Pagninilay sa Buwan ng Wika

Nakasanayan na po natin na tuwing sasapit ang buwan ng Agosto, ang wikang Tagalog ang siyang salitang ating ginagamit. Kaya nga’t umaalma na ang mga bisaya. Unsa nga Tagalog man ang Pilipino? Ngaa nga daw sa pareho na gid ang buot silingon sang Pilipino kag Tagalog? Balido nga mga obserbasyon nga dapat eang taw-an it nagakaigo nga igtaeupangod. Kaya nga’t ang kwento ay ang “itlog” sa Bulacan ito ay nagiging “ebon” na pagtawid mo ng tulay sa Pampanga; ang “pating” sa Aklan ay lumalangoy pero ng sumakay ka ng Ceres ito na ay lumilipad pagdating sa Iloilo.
Ano po ba ang ipinapahiwatig nito?
Ang wika, ayon sa mga dalubhasa, ay siyang sukatan ng isang pamayanan. Kung ito ay lumalago, naipagyayaman, ang pamayanang gumagamit nito ay lumalago rin at umuunlad. Ang wika ay siyang nagbibigay kahulugan, nagtataglay ng katangi-ang iba sa bawat lahi.
Ang wikang Pilipino hay hindi pa establisado. Ito ay patuloy na lumalago at yumayaman. Ipinapahiwatig nito na ang lahing Pilipino ay patuloy na lumalago, sa cultura, kaalaman at kanya nitong personalidad bilang natatanging lipi.
Atin pong pagmunimunihan at isakatuparan ang paglago ng wikang Pilipino.

Deep Calls to Deep

Something deep inside is craving for something. My body reacted and kept me bedridden for almost a week. Lower back pain syndrome. It wanted full attention. It demanded that I take it by the horns. Deep calls to deep at the thunder of your cataract...

Balete in the Historia Geografica, Geologica y Estadistica de Filipinas

One of the gems on local history of the Rare Books and Manuscripts section of the National Library of the Philippines is a published material, Historia Geografica, Geologica y Estadistica con Datos Geograficos, Geologicos y Estadisticas de las Islas de Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao y Jolo, y los que Corresponden a las Islas Batanes, Calamianes, Balabac, Mindoro, Masbate, Tigao y Burias, situadas al n.so. y s. de Luzon. It was written by Don Agustin de la Cavada y Mendez de Vigo and was published in Manila in the year 1876 by Imprinta de Ramirez y Giraudier.

Don dela Cavada was the founder of a news weekly paper called La Estrella which made debut on October 4, 1846. He also spearheaded the Philippine census of 1870 where of the 4,653,263 population of the Philippines then, only 114,463 spoke Spanish. He was by then the treasurer of the Hacienda which monopolized the Tobacco industry. These backgrounds prepared him to publish such material of extensive data in the few years that follow.

Helen Blair however observed that despite the "arsenal of data" found in the book, the author missed the mark for failing to make topical index and making a halo-halo out of such good materials. Moreover some figures and dates listed therein as to the years of establishment of certain pueblos contravened with those found in some foremost authority of Philippine History (e.g. Font [1892], Medina [1893], Perez [1901], Casiano [1919]).

Even then, we find that we have no other choice but accept (for the time being) his attestation that Balete(Capiz)was established in the year 1804 with a population of 3,089. We are hard put in verifying this claim for lack of other materials. We have fallen already in a trap when we assumed years before that Balete was created as the 33rd pueblo in the Province of Capiz in 1826 basing on the account of a certain Julian Peñalosa. We are to give credit to Don de la Cavada basing on his extensive experience vis-a-vis the census of 1870. After all he preceded Font, Medina et al. and it is easy for us to assume that his sources were themselves authoritative in their respective fields of endeavors given his connections with the proper authority.

Right now, we are proposing the organization of a research team to "scan" the National Archives and the National Library for possible extant manuscripts or documents that could substantiate the findings that we have had. Volunteer researchers would be very much welcome as well.

Fearing the Dark

There are some dreams that ought not to come true--or better still, that one should prevent from materializing.


Some dreams should not even be spoken of, or written down for others to know. Dark desires of Freudian nature which are disturbing, making one afraid of the secrets hidden in the darkest corner of one's subconscious mind.

Gary Granada Sings for the Baleten-on Community

"Is Gary Granada related to anyone here in Balete?", a friend of mine asked me one afternoon in my office. I just gave him my knowing grin and asked him in turn why the sudden interest. He said that he just came home from a three-day national convention held in Zamboanga City. He admitted that he was surprised to see the town on Balete in a video presentation featuring Gary Granada's Dakilang Maylikha during the opening ceremonies of the convention. He left the Zamboanga International Airport a few hours before the explosion that killed a couple of persons last August 6.

Gary Granada "came" to Balete many years ago with his album, Ang Pagsamba ag Pakikibaka. An SFIC nun "introduced" him to me during a workshop on theater arts for a group of young Baleten-ons at St. Rafael Parish. Since then, I elected to adopt him as a "resident" of my now outmoded Sharp hi-fi stereo. Another friend some years later, upon learning that I love Gary's music gave me his Samu't Saring Gary Granada. And still another good friend gifted me with his Sa Pagitan ng Ngayon at Kailanman album.

When I was learning the logic of Windows Movie Maker 2.6, I made use of the song, Dakilang Maylikha from Gary's Sa Pagitan ng Ngayon at Kailanman, as my material. The backdrops were my collections of photographs from all over Region VI and some artworks of my daughter, Vita. The result of that study is the Dakilang Maylikha Final which made debut during the Regional Search for Excellence in Local Governance by the DILG Region VI as the event's doxology. Later, I got the chance to upload it in YouTube.

It is heartwarming to know that my study has already reached Zamboanga City. Actually, I have a mixed feeling about it. Sis. Dulce who "introduced" me to Gary was herself a victim of another Zamboanga blast. She died instantly when a shrapnel hit her pretty face in Zamboanga Port some years back. She died long ago leaving me with a memory of an idealistic nun who sought to recruit me back into the road less traveled by. She's physically dead but her spirit lives on in my heart--a heart frequently "disturb" by the blast of Gary's socially explosive lyrics and yet soothe by the melodic accompaniment of his guitar.

So is Gary Granada related to anyone here in Balete? Let him give you the answer to that.

A Viable 3-Year Objectives to Bolster Local Economy

Dreaming for a stable economy is a serious thing and that chances of missing the mountain for the forest so to speak are likely to happen. Even then, Baleten-ons venture into approximating this vision by threading on paths it has plotted out for the next three years such as, viz.:
1. To increase profitability and productivity of farmers and fisher folks through livestock-based backyard livelihood and entrepreneurship as well as inland freshwater pond and orchard establishment and management.
2. To sustain local production of crops, livestock and fishery produce through sustained capacity development of farmers and fisher folks as well as to improve agricultural support facilities and infrastructure.
3. To encourage MFIs to hold office and avail of accreditation windows in the Municipality of Balete to fuse in fresh capital in the locality
4. To encourage the diversification of local economy by maximizing the Kabuhian Center and the passage of the Investment Incentive Code in order to generate more jobs and the growth of small medium enterprise
5. To create healthy ambiance for business to thrive through sustaining the modernization of the public market and encourage the establishment of other related facilities to make Balete a hub for agricultural and fishery produce coming from the expanse of the Jal-o River watershed

The Roll-on Roll-off scheme and the Jal-o River Watershed

Balete is acquainted into the National Economy and vice versa through the roll-on, roll-off scheme (ro-ro). Slowly, farmers are turning into instant traders by the roadside displaying proudly the fruits of their labor. Yet long before the ro-ro scheme passed through Balete, it was regionally known for its oysters, mussels and other brackish water fishery produce displayed along roadside at Sitio Miekulesan, Barangay Aranas and of its distinct pinipig in Sitio Bangbang, Barangay Feliciano. Nipa shingles (ambulong and nipa) produced in Barangay Aranas, Arcangel, Calizo and Cortes have been consistently marketed to as far as Iloilo. The same is observed as to the diverse agricultural produced coming from the mountainous barangays of Balete.

The opportunities brought forth by the ro-ro should be grasped at and maximize to their full potentials. It is not farfetched to make Balete a hub of both agricultural and fishery produce coming within the Jal-o River watershed[1] as transit point into the regional or even national economic centers through the ro-ro.

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[1] The Aklan Rivers Development Council identifies the Jal-o River Watershed as the expanse within the perimeter of the Jal-o River covering portions of municipalities of Jamindan (Capiz), Altavas, Libacao, Banga and Batan.

The Kabuhi-an Livelihood Skills Training and Exhibition Center

Unique of Balete is the presence of a two-million peso worth skills training and exhibition center known as the Kabuhi-an (Livelihood). It lies on a hilly portion of Barangay Aranas and is accessible through the National Road connecting the Province of Aklan to the rest of the Panay Island. Apart from being a tourist attraction (due to its ambience) it serves as venue for a number of seminars, meetings/conferences and trainings on livelihood conducted by various government agencies.

The facility could be developed to serve as the LGU’s center for skills development, product designs and labeling, and entrepreneurship giving due attention to advancing the interest of the small and medium enterprises that focus on piña weaving production and related crafts. It could be made use as venue for live-in training and conferences due to its good ambience provided that lodging facilities are constructed. Private sectors or civil society organizations may be tapped as partners for this scheme.

Balete's Economic Development Plan

Over the years, the Local Government of Balete bore the stigma of having such a very low employment rate and very high poverty incidence.[1] While the trends may be argued as “statistically improbable” or questionable, to say the least, basing on the town’s current labor force participation rate of 67%, its unemployment rate of 56% vis-à-vis the population growth rate of 1.35%[2], its many performance indicators[3] call on the government to intervene and do something concrete to address these recurring problems. We add to that the call of President Aquino of turning our people into consumers to make for a vibrant growth on entrepreneurship and stable economy.

Notwithstanding the seeming tall order of making each and every one of us consumer, we take into consideration the fact that being an agricultural community, we are challenged to first urge, cajole and turn our people into producers. And this one too is equally difficult to accomplish. Precisely that the Local Government calls on all stakeholders to participate and converge to vision out our future, come up with some plans to approximate that vision and work cooperatively as one people to create a Balete that is better than yesterdays.

The product of that convergence then embodies the economic development plan of the local government. This plan maps out what it intends to do in response to the calls and the signs of the time as consistently pointed out in the many performance indicators it has used over the years. The plan is a three-pronged approach on strengthening social capitalism through the interaction between the households, the government and the business sectors in its three markets, i.e., the labor market, the financial and commodity markets. The local government for its part lays down policies that protect its people from abuses, advance their interest and create opportunities for them to develop and hone their skills and resources while at the same time create favorable climate for private investments through improving basic infrastructures, maintaining peace and order and the adoption of sound investment promotion policies and regulations.

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[1] Beginning with the MBN Survey of 1996, Balete recorded an overwhelming 44.05% unemployment rate and a soaring 73% below poverty line families.

[2] Cf. Guillermo, Virgilio V., Philippine Labor Market Trends 2005-2008, Study.; see also 2007 Census of Population at http://www.census.gov.ph/

[3] The LGU has been using the Local Government Performance Management System (LGPMS), the e-SLGPR or the State of Local Government Performance, Electronic Report and just recently the SCALOG (System on Competency Assessment for Local Governments)