Why?
1 – So far, I hadn’t heard or seen him maligned other candidates.
2 – He was chosen of LAKAS as their standard bearer. He must be real convincing.
Why not Gordon?
I salute this guy. So many achievements. I want to give credit to him for being able to persuade a strong-willed Fernando to be his running mate.
Though I have 2 “fears” once he’s installed as president.
1 – His gift of eloquence. Most of the time eloquence is employed to give excuses. Madali pa namang mabola ang Pinoy. I mean that as a compliment. Filipinos are ever trusting. Wonderful trait. But frequently it overpowers our hold on reason and principles.
2 – Cling to power. Everyone might be guilty of this. But I’ve seen it when he was ousted as chairman of SBMA. Right, that was in the past. But how can I know it will not happen again?
Why not Noynoy?
Filipinos Great Pride. He’s got names to protect. Mom and Dad. But at this time, he’s best described by this phrase “hinog sa pilit”. We all know mapait o mapakla sa dulo ang bungang ganito.
Why not Villar?
He’ll probably win this race. With a campaign strategy in a business-like approach. But of all the names I’ve written here, he is the most traditional.
For whatever its worth I would like to make this statement.
I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. On November this year I will age 14 as a member. As with anything in life which entails growth; pain. struggle. adversity. etc. were part of all those years.
I consider myself a person of no consequence. But to people I love and care I want them to know my testimony.
I know the Church is true. Nothing can compare with it.
It will be impossible to cite all the reasons why and how I arrived on such a conclusion. But I do think that I did use both my heart and mind or the whole of my being in searching for this truth.
I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true. Nothing can make it otherwise.
I once read “If my life is of no value to my friends it is of none to myself.” Joseph Smith.
This feeling of gratitude for having wonderful friends is amplified this season of the year for me. Aside from receiving gifts the warmth of their friendships (love and care) envelops my heart and truly sustain reasons for my being.
As always there is risk in singling out individuals. But let all of my friends know that this list isn’t finish yet. I am still walking this earth and so are they. Too much goodness can still be shared and cherished.
The Gutlay’s - a neighbor. I grew up with their kids. And we treat one another as brothers (5 sons). At this time of my life when I’m living in poverty they took me in.My daily existence depends in great measure on them.
Gina – with everything she has given me I feel like I owe her my life.
Inay – as always my term for her is “gate-opener”. She started it all. I was where I was because she was there. DCPI. Fen House. A lot more.
Yula – this lady has given me CONFIDENCE. We started out as pen pals (she’ll probably change this term) and we might not be intricately connected at present but deep down in my heart I do believe that she will always be a friend to me and I to her.
To everyone that is not included in this list I express my overwhelming gratitude. I know that you know that I treasure each of you. Life for me has been much easier because at certain times YOU were there for me.
I’ve read this principles and thought how Filipinos badly needed them.
1. Restrain from doing bad should come from within.
“The lack of internal control by individuals breeds external control by governments”. Elder D. Todd Christofferson.
Take for example the pink fences along the EDSA; it shows how undisciplined Filipinos are. The government has this mind set – take those out and all the motorists and pedestrians will become unruly.
I’m never been out of the country but tales of how manageable the traffic and road situations there feel like amazing feats.
Will Metro Manila be ever pictured as such?
2. “Tyranny is not good, whether it be exercised by kings, by presidents, or by the servants of God. Kind words are far better than harsh words.” Wilford Woodruff. Teachings of the Presidents of the Church.
I think of the harsh dispersal of MMDA, it does more harm to life and property. Baliktarin man natin ang mundo, this principle will always hold true. Kindness is a far more better and a higher force.
“In the end, it is only an internal moral compass in each individual that can effectively deal with the root causes as well as the symptoms of societal decay.” Elder D. Todd Christofferson, ibid.
It’s the 2nd day of the month of December. I’m on a jeep bound to Manila. I can’t help but think how many travels did I have this year. Early in January, I was in Tacloban. Spent New Year there. A few days after getting home, I was off to Naga. Almost monthly, I am in Legaspi because of the faculty meetings. That started in June.
Last days of September, I was in Manila. I’m headed there this time.
Every week, I am traversing the land of Bulan. Add to that the visits to Matnog, Irosin and Bulusan.
Wow! There isn’t a week that I was not in the move.
Now, how many resorts? I can think of four (4). Three of which we spent the night in.
How many “big” activities? “Big” is more than 50 participants and I played big time in the whole process (beginning to end). We planned and facilitated the events, achieved its purpose, computed the budget and made sure nobody got hungry. Ain’t bragging. Just making an evaluation of myself.
I am asking if resigning from work (DCPI) was a wise move. That was almost a-year-and-a-half ago. The answer? It’s up to me. Both good and bad came out of it. Money-wise, I’m all the way down. But the experiences, I guess I won’t have them if I didn’t quit. I just have to choose and make it happen. Psych up words. Hehehe.
I am an applicant to become a Mathematics teacher in a secondary public school. This year I tried to be included in the RQA (Registry of Qualified Applicants). And luckily, among my peers (Mathematics major) and area of assignment (Bulan), I am on the 5th spot.
Seems easy.
Compared to what others had experienced, it is.
Early this school year, I had the chance to be employed as a substitute teacher. For me that was brought to pass by a power beyond anyone’s control. I know there were people who moved so that my name will be considered. And to them, I am greatly thankful.
I have no connection with people in high places. And I made a resolve not to use any dubious means to get employed. I want it in a way that the legitimacy of my employment will be beyond question.
I guess, many will say I am in for a long wait. It somehow scares me.
But I do believe that Right is Might. I do believe in the power of Goodness.
Each of the applicants desire a good paying job. And with today’s circumstances, some of us might be in a more pitiful condition. It will prick my conscience to steal anything that rightly belong to someone else.
I know that God has His own timetable. This declaration does not mean that I don’t feel discouraged. I do. Many times. But I trust that I may not see the wisdom beyond what I can comprehend now, someday, I will.
God has a way of doing things. And He is good ALL THE TIME.
This is my 3rd time to set foot on the threshold of the Division Office. The 2nd was uneventful as compared to the first and this – the third.
Though I made a lot of waiting at the very first, still i consider it pleasant and i was grateful the way it turned out. But to describe this third visit – it borders in FRUSTRATING.
June, July. Two months had already passed. I had finished my two months contract. August had also gone by. A month after my application for my claim of compensation was submitted. The date is September 4, 2009. I was there to follow-up.
I inquired at the Cash Section. “Your cheque isn’t here yet, Sir. Please inquire at the Accounting Department.”
I inquired at the Accounting Department. “Sir, had you asked the HR if they had already forwarded your application? Because we can’t see your name here.”
I inquired at the HR Office. I want to believe that “she” was searching and the actions weren’t just a make-believe. When it seemed nothing is to be found, she told me in a very soft voice “Pasa na lang po kayo ulit ng requirements.”
I might looked so calm but deep within me I was in a rage. A lot of questions in my head. I will definitely understand the delay but my papers to be MISSING? Is there filing that DEFECTIVE? It could be. Seeing “her” asked another employee to boot up her computer.
I don’t entertain suggestions or ideas which verge on corruption which most people are telling me.
On Tuesday, I will be submitting my papers, AGAIN.
I hope my next visits will have some improvements.
I’ll blog about it.
The 2nd of June, 2009 marked my firsthand contact in transacting with DepEd’s Division Office in Sorsogon. I was to fill a post as a substitute teacher for someone who was going into maternity leave. As procedure requires, I had to submit my papers and seek for an approval. Because it was my first, I was groping my way through the process. It took me one whole day to finish the transaction. But for most of the time, i was waiting.
At the end of the day, I was truly grateful. Because I need not go back for another day of waiting.
I have to mention the act of kindness which I was blessed to receive from someone who I came to know is Madame Dingalan. I was looking for the Accounting Office and momentarily stopped at the door blocking Madame Dingalan’s path. When I turned around, I almost bumped into her. But instead of being pissed for cutting her way, she was all smile and gently asked me where I was headed. I told her and she gave me directions.
When i was already upstairs, together with others who were also waiting, she made the gesture of asking if we had been attended to. Such acts of kindness!!!
I do hope every government office has someone like her.
i will always remember that one of my purpose in making this blog is to serve as an inspiration to anyone who might be struggling over anything or everything. i want to stick to that. that’s why, this post.
i experienced a roller-coaster-ride-kind-of-life since i went back to Bulan. some ups and so many downs. and my age shows i am going nowhere (that’s hard).
BUT i always believe that i need not remove or delete all the previous posts which i had written in my internet life. actually, i have a daily account of my life in Manila available in the net (not that anyone would be interested) but what i am saying is that all the mistakes, the failure, struggles, triumphs (big and small), humiliations, everything added up to what i am right now. what i am saying is that MAN as long as he is breathing, living, existing is always a WORK IN PROGRESS.
once i was in a mall, strolling and all by myself… trying to grasp the essence of my presence there and felt real empty. what is the purpose of it all? was the sadness brought by the fact that i have no money and therefore cannot buy what my eyes glut to have? honestly, i didn’t feel that way. i was actually thinking of this – MY FAMILY. at that time, i was asking, where were they? i was in the mall but where were they? the pangs of loneliness hit me. living is more fun if you have someone with you, when you have a FAMILY.
i love my family, no doubt with that. but everything or everyone is so dysfunctional, this love i profess seems not visible at all. i am reminded of this quote (i guess, Shakespeare said this) “he does not love who does not show his love”. i feel bad about that. i feel bad about myself. my actions seems not to agree with how i feel. i read from Covey this idea – the NO DEAL approach. he said “if you can’t find a solution that works for both of you, decide not to play. no deal.”
here is my situation. when i came back to Bulan, i came home really empty. barging into my brother’s life uninvited. but this is our ancestral home. nobody owns the place yet. my decease mom still holds the title as the owner. my niece (my brother’s daughter) and her kid was here when i arrived. we were four souls then. my niece left abandoning her 3-year-old-child. she just left without our knowing. a heartless mother. who will care for her kid? inevitably, the responsibility fell on my brother’s lap. i am seeing him struggle. bringing the kid to work. and you will ask “what i am doing?” that’s where my pain begins.
it is easy to think that i am in the wrong. i do think that most of the time. i don’t eat in the house. my purpose is to ease the burden my brother is carrying. and i am many years past my adolescent years (pride). and because i have to provide for my own survival, daily, i need to leave the house.
here is what i want everyone to see. i refuse to be chained in my brother’s circumstances. here is one of their proposed solutions (they aren’t vocal about this. no one speaks in our family.) i take care of the kid. my brother will be the provider. i can only ask “where will that lead to?” when he would go home drunk and grumble about life. is not that making me a doormat (thinking of myself)?
in the spiritual side of things, i know that i need to forget myself and immerse myself in service to them. but i am reminded that all things are to be done in wisdom and order. “if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch”. when you can’t swim and see someone drowning, call for help. don’t plunge into the water. you’ll be another casualty.
that lead me to the NO DEAL approach. it isn’t that i don’t help. but in the weighing scale, HELP is toppled over by INDIFFERENCE (if this be the right word). am i crying for help? in the family, i am. but no one seems to hear. or maybe we are all crying out loud. the sound of which drowns other’s crying sound.
at present, i am trying to land a good-paying job (waiting for the morrow). i am seeking for riches to be able to help. i just hope that it won’t come in a day when everything is too late. i want to make amends, that is for sure.
COMMUNICATION – is what my family lacks. i do hope you will improve that on your own.
knowledge is first when it comes to change… a better change. and that is the reason for this list of websites of personalities who are planning to run for the highest post in the government come year 2010. these are their official websites. you might say “these are all crap”. but i do think that to get the whole picture, we have to explore all sides of the story. this is their side – crap or crap.
jejomar binay – i lived in Makati for almost a year (Brgy. Pio del Pilar). Sorry to say, as everywhere else i’ve seen people living in the streets.
noli de castro -
chiz escudero - good revolutionaries often make bad democrats.
Revolutionaries plot in secret, follow orders and serve the people by leading them. Democrats debate openly and serve the people by listening to them. Revolution is resolute, romantic and self-righteous. Democracy is flexible, often boring and riddled with doubt.
History is full of revolutionaries who failed to make the switch. Most promised people’s rule but, once in power, embraced a permanent state of revolution — some, like Robert Mugabe and Hugo Chávez, conjuring up fantastical foreign enemies to fight.
Too many liberation leaders leave office only when another revolutionary seizes power.
time.com/magazine/asia/apr. 9, 2009/why south africa’s over the rainbow/
this guy came from my very own province – Sorsogon. but one thing – everytime i see him on TV, he is either complaining or ranting.
richard gordon -
loren legarda – she seems too focus to lead. trying every means. desperate. bad description, right?
i believe it might be accepted as a fairly reliable rule of thumb that the man who is ambitious to lead is disqualified as a leader. A.W. Tozer (1897 – 1963)
ed panlilio -
gilbert teodoro jr. -
this isn’t comprehensive. i did not include others who in my knowledge are not vocal yet of their intention to run for the presidency. but i will update this list from time to time until the official roster of candidate is published by the COMELEC.
***pictures taken from this site – http://2010presidentiables.wordpress.com/
iamthebestph