19 years after: The Quintos Brothers and the Mamburao 6

<div style="text-align: justify;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAU3anSj6AUFOlovm8cgXPHJ3_6yin11w5MRkXGUZ7xxmJQlaVrpJvis_gzt5q0DyHYZJnSoGNVLG7WIh9Jv_Oc1vTfmd4QN2uJs_61pkuKTlAWSd-1FV4JTkTeITFPTgd-gxJMSoTmEvg/s1600/JUSTICE.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAU3anSj6AUFOlovm8cgXPHJ3_6yin11w5MRkXGUZ7xxmJQlaVrpJvis_gzt5q0DyHYZJnSoGNVLG7WIh9Jv_Oc1vTfmd4QN2uJs_61pkuKTlAWSd-1FV4JTkTeITFPTgd-gxJMSoTmEvg/s400/JUSTICE.gif" width="400" /></a></div> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Dec. 13, 1997, 19 years ago, gunmen went to a house in Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro. There was a birthday party being celebrated when they opened fire on Michael and Paul Quintos.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">The Quintos brothers were the sons of a local official named Ricardo Quintos. The elder Quintos tagged a political rival who was Congressman at that time of the province. Rep. Jose Villarosa. </span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Those who were involved in the killings were known as the Mamburao 6. They were Eduardo Hermoso, Josue Ungsod, Manolito Matricio, Mario Tobias, Ruben Balaguer and Gelito Bautista.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">In March 2006, then former Rep. Jose Villarosa together with the Mamburao 6 were sentenced to death by Judge Ma. Theresa Yadao of RTC Branch 81. It was 8 years after the death of the Quintos brothers.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">But it did not end there, in March 2008, the Court of Appeals acquitted Jose Villarosa (his wife was the current Congresswoman of the province) citing that the verdict was based on flimsy witnessing by one of the group who served as lookout. </span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">The appellate court’s fifth division, in a decision penned by Justice Noel Tijam dated March 18, ordered the release of Villarosa and “Mamburao 6” farmers Balaguer, Bautista and Tobias. The other members of the fifth division were Martin Villarama and Sesinando Villon.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">In November 2008, the Quintos family asked the Supreme Court to reverse Villarosa’s acquittal, saying the appellate court committed an abuse of discretion.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Meanwhile, Villarosa filed criminal and administrative charges against Quezon City judge Yadao in September 2008, accusing her of wrongfully convicting him of the murder.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">In October 2009, a resolution by state prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera cleared Yadao of the charges, but in a subsequent directive issued in March 2010, former Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera ordered charges to be filed against Yadao, citing “gross errors” in her decision and reversing Navera’s earlier resolution.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">In May 2012, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima cleared Yadao of the charges, saying she was denied due process when Devanadera directed her indictment.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">In November 2011, Villarosa said the Quintos’ filings were a form of “harassment.”</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Thus, the case is still pending in the Supreme Court. It has been 19 years since the killings occurred.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=1985206085145330708&postID= 8257936670435543340&target=facebook" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0S0FvmVeOZsZsyHBRYXs6SOZJFhYBhuQl7OyKadUhy4moMHToFTEST_ch1O_s7SEAdn5dqXBJMznFjilw7Ml42IQSpvsFeEt2olcocpNz3nSnB67pdCgiyERJ8dQXDr_rMeDI_fG1ydc/s1600/sharefb185.png"></a> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=1985206085145330708&postID= 8257936670435543340&target=twitter" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVWTbY-f69CzSsrK9okrvKibUin1YURVntTu2W1qH6so7vbU6RiR36tV5fVzui_gG4ArLMrsG3k4OvyDg33RZO134rMkgTJC0y_fHDi-Zxcf29jZSC3xcypmVNJ8EWhpyL9MiVhAa7vM/s1600/sharetw185.png"></a></div>

Events History Socio-Economic 19 years after: The Quintos Brothers and the Mamburao 6

Dec. 13, 1997, 19 years ago, gunmen went to a house in Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro. There was a birthday party being celebrated when t...

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Si Karen. Si Lawin at si Fe

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivD26qyNdzmv-Q1XB6n56hVpvri1GToMRReXS0nYCM0Dn4TQl4qmeQMY_uxh71Uo7-VF2k3IKKRP2Fi0CU8U5Y_5zpYSaP_vMOZMKbRH1aLC6D0NxtPjBT6GRBya4AwuMvvbDnhSw36hZq/s1600/Lawin+Damage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivD26qyNdzmv-Q1XB6n56hVpvri1GToMRReXS0nYCM0Dn4TQl4qmeQMY_uxh71Uo7-VF2k3IKKRP2Fi0CU8U5Y_5zpYSaP_vMOZMKbRH1aLC6D0NxtPjBT6GRBya4AwuMvvbDnhSw36hZq/s400/Lawin+Damage.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House of a widow</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">By now, many would have seen the devastations caused by the two typhoons Karen and Lawin. To many, the perception is that what is typical. A region destroyed by a natural disaster. This country is one of the most disaster prone countries in the world. An average of 20 storms and typhoons visit it annually. Not to be cavalier about it but we are a people used to calamities and disasters. And what is remarkable is that we seem to get up after every disaster. This is regardless of how many casualties, the homes destroyed and the crops lost. Others would say that we do not learn our lessons. That we are stupid as a people for letting such misfortune visit us year in and year out. That we have a government that perennially fails to help its people and does not “build better” after every disaster.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0a_og8BTOzTHltqghWLoAMOqgJ61W-XHLbi5Z4kNGD9-m2-EKs5-fxuSJr7bzdBdHO5y5K2Qsn_WEjr_Rj-1-7WmboI6d_oGn4B9uQwkLed5hUvZ7Td6RuitSmNjaDx0Pdn7UAtL5CVZm/s1600/Lawin+Damage2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0a_og8BTOzTHltqghWLoAMOqgJ61W-XHLbi5Z4kNGD9-m2-EKs5-fxuSJr7bzdBdHO5y5K2Qsn_WEjr_Rj-1-7WmboI6d_oGn4B9uQwkLed5hUvZ7Td6RuitSmNjaDx0Pdn7UAtL5CVZm/s400/Lawin+Damage2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Farmlands and ricefields</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">I pose an anthropological answer. As compared to the Dutch who built dikes to protect their country from the ever rising tides that beset their lands that is below sea level. The Filipinos never behaved and much less plan as such. One only has to look at the North Atlantic. The skies are always grey, the waves high and menacing, the water so cold and the winds freezing. Their shores have no fine white sand. Maybe that is why they always come here.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUk0WWbTQPoKqzbXZ23DkxM1ZAOD5wFuWMIk5CGbysHSsbrJNEZI4paC70i96yfFw67FaKeJAusv6Wwjl_FVfypWdeKoOL5FhyphenhyphenaIzggWEL3w1dK2IkZSr3ofBXlmN1OngaIOM3Zwnsz2gS/s1600/Lawin+Damage4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUk0WWbTQPoKqzbXZ23DkxM1ZAOD5wFuWMIk5CGbysHSsbrJNEZI4paC70i96yfFw67FaKeJAusv6Wwjl_FVfypWdeKoOL5FhyphenhyphenaIzggWEL3w1dK2IkZSr3ofBXlmN1OngaIOM3Zwnsz2gS/s400/Lawin+Damage4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">In the Philippines, typhoons and storms are vicious. There are high winds enough to uproot the Acacia (not an indigenous species) but not enough to uproot the coconut tree. After every storm, the sun will come out full and bright, the waves will be gentle and the sand will remain white and powdery. It is the collective experience of a people so used to such vagaries of fate and climate that they will just carry on. The government officials elected came from such racial stock and institutional memory. The Filipino will always know that the sun will shine after every storm. That is what makes the Filipino resilient.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Such resiliency is put to the test now. Owing to the economic and social history in contemporary (relatively) times, failure of all governments and administrations to address the economic needs of a growing population destroyed the socio-economic equilibrium of the country. Failure to industrialize meant that no work for the burgeoning population both in the urban centers and the rural areas. Such industrialization is what spelled the difference between developed and undeveloped countries. Now we have a large population that needed work.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">The typhoons devastated regions that are dependent on agriculture. We are an agricultural country with 60% of the population residing in the rural areas. That is why, those who are experiencing poverty accounts for 60% of the number. But there are dynamics, since the Filipino is resilient even in poverty, a considerable number of farmers were able to send their children to school and a great number of them, unable to find employment went to work overseas.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">This is where things are intertwined. Those who went abroad try to support their families left behind. But that is getting ahead of the story. The agricultural sector remains bound by unequal distribution of wealth. The Comprehensive Land Reform Program dating back to 1988 failed to address the main problems of the agricultural sector. A greater number of farmers remain tenants and that is supported by statistics of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR). The CARP was subjected to what my mother would say Philippine Problems (they had that subject with Mrs. Pagulayan in their HS class in the 1950s). There is the “Palakasan” system for beneficiaries of the CARP with the Municipal Land Reform Office, the Mayor and the Governor and maybe even connections to Satan himself. Tghus, they remained in a state that is like an eternal quagmire. </span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Fe is an OFW. Her father is still a farmer so as her brothers. Her educational attainment precludes her from being in the “skilled” category of OFWs. Thus, her skills are typically classified as “Semi-Skilled”.  But she braved the challenges of going abroad and sought to serve her family as best she could. Subject to indignities by foreign employers she persevered. Managing to send money, send gifts and packages home and send emergency remittances owing to the exigencies required. What is remarkable is that she is able to generate savings for her. Fe knows that she cannot be an OFW forever and wants to secure her future.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">With the savings generated, she would invest in palay farming, buy land and even invest in hog raising. But the land where that her grandfather tilled and currently tilled by her father never belonged to them. CARP never reached them. She would plow her hard earned Php100,000 to 4 hectares of ricefield with a projected profit of Php20,000. Fe thought she can have enough income for her savings and for her father. This has happened so many times before and Fe and her neighbors never got any aid or assistance from the government. They can only drool at the assistance and aid given to the victims of Yolanda. Fe wondered how come in the case of Yolanda, aid kept coming in for one month. Now, it is zero and Fe had to work harder for her family and community. </span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlpUIfkgSJRJcu__u2D1jioxtzdVErwwn2-4B121SS2w9iRR1A2GTxBpJV71HGka7m83KEA3Fz8yKZWaNG25KUH_9A_zaQE6QX99RTLSoClurzsYasoNcq-g4XteN_4fl38doDtbEYlt51/s1600/Lawin+Damage6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlpUIfkgSJRJcu__u2D1jioxtzdVErwwn2-4B121SS2w9iRR1A2GTxBpJV71HGka7m83KEA3Fz8yKZWaNG25KUH_9A_zaQE6QX99RTLSoClurzsYasoNcq-g4XteN_4fl38doDtbEYlt51/s400/Lawin+Damage6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Karen and Lawin came. The ricefields were devastated. She not only lost her savings, investments and projected income but have to shell out money so that their kitchen roof be repaired. She was told that electricity will be restored after 3 months and a generator be bought. Fe was lucky. Her neighbor who was a widow had their entire roof torn off by the typhoon. In that barangay, every family had at least one OFW. The social cost is just too much to bear.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">But the cost was not only to be measured in these terms. Such a system could not support the needs of the present and of the near future. </span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">This is a depiction on what the country and its people face. Kailangan bang ma-kuba ang mga tao ditto at yung mga nasa abroad? Yes the sun will shine tomorrow but having clouds of despair in the horizon is by now unacceptable.  </span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">It will take the goodwill of everybody in the country and all those who are abroad and even those who are not Filipinos to get us out of this morass. There will be more Karens and Lawins in the near future. </span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">The Center just cannot hold.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=1985206085145330708&postID=%207781499933510803226&target=facebook" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0S0FvmVeOZsZsyHBRYXs6SOZJFhYBhuQl7OyKadUhy4moMHToFTEST_ch1O_s7SEAdn5dqXBJMznFjilw7Ml42IQSpvsFeEt2olcocpNz3nSnB67pdCgiyERJ8dQXDr_rMeDI_fG1ydc/s1600/sharefb185.png" /></a> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=1985206085145330708&postID=%207781499933510803226&target=twitter" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVWTbY-f69CzSsrK9okrvKibUin1YURVntTu2W1qH6so7vbU6RiR36tV5fVzui_gG4ArLMrsG3k4OvyDg33RZO134rMkgTJC0y_fHDi-Zxcf29jZSC3xcypmVNJ8EWhpyL9MiVhAa7vM/s1600/sharetw185.png" /></a></div>

Environment Events Op-Ed Socio-Economic Si Karen. Si Lawin at si Fe

House of a widow By now, many would have seen the devastations caused by the two typhoons Karen and Lawin. To many, the perception is t...

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History in the Upside Down: Bud Dajo

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSgjvLgOo8P13pCij-3OCuGF86X4n8raa6kukPMp6pfdGgjvZ7L0OW0AXZ6KWifv8q6VcHshtaWRMB64dWYIdTNRO-qSlDl3l0uhEOt80vJzmCv4h3dOp-1y8wNpvk0M0hXyKMsGoKucD5/s1600/Bud+Dajo+Pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSgjvLgOo8P13pCij-3OCuGF86X4n8raa6kukPMp6pfdGgjvZ7L0OW0AXZ6KWifv8q6VcHshtaWRMB64dWYIdTNRO-qSlDl3l0uhEOt80vJzmCv4h3dOp-1y8wNpvk0M0hXyKMsGoKucD5/s400/Bud+Dajo+Pic.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">The things happening recently really transports one to a world of surrealism. I have never imagined that history can be used as a weapon of disinformation to this day. In fact, it is not only disinformation but is used to muddle up any issue. The recent digging up of the Bud Dajo battle is an example of such a case. It was waved and bandied about as a sort of the pot calling the kettle black</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">I have been a serious student of history but not formally. My main source of history back then was my maternal grandfather. He was born during a time when the Philippines was an American colony, and then part of the Commonwealth, WWII, Independence and contemporary history.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">But he is remarkable since he graduated Magna cum Laude at the Philippine Normal College during the commonwealth era and Magna cum Laude at the Union Theological Seminary. I deferred to him most regarding history, both written and unwritten because he also came in contact with those whose stories are not part of formal history books.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">It was during grade school that I became aware of the Muslim Question in Mindanao. Not finding it in my grade school elementary history books, I asked him. I knew that the Philippines was an American colony before and I saw the movie posters of Dugo ng Tarikan (starring Vic Vargas) and also Sunugin ang Samar! (starring Ramon Revilla), and I wondered what about Mindanao.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">His answer came in the form of a lecture on the Bates Treaty and that it somehow kept the peace after that. He did mention the Bud Dajo battle and that it was the battle that settled American dominance in Mindanao.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Today, Duterte waved it as an example of American terrorism and disrespect for human rights of Filipinos. Again, I went back to my grandfather but he passed away 1987. And again I fall back on what he taught me and did research on the subject. That was why I kept my mouth shut during the time when it was the stuff of headlines.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Here goes.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiacSJefq4zZSaIZWxpouw4-1rKdz7LkaFVUxzGEJkmK9x_90sZyDHsSGugSxfEzDkU3JUVDY3Ow1NaFV0nGmhURblgreylTtV0kHu8eUk4CHVx3JOcb9RhiL_DR52cMsNj-21nRKGpFwQk/s1600/Bud+Dajo+Pic2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiacSJefq4zZSaIZWxpouw4-1rKdz7LkaFVUxzGEJkmK9x_90sZyDHsSGugSxfEzDkU3JUVDY3Ow1NaFV0nGmhURblgreylTtV0kHu8eUk4CHVx3JOcb9RhiL_DR52cMsNj-21nRKGpFwQk/s640/Bud+Dajo+Pic2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bud Dajo Mountain</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Bud Dajo</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Bud Dajo is located 6 kilometers from Jolo. It is the crater of an extinct volcano with an elevation of 640 meters above sea level. Its crater has a circumference of 1,800 yards and the volcano itself has an 18 kilometer circumference and is steep and thickly forested. It has three major trails going to the summit. In military terms, it is a formidable defensive perimeter and owing to the size of the area, a siege would be very difficult to undertake.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Why Bud Dajo?</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">A Moro named Pala ran amuck in a village in Borneo, then part of the British colony that was to be now Malaysia. Having become a fugitive, Pala went back to Jolo, then part of the Sulu Sultanate. He was to be arrested by Col. Hugh Scott, district governor of Sulu. The Datu opposed the move to arrest Pala and during the ensuing fight, Pala managed to escape. In time Pala became a Datu and it was several months that another attempt to arrest him was made. Pala then sought refuge in Bud Dajo because of its easily defensible perimeter.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Bud Dajo was not only easily defended but also had a source of water and soon, other Moros joined Pala in the sanctuary of Bud Dajo.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Why?</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">During that time, “reforms” were being implemented in Mindanao. These reforms were:</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">1. No more “Cedula”</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">2. Stopping of the Slave Trade</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Even in pre-Hispanic Philippines, slave raiding and slave trading was an industry in Mindanao, with slave raiders ranging as far as Luzon.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Those joining Pala were against the reforms banning slavery and were the remnants of three earlier revolts against the Americans.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Initial attempts at inducing Pala and his group to surrender were futile. These consisted of sending Datus and even the Sultan himself failed to make Pala and his group to surrender.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Having a secure base, Pala and his group raided nearby villages for women and cattle.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">This prompted the Americans to neutralize Bud Dajo. 3 combat columns attacked from the three main trails leading to Bud Dajo. Each trail was defended by barricades and fighting was intense and even led to hand-to-hand combat.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Eventually, the crater summit was on the verge of being overrun. A last resort was then made for a surrender, two Datus were sent to negotiate and again failed to obtain a surrender. The final assault began on March 7, 1906 and was made by artillery and machineguns.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Only 6 of the estimated 800 – 1,000 Bud Dajo garrison survived.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">------------------------</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">There was no massacre. There was a battle which was a culmination of months of negotiations. The issue was not about religion but about those who wanted slavery to continue as an industry.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Duterte said they were his ancestors. Then so be it. It explains a lot of things about him. Even his use of history is incompetent.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">History in the Upside Down</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Sources:</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">1. Arnold, J.R., 2011, The Moro War, New York: Bloomsbury Press, ISBN 9781608190249</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">2. John J. Pershing (25 June 2013). My Life before the World War, 1860--1917: A Memoir. University Press of Kentucky. p. 386. ISBN 0-8131-4198-2.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">3. "The Right Sort of White Men": General Leonard Wood and the U.S. Army in the Southern Philippines, 1898-1906 (Doctoral Dissertations). p. 8. Retrieved 11 August 2015. </span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">4. The statement from Scott comes from: Gedacht, Joshua. "Mohammedan Religion Made It Necessary to Fire:" Massacres on the American Imperial Frontier from South Dakota to the Southern Philippines," in Colonial Crucible: Empire in the Making of the Modern American State. Edited by Alfred W. McCoy and Francisco A. Scarano. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 2009, pp. 397-409. Information on the use of craters as sites of refuge during Spanish attacks can be found in: Warren, James Francis. The Sulu Zone, 1768-1898: The Dynamics of External Trade, Slavery, and Ethnicity in the Transformation of a Southeast Asian Maritime State, 2nd ed. Singapore: NUS Press, 2007.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">5. The Battle of Bud Dajo (archived from the original Archived May 9, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. on 2008-05-09), chapter 19 of Swish of the Kris (archived fromthe original Archived February 2, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. on 2008-02-02), by Vic Hurley.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=1985206085145330708&postID=%207422787065307617657&target=facebook" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0S0FvmVeOZsZsyHBRYXs6SOZJFhYBhuQl7OyKadUhy4moMHToFTEST_ch1O_s7SEAdn5dqXBJMznFjilw7Ml42IQSpvsFeEt2olcocpNz3nSnB67pdCgiyERJ8dQXDr_rMeDI_fG1ydc/s1600/sharefb185.png" /></a> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=1985206085145330708&postID=%207422787065307617657&target=twitter" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVWTbY-f69CzSsrK9okrvKibUin1YURVntTu2W1qH6so7vbU6RiR36tV5fVzui_gG4ArLMrsG3k4OvyDg33RZO134rMkgTJC0y_fHDi-Zxcf29jZSC3xcypmVNJ8EWhpyL9MiVhAa7vM/s1600/sharetw185.png" /></a></div>

Events History Nationalism Patriotism History in the Upside Down: Bud Dajo

The things happening recently really transports one to a world of surrealism. I have never imagined that history can be used as a weapon ...

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9 Plays Tackle Life (and Death) Under Martial Law

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB7zp0R7JZlYqwIfU-qPiCBmWSt-uA3YpBIJnJQCljohDpFKmOC5zqMyqp4XZ5OFdhQN820ZDthxxxguZTCCHZ-MVzzn2jvxcAIOVMBpJHgWcEck-SHzNBYcYLDiBGzkQHCLO-IfEvsx6R/s1600/Martial+Law1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="451" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB7zp0R7JZlYqwIfU-qPiCBmWSt-uA3YpBIJnJQCljohDpFKmOC5zqMyqp4XZ5OFdhQN820ZDthxxxguZTCCHZ-MVzzn2jvxcAIOVMBpJHgWcEck-SHzNBYcYLDiBGzkQHCLO-IfEvsx6R/s640/Martial+Law1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">In response to the growing myths and misconceptions about the Martial Law era, a new group has launched a series of plays about living and dying during the Marcos regime, beginning September 21, 2016 at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani. </span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Entitled Never Again: Voices of Martial Law, these series of nine plays produced by Ladies Who Launch (LWL), are designed to create awareness about the harsh realities of living during the years after the declaration of Martial Law, the people around them, their work and how it has affected people to this day.  </span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Included in the lineup are the Palanca Award-winning “Bulong-bulongan Sa Sangandaan” by Ramon Jocson which be directed by theater luminary Audie Gemora, “Loyalist Redux”, a comedy written and directed by Kanakan Balintagos, first staged at the 12th Virgin Labfest with theater star Pinky Amador in the title role, and “Duyan Ka Ng Magiting” written and directed by Erica Estacio, first seen at the People Power Experiential Museum.  </span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">LWL says “Our goal is to unearth these stories and make them visible, visceral, and palpable. We want those alive today to remember the victims as people, not just as statistics or bios on a website. Above all, we want to ensure that the evils of Martial Law are never forgotten, never repeated.”</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">The six original plays created for Never Again: Voices of Martial Law are “Princess Lilli” written by Layeta Bucoy and directed by Tuxs Rutaquio,  “Disco 1081” written by George de Jesus III and directed by Melvin Lee, “Shhh” written by Allan Lopez and directed by Jenny Jamora, “Indigo Child” written by Rody Vera and directed by Jose Estrella, “Thingy (or Or Ang Pak na Pak Ganern na Ganern sa Pakikipagsapalaran ni Melenyo, D’ Great Pokemon Hunter ” written by Chris Martinez and directed by Dennis Marasigan and  “Ang Lihim na Kasaysayan ng Huling Habilin ni Ferdinand Edralin Marcos (Spiritual King Solomon of Israel) Hinggil sa Pamanang Kayamanan ni King Bernardo Carpio at Jose Protacio Rizal Para sa Pagpapaunlad ng Bansang Pilipinas na Siyang Nalalaman ni Mang Ambo, Taxi Driver”  written by Guelan Varela-Luarca and directed by Roobak Valle. </span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">The play will have a gala premiere on September 21, the anniversary of the proclamation of Martial Law. Weekend performances will run from September 23 until to October 16. After this run at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani, the production is also scheduled for  school and city tours.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">For the regular run, tickets are at PhP 500 per show consisting of three plays while a series pass allowing entry to all shows are at 1200.For inquiries, email ladieswholaunch.ph@gmail.com or  contact +639178106256. </span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=1985206085145330708&postID= 427996378527030913&target=facebook" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0S0FvmVeOZsZsyHBRYXs6SOZJFhYBhuQl7OyKadUhy4moMHToFTEST_ch1O_s7SEAdn5dqXBJMznFjilw7Ml42IQSpvsFeEt2olcocpNz3nSnB67pdCgiyERJ8dQXDr_rMeDI_fG1ydc/s1600/sharefb185.png"></a> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=1985206085145330708&postID= 427996378527030913&target=twitter" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVWTbY-f69CzSsrK9okrvKibUin1YURVntTu2W1qH6so7vbU6RiR36tV5fVzui_gG4ArLMrsG3k4OvyDg33RZO134rMkgTJC0y_fHDi-Zxcf29jZSC3xcypmVNJ8EWhpyL9MiVhAa7vM/s1600/sharetw185.png"></a></div>

Events History Nationalism Patriotism 9 Plays Tackle Life (and Death) Under Martial Law

In response to the growing myths and misconceptions about the Martial Law era, a new group has launched a series of plays about living ...

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Libingan ng mga Manggagawa or Elysium for Sleepless Souls

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQwvR5C-zVTUQbkVl4RD6aM0wIdIdiAgpLcOpeCNcfMQidqMgWlCtEX5pLhmnXvxRcohT4QIfh1wOiOTcH6yVqr38tIIs8160uyuPxIX5YjOnk-Bj_pAcSeCgKvr1Q5EpTG-BZd93kP-y7/s1600/FC1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQwvR5C-zVTUQbkVl4RD6aM0wIdIdiAgpLcOpeCNcfMQidqMgWlCtEX5pLhmnXvxRcohT4QIfh1wOiOTcH6yVqr38tIIs8160uyuPxIX5YjOnk-Bj_pAcSeCgKvr1Q5EpTG-BZd93kP-y7/s640/FC1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">The debate on the Marcos burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani rages but what about the Libingan ng mga Manggagawa? </span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Let us go back in time.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">It was well noted that the Philippines hosted the Ms. Universe 1974 pageant. It was less than 2 years after Martial Law was declared and it was an attempt to show the world the “Smiling Martial Law”. Those times were meant to show the world the New Society and a re-envigored Philippines. That the pageant was held at the 10,000 seater Folk Arts Theater (FAT) was evidence. The FAT was constructed at record time (for the Philippines) and was the precursor of other buildings to sate the caprices of Imelda Marcos who then was diagnosed with an “Edifice Complex”. Soon followed the National Nutrition Center, The Philippine Heart Center for Asia, The Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), the Kidney Center and 14 luxury hotels. These were the centerpieces of the Martial Law regime.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">By 1981, there seemed no stopping the regime. By that time, Imelda Marcos sought to have a  film festival to rival the Cannes film festival. Of course a venue for the Manila International Film Festival (MIFF) must be constructed since the MIFF was set on January 1982. The Manila Film Center was to be the centerpiece of the MIFF. It was to cost US$25 million at that time. Imelda Marcos wanted it to be modeled after the Parthenon in Greece. A place for the new Filipino “gods”. </span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">It was hidden from the public at that time that the regime was teetering on the brink of economic collapse. The projected revenues to be generated by economic policies fueled by cheap petro-dollar loans were nowhere to be found. Thus, such extravagant spending on such buildings and edifices found its funding squeezed that resulted in delays. In order to compensate for the delays, more workers were required to meet the deadline. By that time, there were 4,000 construction workers toiling in 3 shifts around the clock. </span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">It was on November 17, 1981 when tragedy struck. It was about 3:00 a.m. when the upper scaffolding collapsed and workers fell into the still wet cement of the lower scaffoldings. Some were buried, others were half buried and others were half buried and impaled on the steel reinforcing bars.  Rescue workers raced against time and the quick drying cement to recover and save the workers. </span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Imelda Marcos was informed of the accident and told that it would take time to recover the workers. Imelda wanted to meet the deadline. She ordered that the workers just be covered by new cement and stories of protruding arms, legs and torsos were just cut and fresh cement was just poured on top of the workers, many who were still alive. The media was controlled tightly and the news just filtered out because the truth cannot be totally hidden. In fact, rescuers, ambulances and media were barred from the area for a full nine hours!</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHSbXAxEUABpM-nIxfEyxVR0Olv9MmEVKjDs_H0VRnmulERbj4F96J88ns_hqX_p-3E8jmGLPdvxRokgC3tVDOlMjo-7bHPpzSCbN2442PXaT753t1l3sM9EiRU7NdBW2iMvk_nNkEwydS/s1600/FC2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHSbXAxEUABpM-nIxfEyxVR0Olv9MmEVKjDs_H0VRnmulERbj4F96J88ns_hqX_p-3E8jmGLPdvxRokgC3tVDOlMjo-7bHPpzSCbN2442PXaT753t1l3sM9EiRU7NdBW2iMvk_nNkEwydS/s640/FC2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">The festival opened on schedule on January 18, 1982. The guests included Brook Shields, Ben Kingsley, Robert Duvall among others. It was told that the carpets were squishy since the cement under it was not yet dry.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">The first film screened was “Gandhi”. After that there was a party at the Film Center. The stars, notables and celebrities partied standing on a mausoleum. </span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">The following year, the MIFF had to scramble for funds because US$5 million was withheld because of the scandal it caused. In order to finance the festival, Imelda Marcos allowed pornographic films to be shown. That was the end of the Manila International Film Festival.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Imelda Marcos and the Marcos family has a macabre sense of burials and interments. They are now pushing for the burial of Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani and acting and behaving in such a way as that they have no sins during the regime. </span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;">The least they can do is rename the Manila Film Center to Libingan ng mga Manggagawa. An Elyseum for Sleepless Souls. </span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=1985206085145330708&postID=%207285196889064367454&target=facebook" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0S0FvmVeOZsZsyHBRYXs6SOZJFhYBhuQl7OyKadUhy4moMHToFTEST_ch1O_s7SEAdn5dqXBJMznFjilw7Ml42IQSpvsFeEt2olcocpNz3nSnB67pdCgiyERJ8dQXDr_rMeDI_fG1ydc/s1600/sharefb185.png" /></a> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=1985206085145330708&postID=%207285196889064367454&target=twitter" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVWTbY-f69CzSsrK9okrvKibUin1YURVntTu2W1qH6so7vbU6RiR36tV5fVzui_gG4ArLMrsG3k4OvyDg33RZO134rMkgTJC0y_fHDi-Zxcf29jZSC3xcypmVNJ8EWhpyL9MiVhAa7vM/s1600/sharetw185.png" /></a></div>

Events History Libingan ng mga Manggagawa or Elysium for Sleepless Souls

The debate on the Marcos burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani rages but what about the Libingan ng mga Manggagawa?  Let us go back ...

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“True Love Waits” Imposed in CDO School

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyymt5MKmOEzlTsuKS-pRhHM4osj0wFdQwbx_DMmgA5zc1frZs2leRu1_9cuIQ8KFJwMCcnoNyaIF6tj7mgvJ3n-UyVA-INgAploGuJG0iumX1svdb7aSOdthCaWX7ZBZTWBnr2j3OmSYT/s1600/TL.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyymt5MKmOEzlTsuKS-pRhHM4osj0wFdQwbx_DMmgA5zc1frZs2leRu1_9cuIQ8KFJwMCcnoNyaIF6tj7mgvJ3n-UyVA-INgAploGuJG0iumX1svdb7aSOdthCaWX7ZBZTWBnr2j3OmSYT/s400/TL.png" width="400" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /> <span style="font-size: large;">Teenage pregnancies have been put on hold at a school in Cagayan De Oro city in southern Philippines.<br /><br />Romantic relationships between the opposite sex are verboten in the Golden Heritage Polytechnic College as long as the students are enrolled in the institution. <br /><br />This is explicitly stated in a large tarpaulin at the campus entrance and is also printed on the uniforms of the teachers as a further reminder to students.<br /><br />According to school president Capt. Tito Dichosa, this was to enable the students to finish college. It is a source of frustration to the school president whenever a student stops studies because of pregnancy.<br /><br />So far, six students were expelled last year for violating the school policy.</span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: large;">But what is little known that the owners of the school is generous with scholarships and they themselves are the one's who look for jobs for their graduates. </span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=1985206085145330708&postID=%20720619742337881545&target=facebook" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0S0FvmVeOZsZsyHBRYXs6SOZJFhYBhuQl7OyKadUhy4moMHToFTEST_ch1O_s7SEAdn5dqXBJMznFjilw7Ml42IQSpvsFeEt2olcocpNz3nSnB67pdCgiyERJ8dQXDr_rMeDI_fG1ydc/s1600/sharefb185.png" /></a> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=1985206085145330708&postID=%20720619742337881545&target=twitter" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVWTbY-f69CzSsrK9okrvKibUin1YURVntTu2W1qH6so7vbU6RiR36tV5fVzui_gG4ArLMrsG3k4OvyDg33RZO134rMkgTJC0y_fHDi-Zxcf29jZSC3xcypmVNJ8EWhpyL9MiVhAa7vM/s1600/sharetw185.png" /></a></div>

Events News “True Love Waits” Imposed in CDO School

Teenage pregnancies have been put on hold at a school in Cagayan De Oro city in southern Philippines. Romantic relationships between the...

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The Dusk of Forever Summer

<div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgedJBCjRhutnyrOMzelG7DAbDY0KZmzUy0K9f0kWq65cq0Osi5bMMgUePGKPjLyLsJVbyUfDFis_duLm5QGYR_JSaqyD_aalgfB-Y4StC8ZNja6K8onDPb4ra0GzbPpYS2YJGqkjLn8YP8/s1600/closeup-forever-summer-crowd-q10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgedJBCjRhutnyrOMzelG7DAbDY0KZmzUy0K9f0kWq65cq0Osi5bMMgUePGKPjLyLsJVbyUfDFis_duLm5QGYR_JSaqyD_aalgfB-Y4StC8ZNja6K8onDPb4ra0GzbPpYS2YJGqkjLn8YP8/s400/closeup-forever-summer-crowd-q10.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />“When the moon in the sky like a big pizza pie hits your eye, that’s “Green” Amore?”, with apologies to Dean Martin. <br /><br />It has been over a month since Close Up’s Forever Summer party. The 5 deaths and fingerpointing that went along with it has come and gone. The first rains of the monsoon have arrived and nowhere can the real culprits be found.<br /><br />It is just like the end of each summer. The blooms will finally fade and a chill wind will nip the nose and ears at dusk of each day that followed. Getting colder and colder by the next day. The parched ground will eventually be watered by the initial drizzle and then inundated by the monsoons not long after.<br /><br />The youth who have danced to the thumping rhythms would have all went each other’s ways. No longer will the shouts and cheers be heard on the sun-baked grounds. There will be five of them who will not see the next summer. These names, in the full flower of youth no longer bask under the sun.<br />•    Ariel Leal, 22<br />•    Lance Garcia, 36<br />•    Ken Migawa, 18<br />•    Bianca Fontejon<br />•    Eric Anthony Miller, 33<br />It was during the days of the last summer’s fling that they were taken away. <br /><br />By now the headlines have faded and recriminations were quick. The tragedy was even the prologue  of a press conference by the President-Elect that eventually that went awry. The blame flew thick and fast amidst the media frenzy. Aside from the “Who” and What” there was really no in-depth coverage of the “How” and especially the “Why”. The “Why” cannot be ascertained as of now. It is a confluence of social and cultural factors that led to the tragedy. It is better discussed after a certain amount of time has elapsed. It points to a malaise in society that is better to sweep under the rug or die a natural death because of intellectual indolence on the part of media and even government. <br /><br />The “How” was a subject of even slipshod reportage that would rather give merit to media sensationalism. It is easy to blame the organizers at this point. It would be convenient to blame the organizers at this point. But are the organizers really negligent? Let us go over the facts of their organizational efforts with regards to the tragedy.<br /><br />What is CloseUp Forever Summer?</span><br /> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br />CloseUp Forever Summer is an annual Electronic Dance Music (EDM) festival featuring the world's top DJs performing live. The event is delivered and funded by CloseUp/Unilever Philippines with support from its contracted suppliers/co-organizers Eventscape Manila and Activations Advertising.<br />The event involved private groups and government institutions. This was for par in the staging of such events and the event organizers have managed several such like events before.<br />The civilian part of the event had 3 main components:<br /><br />1.    The Principal – The main sponsor of the event<br /><br />2.    Event Organizer – The program planning and physical logistics of the event<br /><br />3.    Event Implementor – Manpower and Security operations of the event<br /><br />4.    Venue Owner – Security for the event<br /><br />The Government component consisted of:<br /><br />1.    PNP Pasay City/Southern Police District<br />2.    LGU of Pasay City<br />3.    Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)<br /><br />Also, 5 hospitals were in coordination with the event organizers<br /><br />As in any event of this magnitude, security and medical contingencies are of critical importance. Thus, the organizers have taken pains in planning and implementing international standards in the conduct of the event. Thus, a total of 485 Security personnel were assigned and deployed during the event and that it adheres to US Security Standards with a ratio of 1:25 in relation to the total attendance of 12,312. US Standards is at 1:30.<br />The event was subject to pre-event planning that was conducted months before the event and was tweaked at refined even before the day of the event itself.<br />There were CCTV systems, RFID systems and Evacuation and Emergency Procedures and Protocols planned and implemented for the event. Such as that contingency plans were as thorough and as strict as possible.<br /><br />There were 6 ambulance teams, 30 EMTs, 2 Doctors and 4 firetrucks that were on standby and operational during the event. There was security briefings and security sweeps before the event was conducted.<br /><br />Unfortunately, the incidents happened and that 5 individuals separately collapsed in the venue and was quickly attended to by the responders. No one among the 5 fatalities expired in the venue itself.<br /><br />Based on the planning and implementation figures, the organizers followed industry- standard safety & security procedures in organizing major live events involving large number of audiences. During implementation, the organizers exceeded the required number of security and medical personnel based on US and Government of Western Australia-Department of Health: Guidelines for Concerts, Events, and Organized Gatherings standards. The entry procedures and protocols followed and implemented this year were more stringent than, and actually exceeded, those implemented in similar events in the past.<br /><br />This was never shown in traditional media, these contingency plans and operations were never given the full light of day. <br /><br />The tragedy could have been prevented but in a bigger arena and not in the confines of the event. The "How" is still a mystery. As mentioned before, the five fatalities are the product and is the tragedy of a malaise in a current society. Or are we looking at another Reichstag Fire?</span></div> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=1985206085145330708&postID=%206753503031768409911&target=facebook" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0S0FvmVeOZsZsyHBRYXs6SOZJFhYBhuQl7OyKadUhy4moMHToFTEST_ch1O_s7SEAdn5dqXBJMznFjilw7Ml42IQSpvsFeEt2olcocpNz3nSnB67pdCgiyERJ8dQXDr_rMeDI_fG1ydc/s1600/sharefb185.png" /></a> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=1985206085145330708&postID=%206753503031768409911&target=twitter" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVWTbY-f69CzSsrK9okrvKibUin1YURVntTu2W1qH6so7vbU6RiR36tV5fVzui_gG4ArLMrsG3k4OvyDg33RZO134rMkgTJC0y_fHDi-Zxcf29jZSC3xcypmVNJ8EWhpyL9MiVhAa7vM/s1600/sharetw185.png" /></a></div> <br />

Events Op-Ed The Dusk of Forever Summer

“When the moon in the sky like a big pizza pie hits your eye, that’s “Green” Amore?”, with apologies to Dean Martin. It has been over a ...

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