Page 3 of 3
A
DAY IN THE LIFE OF A FILIPINO
Mang
Nestor had just risen from sleep and is quietly sipping a cup of
salabat inside his kubo.
In a few minutes he will commence a two-hour walk to the
town. Mang Nestor
is a rice farmer in a strife-torn town in the province.
Today, however, he will not farm. He had been told a day
before that the area where the rice fields are, had to be
cleared to avoid an ongoing military operation against the
rebels. Taking
advantage of the break, he decided to spend the day to look for
a doctor. He had
long wanted something to relieve himself of the sharp pain he is
feeling in his abdomen. He
suspects it to be some liver ailment as he was told by the albularyo
he consulted with.
At
the health center, Mang Nestor dutifully waited for his turn.
After patiently waiting for a few hours, he was finally
called—only to be dismissed quickly by the attending health
worker as he was told to come back the following week because
the doctor should arrive by then.
Besides, he was informed that there is no medicine
available. He then headed slowly back for home.
As he strode by the dirt road, he began to shake his head
in regret when he figured that his habitual drinking could
likely be the cause of his predicament.
He smirks as he recollected all those whole-day drinking
sprees he and his friends did back then to provide some form of
cheap entertainment as well as to drown his hunger and miseries
away.
His reflections were abruptly disrupted by a convoy of
streaking vans escorted by several police and military vehicles
that blew past him causing a hale of dust and dirt. As he
squinted his eyes, he manage to glimpse at the black van at the
center of the convoy. He
nodded as though it was very familiar to him.
A few years back, he recalled that it was the same black
van that brought the town mayor to the plaza to deliver a
campaign speech. A
bus brought Mang Nestor, along with other people, there and they
were promised a fifty-peso fee for the trip. The mayor then was
running for re-election and was sincerely promising the
townsfolk that, if re-elected, he will install deep-well pumps
for potable water in their barangays as well as multi-purpose
pavements to dry their palay.
During the elections, he voted the mayor not because he
was moved by the promises made but because he had sold his vote
to the tune of five hundred pesos. His neighbors said they received more but then again, he
thought, five hundred pesos are still five hundred pesos. The elections are near again yet the promises remained
unfulfilled but the prospects of making a little money amused
him. This time
around he will sell his vote to the highest bidder.
He is convinced they are all the same anyway.
Halfway to his home, Mang Nestor decided to take a break
from walking under the scorching heat of the sun.
He found a tree and gently sat underneath its shade. He
appreciated the scenic view of the rolling mountains as he blew
out a sigh of exhaustion. Near
the base of a nearby mountain however, there seemed to be clouds
of smoke. Then, he
heard distant rumblings from the continuous cannon shelling.
It is the war, he thought.
How long will it take this time?
He asked himself. It
was a good thing he still had a half-sack of rice stored in his
house. He had
already conceded the possibility that his harvest will be
completely destroyed. Anyway,
he had already loaned out almost all of it to the rice cartel
operator in the area in exchange of the money he used during
pre-production.
He now wondered how his life would have turned out had he
joined the rebels who were recruiting him more than a decade
ago. Would have his
life turned out better? Maybe
not! For he vividly remembers an incident a few years back when
a band of guerillas stormed their barrio and took
out all of their harvest and their poultry.
He simply could not understand why these people who
fashioned themselves as the saviors of the masses would ransack
the homes of the very same people they claimed to be fighting
for. He still would
not have joined them anyway because no one would have taken care
of his family.
His wife, like him, is illiterate and could not work.
Actually, only one of his six daughters had gone past
grade six! Aside
from the fact that he could not afford their education, he
remembered what was taught to him by his own
parents—“Knowing how to read and write your name and how to
count money are the only things you need to know to survive.”
What frustrated him though, was the fact that he had no
sons to help him in the farmlands.
His two elder daughters had gone to Manila to work as
housemaids. The next two are still at home helping their mother.
The fifth daughter left for the city to look for work a
year ago but he had not heard from her since.
His neighbors had this vicious rumor that she had ended
up working as a prostitute.
While the youngest child, the brightest and the one who
had the most promising future had eloped at a tender age of
fourteen. In deep
thought, he did not notice the tears that rolled down his cheek.
He asked himself, what have I done to deserve this?
Maybe I was not praying enough, he answered back.
But his family rarely missed going to mass.
Nonetheless, he pledged to himself that this Sunday he
would pray more fervently than he did during the previous weeks.
In his reflections, Mang Nestor had lost track of time.
He looked up and estimated the time to be way past noon,
which was why he had grown hungry.
He contemplated on resuming his walk for home but then he
realized there was nothing to eat there except the boiled
malunggay leaves his family has been eating for the past several
days. So, instead,
he decided to lie down on his back and sleep.
The plight of Mang Nestor is but one of the more than
forty million Filipinos or more than half of our population
living below the poverty threshold.
Each one goes through a similar ordeal everyday.
Their lives are the representations of the true state of
the nation with all the societal problems, government
shortcomings and the damaged culture that had made them weak,
powerless and helpless.
This reality is far different from the picture of peace
and progress being painted by the government.
And what the elite and middleclass are seeing is but a
mirage, a wall of denial formed by their minds through the cloud
of deception wittingly created by the present regime and
unwittingly propagated by the media.
Indeed, where is peace and progress in the lives of the
masses? Where is
the government in the life of Mang Nestor?
How does the multi-billion-peso budget impact on the
poor? Where is
social equity? Who is fighting for their rights?
Where is equality and social justice? What does the
future hold for the Filipino? (Anonymous)
MAILBOX
So That
You May Know…
That on August 16, 1999, a Sangguniang Bayan Resolution No.
26-99, authored by Councilor Juan G. Galindes, Chairman on Education
then, requested the former DECS (now DepEd) and the Schools Division
Superintendent of Sorsogon, through the Assistant Schools Division
Superintendent for Secondary Schools, Mr. Jose Evasco, to look into
the possibility of opening a public secondary school in Bulusan due
to the clamor of the poor families in the municipality.
That on January 18, 2000, Mrs. Concesa G. Montenegro and her
only son, Albertini, executed a Deed of Donation for a lot in favor
of the Local Government of Bulusan for the purpose of having a
school site for the proposed secondary school in the municipality.
That it is a requirement for the opening of a school that the
school site be in the name of the DECS; so, a Sangguniang Bayan
Resolution transferred the name of the donation from the Local
Government to the DECS.
That during the School Year 2000-01, Bulusan High School
started its operation with first year students.
Then by the following school year there was a class for 2nd
year students. By the
middle of the school year, by a MOA between the TESDA and DECS, the
students (2nd year to 4th year) of the Bulusan
National Vocational and Technical School at Lower San Jose, Bulusan,
were transferred to Bulusan High School.
The BNVTS maintains its courses for the tertiary level,
including the short term ones.
Looking deeper into the Deed of Donation executed by the
Montenegro family, it is clear that Mr. Albertini Montenegro, a
Guidance Counsellor at Magallanes High School, be transferred to
Bulusan High School as Teacher-In-Charge and be given the priority
of appointment as head of the school.
Furthermore, Mr. Montenegro’s family and his heirs be given
the exclusive right to operate the school canteen.
Therefore, Bulusan High School is operating normally not as a
COLORUM school or a BOGUS one, as pronounced by the Chairman on
Education of the present Sangguniang Bayan of Bulusan.
By March of 2004, the third batch of 4th year
students are graduating.
However, it is our desire and hope that the Bulusan High
School be approved by Congress so that appropriations for
teachers’ salaries and new items and school buildings, equipments,
etc. be allocated annually in the National Budget by the National
Government. At present
we have teachers who are paid by the School Board, both municipal
and provincial.
BULUSAN HIGH SCHOOL is our public secondary school in town.
Let us join hands in helping its development and growth, its
expansion, and most of all its maturing in its role and function as
a learning center for the Bulusanon, particularly the poor but
deserving students. (JGG)
---
REPUBLIC
OF THE PHILIPPINES
DEPARTMENT
OF AGRICULTURE
MUNICIPAL
AGRICULTURAL AND FISHERY COUNCIL
BULUSAN,
SORSOGON
CP#09196528823
NANO
TABI AN MUNICIPAL AGRICULTURAL AND FISHERY COUNCIL (MAFC)
Una tabi sa intero nagpapasalamat ako sin dako dako sa
hinatag na oportunidad san editor sini na Damayan-Buluseño
Gazette para tabi maipaabot sa ato mga kabubungto nan sa mga
Bikolanos na dapat na tabi magdaranon na kita para malabanan ta an
ato kasakitan san ato pagkabuhay pakadto sa kaginhawaan. Hingohaon ta sa paagi san pagproduser sin abundante na
pagkaun para sa ato na mga Bulusanon nan para sa iba pa na
nangaypuhan.
Binabati ko man tabi sin mayad na kamutangan an intero na
inaabutan sini na Gazette.
Sa presente, ako tabi an Chairman san Municipal Agricultural
and Fishery Council (MAFC) o Consejo san mga Parauma nan Paraisda sa
Bulusan. An Executive
Order No. 116 nan san mga mandato san Department of Agriculture an
nagbilog tabi sini na consejo para lambang sayo sa ato magpartisipar
o magdaranon kita para sa pinkamayad na himuon para magamit nato sa
mayad na sistema an ato mga kayamanan hali sa uma nan dagat.
Iniimbitaran man tabi san consejo an sin-o man na taga
Bulusan na gusto tabi mag-intra o mag-atender san bulan bulan na
miting san consejo didto tabi sa MAFC Office, Sabang, Bulusan,
Sorsogon o kaya mag-text sa numero 09196528823 para sa iskidyul san
miting.
Niyan tabi na taon 2004, mayon po kita sin opat na proyektong
pangkabuhayan. Pagpatubo
(mushroom culture), pagpadaghan san gulaman (euceuma
culture), pag-ataman sin ligwan (honeybee culture) nan
rehabilitasyon san ato abaka. Sa
masunod tabi ato pag-iirestoryahan an kada sayo sini na proyekto.
Sa nano man tabi na kahaputan o kontribusyon na ipaabot niyo
sa consejo sumurat o magtext sa address nan CP# sa itaas.
Salamat nan MAGDARANON PO KITA!
Minagalang,
(Sgd.)
RUBEN G. GONZALES
MAFC Chairman, Bulusan
Coordinator, AMAG Bulusan
Treasurer, Tubong Bikol Association, Region V
---
Dear Editor:
Saludo aco cun Mr. Fuentes sa cusog san boot niya na iluwas an caniya disappointment manongod sa nangyayari niyan sa Bulusan sa larangan san politica. Cun sabagay, deri man hamoc sa Bulusan ini nangyayari cundi sa iba-iba na lugar sa Pilipinas. Sana matuto na an mga politico nan likayan na ibaba an canira dignidad ma-elect lang bilang oficial san bungto. Deserving pa caya sira sa titulo na "honorable"?
Caya bilog an paghanga co cun Mrs. Fe Fortades-Galpo na deri siya nagbacal sin boto maski na ngani sia napierde san nacaagui na eleksyon. She emerged from the electoral exercise with her dignity and self-respect intact. Sin-o pa caya an macairog sa caniya sa mga candidato
niyan?
Sayo pa, sunarat sia sa Philippine Daily Inquirer manongod sa maraoton na calsada hale Barcelona nan Irosin pacadto sa Bulusan. Marasa pa cay awaton na panahon deri nagod nahingayad ini na
calsada.
Pangadyi co na mapucaw na an mga candidato nan cun macaluwas himoon an tama para sa icaayad san
intero.
Salamat. May the Good Lord Bless Us All!
Richie F. Gacosta
Metro Manila
---
It is with profound sadness that we learn of the death of Mother Letty through the Damayan-Buluseno Gazette. She has served her God well and has loved her neighbors equally, if not better than she loved herself.
She definitely deserves to be reunited in harmony with her Maker.
Geminiano V. Galarosa, Jr. and Lorna R. Galarosa
Guindulman, Bohol
February 22, 2004 - DBG Online Feedback Form
---
Thank
you, Mrs. Tenazas!
Tia
Letty to
many, "Madre Superiora" sometime to Inoy Elio
Fuentes, but we simply called her "Ma'am or Mrs. Tenazas"
- and we believed she liked it, no less.
She's
gone! Yes, the Treasurer is gone!
She
may have left us physically, but in our hearts she lives on.
When
we were under her care some years back, every time we had our meals
together, especially dinner, she would always give us a topic to
discuss as if we were in a classroom where she was the teacher and
we were the students. No wonder, the grand lady of Damayan was a
graduate of the Philippine Normal Univesity then Philippine Normal
College, which is well known as good breeding ground of teachers. As
exchanges of ideas continued, some would side with Mrs. Tenazas'
stand while others would oppose although mildly, by giving
explanations of their own. In the end however, Mrs. Tenazas oftentimes
prevailed as her explanations were always backed-up by her own
personal experiences in life or by somebody else's mostly her
friends and acquaintances in the religious communities including
Damayan, or in her business community where she was among if not the
forerunner. She would always end the discussions like a mass
celebrant concluding a great homily before a very silent
but attentive group of parishioners. We would surely encounter the
same experiences, Mrs. Tenazas always reminded us, as we
sail further through our own lives.
Truly,
later in life we realized how meaningful her words are
especially as we continue to seek our "better place in the
sun," negotiating oftentimes the uneven roads of life. Her words
of guidance on how to deal with the challenges on these roads had
greatly helped us.
Thank
you, Mrs.Tenazas, though we know that thanking you would
never be enough.
-
Ewin,
writing in behalf of earlier scholars who stayed under the care
of the late Mrs. Tenazas
-
February
26, 2004 (private e-mail)
OBITUARIES
December
2003
|
|
|
|
26
|
Gualberto
Camposano
|
67
|
Sapngan
|
28
|
Benito
Evasco
|
80
|
San
Jose
|
January
2004
|
|
|
|
3
|
Luis
Fortes
|
87
|
|
7
|
Nicanor
Fullo
|
75
|
Mabuhay
|
9
|
Ceferino
Banuelos
|
73
|
Bagacay
|
11
|
Josefa
Fulleros
|
92
|
Dapdap
|
12
|
Estelito
Diño Fulla
|
64
|
Mabuhay
|
18
|
Roger
Fuentes
|
65
|
Salvacion
|
18
|
Armando
Gallardo
|
51
|
Buhang
|
19
|
Roland
Furaque
|
29
|
Capiricohan,
San Isidro
|
19
|
Sales
Furio
|
39
|
Mabuhay
|
26
|
Bernardino
Zarsuela
|
86
|
Mabuhay
|
30
|
Fernando
Fulleros
|
57
|
Dapdap
|
30
|
Benjamin
Gallego Pura
|
74
|
Sabang
|
30
|
Pedro
Garcia Galos
|
45
|
Sabang
|
February
2004
|
|
|
|
4
|
Vicente
Gutierrez Guysayko, Jr.
|
47
|
Buhang
|
11
|
Carmelo
Perez Jr.
|
49
|
Buhang
|
16
|
Concepcion
Fullon Firmanes
|
80
|
Dancalan
|
18
|
Marciana
Margelino
|
89
|
Buhang
|
19
|
Jose
Frayres
|
54
|
San
Antonio
|
20
|
Santiago
Gallardo
|
59
|
Dapdap
|
20
|
Afelix
Habulan
|
71
|
Buhang
|
26
|
Concordia
Ortiz Espedido
|
84
|
Looban
|
26
|
Concordio
Furio
|
76
|
Mabuhay
|
29
|
Diogenes
Estayane
|
65
|
Dapdap
|
ADDENDA
1.
Also running for a seat in the municipal council is Mrs.
Leticia F. Garalde, a retired mid-wife at the Municipal Health
Center, now a businesswoman. Originally
residing in Barangay Sabang, now in Barangay Dapdap.
2.
An independepent
candidate for the vice-mayoralty post is Ms. Edelyn G. Fortes
of Barangays Looban, San Isidro, and San Roque—a consistent honor
student and a board topnotcher, a computer programmer and a licensed
geodetic engineer.
ERRATA
We
would like to make the following corrections on the following items
as reflected in our previous (November – December 2003) issue:
1.
Page 3, 1st paragraph, 2nd column:
Noemi Gallego should be Noemi Gallego Gamil.
2.
Page 3, 2nd paragraph, 2nd column:
Kagawad Danilo G. Freo of Barangay Sta. Barbara should be of
Barangays Bagacay and San Isidr
3.
Page 3, 3rd paragraph, 2nd column: Reynaldo D.
Din of Barangay Sabang should be of Barangay Mabuhay
|