Tambuling Batangas Publication January 02-08, 2019 Issue | Page 4

OPINYON January 2-8, 2019 Lingguhang Pahayagan ng Lalawigan ng Batangas na inilalathala tuwing Miyerkules / PRINTING PLANT: Sinag Publishing & Printing Services, National Highway, Brgy. Parian, Calamba City, Laguna. Tel nos. [phone] & [phone] / Subscription fee: One year P360.00 Six Months: P180.00 / Commercial Advertising rate: P160 per column cm / MEMBER: Publisher’s Association of the Philippines, Inc. (PAPI) / Raia Jennifer E. Dela Peña Managing Editor / P.L. Villa, RC Asa Contributing Editors / Shara Jane Falceso, Rachelle Joy Aquino, Jacquilou Lirio, Maria Carlyn Ureta staff writers / Ruel T. Landicho Lay-out Artist/ Ms. Corazon D.P. Marcial, Amber D.C Vitto Legal Consultant. email add: [email protected] & [email protected] Dichotomy of our times Between an A and a B, this year gets the latter. There was plenty of action, but there was also animosity. There were aces in the realms of diplomacy and development, but also atrophy in certain services. The Bs took us up and down: bells and belles, bullies and bullets. The return of the Balangiga bells, firstly, represented a triumph for the country’s dignity. The crowning of our fourth Miss Universe, Catriona Gray, presented the heart and hopes of this nation. The bells and the belle symbolize some of our highest aspirations and though the feeling seemed short-lived, it should fuel the country in the coming year. God knows we are going to need the inspiration. That’s because the bullies stole the show before yearend, beating us out of our complacency. Then bullets cracked way before the New Year’s Eve fireworks. It was an action-packed, bitch of a year and we never want to see it again. Unfortunately, we may just have been given a preview of what’s to come, 2019 being an election year. The New York Times ran an article last Sunday about the shooting of Rep. Rodel Batocabe, “the first member of the Philippines’ 297-seat House of Representatives to be killed in recent years, but he was the 21st official murdered since Mr. Duterte took office two years ago and began a brutal anti-narcotics crackdown,” it said. He was murdered just hours after another local elections contender in a northern town was also killed. Batocabe and his bodyguard died instantly, gunned down by unidentified men who showered them with bullets during a gift-giving ceremony for senior citizens in his hometown. The article ended with: “The country is to elect half of the 24-seat Senate, the entire House of Representatives and 18,000 local positions nationwide.” It sounded like warning bells. Electoral violence, condemned by our leaders in the strongest of terms, had always been the blight of our elections. The 2010 derby registered so much violence, for example, with regional clans in southern Philippines facing off in armed mini-wars and some precincts threatened by homemade bombs. That is how rivals for power fight so hard to claim a place in politics. Once they are there, they never want to let go. They would fight some more to keep it, to the point of violence. It’s a cycle that never sleeps. “Electoral violence here takes many forms: killings; abductions; terrorism; physical attacks on rallies, homes, offices and vehicles of candidates and supporters, and any other acts that result in deaths, physical injuries and/or damages to properties,” describes one online paper on electoral violence in the Philippines. It also included in its definition “intimidation, coercion and non-physical forms of harassment.” Bullying does take many forms and quite telling is when bullies emerge among the youth. What are they imbibing from their environment, or are they born that way? Is it because nothing is done to save the situation or can the situation be changed? Maybe it is worth listening to all those beauty queens when they talk about their causes. While we feast our eyes on images of female perfection, they are bringing to our consciousness some of the ugliness the world needs to change. Catriona said we owe it to the children to believe in them. And that means, one supposes, doing what we can to give them a future in which they can thrive. Meanwhile, Angela Ponce, the first transgender woman to compete in the Miss Universe, said she went through bullying, too, but she rose through the rejection and intolerance and made her historic walk on the pageant stage in Thailand, telling a global audience, “We’re living in a world where we can’t keep repeating the mistakes of the past.” In the run-up to the May 2016 elections, an online article reported “a total of 15 people was killed in election-related events since the start of the campaign period.” Citing data from the Philippine National Police, the report said, “15 people were confirmed killed since 10 January 2016” and that of 146 violent incidents recorded nationwide from 10 January to 8 May, 28 were “related to elections, with 15 fatalities and nine injured victims.” Until the last day (7 May) of the campaign period that year, “three people died while six others were hurt in the town of Jones in Isabela province,” the report added. What mistakes are we repeating that elections remain so volatile and problematic? Before 2018 ends, it’s worth looking back and trying to make sense of the good and the bad, the wrong and the right that made up the tumultuous year, so we may face 2019 strong. As John Lennon sang, “A very merry Christmas and happy New Year! Let’s hope it’s a good one, without any fear…” Ni Teo S. Marasigan LAST PART Krisis Krismas Sa telenobelang Eva Fonda: I’m not- so-fonda Eva Fonda dahil kontra- kababaihan ito, pyudal-patriyarkal, hindi lang dahil todong ibinibilad nito ang magandang katawan ni Cristine Reyes kundi dahil pinapatibay nito ang isang mensahe na sa isang babae ko rin narinig: Na kung magagahasa ang isang babaing hindi “disente” sa pagdamit at pag-asta, talagang kasalanan niya iyun. Sa mga tarpaulin ni Bayani Fernando na umaabot sa mga probinsya: Dapat imbestigahan – Kong. Roilo Golez! – dahil malamang na paggastos ng pondo ng gobyerno para sa sariling pakinabang. Sa paghahanda ni Bayani Fernando na tumakbo sa 2010: Itigil na sana niya ang kahibangan dahil hindi naman siguro porke kapos sa kandidato ang administrasyon ay papatusin na nito ang isang… katatawanan. Sa pelikulang Wanted: Nakakamangha ang ganda ni Angelina Jolie, nakakabilib ang bagong mga kwento tungkol sa buhay ng mga bala (may pektus, nagbabanggaan), at kaakit-akit ang pantasyang ihinahain: Na kaya ka tae-tae sa trabaho at buhay mo ay dahil may lihim kang talento na magbibigay sa iyo ng importansya sa isang lihim na mundong papasukan at lalabasan mo nang ikaw ang panalo sa dulo – at nang maipagpapatuloy ang misyon ng tatay mo. Sa pagkulong kay Atty. Remigio L. Saladero: Malinaw ang pagsusulong ng gerang makauri (class war) ng rehimeng Arroyo at Globe Communications sa pagpapakulong, batay sa gawa- gawang mga kaso, sa abogadong humahawak sa napakarami, kundi man pinakamarami, na kaso ng mga manggagawa sa bansa ngayon. Sa pagpunta at panonood ni Ambassador Kristie Kenney sa Wowowee nitong 22 Disyembre: Syempre, publicity stunt ito para pagtakpan ang katotohanang ganoon din siya kasaya – sumasayaw ng “Boom-Tarat-Tarat!” – kapag nanonood sa pagpapatupad ng rehimeng Arroyo sa masasamang patakarang itinutulak ng US. Sa sinabi ni Sek. Gilbert Teodoro, Jr. na “propaganda lang” ang pagdedeklara ng New People’s Army ng ilang araw na tigil-putukan at nagtataka raw siya dito dahil tinanggihan ng NPA ang alok na tigil- putukan ng gobyerno: Pinapagtibay nito ang pagiging utak-pulbura ng gobyerno dahil ang inaalok nito sa NPA ay hindi tigil-putukan lang, kundi kasunduan ng pagsuko. AWARD, AWARD Salamat kay Tanglad sa parangal na ibinigay niya sa Kapirasong Kritika! Malaking karangalan ito dahil galing kay Tanglad na una at unti-unti – as in unti-unti! – kong nakilala sa blog na ito bilang kababayang may maalab na pagnanasa sa paglaya ng bayan at kababaihan at sa pagsulat hinggil sa mga kaisipang makabuluhan sa pagkamit ng paglayang ito. Gusto kong isalin sa Filipino ang mga alituntunin ng parangal, pero huwag na siguro. Heto sila: (1) Each Superior Scribbler must in turn pass The Award on to 5 most- deserving Bloggy Friends. (2) Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author & the name of the blog from whom he/she has received The Award. (3) Each Superior Scribbler must display The Award on his/her blog, and link toThis Post, which explains The Award. (4) Each Blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler Award must visit This Post and add his/her name to the Mr. Linky List. That way, we’ll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who receives This Prestigious Honor! (5) Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules on his/her blog. Ilang pasintabi: Hindi ko isinama sa listahan ang (1) mga laging nagkokomento sablog na ito, dahil mukhang self-serving (Emmanuel Pasyon, Guiller Luna), (2) mga hindi regular mag-blog (Ilang-Ilang D. Quijano, Vencer Crisostomo), at (3) mga malamang na hindi pumatol sa ganito (Roland Tolentino, Angela Stuart-Santiago,E. San Juan, Jr., Edel Garcellano) – na pawang mga paborito ko rin. Heto ang iba pang paborito ko: (1) Kenneth Roland Guda. Hanga ako sa trabaho ng Pinoy Weekly, lalo na ng punong patnugot nito: ang paghahatid sa mga kwento ng nakakarami nating kababayan na hindi lumalabas sa midyang mainstream. Aliw din ang pagpapatampok sa progresibong chika tungkol sa mga musikero’t artista. (2) Sarah Raymundo. Kung anu- ano: drama at komedya, personal at panlipunan, akademiko at aktibista, pang-araw-araw at pilosopikal, kewl (cool) at militante, wikang mahinahon at maragsa, marangal at putikan. Laging makabuluhan, gayunman, at laging naghahangad ng buhay na higit sa kapitalismo. (3) Mong Palatino. Isa sa mga unang nakasapul sa progresibong potensyal ng pagba-blog at patuloy pa rin sa pagsusulat ng de-kalidad na mga entri, hindi chika-chika lang, sa napakasimpleng porma. Maraming kayang paksain at nitong huli’y dumadalas ang pagteteorya. Nasaan ang “disturbing fantasies”? (4) Marck Ronald Rimorin. Dine- deadma nito ang mga komento ko sa blog niya, dahil pa rin siguro sa isang sagot ko sa dating komento niya. Anu’t anuman, may estilong nakakapagpasimple at nakakapagpatalas sa pag-unawa sa mga isyung pampulitika. Masigla ang estilo at nakakaaliw ang mga kajologan. (5) Rafael Anton Dulce. Bagamat ultra-Kaliwa kung ultra-Kaliwa kung minsan (o madalas ba?), nagbibigay ng magandang sipat sa mga kaisipan at pinagkakaabalahan ng mga kabataang aktibista. Mapagkukunan ng inspirasyon at ahitasyon ng mga nananalig sa pagbabago at sa kabataan ng bansa. PANG-KAROLING MGA NERDO NG Napulot ko sa lumang isyu ng magasing Philosophy Now (Nobyembre-Disyembre 2006) ang kantang ito na isinulat ng isang William Anthony Welton, isang propesor ng Pilosopiya: Deck the Halls with Merleau-Ponty (Sa tono ng “Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly”) Raise a cheer for Merleau-Ponty Phenom-menom-mena-menology! Exquisitely and ele-gantly He made a name in French Philosophy! Like Jean-Paul Sartre and Voltaire before him And Rene Descartes, he played his part in history English thinking must have bored him So he wrote Phenom-menom-menol- o-gy! 23 Disyembre 2008