Pearls in Pigsties

Antonio and Joy (not their real names)just bought an amplifier as a Christmas present for themselves. They are my neighbors. Theirs is a real big family of twelve and I suppose the amplifier is necessary for them to hear each other.

Antonio operates the agricultural machineries of his landlord during planting and harvest season. In the long interval, he takes on some odd jobs in the neighborhood. He's a good and responsible father when he's sober, which is rare. His better half is an ambulant vendor. She sells fish which she takes on consignment from her fisherman brother down the Jal-o River. Those she hawks around early in the morning and hurries home around 10 to prepare lunch for her family.

When Balete was identified as one of the first three municipalities in Aklan (this was later raised to 4 with Buruanga joining Balete, Libacao and Madalag) to implement the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program--popularly known as 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyan Pilipino Program during the Arroyo administration) the household of Antonio and Joy was among those 842 "fortunate" families to have been listed as beneficiaries.(The beneficiaries surged to about 1,785 during the P-Noy administration or about 0.06% of the Baleten-on population) Last December, they were informed that the DSWD Regional Office through the Landbank will be paying over-the-counter each household the amount of Php. 10K representing the 9 nine months backlog. That was the good news. By December 31, the Balete Public Market was crowed by these beneficiaries that each stall holder therein was beaming like the Cheshire cat.

The decision of my neighbors in buying the amplifier is way beyond my comprehension. Just recently, the couple underwent a seminar on Barangay Level Training of Married Couples of Reproductive Ages on Responsible Parenting and Natural Family Planning at the Kabuhian Center. The speakers reminded them how to prioritize their needs and wants and taught them how to manage their resources. But perhaps, Antonio was distracted by the charting on Billings-Ovulation Method that he failed to grasp the meaning of being responsible. Besides, what can you effect about by just having a day seminar on people who have been through a lot all these years.

What I heard of is that having received the money, Antonio requested his wife to hand him Php. 2,500. Then he went to Kalibo to purchase the device. Upon reaching home and with the device now installed to his player, he complained to his wife of the dismal quality of his amplifier. What followed then was a typical argument among husband and wife over the use of money that sadly turned violent considering the insobriety usual of Antonio.

Today, the amplifier is kept by Joy who was nursing some bruises on her chin and shoulders. Antonio is staying at the Police station "to while the time", humming to himself the line, "Regrets, I have a few/but then again/too few to mention" from Paul Anka's My Way.

For Days of Auld Lang Syne

We remember. We aspire to relive it. We miss that one community affair we had prior to the critical years of insurgency in our town. The authorities had to parry the popular demand then as threats of raids becomes prevalent. They said that Masquerade Ball on the 31st of December had to be done away with for fear that insurgent elements might use it against them. And we didn't reacted. We took that declaration on face value. For the peace of Balete, we used to say, "Let it be. Oh, let it be".

But despite the EDSA and the outstanding peace and order situation, no one venture of restaging the custom. Older people forgets. The young has no recollection of it. But we remember. We aspire to relive it. We miss the fun and excitement at the artistry of Baleten-ons as they turned themselves into living, fleeting human canvas. Baleten-ons might be Kalampai as some bitter souls perceive them, but they have a great sense of humor and are gifted with the capacity of making fun at themselves just for the fun of it. Just when they don themselves with weird or satirical costumes come the Masquerade Ball. Take for instance Jose Bang-aw and the XXL underwear he wore or Domingo in his Bondying regalia.

So the plan is to relaunch the Ball this 31st. Not at the Community Hall though. It is a gone by structure. What we have now is the Civic Center. So off we see each other there to say goodbye to the preceding year and together welcome 2011. To refresh the mind of the old; to echo it to the young and for us to get over with our fixation of it. The message is simple: For all that has been, THANKS; to all that shall be, YES!

When Jesus Was

We're coming to the head of the Paskwa sa Banwa celebration. Due to hectic schedule, we've opted to shorten the celebration from the original 12 days of Christmas platform to this year's 5-day observance. We supposed to keep the spirit intact where the carolers are the ones giving gifts to the elected indigent families from all over Balete. The new administration however innovates by incorporating some sort of contests during the entire 5 night vigil--dance sports, Choral contest, vocal solo and composo (our OBM, i.e., orginal Baleten-on Music). I've insisted that such contests should be within the context of the celebration and so far, I've to rationalize if they indeed have been made that way.

I recall a note from a priest on the manner we have observed and celebrated Christmas. He avers that Christmas, in its true merit, happens after we've sang the Christmas carols and sent out those Christmas cards, after we've opened the Christmas gifts, when we have eaten the noche buena and set aside those glittering Christmas lanterns and trees; when we've switched off the Christmas lights. Christmas happens when we turn our attention to the poor, when we proclaim liberty to the captives and give sight to the blind, when we give food to the hungry and announce a year of favor from the Lord...Christmas happens when Jesus is present in every activity that we involve in.

Reading Stories to My 2 Year Old

I'd the privilege last night of reading stories to my little daughter. She's 2 and as I was relaxing on the couch "listening" to the mumblings on the TV, she approached me and placed a book on my lap, pleading, "Basa ta, Tay" (Let us read, father). I took the book and readily noted that it's one of those beautiful collections that I prided to have: Hope for the Flowers by Trina Paulus. Holding on the book in my right hand, I took her on my lap with my free hand and in a dramatic way, started reading to her the title. I was fortunate to reach page 6 before her attention was grabbed by some geckos emerging out of a framed artwork hanging on the wall. "Tay, toko!", she called out in excited voice. Ignoring it, I read on..."'They don't know any more about life than I do,'he sighed". "Tay, toko!" "AV, look, caterpillars hu! More catepillars!!! And look, a caterpillar pillar and Stripe is going up there!"

For a while, she stayed focus looking at the illustrations of caterpillars stomping on and being stomped on as they race for the top of the caterpillar pillar. "Eupak!!! Abong eupak!!! Yew! And she ran the aisle and enjoyed her childhood on some toys scattered about, oblivious of the book that tells of two caterpillars who have problems metamorphing into butterflies.

Advent: A Journey and An Encounter

Today marks the beginning of Advent-the time to prepare for the three-fold coming of the Lord: in his birth, in his Second Coming and in our daily encounters with him as we journey in life. Traditionally--or popularly, it is the three-to-four weeks that precedes Christmas. But as Christians, we are reminded by our observance of it to recall his first coming to prepare us to recognize him when he comes again in our neighbor. We prepare for his second coming in the spirit of the poor who awaits for the day of the Lord when he frees us from the bondage of oppression that enslaves us. And in hidden ways he comes to us, we encounter him in our brothers and sisters, in the least among us as we do about with the business of our days.

A Four Month Computer Literacy Program in Balete

I was again tasked of representing my Mayor to the Completion Program of the Four Month Computer Literacy Program jointly administered by the Alternative Learning System of the DepEd and a service provider called Fontsmart Computer Arts and Training Services. The ceremony was done at the TFC Civc Center today, November 18, 2010. I just learned that there are seventy graduates coming from the academe, the business sector as well as the out of school youth. The Jose Borromeo Legaspi National High School served as host for this weekend competency and skills training for the past four months. The trainees are charged of at most Php 1,600 per head, depending on the competencies (packages) they wish to avail. I was told that the standard is high as the service provider wants to be at par with the DepEd standards and gains its endorsement in other regions. So far, since 2000, it facilitated trainings in 33 municipalities/cities, mostly in Mindanao and the Visayan regions.

The message I read to them is as follows:


Good afternoon!

The Hon. Mayor has requested me to deliver in his behalf his special message for all of you here today. Lend me your ear for a while.

This is one occasion worth remembering and which should be announced throughout the world through your Facebook and Twitter accounts. Do you have? Is having such accounts part of the required curriculum for you to graduate in this Four Month Computer Literacy Program?

Seriously, every moving up, each graduation, is a milestone that is worth documenting. Man is a historical being. Not because he keeps on looking back into the past but more so because of the fact that he is aware that historicity is about becoming. He lives and actively defines the circumstance and the moment where he operates. Thus, he says, “I am becoming.”

This philosophical statement is best understood as we recognize our strengths and shortcomings, as we pause to applaud those of us who excelled and hit the mark bull’s eye. Always, each completion program any school has for that matter provides a new perspective through which one realizes that the other is in flux—constantly defining himself, becoming as he grows in age and wisdom. The call is for you to adapt or to use the ICT parlance, to upgrade. By upgrading your knowledge and skills you give flesh and blood to your theme, computer technology: meeting the challenges of human living in the workplace.

In one of my interactions with DepEd personnel a few days ago, I have intimated to them that the predictions made by Dr. Alvin Toffler early in the seventies are becoming true today. The rapid growth in the fields of science and technology led him to infer that future shocks and alters the course of history. Today, power lever has already shifted into the Age of Information. We are indeed in a very different environment where everything is becoming linked together via the microchips. We see traditional jobs becoming obsolete and eliminated, giving way or shifted to places in the globe where wages are most competitive. New realities like hyper agriculture, nanoceuticals, desktop manufacturing, etc. are sprouting like mushrooms.

They say that things around and about us are fleeting. And so we are. The smell of newly harvested rice this morning is different from the one we cook on the morrow. The water that flow from the Jal-o yesterday was different from that which runs on it today. Yesterday, we endured tinkering on our Olympia Typewriter for hours and even days in doing our monthly report. Today, we silently encode on our laptop inputs and within a blink of an eye, we have a consolidated report which otherwise would took us several days to complete. That’s the magic of information communication technology. But as they say, “garbage in, garbage out”. Precisely that we sure better master it or else we find ourselves irrelevant and outmoded like our antiquated Olympia typewriter.

So go on and upload this event on your Multiply and Friendster accounts. We will be glad to remember this day as a point of reference to the many good things that are yet to come.

Congratulations to all of you!

Interacting with the Participants to the Division Cluster Read-A-Thon

The Local Chief Executive has requested me to welcome in his behalf the participants to the Division Cluster Read-A-Thon and Annual Language Fest Competition comprising the Districts of Balete, Banga, Libacao and Madalag. The event was held on November 17, 2010 at the Balete Elementary School, Balete, Aklan. Hereunder is the message I delivered during the said event.

Good morning!

In behalf of Mayor Bobby Calizo and the Baleten-on community, I welcome you all to our peaceful and enchanting town. We are honored to host this year’s Division Cluster Read-A-Thon covering the mentioned Districts. I have with me some reading materials. The first is a news article taken from the Inquirer.net under the category, “Breaking News/Nation” entitled, “15 LGUs receive ‘good housekeeping’ award.” Allow me to read to you a portion of it. (pls. follow this link…)

The second is the “Hala Birada News Weekly” dated November 4-10, 2010. One of its headlines read: Aklan town one of RP’s ‘good housekeeping’ awardees. Again, allow me to read to you its opening statement…"The town of Balete...made it to the exclusive circle of 15 lgus in the country as a 'good housekeeping awardee.'...As an awardee, (it) qualifies to avail of the Performance Challenge Fund..."

The third reading material I’m going to share with you is an article taken from a blog entitled, “By the Jal-o River” at www.a-river-called-jal-o.blogspot.com. The article “Savoring the Aromatic Seal of Good Housekeeping Award” explains how Balete made it to the top 15 LGUs in the country.

These funds will enable us to finance the programs and projects we have identified in our joint Executive Legislative Agenda of which DepEd Balete has actively participated during our month-long workshop last July 2010. The Local Government of Balete has always prioritized education as one of its flagship programs. Despite our being a poor municipality, our people have now a complete access to basic education starting at preparatory up to tertiary level. Our library, though modest it is, is accredited by the National Library of the Philippines. Some of the National High Schools have accessed to information communication technology and we have made the Town Hall wi-fi hotspot to facilitate communication and information traffic. We are doing these not because we are encouraging our people to be addicted to Farmville and Counterstrike. We are doing these things precisely because we believe that knowledge is the tool for conquering the future. We’ve invested much on educating our youth precisely because we believe that the real wealth of Balete is its people.

We support the “Every Child A Reader Program” of the DepEd not only because it develops literacy. Reading forms the child’s character—the child who is father to man. That is to say, to the child who is the hope of our fatherland. I remember seeing a statue depicting Joseph sitting and on his lap is the young boy Jesus. With his muscular arms outstretched around Jesus, Joseph is holding an unfurled scroll in front of them. Together, with mouths very wide open, they were singing the Psalms. It was a very moving portrayal of Jesus and the paternal care and love of his poster father. What struck me most was that this depiction shows one of the ways that the young boy Jesus came to know his mission in life. By learning to read the Torah or the Sacred Scriptures, he was able to ponder their deepest meaning—the meaning that he so well live and died for—and earned him the name above every other name. Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.

It is with these thoughts then that we welcome you to Balete.