Jevie de Guzman
28 August 2006

Hataw and Jueteng in Malasiqui:

I hope that Police Chief P/Supt Harri Fama will be true to his words even if the pressure should come from the incumbent officials of Malasiqui.

Previous Police Chiefs in Malasiqui failed to curb the illegal gambling because of the untouchables. I will not mention who the untouchables are but if you are an official of a town you should know if there is a presence of illegal gambling in your area of responsibility. It is very obvious who the untouchables are.

Now that the election is fast approaching, politicians need money for their campaign and the illegal number games is the sure source of the campaign fund. It will be a difficult task for Police Chief P/Supt Harri Fama to stop the illegal gambling in Malasiqui since the very same town officials are acting blind on the rampant illegal gambling in Malasiqui.

With due respect to his ability and for being an officer and a gentleman, I will salute you Sir Fama if you can stop the illegal gambling that is ruining our beloved town Malasiqui. As a citizen of Malasiqui, you will have our support for such an endeavor.

Good luck and God bless.

Jevie Jebong de Guzman
OFW
Worldwide Oil Exploration Consultant

FOR SALE
MITSUBISHI ADVENTURE GRAND SPORT
2000 DIESEL ALL POWER
With silver 2-tone - (Manual)

 

FOR SALE
Lot with wall and gate at Bonuan Blue Beach Subdivision, Dagupan City.
336 square meter x 568 square meter.
Call 515-2376/ 09212818708.
Look for Mrs. Ellis.
Direct Buyer’s only

 

FOR SALE
(Used) KENWOOD XD-751 mini compo/ compact HI-FI system
CD, VCD, cassette tape player and radio. P5,000. only.
Call 5155442.

 

LOT FOR SALE
1) A 2,819 sqm. residential lot, located at Greenfields St., Brgy. Malabago, Mangaldan, Pangasinan.
2) A 3,080 sqm. lot, also at the same area
Contact Cellular No. 0917-5085924.

 

FOR SALE
HOUSE & LOT - 265 sq.m.
Located at Zamora St., Dagupan City.
Contact Cell. No. 09189595995/ Anthony.
Direct buyers only. 

 

FOR SALE
Poultry and Piggery Farm 1.4 hectares
Located at Macayog, Mangaldan, along Provincial road going to San Fabian.
Contact Cell Nos. 09193588411/09195134799
Call/text: 09214184097.

 

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE IN BAGUIO CITY
New & latest designs Houses w/ lots. Ready to occupy or Packaged deal (3 to 5 months constn.) in 100, 150, 200 to 500 sq.metrs.
With or w/out garage in some selected locations in Baguio City. Near City Proper!
2 storey houses w/lots - 2 or 3 bedrooms w/ 1 or  2 T&B.
From 2.6M, 3.3M, 3.7 M. 4, 2M, 5M up to 10M.
Cash or installment up to 10 yrs to pay (Bank or Pag-ibig) with 30% or 20% D.P.
Bungalow 1.7 M.
By MPI Realty in Baguio.
Also, 1st class subdivision lots/res’dl. ord.  lots, comm’l lots in Mangaldan, Dagupan City & San Fabian (Beach Houses)
Free sight trippings by appointment.
Call Mr.   David de Guzman (Malabago, Mangaldan) Real Estate Salesman
Tel. No. (075) 513-5225 or Cell Nos. 09159801408/09212147246.

Ms. Ric
28 August 2006

On this issue of education and the donated 10 billion pesos, let me address a few issues. First and foremost use the money to re-write the whole education policy as perceived by Filipinos. Upgrade the expectations for every single administrator, for every single teacher, and for every single student.

Let me use a newly passed law that we have here in the U.S. Four years ago, Bush put together a committee to oversee education. This committee started to listen to teachers (what a concept), one of our issues was to stop using Japanese classrooms to measure our standards. We asked to be compared with other classrooms in the U.S. - after all each state can’t be that different from each other (we thought). They agreed.

This education committee put together a law, signed and passed by both houses, called NCLB (No Child Left Behind). The law went into effect in 2002. One of the components of NCLB is that by 2005, every single teacher had to be proficient in what they teach. School districts had to provide training and/or education for these teachers. They had three years to get their acts together or they were asked to leave, tenured or not. Gone were the days when a PE teacher can teach math.

Another component is writing standards for the four cores: English, Math, Social Science, and Science. It’s a uniformed, re-vamped curriculum for the whole nation. Most of these standards are a step up from what we had four years ago. For example, Algebra 1, which used to be a ninth grade class, is now an eight-grade class. Your typical 15-yr. old ninth grader is now in Geometry.

Two major components deal with accountability and students. NCLB states that by 2017, every single student in the U.S. is proficient in those four cores. This created uproar. The intentions are good, but the premise is somehow flawed. Students were not defined. “All students” mean every single child from Kindergarten to twelfth grade. It doesn’t take into account that we have handicapped students (learning and physical), and in some states like California, we have language issues. No accommodations were made.

The other major component is funding. Districts receive three kinds of monies: Federal, State, and private donations. Under NCLB, districts will not receive Federal funding if the schools do not perform well. And how do we know if schools are performing well? Enter State policies. Each state had to develop a way to measure these standards. New York, Illinois, and California wrote the toughest accountability system in the nation. On top of the mandated state testing that we administer at the end of the year, California also has another requirement for graduation called Exit Exam in Math and Language Arts. The math part is easier than Language Arts, after all math is math no matter where you’re at. However, Language Arts is tougher. Every graduate has to pass a multiple choice test on not only the mechanics of writing and reading, but be able to write a couple of essays as well. Note also that next to Texas, California has one of the highest English Language Learners. This means that a Filipino student who’s only been in the country for six months or less is expected to pass this test if he wants to get a diploma. The class of 2006 was made the example. Last year, students were deprived their high school diploma without passing this test. This is not to say they did not receive a “certificate of completion”.

The whole NCLB is college prep driven curriculum. We all know that not all kids are college materials. Some of them will end up in vocational courses. This is where private donations come in. A district can only offer so many vocational courses because funding is very limited from both State and Federal. We rely mostly on private donations to offer an array of vocational courses the students can choose from. The Gates Foundation donates millions into this concept of ROP (Regional Occupation Program). ROP trains the students in their area of expertise, be it growing grapes, technical support, or building houses. The premise is simple. An 18-yr. old armed with nothing but a high school diploma or certificate can still function as a responsible taxpayer with ROP training.

The U.S. department of education is still flawed. We continue to have high school drop outs and illiteracy is still a major problem, but at least the pendulum is swinging back to when “Education Matters”. Philippines can still turn it around. Filipinos are going to need more than just the 10.5B to make a difference. Filipinos will need to change the whole philosophy behind what’s important: living next to someone who’s literate or illiterate.

CLASSROOM FROM CANADA - The Pangasinan Association of Canada (PACA) headed by President Willie Rapanan, has donated two-classroom multi-purpose technology building  to the Sumabnit Elementary School in Barangay Sumabnit in Binalonan, Pangasinan and was officially named Nieves J. Ramos Memorial Building. The project was pursued in coordination with Ms. Alma Benemerito of the same school. 

(Contributed byJojo Taduran)

Rafael L. Oriel, Jr.
28 August 2006

Mr. Ceralde, I think your cousin’s Christian forum that you participated is all about Christianity and religion.

The forum wherein I am a member and an officer in the organization is not all about religion. Like I said in my previous posting, we can discuss anything under the sun including politics, health, job opportunities, Christianity and religion, etc.

It is similar to Sunday Punch Forum except nobody complains if somebody’s opinion contains issues related to Christianity and religion most especially when they are relevant to what we are currently discussing which is mostly current events in the country and around the world that affects the lives of Filipinos worldwide. How on earth can we participate and response properly without touching Christianity and religion if the discussions are about the separation of church and state, Middle East crisis, prayer rallies of militants/leftist/political and religious leaders, taxation of religious establishments and the church’s views and participation in the impeachment process and Charter change?

Mr. Ceralde, you might be right, you will surely bore and annoy disinterested people in the Sunday Punch forum if you will be discussing those things you mentioned in your posting even if you said they are in line to history’s lesson.

One of the members of our forum said it right, “Believe ako sa FBP Forum natin,.. kung baga sa pagkain completo sa rekado. Dito sa Forum na ito completo sa drama, may posting sa latest news, may birthday greetings, may posting ng Words of God, may posting ng Prayer Request, may posting ng mga jokes, may posting ng meaning ng man vs. woman, may posting ng words of wisdom, may posting ng offering of condolence, may posting ng encouragement, may kulitan blues, mayroon din heated arguments pero walang personalan, mayroon intrigues pero brotherly & sisterly lang, halos everything and practically under the sun mapa kung anong subject pero guided in the spirit of love of country, brotherhood, camaraderie and most of all love of God.”

In FBP Forum, we observe proper decorum and we do not like anybody maligning others. We have group moderators. Once in a while we encounter some problems but so far we were able to resolve them easily. Our members are Filipinos who have high hopes and dreams for a better Philippines, Filipinos who are God-fearing, just and compassionate compatriots who are willing to carry each other’s burdens and move towards One Peaceful and Better Philippines.

It is very interesting to note that there are some people who can talk eye to eye with other people about anything regardless of their political and religious beliefs not to exclude even atheist, agnostics and skeptics. They know what to say without offending other people or without hurting their feelings. I know some people here in Canada who has those capabilities. There is even a medical doctor here specializing in mood disorders who incorporated spirituality with his medical practice. In healing mood disorders, he encourages medications using modern drugs but, at the same time, he encourages counseling in Christian perspective with the patient’s permission, of course. Because of his personal experiences, he believes in the power of prayers in healing patients. He said he has full documentations of his successes in helping many of his patients getting cured with their illnesses with unexplained divine interventions.

Well, what is the use of going to Manaoag for pilgrimage if we do not have that strong faith in God?