I do not want to end like the old mariner grabbing people to listen to his story at the sunset of his life. I want it that at the end of the day I rest assured that I have rowed my river and handed on to my children the lessons I have learned in my journey upstream to the House of the Father. So I made, early on, a solemn vow, that I would immerse my four daughters into situations that allow them to know and love the God of Jesus of Nazareth. Sadly, like most promises, mine was half-heartedly kept. I can justify why I kept on failing. I was trained and educated to find reasons to the things I do. I have a lot of excuses; all of them are sound and rational. Yet honestly, they are like wicker baskets—they hold stones and boulders but not water. The truth of the matter is although I was raised a Catholic, (I even had seven years of formation in the seminary) I am struggling with my faith given my entanglement with Sartrean Existentialism vis-à-vis the clash of orientations at the local...

Today is the first anniversary of Yolanda, internationally known as Typhoon Haiyan, which has been regarded as the strongest of those typhoons that ravaged communities all over the world. I intended to let it pass without so much ado, for after all, most of my trees have never recovered when she battered them last years. My neighbor is still without a decent house to live in--despite the reported many humanitarian aids coursed through either the government or the non-government organizations. But there are those who knocked on our doors today, inviting us to see through the bitter experience that we had last year and reflect on the way we chose as we tried to stand up from its havoc. Ms. Viel Aquino Dee, Vice Chair of Assisi Development Foundation and Mayor Bobby Calizo of Balete, Aklan surveyed the boats made by the fisher folks themselves. The callers are the volunteers of the Associate Missionaries of the Assumption or AMA for short. I know them not personally, but I met ...

I am writing again. I discovered that I am discovering my poetry. A sign along the lonely road I thread.   Kalipay kung Taguipusoon Pananglitan nga rong aton nga daean Indi eon magsub-eang sa unhan Sa tindahan rong isda nga mub-ead Magapadumdum kimo Nga ikaw ro matuod nga mahae Owa eon it iba pa. Pananglitan nga rong aton nga eandong Indi eon makatao it handong sa hilamon Sa simbahan rong siga it kandila Magapadumdum kimo Ikaw man lang rong kasadya it taguipusoon Owa eon it iba pa. Ag pananglitan nga hilipatan mo Sa madueom, matapo-tapo nga kwarto Ro binaeaybay it kahapon magapadumdum kimo Ikaw ratong ginatumod ko, hinigugma nga engkantada Kalipay ag baeay ku baeatyagon nga nagapadayon Halin pa kato hasta sa gihapon. I write poems to express what is happening inside my heart. I write poems when the emotion is strong and wanting release. I write poems to convey my feelings of love and admiration. I write poems to tell you that you are...

Balete Community College earns the title as the first and foremost tertiary institution in rural Balete. It stands as one of the only four community colleges in the Province of Aklan. Its becoming is a story worth telling.   Its Humble Beginning While it is not mandated of a 4 th class municipality like Balete, Aklan to operate and afford tertiary education for its people, the circumstances it finds itself in are indicative that it carries the load towards its desired end despite its poverty and capacity gaps. These circumstances were offshoots of an extension program introduced in 1998 by then Roxas Memorial College of Arts and Trade (RMCAT) that paved the way for the birth of the community college in 2004. Late in 1998, officials of RMCAT in their attempt of preserving the college’s independence from the impending integration with Aklan State College of Agriculture parleyed with Mayor Teodoro V. Calizo, Jr. to allow it to utilize makeshift huts (remnants of an agri...

The words used by a community in describing certain reality or experience are indicative to their rich awareness of the things around them. They also serve as clues to the richness and diversity of the environment where they are situated at a certain time. Conversely, the cessation or death of certain words point to a fact that the things they described have ceased to be. These realities are happening down by the Jal-o River. The words in Inakeanon hereunder are clues to the dynamism of culture and the generations that have had used them, not to mention the vibrant environment: a. Fishes Bagtis (goby) Obog (dusky sleeper) Bae-a (goby) Sugi (river garfish) Puyo (climbing perch)  Pantat (broadhead catfish) Haeo-an (true murrel) Aeogsuk (snakehead murrel) Kilo (spotted scat) Mub-ead (scat)  Danggit (scat) Mangagat (snapper) Bugok (yellow snapper) Inid (white dotted grouper) Paeangan ( long-spined glass perchlet ) Aliso (mangrove red snapper) Baean...

May haeambaeon ro mga katigueangan—nga na-anaran man naton—nga kuno hay owa man kimo it maduea kon magpati ka. Masami ta ra nga hababati-an sa mga higayon kon siin ro pila katon hay guina-pangutana ro rason ku atong pagbinatasan kapin pa ro mga talimad-on.   Guinahambae naton ra masami kon ro isaea katon hay indi magpati sa mga karan-on pareho abi ku pagpatay it manok kon siin ro anang dugo hay atong ipalhit sa bag-ong obra nga baeay. Guinapatihan ta nga ro dugo ngara hay magaserbe nga haead sa mga engkanto o kon sa ano pa rona nga espiritu agod sa rato hay indi nanda pagmalitan ro atong baeay o agod indi mahalitan ro kabuhi it atong mga pinalangga. Guinapatihan ta man nga dugang pa sa dugo nga guinahaead, dapat man nga may atong pangontra sa rayang mga elemento. Ngani nga nagadumog kita kaibahan sa iba agod makabu-oe it bisan sangka dahon it harden nga guin-dekorar sa Santo Intierro. Suma ay de-buenas kuno ron sa panguma, panagat ag negosyo. Magamayad ka man sa amulit kon m...

( This entry was written in November 2013 after Typhoon Yolanda sent the Visayas to its knees. I was not able to upload it on time as it is only now that internet connectivity in my place has been restored. To date, Ricky is still in Metro Manila, still without sponsor for his medication) T he boy in the photos is Ricky. I don’t know his true family name. His absent father has never acknowledged his paternity over him. He lives with his maternal grandparents in a house demolished by ST Yolanda (International Name: Haiyan) when it wrought havoc in Aranas, Balete, Aklan, Philippines on November 8, 2013.   He was entrusted by his also absent mother to his grandparents when he was still a toddler. He is now 12 or 13 years old. He is in his 1st year High School in a public school in Aranas.     Other than being without a loving parents to care for him as he deals with the trauma of surviving the monstrous typhoon, he is stricken with a skin ailment that derma...

This piece is also posted in my other blog, " Our Restless Journey " Pope Francis'  commentary on Mark 9:38-40  last Wednesday, May 22, 2013 during the Feast of St. Rita de Casia, OSA, the patron of impossible things,  draws much attention  in a society that is fast becoming secular. His words were headlines and the next most shared item in social media. Why is that?  Sermo humilis ?  The other day, he was talking about the possibility of all men of goodwill entering the Kingdom of God, and he means, "all" including even those who refuse to believe in the existence of God. Yes, my friend! Even if you're an atheist or an agnostic, you can inherit New Heaven and New Earth. The proviso is simple. Do good works. Be good and shun evil.  Now, this reminds me of a youthful desire brought by an "entanglement" with Sartrean Existentialism. Human reality desires to be God. To Sartre, this is bad faith. Man is deluded to believe that he can be happy in...

A storm in a tea cup. That's the impression of most of my priest-friends concerning the release of the 2003 SWS Survey about the present state of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines as the latter tries to come up with its so called Catholic Vote in time for the May 13, 2013 elections. The good Archbishop emeritus of Lingayen-Dagupan however sees it differently. But then that is his opinion. The Roman Catholic chapel in Sitio Duduemon, Calizo, Balete In my interactions with the clergy, I have maintained that the 37% attendance during Sunday masses is almost realistic and questioned the basis in claiming the 64% turnout recorded in 1991. As we all know, the survey registered among others the following data: 81% of the Philippine Population are Roman Catholics 80% are of majority age (18 years old and above) 29% consider themselves very religious 37% go to church to hear mass at least once a week compared to the 64% in 1991 9.2% think seriously of leaving the...

Silence and solitude. Those are the things I wish to have for the long "idle" Holy Week ahead. But I need a fulcrum to leapfrog into that difficult encounter, having accustomed myself to the busyness and voices in my day-to-day quest for relevance. The Desert Fathers' device for this is the Jesus Prayer while their oriental counterpart referred to it as either a koan or a mantra. I think, in my contemporary setting, I can make use of the current technology as my device to come into the quiet. What I have in mind is that as I begin my Holy Week retreat, I will indulge myself into watching a movie to set an ambiance of reflection. What particular movie then I am to watch? Methinks it appropriate for the time being to watch a 1991 film entitled, "The Doctor" starred by William Hurt. I have watched it during my seminary years when Megamall was still safe and less crowded. Considering that YouTube has an embedded stream of it, it would be easy for me to refer to ...

I am posting hereunder some relevant quotes which I have personally edited in Photoshop that might be useful for the Christian's 40-day Lenten journey. I am assuming that you are already familiar with the basics of this life-event of our quest in returning home to the House of the Father . I take advantage of the contemporary tools to approximate my so called personal legend. The season of Lent will start on Ash Wednesday (February 13), but I am posting this note early this year as I am aware of those in search for devices they will be needing for the forthcoming 40-day intramural in the desert of life. Our perspective for reflection is geared towards our celebration of the Year of Faith. The Pope has already released his Annual Lenten Message last February 1, 2013 and I took the initiative of highlighting the gist of that message. " Faith is knowing the truth and adhering to it (cf. 1 Tim 2:4) ; charity is 'walking' in the truth (cf. Eph. 4:15)...(F)aith is gen...

       The landlord planned of leaving for a far off place. But before doing so, he saw to it that everything in his ranch are well taken cared of. For his flock, he hired a couple of shepherd. He called them by their name and entrusted to them his beloved sheep. "Please take care of my sheep until my return", he implored each one of them. Then he set forth on a journey into that far off place. On their first day alone with the flock, the elder of the two called for a meeting. He informed the other shepherd of his plan. The younger one however found the plan too conservative and presented what he thought was a better, radical and contemporary way of pasturing the flock. The discussion progressed for hours without the two reaching a consensus. A recess was agreed upon and the two shepherds have their lunch--separately, I should tell you, for even in such thing as lunch they could not agree what meals to have. After their siesta, the m...

KANTA KU JAE-O Naga-eumpat ako sa bueogsukan kung Aeatubang Sa ilaya nga akon ginhalinan Sa kabukiran sa unhan pa it Benitinan Kun siin may maberde pang kagueangan. Iba eon ako makaron Ilig ko bukon eon it masueog Kon amat matin-aw pero eaban hay maeobog Bisan pa ako mat a ra sa gihapon. Naga-ilig ako sa dagasanan sa Kipot Sub-eangon ku rong sili pati sa kahoy rong siga ku mga aninipot Iya eon lang sanda mapabilin kumo ginahingabot Sa ilawod nga anay anda man nga palibot. Iba eon ako makaron Ilig ko bukon eon it masueog Kon amat matin-aw pero eaban hay maeobog Bisan pa ako mat a ra sa gihapon. Padayon rong haganas bisan pa sa tig-ilinit Sa kurbada sa may Takasan ni Ambit Sa balsa makaron ag ku baroto anay ni ‘lo Pantit Sa akon nga sueog naga-eupsi ro imo nga panit. Iba eon ako makaron Ilig ko bukon eon it masueog Kon amat matin-aw pero eaban hay maeobog Bisan pa ako mat a ra sa gihapon. Dag-onan ku nga ginadags...

( The following post is an anecdote involving Batch '84 of then Roxas Memorial School of Arts and Trade [RMSAT], when it was being renamed into Roxas Memorial College of Arts and Trade. The incident took place sometime in December of 1983 at the "campus oval". See related story at this link . )         Responding to a cue, the adjutant snappily approached the corps commander and attentively listened to the instruction. Then, he turned around and marched into the middle of the field. Having reached his unmarked destination, he stood at attention and sounded off a command. As in a domino effect, the entire battalion set itself, from company to another, into its desired position.       Yes, all of the entire battalion were in their proper place save for one.        Prior to the dispatched, a staff sergeant of a platoon gave in to the call of nature. Since he was positioned behind the entire corps, he assumed tha...

Paskwa sa Banwa. It's Christmas time in Balete. And every morning starting last Monday, people wake up early for the Dawn Mass at the parish church. It is a panaad , a personal devotion and a pledge to fulfill with the hope of getting something in return come Christmas Day when such sacrifice finds its culmination. It has been ingrained in us. Gifts to receive on Christmas Day or during its long season. We expect to at least receive one from our one of our elusive godparents. This expectation is extended to our doing the Misa de Gallo and the Aguinaldo Mass. It is us and our loved ones that should receive Christmas presents. We often forget that Christmas Day is the birthday of our Lord, or at least, the day we commemorate his "pitching his tent to dwell among us". We often appropriate to ourselves the attention that is rightfully of the Lord laying on the manger. It is us that should receive comfort this Christmas while Jesus remains languishing in cold and dir...

      Gipos, my wife's distant cousin, paid us a visit the other day. The "brief" visit progressed into an excursion of various topics ranging from his application for an early retirement as bus driver of Vallacar Transit, Inc. (Ceres) to those nocturnal predators that raided our rabbits and chicken coop.  Gipos self-proclaimed to be one of the pioneers of Vallacar when Ceres Bus acquired a franchise for the Kalibo-Iloilo route more than a decade ago. Prior to that, he used to drive the R&K that once ruled the same route. When the former bought out the latter, Gipos together with a handful few was absorbed by the company.     Now in his middle 50's and still single, Gipos shows signs of getting burnout and to his mother and siblings exhibits what Dr. Jed Diamond called Irritable Men Syndrome (IMS) . He pays us occasional "brief" visit to unwind his frustrations, my wife and I being his shock-absorbers. At times, we would consume so...