Ang Puno ng Santol

I love trees. I feel bad every time I see people cutting them down.

I literally grew up with this santol tree. I'm not sure of its age but it probably is older than me. When I was a kid, we use to sell its fruits for 50 cents a piece...

The place where it stands has become one of our favorite spots when taking pictures at home. It's got a huge trunk, almost twice my body size:


Standing tall at around 40 feet:


We never had plans to cut this tree down, so I was surprised to see this last weekend, when I arrived:

Illegal logging happened at our front yard!

I don't know the exact reason why, but my father said he'll replace it with rambutan. Ain't gonna cry over spilled milk, so we made the most of what was left:





I'd forever miss that tree...

***

Define chaos

During these times, it's when you desperately hop from one bus terminal to another hoping to get on a bus and arrive home in time for Christmas. What's worse? It's when you find out that the earliest possible time to do that is 4 hours and 45 minutes away. What am I going to do for 4 hours and 45 minutes?


I can't stand being in a very crowded terminal for hours, so I immediately took a cab and went back to my place amidst heavy traffic. I swear, Cubao is always the last place I would wanna be at. And believe it, the total amount I spent roaming around Cubao via taxi is more than the amount I paid for a 7-hour bus ride.

Well, perhaps a blessing in disguise? I realized I forgot my phone charger right there in my bed. I had time to rearrange stuff inside my bags, and even to gift wrap.

Hoping for a safe trip back home.

Merry Christmas to all.
Cheers!!!

***

Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps)

May namimigay ng pera sa amin - balita yan ng nanay ko nung tumawag ako noong isang linggo. Reason? Ang bayan daw namin ang pinakamahirap sa buong lalawigan ng Ilocos Sur, ayon sa survey. Therefore, recipient kami ng 4Ps.

Ano ang 4Ps?

Pantawid (Gutom) Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps)

"4Ps is a poverty reduction strategy that provides grants to extremely poor households to improve their health, nutrition and education particularly of children aged 0-14.

It is patterned after the successfull Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Programs in Latin America and Africa. CCT has been cited as one of the key factors behind the positive socio-economic outcomes achieved by Brazil where 11 million families are currently enrolled in the program, and other countries." -source-

Ilan ang nakukuha ng bawat pamilya?
Php500.00 per month.

Kung may anak ka na 7-14 years old, may additional Php300.00. Dapat ang anak nag-aaral, else, walang dagdag. Kung anak mo lima, below 14 years old lahat at pumapasok sa eskwela, meron kang dagdag na 300 - tayms payb!

Paano nasala ang mga benificiaries?

Step 1 - nilista lahat ng bayan na nasa 20 poorest provinces sa bansa.
Step 2 - pinili ang mga poorest towns na matatagpuan sa mga poorest provinces na yan.
Step 3 - lahat ng mga mahihirap na pamilya na galing sa mga poorest towns na kabilang sa poorest provinces na to, qualified!
Step 4 - selection process, computer na daw ang bahala?!?

Computerizes selection of the poorest households based on a ranking system using Proxy-Means test. It assesses socio-economic characteristics such as: ownership of assests/appliances; type of housing unit; level of educational attainment of household heads; and access to water and sanitation facilities. -source-

Kung nababasa mo ito, sigurado ako hindi kabilang ang baryo nyo sa mga 20 poorest provinces na yan! Hehehe.

Sadly, ang bayan namin, nangunguna. Nangunguna sa kahirapan sa buong Chavit territory. We are poor, as in the poorest poor based on (most of) the socio-economic characteristics mentioned above.

Gayunpaman, masaya na din ako. At least may natatanggap ang mga kabaryo ko buwan-buwan di ba? Pambili din yan ng asukal, kape, tinapay. Pero definitely hindi pantawid gutom. Kasi naniniwala ako na walang nagugutom sa amin, dahil lahat ng pamilya ay nakakakain ng tatlong beses sa isang araw. Amf!

***

Let's pray and help Northern Luzon... too.

After typhoon Ondoy, typhoon Pepeng is overstaying,


in Nothern Luzon.


He spared Metro Manila, but not the north.

Some barangays in Baguo are sinking. Main roads have been closed due to landslides. The city is now isolated.

Farms and rice fields in Cagayan are still under water.

Some 1000 people are trapped inside SM Rosales in Pangasinan. 60% of the province is flooded.

My friend and her family, and many others, in La Union have evacuated due to flooding too.

No vehicle can enter Vigan and Abra now. Roads have been closed.

I can't contact my family in Ilocos Sur today, the last news I received; half of our town is flooded.


What's happening to the Philippines?



I always believe that God listens everytime I pray not for me, but for others. I ask for His guidance and help in keeping our families, friends and love ones safe...

***

Pinikpikan

Hindi ako nanood ng SONA. Sinasaniban kasi ako pag nakikita ko ang pagmumukha ng presidente.


Sana naging manok na lang siya.



Gagawin ko siyang pinikpikan!

Hahawakan sa paa.

Papaluin sa pakpak.

Gigilitan sa leeg (morbid, wag na po ask ng picture)

Kunan ng dugo.

Susunugin.

Walang matitirang balahibo.

Huhugasan.

At chop-chopin.

Joke lang po. (In fact, ang pamangkin kong nasa ibang bansa, naawa sa manok. Sorry sa iba na hindi rin sanay.)

In a serious note, sagrado po ang pinikpikan sa mga kababayan naten sa Cordillera, na namana na din ng mga ibang Ilokano. May cultural value. It started as a tradition, na naging regular practice na pag nagkakatay ng manok. Kasi mabango, masarap! Madami siguro kokontra, pero, naisip mo na din ba kung pano kinatay ang manok na ihinahain sayo sa mga mamahaling restaurant?

Anyway, naging tradition na rin namin ng tatay ko to. Basta uuwi ako, meron nyan. And by the way, native chicken po to. Purong bigas at mais ang mga pinakain at walang halong chemicals. It would take months para lumaki hangang pwede ng katayin. (Ewan ko lang kung may gumagawa nito sa mga manok na pinakain lang ng feeds at nagkalaman na after 45 days?)

I've been doing this for as long as I could remember, with my father. Ako lagi taga-hawak sa manok. hehe. He'd always show me how to do it properly, may tamang procedure, but 20 years later hindi ko pa rin talaga natututunan.

And the result...

Purong-purong manok. Natural lang. Hindi kailangan nang mga cubes cubes para magkalasa.

Lutong bahay - priceless!

Ang katotohanan sa likod ng buhay sa baryo

Tama na nga muna ang sex video.


Nauuso ngayon sa blogosphere ang mga kwentong barrio. At dahil ayoko mapag-iwanan, siyempre makikisali din ako.


Technically, hindi naman talaga baryo ang lugar namin. Pero dahil nakatira kami sa bayan na may bundok, batis, ilog at bukid, at minsang tinawag na 5th. class municipality, ganun na rin yun di ba? Ang bayan namin, hindi yung typical na town. Baryong-baryo siya in many ways.

Walang palengke. Ang pinakamalapit, kulang-kulang isang oras na byahe. Kung gusto mo mag-Jollibee, that's two hours away. At kahit isang burger lang oorderin, todo ang get-up. Kasi sa loob ng jeep galing bundok, hindi proper attire ang naka-shorts lang. Palibhasa minsan-minsan lang makasakay at makarating ng highway kaya dapat tamang get-up. May schedule ang byahe na kadalasan once or twice a day lang. Hindi yung gigising ka lang anytime, lalabas ng bahay at papara na lang.

Madaming misconception tungkol sa lifestyle sa bukid. Tulad na lang ng bahay kubo as a symbol of poverty. Not necessarily. Kahit nagkakamay kumain, sa bahay kubo nakatira at walang pera sa bangko, nakatago sa baul ang pera nyan. Pagsama-samahin mo ang mga alagang baboy, kambing at kalabaw tas presyohan, idagdag pa ang mga lupaing sinasaka, mayaman na in their own rights. Tamang hindi nagugutom at kumakain talaga ng 3 square meals a day! IMPORTANT: Applicable lang sa kabukiran to. Kasi pag sa Manila bahay kubo ang tinutuluyan mo, ibang kwento yun.

Hindi lahat ng kababaihan naka-daster. Pinauso kasi sa mga pelikula ang promdi look eh, at hindi na nila na-update. Tuloy akala ng mga nasa city puro nakapaldang mahahaba ang mga babae sa bundok. Hindi po. Panahon pa ng hapon yun, sa mga paintings na lang ni Amorsolo makikita. Ngayon, madami din kita ang legs pag manamit; makikinis! Kasi, laging nahihilod ng mga bato sa batis. Hindi uso dun yung nabibiling net na pang-scrub, bato lang talaga. Sa baryo, it's almost a taboo na hindi mag-scrub (ng bato!) pag naliligo.

Hindi rin kami laging naka-camisa de chino. Hindi porke't magbubukid yun na lang lagi ang sinusuot. Makikita mo na lang to pag may mga nagtitinikling sa field demo pagdating ng mga pista.

Hindi na uso ang harana. LOL. Sa TV na lang meron yun, pag may artistang nagbe-bertday. Wala nang babaeng naka-dungaw sa bintana at kinakantahan. Text-text na lang ngayon. Meet sa kung saan, at yun na yun.

Sinong nagsabing maiitim kami? Blasphemy! Pare-pareho lang ang kulay nang balat naten. Babad lang kasi sa araw kaya umiitim.

Opo, may mga schools din po kami. Minsan, ilog at bundok ang tatawirin para lang makarating sa school. Mga books pinagpasa-pasahan na ng ilang henerasyon. Hardbound, kasi tinahi na ng lubid nung unang mapasakamay sa mga ninono pa namin. Kung panganay ka sa pamilya, kadalasan sayo lahat ang bago, pero kung ikaw ang bunso asahan mong tagapagmana ka ng mga pinag-lumaang uniporme ng mga ate o kuya mo. Ang mga magulang sa baryo, handang magbenta ng mga baka at kalabaw, at magsanla ng mga lupain para may pang-tuition lang ang mga anak. Ganun kahalaga ang edukasyon.

Simple lang talaga ang buhay doon. Kaya nga kami pinapabayaan eh. Akala kasi ng mga trapo naten wala na kaming pangarap, na kuntento na lang sa kung anong meron. Natutuwa kasi kami pag pinipinturahan nila ang plaza ng puti at yung mga pangalan nila nakaprint sa pula na ang lettering pagkalaki-laki. Lahat ng makikita mong bigay nila malaki man o maliit, may "donated by".

In a way tama sila. Pero nangangarap din po kami. Overtime, nagkakaroon ng linya ng kuryente, cable TV, sementadong kalsada, at higit sa lahat umaakyat ng entablado at tumatanggap ng diploma.

Yun nga lang ang mga sementadong kalsada very short ang lifespan. Seasonal kumbaga kasi pagdating ng mga bagyo tinatangay yun ng tubig ulan. Ganun siya katibay. Palibhasa yung budget pinang-casino sa Las Vegas at pinang-gawa ng sariling zoo! Amf talaga!

Sniffing marijuana the legal way.

It's legal to sniff marijuana in public. Since when?

Ask the PNP and PDEA.

It was my second day in the province. Sarap gumising. Cool, fresh air. May kinailangan akong gawin sa plaza namin so with some tools at hand, I asked my nephew who just woke up to come with me. Usually, walang tao dun so I was quite surprised to have seen this:

It was 7 in the morning. May darating daw na bisita ang mga pulis, kaya pala may mga tao. Pagkatapos ng ginagawa ko, naki-usisa ako. May iniipon na damo.

MJ! MJ! MJ!

I got excited. First time ko kasi makakita ng marijuana.


Of course, I know, they'll do public burning of weeds again. Hindi ako interesado makinig sa forum nila, bumalik na lang ako nung sinusunog na ang damo.


They've done this many times before. In fact, too many times that people can start calling us the marijuana burning capital of the north. That pisses me off. It's not really giving us the supposed to be good image at all. Proud kami nung una, pero kung halos taon-taon yan ginagawa, kahina-hinala na ata?

If PDEA and the PNP are really serious with their anti-drug campaign, dapat hindi na laging may ganito di ba? Sino ang mga nagtatanim nyan at bakit ndi sila ang huliin? Bakit mga pananim lang ang nahuhuli?

It is so reality TV. May magtatanim, alam kung klan aanihin, may konting susunugin. Envited ang media, may camera at picture picture. Bukas may masasabitan ng medalya. It's just a show. Scripted na, at may interview portion pa.



This was the topic between me and my father that day. See? He's a retired police officer. He's been there, and I am proud to say that he's one of the few who have been true to their service. I'm aware that during his time he surrendered every single leaf of marijuana that they got from their operations. He never made money out of it, nor used it to get promoted. Kasi kung ganun, mayaman na sana kami. Amf!

Although I know that he know the things that's going on behind all these, he believes despite everything that the PNP and PDEA are doing this for a good cause, that integrity is there, something that I totally am not agreeing with.

Anyway, here's how a public marijuana smoking looks like.




Enough to keep me high for days.

I'm back

Since I graduated from college, I never get a chance to stay at home for longer than 5 days anymore. I have been away, living alone, so a 10 day vacation is quite an experience. Although busy with some personal commitments, I enjoyed being back at the comforts of home again.

I just got back here yesterday, and I am starting to miss home very terribly. No wonder, I fell in love with Daughtry’s Home and Nickelback’s Photograph very much.

So homesick.

Let me start my blogging again with some photos.

Hulaan muna kung ano yan. Details on my next posts.

Cheers!

Sugpon, Ilocos Sur: Home Sweet Home

My love for animals and nature has grown from I-want-to-have-my-own-zoo, to seriously thinking (dream on!) about joining PETA or WildAid. I honestly have no clue on how I could get there, although I already came across the "Donate Now" links on their websites which I'm too scared to click at this point.

Growing up in a small town surrounded by mountains and rivers, I was literally living in a green natural habitat. The hills were my play grounds; the rivers, my swimming pool.

Sugpon, circa 2007

Sugpon is the southeastern most town of the province of Ilocos Sur. One of the tiniest in terms of population, could be the biggest considering the total land area. It is the exit point of mountaineers who trek the ranges of Kibungan, Benguet. Electric posts rose along the streets in 1990, CNN and HBO came available on the chanel list 10 years later. Everyone knows everybody.

When I got the chance to move to the city, urban lights blinded me for awhile. I realized that I'm actually from a poor family and having both parents working is just ordinary. It's when the insecurity has started. I didn't want anyone to know where I am from. Life is just so different, I was in awe. Everything, and everyone seem to be living in comfort. I was thinking, why can't way pave the rice fields back home? I even contemplated about running for a position one day, and carry this as a main platform; everything shall be concreted, the roads, even the mountains!

Aerial view

Before I could have done such a silly act, I'm grateful that I got educated early on. This must be one of the reasons why destiny didn't allow me to withdraw from my quest of becoming an architect (I'm still working on that, BTW) before. Sustainable design and green architecture, which were hot topics with most of our architectural subjects back in school, have affected me and my views not only when designing but about the "paving" which I was so into as a kid, owing to my ignorance.

Now, I hate to see mountains getting excavated. I hope that the people like those behind the development of Cherryhills will put an end to their, destroy the environment-put risks to many lives-money making projects. I wish all developments that involves flatting of mountains and cutting trees will be stopped. I wish no one's buying illegal animal products.

I wish they'll replace the concrete pine tree in Baguio with a genuine one, tomorrow.

The epical Amburayan River.

I can't recount the story in complete details, but back in the 90's, German and Japanese corporations have been eying our precious Amburayan river for a dam construction. The offer promised jobs for the locals, construction of bridges, concreting, paving, power supply, money! If I were older then, I would have done everything to admonish everyone to say YES and gather their signatures for approval.

That was our only chance. Yes, civilization here we come!

In my young and ambitious mind, I was enraged when I learned that they turned it down. It turns out a group of fishermen and farmers raised questions: How is this going to affect our river? Are you sure it wouldn't get polluted? What will happen to the fishes? Would our children still be able to enjoy swimming without getting sick? 

That's 5 feet deep.

Many years later, I have come to realize that the decision made at that time which I thought was stupid, is actually a proud moment for the people of Sugpon!

And for the rest of us who have had the chance to achieve some levels of education, we should learn a thing or two from our farmers and fishermen! They stood up and asked questions. They were not blinded by the promise of potential stable jobs and progress in exchange of something that our folks have considered precious. Instead, they decided to protect our river! The river where we fish, where we swim, where we eat and celebrate - things that we do, until today.

I could imagine Datu Binas-o watching and smiling with pride!

The dam was constructed though, at the neighboring town. Today they're enjoying the short term effect, leaving us quite envious. Thinking about what could happen in the future, I'm still feeling better for ourselves. If an offer shall be made again, I'd be the first one to go out in the streets with banners in protest. You'll see me on TV. No way that a dam will be built and destroy my pool, not in our territory.

Where the sun shines...

and mountain rivers flow...

err, i went home just few days before the election. I filed a 1-day leave from work 3weeks prior to that date, as i was supposed to attend Maddie's wedding in Baguio. Unfortunately, the wedding has been moved to the 19th (it was too late when i learned about it so i can't file for another leave), so instead of staying in Manila, i decided to go home. That was Friday, weekends are my rest days, which means I've got 3 days to spend out of work!

I was so excited, knowing that my family and i both miss each other.
Everyone was so busy when i arrived home though, it was 3 days before the election, my brother-in-law was running for a position, and everybody's like moving around, obviously tensed...(by the power of vote-buying, my brother-in-law lost by a devastating 46 votes...WTF!)

The next day, i woke up quite early, my niece and nephew came with their sweet "go' mawning", so after having coffee, i thought we'd go for a walk...our destination...

...the river side.

I sooooo love those green things growing! hehe... I'm a nature lover, and it's so refreshing to start my day with these tall grasses and trees...weird? A breath of fresh air is all i always need...

I took a lot of photos with the kids, they just love it when the camera flashes, but when they're not looking, I'd take some shots with them out of the frame...hehe...this one's what i like the most. The sun behind the trees...

I enjoyed watching them play around...the feeling kinda brought me back to the time when i was a kid myself...(sigh).