Perplexing June 12

By Gerry Garcia

THE proclamation of Philippine Independence in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898, was more an expression of will and faith than actual acquisition. What we gained freedom from did not strike us as fully convincing as we were still under Spanish domination fighting against social and political injustice.

Most Pinoys believed the June 12 celebration was more nationalistic than anything else in choice and was not reflective of reality.

It was on July 4, 1946 that the United States made good its promise of complete independence for the Philippines and declaring it as a “separate and self-governing nation.”
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Unstoppable Globalization

By Jun Velasco

AN INDICTMENT of a joint venture between the Philippine and Chinese governments for the exploitation of some l.5 million hectares of idle real estate (PDI full page ad p. A 4) as anti-poor and anti- Filipino overlooks the unstoppable globalization phenomena.

We sympathize with the poor farmers who are always left holding the empty bag, but there should be a better and more creative way in dealing with their predicament.

Think of  how  they  helpless  beat the odds with their  already  lowly  priced produce against  the same or similar products sold by neighbor  China, Vietnam and Taiwan  at even much lower prices.
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Good luck, Mayor Al

By Gonzalo Duque

SEOUL, South Korea - Can’t help shed a tear when I see enormous advancement by other countries.  Most often, I told myself when I was in the United States, “ano kaya ang naging  kasalanan ng Pilipino at hindi makaahon sa kahirapan at di makatulad sa Amerika? 

And now, South Korea! Magnificent! South Korea is much smaller than the Philippines, but while I wrote this, I just rode in its ultra-modern bullet train which even makes the US’ Amtrak a Jurassic item. Ang layo ng Amerika sa teknolohiya!

I observed that while in the Philippines, the Congress is powerful because it has the power to enact the budget, while here, it’s the local governments that move the nation. This must be the reason their countryside is so advance.
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Mayor Nani as Mr. Nature

By Al S. Mendoza

MAYOR Nani Braganza of Alaminos City has not stopped amazing me.

First, he said he was disgusted with the national leaders in the run-up to the May 14 polls.

He went on to lambaste his political elders for what he called unprincipled forging of alliances with total strangers to form Ate Glow’s TU Team.

As things turned out, his tirades were well-founded.

The result showed an 8-2-2 count: Eight GO bets, two TU candidates and two independents came out winners last May 14.

Even the two TU winners-Joker Arroyo and Ed Angara could not be considered genuine administration allies as both are known to be staunch oppositionists.
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Wake up call for fishpen operators

By Eva C. Visperas

Anda Mayor Nestor Pulido issued a memorandum circular Friday to bangus producers in his town calling for a moratorium on the operation of their fish pens and fishcages for at least one month following a  massive fishkill affecting their produce since Wednesday with an estimated P100 million in losses.

Pulido, in a phone interview with this corner, said he also reiterated in his memorandum, previous guidelines that must be strictly observed by the operators “otherwise their permits to operate shall be cancelled”.
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Integrated weed management solves recurring low income

By Sosimo Ma. Pablico

The recurring low income of farmers practicing direct seeding of rice in Dingle, Iloilo has been solved through integrated weed management.

In the past, Dingle rice farmers had difficulty controlling the weeds despite the use of herbicides.  Until lately, they noticed that the weeds were getting more and more difficult to control despite increasing dosage and frequency of application.  Some of the weeds could not even be killed anymore.  As a result, their cost of production was getting bigger like a balloon and their net income was commensurately decreasing.
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Sinking ship

By +Oscar V. Cruz D. D.

Sad to say but real to behold, the present administration can be well likened to a sinking ship. The “Garci tapes” remain one big open political wound. The impeachment cases are considered a complementary unclosed moral dilemma—not mere a question of number of its ally politicos as these would want to think. The search for truth continues. The pursuit of justice remains. At the same time, the extrajudicial as well as downright political killings are not only unresolved but even continue to increase in number. Abductions are still a national reality. Offenses against human rights are committed as a matter of course. The Melo Commission report just as Alston findings remain but in paper.
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Sports-minded Spines

By Jesus A. Garcia Jr.

ONLY his close friends know that our newly elected Governor Amado T. Espino Jr. is a sports-minded person.

And I was never able to say the same for our outgoing governor.

I came to know of  Espino’s — fondly called “Spines” by his colleagues and admirers —  love for sports in 1981, just after the Marlboro Tour when my co-cyclist Fermin Zabala of  Bautista town recounted to me how he bagged the first runner-up plum, losing the national title to provincemate Jacinto Sicam by just a mere 12 seconds. He said his town mate, Spines, then with a rank of captain in the Integrated National Police, helped him financially during his intensive training. Zabala said without the assistance from spines, maybe he would not have landed on the top five.
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Bringing home Iraq

By Marifi Jara

The image of US Army Sergeant Richard “Valiant” Correa’s casket, alongside his grieving family and friends, is poignant.

He was so young. Sayang.

That the casket was draped in an American flag, arriving a day before the celebration of the Philippine’s Independence Day during which the waving of our own flag is supposed to take on special meaning, was quite disturbing.
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For the Boys Only

By Emmanuelle

Let us stop and pause a while. From playing politics, I mean. Though exciting, it’s such a nasty game. Except for a very select few, most of us are so naive about its rules.

Let us start from where we left off months ago. Let me tell you a reader’s true story.

Heard the line “I am sure the next will be a girl”? Or a boy? Research on population explosion places the blame partly on parents who originally set their hearts on a one-to-one ratio for kids, meaning one boy-one girl. There is none more perfect than the complacency that comes with the healthy presence of a Junior and a Juniora in the family when the issue of pagsasalin-lahi is involved.
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