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 ...

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...

My attendance to a seminar on heritage conservation last week (March 5-7) in Ilocos called to mind my desire of detailing here the unique architectural design of a typical Benitinanon house. As usual, my excuse for the delay is "the exigencies of life". The workshop up north however afforded me the focus to draw the floor plan of that particular structure. One would be surprised to note that apart from the uniqueness of the house floor plan, many of the necessities therein and the words that described them are strange to the younger generation. Necessities/devices such as " eusong ", " sumwan ", " tadyaw " are now alien to the younger Baleten-on. Their uses in the postmodernized household are no longer required. Hence, the words associated with them die a natural death. Benitinan and some other upland sitios in Balete which by their remoteness remains unaffected by the changes brought about by Information Age play a very important role in bei...

March is popularly known in the community as the Fire Prevention Month. Unknown to many, it is also Culture and Arts Awareness Month (NCCA sets in between February and March). SB Patrick and the MTDC have several school-based activities to observe the NCCA mandate. Earlier, I posted a "photo poem" in my FB Account, hoping to heighten local appreciation to the arts and culture preservation. Personally, it was a tacit greeting to a friend who is celebrating her birthday today. I was happy to note later on that some of those who affirmed or "like" the post came up with their Akeanon poems posted in their profile. Yes, it takes only a spark to get the fire going, as a song goes. " Amat-amat ro maberde nga kakahoyan Naeakayan it nanari-sari nga katalinghaga-an Puti nga Kamantigue, puea nga Katueanga Sa nagapamunga nga Bili, ro Pilago naga sinadya. Matin-aw nga sapa Espeso ku ma-silaw nga kapawa Ro gugma ro buot it kabuhi Huo, birthday mo abi Ngani ginaselebrar ...

( 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...

Be Forewarned: Ride at Your Own Risk! Diving into a zip line is like getting married. Once you took off, there is no getting back. You have to take the plunge, attend to your fears and leave the rest to the line. Like the married life, the zip line enables you to experience all-in-one, both attraction and dread, the challenge, the excitement, glory, ecstasy, regret, fulfillment. THE ATTRACTION Zip line always attracts, just like a pretty face is. But the zip line in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato is an irresistible elfin lady. It towers the Seven Falls that emptied from the lake at an elevation of almost 600 meters. It consists of two stations, the first extends to 700 meters (from Falls No. 1 to Falls No. 5) while the other is 400 meters (from Falls No. 5 to Falls No. 2). The lush vegetation, the panoramic scenery and the enthusiasms of those who queue to take its challenge are more than enough to enchant a restlesshiker like me to try giving into its seduction. So impulsively I ...

       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...

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...

My life as a ghostwriter keep me grounded on my cubicle for more than eight hours a day for the entire weekdays. In that chamber, only my mind and the fingers do the hard work and yet unable to push out the stale water out of my tired body. Precisely that on weekend, I see to it that I am geared up for the orchard to commune with nature, to rest my weary mind and to stretch out my physique in the hope of regaining its youthfulness. Wishful thinking, that is. Even then, now that my body is perspiring, my creativity is awakened by the visions I was framing along my path into the woods:  As I wandered into the woods, a song played in my mind, "Let thy love play upon my voice and rest on my silence." ( R. Tagore ) The voice seems to say, "Be still and know that I am God." ( Ps. 46:10 ) Then, it seems that it is morning again in my life... My eyes are opened and beheld the wonders He has made. So I went on, following an old trail trodden by ven...

      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...

A friend wondered out loud: "Why the frequent absences and the belated updates of this blog?" I smiled back and quietly informed her, "Oh, I been wandering somewhere down the road." She insisted that I elucidate what I mean, thus this entry. Yes, my dear, I been wandering down the road and should you care, you can follow me on my steps: First, let us draw the line. For here is the first stop: At Petrufied's corner. :-). She's kind enough to show me where else to go in my early morning wanderings. The next stop is at Singapore's National Day Celebration where Lee Kuan Yew publicly aired his regrets for seeing too soon the sun setting on his beloved country's tomorrow. Mr. Michael Cook was kind to share "table" with me. :-) From the Lion City, I went back to hear the turno en contra at the Philippine Senate. Sen. Sotto was emphatic defending his ground. Back at home in time for the Feast of the Assumption, the Sangguniang Panlalawi...

A relevant resident by the Jal-o sent me the following text message through short message service (SMS) the other day. The message reads: "Look at the month of July, you have never seen this. This year July has 5 Sundays, 5 Mondays and 5 Tuesdays. This apparently happens once in every 823 years. "This is called money bags. "So send this to any 20 friends and money will arrive in 5 days. Based on Chinese Mythology, the one who does not pass this on will have money troubles for the rest of the year. It won't cost you much for that 20 text." ( sic )   In logic, this is called a fallacious argument , or better still, an informal fallacy known as a mixture of an argument from the scripture , retrospective determinism and argumentum ad baculum . Let us deconstruct it for clarity's sake. There are three components in the text message. First, the framer awed the reader with a fact, i.e., July 2012 being the most unique having 5 Sundays, 5 Mondays and 5 Tue...

        O, Ginuo, amon nga Diyos nga Amay, ano kanami tan-awon ro imong mga tawo nga nagakabuhi sa gugma ag pag-ambitanay. Ano ka sadya pamatian ro andang kanta it pag-iegmanghuran ag pagbueuligan sa oras it pagtilaw!       Ikaw ro amon nga ginadayaw sa tiempo ngara it pagbag-o. Kabay, nga sa rayang panahon padayon kami nga ibhan ni San Rafael nga Arcangel sa among nga pagpamanawon sa daean it pag-eigmanghuran kay Kristo-Hesus. Ro imong presensya hay magtao kamon it inspirasyon nga panestigusan rong kamatuuran sa pihak kung pagtilaw it kapurilan. Ikaw ro among kaisog sa pagbag-o ku dapat bag-uhon, rong kaaeam nga nagagiya kamon sa paghimo it tama ag matarong nga desisyon.         Ro Imong Espiritu ro among manuglipay ag kabulig sa pag-abaga ku mga paeas-anon daea ku among responsibilidad bilang mga lideres ag miembro kung Kristianong Katilingban. Kabay, nga padayon imaw nga mag-tao it kaaeam ka...

With the expressed interest of giving the Pledge System a second look following its lull of more than seven years, questions from the younger generations are cropping up with little answers being justly provided for. Thus, in this article, let me devote some time approximating the answers to frequently asked questions regarding the system.   Question 1 (Q1) - What is Pledge System?   Answer 1 (A1) - Pledge System is a means of providing or extending expressed temporal support by the faithful to the local church where they are ecclesiastically part of for her proper objectives. It is a method of fulfilling one's obligation as provided for in Canon 222 §1   according to each person's possibilities by taking into account his or her familial obligations. Pledge is not tithing per se as biblically understood. Rather, it approximates tithing as while it is not compulsory, one binds herself/himself to the pledge she/he made before God and her/his neighbors (i.e., the l...

My promise of love: Ginakueang ako it bisaea Agud ika paabot kimo Pero bisan pa, akong hinyo Nga sa akong pag-ako Nga ikaw hay hinigugma Kunta hay mahangpan mo Ako hay tawo man lang May kinahang-ean, may kahinaan Indi ko kimo ika-promisa Pareho ko iba Rong mga bituon ag ro buean Una sa kaeangitan Haead ko kimo Akong taguipusoon Puno it nina Padayon nga nagabaga Bisan pa nga kon amat Hay maeuya. I wrote it because I am loved. I am loved and called to love in the process. I respond to it in my own pace. In my day-to-day approximations, I am becoming certain that Euclid's postulate that straight line is the shortest way from one point to another is wrong when it comes to human intersubjectivity.  In loving, I have to mean every word of it and approximate its meaning every day of my life. Aware of my strengths and flaws, I hasten to live its truth in my day-to-day struggles. Even if at times, love seems to stab the wounded and scarred heart. ...