May iniisip ka?
Oo.
Ano?
Ayaw kong sabihin. Baka magkatotoo.
Dahil makulit ka
Kilala kita. Oo, ikaw 'yun: Nagkasalubong na tayo minsan, sa LRT, sa Gotohan, sa kanto ng Aurora at Katipunan. Nagkatinginan tayo. Hindi mo ako kinausap, pero alam ko, nakilala mo rin ako. Kaya ka narito, di ba? Para sabihing, Oo, oo, ikaw nga 'yun. Naaalala kita.
na, mula noong 24 Enero, 2006, ang nakitambay dito
chico dam all over again?
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Nakuha ang mensaheng ito sa Facebook, galing sa isang kaibigan:
...May grupo dito ng mga dati kong kababayan sa isang town ng Camarines Sur, na nagpapaabot ng hinaing dahil may dumating na notice sa kanila na madidisplace sila dahil sa dam project ni Dato Arroyo/GMA.
I have learned that the project has no ECC or EIA. And many of the processes were not disclosed to the public all throughout.
This is a 1.9B Dam project na maglulubog sa maraming barangay, kasama ang kabayanan ng dati kong hometown. I'm Naga-based now, so hindi ako updated ng mga nangyayari diyan.
Sige muna, tol, salamat.
A quick google-search yielded the following article-- which, noticeably, e wala ni isang quote galing sa madidisplace na residente:
NAGA City – A ranking official of the Bicol River Basin and Watershed Management Project has confirmed that the local governments of five towns in Camarines Sur and the major implementing government agencies have approved the relocation of some 300 families to be displaced by the P1.9-billion Malaguico Dam project in Sipocot which is expected to be completed next year.
BRBWMP project director and Bicol Presidential Assistant Tomasito Monzon said the 300 families are residents from barangays Malaguico and Manangle along the Sipocot River banks and Lupi Nuevo, Lupi Viejo, San Pedro, San Isidro and Barera in Lupi town.
Their relocation has been approved by the municipalities of Lupi, Sipocot, Libmanan and Cabusao towns in Camarines Sur and the National Irrigation Administration, the Departments of Public Works and Highways and Environment and Natural Resources.
Monzon said the relocation site is expected to be completed in less than two years to be funded by the Office of the President and the National Housing Authority.
A.M. Oreta Construction is undertaking the construction of Malaguico Dam which is expected to benefit some 3,000 farmers.
Now I thought, hmm, Dato, Dato-- saan ko ba huling nabasa 'yun? Ah. Dito:
NAGA CITY – The bill that creates a new district in Camarines Sur, increasing to five the existing four districts in the province, has been approved by the Senate and the House, a lawmaker here has said.
Representative Luis R. Villafuerte, Camarines Sur second district representative, said the bill that creates an additional district, which would be carved out from the 10-town first district here, had been passed in the House without opposition.
Villafuerte said the Senate version had been met with opposition but when it was submitted for voting, 15 senators voted in its favor.
“That’s more than the majority of the senators,” he added...
...Formerly the political turf of former congressman and now Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr., whose hometown is the neighboring Ragay, the first district of Camarines Sur has been handed to Arroyo after Andaya was appointed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to head the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) four years ago.
But critics here see political accommodation for Andaya after his term as budget secretary ends when Ms Arroyo bows out of office in 2010.
With his political turf already occupied by Dato Arroyo, the additional district would secure him a seat in the House next year.
You do the math, mga bok.
Marami akong kaibigang taga-Naga. Matagal na akong niyaya ng ilang manunulat na bumisita doon. Hindi pa ako nakakatapak sa lupain ng Bikol, pero hindi ibig sabihin noon na tutunganga lang ako-- na tutunganga lang tayo-- habang nangyayari itong putanginang shit na ito.
on failure, and sacrifice, and the sad task of a speechwriter
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
I am Mar Roxas' speechwriter, and let me be the first to say that I failed my country.
I failed my country by not working hard enough; by not being a better speechwriter; by failing to show the people how good a person my boss was. Is.
My friends laughed at me for being too much of a believer. And I failed my country by believing that it would believe along with me.
I am Mar Roxas' speechwriter. All throughout my year and half in the organization, I denied that title; I played it down. Not really wrote the speeches, not per se, I said. I wrote down what I was told to write down, I said. Others thought of it, and all I had to do was type it down. I drafted the speeches, but never really wrote them. I shied away from that name: Speechwriter. In the same manner that I shy away from being called a poet.
The least I could do now is to show the same courage that my boss did. I am Mar Roxas' speechwriter. I am a poet. As speechwriter, one of my tasks is tell you how good a person my boss is. As poet, my only task is to say to you the truest thing I can.
My boss is one of the smartest people I have ever known. My boss has one of the purest hearts I have ever been in touch with. All my boss ever wanted was to serve the people in the best way he can. I failed my country by not saying these things well enough.
Yesterday evening my boss declared his support for the candidacy of Senator Noynoy Aquino for President in 2010. He said: It is within my power to preside over a potentially divisive process or to make the party a bridge for the forces of change. He said: I choose to lead unity, not division. He said: Country above self. And I typed it down.
This country I failed is the same country that my boss puts above himself. My country was smart enough to see what was wrong with the campaign. But it was also too cynical to not see through it. The same people who dismissed the ads as mere gimmicks were the same people who lauded how brilliant this opponent's ad campaign was, or how good a rhetorician this other opponent was. I used to ask, if you're so smart as to see through everything as posturing, as political play, then doesn't the question boil down to who you think can best move this country forward?
I failed my country by not asking that well enough, or often enough.
When I was nine years old, my parents voted for Jovito Salonga. He became known as the best president my country never had. When I was fifteen, they voted, along with my siblings, for Raul Roco. When I was twenty-one, they voted again for Roco, and I voted with them. Roco, too, became known as the best president my country never had. Now I am twenty-six, and I tell you now, in the truest way I can: Mar Roxas is the best president this country never had.
I have failed my country, and all I hope for now is that the people realize what it has lost, and what it has gained. The country asked for sacrifice, and he gave them sacrifice. The country asked for unity. He has given them the door to unity; all that is left is for them to step through.
The country asked for someone to believe in; in Noynoy they have found someone to believe in. And Mar has offered himself as someone to believe with.
In tears, I ask this country that I have failed: Is there anything more you would like to ask of my boss?
He has given everything, and he will continue to give. And I will type everything down for him. Because I am Mar Roxas' speechwriter. And he is my boss. He is my president. The best president this country never had.
The House of Representatives voted to approve the Con-Ass resolution tonight. Basically, it's a big "Fuck off" to the Senate regarding the Cha-cha issue. It's a big "Fuck off" to every decent, thinking Filipino, which I think is the other 90+ million who hate Gloria's guts.
Basically it's a big "Fuck off" to anyone who thinks that they can stop Gloria from holding on to power. It's a big "Fuck off" to me, and to you.
Well, we're not just about ready to fuck off.
Butch G., a friend from the UP Workshop, says, "Grabe... Hindi ako tibak. Pero naniniwala akong may mga isyung hindi pwedeng palagpasin. Isa ito sa mga hindi pwedeng ikebs. Grrrr. what do we do?"
To start with? Everything we can.
You remember that thing, that one thing you can do well, and believe that it's worth doing, and hold on to it for goddamn life, and do it, do it the best way you can. You do it while thinking how fucking angry you are at this mess your congressmen got you in, and you let your rage drive you forward. You write about it if you're a writer. You sing about it if you're a singer.You make it known that you will not stand idly by, that you will not keep watching those goddamn sex videos and reading those goddamn tarpaulins that say "Ramdam na ang Kaunlaran," when all the while those fucking assholes in congress are scheming to keep the hungry hungry, the poor poor, the rich so fucking fat and insulated from what you see everyday on your way to your thankless job. You do everything you can.
And you don't, you never, fuck off. You strap those boots on and go to the streets and scream at the top of your lungs. You tell those assholes, "No, YOU fuck off. This is my country."
*
There's going to be a rally tomorrow. Assembly is at St. Peter's along Commonwealth Av., 2 p.m. Wear black.
Much Ado About Hayden Kho: The Opposite of Every Truth is a Sex Video
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Earlier today, habang nagsasalita sa Liga ng Barangay ang marami sa mga presidentiable, nagkakagulo naman ang Senado sa pagdating ni Katrina Halili. Habang humihirit sina Allan Peter Cayetano tungkol sa mga sex scandal, wala ni isa sa hanay nila ang nakahirit ng, "Ngyek. Digs ko na may halaga ito, pero nasaan ang ingay nu'ng kasagsagan ng Dumaguete at La Salle sex scandal? Di ba may mga mas mahalagang dapat pag-usapan dito ngayon?" Ayos.
Tsamba? Puwede. But you can't help but think that there could be some unseen hand pulling the strings here. And you can't help but admire how skillful that hand is.
Just last week, Villar's buddies walked out of a Senate hearing where evidence was presented against the good Senator, concerning the C-5 mess. Allegations left and right here: ini-realign daw ang C-5 para dumaan sa lupa niya, para tumaas ang value ng lupa na bibilhin ng gobyerno. Sa madaling sabi, minaniobra ang sistema. Suwak.
At the same time, Villar called a press-con asserting his innocence, going over the heads of his colleagues and straight to the TV-viewing masses. Pulitika lang raw ang lahat-- what with his strongest opponents for the Presidency in 2010 being his fellow Senators. Nevermind that he could've answered the allegations point-for-point in the Senate hall. Oh well.
Yesterday, Sen. Bong Revilla (hmm, who could he be in bed with?) delivered a privilege speech on this Hayden Kho thing. I remember watching the news and thinking, what the fuck. Sa Senado? Ito?
Today, Katrina Halili, tears streaming down her face, vowed to fight until the people who leaked the video were brought to justice. Oh, she was at the Senate too.
Tomorrow, the Senators get to vote on whether the evidence presented against Villar is enough to warrant an investigation.
Ang galing lang ng nangyaring pagtabon ng issue kay Villar. Isang tapik (p're, nayayari na ako, gawa ka nga ng ingay diyan,) at tapos na ang lahat. Wala nang nakakaalala sa issue. Na-minimize ang damage kay Villar.
All this while Sen. Francis Pangilinan is busy severing his ties with the Liberal Party-- whose standard bearer Sen. Mar Roxas (yeah, yeah, my boss, but that's beside the point here,) is seen as one of Villar's strongest opponents in 2010.
There he was, saying that he had "differences" with the LP leadership. There he was, on-cam with Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros, Ed Panlilio, and Grace Padaca (an LP member too,) "Rocking the vote." Conspicuously absent was a direct statement from any of these people saying whether or not they were siding with Pangilinan, or that they were just there to, well, rock the vote.
Oh, and Pangilinan and Villar have close ties too: both are members of the Senate's Wednesday group.
Ang galing nu'ng pagpaplano nito, 'no, and everything in short notice. Invisible hands at work (okay, maybe,) the power of the camera going full-force, and Villar, assuming there is indeed some sort of conspiracy here, resting easy on the knowledge that in this cynical, weatherbeaten archipelago of ours, the question isn't really what happened?-- the question is which of the things that happened is more interesting?
Wasn't it EJ Galang who wrote, in an old college poem, "The opposite of every truth is another truth."
taking a break from ermitanyo mode to clear something up
Thursday, April 09, 2009
1.
Basketball buddy and good friend James had something to say about Mar Roxas' TV spot, the one with the pedicabs, and I'd have to admit that I've been hearing much the same thing from friends. So I'm taking a short break from my poetry-obsessed-ermitanyo mode to repost my reply to James' entry-- because I'm thinking that a lot of you might share his sentiments, and that you'd appreciate it if you heard something from me (or Kapi or anyone else from our camp) about this matter.
James had this to say about it:
"So it is with a tinge of disappointment that I now have to bear with his TV ad, Padyakeros. Firstly, because it is way too early for political ads. Secondly, because it is almost a blatant pandering to the poor. There are dignified ways to make a statement, and this is not one of them. It almost insults the intelligence. I say almost only because I want to believe this is a temporary setback."
And here's my comment to his post:
"hey james. i work for mar too-- and yeah we've been getting some flak because of the ad. we could get a beer or something so we (kapi and myself and the rest of the beer-loving cluster of our team) could explain things to you more clearly, but really, man, kami na nga ang nahuli na magkaroon ng ganitong media push. so it's not too early, actually-- some would say that it's a bit late.
"and about the blatant pandering to the poor, well, i'd have to say it's only pandering if the guy didn't really feel that way, if he didn't realy sympathize with them. and who's to say what pandering is, anyway? the ad was really just a more affective way of saying that all the issues and programs that mar has fought for-- cheaper medicines, educational reform, tax relief, transparency and accountability in government-- all of these mean one thing: mar wants to fix the system so that the poor have an equal chance at upward mobility as the rest of us have. i.e., it means that mar cares for the poor. it's not an insult to anyone's intelligence, not if we come to terms with the idea that there is no such thing as "a more intelligent way of looking at things." some people-- the more educated (i.e., those who can afford an education, i.e., the not-so-poor, i.e., us) -- would want bullet points of laws passed, programs of government, etc, while others subscribe to a more affective mode of rationality. meaning-- and i'd have to say this even at the risk of being accused of pandering and insulting the intelligence of the poor-- they really do look at things differently, and in terms of communications, they really do search for different things from candidates-- character and heart more than platforms and level of intellect, actually.
my point is that "may puso" counts as much-- more, actually, in terms of the sheer number of voters who look for it-- as "competent" and "not corrupt." mar has proven his competence. he's just about the straightest arrow in the business. having an ad that shows he has heart wouldn't take anything away from those qualities of his. so maybe it's about time that that "may puso" aspect is played up.
still, beer. nasa cubao lang kami. mogwai sometime?
2.
I've been revising some old poems of mine, and I like how this one turned out:
Cure
“…They throw them on their backs, stick a gag in their months to keep it open, then proceed to fill them with water till they cannot hold more. Then they get on them, and a sudden pressure on the stomach and chest forces the water out again. I guess it must cause excruciating agony.”
- from a statement of an American officer
published in the Springfield Republican, 25 April 1900
In search of secrets, you imagine them
tearing his chest open and finding
only water. On the page his eyes
are a century apart from yours.
You imagine his lungs swollen, pale as if bleached.
They poured and poured until the native
--until when? Until he was cured of his secrets?
They heard nothing but some animal, howling.
Sinunog nila ang parang. Ginapas nila nang tila
--stalks. They cut his brothers down like stalks.
There is so much time to search for words.
So much water in your country.
Dalawang gabi akong hindi nakatulog
nang una akong nakapatay ng kaaway.
Marahil dahil sa tuwa. This is the truth.
His body lying on the page like a puddle
of secrets, the names of his spies
pouring unto the soil, the strength
of his numbers dissolving into his blood.
You imagine yourself cleansed,
as if betrayed by thirst, or maybe
the weightlessness of drowning.
There is nothing more to say.
You are only some animal, howling.
3.
Rushing some deadlines before Sunday-- off to Baguio for the workshop. It promises to be a very interesting week, I can tell you that. Back to ermitanyo mode muna.
(Was forwarded this by someone from the office who found it while rummaging through some old files. Interesting read-- written way back when by a guy who, if Facebook is to be believed, is now in Switzerland. Isang malaking "Apir!" kay Mr. Johannes Bernabe, who wrote this piece. Please, everyone. Spread the word.)
I'm surprised how MAR's brilliantly played out role as the Philippines' chief negotiator held last November 2001 in Doha, Quatar did not get the attention and praise it justly deserves. Anecdotes and situations where MAR's keen judgment, composure and leadership qualities were very much evident spring to mind quite easily.
There was for instance the confrontation with EC Commissioner Pascal Lamy regarding our refusal to agree to the EC's grant of preferential treatment in favour of ACP (African Caribbean Pacific) countries unless the resulting adverse trade effects suffered by the Philippines were adequately safeguarded. Unknown to many, the successful conclusion of the Ministerial Conference hinged on whether this issue would be resolved.
On the last day of negotiations, Lamy finally decided to engage MAR in a face-off, walked imperiously with his army of lawyers and advisers into the meeting room where the Philippine delegation had been consulting-- and receiving intense pressure-- from various delegations, and condescendingly issued an ultimatum: either the Philippines (and Thailand) accept the EC's last offer or accept responsibility for a failed Ministerial. Lamy then berated the Philippines for "holding the entire negotiations hostage" on account of a single issue (which obviously was untrue, since it was the EC which was forcing acceptance of the ACP preferential treatment upon us, since they needed the support of the ACP countries for the agenda the EC was pushing in Doha). Cutting him off, MAR stared down Lamy, saying, "I resent that. The Philippines is not holding anyone hostage here. If anyone is doing it, it is in fact the EC which is holding us hostage by insisting on our agreement to a deal which was never part of the Doha agenda in the first place!" Trying to rectify his faux pas, Lamy stammered that he "really didn't intend to mean that we were holding anything hostage," and that he "meant something different." At which point MAR said sharply, "C'mon, Pascal, you're far more sophisticated than that. We both know that you knew what you meant." Still trying to regain his balance, Lamy said that "English was not his mother tongue and that..." MAR pounced on him again before he could finish, retorting "Well, Pascal, English is not my mother tongue, too, but if you want, we can negotiate in Filipino instead!"
Minutes later, Lamy huffed out of the room, standing an inch or so shorter than when he came in. The EC had taken its best shot, going with its top honcho against MAR, and ended up contributing to MAR's growing stature in Doha instead.
Of course, the best part of it was in the end the Philippines got a better deal than even what the EC was prepared to give-- a mechanism for addressing our concerns that went beyond what the WTO rules obligated the EC to do at that point. Plus, by getting our deal and removing this final obstacle to the adoption of the Doha Declaration, MAR had essentially saved Doha. Otherwise, coming on the heels of a failed Ministerial Conference in Seattle, the WTO itself would now be teetering on the brink of irrelevance.
"...There is great trepidation in the Philippine BPO industry. But if a spokesperson from the Democratic Party is to be believed, Obama's vow to bring jobs back to America refers more to blue-collar manufacturing jobs than the essentially white-collar BPO jobs increasingly crucial to our economy."
If I were American I guess I'd be happy. I mean, happy without qualification.
But I'm not, e. At bilang Pilipino, natatakot ako. Sa mga pangako ni Obama na: 1. Tax credit for companies that hire new employees in the U.S. ; at 2. Elimination ng tax breaks for companies who shift jobs off-shore.
Naiintindihan ko ang mga posisyon niya, at nakikita ko kung kung gaano ka-sound ito. Bilang desisyon ng Pangulo ng bansa niya. Kung gaano katama. Keep the jobs in America. Lalo na sa panahon ng krisis.
Pero. Bilang Pilipino. Natatakot ako sa mangyayari sa BPO Industry natin. Natatakot ako para sa di-mabilang na mga kaibigan ko, mga kaibigan na nasa call center, mga web-content writer, mga programmer at accountant at kung anu-ano sa mga offshore na firm. Nangangamba ako para sa mga pamilya nila na siguradong pilay kapag nakaltasan ng extra 15-25k, o higit pa, sa isang buwan. Para na rin sa ibang mga bagong graduate na mawawalan ng pagkakataong kumita nang maayos, kaagad, para makatulong sa mga pamilya nila. O para makaipon, para balang araw magawa nila ang totoo nilang gustong gawin sa buhay nila. Mahirap maghanap ng trabaho ngayon, alam mo naman, lalo na 'yung kayang magpasuweldo nang matino.
Alam mo 'yun, 'yung conflictedness na ganu'n? Na alam mong may tamang nangyari nang iboto ng Amerika si Obama. Pero. Ambot, 'ika nga nila. Kasi, di ba. Bilang Pilipino.
Oh well. Siguro nga kailangan na ring tumindig ng ekonomiya natin sa sarili nitong mga binti, 'no? Hmm.
