Waterworld

The rain just kept pouring, without letup, without mercy. It rained like it never did before. My Tatay, who is all of 84 years old, could not remember any other time in his life when it rained like this before. It simply was unprecedented.

Thus, when we woke up Saturday morning, the flood water was already creeping up the ground floor of our house. When this house was built in 1976 to replace the old one, my parents made sure that the ground would be higher than road-level. When they raised the road some years back, it was still fairly within the same level. However, when the non-stop rain came, both the road and our house were not ready for the amount of rainfall that came.

In a way, we were still lucky. The water subsided after a few hours. In other areas, waters were as high as 10 feet. People were trapped on attics and rooftops. Yes, we were, and still are, inconvenienced with the power outage. But who are we to complain? We are dry and well in our own homes. Others are not so lucky, still waiting to be rescued from rooftops amidst what had become a waterworld.

We can only thank God for sparing our homes from further damage, and for making sure that all family members are safe and sound. We continue to pray for those who were not as fortunate.

7 Reasons to vote for Noynoy

From: A Family from Baguio City, Philippines
(courtesy of Nato Villanueva, NoyPI member)

1. We see the handiwork of God in his candidacy –Ninoy died for the country and his widow became president after people power. After battling cancer, Cory went home to the Lord which ushered in an unprecedented showing of support and love for a former president. This showing of support miraculously bankrolled into a people’s call for Noynoy to run for president even if he had no plans of doing so. These events could only be orchestrated by a sovereign God who has compassion over nations shackled by the blight and darkness of arrogant and shameless corruption.

2. He inspires hope — Prior to Noynoy’s candidacy, we were resigned to our fate of just choosing the utopian lesser evil among traditional, same old, eager beaver presidentiables. None of them inspires hope. But all that changed when Noynoy responded to that God-given calling in his life to serve the Filipino people whom his father died for. Tears of hope from the hearts and eyes of ordinary Filipinos flowed when he declared his candidacy. Upon learning of Noynoy’s candidacy, a Bureau of Customs employee said, “Salamat. Pwede na ulit mangarap.”

3. He is honest — Ballsy Aquino Cruz, Noynoy’s sister declared on national media that she is willing to be shot if anybody could present evidence that her brother is a thief. This sincerity is unparalleled even among the closest family and relatives of the other presidentiables.. None of the other presidentiables’ sisters or brothers would like to end up dead. Noynoy was reared in an environment of honesty as exemplified by the lives of his parents. Indeed, an apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

4. He has strength of character — We don’t need a president who will hang a shingle in Malacanang that reads, ” Business as Usual”. He is the only candidate that we believe when he says he will clean house because he is clean.

5. He is humble and not in love with power — Everything about him is not contrived. Ordinary people like us could see through spin doctor- managed acting among public officials and candidates. But we see in Noynoy the sincere simplicity of a simple man, who although pedigreed, is not self-centered, power and recognition hungry. He doesn’t mind having thinning hair, simple clothes and a down-to-earth manner of speaking. More so, his humble spirit was manifested when he sought God’s direction first before plunging in the presidential race.

We could see that his reluctance to seek the presidency is genuine. We believe that power should be given to those who have strength of character because they are not obsessed nor in love with it. And yes, Mr. Gary Olivar, Malacanang spokesman, Noynoy is his own man because true manhood could only come from a humble spirit.

6. He alone could mobilize people power — No other presidentiable could ask the Filipino people to bankroll his campaign and credibly call for volunteers. In this country where the norm is patronage politics and presidentiables spend billions just to win an election, Noynoy is the only presidential candidate as of press time who is being swamped by a snowballing groundswell volunteer support from unknown, ordinary Filipinos from Luzon to Visayas without any budget. Noynoy is the anti-thesis of patronage politics because he could ask for volunteers to spend time and resources to campaign for him.

7. He is the good in this fight between good and evil — No other opposition candidate had earned the most vicious attacks from Malacanang and the other political parties who are fielding candidates in the presidential race than Noynoy.

In fact, some parties are already demolishing the people’s perception and argument that the 2010 presidential race is a fight against good and evil. Noynoy’s detractors would like to brush aside the morality of the elections because morality in government leadership is not a campaign strategy that could propel their traditional, same old, eager beaver presidential candidates.

It is true what Earl Spencer said ,that true goodness is threatening to those who are on the other side of the moral spectrum. In this fight versus good and evil, Noynoy credibly represents the good.

In his declaration speech, he was unmindful of politics or a possible loss of votes when he said he desires justice over the unresolved issues and cases the Marcoses committed against Filipinos. That to us, is true goodness, because it is a conviction that stands up for what is right no matter what the consequences are.

Mabuhay ka Noynoy!

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

Sa wikang Pilipino (isinalin ni Angelo Guison):

7 Dahilan Kung Bakit Dapat Suportahan si Noynoy

1. Kamay ng Diyos ang kumikilos sa laban ni Noy- Namatay si Ninoy para sa bayan at naging pangulo ang kanyang biyuda matapos ang People Power. Nang ginupo si Cory ng kanser at bumalik sa piling ng Panginoon, nag-umapaw ang pakikiramay at pagmamahal. Ang suporta at pagmamahal kay Cory ay nagbunsod ng panawagan upang tumakbo si Noynoy sa pagka pangulo kahit wala ito sa kanyang mga plano. Tanging ang dakilang Panginoon lamang na may pagmamahal sa bayang binalot ng kadiliman at ginapos ng tanikala ng korupsyon ang may ganitong kapangyarihan.

2. Kinakatawan ni Noy ang pag-asa- Taun-taon bago ang kandidatura ni Noynoy nasanay tayo na ang pipiliin lamang natin bilang Pangulo ay yung “lesser evil” o pinaka hindi masama sa mga masasama, walang ni isa man ang nakakakitaan natin ng pag-asa. Lahat ng ito ay nagbago nang harapin ni Noynoy ang panawagang Pagsilbihan ang Sambayanang Pilipino na siya ring pinag-alayan ng buhay ni Ninoy. Nabuhay ang pag-asa sa mga puso ng bawat Pilipino nang idineklara niya ng pagtakbo bilang pangulo. Sabi ng isang taga Bureau of Customs matapos malaman ang pagtakbo ni Noy “Salamat. Pwede na ulit mangarap.”

3.Matapat si Noy- Sinabi sa telebisyon ng ate ni Noy na si Ballsy Aquino-Cruz na handa siyang magpabaril kung mayroong makakapaglabas ng mga ebidensya na nagnanakaw ang kapatid. Ganoon ang kanyang pananampalataya sa pagiging matuwid ng kapatid. At walang pamilya o kamag-anak ng ibang nagnanais na maging pangulo sa 2010 ang makapagsasabi nito. Lumaki si Noy ng matapat dahil ito matapat ding nabuhay ang kanyang mga magulang. Tunay ngang ang bunga ay hindi babagsak ng malayo sa puno nito.

4. May integridad at maganda ang reputasyon ni Noy- hindi natin kailangan ng pangulo na maglalagay ng karatula sa Malakanyang na nagsasabing “Business as Usual o Tuloy Lang ang Lahat”. Siya lang ang kapanipaniwala sa lahat ng kandidato kapag sinabi niyang itutuwid ko ang mga baluktot dahil ako’y matuwid.

5. Mapagkumbaba at hindi ganid sa Kapangyarihan si Noy-Ang lahat kay Noy ay totoo. Walang palabas, walang pakitang tao. Naamoy at nahahalata ng kahit simpleng tao ang mga pagkukunwari at mga pakitang tao ng mga pulitiko at kandidato. Ngunit ang nakikita natin kay Noy imahe ng isang simpleng tao, kahit na nanggaling sa prominente at makapangyarihang angkan ay nanatiling di makasarili at di ganid sa kapangyarihan at yaman. Hindi malaking bagay kay Noy ang pagnipis ng kanyang buhok, simpleng pananamit at pananalita. Lalo niya pang pinatunayan ang kababaang loob nang humingi siya ng patnubay sa Diyos bago nagdesisyong tumakbo bilang pangulo.

Kitang-kita na totoo ang pag-aatubili niya sa pagkandidato noong una. Naniniwala kami na dapat ipagkaloob ang kapangyarihan sa taong may integridad at matuwid dahil hindi kailanman siya mahuhumaling dito. At oo G. Gary Olivar, tagapagsalita ng Malakanyang, si Noy ay may sariling pagkakakilanlan at pagkatao dahil ang tunay at malinis na pagkatao ay nagmumula lamang sa kababaang-loob.

6. Si Noy lamang ang makakapagpakilos sa taumbayan- walang ibang kandidato sa pagka-pangulo ang maaring humiling sa Sambayanang Pilipino na tustusan at magkusang-loob sa pagtulong sa kanyang kandidatura. Sa ating bansa na kung saan talamak ang pulitika ng pagtangkilik (paggamit ng yaman ng bansa upang makakuha ng boto) at gumagasta ng bilyong piso ang mga nagnanais maging pangulo, si Noy lamang (habang sinusulat ito) ang kandidato na inuulan at binabaha ng boluntaryong suporta ng mga ordinaryong Pilipino mula sa lahat ng sulok ng bansa. Si Noy ang kabaligtaran ng mga pulitiko na nagnanakaw sa kaban ng bayan kapalit ng boto-dahil kaya niyang humingi ng oras, tulong at rekurso sa sambayanan.

7. Si Noy ang mabuti sa labang ng masama at mabuti- wala nang nakatanggap ng mas marami, kaliwa’t kanang pambabatikos mula sa administrasyon, sa lahat ng kakandidato bilang pangulo kundi si Noynoy.

Ang totoo, may ilang partido na nagsasabing ang halalan sa 2010 ay hindi laban ng masama at mabuti. Nais nilang isantabi ang moralidad ng eleksyon dahil ang matuwid na pamumuno sa gobyerno ay hindi aayon sa kanilang mga pambatong atat sa kapangyarihan at trapo- silang mga “lumang tugtugin”.

Tama ang sinabi ni Earl Spencer na “ang tunay na kabutihan ay magsisilbing babala sa mga taong ang moralidad ay nasa kabilang dulo. sa laban ng mabuti at masama, si Noy ang may kredibilidad na kumatawan sa mabuti.

Sa kanyang pahayag ng pagkandidato, isinantabi ni Noy ang pulitika o ang posibleng kabawasan sa boto nang sinabi niyang hangad niya ang hustisya para sa mga biktima ng mga Marcos. Ito ay nagpapakita ng tunay ng kabutihang loob, dahil ito ay paninidigan para sa kung ano ang tama maging ano man ang kahihinatnan at kapalit.

Mabuhay ka Noynoy!

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

Making a Stand for Change

Papaano nga ba?

Hindi masama ang maghanapbuhay. Sa katunayan, dapat lamang na ang bawat isa sa atin ay mayroong pinagkakakitaan. Ngunit ang bawat galaw natin ay dapat nasa tama at walang ibang minumolestiya. Ito lamang ang tama at makatarungang paraan upang lahat tayo ay mabuhay ng marangal, mapayapa at maunlad dito sa ating bayan.

Bilang isang mamamayan ng Pateros, nais ko pong idagdag ang aking munting tinig sa dumaraming hinaing ukol sa lumalalang kalagayan ng trapiko sa ating bayan, lalo na sa Poblacion.

Una, hindi dapat payagan ng pamahalaan ang anumang uri ng terminal ng jeep, ng FX o ng traysikel sa anumang bahagi ng mga lansangan. Ang mga lansangan ay ginawa upang daluyan ng mga sasakyan, hindi upang gawing garahe o terminal. Napakaliliit na nga ng ating mga kalye, ginawa pang terminal ang halos bawat kanto. Ang sino mang magsabi na walang terminal sa mga lansangan ay bulag sa katotohanan. Mayroong mga nagsasabi na ang mga terminal na ito ay hindi ilegal dahil pinahintulutan ng munisipyo. Kung mayroon mang ordinansa na nagpahintulot sa mga terminal na ito sa lansangan, dapat lamang na ang mga ordinansang ito ay ipawalang-bisa sapagkat ang mga ito ay ilegal at hindi naaayon sa pangkahalatang kapakanan ng mga mamamayan. Ang mga lansangan ay para sa kapakanan ng lahat, at hindi ng iilan.

Pangalawa, hindi dapat payagan ang mga may tindahan sa tabi ng kalye, lalo na sa Poblacion at sa iba pang pangunahing lansangan, na magpatuloy sa pangangalakal kung wala silang sapat na lugar kung saan maaaring manatili ang kanilang mga kostumer. Dahil sinagad ang tindahan sa kani-kanilang mga boundary, ang mga kostumer ay napipilitang manatili sa bangketa, at ang mga pedestrian ay walang magawa kundi maglakad sa kalye at makipag-agawan ng espasyo sa mga sasakyan. Higit pa sa una, hindi dapat payagan ang mga ilegal na pagtitinda sa mga bangketa. Pinahihintulutan ng pamahalaan ang mga may-ari ng mga tindahang ito na magnegosyo ngunit hindi para makapuwerhisyo sa mga tao.

Pangatlo, kailangan ng disiplina para sa mga mamamayan. Huwag sumakay sa mga jeep or traysikel na nakakaabala sa daan. Huwag bumili sa mga tindahang nakabara sa mga bangketa. Maglakad lamang sa tamang lugar, huwag sa lansangan. Kung walang tatatangkilik, maaaring matutong lumugar sa tama ang mga pasaway na driver. Konting tiis sa paglalakad at matatamo natin ang bepisyo ng maayos na daloy ng trapiko. Ang mga paaralan tulad ng Pateros Catholic School at Pateros Municipal High School ay dapat tumulong sa pamamagitan ng pagtuturo at pagpapaalala sa kanilang mga mag-aaral ng wastong ugali at pamamaraan ng paggamit ng ating mga lansangan. Kung gagawin ng tama ng mga bata, baka sakaling mahiya ang mga matatanda.

At ang huli at ang pinakamahalaga, dapat may political will ang pamahalaan upang ipatupad ng patas ang mga batas trapiko. Hulihin at tiketan ang mga lumalabag na driver. Pagsabihan ang mga mamamayang naglalakad at nakatigil ng wala sa lugar. Gawing "no parking" zone ang Morcilla St. Huwag pahintulutan ang mga jeep at traysikel terminals sa mga lansangan. Bakit nga ba sa dinami-dami ng mga traffic enforcers na nakakalat sa bayan ay para bagang wala silang magawa sa mga driver na ayaw sumunod sa kaayusan? Mag-compute tayo: sa bawat jeep or traysikel na pumapasada sa Pateros ay mayroong 2 o 3 na driver, sa bawat driver ay mayroong 5 hanggang 10 na kapamilya na maaaring bumoto. Hindi ba nakakatakot na banggain ang ganitong karaming mga botante? Kailangan natin ng malawakang programa upang hindi lamang maisaayos ang ating mga lansangan, kundi maisaayos din ang kabuhayan ng ating mga kababayang umaasa sa mga hanapbuhay na maapektuhan. Sa huli, ang lahat ay dapat makinabang sa anumang pagbabago tungo sa kaayusan ng ating bayan. Kailangan lamang ay ang paninindigan at tapang ng loob na maisakatuparan ang mga pagbabago.

Taga Pateros po ako. Disiplinado at may kapwa-tao!

San Joaquin Gridlock

I am a very patient person. But today I am taking an exception.

It's there for everyone to see and experience - day in and day out, night and day, rain or shine.

Whether you are on a jeepney, an FX or in your private car, you are fair game. No one is spared - unless you can brave the heat or the rain and start walking instead of frying in your seat.

I am talking about the worsening traffic condition on half of the San Joaquin intersection in the boundary between Pateros and Pasig. I say half because traffic seems to pile up only along the Pateros - Bambang leg of the four-way intersection. In plain language, those coming in and out of Pateros better be ready to sit it out as traffic moves inch by inch.

Anyone who passes by this route will not fail to notice this anomalous injustice to Pateros residents. Traffic typically comes to a halt in front of the Iglesia ni Cristo chapel. Then it slowly inches its way past the intersection - two to three cars at a time. You try not to be angry, telling yourself this must be a very busy intersection.

But then when you are just two or three cars away from the front of the line and the precious intersection crossing is within sight, the anomaly starts to unfold right before your bewildered eyes. If expletives coupled with overheating engines and wasted gas and time can kill, those Blue Boys manning the intersection would all be serenely smiling from under a glass cover. Parang natutulog lang...

The intersection falls within the jurisdiction of Pasig, and their Blue Boys are all over the place. And you do not need to have an IQ higher than your age to understand what these Blue Boys are trying to do.

It is quite obvious that they are there not to make sure that traffic is running smoothly in this very busy intersection. Instead, they are there to make sure that traffic coming from M. Concepcion St. gets into Elizco Road as fast as the blink of an eye. Never mind if the people on the Pateros side fry on their sweat.

The heck! These Blue Boys keep vehicles on the Pateros side at bay even when vehicles from Buting have been wheezing by so very far and few in between. While trying to recall some anger management tips I read on the Internet, I tried some simple math. I counted. For every 3 or 5 vehicles coming from Pateros, there are about 50 that they let pass from the other sides. Now, is that not protectionism or what?

One for you, two for me. Three for you, six for me. Fair enough? The rich kid sure knows how to share his blessings with the poor neighbor.

But we cannot begrudge the Pasig Blue Boys for making sure their portion of the intersection is traffic free. After all, they will protect the businesses that make sure they get their salaries. What gets my goat is the seeming apathy of the local officials of Pateros. I wonder where they pass by when they have to go Megamall? Are they so blind to this obviously unfair practice of our more wealthy neighbor?

Illegal settlers who hold the vote in Makati killed the Pateros River. They choke the national road leading to our town with illegally parked vehicles, illegal FX and jeepney terminals, illegal vendors above and under our bridge. They even have the gall to call our beloved "Toll Bridge" the Comembo Bridge in a billboard they put on both sides of the bridge. We let Makati trample on us, now are we letting Pasig do the same? Who's next, Taguig?

If we let our neighbors treat us so shabbily, we might just as well elect a Barangay Chairman for Peteros in 2010 instead. Will it be Taguig, Pasig or Makati? Take your pick.

Me? I am staying put. I love my little town, warts and all. This is home like no other.

Taga Pateros ako. Disiplinado at may kapwa-tao!

Are we safe in our own homes?

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV

How do you tell a 3-year old kid that his Daddy will no longer be around to bring him to Timezone?

A week after they celebrated Father’s Day, my niece lost her husband in a most violent manner. Their kids – the younger one not even a year old, lost their father forever. They were together not more than four years, a young couple going through the ups and downs of building a bright, happy and secured future for themselves and their children. And then it was all over in a few minutes one early Saturday morning. It was so sudden, so unexpectedly brutal that we could not even begin to comprehend the gravity of the crime committed against this very young family.

At half past one in the morning of 27 June 2009, Douglas Duane Javier Lim – Dingdong to family and friends, went home to get ready for work. Work for him was the graveyard shift at the airport as a Special Agent of the Bureau of Immigration. As he always did, he went down his green Ford Expedition in front of their house in Bahay Toro in Quezon City and opened the gate. He then went back to the car, parked it inside the open garage and then went down again to close the gate.

Three successive gunshots punctuated the night air. Roused from sleep, his brother rushed outside to check the noise coming from the garage. Although still dazed, he saw two men by the gate and another one driving the Expedition out of the garage. When they saw him, they pointed the gun at him with the menacing look of the devil ready to drag him to hell. The two men then also boarded the car, all three of them now on the front seats, and then fled into the dark. Still too shocked and bewildered by what had just happened, he rushed to where the men left Dingdong.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw.

Dingdong was sprawled face down in the small walkway leading to the side of the house. He was bleeding profusely. His father and another brother, who had also gone out of the house, rushed the barely breathing Dingdong to the hospital. Although very weak from massive loss of blood, he managed to complain how hard it was for him to breath. And then he closed his eyes for the last time. Twenty minutes after he was admitted to the emergency room of the Capitol Medical Center, he was declared dead due to the gunshot wounds he sustained during the attack.

In what may have been less than 5 minutes, 34 years of a beautiful and promising life got ended violently. Nobody saw what really happened during those fatal minutes. The autopsy indicates gunpowder burn on his left hand. He could have held on to the gun when it fired, wounding his palm and wrist. There were also 2 shots in the chest, with one puncturing his lungs. Of the 2 chest wounds, one was inflicted while he had his back turned away from the gunman, and the other was inflicted while he was already sprawled on the pavement. The fatal shot went through the side of the abdomen, slicing through his liver, intestines and right kidney.

From this autopsy report, we can only try to painfully reconstruct those horror-filled final moments of his life: When he was already closing the gate, the three men suddenly barged in with a gun pointed at him. Startled, he might have tried to deflect the gun with his left hand. He was not left-handed, but it was the free hand at that time as he was probably using his right hand to close the sliding gate. The gun went off the first time while he was still holding it by the barrel, piercing his palm and wrist and then going though his abdomen area. Although already wounded, he might have managed to run away from his attackers. As he turned his back and made a dash for the house, the gunman shot him again. He might have fallen down, but still tried to make it to the house. The gunman still went after him, and with another merciless shot hit him in the chest while he was already down and bleeding.

And then as quickly as they came, they fled using Dingdong's own car as the getaway vehicle. The lone guard at the gate claims there were no other vehicles coming in or out at around the time of the crime. Nor did he find it strange that three unfamiliar men, who do not include Dingdong, would squeeze themselves in the front seat and drive like madmen through the exit.

The men who attacked Dingdong did not just leave behind a dying man. They also ended the hopes and aspirations of a young family who now must mourn his untimely death even as they ponder a future without a husband and a father. Theirs was a family trying to find its roots. Theirs was a love that have sailed through rough waters, and made it through each time. Theirs was a dream that was just beginning to unfold. With 3 shots of a gun, all these were gone.

It was a story straight out of the daily tabloids, the kind of news that screams out of our TV newscasts to feed on the insatiable hunger of the masses for sensationalized police stories. We smugly dismiss them as those things make us shrug our shoulders – shit happens to people, tough luck. We become complacent, jaded and apathetic even. Until it happens to us, or to people dear to us. Then suddenly we realize that just like everyone else we are fair game to criminals lurking in our streets, in the dark corners of our communities and even in the what is supposed to be safe havens of our homes - like vultures waiting for the right time to strike.

On Thursday, we sent Dingdong off to his final resting place. The endless rows of flower offerings and the many people who came to condole with the family at all hours of the day are testament to Dingdong's endearing and enduring ties with people he touched during his lifetime. When we looked at his fallen body for the last time, we remember his mischievous laughter, his ready smile and warm embraces and the many memories we shared in the short time he was part of our families. He leaves behind a grieving family and friends who must come to terms with not just the sudden loss, but more so with the senselessness of it all.

When asked if he wants to go to Timezone, Dingdong's little boy shook his head. Asked why not, he simply said, “Daddy’s gone”.

A husband, a father, a son, a brother, an uncle, a friend is gone - so soon and so painfully. So is our mistaken notion that we are safe in our own homes. Will we ever feel safe again?

~~~oOo~~~

You can post your online tributes and eulogies for Dingdong at

www.douglasduane.blogspot.com

~~~oOo~~~