I am extremely lucky ;)
on any other day i'd say otherwise.
But i seriously am.
I mean im no superstar. Im not even rich or beautiful. But I am happy. I have friends, i;m not so sure which one of them will last, but i'm just grateful they're here right now. Plus our house is sparkly clean so I'm extremely glad ;)
My mom is happy and healthy, my family is dysfunctional but we love each other.
I'm healthy except for my infected toe.
I love my sisters. si jonas pa o! kahit gusto ko siya sakalin most of the time.
I just hope.....la lala lala
ok, im done. baka masunog pa ulam namin ;)
~elmo
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
bug
fooling around.
just hate and love this feeling.
must be around.
just wondering if you do to.
security seems underrated.
not by our brains but by our guts.
i hate dots.
and today we have a big one.
just hate and love this feeling.
must be around.
just wondering if you do to.
security seems underrated.
not by our brains but by our guts.
i hate dots.
and today we have a big one.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Band Name
I read this short story written in Heights and found this phrase I found very interesting. Boss said it seems nice as a band name.
am keeping my fingers crossed. Won;t reveal it so I won;t jinx it.
Janjun and roldan replied to my greetings! Im so glad! sana matuloy jamming soon. Si tochi nlng.
~~~~~~~~~~
Tagaytay was weird and fun. Gone horse back riding which I've dreamed of since I was a kid. Pag-ibig yung name ng kabayo. Highlight ng gabi ko un, though i really wished ung highlight ay yung bonding moments namin ng mga pinsan ko. Kaso matanda na kami. Parang may sarisarili na kaming mundo. Or baka ako lang un. hahaha.
~~~~~~~~~~
Why blog. Wala lang. tinulugan ako ni pam eh.
:(
SAna maging ok lahat.
whheee!!
am keeping my fingers crossed. Won;t reveal it so I won;t jinx it.
Janjun and roldan replied to my greetings! Im so glad! sana matuloy jamming soon. Si tochi nlng.
~~~~~~~~~~
Tagaytay was weird and fun. Gone horse back riding which I've dreamed of since I was a kid. Pag-ibig yung name ng kabayo. Highlight ng gabi ko un, though i really wished ung highlight ay yung bonding moments namin ng mga pinsan ko. Kaso matanda na kami. Parang may sarisarili na kaming mundo. Or baka ako lang un. hahaha.
~~~~~~~~~~
Why blog. Wala lang. tinulugan ako ni pam eh.
:(
SAna maging ok lahat.
whheee!!
Ride
This past few week has been one roller coaster ride
with the churning stomach and dizzy head
bright lights making lines on that dark blue canvass
and the exhilarating circles of ups and downs
I'm currently going down
Scared as hell
But oh well
Here we go
Finally.
with the churning stomach and dizzy head
bright lights making lines on that dark blue canvass
and the exhilarating circles of ups and downs
I'm currently going down
Scared as hell
But oh well
Here we go
Finally.
Monday, November 17, 2008
bounty hunting
for lack of a better term, I am officially a geek.
Dont ask why. I dont have any plans on telling. I wish I lived in a 1st world country sometimes where i'd have my hollywood story. But hey I'm having fun cleaning up the mess of people who live THE life of kingpins!!!
Well anyways, life is wonderfully bland. Better put on some salt and spices cause this lady is off to a freakin' bounty hunt. The wanted villain? None other than ________. (Didn't think I was gonna spill did ya?)
It's time to put my game face on cause this time, I'm gonna get my hands dirty, if you know what I mean. If only my boss would be a little less annoying I'd be more subtle, but I guess I'd have to be a little bit more aggressive, time is ticking! Subtle is boring anyways.
Cheers! (I'd treat you if I get my reward!)
Rae Marle
Dated November 17
Dont ask why. I dont have any plans on telling. I wish I lived in a 1st world country sometimes where i'd have my hollywood story. But hey I'm having fun cleaning up the mess of people who live THE life of kingpins!!!
Well anyways, life is wonderfully bland. Better put on some salt and spices cause this lady is off to a freakin' bounty hunt. The wanted villain? None other than ________. (Didn't think I was gonna spill did ya?)
It's time to put my game face on cause this time, I'm gonna get my hands dirty, if you know what I mean. If only my boss would be a little less annoying I'd be more subtle, but I guess I'd have to be a little bit more aggressive, time is ticking! Subtle is boring anyways.
Cheers! (I'd treat you if I get my reward!)
Rae Marle
Dated November 17
Saturday, October 18, 2008
dead end
when you realize you're in love, you usually feel happy. But sometimes it's hard to be happy when you know it's a dead end.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
i'm starting to hate how you make me feel
i f*cked up my day today
and i would blab about it to you
but hey,
you don't care, do you?
and i would blab about it to you
but hey,
you don't care, do you?
drunk
i smell white roses
the kind you never give me
unless you've done something wrong
and i would act surprised
and say you're still as sweet
as the day we met
and that i will love you
forever
the kind you never give me
unless you've done something wrong
and i would act surprised
and say you're still as sweet
as the day we met
and that i will love you
forever
Sunday, October 12, 2008
and my wasted heart will love you
...i just wanted to tell you that
because it's Christmas
and everyone tells the truth when it's Christmas
because it's Christmas
and everyone tells the truth when it's Christmas
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
paalam aking bulalakaw
though i am still hoping against the universe
that you will fall this way again
that you will fall this way again
the most beautiful thing
At half past 5 this afternoon,
Just before the rain poured and the darkness sunk in,
Everything was yellow.
I recently removed my blue curtains,
Just so that i could wash them clean,
And I opened my window blinds,
Just to let the room breathe.
And there I was lying down on my bed,
swimming in the last rays of the sun
which entered through my window
listening to the sound of the people outside
Through the yellow I could see the silhouettes
Of the mutant ants marching along the vines
Which have grown on our house rails
Unattended, overlooked, forgotten.
Just before the rain poured and the darkness sunk in,
Everything was yellow.
I recently removed my blue curtains,
Just so that i could wash them clean,
And I opened my window blinds,
Just to let the room breathe.
And there I was lying down on my bed,
swimming in the last rays of the sun
which entered through my window
listening to the sound of the people outside
Through the yellow I could see the silhouettes
Of the mutant ants marching along the vines
Which have grown on our house rails
Unattended, overlooked, forgotten.
Bad News - Owen
whatever it is you think you are
you aren't:
a good friend, unique, well-read
good-looking, or smart
well now you know
and I hate to be the one to bear such bad news
I know it hurts to hear
but it's true
you don't mean anything
to anyone but me
and even I think
that you're blinded by conceit
well now you know
free beer
and basement shows
don't mean you've made it
it's what you do
not who you were, or what you wear, or where you've been
so do something
whoever you think is watching you dance
from across the room
they aren't
if anything, they feel sorry for you
'cause you try so hard
And I know it's mean to say
but it's something I've been meaning to say to you
for a while
you're a has-been
that never was
I know it hurts to hear
but it's the truth
so you might as well hear it
from a friend
you're a has-been
that never was
or will be
~~~~~~~~~~
and that last line which talks of hope
I will hold it firmly and try my best not to let go.
just as the song goes:
catch a falling star and put it in your pocket
never let it fade away...
you aren't:
a good friend, unique, well-read
good-looking, or smart
well now you know
and I hate to be the one to bear such bad news
I know it hurts to hear
but it's true
you don't mean anything
to anyone but me
and even I think
that you're blinded by conceit
well now you know
free beer
and basement shows
don't mean you've made it
it's what you do
not who you were, or what you wear, or where you've been
so do something
whoever you think is watching you dance
from across the room
they aren't
if anything, they feel sorry for you
'cause you try so hard
And I know it's mean to say
but it's something I've been meaning to say to you
for a while
you're a has-been
that never was
I know it hurts to hear
but it's the truth
so you might as well hear it
from a friend
you're a has-been
that never was
or will be
~~~~~~~~~~
and that last line which talks of hope
I will hold it firmly and try my best not to let go.
just as the song goes:
catch a falling star and put it in your pocket
never let it fade away...
apology letter
It is with the most respectful tone that I write to you
my sincerest apology for acting the way I did,
for saying the things I said.
There is no amount of guilt that could absolve me of what I have done.
But know that I am anguished with the prospect of not having you with me,
for I have offended you in the gravest of manners.
with much love and affection,
yhbtnw
my sincerest apology for acting the way I did,
for saying the things I said.
There is no amount of guilt that could absolve me of what I have done.
But know that I am anguished with the prospect of not having you with me,
for I have offended you in the gravest of manners.
with much love and affection,
yhbtnw
love letter
You know how i wonder how the person who could make you feel most alive is the very person who could make you feel you'd want nothing more than to die.
And that person is you. It has always been you.
And woe to me who realized too late.
I am always late - perhaps my biggest flaw.
You were an addiction I tried to cure.
I almost did.
It is only now that i find myself grasping for breath,
Not knowing what I should do next.
And I suddenly wonder how we got here.
I hope we always were
A would-be
And that person is you. It has always been you.
And woe to me who realized too late.
I am always late - perhaps my biggest flaw.
You were an addiction I tried to cure.
I almost did.
It is only now that i find myself grasping for breath,
Not knowing what I should do next.
And I suddenly wonder how we got here.
I hope we always were
A would-be
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
i think i know what i am going to do with my life
I'm gonna be the best mayor in the Philippines.
And of course the best songwriter in town.
And of course the best songwriter in town.
Monday, September 08, 2008
happy birthday papa
happy birthday papa. I miss you even though i hadn't really met you.
I sometimes hope you were alive. At other times i think if you had lived may be life would be miserable.
Early last week I was happy. For a few days I was content and was laughing again. I had the time to walk without thinking I was wasting my time.
That seems like ages ago.
Right now, I wish you were here.
~your daughter
I sometimes hope you were alive. At other times i think if you had lived may be life would be miserable.
Early last week I was happy. For a few days I was content and was laughing again. I had the time to walk without thinking I was wasting my time.
That seems like ages ago.
Right now, I wish you were here.
~your daughter
Sunday, September 07, 2008
coping
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:00:35 PM): you know, it's nice to look at pictures
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:00:38 PM): and memories
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:00:44 PM): and it's also sad
marv (9/7/2008 10:00:48 PM):(
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:00:49 PM): makes you want to go back
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:00:54 PM): but you just can't
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:01:03 PM): and you hate yourself for doing some of the things you did
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:01:10 PM): but tehy're there
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:01:26 PM): forever written in your brain...
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:01:33 PM): memories just swimming around your brain
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:01:42 PM): regrets
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:01:55 PM): i hate movies
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:02:31 PM): makes you believe life is a sequence of events
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:02:41 PM): but life is just this one big mess
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:03:19 PM): nothing clear about it...it's just one big mess
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:03:30 PM): and you just drown in everything
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:03:36 PM): i wish i could undo certain things
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:04:01 PM): like you...i hope i can undo you...i hope i can undo a lot of things...but may be these are how things should be...
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:04:16 PM): that may be God wants this to happen
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:04:33 PM): may be this is what should happen
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:04:52 PM): and that regrest are nothing more than stupid thoughts of an alternative universe
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:05:00 PM): may be
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:05:07 PM): what ifs are stupid you know
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:05:20 PM): but how they could overwhelm us all
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:05:38 PM): i hate myself for being overwhelmed by them
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:06:29 PM): i hope i didnt go there, that i was just from another place...that i was in an accident, that i was not there
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:06:41 PM): that i didnt go back
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:06:54 PM): that i didnt meddle with things
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:07:14 PM): that i wasnt involved...or that i just didnt care...
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:07:19 PM): that oi wasnt too proud
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:07:25 PM): that i just didnt interfere
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:07:39 PM): but may be, just may be it was all good that way
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:07:43 PM): cause now we know
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:07:58 PM): now we know what the problem is
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:08:03 PM): and we were in the best place
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:08:16 PM): best place to fix it
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:00:38 PM): and memories
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:00:44 PM): and it's also sad
marv (9/7/2008 10:00:48 PM):(
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:00:49 PM): makes you want to go back
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:00:54 PM): but you just can't
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:01:03 PM): and you hate yourself for doing some of the things you did
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:01:10 PM): but tehy're there
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:01:26 PM): forever written in your brain...
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:01:33 PM): memories just swimming around your brain
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:01:42 PM): regrets
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:01:55 PM): i hate movies
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:02:31 PM): makes you believe life is a sequence of events
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:02:41 PM): but life is just this one big mess
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:03:19 PM): nothing clear about it...it's just one big mess
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:03:30 PM): and you just drown in everything
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:03:36 PM): i wish i could undo certain things
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:04:01 PM): like you...i hope i can undo you...i hope i can undo a lot of things...but may be these are how things should be...
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:04:16 PM): that may be God wants this to happen
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:04:33 PM): may be this is what should happen
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:04:52 PM): and that regrest are nothing more than stupid thoughts of an alternative universe
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:05:00 PM): may be
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:05:07 PM): what ifs are stupid you know
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:05:20 PM): but how they could overwhelm us all
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:05:38 PM): i hate myself for being overwhelmed by them
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:06:29 PM): i hope i didnt go there, that i was just from another place...that i was in an accident, that i was not there
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:06:41 PM): that i didnt go back
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:06:54 PM): that i didnt meddle with things
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:07:14 PM): that i wasnt involved...or that i just didnt care...
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:07:19 PM): that oi wasnt too proud
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:07:25 PM): that i just didnt interfere
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:07:39 PM): but may be, just may be it was all good that way
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:07:43 PM): cause now we know
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:07:58 PM): now we know what the problem is
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:08:03 PM): and we were in the best place
paeng_160 (9/7/2008 10:08:16 PM): best place to fix it
Monday, September 01, 2008
At a glance, one can never tell that Rafaela
1. Is a magnet for bad luck, having three near death experiences in just twelve short months.
2. Is an upcoming Broadway actress, who had starred in three spectacular musicals.
3. Is a genius, who had effortlessly perfected several mind-numbing Ma11 long exams.
4. Is a devoted catechist, loved by all her kids.
5. Is the embodiment of lateness, always arriving in class five to fifteen minutes after the second bell.
6. Is an artist, with a talent for playing bass guitar, directing, poetry and song writing, drawing and even acting.
7. Is a modern-day reformist and a family-oriented Filipino.
8. Is the epitome of magis, talent and dedication. Calling her a “superwoman” would be such an understatement.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anyone can always say that she is very artistic in every sense of the word, passionate in her commitments, shows a very critical but open mind, has been occasionally on bad terms with Lady Luck and has been unintentionally avoiding Cupid’s arrow, and so on.
However, many fail to see that in between her heartfelt singing, unwavering devotion to studies, occasional rants, critical speeches and childish conversations is also that sudden pause, an empty gaze she makes from time to time – a short but meaningful silence no one can ever fathom. For after all is already said, what really matters is to dwell in the depths of her silence; and to ask who this girl really is is to realize that there is only one definitive answer: she is none other than the girl named Rafaela.
1. Is a magnet for bad luck, having three near death experiences in just twelve short months.
2. Is an upcoming Broadway actress, who had starred in three spectacular musicals.
3. Is a genius, who had effortlessly perfected several mind-numbing Ma11 long exams.
4. Is a devoted catechist, loved by all her kids.
5. Is the embodiment of lateness, always arriving in class five to fifteen minutes after the second bell.
6. Is an artist, with a talent for playing bass guitar, directing, poetry and song writing, drawing and even acting.
7. Is a modern-day reformist and a family-oriented Filipino.
8. Is the epitome of magis, talent and dedication. Calling her a “superwoman” would be such an understatement.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anyone can always say that she is very artistic in every sense of the word, passionate in her commitments, shows a very critical but open mind, has been occasionally on bad terms with Lady Luck and has been unintentionally avoiding Cupid’s arrow, and so on.
However, many fail to see that in between her heartfelt singing, unwavering devotion to studies, occasional rants, critical speeches and childish conversations is also that sudden pause, an empty gaze she makes from time to time – a short but meaningful silence no one can ever fathom. For after all is already said, what really matters is to dwell in the depths of her silence; and to ask who this girl really is is to realize that there is only one definitive answer: she is none other than the girl named Rafaela.
Friday, August 15, 2008
finale
para akong nagsara ng isang napakagandang libro.
hiniling kong wag muna ito matapos
na mabuhay pa ako sa mundong nakapaloob sa mga pahina nito
pero isa isa silang nauubos
paalam aking bulalakaw.
hiniling kong wag muna ito matapos
na mabuhay pa ako sa mundong nakapaloob sa mga pahina nito
pero isa isa silang nauubos
paalam aking bulalakaw.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Hi guys!
I'd like to invite you to join me in supporting the Philippine Freedom of Information Act currently pending in the senate. Freedom of Information laws help fight corruption by guaranteeing public access to government information and records.
The country needs our help to ensure the Freedom of Information Act is passed in 2008, before the start of campaigning in 2009. Please show our legislators you support the act by taking a few seconds to sign the online petition here: http://satotootayo.blogspot.com/
Thanks!
Rafaela David
Truth Committee
Team RP
I'd like to invite you to join me in supporting the Philippine Freedom of Information Act currently pending in the senate. Freedom of Information laws help fight corruption by guaranteeing public access to government information and records.
The country needs our help to ensure the Freedom of Information Act is passed in 2008, before the start of campaigning in 2009. Please show our legislators you support the act by taking a few seconds to sign the online petition here: http://satotootayo.blogspot.com/
Thanks!
Rafaela David
Truth Committee
Team RP
Friday, May 16, 2008
10512000
With some proverbial love
He will come
But what can one do?
This is not what you look for.
For the longest minutes you twist and turn
as you lay down
thinking of the 20 years you spent
looking, not finding? finding, not looking?
But you were always looking...
for whatever comes
and you thought you would know
somehow
He will come
But what can one do?
This is not what you look for.
For the longest minutes you twist and turn
as you lay down
thinking of the 20 years you spent
looking, not finding? finding, not looking?
But you were always looking...
for whatever comes
and you thought you would know
somehow
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
OJT New blog
I'm posting my OJT updates in my multiply blog from now on!
haha!
http://dizzygirl160.multiply.com/journal/
haha!
http://dizzygirl160.multiply.com/journal/
Friday, April 18, 2008
OJT Day 1 ++
I started my OJT in ACED earlier today. It was really fun and of course a bit tiring. It started out a bit boring since I just assisted Nat in a report she was writing. After lunch Karen and I met up with Sir Joel who briefed us about what we were expected to accomplish after our OJT. We were basically tasked to plan and head the Brigada Eskwela, a yearly project that aims to help public schools in Metro Manila in maintaining their equipments and facilities. Moreover, we were supposed to help out with Mam Maria's project: e-Kasi QC!
After our briefing, Nat, Karen, Shan and I started planning for the Brigada Eskwela. I got to head the logistics committee, but we were all going to help out in each other's committees. We basically have to coordinate with different people, manage the expenses, plan the event, call for volunteers, etc. We finished up with the list of tasks we have to accomplish for our project, and made up a timetable for them.
We also finalized our theme for this year's Brigada Eskwela: Bayanihan.
Other than that, we were asked to do reports on different public schools. Sir Joel asked Karen and I to go to the Basic Education Office located in the Ateneo High School complex. Ms. Janet asked us to do a report (after 'mistakingly' letting us do community service work) on Imbunia Elementary High School based on the survey sheets, interview transcripts and participant observations that their researchers conducted in the area.
Mam Mai also asked me to go to Nueva Ecija as ACED representative next Monday-Tuesday for the Manumbalik Muli Program.
PS: we were supposed to keep documentation of our experiences on the job. I still plan to make a blog specifically for this though I don't yet have the time.
AFTER: Team RP Work
But work doesn't stop there.
ELi and I had to go to Ateneo law School for our Team Rp meeting where we presented our researches on the Freedom to Information Law. After which we presented the script we were going to use for the streetplay. They said it was ok and Harvey told me: good job! yey! but it still needs to be edited. well at least the main storyline was approved.
We still need to prepare another script for the transparency bottle line up. I hope we can finish all these by sunday.
Other tasks:
-Sir paul zialcita asked us to go to Penguin Bar in Malate to meet some of the Why Not? people and other musicians and artists in his circle.
-Attend Meeting of some supporters of the FOI and Senator Bong revilla next tuesday which I might not be able to attend because I have to go to Nueva Ecija for aced.
-Find volunteers for the streetplays
-Fix the background music/ minus one for the streeplay.
-finalize venues for streetplay
ACIL:
-meet with other formations head to plan our projects
-Katekit
Assembly:
-CIP
-consti
-projects
-contact database
I need a break.
After our briefing, Nat, Karen, Shan and I started planning for the Brigada Eskwela. I got to head the logistics committee, but we were all going to help out in each other's committees. We basically have to coordinate with different people, manage the expenses, plan the event, call for volunteers, etc. We finished up with the list of tasks we have to accomplish for our project, and made up a timetable for them.
We also finalized our theme for this year's Brigada Eskwela: Bayanihan.
Other than that, we were asked to do reports on different public schools. Sir Joel asked Karen and I to go to the Basic Education Office located in the Ateneo High School complex. Ms. Janet asked us to do a report (after 'mistakingly' letting us do community service work) on Imbunia Elementary High School based on the survey sheets, interview transcripts and participant observations that their researchers conducted in the area.
Mam Mai also asked me to go to Nueva Ecija as ACED representative next Monday-Tuesday for the Manumbalik Muli Program.
PS: we were supposed to keep documentation of our experiences on the job. I still plan to make a blog specifically for this though I don't yet have the time.
AFTER: Team RP Work
But work doesn't stop there.
ELi and I had to go to Ateneo law School for our Team Rp meeting where we presented our researches on the Freedom to Information Law. After which we presented the script we were going to use for the streetplay. They said it was ok and Harvey told me: good job! yey! but it still needs to be edited. well at least the main storyline was approved.
We still need to prepare another script for the transparency bottle line up. I hope we can finish all these by sunday.
Other tasks:
-Sir paul zialcita asked us to go to Penguin Bar in Malate to meet some of the Why Not? people and other musicians and artists in his circle.
-Attend Meeting of some supporters of the FOI and Senator Bong revilla next tuesday which I might not be able to attend because I have to go to Nueva Ecija for aced.
-Find volunteers for the streetplays
-Fix the background music/ minus one for the streeplay.
-finalize venues for streetplay
ACIL:
-meet with other formations head to plan our projects
-Katekit
Assembly:
-CIP
-consti
-projects
-contact database
I need a break.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
I am Change, Are You?
I am Change, Are You?
By: Harvey S. Keh
Last March, I was very fortunate enough to be invited to be the Commencement Speaker of Western Mindanao State University (WMSU) in Zamboanga City, one of the biggest state universities in the Philippines. During my brief stay at WMSU, I was able to have a session with 30 of their student leaders who are leading their student council and other student organizations in their school. During this session, I started with a question, I asked them, Who among you here still believes and supports President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo? Around 10 of them raised their hands. Then, I asked again, Who among you here wants the President to resign and step down? Around 14 of them raised their hands. I pressed on and asked again, Who among you here is still undecided? 6 of them raised their hands. Finally, I asked again, Who among you here wants Change and Reforms in our Country and Government?
All of them raised their hands.
When I got back to Manila, I did the same activity with about 25 student leaders from Miriam College in Quezon City, one of the top schools here in Metro Manila. I got the same response from them, 7 were supporting President Arroyo, 12 wanted her to resign/step-down while 6 were undecided. When I asked them who wants change and reform in our Country and Government, all of them raised their hands as well.
What am I trying to say through these two stories and experiences with these Filipino Youth Leaders in our country?
a.) Yes, our country is divided right now in how we view President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. You have on one side, a group supporting President Arroyo despite all the anomalies, allegations of corruption and scandals that has rocked her administration. On the other side, you have groups and highly-influential leaders which have called for her immediate resignation and ouster from power. This then leaves us with a political stalemate since President Arroyo is not weak enough to fall while the Groups calling for her ouster and resignation are not strong enough to push her out.
b.) However, it seems that judging from my experiences in dealing with these student leaders, the people I talk to and the emails I get from Filipinos from here and abroad everyone wants to see Change and Reform in our Government. We are all united in wanting to see positive and lasting change and reforms in our Government.
That is why I think that if we want to be able to help in bringing our nation together towards a common vision which helps move our country forward then this unity should not be based on certain personalities like President Arroyo or our other Government Leaders. Rather, we need to join and work together towards working for concrete and lasting reforms in our Government Institutions that would eventually make it more responsive to the needs of the poor and powerless in our communities.We need to work together towards building, strengthening and transforming our democratic institutions. For example, Isn't it sad that we now have to face a growing Food Crisis when we were once one of the world's top Agricultural countries? This is an indirect effect of the 1 Billion Fertilizer Scam that was allegedly used to fund the election expenses of President Arroyo and her allies. If this 1 Billion Peso Fertilizer Fund together with other government funds was used properly and for the right purpose then we might not have to face this crisis now or if we do, the effect wouldn't be as big as we are facing now.
As such, I'd like to invite every Filipino based here and abroad to join us at Team RP as we try to develop a proactive and dynamic movement that is built and organized primarily by ordinary Filipinos like you and me whose only vested interests is to be able to contribute his time, skills, talents and resources towards pushing for Truth, Accountability and Reform in our Government. How? Allow me to share with you some of our concrete action plans:
For Truth: We hope to push for the passing of a Philippine Access to Information Law (PAIL) that would give every Filipino an opportunity to access government documents especially documents that would show how our hard-earned money is being spent by our government officials. Through this law, greater transparency can be achieved thus and more importantly, we are able to make our government leaders live by the saying that Public Office is a Public Trust.
For Accountability: We plan to file proper charges on Government Officials and Private Citizens who have taken part in Graft and Corruption practices and activities that have bankrupted our government coffers. If we do not do anything to hold these people accountable for their actions and curb corruption, then the cycle will just continue with new faces and sadly, with new techniques. Corruption has to stop because the 30 Billion Pesos that is lost to it every year can amount to provision of basic services that will ultimately uplift the lives of more than 20 Million Filipinos who continue to wallow in poverty.
For Reform: We plan to work and lobby for the extension and improvement of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law which expires this year. We believe that every Filipino should be provided with equal opportunities to be able to own his or her own land. In addition to this, we plan to pursue electoral reforms as early as now by developing projects and activities that will encourage and motivate First-time voters to register so they can exercise their right to choose our next President in 2010.
These are just among our concrete plans towards institutionalizing and working for genuine Change and Reform in our country. Since we are not a personality-based movement, Team RP will continue to push for these ideals and programs regardless of who becomes President, Vice-President, Senators, Congressmen, etc. We are doing this because we believe that many of our Government Leaders have Failed us and that its time for all of us to take control of our own future and work together for that genuine and lasting Change that we all want to see in our country. Let us all stop the all our excuses, iinaction, hopelessness, despair, indifference and complaining, these will all amount to nothing if we ourselves don't move ourselves to do anything for our country.
Change is now. Change starts with each one of us. Hope lies not in our country's leaders and those in power but it rests in every Filipino.
I am Change, are you? If Yes, then join us at Team RP by emailing us your complete name and contact information to team.rp.official@gmail.com . Help us as well by forwarding this email to your friends and posting it in your blogs so that many more Filipinos can join in our cause to take control of our own future.
We would also like to invite all of you to our upcoming Team RP General Assembly on April 26,2008 (Saturday), 1pm to 430pm at the Foyer of Club Filipino, Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila. Please send us an email with your contact information at team.rp.official@gmail.com if you are joining us for this event.
Harvey S. Keh, 29, is the Chairperson of Team RP, a youth-led organization that is pushing for Truth, Accountability and Reform in our Government. He is also the Project Director of the Asia Society's Philippines 21 Young Leaders Program which annually selects 10 outstanding Filipino Young Leaders which will represent the Philippines to the Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit which gathers more than 200 Young Leaders from different countries in the Asia-Pacific Region. Aside from these, Harvey continues to help make our country a better place for every Filipino through his involvements with the Ateneo de Manila University-School of Government and AHON Foundation. You can read his writings at his blog: http://www.filipinochangemaker.blogspot.com
By: Harvey S. Keh
Last March, I was very fortunate enough to be invited to be the Commencement Speaker of Western Mindanao State University (WMSU) in Zamboanga City, one of the biggest state universities in the Philippines. During my brief stay at WMSU, I was able to have a session with 30 of their student leaders who are leading their student council and other student organizations in their school. During this session, I started with a question, I asked them, Who among you here still believes and supports President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo? Around 10 of them raised their hands. Then, I asked again, Who among you here wants the President to resign and step down? Around 14 of them raised their hands. I pressed on and asked again, Who among you here is still undecided? 6 of them raised their hands. Finally, I asked again, Who among you here wants Change and Reforms in our Country and Government?
All of them raised their hands.
When I got back to Manila, I did the same activity with about 25 student leaders from Miriam College in Quezon City, one of the top schools here in Metro Manila. I got the same response from them, 7 were supporting President Arroyo, 12 wanted her to resign/step-down while 6 were undecided. When I asked them who wants change and reform in our Country and Government, all of them raised their hands as well.
What am I trying to say through these two stories and experiences with these Filipino Youth Leaders in our country?
a.) Yes, our country is divided right now in how we view President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. You have on one side, a group supporting President Arroyo despite all the anomalies, allegations of corruption and scandals that has rocked her administration. On the other side, you have groups and highly-influential leaders which have called for her immediate resignation and ouster from power. This then leaves us with a political stalemate since President Arroyo is not weak enough to fall while the Groups calling for her ouster and resignation are not strong enough to push her out.
b.) However, it seems that judging from my experiences in dealing with these student leaders, the people I talk to and the emails I get from Filipinos from here and abroad everyone wants to see Change and Reform in our Government. We are all united in wanting to see positive and lasting change and reforms in our Government.
That is why I think that if we want to be able to help in bringing our nation together towards a common vision which helps move our country forward then this unity should not be based on certain personalities like President Arroyo or our other Government Leaders. Rather, we need to join and work together towards working for concrete and lasting reforms in our Government Institutions that would eventually make it more responsive to the needs of the poor and powerless in our communities.We need to work together towards building, strengthening and transforming our democratic institutions. For example, Isn't it sad that we now have to face a growing Food Crisis when we were once one of the world's top Agricultural countries? This is an indirect effect of the 1 Billion Fertilizer Scam that was allegedly used to fund the election expenses of President Arroyo and her allies. If this 1 Billion Peso Fertilizer Fund together with other government funds was used properly and for the right purpose then we might not have to face this crisis now or if we do, the effect wouldn't be as big as we are facing now.
As such, I'd like to invite every Filipino based here and abroad to join us at Team RP as we try to develop a proactive and dynamic movement that is built and organized primarily by ordinary Filipinos like you and me whose only vested interests is to be able to contribute his time, skills, talents and resources towards pushing for Truth, Accountability and Reform in our Government. How? Allow me to share with you some of our concrete action plans:
For Truth: We hope to push for the passing of a Philippine Access to Information Law (PAIL) that would give every Filipino an opportunity to access government documents especially documents that would show how our hard-earned money is being spent by our government officials. Through this law, greater transparency can be achieved thus and more importantly, we are able to make our government leaders live by the saying that Public Office is a Public Trust.
For Accountability: We plan to file proper charges on Government Officials and Private Citizens who have taken part in Graft and Corruption practices and activities that have bankrupted our government coffers. If we do not do anything to hold these people accountable for their actions and curb corruption, then the cycle will just continue with new faces and sadly, with new techniques. Corruption has to stop because the 30 Billion Pesos that is lost to it every year can amount to provision of basic services that will ultimately uplift the lives of more than 20 Million Filipinos who continue to wallow in poverty.
For Reform: We plan to work and lobby for the extension and improvement of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law which expires this year. We believe that every Filipino should be provided with equal opportunities to be able to own his or her own land. In addition to this, we plan to pursue electoral reforms as early as now by developing projects and activities that will encourage and motivate First-time voters to register so they can exercise their right to choose our next President in 2010.
These are just among our concrete plans towards institutionalizing and working for genuine Change and Reform in our country. Since we are not a personality-based movement, Team RP will continue to push for these ideals and programs regardless of who becomes President, Vice-President, Senators, Congressmen, etc. We are doing this because we believe that many of our Government Leaders have Failed us and that its time for all of us to take control of our own future and work together for that genuine and lasting Change that we all want to see in our country. Let us all stop the all our excuses, iinaction, hopelessness, despair, indifference and complaining, these will all amount to nothing if we ourselves don't move ourselves to do anything for our country.
Change is now. Change starts with each one of us. Hope lies not in our country's leaders and those in power but it rests in every Filipino.
I am Change, are you? If Yes, then join us at Team RP by emailing us your complete name and contact information to team.rp.official@gmail.com . Help us as well by forwarding this email to your friends and posting it in your blogs so that many more Filipinos can join in our cause to take control of our own future.
We would also like to invite all of you to our upcoming Team RP General Assembly on April 26,2008 (Saturday), 1pm to 430pm at the Foyer of Club Filipino, Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila. Please send us an email with your contact information at team.rp.official@gmail.com if you are joining us for this event.
Harvey S. Keh, 29, is the Chairperson of Team RP, a youth-led organization that is pushing for Truth, Accountability and Reform in our Government. He is also the Project Director of the Asia Society's Philippines 21 Young Leaders Program which annually selects 10 outstanding Filipino Young Leaders which will represent the Philippines to the Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit which gathers more than 200 Young Leaders from different countries in the Asia-Pacific Region. Aside from these, Harvey continues to help make our country a better place for every Filipino through his involvements with the Ateneo de Manila University-School of Government and AHON Foundation. You can read his writings at his blog: http://www.filipinochangemaker.blogspot.com
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
An Appeal to Media: Cover More than the Theatrics
Pass to media people you know...
An Appeal to Media: Cover More than the Theatrics
Joy Aceron
There is now a growing perception that street demonstrations are “quick fix” and “unintelligent” course of actions to resolve political issues. This is particularly evident about the reactions of some people about “people power,” which is being narrowly construed as nothing but nuisance, rabble-rousing and an impatient solution to the political crisis.
There are many reasons for this negative opinion about street protest actions, but the one that posts a significant influence is media coverage. On a varying level, what is seen on television, heard on radio and read on papers about societal actions are largely just the street demonstrations, particularly the theatrics: confrontation with the police, burning of effigies, wild antics, ironic combination of politicians and other attention-grabbing drama.
However, what the public does not know that should be told is that these groups and forces that are involved in street protests are doing a lot more than just being in the streets shouting their demands to the government. In fact, street protests, among the wide variety of societal actions, are probably where the least time and resources are spent.
The groups that are now active in protest actions in response to the political crisis under the current administration— the mass-based organizations, some leftist groups and some few middle class collectives—have consistently been involved in the painstaking tasks of organizing and education, bringing to as many people the forums and venues to know and discuss the issues that face the country. In order to exchange ideas, build consensus and broaden their impact, they build coalitions and networks, which is not an easy task involving unending debates because of the differences in perspectives among the organizations, groups and individuals in their group. They conduct research studies, build their database and publish reading materials particularly popular education materials about the issues they tackle. They engage the government, the business sector and other civil society groups in policy dialogues. Their partner non-government organizations would even undertake projects that provide direct services to their communities.
Because of their usually critical stance towards the government and their radical or progressive disposition, they do their work with the threat of repression and violence. Resources are always lacking, especially for those whose political work is a full-time job, hence, hardly there is comfort nor complacence. For the majority who has work outside of the protest actions, there is always the need to work double and triple time to balance the demands of their “profession” and the demands of the social movements. Largely the sacrifices are charged to love of country, service to the people and all those which are rhetorics to many, but something concrete and alive to these people.
Street protest actions are being done as part of the multi-faceted approaches to their advocacies that address fundamental and systemic problems of the country. This is usually just a venue for the different coalitions and networks to converge and bring their sentiments to a broader public, including those who hold public office. There are street demonstrations that are spontaneous where unexpected turn of events elicits strong emotional response that brings groups and unorganized individuals alike to converge in one place and exercise their freedom of expression, like EDSA 1. There are street protests and mass actions that are planned largely to show solidarity and send a message to a larger audience through the media.
The information that must be widely disseminated is that there are more to it than just mere street demonstrations. Street demonstrations are not quick fix and unintelligent societal actions. Behind it are critical analyses, long-lasting solutions and sustained actions. People power therefore is not just the coming out of groups and individuals to the streets. It involves the immense and sustained work of wielding the interest and imagination of the people and social forces to collectively engage and influence the outcome of public issues and concerns that affect the country. Behind the chants are heated debates, deep reflections and analyses. Behind the march are sweat and blood of people who take communal actions because of their shared beliefs and principles.
For the public to understand and appreciate the over-all work of the social forces, the media, which serve as the main source of information by most people, have to go beyond the theatrics. Not doing so will continue to put in bad light street protest actions and will disregard the more important work of the social movements.
This demand is probably difficult because it is the theatrics that have audience. It is popularly more interesting and perhaps even entertaining to many. The challenge however is: isn’t the media supposed to be balanced and truthful? Telling the public the whole picture of societal actions, or at least the more substantial part of it, will not only give justice to the work of the social movements, but will also give justice to the role that the media is supposed to play in society, which should go beyond what sells.
Joy Aceron
Lecturer, Political Science Department, Ateneo de Manila University
Research Fellow, Ateneo School of Government
Masters in Public Administration, University of the Philippines- Diliman
joyaceron@yahoo. com
An Appeal to Media: Cover More than the Theatrics
Joy Aceron
There is now a growing perception that street demonstrations are “quick fix” and “unintelligent” course of actions to resolve political issues. This is particularly evident about the reactions of some people about “people power,” which is being narrowly construed as nothing but nuisance, rabble-rousing and an impatient solution to the political crisis.
There are many reasons for this negative opinion about street protest actions, but the one that posts a significant influence is media coverage. On a varying level, what is seen on television, heard on radio and read on papers about societal actions are largely just the street demonstrations, particularly the theatrics: confrontation with the police, burning of effigies, wild antics, ironic combination of politicians and other attention-grabbing drama.
However, what the public does not know that should be told is that these groups and forces that are involved in street protests are doing a lot more than just being in the streets shouting their demands to the government. In fact, street protests, among the wide variety of societal actions, are probably where the least time and resources are spent.
The groups that are now active in protest actions in response to the political crisis under the current administration— the mass-based organizations, some leftist groups and some few middle class collectives—have consistently been involved in the painstaking tasks of organizing and education, bringing to as many people the forums and venues to know and discuss the issues that face the country. In order to exchange ideas, build consensus and broaden their impact, they build coalitions and networks, which is not an easy task involving unending debates because of the differences in perspectives among the organizations, groups and individuals in their group. They conduct research studies, build their database and publish reading materials particularly popular education materials about the issues they tackle. They engage the government, the business sector and other civil society groups in policy dialogues. Their partner non-government organizations would even undertake projects that provide direct services to their communities.
Because of their usually critical stance towards the government and their radical or progressive disposition, they do their work with the threat of repression and violence. Resources are always lacking, especially for those whose political work is a full-time job, hence, hardly there is comfort nor complacence. For the majority who has work outside of the protest actions, there is always the need to work double and triple time to balance the demands of their “profession” and the demands of the social movements. Largely the sacrifices are charged to love of country, service to the people and all those which are rhetorics to many, but something concrete and alive to these people.
Street protest actions are being done as part of the multi-faceted approaches to their advocacies that address fundamental and systemic problems of the country. This is usually just a venue for the different coalitions and networks to converge and bring their sentiments to a broader public, including those who hold public office. There are street demonstrations that are spontaneous where unexpected turn of events elicits strong emotional response that brings groups and unorganized individuals alike to converge in one place and exercise their freedom of expression, like EDSA 1. There are street protests and mass actions that are planned largely to show solidarity and send a message to a larger audience through the media.
The information that must be widely disseminated is that there are more to it than just mere street demonstrations. Street demonstrations are not quick fix and unintelligent societal actions. Behind it are critical analyses, long-lasting solutions and sustained actions. People power therefore is not just the coming out of groups and individuals to the streets. It involves the immense and sustained work of wielding the interest and imagination of the people and social forces to collectively engage and influence the outcome of public issues and concerns that affect the country. Behind the chants are heated debates, deep reflections and analyses. Behind the march are sweat and blood of people who take communal actions because of their shared beliefs and principles.
For the public to understand and appreciate the over-all work of the social forces, the media, which serve as the main source of information by most people, have to go beyond the theatrics. Not doing so will continue to put in bad light street protest actions and will disregard the more important work of the social movements.
This demand is probably difficult because it is the theatrics that have audience. It is popularly more interesting and perhaps even entertaining to many. The challenge however is: isn’t the media supposed to be balanced and truthful? Telling the public the whole picture of societal actions, or at least the more substantial part of it, will not only give justice to the work of the social movements, but will also give justice to the role that the media is supposed to play in society, which should go beyond what sells.
Joy Aceron
Lecturer, Political Science Department, Ateneo de Manila University
Research Fellow, Ateneo School of Government
Masters in Public Administration, University of the Philippines- Diliman
joyaceron@yahoo. com
Team RP Press Statement: On the Makati Rally
TEAM RP PRESS STATEMENT
March 5, 2008
ON THE MAKATI RALLY
"We are disappointed over what happened during the rally in Makati last Friday, February 29, 2008. Allowing politicians to go on stage and speak in behalf of and to the crowd did not only misrepresent our convictions, but was primarily a breach of the agreement between the organizers and participating groups that no politician should be seen on stage.
"We pulled out earlier than expected because we believe that our no-politicos agreement should have been binding enough and that no individual or group was above that agreement, the same way we believe that no one is above the law.
"Friday proved that people of different beliefs and opinions can rally under the same banner and share a common goal. We are together in this fight for Truth, Accountability and Reforms in government, anchored on genuine democracy where transparency, dialogue and the rule of law are immutable and non-negotiable.
"But we disagree that politicians, with whatever fame they have or had, truly symbolize our sentiments. Likewise, we believe that in order to make the greater majority of the public realize that politics should not be personality-based, opinion leaders themselves should veer away from the traditional approach of building up personalities as icons of change.
"We look forward to the day when not only are our public officials held accountable to the people, but more importantly, that we, as a nation, value the honor of word and the promises we make.
"In our pursuit of Truth, Accountability and Reforms, we are also putting forth our convictions against traditional political trade, be it in government or civil society, which has tolerated, if not contributed to having a culture of corruption.
"A search for truth requires critical discussion and knowledge of facts and issues, not opinions or political statements from personalities. We disagree that the means justify the end; else we would be just like what we are fighting against."
Signed:
Chairman - Harvey Keh
Vice-Chairperson for External Affairs - Atty. Eirene Aguila
Vice-Chaiperson for Internal Affairs - Nina Terol
Membership Committee Head - Stephanie Cuevas
Communications and Public Relations Head - Niel Lim
Finance Committee Head - Steve Ladan
Secretariat and House Rules Committee Head - Ryan Chung
Special Projects Committee Heads - Karen Naranjo and Alvin Quintans
Truth Committee Head - Eli Convocar
Acccountability Committee Head - Princess Celestino
Reform Committee Heads - Marie Chris Cabreros and Gio Tingson
http://teamrp.multiply.com/
Team RP is a youth-led movement that is composed of college students and young professionals from all walks of life that is currently pushing for Truth, Accountability and Reform in our government. Team RP is also part of the BUSINA movement or Buong Bayan Isinisigaw Tama Na, Itama Na! Team RP believes that our decisions and actions should focus on the prevailing issues and problems at hand and not just on personalities and political figures. Team RP also believes in developing and implementing concrete action plans towards achieving its goals of promoting Truth, Accountability and Reform in our present-day Filipino society. As a youth-led movement, we believe that complaining about our country's present situation and problems is not enough, rather proactive and collective action by every Filipino is a must if we hope to move forward as a nation and as a Filipino people.
For more information about Team RP, please email us at team.rp.official@gmail.com or you can also call us at (02) 426-5657.
March 5, 2008
ON THE MAKATI RALLY
"We are disappointed over what happened during the rally in Makati last Friday, February 29, 2008. Allowing politicians to go on stage and speak in behalf of and to the crowd did not only misrepresent our convictions, but was primarily a breach of the agreement between the organizers and participating groups that no politician should be seen on stage.
"We pulled out earlier than expected because we believe that our no-politicos agreement should have been binding enough and that no individual or group was above that agreement, the same way we believe that no one is above the law.
"Friday proved that people of different beliefs and opinions can rally under the same banner and share a common goal. We are together in this fight for Truth, Accountability and Reforms in government, anchored on genuine democracy where transparency, dialogue and the rule of law are immutable and non-negotiable.
"But we disagree that politicians, with whatever fame they have or had, truly symbolize our sentiments. Likewise, we believe that in order to make the greater majority of the public realize that politics should not be personality-based, opinion leaders themselves should veer away from the traditional approach of building up personalities as icons of change.
"We look forward to the day when not only are our public officials held accountable to the people, but more importantly, that we, as a nation, value the honor of word and the promises we make.
"In our pursuit of Truth, Accountability and Reforms, we are also putting forth our convictions against traditional political trade, be it in government or civil society, which has tolerated, if not contributed to having a culture of corruption.
"A search for truth requires critical discussion and knowledge of facts and issues, not opinions or political statements from personalities. We disagree that the means justify the end; else we would be just like what we are fighting against."
Signed:
Chairman - Harvey Keh
Vice-Chairperson for External Affairs - Atty. Eirene Aguila
Vice-Chaiperson for Internal Affairs - Nina Terol
Membership Committee Head - Stephanie Cuevas
Communications and Public Relations Head - Niel Lim
Finance Committee Head - Steve Ladan
Secretariat and House Rules Committee Head - Ryan Chung
Special Projects Committee Heads - Karen Naranjo and Alvin Quintans
Truth Committee Head - Eli Convocar
Acccountability Committee Head - Princess Celestino
Reform Committee Heads - Marie Chris Cabreros and Gio Tingson
http://teamrp.multiply.com/
Team RP is a youth-led movement that is composed of college students and young professionals from all walks of life that is currently pushing for Truth, Accountability and Reform in our government. Team RP is also part of the BUSINA movement or Buong Bayan Isinisigaw Tama Na, Itama Na! Team RP believes that our decisions and actions should focus on the prevailing issues and problems at hand and not just on personalities and political figures. Team RP also believes in developing and implementing concrete action plans towards achieving its goals of promoting Truth, Accountability and Reform in our present-day Filipino society. As a youth-led movement, we believe that complaining about our country's present situation and problems is not enough, rather proactive and collective action by every Filipino is a must if we hope to move forward as a nation and as a Filipino people.
For more information about Team RP, please email us at team.rp.official@gmail.com or you can also call us at (02) 426-5657.
an interesting article about the youth today
FOCUS ON FILIPINO YOUTH: THE LOST GENERATION http://www.pcij.org/i-report/3/filipino-youth.html
Finding Spaces
They are the hi-tech generation, at ease with technology but otherwise lost when it comes to dealing with the complexities of a globalized world.
by KATRINA STUART SANTIAGO
TOO OFTEN the Filipino youth is viewed with the conventional eyes of our elders: we are the future of the nation, we are the agents of change. The government counts on us to help save the country, civil society exhorts us to be vigilant, the media remind us often enough that we are the hope of the nation. For the most part, however, they are disappointed. Especially when it's convenient, we remain incomprehensible to our elders, and it's easy to see why.
We are the high-tech generation, adept at computers and cellphones, but unable to communicate well without a keypad or a clicking mouse. Our relationships are characterized by, even built on, text messages and electronic mail, impersonal as these may be. We conspire with piracy and free Internet downloads with gleefully open eyes, morality and ethics aside. We sit before our computers to find ourselves, if not in writing, then in creating websites, or in looking for jobs, friends, a community we might belong to. For many of us, our computers are our best friends, personal extensions where our work, our studies, our lives are conducted -- if not created and re-created -- as frequently as we find the need for it, which is quite often.
Our dependence on computers and cellphones is not only an indication of our aptitude for high-tech tasks and processes, it's also an indication of our need for something we can hold on to, something that somehow defines us, and only us. We love being incomprehensible to our elders because of this technology, and we revel in it. Unfortunately, a lot of the time we also reveal our incapability at discernment, as we unthinkingly forward ill-informed text messages or emails, upload pictures on the Internet without realizing the probability of its distribution, take stolen videos with our phones and think nothing of it. We have a hard time deciding whether something is right or wrong, dangerous or not; worse, we are unable to discern just what role technology is playing in our lives, or why it has become so important to us.
This lack of clarity about the things that define us may be the only thing that we of this generation have in common. Born in the late 1970s to early 80s to possibly activist or hippie parents, or to the straight conservative ones who stayed aloof of either extreme, ours is a generation that can't seem to find a reason for its existence. At least our activist parents had the Left to believe in and the Marcos regime to struggle against; our hippie parents had the liberation of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll to live up; our conservative parents had the Church and the institution of family to hold on to. By comparison, we are faced with nothing but the dregs of these institutions, now all unstable, often unintelligible, usually in the process of compromise. It's practically a nonspace of resistance and liberation, with uncertain enemies and even less certain ideologies to back us up.
Not that all of us are having a difficult time finding the right spaces within which we may exist, if only to survive. Cheap labor and globalization have brought us the call centers where half our youth are employed, changing their biological clocks, messing up relationships, and creating demand for 24-hour McDonalds and Jollibees in the strangest street corners. A small percentage of the other half are selfemployed, given rich parents who are only too happy to put up seed money and get their kids started on the capitalist course. Others with moneyed parents have the luxury of doing volunteer and NGO work, moved as they seem by a need to "give something back to the country" without necessarily seeing the big picture in which rich (probably their) families are the oppressors. Many are still part of the Philippine Left, confusing as that label has become, in all its denominations. At least those of us who are part of the different leftist movements have a better sense of what ails this country, even when we have to go from simple terms like poverty and corruption to the abstract levels and jargon of imperialism, bureaucrat capitalism, and fascism.
But so many more of the youth have left, or are set to leave. Our prospective teachers, doctors, nurses are on a constant exodus to different parts of the world, with a small middle to upper class percentage leaving in disgust what they think is a sinking boat. The bigger chunk of those who say goodbye though are of the lower classes, and they're the ones who say that they shall return, when they've ensured their futures with the dollars they will earn.
BUT MOST, if not all of us, are at a loss. It's not clear why we're living our lives the way we do, doing the things that occupy us. There's always a sense of uncertainty, not about the future, but about the present: What exactly are we doing? Why is this what we do? Whereas the generation before us always had a sense of a future -- with family, with career, with house and lot and what-have-you -- we are always looking at a future that's closer to the present, where we may finish our studies, find a job, write a book, or just simply see the month's end and decide then what's next.
This is not to say that we aren't enjoying ourselves, uncertainties and all. Thanks to the fruits of our hippie and activist parents' labors, we live at a time when there's freedom in the music we hear, the books we read, the television shows and movies we watch. We are liberated from the strict rules of the Church and the institutions of family, school, and employment. Freed from the stereotypes our parents rebelled against, we think nothing of reconfiguring our roles to suit our needs. We are redefining relationships as often as we redefine ourselves -- literally with vanity, or figuratively with spiritual or religious beliefs, and the next hip ideology. Homosexuality in all its dimensions has become our norm. Easily accessible organic herbs, designer drugs, and expensive alcohol are inanimate friends we can count on. And then there's the sexual freedom we are heir to, which most of the time we abuse, misuse, and unthinkingly tie our lives around. Our liberation, handed down as it was, has become the freedom we can't quite live up to. We wear what we want, we can be what we want, and do as we please. But that doesn't mean we're actually doing something. For the most part, we are easily satisfied with ourselves, and that's where the problem lies. We can do volunteer work for an NGO by day and party with abandon by night without feeling conflicted-we deserve it, we think, because we're doing something for the country. We can sit at a café all day and talk about what ails our lives, our relationships, our country, and think that this is productive. We go to a token rally "for the truth to come out" and imagine ourselves socially relevant. We look at EDSA 2 and think: hah! that was my doing, without a sense of what it has truly brought this country, which isn't much.
FOUR YEARS ago, tasked to teach critical thinking and the essay to college sophomores eight to 10 years my junior, I decided that the only way they could learn to think critically would be to show them where exactly they were coming from, and where they should speak from, given the state of the nation. I wanted to help them realize that in everything they said, did, or thought, they were speaking, doing, and thinking as Filipinos, whether they liked it or not. With that realization would come the responsibility not just to speak as Pinoys and Pinays, but to be Pinoys and Pinays in their analysis of everything from soap operas to foreign critical theories, from current events to the clothes they wear.
Of course given that we all, young and old alike, continue to be messed up about our identity as a people, I could only ground them in certain realities about our country that we manage, consistently, not to confront. Realities that we keep in check because we can, since we are not directly burdened. The most basic of these that needs to be acknowledged, I found, is the fact that we are an impoverished country, never mind that we're driving the newest cars, or that we have the latest cellphones, or that we are not the poor. It does not mean that everybody else is as well-off -- because not a whole lot are. Only upon realizing this can we raise the question: Why are we poor? A question that can only be answered by history, hopefully a Constantino history, which tells of how we have been oppressed for centuries and by what, and how we have always fought back.
A SENSE OF history is a good beginning, I believe, for those of us in this generation, students and teachers alike, seeking a reason for our existence at this point in time. Because we may be hi-tech and all, free to make life choices, and liberated in the way we dress, think, and do things, but in truth, we are misplaced and displaced by a lack of consciousness about where we truly come from in the context of the country we irrevocably belong to. When the poverty is acknowledged, our enemies become obvious. Ours is a long history of governance that has not had the interests of the majority of this country in mind, allowing globalization to eat us alive, allowing the elite to continue owning more and more of this country's money and natural resources for themselves, allowing booty capitalism to prosper at the expense of the poor and hungry majority. And then there's us, the educated middle class, some of whom choose to remain complacently uncertain about what we may do, and some of whom choose to take off, in search of happier spaces.
But the space we search for can only be here, in the one country we are born to and can truly call ours. Whatever we do, whether we're leaving or staying, taking to the streets for the masses or going to the countryside and joining the armed struggle, whether we're writing in English or living up the Filipino language, teaching in a university or answering complaints at a call center, we make our decisions in the context of the state of this nation, as we know it. This is all the space we need, and the space where we are most needed. We only need to know enough to see it.
Meanwhile, we wander among the spaces we create and wonder what it will take to knock some sense into our heads about the changes we have the power to effect. Quite possibly, we are a generation doomed to an endless process of searching -- in denial about this country's truths, not ready to give up our lives for the bigger battles, uncertain of what exactly it is we can do. Probably, we are a transition generation, finding and making spaces in the strangest of places -- be it in the technology we so love or in the bars of Malate, be it in waging war or in observing the peace, in writing or in taking to the streets -- living out our contradictory lifestyles and values, creating an open space for the time when we may all agree on what we stand for, and find it in ourselves to fight the real struggle for country vs. poverty, enemies and all.
Hopefully we see that this time can be now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The author is currently doing her thesis for an M.A. in Philippine Studies at the U.P. Departamento ng Filipino at Panitikan ng Pilipinas. She does freelance writing and editorial work on the side. Her passion is teaching.
Finding Spaces
They are the hi-tech generation, at ease with technology but otherwise lost when it comes to dealing with the complexities of a globalized world.
by KATRINA STUART SANTIAGO
TOO OFTEN the Filipino youth is viewed with the conventional eyes of our elders: we are the future of the nation, we are the agents of change. The government counts on us to help save the country, civil society exhorts us to be vigilant, the media remind us often enough that we are the hope of the nation. For the most part, however, they are disappointed. Especially when it's convenient, we remain incomprehensible to our elders, and it's easy to see why.
We are the high-tech generation, adept at computers and cellphones, but unable to communicate well without a keypad or a clicking mouse. Our relationships are characterized by, even built on, text messages and electronic mail, impersonal as these may be. We conspire with piracy and free Internet downloads with gleefully open eyes, morality and ethics aside. We sit before our computers to find ourselves, if not in writing, then in creating websites, or in looking for jobs, friends, a community we might belong to. For many of us, our computers are our best friends, personal extensions where our work, our studies, our lives are conducted -- if not created and re-created -- as frequently as we find the need for it, which is quite often.
Our dependence on computers and cellphones is not only an indication of our aptitude for high-tech tasks and processes, it's also an indication of our need for something we can hold on to, something that somehow defines us, and only us. We love being incomprehensible to our elders because of this technology, and we revel in it. Unfortunately, a lot of the time we also reveal our incapability at discernment, as we unthinkingly forward ill-informed text messages or emails, upload pictures on the Internet without realizing the probability of its distribution, take stolen videos with our phones and think nothing of it. We have a hard time deciding whether something is right or wrong, dangerous or not; worse, we are unable to discern just what role technology is playing in our lives, or why it has become so important to us.
This lack of clarity about the things that define us may be the only thing that we of this generation have in common. Born in the late 1970s to early 80s to possibly activist or hippie parents, or to the straight conservative ones who stayed aloof of either extreme, ours is a generation that can't seem to find a reason for its existence. At least our activist parents had the Left to believe in and the Marcos regime to struggle against; our hippie parents had the liberation of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll to live up; our conservative parents had the Church and the institution of family to hold on to. By comparison, we are faced with nothing but the dregs of these institutions, now all unstable, often unintelligible, usually in the process of compromise. It's practically a nonspace of resistance and liberation, with uncertain enemies and even less certain ideologies to back us up.
Not that all of us are having a difficult time finding the right spaces within which we may exist, if only to survive. Cheap labor and globalization have brought us the call centers where half our youth are employed, changing their biological clocks, messing up relationships, and creating demand for 24-hour McDonalds and Jollibees in the strangest street corners. A small percentage of the other half are selfemployed, given rich parents who are only too happy to put up seed money and get their kids started on the capitalist course. Others with moneyed parents have the luxury of doing volunteer and NGO work, moved as they seem by a need to "give something back to the country" without necessarily seeing the big picture in which rich (probably their) families are the oppressors. Many are still part of the Philippine Left, confusing as that label has become, in all its denominations. At least those of us who are part of the different leftist movements have a better sense of what ails this country, even when we have to go from simple terms like poverty and corruption to the abstract levels and jargon of imperialism, bureaucrat capitalism, and fascism.
But so many more of the youth have left, or are set to leave. Our prospective teachers, doctors, nurses are on a constant exodus to different parts of the world, with a small middle to upper class percentage leaving in disgust what they think is a sinking boat. The bigger chunk of those who say goodbye though are of the lower classes, and they're the ones who say that they shall return, when they've ensured their futures with the dollars they will earn.
BUT MOST, if not all of us, are at a loss. It's not clear why we're living our lives the way we do, doing the things that occupy us. There's always a sense of uncertainty, not about the future, but about the present: What exactly are we doing? Why is this what we do? Whereas the generation before us always had a sense of a future -- with family, with career, with house and lot and what-have-you -- we are always looking at a future that's closer to the present, where we may finish our studies, find a job, write a book, or just simply see the month's end and decide then what's next.
This is not to say that we aren't enjoying ourselves, uncertainties and all. Thanks to the fruits of our hippie and activist parents' labors, we live at a time when there's freedom in the music we hear, the books we read, the television shows and movies we watch. We are liberated from the strict rules of the Church and the institutions of family, school, and employment. Freed from the stereotypes our parents rebelled against, we think nothing of reconfiguring our roles to suit our needs. We are redefining relationships as often as we redefine ourselves -- literally with vanity, or figuratively with spiritual or religious beliefs, and the next hip ideology. Homosexuality in all its dimensions has become our norm. Easily accessible organic herbs, designer drugs, and expensive alcohol are inanimate friends we can count on. And then there's the sexual freedom we are heir to, which most of the time we abuse, misuse, and unthinkingly tie our lives around. Our liberation, handed down as it was, has become the freedom we can't quite live up to. We wear what we want, we can be what we want, and do as we please. But that doesn't mean we're actually doing something. For the most part, we are easily satisfied with ourselves, and that's where the problem lies. We can do volunteer work for an NGO by day and party with abandon by night without feeling conflicted-we deserve it, we think, because we're doing something for the country. We can sit at a café all day and talk about what ails our lives, our relationships, our country, and think that this is productive. We go to a token rally "for the truth to come out" and imagine ourselves socially relevant. We look at EDSA 2 and think: hah! that was my doing, without a sense of what it has truly brought this country, which isn't much.
FOUR YEARS ago, tasked to teach critical thinking and the essay to college sophomores eight to 10 years my junior, I decided that the only way they could learn to think critically would be to show them where exactly they were coming from, and where they should speak from, given the state of the nation. I wanted to help them realize that in everything they said, did, or thought, they were speaking, doing, and thinking as Filipinos, whether they liked it or not. With that realization would come the responsibility not just to speak as Pinoys and Pinays, but to be Pinoys and Pinays in their analysis of everything from soap operas to foreign critical theories, from current events to the clothes they wear.
Of course given that we all, young and old alike, continue to be messed up about our identity as a people, I could only ground them in certain realities about our country that we manage, consistently, not to confront. Realities that we keep in check because we can, since we are not directly burdened. The most basic of these that needs to be acknowledged, I found, is the fact that we are an impoverished country, never mind that we're driving the newest cars, or that we have the latest cellphones, or that we are not the poor. It does not mean that everybody else is as well-off -- because not a whole lot are. Only upon realizing this can we raise the question: Why are we poor? A question that can only be answered by history, hopefully a Constantino history, which tells of how we have been oppressed for centuries and by what, and how we have always fought back.
A SENSE OF history is a good beginning, I believe, for those of us in this generation, students and teachers alike, seeking a reason for our existence at this point in time. Because we may be hi-tech and all, free to make life choices, and liberated in the way we dress, think, and do things, but in truth, we are misplaced and displaced by a lack of consciousness about where we truly come from in the context of the country we irrevocably belong to. When the poverty is acknowledged, our enemies become obvious. Ours is a long history of governance that has not had the interests of the majority of this country in mind, allowing globalization to eat us alive, allowing the elite to continue owning more and more of this country's money and natural resources for themselves, allowing booty capitalism to prosper at the expense of the poor and hungry majority. And then there's us, the educated middle class, some of whom choose to remain complacently uncertain about what we may do, and some of whom choose to take off, in search of happier spaces.
But the space we search for can only be here, in the one country we are born to and can truly call ours. Whatever we do, whether we're leaving or staying, taking to the streets for the masses or going to the countryside and joining the armed struggle, whether we're writing in English or living up the Filipino language, teaching in a university or answering complaints at a call center, we make our decisions in the context of the state of this nation, as we know it. This is all the space we need, and the space where we are most needed. We only need to know enough to see it.
Meanwhile, we wander among the spaces we create and wonder what it will take to knock some sense into our heads about the changes we have the power to effect. Quite possibly, we are a generation doomed to an endless process of searching -- in denial about this country's truths, not ready to give up our lives for the bigger battles, uncertain of what exactly it is we can do. Probably, we are a transition generation, finding and making spaces in the strangest of places -- be it in the technology we so love or in the bars of Malate, be it in waging war or in observing the peace, in writing or in taking to the streets -- living out our contradictory lifestyles and values, creating an open space for the time when we may all agree on what we stand for, and find it in ourselves to fight the real struggle for country vs. poverty, enemies and all.
Hopefully we see that this time can be now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The author is currently doing her thesis for an M.A. in Philippine Studies at the U.P. Departamento ng Filipino at Panitikan ng Pilipinas. She does freelance writing and editorial work on the side. Her passion is teaching.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
political disempowerment: why people are not out on the streets
This is what i know:
WE ARE a DEMOCRACY! that means power should emanate from the people
My polsci teacher asked us in class, why are we afraid of another poeple power then if that is exactly the essence of a democracy.
the answer is this: we are politically disempowered
why?
1, the middle class is too comfortable, having a myopic stance and not seeing that there is NO progress, we are stagnating because of corruption
2. most Filipinos are poor - i believe poverty is the greatest hindrance to freedom kaya some are letting themselves be bribed para magrally
3. some of the masses are moving, but they are not heard by the elites and middle class kasi nga feel ng mga nakatataas nagdedestabilize sila, not seeing that RALLIES and people power are constitutional and must be seen to be necessary to exact acountability from our leaders
4. many intellectuals are not anymore thinking critically and do not take the responsibility to lead
5. there are lesser avenues given that the admin is suppressing the people's voices: extrajudicial killings, abduction (saying they have been asking for protection), etc.
6. LGUs and provinces are pro food, pro health, etc, not pro govt and because they are entrenched in the padrino system, they'd rather accept the status quo given that they are at least getting some benefit, not seeing that that is not real progress
What we should do is be politically empowerred for that is the true meaning of democracy
we should not ask for democracy, we should act as a democracy
Dapat makiaalam tayo, we should look at what is happening to our country and be critical about what we read on papers and watch in the news.
We should not remain idle, this is not a time to be in the middle ground, we have to take a side.
I only wish we are truly informed before we do decide which side to take.
Let us be informed, and Let us be responsible for our One Country!!!
WE ARE a DEMOCRACY! that means power should emanate from the people
My polsci teacher asked us in class, why are we afraid of another poeple power then if that is exactly the essence of a democracy.
the answer is this: we are politically disempowered
why?
1, the middle class is too comfortable, having a myopic stance and not seeing that there is NO progress, we are stagnating because of corruption
2. most Filipinos are poor - i believe poverty is the greatest hindrance to freedom kaya some are letting themselves be bribed para magrally
3. some of the masses are moving, but they are not heard by the elites and middle class kasi nga feel ng mga nakatataas nagdedestabilize sila, not seeing that RALLIES and people power are constitutional and must be seen to be necessary to exact acountability from our leaders
4. many intellectuals are not anymore thinking critically and do not take the responsibility to lead
5. there are lesser avenues given that the admin is suppressing the people's voices: extrajudicial killings, abduction (saying they have been asking for protection), etc.
6. LGUs and provinces are pro food, pro health, etc, not pro govt and because they are entrenched in the padrino system, they'd rather accept the status quo given that they are at least getting some benefit, not seeing that that is not real progress
What we should do is be politically empowerred for that is the true meaning of democracy
we should not ask for democracy, we should act as a democracy
Dapat makiaalam tayo, we should look at what is happening to our country and be critical about what we read on papers and watch in the news.
We should not remain idle, this is not a time to be in the middle ground, we have to take a side.
I only wish we are truly informed before we do decide which side to take.
Let us be informed, and Let us be responsible for our One Country!!!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
kung bakit sila natutong umibig
Noong unang panahon
Walang puso ang mga lalaki
Kung saan naroon ang puso
Mayroon lamang kawalan
Hindi nila ito kailangan
Buhay ang kanilang mga dugo kaya't kaya nitong pumunta sa kahit anong parte ng kanilang katawan ng hindi nangangailangan ng pagtibok ng kanilang puso
Hindi nagtagal hindi na rin nila kinailangan ng babae
Sapat na ang kanilang mga ari
At sa mundong ito na walang mga babae
May nabuhay na isang lalaki na lipad ng lipad
Minsan narito, minsan nariyan
At sa isang sangang kaniyang dinapuan
Sinakop siya ng banyaga
Siya ay ginahasa
At sa binhing pinainom sa kanya
Na doon sa kawalan sa kaniyang dibdib naitanim
May tumubong puno kung saan dumaloy muli ang kaniyang dugong nanghina na sa kakapasa ng mga braso
Doon nagsimulang nagkapuso ang mga lalaki
Pusong nagngangalit
Gayunpaman ay tumitibok
Sa kanila dumaloy din muli ang lahi ng mga babae
Ng mga Inang naghehele sa mga lalaking muntik nang hindi tubuan ng puso
Walang puso ang mga lalaki
Kung saan naroon ang puso
Mayroon lamang kawalan
Hindi nila ito kailangan
Buhay ang kanilang mga dugo kaya't kaya nitong pumunta sa kahit anong parte ng kanilang katawan ng hindi nangangailangan ng pagtibok ng kanilang puso
Hindi nagtagal hindi na rin nila kinailangan ng babae
Sapat na ang kanilang mga ari
At sa mundong ito na walang mga babae
May nabuhay na isang lalaki na lipad ng lipad
Minsan narito, minsan nariyan
At sa isang sangang kaniyang dinapuan
Sinakop siya ng banyaga
Siya ay ginahasa
At sa binhing pinainom sa kanya
Na doon sa kawalan sa kaniyang dibdib naitanim
May tumubong puno kung saan dumaloy muli ang kaniyang dugong nanghina na sa kakapasa ng mga braso
Doon nagsimulang nagkapuso ang mga lalaki
Pusong nagngangalit
Gayunpaman ay tumitibok
Sa kanila dumaloy din muli ang lahi ng mga babae
Ng mga Inang naghehele sa mga lalaking muntik nang hindi tubuan ng puso
Monday, February 04, 2008
watching her and the king
Entry # 3
It has been the most beautiful funeral I've ever been to. I cried even though I didn't know the guy. Or may be I did. Everyone did. He was in the papers. What could one do but be intrigued.
During the procession the rain almost fell and the sun peeked - heaven couldn't make up its mind. Who could? people loved and hated him. Well me, I didn't care, I had my own dead to think of. Well yes, I sort of cried, but only because every detail was so magnificent it was almost like burying a god.
well, enough of him, he's not the dead I've been praying for.
~~~~~~~
and now, you.
When will you return?
It has been the most beautiful funeral I've ever been to. I cried even though I didn't know the guy. Or may be I did. Everyone did. He was in the papers. What could one do but be intrigued.
During the procession the rain almost fell and the sun peeked - heaven couldn't make up its mind. Who could? people loved and hated him. Well me, I didn't care, I had my own dead to think of. Well yes, I sort of cried, but only because every detail was so magnificent it was almost like burying a god.
well, enough of him, he's not the dead I've been praying for.
~~~~~~~
and now, you.
When will you return?
pagtalikod
hindi ko alam kung bakit
hindi naman ako sira
pero naghahanap din ako
at hindi makapwesto
minsan iniisip ko
baka minsan nangyari din sakin yun
minsan hinihiling ko pa nga
pero hindi,
walang dahilan,
kahinaan lang.
minsan lang ako umasa
sa iilan lamang
at kung minsan nagagalit ako
sigurado akong hindi iyon magtatagal
dahil ayaw kong mawalan
at sanay na kong ganyan
ayaw kong mawalan
sanay nang maging bulag
kaya sa kaunting ulan
masaya ako
sa kaunting salita
natutunaw ako
un lang
un lang
at dahil nawawala ako sa kababawan
lalong nahihirapan
laging may kulang
laging may poot
pwede na ito
pwede na ito
hindi tumatalikod
hindi marunong tumalikod
hindi naman ako sira
pero naghahanap din ako
at hindi makapwesto
minsan iniisip ko
baka minsan nangyari din sakin yun
minsan hinihiling ko pa nga
pero hindi,
walang dahilan,
kahinaan lang.
minsan lang ako umasa
sa iilan lamang
at kung minsan nagagalit ako
sigurado akong hindi iyon magtatagal
dahil ayaw kong mawalan
at sanay na kong ganyan
ayaw kong mawalan
sanay nang maging bulag
kaya sa kaunting ulan
masaya ako
sa kaunting salita
natutunaw ako
un lang
un lang
at dahil nawawala ako sa kababawan
lalong nahihirapan
laging may kulang
laging may poot
pwede na ito
pwede na ito
hindi tumatalikod
hindi marunong tumalikod
Saturday, January 26, 2008
kanta
gagawa ako ng kanta para sa 'yo
sana magustuhan mo
pero kunwari hindi mo alam
para hindi ako magmukhang tanga
at hindi mo iyon mababasa sa mata ko
at lalayuan na lang muna kita
hanggang maniwala ka na talaga
hanggang ang kanta ay hindi mo na maalala
at kapag nabuo ko na ito
huwag kang tumawa ha
sayang kasi
>_<
sana magustuhan mo
pero kunwari hindi mo alam
para hindi ako magmukhang tanga
at hindi mo iyon mababasa sa mata ko
at lalayuan na lang muna kita
hanggang maniwala ka na talaga
hanggang ang kanta ay hindi mo na maalala
at kapag nabuo ko na ito
huwag kang tumawa ha
sayang kasi
>_<
mmk - wala lng
z: e ikaw anu pangalan mo?
m: Flor.
z: Flor ano>? Flor de Luna? Flor Contemplacion? Floor Wax?
benta sakin...
oona korni ako
m: kahit galing pa yan sa pwet ng baso importante pa rin sakin yan dahil galing sayo...kasi mahal kita.
kelangan ko na matulog
masaya ang linggong ito
pati last weeks
kahit magulo sobra!
sana ganito lagi.
Lord give me strength!
m: Flor.
z: Flor ano>? Flor de Luna? Flor Contemplacion? Floor Wax?
benta sakin...
oona korni ako
m: kahit galing pa yan sa pwet ng baso importante pa rin sakin yan dahil galing sayo...kasi mahal kita.
kelangan ko na matulog
masaya ang linggong ito
pati last weeks
kahit magulo sobra!
sana ganito lagi.
Lord give me strength!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Rafaela Mae L. David January 18, 2008
III – AB Political Science PoS 194 Section B
Group topic:
Presidentialism vs. Parliamentarism
Theoretical Framework
Pluralism, Historical Approach
Research Question:
Why has India established a Parliamentary System of governance rather than a presidential one unlike most post-colonial states?
Hypothesis:
India developed a parliamentary – federal form of government unlike other post-colonial states because of its distinct temporal-spatial features and is maintained because of the power-wealth struggle among “power sharers” in the country.
Outline:
I. Introduction:
a. Post-Colonial States share the common experience of colonial rule by imperial powers at a time when their faith in representative politics and rational bureaucratic rule was at its height.
b. These new states established different forms of governance in their countries.
c. There were different factors which led diverse national response and forms of state from each post-colonial country
i. Geographical Size
ii. Material and Institutional inheritance
iii. Historical length and depth of their respective state traditions
II. India established a federal government with a bicameral parliament
a. Federal form of state government
b. The bicameral cabinet system
III. India established a parliamentary – federal form of government because of several factors:
a. India established this form of government because of the following distinct temporal-spatial features:
i. Geographical Size: India has a large geographical area
ii. Institutional inheritance: India’s cabinet system was patterned after the British form of government – the government of its colonizers.
iii. Historical length and depth of their respective state traditions: India as a modern state is relatively young; however India as a nation has already been alive for several centuries.
b. The parliamentary – federal form of government is maintained in India because of power-wealth struggle.
i. From having the Congress as the dominant political party, other opposition parties are increasingly gaining power
ii. Political parties mediate economic reforms. Regional parties serve to legitimize ruling class domination and economic policies.
iii. The federal system instead of promoting substate power perpetuates centralization of power in the national government.
IV. Conclusion
Annotated Bibliography:
Mehra, Ajay K., D. D. Khanna and Gert W. Kueck, eds. Political Parties and Party Systems. New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2003.
Political Parties and Party Systems is an anthology of essays regarding the political parties and the party system in India. Discussions include their history and federalization. It also juxtaposed the party system in India from that of Germany and the European Union. It also contained an article situating Indian party system in its social, cultural and economic context. Other issues discussed were the role of regional parties in state legitimization and how party politics mediate economic reforms. Lastly it discusses how local democracy suffers because of this party system.
Mitra, Subrata Kumar, ed. The Post-Colonial State in Asia: Dialectics of Politcs and Culture. New York: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1990.
The Post-Colonial State in Asia is a collection of articles discussing the different characteristics of the emerging states from past colonies of imperial regimes in Asia. In its introduction it explains some factors that account for the differences in the kind of government that post-colonial states choose to establish despite a common experience of colonialism. It puts into context the different forms of states that emerge after the achievement of independence, including the continuing resilience of the Indian state and its institutionalization.
Morris-Jones, W. H. Parliament in India. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1957.
Morris-Jones discussed the nature of Indian politics and the subsequent introduction of the parliamentary form of government. It elaborated on the structure of the cabinet and the legal and political issues surrounding it. It tackled the role of the parties in the government and the procedure and privilege exercised by the upper and lower house of the Indian government. The book also included the role of the some high officials and committees. Lastly, the book discussed the achievements of the parliamentary kind of government for the state.
Venkateswaran, R. J. Cabinet Government in India. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd. 1967.
This book discussed the Cabinet System of governance in India before the decline of Congress. It elaborates on the historical background of the Indian Parliament and its British influence. It presented how the Indian cabinet functions and its parallelism and differences with its British counterpart. It also discussed the Indian constitution which it uses up to the present. In the end it explained possible prospects of Indian democracy.
Weiner, Myron. Party Politics in India: The Development of a Multi-Party System. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1957.
Weiner talks about the different political parties in India and their incorporation into a multi-party system. It also talked about the emergence of certain political party and the merger of others. It gave an account of the issues faced by India and the elements of its stability and instability. In its conclusion, it discusses the possible prospects in India’s political future.
III – AB Political Science PoS 194 Section B
Group topic:
Presidentialism vs. Parliamentarism
Theoretical Framework
Pluralism, Historical Approach
Research Question:
Why has India established a Parliamentary System of governance rather than a presidential one unlike most post-colonial states?
Hypothesis:
India developed a parliamentary – federal form of government unlike other post-colonial states because of its distinct temporal-spatial features and is maintained because of the power-wealth struggle among “power sharers” in the country.
Outline:
I. Introduction:
a. Post-Colonial States share the common experience of colonial rule by imperial powers at a time when their faith in representative politics and rational bureaucratic rule was at its height.
b. These new states established different forms of governance in their countries.
c. There were different factors which led diverse national response and forms of state from each post-colonial country
i. Geographical Size
ii. Material and Institutional inheritance
iii. Historical length and depth of their respective state traditions
II. India established a federal government with a bicameral parliament
a. Federal form of state government
b. The bicameral cabinet system
III. India established a parliamentary – federal form of government because of several factors:
a. India established this form of government because of the following distinct temporal-spatial features:
i. Geographical Size: India has a large geographical area
ii. Institutional inheritance: India’s cabinet system was patterned after the British form of government – the government of its colonizers.
iii. Historical length and depth of their respective state traditions: India as a modern state is relatively young; however India as a nation has already been alive for several centuries.
b. The parliamentary – federal form of government is maintained in India because of power-wealth struggle.
i. From having the Congress as the dominant political party, other opposition parties are increasingly gaining power
ii. Political parties mediate economic reforms. Regional parties serve to legitimize ruling class domination and economic policies.
iii. The federal system instead of promoting substate power perpetuates centralization of power in the national government.
IV. Conclusion
Annotated Bibliography:
Mehra, Ajay K., D. D. Khanna and Gert W. Kueck, eds. Political Parties and Party Systems. New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2003.
Political Parties and Party Systems is an anthology of essays regarding the political parties and the party system in India. Discussions include their history and federalization. It also juxtaposed the party system in India from that of Germany and the European Union. It also contained an article situating Indian party system in its social, cultural and economic context. Other issues discussed were the role of regional parties in state legitimization and how party politics mediate economic reforms. Lastly it discusses how local democracy suffers because of this party system.
Mitra, Subrata Kumar, ed. The Post-Colonial State in Asia: Dialectics of Politcs and Culture. New York: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1990.
The Post-Colonial State in Asia is a collection of articles discussing the different characteristics of the emerging states from past colonies of imperial regimes in Asia. In its introduction it explains some factors that account for the differences in the kind of government that post-colonial states choose to establish despite a common experience of colonialism. It puts into context the different forms of states that emerge after the achievement of independence, including the continuing resilience of the Indian state and its institutionalization.
Morris-Jones, W. H. Parliament in India. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1957.
Morris-Jones discussed the nature of Indian politics and the subsequent introduction of the parliamentary form of government. It elaborated on the structure of the cabinet and the legal and political issues surrounding it. It tackled the role of the parties in the government and the procedure and privilege exercised by the upper and lower house of the Indian government. The book also included the role of the some high officials and committees. Lastly, the book discussed the achievements of the parliamentary kind of government for the state.
Venkateswaran, R. J. Cabinet Government in India. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd. 1967.
This book discussed the Cabinet System of governance in India before the decline of Congress. It elaborates on the historical background of the Indian Parliament and its British influence. It presented how the Indian cabinet functions and its parallelism and differences with its British counterpart. It also discussed the Indian constitution which it uses up to the present. In the end it explained possible prospects of Indian democracy.
Weiner, Myron. Party Politics in India: The Development of a Multi-Party System. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1957.
Weiner talks about the different political parties in India and their incorporation into a multi-party system. It also talked about the emergence of certain political party and the merger of others. It gave an account of the issues faced by India and the elements of its stability and instability. In its conclusion, it discusses the possible prospects in India’s political future.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
nagbago na ang lahat
I want to sing again
like the old days
when you knew how to make me laugh
and nothing mattered much except that you smiled
~~~~~~~~~
hihintayin kita
wag kang bibitaw
~~~~~~~~~
sabihin mo kung san kita hahanapin
at kung saan man iyon
pupuntahan kita
ibalik mo ang lahat ng hiniram
doon kung saan ka lumisan
doon kung saan sinubok mong lumipad
ikwento mo sa dating tagpuan
kung nakalipad ka na
doon yayakapin kita
~~~~~~~~~~
I wear my emotions like a name tag
but everything's written in Japanese
~~~~~~~~~~
you don't deserve my infidelity
and I don't deserve your forgiveness
~~~~~~~~~~
when I speak
make sure you really hear me
and everything in between
~~~~~~~~~~
she said it is harder to wake up than to sleep
now that he's gone...
~~~~~~~~~~
I'd rather have said no
than say nothing at all
~~~~~~~~~~
you have killed me just by saying no
and yet I would have stayed in limbo not knowing
~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you for the silence
now I'm deaf
~~~~~~~~~~
I knew you thought badly of me
Just as I knew you were right
But please don't pretend to think otherwise
You're not the only one who reads minds
~~~~~~~~~~
Do not trust me
I will lie to you
not because i want to
but because I can't see you die
~~~~~~~~~~
hayaan mo na
hindi ko naman hinihiling na basahin mo bawat salita
tama na iyong binili mo ko
~~~~~~~~~~
mahal kita
iyon na lang
sapat na
hanggang dumating ang bukas
~~~~~~~~~~
inisa isa ko ang potahe ng aking ina
sa kanyang maliit na kaha
tinimplahan ng pampaanghang
hindi nila nagustuhan
~~~~~~~~~~
tatalon na ako
at aasahang susunod ka pagkatapos ko
like the old days
when you knew how to make me laugh
and nothing mattered much except that you smiled
~~~~~~~~~
hihintayin kita
wag kang bibitaw
~~~~~~~~~
sabihin mo kung san kita hahanapin
at kung saan man iyon
pupuntahan kita
ibalik mo ang lahat ng hiniram
doon kung saan ka lumisan
doon kung saan sinubok mong lumipad
ikwento mo sa dating tagpuan
kung nakalipad ka na
doon yayakapin kita
~~~~~~~~~~
I wear my emotions like a name tag
but everything's written in Japanese
~~~~~~~~~~
you don't deserve my infidelity
and I don't deserve your forgiveness
~~~~~~~~~~
when I speak
make sure you really hear me
and everything in between
~~~~~~~~~~
she said it is harder to wake up than to sleep
now that he's gone...
~~~~~~~~~~
I'd rather have said no
than say nothing at all
~~~~~~~~~~
you have killed me just by saying no
and yet I would have stayed in limbo not knowing
~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you for the silence
now I'm deaf
~~~~~~~~~~
I knew you thought badly of me
Just as I knew you were right
But please don't pretend to think otherwise
You're not the only one who reads minds
~~~~~~~~~~
Do not trust me
I will lie to you
not because i want to
but because I can't see you die
~~~~~~~~~~
hayaan mo na
hindi ko naman hinihiling na basahin mo bawat salita
tama na iyong binili mo ko
~~~~~~~~~~
mahal kita
iyon na lang
sapat na
hanggang dumating ang bukas
~~~~~~~~~~
inisa isa ko ang potahe ng aking ina
sa kanyang maliit na kaha
tinimplahan ng pampaanghang
hindi nila nagustuhan
~~~~~~~~~~
tatalon na ako
at aasahang susunod ka pagkatapos ko
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