The Celtics just traded away Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson.
Shame on you, Danny Ainge. Yeah, you would have probably lost Kendrick Perkins anyway to free agency later. But, even just for this season, you could have given the Big Three their best chance at winning no. 18 by sticking with what you had. Now, I dread to say that, perhaps, with this decision, you've single-handedly closed the window.
Go Oklahoma Thunder.
Missing A Family Tradition
21 February 2011
There was a time when every week night, at approximately eight o'clock, my family would gather around the living room and pray.
Watching Basketball
I rarely watch basketball nowadays. But there was a time when I was a fan of a basketball team.
I was a fourth year college student back then in 2007. During that special second semester, I got lucky with my class schedule, which allowed me a lot of free time in the morning and in the afternoon. Since we had no helper then, I used the free time to do some household chores, chief of which was the almost-daily task of folding clothes.
My only consolation during this boring routine was that I got to watch television and my viewing habit coincided with ABC's live telecast of PBA games. It was the first (and probably the last) time I would get to watch almost every game of a PBA All-Filipino Cup, from the opening ceremony right down to the Finals night.
At the start, I was a bit naive about the teams in the PBA so I began by rooting for the underdogs: Air21 and Sta. Lucia. However, Air21 really stunk (I mean, really stunk) on their first game during opening night so I shifted my loyalty to Sta. Lucia.
I didn't expect much from the team, though. I was rooting for an underdog, after all. But, after a couple of early losses, the team finally got wins. And win they did. Again and again, the team pounded the other teams to submission with their relentless, blue-collar defense. Their offense, primarily delivered by Kelly Williams and Ryan Reyes, often disappeared at times but the team prevailed through sheer grit and hustle.
The Realtors were fascinating to behold, a world apart from the sheen and glamour of the Magnolia, Alaska, and Purefoods squads, and as their winning streak continued, so did my excitement escalate: I could be watching the next championship squad blossoming before my very eyes.
History would prove my hunch right and the Sta. Lucia Realtors won its second championship in 2008 (Green would be the color of that year in basketball. Later, the Boston Celtics, another team I rooted for, won the NBA championship).
And that's how my life as a basketball fan started and ended. By the next season, I didn't watch PBA anymore (Excuse: work) nor did I want to watch. The Sta. Lucia team divested themselves of some key players and the "aura" just wasn't there anymore.
Still, it was fun while it lasted.
I was a fourth year college student back then in 2007. During that special second semester, I got lucky with my class schedule, which allowed me a lot of free time in the morning and in the afternoon. Since we had no helper then, I used the free time to do some household chores, chief of which was the almost-daily task of folding clothes.
My only consolation during this boring routine was that I got to watch television and my viewing habit coincided with ABC's live telecast of PBA games. It was the first (and probably the last) time I would get to watch almost every game of a PBA All-Filipino Cup, from the opening ceremony right down to the Finals night.
At the start, I was a bit naive about the teams in the PBA so I began by rooting for the underdogs: Air21 and Sta. Lucia. However, Air21 really stunk (I mean, really stunk) on their first game during opening night so I shifted my loyalty to Sta. Lucia.
I didn't expect much from the team, though. I was rooting for an underdog, after all. But, after a couple of early losses, the team finally got wins. And win they did. Again and again, the team pounded the other teams to submission with their relentless, blue-collar defense. Their offense, primarily delivered by Kelly Williams and Ryan Reyes, often disappeared at times but the team prevailed through sheer grit and hustle.
The Realtors were fascinating to behold, a world apart from the sheen and glamour of the Magnolia, Alaska, and Purefoods squads, and as their winning streak continued, so did my excitement escalate: I could be watching the next championship squad blossoming before my very eyes.
History would prove my hunch right and the Sta. Lucia Realtors won its second championship in 2008 (Green would be the color of that year in basketball. Later, the Boston Celtics, another team I rooted for, won the NBA championship).
And that's how my life as a basketball fan started and ended. By the next season, I didn't watch PBA anymore (Excuse: work) nor did I want to watch. The Sta. Lucia team divested themselves of some key players and the "aura" just wasn't there anymore.
Still, it was fun while it lasted.
Taboan 2011
For me, I'll continue to deny that Taboan 2011 happened. I wasn't there so it never did exist.
Curse you, mosquito. I'll squish you like you were a..uhrmm...mosquito.
Don't let me catch you flying around me. Ever.
Curse you, mosquito. I'll squish you like you were a..uhrmm...mosquito.
Don't let me catch you flying around me. Ever.
Whale Warriors
The Whale Warriors.
Just finished a book by Peter Heller about his journey aboard the Farley Mowat, a hardy ship operated by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. The book chronicles the ship's expedition to the Antarctic as it chases the elusive Nisshin Maru, a Japanese whaling ship.
Although determinedly biased, the book nevertheless depicts a picture of intense drama, painting a world of foolhardy activists pitted against professionally-trained crews pursuing the last of the great Antarctic whale herds.
It's a riveting book which casts an unforgiving eye on both the international community's lax enforcement of conservation policies and the activists' own virtues and deficiencies.
For those familiar with the Whale Wars, this book is a welcome resource to Captain Watson's advocacy to stop whaling.
Note: Yeah, I suck at book reviews but I wasn't making one. I simply wrote this post in the slight hope that you'll click on the links and support this advocacy too.
Just finished a book by Peter Heller about his journey aboard the Farley Mowat, a hardy ship operated by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. The book chronicles the ship's expedition to the Antarctic as it chases the elusive Nisshin Maru, a Japanese whaling ship.
Although determinedly biased, the book nevertheless depicts a picture of intense drama, painting a world of foolhardy activists pitted against professionally-trained crews pursuing the last of the great Antarctic whale herds.
It's a riveting book which casts an unforgiving eye on both the international community's lax enforcement of conservation policies and the activists' own virtues and deficiencies.
For those familiar with the Whale Wars, this book is a welcome resource to Captain Watson's advocacy to stop whaling.
Note: Yeah, I suck at book reviews but I wasn't making one. I simply wrote this post in the slight hope that you'll click on the links and support this advocacy too.
Tito Eddie's Claim To Fame
What will follow is my Tito Eddie's first online article. The back story goes like this. I was fresh from my first hospitalization after 22 years. Tito Eddie had dropped by the house to check up on us. It came about that I was surfing the net when he arrived and, out of our chitchat, I got to know that he actually wrote something for Durian Post.
I read the article and excitedly told my uncle to write some more. The question is: what if more of us were writers? Just imagine the possibilities...
My first encounter with the Holy Infant Community (HIC), officially registered as Communitas Sancti Infantis with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), goes back to the time when I came back to Nabunturan in 1991 from my almost four (4) years of stay in Metro Manila where I assisted the couple Mr. and Mrs. Alexander L. Bon in their banana and hog marketing business. I came back home to Nabunturan because my family doesn’t want to come with me to Metro Manila to set up our own business there of whatever.
Here in Nabunturan with my modest savings of a little more than Twenty Thousand Pesos (PhP20,000.00), I was lured into venturing in small scale gold mining at Sitio Nuknukan in Bukal, Nabunturan, Davao del Norte (now Compostela Valley). My savings went down the drain with not even a milligram of gold to show. My farm at P-2 Pangutusan then was not yet productive and I was out of work.
My wife Fely mentioned of a Spiritual Instrument Myra _________ (now at Buringot) who happened to visit her at NNCHS (Nabunturan National Comprehensive High School) where my wife worked as Values and Guidance Coordinator. This Myra, then only fourteen (14) years of age, has gone into a long fasting of two hundred (200) days and she was then at NNCHS to invite Mrs. Teresita Juson to attend her graduation, the culmination of her 200 days of fasting. She mentioned that if you attend the weekly prayer meetings of the Holy Infant Community (HIC) at Mawab, Davao del Norte (now Compostela Valley) and you request the group to help you pray for your intentions, your intentions will be granted. So I asked my wife Fely to do so and pray that I’ll soon find a job. That’s how I landed being a General Manager of the Davao Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives (DAFEDACO). It was while holding that job that I finally became a regular auxiliary member of the Holy Infant Community (HIC) here in Nabunturan.
The first time I attended a HIC activity was when the HIC group of Nabunturan went to have a picnic at Omandac Beach Resort at Mabini, Davao del Norte (now Compostela Valley). My wife asked me to join in so I took a day off from my office and went with the group. I maintained a comfortable distance from the prayer meeting held there with Spiritual Instrument Temia Libuit then in a trance as the Holy Infant. That evening back at Nabunturan, I attended for the first time a prayer meeting scheduled at Ms. Norma Descallar’s residence. Feeling very awkward and in order to avoid getting any attention since I was already late and the prayer meeting had already began, I entered through the kitchen door and joined the prayer meeting at the farthest end at the back so I don’t appear very visible. Much to my discomfort then when the Spiritual Instrument Temia Libuit in a trance said to Norma Descallar,”Why did you allow my enemy to enter?” I felt very small upon hearing this because I just came in and I felt alluded to. When Norma asked, “Who did I let in, Lord?” I tried to hide the more so I will not be seen. If only I could escape unnoticed, I have already done so. When the Lord said, “Ang kahigwaos, ang kasuya, ug ang kalagot sa nangulo ning HIC nga wala magpakita ug pagpakabana sa grupo samtang nangadto mo sa pagpangaligo ug pagsalusalo didto sa beach karong adlawa, nganong gitugutan mo man kini dinha kanimo? Tungod niini, pagasilotan ko ikaw.” I felt a rush of relief within me upon hearing this. But because of this, Norma will be punished. It was here that Mrs. Teresita “Terry” Juson intervened, “Instead of punishing Norma, Lord, let me be the one punished.” So the Lord faced her and she suddenly fell to the floor and rolled over. Terry let out a piercing scream of pain while rolling over and her face became so red. We were all terrified and prayed loudly to the Lord to have mercy and to stop the punishment. The Lord heeded our cry for mercy and immediately stopped the punishment. I was very shaken by what I have just witnessed. What have I gotten myself into?
The next night my wife prodded me to again attend a prayer meeting, so I accompanied her to said prayer meeting. This time Fr. Reynaldo Moso was there and he justified and related this HIC movement as one of the answers in coping with the church’s growth. I heaved a sigh of relief that at least HIC is not a cult and here is a Catholic priest, well versed in Canon Law, who is at hand guiding us the faithful in this kind of apostolate. I was fortunate that the next time around that I attended a prayer meeting, Fr. Jose “Jong” Sison also attended and further enlightened us in the HIC apostolate. I was greatly reassured. I needed to be reassured then because HIC was and until now is not yet recognized by the Bishop of the Diocese of Tagum as an apostolate of the Catholic Church. At that time also I really felt ashamed of being known that I, supposedly enlightened and educated, would cater to this weird kind of apostolate still unrecognized by the Catholic Church.
Let us go back to my work at DAFEDACO. My job as DAFEDACO General Manager did not last long. After a year, I quitted the job because of a collection problem created by my staffs who without my knowledge were trying to make a sideline and earn extra income. I was again jobless, but not for long. My wife attended the house-to-house prayer meeting of the HIC here in Nabunturan and expressed her intention that I find a job once again. Soon enough I met the General Manager of MASS-SPECC Mr. Guillermo Cua and he asked me to head the branch office of the Mindanao Alliance of Self-Help Societies – Southern Philippines Educational Cooperative Center (MASS-SPECC) at Davao City. Once again I have a job: as a Branch Manager of MASS-SPECC, Davao City. It was also during my stint at MASS-SPECC that I got appointed as Board Member of DANECO (Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative) to serve the unexpired term of Dr. Luisito Mojica who opted to run again for Mayor of Nabunturan. I was doing well at MASS-SPECC while simultaneously serving as Board Member of DANECO until the term of Dr. Mojica expired. It was as Board Member of DANECO that I met a lot of hassle and a lot of problems thrown my way. The DANECO General Manager, Atty. Jose Amacio, has been mandated to retire and he has recommended Engr. Vicente Tiu to replace him while positioning himself as DANECO Consultant with a far bigger salary. I opted for Mr. Edgar Savellano to replace him as General Manager and also chose not to have any Consultant in order to save extra cost. Because of my stand, I got the ire of Atty. Jose Amacio, the General Manager, and considered me as a persona non grata. He rallied the rest of the members of the Board and I lost very badly on my stand. Engr. Vicente Tiu got the position of General Manager on the strength of eight (8) votes against three (3) by the members of the Board of Directors while Atty. Jose Amacio got the position of Consultant on the strength of ten (10) votes against my lone dissent. Fortunately after that, former Vice President Emmanuel Pelaez retired/resigned as Chairman of the National Electric Commission and Fr. ______ Silva, then a member of said Commission, was recommended to take over his place creating a vacancy in the membership of said Commission. Because of that and because Atty. Jose Amacio also expressed his interest, the Board, on the strength of my motion duly seconded and unanimously carried, highly recommended him to take the place of Fr. Silva as member of the Commission. But this motion did not prosper because Fr. Silva opted to stay as just a member of the Commission while the chairmanship of the Commission went to the Secretary of the Department of Energy. All these while and because of all these problems that I encountered as Board Member of DANECO, I involved myself more and more with the Holy Infant Community where I poured out all these problems. The Holy Infant Community became my solace and my sanctuary.
Other problems of DANECO came one after the other fast. We had DANECO registered with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) as a stock cooperative. Until now this has not been fully resolved. The whole Board of DANECO then except Mr. Gilbert Rosit was charged in court by Atty. Jose Amacio for syndicated estafa. At that time the whole Board of Directors stood for DANECO as a stock cooperative duly registered with the Cooperative Development Authority. Atty. Jose Amacio also became the Consultant of the Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC) owned by Aboitiz who manifested very strongly of taking over the management of DANECO. Fortunately the syndicated estafa case did not prosper and soon after that Atty. Jose Amacio died thus closing the book to Aboitiz’s bid to take over DANECO’s management. Engr. Vicente Tiu also got into management trouble and not long after also died a broken man. Mr. Edgar Savellano, Nabunturan HIC President, took over as the General Manager of DANECO. His troubles with DANECO have just begun.
But before all of the above took place, however, I was no longer a Board Member of DANECO. My term has already expired and when I ran for election as DANECO Board Member, I lost by a mile. Then also while I was holding office at MASS-SPECC Davao City Branch, this American woman Lois Kitch came over for orientation re cooperative situation in Region XI. Ms. Lois Kitch happens to be the newly designated Director of the USAID-funded Credit Union Empowerment and Strengthening Program (CUES-Philippines), a new cooperative program for implementation in the whole of Region XI. I gave her not only a thorough briefing of the cooperative situation in Region XI but also insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the cooperatives within this part of the country. I must have impressed her because not long after that, she wanted me to apply as a Credit Management Analyst at CUES-Philippines. The salary and fringe benefits were very attractive so I sought counsel and permission from MASS-SPECC management who were just too happy to give their support to my moves. I was already employed at CUES-Philippines when the move to set up the Holy Infant Community in Davao City began. Because of the message of our Lord using Spiritual Instrument Mr. Rogelio Digamon telling me to relate and coordinate with Mrs. Jennifer “Bea” Lim for the setting up of HIC Davao City, I got involved. In spite of the hassles and problems besetting me at CUES-Philippines, I managed to attend the weekly prayer meetings conducted in different residences within Davao City. It came to a point where we were able to finally set up our HIC Prayer House at IWHA and I was elected as the first President of the Holy Infant Community at Davao City. On the other hand, the conditions of my work at CUES-Philippines took turn for the worse. It was not my work per se but the relationship among personnel of CUES-Philippines that had gotten worse. It was neither the physical type nor the verbal abuse, but rather the subtle competition and professional jealousy that had gotten off-hand. To the point that I could not take it anymore and I opted to resign from a high paying job on the pretext that I go into setting up my own business. I did really go into business after I resigned but they all went pfttt. My capital went down the drain, I was out of work, and I have to close my losing business. I resigned from my position as President of HIC Davao City and went back home to Nabunturan to seek for greener pasture and hope that things will turn out for the better. Presidency of HIC Davao City went to Mr. Boy Gentalian, Sales Manager of Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company based in Davao City.
Back here in Nabunturan, I applied for work as Community Affairs Officer (CAO) at the Provincial Government of Compostela Valley headed by Gov. Jose R. Caballero. On the strength of the recommendations of both Mr. Mesael Caballero and Mr. Harry Ebba, I was immediately taken in as Community Affairs Officer in the Community Affairs Development Section (CADS) headed by Fr. Fernando Juab who just took over the position vacated by Atty. Mario Sapilan. Atty. Sapilan, by the way, became the Prison Warden immediately after passing the BAR Examination.
I was like a turtle thrown into a river when I became a Community Affairs Officer. I was at home with my work and I was assigned in my own hometown of Nabunturan. While serving as Community Affairs Officer of the Provincial Government of Compostela Valley, I continued attending to the affairs of the HIC and supporting its activities. Even the controversial setting up of the Home for the Sick here at Nabunturan, I fully supported it to the point of being shunned by the other members of the Community.
During the election of 2001, I resigned as CAO and ran for Municipal Councilor of Nabunturan at the urging of Mr. Mesael Caballero who also ran for Mayor. Both of us lost very badly at said election. But I managed to have my son Kim be employed at the Provincial Government through Gov. Jose R. Caballero who got reelected. For one year after that I didn’t have a steady job so I spent my time tending to my farm at Pangutusan and also made known my occupation of our long abandoned timberland area at Upper Cabidianan, Nabunturan, Compostela Valley Province. There I have the timberland (already cogonal) area cleared and planted it with five hundred (500) coconuts. I also constructed a hut there for shelter. All these to no avail, however, because all the coconuts that I’ve planted were eaten away by rats and whatever remained were all burnt out by a big brushfire. Fortunately, the hut was spared from the brushfire through a quick response from our nearest neighbor Mr. Leonardo Emia and his wife.
After a year of being a farm boy, my brother Loyloy told me the Assumption College of Nabunturan (ACN) is eyeing me to be one of the College faculty members and that if interested, would I please see Sr. Clarita Villaflor, the ACN President? I did and for the next two years I served as ACN College faculty member. I still desired to continue with my teaching at the ACN after that but my new employment as Personnel Officer at Shinsung Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd., a Korean company, made it impossible for me to balance the two (2) jobs. So I have to resign from ACN and concentrate on my new job at Shinsung E & C Co., Ltd. Up to this time I’m still here with this company at its project site at Km. 92 Magsaysay, Nabunturan, Compostela Valley Province supposedly up to the end of this particular Shinsung project.
All these while, I just placed my fate in the hands of the Lord and actively involved myself in the HIC activities. From the time I lost in the 2001 election to my sorties in developing my two (2) farms, to my being a College instructor, and to my being a Personnel Officer at Shinsung E &C Co., Ltd., I consider these as the workings of God in me. Because of my involvement with the HIC which I consider my apostolate as a Roman Catholic faithful, I have developed a new outlook in life and a more vigorous attitude towards my faith. The HIC deepened my spirituality and strengthened further my relationship with God.
THIS IS MY TESTIMONY.
I read the article and excitedly told my uncle to write some more. The question is: what if more of us were writers? Just imagine the possibilities...
MY HIC STORY
A TESTIMONY
By EDDIE T. EVANGELIO
A TESTIMONY
By EDDIE T. EVANGELIO
My first encounter with the Holy Infant Community (HIC), officially registered as Communitas Sancti Infantis with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), goes back to the time when I came back to Nabunturan in 1991 from my almost four (4) years of stay in Metro Manila where I assisted the couple Mr. and Mrs. Alexander L. Bon in their banana and hog marketing business. I came back home to Nabunturan because my family doesn’t want to come with me to Metro Manila to set up our own business there of whatever.
Here in Nabunturan with my modest savings of a little more than Twenty Thousand Pesos (PhP20,000.00), I was lured into venturing in small scale gold mining at Sitio Nuknukan in Bukal, Nabunturan, Davao del Norte (now Compostela Valley). My savings went down the drain with not even a milligram of gold to show. My farm at P-2 Pangutusan then was not yet productive and I was out of work.
My wife Fely mentioned of a Spiritual Instrument Myra _________ (now at Buringot) who happened to visit her at NNCHS (Nabunturan National Comprehensive High School) where my wife worked as Values and Guidance Coordinator. This Myra, then only fourteen (14) years of age, has gone into a long fasting of two hundred (200) days and she was then at NNCHS to invite Mrs. Teresita Juson to attend her graduation, the culmination of her 200 days of fasting. She mentioned that if you attend the weekly prayer meetings of the Holy Infant Community (HIC) at Mawab, Davao del Norte (now Compostela Valley) and you request the group to help you pray for your intentions, your intentions will be granted. So I asked my wife Fely to do so and pray that I’ll soon find a job. That’s how I landed being a General Manager of the Davao Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives (DAFEDACO). It was while holding that job that I finally became a regular auxiliary member of the Holy Infant Community (HIC) here in Nabunturan.
The first time I attended a HIC activity was when the HIC group of Nabunturan went to have a picnic at Omandac Beach Resort at Mabini, Davao del Norte (now Compostela Valley). My wife asked me to join in so I took a day off from my office and went with the group. I maintained a comfortable distance from the prayer meeting held there with Spiritual Instrument Temia Libuit then in a trance as the Holy Infant. That evening back at Nabunturan, I attended for the first time a prayer meeting scheduled at Ms. Norma Descallar’s residence. Feeling very awkward and in order to avoid getting any attention since I was already late and the prayer meeting had already began, I entered through the kitchen door and joined the prayer meeting at the farthest end at the back so I don’t appear very visible. Much to my discomfort then when the Spiritual Instrument Temia Libuit in a trance said to Norma Descallar,”Why did you allow my enemy to enter?” I felt very small upon hearing this because I just came in and I felt alluded to. When Norma asked, “Who did I let in, Lord?” I tried to hide the more so I will not be seen. If only I could escape unnoticed, I have already done so. When the Lord said, “Ang kahigwaos, ang kasuya, ug ang kalagot sa nangulo ning HIC nga wala magpakita ug pagpakabana sa grupo samtang nangadto mo sa pagpangaligo ug pagsalusalo didto sa beach karong adlawa, nganong gitugutan mo man kini dinha kanimo? Tungod niini, pagasilotan ko ikaw.” I felt a rush of relief within me upon hearing this. But because of this, Norma will be punished. It was here that Mrs. Teresita “Terry” Juson intervened, “Instead of punishing Norma, Lord, let me be the one punished.” So the Lord faced her and she suddenly fell to the floor and rolled over. Terry let out a piercing scream of pain while rolling over and her face became so red. We were all terrified and prayed loudly to the Lord to have mercy and to stop the punishment. The Lord heeded our cry for mercy and immediately stopped the punishment. I was very shaken by what I have just witnessed. What have I gotten myself into?
The next night my wife prodded me to again attend a prayer meeting, so I accompanied her to said prayer meeting. This time Fr. Reynaldo Moso was there and he justified and related this HIC movement as one of the answers in coping with the church’s growth. I heaved a sigh of relief that at least HIC is not a cult and here is a Catholic priest, well versed in Canon Law, who is at hand guiding us the faithful in this kind of apostolate. I was fortunate that the next time around that I attended a prayer meeting, Fr. Jose “Jong” Sison also attended and further enlightened us in the HIC apostolate. I was greatly reassured. I needed to be reassured then because HIC was and until now is not yet recognized by the Bishop of the Diocese of Tagum as an apostolate of the Catholic Church. At that time also I really felt ashamed of being known that I, supposedly enlightened and educated, would cater to this weird kind of apostolate still unrecognized by the Catholic Church.
Let us go back to my work at DAFEDACO. My job as DAFEDACO General Manager did not last long. After a year, I quitted the job because of a collection problem created by my staffs who without my knowledge were trying to make a sideline and earn extra income. I was again jobless, but not for long. My wife attended the house-to-house prayer meeting of the HIC here in Nabunturan and expressed her intention that I find a job once again. Soon enough I met the General Manager of MASS-SPECC Mr. Guillermo Cua and he asked me to head the branch office of the Mindanao Alliance of Self-Help Societies – Southern Philippines Educational Cooperative Center (MASS-SPECC) at Davao City. Once again I have a job: as a Branch Manager of MASS-SPECC, Davao City. It was also during my stint at MASS-SPECC that I got appointed as Board Member of DANECO (Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative) to serve the unexpired term of Dr. Luisito Mojica who opted to run again for Mayor of Nabunturan. I was doing well at MASS-SPECC while simultaneously serving as Board Member of DANECO until the term of Dr. Mojica expired. It was as Board Member of DANECO that I met a lot of hassle and a lot of problems thrown my way. The DANECO General Manager, Atty. Jose Amacio, has been mandated to retire and he has recommended Engr. Vicente Tiu to replace him while positioning himself as DANECO Consultant with a far bigger salary. I opted for Mr. Edgar Savellano to replace him as General Manager and also chose not to have any Consultant in order to save extra cost. Because of my stand, I got the ire of Atty. Jose Amacio, the General Manager, and considered me as a persona non grata. He rallied the rest of the members of the Board and I lost very badly on my stand. Engr. Vicente Tiu got the position of General Manager on the strength of eight (8) votes against three (3) by the members of the Board of Directors while Atty. Jose Amacio got the position of Consultant on the strength of ten (10) votes against my lone dissent. Fortunately after that, former Vice President Emmanuel Pelaez retired/resigned as Chairman of the National Electric Commission and Fr. ______ Silva, then a member of said Commission, was recommended to take over his place creating a vacancy in the membership of said Commission. Because of that and because Atty. Jose Amacio also expressed his interest, the Board, on the strength of my motion duly seconded and unanimously carried, highly recommended him to take the place of Fr. Silva as member of the Commission. But this motion did not prosper because Fr. Silva opted to stay as just a member of the Commission while the chairmanship of the Commission went to the Secretary of the Department of Energy. All these while and because of all these problems that I encountered as Board Member of DANECO, I involved myself more and more with the Holy Infant Community where I poured out all these problems. The Holy Infant Community became my solace and my sanctuary.
Other problems of DANECO came one after the other fast. We had DANECO registered with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) as a stock cooperative. Until now this has not been fully resolved. The whole Board of DANECO then except Mr. Gilbert Rosit was charged in court by Atty. Jose Amacio for syndicated estafa. At that time the whole Board of Directors stood for DANECO as a stock cooperative duly registered with the Cooperative Development Authority. Atty. Jose Amacio also became the Consultant of the Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC) owned by Aboitiz who manifested very strongly of taking over the management of DANECO. Fortunately the syndicated estafa case did not prosper and soon after that Atty. Jose Amacio died thus closing the book to Aboitiz’s bid to take over DANECO’s management. Engr. Vicente Tiu also got into management trouble and not long after also died a broken man. Mr. Edgar Savellano, Nabunturan HIC President, took over as the General Manager of DANECO. His troubles with DANECO have just begun.
But before all of the above took place, however, I was no longer a Board Member of DANECO. My term has already expired and when I ran for election as DANECO Board Member, I lost by a mile. Then also while I was holding office at MASS-SPECC Davao City Branch, this American woman Lois Kitch came over for orientation re cooperative situation in Region XI. Ms. Lois Kitch happens to be the newly designated Director of the USAID-funded Credit Union Empowerment and Strengthening Program (CUES-Philippines), a new cooperative program for implementation in the whole of Region XI. I gave her not only a thorough briefing of the cooperative situation in Region XI but also insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the cooperatives within this part of the country. I must have impressed her because not long after that, she wanted me to apply as a Credit Management Analyst at CUES-Philippines. The salary and fringe benefits were very attractive so I sought counsel and permission from MASS-SPECC management who were just too happy to give their support to my moves. I was already employed at CUES-Philippines when the move to set up the Holy Infant Community in Davao City began. Because of the message of our Lord using Spiritual Instrument Mr. Rogelio Digamon telling me to relate and coordinate with Mrs. Jennifer “Bea” Lim for the setting up of HIC Davao City, I got involved. In spite of the hassles and problems besetting me at CUES-Philippines, I managed to attend the weekly prayer meetings conducted in different residences within Davao City. It came to a point where we were able to finally set up our HIC Prayer House at IWHA and I was elected as the first President of the Holy Infant Community at Davao City. On the other hand, the conditions of my work at CUES-Philippines took turn for the worse. It was not my work per se but the relationship among personnel of CUES-Philippines that had gotten worse. It was neither the physical type nor the verbal abuse, but rather the subtle competition and professional jealousy that had gotten off-hand. To the point that I could not take it anymore and I opted to resign from a high paying job on the pretext that I go into setting up my own business. I did really go into business after I resigned but they all went pfttt. My capital went down the drain, I was out of work, and I have to close my losing business. I resigned from my position as President of HIC Davao City and went back home to Nabunturan to seek for greener pasture and hope that things will turn out for the better. Presidency of HIC Davao City went to Mr. Boy Gentalian, Sales Manager of Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company based in Davao City.
Back here in Nabunturan, I applied for work as Community Affairs Officer (CAO) at the Provincial Government of Compostela Valley headed by Gov. Jose R. Caballero. On the strength of the recommendations of both Mr. Mesael Caballero and Mr. Harry Ebba, I was immediately taken in as Community Affairs Officer in the Community Affairs Development Section (CADS) headed by Fr. Fernando Juab who just took over the position vacated by Atty. Mario Sapilan. Atty. Sapilan, by the way, became the Prison Warden immediately after passing the BAR Examination.
I was like a turtle thrown into a river when I became a Community Affairs Officer. I was at home with my work and I was assigned in my own hometown of Nabunturan. While serving as Community Affairs Officer of the Provincial Government of Compostela Valley, I continued attending to the affairs of the HIC and supporting its activities. Even the controversial setting up of the Home for the Sick here at Nabunturan, I fully supported it to the point of being shunned by the other members of the Community.
During the election of 2001, I resigned as CAO and ran for Municipal Councilor of Nabunturan at the urging of Mr. Mesael Caballero who also ran for Mayor. Both of us lost very badly at said election. But I managed to have my son Kim be employed at the Provincial Government through Gov. Jose R. Caballero who got reelected. For one year after that I didn’t have a steady job so I spent my time tending to my farm at Pangutusan and also made known my occupation of our long abandoned timberland area at Upper Cabidianan, Nabunturan, Compostela Valley Province. There I have the timberland (already cogonal) area cleared and planted it with five hundred (500) coconuts. I also constructed a hut there for shelter. All these to no avail, however, because all the coconuts that I’ve planted were eaten away by rats and whatever remained were all burnt out by a big brushfire. Fortunately, the hut was spared from the brushfire through a quick response from our nearest neighbor Mr. Leonardo Emia and his wife.
After a year of being a farm boy, my brother Loyloy told me the Assumption College of Nabunturan (ACN) is eyeing me to be one of the College faculty members and that if interested, would I please see Sr. Clarita Villaflor, the ACN President? I did and for the next two years I served as ACN College faculty member. I still desired to continue with my teaching at the ACN after that but my new employment as Personnel Officer at Shinsung Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd., a Korean company, made it impossible for me to balance the two (2) jobs. So I have to resign from ACN and concentrate on my new job at Shinsung E & C Co., Ltd. Up to this time I’m still here with this company at its project site at Km. 92 Magsaysay, Nabunturan, Compostela Valley Province supposedly up to the end of this particular Shinsung project.
All these while, I just placed my fate in the hands of the Lord and actively involved myself in the HIC activities. From the time I lost in the 2001 election to my sorties in developing my two (2) farms, to my being a College instructor, and to my being a Personnel Officer at Shinsung E &C Co., Ltd., I consider these as the workings of God in me. Because of my involvement with the HIC which I consider my apostolate as a Roman Catholic faithful, I have developed a new outlook in life and a more vigorous attitude towards my faith. The HIC deepened my spirituality and strengthened further my relationship with God.
THIS IS MY TESTIMONY.
First Day Low
So this is what it feels like.
Reporting for work after my dengue episode, I was pretty much in high spirits as I entered the office. I remember smiling then, simply happy that I was back to regular programming and also reassuring everyone that all was well.
However, all was not really well. Let's just say my body wasn't up for it as I thought it would be. Folders were strewn across my desk, begging for my attention. The phone kept ringing. And the clients kept visiting. I barely had time to catch up on the pending transactions for the past two weeks when other tasks came up. Again and again.
By mid-morning, fatigue had already set in. I was tired and stressed.
So I did what any normal employee would do. I tuned out and began coasting all throughout the day. Clearly, in my condition, I couldn't do any productive work yet so I treated myself to simply making sense of everything before me. I studied the files, organized my working documents for the next day, and talked to everyone just to catch up on lost time. I also went home early.
That was my first day, post-dengue.
Reporting for work after my dengue episode, I was pretty much in high spirits as I entered the office. I remember smiling then, simply happy that I was back to regular programming and also reassuring everyone that all was well.
However, all was not really well. Let's just say my body wasn't up for it as I thought it would be. Folders were strewn across my desk, begging for my attention. The phone kept ringing. And the clients kept visiting. I barely had time to catch up on the pending transactions for the past two weeks when other tasks came up. Again and again.
By mid-morning, fatigue had already set in. I was tired and stressed.
So I did what any normal employee would do. I tuned out and began coasting all throughout the day. Clearly, in my condition, I couldn't do any productive work yet so I treated myself to simply making sense of everything before me. I studied the files, organized my working documents for the next day, and talked to everyone just to catch up on lost time. I also went home early.
That was my first day, post-dengue.
Dengue
Dengue finally got me.
I should have seen it coming, though. My little sister succumbed to it a few days earlier. And Mama had suspected that was the case for my brother as well (who weathered the entire episode by simply staying in his room).
Before I was confined to the hospital, my other brother had initially paved the way for me. He went home from school with a fever and, although our first presumption was he got the flu, he had his blood tested the following day. Things went fast after that. Test confirmed it was dengue and he was shipped off to Brokenshire for observation.
I managed to work for two days before finally giving up. On Monday night, I was feeling sluggish already. Tuesday morning, I had a fever coming to town. That night, I couldn't sleep well, alternating between bouts of sweat and fever. Wednesday morning, I had myself tested and later that morning, it was off to the hospital to be observed.
My other sister followed suit several days after and we were pretty much a pathetic sight in the hospital: a private room with three beds, all occupied by three patients struck down by the same mosquito(s).
It's funny how one puny insect can wreak havoc into our lives. I missed close to two weeks of work, not to mention the many hours spent staring at the ceiling, wondering if it's my fate that I bleed to death.
My brother couldn't afford to be so placid. His condition was complicated by a ruptured spleen (I think) and my parents were worried sick trying to make his platelet count go up, even to the point of defying the nurse's orders at some point.
All in all, the experience really impressed on me the value of my health. This was my first prolonged confinement in the hospital and it wasn't a comfortable experience. However, I was one of the privileged ones, a fact that I had to remind myself over and over again during my stay and whenever I felt cross and frustrated: I was in a hospital; I had a doctor; and apart from this nuisance of a disease, I was going to be fine.
Indeed, God has a funny way of reminding us of our blessings.
I should have seen it coming, though. My little sister succumbed to it a few days earlier. And Mama had suspected that was the case for my brother as well (who weathered the entire episode by simply staying in his room).
Before I was confined to the hospital, my other brother had initially paved the way for me. He went home from school with a fever and, although our first presumption was he got the flu, he had his blood tested the following day. Things went fast after that. Test confirmed it was dengue and he was shipped off to Brokenshire for observation.
I managed to work for two days before finally giving up. On Monday night, I was feeling sluggish already. Tuesday morning, I had a fever coming to town. That night, I couldn't sleep well, alternating between bouts of sweat and fever. Wednesday morning, I had myself tested and later that morning, it was off to the hospital to be observed.
My other sister followed suit several days after and we were pretty much a pathetic sight in the hospital: a private room with three beds, all occupied by three patients struck down by the same mosquito(s).
It's funny how one puny insect can wreak havoc into our lives. I missed close to two weeks of work, not to mention the many hours spent staring at the ceiling, wondering if it's my fate that I bleed to death.
My brother couldn't afford to be so placid. His condition was complicated by a ruptured spleen (I think) and my parents were worried sick trying to make his platelet count go up, even to the point of defying the nurse's orders at some point.
All in all, the experience really impressed on me the value of my health. This was my first prolonged confinement in the hospital and it wasn't a comfortable experience. However, I was one of the privileged ones, a fact that I had to remind myself over and over again during my stay and whenever I felt cross and frustrated: I was in a hospital; I had a doctor; and apart from this nuisance of a disease, I was going to be fine.
Indeed, God has a funny way of reminding us of our blessings.
I Believe In The Historical Jesus
When I was in college, Dan Brown introduced his controversial book, The Da Vinci Code. What made the book especially notorious was the introduction of an alternative history about Jesus Christ radically different from what the Catholic Church has maintained.
In the book, it is "revealed" that Jesus Christ fathered a child, through Mary Magdalene, and thus a lineage had formed, out of which, a descendant shall rise and rule the world.
To this theory, I. Howard Marshall, a well-known theologian, had this to say in his book, I Believe In The Historical Jesus:
On Saturday, 16th November, 1996, the Daily Mail began a serialized article based on a book called The Holy Grail by Laurence Gardner, which was introduced as follows:
A new book claims that Jesus, far from being a meek religious martyr, was a revolutionary politician who faked his own death, married Mary Magdalene and fathered three children by her, starting a bloodline which carries down to the present day...
The introduction surprisingly went on to say 'Committed Christians will justifiably reject its conclusions'! However, you do not need to be a Christian, but simply a historical scholar committed to the impartial weighing of evidence, to see that much of what is said here about Jesus is a tissue of unsubstantiated conjecture.
Indeed, as Mr. Marshall had argued in his book, much of the emergent portraits of Jesus which have somehow found itself into mainstream culture are purely sensational at best. Although he is quick to admit that, yes, historians can reliably work on only a small, meager set of historical evidence detailing Jesus' life and ministry, we do "have good grounds for affirming the possibility of researching the Jesus-tradition and establishing many historical facts about his life and teaching."
Thus, any alternative interpretation of Jesus' life must be weighed against premises clearly grounded on historical fact for it to be judged as plausible.
In the book, it is "revealed" that Jesus Christ fathered a child, through Mary Magdalene, and thus a lineage had formed, out of which, a descendant shall rise and rule the world.
To this theory, I. Howard Marshall, a well-known theologian, had this to say in his book, I Believe In The Historical Jesus:
On Saturday, 16th November, 1996, the Daily Mail began a serialized article based on a book called The Holy Grail by Laurence Gardner, which was introduced as follows:
A new book claims that Jesus, far from being a meek religious martyr, was a revolutionary politician who faked his own death, married Mary Magdalene and fathered three children by her, starting a bloodline which carries down to the present day...
The introduction surprisingly went on to say 'Committed Christians will justifiably reject its conclusions'! However, you do not need to be a Christian, but simply a historical scholar committed to the impartial weighing of evidence, to see that much of what is said here about Jesus is a tissue of unsubstantiated conjecture.
Indeed, as Mr. Marshall had argued in his book, much of the emergent portraits of Jesus which have somehow found itself into mainstream culture are purely sensational at best. Although he is quick to admit that, yes, historians can reliably work on only a small, meager set of historical evidence detailing Jesus' life and ministry, we do "have good grounds for affirming the possibility of researching the Jesus-tradition and establishing many historical facts about his life and teaching."
Thus, any alternative interpretation of Jesus' life must be weighed against premises clearly grounded on historical fact for it to be judged as plausible.
Vegetarian Me
Chop suey taught me how to eat veggies. It was one of those lunches in my lola's place where I had my first encounter with this dish. At first, I simply learned to love eating (or slurping) the "sauce", the thick liquid lying at the bottom of the bowl sporting the combined punch of all the ingredients in the dish. Then, I graduated eating the "subak", the small cuts of meat, deliberately mixed into the fray to provide some added flavor and protein.
Afterwards came the hardest part of my training: eating the actual vegetables themselves. And, like any child would tell you, this is the part we dread the most. I gagged, vomited, choked my way into forcing my body to accept munching on these foreign objects until the time came when eating vegetables became second nature.
Still, I did not crave vegetables. Yes, I've learned to eat it but I wasn't necessarily looking for it. Oftentimes, I would find myself nitpicking pansit, making sure no vegetable got its way into my extended fork.
Finally, vegetables became a part of my diet but it was a product of circumstance. I was in Manila then and, being the occasional miser, I chose the cheapest dish I could get whenever I fancied saving more money. Obviously, that dish would be pure, unadulterated vegetables and there I found my motivation.
It's amazing what people will do for money. In my case, I forced myself to like eating vegetables because I paid for it. Leaving anything on my plate un-eaten felt like a terrible waste of money.
From then on, I graduated to eating more veggies. Still, my mother would frown at us not eating enough but, then again, she doesn't see what I eat outside the house. If karma is indeed real, I could even be a goat in my next life, considering the amount of leaves I chew on.
Anybody a fan of the show, Veggie Tales?
Afterwards came the hardest part of my training: eating the actual vegetables themselves. And, like any child would tell you, this is the part we dread the most. I gagged, vomited, choked my way into forcing my body to accept munching on these foreign objects until the time came when eating vegetables became second nature.
Still, I did not crave vegetables. Yes, I've learned to eat it but I wasn't necessarily looking for it. Oftentimes, I would find myself nitpicking pansit, making sure no vegetable got its way into my extended fork.
Finally, vegetables became a part of my diet but it was a product of circumstance. I was in Manila then and, being the occasional miser, I chose the cheapest dish I could get whenever I fancied saving more money. Obviously, that dish would be pure, unadulterated vegetables and there I found my motivation.
It's amazing what people will do for money. In my case, I forced myself to like eating vegetables because I paid for it. Leaving anything on my plate un-eaten felt like a terrible waste of money.
From then on, I graduated to eating more veggies. Still, my mother would frown at us not eating enough but, then again, she doesn't see what I eat outside the house. If karma is indeed real, I could even be a goat in my next life, considering the amount of leaves I chew on.
Anybody a fan of the show, Veggie Tales?
When Money Sucks
02 February 2011
The new paper bills suck.
Never mind the new security features. Never mind the addition of Philippine "icons" into the bill. What ultimately turned me off about the bills were the designs themselves.
Just two observations. First, the designs make it look as if the Central Bank had printer problems. Though designed expertly (?) by Design Systemat and Studio 5, the bills look as if they've suffered through ink bleeds and poor color printing. The dominant colors look so dominant, totally unlike the nuanced, more professional-looking tones of the old bills. Only a grade-schooler would play such colors with such abandon.
Second, the faces in the new bills look so...young. For instance, Manuel Quezon looks like he's in his 20's. Although there is clearly nothing wrong with an ageless face, the fact remains that the BSP chose to portray a man at an age when he has done nothing yet. I would prefer that the public witness the face of Manuel Quezon when he was already a statesman because that is what the public should remember: the face of an accomplished public servant, with wrinkles and furrows, not a cherubim face better seen on a magazine than on a currency bill.
So there you have it: my objections. I rest my case now but I still have to live with the truth that these new bills are here to stay.
Never mind the new security features. Never mind the addition of Philippine "icons" into the bill. What ultimately turned me off about the bills were the designs themselves.
Just two observations. First, the designs make it look as if the Central Bank had printer problems. Though designed expertly (?) by Design Systemat and Studio 5, the bills look as if they've suffered through ink bleeds and poor color printing. The dominant colors look so dominant, totally unlike the nuanced, more professional-looking tones of the old bills. Only a grade-schooler would play such colors with such abandon.
Second, the faces in the new bills look so...young. For instance, Manuel Quezon looks like he's in his 20's. Although there is clearly nothing wrong with an ageless face, the fact remains that the BSP chose to portray a man at an age when he has done nothing yet. I would prefer that the public witness the face of Manuel Quezon when he was already a statesman because that is what the public should remember: the face of an accomplished public servant, with wrinkles and furrows, not a cherubim face better seen on a magazine than on a currency bill.
So there you have it: my objections. I rest my case now but I still have to live with the truth that these new bills are here to stay.
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