Pili Tree

In her TV show, "Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho", there was this segment entitled "Biyaya Ng Dagta" which featured how several provinces in the Philippines have harnessed the saps of its various endemic trees to create economies and jobs for its populace.

One such tree that was mentioned is the Pili tree. In Sorsogon, several farmers have been harvesting the sap of these trees as an export material to be used for facial cream products.

I found this interesting because the segment mentioned that the Philippines virtually has a monopoly for this commodity and to think that, to date, only Sorsogon has an existing economy built around this product only speaks of the potential growth this industry is capable if it were further developed.

Prety neat, huh?

Dowry

Nestor P. Burgos, Jr. got it wrong as well. 

In an Inquirer article, he reported about a tribal chanter who expressed concerns over the misrepresentation of his people's culture in the TV show, Amaya.

He also reported near the end the following: 'The binukot are trained to be adept epic-chanters and dancers, and to play native musical instruments, he said, adding that they command a much higher dowry than most maidens because of these physical attributes and skills'.

It's really a small matter but he confused the word 'dowry' in the paragraph above with 'bride price'. As per Wikipedia, "a dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents".

It's a popular misconception but the fact is this: In the Philippines, there's no such thing as a dowry (That's reserved for other cultures who still treat their women as second-class citizens). 

What we do have instead is the bride price, in which the guy's family gives food and presents to the bride's family as an act of goodwill before the wedding. As for the reason behind this practice, one website articulates it best:

This is because we give high value to the women in our society and giving them away is not easy. When the two families have come to an agreement as to the dowry (or bride price, I hasten to correct), the wedding date is set, a ring is presented to the girl and the couple is said to be betrothed. A small feast is then held with the food brought by the boy's family.

Pinoy Superheroes

Superheroes have gone through a makeover these past few years. In the past, fans wanted to see their superheroes as demigods. Hence, stories about superheroes centered on their extraordinary feats: defeating powerful villains and rescuing countless lives. Now, superheroes are still superheroes but fans have clamored for a 'humanization' of the legends-that-be: a hero who is both possessed with human characteristics and superhuman capabilities. 

Writers have taken heed of this trend by portraying superheroes with more psychological depth. Now, you have superheroes who have more complex personalities and are wrestling with all-too-human dilemmas.

I believe Pinoy superheroes shouldn't be exempt from this trend. I watch as the TV networks produce shows featuring these heroes and what they merely succeed in doing is rehashing the stories found in the comics series of long ago, albeit with new characters and new story twists. Still, there's nothing new, nothing which can excite the mind. 

If one is to do a TV show featuring a prominent Pinoy superhero, one must be prepared to flesh out that hero in a way that character has not been portrayed before. One can add strengths and weaknesses to his or her overall personality or perhaps inject some internal issues that create tension as the series progresses. I state that, far from alienating the masses who watch these shows, such a shift in programming can lead to more Filipino viewers because by then, the story itself would have grown more intelligent and more compelling that even the higher echelons of society can appreciate the distinction.

Carbon Credits

An interesting topic came up in the show, The Bottomline with Boy Abunda.

Boy Abunda was interviewing L-Ray Villafuerte, Camsur's maverick governor. Both were discussing the province's ongoing project, a plan to plant 12 million trees by 2012. Asked about the motive behind this, Villafuerte mentions carbon credits and how it can provide the necessary economic impetus for green projects, such as his province's tree planting movement.

Simply put, carbon credit refer to (as per Wikipedia) "any tradeable certificate or permit representing the right to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide or the mass of another greenhouse gas with a carbon dioxide equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide".

In step with the Kyoto protocol, nations have pledged to lower their overall greenhouse gas emissions after a given time period. In other words, countries have set themselves their own limits as to how much pollution they can spew out without severely compromising their economic development. However, industrialized nations who cannot or will not do so can opt to purchase "carbon credits" from nations who have lowered theirs. This way, they can technically stick to their limits by owning another country's right to foul the air.

That's where Villafuerte steps in. By planting a dozen million trees, he hopes to sell industrialized nations carbon credits, an ingenious way of preserving both the local environment and making preservation efforts sustainable.

I don't know how he will make such a project feasible though (as far as I know, measuring how much carbon dioxide a hectare planted with several certain tree species can absorb isn't an exact science yet). But he has definitely paved the way for how other green initiatives can prosper.

Going Mecha

When I was young, I was a Gundam fan, like any other boy my age. My first taste of mecha anime was with the Gundam Wing series, which, despite its dark themes, was still pretty cool to watch. 

Like the rest, I also tried to draw and copy these robots, which I did quite well. I remember having several trading Gundam cards, cards which were usually sold outside school, and spending hours sketching figures, trying to make the legs and faces of my Gundams look right. 

Early on, I already imagined myself creating a comics series of my own, centered on mecha. I was in college then and I wanted to emulate what the Gundam series did: portray mature themes in a medium that was accessible and entertaining to people of my age group. One particular idea I had was weaving a story based on an alternate reality reflecting the more popular political trends of the period. What came out, after weeks of daydreaming, was a rough synopsis for a mecha graphic novel, titled 'The Adarna Chronicles'.

Looking back, the story I concocted then was pretty naive (What do I expect from a first year college student?). 

It centers on the intertwined lives of five elite pilots of the MAIAS (Mechanized and Armed Infantry Assault Suits. Wow. I can even remember my coined acronyms until now), over-sized robots which have garnered legendary reputations in a Philippines now torn apart by civil war. Various factions, each represented by a MAIA pilot, have conspired to break the country into several states. My main character is a rebel representing the Muslim secessionist movement. Another character, and his love interest, is a UN peacekeeper whose allegiance to peace is tested by her Lumad community's desire for autonomy and her own struggle for identity. The next character is a hotshot lieutenant from the Visayas, who is an icon for the separatist coalition (because of his numerous military exploits) but is secretly harboring doubts about his purpose and mission. The fourth character is the lieutenant's second-in-command, an aspiring soldier from the Cordilleras who grapples with the loss of her innocence as she faces the horrors of the war. Finally, the fifth character is a brilliant ex-general, with a tragic past, who is called upon by Imperial Manila to counter the insurgency threat.

As to whether I'll pursue this idea at all and bring it to reality by making an actual graphic novel, I honestly don't know. Maybe, I'm just too old to meddle with this stuff. Or maybe I'm simply too busy with more pressing matters.