Takot Sila

Aba't tatakbo pala talaga si aling glu.

Nasarapan yata nang husto sa puwesto.



Isa pa, takot sa kasong nakaabang sa kanya.
Sangdamakmak kasi ang ginawang sala, eh...
Ayan, sinusundan na ng mga gabing walang tulog
ang mga mandarambong.



Gaya na rin ng takot ni Ampatuan, Jr.
sa multo na umano'y naglipana sa NBI Detention Center,
kaya naman natutulog daw sa ibang lugar.



Takot sa multo?
Minumulto na ba ng mga kinatay niya nang nagdaang panahon?
Baka nga. Baka merong nasa likuran niya na nagsasalita:
"Akkkkooooo ang iyong konsiyensiya!....
Mmmmmmanigas ka!!!!"


Mahirap maging simple at matiwasay ang buhay kapag
marami kang naapakang tao.
Ayan, buhay pa, sinisingil na!



Eh si aling gluria kaya?
Hindi pa kuntento sa nakurakot?
Kanino siya takot?
Takot sa kaso?
At takot na baka ma-forfeit ng gobyernong Pilipinas
ang mga unexplained weath nila?



Bahala Ka Na Po, Lord
sa mga ganyang klaseng nilalang.
Hindi man sila abuting ng batas ng Bayan,
Harinawa'y abutin ng Batas Ng Kaitaas-taasan.


*

Pakapalan Na!

Eleksyon na naman....
Marami na namang lalabas na mga issue, kandidato,
bukod sa 3 Gs na pinasikat ni marcos
noong kanyang kapanahunan.
Ito yung gold, goons at guns.
Sa madaling salita, pera, galamay at baril.
Marami pa ring ganito ang sistema
lalo na sa mga lugar na mahirap masilip
ng kalungsuran.


Ang daming kandidatong lumalabas na para ideklara ang
kanilang kandidartura sa darating na eleksyon.
Ito eh kung eleksyon mang matatawag ang mangyayari sa Mayo, ha.

Eniwey,
eto na naman ang mga balitang lalahok sa susunod na eleksyon
ang mga colorful, kundi man controversial characters na ito:

Palparan: Ito si Bedugo, para senador. Lalabanan daw si Satur na tatakbo rin sa Senado.

Jocjoc Bolante: Remember him na humawak ng Fertilizer Scam na ewan kung may nangyari rin naman; parang dedma lang ang gobyerno, ni hindi naman yata na-prosecute.
Tatakbo raw para Governor ng Iloilo! Asus! Pag nanalo ito, ala na akong bilib sa mga Ilonggo. Dami ko pa namang kakilalalng matitinong Ilonggo. Naman, naman!

Mark Jimenez: Para Presidente. Labo nito.
Bakit ba tinatanggap ng Comelec ang mga
ganitong kandidato? Hindi mo alam kung talagang ginagago
ang mamamayang gaya ko.
'Di kaya dapat, eksaminin ng mga Psychiatrist
itong mga taNga comelec?
Baka may mga sira ang ulo ng mga ito?

Mancao: Pa-ek-ek pa, yun pala ,
media mileage lang ang kailangan!
Type rin palang tumakbo,
di pa naghanap ng mas maiging paraan.



Caringal: Isa sa mga Euro Generals.
Tatakbo raw bilang Mayor ng Cabuyao,...sa Laguna.
Teka, teka, ano na ba ang nangyari sa imbestigasyon?
As usual.....Whitewashed na? May nabago ba?
Hay naku!


Edu: Bise raw! Bise as in Vice! Juice kupu!
Papaya ka na lang, baka makisabay pa ako!


Bong Revilla: Ano? Tatakbo na naman?
Para mambutas ng silya sa senado?
Tumigil ka na nga diyan!
Mag-artista ka na lang kaya?
Tutal nalabas ka naman kahit
nasa senado ka, eh. Walang delicadeza!

Lani Mercado: tatakbo raw sa Bacoor,
bilang Kongreswuman.
May pera sa pwesto! Yan ang totoo!


Kaya nga si Aling glu...tatakbo rin daw!
Sa Pampam ga!

Ano ba yan?!

Pinaglalaruan na lang ang Bayan
nitong mga talampas, tulisan at mga
sangganong naka-barong at saya!



Gising, Bayan!
Imulat ang mata sa mga ganid sa paligid!
Huwag padadala sa mga pangakong palaging napapako!

Gising!!!!!!!


*

WHY

I feel the same.
The same as before.
The same feeling we all had when the mole
started to make her presence felt by the Pasig.


Justice is absent in every move this sanabagan have been making,
not to mention the blah-blah lies her appointed
spokesperson lorelei has been announcing.
Like boss, like spokesperson.
Well, whaddya expect?

I've seen the pictures and the videos as well.
I notice that the suspect was not shackled, much less handcuffed
when he was supposedly-arrested in Mindanao
and even in detention in Manila's NBI HQ.
Why is that?



Any person who has access to news around the world would say
that it is standard procedure to handcuff any suspect
who has been arrested for a crime....any crime!
And the crime involved here is not just the ordinary stuff
but one that could surpass the Guinness Book of Records.
Imagine 57 dead? This is carnage of the highest level!


Becoz, as lorelei says, he is still friends with the mole?
That's what makes ordinary law-abiding citizen like me angry.
Why not treat him like a common criminal.
maybe "common" is not the exact term
becoz he is not an ordinary guy: he is a monster
just like his clan.

Justice is lacking despite the office of the justice secretary.


Allowing special treatment with warlords like the ampatuans
and other similar warlords in Mindanao invites other groups,
clans and gangs in other areas like Ilocos, Nueva Ecija/Vizcaya,
Isabela and many more to go on doing what they want
in order to control power.
All these with the blessings of the
number one gangster leader in Asia.

Is this what she wants to be remembered in history?

All things in life are passing.
We, mortals cannot bring whatever we have on this earth
to where we go when our body cease to live.

Someone wrote some lines that made an impact
on my life and I remember them well especially on days like these:

"A hundred years from now,
it will not matter what my house looks like,
the kind of cars I drove....
or how much money I had in the bank.
But the world may be different.....
because I was important
in the life of a child."

It could be a child...
or a person.
It doesn't matter.
But the difference is felt if we do something right,
no matter how small it may seem at first.

Justice is those small things we do that is right.
Leaders of a community have more impact on other people's lives.
It is they....whom people look up to.
Why don't they make things right?
wonder....

>>>>

Same feather

A friend called me and asked me about the news.
"What news?" I asked.

"That massacre...massacre in Mindanao!"
was his reply.

I was alarmed.
A couple of my kins are based in Mindanao.

Then I saw the news: I thought there was a mistake.
It couldn't happen to a supposed-to-be "free" country like ours.

It appears that these savages are friends of arroyo, the mole.

It took her allies to remind her to skip party alliances
and prosecute, if not condemn the perpetrators of this
horrendous carnage.

46? 46 died?

There's a war out there!

Somebody stop it before senseless killings continue.

It seems that padrino system prevents da mole to condemn the killings.
The savages delivered the numbers the last time da mole made
her own version of killing at the polling booth.

Same people, same ideas;
same league....same dirt.

Same feather?

****

AYOS NA!

The next election is just around the corner.
The filing of candidacy has begun and most nondescript "candidates" who are,
actually all nuisance candidates have filed their COCs the other day.
Golly, most bear "names" only they, or their mothers....can fully understand.



Some people like BF and Dick with a "G"
have refused to be daunted by
other 'big' candidates.

Villar has been using his wife's millions
to establish his name as the one to beat.


The 'mole's' anointed has teamed up with a game-show host.
Erap wants a comeback and wants his term finished.
Ahh...the call of fame and moolah is very hard to resist!

But I want change...so change it must be!
Change for a better Philippines.
Hence, I am throwing my support for the candidacy of Noy Aquino.
Suffice it to say that I am supporting him and his Vice...


but never on those balimbings who want to dance
~at the last minute~ with the winning team.

I hate recto and his balimbing ways.
I don't like him a bit....changing his loyalty as fast as he changed parties!
He vats VAT and now he wants change?
Sanabagan.

Neither do I like this joker who was as "bad" as was his word.
He was a "changed" man in so many ways.
Not the change I want in a man.
But changed his color where money thrives.
Sanabagan.

But I like a candidate who has integrity and goodness in his heart.
Whatever detractors say...
I like Noy A. to take in charge of the country
For the next six years.

AYOS!

Sulat Ni Tatay at Nanay*

Sa aking pagtanda, unawain mo sana ako at pagpasensyahan.

Kapag dala ng kalabuan ng mata ay nakabasag ako ng pinggan o nakatapon ng sabaw sa hapag-kainan, huwag mo sana akong kagagalitan. Maramdamain ang isang matanda. Nag-se-self-pity ako sa tuwing sisgawan mo ako.

Kapag mahina na ang tenga ko at hindi ko maintindihan ang sinasabi mo, huwag mo naman sana akong sabihan ng "Binge!" Pakiulit na lang ang sinabi mo o pakisulat na lang. Pasensiya ka na, Anak, matabnda na talaga ako.

Kapang mahina na ang tuhod ko, pagtiyagaan mo sana akong tulungang tumayo, katulad ng pag-aalalay ko saiyo noong nag-aaral ka pa lamang lumakad.

Pagpasensiyahan mo sana ako kung ako man ang nagiging makulit at paulit-ulti na parang sirang plaka. Basta pakinggan mo na lang ako. Huwag mo sana akong pagtawanan o pagsawaang pakinggan. Natatandaan mo, Anak, noong bata ka pa? Kapag gusto mo ng lobo, paulit-ulit mo 'yong sasabihin, maghapon kang mangungulit hangga't hindi mo akukuha ang gusto mo.

Pagpasensyahan mo na rin sana ang aking amoy. Amoy matanda, amoy lupa. Huwag mo sana akong piliting maligo. Mahina na ang katawan ko. Madaling magkasakit kapag nalalamigan....huwag mo sana akong pandirihan. Natatandaan mo ba nung bata ka pa? Pinagtiyagaan kitang habulin sa ilalim ng kama kapag ayaw mongf maligo. Pagpasensyahan mo sana kung madalas, ako'y masungit....dala na marahil ito ng katandaan. Pagtanda mo, maiintindihan mo rin.

Kapag may konti kang panahaon, magkuwentuhan naman tayo, kahit sandali lang. Inip na inip na ako sa bahay, maghapong nag-iisa. Walang kausap. Alam kong busy ka sa trabaho, subali't nais kong malaman mo na sabik na sabik na akong makakuwentuhan ka, kahit alam kong hindi ka interesado sa mga kuwento ko. Natatandaan mo ba, Anak...noong bata ka pa? pinagtiyagaan kong pakinggan at intindihan ang pautal-utal mong kuwento tungkol sa iyong 'teddy bear'.

At kapag dumating na ako'y magkakasakit at maratay sa banig ng karamdaman, huwag mo sana akong pagsawaang alagaan. Pagpasensyahan mo na sana ako kung ako ay maihi o madumi sa higaan, pagtiyagaan mo sana akong alagaan samga huling sandali ng aking buhay. Tutal, hindi na naman ako magtatagal.

Kapag dumating ang sandali ng aking pagpanaw, hawakan mo sana ang aking kamay at bigayn mo ako ng lakas ng loob na harapin ang kamatayan.

At huwag kang mag-alala....kapag kaharap ko na ang Diyos na Lumikha, ibubulong ko sa kanya na pagpalain ka sana.....dahil .....

naging mabuti kang Anak sa iyong ama't Ina.


{*Kopyang natanggap mula sa isang kaibigan....}

The Burning of Manila

I HAVE had sleepless nights lately. The nights are hot; days sweltering heat from the usual hot summer this country suffers every year. But no, it isn't the heat.....that is not the only reason why I can't sleep.

A COUPLE of days ago, I watched a docu film on TV made by NHK on its 20 years-anniversary celebration of its BS arm. It was about the rape or was it, properly labeled, The Burning of Manila.


IT SHOWED scenes I have never seen before....scenes that would forever be etched in my memory for as long as I live. I cried at the atrocities perpetrated not by the usual villains in the eyes of people like me who was exposed to american ways and books. It was done by american troops who made it sure that no one stayed alive.

THE VIDEO clips were scenes from the american side of the war. It detailed the surging american troops towards Manila, which they described [ based on records retrieved from the US Archives] as " The Beautiful Downtown", referring tot he south side of Pasig River.

THE DOCUMENTARY featured interviews of retired soldiers who were part of the american contingent at that time, Filipinos who were residents [some still are,] of Intramuros, A Filipino who worked at the PGH, Japanese soldiers, navy men, and Taiwanese recruits of the Japanese Imperial Navy. I must say that all sectors were represented, hence, fair ground for everyone.

DESPITE THE presence of civilians, the american troops were seen bombing no end the city, with Filipino men women and children seen fleeing to safer ground, but nonetheless caught in the web of gunfire, bombardments.
This didn't stopped for hours, nay, days on end. What's more, the american soldiers burned each building, making sure nobody stays alive inside them. Retreating Japanese soldiers, even if they raised their hands in surrender
were fired upon, killing not only the unarmed soldiers, but innocent civilians as well. When asked why they did so, one american ex-soldier replied: "We were ordered to do so!" Another, seeing the havoc that they created, cried,
saying his neighbors do not even know he has killed so many during the war. Another had the audacity to say: "We has endless supplies of ammunitions, so we used them all and killed every moving thing we saw!"

IN THE end, one can see a Manila I have never seen before: reduced to rubbles and decaying bodies of innocent men, women and children piled up; Manila City Hall were in shambles with its clock tower remaining, but the iron
steels visibly seen; the Tourism building and the finance building that has once housed the Japanese troops burned and reduced to rubbles, almost flatttened to the ground. There are more. It brings to mind the scene I once saw
at the Hiroshima Peace Center. The same one ravished by the bomb from the B29 dropped by Enola Gay.
And Nagasaki, too.

I CRIED. I cried for the countless civilians who were sacrificed and innocently died for the war that they cannot
control.

I CRY, even now.....as I recall the other side of war: the long-lasting effects of radiation that the bombs
continuously do inside the bodies of those orphans of war......

I CRY, as the effects of Agent Orange continue to ravage the children of Vietnam, Cambodia and other places
where they were used.....

I WONDER why these atrocities are not dealt with in the textbooks?

I WONDER why these are not taught students at all levels of education?

I WONDER......

IT IS time to wake up.

A Case of Pure Hypocrisy

Calderon, with his shaved eyebrows, looking at his daughter....


*

It's been months since I visited this blog and I simply missed it.
NOW that I'm back at my desk, I can't help but write something about this lest I regret later.

I was at the airport,
somewhere near the group of newsmen waiting for someone to pass by. I thought, perhaps some celebrities were due. I was mistaken: there they were, carrying heavy coats and ignoring local media and stopping by some foreign correspondents to speak. The man responded that he has forgotten how to speak Tagalog, and has since entertained Japanese reporters ONLY!

Geez! The nerve!
I've been here and there all my life, but I have never claimed in all honesty, that I have forgotten the language of the country that has nurtured me and my siblings, not to forget my Father who, despite being a Japanese himself, never stopped talking to us in Tagalog! Funny, he even can talk in Fookien, English and a generous number of Visayan.

In Linguistics, studies have shown that one can never
forget one's mother tongue! This is true in ALL studies conducted and
everyone who has migrated to other countries can attest to that.
It is the height of hypocrisy for the Calderon husband to say
he has forgotten to speak our language.
After only 13 years?


While it is true that the younger generations have adapted the
language of their birth, no one can deny that still, the older ones,
maintain and speak their mother tongue at home:
whether they be in the States, in Canberra, or in London.
Same is true when in Japan, or in Shanghai...even Tainan.
Why? Purely instinct. It is easier to state your emotions,
to explain in the language you know from the heart.
I recall when at the moment when I was so tired and angry,
I burst into Tagalog as I answered Lolo's tantrums.
That is the only way I could express my sentiments without him getting hurt.
But I believe he sensed that, and has since been quite better than before,
....sometimes!


NOW back to that Calderon couple:
They entered Japan some 13 years ago on faked passports.
Then they appeal that they be allowed to stay?
For humaniatrian reasons?
Some guts, huh?


Instead of doing what they did while still in Japanese soil,
they shouls have been more apologetic and asked for forgiveness.
They went to media and appealed thir case to gain support.

I believe Japan has been good to them in the past years.
They have made a terrible mistake in using fake papers when they entered
a foreign country.It is good they weren't imprisoned for the crime.
They have had good opportunities and have earned their keep
while in this country.
I think that's enough.


And they better be good Filipinos, too.
Never deny you have lost your tongue, man!



..baka habulin ka ng aso, Tsong....
mabigla kang sumigaw ng....


"Tulong!"

......
"Takbo!" kaya?

nya-hah-hah!