To Philippines, My Manita

Every morning during weekdays, grade school and high school students from both public and private schools are made to recite the Panunumpa sa Watawat ng Pilipinas. After that, the recitation of the Panatang Makabayan followed:

Iniibig ko ang Pilipinas

Aking lupang sinilangan,

Tahanan ng aking lahi;

Kinukopkop ako at tinutulungang

Maging malakas, masipag at marangal.

Dahil mahal ko ang Pilipinas,

Diringgin ko ang payo

Ng aking magulang;

Susundin ko ang tuntunin ng paaralan,

Tutuparin ko ang tungkulin

Ng isang mamamayang makabayan;

Naglilingkod, nag-aaral at nagdarasal

Nang buong katapatan.

Iaalay ko ang aking buhay,

Pangarap, pagsisikap

Sa bansang Pilipinas.

So tedious is this morning ritual that students hate to come early in the morning. They’d rather come late than profess their love and allegiance for the Philippines. As a result, they never take both oaths seriously. So once they get out of school, they cast them into oblivion.

Perhaps one reason why our country always ends up being screwed by us is that we forget how to reciprocate our love for our Motherland. But how exactly do we do give the love back? 

The Panata we take for granted provides us a simple guide: “Dahil mahal ko ang Pilipinas,/ Diringgin ko ang payo/ Ng aking magulang;/ Susundin ko ang tuntunin ng paaralan,/ Tutuparin ko ang tungkulin/ Ng isang mamamayang makabayan.”

Maybe if we were just reminded from time to time of our obligation to the country as expressed in the Panatang Makabayan, there would be no Fertilizer Scam, ZTE-NBN Deal, Hello Garci, PDAF-DAP, or Corona Impeachment to speak of. Maybe our country would not be mired in petty political bickering and suffer from short-sighted, partisan, and knee-jerk policies.

This #GLOBEProjectWonderful2014 got me thinking what gift would I give the Philippines if I were to have a Kris Kringle with it.

If the Philippines were my manita, I would give her decals, bumper stickers, and bar pins. On these items are printed these words below taken from the Panatang Makabayan:

“Dahil mahal ko ang Pilipinas, diringgin ko ang payo ng aking magulang.”

“Dahil mahal ko ang Pilipinas, susundin ko ang tuntunin ng paaralan.”

“Dahil mahal ko ang Pilipinas, tutuparin ko ang tungkulin ng isang mamamayang makabayan.”

Those will be distributed to schools, Public Utility Bus and Jeepneys, public spaces such as parks, malls, waiting sheds, and have those posted in any conspicuous place.

The effect may not be seen a day or a week after, but remember our parent’s reminders when we were young?

“Don’t drink.” “Don’t smoke.” “Do study your lessons.” “Do good to others.”

Don’t they stick with us? Are they not inculcated in our minds now?

If there is one thing you can give to the Philippines, what is that gift?

A Taste of Alternative Lawyering: My Glad to be Globe Story

A tunnel of a Kamote Miner (Small-Scale Miner)

Never has my summer been so exciting and fulfilling than this year’s summer, thanks to Globe. If there is one adjective that could describe my summer experience, it is peripatetic.

Sometime in April this year, my schoolmate from law school texted, asking me if I was interested to join the Alternative Law Groups Summer Internship Program for Law Students. If so, he said, I had to submit my résumé, ASAP.

Yes, I said. But the problem was at that the time I received the text I was in the middle of a friend’s birthday party. I had my netbook with me. I had a copy of my old résumé which only needed a little tweaking. There was, however, no way that I could send the résumé because there’s no Internet connection around.

I asked my friend if she has a broadband. Fortunately, she has a Globe Tattoo 4G Flash. She lent me her Globe Tattoo. So fast was the connection in no time I was able to send my résumé. A few days later I received an e-mail, saying that I got accepted into the Internship Program.

Giving lecture to the Mansaka Tribe

From the lectures to the reading assignments, almost everything we do in law school is aimed at passing the Bar Exam. Law school drills students into learning the basics of the law, but provides little opportunity for us to see what the world is beyond the Bar Exam. For the whole school year, students are so engrossed learning the law that they know little about the situation outside the walls of law school.

During the two-month Internship, however, I was given the opportunity to do what is referred to as Alternative Lawyering, an opportunity other law students didn’t have. I reached places which never figure in any tourist’s itinerary. I met fellow law students in Cagayan de Oro. Together with other Interns, I lived among the B’laan tribe in Columbio, Sultan Kudarat. We also interacted with the Mansaka tribe in Brgy. Mainit, Maco, Comval Province, when an NPA insurgency had just fizzled.

Vignettes of the immersion. Photo courtesy of Mark Penalver.

Each of those experiences is a speck of the vast range of activities that Alternative Lawyers do. There’s a lot more, but all seek to make the situation better for the poor and the marginalized sector.

If it weren’t for the Globe Tattoo, I wouldn’t have sent my résumé, and I wouldn't have been accepted into the Internship. I wouldn’t have experienced sharing my meager knowledge of the law to the B’laan or Mansaka Tribe. I wouldn’t have been part, albeit swiftly, in such a noble endeavor as Alternative Lawyering.

I don’t have to borrow anymore a Globe Tattoo because now I do own one. I’m, well, glad to be Globe.

Para Kay Nancy B.

Source: philstar.com

Ma'am Nancy,

Congratualations po sa inyong pagkapanalo. Hindi biro ang inyong dinaanan maabot lang ang posisyon mo ngayon.

Maraming pangungutya ang binato sa inyo. Una, pinuna ang inyong pagiging inexperienced sa larangan ng pulitika. Kahit ikaw ay nag-OJT na nang higit 20 years sa inyong ama at ina, hindi pa rin sila kuntento. Pakitanong nga sa kanila, Ma'am Nancy, ano ba ang gusto nilang experience? Kung ako sa inyo, hayaan niyo na lang sila. Huwag mo na lang pansinin si Vice Ganda kahit nilait niya ang OJT-experience mo.

Pangalawa, pinuna ang hindi niyo po pagdalo sa mga debate and election forum. Sa katunayan, hanga po ako sa pagiging organized ninyo. Sabi niyo po the reason na hindi kayo nakakadalo sa mga debate ay plantsado na kasi ang schedule mo at hindi mo na maisingit ang kaliwa't kanang debate. In terms of time management, fan niyo po ako.

Pangatlo, hindi rin pinalagpas ang inyong kulay. Huwag niyo na rin pong pansinin sila. Hindi po kayo nag-iisa. Ako man din ay nakaranas ng pangungutya dahil sa unfair ko na skin complexion. At bakit, kelan ba naging paputian ang pulitika? Marami namang maiitim ngunit magagaling namang mga lider. I need not mention Barack Obama and Nelson Mandela.

Talagang you cannot please everybody Ma'am Nancy. Pero sa tingin ko po dapat niyong i-please ang higit na 16 Million Filipinos na bumoto sa inyo. Wala rin po kayong dapat patunayan sa mga namimintas sa inyo. Pero sa tingin ko rin po meron kayong dapat patunayan sa bayan.

Iniluklok po kayo sa Senado ng mga tao sa paniniwalang kayo'y makakabuti sa bayan. Whether it's an unfounded belief or not is another matter. Patunayan niyo po sa kanila na you can use your 20-year OJT and craft laws, laws that can really effect some real change in society.

Meron po kayong six years para gawin iyon. At habang nandiyan pa po kayo sa puwesto, enjoy your stay. Ninais niyo po yan.

Lubos na gumagalang,

Ang Inyong No. 1 Fan

5 Tips na Dapat Dibdibin ng mga Voters Ngayong 2013 Elections

Kapag election dito sa Pilipinas, feeling empowered tayong mga Pinoy. Sino ba naman ang hindi makakaramdam nang ganun. Ang election kasi ang great equalizer. One man, one vote. Bata o matanda, mayaman o mahirap, kapag qualified ka, iisa lang ang boto mo. Lahat pantay-pantay. Sy o Ayala o hindi man ang apelyido mo, pare-pareho lang tayo.

Pero isa itong malaking kalokohan. Sa theory lang ito totoo. Hindi ito ang nangyayari sa reality. Tayo kasi parang isang dalagang virgin na sinusuyo ng mga kandidato. Ito namang mga kandidato ginagawa ang lahat, makamit lang ang matamis nating boto. Kapag nakuha na tayo, mawawala na lang parang bula.

Pero paano ba kumilos nang tama tuwing election nang hindi tayo madaling malamangan ng mga kandidato? Mayroon akong limang mungkahi:

1. Sell your vote to the highest bidder.

Hindi araw-araw may election. Every three years lang. Kaya samantalahin muna ang pagkakataon. Balita ko sa taas ng inflation rate ngayon, inaadjust na rin ng mga kandidato ang presyo ng boto natin. Sa ibang lugar, umaabot pa ng 3,500 ang bilihin. Kung mayroon namang bibili, ibenta mo na.

2. Gawing Picaso o Mulawin ang survey results.

Ang Picaso o Mulawin ay guide ng mga tumataya sa sugal na "Last 2." Dahil busy tayo at walang panahon na makinig sa mga debate, o basahin ang mga platapormang nirecycle lang naman nila sa nakaraang election, iboto mo na lang yong pasok sa Magic 12 ng mga survey. Oo, iboto mo na rin kahit yong mga nag-OJT lang sa kanilang mga magulang. Basta pasok sa mga survey, choks na yon.

3. Forgive and forget.

Kung si Kristo nga pinapatawad yong mga makasalanan, ikaw pa? Oo nga naman. Merong mga tumatakbo ngayon na minsan ng nasangkot sa pandaraya. Huwag mo nang ipamukha sa kaniya na nagkasala siya. Forgive and forget na. Boto mo na rin siya. Perfect attendance naman siya. Hindi pa ba sapat na parusa ang hindi pagliban sa trabaho?

4.  Huwag seryosohin ang tatlong nauna.

5. Kapag sineryoso mo, kanya-kanya na tayo. Bahala ka sa buhay mo.

Why Dabawenyos are soooooooo conyo?

Girl 1: Mag-go ka sa birthday niya?

Girl 2. Hindi. Gisabihan ko na siya na hindi ako mag-go.

Girl 1: Ano ka man uy? Gina-expect ko na baya siya na yang mag-go ka.

This is how a normal conversation goes between two Dabawenyo teenagers studying in a private school. Because non-Dabawenyos used to hear this kind of conversation, they can’t help saying, “Pamati ang mga taga-Davao. Sigeg Tagalog.”

But why do Dabawenyos speak Bisaya peppered with Tagalog, sprinkled with English, and marinated in FB-Twitter expressions?

There is a theory circulating among law students. The theory is that today's generations of Dabawenyos are descendants of the women in Villavicencio v.Lukban.

Who were those women? Why were they shipped to Davao secretly?