Thursday, December 30, 2004
Kung Tuyo Na ang Luha Mo, Aking Bayan
Amado V. Hernandez
Lumuha ka, aking Bayan; buong lungkot mong iluha
Ang kawawang kapalaran ng lupain mong kawawa:
Ang bandilang sagisag mo’y lukob ng dayong bandila,
Pati wikang minana mo’y busabos ng ibang wika,
Ganito ring araw nang agawan ka ng laya,
Labintatlo ng Agosto nang saklutin ang Maynila,
Lumuha ka, habang sila ay palalong nagdiriwang,
Sa libingan ng maliit, ang malaki’y may libingan;
Katulad mo ay si Huli, naaliping bayad-utang,
Katulad mo ay si Sisa, binaliw ng kahirapan;
Walang lakas na magtanggol, walang tapang na lumaban,
Tumataghoy, kung paslangin; tumatangis, kung nakawan!
Iluha mo ang sambuntong kasawiang nagtalakop
Na sa iyo’y pampahirap, sa banyaga’y pampalusog:
Ang lahat mong kayamana’y kamal-kamal na naubos,
Ang lahat mong kalayaa’y sabay-sabay na natapos;
Masdan mo ang iyong lupa, dayong hukbo’y nakatanod,
Masdan mo ang iyong dagat, dayong bapor, nasa laot!
Lumuha ka kung sa puso ay nagmaliw na ang layon,
Kung ang araw sa langit mo ay lagi nang dapithapon,
Kung ang alon sa dagat mo ay ayaw nang magdaluyong,
Kung ang bulkan sa dibdib mo ay hindi man umuungol,
Kung wala nang maglalamay sa gabi ng pagbabangon,
Lumuha ka nang lumuha’t ang laya mo’y nakaburol.
May araw ding ang luha mo’y masasaid, matutuyo,
May araw ding di na luha sa mata mong namumugto
Ang dadaloy, kundi apoy, at apoy na kulay dugo,
Samantalang ang dugo mo ay aserong kumukulo;
Sisigaw kang buong giting sa liyab ng libong sulo
At ang lumang tanikala’y lalagutin mo ng punglo!
Lumuha ka, aking Bayan; buong lungkot mong iluha
Ang kawawang kapalaran ng lupain mong kawawa:
Ang bandilang sagisag mo’y lukob ng dayong bandila,
Pati wikang minana mo’y busabos ng ibang wika,
Ganito ring araw nang agawan ka ng laya,
Labintatlo ng Agosto nang saklutin ang Maynila,
Lumuha ka, habang sila ay palalong nagdiriwang,
Sa libingan ng maliit, ang malaki’y may libingan;
Katulad mo ay si Huli, naaliping bayad-utang,
Katulad mo ay si Sisa, binaliw ng kahirapan;
Walang lakas na magtanggol, walang tapang na lumaban,
Tumataghoy, kung paslangin; tumatangis, kung nakawan!
Iluha mo ang sambuntong kasawiang nagtalakop
Na sa iyo’y pampahirap, sa banyaga’y pampalusog:
Ang lahat mong kayamana’y kamal-kamal na naubos,
Ang lahat mong kalayaa’y sabay-sabay na natapos;
Masdan mo ang iyong lupa, dayong hukbo’y nakatanod,
Masdan mo ang iyong dagat, dayong bapor, nasa laot!
Lumuha ka kung sa puso ay nagmaliw na ang layon,
Kung ang araw sa langit mo ay lagi nang dapithapon,
Kung ang alon sa dagat mo ay ayaw nang magdaluyong,
Kung ang bulkan sa dibdib mo ay hindi man umuungol,
Kung wala nang maglalamay sa gabi ng pagbabangon,
Lumuha ka nang lumuha’t ang laya mo’y nakaburol.
May araw ding ang luha mo’y masasaid, matutuyo,
May araw ding di na luha sa mata mong namumugto
Ang dadaloy, kundi apoy, at apoy na kulay dugo,
Samantalang ang dugo mo ay aserong kumukulo;
Sisigaw kang buong giting sa liyab ng libong sulo
At ang lumang tanikala’y lalagutin mo ng punglo!
Saturday, December 25, 2004
The Blacksmith and the People
He has become larger than life.
He was plucked at the height of his greatness.
He was stolen at a time when no one expected him to be taken.
He was great because he embodied the hopes and aspirations of a people
Awashed by sinister leaders in their ivory towers
He held in his hands the dreams of a nation
Beset in crippling poverty and mindless greed
And the people did come for him
Out from the rundown apartments, muddy alleys and dirty shanties
March they went towards the church and towards the grave
In thousands and millions they kept coming
And walking, and chanting and believing
That all was not lost in his passing
As it was one for the silverscreen once again
That it was not one Great Leader who will deliver the nation
From oppression and exploitation and poverty
But the masses in all their raging glory
Those feasting in power must now beg their leave
As the people will come for them, too
But send them to the gallows
The people will pluck them in the shadows, at the height of their contradictions
And put their heads on the silver platter they stole
On the gates of their factories, farms and mansions
Built from the blood, sweat and tears of the people
That just lost their one, true hero.
Their blacksmith - their maker of arms for battle is gone
But the weapons are ready and the enemy can be seen in the horizon.
He was plucked at the height of his greatness.
He was stolen at a time when no one expected him to be taken.
He was great because he embodied the hopes and aspirations of a people
Awashed by sinister leaders in their ivory towers
He held in his hands the dreams of a nation
Beset in crippling poverty and mindless greed
And the people did come for him
Out from the rundown apartments, muddy alleys and dirty shanties
March they went towards the church and towards the grave
In thousands and millions they kept coming
And walking, and chanting and believing
That all was not lost in his passing
As it was one for the silverscreen once again
That it was not one Great Leader who will deliver the nation
From oppression and exploitation and poverty
But the masses in all their raging glory
Those feasting in power must now beg their leave
As the people will come for them, too
But send them to the gallows
The people will pluck them in the shadows, at the height of their contradictions
And put their heads on the silver platter they stole
On the gates of their factories, farms and mansions
Built from the blood, sweat and tears of the people
That just lost their one, true hero.
Their blacksmith - their maker of arms for battle is gone
But the weapons are ready and the enemy can be seen in the horizon.
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Reflections on Strategy and Tactics of Revolution
Note: This was written last August 9, 2004, as I was contemplating on the strategy and tactics on how revolution can waged. It clearly lambashes at the Sison line but upon further talks with Professor Villegas, my perspectives and prospects now are a lot more different than how it was when I wrote this piece.
I think the inevitability of the armed struggle as a prevailing strategy in the revolution is as important as setting up the ranks of the mass movement in the initial phase of the master plan. The mass movement in the cities will be crushed by the might of the reactionary state if it is not led by the liberating character of the people’s army in the intermediate and final stages of the revolution. I think it is absurd to assume that the path to revolution can be taken without the use of arms as mere chants and slogans will never suffice. The revolutionaries will end up being massacred and a whole sector of the movement quelled and immobilized. However, the relentless debate on the issue of the mode-of-production should be given due account as it might give rise to a restructuring of the revolution’s protracted strategy in ND or RJ terms. I firmly believe, with various data from thinktanks and reports from all side of the spectrum, that the Philippine economic landscape is best described still as a largely semi-feudal economy but steered by capitalist economic interests. The prevailing trend now in the countryside has been in the form of large-scale land conversions of arable land, shifting from rice, corn and sugar plantations into new residential and commercial establishments, if not, golf courses. This shows a decline in a general interest in investment in agriculture as a majority of landlords move from a concentration in agricultural capital to domestic investments in city-based industries, although backward, dirty and mostly raw/intermediate goods processing, packaging and manufacturing. But even as agriculture is in decline, a great majority of Filipinos wallow in poverty in the countryside and lament their continued landlessness and tenancy. This gives the revolution its comparative advantage in recognizing the continued poverty in the countryside as a tactical field of battle in the intermediate and final stages through escalating armed struggle. It is from the ranks of the peasants in which we can get the bulk of the membership of the people’s army while the workers ready the stage for the ensuing battle in the major cities of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The invasion of Manila can wait as critical battles are won in skirmishes in the archipelago. Isolated islands can wait also as military might can be cordoned off as a result of victories in the bigger islands. A detailed tactic might be discussed soon regarding this. Anyway, in Marxist analysis, if capitalist economic interests hold sway, in the form of Big Business and foreign monopolistic direct investments, the crux of the revolution should be centered in the cities in which it is of utter importance for the city cadres to get the support of the city-folk when the Commie partisans enter the cities and this can be done through relentless organizing and centralism in terms of forging alliances with the movement’s mass bases. The point of this piece is to underscore the importance of city-based organizing as the motive power in clinching the revolution and discredit the Sison line of overstretching the peasant revolution as the prime mover of the revolution. The army in the countryside can never enter the cities without the commie partisans mobilizing the people in the cities to carry out urban warfare in a tactical manner because even as the people’s army have neutralized the reactionary army in the fields, a great bulk of the reactionary army stays in the barracks near the cities and without popular support from the ones in the cities, the people’s army can never capture any city in the Philippines.
I think the inevitability of the armed struggle as a prevailing strategy in the revolution is as important as setting up the ranks of the mass movement in the initial phase of the master plan. The mass movement in the cities will be crushed by the might of the reactionary state if it is not led by the liberating character of the people’s army in the intermediate and final stages of the revolution. I think it is absurd to assume that the path to revolution can be taken without the use of arms as mere chants and slogans will never suffice. The revolutionaries will end up being massacred and a whole sector of the movement quelled and immobilized. However, the relentless debate on the issue of the mode-of-production should be given due account as it might give rise to a restructuring of the revolution’s protracted strategy in ND or RJ terms. I firmly believe, with various data from thinktanks and reports from all side of the spectrum, that the Philippine economic landscape is best described still as a largely semi-feudal economy but steered by capitalist economic interests. The prevailing trend now in the countryside has been in the form of large-scale land conversions of arable land, shifting from rice, corn and sugar plantations into new residential and commercial establishments, if not, golf courses. This shows a decline in a general interest in investment in agriculture as a majority of landlords move from a concentration in agricultural capital to domestic investments in city-based industries, although backward, dirty and mostly raw/intermediate goods processing, packaging and manufacturing. But even as agriculture is in decline, a great majority of Filipinos wallow in poverty in the countryside and lament their continued landlessness and tenancy. This gives the revolution its comparative advantage in recognizing the continued poverty in the countryside as a tactical field of battle in the intermediate and final stages through escalating armed struggle. It is from the ranks of the peasants in which we can get the bulk of the membership of the people’s army while the workers ready the stage for the ensuing battle in the major cities of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The invasion of Manila can wait as critical battles are won in skirmishes in the archipelago. Isolated islands can wait also as military might can be cordoned off as a result of victories in the bigger islands. A detailed tactic might be discussed soon regarding this. Anyway, in Marxist analysis, if capitalist economic interests hold sway, in the form of Big Business and foreign monopolistic direct investments, the crux of the revolution should be centered in the cities in which it is of utter importance for the city cadres to get the support of the city-folk when the Commie partisans enter the cities and this can be done through relentless organizing and centralism in terms of forging alliances with the movement’s mass bases. The point of this piece is to underscore the importance of city-based organizing as the motive power in clinching the revolution and discredit the Sison line of overstretching the peasant revolution as the prime mover of the revolution. The army in the countryside can never enter the cities without the commie partisans mobilizing the people in the cities to carry out urban warfare in a tactical manner because even as the people’s army have neutralized the reactionary army in the fields, a great bulk of the reactionary army stays in the barracks near the cities and without popular support from the ones in the cities, the people’s army can never capture any city in the Philippines.
Pagtampisaw sa Banahaw
Hindi ko nais pumunta sa Banahaw noong Linggong iyon, sapagkat noong Biyernes hanggang Sabado ng gabi ay nasa isang bahay ako sa Subic at dumalo sa isang pulong ng mga lider-estudyante mula sa iba’t ibang pamantasan. Dakong ika-11 na ng gabi ako nakarating sa bahay namin sa Manila at kinailangan ko pang maghanda para sa susunod na namang lakad kinabukasan – Banahaw.
Matagal nang malaking palaisipan sa akin ang lugar na ito sapagkat madalas na naibabanggit sa akin ito ng kaibigan kong guro sa Ateneo kung saan malimit niyang dalhin ang kanyang mga klase roon para magmasid at magsuri ng paligid, tao, kaugalian at kakaibang kultura buong lugar. Madalas ay yinayaya akong sumama ngunit laging walang panahon at may takot mandin sa mga kuwento ng katarikan ng mga bangin at ang walang sawang pagbanggit ng hiwagang tangan ng Banahaw.
Pagbaba sa sasakyan pagkatapos ng pagdaan sa alikabok at walang tigil na daang malubak, hindi ko maiwasang hindi pansinin ang kapaligiran. Nawala na ang malubak at mabatong daan at nakahambalang sa aking harapan ang ilang mga kubong tindahan ng pasalubong o kuwintas at mga tabi-tabing bahay sa gitna ng bahagyang malawak na niyugan – tunay ngang nasa Quezon na ako ; at sa dakong gilid ay mga nagtitinda ng mga krus at mga kuwintas na tila pang-albularyo habang natatanaw ang batis sa paanan ng bangin – baka tunay ngang nasa Banahaw na ako.
Magiging hilaw ang pagsusuri ko ng karanasan sa Banahaw kung hindi babanggitin ang pagmamasid sa mga taong nakita roon sa dakong batis at sa pagakyat sa mataas na daanan paakyat. Tunay nga yatang ang obhektibong kondisyon ang nagtatakda ng kultura at pamamaraan ng mga tao. Kapansin-pansin ang likas na kapayakan ng mga tao roon, katulad ng lahat ng mga taong nakabatay ang kabuhayan sa kanayunan. Wala silang pagpapanggap kahit sa harapan ng mga bisita mula sa Maynila.
Doon lang ako nakakita ng pamayanang napakalaki ang pagpapahalagang ibinibigay sa batis kung saan malaking bahagi ng kanilang mga araw ay nakasalalay roon – paglalaba, pagligo, pagsalok ng malinis na tubig, paglangoy at pagsamba. Nakagugulat kung paanong napagtitiyagaan ng mga tagaritong umakyat-panaog bawat araw sa batis na ito para lamang kumuha ng malinis na tubig para sa araw-araw na gawain, sa loob ng napakahabang panahon. Bilib din ako kung paanong napananatili ang kalinisan ng batis sapagkat malamig at malinaw ang tubig at minsanan lamang makakikita ng basura. Kaya siguro mariin din ang ibayong pag-iingat na ginagawa ng mga tao rito upang hindi masira ang likas-yamang biyaya sa kanila ng kung sinumang Diyos nila.
Nang matapos ang tanghalian, tumungo ako sa Ciudad Mystica. Gusto ko na sanang maniwala sa sinasabi ng Suprema. Marami na rin kasing kontradiksiyon ang Simbahan ukol sa tunay na mga aral ni Kristo. Tumapak ang pagbasa niya ukol sa paghingi ng bayad ng Simbahan sa mga sakramento nito sapagkat hindi dapat nagmumula rito ang pera ng Simbahan – parang binebenta ang kaligtasan. Minsan tuloy wala pa ring masasabing pagkakaiba ang kasalukuyang Simbahan kahit pagkatapos ng Vatican II mula sa panahong tinutulugsa ni Calvin at Luther ang indulhensiya ng Simbahan. Tama rin siya na sabihing mali ang pagsamba sa mga istatwa katulad ng walang humpay na pagdagsa ng tao sa Baclaran para masdan at dasalan ang Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Naisip ko tuloy ang mga Simbahan sa lumang Byzantine Empire ng Greek Orthodox Church kung saan winasak ang mga istatwa at naiwan na lamang ang krus na walang Kristong nakabayubay – krus na kahoy, krus na nagsisilbing pagpapaalala lamang, sapagkat diretso naman talaga dapat sa Diyos ang pagdarasal, ang paghingi ng pasasalamat, ang paghingi ng kapatawaran at hindi sa paraan ng pagninilay sa harapan ng mga marmol na obrang sumisimbolo sa mga santo o kahit si Kristong nakabayubay. Hindi kasi kailanman maaarok ang lawak at lalim ng pag-iral ng Diyos kaya hindi dapat kinakahon sa konseptong likha ng mga obra at istatwa. Nagulantang naman ako noong bigla na siyang nagsimulang magdiskurso ukol sa sitwasyong pampulitika ng bansa sapagkat hindi ko inasahang may konsepto pala siya ng neokolonyalismo. Hindi na talaga ako interesado noon mga sandaling iyon nang may nagtanong sa usapin pampulitika at kahit hindi malinaw ang balangkas ng pagpapaliwanag nagawa niyang ipakita na kahit umalis na ang Kastila, Kano at Hapones, nananatili pa rin ang dayuhan sa pamamagitan ng mga patakaran na sumisira sa kabuhayan ng bayan. Nakagugulat ito sapagkat napupuna rin pala ng masa sa Banahaw ang umiiral na sistema sa bansa kahit gaano pa ito kalayo sa kalunsuran at gaano kasarado ang mundong ginagalawan nila mula sa buhay-pambansa. Ganunpaman, hindi ko magawang yakapin ang lahat ng kaisipang tangan niya habang nananatili sa akin ang duda ng kahuwadan ng kanyang samahan at ang ilang mga kaugaliang hindi masasabing nakaangkla sa lohikal na pagdaloy ng kaisipan at hindi rin masasabing bunga ng pananampalataya kundi ng atrasadong tradisyong pinalala ng pagkubli sa bundok sa loob ng mahabang panahon. Para saan ang bakal na gate na puro bandila ng mga bansa? Naniniwala nang kaunti akong hindi kumukupit ang liderato ng ciudad mystica mula sa koleksiyon sapagkat napakapayak naman ng hitsura ng Suprema at hindi rin magarbo ang kanyang kasuotan subalit sana linaan na lamang ang pera para sa kabuhayan ng mga miyembro kaysa sa pagpapatayo ng napalataas na gate sa harapan. Nakalulungkot isipin na kabilang sa mga dahilan ng pagtatayo ng ciudad mystica at ilan pang mga kilusan sa Banahaw ay ang kawalan ng pagpapahalaga ng Simbahan, at ng lipunan na rin, sa interes at kapakanan ng kanyang miyembro o mamamayan. Nabuo ang mga ito bilang reaksiyon sa mga kontradiksiyon sa lipunan at kulturang kinikulusan katulad na rin ng bumaklas na mga paring Aglipayano noong panahon ng Himagsikan at malamang ay hindi naman talaga dahil sa aparisiyon o kahit anumang bagay na mahiwaga. Sumusulpot ang mga grupong ganito sa panahon ng krisis, kung saan wala nang ibang babalingan ang masa kundi ang kanyang sarili sapagkat kahit ang Simbahang dapat sanang huling sandigan at kalasag ng masa mula sa pang-aalipusta at kahirapan ay matutuklasan ng masang kabilang sa mga kasangkapan ng pang-aapi at pambubusabos sa karapatan at kabuhayan nila. Nakakahabag isipin na kailangan nilang sa Bundok Banahaw magtago at magpatuloy ng kanilang pag-iral sapagkat alam nilang madudurog ang kanilang puwersa kung isasalang ang kanilang mga sarili sa malalimang pagsusuri ng mga pantas at dalubhasa sa relihiyon at lipunan. Ang ganitong deviance din ang patuloy nagluluwal ng mga walang katapusang mito at kuwento ng hiwagang dulot ng Banahaw. Lalong nakalulungkot isipin na kung wala mang batayan talaga ang pag-iral ng mga grupong ito kundi bilang reaksiyon lamang sa umiiral na sistema, ang mga mito at baka minsan kasinungalingan pa nga ng mga pundador ng grupo ay mahuhubog bilang mga kuwentong nangyari, tunay at totoo nang hindi kinakailangang gumamit ng siyentipikong paraan ng pagsusuri at sapat na lang ang pagkakaroon ng pananampalataya para ang mga ito ay paniwalaang totoo.
Hindi ako naniniwalang kulto ang mga tao rito o mga hibang pero hindi rin ako naniniwalang may batayang katotohanan ang mga kaisipang dala nila subalit isa ang malinaw sa akin – higit na mabuting ituring ang mga ito bilang biktima ng kasaysayan at biktima ng kultura at biktima ng lipunan sapagkat malamang wala sila roon kung naging higit na maunawain lamang ang lipunan, kung winasto lang sana ang mga kontradiksiyon sa lipunan at binigyan sila ng puwang bilang mga kasangkapan ng pagbabago at pag-unlad at hindi mga simpleng mga taong bahagi lamang ng estadistika ng mga mahihirap na mamamayang nawalan na ng pag-asa sa isang lipunang malupit at sistemang napakaliit ang butas para maka-iral sa paraang mapagpalaya at marangal.
September 24, 2004
Matagal nang malaking palaisipan sa akin ang lugar na ito sapagkat madalas na naibabanggit sa akin ito ng kaibigan kong guro sa Ateneo kung saan malimit niyang dalhin ang kanyang mga klase roon para magmasid at magsuri ng paligid, tao, kaugalian at kakaibang kultura buong lugar. Madalas ay yinayaya akong sumama ngunit laging walang panahon at may takot mandin sa mga kuwento ng katarikan ng mga bangin at ang walang sawang pagbanggit ng hiwagang tangan ng Banahaw.
Pagbaba sa sasakyan pagkatapos ng pagdaan sa alikabok at walang tigil na daang malubak, hindi ko maiwasang hindi pansinin ang kapaligiran. Nawala na ang malubak at mabatong daan at nakahambalang sa aking harapan ang ilang mga kubong tindahan ng pasalubong o kuwintas at mga tabi-tabing bahay sa gitna ng bahagyang malawak na niyugan – tunay ngang nasa Quezon na ako ; at sa dakong gilid ay mga nagtitinda ng mga krus at mga kuwintas na tila pang-albularyo habang natatanaw ang batis sa paanan ng bangin – baka tunay ngang nasa Banahaw na ako.
Magiging hilaw ang pagsusuri ko ng karanasan sa Banahaw kung hindi babanggitin ang pagmamasid sa mga taong nakita roon sa dakong batis at sa pagakyat sa mataas na daanan paakyat. Tunay nga yatang ang obhektibong kondisyon ang nagtatakda ng kultura at pamamaraan ng mga tao. Kapansin-pansin ang likas na kapayakan ng mga tao roon, katulad ng lahat ng mga taong nakabatay ang kabuhayan sa kanayunan. Wala silang pagpapanggap kahit sa harapan ng mga bisita mula sa Maynila.
Doon lang ako nakakita ng pamayanang napakalaki ang pagpapahalagang ibinibigay sa batis kung saan malaking bahagi ng kanilang mga araw ay nakasalalay roon – paglalaba, pagligo, pagsalok ng malinis na tubig, paglangoy at pagsamba. Nakagugulat kung paanong napagtitiyagaan ng mga tagaritong umakyat-panaog bawat araw sa batis na ito para lamang kumuha ng malinis na tubig para sa araw-araw na gawain, sa loob ng napakahabang panahon. Bilib din ako kung paanong napananatili ang kalinisan ng batis sapagkat malamig at malinaw ang tubig at minsanan lamang makakikita ng basura. Kaya siguro mariin din ang ibayong pag-iingat na ginagawa ng mga tao rito upang hindi masira ang likas-yamang biyaya sa kanila ng kung sinumang Diyos nila.
Nang matapos ang tanghalian, tumungo ako sa Ciudad Mystica. Gusto ko na sanang maniwala sa sinasabi ng Suprema. Marami na rin kasing kontradiksiyon ang Simbahan ukol sa tunay na mga aral ni Kristo. Tumapak ang pagbasa niya ukol sa paghingi ng bayad ng Simbahan sa mga sakramento nito sapagkat hindi dapat nagmumula rito ang pera ng Simbahan – parang binebenta ang kaligtasan. Minsan tuloy wala pa ring masasabing pagkakaiba ang kasalukuyang Simbahan kahit pagkatapos ng Vatican II mula sa panahong tinutulugsa ni Calvin at Luther ang indulhensiya ng Simbahan. Tama rin siya na sabihing mali ang pagsamba sa mga istatwa katulad ng walang humpay na pagdagsa ng tao sa Baclaran para masdan at dasalan ang Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Naisip ko tuloy ang mga Simbahan sa lumang Byzantine Empire ng Greek Orthodox Church kung saan winasak ang mga istatwa at naiwan na lamang ang krus na walang Kristong nakabayubay – krus na kahoy, krus na nagsisilbing pagpapaalala lamang, sapagkat diretso naman talaga dapat sa Diyos ang pagdarasal, ang paghingi ng pasasalamat, ang paghingi ng kapatawaran at hindi sa paraan ng pagninilay sa harapan ng mga marmol na obrang sumisimbolo sa mga santo o kahit si Kristong nakabayubay. Hindi kasi kailanman maaarok ang lawak at lalim ng pag-iral ng Diyos kaya hindi dapat kinakahon sa konseptong likha ng mga obra at istatwa. Nagulantang naman ako noong bigla na siyang nagsimulang magdiskurso ukol sa sitwasyong pampulitika ng bansa sapagkat hindi ko inasahang may konsepto pala siya ng neokolonyalismo. Hindi na talaga ako interesado noon mga sandaling iyon nang may nagtanong sa usapin pampulitika at kahit hindi malinaw ang balangkas ng pagpapaliwanag nagawa niyang ipakita na kahit umalis na ang Kastila, Kano at Hapones, nananatili pa rin ang dayuhan sa pamamagitan ng mga patakaran na sumisira sa kabuhayan ng bayan. Nakagugulat ito sapagkat napupuna rin pala ng masa sa Banahaw ang umiiral na sistema sa bansa kahit gaano pa ito kalayo sa kalunsuran at gaano kasarado ang mundong ginagalawan nila mula sa buhay-pambansa. Ganunpaman, hindi ko magawang yakapin ang lahat ng kaisipang tangan niya habang nananatili sa akin ang duda ng kahuwadan ng kanyang samahan at ang ilang mga kaugaliang hindi masasabing nakaangkla sa lohikal na pagdaloy ng kaisipan at hindi rin masasabing bunga ng pananampalataya kundi ng atrasadong tradisyong pinalala ng pagkubli sa bundok sa loob ng mahabang panahon. Para saan ang bakal na gate na puro bandila ng mga bansa? Naniniwala nang kaunti akong hindi kumukupit ang liderato ng ciudad mystica mula sa koleksiyon sapagkat napakapayak naman ng hitsura ng Suprema at hindi rin magarbo ang kanyang kasuotan subalit sana linaan na lamang ang pera para sa kabuhayan ng mga miyembro kaysa sa pagpapatayo ng napalataas na gate sa harapan. Nakalulungkot isipin na kabilang sa mga dahilan ng pagtatayo ng ciudad mystica at ilan pang mga kilusan sa Banahaw ay ang kawalan ng pagpapahalaga ng Simbahan, at ng lipunan na rin, sa interes at kapakanan ng kanyang miyembro o mamamayan. Nabuo ang mga ito bilang reaksiyon sa mga kontradiksiyon sa lipunan at kulturang kinikulusan katulad na rin ng bumaklas na mga paring Aglipayano noong panahon ng Himagsikan at malamang ay hindi naman talaga dahil sa aparisiyon o kahit anumang bagay na mahiwaga. Sumusulpot ang mga grupong ganito sa panahon ng krisis, kung saan wala nang ibang babalingan ang masa kundi ang kanyang sarili sapagkat kahit ang Simbahang dapat sanang huling sandigan at kalasag ng masa mula sa pang-aalipusta at kahirapan ay matutuklasan ng masang kabilang sa mga kasangkapan ng pang-aapi at pambubusabos sa karapatan at kabuhayan nila. Nakakahabag isipin na kailangan nilang sa Bundok Banahaw magtago at magpatuloy ng kanilang pag-iral sapagkat alam nilang madudurog ang kanilang puwersa kung isasalang ang kanilang mga sarili sa malalimang pagsusuri ng mga pantas at dalubhasa sa relihiyon at lipunan. Ang ganitong deviance din ang patuloy nagluluwal ng mga walang katapusang mito at kuwento ng hiwagang dulot ng Banahaw. Lalong nakalulungkot isipin na kung wala mang batayan talaga ang pag-iral ng mga grupong ito kundi bilang reaksiyon lamang sa umiiral na sistema, ang mga mito at baka minsan kasinungalingan pa nga ng mga pundador ng grupo ay mahuhubog bilang mga kuwentong nangyari, tunay at totoo nang hindi kinakailangang gumamit ng siyentipikong paraan ng pagsusuri at sapat na lang ang pagkakaroon ng pananampalataya para ang mga ito ay paniwalaang totoo.
Hindi ako naniniwalang kulto ang mga tao rito o mga hibang pero hindi rin ako naniniwalang may batayang katotohanan ang mga kaisipang dala nila subalit isa ang malinaw sa akin – higit na mabuting ituring ang mga ito bilang biktima ng kasaysayan at biktima ng kultura at biktima ng lipunan sapagkat malamang wala sila roon kung naging higit na maunawain lamang ang lipunan, kung winasto lang sana ang mga kontradiksiyon sa lipunan at binigyan sila ng puwang bilang mga kasangkapan ng pagbabago at pag-unlad at hindi mga simpleng mga taong bahagi lamang ng estadistika ng mga mahihirap na mamamayang nawalan na ng pag-asa sa isang lipunang malupit at sistemang napakaliit ang butas para maka-iral sa paraang mapagpalaya at marangal.
September 24, 2004
A Sissy Population Policy and An Infallible Church
Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit seems to be baring his true skin all the more these days (pun intended) as he is criticized by his Thai contemporary for his inaction in procuring necessary contraceptives to help combat chronic overpopulation as Thai Sen. Mechai Viravaidya encouraged a shift in government policy by intensively promoting artificial means of contraception as the most potent form of birth control, thereby reducing population growth at a low steady rate, as was successfully done in Thailand. It is an inutile health policy for Dayrit to wait for marching orders from GMA as it is his mandate to provide healthcare for the people regardless of whatever personal opinion the President has over the issue of population management. Government policy is different from the President’s whims.
On the other hand, the subtle political pressure of the Church comes to the fore again as CBCP Chair Oscar Cruz was quick to defend Dayrit’s decision to defer procuring contraceptives by lambasting at the Thai “Condom King” for promoting irresponsible sexuality especially among the youth. But the statistics cannot lie. Thailand’s birth rate has steadily declined over the years due to massive campaigns popularizing artificial contraceptives while we have one of the highest birth rates in Asia, triggering radical moves for two-child policies by some sectors in Congress. For the longest time the Church has been proven wrong and their advice invalid for continuing to insist that Filipinos undertake natural methods of birth control supplemented by an inept government policy such as the one we have now but the Church remains steadfast in its pressure. The birth rate steadily rises but the food supply immensely declines and a very large percentage of this population outburst is contributed by the D and E sectors of society who live with less than two dollars a day, scarcely enough for adequate food consumption. What then does the Church intend to do with this, make them fall in line in their soup kitchens? But the more important focus should be on what the government can effectively do to manage the population boom.
The first big step it should to is to stop kowtowing to the demands and pressures of the Church as it is the biggest obstacle in truly advancing a scientific form of population management sans their threats of immorality and moral bankruptcy. The government and the Church cannot play blind to the objective reality that their population policy does not work and henceforth demands a more effective solution as that of artificial contraception. The SWS survey gave positive claims of chronic hunger among the country’s poor and adding more Filipinos in this statistics without food nor the basic necessities to survive is far more immoral than the Church sponsoring artificial contraception and letting the people choose what to do with their lives. The state must first purge itself of the influence peddled by the Church as the self-proclaimed beacon of the country’s morals because one of the most fundamental hindrances to development is a culture of distorted norms with double standards of morality and ethics and the Church in the Philippines is certainly one of the best models for that.
Manuel Dayrit should heed the call of the Thai Senator rather than insisting that the poor buy the contraceptives themselves instead of the government providing them. He cannot sit pretty and wait in the face of worsening hunger and poverty. (Pun intended) Government population policy should be realistically crafted to respond in the most effective manner to issues concerning overpopulation and only a health secretary with balls can do it. (pun intended again)
On the other hand, the subtle political pressure of the Church comes to the fore again as CBCP Chair Oscar Cruz was quick to defend Dayrit’s decision to defer procuring contraceptives by lambasting at the Thai “Condom King” for promoting irresponsible sexuality especially among the youth. But the statistics cannot lie. Thailand’s birth rate has steadily declined over the years due to massive campaigns popularizing artificial contraceptives while we have one of the highest birth rates in Asia, triggering radical moves for two-child policies by some sectors in Congress. For the longest time the Church has been proven wrong and their advice invalid for continuing to insist that Filipinos undertake natural methods of birth control supplemented by an inept government policy such as the one we have now but the Church remains steadfast in its pressure. The birth rate steadily rises but the food supply immensely declines and a very large percentage of this population outburst is contributed by the D and E sectors of society who live with less than two dollars a day, scarcely enough for adequate food consumption. What then does the Church intend to do with this, make them fall in line in their soup kitchens? But the more important focus should be on what the government can effectively do to manage the population boom.
The first big step it should to is to stop kowtowing to the demands and pressures of the Church as it is the biggest obstacle in truly advancing a scientific form of population management sans their threats of immorality and moral bankruptcy. The government and the Church cannot play blind to the objective reality that their population policy does not work and henceforth demands a more effective solution as that of artificial contraception. The SWS survey gave positive claims of chronic hunger among the country’s poor and adding more Filipinos in this statistics without food nor the basic necessities to survive is far more immoral than the Church sponsoring artificial contraception and letting the people choose what to do with their lives. The state must first purge itself of the influence peddled by the Church as the self-proclaimed beacon of the country’s morals because one of the most fundamental hindrances to development is a culture of distorted norms with double standards of morality and ethics and the Church in the Philippines is certainly one of the best models for that.
Manuel Dayrit should heed the call of the Thai Senator rather than insisting that the poor buy the contraceptives themselves instead of the government providing them. He cannot sit pretty and wait in the face of worsening hunger and poverty. (Pun intended) Government population policy should be realistically crafted to respond in the most effective manner to issues concerning overpopulation and only a health secretary with balls can do it. (pun intended again)
Saturday, December 11, 2004
The Political Economy of Pyramiding
The controversy hounding networking and pyramiding persists. The thin line separating the two becomes all the more blurred as people become more cunning in coming up with ways on how to dupe more and more people into investing in ventures like these. In the Philippines, millions of pesos have already been lost to unscrupulous businessmen and company owners of networking and pyramiding scams giving promises to mostly lower middleclass families into making a quick buck and turn in huge quantities of money – in a rags to riches fashion. Then the moment they realize the fraud, it will have been too late as the owner will have left the country, the swindler will have filed for bankruptcy, it will have been too hard to recover the investment or it will have been too long to have a return of investment and steady profit. After which, they seek redress from the government and so far, only a few number of estafa cases involving pyramid schemes have been prosecuted and still await the fruitless return of the money they lost.
The interest of the public in this scam only snowballed when people realized that it did not involve a few faceless lower middleclass citizens but an increasing number of people from all parts of the social stratum, age groups and occupations. As a result of such, millions of pesos of retirement benefits of career government employees have been lost, millions of pesos of pension funds for veterans and old people have been divested and thousands of pesos of baon of some students have been burned in an investment they never profited from and at the same time, it would be very difficult to recover the losses. As you can see, pyramiding works in a very uncanny but cunning manner. It gives you an offer that would be to hard to refuse – a very minimal capital investment compared to the monstrous millions one needs to profit from an ordinary stock-based corporation and a so-called fast return of profit in which the only skill that one supposedly needs is that of persuasion – to be able to convince your friends, acquaintances, officemates and contacts to join the network, to invest in the pyramid from which in every person one gets, he or she is entitled to get a commission from the so-called sale of stock. For example, the fee or the capital one needs to join the pyramid is about PhP8000. The person who was able to convince the investor to would receive PhP1000 as commission. To recover his investment, he would need to find more or less seven more people to join the network. But this is only the first layer of the scam. In order to profit bigger, one would only wait for the eight persons he was able to convince to find more people to participate and in every sale of stock by those under him of her, he gets more or less PhP2000 or more, depending on the arrangement with the owner of company, who sets the pyramiding guidelines. So, if there are 8 members under him or her who gets 8 members each, he would get around PhP96000, more or less. And the scam goes on and on, and the head of the pyramid at the first layer will have been filthy rich as the layers continue multiplying, exploiting the need for people to recover their investments. The people at the head of the pyramid can be described as living off the money they never deserved because as the pyramid continues, the portion the people at the head gets becomes bigger and bigger. The scheme might involve goods for retail, to at least alleviate the need to sell more and more stocks. This is what networking supposedly is. But it is not necessarily so as pyramids often include only money. The profit continues provided that those under the heads of the pyramid have diligent underlings. If not, there would be a lull in the profits.
Ideas and social movements do not operate out of limbo. They do not spring forth because of the intelligence of man alone. It evolves out of precise historic moments, social contexts and objective conditions that make it ripe for theorizing, action and reaction. Pyramid schemes became a fad in the Philippines, not because some brilliant businessman thought it to be so. The scam arose from the Philippine socio-economic condition – crippling budget deficits due to debt servicing and excessive government spending and low GNP outputs due to massive trade liberalization in a macroeconomic scale; in the grassroots, low wages, rising food and oil prices which lead to lower purchasing powers, especially of the lower income groups, from which pyramiding sucks its blood from. The necessary implications of this would be the need to have get money or liquidity fast and assurances of risk-free investments which are the very things promised by the pyramid scheme. Those who crafted this scheme must have mastered the political economy of the times as they know that the lower income groups would never invest in the stock market for added income as their wages are too low and their savings are too little to risk all in enterprising. But they also knew that a small capital, almost like that of a small sari-sari store, would not hurt that much to the lower middle class family. Besides, earmarking perhaps a month salary for this venture, would not hurt that much at first as the returns are supposedly huge, much bigger than their salaries can ever imagine. It would take them a year to earn the PhP96000 promised by the pyramid scheme when they can have it with almost doing nothing but waiting for the money to come in. In a struggling economy such as ours, who then would resist this offer? Not the aged pensioners who still rent their rundown apartment in an eskinita in Sampaloc. Not the rank-and-file families of policemen and enlisted Army personnel who still have yet to pay their mortgage of their low-cost housing units in Bicutan and Bonifacio. Not the PGH doctor who still has yet to leave the country for Singapore, earning only a meager salary during his residency years. Not the Salary Grade 2 government officer who needs to send her kids to an expensive diploma mill university. The pyramid scheme boomed and bombed in the Philippines because play and exploited on a very fundamental need of people – to live decently, to own a house, to send their kids to school with at least something to spare for savings. But in a depressing situation such as ours, the opportunity for this is just too bleak to even imagine that people from the lower strata resort to schemes like this to at least give a semblance of hope that they will someday overcome their sad state. It may be greed for some to make the quick run for the money, but then, with an inefficient government that spends more time deliberating on increasing their pork than delivering improved social services, who are they to blame? As long as the political and economic situation continues, schemes like the pyramid persist and take on even more cunning forms.
The interest of the public in this scam only snowballed when people realized that it did not involve a few faceless lower middleclass citizens but an increasing number of people from all parts of the social stratum, age groups and occupations. As a result of such, millions of pesos of retirement benefits of career government employees have been lost, millions of pesos of pension funds for veterans and old people have been divested and thousands of pesos of baon of some students have been burned in an investment they never profited from and at the same time, it would be very difficult to recover the losses. As you can see, pyramiding works in a very uncanny but cunning manner. It gives you an offer that would be to hard to refuse – a very minimal capital investment compared to the monstrous millions one needs to profit from an ordinary stock-based corporation and a so-called fast return of profit in which the only skill that one supposedly needs is that of persuasion – to be able to convince your friends, acquaintances, officemates and contacts to join the network, to invest in the pyramid from which in every person one gets, he or she is entitled to get a commission from the so-called sale of stock. For example, the fee or the capital one needs to join the pyramid is about PhP8000. The person who was able to convince the investor to would receive PhP1000 as commission. To recover his investment, he would need to find more or less seven more people to join the network. But this is only the first layer of the scam. In order to profit bigger, one would only wait for the eight persons he was able to convince to find more people to participate and in every sale of stock by those under him of her, he gets more or less PhP2000 or more, depending on the arrangement with the owner of company, who sets the pyramiding guidelines. So, if there are 8 members under him or her who gets 8 members each, he would get around PhP96000, more or less. And the scam goes on and on, and the head of the pyramid at the first layer will have been filthy rich as the layers continue multiplying, exploiting the need for people to recover their investments. The people at the head of the pyramid can be described as living off the money they never deserved because as the pyramid continues, the portion the people at the head gets becomes bigger and bigger. The scheme might involve goods for retail, to at least alleviate the need to sell more and more stocks. This is what networking supposedly is. But it is not necessarily so as pyramids often include only money. The profit continues provided that those under the heads of the pyramid have diligent underlings. If not, there would be a lull in the profits.
Ideas and social movements do not operate out of limbo. They do not spring forth because of the intelligence of man alone. It evolves out of precise historic moments, social contexts and objective conditions that make it ripe for theorizing, action and reaction. Pyramid schemes became a fad in the Philippines, not because some brilliant businessman thought it to be so. The scam arose from the Philippine socio-economic condition – crippling budget deficits due to debt servicing and excessive government spending and low GNP outputs due to massive trade liberalization in a macroeconomic scale; in the grassroots, low wages, rising food and oil prices which lead to lower purchasing powers, especially of the lower income groups, from which pyramiding sucks its blood from. The necessary implications of this would be the need to have get money or liquidity fast and assurances of risk-free investments which are the very things promised by the pyramid scheme. Those who crafted this scheme must have mastered the political economy of the times as they know that the lower income groups would never invest in the stock market for added income as their wages are too low and their savings are too little to risk all in enterprising. But they also knew that a small capital, almost like that of a small sari-sari store, would not hurt that much to the lower middle class family. Besides, earmarking perhaps a month salary for this venture, would not hurt that much at first as the returns are supposedly huge, much bigger than their salaries can ever imagine. It would take them a year to earn the PhP96000 promised by the pyramid scheme when they can have it with almost doing nothing but waiting for the money to come in. In a struggling economy such as ours, who then would resist this offer? Not the aged pensioners who still rent their rundown apartment in an eskinita in Sampaloc. Not the rank-and-file families of policemen and enlisted Army personnel who still have yet to pay their mortgage of their low-cost housing units in Bicutan and Bonifacio. Not the PGH doctor who still has yet to leave the country for Singapore, earning only a meager salary during his residency years. Not the Salary Grade 2 government officer who needs to send her kids to an expensive diploma mill university. The pyramid scheme boomed and bombed in the Philippines because play and exploited on a very fundamental need of people – to live decently, to own a house, to send their kids to school with at least something to spare for savings. But in a depressing situation such as ours, the opportunity for this is just too bleak to even imagine that people from the lower strata resort to schemes like this to at least give a semblance of hope that they will someday overcome their sad state. It may be greed for some to make the quick run for the money, but then, with an inefficient government that spends more time deliberating on increasing their pork than delivering improved social services, who are they to blame? As long as the political and economic situation continues, schemes like the pyramid persist and take on even more cunning forms.
Thursday, December 09, 2004
Kasama
Uyayi ng Kasama
teridon
Sa puntong malapit na ang kaaway
Ang pagod, kalimutan, ang takot, labanan
Kalasag at armas ng digmaan
Kabit-bisig sa martsa ng tagumpay
Sa oras na hapo na ang bisig at diwa
Sagad nang pasanin bigat ng bawat laban
Kayanin ang hirap, pagsubok at luha
Ang masa'y umaasa ng katarungan
Sa panahong gipit na sa pakikibaka
Tandaan mayroon kang laging kasama
Karamay, kaibigan, maaasahan
Katuwang sa pagpanday ng kalayaan
Kasama, o Kasama
Kay tibay ng iyong paninindigan
Maging aming huwaran
Baguhin ang ating lipunan
teridon
Sa puntong malapit na ang kaaway
Ang pagod, kalimutan, ang takot, labanan
Kalasag at armas ng digmaan
Kabit-bisig sa martsa ng tagumpay
Sa oras na hapo na ang bisig at diwa
Sagad nang pasanin bigat ng bawat laban
Kayanin ang hirap, pagsubok at luha
Ang masa'y umaasa ng katarungan
Sa panahong gipit na sa pakikibaka
Tandaan mayroon kang laging kasama
Karamay, kaibigan, maaasahan
Katuwang sa pagpanday ng kalayaan
Kasama, o Kasama
Kay tibay ng iyong paninindigan
Maging aming huwaran
Baguhin ang ating lipunan
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Ang Karupukan ng Katawan
Marupok ang katawan ko. Walang humpay ang pakikipaglaban ko sa allergic rhinitis. Sinubukan ko na ang ilang mga gamot sa pagdaan ng mga taon - dimetapp, zyrtec, virlix at ngayon naman yung nasal spray ng kumikiliti sa loob-loob ng ilong ko sa bawat pagpiga ng gamot at pagbulusok ng serum para labanan ang allergy. Nakukuha ko ito madalas mula sa matinding pagpupuyat bawat gabi o dili kaya naman sa matinding pagbabago ng klima lalo na sa panahon ngayong iinit at lalamig nang wala pang isang oras. Sinabi sa aking subuking gumamit ng multivitamins para palakasin ang resistensiya ko at umaasa akong ito ang magdudulot ng matinding pagbabago - hindi na umaasa akong mawawala ang walang humpay na pagsisipon kundi ang pagbagal ng pagkakaroon kong muli ng sipon sa mahabang panahon.
Naaalala ko tuloy ang sakit ni Che Guevara habang nakikipaglaban siya sa kabundukan ng Sierra Maestra, Congo at Bolivia. Walang pasubaling dumarating ang mga asthma attacks ng dakilang bayani ng sosyalismo - habang nagpaplano ng taktikal na opensiba o kaya naman nakikipag-ugnayan sa masa ng bawat bayang pinuntahan. Sa panahong ganoon, nauubos ang kanyang mga insulin shots na tumutulong maibsahan ang pagbabara ng kanyang mga baga. Napakalayo ng mga botika, klinika at ospital para gamutin siya nang madalian kaya matinding paghihirap ang dinanas niya sa bawat pagputok ng karamdaman.Ganunpaman, nagpatuloy ang Comandante sa pakikipaglaban at pakikibaka, pagtataya at paglilingkod sa sambayanang nangangailangan ng hukbo at bayaning tagapagdala ng pagbabago at pag-asa.
Nasabi ito sapagkat hindi ko tiyak ang magiging buhay ko sa panahong sasabak ako sa kanayunan pagdating ng tag-init. Malayo ang health centers at salat ang mga duktor. Hindi karaniwan ang mga gamot para rito at may kamahalan pa. Mahirap nang maging pasanin ng isang pamilya sa kanayunan imbes na makatulong sa mga gawain sa bukid o sa opisina ng people's org. Sa kabilang banda, alam ko at malinaw sa akin ang layunin ng aking paglubog sa kanayunan - upang matuto sa masa at maunawaan ang kalagayan nila nang sa ganoon makilahok sa papatinding pakikibaka nila laban sa isang mapaniil at atrasadong sistema. Tindi noh. Kaya naman kahit marupok ang katawan at may katiyakan mahihirapan - magpapatuloy.
Wala nang higit pang karangalang makapaglingkod nang buong-buo sa mamamayan.
Naaalala ko tuloy ang sakit ni Che Guevara habang nakikipaglaban siya sa kabundukan ng Sierra Maestra, Congo at Bolivia. Walang pasubaling dumarating ang mga asthma attacks ng dakilang bayani ng sosyalismo - habang nagpaplano ng taktikal na opensiba o kaya naman nakikipag-ugnayan sa masa ng bawat bayang pinuntahan. Sa panahong ganoon, nauubos ang kanyang mga insulin shots na tumutulong maibsahan ang pagbabara ng kanyang mga baga. Napakalayo ng mga botika, klinika at ospital para gamutin siya nang madalian kaya matinding paghihirap ang dinanas niya sa bawat pagputok ng karamdaman.Ganunpaman, nagpatuloy ang Comandante sa pakikipaglaban at pakikibaka, pagtataya at paglilingkod sa sambayanang nangangailangan ng hukbo at bayaning tagapagdala ng pagbabago at pag-asa.
Nasabi ito sapagkat hindi ko tiyak ang magiging buhay ko sa panahong sasabak ako sa kanayunan pagdating ng tag-init. Malayo ang health centers at salat ang mga duktor. Hindi karaniwan ang mga gamot para rito at may kamahalan pa. Mahirap nang maging pasanin ng isang pamilya sa kanayunan imbes na makatulong sa mga gawain sa bukid o sa opisina ng people's org. Sa kabilang banda, alam ko at malinaw sa akin ang layunin ng aking paglubog sa kanayunan - upang matuto sa masa at maunawaan ang kalagayan nila nang sa ganoon makilahok sa papatinding pakikibaka nila laban sa isang mapaniil at atrasadong sistema. Tindi noh. Kaya naman kahit marupok ang katawan at may katiyakan mahihirapan - magpapatuloy.
Wala nang higit pang karangalang makapaglingkod nang buong-buo sa mamamayan.
Panimulang Salita
Kumusta ka? Wala pang gaanong masasabi sa puntong ito sapagkat hindi pa gaano kalinaw sa akin ang mga hangganan ng maaring gawin sa journal na ito. Asahang nakalakip dito ang mga sanaysay, papel, kaisipan at pagninilay ukol sa mga usapin sa lipunan, pamantasan, kapatiran, barkada, pamilya, pagmamahal at pakikibaka. Dahil hindi ako marunong humabi ng website nang sarili, pagpasensiyahang dito pagkakasyahin at ilalagay ang lahat-lahat.
Ito ang simula ng pangarap na muling makapagsulat nang malikhain at matalinghaga nang hindi nakalilimot sa mga bagay na higit na mahalaga.
Tata.
Ito ang simula ng pangarap na muling makapagsulat nang malikhain at matalinghaga nang hindi nakalilimot sa mga bagay na higit na mahalaga.
Tata.
