Adel Tamano on the defense

ADEL TAMANO after all is not just a prettyboy spokesperson of the Genuine opposition when he defended Islam [and even Christianity] against those who stereotype Muslims and link them to organized cheating.

He said in the Inquirer:

“But cheating is cheating whether committed by Muslims or Christians and should be condemned. The law prohibiting election fraud makes no distinction based on religion,” he said.

"Those attempting to make the issue a war between the Muslims and the Christians have completely missed the point," said Tamano. (An excerpt from the Inquirer.net.).

As I have made my point earlier, it is unfair [and even pathetic] to tag Islam and Christianity with the election fraud. Some advances have been made to unite Muslims and Christians, particularly for the peace and development efforts in Mindanao.

I just hope that this election will not engender divisiveness. Not again!

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Maguindanao 12-0 vote, explained

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NGOs must learn how to fish

I HAD A chance to sneak-in during the Luzon Inter-PAC Development Planning Workshop of the PEACE and Equity Foundation (PEF) yesterday, and had a rare opportunity to listen to the lecture of Dan Songco where he discussed the need for NGOs to engage into social enterprises. The following is a summary of what I learned from him:

"During the 80s, NGOs responded to the needs of the time to help the government deliver the service gaps the latter has failed to deliver. During this time, funding from the international donor agencies were abundant. However, in the 90s, grants for programs and projects began to come in trickles. As a result, some NGOs, which failed to sustain their operations because of heavy dependence on external funding sources, either closed shop or have limited their areas of operations and scope of services. NGOs now face a financial sustainability issue.

One possible solution to this is for NGOs to venture into social enterprises. The bottomline is earning profit in order for them to pursue their mission and goal for the clients they intend to serve. Now, they have to rethink their strategies, identify their strength, study the market and learn what they were not used to do--that is making profit."

This is not impossible. Some are already into social enterprises. One common example is the Good Shepherd Convent in Baguio City. With limited funding for their scholarship project, they used their craft and skill in cooking jams and sweets, thus Good Shepherd in Baguio is somewhat synonymous to jams and jellies. With their profit, they could send girls to school.

I also had a chance to work with the Salesian Brothers of St. Louis School of Dumaguete (which was formerly operated by the CICM congregation, thus the name St. Louis). The Salesian Brothers are running the Don Bosco, which is known for their technical and vocational school for the poor. Since Dumaguete City is still primarily agricultural, they rather engaged into Diversified and Integrated Farming Training Program. Initially, they got funding from the German Doctors for Developing Countries and Algers Foundation. However, they failed to sustain their operations after the funding has been exhausted. Learning from this, they proposed to the Philippines-Canada Development Fund (where I used to work as a Project Officer) that they would like to sustain their project. Thus, the program includes income-generating component (setting up their piggery and poultry projects), which aims to raise funds for financial sustainability, as well as to continue the mission to train poor households on their farming technology. And it didn't hurt the intended beneficiaries now if they were charged for a minimal fee for their training. Now, the DIFTP is self-sustaining. The last time I heard, they have expanded their services into the other barangays.

If NGOs' mission then was guided by the motto "teach a man how to fish" in order for him to be free from the bondage of poverty, today's NGOs must also learn how to fend for themselves, and become financially independent in order that they can stay on the ground and sustain their mission.

Note: Dan Songco, together with Karen Tañada, was also one of my mentors in Community Organizing for Coastal Resource Management way back ca. 1992.

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Among Governor

WATCHING THE EVENING news today is delightful. Why not? Fr. Ed Panlilio, a native of Minalin Pampanga won over incumbent Governor Mark Lapid, and Lilia Pineda, with a measly 1,147 votes. The proclamation was a sight to behold, not only because it was a time for jubilation. More importantly it is historical as this is the first time to elect a [former] man of the cloth.

I am not a Kapampangan, but my heart goes for the supporters of Fr. Ed. Pampanga has been a haven of controversies like jueteng, the never-ending megadike issues, and the recent controversy over Mark Lapid's alleged marriage with a Korean in the US. They deserve a new leader who is not linked, at least, to these controversial issues.

I am happy for the Kapampangans, and I wish the new governor to muster enough courage, loyalty, determination, and commitment to serve his people just as how he has served his flock when he was still a priest. This brings me to wish that my fellow Novo Ecijanos would also learn from the Kapampangans to topple down the oligarchy of Josons. (I am not sure but I think, the Josons were also defeated for the gubernatorial seat.).

It is disheartening to witness some uneventful events this elections--massive fraud and vote buying, poltics-related killings, and many more violations of the election code. But hearing and watching these good news could somehow lift the dampen the spirit of the Filipinos.

It is not yet too late to change our poltical system. It is not too late to choose a leader who can bring peace and development. It is not yet too late for us to change from within.

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The legacy of an old chair

I TOOK the responsibility of enrolling my two sons this afternoon, and I just realized how alienated I am from the schooling of my two sons, ages 12 and 9. I didn't know where and how to enrol them and I felt as dumb as a high school freshman, not knowing where the registrar and the cashier are. So I resorted to asking parents (mostly mothers) who were there on how to proceed.

Thank heavens I did not trust the security guard because his instructions did not help me at all! He showed me the wrong room for registration. The teachers seemed inutile sitting along the corridor while writing on some pieces of paper, when in fact they were tasked to assess the tuition fees. I did not know that until I asked them, which prompted me to tell them they should put a sign on their table that says "Tuition Fee Assessment". (Pinakialaman ko na naman ang sistema nila). To think that is a private school run by nuns!

Anyway, I am just blurting my horrible experience enrolling my two sons.

What I wanted to share is that I finished reading Bob Ong's book ABNKKBSNPLAko?!. Reading him was like a trip back to my days in the public school--that I could relate to his funny stories on the legendary nutribun, and felt guilty for being teachers' pet (yes "teachers"), for power tripping over my classmates (Who would not dare to power trip? My mother was a teacher! Smile. Bad me!).

This also brings memories of my old chair that I photographed last December 2006. It is now painted yellow. It used to be just brown with its faded varnish. This old chair (yes the one in the photo) is almost 50 years old. All seven of us, including our cousins, nieces and nephews who lived in our house, sat on this chair. Only one of these remained of the four kiddie chairs. The study table is still intact.

What brings me to be sentimental about it? It is because it carried all of us--all seven of us, now successful in our profession and careers. I remember sitting on this chair doing my homework and school projects or just making doodles on my notebooks and pad papers, or while watching TV or delightfully listening to our late Papang's story about their tragic experiences during the Japanese occupation. And I would not forget our Papang fixing the chairs whenever they get wobbly or broken.

Just like how our parents saw us through elementary, high school and college years, this chair carried us through our schooling--that becomes a symbol of our passion for learning.

------

BACK TO: INKBLOTS' PSYCHE

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In the defense of birthright

THIS WEBSITE called Uncyclopedia, which is a pale parody of Wikipedia has infuriated me when I learned about this in my Flickr group.

This website presents itself as a satire to the Philippines and to other nations, people, events, things, and cultural practices, but simply failed to bring the humor it has intended to elicit from the readers. While it intends to entertain, it is far from entertaining people, especially someone like me.

This is not humor or entertainment or comedy. This is utter disrespect of one’s culture. Once a joke touches on culture, it is no longer humor. It is maligning one’s living tradition.

It even provides a link: which says: “For those without comedic tastes, the so-called experts at Wikipedia have an article about Philippines.” This further makes their website rather pathetic.

This is not satire. Wikipedia states: “Satire (from Latin satira, "medley, dish of colourful fruits") is an artistic form, chiefly literary and dramatic, in which human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure by means of ridicule, derision, burlesque, irony, or other methods, sometimes with an intent to bring about improvement. It is used in graphic arts and performing arts as well. Although satire is usually witty, and often very funny, the purpose of satire is not primarily humour but criticism of an event, an individual or a group in a clever manner.”

And I underscore “clever” because it will never be such. This is not an art but a trash coming out from a trashy mouth.

This is brazenly dehumanizing and racist, not to mention debasement and disrespect of Filipino women and the Filipino poor. To think that there are Filipino contributors in the website, makes me even puke more in anger and disgust. I would not wonder why they could audaciously describe the Philippines in such manner, but I would willingly eject them to Pluto because they do not have any right to malign our country.

Sure, we do have out flaws, iniquities, inadequacies, frailties as a third world nation. But I still love it the way it is. The Philippines is my home. Our home.

This is my territory and I would defend it from intruders like them!

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