Misa Baclayana: ancient beauty that sounds so new

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

WHILE THE ELECTION frenzy was at its peak, the National Heritage Month was being celebrated. The charged atmosphere of the campaign and the election itself had all but eclipsed the various heritage-related activities in the month of May but it was good to take time out for some cultural treasures that were offered for us to relish and marvel at.

One of the events I attended was the performance of the Misa Baclayana at the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros with the famous award-winning Loboc Children’s Choir of Bohol singing. It was one of the heritage offerings of the Intramuros Administration headed by Bambi L. Harper.

I was impressed. In terms of grandness Misa Baclayana may not be in the league of the famous "Masses" by Mozart, Bach or Brahms but it has its own melodious allure. Although the sung parts from the Misa Baclayana were in Latin, the Mass, officiated by Archbishop Jesus A. Dosado, was in English. At the pipe organ was Alejandro Consolacion.

The music blended well with the post-Vatican modern liturgy as we know it. I don’t know if it will stand out just as well within the Tridentine Latin Mass that traditionalists are trying to revive. I liked the sound of the old hymns blending with contemporary liturgical worship. To paraphrase and juggle some words from St. Augustine, it was ancient beauty that sounded so new.

Discovered only a few years ago in Baclayon Church in Bohol, Misa Baclayana is an old musical score believed to have been written in the 1800s.

But a lot of credit must go to Maria Alexandra Inigo-Chua, musicologist, professor, researcher and author of “Kirial de Baclayon Ano 1826: Hispanic Sacred Music in 19th Century Bohol, Philippines” (Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2010). Her study focuses, in particular, on the “Kirial de esta Yglesia de Baclayon” dated 1826 which contains Mass cycle compositions used in the liturgy of the Catholic Church.

Inigo-Chua graduated magna cum laude from the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Conservatory of Music (major in piano) and holds a master’s degree in music (major in musicology) from the University of the Philippines. Inigo-Chua is with the UST faculty.

For more than a decade Inigo-Chua frequented several churches of Bohol and pored over the surviving cantorales or libros de coro (choir books) that contained hymns and music composed for Masses in the 1800s. She talks about her discovery: “It was in November of 1997 that I came in contact with this veritable treasure trove of sacred music. My travel to the province of Bohol that time became a turning point that ignited my lifelong interest and passion for the music of our past and my continuing odyssey into the rediscovery of our glorious Hispanic sacred musical heritage.”

For Inigo-Chua, the pursuit proved to be exciting, stimulating and exceedingly challenging. Kirial de Baclayon the book “is the culmination of the initial journey that I traversed in the course of seeking the correlated meaning, value and significance of these once silent musical treasures.”

Silent no more, these musical treasures are no longer just pieces to be seen in the ecclesial museums. They have, in fact, been transcribed into modern notations, thanks to Inigo-Chua, so that they could be played, sung and used for worship.

But as museum pieces they also are to be marveled at. A couple of them were exhibited at the Manila Cathedral. Intricately written on huge parchments (a page is about 1 ½ feet high and 1 foot wide) and with carabao hide covers, they looked like they were straight out of a medieval monastery archive or the time of St. Gregory. (I’ll put some photos in my blog.) The drop letters are so ornate you wouldn’t find them in your computer font library.

At first glance the notation looks Gregorian but they are not. In our music subject in St. Scho we had to learn how to read Gregorian (square notes on four lines—not five--and without measures and time signature, if I remember right) and sing in a flowing style with a rounded mouth--as part of a, uhm, well-rounded liberal arts education. But that’s another story and once upon a time.

The cantorales have square notes on fives lines. It’s amazing how Inigo-Chua made sense of all these and transcribed them into modern notation so that they could come alive again in church worship. Her scholarly book shows both the ancient and the modern notations. (It includes a music CD, by the way.)

According to Inigo-Chua, cantoral music culture forms part of an important tradition of liturgical music that developed in Hispanized communities all over the Philippine archipelago. There are, she says, other extant cantorales found in various repositories in different parts of the country.

It is in Bohol, however, that one can find a complete collection which is intact and unadulterated. Inigo-Chua adds. “Also, much of the archival sources and material evidence of the period are preserved and well-kept. The Bohol cantorales serve as primary source materials and a valuable representation in the development of this particular Filipino-Hispanic sacred music patrimony.”

Musical continuities from this tradition are still evident, she points out. “The musical features and influences present in sacred and secular vocal forms, i.e., folksongs in present-day Bohol, are deeply connected to this liturgical music tradition that was widely cultivated in the area for more than a century.”

So who wrote the music in the cantorales? Inigo-Chua strongly believes Filipinos were directly involved in the music making process. I can only say, but of course.

Noynoy presidency: With ‘grace of office’ comes every blessing needed

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

IN SPIRITUAL LANGUAGE it is called “the grace of office.”

Could presumptive president-elect Sen. Benigno Aquino III and the nation that has apparently elected him by a landslide count on that?

It is said that when God invites or calls an individual to undertake a task, He also provides him the grace to carry out that task or calling.

“The grace of office” has often been used in the context of a religious vocation, especially for those in leadership positions, their imperfections, weaknesses and reluctance notwithstanding.

Biblical times and even contemporary history have seen ordinary persons rise to the task, strengthened only by their belief in God’s calling and their faith in the accompanying grace that would help them carry out their destiny.

There were those who rose and fell, as there were those who fulfilled their mission with humility and obedience.

In the case of Noynoy, will this special “grace of office” carry him through, and how?

The Inquirer interviewed theologians and others active in Church ministries for their thoughts on Aquino’s all-important mission.

The finger of God

Jesuit theologian Fr. Catalino Arevalo asks if Filipinos can, with certitude, discern some part of God’s plan working itself out in their contemporary history.

“May we say, ‘the finger of God is here’ in this series of events, in this story line?” asks the spiritual adviser of Aquino’s late mother, President Corazon Aquino.

He observes that many do discern the offering of a “vocation-and-mission” in the case of Aquino, “with the empowerment and grace which that implies.”

“But this calls for a free acceptance of it in freedom and grace, the willingness to live out with hope and courage whatever it will demand, involving also a sought-after nearness to and reliance on God,” he said.

“This is what is asked of the recipient of the calling and mission, this is what we believe is asked now of Noy,” said Arevalo.

Gifts of the spirit

Fr. Aris Sison, pastor of the Parish of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Quezon City to which Aquino belongs, believes that his being elected to the highest office is a “grace from God.”

“With it also comes every blessing needed to do what is required of him. The only thing necessary now is for him to accept and cooperate with God’s grace,” said Sison.

Sison quotes the 15th-century sainted priest Bernardine of Sienna who wrote that there is a general rule about special graces granted to any human being.

“Whenever the divine favor chooses someone to receive a special grace, or to accept a lofty position, God adorns the person chosen with all the gifts of the Spirit needed to fulfill the task at hand,” Bernardine said.

Beyond Catholicism

Theologian Sr. Amelia Vasquez RSCJ would go beyond the boundaries of Catholicism to the teachings of the 16th-century French Protestant reformer John Calvin, particularly his concept of vocation that erases the distinction between the secular and the sacred.

“[Calvin taught] that all calling is of equal spiritual dignity and doing it with zeal and diligence is in itself a sign of God’s grace, that one’s salvation is worked out in daily life in the world. So one’s confidence basically rests in God’s guidance, faithfulness and power, but because of the mandate from God, one also has confidence in one’s self,” said Vasquez.

She noted that Aquino had gone through the process of discernment before making his big decision to run for president.

“This means teasing out the threads in rigorous honesty and detachment from self. A measure of guarantee, though not absolute, is having a wise person with experience and pure heart scrutinize one’s deep motivation, not just vox populi or because of collective delusion,” she said.

Noting how “politics deals with power, wealth, position and the multitude,” Vazquez warned that for Aquino “the terrain is full of land mines.”

“One can perhaps begin well and even be God’s anointed but because of disobedience to God, could be rejected and become self-destructive, like Saul in the Bible,” she said.

“Hence, the prayer to begin, continue and end one’s mandate fully given to carrying out the call of God, which always means having a clean heart, of being focused on the good of all, rather than on what one gets, on responding to the duty of the moment with honesty, transparency and the good of all,” she said.

Definition of humility

Spiritual masters often remind that the foundation for “the grace of office” is hidden, lowly and loving obedience.

Renowned Christian evangelist Billy Graham who has advised 12 United States presidents from Harry Truman to Barack Obama would often quote Micah 6:8: “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

From the cloister, Carmelite contemplative Sr. Teresa of Jesus OCD (the former university professor and newspaper columnist Josefina Constantino) related how the day after the elections, she cried her heart out in deep thanksgiving to God, “because I realized that Noynoy is clearly the actualization of God’s adorable will.”

“And no matter what negative criticisms have been hurled against him, we know in pure faith that if he cooperates with God’s mercy and grace, God will be with him throughout his six years in office,” Sr. Teresa said.

She quotes St. Teresa of Avila’s definition of humility, “walking in truth.”

“If indeed Noynoy daily walks in truth and is totally obedient to God and the Holy Spirit, and with a pure heart be totally committed to bring about transformation, we could hope to become the country God has destined us to be for all eternity,” she said.

However, she said the call and the grace should extend beyond Noynoy, to those assigned to investigate injustice and corruption, that they may “carry out their tasks with utmost competence, excellence and integrity, and with detachment from anger or hatred.”

Out of nowhere

Fr. Arnold Abelardo CMF is convinced Noynoy is indeed the chosen one.

“I know Noy is connected to God. I had an inkling of this when, during the campaign, I would see him pray,” said Abelardo, who was a volunteer in the Aquino campaign.

The Claretian priest and chaplain of the Philippine Orthopedic Center joined Aquino in many of his campaign sorties and saw for himself many so-called “graced moments.”

He cites Noynoy’s ability to be humble and receive and listen to all kinds of people.

“Noy came out of nowhere. He was not in the people’s consciousness, but after President Cory Aquino’s death, there was an explosion, a longing, an expectation.

“Noy did not position himself, he did not have that lust for power. But people believed the Spirit was in him. People say it is destiny. I say, it is Providence. You saw the hand of God landscaping the political situation,” said Abelardo.

But he said Aquino cannot do it alone.

“Noy always told the people in rallies, ‘you are my strength.’ He was accepting the job not by his own strength and energy but also by counting on the people’s support when he assumes office. He inherited a tainted government. We should continue to accompany this man,” said Abelardo.

Hidden pearl

According to theologian and lecturer Fr. Percy G. Bacani of the Missionaries of Jesus, if everyone begins by asking the moral question, “how ought I to live?” and realizes that “the right answer ends with me,” Aquino’s victory will not be an empty moral promise and claim “but fully answered by every Filipino truly proud to be a Filipino.”

“The substantial mandate accorded to Noynoy is a clear indication of the collective quest for accountable and just governance. Noynoy has an incorruptible and principled image. We have projected unto him the best in the Filipino and we want him to lead us along the path of liberation. We want him not to fail us, and to bring back the Edsa spirit, for Filipinos to become proud again.

“This is a tall order and we better do it together with him if we want his presidency to be a defining moment for our nation in search of redemption from massive corruption and poverty,” he said.

In this sense, Bacani adds, Noynoy is God’s chosen instrument “to lead and inspire us to a responsible and engaged citizenship.”

“The hidden pearl is indeed enveloped with moral and spiritual power,” he said.

:-D LOL: Noynoy-Nognog and other election funnies

Phlippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo

FILIPINOS ARE KNOWN TO ALWAYS FIND AND create humor even during the bleakest of times, poke fun at the serious, ridicule the sublime and the ridiculous, make jokes and puns out of serious situations and at the expense of persons. Once again the recent elections and the moist-eyed candidates (and their campaign ads) became fair game for the jokesters, punsters and hecklers, and so far, no one with a victim complex has filed a libel complaint or damages for psychological cruelty or intense embarrassment that caused sleepless nights and agoraphobia.As they say, ang pikon, talo (the easily piqued is a loser).

Blogs, social networking groups (Facebook, etc.) and e-groups had a heyday circulating the jokes, some of them merciless. Jokes can work for or against their target victims. Former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada decided to use many of these on his own person as a reverse tack when he ran for president in 1998 and got away with a best-selling “Eraptions.” When he later got convicted for plunder, the joke was on him, literally.

I’ve had a great time reading and listening to the 2010 election jokes and laughing out loud (that’s what LOL stands for) even by myself. Even the hard-nosed Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) came out with a serious well-researched piece on this Filipino preoccupation. It’s titled “Joke the vote, pun the bets” by PCIJ interns Camille de Asis, Ivan Lim, Mark Tare and Angela Poe. The writers provided in-depth analysis and context.

The piece begins: “Barring last-minute surprises in the election count, the Noynoy-Nognog tandem will lead the next casting at Malacañang Palace in the next six years, according to funny-boned Filipinos.

“Nognog, dark-skinned Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay in real life, will also be installed as the country’s “first black vice president,” they say.

“But before he could become president, Noynoy, who goes by the full name Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III, may need to convince closest rival Joseph Estrada to concede.

“Estrada can’t and won’t, supposedly because when he voted, his victory had been guaranteed. Proof of this, and so the tale is told, was that after Estrada fed his ballot into a PCOS machine, it popped this message: ’Congratulations!’”

Filipinos have a penchant for making serious matter a laughing matter. Jokes are considered to be the Filipinos’ safety valve. They are a great social leveler, especially when they target the high and the mighty. Political satire is not the exclusive domain of intellectuals. Making sense of politics is not the sole domain of people who fancy themselves political analysts. Why, taxi drivers also do just as well.

And so in street corners, watering holes and beauty parlors where political talk abounds, jokes cannot be far behind. And when comedians, comediennes and impersonators such as Willie Nepomuceno, Jon Santos and Mae Paner (as Juana Change) deliver their spiels, we laugh out loud because we recognize our desire to deride those we despise and laugh them out of the room and out of our lives.

Enough of the serious talk about jokes or we run out of space. A good site to visit is the blog (http://viewerdiscretionisadvised.wordpress.com)which looks at “Philippine cinema and other spectacles” and where one could find many side-splitting jokes (some disguised as awards) about politicians. Images and comments are included. Samples:

Agawan ng Pangalan Award: PACYAW (Pilipino Association for Country—Urban Poor Youth Advancement and Welfare), which may be confused with Manny Pacquiao’s PBA Partylist, you know?

Agawan ng Kulay Award: Manny Villar and Erap Estrada, for sharing the same prison orange color.

Agawan ng Mukha Award: Bongbong Marcos, for managing to look like both Jamby Madrigal (in his Netopia wallpaper ads) and Fanny Serrano (in his campaign posters). How queer!

Honorable Mention: Lito Lapid, for thinking that people will vote for him if he looked like Erap. Liza Maza, for looking like Lord of Scents Joel Cruz.

Best Tagline (standard bearer): Erap Estrada— “Kung may Erap, may ginhawa.” Witty wordplay!

Worst Tagline (standard bearer): Bayani Fernando—“Lalakeng kausap.” Chauvinist pig.

Best Tagline (senator): Imelda Papin— “Tinig ng bawat Pilipino sa senado.” And what a tinig it is! Jukebox queen!

Worst Tagline (senator): Juan Ponce Enrile—“Gusto ko happy ka.” Ano ho?

Honorable Mention: Franklin Drilon—“Big Justice.” A great spin on Drilon’s obesity. But it’s obesity nonetheless.

Worst Tagline (partylist): PBA Partylist—“Sports lang, you know!” No, I don’t know!

Honorable Mention: ABROAD Partylist—“Work abroad, pay later.” Easier to export Filipino labor this way!

Most Misplaced Tagline: Bayani Fernando— “Lalakeng kausap.” Should have been Jamby Madrigal’s.

Honorable Mention: Risa Hontiveros—“Magandang Laban.” Should have been Adel Tamano’s, kasi mas maganda si Adel.

Most Awkward Postering Strategy: Buhay Partylist, for prominently posting campaign materials beside motels like Sogo and Eurotel. Siguro mga sanggol nga talaga ang represented sector nila, at saan pa nga ba ginagawa ang mga sanggol? Remember Bitoy’s version of Celine Dion’s “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now”? The birit climax goes: “Sanggol, sanggol...”

This just came via an e-group: Binay is wrong to feel proud about being the first black vice president of the Philippines. “The first black vice president was Carlos P. Garcia. When Magsaysay died, he became the first black president. Binay should aim for another record.” And “Mar Roxas has a hard time catching up with Binay. Mar has been using the padyak (pedicab) and tricycle which have been overused in his political ads. He should take the jeep and he might catch up with Binay.”

Noynoy’s green agenda

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

FIRST, let me say that one of the two presidential candidates that I rooted for will soon be President of the Republic of the Philippines. As they say, it’s all over but the proclamation.

Last month, Greenpeace and EcoWaste Coalition released the six presidential candidates’ answers to the 2010 Green Electoral Initiative (GEI) questionnaire and gave overall rankings based on the candidates’ stand on environmental issues such as climate change, solid waste, chemical pollution and consumer safety, sustainable agriculture and genetically engineered crops, water, forests, nuclear power, mining, etc.. No other advocacy group had asked the candidates to put their agenda on an issue in writing and affix their signatures. The responses were evaluated by a team.

It is worthwhile to evaluate the responses of Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” C. Aquino III who will soon begin his journey with this nation. Aquino ranked fifth in the green survey, trailing behind Perlas, Madrigal, Gordon and Villanueva. But the ranking did not mean an endorsement or rejection of anyone.

Aquino answered all except Part X (“Your environmental track record”). Here are some questions and answers:

Q. Your first environmental act during your first 100 days in office.

A. Certify as urgent for the legislature to enact a law, a mandated by the Constitution, to delineate once and for all forest lines in the country, as a clear basis for the crafting of a comprehensive national land use policy, as well as for the definition of watersheds and fragile ecosystems.

Q. Qualities of your environment secretary.

A….must be at heart an environmental advocate, trained and experienced in the technical, educational, legislative/policy aspects of environmental work. He/she must be given to reasoned debate and judgment more than just polemical argument…must be passionate about the environment but open to listen to as many, if often conflicting interests and schools of thought—and in the end be unswervingly cleat in the positions and principles of conservation, ecological balance and sustainable development.

Q. …steps to address climate change vulnerabilities.

A. I will require local governments and the private sector to draw up detailed local and community-based action frameworks for adaptation with a clear emphasis not just on rescue, recovery and rehabilitation but on research, risk-management and restoration (with a greener re-planning and effective health care responses) of damaged communities over a longer term.

Q. Are you for or against the establishment of big hydro-electric dams…why?

A. I am for the maintenance of the existing dams, without pushing for more large-scale projects, and push for massive large-scale watershed protection and reforestation in areas where dams already operate.

Q. …what action will you take to ensure the aggressive promotion and mainstreaming of ecological (sustainable/organic) agriculture practices?

A. Provide incentive mechanisms for farmers to shift to more ecological agricultural practices and farming technologies.

Q. What steps will you take to stop illegal logging and curb the corruption that makes it possible for illegal loggers to circumvent the law?

A. What Gov. Grace Padaca of Isabela has done to curb illegal logging in the Sierra Madre, we will do for the rest of the country—engage the police and military authorities, local communities and local government agencies in a sustained, vigorous campaign to seize illegally-cut logs and prevent further clearing of primary forests.

Q. Are you for or against the re-commissioning of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant? Why?

A. Against. The BNPP has long symbolized the excesses of the Marcos regime and the failure of a national energy policy. The BNPP also sits on a high-risk earthquake fault.

Q. What measures will you initiate to ensure that mining companies are truly made accountable for the acute and long-term impacts of their operations on the environment and violation of IP and community rights? Will you continue the current policy of aggressively promoting large-scale mining in the Philippines…

A. We will conduct a full review of all mining operations and exploration permits in the country, and require honest-to-goodness environmental impact studies. Failed mining projects in the past and large-scale disasters like Marinduque, Rapu-rapu and Diwalwal have to be revisited so that there may be proper rehabilitation and compensation for individuals and communities victimized by these mining disasters. While responding to the challenges of making the mining industry more responsible and environment-sensitive, we will ensure that such activities will be equitable and not damaging to local communities and the cultural integrity of many indigenous tribes and their ancestral domain.

Read the candidates’ complete responses at www.greenpeace.org.ph/elections. I also wrote about the results in this space (“How green is your presidential candidate?” 4/22/2010).

                                                                ****

My admiration goes to the school teacher in Mindanao who took the PCOS machine, ran and hid to protect it, risking the ire of armed men out to disrupt the elections. A soldier found her hiding with the PCOS machine in her arms. A GMA7 video clip showed her veil sliding down from her head while she picked up the muddied ballots. The teacher did not realize that she performed a heroic act and explained why she did what she did. Their superintendent, she said, had instructed them “that no matter what happen, i-septi gyud ang PCOS machine.” 

She brought tears to my eyes.

Avalanche of non-biodegradable campaign trash

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

MOST OF US SHOULD NOW BE feeling suffocated, assaulted and violated by all the election campaign ads imposed on us. They appear non-stop on TV, radio, the Internet, cell phones, e-mail. They have congested the airwaves and Cyberspace. The streets are covered with campaign posters, banners and billboards. Wall space, posts, trees, railings, street dividers, electric and phone cables, the sky above and the earth below are filled with vote-for-me posters and hangings that could fall on you anytime.

On Wednesday, an electric post in Quezon City fell under the weight of campaign paraphernalia. In the area near the public school where my voting precinct is, there are now tens of thousands of hanging faces and names and the heavens around there have been obliterated from view.

Only in the Philippines. Only in the Philippines where this practice is prohibited (except in designated areas) is the law against it ignored and violated.

But there are places that are the exception. Several weeks ago, on the way back from a whale shark (butanding) interaction in Donsol, Sorsogon, the Inquirer Outdoors Club passed through Naga City. I saw how clean the environment was. There was no campaign poster in sight. If the law could be enforced there, why can’t the Comelec enforce it elsewhere? Here in Metro Manila, billboard anarchy rules.

Time was when campaign paraphernalia were made of biodegradable materials such as paper and cardboard that got washed away with the rain. Now they are made mostly of non-biodegradable materials such as plastic that can withstand the elements and remain in the environment for as long as many lifetimes. It’s an environmentalist’s nightmare.

Some weeks ago I passed by a city hall and saw a huge pile of tarps, posters, wood and bamboo frames that had been removed from areas where these were prohibited. Maybe those campaign paraphernalia were taken from just one small street and yet what a huge pile they made. After they were taken down, I’m sure replacements were put up right away. How many times have I taken down the posters nailed on the electric post in front of my gate? The next morning another candidate’s face occupies the vacant space.

So what’s new? Many elected candidates, hoping to get re-elected, deface the environment all year round with their self-serving announcements (“Congratulations, graduates”, “Happy Fiesta”) and to trumpet their good deeds (“libreng tule” or free circumcision, etc.).

Think of the whole metropolis being cleaned up after the elections. Think of the clean-up in your own little city or town. Where will all these non-biodegradable campaign debris go?

Even wrap artist Christo (world famous for wrapping huge structures such as the Reichstag in Berlin, the Pont-Neuf bridge in Paris and many other famous structures), if presented with all the campaign tarps after the elections, would have so much wrapping material in his hands that he wouldn’t know what to do with them. If all these debris were to be sewn together, they’d probably be enough to cover the Philippine archipelago.

So, has anyone thought of a way of disposing them? Does the Department of Environment and Natural Resources even care while its former head is now running for mayor?

But there is probably just too much for recycling and reusing. How many thousands of recycled bags would one want to make from them, non-biodegradable bags that will also eventually have to be disposed of?

Anticipating a deadly avalanche of post-election garbage, the EcoWaste Coalition and the Miss Earth Foundation have raised the alarm and are seeking public cooperation in keeping the campaign discards out of dumps and landfills. Miss Earth Philippines and her court joined zero-waste advocates in averting a garbage crisis through the 3 Rs: repurpose, recycle, reuse.

The zero-waste advocates want to make it clear that it is not enough that the posters and banners are removed without delay after election day. It is also imperative that these materials are not burned or hauled to the dumps which cannot take anymore dumping.

As a long-term measure, the green advocates are calling on the Comelec to review the election laws to see how they impact on the environment especially during the campaign. Indeed, the biggest defilers of the environment are the candidates. Will they even care to clean up? If they will, where will they dump their toxic garbage?

Here are short-term solutions for now even as we search for better ones. From zero-waste advocates, here are some green suggestions on what to make using campaign tarps:

• bags for shopping, beach use or relief goods

• place mats, coasters, table covers, refrigerator runners, seat covers and wallets

• functional holders for slippers, shoes and small umbrellas

• aprons for fish and meat vendors

• sacks for segregating recyclable materials such as paper, bottle, plastic, etc.

•lona for outdoor meetings and occasions (like All Soul’s Day at the cemetery)

• window awnings and canopies for homes, shops, offices and pets to block the sun and rain

• tricycle and jeepney upholstery

• roofing and sleeping mats for street dwellers

• picnic or activity mats for you and me

Be an eco-entrepreneur and sing to the tune of a campaign jingle, “Kumikita ka na ba sa eleksyon basura?” Sell recyclable campaign discards to junk shops. Here are the buying rates for some stuff: plastic posters (P8/kg), paper posters (P1/kg), cardboard (P1/kg ), sample ballots (brown—P2/kg, white—P10-12.50/kg), assorted paper (P2/kg), wire (P2/kg).

And someone please do a Christo.