By the Jal-o River

Photo courtesy of Catholic Online I have been hunting down my old notes, photo albums and journals these past few days. I was particularly interested on those memorabilia associated with the last visit of the late Pope John Paul II who is due to be beatified on May 1 to coincide the celebration of the Divine Mercy Sunday. I was unlucky finding my journal of 1995 though. Nanay helped me out digging up the dusty bulks of photo albums in a nook behind the altar of our house. The activity though had her sent back through those captured moments into some bygone years when life was simple and quiet.  Pope John II addressing the faithful at the UST ground in 1995 on the occasion of the 10th World Youth Day. But I was a single-minded mule, determined at finding just anything that is associated with Blessed Lolek. I take anything by that degree as something worthwhile to pan on the dying embers in the hearts of men, mine primarily. After a while and a few sneeze, I got my price

Balete's unique Rizal Monument after Rodin's The Thinker (Distorted in Photoshop) We used to hear it often said. Children sing-song among their peers: " Tik, pak, bong, binuno, inaswang !" And the children would scamper to find a safe place to hide as the " aswang " (the "it") hunts them down in the shadows of pasaw , lumboy and the bandstand. The game is called Bong, a variation of Paeanagu-an (Hide and Seek). The home base is an empty tin can that the players have to kick to save their ass from the "hungry witch" whose attention is diverted to retrieving the misplaced tin can. But I missed playing it in my "brief" childhood. We were not allowed to stay late outside of our house. Orasyon , aside from being a moment of prayer, was meant to mark the start of our curfew. Tatay never explained why and we dared not question his policy. Perhaps, he was afraid of the aswang prowling in the dark. Old people believe in its exi

Entrance to the "Uphill" (Balete Elementary School) The program cum invitation proclaims, "Au revoir!" and then subtitled by a quote: "The mediocre teachers tells (sic). The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." The Department of Education in the District of Balete is honoring Mr. Raul M. Jimera, its District Supervisor for more than a decade who is due to retire today. All of the school heads, principals and those who were close to him have been asked to deliver their "reflections" while the schools, both elementary and secondary are expected to come up with some presentations. I was invited to witness the event but is still undecided. Mr. Jimera was one of the "effective" mentors during my elementary years. He taught Industrial Education to us boys and was our worthy Scout Master. My batch and my contemporaries were proud that in our time, the District of Balete won the most awa

        The Asylum story of Kahlil Gibran at Paolo Coelho's Blog reminded me of the "classic" encounter of Leticia and Tikboy years back.         Leticia is a well known character in rural Balete. She is one of those "itinerant" mentally sick people roaming about the town's small urban area. What made her standout from among the rest is her genial and engaging personality. Tikboy on the other hand was an organic member of the community's peacekeeping force. He was equally popular for being a huge man with a small soprano voice. He is now retired and has devoted his life to farming. A view of the town of Balete from the Municipal Cemetery. (A sketch done in 4 January 1999)         Now, about the so called "classic" conversation these two characters had when Tikboy was still on active duty. He was manning the station one summer afternoon when there and about came Leticia with her characteristic grin flashing her yellow brownish teeth in f

A friend sends invite to a concert featuring multi-awarded French pianist Laure Favre-Kahn . She says that it is for the girls of Chameleon Association in Passi, Iloilo, Philippines. A piano interpretation on the ouvre of Chopin and Schumann by the association's ambassadress to raise fund for the abused and the marginalized children being housed and cared for in the 600-square meter compound in Passi City. The concert is set on 27 April 2011 at the auditorium of the University of the Philippines Iloilo City campus. Then on the next day, Ms. Favre-Kahn will do another at the PhilAm Life Theater at UN Avenue, Ermita, Manila. A similar concert was held earlier at Abracadabar, Paris. The concert is a collective efforts by French and Filipino friends of Laurence Ligier and by the members and supporters of the Chameleon Association, notably by the French Alliance in Manila, Ros Music Center and the French Embassy. Some years back, Ms. Favre-Kahn's concert for the association

Apart from the crowd but perfectly in communion with all . "What a waste of time and talent", a French economist once remarked after his brief stay in Anao years back. He was reacting to the way things were going on where he perceived that a lot of brilliant minds were available most especially in civil society and church-based organizations but in the government. The reaction was raised after somebody "local" handed him a copy of E.F. Schumacher 's Small is Beautiful . Apparently, he has not heard of it. Reading it in two setting while reclining on a hammock hanging under the shades of coconut palms, he stood up and paced back and forth like a Peripatetic and suddenly blurted out loud,"You Filipinos have great minds but you are not in the government! You are indifferent to your government. You waste your time on your religiosity and outlandish preoccupation.There is too much heaven than earth on your mind." The Filipinos he was referring to were lowly

_ To come to the quiet in search for the Beloved, let us set a week apart from the rest. A holy week to reflect on the Paschal mysteries of the Beloved. A holy week of gathering the broken pieces to reform them into whole. A holy week for renewal. Come, exiles, come to the quiet to witness the first full moon of springtime. Come to sing, "Hosannas" in the wilderness as we are not welcome in the urban caves because we are Samaritans. Come let us pursue the Beloved in the mountains of Benitinan and the hills of Agtawagon and Eumati. Come, let us wash each others feet by the Jal-o River in the spirit of brotherhood and break bread with the least amongst us. Stay with us even for one hour in the Garden. Let us pray unceasingly even for an hour that we may not succumb to betraying the Beloved. The moon is waning but let our hearts be waxing in vigilance for the hour is come. And when they caught up with us, be at peace. Be not afraid. Come to the quiet and trust in the Beloved'

Madueom ro agahon. Halin pa kabii hasta makaron, sige rong tangis ku eangit. Hambae abi kung PAG-ASA hay umpisa eon it tigsieilak. Hapan-uhan man ngani ni Totog nga madasig maatas rong tubi sa sapa daea ku tayuyon nga silak ku pilang adlaw eon nga nagtaliwan. Nagakaeangkag eon ngani imaw nga hisug-an na ro anang ginahitan ku Pebrero pat a ngato. Rong binhi it mais halin sa opisina kung Municipal Agriculturist hay owa ta gihapon hadapog. Abi na tayuyon eon rong silak. Pero hara, sige eo mat-a rong uean. Madueom ro agahon. Halin pa kabii hasta makaron, sige rong tangis ku eangit. Owa kasaot it mayad rong mga daeaga ag meron sa Baylihan. Besperas it Fiesta kabii idto sa Arcangel. May reyna nga ginkoronahan si Konsehal. Matawhay mat-a pero hay nagamueomueo ro sambilog nga meron ay kuno hay owa nat-a hisaoti ro anang crush ay sige 'ta ro asaw-asaw. Kanugon. Madueom gid a ro agahon. Halin pa abi kabii rong uean. Naghueaw man lang it madali kainang aga-aga pero tumangis eo mat a ro eangit

So you want to know the art of playing pitiw . That you are reading this piece tells me so. Pitiw, my friend, is my old folks' version of the western world's baseball or softball, only that we don't use a ball but a stick. The knowledgeable will surely react at my simile (for it is actually a "snake game"), but let me finish. Let me describe it by laying down the materials and rules. First, the materials: 1 stick, 2 cm diameter x 50 cm long - Kamagon is preferred but Coffee or Guava stem will do--they don't easily crack (This one serves as your bat) 1 stick, 2 cm diameter x 16 cm long - of the same wood with the bat (This serves as the ball or originally, the snake) Second, the venue: Find an open field to play--we used to play on the streets when the traffic was almost zero during our bygone years. Today, the Ceres Bus and the " Ro-Ro " are making a lot of cracks on the newly paved road which are ideal for playing Pitiw but the busy traffic wo

Of course you don't know what it is. Anaea-taea , my old neighbor called it. A seasonal plant thriving along the banks of nameless creek passing my place, I discovered it accidentally one Sunday afternoon while exploring my orchard. I stepped on it and it defused a sweet palatable scent akin to the aroma of star anise and some other menthol herbs. To my amusement and curiosity, I collected a handful, washed them and courageously diced and sprinkled them on a pansit . Wow, my wife loved it!

Vicente Manansala's Luksong Tinik (1973)  Summer indeed is come. All the schools at all levels in Balete are done with their respective culminating activities for the SY 2010-2011. Congratulatory speeches and valedictions had been delivered. Gifts were given and enjoyed by the recipients. The binakoe and inubaran and pansit were feasted upon. Tanduay and Ginebra were emptied and talks of brawls of the intoxicated were repeated to the amusement of those "honorable drunks". Summer indeed is come. Nowhere are the typical boisterous loiterers hanging around the plaza. Suddenly its emptiness and the silence permeating the streets paint a desolate town. But not entirely. The Narra trees are abloom, their fallen yellow flowers adorning the streets and the birds are nesting. Cloudless sky and the once soaked ground dried up fast. Despite the sunny days, children preferred staying at home watching tv or at Juris playing CounterStrike or Plants vs. Zombies .

As kids we delighted the company of the elders. We delighted in it all the more when they started telling stories like the old mariner with his unending rhymes. Like 'tay Acoy--God bless his soul!--with his gargantuan kite or those guns of his that killed thousands of the invading army during the World War II. But our summer break was a different one. It was a Balete where tv's were rare and that old bystanders were adept at telling stories to us kids. " Anu pa ron ha ," a storyteller would intone to hold our attention. And without our noticing it, he'd spellbound us by his narratives and the dialogues of his characters. And we would crave for more and the storyteller would again intone, Anu pa ron ha . But this time, he meant to tell us, "Practice the morals of the story first and I will tell another one tomorrow." So off we went to play pitiw at Plaridel Street or hunt spiders in Mapait enjoying the sun and the breezes of each summer days. Anu pa ron

While the First Synod of Kalibo has decreed that “there should be catechesis in public and private kinder/elementary and High schools” (Acts and Decrees, First Synod of Kalibo, 106.1) making Parish Priests responsible in upholding this civic right as provided for by the 1987 Philippine Constitution, the current Diocesan Catechetical Program and Activities (DCPA) has caused difficulties among the volunteer catechists as well as the Parish Priests in implementing a sustainable catechesis in the parishes. Considering their meager income, the parishes in depressed communities rely so much on volunteer catechists who are themselves poor and have their respective familial duties and responsibilities to attend to. The DCPA requires of these volunteer catechists several weeks of intensive training, which eventually deprived them ample time from attending to the needs of their respective families and in some instances has resulted to the “abandonment of family needs or to inefficiency in the ac

  T he recently concluded planning workshop on Disaster Risk Reduction and Search and Rescue Plans at the Session Hall of the Sangguniang Bayan is fraught with questions connotative of the tacit fear of men for the unknown and the unexpected.   We could not fault anyone to react that way vis-a-vis the realities that are happening before our very nose. We ourselves are disaster waiting to happen. Our mountains and the forests in them are raped constantly and we acted as if it is the normal thing.  We let the tree haters exorcised the elves and the  elementals  out of Balete and gave them a free reign in redefining our  myths  and legends as  ridiculous and puerile . They failed to see the wisdom  ingrained  on those fantastic folk beliefs. Below are a couple of tables showing some communities known as disaster-prone in Balete.   These data are based on previous  occurrence and on  inputs provided by Punong Barangays. We have also consulted the geohazards assessment conduc

Bright blue sky. A proud Sun. The birds are singing happy songs. The road shoulders are adorned with golden harvest. The farmers sun dry their produce by the roadside. Sweet smelling ricefield. Ah, summer is come. Vera is nursing a cold. But she's insistent that we drive around on this lovely day. She had been grounded at home the past weeks as rain kept on pouring. Now is her chance to break the humdrum of being stationed at home and feel the apparent wind as we cut through the Balete road. And so she got her wish. After a while, she got drowsy and I hurried home in time to catch her fragile body sagging on my lap. I placed her on a hammock in our living room. Opened up the lanai door and played for her Buddy Comfort's collection . She slept soundly, her face serene and lovely as the day. _______________________ The Lyric of the piece, On this Lovely Day as well as the rest of the Brother Sun Sister Moon songs is at this link http://www.buddycomfort.com/lyrics.