INO

ALABO

NORZAGARAY, Bulacan — Kung ipasa-sara ay maisasara dahil abot iyan ng kapangyarihan ng alkalde.

Ito ang buod ng mensahe ni Provin-cial AdministratorPearly Mendoza hing-gil sa inirereklamong sunugan ng gulong na patuloy na nagsa-sagawa ng operasyonsa bayang ito kahitwalang kaukulang Mayor’s permitNgunit ayon kay Mayor Feliciano Le-gazpi, hindi niya mai-pasara ang planta ng Meng Hong Trading na matatagpuan saSitio Diliman, Baran-gay Partida, Norzaga-ray dahil hindi paniya natatanggap ang kopya ng Notice of Violation (NOV) naipinalabas ng EMBnoong Hulyo 11, namagiging batayanniya para sa legal napagpapasara ng nasa-bing planta.Nilinaw ni Mendo-za na may kapangya-rihan ang mga alkaldena magpasara ng mgaestablisimyentong ang operasyon ay nakakaapekto sa ka-lusugan ng kanilang mga kababayan dahilkabilang iyon sa res-ponsibilidad bilang isang lingkod bayan.

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INO

ALABO

NORZAGARAY, Bulacan — Kung ipasa-sara ay maisasara dahil abot iyan ng kapangyarihan ng alkalde.

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PCIJ Special Report

Pagcor money machine: Whospends what,and how?

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page 5

PPICommunityPress Awards

•Best EditedWeekly 2003 and 2007•Best in Photojournalism1998 and 2005

ISSN–1655-3853 • HULYO 18 – 24, 2008 • VOL. 29, NO. 29 • 10 PAHINA • P10.00

Mabuhay

LINGGUHANG PILIPINO MULA PA NOONG 1980

KAHIT WALANG MAYOR’S PERMIT

Di pa naisasara ang plantana nagsusunog ng gulong

DI PABOR SA 30% DISCOUNT

9 sa 10 Bulakenyo ayawsa pagsasapera ng IRA

$283-Mpondo ngNorthRailhawak pang Tsina

HAGONOY, Bulacan — Ha-wak pa ng China Export-Import (Cexim) Bank ang nalalabing $283 milyon na inutang ng Pilipinas sa Tsina para sa pagpapagawa ng naantalang 32.2 kilo-metrong proyektong North-Rail na mag-uugnay sa mga lungsod ng Caloocan MetroManila at Malolos Bulacan. Ayon kay Edgardo Pa-mintuan, ang bagong pa-ngulo at Chief ExecutiveOfficer (CEO) ng NorthLuzon Railways Corpora-tion (NLRC), hawak pa ng Cexim Bank ang $283 milyon na nalalabi sa $403milyon kabuoang inutang ng Pilipinas sa Tsina noong 2004 para sa NorthRail.“Nasa kanila pa yung pera,” ani Pamintuan sa

Mabuhay

nang siya aymakapanayam sa bayang ito noong Hulyo 18 kung kailan ay kasama siyang bumisita ni Pangulong Glo-ria Macapagal Arroyo upang mamahagi ng tulong sa mga residente ng Hagonoy na naapektuhan ng nagdaang bagyong Frank.Nilinaw ni Pamintuan sa

Mabuhay

na ang naglabas

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UNGSOD NG

ALOLOS

— Hindi bababa sa 40 silid-aralan ang maipagagawa sa P20 milyon.P20 milyon ang ipina-diskuwento ng mayorya sa Sangguniang Panglalawi-gan (S.P.) nang kanilang apurahin noong Hunyo 27ang pagsasapera ng kabu-oang P66-milyong karagda-gang Internal Revenue Al-lotment (IRA) na di natang-gap ng pamahalaang pang-lalawigan noong 2001 at2004. Ang pagpapadiskuwentong P20 milyon o 30 porsi- yento ng kabuoang karag-dagang P66-milyon IRA ayisa sa mga pamamaraang ipinayo ng pamahalaang nasyunal sa mga pamaha-laang lokal upang makuha ang nasabing salapi, na ti-nutulan naman ng minorya sa S.P. Ang nasabing apurahang pagsasapera ng karagda-gang IRA na hindi pa nata-tanggap ng lalawigan mula sa pamahalaang nasyunalay tinututulan din ng siyamsa 10 Bulakenyong nakapa-nayam ng

Mabuhay

ni-tong nakaraang linggo. Ayon kay Nemie Sabinong bayan ng Hagonoy, “Hin-di ako sang-ayon. Ang hak-bang nila ay di pabor sa bayan. Masyado nilang minadali ang pagkuha ng dagdag na IRA.”Sinabi pa niya na dapatay naging maingat ang mayorya sa S.P. na binubuong mga kakampi at kapar-tido ni Gob. Joselito “Jon- jon” Mendoza.“Paalala lang po, pera iyan na laan para sa taum-bayan,” sabi ni Sabino.Bilang isang inhinyero,sinabi pa niya sa

Mabuhay

na hindi bababa sa 40 silid-aralan ang maipagagawa sa nabanggit na P20 milyonnalugi sa Bulacan.Gayundin ang ang pa-hayag nina Nelson Pangi-linan ng Hagonoy, ArthurLegazpi ng Norzagaray, atng mga Malolenyong sina Joey Jequinto, Nards Go-mez, Arnold Hernandez at

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ENERES

Ka IkingReports

IKE SENERES, a for-eign service official, joins the ranks of

Mabuhay

columnistsstarting this week. Hisinaugural column ison Page 3.

Obet: Baka maupo na

bet:Bakamaupona

ako; Jon-jon: Saan?

ko;Jon-jon:Saan?

UNGSOD NG

ALOLOS

— Ipinahayag ni dating Gob. Roberto “Obet” Pagdanganan na nagwagi siya sa election protest na kanyang isinampa laban kaykasalukuyang Gob. Joselito “Jon-jon” Mendoza na nagsabi naman na hindi siya mapapalitan.Sa pakikipanayam ng

Mabuhay

kay Gob Obetnoong Hulyo 15, sinabi niya na maaari na siyang maupobilang gobernador ng Bulacan sa loob ng tatlong buwan. Ngunit, ayon kay Gob. Jon-jon, hindimangyayari iyon.

“In two to three months

, baka maupo na ako,” aniPagdanganan sa

Mabuhay

, ngunit sinabi naman niMendoza sa hiwalay na pakikipanayam ng

Mabuhay

:“Saan siya mauupo?” Ayon kay Obet, hiniling na niya sa Commission onElections (Comelec) na itigil ang muling pagbilang sa 4,800 presinto na kanyang iprinotesta mataposmabilang ang mga boto sa unang 3,500 presinto kung saan ay sinabi niya na lumamang na siya ng 45,000boto kay Jon-jon.“Pinatigil ko na, ’yung recount dahil malaki na ang lamang ko,” ani ng dating punong lalawigan sa

Mabuhay

Ngunit, sinabi rin ni Obet na nagsampa

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Kailangan ang NOVbago ito maipasara

HINDI MAIKUBLING USOK

—

Sa kabila ng makapal napunong kahoy na tumatabing, hindi pa rin maikubli angoperasyon ng Meng Hong Trading sa Sitio Diliman, BarangayPartida, Norzagaray, Bulacan dahil sa makapal na usok ng mgagulong na sinusunog nila, ngunit hindi pa rin ito maipasara ngpamahalaang bayan ng Norzagaray.

—

INO

ALABO

Mabuhay

LINGGUHANG PILIPINO MULA PA NOONG 1980

HULYO 18 – 24, 2008

Napapanahon

INDA

R. P

ACIS

Dalawang ‘Dangal ng Baliwag’

SA isyung ito, dalawa sa mga binigyan ng Pamahalaang Bayanng Gawad Dangal ng Baliwag noong Buntal Festival ang aming itatampok na walang iba kundisina Engr. Ireneo S. Villangca,may-ari ng 8-Waves Waterparkand Hotel at Dr. Emiterio Tibur-cio, nagretirong Dean of Arts andSciences sa Baliwag University.

Engr. Ireneo Santos Villangca

Si Engr. Villangca ay ipinanga-nak noong June 28, 1931, biyudona may pitong anak. Si Lydia Villangca ang kanyang butihing maybahay na namayapa na. Ang kanyang mga anak ay sina Marieta V. Evangelista, Marisol V. Bena-vides, Marcelino D. Villangca,Melinda V. Cruz, Merlita V. Rodri-guez, Florentino D. Villangca, atMananita V. Santiago.Siya ay alumni ng Baliwag Jun-ior College (Baliwag University)kung saan siya nagtapos ng highschool noong1948.Tinapos naman niya ang Bach-elor of Science in Civil Engineer-ing sa Mapua Institute of Tech-

Buntot Pagé

ERFECTO

V. R

AYMUNDO

Simbahang Katoliko vs mambabatas

KAPANSIN-PANSIN ang banga- yan ngayon ng Simbahang Ka-toliko at ilang mambabatas na pabor sa reproductive health billkung saan sakop nito ang familyplanning.Labag sa batas ng Diyos ang nasabing bill, ayon umano sa Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).Maganda sana ang isinusulong na family planning dahil malakiang maitutulong nito para ma-pigilan ang paglobo ng populasyonat mababawasan ang mga magu-gutom na bata na nakatakda sa-nang iluwal mula sa sinapupunanng mga ina. Ngunit tinututulannga ito ng Simbahang Katoliko na ang ibinibigay na katuwiran aylabag daw ito sa batas ng Diyos.Naging mainit ang sagutan ng dalawang panig na magkasalungatng paniniwala at paninindigan sa pambansang isyu.Kung masusing pag-aaralan,positibo at maituturing na ma-ganda ang pagkakaroon ng pag-paplano ng pamilya. Malaki ang maitutulong nito sa mga pamilya na nabibilang sa mahihirap na walang kakayanan na itaguyod ng maayos ang malaking pamilya.Sa mga lugar na nagdarahopay dapat na tutukan ang pagpa-patupad ng family planning dahildito mo makikita ang maraming

Promdi

INO

ALABO

ISANG taon na rin ang nakalipas,ngunit hanggang ngayon ay hindipa niya nabibigyan ng disiplina ang kanyang pulis na body guardna nanulak sa mga mamamahayag sa araw ng kanyang panunumpa sa makasaysayang simbahan ng Barasoain noong nakaraang taon.

* * *

Ang nasabing pulis na bodyguard ay parang isang mantsa na nakadikit sa Bagong Bulakenyo.Kaya naman binansagan itong “lumang bulukenyo”.

* * *

Makasaysayan ang unang taonng Bagong Bulakenyo sa panu-nungkulan bilang punong lala-wigan ng Bulacan.Bukod sa siya ang unang Ca-pitan Del Barrio na nahalal bilang gobernador ng lalawigan, mara-ming pangyayaring naganap —paglaganap ng rabies, pagsalanta ng mga biglang pagbaha sa mara-ming bayan at fish kill sa Balagtas— hanggang sa magdeklara ng state of calamity sa lalawigan. Ang kabanatang ito ay mata-tawag na “Ang Bagong Bulakenyoat ang mga Delubyo.”

* * *

Ang mas malaking proble-mang kaakibat ng mga delubyong nabanggit ay ang pagpapalabasng Provincial Pubic Affairs Office(PPAO) ng pahayag na mayroong “outbreak” ng swine flu at hog cholera sa mga babuyan sa lala-wigan.Nasundan pa ito ng pagpapa-labas ng imbitasyon sa isang pressconference kung saan ay tatala-kayin daw ang swine flu at hog cholera “epidemic” sa Bulacan.

* * *

Kasunod nito ay ang pagputokng balitang kabilang ang kailuganng Marilao at Meycauayan sa 30pinakamaruruming lugar sa mundo na tinaguriang “Dirty 30”. Ang kabanatang ito ay mata-tawag na “Ang Bagong Bulakenyoat ang mga Salaulang Bulakenyo.”

* * *

Hindi pa masyadong humu-hupa ang usap-usapan sa “Dirty30” ay pumutok naman ang balita

Unang taon ng Bagong Bulakenyo

nology noong 1952 at naipasa niya ang Board Examination for CivilEngineers noon ding 1952.Una siyang nagtrabaho sa Na-tional Irrigation Administration(Plaridel, Bulacan) mula 1952hanggang 1968 nang siya na ang Provincial Irrigation Engineer.Mula doon ay ddon naman siya nagtrabaho sa Provincial En-gineer’s Office hanggang ihirang siya na Provincial Engineer ng Bulacan.Itinatag niya ang VillamarConstruction and DevelopmentCorporation noong 1972 na hang-gang ngayon ay patuloy niyang pinamumunuan bilang presidentat general manager.Napili siyang Outstanding Provincial Engineer ng Bulakenyoat Metropolitan Press and Radio-TV Club of the Philippines Inc.noong 1971.Tumanggap siya ng Presiden-tial Award mula kay PresidentFerdinand Marcos noong 1968bilang Outstanding GovernmentEmployee.Noon namang 1975 ay hini-rang siyang Outstanding Busi-nessman at nakamit niya ang Guillermo Mendoza MemorialFoundation Award.Dahil sa mahusay na pagkaka-gawa ng Alcala-Amulong Pump-ing Station, tumanggap siya ng Certificate of Appreciation noong March 24, 1983 mula sa Amulong,Cagayan.Binigyan din siya ng Depart-ment of the Interior and LocalGovernment ng isang Plaque of Commendation dahil natapos niya ang Gamu-Lullutan-San Anto-nio Road sa Ilagan, Isabela ng ng tatlong buwan “ahead of sched-ule”. Mismong si President Fidel V. Ramos ang naggawad ng para-ngal sa kanya noong Hunyo, 1996.Marami pa siyang natanggapna mga parangal. Kabilang ditoang: 1) Dangal ng Lipi Awardgaling kay Gob. Josie Dela Cruz,Setyembre 12, 1999, Malolos,Bulacan; 2) Outstanding Alum-nus, Baliwag Colleges; 3) Out-standing Alumnus (Private Sec-tor) MIT-CE-NSE Alumni Asso-

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mga bata na walang muwang sa nangyayari sa kanilang kapa-ligiran.Nakaaawa ang kanilang kala-gayan: halos walang makain ang mga inosenteng bata na basta na lamang iniluwal ng kanilang mga ina na hindi alam ang kanilang magiging kinabukasan. Ang Simbahang Katoliko na tumututol umano sa pagkontrolsa pagpaparami ng pamilya aylantarang nakikipagdebate sa mga nagsusulong nito, ngunitwala namang nakikita ang publikosa kanila na pagtulong sa ating mga mahihirap na kababayan.Marahil ay dapat masusing pag-aralan ang pagpaplano ng pamilya at saka na lamang mag-sabatas ng anumang magiging kapaki-pakinabang sa mga ma-hihirap na pamilya, lalong lalo na ngayong panahon ng pagdarahop.

Dahil sa pag-ibig

MINSAN pang napatunayan na

BULAG ANG PAG-IBIG

. Ito ang kaganapan sa buhay nina Car-mela B. Reyes, reporter ng

Phil-ippine Daily Inquirer

sa Bu-lacan at dating police Capt.Samuel Estrope na isang Muslimat kasalukuyang nakapiit sa NewBilibid Prison sa Muntinlupa.Ikinasal sina Carmela at Es-trope sa Function Hall ng NBPng nagkasal din kay Robin Padilla.Tumpak ang sinabi ni Fran-cisco Balagtas na: “Pag-ibig, pag ikaw ay pumasok sa puso ni-numan, hahamakin ang lahatmasunod ka lamang ...”Naging mga ninong sa nasabing kasalan sina dating Bulacan Gob.Obet Pagdanganan at Bise Gob. Willy Sy-Alvarado.Congratulations sa mga ba-gong kasal.

Judge Petrita Dime pumanaw na ...

HINDI inaasahan ang maagang pagpanaw ni Executive JudgePetrita Dime ng Regional TrialCourt ng Bulacan. Siya ay bina-wian ng buhay sa FEU Hospitalnoong Hulyo 10, matapos na siya ay dalhin doon dahil sa na-dehy-drate siya sa kanyang tahanan sa North Fairview sa Quezon City.Naulila ni Judge Dime ang kanyang namimighating kabiyakna si G. Romeo Dime, mga anakna sina Atty. Ronald, Rosele atRoan na isang doktor.Tubong Burgos, Pangasinan si Judge Dime. Nagtapos siya ng abogasya sa Unibersidad ng Pili-pinas noong 1962 at ka-batch niya si Supreme Court Chief JusticeReynato Puno.Bago maging Executive Judgeng Bulacan, naglingkod muna si

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hinggil sa pagtanggap ng mga gobernador ng P500,000 sa Mala-kanyang, kung saan ay itinuro niPampanga Governor Eddie“Among Ed” Panlilio ang Bagong Bulakenyo na siyang nag-abot ng brown bag na may pera sa kanyang chief of staff.Noong una ay itinanggi ng Bagong Bulakenyo sa mga mama-mahayag na kumapanayam sa kanya ang kanyang pagkaka-sangkot. Ngunit nang idiin siya ni Among Ed ay umamin din siya. Ang kabanatang ito ay mata-tawag na “Ang Bagong Bulakenyoat ang Brown Bag na may Kala-hating Milyong Piso.”

* * *

Hindi pa doon natapos ang usap-usapan sa “brown bag.”Sinabi ng Bagong Bulakenyo na ibabalik daw niya ang nasabing salapi, ngunit di nagtagal, sinabiniya na gagastustusin na lang niya sa pagbili ng mga halamang namumulaklak na itatanim sa harding pinasinayaan niya sa harap ng kapitolyo. Hanggang ngayon, wala pang naitanim na halaman doon.Nang tanungin siya ng mga mamamahayag, sinabi niya na gagamitin niya ang nasabing pera para sa mga barangay. Kinabu-kasan, sinabi niya ang pera aygagamiting pambili ng halamanpara sa hardin at ang iba aygagamitin sa barangay.

* * *

Bago naman matapos ang 2007, umusok ang debate sa Sangguniang Panglalawigan (S.P.)hinggil sa proyektong BulacanBulk kung saan ang pinagtalunanng mayoryang kakampi ng Bagong Bulakenyo at minoryang kapa-nalig ni Bise Gob. Willy Alvaradoay kung iuurong ba o itutuloy ang kaso ng Bulacan laban sa Metro-politan Waterworks and SewerageSystem (MWSS) upang pagba- yarin ang huli sa Bulacan sa paggamit nito ng tubig mula sa Angat Dam.Matapos ang mahahaba atmaiinit na debate sa mga magka-

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Kakampi mo ang Batas

TTY

. B

ATAS

AURICIO

Karapatang magmana ng anak sa labas

TANONG

: Ano po ba ang percentng mana ng isang anak sa labas sa namatay na ama? (639202408641)

Sagot

: Maraming salamat posa tanong na ito. Ayon po sa Fam-ily Code of the Philippines, ang isang anak sa labas ay mayroonna ngayong karapatang magmana mula sa kanyang mga magulang. Ayon sa Art. 176 ng Family Code,ang halaga ng mamanahin ng isang anak sa labas ay kalahati ng mamanahin ng bawat lehitimong anak. Ganito ang pagkakasabi ng Art. 176: “xxx The legitime of each illegitimate child shall con-sist of one-half of the legitime of a legitimate child xxx” Halim-bawa, ang mamanahin ng isang lehitimong anak ay sampung piso. Ang anak sa labas, na kapatid ng lehitimong anak, ay tatanggap ng limang piso bilang kanyang mana.Kung sakaling hindi ibibigay ng mga lehitimong anak ang dapatmamanahin ng anak sa labasbagamat ito ay kinikilala namanng magulang na pagmamanahan,maaaring magsampa ng kaso ang anak sa labas upang pilitin ang pagbibigay ng mana sa kanya. Sa kabilang dako, kung hindi namankinikilala ng magulang ang bata,maaaring magsampa ito ng kasoupang siya ay makilala muna.

Empleyadong di nagtrabaho,walang suweldo

Tanong

: Itatanong ko lang sana, Attorney Batas, kung ang isang empleyado ng contractor ay na-kuryente ON DUTY, siya ba aypatuloy na sasahod? (63915-8108360).

Sagot

: Salamat po tanong na ito. Sa ilalim ng Labor Code of the Philippines, ang isang em-pleyadong hindi na nagtatrabaho,sa anupamang kadahilanan, ayhindi na babayaran ng kanyang suweldo. Sa kabilang dako, kung ang dahilan ng hindi niya pagta-trabaho ay ang pagkakasakit opagkakaaksidente niya dahil sa kanyang trabaho, hindi na nga siya susuwelduhan ng kanyang kompanya pero may matatanggapnaman siyang mga pamalit mula sa Social Security System at mula sa Employees CompensationCommission. Mula sa dalawang ahensiyang ito manggagaling ang mga tinatawag na disability ben-efits, na siya munang pamalit sa sahod na hindi makukuha ng manggagawa habang siya ay maysakit at nagpapagaling.

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EDITORIAL

Alfredo M. Roxas, Jose Romulo Q. Pavia, JoseGerardo Q. Pavia, Joey N. Pavia , Jose Visitacion Q.Pavia, Carminia L. Pavia, Perfecto Raymundo Jr.,Dino Balabo

PRODUCTION

Jose Antonio Q. Pavia, Jose Ricardo Q. Pavia,Mark F. Mata, Maricel P. Dayag

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Eden Uy, Allan Peñaredondo, Joseph Ryan S.Pavia

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CIRCULATION

Robert T. Raymundo, Armando M. Arellano,Jess Camaro, Fred LopezThe

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Mabuhay

LINGGUHANG PILIPINO MULA PA NOONG 1980

Jose L. Pavia

Publisher/Editor

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Managing Editore-mail

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HULYO 18 – 24, 2008

Mabuhay

LINGGUHANG PILIPINO MULA PA NOONG 1980

Depthnews

UAN

L. M

ERCADO

‘Then, the fight began’

Cebu Calling

. R

IMAGALA

Reading the signs of the times

Forward to Basics

. F

RANCIS

B. O

NGKINGCO

A story about lightDo not be deceived

Regarding Henry

ENRYLITO

D. T

ACIO

(That’s the title of four anecdotesthat a friend told while we waited for our flights. Laughing, speciallyat yourself, is therapeutic, he said. Read and understand why. — JLM)

AFTER retiring, this gent wentto apply for Social Security. Thewoman, behind the counter, askedfor a driver’s license to verify hisage. The chap looked in his pock-ets, only to realize he had left itat home.“Sorry. I’ll have to pick it upand come back,” he said.“No need. Just unbutton yourshirt,” the clerk replied.He did as told and revealed hischest’s silver hair.‘That white hair is proof enough,” the clerk said, then pro-cessed his application. When he got home, he told hiswife about the experience at theSocial Security office.There was once a pagan King whohad a son he loved so dearly. Hewas his only joy in life, especiallyafter his wife died giving birth tothis only child. To this misfortunewas added another: his son wasborn blind. He wanted him to betruly happy and gave him every-thing you can imagine: toys, food,lessons in all sorts of disciplinesand arts.One day the boy asked his fa-ther, “Father, what is light like?”The King was greatly grievedbecause it was something he knewwould be next to impossible toexplain.But he didn’t give up easily.He thought there might be somewise man in the world who couldmake his son understand whatlight was.He announced to the four cor-ners of his kingdom and beyond,that he was willing to reward beyond rewards anyone who couldexplain to his son what light was.In no time his palace was over-flowing with wise men from allover. There were fat ones, thinones, tall and handsome ones,short and rugged ones, and manymore that would be too long todescribe. When they learned thatthe boy was blind, they exclaimedthat this was impossible. TheKing was asking for a something ridiculous.Others, however, attempted tomake the boy grasp what lightI USUALLY don’t open e-mailssent to me by someone whom Ireally don’t know. But there wasone I opened recently because itasked for my help. “I have writ-ten an earlier mail to you but noresponse,” so goes the message.But hey, I never received previousmail from this guy before.“In my first mail I mentionedto you about my late client whodeposited some fund with a fi-nance company here in UnitedKingdom before he died in April2003,” the sender explains. “Hebears the same surname with you.”That’s interesting. I neverknew a relative, for that matteranyone, living in Europe, excepta friend.“Since his death, I have re-ceived several letters from thesaid finance company to providehis next of kin or any of his rela-tives who can make claim to thefunds before the end of the yearor the company will be left withno option than to confiscate theconsignment and turn the moneyback to the state,” the messagegoes on. “As it has been markedunclaimed for four years, I haveconducted my personal search tosee if I can make contact with anyof his relatives but without suc-cess. It is in the course of my ef-fort that I came to contact you.”Now, how did he learn aboutme, I really don’t have any idea.The sender argues, “I haveclosely checked and since you bearthe same surname with my de-ceased client it will be better topresent you as the next of kin andthe right beneficiary of the fundsin the account.” At the end of his message, hereiterates, “Do respond quick if you are interested or should youneed further clarification becausewe have no much time left.”If I had responded to him, ITHIS task already had its trickyparts since time immemorial. Butcompared to present conditions,the past was rather a very simpleand easy task to carry out.Given the multiplying forcesand influences that go into ourcurrent culture, reading the signsof the times has become a formi-dable task that approaches thelevel of a nightmare. And precisely because of ourcomplex, intricate and puzzling world, this task has become morenecessary. We need to stay awayfrom the grip of ignorance, confu-sion, error, the ingredients of per-dition.Still, not everything is lost andbeyond hope. The amount of in-formation, given our ever-devel-oping technologies, is not onlymassive and profound but is alsomuch easier to access now.Besides, we are never lacking of people with great potentials toeffectively undertake this deli-cate task. We just need to discoverthem and inspire them. What we needed at present isthe discipline to have an abiding concern to read the signs of thetimes. This is no simple thing, sinceit’s not just a matter of attitude,habits and skills, though they fig-ure prominently in this task. Yes, we need to learn how tocollect data, compare notes, dia-logue with different parties, con-sult experts, study, reflect, makeconclusions and plan, etc., but allthese are not enough.Rather, this discipline in theend depends on our living contactand relationship with what weShe snapped: ‘You should havedropped your pants. You mighthave gotten disability, too’

And then the fight began. …

At this high school reunion,this man kept staring at a drunkenlady swigging her drink as she satalone at a nearby table.Her interest piqued, his wifeasked: “Do you know her?”“Yes,” the husband said with a deep sigh, “She’s my old girlfriend.I understand she took to drink-ing right after we split up thosemany years ago. And I hear shehasn’t been sober since.”“Good heavens,” says the wife,“Who’d think a person could goon celebrating that long?”

And then, the fight began. …

Now, this gent rear-ended a carin the morning rush hour. So,there they were, alongside theroad as other cars inched past theirsquashed vehicles. And then, thedriver of the other car got out.“Sometimes, you just get soooostressed and little things seemfunny?, he explained. “Believe itor not. The driver coming towardsme was a dwarf. He stormed overto my car, looked up at me, andshouted: ‘I am not happy.’ So, Ilooked down at him and asked:‘Well, then which one of the sevendwarfs are you?’”

And then, the fight began. …

This lady looks looks long andhard in the bedroom mirror. Sheis not happy with what she sees.“I feel horrible,” she tells thehusband who is reading the news-papers. “I look old, fat and ugly. Ireally need you to pay me a com-pliment.”“Your eyesight’s damn nearperfect,” the husband says with-out looking up.

And then, the fight began. …

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consider as our God, what we re-gard as our ultimate source of lightand understanding.This is where the main prob-lem comes. Many of us still relyalmost exclusively on our owndevices, our own natural endow-ments. Many still have not man-aged to link our best resourceswith an objective and transcen-dent God.Instead, many of us still feelour high intelligence, our clever-ness, our increasing scientific ex-pertise are enough. It is as if thesecan be equivalent to God. Thus,we fail to realize that our sophis-tication can turn into naivete.Remember St. Paul saying:“The foolish things of the worldhas God chosen, that he may con-found the wise. The weak thingsof the world has God chosen, thathe may confound the strong.”

(1 Cor 1,27)

Many of us still don’t realizethat this objective and transcen-dent God, completely supernatu-ral to us, makes himself accessibleto us in ways that are revealed aswell as established by him, withour cooperation.There are the doctrines, thesacraments, the Church, etc. thatcan truly connect us with this liv-ing God. What’s needed is thatwe have the necessary disposi-tions, and from there, the appro-priate practices and virtues, tokeep this bond alive and abiding.

With these prerequisites, we canaspire to read the signs of the times.We can penetrate the externals andappearances, expose the ethos ani-mating our society, and monitor itsdevelopment — from gestation to ma-turity and decay.

With these prerequisites, wecan have the needed criteria for judgment, and keep distance fromshallow and narrow perceptions. We would have a running accountof how things are evolving in thedifferent areas. We have to acquire the exper-tise of identifying the significantelements of our current culture,and to articulate what is good andbad in them, what is right andwrong. Only then can we attemptto come up with the appropriateremedies. And I believe that therealways are cures for our problems.These days, for example, thePope has warned us about the dan-gers of relativism, both in belief and in morals. We need to be fa-miliar with its nature, ways andmanifestations.There are other disturbing isms affecting us today, like indi-vidualism, hedonism, positivism,etc. We need to know them andsee how they are affecting us.From there, we can try toclarify matters, pointing out theirlack of basis, their inherent con-tradictions, and the unavoidabledead ends that they lead to. Of course, we have to do all this withutmost charity, shunning unnec-essary frictions with other people. We have to outgrow whateverhesitation we may have with re-spect to this responsibility. Some-times, we think this is too cere-bral, too abstract and not rel-evant, since its need and effectsare often not directly felt.

— roycimagala@hotmail.com

was like. Some made him feel theheat from a burning torch, othersmade him hear the explosion fromfirecrackers, and a few gifted onesperformed incredible magictricks with lights and mysteriouscolor effects.But after all these, the boysadly confided to his father, theKing. “Father, I can hear thebooms and smell the fumes, butI’m afraid I will never know whatlight is.” And they both cried indespair.One day, just as the last wiseman left the castle, a stranger ar-rived. The guards asked what hewanted, he said, “I am going tomake the King’s son see light!”

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would have been a millionaire bynow. The deceased person report-edly left some US$15 million andthe man who sent me the mes-sage said we will “provide youwith all the necessary legal back-ing that is required until thismoney is paid out to you.”However, he wants “a sharebased on our agreement.”Remember the famous line,“There’s a sucker born everyminute.” This phrase is oftencredited to American showmanP.T. Barnum. It is generally takento mean there are (and always willbe) a lot of gullible people in theworld.Perhaps the first recorded gull-ible person was the first womanherself, Eve. God told Adam andEve not to eat the fruit “from thetree that is in the middle of thegarden” of Eden. While Adam wassleeping, the crafty serpent toldEve that she “will surely die.”The serpent explained, “For Godknows that when you eat of it youreyes will be opened, and you willbe like God, knowing good andevil.”The temptation was too strong for her. After all, the fruit was“good for food and pleasing to theeye, and also desirable for gain-ing wisdom.” So, she took someand ate it. She also gave some to Adam. The rest is now history.“O woman, born first to be-lieve us,” American poet and jour-nalist Joaquin Miller writes.“Yea, also born first to forget, bornfirst to betray and deceive us, yetfirst to repent and regret.”Nobel Prize winner AlbertCamus contends, “We always de-ceive ourselves twice about thepeople we love — first to theiradvantage, then to their disadvan-tage.”“Human beings will continueto deceive and overpower one an-

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Ka Iking Reports

ENERES

DEAR

Casimanua

, Today is thefirst day of the rest of your life.This is the day you will have todecide what you can do to helpbuild your nation. You hear ev-eryone talk about national devel-opment, but very few people seemto be talking about nation build-ing. As I see it, we have to buildour nation first before we coulddevelop it, given the definition of what a nation ought to be.By definition, a sovereign na-tion is supposed to be composedof one people, one territory andone government. The latter twoappears to be easy and are alreadygiven, but it seems that there ismuch to be done for us to becomeone people. To begin with, we arenot yet a tightly knit people witha common culture, a common defi-nition of what a people is. Build a nation first, and then developwhat has been built. Strictlyspeaking, however, these two arenot mutually exclusive, meaning to say that we could do these twotogether hand in hand, like bodyand soul. I should say soul andbody, because it is the nation thatshould be the soul of a nationalbody. Are you my

Casimanua

? Youare, if you are a Filipino or if youare a child of Filipino parents orgrandparents, regardless of whom you are or where you are now. Inold usage, a

Casimanua

is a townmate from your own “

bayan

”.In these modern times how-ever, we could just freely use theterm to refer to our compatriots,in the same way that we use“

kababayan

”.Can you do something to helpin nation building? Everyone can,and we could all find our ownplaces in this noble exercise. Ihave found my place, and I amsure that you could find yours. Itis now my place to help those whoare doing something, whatever itis, to build our nation, and to telleveryone about it, using the massmedia. You do not have to go very farto help build your nation. All youhave to do is to help build yourown village. Like pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle, we could build ournation by building its smallercomponent parts, starting with your

barangay

which is the small-est unit of government in ourcountry. Amidst the bad news that tellsus about the negative side of ourcountry, there is good news aboutorganizations and agencies thatare working to build our nation.The problem is their efforts arenot woven together in a commonloom, and there is no sustainedeffort to tell everyone about theirgood deeds.One way to bring about a tightly knit people is to makethem work together towards a

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Letter to my country mates