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message board 4...
Name: Adelbert S. Batica
Address: 207 West 31st Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Email: [email protected]
Date: 9 Dec. 2004
To date, many excellent write-ups and
praises have been heaped on WOW Philippines latest focus on Region
8, which currently taking place in Intramuros. I had a chance to
"zoom in" on a photo of one of the booths. The whole event does
look impressive, but I'm still disappointed and upset at the theme "Kasadya
Ning Takna-a ha iyo Ngatanan", because it only confuses many, as to
the predominant language in Region 8, which is
Binisaya-Lineyte-Samarnon or winaray (sorry about being "politically
incorrect").
As Leyteños and Samareños, we are
clearly defined by the language we speak. And if it's the unique
culture of Leyte and Samar that DOT wants the rest of the
Philippines and the world to be aware of, then they have missed a
step or two here. Our language and culture are inseparable and
should not be tinkered with for convenience's sake. Leyte and Samar
are not a piece of merchandise that can be assigned just any label
such as "kasadya" for promotional purposes. DOT should have used
the phrase Kasadya ning Takna-a as the most appropriate label for
Cebu and other Cebuano-speaking provinces, but certainly not Leyte
and Samar.
Kulang iton nga titulo nga iginhatag
han DOT, nga Kasadya Ning Takna-a ha Iyo Ngatanan. Damo it
magkakalilipat hini nga ira pagbunyag. "Kasadya ning takna-a ha iyo
ngatanan", sering pa hit DOT. Ngan it akon naman baton: "Kasadya
ning takna-a kaninyo, ngan mga Perestihon liwat kamo!" o sino, "Kasadya
ning takna-a kaninyo, ngan han iyo mga iroy liwat!" Kon baga ha
kinatsila pa: Feliz Navidad y Tu Mama Tambien!
Name: Adelbert S. Batica
Address: 207 West 31st Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55408, USA
Email: [email protected]
Date: 19 Nov. 2004
To Members, Friends and Supporters of
Gugma han Samar:
Something just occurred to me as a
result of an exchange of messages between myself and The Professor
yesterday. I was actually headed for the airport last night, en
route to San Francisco for a special assignment, when I received a
notice of cancellation of my trip at the last minute. A San
Francisco visit, no matter how brief, would have been a clincher as
I was already imagining a very profound meeting with our beloved
Professor Cesar. But my trip was cancelled. I already had a
laundry list of things to discuss with him, knowing fully well that
either Friday or Saturday, he would be one of the lucky members of
the local community to join the President at a banquet at the Hyatt
Regency. Given these thoughts, a few issues stood out in my mind,
as President Arroyo (let's not be "politically correct", OK?) is
headed to Santiago, Chile for the APEC gathering. I believe she is
the chairperson of APEC's "Anti-Terrorism Committee". Obviously,
more than trade and other economic issues, "security" discussions
will make up the bulk of the APEC deliberations.
The word "security" immediately got me
thinking, and so, to ease the pain and frustration of being on a San
Francisco that never came to be, I began thinking hard and
scribbling notes. "Security" - what does it mean, or is there
really such a thing, or is it even achievable in our time?
My mind "time-traveled" to a long
meeting I had in Cebu last year, with a dear good friend of 30
years, who also happened to occupy a high government position a
decade ago. When my friend is not busy running his business, he's
busy playing golf, writing prose, or having animated theological and
philosophical discussions with a circle of friends. Lately, he's
been putting together his thoughts into a book on "national
security", a not-so-new phenomenon that has now taken center stage
in this age of terrorism and random violence.
My dear good friend looks at the issue
of "national security" with a different set of lenses. It is his
firm belief that the majority's understanding of the issue of
national security is limited and constricted, as most (especially
the policymakers and the defense and intelligence establishments)
view it only in terms of being safe from external attack or internal
subversion, or being free from the threat of terrorism and random
violence and other images that come to mind when one thinks
"national security". And there's the rub - because with this kind
of view, the political and economic establishments of any country,
whether it be the U.S., Canada, or the Philippines -is more likely
to reduce "national security" to the survival of the State, that
survival being guaranteed by the police, intelligence, and military
apparatuses of the State. However, many sometimes forget that
"State" is made of three integral and inseparable elements - People,
Territory, Sovereignty. These things were discussed at great length
in our Pol. Sci. 101 class many years ago - in the Year Nineteen
Forgotten.
Note that the first element of State
is "People", but this is often taken for granted when discussions
about national security intensify. But going back to my good
friend's insights - he believes that "national security" is
unattainable as a goal if most of a country's resources are
re-channeled mainly towards military and intelligence expenditures.
My friend tends to look more at the "big picture" of "national
security" to include the citizens' right to be secure in their homes
and in their persons, being secure in their jobs, in their farms and
places of business, and a feeling of being secure about their
physical, economic, and spiritual well-being. A society where the
economic, political, judicial, and other processes are functioning
more effectively or at a level that is more or less acceptable to a
majority of its citizens - would be in a better position to
counterbalance any threat to its existence.
But how do we really achieve national
security by putting the well-being of people, first and foremost?
Is there a map or a guide somewhere? I believe there is, it's all
in Pope Paul VI's Encyclical on the Development of Peoples -
Populorum Progressio. Those who truly understand "national
security" know only too well that such a goal cannot be achieved
without Justice and Peace. You want to be "secure"? Then do
Justice and promote Peace. It's as simple as that.
Addi Batica
Name: Cesar Torres
Email: [email protected]
Date: November 2, 2004
Remembering a Friend:
Lourdes Calubid-Badulid
She is resting in peace now. Again I
remember John Donne, "Never send to ask for whom the bell tolls, it
tolls for thee."
I don't know if anyone knows the cause
of her death. Perhaps Nelson and her family will tell us later. All
she felt was that extreme pain in her head. I don't know if the
doctors in Tacloban were able to determine what was causing it. But
she is free of that pain now.
Lourdes has a special place in my
heart. If we are exchanging our passions and our brilliant ideas on
Samar High, Samar and the Philippines in this forum, somehow it
is because of Kezia's mother.
When I chaired the Task Force that
organized the UP in Tacloban, she was a student in one of my
classes. She was not an ordinary student. She was a "Calubid" after
all, a name very popular in the progressive movement in Samar and
the Eastern Visayas. A name from my hometown of Villareal, Samar.
As a co-ed, Lourdes was not only very
lovely. She was also a student leader.
She was one of the pillars of "U.P.
Sidlangan".
Outside of the classroom, we never had
any socializing with each other despite the fact that we were both
from Villareal, and from Samar. We were not Leytenos. I knew she was
there. And she knew I was there, someone who was a cut above the
rest of the faculty and staff of the UP in Tacloban; I was its
organizer after all, involved in the hiring of the original core
faculty and staff of the College. And I came from Diliman.
So much water passed under the San
Juanico Bridge. One day, I just noticed that she was no longer in
the UP College at Tacloban anymore. She had transferred to Diliman
to finish her studies there where she graduated with a degree in
Political Science, then enrolled in the UP College of Law. She did
not finish. But she did finish, I think, a Masters in Public
Administration. She went back to Samar to serve her people. She
worked among others in the Samar Provincial Capitol and then as a
mentor of the youth in the Samar High-Samar National School in
Catbalogan, Samar.
And this is where our acquaintanceship
was revived. This time at a much intense level. With the benefit of
hindsight, I think I was making up for lost time, making up for
taking her for granted before in Tacloban.
In 2003, I had to go to Samar in
August-September to organize a fiesta in Villareal, Samar. There was
a publication that I was frantically editing. So I went to Jobal's
BBCS Data Systems in Catbalogan for desktop publishing assistance
where the ever reliable and competent Chris Sulla and I would work
up to 2:00 AM. I disappeared for some time during the night. But
suddently Jobal was on the phone. He was looking for me because
apparently some "movers and shakers" in Catbalogan and Samar society
were inviting me to dinner of seafoods in the residence of Charo
Nabong Cabardo. (They were actually my friends who heard that I was
in town.) Aside from Charo and Embang Cadiz-Serfino, who was our
gang mate in Samar High, I remember an unobstrusive always-smiling
young lady, Maira Mabangue Tambor, a member of the Catbalogan and
Samar print and radio media. We talked about a lot of things, the
Samar Provincial Hospital, including the Centennial Celebration of
the Samar High School.
On the following day, when Chris and
Jobal's staff were done with my publication, I inquired abut the
whereabouts of Mrs. Lourdes Calubid-Badulid. Tonet Gadin, who is a
member of our list, got a motorcycle and we drove over to the Samar
High School campus. Lourdes was there, conducting her class. She had
not forgotten me. She recognized me and was very glad to see me.
One thing led to another. We had an
impromptu meeting with the Officer-in-Charge of the Samar High
School to discuss the Samar High Centennial.
Plans were made. I came back to San
Francisco.
There was a lull in our international
communications... Until Kezia appeared in my life from cyberspace
and the Internet.
A senior in the UP, a computer nerd,
tireless, very engaging, lovely, a fervent nationalist, Kezia picked
up the slack when her mother had taken a break.
With my support and the others in the
leadership of the Samar High School Alumni Board, Kezia worked on
the Samar High website which is still under construction but whose
Discusson Board is one of the best I have ever known. I created a
SHS-SNS Yahoo Groups list to supplement Kezia's Discussion Board so
that alumni of the Samar High could interact with each other.
Across cyberspace we worked like
dervishes, contributing whatever we could to the Centennial
Celebration of the Samar High School. I flew to Tacloban and Cebu in
April to continue working on the "Centennial Samarinan" with Kezia.
In Cebu and Catbalogan, Lourdes'
entire family -- JR, Ray, Kezia, and the very lovely Christine --
was mobilized. In my entire life, I have never seen a family of six
which would move as one. This was a tribute to Lourdes and Nelson,
her husband.
Indeed, their family was a study in
graciousness, coordinated work, and enthusiasm. I never saw a frown
in any of their faces.
When we had time to rest, there were
times when Nelson, Lourdes' handsome mate, a UP College of
Agriculture graduate, and who is devoting himself to the Samarnons
as a frontliner in the struggle against our poverty, and I would
start dissecting Samar and Philippine society as early as 2:00
o'clock in the unholy hours of the morning.
And when I came back to America, it
was partly because of Lourdes that the "Gugma Han Samar Cyberspace
Movement" came into existence. With the connivance of that eloquent
Basaynon, Adelbert Batica, we surreptitiously worked on organizing
this group.
Indeed, the time I spent with Lourdes
and her family will forever be part of my life till my bones turn to
dust.
She is gone now. But her memory will
be with us forever as long as there is cyberspace and the Internet,
for as long as there is love -- "Gugma".
"...Till the sun is cold, till the
stars are old, till the Leaves of the Judgment Book unfold."
Goodbye dear friend...
Cesar Torres
Name: Raul Abejuela
Address: Chicago, USA
Email:
[email protected]
Date: 26 October 2004
The Filipinos (Samarnons) are waiting
for that person or a group who has the courage and the will power to
say and act on Tama Na, Sobra Na.
And when that time comes, we all must
rally behind that person or group because that is all we need -
change for the better. Sometimes we have to think that we are all
resigned to the fact that the majority of Filipinos (Samarnons) that
nothing good can come about in the Philippines. Not in our lifetime.
I agree with Addi that the problem is
systematic. However, a drastic change of the system must be done.
How and what, I do not know.
However, maybe the first step must be
to educate the population about the sanctity of the vote. But, that
is very idealistic.
Most Filipinos would take advantage of
election to get an extra 1,000 or even 5,000 pesos. Panura-sura and
pa-inom -inom. Maybe, electoral reform.
Criminalize vote buying. But we will
be building so many jails because most of elected officials will be
sent to jail. Makuri paghuna-hunaon iton solusyon hine nga problema
because the system is so rotten that solution or programs to correct
this situation is so complex. It is good to dream of a solution or
program. But which program will be effective is a big question.
There was a lot of hope when Aquino
took over. But that hope of progress was dashed with the
ineffeciency of governance that led to a several coup of Honasan et
al. And current situation in the Philippines is the outcome of the
ineffiencies of the previous adminsitrations. Arroyo seems powerless
in trying to get the country to rebound. Of course, there are also
efforts by De Venecia to have the Chinese businessmen to cough up
with some money. But that is inutil. Pareho la ito hin nag-gamit hin
band aid pag plaster hin nabono. Waray tahi-a. Poro pa-pogi and pa-kodak.
Lately, there is the ISOG HAN SAMAR.
We must commend Charo et al for doing this step. We must communicate
with Charo and ask "How can we help?"
This is a step in the right direction
to correct this injustice to the people of Samar. But this must be
done with the respect of law and order. Mob action is NOT the
solution. Use the justice system to do get his corrected. Now, if
justice system cannot be trusted, then, waray na pagla-um kondi iton
iba nala nga pa-agi.
Name: Joan Peterson
Address: PO Box 5346, Madison, WI 53705, USA
Email:
[email protected]
Date: October 22, 2004
I would like to reach Addi Batica, who
wrote a few pieces about the village of Azpitia in Peru. I visited
Azpitia this summer and have some questions for him. Perhaps this
message can reach him via this List? I can be reached via
[email protected]
Name: Ricky Petilla
Address: So. California
Email:
[email protected]
Date: 16 October 2004
I'm not an expert in law and order,
history, much more writing commentaries. My writings are limited to
technical writing in the computer world. An mga letra la ha keyboard
an akon aram. Some months ago, I talked to a co-worker, who came
from Nicaragua, about the Sandinistas. How I asked that question, I
don't really know. My little knowledge about Nicaragua and the
Sandinistas was on a movie which title I don't even remember. Anyway
he said that the Sandinistas are quite now as the they hold
important positions in the police and the army - meaning they have
jobs and they are in power. Then he commented that one of the
reasons why the U.S. don't have guerillas or civil wars is that
people have jobs and they live in a free society.
Then it reminded me back home. One of
the reasons why people go to the mountains is because they can't
trust the politicians and the military. Holding an armalite is power
to them. Their kids have nothing to eat and they have no chance in
competing with jobs as they don't have the proper education. Iton
gobyerno waray guihapon maibubulig. An mga liders waray mga gamit.
An budget nahihimo nga badget.
Haluag iton mga tuna, halarum iton
Leyte Gulf ngan dagat facing Eastern Samar, ngan dagko naliwat an
mga kahoy, maghusay an mga white beaches ha Guiuan, ngan mayda dako
nga deposit hin Bauxite [worth $2 or $20 billion (if my brain still
works) and that's in dollars] ha Basey o Guiuan (?). Damo guihap it
magupay nga utok ha mga Samarnon ug Leyteno. These are resources
that can be converted to business and jobs. An problema hine, an
aton politicians waray labot hit mga tawo. An ira la iniintindi an
ira mga bulsa ngan how to win the next election. Ngan an mga illegal
loggers and mining companies hino hoard la an mga minerals ha Samar
without even giving a share to the Samarnons or cleaning up their
mining operations thereby impacting the environment. Mayda ko
nakaistorya nga fisherman, at one time daw waray daw isda dida banda
ha Basey kay nagkahihilo an mga isda ngan dire man makaon or
mabaligya. Kun waray nira makaon ano man in ira bubuhaton?
In my own opinion, these are the
things that GugmaHanSamar should take issue with. Propose and inact
laws that are environmentally friendly (again I'm not a lawyer).
Laws that will define the sharing between mining companies and
whoever has the resource. Support leaders who not corrupt... and
other things that you wrote in the GugmaHanSamar mission statement.
Kon nabuhat ha Davao ngan Cebu, kay
ano nga dire mabubuhat ha Samar ug Leyte? Kaya iton hit mga Samarnon.
Kinahanglan la gumios.
I'm proud to be part of this group and
fervently hope that waray masayang ngan ma realize naton ine nga mga
inop. Pasayloa la ako kon baga masyado ako hin ka atribido.
Name: Ricky Bautista
Address: Catbalogan, Samar, Philippines
Email:
[email protected]
Date: Sunday, 3 October 2004
Cesar, all guys here behind gugma,
Well, tama ka dyan pare. Kun deri kita, hino pa? Kun deri yana,
San-o pa? Let's do our part/share in providing all means to help our
fellow Samarnons and our beloved province as well. Im one of the
many regular writers of Ray Gaspay in SamarNews.Com 'nalilipay ako
nga damo na nga mga Samarenyo an maaram nga mayda kita sugad hine
nga website, more power to us all! On one hand, I am asking
permission to Gugma han Samar - Cyberspace Movement if i can print
your stories and accounts in our Samar Weekly Express, a Catbalogan-based
community newspaper. I am giving the Samarnon readers opportunity to
know what's happening hiton aton igkasi Samarnon living abroad.
Salamat nga madamo. My warm regards to you all there!!!
Name: Cesar Torres
Email: [email protected]
Date: 28 September 2004
Susan,
You bring a smile to my sad, forlorn,
and hopeless face. Please join us. Subscribe to
[email protected]
You know our website now:
http://gugma.samarnews.net/
With people like you and your brother,
may paglaom gad seguro iton Samar ngan Pilipinas. It may not happen
in my lifetime. But nevertheless, will happen.
We have adopted the following: "Kon
diri kita, hino man? Kon diri yana? San-o pa?'
Name: Susan Aclo-Arce
Address: New York, USA
Email: [email protected]
Date: Sept. 25, 2004
I am a regular reader of Samarnews.com.
Mr. Torres, native born Catbaloganon ako from the Cuna-Aclo line.
Like you and the rest of your "co-gugmaeros," I also feel for Samar
especially Catbalogan. When my brothers, Lito, Manuel "Boy", Deo &
the late Ramon, hosted as the Hermanos Mayores of the Feast of St.
Bartholomew, Catbalogan in 2001, we thought in our own small way of
giving help. We coordinated with Charo Nabong and the Parish
Council to give poor children some toys and treat them with pansit,
tinapay and drinks. We also give small packages containing sabon,
toothpaste, personal efects, etc. to some old folks housed in the
Boy Scout building. Naka-pag-paka-on kami han mga preso, nakahatag
hin mga pre-school books, etc. We also donated to the Provincial
Hospital through, then Dr. Gabon-Catibog, a balikbayan box
containing 3 nebulizers with nebules, some medicines, disposable
syringe and other medical supplies. Adoy...kaupay ngayan ha dughan
an naka-kabulig bisan man la kon gu-tiay. One of my sons from
Canada was telling me the good feeling he had while in Catbalogan. A
boy approached him in "primera" while he was standing waiting for a
tricycle. Na-aro la hin piso an bata kay "magutom" kuno. My son took
the boy to Ideal Bakery, ngan guinpalitan niya hin worth P100 nga
tinapay. My son said, he never had seen a boy so happy to receive a
bag full of "tinapay". From thereon, my family started to send
balikbayan boxes of used clothes and toys c/o Fr. Cesar Acolan who
acknowledged receipt thereof. We sent last year a balikabayan box of
disposal syringes, mga IVs, etc. An sering ni Orange Avisado of
KAUSA, New York, ngadto daw kuno ipinadara kan Dra. Cinco-Tizon.
Until now, we never received any word kon kinarawat an box. May-ada
na liwat kami yana box of used clothes and shoes which we would want
to send to the poor in Catbalogan. Siguro, ipapadara ko nala kan
Msgr. Anton Versoza/Ms Ofelia Llosa kay may-ada ako nabasa in one of
the articles in samarnews.com nga ha ira man guinpapadara an bulig
para han mga pobre.
Bottom line hine nga akon message, hi
kita nga a-anhe ha abroad, kon pwede mag-share kita bisan ano nga
aton pwede ibulig labi na god han mga pobre. Pira-hay na man la an
bayad han balikbayan box, pero an content han box makakabulig god
kay kadamo han aton mga gamit nga pwede pa god gamiton han aton mga
kababayan nga na-ngi-nginahanglan.
Mr. Torres, you can count on me basta
hi-onong hin "GUGMA" han Samar.
Susan
Name: Raul Abejuela
Address: Illinois, USA
Email: [email protected]
Date: September 19, 2004
I agree with Dr. Solis that Gugma
should be devoid of political colors. The organization can achieve
results better and effectively if we are not beholden to any
political power. We can effect change by being in the private
sector. Even though there is what we term as "partido kawayan", the
organization would maintain its credibility if we are non-aligned.
However, we need the input of those in
Samar who can enlighten us what is the best program that could
sustain progress for Samar and the people.
Name: Cesar Torres
Email: [email protected]
Date: 18 September 2004
Fantastic ideas guys! Thank you
Raul. Thank you Dr. Solis. Diri na mamingao ini nga Discussion
Board. Kami la ngan hi Addi an nagsisinurat.
You are right Raul. On the 25th of
this month, we we would have been three months old. The number "3"
is laden with "cosmic" significance, i.e. three words "I love you"
or "Usa, Duha, Tulo", and so forth.
On our formal structure, there might
be no other way but to organize a non-profit organization based in
the US with another non-profit based in the Philippines.
I will share my thoughts on this with
you, today, Saturday, September 18, 2004. Promise. (hahahahaha)
Name: Raul Abejuela
Address: Illinois, USA
Email:
[email protected]
Date: September 17, 2004
Dear Cesar,
I think the Gugma has already matured
and it is about time that we should move on to the next step. We
have already heard the sentiments of everybody in this discussion
group and a lot of ideas has sprouted. May I propose a meeting in
any way, shape or form to come up with a framework to work out the
organization outside of Samar and the composition of the Samar group
who will execute these ideas that are being brought about. Some sort
of a core group in Samar, US, Europe. Anyway, there is already a
common bond the holds this group together. Issues to be resolved -
organization, fund raising, execution, audit, etc. Just let us know
what is the best medium to accomplish this and we will all plan and
make time to make this happen. Best regards...
Raul
Name: Cornelio Solis, MD,MCHM
Address: Soledad Street, Villareal, Samar, Philippines
Email: [email protected]
Date: 17 September 2004
I'm quite impressed by your love for
Samar. It is evident from your writings. I just hope that such kind
of passion shall endure.
I think it would be better if you
don't endorse politicians. Samarnons learn. Samarnons know how to
fight when they are oppressed... pushed further. We have the lesson
from Balangiga. Let's learn from it. It would be nicer I think if we
are free... from any political colors. That passion should be for
Samar and Samar alone... not for anybody else. Politicians will come
and go... but Samar will prevail. Ergo, let's focus on Samar... and
Samar alone.
For the greater glory of Samar, please
visit (blog with me):
http://khunz.blogspot.com
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