Rafael L. Oriel, Jr.
8 August 2006

Mr. futuristic president Fabella, our solutions to our country’s problems are futuristic in a way because what we, the present generation, will be doing or sowing is not really for us. It is for the next and future generations to harvest the fruits of our toil. Our lifetime accomplishments and hopefully not our problems will be our legacies for our children and grandchildren to enjoy as remembrances from our generation.

I noticed that your comparison between the state and county where you reside and the country where most Filipinos reside is as diverse as your attitude towards people in the country where you reside in comparison to your attitude towards people in the country Philippines.

In the first scenario, you are the kind of guy who looks at a glass of water half-full instead of half-empty. You treat people in the state and bay area county where you reside with respect. You sound as if the people in that area of the world are all angelic people living together in peace and harmony in a paradise county by the bay. What you said is believable in a way because if we set all the problems aside it is partially true just like any of the other countries in the world. You respect the country where you reside and its people by not talking anything against them or anything bad about them. You only talk about how people are living together in peace and harmony. I admire you for that because when golden rule applies, respect begets respect. You did not say anything that is not pleasant to hear or anything that radiates negative spirit energies like unproven allegations, corruptions, illegal activities, criminalities, racism, illnesses, misfortunes, poverty, homelessness, rats, cockroaches or any other community problems that are common to all countries. These are well kept secrets of the community where you reside, issues that they do not really want outsiders to know. Nobody really needs to talk too much about community problems for as long as they are under control and being solve in the background by responsible people who are dedicatedly doing job, their share of duties and responsibilities to the community. While the public has the right to know, nobody really needs to broadcast to the world about these problematic things to minimize useless anxieties. People want to hear good news for moral support more than the bad news.

On the other hand, you treat people in the Philippines with some kind of contempt most especially the President. You treat her with total lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike. You even went to the extent of calling her Gloria Pidal Arrovo aka Mekeni queen by the stinky Pasig River. What you said is a lie and technically you are lying for saying something that is totally not true. We all know that you are lying because her real name is Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and she is not a Mekeni queen but the President of the Republic of the Philippines. Anybody has the capability to possibly lie, cheat or steal but we cannot just make allegations against anybody without proof beyond reasonable doubt, due process of law and it must be done in the proper forum to avoid injustices and unfairness.

In this scenario, you act like a different kind of guy who looks at a glass of water half-empty instead of half-full.

The bad news is that you are not alone with that kind of attitude. If we include some powerful politicians, rich businessmen, religious leaders, activists and poor people who are doing the same thing but maybe with different motivations, the group can radiate enough negative spirit energies that can effectively demoralize millions of Filipinos. Chaos, confusion and demoralization are destroying the country by killing the hopes and dreams of its people. That is exactly what the devil wants us to be. We must not make his job easier for him. Instead, we must work together to see the country and its people being blessed with successes instead of being dogged with misfortunes.

Philippines is a Christian country. What happened to “love thy neighbors and enemies” that our Lord Jesus Christ has commanded us to do? How come even preachers are trying to spread human hatred instead of God’s love? Other countries like Canada make it a criminal offence to incite or promote hatred. Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression to all Canadians. However, all Charter rights are subject to reasonable limits that can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.

Edener Benitez Fabella
8 August 2006

Oh my ghastly self. Now I need to go look inside my closet just in case the last skeleton decided not to do trick or treat and went into my baul instead. Now.. now…now… Ms. Ric don’t you go ridin’ in then SamTrans and BART asking good folks to sign up petition for Fabelous presidency? Thank you very kindly for your word of support. Frankly, last time I remember being a recipient of political support, it was when young men (debonair like me!) were still using ‘tancho-tique hair pomade and wearing pants heavily soaked in starch. I recall my mother (bless her soul) asking me occasionally -”bakit ka laging meron galos sa tuhod at binti?” I would smile and say to her- “it is all part of growing up.” Di ko lang masabi (fearing I might lose my Php0.10 centimong baon) na kung di ba naman kasi saksakan ng kapal nang almirol nitong pantalonity ko halos di ako makalakad na?

Those I think were my good years. I recall very vividly as students, we paid close attention to school homeworks and projects. There were rascals who didn’t care whether or not they get promoted to the next grade level. But for the rest of us, we knew the ‘kurots’ we will receive from our teachers if we didn’t do good on our jobs, will be more severe than those expected from mothers. On a bad day, you get it from both Aruy ko!

Talk about projects teachers made us do such as painting street stones, boulders and wooden fences with kalburo. It was our school civic contribution to the locality magandang tingan nga naman. I guess this trip down memory lane has more to do with school discipline of yesteryears. It is not about trivialities of today’s education or how present day faculty members motivate their students in sharing their civic duties.

The things you eluded to proven great in actual practice and in written principle in our respective districts will, undoubtedly, benefit our country and people if only our leaders stop treating citizens their milking cows. It’s in the 9th inning last at bat and losing. Yet, there seems to be no urgency and dedication in staying focused to the problems besetting the nation. Politicians in our country seemed to have deluded themselves into believing, the only interest there is to be had is that of their own. Greed, callousness and insensitivity are skills and fundamentals not acquired in schools. They are bred into decadent leaders who like vultures one day will be extinct.

Thank you and have a great day everyone.

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(This space will be reserved for literary contributions from readers. The PUNCH encourages readers to write and email to us their thoughts about their impressions and ideas about life in and outside of Pangasinan, whether social or economic or cultural. No politics, please. Thank you. - Publisher). 

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Villanelle 30

By Santiago B. Villafania

masamiong a rosas na Lebanon
oala ka man ed amagan talba
limgas ka ed no iner nipanon

balani ed banoan ikikinon
dia’d laylay mo’y sindag na lioaoa
masamiong a rosas na Lebanon

dayabdab na oayang so panaon
ya oala’d akualan mo’y inaoa
limgas ka ed no iner nipanon

bangta say dyus na bakal asolon
ilalak mo’y kaoalaa’y sesga
masamiong a rosas na Lebanon

ondabuk may laman mo ed kanyon
oalan oala’y ilesam    tan siansia
limgas ka ed no iner nipanon

alibansa’y ngaran mon magnayon
anlonge’y manangaro ed sika
masamiong a rosas na Lebanon
limgas ka ed no iner nipanon

Alexander Ynzon
8 August 2006

Mr. Gonz Duque,

Please don’t get mad at Mr. Pontaoe for expressing his opinion in this forum. You can always reply to his negative comments regarding your family. Being rich doesn’t give you that power to slap or sue any one who throws negative comments against you.

What happens if I do that to you also, because I have more money than you?

Ms. Ric
8 August 2006

It’s unheard of to nullify all those 17,891 individuals who took and passed the last nursing board exam, if only a selected few took the short cut and cheated. In my neck of the woods, there’s ground for lawsuits to say the least. The PRC or the governing body whose job is to control these tests has as much obligation to these would-be registered nurses. In fact, whoever wrote these tests have as much responsibility. When any assessment is written beyond an undergraduate degree, measures are taken to minimize the damage, if indeed test materials are leaked. Test banks are created by professionals whose job is to know their subject matter inside and out. Candidates either take these exams in front of a computer or in print. Computerized testing is becoming the norm, where there’s a different version for every single test taker. Test banks are created to queue problems given the same concepts but different wordings, numbers, and sometimes content with infinite possibilities. Most of these tests, if not all, are also in multiple-choice format which makes it even easier to catch cheaters. These tests have what’s called distracters, the wrong answers. For example, a problem with 4 choices has just one right answer but three distracters. These distracters have patterns. Based on the correct answer and wrong answer that a candidate chooses, a mathematician or in most cases, software designed to do just that, can narrow down an anomaly to the nearest percent, couple that with the limited version/test numbers and those cheaters are identifiable.

There are computer programmers and software engineers coming out of the Philippines with the sophistication parallel to that of the Gates or the Wozniacs. (Remember that infamous love virus?) It’s hard to believe that we’re still living in the dark ages when it comes to generating board exams.