‘Yes you can’

‘Tis summertime and many people are taking a break, going off to distant or secret places in order to heal, to be healthy, to help themselves and others, to try to become whole again. You too, and take a book along.

One good summer reading fare would be the gem of a book “Yes You Can Prevent and Control Cancer” (332 pp., First NuConsciousness Publishing, 2009) by Christine E.V. Gonzalez, Ph.D., co-founder of the Wellness Institute. The book, subtitled, “a personal journal for daily living and total wellbeing” was launched last Saturday at the Ateneo University. Fr. Joey R. de Leon SJ, wrote the foreword.

Gonzalez is a doctor of naturopathic medicine with Ph.Ds in natural health and holistic nutrition. Gonzales is a naturalist, educator and researcher. The book is based on her years of extensive research and experiences. It is a how-to book for people who want to take charge of their own health and wellbeing.



The nutritional diet and lifestyle suggestions that the book gives are meant to inform those who are interested in different aspects of natural therapies primarily to prevent cancer, and second, to help control cancer.

The book is divided into four sections. Section 1 deals with the seven underlying causes of cancer. Section 2 is on the seven pillars of health with a subsection on cancer in the Philippines. Section 3 offers seven pathways to staying healthy NOW. The Appendix is a collection of lists and supplementary information by other experts in the field.

From the looks of it, the book is far from grim and threatening. It is a happy book, very well laid out and colorfully and tastefully illustrated but in a subdued way by book designer Jerry Macatuno. I judge a book also by its cover and design, you know. A good book must look good too.

Gonzalez tackles the seven underlying causes of cancer: unhealthy diet, dehydration and toxic water, chemicals, deadly emotions, stress, mental and spiritual toxins and environmental toxicity. Genetics is listed only as a risk factor. Each of the causes is tackled, the whys, the hows.

Yes, cancer can be prevented and controlled. “If we know how cancer progresses,” Gonzalez says, “then we know how to prevent its onslaught. If cancer is already present, ample scientific evidence exists demonstrating that it is possible to revert cancerous cells into normal cells. This can be accomplished by balancing the body’s pH and proper nutrition. Through this, the respiratory process of the pathogenic cells normalizes, transforming and converting them back to aerobic respiration. Once in this condition, the p53 (tumor suppressor) gene is reactivated. The converted cells eventually die off from normal apoptosis. Yes, cancer is reversible.” That last sentence is in bold letters.

Hail the seven pillars of health: healthy diet, rehydration, detoxification, mental and spiritual growth, stress management, managing deadly emotions, environmental transformation.

Nutritional therapy or “food as medicine” is big in Gonzalez’s book. Listed are seven top anti-cancer superfoods plus a whole array of nutritious sources that are readily available.

Detoxification is tackled extensively—what it is, who needs it, when to do it, why and how. Lymphatic detoxification (“cleansing the river of life”) is discussed, and along with it, alcohol detoxification, natural detoxification for drugs, caffeine, nicotine and sugar detoxification. Gonzales also discusses mental and spiritual detoxification.

While the book gives a big dose of scientific information, it also cites taken-for-granted activities which are actually good for us. Nature tripping, for example. Gonzalez suggests you make every effort to go to the beach and/or the mountain for fresh air. The breeze there is highly oxygenated.

But we have to nourish and strengthen our protectors, Gonzalez emphasizes. That means boosting our immune system.

“Cancer cells are always being created in the body,” she writes. “It is an ongoing process. Within you is an amazing network of protector and defender cells, tissues and organs to help you fight all forms of diseases. They are programmed to protect and defend you against millions of bacteria, microbes, viruses, toxins and parasites that would love to invade your body.”

That’s the body’s immune system, the superhero that identifies the enemy, declares an all-out war by attacking the invaders or goes on stand-by mode. There are ways to strengthen this superhero, the cheapest and easiest of which are breathing exercises, music and laughter. There is a chemistry to laughter, you know. There’s more. Again, Gonzalez lists the food sources. Want to try an immune-boosting smoothie?
The book is not a substitute for medical diagnosis or prescription. It simply wants to offer information, “I believe that the new medicine is education,” Gonzales says, “and the best cure is prevention.”

Gonzales credits her patients from whom she has learned a lot. “My patients have shared their own journeys with me, revealing something deeper than their physical symptoms, scars, and lesions…As I participated in their journey I grew in my own insights and understanding of the disease. In turn, this new depth of understanding better enabled me to help them and others. More importantly, my patients regained a greater sense of control by becoming actively involved in their own healing. In this process of healing themselves, they also became healers to others.”

Where to get the book? Wellness Institute (6317794, 7265301), Global Vital Source (8181088, 8432550), The Opta Cooperative (4363616).

Suicide

I wrote about suicide a couple of years ago when a 12-year-old named Mariannet Amper of Davao City took her own life (“Suicide has no heroes”, Nov. 15, 2007). Poverty was initially thought to be the main reason for her suicide. The distraught and poverty-stricken family had to deal with the media frenzy and the blame game that attended the tragedy. Mariannet became a poster girl for poverty.

As it turned out, and as the psychotherapists later discovered, the reason the girl killed herself was not as simple as it appeared and poverty was not all there was. Suicide is more complicated than most people think it to be.

Although the incidence of suicide in the Philippines is not as high as those in developed countries, this country has had its share of high-profile cases. The latest is the case of Trinidad “Trina” Arteche Etong, wife of popular broadcaster Ted Failon (Etong). It’s been fairly established that Trina did shot herself but people will not forget the excessive force as caught on camera (thank the media for that!) that the Quezon City police applied on Failon and the Etongs and Arteches while investigating.

Here’s my one-liner for those excessive cops: ‘Di lang kayo pulis patola, pulis mabangis pa.



There is no doubt that public sympathy is on the side of Failon and his family. The focus continues to be on Failon and the household staff whom the police continue to pin down with charges of “obstruction of justice” because of the clean-up that was done on the death scene. But that is whodunit story that continues to play.

The other story is Trina. What was the alleged failed financial engagement that drove her to despair and caused her to choose ending her life rather than bring it all up before her husband? As her alleged note intimated, she could not face up to it. What was the extent of the failure? But more important is the question, was Trina the depressive type that death indeed the more “courageous” option for her?

People would now say that the weight of the consequences of her tragic passing on her family far exceeds her fears over her failed financial transactions. But in suicide you do not blame the victim because you do not know the person’s mental and psychological state. And you do not blame the surviving significant others. In Trina’s case, she blamed no one.

Because of the media attention and the public interest on the case, I hope Trina’s family would later disclose what exactly it was that caused her to become despondent. It could be instructive for those who engage in not-so-ordinary financial transactions. What are the pitfalls, what are the warning signs, what are the danger zones in such operations? And it would be good for her family to know who drew her into it. And was that all there was?

There are two books on suicide that could help those who are trying to cope with the aftermath of suicide. One is “Survivors of Suicide” by Rita Robinson, an award-winning journalist specializing in health and psychology. It draws from the experiences of the survivors and the bereaved, as well as those of scientific experts, therapists and law enforcers.

Robinson lists 17 suicide myths. Among them are: that people who threaten to kill themselves don’t really mean it; that there is no forewarning; that one shouldn’t confront the person who is suicidal; that those who commit suicide are insane; that suicidal people want nothing more than to die; that it runs in families.

Who commits suicide? How does clinical depression lead to suicide? How does the brain react to depression? The blame game is tackled too. It is thought for those who are mentioned in suicide notes, especially if they are young. It is important for survivors not to assign or accept blame.

There is this other book—“The Savage God: A Study of Suicide” by A. Alvarez—that I bought after a friend’s youngest daughter who was all of 18 killed herself by drinking muriatic acid. Theirs was a regular family, and then she had a spat with an older brother. What that all there was to it?

Alvarez’s book is more compelling, more compassionate and broadly cultural and literary. It is rooted in personal experience and begins with a long chapter on poet Sylvia Plath and ends with the author’s account of his own failed suicide attempt. From the blurb: “Within this dramatic framework, Alvarez launches his enquiry into the final taboo of human behavior, and traces changing attitudes towards suicide from the perspective of literature. He follows the black threat leading from Dante through Donne and the romantic agony, to the Savage God at the heart of modern literature.”

Health institutions like the Centers for Disease Control in the U.S. have come up with guidelines especially for schools. Here are some. It is important to stress that suicide is the result of a dysfunctional behavior by a troubled personality. Reduce the identification with the actions of the deceased, and reaffirm that it was the fault (decision) of the person who committed suicide and not someone else. Don’t glorify the death or prolong praises and tributes for the diseased. Teenagers could get ideas, you know.

Here are media guidelines from CDC: Reporting should be concise and factual. Excessive or sensational reporting can lead to contagion. (Think of the suicidal who keep using the giant billboards as their launching pad.) Reporting technical aspects of the suicide is not necessary. Suicide should not be presented as an effective coping strategy. Suicide should not be glorified. Expressions of grief such as public eulogies and public memorials should be minimized.

My prayers for strength for Ted Failon’s family.

Mother Nature’s RP lawyer hailed

MANILA, Philippines—Environmental lawyer Antonio Oposa Jr., he of varied and risky advocacies for Mother Nature, is this year’s recipient of the Environmental Law Award (for 2008) from the US-based Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL). He is the first Asian and Filipino to win the award.

Philippine Ambassador to the United Nations and former Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide was expected to attend the ceremonies to be held Tuesday (Wednesday, Manila time) in Washington, D.C.

The award “recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the effort to achieve solutions to environmental problems through international law and institutions.”

Previous awardees included Raul Estrada-Oyuela of Argentina (2006), known as “father of the Kyoto Protocol,” and Doctors Francoise Burhenne-Guilmin of Belgium and Wolfgang Burhenne of Austria (2005), “father and mother of environmental law.”

CIEL says its award reflects two realities: International environmental law has emerged as a rich and distinct field of public international law, and the world is confronted by serious environmental problems that require international solutions.

A graduate of the University of the Philippines and the Harvard Law School, Oposa founded the School of the SEAs (sea and earth advocates) on Bantayan Island in Cebu. Together with fishermen, divers, scientists and ordinary citizens, he organized the Visayan Sea Squadron to protect marine life in one of the richest marine sanctuaries in the world.

Oposa, 55, holds workshops at the School of the SEAs, which he calls “an experiential learning center for sustainable living.”

Manila Bay cleanup

Last December, Oposa won a landmark case when the Supreme Court upheld a 1999 petition of a citizens group and the ruling of the lower courts compelling state agencies and local governments to clean up Manila Bay and restore it to its healthy state.

Among the petitioners were his students in the UP and his youngest son. He even included the oysters, mussels and all suffocating marine life of the bay as petitioners.

The high court required that its orders be enforced through a novel legal instrument known as “a continuing mandamus.” This means government agencies are to do their work on Manila Bay continuously.

Oposa has filed cases to ensure that future generations will continue to have the necessary “life sources of land, air and water.” This is known as the principle of “inter-generational responsibility.”

Environmental criminals

He has also led daring operations against environmental crime syndicates.

In 2004, he headed a team of operatives in serving arrest warrants on owners of big commercial fishing fleets who were deemed untouchable. He also led police in a raid in Cavite province that resulted in the largest seizure of blasting powder and detonating devices in the country and the arrest of the syndicate leaders.

Oposa pioneered the practice of environmental law in the Philippines and is one of Asia’s experts in the field. He was chosen one of The Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) by the Jaycees, and was included in the United Nation’s Environmental Program (UNEP) Global 500 Roll of Honor.

Marching to different music

“For me, law is a tool, a thinking tool to guide human conduct,” says Oposa, who thinks he might have had ADHD (attention deficiency and hyperactivity disorder) in his childhood when the condition didn’t have a name then. “I was not in love with law when I started off,” he adds.

But then he is not a conventional lawyer and person. He marches to a different music. When his Harvard Law classmates picked him to deliver the graduation valedictory, Oposa did not dwell on the law—his speech was titled “On Friendship and Laughter.”

Coming from a well-to-do family in Cebu, Oposa led a charmed life in his youth but he also loved a Robinson Crusoe-like lifestyle on Bantayan.

For defending nature, he expects to make enemies, but most of all, friends.

In April 2006, Elpidio de la Victoria, a partner in the Visayan Sea advocacy, was shot dead in Cebu. Oposa says it must be related to their campaign to end illegal fishing and to rehabilitate marine life.

Sang at own wedding

Oposa is the author of two books on the environment, “The Laws of Nature and Other Stories” and an authoritative compendium “A Legal Arsenal for the Philippine Environment.”

Oposa is married to Greely Rumulla, an accountant. They have four children. “I sang at my own wedding,” he boasts. “While my bride was walking toward me, I sang ‘Ikaw Lamang.’”

The couple settled in Cebu. Soon restlessness set in. He had seen blast fishing and all forms of abuse of the sea.

He consulted UP Law Center’s Prof. Flerida Ruth Romero and lawyer Myrna Feliciano, who familiarized him with nature-related laws and cases. Prof. (now Supreme Court Justice) Leo Quisumbing got him interested in environmental law.

All the while, the question in Oposa’s mind was, “Who will pay me my fees, the fish?”

Fighting for the future

In 1988, Oposa got a scholarship to study energy planning and the environment at the University of Oslo in Norway. When he came back he thought of suing the government for destruction of environment, using the concept of intergenerational responsibility.

That meant lawyering for the cause of children and generations to come.

The Oposa vs Factoran case was going to be a landmark case. “To the credit of Factoran (former Environment Secretary Fulgenio Factoran), he called me and suggested we raise the issue in a forum. He also reduced the number of logging concessions and passed an administrative order banning logging in virgin forests.”

A lower court judge dismissed the case, saying children had no personality to sue. The Supreme Court, however, ruled children have the right based on “intergenerational responsibility.”

Changing the world

Oposa has also worked hard to establish the so-called maximum sustainable yield (MSY) that would set limits to commercial fishing.

But there is also time for play. Oposa scuba dives, rides horses, plays tennis, sails, writes and gardens.

He continues to serve farmers and fishermen’s groups pro bono and acts as consultant to governments and international agencies. Fish, he says, do not pay him fees.

Oposa often quotes anthropologist Margaret Mead: “Never doubt for a single moment that a handful of thoughtful and committed men and women can change the world.”

(Interested parties may contact The Law of Nature Foundation at thelawofnaturef@yahoo.com)

Happy

Wishing you a glorious, shimmering Easter. Stunned by God’s love, I, too, cry out, Rabboni!
As the financial crisis creeps worldwide and economic depression touches people’s lives in the most personal way, the subject of happiness is frequently studied by experts, by psychologists, psychiatrists and sociologists mostly. What does it really take to make one happy?

Early last year, just before the economic crunch badly crunched us all, there was much ado about new research findings that challenged the long-held Easterlin Paradox—that happiness does not necessarily increase with income. That is, after a point of satiation has been achieved. The newer research findings from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business showed “a clear positive link” between wealth and “subjective well-being” based on global surveys.

They showed that the facts about income and happiness turned out to be much simpler than first realized. Namely:1) rich people are happier than poor people. 2) richer countries are happier than poor countries, 3)as countries get richer they tend to be happier. But of course! I commented then. Does poverty make anyone happy? It does for those who choose and embrace evangelical poverty and give up material possessions in exchange for a life of simplicity. But that is another story.



A Filipino professor responded to that column piece and sent me her own research findings that showed that the Easterlin Paradox still applied to Filipinos. We published her findings on the front page. I felt relieved that, yes, comparatively speaking, we are indeed a happy people.

Since then, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have been flying home in droves because of factory shut-downs abroad. Just last October I featured a foreign-owned factory in Bulacan that continued giving employment to 700 workers (down from 1,500 because some operations were moved to China). Last week I got word that it’s going to cease operations. That’s something to be unhappy about.

I bring these up because a noted Filipino psychiatrist, now based in New Zealand, has been doing studies on happiness and helping people to have happier lives. I sat in one of his lectures and also had a one-on-one interview with him.

Dr. Antonio Fernando, senior lecturer at the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences in the University of Auckland, was here recently to experience culture and nature and to also share his expertise with varied audiences. An expert in the field of positive psychology, Fernando pointed out that in the past, a lot of studies were done on what made people miserable, sick, unhappy, depressed. But now studies are being done on what makes people happy—short-term, long-term.

So, can happiness be taught or learned? All of us, even animals, desire happiness. Happiness could mean feeling good, seeing life as wonderful, having a feeling of subjective well-being (SWB). Is pursuing happiness a selfish activity? Not necessarily, Fernando said, if you are pursuing genuine happiness. There are ways to measure a person’s degree of happiness. There is the use of questionnaires but technology has gone a step further. Neuro-imaging of the brain is one way.

The great thing about Fernando’s lecture was that while he used many new scientific terms, he could make himself understandable to the non-scientists. He cited studies on lotto winners that showed that while their brains showed increased happiness, this state was not something that would remain elevated. It takes more than just a lotto jackpot to make a person genuinely happy. Note the word genuinely.

But to avoid oversimplifying by repeating here what Fernando has taken up in his lectures, why don’t I just invite you to the CALM (Computer Assisted Leaning for the Mind) website (www.flexiblelearning.auckland.ac.nz/calm) which Fernando and two colleagues have set up. It is a how-to site where one can follow step-by-step techniques, listen to audiofiles or check out related links. Very easy to navigate.

Years ago I wrote a story about a support group of people suffering from bipolar disorder and depression. I got hundreds of text messages from persons (some suicidal) screaming for help. This CALM website could offer not just relief but a road out as well.

The CALM website starts off: “All of us want to have a happy life. No one wakes up in the morning thinking, ‘I hope I will be miserable today.’ Many of us think that happiness is dependent on external situations like possessions, status and pleasures. Though these things can be good, often the satisfaction they bring is short term.” It goes on to say that there are three things that contribute to genuine happiness: mental resilience, healthy relationships and finding meaning in life.

The economic crisis sure gets in the way--and in a big way for many--but that does not spell the end of the world. In the meantime, one has to learn to go beyond coping. What makes the difference is the mindset.

Genuine happiness, the lasting variety, that is, can be cultivated by training for a healthy mind. Among the skills that need constant exercise would be: gratitude, loving kindness and compassion and living in the moment mindfully. The CALM website has audio files (some by Fernando) that could be downloaded. They help you develop positive mind states.

Check out the CALM website and learn to be happy in these critical times.

Natural farming seminar: I am happy because a good number who had read about the Balanced Ecosystem Technologies (BEST) seminar which tackles sustainable agriculture and other natural means have gone to attend. Those who couldn’t make it this week, contact Susi Foundation (0917-4717575, 042-5456359, felmalagahit@yahoo.com).

On the street whey they live: From Paraiso to Paris

Philippine Daily Inquirer/Feature/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo

MANILA, Philippines – From the time they met some five years ago, Marvin Benosa and partner Pamela, both in their early 30s, have been living on the streets of Manila. They have been cohabiting, procreating, and raising their two children, one aged 3 years, the other, 10 months, in the outdoors. Namamasura (scavenging) is how Marvin describes his way of earning a living.

Elizabeth Sanchez, 38, also lives on the street and sells cigarettes for a living. Last year, doctors at the Ospital ng Maynila discovered she had Stage 4 breast cancer and performed radical mastectomy. Through Operation Tulong, she went through chemotherapy. Still bald because of the therapy, Elizabeth says she hopes she could have radiotherapy and find a source of livelihood. She recently lost to thieves all the stuff she used to peddle on the streets.

William Atutubo, 44, and wife Divina, 42, are also street dwellers. Their two daughters, aged 16 and 14, live in Cavite with relatives. William earns by driving a pedicab which also serves as a shelter at night.

Not a walk in park

Emeterio Laguidao, 49, and wife Teresita, 47, have a wooden kariton (pushcart) for a home. They make a living by scavenging. Their youngest daughter, 10, stays with them; another is with relatives. Their eldest lives with nuns but may have to leave soon after she graduates from elementary school. The Laguidaos had been forced to live on the street after being ejected from their shack on Orosa Street which was scheduled for demolition.

Rosario Calzado, 42, lives on the street because she has nowhere else to go. She recently worked as a maid in Fairview but left her employers because she didn’t like being left alone in the house.

All of them are “residents” of Paraiso ng Kabataan ng Maynila in Manila’s Malate district, where volunteers of Tuluyan Drop-In Center for street families found them. Paraiso is a children’s park near the Manila Zoo.

Not home for homeless

These Paraiso “residents” have all been invited to Tuluyan. The center is at the end of Paris Street, just off Leon Guinto Street. It is run by the Benedictine Sisters who also run St. Scholastica’s College which is a few blocks away. The Filipino word tuluyan literally means a place to stay.

Opened late last year, Tuluyan is not a soup kitchen or a home for the homeless. It is meant to be a temporary haven in the daytime, a place where the homeless could rest awhile, wash themselves and their clothes, use the bathroom and even cook meals. There is food for those without food. The place is neat and well-lighted.

Sr. Cecille Ido OSB, head of the Benedictine Sisters’ nationwide Socio-pastoral Apostolate, says the shelter also offers the homeless opportunities for formation, leadership and skills training which would equip them for life, rehabilitate and help them regain self-respect.

Such intervention could give the homeless an economic boost, help them consider other options or even assist them in returning to their home provinces if and when they do decide to go home. Tuluyan is developing a referral system with other social agencies for services that are beyond the center’s limited means. A street children’s library is also being planned.

This first batch of clients knows that Tuluyan is not meant for night lodging.

“They know when it is time to leave,” Sr. Cecille says. Still, it pains her to see them go at day’s end and back to the streets.

“They leave Tuluyan clean and orderly,” she adds. They are back in no time.

“We are like a family,” Elizabeth says. Alone in the city, she and others like her easily bond with street families. They care and watch out for each other. At night, they are back and huddled together in a secluded spot somewhere in Paraiso. Their pet dogs give them security.

Marvin breaks into tears when he recalls how his family was rounded up by the police and brought to a center in Marikina where they were made to feel like prison inmates. The police had been rounding up street families, confiscating pushcarts used for scavenging.

When Tuluyan volunteers first invited them over, Marvin says he was afraid they would again be cooped up and treated like prisoners. His fears did not materialize and he and his brood have been coming to Tuluyan regularly.

Cat and mouse

Playing cat-and-mouse with the police has been the street dwellers’ lot and so they keep on moving. Along the way, they pick up recyclable items such as soda cans, plastic, paper and metal to sell to junk shops. The price of junk has plummeted, the scavengers lament, and they have no access to the garbage from fast-food chains because there are haulers that collect them. Marvin says on a good week, he could earn P1,000 from scavenging.

Elizabeth, the cancer survivor, says that with all her stuff stolen, she is left with nothing to sell. She now earns by watching cars parked on the streets of Malate. Being without family in Manila and with her health problems, does she want to go home to the province? Her answer: “I don’t want to be a burden to my family.”

It is not just poverty that plagues street dwellers. Their problems are complex. There are other issues that need to be addressed and resolved. Each one has a story to tell, a journey to make.

Why does Rosario prefer to live on the street than work as maid which earned for her P3,200 a month? Why does Elizabeth not want to go home to Bicol? Will the able-bodied Atutubos and Laguidaos not want to start over somewhere, given a chance? Will Marvin and Pamela beget more children living on the street?

Not in the census

Sr. Cecille says street families are not included in the census because they are mobile. What are the figures nationwide? She cites the Social Weather Stations (SWS) June 2008 survey statistics that showed 14.5 million people experienced involuntary hunger between April and June 2008. Severe hunger went up from 3.2 percent to 4.2 percent. These denizens of the streets give a face to the cold statistics; they are the voices that are not heard.

Street children who look hapless and vulnerable easily get the attention of service-oriented institutions; they are the objects of concern of do-gooders and bleeding hearts. But what of the street families? That’s another story. They are looked upon with disdain or as irresponsible begetters of children with no future.

Tuluyan is not the answer to the root cause of homelessness and extreme poverty. It is only one among the varied ministries of the Benedictine Sisters, and as the newest one, it bears watching.

Catching their breath

For now, in a small way, it gives hope and rest to weary individuals and families who are out there shivering from the cold and baking in the heat. It gives them a chance to catch their breath and their bearings. Hopefully, Tuluyan’s programs will help them cross the poverty line and see them make it to the other side.

From Paraiso to Paris

MANILA, Philippines – From the time they met some five years ago, Marvin Benosa and partner Pamela, both in their early 30s, have been living on the streets of Manila. They have been cohabiting, procreating, and raising their two children, one aged 3 years, the other, 10 months, in the outdoors. Namamasura (scavenging) is how Marvin describes his way of earning a living.

Elizabeth Sanchez, 38, also lives on the street and sells cigarettes for a living. Last year, doctors at the Ospital ng Maynila discovered she had Stage 4 breast cancer and performed radical mastectomy. Through Operation Tulong, she went through chemotherapy. Still bald because of the therapy, Elizabeth says she hopes she could have radiotherapy and find a source of livelihood. She recently lost to thieves all the stuff she used to peddle on the streets.

William Atutubo, 44, and wife Divina, 42, are also street dwellers. Their two daughters, aged 16 and 14, live in Cavite with relatives. William earns by driving a pedicab which also serves as a shelter at night.

Not a walk in park

Emeterio Laguidao, 49, and wife Teresita, 47, have a wooden kariton (pushcart) for a home. They make a living by scavenging. Their youngest daughter, 10, stays with them; another is with relatives. Their eldest lives with nuns but may have to leave soon after she graduates from elementary school. The Laguidaos had been forced to live on the street after being ejected from their shack on Orosa Street which was scheduled for demolition.

Rosario Calzado, 42, lives on the street because she has nowhere else to go. She recently worked as a maid in Fairview but left her employers because she didn’t like being left alone in the house.

All of them are “residents” of Paraiso ng Kabataan ng Maynila in Manila’s Malate district, where volunteers of Tuluyan Drop-In Center for street families found them. Paraiso is a children’s park near the Manila Zoo.

Not home for homeless

These Paraiso “residents” have all been invited to Tuluyan. The center is at the end of Paris Street, just off Leon Guinto Street. It is run by the Benedictine Sisters who also run St. Scholastica’s College which is a few blocks away. The Filipino word tuluyan literally means a place to stay.

Opened late last year, Tuluyan is not a soup kitchen or a home for the homeless. It is meant to be a temporary haven in the daytime, a place where the homeless could rest awhile, wash themselves and their clothes, use the bathroom and even cook meals. There is food for those without food. The place is neat and well-lighted.

Sr. Cecille Ido OSB, head of the Benedictine Sisters’ nationwide Socio-pastoral Apostolate, says the shelter also offers the homeless opportunities for formation, leadership and skills training which would equip them for life, rehabilitate and help them regain self-respect.

Such intervention could give the homeless an economic boost, help them consider other options or even assist them in returning to their home provinces if and when they do decide to go home. Tuluyan is developing a referral system with other social agencies for services that are beyond the center’s limited means. A street children’s library is also being planned.

This first batch of clients knows that Tuluyan is not meant for night lodging.

“They know when it is time to leave,” Sr. Cecille says. Still, it pains her to see them go at day’s end and back to the streets.

“They leave Tuluyan clean and orderly,” she adds. They are back in no time.

“We are like a family,” Elizabeth says. Alone in the city, she and others like her easily bond with street families. They care and watch out for each other. At night, they are back and huddled together in a secluded spot somewhere in Paraiso. Their pet dogs give them security.

Marvin breaks into tears when he recalls how his family was rounded up by the police and brought to a center in Marikina where they were made to feel like prison inmates. The police had been rounding up street families, confiscating pushcarts used for scavenging.

When Tuluyan volunteers first invited them over, Marvin says he was afraid they would again be cooped up and treated like prisoners. His fears did not materialize and he and his brood have been coming to Tuluyan regularly.

Cat and mouse

Playing cat-and-mouse with the police has been the street dwellers’ lot and so they keep on moving. Along the way, they pick up recyclable items such as soda cans, plastic, paper and metal to sell to junk shops. The price of junk has plummeted, the scavengers lament, and they have no access to the garbage from fast-food chains because there are haulers that collect them. Marvin says on a good week, he could earn P1,000 from scavenging.

Elizabeth, the cancer survivor, says that with all her stuff stolen, she is left with nothing to sell. She now earns by watching cars parked on the streets of Malate. Being without family in Manila and with her health problems, does she want to go home to the province? Her answer: “I don’t want to be a burden to my family.”

It is not just poverty that plagues street dwellers. Their problems are complex. There are other issues that need to be addressed and resolved. Each one has a story to tell, a journey to make.

Why does Rosario prefer to live on the street than work as maid which earned for her P3,200 a month? Why does Elizabeth not want to go home to Bicol? Will the able-bodied Atutubos and Laguidaos not want to start over somewhere, given a chance? Will Marvin and Pamela beget more children living on the street?

Not in the census

Sr. Cecille says street families are not included in the census because they are mobile. What are the figures nationwide? She cites the Social Weather Stations (SWS) June 2008 survey statistics that showed 14.5 million people experienced involuntary hunger between April and June 2008. Severe hunger went up from 3.2 percent to 4.2 percent. These denizens of the streets give a face to the cold statistics; they are the voices that are not heard.

Street children who look hapless and vulnerable easily get the attention of service-oriented institutions; they are the objects of concern of do-gooders and bleeding hearts. But what of the street families? That’s another story. They are looked upon with disdain or as irresponsible begetters of children with no future.

Tuluyan is not the answer to the root cause of homelessness and extreme poverty. It is only one among the varied ministries of the Benedictine Sisters, and as the newest one, it bears watching.

Catching their breath

For now, in a small way, it gives hope and rest to weary individuals and families who are out there shivering from the cold and baking in the heat. It gives them a chance to catch their breath and their bearings. Hopefully, Tuluyan’s programs will help them cross the poverty line and see them make it to the other side.

Low carbon Holy Week

By Ma. Ceres P. Doyo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:08:00 04/09/2009

IF WE feel drawn to contemplating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ this Holy Week, we might as well also contemplate the crucifixion of Mother Earth. But we must bear in mind that the high point of Christianity is not the crucifixion but the resurrection. The whole of creation, too, must rise in triumph. We cannot leave Earth to grovel and groan behind us.

Theologian and ecologist Sean McDonagh who spent years in the Philippines wrote in his book “The Greening of the Church”: “A Christian theology of creation has much to learn from the attitude of respect which Jesus displayed towards the natural world. There is no support in the New Testament for a throw-away consumer society which destroys the natural world and produces mountains of non-biodegradable garbage or, worse still, produces toxic waste…

“The disciples of Jesus are called upon to live lightly on the earth –‘take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics’ (Luke 9:1-6). Jesus constantly warned about the dangers of attachment to wealth, possession, or power. These in many ways are what are consuming the poor and the planet itself…



“Jesus shows an intimacy and familiarity with a variety of God’s creatures and the processes of nature. He is not driven by an urge to dominate and control the world of nature. Rather he displays an appreciative and contemplative attitude towards creation which is rooted in the Father’s love for all that he has created. ‘Think of the ravens. They do not sow or reap…’”

And so environmental groups are urging all Christian Filipinos to mark this Holy Week with “a willful embrace of low carbon lifestyles for the good of Mother Nature.” Too much carbon dioxide is the main cause of global warming.

The EcoWaste Coalition is promoting “a low carbon Holy Week” as Christians commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Many will take the opportunity to go on a holiday, pilgrimage, or attend Holy Week rites in their home towns. But these activities, if not planned well, could add to the earth’s burdens.

Fr. Ben Moraleda of Kaalagad Katipunang Kristiyano says that “the Holy Week is indeed an opportune time to go slow with crass consumerism and to delight in simple and eco-friendly choices, which are low in carbon dioxide and good for the purse and the planet.”

“We all need to pitch in to stop the planet from further warming up. By making low carbon choices during the Holy Week and beyond, we cut our emissions, live up to our task as environmental stewards and uphold the sanctity of life,” says Fr. Glenn Melo of the Sustainable Agriculture Apostolate of the Diocese of Tandag.

Fr. Alfredo Albor of the Interfaith Bishops Care for Creation Foundation says: “We crucify Mother Earth when we ruthlessly exploit, pollute and diminish her capacity to sustain life. We resurrect her back to life when we adopt a lifestyle that is outwardly simple, yet inwardly rich and compassionate, and work for her wellbeing and protection.”

The EcoWaste Coalition is providing a list of ways that can lessen the use of fossil fuels and subsequently decrease carbon dioxide emissions during Holy Week.

1. Aim for “Zero Waste” as you carry out your plans for Holy Week and Easter, ensuring that waste is kept to a minimum at all times through creative reuse, recycling or composting.

2. Reduce car use during the Holy Week in order to give the planet a breather. If you are able, walk, bike or take public transportation when you do the traditional Visita Iglesia on Holy Thursday.

3. If you must use your car, make sure the engine is tuned up and the tires are properly inflated. Remove unnecessary stuff from the trunk, do not overload, observe correct driving habits, and plan your trips for a cleaner, climate-friendly drive.

4. Abstain from expensive, high carbon holiday sprees and consider sharing the money saved as your Lenten offering to your favorite charities.

5. Do not litter. Keep the church premises, parks, beaches and recreational spots free of plastic bags, cigarette butts and food leftovers. Be mindful of the eco-creed “take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time.”

6. Cut back on plastic bags by having enough reusable bags for pasalubong and souvenirs from your out-of-town trips and pilgrimages.

7. When you do the Stations of the Cross under the heat of sun, have a handkerchief or a small towel with you so that you limit the use of disposable tissue paper. You save trees that way.

8. Bring your own reusable water jug so that you don’t need to buy water in plastic bottles.

9. Choose reusable and recyclable materials over single-use, throw-away stuff.

10. Keep all Holy Week events and rituals simple but profound and meaningful.

You can add to the above. If you are not going anywhere, do some meaningful acts of mortification for Mother Earth in your own home. Cut down on your energy consumption by limiting your use of electrical appliances. Segregate your garbage, do composting.

More from “The Greening of the Church”: “The passion and death of Christ call attention to the appalling reality of suffering which humans inflict on each other and on creation. By causing others to suffer we persecute the body of Christ. We are beginning to realize that the parameters of the body of Christ are expanding to include not just Christians or all humans, but the reality of creation…

“Gradually it is beginning to dawn on many people that alleviating poverty, healing nature and preserving the stability of the biosphere is the central task for those who follow in the footsteps of Jesus in today’s world.”

Let us walk Jesus’ walk for Mother Earth and all of creation.

A healing place called Nazareth

Sunday Inquirer Magazine/Feature/By Ma. Ceres P. Doyo

“GOD is here.”

The narrow, tree-lined road leads to the gate of the wooded place on which this sign is tacked. Indeed, it’s a special place, a hidden garden for body and spirit. But more than the place, it’s people who are special here.

Here the wind whispers constantly through the leaves and into one’s soul. Mother Nature and human nature conspire to bring about newness and hope. The sun-drenched green terrain livens up with the footsteps of those who dwell here, human beings on a journey and who are slowly and purposefully finding new life again.

This is the Nazareth Formation House, a Bob Garon Therapeutic Community Center.

One arrives feeling privileged and trusted. It is not every day that a visitor is able to behold people who have extreme stories to tell about being broken and lost, and about their amazing journey within toward becoming whole.

As the trite saying goes, truth is stranger than fiction. And in Nazareth, “strange” could mean bizarre, extreme, miraculous—all understatements. For residents here who call themselves Nazarenes, the way from there to here could only have been paved for them by a divine hand. They have all come from the edge. They come from all walks of life and come hurting. Society dealt them cruel blows, just as some of them did on the weak and the vulnerable, including themselves.

Founded in 1999 by couple Bob and Emmy Ilagan Garon, Nazareth employs the therapeutic community (TC) approach to rehabilitating drug dependents, as well as those suffering from other addictions—alcohol, tobacco, sex, gambling. It is not unusual for them to have multiple addictions, Bob explains. So-called “lifestylers” (non-drug dependents who simply want to experience living in a TC) are also welcome.

Bob, 72, was an American La Salette priest when he founded the Dare Foundation, the first therapeutic community in Asia. In 1977, he left the priesthood and Dare and went into business and management consultancy while continuing to counsel parents and drug dependents. The couple also established the thriving Golden Values schools for the young.

Observing the rapid spread of addiction, the Garons decided to go back to their first love—drug rehab—in 1999. They had achieved financial independence and had the skills, the desire, the resources and the place—a sprawling five-hectare ranch in Batangas, some two hours’ drive from Makati.

Nazareth Formation House, named after the place where Jesus Christ grew up, aims to help those with addictions turn their lives around and make them law-abiding, God-loving productive individuals when they return to society. Behavioral modification is key.

Assisting the Garons, who have been married for 32 years, is a staff of seven, with Bob as the president and Emmy as executive director. Their daughters Vanessa, 29, executive director of Golden Values School, and Alexandra are also part of the Garon family ministry. Alexandra, 24, the assistant director of Nazareth, is doing her masters in clinical psychology. The Garon daughters were the only female volunteer divers among the scuba divers who plumbed the Romblon disaster site where the m/v Princess of the Stars sank in stormy weather last year.

There are more than 40 residents at Nazareth now, both male and female of all ages, “from 14 to 75,” Bob reveals.

TC stands on three legs, he says of the healing approach used at Nazareth. “These are psychotherapy, education and behavior modification. At the center is spirituality.” And so standing at the center of the lush setting is the hexagonal Chapel of the Nazarene. It is without walls and embellishments, a sturdy open structure with a great view of the verdant outdoors.

Everyday Mass here is truly a feast, a communion of spirits, a sharing of hearts. Garon is quick to point out that several altar items—the red chalice (his mother’s gift), the Mass crucifix, and the big bare narra cross—are from his priesthood days.

As they say, priesthood is forever. Bob and Emmy have a special place in their hearts for the wounded shepherds who have lost their way in the dark, the wounded healers in need of special care. Fresh and green indeed are the pastures of Nazareth.

“As wounded persons,” Bob says of the residents, “they have wandered far from God and have rejected His precepts in favor of self-destructive lifestyles. But behind that godless face, there is sadness and emptiness, darkness and a loss of meaning.”

God is put right back at the center of each one’s recovery and behavior modification. It is not just the residents who need healing; their families, too, must be part of the process.

In a quiet corner of Nazareth is the Garden of Angels, a place of remembrance graced by small stone angels in impish poses. Among the flowers are the names of aborted babies carved on tiles. “The residents wanted this,” says Bob. Beside the garden is a small chapel for adoration. On the altar is a beautiful scrapbook that contains the residents’ letters to their babies.

One letter says: “I’m sorry for what happened. I never saw you, I never held you.” Another says: “Thank you for giving me peace.”

Nazareth is not strictly Catholic/Christian or for Filipinos only. There have been residents from other religions and other countries. The length of stay varies—from a year to five years or even longer. The men live separately from the women but they get to interact with each other during meals, Mass and reflection sessions.

There is time for fun and exercise. There is a swimming pool, a basketball court and lots of ground to work on. And there are animals—horses, dogs, cats—to romp with. No wonder they all look physically fit.

Says Tash, whose life story is utterly unbelievable except that it’s true: “It was difficult at first, but later I felt at home.” Says Jobi: “Here at Nazareth, God finds us (and we find God) in different ways—in nature, the people, daily Mass, confession and the support of the community.” Prayer is part of the Nazareth lifestyle, and so is work. There is no time to be idle.

This is not to say that professional psychotherapy takes a back seat. A very important part of therapy is the “journey” which a resident takes by way of recalling, writing, confronting, and later, accepting the what, who, when, where, why and how of his or her life. What went wrong, what was right. This aids in healing and in finding direction.

Easier said than done. Says Norman, a former resident: “Nazareth is a place of change and reflection. It’s my second family and friend. This place became a big part of my life because it formed my new identity. It gave new color and direction to my life. It taught me how to deal with problems and situations and moved me closer to God.”

“Tito (Uncle)” Bob shows reams of paper which contain “journeys,” all handwritten. Some are inches thick and could very well be novels, except that these are not fiction. The pages are dripping with pathos and pain, screaming for help and redemption.

Re-entry is the tricky part, says Emmy, who has seen it all. Going home is a gradual process. Some residents have enrolled in distance education or in schools outside the rehab place. “I still can’t go home and not feel terrible,” says Jon. “Whenever I see my room…” he adds, his voice trailing off.

For visitors to the center, interacting with the residents can be a painful encounter. What does one say to a beautiful teenager who turned to drugs after sexual abuse, three forced abortions and betrayal? How does one understand a grown man whose response to being sexually abused by his own mother when he was growing up is alcohol? How does one help a young fellow who has tried it all? Can he ever forgive someone he trusted, who sold him off to predators?

You listen to them speak so eloquently, you watch them dance and sing to their hearts’ content, you see them work and do their duties. You feel their warm hugs, their eagerness to share. You catch a glimpse of their hidden purity and their determination to become the best they could be. They are miracles in the making.

God is here in Nazareth. 

For inquiries, contact Nazareth at its Metro Manila office: 24 Canberra St., BF Homes III, Parañaque City, Philippines 1718. Telephone: (632) 820-6107; 825-1771 Mobile No: (0917) 832-3452. E-mail : gvcbuenca@vasia.com or log on to www.nazarethformationhouse.com

We are not diminished

By Ma. Ceres P. Doyo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 22:16:00 04/01/2009

Those who are planning to declare, or have already declared a fatwa on Chip Tsao, the Chinese columnist of HK Magazine who called the Philippines “a nation of servants” and several other very demeaning things, please rethink your move. His splattered blood and brains are not worth your effort. Thou shalt not kill.

The guy just happens to have no class, no breeding. He could be a survivor of amniocentecis, melamine milk poisoning, or a horrible childhood. Have mercy. We are a nation of compassionate carers, remember?

Tsao’s words about Filipinos translated as “patay-gutom,” the ultimate insult the “mata-pobre” haves could inflict on the have-nots. Oh, but we have not been diminished. Tsao and his HK Magazine have. I bet our humorists will have a field day making us laugh at Tsao and the Filipinos’ Hong Kong “masters.” As we say, if you can’t beat them, laugh at them. Filipinos are great at getting back by laughing their detractors to Kingdom Come.



Think of the many possible gag scripts around the theme, “What did the ‘mata-pobre’ say to the ‘patay-gutom’ and what did the’ patay-gutom’ say to the ‘mata-pobre’?” Paging “Bubble Gang.”

The HK Magazine publisher has apologized, but the magazine will have a hard time living down the racist, class-ist slur that has been inflicted on Filipinos. They have poured a bucket of their own spit on themselves. Mwahaha.

Let’s put that behind us, okay? To declare Tsao persona non grata is just giving him importance. As the Ilonggos would sweetly say, “Waay gani nakalibot sa dapog.” I bet you don’t know that that means. But you would know an answer to the question, “Why did the overseas Filipino worker (OFW) cross the street?”

We are a smart, hardy people. We, the wretched of the earth, will inherit the earth, and this includes the Spratlys.

As we move toward Holy Week, it behooves us to remember the millions of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) burdened by the cross of separation from their families and working in hostile environments and uncertainty in their jobs. Daily they are on a via crucis, on a via dolorosa.

Those of us who have never been OFWs should do the Stations of the Cross with the OFW theme. There are so many stories about the OFWs — their travails, their triumphs. Many have been brutally treated, betrayed, killed in foreign lands. Still millions continue to go out there to earn money for their families, to give back. They contribute much to the countries that hired them and have learned to love.

They do not deserve insults from ill-bred people like Tsao. And we must not fail them by speaking up on their behalf, by making them feel that they are not alone out there.

You see them in hotels and restaurants, in shops and ships and streets, in the most unlikely places in foreign lands. You meet them in airports and airplanes. You know they’ve come from somewhere you’ve not been to. You are amazed at their courage and their strength to carry the cross for family and country.

* * *

Natural farming seminar. Many readers sent e-mail after they read the column piece on organic/natural farming/sustainable agriculture and asked how and where they could learn the natural methods. Here’s something for those interested:

Susi Foundation Inc. will hold a seminar/workshop on April 14 to 16 on the essence and practice of sustainable agriculture. The short course is called Balanced EcoSystem Technologies (BEST). It covers the basic agricultural practices of different sustainable technologies that use materials and methods that are natural and in harmony with natural laws. The venue is Bahay Tuklasan, Barangay Behia, Tiaong, Quezon, which is a two-hour drive from Makati.

Topics to be discussed are: human development and eco-friendly agriculture (socio-cultural, economic, political, ecological and ethical aspects), organic farming (a balanced ecological system, value and effects of raising crops and livestock the natural way), the soil food web (the micro-allies of the botanical world), soil management (structure, environment and organization of soil), fertility and crop and livestock protection management (ecological standards of soil amendments and pest and disease control methods) and planning and organizing an ecologically balanced farm.

There will be workshop activities on composting, soil restructuring, nursery and grow-out phase, EM and concoction production, natural livestock feed production, and farm planning and budgeting.

The BEST seminar/workshop is a hands-on training on the essence and practice of farming that is in harmony with nature and in unity with the biotic community to which we all, as humans, belong. For those of you who do not farm but do gardening as a hobby or would like to take part in protecting and conserving the natural resources of our only home, Planet Earth, what you will learn might help you live a purposeful, long and healthy life.

I know a group of farmers who attended the seminar and until now they are still raving and talking about it like it was one of the best things that happened to their lives as farmers. Many of the things they learned are not taught in agriculture school.

For directions and reservation contact Sr. Isyang at The Susi Foundation Inc., +6342 5456359, +63928 2612952, +63915 286722. Or you could write to my email address and I will forward the info.