If you’re one of those trying to make sense of the seemingly senseless Christmas to-do, groaning under the weight of gifts that had to be wrapped, trees that had to be lighted; if you’re suffering from christmasa nervosa, misplaced anxieties, worries and edginess (because it’s Christmas), pause awhile, inhale and gather your wits. Maybe Christmas has indeed passed you by. Good for you or good on you. You brought this condition upon yourself.
Missed out on the Christ in Christmas?
Noted Jesuit theologian Fr. Carlos Abesamis has come out with a sequel to his ``travel guide’’ of a book ``A Third Look at Jesus’’ which we wrote about in this space some years ago.
This new one, titled ``Backpack of a Jesus-seeker’’, has the format of conversations going on among several characters. One character is Carl (not Karl Marx but the author); the seeker who has been in search of the original Jesus and has found him but still continues to search; and the Backpack.
``Backpack’’ answers questions Christian believers ask about the basics of their faith—the teachings and ministry of Jesus as well as his death and resurrection, the Kingdom of God, heaven, etc. Through the conversations, Abesamis deconstructs and gives fresh interpretation to the hard-bound catechism gathering dust on the shelf.
Now that’s not easy to do. So it couldn’t be helped if the conversations sometimes sound contrived, with the theological weight weighing down on the backpack. Some stuff are simply weighty in themselves, and why not. (I just wish the book design were lighter, minus the allCAPS, bold face, italics, underscoring and illustrations trying to outdo one another. The backpack doohickey is cute though.)
I must say, Abesamis makes theology sort of fun and the Christian faith worth living out. His effort to bring things down at ground level is admirable. That’s my view. I have no intention to write a review. I just wish to share what the book is about.
Believer or non-, there is always something to learn from the core of any religious faith. Let’s eavesdrop on a conversation on ``life blessings or total well-being’’, food and, of course, eating:
Backpack: For ordinary folks, the Kingdom of God could be a new world filled with life-blessings.
Seeker:…such as decent homes, security, education, jobs, nutritious meals, the sea-breezes, spiritual well-being, the energy they get from the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, friendships—these are all life-blessings.
Carl:… any and every blessing that gives life.
Seeker: Life-blessings include, but are not limited to, spiritual grace and divine life…
Carl: In short, we are here talking about total well-being… Have you been to a farmer’s vegetable farm bursting with a spectacular variety of vegetables and fruits? Isaiah’s version of the Kingdom of God can be compared to that. It is a rich harvest of vibrant details about the Kingdom of God.
Seeker: But that is Isaiah, five centuries before Jesus. Could Jesus have had another and different idea?
Backpack: Jesus had the same idea. In fact, Isaiah, provided the source for Jesus’ understanding. Watch how the ideas, images, and words of Isaiah are echoed in Jesus’ words…(Matthew 11 and Luke 7 and 4)
Backpack: Talking about life-blessings, we will do well to discuss the most striking life-blessing linked with the Kingdom of God. What would be a good guess? Hint: a lot of people carry it around often in their backpack, especially workers and schoolchildren. It is available in abundance during barrio fiestas.
Seeker: A good guess is…hmmm…food!
Backpack: Yes! Food! This was already included on the report on the beatitudes (Blesses are you who hunger, you shall be satisfied).
Carl: But it is worth expanding on it, first, because, from my own experience, it overturns one of our misconceptions, that is, that so-called `material’ things, like food, cannot be part of spiritual salvation…
Seeker: There goes somebody being stood up on his head again!
Backpack:…second, because food is a life-and-death issue in a world where millions of children and adults are malnourished and hungry…
Carl: But let us discuss these contemporary implications at some other time. Today, let us focus on the biblical data, the indispensable foundation in our search.
Backback: Well, first, it is truly intriguing that food would be part of Jesus’ Kingdom scenario. ``Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God (Luke 13:29; Matthew 8:11).
Seeker: Given our average mind-set, it is truly intriguing.
Carl: And furthermore, the Scripture not only incorporates food into the Kingdom scenario, it also does it so spontaneously, so casually—as if `to eat bread’ is a typical, expected and normal activity in the future Kingdom of God! ``Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!’’ (Luke 14:15)
Backpack: And furthermore, it is natural and so taken for granted that the blessing most frequently associated with the Kingdom of God is food. Samples: ``Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God’’…
Carl: And did you know that in the Lord’s prayer, the bread (``Give us this day our daily bread’’ originally referred to the food of the coming Kingdom of God at the end of time?
Seeker: to wrap it up, we Asians and Filipinos can say: The Kingdom of God is Rice!
Carl: Up here! And rice, corn, chapati, bread, yam, cassava, kamote, in short, food, is a significant life-blessing in the barrio fiesta of the Kingdom of God.
Paskong Makahulugan at Bagong Taong Makasaysayan.
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
From an old Christmas story
``Are you ready?’’ asked his wife who was standing by the door. Concha handed the general a plastic bag. ``Use my car, okay? I insist. It’s safer.’’ She was almost whispering.
``Of course,’’ he assured his wife. ``Just tell the guests I was suddenly summoned to headquarters and will be back before sundown. Tell my sisters… They’ll understand. I’m sure many of them will still be around for supper.’’ He looked around for his daughter but Amelia had gone back to the living room to mingle with the guests. It was as if she did not want to see her father slip away. Such moments she usually left to her mother to handle.
The general bussed his wife on the cheek then boarded the car. Two men were with him.
The one-and-a-half ride to Bulacan was smooth. The general was alone in the backseat. He stretched his neck, pulled back his head and put on his dark glasses. He told the driver to turn off the air conditioner and open the windows. He liked the wind on his face. The men with him stopped their conversation thinking the general wanted to doze off. But the general was wide awake, his eyes were wide open.
The expressway was practically empty and the car was running at very high speed. Through the open windows the general could see the fields, the lamp posts, the houses, the trees streaming past him and he felt like the car was slicing through it all. The highway was like the Red Sea parting, he thought. He felt small and a little overwhelmed.
The general had not seen Augusto for more than four years. The last time he saw him was a few months before the dictator—the old dog, he called him—was toppled. That was during the preparations for the 1986 snap elections that brought the new government to power.
That time Augusto and the general met secretly in a posh apartment in Manila. He was a colonel then, and Augusto, said to be a high-ranking official of the underground communist movement, was rumored to have been killed in an encounter with government troops in the Caraballo mountains in Bulacan. It was quite a reunion for the brothers, with Augusto having a good laugh and quoting the ailing dictator himself: ``Rumors about my death are extremely exaggerated.’’
Everyone knew the general had this brother. This never jeopardized his promotion. In fact this thing had been used time and again—by both the old regime and the new one—to plead for what the general called ``so-called unity.’’ Worse, sometimes one side or the other in the armed conflict would hint at having on their side, ``the better brother.’’ This pained him so…
The general preferred to recall the little things. He remembered exactly what day it was when Augusto almost drowned in the Tabucan river in Iloilo where they grew up. That was on a Palm Sunday. He was 15 and Augusto was 10. The big boys were having fun in the river. The small boys were shooed away. But Augusto decided to show off and tried swimming across the river by himself. He never made it to the other side. Somewhere in the middle of river he started to bob up and down, he was drowning and gasping for breath. The big boys fished him out and pumped water out of him. What an embarrassment he was to his big brother.
The last time the brothers visited that river together was more than 25 years ago in the afternoon of Christmas Day. Emmanuel Santos was a fresh graduate of the military academy then and Augusto was still in college doing anthropology.
``We’re almost there, sir,’’ the driver said. ``But you have to tell me where to turn, sir.’’ The general took out a piece of paper on which he had written the instructions given him. In about 10 minutes they were in the place. ``Stay in the car,’’ he ordered his two men, ``but be alert.
The general picked up the plastic bag and went out of the car. He walked a few steps then took out a white handkerchief and held it with his left hand. He pretended to wipe his forehead with the handkerchief. A man wearing a baseball cap emerged from somewhere and asked, ``Are you from Managua?’’ It was a code. ``Yes, I am from Managua,’’ the general answered.
The man wearing a baseball cap led him to a hut by the river. Augusto was there alone, waiting for him. ``Manong Em,’’ Augusto exclaimed as he embraced the general who was very tall. The general did not say a word. He buried his face in his brother’s thick black hair, he held him tightly for many seconds and rocked him from side to side. He inhaled him. Augusto smelled of the river, the brown fields and laundry soap.
``Let’s sit down,’’ Augusto said, pulling two bamboo benches. The general’s eyes were following Augusto’s hands.
``I brought you this,’’ the general said. ``Ham. I sliced them myself last night. Concha and Amelia send their love.’’
``How are they, Manong?’’ Augusto asked.
``Oh, still the career women…but we’ve grown closer over the years. And your…?’’
``Roja is fine, after that bout with malaria.’’
They were by themselves in the hut by the river for about 30 minutes. Except for the gust of December wind, there was not a stir on the outside. The brothers were seated by the window that looked out to the flowing water and the wide expanse of craggy fields. They spoke in a low voice but twice or thrice they broke into peals of laughter which the wind caught and carried to the open sky and far away to the Caraballo mountains.
Makabuluhang Pasko! Given the series of disasters several weeks ago, this Christmas season should be a liberating one for most of us, for we need not prepare for the usual gift-giving and merry-making for ourselves and those dear to us. It’s clear, so very clear, where our Christmas energies should go.
``Of course,’’ he assured his wife. ``Just tell the guests I was suddenly summoned to headquarters and will be back before sundown. Tell my sisters… They’ll understand. I’m sure many of them will still be around for supper.’’ He looked around for his daughter but Amelia had gone back to the living room to mingle with the guests. It was as if she did not want to see her father slip away. Such moments she usually left to her mother to handle.
The general bussed his wife on the cheek then boarded the car. Two men were with him.
The one-and-a-half ride to Bulacan was smooth. The general was alone in the backseat. He stretched his neck, pulled back his head and put on his dark glasses. He told the driver to turn off the air conditioner and open the windows. He liked the wind on his face. The men with him stopped their conversation thinking the general wanted to doze off. But the general was wide awake, his eyes were wide open.
The expressway was practically empty and the car was running at very high speed. Through the open windows the general could see the fields, the lamp posts, the houses, the trees streaming past him and he felt like the car was slicing through it all. The highway was like the Red Sea parting, he thought. He felt small and a little overwhelmed.
The general had not seen Augusto for more than four years. The last time he saw him was a few months before the dictator—the old dog, he called him—was toppled. That was during the preparations for the 1986 snap elections that brought the new government to power.
That time Augusto and the general met secretly in a posh apartment in Manila. He was a colonel then, and Augusto, said to be a high-ranking official of the underground communist movement, was rumored to have been killed in an encounter with government troops in the Caraballo mountains in Bulacan. It was quite a reunion for the brothers, with Augusto having a good laugh and quoting the ailing dictator himself: ``Rumors about my death are extremely exaggerated.’’
Everyone knew the general had this brother. This never jeopardized his promotion. In fact this thing had been used time and again—by both the old regime and the new one—to plead for what the general called ``so-called unity.’’ Worse, sometimes one side or the other in the armed conflict would hint at having on their side, ``the better brother.’’ This pained him so…
The general preferred to recall the little things. He remembered exactly what day it was when Augusto almost drowned in the Tabucan river in Iloilo where they grew up. That was on a Palm Sunday. He was 15 and Augusto was 10. The big boys were having fun in the river. The small boys were shooed away. But Augusto decided to show off and tried swimming across the river by himself. He never made it to the other side. Somewhere in the middle of river he started to bob up and down, he was drowning and gasping for breath. The big boys fished him out and pumped water out of him. What an embarrassment he was to his big brother.
The last time the brothers visited that river together was more than 25 years ago in the afternoon of Christmas Day. Emmanuel Santos was a fresh graduate of the military academy then and Augusto was still in college doing anthropology.
``We’re almost there, sir,’’ the driver said. ``But you have to tell me where to turn, sir.’’ The general took out a piece of paper on which he had written the instructions given him. In about 10 minutes they were in the place. ``Stay in the car,’’ he ordered his two men, ``but be alert.
The general picked up the plastic bag and went out of the car. He walked a few steps then took out a white handkerchief and held it with his left hand. He pretended to wipe his forehead with the handkerchief. A man wearing a baseball cap emerged from somewhere and asked, ``Are you from Managua?’’ It was a code. ``Yes, I am from Managua,’’ the general answered.
The man wearing a baseball cap led him to a hut by the river. Augusto was there alone, waiting for him. ``Manong Em,’’ Augusto exclaimed as he embraced the general who was very tall. The general did not say a word. He buried his face in his brother’s thick black hair, he held him tightly for many seconds and rocked him from side to side. He inhaled him. Augusto smelled of the river, the brown fields and laundry soap.
``Let’s sit down,’’ Augusto said, pulling two bamboo benches. The general’s eyes were following Augusto’s hands.
``I brought you this,’’ the general said. ``Ham. I sliced them myself last night. Concha and Amelia send their love.’’
``How are they, Manong?’’ Augusto asked.
``Oh, still the career women…but we’ve grown closer over the years. And your…?’’
``Roja is fine, after that bout with malaria.’’
They were by themselves in the hut by the river for about 30 minutes. Except for the gust of December wind, there was not a stir on the outside. The brothers were seated by the window that looked out to the flowing water and the wide expanse of craggy fields. They spoke in a low voice but twice or thrice they broke into peals of laughter which the wind caught and carried to the open sky and far away to the Caraballo mountains.
****
Makabuluhang Pasko! Given the series of disasters several weeks ago, this Christmas season should be a liberating one for most of us, for we need not prepare for the usual gift-giving and merry-making for ourselves and those dear to us. It’s clear, so very clear, where our Christmas energies should go.
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
`Sick of the Times’
A weepy week it could have been, what with William Chua leaving for the Great Courtroom in the Sky. Sure this is a time for weeping but this is also a time for celebrating a great life. A great friend of 25 years William was to me and many others who had pen as weapon and to his fellow human rights lawyers who knew what a good fight meant. (See yesterday’s Inquirer front page news story.)
William passed in the evening of Dec. 13 after a six-month battle with pancreatic cancer which he faced with vigor and grace. William spent his last few days at St. Luke’s Hospital where there was a big commotion because movie king FPJ was there lying comatose after suffering a stroke. (FPJ died a minute after midnight.)One had to wade through the endless stream of cars and the throng of fans and politicians. Parking was a nightmare. Oh God, I thought, would I ever get there? I did and by the time I left, the crowd had thickened.
The scene outside was surreal. Inside, in his own little space, warmed by soft lights and the prayers of family and friends around him, William waited then gently slipped away and passed on to the Great Beyond.
My story yesterday said that William was the anonymous publisher/editor of the well-remembered ``Sick of the Times’’ that spoofed and satirized the excesses of the Marcos dictatorship through jokes, essays and illustrations. Okay, I will now confess that I was one of the cub writers. The rest will have to remain unknown. But why will I not reveal that PCGG head and recent Magsaysay Awardee Haydee Yorac, William’s UP law professor then, also wrote for ``Sick’’?
I still have copies of the second and third ``Sick’’ issues. I’m looking for the first issue because that was where, I think, the languorous ``The Autumn of the Patriarch’’ came out. It was a take-off from Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s novel about an ailing despot whose regime and body were slowly being corrupted.
No one knew if an issue would be the last so it had, near the masthead, ``Volume One, Only One.’’
The June 1981 issue had for its banner ``Luzon mortgaged.’’ The lead paragraph: ``The US State Department today announced its acceptance of the Philippine government’s offer to pledge the island of Luzon as security for its mounting foreign debts which as of March 1981 stood at $13.1 billion.
``Two real estate agents from Beverly Hills have been dispatched by Washington to sign the deed of mortgage. They will be met at the airport by Foreign Minister and designer-jeans tycoon Carlo Roma and his beautiful wife…Later in the evening, the two guests will be feted on board the presidential yacht RPS Sex-sex-sex. The sleek boat was reportedly donated by a Japanese sex tour operator.’’
Meanwhile…``Angarbo Angarapal became the 14th president of the University of the Foolipines following a protracted tsu-tsu struggle between equally talented sycophants…’’
But the side-splitting stuff were the trivia, letters to the editor, ads, comics and announcements. ``Try New Improved Boycott. Helps Relieve Dictatorship Pains.’’ ``Gagong Lipunan Government Primer’’ lists the government ministries with their logos and services. ``Ministry of Public Information—government agency hostile to facts. Training ground of the country’s leading fiction writers.
``National Bureau of Investigation–otherwise known as the Malacanang Garden Society because of its penchant for planting evidence as in the case of Quintero and Climaco’’ and so forth and so on.
Ministry of Settlements was ``shittlements’’ and the New Society motto ``Higit sa Lahat Tao’’ became ``higit sa lahat tae.’’
Among ``Kasey Sakim’s 20 Greatest Hits of the New Society’’ were ``Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’’ by the NPA Concert Chorus; ``You Light Up My Life’’ by Ed Olaguer and the Matchsticks (remember the Light-a-Fire Movement?); ``First of May’’ by Lando Olalia and the KMU Orchestra; ``I’ve Got You Under My Skin’’ by Ferdie and the Lupus; ``Leaving on Jet Plane by the Dewey Dee and Fluvio Magpayo Duet. And many more.
The hit song ``We are the World (USA for Africa)’’ was rewritten as ``We are the World (USAid Appearka)’’.
Read any good papers lately? ``Read Daily Eggless, Bulshittin Today and Tame Journal.’’ A warning notice: ``Mag-ingat sa ASSO: The rabid truth about tutas in the Armed Forces.’’
When I thought my house might be ``visited’’, I kept my stack of ``Sick’’ copies in a very unlikely storage spot. When the military came to search for persons and publications, they found nothing.
Once a huffing William arrived somewhere saying he almost drove right smack into a military search operation somewhere with his car full of ``Sick’’. He was paper white.
The last issue, named ``Nineteen Eighty Sick’’, came out during the 1986 the snap elections. The headline: ``Imelda declines VP slot.’’ Below it was ``Psychic sees FM win.’’ On the last page was Marcos’ last will and testament.
``I, Ferdinand E. Marcos, of legal age, married to Imelda Romualdez, being of sound and disposing mind, do by these presents declare this to be my last will and testament which I have caused to be written in the King’s English, a language which is known to me and better left alone by my wife…’’
William was ready to go and, I was told, that at some point he even looked forward to that wondrous moment. ``God loves me,’’ he would say. But he loved his family so much he wished he could be around for Christmas. During our last face-to-face talk, long before he lapsed into a pain-free sleep, I asked him how he would describe his life. William answered: ``There was no space left unfilled.’’#
William passed in the evening of Dec. 13 after a six-month battle with pancreatic cancer which he faced with vigor and grace. William spent his last few days at St. Luke’s Hospital where there was a big commotion because movie king FPJ was there lying comatose after suffering a stroke. (FPJ died a minute after midnight.)One had to wade through the endless stream of cars and the throng of fans and politicians. Parking was a nightmare. Oh God, I thought, would I ever get there? I did and by the time I left, the crowd had thickened.
The scene outside was surreal. Inside, in his own little space, warmed by soft lights and the prayers of family and friends around him, William waited then gently slipped away and passed on to the Great Beyond.
My story yesterday said that William was the anonymous publisher/editor of the well-remembered ``Sick of the Times’’ that spoofed and satirized the excesses of the Marcos dictatorship through jokes, essays and illustrations. Okay, I will now confess that I was one of the cub writers. The rest will have to remain unknown. But why will I not reveal that PCGG head and recent Magsaysay Awardee Haydee Yorac, William’s UP law professor then, also wrote for ``Sick’’?
I still have copies of the second and third ``Sick’’ issues. I’m looking for the first issue because that was where, I think, the languorous ``The Autumn of the Patriarch’’ came out. It was a take-off from Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s novel about an ailing despot whose regime and body were slowly being corrupted.
No one knew if an issue would be the last so it had, near the masthead, ``Volume One, Only One.’’
The June 1981 issue had for its banner ``Luzon mortgaged.’’ The lead paragraph: ``The US State Department today announced its acceptance of the Philippine government’s offer to pledge the island of Luzon as security for its mounting foreign debts which as of March 1981 stood at $13.1 billion.
``Two real estate agents from Beverly Hills have been dispatched by Washington to sign the deed of mortgage. They will be met at the airport by Foreign Minister and designer-jeans tycoon Carlo Roma and his beautiful wife…Later in the evening, the two guests will be feted on board the presidential yacht RPS Sex-sex-sex. The sleek boat was reportedly donated by a Japanese sex tour operator.’’
Meanwhile…``Angarbo Angarapal became the 14th president of the University of the Foolipines following a protracted tsu-tsu struggle between equally talented sycophants…’’
But the side-splitting stuff were the trivia, letters to the editor, ads, comics and announcements. ``Try New Improved Boycott. Helps Relieve Dictatorship Pains.’’ ``Gagong Lipunan Government Primer’’ lists the government ministries with their logos and services. ``Ministry of Public Information—government agency hostile to facts. Training ground of the country’s leading fiction writers.
``National Bureau of Investigation–otherwise known as the Malacanang Garden Society because of its penchant for planting evidence as in the case of Quintero and Climaco’’ and so forth and so on.
Ministry of Settlements was ``shittlements’’ and the New Society motto ``Higit sa Lahat Tao’’ became ``higit sa lahat tae.’’
Among ``Kasey Sakim’s 20 Greatest Hits of the New Society’’ were ``Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’’ by the NPA Concert Chorus; ``You Light Up My Life’’ by Ed Olaguer and the Matchsticks (remember the Light-a-Fire Movement?); ``First of May’’ by Lando Olalia and the KMU Orchestra; ``I’ve Got You Under My Skin’’ by Ferdie and the Lupus; ``Leaving on Jet Plane by the Dewey Dee and Fluvio Magpayo Duet. And many more.
The hit song ``We are the World (USA for Africa)’’ was rewritten as ``We are the World (USAid Appearka)’’.
Read any good papers lately? ``Read Daily Eggless, Bulshittin Today and Tame Journal.’’ A warning notice: ``Mag-ingat sa ASSO: The rabid truth about tutas in the Armed Forces.’’
When I thought my house might be ``visited’’, I kept my stack of ``Sick’’ copies in a very unlikely storage spot. When the military came to search for persons and publications, they found nothing.
Once a huffing William arrived somewhere saying he almost drove right smack into a military search operation somewhere with his car full of ``Sick’’. He was paper white.
The last issue, named ``Nineteen Eighty Sick’’, came out during the 1986 the snap elections. The headline: ``Imelda declines VP slot.’’ Below it was ``Psychic sees FM win.’’ On the last page was Marcos’ last will and testament.
``I, Ferdinand E. Marcos, of legal age, married to Imelda Romualdez, being of sound and disposing mind, do by these presents declare this to be my last will and testament which I have caused to be written in the King’s English, a language which is known to me and better left alone by my wife…’’
William was ready to go and, I was told, that at some point he even looked forward to that wondrous moment. ``God loves me,’’ he would say. But he loved his family so much he wished he could be around for Christmas. During our last face-to-face talk, long before he lapsed into a pain-free sleep, I asked him how he would describe his life. William answered: ``There was no space left unfilled.’’#
Wednesday, December 8, 2004
Books in memory of trees
When you read the following excerpt and you are not awed and moved to action and meditation, you must not be a child of Earth.
``The Spaniards called her Mother Mountain, this vast range stretching down the northeastern flank of the island of Luzon like the heaving back of massive whales. Through the years, the trees and slopes of the Sierra Madre, acting like giant windbreaks, broke the backs of tropical cyclones swirling in from the West Pacific. She was also a weather maker. Her peaks and lonely upland valleys, blanketed with great sweeps of rain forest, were magnets for moisture, constantly building towering stacks of cumulus clouds, and rain. Bringing precious water to the rivers and rice fields of the thirsty lowlands. Her twisted branches and massive buttressed roots sheltered and nourished more plants and animals than anywhere else in Luzon. This intricate food chain, believed to have more components and interactive links than any other habitat on the surface of the earth, kept the forest alive…After thousands and thousands of years, the gentle, wandering Dumagats have found no other home like this endless tract of green, where time has pooled for generations.’’
That, my dear reader, is the brief introduction of the amazing book ``The Last Great Forest: Luzon’s Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park’’ (Bookmark, 2000) by Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan who now heads the World Wildlife Fund in the Philippines. The book is wildly designed, by the way, and handy too, and those not keen on reading might just pause to dig into it.
Farmers used to only reading the signs on the soil liked the book that I had to buy a few more copies a couple of years ago. How many of our politicians who gather no life-giving moss on their mouths have read this?
The book is a forest of information, illustrations and colored photographs and your heart will swell with pride after learning that we have, in our bosom, an Eden so alive. You’d worry too about its future, given the greed of this generation. In fact, the first chapter is titled ``The Philippines: A Century of Deforestation’’.
After a heart-stopping introduction, the book segues into what this amazing place is all about. Ocean and rainforest within kissing distance of each other, people and wildlife living side by side, enriching each other and the wondrous web of life that makes this planet work. I wouldn’t have minded the inclusion of the unseen elementals—nymphs, fairies and dwarves--to complete the picture.
I heard the grandeur of Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor and a Lucio San Pedro cantata the first time I went over the book. Okay, maybe Enya’s tantalizing ``In Memory of Trees’’ for some. I’m not being facetious when I say that, but indeed, my senses go on overdrive when I know that the printed word is also alive to tell the world. But is anyone up there in the glass-and-chrome towers with hardwood furniture listening, and doing something?
My friend Marites Vitug’s earth-shaking book ``Power from the Forest: The Politics of Logging’’ (Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, 1993) was an award-winning opus that was supposed to alert everyone to the politicians’ involvement in the destruction of our forest preserve.
The first chapter has, in fact, a photo of the coffin of a victim of the 1991 Ormoc mudslide that killed more than 5,000 people. Chapter 6, ``The Senate’s Wake-up Call’’ is about the debate on a total or a selective log ban. It was Sen. Aquilino Pimentel that authored the bill calling for the 25-year total ban with Sen. Orlando Mercado arguing in its favor and Sen. Heherson Alvarez for selective. Read about how the battle was lost or won depending on which side you are.
``Loggers in Congress: Making Concessions’’. shows why, in a conservative setting such as Congress, a bill that would ban commercial logging and hurt the interests of some its members would not progress.
And who are the defenders and the raiders? ``The insurgency war had bred new logging interests,’’ the book says, ``the rebels and the military who have made the forests their battleground and their sources of income.’’ Aray. ``But amid this gloomy foreboding, there are shafts of light. The indigenous peoples and rural folk who have lived in or around these forests are starting to stir as well as a growing number of non-government organizations and concerned individuals.’’
Am writing about these forest-bred books in the wake of the killer disaster that buried towns and families under water, mud, rocks and logs unleashed by the angry mountains last week.
A newly elected senator said on TV that she has been alone in her crusade these past six or so years. I turned off the TV. Quipped an editor: ``Ang kapal.’’ What did she make of those who lost their lives—journalists and church people included—in the past 15 years while exposing the raiders of the forests?
Once in his or her life, a person should go on a retreat to a rainforest to listen to it throb and drink of its juices. I’ve been in one—thick, damp and bewildering--where one could be helpless if not for those who knew the terrain. There time stood still while my heart raced upon beholding the charm of the smallest wildlife and the majesty of trees.
Scholasticans and friends! Come to a dinner-show featuring Ryan Cayabyab and his wife Emmy’s high school class of 1979 at St. Cecilia’s Hall in St. Scholastica’s College, Dec. 11 at 6 p.m. Alumna Tina Monson-Palma will emcee. This is for the school and priory’s archives-museum and in preparation for the college’s 2006 centennial. Call 0918-9220566 or 0917-8125277.
``The Spaniards called her Mother Mountain, this vast range stretching down the northeastern flank of the island of Luzon like the heaving back of massive whales. Through the years, the trees and slopes of the Sierra Madre, acting like giant windbreaks, broke the backs of tropical cyclones swirling in from the West Pacific. She was also a weather maker. Her peaks and lonely upland valleys, blanketed with great sweeps of rain forest, were magnets for moisture, constantly building towering stacks of cumulus clouds, and rain. Bringing precious water to the rivers and rice fields of the thirsty lowlands. Her twisted branches and massive buttressed roots sheltered and nourished more plants and animals than anywhere else in Luzon. This intricate food chain, believed to have more components and interactive links than any other habitat on the surface of the earth, kept the forest alive…After thousands and thousands of years, the gentle, wandering Dumagats have found no other home like this endless tract of green, where time has pooled for generations.’’
That, my dear reader, is the brief introduction of the amazing book ``The Last Great Forest: Luzon’s Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park’’ (Bookmark, 2000) by Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan who now heads the World Wildlife Fund in the Philippines. The book is wildly designed, by the way, and handy too, and those not keen on reading might just pause to dig into it.
Farmers used to only reading the signs on the soil liked the book that I had to buy a few more copies a couple of years ago. How many of our politicians who gather no life-giving moss on their mouths have read this?
The book is a forest of information, illustrations and colored photographs and your heart will swell with pride after learning that we have, in our bosom, an Eden so alive. You’d worry too about its future, given the greed of this generation. In fact, the first chapter is titled ``The Philippines: A Century of Deforestation’’.
After a heart-stopping introduction, the book segues into what this amazing place is all about. Ocean and rainforest within kissing distance of each other, people and wildlife living side by side, enriching each other and the wondrous web of life that makes this planet work. I wouldn’t have minded the inclusion of the unseen elementals—nymphs, fairies and dwarves--to complete the picture.
I heard the grandeur of Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor and a Lucio San Pedro cantata the first time I went over the book. Okay, maybe Enya’s tantalizing ``In Memory of Trees’’ for some. I’m not being facetious when I say that, but indeed, my senses go on overdrive when I know that the printed word is also alive to tell the world. But is anyone up there in the glass-and-chrome towers with hardwood furniture listening, and doing something?
My friend Marites Vitug’s earth-shaking book ``Power from the Forest: The Politics of Logging’’ (Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, 1993) was an award-winning opus that was supposed to alert everyone to the politicians’ involvement in the destruction of our forest preserve.
The first chapter has, in fact, a photo of the coffin of a victim of the 1991 Ormoc mudslide that killed more than 5,000 people. Chapter 6, ``The Senate’s Wake-up Call’’ is about the debate on a total or a selective log ban. It was Sen. Aquilino Pimentel that authored the bill calling for the 25-year total ban with Sen. Orlando Mercado arguing in its favor and Sen. Heherson Alvarez for selective. Read about how the battle was lost or won depending on which side you are.
``Loggers in Congress: Making Concessions’’. shows why, in a conservative setting such as Congress, a bill that would ban commercial logging and hurt the interests of some its members would not progress.
And who are the defenders and the raiders? ``The insurgency war had bred new logging interests,’’ the book says, ``the rebels and the military who have made the forests their battleground and their sources of income.’’ Aray. ``But amid this gloomy foreboding, there are shafts of light. The indigenous peoples and rural folk who have lived in or around these forests are starting to stir as well as a growing number of non-government organizations and concerned individuals.’’
Am writing about these forest-bred books in the wake of the killer disaster that buried towns and families under water, mud, rocks and logs unleashed by the angry mountains last week.
A newly elected senator said on TV that she has been alone in her crusade these past six or so years. I turned off the TV. Quipped an editor: ``Ang kapal.’’ What did she make of those who lost their lives—journalists and church people included—in the past 15 years while exposing the raiders of the forests?
Once in his or her life, a person should go on a retreat to a rainforest to listen to it throb and drink of its juices. I’ve been in one—thick, damp and bewildering--where one could be helpless if not for those who knew the terrain. There time stood still while my heart raced upon beholding the charm of the smallest wildlife and the majesty of trees.
****
Scholasticans and friends! Come to a dinner-show featuring Ryan Cayabyab and his wife Emmy’s high school class of 1979 at St. Cecilia’s Hall in St. Scholastica’s College, Dec. 11 at 6 p.m. Alumna Tina Monson-Palma will emcee. This is for the school and priory’s archives-museum and in preparation for the college’s 2006 centennial. Call 0918-9220566 or 0917-8125277.
Wednesday, December 1, 2004
20 years since Bhopal
In this season of disasters, both natural and man-made, it behooves us to remember the Bhopal tragedy in India which killed more than 20,000 and whose aftereffects continue to destroy the health of thousands. It was one of the worst ecological disasters in history, rivaling Chernobyl in Russia, and it could have been prevented.
Many of the youth of today and the future might not know about Bhopal because the tragedy is not likely going to make it to the textbooks. Does it not qualify as a historical entry like the 79 A.D. Mt. Vesuvius eruption that buried Pompeii? Will our own 1991 Ormoc mudslide that killed thousands in a blink of an eye make it to our error-ridden textbooks (which are a huge disaster in themselves)? And didn’t we see a likeness of Ormoc in the past few days? And not to forget the Marcopper disaster in Marinduque.
On the night of Dec. 2 and early morning of Dec. 3, 1984, a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal began leaking some 27 tons of the methyl isocynate (MIC), a deadly gas. According to The Bhopal Medical Appeal and Sambhavna Trust that espouse the cause of victims, none of the six safety systems designed to contain that kind of a leak was operational and soon the gas to spread throughout the city.
An estimated half a million people were exposed to the gas and 20,000 have so far died as a result of this. More than 120,000 continue to suffer ailments such as blindness, breathing problems, and reproductive disorders.
The site has never been truly cleaned up and Bhopal residents continue to be poisoned, say environmental groups, Greenpeace among them. Greenpeace-Philippines is bringing up Bhopal to remind us all that there might be a deadly keg somewhere waiting to explode. Remember Chemphil a few months ago?
In 1999, Greenpeace reported that chemicals causing cancer, brain damage and brain defects were found in the water at the Bhopal accident site. These were in extremely high levels, that is, several million times higher. Trichloroethene, known to impair fetal development, was found at levels 50 times more than the accepted safe limits.
A 2002 testing report revealed that poisons such as 1, 3, 5 trichlorobenzene, dichloromethane, chloroform, lead and mercury were present in the breast milk of nursing women.
Michigan-based Dow Chemical purchased Union Carbide and acquired its assets in 2001. Dow Chemical is said to have steadfastly refused to clean up the site, provide safe drinking water, compensate the victims or disclose the composition of the gas leak which doctors need to know in order to treat the victims. It’s supposed to be a ``trade secret.’’
Union Carbide sticks to the figure of 3,800 victims. But according to reports, ``municipal workers who picked up bodies with their own hands, loading them onto trucks for burial in mass graves or to be burned on mass pyres, reckon they shifted at least 15,000 bodies. Survivors, basing their estimates on the number of shrouds sold in the city, conservatively claim about 8,000 died in the first week. Such body counts become meaningless when you know that the dying has never stopped.’’
The Bhopal Union Carbide pesticide factory seemed problematic since the time it was built in the 1970s. India seemed, at first, a huge market for pest control products. It did not turn out that way. The poor farmers, who constantly battled with droughts and floods, could not afford the pesticides. The plant never reached its full capacity and ceased active production in the early 1980s.
As reports go, a great quantity of chemicals remained there even while the plant’s safety system was allowed to deteriorate. It seemed logical for management to think that since the plant had ceased production, there was no threat. They were wrong.
Here was how it started: ``Regular maintenance had fallen into such disrepair that on the night of Dec. 2, when an employee was flushing a corroded pipe, multiple stopcocks failed and allowed water to flow freely into the largest tack of MIC. Exposure to this water soon led to an uncontrolled reaction; the tank was blown out of its concrete sarcophagus and spewed a deadly cloud of MIC, hydrogen cyanide, mono methyl amine and other chemicals that hugged the ground. Blown by the prevailing winds, this cloud settle over much of Bhopal. Soon, thereafter, people began to die.’’
In 1989, five years after the disaster, Union Carbide, in a partial settlement with the Indian government, paid some $470 million compensation. The victims were not part of the negotiations and many felt cheated by the $300 to $500 each received. It could not cover many years’ of medical treatment. Those who were awarded aren’t necessarily better off now than those who were not.
About 50,000 Bhopalis who were injured could no longer return to work or move freely about. Those with relatives to care for them are lucky. Many have no one to look after them because their next of kin had all died.
The Bhopal local government has charged Union Carbide’s CEO Warren Anderson with manslaughter and if convicted, he could serve 10 years in prison. Warren evaded international arrest and a summons to appear before a US court.
In Aug. 2002, Greenpeace found Warren living a life of luxury in the Hamptons. Says a report: ``Neither the American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an extradition, despite the recent scandals over corporate crime…The Union Carbide Corporation itself was charged with culpable homicide, a criminal charge whose penalty has no upper limit. These charges have never been resolved, as Union Carbide, like its former CEO, has refused to appear before an Indian court.’’
Many of the youth of today and the future might not know about Bhopal because the tragedy is not likely going to make it to the textbooks. Does it not qualify as a historical entry like the 79 A.D. Mt. Vesuvius eruption that buried Pompeii? Will our own 1991 Ormoc mudslide that killed thousands in a blink of an eye make it to our error-ridden textbooks (which are a huge disaster in themselves)? And didn’t we see a likeness of Ormoc in the past few days? And not to forget the Marcopper disaster in Marinduque.
On the night of Dec. 2 and early morning of Dec. 3, 1984, a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal began leaking some 27 tons of the methyl isocynate (MIC), a deadly gas. According to The Bhopal Medical Appeal and Sambhavna Trust that espouse the cause of victims, none of the six safety systems designed to contain that kind of a leak was operational and soon the gas to spread throughout the city.
An estimated half a million people were exposed to the gas and 20,000 have so far died as a result of this. More than 120,000 continue to suffer ailments such as blindness, breathing problems, and reproductive disorders.
The site has never been truly cleaned up and Bhopal residents continue to be poisoned, say environmental groups, Greenpeace among them. Greenpeace-Philippines is bringing up Bhopal to remind us all that there might be a deadly keg somewhere waiting to explode. Remember Chemphil a few months ago?
In 1999, Greenpeace reported that chemicals causing cancer, brain damage and brain defects were found in the water at the Bhopal accident site. These were in extremely high levels, that is, several million times higher. Trichloroethene, known to impair fetal development, was found at levels 50 times more than the accepted safe limits.
A 2002 testing report revealed that poisons such as 1, 3, 5 trichlorobenzene, dichloromethane, chloroform, lead and mercury were present in the breast milk of nursing women.
Michigan-based Dow Chemical purchased Union Carbide and acquired its assets in 2001. Dow Chemical is said to have steadfastly refused to clean up the site, provide safe drinking water, compensate the victims or disclose the composition of the gas leak which doctors need to know in order to treat the victims. It’s supposed to be a ``trade secret.’’
Union Carbide sticks to the figure of 3,800 victims. But according to reports, ``municipal workers who picked up bodies with their own hands, loading them onto trucks for burial in mass graves or to be burned on mass pyres, reckon they shifted at least 15,000 bodies. Survivors, basing their estimates on the number of shrouds sold in the city, conservatively claim about 8,000 died in the first week. Such body counts become meaningless when you know that the dying has never stopped.’’
The Bhopal Union Carbide pesticide factory seemed problematic since the time it was built in the 1970s. India seemed, at first, a huge market for pest control products. It did not turn out that way. The poor farmers, who constantly battled with droughts and floods, could not afford the pesticides. The plant never reached its full capacity and ceased active production in the early 1980s.
As reports go, a great quantity of chemicals remained there even while the plant’s safety system was allowed to deteriorate. It seemed logical for management to think that since the plant had ceased production, there was no threat. They were wrong.
Here was how it started: ``Regular maintenance had fallen into such disrepair that on the night of Dec. 2, when an employee was flushing a corroded pipe, multiple stopcocks failed and allowed water to flow freely into the largest tack of MIC. Exposure to this water soon led to an uncontrolled reaction; the tank was blown out of its concrete sarcophagus and spewed a deadly cloud of MIC, hydrogen cyanide, mono methyl amine and other chemicals that hugged the ground. Blown by the prevailing winds, this cloud settle over much of Bhopal. Soon, thereafter, people began to die.’’
In 1989, five years after the disaster, Union Carbide, in a partial settlement with the Indian government, paid some $470 million compensation. The victims were not part of the negotiations and many felt cheated by the $300 to $500 each received. It could not cover many years’ of medical treatment. Those who were awarded aren’t necessarily better off now than those who were not.
About 50,000 Bhopalis who were injured could no longer return to work or move freely about. Those with relatives to care for them are lucky. Many have no one to look after them because their next of kin had all died.
The Bhopal local government has charged Union Carbide’s CEO Warren Anderson with manslaughter and if convicted, he could serve 10 years in prison. Warren evaded international arrest and a summons to appear before a US court.
In Aug. 2002, Greenpeace found Warren living a life of luxury in the Hamptons. Says a report: ``Neither the American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an extradition, despite the recent scandals over corporate crime…The Union Carbide Corporation itself was charged with culpable homicide, a criminal charge whose penalty has no upper limit. These charges have never been resolved, as Union Carbide, like its former CEO, has refused to appear before an Indian court.’’
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Women and AIDS
It’s six days before World AIDS Day which falls on Dec. 1. This year’s theme is ``Women and AIDS’’. For the past two successive years (2002 and 2003) the theme was ``Stigma and Discrimination’’. That this ran for two years means that the problem took a lot of time and effort to address.
In 2001 the theme was ``I care, don’t you?’’ and in 2000 it was ``AIDS: Men make a difference.’’ There has been a variety of themes since 1988. Now it’s the women’s turn.
HIV-AIDS has been around for more than two decades, at least, and millions have died of it since it was identified in the early 1980s. How much do you know? Here’s a little quiz that might bring up a few hard facts. See how you fare.
1. Doctors in the US first became aware of HIV-AIDS in a)1974 b)1981 c)1984
2. Which part of the world has the greatest number of people with HIV-AIDS? a)Asia b)Africa c)North America
3. HIV is a)virus b)bacteria c)fungus
4. You can tell that a person has HIV because he/she a)looks tired or ill b)has a bad cough c)no way to tell
5. When was the first World AIDS Day? a)1984 b)1988 c)1994
6. If a pregnant woman is HIV positive and takes a special drug to prevent mother-to-child transmission, what are the chances that her baby will be HIV positive? a)2% b)40% c)100%
7. A woman who is breastfeeding can pass HIV to her baby through her milk. a)true b)false c)only if she has full-blown AIDS
8. Globally, the number of women living with HIV is a)1 million b)17 million c) 38 million
9. In heterosexual sex, who is more likely to become infected with HIV from an HIV positive partner? a)man b)woman c)both
10. A lesbian can be infected with HIV only if she has sex with a man a)true b)false
11. Globally, most women become infected with HIV through a)childbirth b)unprotected sex c)blood transfusion, d)injecting drugs
12. If a pregnant woman is HIV positive, what are the chances that her baby will be HIV positive? a)30% b)2% c)100%
13. What was the name of the first Filipino who came forward in 1992 to say she was suffering from AIDS, told her story and died shortly after? a)Dolzura b)Sara Jane c)Rachel
14. Who played her in the movie? a)Hilda Coronel b) Nora Aunor c)Vilma Santos
15. Approximately, how many people are living with HIV-AIDS today? a)10.2 million b)20.4M c)40M
16. Roughly, how many people are infected with HIV every day? a)15,000 b)16,000 c)8,000
17. Worldwide, what is the age range most infected with HIV? a)0-14 b)15-24 c)35-44
18. Roughly, how many people died of AIDS in 2003? a)1.7 million b)5M c)3M
Research has shown that there is no significant difference between women and men in their progress from being HIV-positive to having full-blown AIDS. However, it has been proven that women are more susceptible to HIV infection than men because of their genital configuration. Women--those who are victims of sexual violence especially--are more prone to bleeding and tearing, and this makes them more vulnerable to HIV infection.
The Global Movement for Microbicides is trying to address this problem of women through new prevention technologies while ensuring that as science proceeds, the public interest is protected and the rights of trial participants are respected.
Microbicides are not yet available, but when they are in five years or so, they are supposed to help protect women from HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STD). The word microbicides refers to ``a range of products that share one common characteristic: the ability to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV and other STDs when applied topically. A microbicide could be produced in many forms, including gels, creams, suppositories, films, or as a sponge or ring that releases the active ingredient over time.’’
Now let’s not think this is going to make more women promiscuous or give people a false sense of safety. While reading up on this I was not thinking about prostitution, I was thinking of the millions of HIV positive women in Sub-Saharan Africa and societies that are oppressive to women.
Most women in such cultures cannot say no to their infected husbands, they cannot require them to wear condoms. Microbicides would enable women to protect themselves without their partners knowing it.
Researchers have shown mathematically that if even a small proportion of women in lower income countries used a 60-percent efficacious microbicide in half the sexual encounters where condoms are not used, 2.5 million HIV infections could be averted over three years.
Not all microbicides prevent pregnancy. Non-contraceptive ones are also being developed. Women could get pregnant, if they want to, by their STD- or HIV-positive husbands while protecting themselves and their offspring from HIV.
Today’s prevention options(condom, mutual monogamy and STD treatment) may not be feasible for millions of women. Many poor women lack social and economic power to demand fidelity or condoms. They cannot leave partnerships that put their lives at risk. What option is left for them?
Though still years away from being available, microbicides are already being discussed by women’s groups. Microbicides could help break the chain of HIV transmission from men to women to babies.
Microbicides do not require the male partner’s cooperation thereby giving women the power to protect themselves and the sense that they have rights.
I hope no religious zealot will protest to defend the right of sperms swimming in HIV goo and deny women their right to live long for themselves and their offspring.
Answers to the quiz: 1(b) 2(b) 3(a) 4(c) 5(b) 6(a) 7(a) 8(b) 9(b) 10(b) 11(b) 12(a) 13(a) 14(c) 15(c) 16(a) 17(b) 18(c)
In 2001 the theme was ``I care, don’t you?’’ and in 2000 it was ``AIDS: Men make a difference.’’ There has been a variety of themes since 1988. Now it’s the women’s turn.
HIV-AIDS has been around for more than two decades, at least, and millions have died of it since it was identified in the early 1980s. How much do you know? Here’s a little quiz that might bring up a few hard facts. See how you fare.
1. Doctors in the US first became aware of HIV-AIDS in a)1974 b)1981 c)1984
2. Which part of the world has the greatest number of people with HIV-AIDS? a)Asia b)Africa c)North America
3. HIV is a)virus b)bacteria c)fungus
4. You can tell that a person has HIV because he/she a)looks tired or ill b)has a bad cough c)no way to tell
5. When was the first World AIDS Day? a)1984 b)1988 c)1994
6. If a pregnant woman is HIV positive and takes a special drug to prevent mother-to-child transmission, what are the chances that her baby will be HIV positive? a)2% b)40% c)100%
7. A woman who is breastfeeding can pass HIV to her baby through her milk. a)true b)false c)only if she has full-blown AIDS
8. Globally, the number of women living with HIV is a)1 million b)17 million c) 38 million
9. In heterosexual sex, who is more likely to become infected with HIV from an HIV positive partner? a)man b)woman c)both
10. A lesbian can be infected with HIV only if she has sex with a man a)true b)false
11. Globally, most women become infected with HIV through a)childbirth b)unprotected sex c)blood transfusion, d)injecting drugs
12. If a pregnant woman is HIV positive, what are the chances that her baby will be HIV positive? a)30% b)2% c)100%
13. What was the name of the first Filipino who came forward in 1992 to say she was suffering from AIDS, told her story and died shortly after? a)Dolzura b)Sara Jane c)Rachel
14. Who played her in the movie? a)Hilda Coronel b) Nora Aunor c)Vilma Santos
15. Approximately, how many people are living with HIV-AIDS today? a)10.2 million b)20.4M c)40M
16. Roughly, how many people are infected with HIV every day? a)15,000 b)16,000 c)8,000
17. Worldwide, what is the age range most infected with HIV? a)0-14 b)15-24 c)35-44
18. Roughly, how many people died of AIDS in 2003? a)1.7 million b)5M c)3M
Research has shown that there is no significant difference between women and men in their progress from being HIV-positive to having full-blown AIDS. However, it has been proven that women are more susceptible to HIV infection than men because of their genital configuration. Women--those who are victims of sexual violence especially--are more prone to bleeding and tearing, and this makes them more vulnerable to HIV infection.
The Global Movement for Microbicides is trying to address this problem of women through new prevention technologies while ensuring that as science proceeds, the public interest is protected and the rights of trial participants are respected.
Microbicides are not yet available, but when they are in five years or so, they are supposed to help protect women from HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STD). The word microbicides refers to ``a range of products that share one common characteristic: the ability to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV and other STDs when applied topically. A microbicide could be produced in many forms, including gels, creams, suppositories, films, or as a sponge or ring that releases the active ingredient over time.’’
Now let’s not think this is going to make more women promiscuous or give people a false sense of safety. While reading up on this I was not thinking about prostitution, I was thinking of the millions of HIV positive women in Sub-Saharan Africa and societies that are oppressive to women.
Most women in such cultures cannot say no to their infected husbands, they cannot require them to wear condoms. Microbicides would enable women to protect themselves without their partners knowing it.
Researchers have shown mathematically that if even a small proportion of women in lower income countries used a 60-percent efficacious microbicide in half the sexual encounters where condoms are not used, 2.5 million HIV infections could be averted over three years.
Not all microbicides prevent pregnancy. Non-contraceptive ones are also being developed. Women could get pregnant, if they want to, by their STD- or HIV-positive husbands while protecting themselves and their offspring from HIV.
Today’s prevention options(condom, mutual monogamy and STD treatment) may not be feasible for millions of women. Many poor women lack social and economic power to demand fidelity or condoms. They cannot leave partnerships that put their lives at risk. What option is left for them?
Though still years away from being available, microbicides are already being discussed by women’s groups. Microbicides could help break the chain of HIV transmission from men to women to babies.
Microbicides do not require the male partner’s cooperation thereby giving women the power to protect themselves and the sense that they have rights.
I hope no religious zealot will protest to defend the right of sperms swimming in HIV goo and deny women their right to live long for themselves and their offspring.
Answers to the quiz: 1(b) 2(b) 3(a) 4(c) 5(b) 6(a) 7(a) 8(b) 9(b) 10(b) 11(b) 12(a) 13(a) 14(c) 15(c) 16(a) 17(b) 18(c)
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Media and hoaxes
If I came out with your story and found out later that there was no iota of truth to what you had told me, I am going to sue you, right?
I had said this a few times to interviewees who had told me stories that were either too good or too bad to be true and especially if it put certain persons in a bad light. Of course, this was said with a smile on my face and only after I had made the interviewees realize that I had given my time and heart and mind to hear them out. And so to remind and speak softly while carrying a big stick, so to speak.
I remember someone who broke into tears when I said this and my heart broke along with that storyteller’s but it had to be said even if there were supporters who stood by the veracity of the story and the credibility of the storyteller.
Nothing personal, I explained ever so gently. I’m just protecting my paper, I said. It helped a lot when the subject had a written account and all I had to do was for him or her to sign it. That is, if there was no sworn statement to begin with. One could always use tapes and videos. But there is nothing foolproof in this world.
Sometimes, because of security reasons the interviewee wants to hide behind an alias. But if the interviewee was the one who sought me out, I have reason to say, good for you, but what about me? Ako ang mapapatay dito. (I could get killed for this.) You have to help me prove that you’re real.
It’s bad enough to be taken for a ride, it’s worse than death for a journalist to be accused of fabricating a story and, worst of all, to be proven that one did.
I say these in the aftermath of the hoax that was spun by a mother-daughter team and who involved their pastor and church in the elaborate lie. The girl’s supposed against-all-odds triumph in an international science contest in Australia got a lot of media mileage even as it put in a bad light public officials they accused of having refused them help. Hearts bled. Doubters were harshly criticized.
Well, yesterday, the Bread of Life Ministries came out with a paid announcement apologizing to the media and parties put in a bad light and explaining how this all came about.
It was edifying to note that the media did not go all out to pillory the San Juans after their hoax was uncovered. Help should be on the way for mother and daughter.
I was curious about the legal implications of all these so I consulted a lawyer. Estafa does not apply because there did not seem to be a financial motive. Apologies have been made so libel is out. But this case could fall under the ``Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act.’’ Faye is only 12 years old and she has been dragged into this by her own mother.
A diagnosis of emotional/mental disturbance could get Mrs. San Juan off the hook. I’m not saying the case should land in court, but this should be processed from all angles by parties concerned, and with compassion, especially for Faye, uppermost. Away from the media.
As for the media, the lawyer said, it is ``Buyers, beware.’’ Take it on the chin.
Do a Google search (``media+hoax’’) on the internet and you’ll find fantastic tales that the media have fallen for.
For example, there was this ``Dole Army’’, a group of masked anarchists who supposedly dwelled in the storm-water drains under Melbourne. This ``army’’ urged citizens to defraud the government of welfare benefits. TV channels fell for the story. The ``Dole Army’’, it turned out, was just a bunch of pranksters who later owned up to the hoax.
There was the case of Norma Khuori, best-selling author of ``Forbidden Love’’ who narrated the story of her friend Dalia, supposedly a victim of honor killing in Jordan. Honor killing is the practice of murdering women who have done dishonor to their families. Dalia, a Muslim, was supposed to have fallen in love with a Christian. Honor killings are still being practiced in some Muslim societies.
The book was an instant hit. Sure, it raised the level of aware about violence against women. But Dalia was pure invention and it was proven that Khouri, a long-time US citizen of Jordanian origin, couldn’t have known someone like Dalia.
Random House later withdrew the books from the bookstores. The huge success became a huge literary scandal. I thought, why didn’t Khuori just sell her book as fiction?
Now I am becoming skeptical of these confessional autobiographies that drip blood, tears and a lot of saliva.
Some years ago, a US journalist was discovered to have fabricated the Pulitzer Prize-winning story about a drug dependent, and last year, a US reporter was severely censured for having plagiarized or passed off a major story as his own work. I don’t remember the details now, but it was a bad day for journalism.
And then there is the reverse—the ``hoax theory’’ which puts the lie on what the world has accepted as the truth. That is, the truth being peddled as a hoax.
For example, there is a group that pushes the belief that the landing on the moon was a hoax. The proponents of this theory, shown in a TV documentary, were prepared with their scientific arguments and proofs.
There are those who propagate the ``no planes theory’’ that says the video footage of the planes that crashed on the World Trade Center twin towers in New York in 2001 was a hoax perpetuated by high-tech tricksters from the TV networks.
As to Faye and her mother, may they be rehabilitated. What is in store for Faye now? What is it like inside her? Be brave, girl, all is not lost.
I had said this a few times to interviewees who had told me stories that were either too good or too bad to be true and especially if it put certain persons in a bad light. Of course, this was said with a smile on my face and only after I had made the interviewees realize that I had given my time and heart and mind to hear them out. And so to remind and speak softly while carrying a big stick, so to speak.
I remember someone who broke into tears when I said this and my heart broke along with that storyteller’s but it had to be said even if there were supporters who stood by the veracity of the story and the credibility of the storyteller.
Nothing personal, I explained ever so gently. I’m just protecting my paper, I said. It helped a lot when the subject had a written account and all I had to do was for him or her to sign it. That is, if there was no sworn statement to begin with. One could always use tapes and videos. But there is nothing foolproof in this world.
Sometimes, because of security reasons the interviewee wants to hide behind an alias. But if the interviewee was the one who sought me out, I have reason to say, good for you, but what about me? Ako ang mapapatay dito. (I could get killed for this.) You have to help me prove that you’re real.
It’s bad enough to be taken for a ride, it’s worse than death for a journalist to be accused of fabricating a story and, worst of all, to be proven that one did.
I say these in the aftermath of the hoax that was spun by a mother-daughter team and who involved their pastor and church in the elaborate lie. The girl’s supposed against-all-odds triumph in an international science contest in Australia got a lot of media mileage even as it put in a bad light public officials they accused of having refused them help. Hearts bled. Doubters were harshly criticized.
Well, yesterday, the Bread of Life Ministries came out with a paid announcement apologizing to the media and parties put in a bad light and explaining how this all came about.
It was edifying to note that the media did not go all out to pillory the San Juans after their hoax was uncovered. Help should be on the way for mother and daughter.
I was curious about the legal implications of all these so I consulted a lawyer. Estafa does not apply because there did not seem to be a financial motive. Apologies have been made so libel is out. But this case could fall under the ``Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act.’’ Faye is only 12 years old and she has been dragged into this by her own mother.
A diagnosis of emotional/mental disturbance could get Mrs. San Juan off the hook. I’m not saying the case should land in court, but this should be processed from all angles by parties concerned, and with compassion, especially for Faye, uppermost. Away from the media.
As for the media, the lawyer said, it is ``Buyers, beware.’’ Take it on the chin.
Do a Google search (``media+hoax’’) on the internet and you’ll find fantastic tales that the media have fallen for.
For example, there was this ``Dole Army’’, a group of masked anarchists who supposedly dwelled in the storm-water drains under Melbourne. This ``army’’ urged citizens to defraud the government of welfare benefits. TV channels fell for the story. The ``Dole Army’’, it turned out, was just a bunch of pranksters who later owned up to the hoax.
There was the case of Norma Khuori, best-selling author of ``Forbidden Love’’ who narrated the story of her friend Dalia, supposedly a victim of honor killing in Jordan. Honor killing is the practice of murdering women who have done dishonor to their families. Dalia, a Muslim, was supposed to have fallen in love with a Christian. Honor killings are still being practiced in some Muslim societies.
The book was an instant hit. Sure, it raised the level of aware about violence against women. But Dalia was pure invention and it was proven that Khouri, a long-time US citizen of Jordanian origin, couldn’t have known someone like Dalia.
Random House later withdrew the books from the bookstores. The huge success became a huge literary scandal. I thought, why didn’t Khuori just sell her book as fiction?
Now I am becoming skeptical of these confessional autobiographies that drip blood, tears and a lot of saliva.
Some years ago, a US journalist was discovered to have fabricated the Pulitzer Prize-winning story about a drug dependent, and last year, a US reporter was severely censured for having plagiarized or passed off a major story as his own work. I don’t remember the details now, but it was a bad day for journalism.
And then there is the reverse—the ``hoax theory’’ which puts the lie on what the world has accepted as the truth. That is, the truth being peddled as a hoax.
For example, there is a group that pushes the belief that the landing on the moon was a hoax. The proponents of this theory, shown in a TV documentary, were prepared with their scientific arguments and proofs.
There are those who propagate the ``no planes theory’’ that says the video footage of the planes that crashed on the World Trade Center twin towers in New York in 2001 was a hoax perpetuated by high-tech tricksters from the TV networks.
As to Faye and her mother, may they be rehabilitated. What is in store for Faye now? What is it like inside her? Be brave, girl, all is not lost.
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Pearl of great price
``Dahil sa paniniwala ng mga Palawano na ang isang isda ay pinahahati sa lahat, nang dumating ang mga Cagayancillo tinanggap namin sila, nang dumating ang mga Muslim tinanggap namin sila, nang dumating ang mga Kristiyano tinanggap namin sila, nang dumating si Cojuangco ay pinaalis kaming lahat. Masakit ang nangyari.’’ (Because of the Palawanos’ belief that a fish is to be divided among all, when the Cagayancillo came we accepted them, when the Muslims came we accepted them, when the Christians came we accepted them, when Cojuangco came we were all driven out. This is painful for us.’’
Words of Pala’wan elder Upo Gariba in his narration about Apu, also known as Bugsok Island. He was quoted in Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel’s Nov. 8 privilege speech. The congresswoman condemned Jewelmer Inc. and the Philippine National Police’s blocking of Pandanan Channel, preventing fishermen and their supporters from entering what they claimed were their ancestral fishing grounds.
Jewelmer has filed a case against the groups involved.
Last week, this column came out with Jewelmer’s response to the NGOs and PO’s accusations that the pearl farm, owned by business tycoon Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. and partners, have displaced indigenous groups and barred them from fishing in their ancestral domain.
Sambilog and Task Force Bugsuk strongly belie Jewelmer’s claims point by point. Excerpts.
``Our struggle to fish in the waters currently prohibited by Jewelmer is a struggle to claim both our rights as indigenous peoples (IP) under the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA) and our rights as small municipal fishers under the Fisheries Code. We believe (Jewelmer has) violated our rights as fishers. We have learned about the case of Puyat Pearl Farms in Culion, Palawan. The local government ruled that the farm operator should open navigational routes because they were established traditional navigational routes…
``Our members come from barangays Puring, Tagnato and Buliluyan in Bataraza town; and barangays Sibaring, Pandanan and sitio Marihangin of barangay Bugsuk of Balabac town. We do not have members from barangay Bugsuk itself. The residents there now are workers of the corporations under Cojuangco. Many of them were from Tarlac and Negros, brought in in the 1970s to the early 80s to work in Cojuangco's farms and ranches. That barangay is known to residents in surrounding barangays as `the private barangay’.
``The Pala'wan and Molbog along with the settlers were forced to leave their land in Bugsuk and Pandanan. They were compensated for the trees, but not for their land. Many of them were relocated in areas which were not as productive…Remember this was martial law time. The people said that they were rounded up in a meeting by Danding Cojuangco himself, and soldiers with their guns surrounded them all. And during that meeting, they were given two options: to sell or to leave.
``What is full compensation (and being) willingly, properly, legally relocated? (Y)ou cleared the land, made it productive, loved it, built your dreams on it, then one day, you are told to sell or to leave…to sign blank documents, and under the gun, they tell you the price of your tree, instead of you naming your price.
``The proof that this happened? No legal document, of course. No pictures, of course. This was at the beginning of martial law. And Danding Cojuangco was good in hiding behind the cloak of legality by having those Deeds of Exchanges, using the Republic Act 926 (for the land swap), by forcing people to sign documents. But there are still living testimonies from Pala'wan, Molbog and settlers, on what happened during those fateful years.
``We will pursue and welcome a full and independent investigation on this gross historical injustice and for government to put a just closure by giving back the land and waters to the victims and to the small fishers and farmers who have been given rights over these resources by new legislations after the EDSA Revolution such as the Fisheries Code, the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) and IPRA.
``Records furnished us show that since the formation of SAMBILOG in 2000 no SAMBILOG members have been caught doing cyanide and dynamite fishing in these areas…We assert that these (accusations) are vain attempts of Jewelmer at harassing the small fishers and drawing attention from Jewelmer’s illegal operations, their use of brute force to govern over the area and their illegal closure of the traditional navigational passage of the channel between Bugsuk and Pandanan islands.
``We question Jewelmer’s authority in confirming whether members fall within the purview of indigenous peoples (IP). This process is under the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples…
``We learned that several groups, composed of Pala'wan and Molbog tribes, were being formed, allegedly through the help of Jewelmer to contest SAMBILOG's claim and to make their own ancestral claim. If Jewelmer does not believe that the area was inhabited by the indigenous peoples, why are they forming groups to also lay claim on ancestral domains? Some of their leaders said that Jewelmer promised them boats and fishing equipment, and allowed them to fish in their `prohibited areas’.
``On August 18, 2003, The Environmental Management Bureau of the DENR Region IV office filed a notice of violation to Jewelmer /Ecofarm Systems and Resources Inc. stating that their Pearl Farm Expansion project located in Balabac, Palawan was implemented without the required Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) and in violation of Section 6. Article IX of DENR Administrative Order No. 96-37…’’
Words of Pala’wan elder Upo Gariba in his narration about Apu, also known as Bugsok Island. He was quoted in Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel’s Nov. 8 privilege speech. The congresswoman condemned Jewelmer Inc. and the Philippine National Police’s blocking of Pandanan Channel, preventing fishermen and their supporters from entering what they claimed were their ancestral fishing grounds.
Jewelmer has filed a case against the groups involved.
Last week, this column came out with Jewelmer’s response to the NGOs and PO’s accusations that the pearl farm, owned by business tycoon Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. and partners, have displaced indigenous groups and barred them from fishing in their ancestral domain.
Sambilog and Task Force Bugsuk strongly belie Jewelmer’s claims point by point. Excerpts.
``Our struggle to fish in the waters currently prohibited by Jewelmer is a struggle to claim both our rights as indigenous peoples (IP) under the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA) and our rights as small municipal fishers under the Fisheries Code. We believe (Jewelmer has) violated our rights as fishers. We have learned about the case of Puyat Pearl Farms in Culion, Palawan. The local government ruled that the farm operator should open navigational routes because they were established traditional navigational routes…
``Our members come from barangays Puring, Tagnato and Buliluyan in Bataraza town; and barangays Sibaring, Pandanan and sitio Marihangin of barangay Bugsuk of Balabac town. We do not have members from barangay Bugsuk itself. The residents there now are workers of the corporations under Cojuangco. Many of them were from Tarlac and Negros, brought in in the 1970s to the early 80s to work in Cojuangco's farms and ranches. That barangay is known to residents in surrounding barangays as `the private barangay’.
``The Pala'wan and Molbog along with the settlers were forced to leave their land in Bugsuk and Pandanan. They were compensated for the trees, but not for their land. Many of them were relocated in areas which were not as productive…Remember this was martial law time. The people said that they were rounded up in a meeting by Danding Cojuangco himself, and soldiers with their guns surrounded them all. And during that meeting, they were given two options: to sell or to leave.
``What is full compensation (and being) willingly, properly, legally relocated? (Y)ou cleared the land, made it productive, loved it, built your dreams on it, then one day, you are told to sell or to leave…to sign blank documents, and under the gun, they tell you the price of your tree, instead of you naming your price.
``The proof that this happened? No legal document, of course. No pictures, of course. This was at the beginning of martial law. And Danding Cojuangco was good in hiding behind the cloak of legality by having those Deeds of Exchanges, using the Republic Act 926 (for the land swap), by forcing people to sign documents. But there are still living testimonies from Pala'wan, Molbog and settlers, on what happened during those fateful years.
``We will pursue and welcome a full and independent investigation on this gross historical injustice and for government to put a just closure by giving back the land and waters to the victims and to the small fishers and farmers who have been given rights over these resources by new legislations after the EDSA Revolution such as the Fisheries Code, the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) and IPRA.
``Records furnished us show that since the formation of SAMBILOG in 2000 no SAMBILOG members have been caught doing cyanide and dynamite fishing in these areas…We assert that these (accusations) are vain attempts of Jewelmer at harassing the small fishers and drawing attention from Jewelmer’s illegal operations, their use of brute force to govern over the area and their illegal closure of the traditional navigational passage of the channel between Bugsuk and Pandanan islands.
``We question Jewelmer’s authority in confirming whether members fall within the purview of indigenous peoples (IP). This process is under the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples…
``We learned that several groups, composed of Pala'wan and Molbog tribes, were being formed, allegedly through the help of Jewelmer to contest SAMBILOG's claim and to make their own ancestral claim. If Jewelmer does not believe that the area was inhabited by the indigenous peoples, why are they forming groups to also lay claim on ancestral domains? Some of their leaders said that Jewelmer promised them boats and fishing equipment, and allowed them to fish in their `prohibited areas’.
``On August 18, 2003, The Environmental Management Bureau of the DENR Region IV office filed a notice of violation to Jewelmer /Ecofarm Systems and Resources Inc. stating that their Pearl Farm Expansion project located in Balabac, Palawan was implemented without the required Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) and in violation of Section 6. Article IX of DENR Administrative Order No. 96-37…’’
Wednesday, November 3, 2004
Jewelmer justifies
In the interest of fairness, I am running in full the response of Jewelmer to my Oct. 21 column piece ``Fishers, pearls and Jewelmer.’’ The news peg there was Sambilog and Task Force Bugsuk’s attempt to fish in waters claimed by some members of indigenous peoples (IP) of Palawan to be part of their ancestral domain and to cross the Pandanan channel, both of which are off limits because of the presence of Jewelmer’s pearl farm. They were joined by Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel. A congressional inquiry is being planned.
Sambilog and Task Force Bugsuk will have their chance next week to demolish some of Jewelmer’s claims.
Here is Jewelmer:
``We are constrained to address the points contained in the aforementioned article for the purpose of presenting the side of Jewelmer International Corp. (Jewelmer) and, at the same time, rectifying the apparent distortion of facts and misrepresentations made by parties associated with the Samahan ng mga Katutubo sa Dulo ng Timog Palawan (Sambilog).
``1. Jewelmer has been operating a marine concession in the municipality since 1979. Since the commencement of its operations, the corporation has complied with the relevant laws and regulations required for the pursuit of such business endeavor. Moreover, Jewelmer has actively participated in the conservation and preservation of all marine life and natural resources within the concession area. A verification with the municipality of Balabac, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development will confirm that: (i) the corporation has submitted all the requirements imposed by such government entities for the operation of the marine concession, (ii) such operations do not require the issuance of the environmental compliance certificate and (iii) no violations have been attributable to Jewelmer at any point in time.
``2. To the best of the knowledge of Jewelmer, and based on the relevant records in the custody of government agencies (e.g., DENR, the Bureau of Lands and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources), the islands of Bugsuk and Pandanan, inclusive of the adjoining marine concession area leased by the municipality of Balabac to Jewelmer, have not been inhabited by indigenous people. Neither has there been a displacement of supposed ethnic and indigenous fishermen from such areas considering:
a. The previous inhabitants of such areas were transients and settlers who did not belong to any indigenous tribes of Palawan.
b. b. Such inhabitants were willingly, properly and legally relocated to adjoining areas of their choice and fully compensated for their property rights.
``Taking into account the foregoing, the claim asserted by Sambilog that the aforestated areas form part of their `ancestral domain’ is bereft of any factual or legal basis.
``3. Perhaps, the author of the article (that’s me—CPD) has not been apprised of the underlying reasons for the request for assistance made by Jewelmer to the Philippine National Police headed by Supt. Rey Lañada. Recently, the operations of Jewelmer have been subject of intermittent harassment by parties who claim to be members of Sambilog. On numerous occasions, such parties have entered the concession area and resorted to illegal means of fishing through the use of cyanide and dynamite. In addition, the corporation suffered loss and damage to its facilities and equipment due to the unauthorized entry of such parties to the concession area. The local authorities of the municipality of Balabac will confirm the nature and extent of the unlawful acts perpetuated by the said parties within the concession area.
``Owing to the aforementioned acts, Jewelmer, as the aggrieved party, had no other recourse but to request the assistance of the PNP to protect the interests of the corporation. Being the lawful operator of an ongoing business concern, such request for assistance was necessary in the light of contemplated and unauthorized entry of Sambilog in the concession area. The assistance extended by the PNP to Jewelmer was in consonance with their mandated duty to protect any person from imminent threat to their proprietary rights.
``4. Without the benefit of prior inquiry and verification, the author may have been, unwittingly, misled by the purported leaders of Sambilog. We would like to take this opportunity to call your attention to the following points.
``a. Jewelmer, through its representatives, together with the DENR and the officials of the municipality of Balabac, has participated in discussions with the representatives of Task Force Bugsuk in discussions with the representatives of Task Force Bugsuk and Sambilog. During such discussions, Sambilog agreed to make available and provide the parties with a complete listing of its members for the purpose of confirming whether such members fall within the purview of `indigenous people’ as defined under the provisions of the Ipra Act of 1997. To date Sambilog has not complied with such agreement.
``b. The majority of Sambilog are not (and never have been) constituents of the municipality of Balabac. Most of Sambilog's purported members are transients and residents of the municipality of Batarraza.
c. Certain members of Sambilog, namely Oscar Pelayo, have been reported to the local authorities of both municipalities as the parties responsible for dynamite and cyanide fishing.
``Such illegal acts have led to the wanton destruction of coral reefs and other forms of marine life in the marine areas adjacent to the municipality of Batarraza.’’
Angela Poblador
Jewelmer chief communications officer
Rm. 701 National Life Insurance Bldg.
6762 Ayala Ave., Makati City
Sambilog and Task Force Bugsuk will have their chance next week to demolish some of Jewelmer’s claims.
Here is Jewelmer:
``We are constrained to address the points contained in the aforementioned article for the purpose of presenting the side of Jewelmer International Corp. (Jewelmer) and, at the same time, rectifying the apparent distortion of facts and misrepresentations made by parties associated with the Samahan ng mga Katutubo sa Dulo ng Timog Palawan (Sambilog).
``1. Jewelmer has been operating a marine concession in the municipality since 1979. Since the commencement of its operations, the corporation has complied with the relevant laws and regulations required for the pursuit of such business endeavor. Moreover, Jewelmer has actively participated in the conservation and preservation of all marine life and natural resources within the concession area. A verification with the municipality of Balabac, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development will confirm that: (i) the corporation has submitted all the requirements imposed by such government entities for the operation of the marine concession, (ii) such operations do not require the issuance of the environmental compliance certificate and (iii) no violations have been attributable to Jewelmer at any point in time.
``2. To the best of the knowledge of Jewelmer, and based on the relevant records in the custody of government agencies (e.g., DENR, the Bureau of Lands and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources), the islands of Bugsuk and Pandanan, inclusive of the adjoining marine concession area leased by the municipality of Balabac to Jewelmer, have not been inhabited by indigenous people. Neither has there been a displacement of supposed ethnic and indigenous fishermen from such areas considering:
a. The previous inhabitants of such areas were transients and settlers who did not belong to any indigenous tribes of Palawan.
b. b. Such inhabitants were willingly, properly and legally relocated to adjoining areas of their choice and fully compensated for their property rights.
``Taking into account the foregoing, the claim asserted by Sambilog that the aforestated areas form part of their `ancestral domain’ is bereft of any factual or legal basis.
``3. Perhaps, the author of the article (that’s me—CPD) has not been apprised of the underlying reasons for the request for assistance made by Jewelmer to the Philippine National Police headed by Supt. Rey Lañada. Recently, the operations of Jewelmer have been subject of intermittent harassment by parties who claim to be members of Sambilog. On numerous occasions, such parties have entered the concession area and resorted to illegal means of fishing through the use of cyanide and dynamite. In addition, the corporation suffered loss and damage to its facilities and equipment due to the unauthorized entry of such parties to the concession area. The local authorities of the municipality of Balabac will confirm the nature and extent of the unlawful acts perpetuated by the said parties within the concession area.
``Owing to the aforementioned acts, Jewelmer, as the aggrieved party, had no other recourse but to request the assistance of the PNP to protect the interests of the corporation. Being the lawful operator of an ongoing business concern, such request for assistance was necessary in the light of contemplated and unauthorized entry of Sambilog in the concession area. The assistance extended by the PNP to Jewelmer was in consonance with their mandated duty to protect any person from imminent threat to their proprietary rights.
``4. Without the benefit of prior inquiry and verification, the author may have been, unwittingly, misled by the purported leaders of Sambilog. We would like to take this opportunity to call your attention to the following points.
``a. Jewelmer, through its representatives, together with the DENR and the officials of the municipality of Balabac, has participated in discussions with the representatives of Task Force Bugsuk in discussions with the representatives of Task Force Bugsuk and Sambilog. During such discussions, Sambilog agreed to make available and provide the parties with a complete listing of its members for the purpose of confirming whether such members fall within the purview of `indigenous people’ as defined under the provisions of the Ipra Act of 1997. To date Sambilog has not complied with such agreement.
``b. The majority of Sambilog are not (and never have been) constituents of the municipality of Balabac. Most of Sambilog's purported members are transients and residents of the municipality of Batarraza.
c. Certain members of Sambilog, namely Oscar Pelayo, have been reported to the local authorities of both municipalities as the parties responsible for dynamite and cyanide fishing.
``Such illegal acts have led to the wanton destruction of coral reefs and other forms of marine life in the marine areas adjacent to the municipality of Batarraza.’’
Angela Poblador
Jewelmer chief communications officer
Rm. 701 National Life Insurance Bldg.
6762 Ayala Ave., Makati City
Monday, November 1, 2004
Limbo un-rocked
Today, Nov. 2, is All Souls Day, the day for our dear departed. But feast-loving Filipinos always do the feasting and remembering in advance as if there might be no more tomorrow. And so Nov. 1, All Saints Day, is what Filipinos consider araw ng mga patay.
We Filipinos have a way of advancing the calendar to suit our festive mood. Well, All Souls Day is the harbinger of the Christmas season. Tomorrow the Christmas season “officially” begins in these islands. It will last for two months.
But hold on awhile to the 11th month. We all have our early memories of this November feast that sends Filipino families in droves to their old hometowns. Celebrations in the provinces are so much more folksy and Pinoy, unlike those in Metro Manila where the feast has taken on an American macabre flavor that I find corny and TH.
On the solemn side of memory lane, some melodies refuse to die. I can still sing the first and last lines of the Latin Gregorian chant that the Benedictine sisters chanted during the Mass for the Dead in the beautiful neo-Romanesque chapel in school. “Dies irae, dies illa, solvet saeclum in favilla…” Translated as, “Nigher still, and still more nigh, Draws the day of prophecy…”
It ends with the soaring, “Lacrymosa dies illa, Qua resurget ex favilla…” “Full of tears and full of dread, is the day that wakes the dead…”
Oh, it soaked my soul and shook the ramparts of my young heart.
This being the season that makes us ponder life after death, there is now no reason to wonder where limbo is. The vacuous place has been erased from the afterlife. The Roman Catholic Church had created that place during the Middle Ages, last year the magisterium decided to delete it. (Will so-called plenary indulgences be the next to go?)
Blame the creation of the limbo hypothesis on the concept of the stamp of original sin and the outdated way that it was taught.
Last year Pope Benedict XVI abolished the concept of limbo, the place where, Catholics were made to believe, the souls of un-baptized children went. The year before he died, Pope John Paul II had created a commission to come up with a “more coherent and illuminating” doctrine on this neither-here-nor-there place in the Great Beyond.
Pope Benedict XVI (Cardinal Josep Ratzinger then) had presided over the first sessions before he became Pope. A report said that he is on record as saying that limbo has no place in modern Catholicism. In 1984 he was already quoted as saying that limbo had “never been a definitive truth of the faith”.
Limbo has been scrapped.
Limbo comes from the Latin word limbus that means edge or boundary. It was supposed to be the transit area for the souls of the people who lived good lives but died before the resurrection of Jesus two millennia ago. Only on the Last Judgment will they all move on to heaven. Neat arrangement.
Limbo was also supposed to be the permanent home of the babies who died in infancy (and the fetuses too) that didn’t get freed from original sin through baptism. There they were supposed to live in a state of natural happiness, whatever that means.
Here’s something I read: “In the Divine Comedy, Dante depicts limbo as the first circle of hell, located beyond the river of Acheron but before the judgment seat of Minos. The virtuous pagans of classical history and mythology inhabit a brightly lit and beautiful—but somber—castle which is seemingly a medievalized version of Elysium. (A) semi-infernal region, above limbo or the other side of Acheron, but inside the gate of Hell also exists—it is the vestibule of hell and houses so-called ‘neutralists’ or ‘opportunists’ who devoted their lives neither to good nor to evil…” A place for fence sitters and opportunists!
Now that limbo has been demolished, where did its occupants proceed? Or where were they all the time? In heaven, I presume.
Nowhere in the Bible is limbo mentioned, but it is supposed to be the “bosom of Abraham” which is twice mentioned in the Bible. This bosom is supposed to be a blissful state where the good and the righteous of the pre-Jesus era await their eternal reward. It is neither heaven nor hell, it is a transit lounge before entering paradise.
I read somewhere that the gospel story about the “good thief” who was crucified and died beside Jesus is a case that should tweak this limbo theory. Jesus promised him that they would be together “this day” in paradise. Right away?
Well the answer, some say, is in the punctuation mark, the comma. (The celebrated writer Pico Iyer has a great essay on the comma and what it can do.) Did Jesus say, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with me in paradise” or “Truly I say to you today, you shall be with me in paradise”? The latter means that the thief had to wait in limbo until the resurrection made it possible for him to enter the Pearly Gates.
This is grist for biblical nitpickers. I bring this up only to say it is good that limbo has been deleted from the file folders, it has been erased from the landscape of the afterlife. But the word limbo will stay in colloquial lingo. It means neither here nor there.
The limbo of the afterlife had nothing to do with the limbo dance that originated in the Caribbean. Limbo rock comes from Jamaican English limba or to bend (from the English limber). Limbo rock we all know. It uses a stick below which dancers must bend backwards as they proceed. Limbo dancing is believed to have started from cramped and smelly slave ships that brought Africans to the Americas.
That was not limbo, that was hell. But the real hell is where slave traders—the modern-day ones, specially--should go.
We Filipinos have a way of advancing the calendar to suit our festive mood. Well, All Souls Day is the harbinger of the Christmas season. Tomorrow the Christmas season “officially” begins in these islands. It will last for two months.
But hold on awhile to the 11th month. We all have our early memories of this November feast that sends Filipino families in droves to their old hometowns. Celebrations in the provinces are so much more folksy and Pinoy, unlike those in Metro Manila where the feast has taken on an American macabre flavor that I find corny and TH.
On the solemn side of memory lane, some melodies refuse to die. I can still sing the first and last lines of the Latin Gregorian chant that the Benedictine sisters chanted during the Mass for the Dead in the beautiful neo-Romanesque chapel in school. “Dies irae, dies illa, solvet saeclum in favilla…” Translated as, “Nigher still, and still more nigh, Draws the day of prophecy…”
It ends with the soaring, “Lacrymosa dies illa, Qua resurget ex favilla…” “Full of tears and full of dread, is the day that wakes the dead…”
Oh, it soaked my soul and shook the ramparts of my young heart.
This being the season that makes us ponder life after death, there is now no reason to wonder where limbo is. The vacuous place has been erased from the afterlife. The Roman Catholic Church had created that place during the Middle Ages, last year the magisterium decided to delete it. (Will so-called plenary indulgences be the next to go?)
Blame the creation of the limbo hypothesis on the concept of the stamp of original sin and the outdated way that it was taught.
Last year Pope Benedict XVI abolished the concept of limbo, the place where, Catholics were made to believe, the souls of un-baptized children went. The year before he died, Pope John Paul II had created a commission to come up with a “more coherent and illuminating” doctrine on this neither-here-nor-there place in the Great Beyond.
Pope Benedict XVI (Cardinal Josep Ratzinger then) had presided over the first sessions before he became Pope. A report said that he is on record as saying that limbo has no place in modern Catholicism. In 1984 he was already quoted as saying that limbo had “never been a definitive truth of the faith”.
Limbo has been scrapped.
Limbo comes from the Latin word limbus that means edge or boundary. It was supposed to be the transit area for the souls of the people who lived good lives but died before the resurrection of Jesus two millennia ago. Only on the Last Judgment will they all move on to heaven. Neat arrangement.
Limbo was also supposed to be the permanent home of the babies who died in infancy (and the fetuses too) that didn’t get freed from original sin through baptism. There they were supposed to live in a state of natural happiness, whatever that means.
Here’s something I read: “In the Divine Comedy, Dante depicts limbo as the first circle of hell, located beyond the river of Acheron but before the judgment seat of Minos. The virtuous pagans of classical history and mythology inhabit a brightly lit and beautiful—but somber—castle which is seemingly a medievalized version of Elysium. (A) semi-infernal region, above limbo or the other side of Acheron, but inside the gate of Hell also exists—it is the vestibule of hell and houses so-called ‘neutralists’ or ‘opportunists’ who devoted their lives neither to good nor to evil…” A place for fence sitters and opportunists!
Now that limbo has been demolished, where did its occupants proceed? Or where were they all the time? In heaven, I presume.
Nowhere in the Bible is limbo mentioned, but it is supposed to be the “bosom of Abraham” which is twice mentioned in the Bible. This bosom is supposed to be a blissful state where the good and the righteous of the pre-Jesus era await their eternal reward. It is neither heaven nor hell, it is a transit lounge before entering paradise.
I read somewhere that the gospel story about the “good thief” who was crucified and died beside Jesus is a case that should tweak this limbo theory. Jesus promised him that they would be together “this day” in paradise. Right away?
Well the answer, some say, is in the punctuation mark, the comma. (The celebrated writer Pico Iyer has a great essay on the comma and what it can do.) Did Jesus say, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with me in paradise” or “Truly I say to you today, you shall be with me in paradise”? The latter means that the thief had to wait in limbo until the resurrection made it possible for him to enter the Pearly Gates.
This is grist for biblical nitpickers. I bring this up only to say it is good that limbo has been deleted from the file folders, it has been erased from the landscape of the afterlife. But the word limbo will stay in colloquial lingo. It means neither here nor there.
The limbo of the afterlife had nothing to do with the limbo dance that originated in the Caribbean. Limbo rock comes from Jamaican English limba or to bend (from the English limber). Limbo rock we all know. It uses a stick below which dancers must bend backwards as they proceed. Limbo dancing is believed to have started from cramped and smelly slave ships that brought Africans to the Americas.
That was not limbo, that was hell. But the real hell is where slave traders—the modern-day ones, specially--should go.
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
'No al bloqueo'
Think of yourself as a citizen of a small island nation of 11 million floating near the armpit of the United States, a powerful nation where milk and honey flow profusely so many of its citizens are groaning under the weight of obesity and too much eating.
Think of yourself as a Cuban, deprived of many necessities and opportunities simply because your neighbor, a giant nation many times your size, has leaders who are fixated in the belief that your dot of a country is a ``threat’’ to their security.
The big one squeezes the small one to make it go down on its knees and cry ``Uncle!’’ But no way, Jorge. Porque no? Because no self-respecting nation, no matter how small, will capitulate to an immoral sanction. Because no sovereign nation that knows the meaning of pride would want to take tutorials on how to run its affairs.
Today, Oct. 28, a draft resolution calling for the ending of US economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba will again be deliberated and voted on at the UN.
For the past 13 consecutive years, Cuba has been submitting resolutions to the United Nations General Assembly, demanding the lifting of the US embargo against it. This embargo/blockade, this continuous crucifixion of the Cuban people is now on its 45th year. Nothing as sustained as this has been imposed by a powerful country against a poor, little one.
As Cuban ambassador to the Philippines Ramon Medina said, the US sanctions against Cuba are the harshest in the world, much harsher than the sanctions against Iraq. Even the Pope has pleaded against this cruelty.
Last year, 179 countries, including the Philippines (which shares a Spanish and American colonial past with Cuba), voted in favor of ending the embargo. Two countries abstained. Only three (the US, Israel and the Marshall Islands) voted to continue the cruel embargo.
The US loses its case with Cuba every time the embargo issue is voted on in the UN, so what’s the problem? The US is the problem. Because it rules the world.
What does this embargo/blockade mean?
Cuba cannot export to the US, it cannot engage in sales with US entrepreneurs. Cuba is capable of exporting to the US about 15,000 tons of nickel every year, no less than 1,000 tons of cobalt and more than two million tons of cement. But it can’t.
Cuba cannot import from the US. Food may be allowed but only under special circumstances and only on cash basis. Cuba cannot access financial credits, not even private ones.
US companies, on the other hand, have to go through a difficult bureaucratic process in the US if they are to sell to Cuba. Cuba cannot use its own maritime vessels in trading operations. Only US or third-party vessels can be used. Cuba is not allowed direct banking relations with the US, so it has to go through third-country banks.
US citizens and corporations could be fined or suffer imprisonment for setting foot on Cuba. Oh, but there are many US tourists and Hemingway wannabes in Cuba. Easy. They go through Mexico. In Cuba their passports are not stamped.
In the last 45 years, Cuba has not had any access to international financial agencies. No single credit. But in 2003, the Inter-American Development Bank is said to have pumped nearly US$9 billion in credits into Latin America while the World Bank forked out US$5 billion. Nada for Cuba.
The Torricelli Act of 1992 prohibits Cuba from trading with US companies present in third countries. And third-country vessels that call at Cuban ports must wait six months before docking in US ports.
The Helms-Burton Act allows for legal sanctions in the US against third-country businesses that deal with Cuba. Company officials found to have dealings with Cuba are prevented from entering the US. Wanna steal a Cuban brand name like Havana Club? In fact, someone has beaten you to it, thanks to the Helms-Burton Act.
The list is endless.
The geopolitical configurations in the world have changed, so what’s so threatening about Cuba?
The Bush administration has supposedly set aside big sums for radio broadcasts to Cuba and to finance opposition to the Castro regime. The objective: to overthrow the present dispensation and establish US control over Cuba. Remember Nicaragua?
But despite what Cuba has had to go through, it has made great strides in the field of medicine, medical technology and microbiology which could be the envy of more developed countries. As the Cuban ambassador said, Cuba had to look for a niche where it could excel and so the world will be better because of Cuba’s potent vaccines.
But the blockade is gravely affecting all this. Cuba cannot obtain diagnostic equipment and reagents from US companies. Cuba has to turn to Europe and this means added cost.
A recent case was that of Oxoid, a British firm supplying lab reagents and culture mediums. When Oxoid was partly taken over by a US company, Cuba’s requests were turned down.
US$79 billion--this is Cuba’s estimate of the economic damage caused by the US blockade. No al bloqueo! This is the cry of Cuba and the community of nations.
I read Resolution 58/7 which Cuba will present to the UN, I learned about Cuba’s crucifixion and I bled. It ends:
``Cuba will not cease from defending her independence and she knows that her resistance contributes to the struggle waged by many peoples in this world for a more dignified life, and for the right to develop in fairer and more sustainable conditions. Neither will she ever give up the hope of one day having smooth, respectful relations with the American people.’’
Learn more about Cuba and the Philippines’ shared past. Contact the Philippines-Cuba Cultural and Friendship Association at 9950849 to 50.
Think of yourself as a Cuban, deprived of many necessities and opportunities simply because your neighbor, a giant nation many times your size, has leaders who are fixated in the belief that your dot of a country is a ``threat’’ to their security.
The big one squeezes the small one to make it go down on its knees and cry ``Uncle!’’ But no way, Jorge. Porque no? Because no self-respecting nation, no matter how small, will capitulate to an immoral sanction. Because no sovereign nation that knows the meaning of pride would want to take tutorials on how to run its affairs.
Today, Oct. 28, a draft resolution calling for the ending of US economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba will again be deliberated and voted on at the UN.
For the past 13 consecutive years, Cuba has been submitting resolutions to the United Nations General Assembly, demanding the lifting of the US embargo against it. This embargo/blockade, this continuous crucifixion of the Cuban people is now on its 45th year. Nothing as sustained as this has been imposed by a powerful country against a poor, little one.
As Cuban ambassador to the Philippines Ramon Medina said, the US sanctions against Cuba are the harshest in the world, much harsher than the sanctions against Iraq. Even the Pope has pleaded against this cruelty.
Last year, 179 countries, including the Philippines (which shares a Spanish and American colonial past with Cuba), voted in favor of ending the embargo. Two countries abstained. Only three (the US, Israel and the Marshall Islands) voted to continue the cruel embargo.
The US loses its case with Cuba every time the embargo issue is voted on in the UN, so what’s the problem? The US is the problem. Because it rules the world.
What does this embargo/blockade mean?
Cuba cannot export to the US, it cannot engage in sales with US entrepreneurs. Cuba is capable of exporting to the US about 15,000 tons of nickel every year, no less than 1,000 tons of cobalt and more than two million tons of cement. But it can’t.
Cuba cannot import from the US. Food may be allowed but only under special circumstances and only on cash basis. Cuba cannot access financial credits, not even private ones.
US companies, on the other hand, have to go through a difficult bureaucratic process in the US if they are to sell to Cuba. Cuba cannot use its own maritime vessels in trading operations. Only US or third-party vessels can be used. Cuba is not allowed direct banking relations with the US, so it has to go through third-country banks.
US citizens and corporations could be fined or suffer imprisonment for setting foot on Cuba. Oh, but there are many US tourists and Hemingway wannabes in Cuba. Easy. They go through Mexico. In Cuba their passports are not stamped.
In the last 45 years, Cuba has not had any access to international financial agencies. No single credit. But in 2003, the Inter-American Development Bank is said to have pumped nearly US$9 billion in credits into Latin America while the World Bank forked out US$5 billion. Nada for Cuba.
The Torricelli Act of 1992 prohibits Cuba from trading with US companies present in third countries. And third-country vessels that call at Cuban ports must wait six months before docking in US ports.
The Helms-Burton Act allows for legal sanctions in the US against third-country businesses that deal with Cuba. Company officials found to have dealings with Cuba are prevented from entering the US. Wanna steal a Cuban brand name like Havana Club? In fact, someone has beaten you to it, thanks to the Helms-Burton Act.
The list is endless.
The geopolitical configurations in the world have changed, so what’s so threatening about Cuba?
The Bush administration has supposedly set aside big sums for radio broadcasts to Cuba and to finance opposition to the Castro regime. The objective: to overthrow the present dispensation and establish US control over Cuba. Remember Nicaragua?
But despite what Cuba has had to go through, it has made great strides in the field of medicine, medical technology and microbiology which could be the envy of more developed countries. As the Cuban ambassador said, Cuba had to look for a niche where it could excel and so the world will be better because of Cuba’s potent vaccines.
But the blockade is gravely affecting all this. Cuba cannot obtain diagnostic equipment and reagents from US companies. Cuba has to turn to Europe and this means added cost.
A recent case was that of Oxoid, a British firm supplying lab reagents and culture mediums. When Oxoid was partly taken over by a US company, Cuba’s requests were turned down.
US$79 billion--this is Cuba’s estimate of the economic damage caused by the US blockade. No al bloqueo! This is the cry of Cuba and the community of nations.
I read Resolution 58/7 which Cuba will present to the UN, I learned about Cuba’s crucifixion and I bled. It ends:
``Cuba will not cease from defending her independence and she knows that her resistance contributes to the struggle waged by many peoples in this world for a more dignified life, and for the right to develop in fairer and more sustainable conditions. Neither will she ever give up the hope of one day having smooth, respectful relations with the American people.’’
Learn more about Cuba and the Philippines’ shared past. Contact the Philippines-Cuba Cultural and Friendship Association at 9950849 to 50.
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Fishers, pearls and Jewelmer
In 1996, Pres. Fidel Ramos issued presidential decree 905 recognizing the South Sea Pearl as the Philippines’ national gem. The local pearl industry, the PD said, has produced the world’s largest pearl known as the ``Pearl of Allah’’ or the ``Pearl of Lao Tze.’’
What’s in a pearl? Plenty, especially if it is a South Sea pearl produced by Jewelmer International Corporation, a Cojuangco-owned pearl farm in Palawan that will soon be the subject of a congressional inquiry.
Last Oct. 16, World Food Day, and in observance of indigenous people’s (IP) month, Palawan IP from the Pala’wan and Molbog tribes rowed out to sea to exercise their right to fish in waters that used to be part of their ancestral fishing grounds. These areas occupied by Jewelmer, the IP said, have been off-limits to them for more than 20 years.
It all began in 1974, during the time of Pres. Marcos. The fishermen became victims of a land swap between business magnate Eduardo Cojuangco and Marcos.
Last Saturday, more than 200 members of the Samahan ng mga Katutubo sa Dulo ng Timog Palawan (Sambilog), accompanied by Akbayan representative Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel and members of Task Force Bugsuk, who were trying to cross the Pandanan Channel, were blocked by the Philippine National Police led by provincial director Col. Rey Lanada who came in a Jewelmer helicopter. Wow.
Our Southern Luzon correspondent Donna Virola was there to cover the encounter and she shared with me her report. Virola quoted Sambilog leader Panglima Rudy Calo as saying, ``Our purpose is to fish again in our waters and pass through Pandanan Channel which is our shortcut to nearby islands.’’ I myself received text messages from the site. One said: ``We were not able to enter the Pandanan Channel because of a heavy cable and boat barricade. PNP Prov. Director Lanada and a dozen uniformed officers acted as Jewelmer security guards. But most of the hundred fishers were able to fish in their traditional fishing grounds even for a couple of hours!!!.’’ It added that Hontiveros-Baraquel plans to conduct a congressional inquiry. May it be soon.
I first wrote about the IP-Jewelmer case on Earth Day last April after the IP ``intruded’’ into what used to be theirs—the 57,000 hectares of ancestral land and waters much of which is occupied by Jewelmer. Sambilog was invoking the IP law and demanding a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) for the fishermen as well as a cease-and-desist order for Jewelmer.
In last Saturday’s encounter, Art Palatino from the province’s environmental office even brought a map to show to Lanada that Jewelmer has gone beyond its area of 4,597.19 hectares.
But this issue goes deeper than just the IP’s right to fish or Jewelmer’s right to produce pearls. Nobody is against pearls here. If you’ve ogled at those luscious pearls in Jewelmer stores and leafed through their expensive coffee-table book, you’d know why South Sea pearls are special. Go to their website (www.jewelmer.com) and you’d think you’re reading about paradise and pearls and a hardy deep sea-diving people called Badjao and a Frenchman named Jacques Brannelle who supposedly discovered the beautiful secret of the islands, the precious pearl oyster, the pinctada maxima. He then brought over the knowledge of perliculture from French Polynesia and partnered with the Cojuangcos. Great cinematic weaving and marketing.
I’ve visited Palawan four times but always for rugged coverage. I’ve never visited any of the great resorts there but one of these days I will. That is, if they will accept pesos. No daw?
The last time I was in Palawan was when I visited Culion, the former biggest leper colony in the world, now a regular municipality and trying to be in step with the rest of the world. I’ve seen a lot of floating boxes where pearl oysters grow. You could get shot if you went near, I was told.
Task Force Bugsuk which supports the displaced fishermen said it ``is not against the propagation of the pearl industry in the country. We are only against the Jewelmer Pearl Farm and its displacing the IP from the ancestral domain, depriving them of their main sources of livelihood, discriminating against them for their ethnicity and denying them their basic right to self-determination.’’
Jewelmer, the task force said, ``has illegally blocked off vital and traditional navigational routes (preventing) the passage of other maritime vessels except their own. It has prohibited marginalized and subsistence fisherfolk from the use of even the simple and harmless fishing methods such as the hook and line, within the waters it has allegedly leased from Balabac town, a clear violation of the alleged lease agreement.’’
Jewelmer has been allowed to operate within an environmentally-critical area and despite the absence of an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) and a clearance from the Palawan Council for sustainable Development which is a violation of the law. So far, Jewelmer has refused to dialogue with the affected groups, despite the urging of Presidential Task Force 63.
Jewelmer is not the only pearl farm in Palawan. Task Force Bugsuk says it has no issue with other pearl farms or with the entire pearl industry, but only with Jewelmer.
In its website, Jewelmer quotes, in English, the first stanza of Jose Rizal’s ``Mi Ultimo Adios’’ where the national hero speaks of the motherland as the ``pearl of the orient.’’ In the original Spanish: ``Perla del mar del oriente, Nuestro perdido eden.’’ Our Eden lost. It can’t get more poignant than that.
Ah, I would like to know how that translates in the language of the Pala’wan and the Molbog. Tell me, I beseech you.
What’s in a pearl? Plenty, especially if it is a South Sea pearl produced by Jewelmer International Corporation, a Cojuangco-owned pearl farm in Palawan that will soon be the subject of a congressional inquiry.
Last Oct. 16, World Food Day, and in observance of indigenous people’s (IP) month, Palawan IP from the Pala’wan and Molbog tribes rowed out to sea to exercise their right to fish in waters that used to be part of their ancestral fishing grounds. These areas occupied by Jewelmer, the IP said, have been off-limits to them for more than 20 years.
It all began in 1974, during the time of Pres. Marcos. The fishermen became victims of a land swap between business magnate Eduardo Cojuangco and Marcos.
Last Saturday, more than 200 members of the Samahan ng mga Katutubo sa Dulo ng Timog Palawan (Sambilog), accompanied by Akbayan representative Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel and members of Task Force Bugsuk, who were trying to cross the Pandanan Channel, were blocked by the Philippine National Police led by provincial director Col. Rey Lanada who came in a Jewelmer helicopter. Wow.
Our Southern Luzon correspondent Donna Virola was there to cover the encounter and she shared with me her report. Virola quoted Sambilog leader Panglima Rudy Calo as saying, ``Our purpose is to fish again in our waters and pass through Pandanan Channel which is our shortcut to nearby islands.’’ I myself received text messages from the site. One said: ``We were not able to enter the Pandanan Channel because of a heavy cable and boat barricade. PNP Prov. Director Lanada and a dozen uniformed officers acted as Jewelmer security guards. But most of the hundred fishers were able to fish in their traditional fishing grounds even for a couple of hours!!!.’’ It added that Hontiveros-Baraquel plans to conduct a congressional inquiry. May it be soon.
I first wrote about the IP-Jewelmer case on Earth Day last April after the IP ``intruded’’ into what used to be theirs—the 57,000 hectares of ancestral land and waters much of which is occupied by Jewelmer. Sambilog was invoking the IP law and demanding a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) for the fishermen as well as a cease-and-desist order for Jewelmer.
In last Saturday’s encounter, Art Palatino from the province’s environmental office even brought a map to show to Lanada that Jewelmer has gone beyond its area of 4,597.19 hectares.
But this issue goes deeper than just the IP’s right to fish or Jewelmer’s right to produce pearls. Nobody is against pearls here. If you’ve ogled at those luscious pearls in Jewelmer stores and leafed through their expensive coffee-table book, you’d know why South Sea pearls are special. Go to their website (www.jewelmer.com) and you’d think you’re reading about paradise and pearls and a hardy deep sea-diving people called Badjao and a Frenchman named Jacques Brannelle who supposedly discovered the beautiful secret of the islands, the precious pearl oyster, the pinctada maxima. He then brought over the knowledge of perliculture from French Polynesia and partnered with the Cojuangcos. Great cinematic weaving and marketing.
I’ve visited Palawan four times but always for rugged coverage. I’ve never visited any of the great resorts there but one of these days I will. That is, if they will accept pesos. No daw?
The last time I was in Palawan was when I visited Culion, the former biggest leper colony in the world, now a regular municipality and trying to be in step with the rest of the world. I’ve seen a lot of floating boxes where pearl oysters grow. You could get shot if you went near, I was told.
Task Force Bugsuk which supports the displaced fishermen said it ``is not against the propagation of the pearl industry in the country. We are only against the Jewelmer Pearl Farm and its displacing the IP from the ancestral domain, depriving them of their main sources of livelihood, discriminating against them for their ethnicity and denying them their basic right to self-determination.’’
Jewelmer, the task force said, ``has illegally blocked off vital and traditional navigational routes (preventing) the passage of other maritime vessels except their own. It has prohibited marginalized and subsistence fisherfolk from the use of even the simple and harmless fishing methods such as the hook and line, within the waters it has allegedly leased from Balabac town, a clear violation of the alleged lease agreement.’’
Jewelmer has been allowed to operate within an environmentally-critical area and despite the absence of an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) and a clearance from the Palawan Council for sustainable Development which is a violation of the law. So far, Jewelmer has refused to dialogue with the affected groups, despite the urging of Presidential Task Force 63.
Jewelmer is not the only pearl farm in Palawan. Task Force Bugsuk says it has no issue with other pearl farms or with the entire pearl industry, but only with Jewelmer.
In its website, Jewelmer quotes, in English, the first stanza of Jose Rizal’s ``Mi Ultimo Adios’’ where the national hero speaks of the motherland as the ``pearl of the orient.’’ In the original Spanish: ``Perla del mar del oriente, Nuestro perdido eden.’’ Our Eden lost. It can’t get more poignant than that.
Ah, I would like to know how that translates in the language of the Pala’wan and the Molbog. Tell me, I beseech you.
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
New book on family violence
A few months ago, I spent a day at the Bukid Kabataan in Cavite. The place is home and school for abused kids and is run by the Good Shepherd Sisters. One cute little boy there was known for wringing the necks of ducklings and chicks who happened to wander his way. ``I can’t help it, S’ter,’’ he would explain.
This boy is a survivor of family violence. And the book that is the subject of this column is right up his alley.
No fancy title for this book. ``The Path to Healing: A Primer on Family Violence’’ (121 pages, Anvil Publishing) is what it says it is. Written by psychologists Dr. Lourdes A. Carandang and Beatrix Aileen L.Sison, the book is a timely offering in this day and age when women are coming out of closets, bedrooms, basements and prison-homes to talk about their bloody ordeal in the hands of their spouses and partners. Timely too because the number of children who are victims seems to be increasing. The children are, in fact, the main focus of the book.
The book will be launched soon and is now available in bookstores. Are you in need of help or helping someone? ``The Path to Healing’’ is for you.
It is important to stress that the book is the result of in-depth research and intervention of the authors with families exposed to different forms of abuse. And so the extensive use of quotes from the subjects themselves.
The book is based on a pioneering research that focused not just on the abused children and the abusive parents but also on other key family members. It uses the family systems approach which is based on the belief that any stress, pain or joy experienced by one member affects all other members--``ang sakit ng kalingkingan ay nararamdaman ng buong katawan.’’
The family, the so-called basic unit of society, is under siege not just from without, but more alarmingly, from within. And so the book aims to empower family members by providing a good understanding of child abuse and the dynamics of family violence.
How and why does abuse happen? How can family members work together to stop and prevent any form of violence on a family member? What alternative and non-violent ways could be used to resolve conflicts?
The book’s authors let the reader enter the inner world of families where abuse occurs. They present real-life cases and use comics-type illustrations and diagrams to show the dynamics in a family. They also delve into the family origins of the parties involved. This is to show the roots of the violent tendencies in the distant past.
Often used are Filipino phrases (translated into English) which reflect the subjects’ way of thinking, for example, ``sinapian ako ng demonyo’’ (I was possessed by the devil). Many tips and points for reflection are also in Filipino, something counselors and therapists might find practical to use.
The book defines and tackles the four different forms of abuse—physical, sexual, verbal and emotional. It examines the intergenerational patterns, the family myths, the quality of a marital relationship, child-rearing practices, the family situation (poverty, number of children, etc.), substance abuse and other related problems of the perpetrator violence.
The little chapter on family myths is peppered with quotes that show beliefs that have not helped in curbing violence. Examples: ``Ang anak ang bubuhay o sasagip sa pamilya. (The child supports or saves the family.) ``Kayong mag-ina ang magiging asawa ko Hindi magkakalayo ang tingin ko sa inyo.’’ (Both of you, mother and child, will be my spouses. You both look almost the same to me.) ``Kakambal ko ang kamalasan sa buhay. (Misfortune is my twin.) ``Hindi ako mabubuhay kung wala akong kasamang lalaki.’’ (I cannot live without a man.) ``Ang pamilya ay dapat magkasama parati.’’ (The family should always be together.) ``Ang babae sa bahay lang.’’ (The woman is only for the house.)
The book is not all sob stories. The chapter ``Resiliency Factors: How People Survive the Abuse’’ points to the innate strengths of children that should be harnessed. Children’s natural ability to play, dream hope and bring delight, their courage to speak the truth—all these draw from a deep source that adults should recognize.
It goes without saying that a mother’s strength and the support system which extends to the community (the media included) are vital in order that children survive and transcend their ordeal.
What can families do now? The books answers this by offering ways of dealing with family conflicts. It has do’s and don’t’s in dealing with children and tips, many in Filipino, for improving the marital relationships.
The appendices contain the outline of modules on the family offered by a team of psychologists led by Carandang who is a veteran in family and child counseling. There is even a script for a skit that could be used as a basis for discussion and reflection.
Laws have been enacted and refined to help women and children who have been battered and to protect those who might be in danger. But what steps to take when currently in the face of violence and more important, what is there to know so that the victims and their supporters could take the proper action?
And most important of all, how to heal? Of what use are the legal action, the vindication, and even putting an end to the violence if there is no healing of the unseen inner wounds that have been inflicted? But for the cycle of violence to end and in order to heal well, one must also know and understand.
Carandang and Sison’s book is chockful of insights and how-to’s. It avoids the jargon of therapists, is very Pinoy and easy to read. This is one book that should be left lying around in unlikely places for anyone to pick up and read.
This boy is a survivor of family violence. And the book that is the subject of this column is right up his alley.
No fancy title for this book. ``The Path to Healing: A Primer on Family Violence’’ (121 pages, Anvil Publishing) is what it says it is. Written by psychologists Dr. Lourdes A. Carandang and Beatrix Aileen L.Sison, the book is a timely offering in this day and age when women are coming out of closets, bedrooms, basements and prison-homes to talk about their bloody ordeal in the hands of their spouses and partners. Timely too because the number of children who are victims seems to be increasing. The children are, in fact, the main focus of the book.
The book will be launched soon and is now available in bookstores. Are you in need of help or helping someone? ``The Path to Healing’’ is for you.
It is important to stress that the book is the result of in-depth research and intervention of the authors with families exposed to different forms of abuse. And so the extensive use of quotes from the subjects themselves.
The book is based on a pioneering research that focused not just on the abused children and the abusive parents but also on other key family members. It uses the family systems approach which is based on the belief that any stress, pain or joy experienced by one member affects all other members--``ang sakit ng kalingkingan ay nararamdaman ng buong katawan.’’
The family, the so-called basic unit of society, is under siege not just from without, but more alarmingly, from within. And so the book aims to empower family members by providing a good understanding of child abuse and the dynamics of family violence.
How and why does abuse happen? How can family members work together to stop and prevent any form of violence on a family member? What alternative and non-violent ways could be used to resolve conflicts?
The book’s authors let the reader enter the inner world of families where abuse occurs. They present real-life cases and use comics-type illustrations and diagrams to show the dynamics in a family. They also delve into the family origins of the parties involved. This is to show the roots of the violent tendencies in the distant past.
Often used are Filipino phrases (translated into English) which reflect the subjects’ way of thinking, for example, ``sinapian ako ng demonyo’’ (I was possessed by the devil). Many tips and points for reflection are also in Filipino, something counselors and therapists might find practical to use.
The book defines and tackles the four different forms of abuse—physical, sexual, verbal and emotional. It examines the intergenerational patterns, the family myths, the quality of a marital relationship, child-rearing practices, the family situation (poverty, number of children, etc.), substance abuse and other related problems of the perpetrator violence.
The little chapter on family myths is peppered with quotes that show beliefs that have not helped in curbing violence. Examples: ``Ang anak ang bubuhay o sasagip sa pamilya. (The child supports or saves the family.) ``Kayong mag-ina ang magiging asawa ko Hindi magkakalayo ang tingin ko sa inyo.’’ (Both of you, mother and child, will be my spouses. You both look almost the same to me.) ``Kakambal ko ang kamalasan sa buhay. (Misfortune is my twin.) ``Hindi ako mabubuhay kung wala akong kasamang lalaki.’’ (I cannot live without a man.) ``Ang pamilya ay dapat magkasama parati.’’ (The family should always be together.) ``Ang babae sa bahay lang.’’ (The woman is only for the house.)
The book is not all sob stories. The chapter ``Resiliency Factors: How People Survive the Abuse’’ points to the innate strengths of children that should be harnessed. Children’s natural ability to play, dream hope and bring delight, their courage to speak the truth—all these draw from a deep source that adults should recognize.
It goes without saying that a mother’s strength and the support system which extends to the community (the media included) are vital in order that children survive and transcend their ordeal.
What can families do now? The books answers this by offering ways of dealing with family conflicts. It has do’s and don’t’s in dealing with children and tips, many in Filipino, for improving the marital relationships.
The appendices contain the outline of modules on the family offered by a team of psychologists led by Carandang who is a veteran in family and child counseling. There is even a script for a skit that could be used as a basis for discussion and reflection.
Laws have been enacted and refined to help women and children who have been battered and to protect those who might be in danger. But what steps to take when currently in the face of violence and more important, what is there to know so that the victims and their supporters could take the proper action?
And most important of all, how to heal? Of what use are the legal action, the vindication, and even putting an end to the violence if there is no healing of the unseen inner wounds that have been inflicted? But for the cycle of violence to end and in order to heal well, one must also know and understand.
Carandang and Sison’s book is chockful of insights and how-to’s. It avoids the jargon of therapists, is very Pinoy and easy to read. This is one book that should be left lying around in unlikely places for anyone to pick up and read.
Wednesday, October 6, 2004
The physiology of hunger
Hunger is a very powerful and heavily loaded word. What is hunger?
``Hunger stalks 13 percent of Pinoy households,’’ the Inquirer’s banner recently announced. The lead sentence said, ``Hunger rose to record levels in Metro Manila and Mindanao just two months into the second term of Pres. Macapagal-Arroyo.’’
One out of every seven (15.1 percent) household heads polled by Social Weather Stations in August said his or her family had nothing to eat at least once in the last three months, triple the number of the previous year.
I don’t know whether these families missed one meal, or they had nothing to eat for one whole day during that three-month period.
A family missing one meal, even if it was only once in the last three months, because there was no money for food means a whole brood went hungry at some point. The thought of not finding food for the next meal must have added to the anxiety.
The poor know what hunger is in the most physical sense—as an intense need for food, as a weakening of the body for lack of it. Food is the first in the hierarchy of needs of all living creatures. Physical hunger is the first need that must be sated.
Experts often discuss hunger in so macro and so global a way. On their side of the divide, the non-hungry discuss the politics and economics of hunger. The spiritually inclined speak about prayer as a hunger. The health buff who has a great horror for obesity watches out for that pang, that wicked craving.
What happens inside the body when one is hungry? Not that the hungry poor care to know, for they know how it feels already. But it behooves us to realize that hunger is as physiological as blood circulating and breathing in and breathing out during meditation. Hunger is not some diffused, nameless feeling. It is real.
Here is some pop physiology I learned from my readings.
Most people think of hunger as something that is felt in the stomach that’s gone empty. We talk about humihilab ang tiyan. Indeed there is some turbulence of the acids in there and a stomach left empty for prolonged periods could end up with ulcers. But hunger is more than hilab. Ever felt faint because you skipped breakfast? That is physiological hunger. It’s different from psychological hunger or craving for, say, comfort food like dried fish on a rainy day. The psychology of hunger has more to do with incentives and taste preferences. But that is another story.
That feeling of faintness that causes people to drop to the floor during morning Mass is hunger in the truest sense. Hunger does not originate from stomach pangs. The physiology of hunger is influenced by body chemistry (insulin and glucose), the brain (hypothalamus), the so-called set point, and the basal metabolic rate.
The hypothalamus gland is mainly responsible for the feeling of hunger and satiation. The lateral hypothalamus (LH) brings on hunger. When the body is deprived of food, its blood sugar goes down and the LH releases orexin, a hunger-triggering hormone. The ventromedial hypothalamus, on the other hand, is responsible for depressing hunger. When the VH is stimulated, an animal will stop eating, but when destroyed, the eating will be unstoppable.
These complementary areas in the hypothalamus influence how much glucose is converted into fat and how much is available to fuel activity and minimize hunger. The brain system monitors the body’s state and reports to the hypothalamus, which then sends the information to the frontal lobes which decide behavior. Go, get fried rice or to-die-for chocolate cake.
The LH and VH have a way of altering the body’s weight thermostat, which predisposes the body to keep a particular weight level called set point. This makes the body adjust to the food intake, the energy output and its own basal metabolic rate (BMR).
BMR is the rate at which the body burns calories for energy depending on the fat cells, hormones and metabolism. Blessed are those who burn faster.
When the poor are constantly feeling hungry in the absence of food, it is not just the glucose level that is sending signals, their bodies are also screaming for the wide array of nutrients they have been deprived of. Think of pregnant mothers who crave for food because their bodies and babies need it.
When hunger is discussed in relation to poverty, it is often used interchangeably with malnutrition, starvation and famine. But these are four different stages and situations. Malnutrition is the inadequate intake of any of the nutrients required by the body.
So yes, the poor’s hunger is, first and foremost, as physiological as what the books say. The politics and economics of it are beyond many of them. There is so much to learn. And change.
hungerbanquet.org. Visit this Oxfam website and take your seat at the ``banquet’’ table. Learn about hunger from the point of view of those who experience it every day. Discover the reasons why hunger exists today. It’s very interactive, with real human names and faces from real places.
Another website on hunger has a ``dining philosophers game.’’ In front of each one is a bowl of rice and between each one is one chopstick. Before one can take a bite, he must have two chopsticks—one taken from his left, the other from his right. Picture it? They must find a way to share chopsticks so they all get to eat.
I’m going back to the game after I finish this column.
Hunger is not a game, but sadly, it has been the outcome of power games.
``Hunger stalks 13 percent of Pinoy households,’’ the Inquirer’s banner recently announced. The lead sentence said, ``Hunger rose to record levels in Metro Manila and Mindanao just two months into the second term of Pres. Macapagal-Arroyo.’’
One out of every seven (15.1 percent) household heads polled by Social Weather Stations in August said his or her family had nothing to eat at least once in the last three months, triple the number of the previous year.
I don’t know whether these families missed one meal, or they had nothing to eat for one whole day during that three-month period.
A family missing one meal, even if it was only once in the last three months, because there was no money for food means a whole brood went hungry at some point. The thought of not finding food for the next meal must have added to the anxiety.
The poor know what hunger is in the most physical sense—as an intense need for food, as a weakening of the body for lack of it. Food is the first in the hierarchy of needs of all living creatures. Physical hunger is the first need that must be sated.
Experts often discuss hunger in so macro and so global a way. On their side of the divide, the non-hungry discuss the politics and economics of hunger. The spiritually inclined speak about prayer as a hunger. The health buff who has a great horror for obesity watches out for that pang, that wicked craving.
What happens inside the body when one is hungry? Not that the hungry poor care to know, for they know how it feels already. But it behooves us to realize that hunger is as physiological as blood circulating and breathing in and breathing out during meditation. Hunger is not some diffused, nameless feeling. It is real.
Here is some pop physiology I learned from my readings.
Most people think of hunger as something that is felt in the stomach that’s gone empty. We talk about humihilab ang tiyan. Indeed there is some turbulence of the acids in there and a stomach left empty for prolonged periods could end up with ulcers. But hunger is more than hilab. Ever felt faint because you skipped breakfast? That is physiological hunger. It’s different from psychological hunger or craving for, say, comfort food like dried fish on a rainy day. The psychology of hunger has more to do with incentives and taste preferences. But that is another story.
That feeling of faintness that causes people to drop to the floor during morning Mass is hunger in the truest sense. Hunger does not originate from stomach pangs. The physiology of hunger is influenced by body chemistry (insulin and glucose), the brain (hypothalamus), the so-called set point, and the basal metabolic rate.
The hypothalamus gland is mainly responsible for the feeling of hunger and satiation. The lateral hypothalamus (LH) brings on hunger. When the body is deprived of food, its blood sugar goes down and the LH releases orexin, a hunger-triggering hormone. The ventromedial hypothalamus, on the other hand, is responsible for depressing hunger. When the VH is stimulated, an animal will stop eating, but when destroyed, the eating will be unstoppable.
These complementary areas in the hypothalamus influence how much glucose is converted into fat and how much is available to fuel activity and minimize hunger. The brain system monitors the body’s state and reports to the hypothalamus, which then sends the information to the frontal lobes which decide behavior. Go, get fried rice or to-die-for chocolate cake.
The LH and VH have a way of altering the body’s weight thermostat, which predisposes the body to keep a particular weight level called set point. This makes the body adjust to the food intake, the energy output and its own basal metabolic rate (BMR).
BMR is the rate at which the body burns calories for energy depending on the fat cells, hormones and metabolism. Blessed are those who burn faster.
When the poor are constantly feeling hungry in the absence of food, it is not just the glucose level that is sending signals, their bodies are also screaming for the wide array of nutrients they have been deprived of. Think of pregnant mothers who crave for food because their bodies and babies need it.
When hunger is discussed in relation to poverty, it is often used interchangeably with malnutrition, starvation and famine. But these are four different stages and situations. Malnutrition is the inadequate intake of any of the nutrients required by the body.
So yes, the poor’s hunger is, first and foremost, as physiological as what the books say. The politics and economics of it are beyond many of them. There is so much to learn. And change.
****
hungerbanquet.org. Visit this Oxfam website and take your seat at the ``banquet’’ table. Learn about hunger from the point of view of those who experience it every day. Discover the reasons why hunger exists today. It’s very interactive, with real human names and faces from real places.
Another website on hunger has a ``dining philosophers game.’’ In front of each one is a bowl of rice and between each one is one chopstick. Before one can take a bite, he must have two chopsticks—one taken from his left, the other from his right. Picture it? They must find a way to share chopsticks so they all get to eat.
I’m going back to the game after I finish this column.
Hunger is not a game, but sadly, it has been the outcome of power games.
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Shrine for the poor
Call it congruence, synchronicity or what, but this week brought a couple of church-related news that are good news.
Rising fast in Tandang Sora in Quezon City is a shrine, Santuario de San Vicente de Paul, dedicated to the cause of the poor of the city. It is named after the 17th-century French saint who dedicated his life to the very poor.
The Santuario’s raison d’etre sounds best in Pilipino: ``Ang tunay na esensiya ng Santuario de San Vicente de Paul ay hindi tumutukoy sa malamig na semento at matayog na pader. Ang Santuario ay ang mga taong bumubuo nito. Ang mahihirap ang tanging buhay ng Santuario, at ang mayayamang nais magbahagi ng kanilang biyaya sa mahihirap ang magiging katuwang nito na magsisilbing kamay at paa para sa patuloy na paglago. Ang Santuario… ay yayakap sa lahat ng uri ng tao, mayaman man o mahirap. Misyon ng simbahang ito ang bigyan ng sapat na atensiyon at pagkalinga ang mahihirap at kulang palad.’’
For those who don’t understand Pilipino: ``The essence of Santuario de San Vicente de Paul lies not in the cold concrete and the high walls. The Santuario is the people who form it. The life of the Santuario draws mainly from the poor, and the rich who want to share their blessings with the poor are the partners who would serve as hands and feet so that it will flourish. The Santuario will embrace all, both the rich and the poor. This church’s mission is to give attention and care to the poor and the less fortunate.’’
The Santuario will cost P100 to P150 million, I am told. Structures could vanish in a wink, but the spirit and vision behind them, if nurtured and built into hearts, could remain for all time. Church is more than just structure, we all know that, and this shrine that is taking shape is already showing in concrete how a church lives and breathes and thrives. But this is jumping the gun.
The cost would have made me groan had I not known about the spirit behind the project. Well, it wasn’t as if the money was all there in the beginning and suddenly it was all going to be poured into a cold structure. But, as the saying goes, if you build it they will come. The funds came as the building progressed, and the poor, yes, even the poor, continue to give their widow’s mite, because the shrine is theirs, and they know they belong. This is their cathedral. They say it speaks to them of hope.
Come to think of it, the so-called ``church of the poor’’ need not literally be a replica of the hovels that the poor live in, though I also do not want to see a gilded edifice soaring in the midst of destitution and the people who run it enjoying five-star comfort.
The Santuario is within the six-hectare seminary grounds of the Vincentian Fathers who run ministries in that part of Quezon City. Yes, they’re doing an amazing job over there, especially at the Payatas garbage dump.
According to Father Atilano Fajardo, the awe-struck project director who has not ceased being amazed by how fast the dream is becoming a reality, they started with a mere half a million pesos. I hope the P150-million ``investment’’ will multiply a hundred-fold and generate more concern of the city’s most neglected.
Held last Sunday, on the eve of the feast of St. Vincent, was a ``lakad alay’’ (walkathon) that started from the QC Hall and ended at the Santuario site. Walking together were the poor and the not so poor of the church as well as city officials. Mayor Feliciano Belmonte read the city ordinance declaring St. Vincent the ``patron of the urban poor of Quezon City.’’ (A city ordinance? Isn’t this crossing the church-state demarcation line?)
The structure is, first and foremost, a place of worship. It is a gathering place. A bridge between people, between rich and poor, Fr. Atilano says. It will be a ``listening church that becomes the voice of the unheard.’’ To be built into it are programs to help the poor. These should form the centerpiece, if you ask me. The city government has promised to be involved in the programs. But I hope politicians keep their hands off or it will be messy.
The church is a combination of classic and modern complemented by Filipino highlights. The history of the Philippine church and ``preferential option for the poor’’ will be depicted on the stained glass windows and the walls. Noted artists are donating their talents for these. The church will seat about 2,000 people. There will even be a catwalk for stage presentations. At the ossuary in the basement, one can view a depiction of Filipino burial customs.
Why build the shrine in these difficult times? The primer answers: ``Precisely because of the poverty we see around us, the shrine will serve as a visible representation of how one’s life should be dedicated to the service of the poor, while at the same time serve as an inspiration for all Filipino Christians to be of service to those most in need.’’
Indeed, it is a sign of contradiction. I say this as a compliment.
If you want to be involved, contact Fr. Fajardo at afajardo@cmphilippines.org.ph or 9309387. Don’t’ lose your cool if the woman who answers the phone asks: ``From what company? And what are you going to talk about (with Father)?’’. I wanted to tell her I was an ailing prostitute who wanted to help.
Ongoing in Manila is the international convention of the United Evangelical Mission which is tackling globalization, human rights, the AIDS crisis, economic injustice and violence against women. The UEM is an organization of 34 member churches in Asia, Africa and Europe. High on its agenda is the negative effects of globalization.
Rising fast in Tandang Sora in Quezon City is a shrine, Santuario de San Vicente de Paul, dedicated to the cause of the poor of the city. It is named after the 17th-century French saint who dedicated his life to the very poor.
The Santuario’s raison d’etre sounds best in Pilipino: ``Ang tunay na esensiya ng Santuario de San Vicente de Paul ay hindi tumutukoy sa malamig na semento at matayog na pader. Ang Santuario ay ang mga taong bumubuo nito. Ang mahihirap ang tanging buhay ng Santuario, at ang mayayamang nais magbahagi ng kanilang biyaya sa mahihirap ang magiging katuwang nito na magsisilbing kamay at paa para sa patuloy na paglago. Ang Santuario… ay yayakap sa lahat ng uri ng tao, mayaman man o mahirap. Misyon ng simbahang ito ang bigyan ng sapat na atensiyon at pagkalinga ang mahihirap at kulang palad.’’
For those who don’t understand Pilipino: ``The essence of Santuario de San Vicente de Paul lies not in the cold concrete and the high walls. The Santuario is the people who form it. The life of the Santuario draws mainly from the poor, and the rich who want to share their blessings with the poor are the partners who would serve as hands and feet so that it will flourish. The Santuario will embrace all, both the rich and the poor. This church’s mission is to give attention and care to the poor and the less fortunate.’’
The Santuario will cost P100 to P150 million, I am told. Structures could vanish in a wink, but the spirit and vision behind them, if nurtured and built into hearts, could remain for all time. Church is more than just structure, we all know that, and this shrine that is taking shape is already showing in concrete how a church lives and breathes and thrives. But this is jumping the gun.
The cost would have made me groan had I not known about the spirit behind the project. Well, it wasn’t as if the money was all there in the beginning and suddenly it was all going to be poured into a cold structure. But, as the saying goes, if you build it they will come. The funds came as the building progressed, and the poor, yes, even the poor, continue to give their widow’s mite, because the shrine is theirs, and they know they belong. This is their cathedral. They say it speaks to them of hope.
Come to think of it, the so-called ``church of the poor’’ need not literally be a replica of the hovels that the poor live in, though I also do not want to see a gilded edifice soaring in the midst of destitution and the people who run it enjoying five-star comfort.
The Santuario is within the six-hectare seminary grounds of the Vincentian Fathers who run ministries in that part of Quezon City. Yes, they’re doing an amazing job over there, especially at the Payatas garbage dump.
According to Father Atilano Fajardo, the awe-struck project director who has not ceased being amazed by how fast the dream is becoming a reality, they started with a mere half a million pesos. I hope the P150-million ``investment’’ will multiply a hundred-fold and generate more concern of the city’s most neglected.
Held last Sunday, on the eve of the feast of St. Vincent, was a ``lakad alay’’ (walkathon) that started from the QC Hall and ended at the Santuario site. Walking together were the poor and the not so poor of the church as well as city officials. Mayor Feliciano Belmonte read the city ordinance declaring St. Vincent the ``patron of the urban poor of Quezon City.’’ (A city ordinance? Isn’t this crossing the church-state demarcation line?)
The structure is, first and foremost, a place of worship. It is a gathering place. A bridge between people, between rich and poor, Fr. Atilano says. It will be a ``listening church that becomes the voice of the unheard.’’ To be built into it are programs to help the poor. These should form the centerpiece, if you ask me. The city government has promised to be involved in the programs. But I hope politicians keep their hands off or it will be messy.
The church is a combination of classic and modern complemented by Filipino highlights. The history of the Philippine church and ``preferential option for the poor’’ will be depicted on the stained glass windows and the walls. Noted artists are donating their talents for these. The church will seat about 2,000 people. There will even be a catwalk for stage presentations. At the ossuary in the basement, one can view a depiction of Filipino burial customs.
Why build the shrine in these difficult times? The primer answers: ``Precisely because of the poverty we see around us, the shrine will serve as a visible representation of how one’s life should be dedicated to the service of the poor, while at the same time serve as an inspiration for all Filipino Christians to be of service to those most in need.’’
Indeed, it is a sign of contradiction. I say this as a compliment.
If you want to be involved, contact Fr. Fajardo at afajardo@cmphilippines.org.ph or 9309387. Don’t’ lose your cool if the woman who answers the phone asks: ``From what company? And what are you going to talk about (with Father)?’’. I wanted to tell her I was an ailing prostitute who wanted to help.
****
Ongoing in Manila is the international convention of the United Evangelical Mission which is tackling globalization, human rights, the AIDS crisis, economic injustice and violence against women. The UEM is an organization of 34 member churches in Asia, Africa and Europe. High on its agenda is the negative effects of globalization.
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
VP Noli writes re `riles’
Very welcome is the letter to this column from Vice President Noli de Castro in response to our concern about the poor families living along the railroad tracks. Tens of thousands of these families will have to go when construction of the modern railway system (the North Rail) starts in a couple of months. The railway project is part of the Strong Republic Transit System, a flagship project of the Arroyo administration.
VP de Castro’s letter is welcome because it would be a gauge for those in the ``Bantay Riles’’ (non-government and people’s organizations) in monitoring how the government handles the human side of this project that will change the landscape and they way people live and travel.
Sure, we all need new ways of doing things and the long awaited modern transit system is welcome but we also need to preserve the dignity of human beings, the poor most especially, who live dangerously along the tracks.
As to the big illegal structures built along the way by the non-poor who wanted to free-load, bulldoze them tomorrow.
Note that VP de Castro does not use the word squatters. He uses the word settlers.
``Thank you very much for your concern over the plight of `riles’ settlers who will be affected by the railway rehabilitation project, which you wrote about in your Sept. 9 column, `Bantay Riles.’
``As Chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) I would like to give you seom background information and updates on the resettlement of the `riles’ settlers.
``While actual work for the North Rail project is yet to begin, the difficult task of relocating the `tens of thousands of families along the railroad tracks’ as you put it, has already commenced as early as last year according to the resettlement plan which HUDCC helped to prepare.
``In fact we have completed the clearing of the Right of Way (ROW) along the Kalookan alignment of North Rail which involved the relocation of 626 informal settler families who either opted to resettle at the Towerville housing project in San Jose, Del Monte or availed of the `Balik-Probinsya’ program, with an assistance package worth P15,000 for transportation, as well as food vouchers.
``From 2002 to March 2004, seven consultations have been held in Kalookan alone which were convened by HUDCC, NHA, an attached agency of HUDCC, and participated in by the concerned agencies including Philippine National Railways (PNR), North Luzon Railway Corporation-Bases Conversion Development Authority (NLRC-BCDA), National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), Philippine Commission on the Urban Poor (PCUP), Commission on Human Rights (CHR), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Education (DepEd), and the Department of Health (DOH), as well as NGOs such as the Urban Poor Associates.
``In all these consultations, the concerned families and communities were fully informed of their relocation options. We also made it clear that the resettlement program will be beneficiary-led and in-city, to the extent allowed by the budget. This is to minimize the adverse effects of dislocation among the affected families.
The resettlement program likewise provides for an assistance package amounting to P201,970.00 per family. This amount covers serviced home lots, housing materials loan, livelihood assistance, water/power connections as well as food allowance. As indicated earlier, we are also offering the Balik Probinsya program to families who will opt to go back to their provinces.
``We are now prioritizing the clearing of the ROW for the Malabon alignment which will connect to the Kalookan segment. This will affect 3,399 families, of which 400 have already expressed their desire to vacate the area voluntarily.
``While the HUDCC-NHA has already held previous consultations with communities who will be affected by future clearing and relocation operations in the Malabon area, local inter-agency committee (LIAC) meetings are continuously being convened every two weeks by the local government of Malabon. These meetings are participated in by various agencies such as the PCUP, DOTC, NAPC, HUDCC-NHA, and representatives of various people’s organizations.
``Meanwhile, parallel consultations are also being undertaken weekly by the HUDCC-NHA and PCUP with the affected residents. We would like to invite you to attend these consultations to observe how they are conducted and to give you a better idea of the issues and concerns of the various sectors involved.
``AS to the funding aspect, the resettlement program for both North and South Rail settlers will require an estimated P8 billion. HUDCC is now in the final stage of contracting a loan from the National Development Company (NDC) amounting to P3.5 billion. This will be sourced from a planned flotation of NDC bonds.
``The Department of Budget and Management, on the other hand, committed to immediately release P100 million to NHA, and another P150 million within the month for the project. This will be used to start the relocation along the Malabon alignment by the end of this month.
``Much of the work still lies ahead of us, and we remain firm in our commitment to protect the welfare of the families to be relocated.
``As the new HUDCC chairman, I bring to this position my long-time personal and professional experience in dealing with and serving the Filipino masses. Thus, I can personally guarantee you that I will exert every effort to make sure that the families living along the railways will not have to ``go through a worst phase’’ in the course of giving them a better life away from the dangers and the poor living conditions which they have had to bear with for a long time.
``Thank you very much.
``Sincerely yours,
Vice President Noli de Castro.’’
VP de Castro’s letter is welcome because it would be a gauge for those in the ``Bantay Riles’’ (non-government and people’s organizations) in monitoring how the government handles the human side of this project that will change the landscape and they way people live and travel.
Sure, we all need new ways of doing things and the long awaited modern transit system is welcome but we also need to preserve the dignity of human beings, the poor most especially, who live dangerously along the tracks.
As to the big illegal structures built along the way by the non-poor who wanted to free-load, bulldoze them tomorrow.
Note that VP de Castro does not use the word squatters. He uses the word settlers.
``Thank you very much for your concern over the plight of `riles’ settlers who will be affected by the railway rehabilitation project, which you wrote about in your Sept. 9 column, `Bantay Riles.’
``As Chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) I would like to give you seom background information and updates on the resettlement of the `riles’ settlers.
``While actual work for the North Rail project is yet to begin, the difficult task of relocating the `tens of thousands of families along the railroad tracks’ as you put it, has already commenced as early as last year according to the resettlement plan which HUDCC helped to prepare.
``In fact we have completed the clearing of the Right of Way (ROW) along the Kalookan alignment of North Rail which involved the relocation of 626 informal settler families who either opted to resettle at the Towerville housing project in San Jose, Del Monte or availed of the `Balik-Probinsya’ program, with an assistance package worth P15,000 for transportation, as well as food vouchers.
``From 2002 to March 2004, seven consultations have been held in Kalookan alone which were convened by HUDCC, NHA, an attached agency of HUDCC, and participated in by the concerned agencies including Philippine National Railways (PNR), North Luzon Railway Corporation-Bases Conversion Development Authority (NLRC-BCDA), National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), Philippine Commission on the Urban Poor (PCUP), Commission on Human Rights (CHR), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Education (DepEd), and the Department of Health (DOH), as well as NGOs such as the Urban Poor Associates.
``In all these consultations, the concerned families and communities were fully informed of their relocation options. We also made it clear that the resettlement program will be beneficiary-led and in-city, to the extent allowed by the budget. This is to minimize the adverse effects of dislocation among the affected families.
The resettlement program likewise provides for an assistance package amounting to P201,970.00 per family. This amount covers serviced home lots, housing materials loan, livelihood assistance, water/power connections as well as food allowance. As indicated earlier, we are also offering the Balik Probinsya program to families who will opt to go back to their provinces.
``We are now prioritizing the clearing of the ROW for the Malabon alignment which will connect to the Kalookan segment. This will affect 3,399 families, of which 400 have already expressed their desire to vacate the area voluntarily.
``While the HUDCC-NHA has already held previous consultations with communities who will be affected by future clearing and relocation operations in the Malabon area, local inter-agency committee (LIAC) meetings are continuously being convened every two weeks by the local government of Malabon. These meetings are participated in by various agencies such as the PCUP, DOTC, NAPC, HUDCC-NHA, and representatives of various people’s organizations.
``Meanwhile, parallel consultations are also being undertaken weekly by the HUDCC-NHA and PCUP with the affected residents. We would like to invite you to attend these consultations to observe how they are conducted and to give you a better idea of the issues and concerns of the various sectors involved.
``AS to the funding aspect, the resettlement program for both North and South Rail settlers will require an estimated P8 billion. HUDCC is now in the final stage of contracting a loan from the National Development Company (NDC) amounting to P3.5 billion. This will be sourced from a planned flotation of NDC bonds.
``The Department of Budget and Management, on the other hand, committed to immediately release P100 million to NHA, and another P150 million within the month for the project. This will be used to start the relocation along the Malabon alignment by the end of this month.
``Much of the work still lies ahead of us, and we remain firm in our commitment to protect the welfare of the families to be relocated.
``As the new HUDCC chairman, I bring to this position my long-time personal and professional experience in dealing with and serving the Filipino masses. Thus, I can personally guarantee you that I will exert every effort to make sure that the families living along the railways will not have to ``go through a worst phase’’ in the course of giving them a better life away from the dangers and the poor living conditions which they have had to bear with for a long time.
``Thank you very much.
``Sincerely yours,
Vice President Noli de Castro.’’
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
1,347 unfound
They went missing and have not been found until today. They are the 1,347 victims of ``enforced disappearance’’ from 1971 to 2003. They are the so-called desaparecidos (disappeared) who walked into the darkness and were never seen again.
Sept. 21 is upon us again. It will rake up painful memories and open wide the wounds that never quite heal. It is a time to pause to see where we have healed and where still we bleed. Justice still eludes the countless who had suffered while those who caused the suffering walk with their heads high.
Thirty two years ago on Sept. 21, 1972, when Pres. Marcos declared martial law, many people feared for their lives and their loved ones. But that day, they could not have imagined the greater horror, the sorrow, the darkness that would later visit countless lives.
Although some families already had a foretaste of what was to come the year before (the first case of disappearance happened in 1971) they had no inkling of what still lay ahead. The Reign of Terror would later cut a wide bloody swath across the land and for 14 years the dictatorship would hold the nation in its tight grip.
Next week, on Sept. 22, at 10 a.m., the ``Bantayog ng mga Desaparecido’’ will be unveiled at the Redemptorist Church grounds in Baclaran. The Bantayog includes the refurbished Flame of Courage Monument created by artist Lito Mondejar in 1994 and the new 21 granite slabs on which the names of the 1,347 victims are etched. The Bantayog was designed by painter-sculptor Bessie Rifareal who began work in 2003.
This place is dedicated to those who offered their lives for the country and whose ideals remain an inspiration for many who work for a just and free society. It is also dedicated to the families who carry the burden of loss and continue to bravely face the future while continuing to pick up the shards of their lives.
The Flame of Courage Monument depicts the figure of a woman holding a lighted torch. She is in search of someone. With her is a little child holding a picture of the one they are looking for. The life-size monument symbolizes struggle and undying hope.
Come, pray and remember in this hallowed place. Come, pray and make a vow never to let unbridled tyranny destroy lives again.
Behind this endeavor is Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND). FIND has been behind projects helping the families in their search for the missing and for justice as well.
FIND continues to document cases of disappearances. Yes, abductions and summary killings continue to this day. The latest case happened in 2003. FIND documents ``state perpetuated’’ cases only. Cases that were, at first, thought to be the handiwork of the military and later proven to have been part of the communist ``purge’’ or wrongful execution of communist militants by their own comrades have been removed from the list. A FIND staffer however said that FIND continues to assist the families of victims of these executions because they have become part of the FIND family. They now have their own memorial at the University of the Philippines’ sunken garden.
Just a little footnote. I’ve always had a problem with what the acronym FIND stands for. FIND stands for Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance. How can one be a victim of one’s own disappearance, be it voluntary or involuntary? Disappearance is the result, not the cause. Like there is no such thing as a victim of death. One is a victim of abduction, torture, oppression, etc. but not of disappearance or death.
``Families of the disappeared victims of tyranny’’ (or whatever) is more precise although it would not fit the four-letter acronym. Here the word disappeared is a noun (not a verb) and is the English translation of the Spanish desaparecido or the missing. Desaparecido was commonly used in Latin America where military dictators ruled with impunity.
Sorry ha, but that’s been bothering me for years. What’s in a name? A lot.
One of the known victims of military abduction is Father Rudy Romano, a Redemptorist priest who disappeared in 1985 in Cebu where he was assigned at that time. The Redemptorists’ hospitality to the memorial for the disappeared partly stems from the fact that one of their own has been missing for almost 20 years. The search for Fr. Romano was long and arduous. It sparked international interest and led to the highest court of the land. And just like in any search, it had its share of rumors, bum steers, hoaxes and hearsay. The details are in the biography ``Romano of the Philippines’’ written by Lilette Chan-Santos.
At a small media dinner I attended some years ago, a military general said he believed Fr. Romano was abducted ``by the PC’’.
Johannes Barroso was arrested in 1975 together with Eugenio Flores and Nenita Luneta in Cabanatuan City by members of the 5th Constabulary Security Unit of the Philippines Constabulary and brought to the PC headquarters in the city. Barroso would later disappear without a trace. The military denied having arrested him.
And there is 20-year-old UP-Los Banos student Gerardo Faustino who was arrested in Makati by a military intelligence group in 1977. There is Prudencio Bati-on of Sta. Cruz, Manila who disappeared on March 1, 1999. By the way, the Inquirer editor in chief’s first cousin, Leticia Pascual, is also among the disappeared.
The last line of the dedication at the Bantayog reads: ``Para sa ating lahat na nagpapatuloy ng laban na sinimulan ng mga desaparecido para sa katarungan, kalayaan at pagkakapantay-pantay.#
Sept. 21 is upon us again. It will rake up painful memories and open wide the wounds that never quite heal. It is a time to pause to see where we have healed and where still we bleed. Justice still eludes the countless who had suffered while those who caused the suffering walk with their heads high.
Thirty two years ago on Sept. 21, 1972, when Pres. Marcos declared martial law, many people feared for their lives and their loved ones. But that day, they could not have imagined the greater horror, the sorrow, the darkness that would later visit countless lives.
Although some families already had a foretaste of what was to come the year before (the first case of disappearance happened in 1971) they had no inkling of what still lay ahead. The Reign of Terror would later cut a wide bloody swath across the land and for 14 years the dictatorship would hold the nation in its tight grip.
Next week, on Sept. 22, at 10 a.m., the ``Bantayog ng mga Desaparecido’’ will be unveiled at the Redemptorist Church grounds in Baclaran. The Bantayog includes the refurbished Flame of Courage Monument created by artist Lito Mondejar in 1994 and the new 21 granite slabs on which the names of the 1,347 victims are etched. The Bantayog was designed by painter-sculptor Bessie Rifareal who began work in 2003.
This place is dedicated to those who offered their lives for the country and whose ideals remain an inspiration for many who work for a just and free society. It is also dedicated to the families who carry the burden of loss and continue to bravely face the future while continuing to pick up the shards of their lives.
The Flame of Courage Monument depicts the figure of a woman holding a lighted torch. She is in search of someone. With her is a little child holding a picture of the one they are looking for. The life-size monument symbolizes struggle and undying hope.
Come, pray and remember in this hallowed place. Come, pray and make a vow never to let unbridled tyranny destroy lives again.
Behind this endeavor is Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND). FIND has been behind projects helping the families in their search for the missing and for justice as well.
FIND continues to document cases of disappearances. Yes, abductions and summary killings continue to this day. The latest case happened in 2003. FIND documents ``state perpetuated’’ cases only. Cases that were, at first, thought to be the handiwork of the military and later proven to have been part of the communist ``purge’’ or wrongful execution of communist militants by their own comrades have been removed from the list. A FIND staffer however said that FIND continues to assist the families of victims of these executions because they have become part of the FIND family. They now have their own memorial at the University of the Philippines’ sunken garden.
Just a little footnote. I’ve always had a problem with what the acronym FIND stands for. FIND stands for Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance. How can one be a victim of one’s own disappearance, be it voluntary or involuntary? Disappearance is the result, not the cause. Like there is no such thing as a victim of death. One is a victim of abduction, torture, oppression, etc. but not of disappearance or death.
``Families of the disappeared victims of tyranny’’ (or whatever) is more precise although it would not fit the four-letter acronym. Here the word disappeared is a noun (not a verb) and is the English translation of the Spanish desaparecido or the missing. Desaparecido was commonly used in Latin America where military dictators ruled with impunity.
Sorry ha, but that’s been bothering me for years. What’s in a name? A lot.
One of the known victims of military abduction is Father Rudy Romano, a Redemptorist priest who disappeared in 1985 in Cebu where he was assigned at that time. The Redemptorists’ hospitality to the memorial for the disappeared partly stems from the fact that one of their own has been missing for almost 20 years. The search for Fr. Romano was long and arduous. It sparked international interest and led to the highest court of the land. And just like in any search, it had its share of rumors, bum steers, hoaxes and hearsay. The details are in the biography ``Romano of the Philippines’’ written by Lilette Chan-Santos.
At a small media dinner I attended some years ago, a military general said he believed Fr. Romano was abducted ``by the PC’’.
Johannes Barroso was arrested in 1975 together with Eugenio Flores and Nenita Luneta in Cabanatuan City by members of the 5th Constabulary Security Unit of the Philippines Constabulary and brought to the PC headquarters in the city. Barroso would later disappear without a trace. The military denied having arrested him.
And there is 20-year-old UP-Los Banos student Gerardo Faustino who was arrested in Makati by a military intelligence group in 1977. There is Prudencio Bati-on of Sta. Cruz, Manila who disappeared on March 1, 1999. By the way, the Inquirer editor in chief’s first cousin, Leticia Pascual, is also among the disappeared.
The last line of the dedication at the Bantayog reads: ``Para sa ating lahat na nagpapatuloy ng laban na sinimulan ng mga desaparecido para sa katarungan, kalayaan at pagkakapantay-pantay.#
Wednesday, September 8, 2004
Bantay riles
So what is everybody waiting for, the President wanted to know.
There’s no stopping the North Rail project, we are told, and I couldn’t help thinking of ``The Runaway Train’’, the 1988 bone-rattling movie that left viewers breathless and all shook up.
Ten hours after she returned from her state visit to China, Pres. Macapagal-Arroyo expressed impatience over the slowness of the North Rail project that would span the Manila-Clark (Pampanga) distance. Actual work on the ground has yet to start. China had already released the $400 million for the first phase that would connect Manila to Malolos, Bulacan.
Ms. Arroyo’s trip to China had a lot to do with this project. The Chinese Eximbank has also approved the second phase. During her pulong bayan held at the Cubao LRT station, the President, reports said, was impatience personified. She even called for North Rail president Jose Cortez Jr. who was having coffee in another LRT platform. Start now, she ordered. There were no reports about Cortez spilling his coffee and getting scalded.
The Strong Republic Transit System is one of the President’s flagship infrastructure projects meant to boost economic growth and employment. Who does not want to have a modernized railway system that would get people and products faster to their destinations and minus the hassle of road travel? Who does not want a clean, well lighted train speeding with a humming sound, minus garbage bags piling on its roof?
But wait. How do you uproot the tens of thousands of families living along the railroad tracks? Most motorists see them only on the periphery of their vision as they cross the tracks. If you are on a helicopter you’d have a better view of the colonies clustered on both sides of the tracks.
Many would probably ask—how in heaven’s name did homes proliferate in these dangerous areas? Dangerous is an understatement. Many homes are a foot away from the tracks. A few months ago I did a two-part series on the dangers of living along the riles. I’ve interviewed some survivors of train hits and I couldn’t help thinking that it seems a miracle that the number of casualties is not bigger than what is listed.
Riles denizens are a death-defying breed indeed. Why, they’ve even invented the foot-propelled trolley that runs on the tracks and ferries passengers from point to point.
But the question now is not how communities grew along the tracks. The question now is how to uproot them from there, how to relocate them in a manner that is humane. Some 35,000 families are going to be affected by the North Rail project alone. The south is another story. From the north to the south there are about 70,000 riles families.
Relocation does not mean dislocation in the physical sense only. There are psychological, socio-cultural and emotional factors that have to be considered. A whole way of life is going to vanish, hopefully to be replaced by a better one. But what if life gets worse before it gets better? Must the poorest go through a worst phase?
This is the issue that Representatives Mario Aguja, Ana Theresia Hontiveros-Baraquel and Loretta Ann Rosales of Akbayan Party want to address.
They recently filed House Resolution 165 directing the committees on Housing and Urban Development and on Civil, Political and Human Rights ``to investigate the North Rail and South Manila Commuter Rail rehabilitation projects and its effects on the residents living in areas adjacent to the railway tracks.’’ Fourteen other representatives co-authored the resolution, among them, Alan Peter Cayetano, Roilo Golez, Reylina Nicolas, Miles Roces, Luis Asistio and Eduardo Zialcita.
They cited article XIII of the Constitution that says that ``urban or rural poor dwellers shall not be evicted nor their dwellings demolished, except in accordance with law and in a just and humane manner.’’ The Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992 also prescribes for a ``just and humane eviction.’’
Because of the great number to be affected by the railway rehab projects, Aguja, Hontiveros-Baraquel and Rosales are calling on government agencies concerned in the North Rail and South Manila Commuter Rail Projects to present to Congress and to the public their concrete resettlement plans.
These agencies are the Philippine National Railways, NEDA, Department of Transportation and Communication, Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, National Housing Authority, project proponent North Luzon Railways Corporation. The local governments too.
Where are the resettlement sites for the families to be affected? What are the social preparations being made? Have public consultations been conducted? What are the timetables?
What is the budget, what are the sources of funds for this massive resettlement operation? What are the lead implementing agencies that will assure that the process complies with laws and respects human rights?
Aguja has recommended that lawmakers from districts to be affected set aside portions of their pork barrel for the riles dwellers’ resettlement. He has also commended the efforts of Bantay Riles, a new coalition of organizations monitoring the railway projects.
The north’s first phase will be 32.2 kms. The total project cost is US$503 million. It will have four stations located in Caloocan, Valenzuela, Marilao, Bocaue, Guiguinto and Malolos.
Phase 2 will be a branch line to Subic. Phase 3 will connect Caloocan to Fort Bonifacio Global City. Phase 4 goes all the way to San Fernando, La Union. Partial Operation is in 2006, project completion in 2007.
Bantay Riles is watching. I hope church groups would do the same. Yes, the bulldozers are sure to come.
There’s no stopping the North Rail project, we are told, and I couldn’t help thinking of ``The Runaway Train’’, the 1988 bone-rattling movie that left viewers breathless and all shook up.
Ten hours after she returned from her state visit to China, Pres. Macapagal-Arroyo expressed impatience over the slowness of the North Rail project that would span the Manila-Clark (Pampanga) distance. Actual work on the ground has yet to start. China had already released the $400 million for the first phase that would connect Manila to Malolos, Bulacan.
Ms. Arroyo’s trip to China had a lot to do with this project. The Chinese Eximbank has also approved the second phase. During her pulong bayan held at the Cubao LRT station, the President, reports said, was impatience personified. She even called for North Rail president Jose Cortez Jr. who was having coffee in another LRT platform. Start now, she ordered. There were no reports about Cortez spilling his coffee and getting scalded.
The Strong Republic Transit System is one of the President’s flagship infrastructure projects meant to boost economic growth and employment. Who does not want to have a modernized railway system that would get people and products faster to their destinations and minus the hassle of road travel? Who does not want a clean, well lighted train speeding with a humming sound, minus garbage bags piling on its roof?
But wait. How do you uproot the tens of thousands of families living along the railroad tracks? Most motorists see them only on the periphery of their vision as they cross the tracks. If you are on a helicopter you’d have a better view of the colonies clustered on both sides of the tracks.
Many would probably ask—how in heaven’s name did homes proliferate in these dangerous areas? Dangerous is an understatement. Many homes are a foot away from the tracks. A few months ago I did a two-part series on the dangers of living along the riles. I’ve interviewed some survivors of train hits and I couldn’t help thinking that it seems a miracle that the number of casualties is not bigger than what is listed.
Riles denizens are a death-defying breed indeed. Why, they’ve even invented the foot-propelled trolley that runs on the tracks and ferries passengers from point to point.
But the question now is not how communities grew along the tracks. The question now is how to uproot them from there, how to relocate them in a manner that is humane. Some 35,000 families are going to be affected by the North Rail project alone. The south is another story. From the north to the south there are about 70,000 riles families.
Relocation does not mean dislocation in the physical sense only. There are psychological, socio-cultural and emotional factors that have to be considered. A whole way of life is going to vanish, hopefully to be replaced by a better one. But what if life gets worse before it gets better? Must the poorest go through a worst phase?
This is the issue that Representatives Mario Aguja, Ana Theresia Hontiveros-Baraquel and Loretta Ann Rosales of Akbayan Party want to address.
They recently filed House Resolution 165 directing the committees on Housing and Urban Development and on Civil, Political and Human Rights ``to investigate the North Rail and South Manila Commuter Rail rehabilitation projects and its effects on the residents living in areas adjacent to the railway tracks.’’ Fourteen other representatives co-authored the resolution, among them, Alan Peter Cayetano, Roilo Golez, Reylina Nicolas, Miles Roces, Luis Asistio and Eduardo Zialcita.
They cited article XIII of the Constitution that says that ``urban or rural poor dwellers shall not be evicted nor their dwellings demolished, except in accordance with law and in a just and humane manner.’’ The Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992 also prescribes for a ``just and humane eviction.’’
Because of the great number to be affected by the railway rehab projects, Aguja, Hontiveros-Baraquel and Rosales are calling on government agencies concerned in the North Rail and South Manila Commuter Rail Projects to present to Congress and to the public their concrete resettlement plans.
These agencies are the Philippine National Railways, NEDA, Department of Transportation and Communication, Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, National Housing Authority, project proponent North Luzon Railways Corporation. The local governments too.
Where are the resettlement sites for the families to be affected? What are the social preparations being made? Have public consultations been conducted? What are the timetables?
What is the budget, what are the sources of funds for this massive resettlement operation? What are the lead implementing agencies that will assure that the process complies with laws and respects human rights?
Aguja has recommended that lawmakers from districts to be affected set aside portions of their pork barrel for the riles dwellers’ resettlement. He has also commended the efforts of Bantay Riles, a new coalition of organizations monitoring the railway projects.
The north’s first phase will be 32.2 kms. The total project cost is US$503 million. It will have four stations located in Caloocan, Valenzuela, Marilao, Bocaue, Guiguinto and Malolos.
Phase 2 will be a branch line to Subic. Phase 3 will connect Caloocan to Fort Bonifacio Global City. Phase 4 goes all the way to San Fernando, La Union. Partial Operation is in 2006, project completion in 2007.
Bantay Riles is watching. I hope church groups would do the same. Yes, the bulldozers are sure to come.
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