By the Jal-o River

I just finished drafting a project proposal for the Baleten-on sacada workers and their dependents. Somebody from DOLE tipped me of the availability of funds intended for these marginalized contract workers. Somehow, they are the marginalized among the marginalized and are the ones less understood by the society, having forced by circumstance to always move in and out of the community in search for livelihood. I heard in several instance that as contractual unskilled sugarcane workers, they are prone to abuses by either the contractor and the employer who often times take advantage of their vulnerability, ignorance and vices. They left their respective family a poor household and returned to it after four months to see it poorer than before. I myself don't understand them. To me they are strangers whose stories I'm wanting to hear. Fortunately, Fr. Niall O'Brien serves as their voice amplifiers when he devoted a whole chapter about them in his book, Revolution from the He

Sunbirds are one of the commonest birds in rural Balete. Every garden serves as their favorite rendezvous and hunting ground for nectars and spiders. In my place, I've counted six pairs jockeying among the twigs and branches within the guava groves. The daring and the bold would even perched on our windowsills spying on cobs and house spiders squatting on our ceiling. Popularly known as Antuyamis , I lately discovered that those Olive-backed sunbirds have cousins in the mountainous region of Balete. While camping out atop the Agtawagon sometime in late 90's with Roy (the Municipal Treasurer) and Dodo (our friend from that place), a copper-throated blue feathered sunbird introduced itself as it chased something that sought refuge on the perimeter of our camp. Compared to the Antuyamis, that one which the taga-ilaya (the mountain people) called, " Daeawidaw "was more of an acrobat and a little bit more shy. Even then, it lingered for a while in a safe distance displa

The entry on page 40 of the Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul is a rhetorical question which reminds me of Pet Garmino's asking why the poor people of Oquendo and Guanko were not included in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) of Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. 4Ps is part of the hunger mitigation program of the current administration of which Balete has been included following reports from the NEDA that it ranks third in the Province of Aklan to have high poverty incidence. Early last year, a low profile survey was conducted in the 10 constituent barangays of Balete purposely to validate the NEDA report. The Department of Social Welfare and Development spearheaded the supposedly house-to-house survey. While the project was being planned out, a good number of residents in Sitio Benitinan had migrated into the neighboring town of Libacao due to reports that the local government there was generous in providing the poor households with monthly stipend of Php. 5,000. When

I found myself reading my old journal. I reasoned out to myself (defensively) that I'm retracing the past that I may discern the present as I move forward into the morrow.

Today is the last day of the Special Program for the Employment of Students here in Balete. The local government unit has committed and employed 10 students coming from the ten constituent barangays (villages) of the municipality. Since last year at this time of the year, the LGU implemented the program with the Department of Labor and Employment to enable poor but deserving students generate extra income during the long summer break for them to pay their tuition fees for the following school year. The SPES activities for the past two years delve on skills mapping with the end view of generating relevant databank concerning the Baleten-on labor force. The LGU's databank on its labor force is insufficient for it to establish a labor market information system. Such system would be useful not only in setting up appropriate policies on local labor and in addressing the high underemployment rate and poverty incidence but also for jobseekers and investors and other stakeholders. So the

The late catholic priest, Vio Dandoy, a native of Oquendo, Balete, was collaborating with the Department of Agrarian Reform and other stakeholders sometime in 2003 for the establishment of an agrarian reform community in the contiguous upland barangays (villages) of Oquendo, Guanko, Morales and Cortes. He started organizing the communities and even invested much of his personal money to realize his dream for his people. The community was zealous and hopeful as they started communal orchards, raised livestock and organized bible study groups. The government people were attracted in the way people volunteered and they frequented their "ocular inspections". Officials both from the National and Local government scaled the heights together with the local ordinary of the Diocese of Kalibo to inaugurate what ought to be an exemplary project of empowering the landless. The inauguration was a big bang. ......... The inauguration was a big bang. That's it. Just a big bang heard fr

Even if the rain has stopped falling and the scorching heat of the sun wilted the Katueanga (Hibiscus) , I still hear your steady flow as if an eternal song sung by some elfin lady among the Balete trees.

My mind is without ink these days. My subconscious is instead portraying new archetypes. Colorful ones and bordering to the absurd. My mind is without ink these days. My conscious mind dictates that I write down all those events happening inside. Atess was suggesting though that I paint again when she told me that she miss my artworks. And I feel appreciated. Yet my mind is without ink these days. Atess invited me to her place to see her for the last time. She said she and her entire family will be leaving for New Zealand in June. She said that she feel funny to have kept all my letters after all these years. Well, that was almost 20 years ago. The sad thing is I have told her that I am keeping hers too. I set them to fire some 16 years ago--including her photographs which were my most precious memorabilia of her. I was angry and confused at that time. I hope she'll understand. Really, my mind is without ink these days. My mind is filled with regrets. It wants to go back in time t