E D I T O R I A L
We clamor for
change!
MAY 2013, or twelve months to go, and here comes
[again!] the country’s nationwide mid-term elections. A “mid-term election”—also known as “local elections”—elects all
three-year term elective local officials and 12 six-year term senators [to
replace same number with expiry terms] less the six-year term posts of the
presidency and vice-presidency. It
signals the midway period into electing the two highest posts of the land who
were last elected May 2010 and ends their respective terms on May 2016. If the
country had a barangay elections on 2014, or the next year 2015, then the
Philippines comes on record as the only country on earth having elections
almost on a yearly basis.
At face value,
frequent elections may bedevil many to believe a semblance of democracy did
exist in a particular nation. Underneath, it may be not. It may be that a
country is in ridicule of its own
stupidity, or gone haywire altogether. Aside from being sore and ridiculous in
the eyes of the world, elections are extremely divisive and unnecessarily draining
to the national coffers.
Be that as
it may, it must be put to mind that people are the subject of elections, not
the candidates to be voted upon as normally thought of by many. It is the
people’s vote that is being contested on, fought for, or cheated of by astute
politicians. After all and sundry, the victors owe it all from the electorate
whether some voters “sold” their votes, or voted under duress. This is to
dispel the distorted logic of winning political cheats to say poker-faced, “we’ve
not owed anything from people selling votes, anyway!” Indecent and illogic as
it is, it is a fact to say that without the so-called “sold” and “intimidated votes”, these electoral bandits
would be sour losers kissing the demon’s ass. More so when these crooks paid
for votes and lost.
Asingan NewsLine and RA Class ’68 won’t—in a
slightest intent—malign people who were either forced to sell vote, or
intimidated to vote. We fully understand the circumstances at this juncture of
our maturing electoral history. Conversely, we salute the people who are
gaining grounds in courage and intelligence in voting no matter how slowly and
painfully is the process of learning and braving the obstacles. Moreover, we
rally people to join and exert more effort in our continuing fight against
electoral fraud and violence such as vote buying, coercion-intimidation and black
propaganda-mudslinging until we clear the road for a truly equitable, honest,
peaceful and orderly elections.
Along this line, we
enjoin the public—the voters and taxpayers, women and youth, indigenous peoples
and local nationalists—to clamor for genuine, comprehensive and sustainable
change not only in the electoral arena but in all the socio-economic,
politico-cultural and environmental spheres to save this country from going to
the dogs with our very own dirty traditional politicians [“trapos”, aka rags] as agents of national suicide.
Inasmuch as this
nation indulge itself in a day-to-day politicking, government has no moral
ascendancy dilly-dallying on issues, nor
be moronic on national and local problems. Inasmuch as we are electing almost
yearly hundreds of thousands of government officials in both local and national
elections with our very own pens and purses, such meaningful changes must come
as we do deserve it as our right. Now, not tomorrow. bod,
ra
class ’68 alumni assoc . may2012
P U N C H L I N E
A Commentary: “Searing
heat of May”
By: ANL
Editorial Board
APO Anton, an eightyish resident of Sitio Pao, San Vicente, San
Manuel, Pangasinan, roams the grassy fields bounding San Manuel with Asingan
town herding daily his pasture of goats still visibly smart and strong even at
that elderly age. He is apparently irked though with what he calls the “searing
heat of May” when it was not this hot, he winces, some five decades ago. The
good old man remembers quite vividly the month of May as month of merriment
with fiestas and santacruzan; the flowering
of plants and bearing of fruits; the first pour of rains borne out of April’s drizzles and thunderstorms; and the
abundance of food enlivened by the first rains like grown vegetables, fishes,
frogs, and the likes.
Hereabout, in
beloved Philippines, May is an election month every three years since the
so-called “people’s revolution” of 1986 that enthroned a new breed of elite
politicians who mastered quickly and proficiently the art and science of
traditional politics and political dynasty building. And the more the searing
heat of May is hastened via politicking year in and year out flaring up into a
vicious cycle of widespread animosities and the resultant periodic bankruptcy
of the national economy. And there is no end in sight as this social cancer has
come to be a malignant culture that Filipinos seem to enjoy with delight rather
than suffer and learn from it.
May is global month
for the working men who feed and clothe us all. Yet, workers are not about to
savor the fruits of their labor as their tribe is a vanishing one at the heap
of class bias by their historic tormentor—the monopoly capitalist and their
hi-tech instruments of mechanization with machines and robots replacing human
labor; with contractual labor replacing regular workers; with labor officials condoning arbitrary
restraining orders on striking workers; with the killings of labor leaders normally
going down the gutters; and with a government comically doing a centurion
nailing down labor to a mendicant’s pay and serving as a canine-barker for big
capital in rationalizing wage hike as inflationary and all that crap. All this hastens the impending death of unionism in this
country with nary a tear from the shenanigans.
Back home with
Apo Anton, the untiring old hand
never saw in all his life a month of May tossing temperature at a feverish 37
as it is now in his twilight years. He can [still] sense the tangible damages
to the environment by lamenting, “the air is hot [tending to mean, polluted]
and the big trees were gone [pointing his index finger randomly at the
Cordillera and Caraballo mountains nearby north], probably finished off by
loggers,” guessed he. He shook his head when asked if there are any factory or
big business enterprise around the vicinity [Tayug, San Manuel, Asingan, Santa
Maria]. “Oh, yes, a relatively big shopping mall in Tayug, and the giant San
Roque Dam at the boundary of Asingan and San Manuel!” he interjected when
queried further.
Asingan
NewsLine chanced upon
the gaily-faced man in a photo-ops trek to the area few days before Labor Day for
news and cuts for the May 2012 issue of this newsletter. Apo Anton’s face turned gloomy when he finally admits, “life is still
generally poor here”—referring to problems ranging from landlessness to pests
and poor technology; from high cost of production inputs to low prices of
produce; from aberrations on water supply [irrigation] to uncooperative and
absentee landlords; from joblessness to government neglect. “Tenant-farmers and
farm workers dominate the rural landscape out here comprising about 80-85% of the population,” he says.
“It’s even dangerous
living here at the foot of the huge San Roque Dam! What with the flood-prone
Agno River Basin and the nearby earthquake fault at the northeast boundary of
Pangasinan with Nueva Vizcaya province?” warns Apo Anton, the former local politician still exuding intellect in
his pronouncements. Age and intellect can be tools in facing the rigors of time
and poverty. How many more Apo Antons may
be stolid enough to endure such saga? Asingan
Newsline hopes to continue chronicling other such feat until it ends not
much longer to bear. eb .
anl . may2012
F E A T U R E
Why the need
to go Cooperative [hence, go for a Coop business]?
By: Ruben M.
Balino
“WE sacrificed for our respective families. We earned a
living in distant lands away from our loved ones for quite some time. We’re not
getting any younger; and we’re tired. We need to stay home, rest and enjoy with
family. Why tire ourselves with more responsibilities ahead like organizing a cooperative
and doing business all over again?”
We overheard these
matter-of-factly lines from classmate-friend and jolly-good fellow Ross “Ticong” Diaz during his birthday bash
April 27 at his home in Novaliches. He is the able Secretary of the Rizal
Academy Class ’68 Alumni Association.
For this
writer, Ticong’s words are valid as it is uncontestable for one who thinks and
feels so. “Respect others’ views and
feelings”, so goes the saying. This can be the simplest and practical thing to
do if only to avoid antagonisms or disunity. And we respect his views and fully
understand his feelings.
Respect and belief
though have distinct separating lines. While this writer respects others’ views
and feelings, he do stands firm on his
belief which is time-tested and worthwhile, e.g., noble and beneficial.
A “Cooperative” is
not something new. It is a time-tested alternative business organization
dwelling on poor people as members-owners-beneficiaries. From their membership rank
comes their own choice of elected leaders that shall lead them under a set of
rules and principles democratizing internal operations and management,
accounting and distribution of benefits, election of officers, and the regular
conduct of cooperative education for all members and their families.
“Going Cooperative” and
doing business under its name is a noble activity since it is genuinely and
unselfishly people-centered with no one but themselves governing and operating
the organization with their own capital shares utilized in putting up a
business it sees feasible. Beneficial in the sense that virtually everything is
conducted democratically—most importantly in the choice and election of officers,
organizational management, accounting of resources, distribution of benefits,
and other vital organizational, educational and business aspects.
Think of doing
“cooperative activities” as sort of leisure and exercise; as a “converging point” where we get together
once in a while for bonding and “kumustahan blues”; as a “point of unity” where we hold on
together doing some productive yet menial tasks; and yes, as a “collective
business venture” to generate funds for the association and its constituents; or if we dream big, it can be a “small start” for “something big”!
Oh, yes! Can moderate
getting oldie. Just think young! Think so, Tics? rmb . may2012
N E W S L I N E
a. RA Class ’68 joining project with trucking coop
Yes, RA Class ’68
meant serious talk when it decided unanimously during its May 1 meeting at SM Megamall-Pasig
City to do business with a transport cooperative wherein a Class member Rod A.
Layco serves as an Internal Auditor.
Rod himself was
present during the dinner meeting as discussant of the proposed project and
personally invited RA Class ‘68 to join the project through a memorandum of
agreement [MOA] with his cooperative. It is a delivery business involving light
trucks customized into closed vans loading light cargoes for transport to
several points of Luzon.
In the ensuing
discussion Rod assured profitability of the business. First, revenues are
tax-free being a cooperative. Second, the delivery business is an ever-growing
business. Thirdly, the Coop management were composed of officials with proven
probity and length of successful service
and experience.
The Class
signified interest on the project and assured Rod that it will take steps the
soonest time possible to acquire its first truck for a start. Rudy D. Antonio
of Vancouver, the Association’s Co-Chair for External Affairs who was here with
his ever-amiable wife Mare Evelyn for a two-week working vacation, was present in
the meeting and okayed to help work out on the financial aspect of the project.
He called up classmate Bencio few days upon arriving Canada on the mechanics on
how to raise funds and said he intends to also call Lory and Rod on the matter.
Rudy, by the way,
footed the bill on that dinner meet and left poorer by over a hundred Canadian
dollars. Thanks a lot and welcome back on March, Pare Rudy! wena a balino . may’12
b. ANL correspondent Joe Sevilla joins ASGRA
“Isn’t that Engineer
Joe seated with some guys around that table over there?” my partner Wena tapped
my shoulder pointing her finger unto the right side of Asingan town’s
auditorium.
The “encounter”
happened on early evening of 20 April 2012 when the “tropa” of ANL-RA Class ’68 spotted Engr. Joe Sevilla
busy bantering with friends while seated around a table at the right side of
Asingan’s auditorium on the occasion of the ASGRA-AMRA sponsored Balikbayan
Night as part of the weeklong celebration of Asingan’s town fiesta April 15-20.
Curious of his
unexpected presence in such a “sosyalan”, this reporter approached the rather
“subdued” guy and local correspondent of Asingan
NewsLine and took a snapshot of his group to his surprise. “Oh, Bencio, my
friend!” he shouted. “I expected you to come with Rudy..,” referring to Rudy
Antonio whom he knows is coming home to Pinas with wife Mareng Evelyn for a
summer vacation.
Engr. Joe escorted
me back to our table where Rudy and company were seated together with
Vice-Mayor Eleanor Viray. In the ensuing tete-a-tete he told ANL that he and some Ariston Este guys did
join the Asingan Sheep and Goat Raisers Association of Roger Daranciang.
“Precisely why we’re here,” he says. “That’s even a piece of good news. From
there, you can feed ANL future developments on your new venture,” retorts this
writer.
Indeed, “good old
Joe” is instrumental in feeding us some local news and photos for the monthly
issue of Asingan NewsLine. rmb . may2012
L I T E R A R Y
Nota Bene: Following literary
pieces a. & b. below are some thoughts for “Mother’s
Day”.., known as “Mothering Sunday”, or
the 2nd Sunday of May in every year. --rmb . 2012
a. Poem
Malungkot-mapait mawalan ng INA, kung…
Buhay ni INA’y nalagot nang ika’y ipinanganak,
‘di na nabuglawan
‘pagkat sa kumplikasyo’y nasadlak.
May suliranin si INA at ‘di man lang nahaharap,
nakausap, nakwentuhan ng sa puso’y pampalubag.
Merong hinampo si INA ngunit di man lang nahagod
ang balikat nitong
pasan ay hilahil, hirap, pagod.
Nagkasakit si INA na ‘di mo man lang naaruga’t
‘di natapunan ng tanaw, tulong at alab ng yakap.
Tumanda si INA na ‘di man lang naalayan ng tungkod,
ng panahon, pagmamahal, ng paliwanag, pagkupkop.
At pumanaw si INA na baon ay duhagi’t lungkot,
‘di nahingan ng patawad hangga’t paghimlay sa puntod. --rmb
b. “Birth
Pains”
c. Quotation
of the Month
E D I T O R I A L B O A R D
MEMBERS: Rudy D. Antonio
& Arno A. Bautista [Canada Correspondents]; Engr. Silver
Casilla & RN Merly Grospe-Mayo [U.S. Correspondents]; Engr. Joe L. Sevilla [Asingan Correspondent];
Col. Lalin Layos-Pascual; Ross C. Diaz; Engr. Lorie dG. Estrada; CPA Rod
A. Layco; Wena Agaton-Balino [Photo & Lay-out Artist]; Ruben
“Bencio” Balino [Managing Editor].
