksvisit-ph.com.

Then after encoding and answering some questions (page after page, the kind that management wanted to hear out from customers-- they were easy, yeah!), my complimentary beverage ID came out. Not really an ID that has my picture and name tag on it, but a numerical ID my answer choices must have generated.


I copied it to the space provided at the promo receipt and presented it to Thines-- though I would have loved to present it to Lhyne (yes, I practically know all the crew in this branch and they know me by name, too!)-- for my choice for any tall beverage. I chose Mango Passion Fruit, their current product offering. Well, that was after I had a hot Tazo Tea, a Kettle Chips of Spicy Thai (ginger chips-- anghaaang!) and a sampler of Raspberry Black Currant cold drink. All, in the guise of doing my client proposals in this free wi-fied nook of Makati!

Missing my Father

It's not that I have forgotten about him. In fact the first thing I did when I woke up last Tuesday was pray for him. And at the same time he passed away three years ago.

Not a day would pass by without me remembering my dearest Tatay, and everytime, I would say a short prayer for him. It's not Catholic mandate, it's my spiritual instinct. Somehow, to use the worldly term, I idolized my father in many ways. He was an excellent provider-- not in a manner that he loaded us with all the life's material blessings-- we were amply satisfied with whatever he brings home, everytime. Three years passed and I can still feel his lips kissing the back of my palm as he struggled bending up on his bed in a gesture of gratitude and goodbye. How I miss him.

Two weeks ago I got a frantic call from my sister in Escolta. She narrated how, from nowhere, a reservation she made last year with Cebu Pacific popped up her monitor. She said she was doing her usual encoding, went out to get something and in a few minutes an officemate asked permission from her if she could close the window that just popped up from her monitor because she wanted to type something. Weird but just as my sister has decided not to come home on July 10, our father's death anniversary, that thing came out. She was crying narrating to me the incident. With the high fare and the salary she's not receiving when on leave, she resolved to just talk to our father, a bargaining of sort, hehe!

By the way, as I write this entry, I can read my site bar of Today's Verse saying: "Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old."(Proverbs 23:22). Coincidence? I dunno. But what a nice way to communicate with us his children! We love you Tatay! Yeah, we will always take care of Nanay!

Finally, and when I started to forget it, I now have a grade for my last subject. Now since this is my last subject and semester in UP, I'd like to post it for posterity. I thought, hindi naman sya uno so there's no reason to brag about it. Tehee! Thanks Mark & Tom for the tip!

Summer 2006 - 2007
Subject	Instructor	Units	Grade
J 198	LAMBINO, MARICHU C.	3.0	1.25

Flashback

Didn't know I was that opinionated 2 years ago. This same month on that year I was a gym rat, I watched Star War movie (“Train yourself to let go of things you fear to lose”-- my most unforgettable quote from Master Yoda), I ranted about Greenbelt, I complained about an old man beside me while hearing mass (I was, and is still struggling to be spiritual), I was a Tito to my nephew (those were indeed rare moments!).

Here's a link to that 2005 flashback!

a study on declining newspaper readership

I said I believe in miracles. A miracle is any amazing or wonderful occurrence. Others define it as a “marvelous event manifesting a supernatural act of God.” Yes, it was amazing and it was also a marvelous act of God. I submitted my second draft on the last day of submission of grades (officially was April 9). Minutes after poring over my second draft, my thesis adviser gave me a grade I least expect. It was even higher than the one I wished for, and without further corrections! I was kind of worried because on Holy Thursday and Good Friday she was texting me to adjust, revise and add items on some chapters. I researched more, added tables and interpretations over here and there and refined my recommendations. Easter Sunday, I was done. The next day I went to school to submit my copy. All that I wished was I can have a grade on time, after the 3^rd semester, my maximum residency. What I got is a miracle, at least on my own terms!

Looking back, though lacking in in-depth sources and related references, I was encouraged by Dr. Georgina Encanto’s remarks when she said she can’t accept what I submitted as a thesis. She told me my topic was good but too short and shallow, and I ought to pursue it if only to contribute to the scarce references on the subject matter. She wants my work to be part of that rare resources of students and researchers seeking to expand knowledge on related research fields. Well, the way I see it, my thesis turned out to be more of a beacon, than a study tool, to journalists, editors and publishers especially, of the future of the print media. Why is newspaper readership declining? What can editors and publishers do to arrest the readership slide? How can the print medium cope up with the power of TV, radio and the Internet, especially the online publications and its interactive & dynamic nature? What lessons must the broadsheets learn from the compact tabloids? On theoretical perspective, how is the active news reader affected by the new media and how are editors and publishers dealing with it?

I just wish by the time I retire, there are still newspapers I can write with. I envy the likes of opinion makers Messrs. Teodoro Benigno and Luis Beltran—they died still holding on their pens, like the bridesmaids holding on their lighted lamps when Christ arrived.

Finally, the actual TV ad

The first time it was shown, all I heard was excited screaming in the house. I missed the sound of the jingle and half of the 30-seconder Alpo ad during "ASAP's" commercial break. Next, I waited on "S-Files" and there, I saw the longest (2 seconds?) frame-to-fame of "Murder", our birdie killer cat (it's where he got his name. His second victim by the way, was a neighbor's rabbit, slightly moving when he brought it home, his teeth still clinging to its neck!) Well, on this commercial, at least "Bundi", the dog, was able to finish his role. The end tag of this TV ad should have been:"No animal has been harmed by a cat during the filming of this commercial." Seriously, this TV ad is cute and has a universal appeal. Here goes the ad (blame my Nokia 6111 for the low res video).

Cramming

No, I don't have an exam-- my last was 2 sems ago. Besides, classes have ended March 23. And that was the day Dr. Georgina Encanto emailed me, then asked the Journalism Department to call me. My, I'd been visiting her 2 weeks in a row and she would just tell me she's a little busy to check on my thesis' first draft. Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately) it's end of the road. April 4 is deadline for submission of grades and I'm just revising my first draft. Miracles. Yeah I still believe in miracles! Believe me, I'll get my grade on April 4.

Padayon, Comrade!

I had this mixed feeling of sympathy and admiration when I first heard that Gemma Bagayaua was arrested on libel charges because of her feature story on Chavit Singson. Gemma, the online editor of hard-hitting Newsbreak magazine has been exchanging mails with me months past while she was setting up the online publication of Newsbreak. I was seriously asking her to consider me on part time job uploading online their past articles but she insisted I was kind of over qualified for the job. Nevertheless, I relented, proud with the fact that indeed, Gemma is now on serious business of truth telling. I remember her to be the reserved but determined applicant of CNS (Center for Nationalist Studies of UP Diliman). When I tease her about anything or anyone she would always blush, her cheeks would literally turn reddish but with a ready smile. We had a college life sated with political discussions and integration (some call it immersion, but we agreed that integration was more thorough and experiential) with the depressed communities around UP and the Payatas.

Gemma has carried out her convictions well, and her arrest yesterday was an honor-badge for a vocation she was willing to die for. To Gemma, your CNS comrades is proud of you! Padayon Comrade! Here's a link to details of her arrest.

Organic Salt "Tultul"

I felt nostalgic when I read this article about "tultul", an edible salt-rock painstakingly made out of discards on the shore such as coconut husks, twigs, broken coral—anything except things made of plastic.

For me, it was synonymous with poverty because it was the usual pair for rice every time we run out of delectable viand. But it was fun rolling it on rice plate and nibbling where it's thicker until you taste the powdery salt. Here's another feature about one of Iloilo's original but vanishing trade.

post-traumatic stress disorder test

If you are a journalist, and feels you have symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD, check out this site http://www.conflict-study.com

The site promotes itself as a self-assessment tool that helps journalists determine if they are suffering from the effects of PTSD.

On Losing Anorexia

Another cat is lost in the "Muning" genealogy, the cat that delivered kittens to the Flores family and died days after. Her kittens named "Badjing", "Murder", and "Anorexia" were cared for, or put it correctly, placed on a pedestal by my girlfriend Paulette that they grew up fat and in silky fur. "Badjing" (named after her kitten-days bungee jumping mode) was most loved, "Murder" (after his kitten-days obsession to eat yellow-green Birdie) was second and "Anorexia" (after her anorexic look, sickly body, swollen eyes) was the least, although she was the most "malambing" and "mabait".

On February 17, last year, "Badjing" was lost, or we surmised snatched up while playing outside the gate and sold for P20 (that was the buying rate in Caloocan according to a "basurero" we talked to) to be fed to a Rottweiler or a wild snake. What an ending for a cute, clean cat that eats nothing but Friskies and "galunggong". So "Badjing" is indeed gone and can never come back. Since then, "Murder" sleeps with my girlfriend-- you just don't know how it feels to have a cat for a rival, hehe! By the way, "Murder", the local Garfield (he's so sluggish and fat) or the little Lion King (so fiery and possessive at times) fathered many more sons and daughters from his incestuous relationship with "Badjing" and "Anorexia". Among them left is "Namfrel" (the vegetarian cat) and "Pretty" (cat so quiet, so petty)-- the others we gave away to friends and neighbors.

Last February 14, "Anorexia" was found lost, or snatched up in an unholy hour by what we suspect as a February serial cat stealer. Until today, we still look for "Anorexia", wondering how she has been treated, for a cat like her has never been outside and exposed to strangers. Her loss refreshes the pain of having lost "Badjing", even makes more painful as my girlfriend contemplates on the day that "Murder" is out of her life, and for reasons that they were sold and helplessly fed to carnivores. It's unfortunate that these cats live in a neighborhood, or perhaps city, where most people care only about what they could sell and eat for a day.

They say, there are many ways to skin a cat. But I say, if I see whoever snatched our cats, I will skin him in so many ways!

Global Warming

My Philosophy 1 teacher once declared, "the truth of the general contains the truth of the particular." Eg. "The world is warming", "Manila is part of the world", "Therefore, Manila is warming."

But is it? For almost a week now, newspapers and cable news channels looked like weather bureaus dispatching gloomy updates on the state of the global climate. Global warming has become the staple topic, and maybe for lack of local gossips, or tired of political grandstandings, even AM radio commentators picked up the issue, inviting climatologists to talk about something we have long been neglecting. As if global warming has just dawned on our asses. But it's long been decided, said Dan Vergano of USA Today- The Debate is Over: Globe is Warming! Matitigas lang talaga ulo natin!

Ironically, since the last week of January, Manila, and perhaps many parts of the country, is swallowed by colder air believably caused by the advancing cold front. It is colder in the evening and culminates in the wee hours, reminding me that my orinola has not yet come of age.

By the way, while I don't consciously patronize Green Peace, Haribon or any environmentalist group, I downloaded my first step of my first "fight against global warming" from LocalCooling.Com. Clap! Clap! We'll honestly, not actually out of nobler cause than to save the lifespan of my laptop battery-- from an original 80-Watt output, now it's 56 Watts! In effect, me and those who use LocalCooling are saving trees, galloons of gas and energy. Ultimately we also save the world from warming!

"The world is warming."
"Manila, where I live, is part of the world."
"Therefore the world, because of me, will have hope!"

A New New Year

When I embarked on the Cebu Pacific plane going to Iloilo, I felt it was just one routine that I have to undergo each December, except for the stricter frisking and taking off of shoes as I went through the pre-departure area (I read somewhere that our airport x-rays are already so outdated). And oh yes, except also for the rising cost of fare, which took me almost P7k for the roundtrip, last year it was somewhere P5k-P6k. Again, an additional security fee of around P150 will be charged, tucked in the ticket fares, to upgrade our airports’ security systems, courtesy of our government’s efficient anti-terrorism drive. Rising cost of services and fares are as routine as probinsyanos need to go back home to recharge their spirits and become productive again.

It turned out this vacation is not one routine thing. I almost forgot my niece and nephew are back from the States, and home would look like it was 5 years ago, or 10 years ago with their ubiquitous presence, sans their Lolo who passed away 3 years back, and their Nanay who opted to stay in Georgia making both ends of her world meet. My 3^rd eldest sister, however, contributed to the Christmas melee with another 4-month old baby boy named Hans Christian, while Michael Romeo, born a month after his Lolo Romeo passed away, is now taking all the scenes in the house if not shaking it to the ground. What do you expect from a three year old toddler who communicates effluent syllables but cannot be understood except by himself? He would throw everything that’s within his grab just don’t ignore what he says! And so this family is starting all over again, with their Lola humming a little lullaby, or chasing a wobbling apo while Tito’s and Tita’s look on with inhibited laughter.

Year 2007, year of the pig, beckons a good year to come. After all, this family has been raised by our father buying and selling swine, along with other farm animals. Yes indeed, this is a new new year!