Visit Mindanao

My Lakbayan grade is B-!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

I may not have conquered the whole Philippines yet I am proud to say I’ve been to most of the key areas (dangerous or not) in Mindanao. Know the place where you live first for you to be able to understand it. Know Mindanao first then you will understand why some people wanted to break away from the Philippines. We’ve been giving our income to Imperial Manila for their improvement. We’ve been providing water and electricity to some areas in Luzon. What do we get in return? Nada! Luzon is NOTHING if not for the money and resources of Mindanao so they’d better hold their tongues they next time they ask me if there is chippy in Davao coz they might, and i quote Dumbledore, “suffer the most painful death.”

Created by Eugene Villar.

PBB Teen Edition Plus Big Four

A reality show will soon end with four teenagers all after the big prize and while I am writing this entry, I am listening to Toni Gonzaga on TV talking about each of the four teenagers left inside “Kuya’s House.”

But then again, you can sense the bias of the script writer. All teenagers, except Robi, were presented in a way that would convince the viewers to vote for them. Robi’s VTR was written in a different way compared to the rest. In my personal POV, it was written not to convince the viewers to vote for him but to question whether he deserve the prize or not.

This is not to show that I am for Robi nor I am saying that the others don’t deserve to win specially Ejay. I am simply commenting, reacting, violently posting my POV on how the script was written.

That’s all!

Caregiver: An Attack to Patriarchal Society (Male Chauvinism)

Caregiver is the latest film of Miss Sharon Cuneta under Star Cinema Productions.

My Reactions

This is a story of an English Teacher in an elementary school who took a short course in care giving for her to follow her husband in London.

The story opened with a conflict between the protagonist and her son Paulo who doesn’t want his mom to follow his dad in London.Then again, the protagonist explained to her son the importance of her leaving with exact reference to social reality – POVERTY.

When she arrived in London, several problems unfolded – personal, professional and marital. It seemed as if this film never ran out of conflict. But I can’t really identify the conflict in this film because it’s like a pot of all problems Atlas wouldn’t want to put his hands on.

Here are some of it:

1. The protagonist, before leaving the country, had issues with her immediate family and that includes her son.
2. The protagonist, before leaving the country, was offered with a promotion to be the English Department Head.
3. Her personal issues with her work – its difficulties and racial discrimination.
4. Her husband is ONE BIG PROBLEM.
5. Her self (yes. her (space) self)

The film showed the difficulties an OFW suffers in a foreign land. The film was promoted in this manner. Miss Cuneta even mentioned in one her many interviews that “you will surely have more respect to caregivers after watching this film.”

But looking at it closely, this film is not just about caregivers. Caregiver as a profession was used as a facade to show to the rest of the world both the good and bad sides of the Filipinos. The perseverance and dedication to the work at hand and on the other hand, how pride, a positive Filipino trait, can be so destructive. This film showed the Philippines as a Patriarchal society flooded with male chauvinists. This is not just about economic poverty, it is more of a cultural problem – how the colonizers implanted in our minds the wrong way of running a country, how media defined what is good and bad, how society dictates the definition of every word that runs the Filipino people – family, husband, wife, son, rich, poor etc.

The protagonist, at the end of the movie, triumphed not just as a Filipino in a foreign land, but as a Filipino woman in general against patriarchal society and male chauvinism.

Let us not take films lightly. Just because it is the story of a caregiver doesn’t mean it is all about caregivers.

new look

This was how i looked like a few hours ago.

This is me NOW.

Denciojuan sa Dapitan

Iilang minuto lang ang Dapitan mula sa Dipolog kaya dinalaw ko na lang. Matagal ko na rin namang gustong pumuntang Dapitan kahit noong una akong mapadpad sa lungsod ng Zamboanga nung high school pa ako. Ilang taon pa ang lumipas bago ito natupad.

Bakit ba nakakasabik pumuntang Dapitan? Unang-una, ang Dapitan ay naitanim na ng ating mga guro sa Araling Panlipunan, SIBIKA o kung ano man ang tawag dyan ngayon o sa panahon nyo. Kilala ang Dapitan dahil na rin kay Jose Rizal. Mas lalo pa itong sumikat nung ginawa ang pelikulang “Rizal sa Dapitan” na pinagbibidahan ni Cesar Montano at Amanda Page.

Kaya dinalaw ko na rin. 20 minuto mula Dipolog bitbit ang 25 pesos pambayad sa sasakyan at iilang barya para sa tricycle ay ayus na ang lakad mo.

Pagdating namin doon ay dumiretso agad kami sa Rizal Shrine hindi lamang sa excited kami kundi malapit na itong magsara. Mag aalas-singko na kasi ng hapon iyon. Hindi naman bukas ang Shrine ng 24 oras. Wala si Mike Enriquez doon. Inikot namin ang buong Shrine. Nagsimula kami sa museo. Pero nakakalungkot isipin at tingnan na walang laman ang museong ito. Hindi literal na walang laman kundi wala kang makukuhang matino sa lugar na iyon maliban sa tshirt na sobrang mahal. Hindi napreserve ang ibang larawan. Walang labels ang lahat. Museo bang matatawag ang lugar na iyon?

Wala ring laman ang mga bahay na replika ng mga itinayo ni Rizal. Nagtayo sila ng replika ng kusina ni Rizal pero ang nasa loob naman ay mga bagong gamit. Sana man lang yung medyo umitim na dahil ginamit na nga. Kaso ang nilagay, palayok fresh from the palengke.

Masamang magreklamo pero mas maganda ang lugar na ito noong LGU ng Dapitan pa ang nagpapatakbo. Ngayong hawak na siya ng National Government, history na talaga siya. Kasaysayang dapat kalimutan dahil nagmumukhang walang kwenta ang lugar na iyon. Ibalik na sa LGU ng Dapitan ang pamamahala ng Rizal Shrine! Ang mga taga-Dapitan ang nakakalam ng mga pangyayari!

Ito ang iilan sa mga kuhang larawan sa Rizal Shrine!

walang label kahit maliit na papel sa tabi nito.

wala ring label. ano ba?

ang kahoy ni Rizal

ang CR ni Rizal

***

May ginagawa ngayon sa Dapitan na magpapakita kung saan dumaong ang sinakyan ni Rizal. Nakakatawang isipin. Fabrication na ang lahat ng makikita mo doon. Kung si McArthur ay may “I Shall Return” si Rizal naman ay may “Just Arrived.”