Manila during the American Occupation

This clip shows the beauty of Manila before it was destroyed during the WWII.

Kunting Hinuha lang sa Usaping PDAF of ''Pork Barrel"

Sa mga nakaraang buwan at linggo, halos lahat na yata ng balita ay may kinalaman sa PDAF o mas kilala sa tawag na Pork Barrel. Simula ng kumanta ang mga tinaguriang whistle blowers, Million People March sa Luneta at sa pagkakahuli kay Gng. Napoles, kabikabila ng anomalya ang nabubunyag sa pamahalaan. Naisip ko tuloy, hanggang kailan ang usaping ito? Mananagot kaya ang may sala o baka daan taon ang lumipas ay saka lang maibaba ang hatol? Alam naman natin, medyo mabagal ang hustisya sa bansa.

Alam naman siguro ng nakararami na "open secret"itong katiwalian sa gobyerno pero bibihira ang naglalakas ng loob na magsabi dahil kung may nakakaalam man ay sinasarili nalang o nagiging chismis nalang dahil mahirap nga naman lumaban kay Kagalang-galang na Congressman, mamaya ipatumba ka pa.

Magkaganoon pa man, ang mahalaga ngayon ay may naglakas loob na isiwalat ang nagsangasangang katiwalian sa gobyerno. Tila ba anay na sumisira sa ating lipunan ang katiwalian ng mga sana'y inaasahan ng masa na magdadala sa kanila sa kaginhawaan.Pero hindi lang anay kundi Kanser na tila ba ngayon lang na diskubre kahit matagal ng iniinda ito ng lipunan, ng pamahalaan.

Kung ihahambing ko sa kanser ang laganap na katiwalian sa ating pamahalaan ay makikita nating medyo mahihirapan tayong gamutin ito. Matagal at mahaba ang gamutan at kinakailangang makiaayon ng katawan sa pangmatagalang proseso upang magamot ang sakit na ito. Ngunit naiisip ko lang, bakit ngayon lang kaya? Siguro ba ay di nakayang indahin ni Juan dela Cruz ang sakit na mismong sa kalooban nya nagsimula ang sakit.

Naalala ko tuloy ang isang mambabatas mula sa aking probinsya. Ito medyo talagang matagal ko ng pansin at pilit na nagtatanong noon sa mga matatanda ngunit walang kongkretong sagot akong nakukuha sa kanila dahil mismong sila ay binulag na ng panahon sa bulok na klase ng pamamahala. Sa mahabang panahon ng panunungkulan nilang mag-asawa, minsan palitan pa sila ay walang gaanong kongkretong proyekto akong nakita mula sa kanila gayong malaki naman pala ang kanilang nakukuha nilang pondo para sa pagpapa-unlad ng kanilang distrito. Ang mga tulay ay nawasak ng mga nagdaang bagyo sa amin pero walang nangyaring pagsasaayos, ang mga kalsang sana ay nasemento na ay dekada ang binilang upang matapos (ang masama ay hindi pa), ni walang placard kung magkano ang gastos eh kasama pala yun, ang masama pa nito ay ginagawang ng sementadong kalsada kung saang baranggay siya mataas ang boto. Ngayon ay nasa kongreso parin ito.

Lumipat ako sa Maynila at sa medyo tagal ko na din dito, ito lang napansin ko, maya't maya ang patong ng aspalto sa kahabaan ng kalsadang ito, matapos ang ilang buwan ay papatungan na naman hanggang sa nababarahan ang mga kanal at wala ng madaanan ang tubig kaya baha ang labas. Tuwing Graduation eh namimigay ng cash at mas malaki kung malapit na anng eleksyon.

Kung ganito ang pag-iisip ng nakararaming nahahalal na pinuno ay di malabong siguro nga may anomalya sa pamahalaan. Sa patuloy na pag-andar ng imbestigasyon lalong nagsasanga-sanga ang nadidiskubring katiwalian. Hindi kaya nila naisip na sa bawat magarang sasakyang meron sila at sa bawat bakasyon sa mga mamahaling lugar, sa bawat bili nila ng mga original brands ay may milyong mamamayang Pilipino ang walang angal na kumakayod upang kumain ng tatlong beses sa isang araw. Siguro ang problema sa kasalukuyan ay ang paraan ng paghalal natin ng pinuno. Kaya pala marami ng kandidato tuwing eleksyon ang handang kumitil ng buhay dahil sa karangyaang hatid sa kanila ng posisyong ipagkakaloob sa kanila.

Walang magbabago kung ang karamamihan ay patuloy na sasamba sa tagumpay ng iilan, sa kakarampot na tulong na mula din sa kanilang bulsa at sa patuloy na pagpayag na harap-harapan silang nakawan ng iilang mapagsamantala. Dapat tayo ay patuloy na makiaalam sa pamahalaang tayo ang kinakatawan.

The Spending of the Philippine's Elite

                As Confucius puts it, in a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of. But we can neither deny that elitism is at its best in a country where everyone is free to strive for a better life. Equality will be in the form of human dignity rather than social status. Those who are at the top will be richer and those poor will continue to be poor as long as there are people who are greedy.

                Those who belong to the Elite society of the country enjoy all the possessions and services that their money can purchase. It might be their belief that wealth is the ability to enjoy life to the fullest. In fact, they have much further than what they actually should. Some of them spend more just to make an impression to their peers and to increase their reputation and social standing. Their standing in the society insists suitable class symbols like expensive cars, uncommon Jewelries, pricey imported attire, and Palatial Houses in gated communities or pent house in lofty residential building in the City. The more securities, bodyguards, foreign dogs and uniformed servants they have, the good is their social standing.

                The affluent family sends their kids to the most prominent Catholic Schools or international schools and universities and some in the States or Europe. They secure medical services in the finest hospitals in the country. Their appliances and furniture were rare and some are made to order in abroad. During holidays or just a break from their work, they go to the most deluxe hotels, private resorts and stunning beaches like in Palawan or outside the country. In their elite gatherings, the most classy jewelries glitter, and the best drinks are served. The celebrities and the influential politicians in town are in attendance.

                The population of the country’s elite is just a percent of the country’s total population. For the food of their pets alone, they spend thousand or even million peso yearly. Obviously, the food of the dogs of the rich people in the Philippines is much better and more expensive than the meals of the poor people. And yet, somewhere in Tondo, Mindanao, or under the bridge, Hundreds of people, especially children, die of hunger. But after all, we can’t blame them for the misfortunes of the few, they earn same as anybody in the country, it so happens that they are rich. But poverty can be addressed if everybody is willing to extend their hands to those needy. 

                As long as those who have almost everything forget to look down and continue to seek what money can offer for their pleasure, there will be a continues struggle.

Why you are still Single?

When I stranger greet you, do you greet him back?
Maybe you're the reason why some people don't like you the way you like them.
It's not because you tend to choose your partner, after all we have the right to choose the person we think that can make us happy.

It is because you are afraid of what might be the consequence of your action. You are afraid of not receiving the same amount of love you give. You are afraid that in the end you will end up like those stars in showbizness. You tend to base it on quantity instead of the quality.

Being single is not a problem. Some people can't help but ask for companion because they are lonely and when they found one they will ask for space.

Having no relationship with somebody gives you time for yourself. You can enjoy things that you can't when you are with someone. But it is necessary for us to find somebody that will give us comfort. Life will be lonely when there is no one we can share our struggles and triumphs.

But why are you still single? Are you ugly in most of the peoples perspective except your parents? or you have the qualities that doesn't fit on their standards? Don't think about this questions. Being ugly is not a problem, after all it is relative just like Einstein theorized. It depends on who is looking at you and who are you with. You don't need to live up to the expectation of someone just to be liked. You just need to be you not acting stupid just to be acknowledge by someone.

We are in a cruel world. Almost everyone including you will ask from yourself of something that you cant give. If there are a thousand people in your community and half of that are your relatives and only one of them is the person you like, will you consider to be someone you are not?

message me!

The Making of the New Filipino Hero

  

    With the Man of Steel being a blockbuster in the Philippine cinema recently, a concept of a powerful hero was again fixed in the minds of its young audience while in reality; it will only remain a fiction. Thus, as we grow up, we will face the question of what really it really means to be a hero as we search for a role model in life, a person who will set the paradigm for the member of the society to follow. We couldn’t stay in a place where our basic rights to live is being oppress by the few, it’s a basic instinct of a human being to free himself from what binds him. It is an inherent right that not all people received because somehow in this modern time, there are still few deprived of this very right. This may have been imposed to them and is against their will. Therefore, whoever go against the oppressor to free himself and the rest of the society where he/she belongs to is deemed worthy of becoming a hero just like the past people we have encounter in the pages of our history books.

      The history of the world had almost the same pattern. People will build a community, constitute a government where strong and powerful people will rise to the top. There will be corruption of power and struggle over dominance of his race then chaos will follow. A new group will rise against the old one but of course, with the help of someone who is strong and idealistic. They will build a government that suites to the people he/she will govern. Thus this scenario will be like a cycle of events, somehow the same as that of the dynastic cycle of China. As long as there is an oppressor and oppressed, there will be someone that will rise against it and that will be written down in the annals of human history as a hero.

    

      In the history of the Philippines, the model figure of a hero was embodied by no less than our heroes, Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio and those who have not and made it to the pages of History, when they struggled to pursue the goals amidst the face of oppositions. They sacrifice their live for the cause of the country’s freedom from occupation of several colonialists. They were noble men who died and some of them live to see the Philippines liberated from its occupants. Heroes are not only those use force to overcome the foreign occupational forces as there are those who use nonviolent ways to fight for independence and those who stood out and encouraged the individuals to cry for progress in their working conditions. These men are to be recognized as heroes for their noble advocacy in elevating the welfares of the deprived.

      A hero is a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities (according to dictionary) and is not necessarily someone who has a power, a godlike ability. In other sense, hero is not a character in the epics or in the comic books, they are individuals who are selfless and is willing to protect his friends, families or the communities for the greater good without any interest of being above others. But reality speaks that they are not born, they are chosen by the people amongst men worthy of respect and emulation. There must be public commendation and verdict of their contributions to the society or else, they will be akin to those who selflessly helped for the betterment of others however they are unrecognized.

     With more and more people being regarded as hero despite not committing to the defense of his/her fellow individuals, the perception was revolutionized due to the different challenges of our times.   There are times that the word is distorted and abused. It became a misnomer for its erroneous usage for not  everyone has the quality to be a true hero, but there are persons who are not actually heroes at all being labeled such as the opportunist politicians, who act as if pro-poor in front of the media to seek support from the masses. 

     In the end, a hero is a genuine being who cares for the well being and success of others with no intentions of being famous or seeking an attention for fame or redemption. Someone who goes beyond one’s prospect may be measured a hero.