mabuhay issue no. 1001

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2 MabuhayLINGGUHANG PILIPINO MULA PA NOONG 1980 ENERO 1 - 7, 2010

EDITORIALAlfredo M. Roxas, Jose Romulo Q. Pavia, JoseGerardo Q. Pavia, Joey N. Pavia , Jose VisitacionQ. Pavia, Carminia L. Pavia, Perfecto RaymundoJr., Dino Balabo

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PHOTOGRAPHY / ARTEden Uy, Allan Peñaredondo,Joseph Ryan S. Pavia

BUSINESS / ADMINISTRATION

Loreto Q. Pavia, Marilyn L. Ramirez,Peñaflor Crystal, J. Victorina P. Vergara,Cecile S. Pavia, Luis Francisco, Domingo Ungria,Harold T. Raymundo,

CIRCULATIONRobert T. Raymundo, Armando M. Arellano,Rhoderick T. Raymundo

The Mabuhay is published weekly by theMABUHAY COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES —DTI Permit No. 00075266, March 6, 2006 toMarch 6, 2011, Malolos, Bulacan.

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MabuhayLINGGUHANG PILIPINO MULA PA NOONG 1980

Jose L. PaviaPublisher/Editor

Perfecto V. RaymundoAssociate Editor

Anthony L. PaviaManaging Editor

[email protected]

SA pagsalubong natin sa BagongTaon, sana’y maging matahimikat walang agam-agam sa atingmga kalooban. Nawa’y mapa-natili ng ating pamahalaan angkatahimikang ating naranasan sapagsisimula ng bagong taon.

Isa-isang tabi natin ang lahatng negatibong naranasan natinsa nagdaang taon at ipanalanginang inaasam-asam nating kata-himikan na naging mailap nangnakalipas na taon.

Ngayon, lumalakad na angtaong 2010, sikapin ng bawat isasa atin na mapanatili ang kata-himikan ng ating bansa sa pa-ngunguna ng mga umuugit saating pamahalaan at ng mgaitinuturing nating mga lider ngating bansa.

Mamulat sana sila na angkapakanan ng bawat isang Pili-pino ang pangunahin nilangdapat gampanan sa pagtupad nilasa sinumpaan nilang tungkulin.

Isang maalab na pagbati ngBagong Taon sa ating mga giliwna mambabasa at sana’y magingmabiyaya ang pagpasok ng taong2010.

Malapit na ang halalanMARAMI ang nananabik na sanalalapit na halalan sa Mayo 10ng kasalukuyang taon. Tiyak na

marami sa ating mga mangha-halal ang naninibago dahil sahaba ng talaan ng mga kandidatona kanilang pagpipilian paraiboto.

Minamantak mong dami ngmga kandidato ang nakatala sabalota! Isang gobernador, isangbise-gobernador, dalawa o tatlongbokal bawat distrito at isangkinatawan kada distrito.

Isang alkalde, isang bise-alkalde, walong konsehales samga bayan, at labing dalawang(12) senador ng ating bansa.

At ang pinakamahalaga ayang pangulo at pangalawangpangulo ng ating bansa. Gayun-din ang sa partylist.

Sana sa pagpili natin sa mgauugit ay maging maingat tayo.Ihalal natin ang mga kandi-datong may takot sa Diyos athandang maglingkod sa kapaka-nan ng taong bayan.

Huwag nating iboto ang mgakandidatong ang tanging layuninay magpayaman sa kanilangpanunungkulan.

Pulitika sa BulacanBAGAMAT mahigit na apat nabuwan pa bago sumapit anghalalan sa Mayo 10, marami nangmga kandidato ang nagsisiikot samga barangay. Nagiging mga

panauhin sila sa mga binyagan atmga kasalan. Kahit hindi silanagsisipagsalita ay maliwang napangangampanya ang kanilangginagawa.

Sa pagka-gobernador ay apatang nagparehistro sa Commis-sion on Elections sa Malolos. Itoay sina kasalukuyang Bise Gob.Willy Sy-Alvarado na siyangpinili ng Lakas-Kampi-CMD atdating Gob. Josie M. dela Cruz nasa tiket naman ng bagong kata-tatag na Del Pilar party.

Hindi ko na babanggitin angdalawang iba pa, na sabi ngmatatanda ay saling pusa.

Tatakbong bise ni Alvarado sidating Bokal Daniel Fernando,samantalang katiket ni Gob.Josie si Bokal Pacifico Aniag.

Sa sarili kong palagay ay sinaAlvarado at ex-Gob. Josie lamangang maglalaban ng neck-to-neckika nga. Pero maraming mapa-nuri sa takbo ng pulitika ang nag-sasabing, walang nakakasigurosa dalawa.

Maaari raw na si Alvarado atmaaari rin namang si Josie angmauupo sa kapitolyo sa daratingna Hunyo 30.

Kayo, kanino kayo… kay Willyo kay Josie?

Pero ako alam nila kung ka-nino ako.

IBA-IBA ang pananaw ng mgatao sa panaginip. May nagsa-sabing ito ay kabaligtaran ng mgamagaganap.

Mayroon namang naniniwalana ang panaginip ay isang bin-tana sa mga mangyayari sa hi-naharap.

* * *Ang sumusunod na kuwento

ay hindi nangangahulugan naang Promdi ay naniniwala sadalawang nabanggit na inter-pretasyon o pananaw hinggil sapanaginip.

Sa halip, ito ay isang simplengkuwento lamang na maihaha-lintulad sa isang panaginip.

* * *Sinubaybayan ba ninyo ang

tunggalian sa pagkagobernadornina dating Gob. Roberto Pag-danganan at dating Kapitan

Joselito “jon-jon” Mendoza mulanoong 2007, hanggang sa ma-halal si Mendoza at iprotesta niPagdanganan; at lumabas angdesisyon ng Comelec hinggil sanasabing protesta nitong Dis-yembre 1?

Hindi ba’t maihahalintulad saisang panaginip ang kanilangpatuloy na tunggalian para sapinakamataas na halal na po-sisyon sa lalawigan?

* * *Sa isang banda, matituturing

na masamang panaginip para sadalawa ang kanilang karanasanmula noong 2007.

* * *Para kay Pagdanganan, prok-

lamasyon lamang ang kulangnoong 2007 upang muling ma-kamit ang posisyon bilang go-bernador na kanyang hinawakan

sa loob ng 12 taon.Ngunit kinapos siya ng ma-

higit 15,000 boto para talunin siMendoza.

* * *Para naman kay Mendoza,

anim na buwan na lamang angnatitira sa kanyang tatlong taongtermino.

Ngunit lumabas ang desisyonng Comelec Second Divisionnoong Disyembre 1 na nagpa-walang bisa sa proklamasyon sakanya noong 2007, at nag-utos nabakantehin ang posisyon bilangpunong lalawigan upang mag-bigay daan kay Pagdanganan.

* * *Kung maglalabas ng pinal na

desisyon ang Comelec na paborkay Pagdanganan, magkakatotooang kanyang magandang pa-

sundan sa pahina 7

Buntot Pagé PERFECTO V. RAYMUNDO

Sa pagpasok ng taong 2010

Promdi DINO BALABO

Trip to Jerusalem vs trip to kapitolyo

PASLIT pa’y palaisip na si Dr.Jose Rizal, at ayon sa mga psy-chologist, ang taong palaisip aymay malamig na kalooban, ma-lawak na pang-unawa, tagapag-taguyod ng katarungan, at mai-bigin sa katotohanan.

Ngunit hindi duwag. (Sa pana-hong ito, ang taong mahinahonat mapagpasensiya ay napagka-kamalang duwag). Ang totoo,sampung taong gulang pa la-mang, nag-aaral sa Biñan, La-guna, sa ilalim ni Maestro Jus-tiniano Aquino-Cruz, nangunang mapalaban ng away siRizal—sa pagtatanggol sa isangkamag-aral, na niloloko ng isangbinatilyong taga-Biñan. Kaugnaynito, nang nasa Europa na, dahilsa angking talino, likas na pag-kamaginoo at kagandahang-asal,naging malapit kay Rizal angmga babaeng dayuhan, kabilangsi Consuelo Ortigas y Rey, nakasintahan ni Eduardo de Lete,isa sa mga kabataang kasamanina Rizal at nag-aaral sa Es-panya. Nagpagawa si Consuelong tula kay Rizal, at iyon aynabasa ni Lete, nagalit si Lete

Kastigo BIENVENIDO A. RAMOS

Payapang paghihimagsik ni Rizalkay Rizal, ngunit sa mahinahongpaliwanag ni Rizal, naglubag angpanibugho at galit ni Lete, atnaging magkaibigan sila.

Ang pag-aaral ng eskrima atpagbaril ay uso noon sa Europa—lalo na sa mga lalaki. Sa estudyoni Juan Luna, sa lunsod ng Paris(France), nagsasanay ng eskrimao arnis sina Rizal, Antonio Luna,at iba pa. Nanliligaw si AntonioLuna kay Nelly Bousted, isangmagandang Pranses, pero siNelly ay magiliw kay Pepe(Rizal). Nanibugho si Antonio(likas na mainit ang ulo), athinamon nito si Rizal ng duwelo.Tinanggap ni Rizal ang hamon,si Antonio Luna na rin ang umu-rong, dahil alam niyang mahusaysi Rizal sa eskrima o sa pagbaril-ang sandatang ginagamit saduwelo.

Binanggit ko ang ilang tag-pong ito—para pawiin sa isipanng mga mananaliksik at iskolar,ang maling impresyong nalikhang pagtanggi ni Rizal, na supor-tahan ang armadong paghihi-magsik, na ilulunsad nina Boni-facio. “Hindi pa handa ang bayan,

ang kailangan muna ay edu-kasyon, bago rebolusyon,” sabi niRizal kay Dr. Pio Valenzuela naisinugo ni Bonifacio kay Rizal, naipinatapon sa Dapitan ng pama-halaang Kastila sa bintang nasangkot sa namimintong paghi-himagsik.

Panulat ang sandataLABINTATLONG taon pa bagoitinatag nina Bonifacio ang Kati-punan, na naglalayong mag-bunsod ng isang armadong hi-magsikan, si Rizal ay naghihi-magsik na—pero payapang ‘pag-hihimagsik’ –sa pamamagitan ngkanyang katalinuhan at panulat.Nasasaksihan mismo ni Rizal samga Kolehiyong pinatatakbo ngmga paring dayuhan—ang ya-bang at paghamak sa mga Pili-pino ng mga kamag-aral niyangKastila, at upang ipakilalanghindi huli o sahol ang isang Indiosa mga dayuhang puti, pinagbutini Rizal ang pag-aaral, at na-nguna siya sa mga klase. At hindilamang sa klase dinaig ni Rizalang mga Kastila, maging sa

sundan sa pahina 4

FLASHBACK

Frank, critical analysisof Philippine conditions

EDITOR’S NOTE: Here is a “voice from the past” — a reprint of the Editorialin the April 28, 1967 issue of the defunct The Philippines Herald — thatspeaks eloquently of the country’s present situation. The Mabuhay reprintedit on July 8-14, 2001 midway of the first year of the Arroyo administrationand the Mabuhay is reprinting it again barely 6 months before PresidentGloria Macapagal Arroyo is mandated to bow out of office.

A “SITUATIONER” on the current state of affairs in the Philippines which wasmade by a ranking official of the U.S. International Aid for Development (AID)in his testimony before the American Congress is not expected to come as asource of pride for many Filipinos, particularly the more sensitive ones. For insum, what Wesley C. Haraldson, director of the AID mission to the Philippines,told the House foreign affairs sub-committee on Asian and Pacific Affairs, wasan appraisal of the Philippine situation that was, among other things, hardlyflattering to our image abroad and decidedly a sad commentary on presentand past Philippine efforts to solve the problems that had stood in the way ofthe country’s economic development.

Haraldson’s testimony before the U.S. congressional committee wastermed “unusually frank.” In a great sense it was. It was evident the AID offi-cial did not mean to sugar coat his views on the Philippines when he told theAmerican congressmen that “political unrest, cynicism towards governmentand threats to established law and order are prevalent” in this country. Nei-ther did he mean, it may be noted, to pull any punches or spare anybody whenhe implied a sense of disappointment in the present administration’s efforts tocorrect the country’s major deficiencies. Haraldson said it had been the hopeof AID that the present administration would “pursue and correct” the country’sshortcomings “with vigor.” But, he said, “as the years and months go by, thevigor wanes and the problems multiply.”

Without a doubt, the AID official’s frank analysis of the local situationwould not be allowed to stand undisputed by many, specifically those whosegovernmental functions are affected by Haraldson’s views. Most likely, theAID official’s observation will be questioned on the grounds that it is too sweep-ing and that, if meant to be a critical analysis of the present administration, itis premature. Perhaps it is. But the facts cited by Haraldson speak for them-selves just as they offer, for the country’s planners, a timely guideline on wherewe had failed and where we need to concentrate our efforts if we are to avoidsinking deeper into the economic and moral morass which we now find our-selves in.

There is much that Filipino officials could draw by way of a directionalreminder in national development in the AID official’s analytical observationof Philippine conditions, specially if taken in the spirit it was evidently meantto be — as a piece of constructive criticism. Haraldson’s view on the everincreasing gap between urban and rural living in this country, a sociologicalmalady which, he said, had brought about a situation where “the rich havebecome richer and the poor, poorer,” is not exactly a new critical observationof Philippine life. In fact not one but a number of Filipino leaders have harpedon it before, but sad to state, no concrete and far-reaching effort to remedythis socio-economic ill has been pushed through.

Haraldson’s critical views, as such views go, unquestionably sting. But ifthey could shake off our leaders from their attitude of lethargy and really drivethem towards an earnest search for a solution to our national problems, theymay yet accomplish what our people’s constant proddings have long failed toattain.

ENERO 1 - 7, 2010 MabuhayLINGGUHANG PILIPINO MULA PA NOONG 1980 3

Regarding Henry

HENRYLITO D. TACIO

Where there is hope"WHERE are you going?" I askedmy seatmate while riding in a busbound for Davao. My reason forasking: the thirty-something ladyseemed to be fretting. I wantedher to be relaxed while the ve-hicle is in motion.

he looked at me and replied,"Davao City." Then, she lookedat the window as if she was keep-ing away from talking with me.But the intruder - that's me! -wasn't satisfied. "Are youalright?"

he lady stared at me. "No, I'mnot alright," she said. "Mymother is in the hospital rightnow. She's in serious condition,but we are hoping that she wouldsurvive this. We hope so."

emember the Cascades song?It goes this way: "The last leafclings to the bough, just one leafthat's all there is now. And mylast hope is with that lonely,lonely leaf, with the last leaf thatclings to the bough."

From the withered tree, aflower blooms," states a Zen say-ing. Well, that talks about hope.A Scottish proverb pointed out:"Were it not for hope the heartwould break."

Ralph Waldo Emerson oncesaid: "We judge a man's wisdomby his hope." Such was the caseof Dr. Thomas Starzl. As a sur-gery resident in medical school,he was very much interested intransplants. In 1958, he sewednew livers in dogs whose livershad been removed. Unfortu-nately, all dogs died within twodays of the operation.

But his early experiments didnot deter him to continue whathe had started. He was hoping

that one of these days, he wouldsucceed. In 1959, he found a wayto stabilize circulation and thedogs lived for a week after trans-plant. This is a good start, hemay have told himself.

In March 1963, Dr. Starzl per-formed the first human livertransplant but his patient bled todeath. That failure, and a hepa-titis epidemic that spreadthrough artificial kidney andtransplant centers around theglobe during the early 1960s,forced his liver program to beabandoned.

But the termination was notcompletely though. In 1968, Dr.Starzl and others reported resultsof new transplant trials to theAmerican Surgical Association.All seven children involved in thestudy had survived transplants,although four died within sixmonths - an encouraging but notstellar result. By 1975, only twoliver programs were left in theworld.

Then in May of 1981, Dr.Starzl and his team had success -19 or 22 patients lived for longperiods!

Lesson of the story: Dr. Starzlwas criticized, even vilified, bythe medical establishment forattempting transplantation - buthe persevered. He was hoping allagainst hope that he will succeed- and he did! Today, liver trans-plantations are routinely per-formed in hospitals around theworld. "He who does not hope towin has already lost," said JoseJoaquin Olmedo.

As Martin Luther King, Jr.puts it: "We must accept finite

continued on page 4

Fair & Square

IKE SEÑERES

Sovereign communitiesACCORDING to Wikipedia,Athenian democracy was devel-oped in the Greek city-state ofAthens and the surrounding ter-ritory of Attica. This type of de-mocracy was characterized by thedirect participation of all citizensin the affairs of the city-state.Instead of electing representa-tives to speak on their behalf, thecitizens voted on their own right,thus eliminating the need for acongress or a senate.

Believe it or not, the technol-ogy is now here to enable citiesand states to go back to the Athe-nian democracy model. I wouldguess that the senates of the city-states cam about when the sizeof the population made it imprac-tical to resort to direct voting,considering how unmanageablethat would be. Fast forward to thepresent times, the technology isnow here to manage the directparticipation of an infinite num-ber of voters on any question oflaw or governance. Are we readyto go back to this model?

This idea may sound prepos-terous on first hearing, but in amanner of speaking, any form ofelection whether it is manual orautomated is actually an exercisein direct voting. The only differ-ence in this comparison is thatthe elections are held only everyfour years or so, because of thecomplexity of the process, andbecause of the impracticality ofasking all citizens about referen-dum issues on a daily basis, atleast in theory.

When I chaired the modern-ization committee of theCOMELEC many years ago, Irecommended in my final report

to the Commission and the Sen-ate that the best and most idealway of modernizing the electionsis to enable the people to vote inthe same way as they do businesswith the bank. In simple lan-guage, this would mean votingthrough a teller, through an au-tomated teller machine (ATM),via a cell phone (mobile banking),via a call center (phone banking)and via the internet (online bank-ing).

To go even further, I also saidin my report that the existing in-frastructure of the banks could beused for election purposes, high-lighting the fact that if this ap-proach is taken, there would beno need to spend on new infra. Isaid that there should be no prob-lem about security, because it iseven more challenging to securemoney than to secure the votes.

It may take a long time beforeAthenian democracy comes back,or it may never happen at all.With or without it however, thetechnologies to give or send feed-back to the elected representa-tives about how or what thepeople feel or think already ex-ist, so why don’t we use thesetechnologies to improve or up-grade our existing democracy?

At the risk of sounding sarcas-tic, I would say that the peopleget what they deserve. Trueenough, democracy is the voice ofthe majority, so there is nothingthat we could do if the majorityof the people would choose to re-main silent about the poor qual-ity of governance that they aregetting, or if they choose to electcandidates who are popular but

continued on page 6

Cebu Calling FR. ROY CIMAGALA

Leadership unmoored, adrift ...THERE are, of course, manybright spots insofar as leadershipis concerned in the world today,be it in the field of politics, busi-ness, economics and finance, cul-ture, social life, etc. That we arestill a functioning world, despiteerrors and defects, can only be-speak of a leadership that’s stillfloating.

Leadership and the use of au-thority are a dynamic thing. Theycan have their ups and downs,their highs and lows, their boomand bust. We just have to under-stand that a lot depends on thekind of people involved in them,and especially on whether theyunderstand the true nature, ori-gin and end of power.

And this is none other thanthat leadership, authority andpower can only have their sourcein God, their purpose also in God,and the proper way to handlethem in God as well. It cannot beany other way.

The other way, which can onlybe by making ourselves the be-all and end-all of power and au-thority, can spell disaster, trouble,endless strifes and rivalries, no

matter how successful so far wemay have been able to governourselves through different sys-tems.

Leadership, power and au-thority cannot be other than ourparticipation in the leadership,power and authority of God. Theycome from God. They can only beexercised in him, and for the pur-pose God has for them.

This does not mean that wehave to have a kind of theocracyas our form of government, orfanaticism and fundamentalismas a way of life.

We know enough that Goddoes not mean that, since humanaffairs can involve a wide varietyof positions, ways and means thatcan even be conflicting with eachother and that need to be re-spected.

It simply means that in anyexercise of leadership, power andauthority, while a lot depends onus, the primary role of Godshould always be acknowledged,respected and defended. It’s notsomething to be afraid of or to beashamed of.

But this is what we are seeing

these days. Religion, faith or anyreference to God and to thingsspiritual and supernatural areoften accused these days as divi-sive or as downright irrelevant tohuman affairs. At best, they aremeant to be strictly a personalprivate affair of an individual.

This goes precisely against thevery nature of God who is Godnot only in our private life, butalso in our public affairs. He is aGod of everyone in all levels andaspects.

This is the essence of the feastof the Epiphany of our Lord—Jesus wanting to manifest him-self to the whole world. We justhave to learn how to do this cru-cial aspect of our life properly,looking at the example of Jesusalways whose theophany wasdone always in a discreet way.

God cannot be a cause of divi-sion, since he is the principle ofunity and the end of everythingand of everyone. At least, this iswhat Christianity and practicallyall religions are all about. Chris-tianity does this by showing theextreme of charity—to the point

continued on page 6

Depthnews JUAN L. MERCADO

New Year’s Eve ‘common dream’ON New Year’s Eve, one asks:Did the 57 women, journalistsand passers-by, massacred inMaguindanao, share a commondream with Mayor Andal Am-patuan Jr., his gunmen – even thebackhoe operator who shoveleddirt over their savaged bodies,before absconding?

All dreamed “to comb greyhair”. That line is from Irish poetand 1923 Nobel Laureate WilliamButler Yeats. The 57 will never“comb grey hair.”

In the new year, that numbercould still rise. Leila de Lima hasthe Commission on HumanRights ferreting out hidden gravesites. In 2010, CHR could verify,or scrap, persistent reports of“Chainsaw murders” and “Back-hoe killings”.

First week of 2010, JudgeJocelyn Solis-Reyes, will gavelstart of the trial for AmapatuanJr. at Camp Crame. By secondweek, Senior State ProsecutorLeo Dacera III and team will havesifted counter affidavits fromsome of over 640 implicated inthe slaughter. Who will squeal asstate witnesses?

“This only is denied to God:The power to undo the past,”Agathon wrote. The shabby pastof Ferdinand Marcos’ subservient

Marcos Supreme Court stokesgender awareness in themasscare.

Tiene cojones, (“She hasballs”), people said admiringly ofthe late Justice Cecilia Munoz-Palma. With the late JusticeClaudio Teehankee, Palma didn’tflinch in ruling against dictatorMarcos – who appointed her.

The Ampatuans don’t stand inthe dock alone. Unseen but peer-ing over their shoulders are 132shadowy private armies. That’sDefense Secretary NorbertoGonzales tally. They thrived withthe longest-serving president’sbenediction.

Other wraiths at the trial arethese mercenary gunmen’s pa-trons. North Cotabato vice-gov-ernor Manny Piñol is right on thebutton to say: the main benefi-ciary of Maguindanao warlords isPresident Gloria Macapagal Ar-royo.

Andal Sr.’s influence…”reached great heights after heengineered a lopsided victory inMaguindanao for President Ar-royo,” Piñol wrote in the In-quirer “Political anointment”enabled Amaptuans to down-loadInternal Revnue Allotments andfund chunks from agriculture,agrian reform, public works

Accountability is not in theAmpatuan vocabularly. Piñolnoted. Is accountability a factorother warlord fiefdoms? Were youborn yesterday?

Government, by the gun,never ushered in stability andgrowth. “For ordinary folk, theultimate new year question issimpler,” the Sun•Star said.“Will life become better for us?Will more of us live to comb greyhair”

“I urge you on this–which Ithink is wisdom–that if you findyou can’t make seventy, don’t yougo“, Mark Twain joshed at his70th birthday bash in 1905.

Life expectancy for a Maguin-danaoan is a little over 56 years.It is 17 years shorter than the 73years for La Union residents. InHong Kong, many get to combgrey locks since life expectancycrests at 82. How many kids diedso Ampatuan Senior could gam-ble in Las Vegas?

Truncated life spans is inevi-table in a province where rulersown 23 mansions and treat Inter-nal Revenue Allotments as a pri-vate pork barrel. In Maguin-danao, 44 out of 100 residents,are “no-read-no-write. That’s thehighest functional illiteracy rate

continued on page 4

“WHAT’S that tiny broken thingin the crèche?” I asked the musi-cal store owner.

“Oh, that the devil’s brokenwhistle,” he answered.

“The devil’s whistle? That’sthe first time I’ve heard that,” Icuriously touched the three re-maining parts of the object.

“Well, allow me to tell youabout it,” he cracked his knuck-les and eagerly began narratingabout the fifth gift of Christmas.

* * *It was said that in the begin-

ning God created everything outof nothing except His word. Weare not, however, told how Godpronounce or conveyed His wordsto create. Some ancients imag-ined that He created by compos-ing and singing a divine hymn

Forward to Basics FR. FRANCIS B. ONGKINGCO

The broken whistlefrom which everything came intoharmonious being.

Lucifer, the light-bearer, wasjealous of this power of God. Healways wanted to possess thepower –which alone belonged toGod– to create. After he revealedhis rebellion against God’s Fa-therly love and plan, he and hisfollowers were banished into hellby St. Michael and the other goodangels.

Satan, in his anger and ragefor his misfortune, ripped a pieceof bone from his rib. He carvedthis into a whistle through whichhe maliciously blew a devious andvicious tone. He wanted his dev-ilish device to ruin the harmonythat God’s melodious powers hadendowed to every creature, andespecially upon man. When Sa-

tan blew his whistle beside anycreature, it was powerful enoughto distort its beauty and good-ness.

Satan used it first againstAdam and Eve. They were ableto resist its horrible shrill, but asthe devil continued to skillfullyblow he managed to confusethem. He then tempted them tosin against God by disobeyingHim by eating the forbiddenfruit. Afterwards, he taught hisdevils to make their own whistlesto disrupt and corrupt the rest ofGod’s wonderful creatures.

God discovered the devil’splan and sent St. Michael to stopLucifer. Michael and the goodangels sang a hymn God hadtaught and with the help of their

continued on page 7


Kakampi mo ang Batas ATTY. BATAS MAURICIO

Istrukturang itinayo sa lupa ng ibaTANONG: Good morning Atty.Batas. 1. Ask ko lang kong may ka-rapatan ba ang isang nakikitira salupa kahit matagal-tagal nang tumira(16 years), na ipilit ipagbili ang bahayniya na nakatayo sa hindi niya lupa?Gagamitin ko na ang lupa at gustoniyang bayaran ko ang nagastos niyasa bahay niya.

Sinangla ito ng panganay namindoon sa nakatira. Ako ang tutuboskasi ako ang bibili sa parte ng mgakapatid ko. Kaso ayaw tanggapin angpera, kasi daw hindi ako ang nag-sangla.

Ang kapatid kong nagsangla aynasa abroad. Tama ba iyon na ayawtanggapin ang pera? 2. Ano po angkelangang documents para katibayanna binenta na ng mga kapatid ko angmga parte nila sa lupa?

Okey lang ba na sa isang pirasongpapel lang sila pumirma after I havepaid them? Lima kaming magka-kapatid at isa na lang ang hindi panag-aasawa.

Thank you and more power toyou!! Yours truly, Luke.

–[email protected]: Luke, thank you for your

questions.First, nakasaad sa Civil Code of

the Philippines na ang sinumangnagtayo o nagtirik ng kanyang ist-ruktura sa lupa ng ibang tao ayituturing na builder in bad faith, da-hil alam niyang hindi siya ang may-ari ng lupa.

Dahil diyan, hindi siya entitled namaningil ng reimbursement o ka-bayaran para sa ginastos niya sapagpapatayo ng kanyang istrukturasa lupa.

Sa katunayan, kung ayaw tang-galin ng nagtayo ang kanyang is-truktura sa kabila ng binigyan na siyang paunang pagkakataon upang itoay alisin, maaaring ariin na lamangng may-ari ng lupa ang nasabingistruktura.

Pareho din ang batas kahit na angnagtayo ng istruktura ay siyangnagsangla sa lupa na kinaroonan ngkanyang itinayo.

Walang karapatang magpabayadng halaga ng istruktura ang nagtayo.Ang karapatan lamang niya ay angpagtanggap ng kabayaran sa sangla.

Pangalawa, kung ayaw kang kila-lanin ng nagsanla bilang siyangbagong may-ari ng isinanlang ari-arian, tubusin mo na lamang angsanla sa pangalan ng kapatid mo nanagsanla talaga.

Sa ganyang sitwasyon, hindi nasiya makakatanggi, sapagkat anglilitaw na ipinagbabayad mo ay angnagsangla ng lupa.

Pangatlo, ang tanging katibayanna ipinagbili na sa iyo ng mga kapatidmo ang kanilang bahagi sa lupa ayang deed of sale, o dokumento ngbilihan.

Kung may dokumento ka na nag-sasabing ipinagbili na ng mga kapatidmo ang bahagi nila sa iyo, wala nangmagagawa pa ang pinagsanlaan.

Problema sa naisanlang ari-arianTANONG: Mayroon po bang batasna nagtatakda ng interest rate sapautang na personal? May nakiusaplang po kasing humiram ng pera atsinabing magbabayad siya ng 5% in-terest per month sa loob lang ng 2buwan. Ayoko po sanang magpautangdahil di ko siya gaanong kilala, peropara daw di ako magduda, iniwanniya ang kanyang motorsiklo nakasalukuyan pa niyang hinuhulugansa kompanya (installment kasi).

Hindi po siya nakabayad sa tak-dang oras ng principal at interest.Puwede ko po bang ilitin ang cola-teral kapag hindi siya tuluyangmakabayad? Kung hindi rin po siyamakabayad sa kompanya na kinunanniya ng sasakyan at iilitin ito, maykarapatan ba akong huwag itongibigay? Sapat na bang pumirma siyang promissory note o ano po ba angdapat naming dokumentong pirma-han para malagay ako sa tama sabatas? Ang 5% po bang interest aypinapayagan kung ito ay agreeablenaman sa parties? Puwede ko po rinbang gamitin itong sasakyan kungnakasanla sa akin? Kung gagawa poako ng dapat niyang pirmahan, anopo ang ipapayo niyong gawin ko?

Maraming salamat po at lagi poakong magbubukas ng website parasa sagot nyong aking pakaaasahan.Sana po ay mabasa nyo agad atmabigyan pansin dahil magdu-due napo ang extension na hiniling nya.Salamat uli sa tulong. Ellen–[email protected]

Sagot: Ellen, salamat sa iyongipinagkatiwalang tanong sa akin.

Una, ang Kodigo Sibil po ay nag-tatakda na ang pinaka-legal na inter-est na dapat bayaran para sa mgapautang, kung walang kasunduanang magkabilang panig, ay 12 percentper annum o bawat taon.

Ang ibig sabihin nito, kung susu-mahing mabuti, isang porsiyentolamang bawat buwan ang itinatakdang batas para sa babayarang inter-est kung walang naunang kasunduanukol dito.

Pangalawa, kung may kasunduanang magkabilang panig sa interest,kadalasan ay pinagbibigyan namanang kasunduang ito, huwag lamangtalagang sobrang-sobra.

Kailan nagiging sobra? Ayon sailang desisyon ng Korte Suprema, anglimang porsiyentong interest aymaaari nang ituring na sobra.

Pero may mga ibang desisyonnaman na nagsasabing okey lamangang limang porsiyentong interestbuwan-buwan.

Isa dito ang desisyon na tuma-talakay sa epekto ng Usury Law, oang Act 2655, sa ngayon.

Ayon sa Supreme Court, ang usurylaw ay suspendido sa ngayon, bataysa ipinalabas na circular ng datingCentral Bank of the Philippines, at,komo ito ay suspendido, maaari nangmagkasundo ang umutang at nagpa-

utang ng interest na babayaran.Pangatlo, medyo may problema sa

pagkakasanla sa iyo ng motorsiklongbinabayaran pa hanggang ngayon.Eto ay dahil sa ang motor na iyan aylilitaw na nakasangla din doon sapinagkunan nito, hanggang hindinababayaran ng buo ang bayad dito.

Dahil nakasangla pa ito sa pinag-kunan nito, hindi ito pupuwedengisangla din, ng pangalawang beses, saibang tao, kung hindi pumapayag angnaunang pinagsanlaan.

Kung rerematahin ang sasakyanng unang pinagsanlaan, hindi mopupuwedeng hindi ito ibigay sa-pagkat pupuwede ka nilang ipa-con-tempt of court dahil dito.

Ano, kung gayon, ang dapat gawindito? Well, pagbayarin mo na lamangang nakautang sa iyo at isauli mo naang motorsiklo.

Finally, pupuwede mong gamitinang motor habang ito ay nakasanlasa iyo, at habang hindi pa ito nire-remata ng naunang pinagsanlaan.

Right to speedy disposition of casesTANONG: Mabuhay ka, Atty. BatasMauricio. Isasangguni ko lang poiyong matagal na problema ng nanayko sa probinsya ng Quezon. Meronpo kami dating tauhan sa Quezon.‘Yun bang tumutulong sa aming co-pra buyer. Pinatira namin sa aminglupa nang walang kasunduan o kunganuman. Medyo nagtagal, nagtayo nasila ng bahay at doon na nagkaroonng pamilya. Namatay na ang fatherko. Ngayon, nagkaroon po ng alitanang aking ina at sila na dating tauhannamin.

Ngayon, gusto na silang paalisinng aking ina sa aming lupain. At silaay tumangging umalis. Sa madalingsalita, nagkademandahan na atnanalo naman ang aking ina sa lowercourt sa Quezon. Ang ginawa ngaming tauhan dinala sa higher court.Lumipas ang maraming taon, tu-manda na mother ko. Nandito na akongayon sa Canada, 4 na taon na, walapa ring nangyayari sa kaso. Ano pokaya ang magandang gawin paraumusad ang kaso? Maraming salamatpo. Napapakinggan ko po kayo saInternet at ang dami niyo pongnatutulungan. Salamat po muli.Melchor Lim (Choy Lim) #31 RueDes Hirondelles, Kirkland, Quebec.Cel #: 514-999 4214. Tel /Fax#: 514-694 3166. [email protected]: http://www.geocities.com/choylimca/

Sagot: Mr. Melchor Lim, salamatsa inyong ginagawang pagsubaybaysa aking palatuntunan sa radyo.

Sa iyong problema, nais kongmalaman mo na ang lahat ng maykaso sa Pilipinas ay may karapatangmaging mabilis ang paglilitis sakanilang kaso, ke ang mga kasong itoay nasa hukuman o nasa mga ahen-siya lamang ng pamahalaan.

Ang karapatang ito ay nakapaloobsa Section 16, Article III ng 1987 Con-

sundan sa pahina 6

Guro ng pagbabagoNI REGINALDO H. FAUSTINO *

Gawang dakilaSinumpaang panata

Buhay na mapagparayaAlay sa mga bata.

Buhay mo’y hindi sa iyoAng lahat ay isinasakripisyo

Para sa pagbabagoNitong ating mundo.

Guro, ako sa iyo ay saludoSa buhay at karangalang ibinabahagi mo

Upang umaliwalas,Maging maliwanag ang bukas

Tahakin ang landas tungo sa pagbabagoIkaw ay huwaran

Panday ng kinabukasanUlirang hulmahan nitong ating lipunan.

Guro, ako sa iyo ay saludoSa buhay at karangalang ibinabahagi moUpang mamalas kaluwalhatian ng bukas

Nitong mga kabataang sandigan ng bukas.

*Si Reginaldo Faustino ay ang Gurong namamahala sa Paaralang Ba-rangay ng Tawiran, Obando, Bulacan. Siya ay isinilang noong Oktubre 27,

1968, at kasal kay Katherine Giron-Faustino. Sila biniyayaan ng tatlongsupling na sina Niña Anita, Jan Carla, at Sofia Rose.– Patnugot)

for 77 provinces, says Philippine Human DevelopmentReport. In Laguna, 7 are illiterates.

Forty four of every 100 Maguindanao residents, lackpotable water. In South Cotabato, nine don’t have safewater. Andal Jr. barked orders to gunmen by radio. Buttelephone line density, in his province, is 0.1 for every100 households. Comparative density for Southern Ta-galog is 8.4.

Warlord blatant luxury explains why hair turn pre-maturely grey. The bottom 10 provinces in human devel-opment, starting from the tailender, are: Sulu,Maguindanao, Tawi-Tawi, Baislan, Masbate, Zamboangadel Norte, Sarangani, Western followed by Eastern Samarand Lanao del Sur.

Compared internationally, these 10 would be brack-eted between: Mauritania on one end and Krygzstan, onthe other. Maguindanao is wedged between Swazilandand Ghana.

The poor try to break free from this indigencequaqmire. Many fail. Reasons include: lack of jobs; bigfamilies, shabby schooling, weak institutions; embeddedcorruption and kin systems.“The poor remain poor be-cause they can not borrow against future earnings to in-vest in education, skills, new crops,” Asian DevelopmentBank notes.

This portrait of penury traps is not new. The brutalityof the massacre merely shoved it into the headlines. Thatjolted a people anesthetized by Wow-Wow-Wee type soaps.More became aware of what Asian Development Bankcalls “poverty webs”

“These are the intricate pathways from adverse healthand education conditions to poverty and back, within andacross generations,” noted S. Qumbo, A. Kraft and J.Capuno in a U.P. School of Economics study. Poverty webspass penury from generation to another.

Malnourished mothers give birth to wizened childrenwhose IQs are often impaired. Roughly, 20 percent ofhouseholds live in chronic poverty. About 67 percent ofpoor household heads never got to high school. “The nextgeneration may well attain the same level of educationalattainment… The economic potential of the next decadeis jeopardized.”

Indeed, we plod, as Chirstina Rosetti put it, in “a wearyland of weak creatures, weary of labor, weary of selves,weary of hope deferred.”A country of deferred hopesdidn’t do away with Ferdie, Erap just to get Gloria back.in the new year. — [email protected]

literatura. Nag-aaral na siya ng medisina sa Unibersidadng Santo Tomas nang lumahok si Rizal sa timpalak sapagsulat ng tula, kung saan ay nagwagi ng unanggantimpala ang tula niyang “Sa Kabataang Pilipino”. (Sawikang Espanyol nasusulat) noong 1879. Noong 1880,nadaya siya, at nagtamo lamang ng pangalawanggantimpala ang lahok niyang tulang “Ang Kapulunganng mga diyosis.”

Patuloy ang pakikipaglaban ni Rizal sa masamangpamamahala ng mga Kastila sa Pilipinas—sa pagsulatng mga matatalim at malalalim na lathalaing inilathalasa “La Solidaridad,” ang pahayagang itinatag ng mgaPilipinong nagsisipag-aral sa Espanya.

Ngunit sa kanyang dalawang magkadugtong nanobela, ang “Noli Me Tangere” at ang “El Fili-busterismo”—umabot sa sukdulan ang payapangpaghihimagsik ni Rizal. Ang dalawang nobelang ito anggumising at nagpakilos sa sambayanang nagugulaylay,at nakaalarma sa mga Kastila, lalo na sa mga prayle.Pinaratangan ng sedisyon si Rizal, dinakip, pakunwaringinilitis at hinatulang bitayin sa Bagongbayan (Lunetangayon) noong Disyembre 30, 1896.

Payapa, walang takot at buong kahinahunang hinarapni Rizal ang kamatayan—alang-alang sa isang idealismo:ang matiim na pagmamahal niya sa Inang Pilipinas.

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Regarding Henry from page 3

disappointment, but we must neverlose infinite hope." John F. Kennedyhas the same idea: "We should not letour fears hold us back from pursuingour hopes." To which Pearl S. Buckadds, "We must have hope or starveto death."

Great men and women from thepast have forwarded some ideas abouthope. To Aristotle, "Hope is a wak-ing dream." Francis Bacon considershope as "a good breakfast," but "a badsupper." Emil Brunner quipped:"What oxygen is to the lungs, such ishope to the meaning of life."

St. Clement wrote: "If you do nothope, you will not find out what isbeyond your hopes." Norman Cous-ins contends: "The human body ex-periences a powerful gravitationalpull in the direction of hope. That iswhy the patient's hopes are thephysician's secret weapon. They arethe hidden ingredients in any pre-scription."

Barbara Kingsolver argues: "Thevery least you can do in your life is tofigure out what you hope for. And themost you can do is live inside thathope. Not admire it from a distancebut live right in it, under its roof."

In life, I equate hope with try. Aperson will never know the truemeaning of success until he triessomething different in his life. "It iscommon sense to take a method andtry it," Franklin Delano Rooseveltonce declared. If it fails, admit itfrankly. But above all, try some-thing."

There was this neighbor who kepttelling me every time I passed hishouse: "I have read your article. Keepit up!" Then, one day, during a deepconversation with him in a birthdayparty, he admitted that he wanted towrite, too. "I really wanted to be likeyou," he said.

"Why don't you try writing?" I in-quired. In the past, I knew that hewrote for his school paper. "I am sureyou can do it. Let me read what youwrite and I may give some pointersand how to improve it."

His eyes brighten as if he could notbelieve what he heard. He did. To-day, he is writing for some local andnational publications. Last Decem-ber, I received a card from him:"Thanks for being my mentor."

As I read his card, the words of TedW. Engstrom, author of The Pursuit

of Excellence, came into my mind:"Starting today, you can begin to en-joy using and developing your (God-given) gifts. For a start, you maywant to risk something small - like atoe rather than a neck."

What does he mean? "For example,if you've always wanted to write, thenwrite something, a short article, apoem, an account of your vacation.Write it as if it were going to be pub-lished; then submit it somewhere. Ifyou're a photographer, gather yourbest pictures and submit them asentries in a contest. If you thinkyou're a tennis player or golfer, entersome tournaments and see how youdo. You may win the top prize, butthink how much you'll learn and ex-perience just by trying."

But when you try something, besure to give your very best. That way,you won't say later on, "I should havedone it better." In other words, don'tblow your chance. And, of course,hope for the best!

Alexander Pope said it all: "Hopesprings eternal in the human breast;Man never is, but always to be blest."

For comments, write me [email protected]


VATICAN CITY, JAN. 1, 2010(Zenit.org).— Here is a translation ofthe address Benedict XVI gave todaybefore and after praying the middayAngelus with those gathered in St.Peter's Square.Dear brothers and sisters:

Today the Lord gives us the gift ofbeginning a new year in his name andunder the gaze of the Most Holy Virgin,whom we celebrate with the solemnityof the Mother of God. I am happy to bewith you for this first Angelus of 2010. Iaddress you who are gathered in a greatnumber in St. Peter's Square and alsothose who are united with our prayerthrough radio and television: To all ofyou I express my wish that the year justbegun will be a time in which, with thehelp of the Lord, we can find Christ andthe will of God and thus as well improveour common home, which is the world.

An objective shared by everyone, anindispensable condition for peace, is thatof administering with justice and wis-dom the natural resources of the earth."If You Want to Cultivate Peace, ProtectCreation" is the very relevant theme towhich I have dedicated my message forthe 43rd World Day of Peace, [cel-ebrated] today.

As the message was being published,the leaders of states and governmentswere gathered in Copenhagen for thesummit on climate [change], where onceagain the urgency of common accordsat the global level was discussed. Nev-ertheless, in this moment, I would liketo highlight the importance that eachone's decisions have in defending the en-vironment -- the decisions of familiesand local administrations. "We can no

POPE BENEDICT XVI File photo

Theme on beginning a New Year:Cultivating peace, protecting creation

longer do without a real change of out-look which will result in new lifestyles"(cf. Message, No. 11). In reality, all of usare responsible for the protection andcare of the created world. Therefore, inthis field too, education is fundamental:to learn to respect nature, to direct one-self ever more to build peace"begin[ning] with far-reaching decisionson the part of individuals, families, com-munities and states" (ibid.).

If we should care for the creaturesthat surround us, what consideration weshould have for people, our brothers andsisters! What respect for human life! Onthe first day of the year, I would like tocall out to the consciences of those whoform part of armed groups of any kind.

To each and every one, I say: Stop,reflect and abandon the path of violence!At first, this step could seem impossibleto you, but if you have the courage to doit, God will help you, and you will feelreturn to your hearts joy and peace,which perhaps you've forgotten for along time now. I entrust this call to theintercession of the Most Holy Mother ofGod, Mary.

Today, the liturgy reminds us thateight days after the birth of the Child,she and her husband Joseph broughthim to be circumcised, according to theLaw of Moses, and gave him the nameJesus, which had been given him by theangel (Luke 2:21). This name, whichmeans "God saves," is the fulfillment ofthe revelation of God. Jesus is the faceof God. He is the blessing for each per-son and for all populations. He is thepeace of the world.

Thank you, Holy Mother, who gavebirth to the Savior, the Prince of Peace!

NI DINO BALABO

MALOLOS—Dapat matuloy ang halalanat hayaang ang mga botante ang humatolsa mga pulitikong hindi tumupad sakanilang sinumpaang tungkulin sa nag-daang tatlong taon.

Ngunit, iginiit din ng mga botantengBulakenyo na dapat din munang re-solbahin ng Commission on Elections(Comelec) ang mga kaso ng protesta nainihain sa kanilang tanggapan, bagomuling maghalalan upang malaman kungsino ang tunay na nagwagi sa eleksyonnoong 2007.

Isa sa mga pangunahing kaso ay angprotestang isinampa ni dating Gob.Roberto “Obet” Pagdanganan kay Gob.Joselito “Jon-jon” Mendoza noong 2007 nahanggang sa kasalukuyan ay hindi panareresolba sa kabila ng desisyon ng Sec-ond Division ng Comelec noong Disyembre1. (Basahin ang kaugnay na balita sa iba)

Ang nasabing desisyon ay nagpawalangbisa sa proklamasyon kay Mendoza at nag-utos sa kanya na bakantehin ang tang-gapan ng punong lalawigan upang bigyandaan si Pagdanganan.

Ayon kina Lenny Villanueva ng SalikaFoundation na nakabase sa bayan ngGuiguinto, Felicisima Benabon, at BokalChristian Natividad, dapat lamang ma-tuloy ang halalan sa Mayo 10.

Ito ay batay na rin sa pangamba ngmarami na may posibilidad na hindimatuloy ang makasaysayang halalan dahilnaantala ang pagdating ng mga PrecinctCount Optical Scanner (PCOS), ang mgamakinang gagamitin sa halalan, at dahilna rin sa iba pang banta ng karahasankatulad ng nangyari sa Maguindanao kungsaan ay 57 katao ang pinaslang kabilangang 30 mamamahayag.

Sinabi ni Villanueva na kung hihin-tayin nating matapos ang mga electionprotest bago magkaroon ng panibagonghalalan, “para na rin nating sinabing okeylang na nasa puwesto ang mga opisyal nahindi naman “nagpe-perform,” at “bumu-buntot lang sa mga pinuno nila.”

Para naman kay Benabon, pag-asa anghatid ng 2010 automated election nangsabihin niya na “at least baka sakalimagkaroon ng change. Sanay ang Pilipinosa hope.”

Ipinaliwanag naman ni Bokal Nati-vidad na hindi dapat mapigil ng mga kasong protestang isinampa laban sa mgapulitiko ang darating na halalan.

“I think the unresolved protests shouldnot prejudice the holding of elections, oth-erwise, this would disenfranchise the elec-torate, ” ani Natividad na kakandidatongalkalde dito sa Malolos.

Binigyang diin niya na “Comelec offi-

cials who failed to exercise their functionshould carry the burden of their ineffi-ciency and not the electorate.”

Inayunan ito ni Flordeliza Cruz ngGuiguinto. “Ang Comelec ang dapatmaging tanod ng demokrasya,” aniya.Iginiit pa ni Cruz na “dapat magingkasangkapan ang Comelec ng mga bo-tante, hindi ng mga tiwaling pulitiko.”

Pabor din sina Agaton Milagroso ngMalolos at mag-asawang Edmundo Jose atClaire Buencamino ng bayan ng SanMiguel na matuloy ang makasaysayang2010 automated elections, upang bigyanng pagkakataon ang mga botante nahatulan ang mga pulitikong “nadaya” o“nandaya” sa halalan noong 2007.

“Ang mga tao, ang mga botante angmagde-decide kung dapat ngang mahalalmuli ang isang kandidato,” ani Milagrosona isang magsasaka at imbentor.

Idinagdag pa niya na “kung nadaya siyakuno, bibigyan siya ng hatol ng mgabotante.”

Inayunan din ito ni Edmundo JoseBuencamino, ang dating alkalde ng SanMiguel.

“Taumbayan ang mangungusap sa2010 sa isyu ng election protest kay GobJon-jon,” ani Buencamino na mulingkakandidato bilang alkalde ng San Miguelsa halalan sa Mayo 10.

Para naman sa kanyang maybahay nasi Claire na isang Kagawad ng BarangaySan Vicente sa San Miguel, “tayo na angmag-alis ng mandaraya sa 2010 kung walapa tayong makamit na hustisya sa mgabuwan pang darating.”

Gayunpaman, iginiit nina Liza Sac-dalan ng Plaridel, Jun Espiritu ng Malolos,dating Bokal Joey Munsayac ng Mey-cauayan, Julie Armada ng Malolos, SallyMontehermoso ng Hagonoy, at RomeoGabejan ng Malolos na dapat munangresolbahin ng Comelec ang mga protestasa mga nagdaang halalan bago mulingmagsagawa ng halalan.

Kabilang dito ang protestang inihain niPagdanganan kay Mendoza matapos anghalalan noong 2007.

“Dapat ay resolbahin muna ito” aniSacdalan at patanong na sinabi, “kaya langkailan ba may na-resolve ang Comelec pagdating sa ganyang bagay?”

Idinagdag pa ni Sacdalan na “di ba’tang mga nasabing isyu ay laging naba-balewala at natatabunan ng panibagonghalalan.”

Para naman kay Espiritu,”dapat re-solbahin agad—the sooner the better—parahindi sila pag-isipan na namemera , wikanga, if the price is right.

Iginiit pa ni Espiritu na “pero kai-langang matuloy ang halalan dahil iyan

sundan sa pahina 7

Mga protesta resolbahinmuna bago uli maghalalan

MALOLOS—Apat na buwan na lamang athalalan na naman, ngunit hindi pa rinnareresolba ang protestang isinampa nidating Gob. Roberto “Obet” Pagdanganankay Gob. Joselito “Jon-jon” Mendozamatapos ang halalan noong 2007.

Ito ay sa kabila ng desisyong ipinalabasng Ikalawang Dibisyon ng Commission onElections (Comelec) noong Disyembre 1 nanagpawalang bisa sa proklamasyon kayMendoza at nag-utos sa kanya na bakan-tehin ang posisyon bilang gobernadorupang magbigay daan kay Pagdanganan.

Sa isang panayam ng Mabuhay kayPagdanganan noong huling linggo ngDisyembre, sinabi niya na umaasa siyanglalabas ang pinal na desisyon ng Comelechinggil sa kanyang protesta sa buwang ito.

Ngunit, ayon kay Mendoza, matataposniya ang tatlong taon na kanyang panu-nungkulan bilang gobernador dahil ma-tatagalan pa ang pinal na desisyon ngComelec.

Iginiit pa ni Gob Jon-jon pabor man sakanya o kay Obet ang maging desisyon ngComelec en banc ay tiyak na iaapela iyonsa Korte Suprema.

Inayunan ni Abogado Sabino Mejarito,provincial election supervisor ng Comelecsa Bulacan, ang pananaw na ito.

Inihalimbawa ni Mejarito na kungsakaling pumabor kay Pagdanganan angdesisyon ng Comelec en banc ay tiyak naaapela sa Korte Suprema si Mendoza. Atkung si Mendoza naman ang paboran ngdesisyon ng Comelec en banc, ay tiyak dindaw na aapela si Pagdanganan.

“Iyan ang proseso sa mga election pro-

Umaasa pa rin si Obet na siya’ymakakaupo na ngayong Enero

test kaya medyo natatagalan ang pag-lalabas ng pinal na desisyon,” ani Mejarito.

Ngunit binigyang diin ni Pagdangananna bukod sa pinal na desisyon ng Comelecen banc, hiniling din niya na magpalabasang Comelec ng writ of execution kaugnayna ipinalabas na desisyon ng IkalawangDibisyon noong Disyembre 1.

Ayon kay Pagdanganan, ang writ ofexecution ay magbibigay sa kanya ngkapangyarihan na makapanungkulanbilang gobernador ng lalawigan dahilpinawalang bisa na ng ikalawang dibisyonang proklamasyon kay Mendoza.

Samantala, nilisan na rin ng mga taga-suporta ni Gob. Mendoza ang harapan ngkapitolyo matapos ang pagdiiriwang ngKapaskuhan.

Matatandaan na simula noong Disyem-bre 3 ay nagsimulang magtipon sa harapng kapitolyo ang mga taga-suporta nggobernador, samantalang ang anim sapitong pinto ng kapitolyo ay ikinandado.

Ayon sa mga taga-suporta ni Mendozana nakapanayam ng Mabuhay, mana-natili sila sa pagbabantay sa harap ngkapitolyo hanggang kailangan sila nggobernador.

Hinggil naman sa pagkakandado ngmga pinto ng kapitolyo, sinabi ni Mendozana iyon ay bahagi ng kanilang pag-iingatdahil may mga banta sa kanyang buhay,at may banta na diumano’y lulusubin ngmga taga-suporta ni Pagdanganan ang ka-pitolyo upang agawin ito matapos lumabasang desisyon ng Ikalawang Dibisyon ngComelec noong Disyembre 1.

— Dino Balabo

HAGONOY, Bulacan—Beterano na sapulitika si Bokal Patrocinio Laderas ngbayang ito dahil tatlong beses siyangkumandidato at nakipagtunggali sahalalan.

Bukod pa rito ay umalalay din siya samagkakahiwalay na kampanya ng kan-yang yumaong nakatatandang kapatid nasi Eleazar na naglingkod na bise alkaldeng Hagonoy at bilang bokal ng UnangDistrito ng lalawigan.

Nagpahayag ng pangamba si PatLaderas na posibleng hindi matuloy angmakasaysayang halalan sa Mayo 10 kungkailan ay gagamitin ang Precinct CountOptical Scanner (PCOS), ang mga makinapara sa mabilisang pagbilang ng mga boto.

“I fear the failure of elections,” ani niLaderas na nahalal na bokal noong 2001,2004 at 2007.

Ang pangamba ni Laderas ay isalamang paglalarawan sa nadarama ng ibapang botante hinggil sa darating nahalalan dahil na rin sa ilang palatandaangisiniwalat sa iba’t ibang pagkakataon sanagdaang taon.

Kabilang dito ay ang pagkakaroon ngkaguluhan at karahasan na maaaringmaging hudyat para isailalim ang bansasa batas militar katulad ng ginawa ni

Mga banta sa halalanPangulong Gloria Macapagal Arroyo salalawigan ng Maguindanao matapos angpamamaslang sa 57 katao kabilang ang 30mamamahayag noong Nobyembre 23.

Para sa maraming kritiko ng Admi-nistrasyong Arroyo, hindi imposible naisailalim sa batas militar ang bansa dahilito raw ay isang paraan upang ito aymanatili sa kapangyarihan.

Para naman sa ilang kaalyado niPangulong Arroyo, possible lamangmaideklara ang batas militar kung mag-kakaroon ng malawakang kaguluhan athindi nangangahulugang pagpapalawig sakatungkulan ng kasalukuyang admi-nistrasyon.

Ngunit hindi kumbinsido ang mgakritiko at sinabi pa rin nila na isa ang isapang paraan para manatili ang admi-nistrasyon Arroyo sa kapangyarihan ayang pagkakaroon ng “failure of elections”lalo na kung masisira o hindi magagamitang mga makinang PCOS.

Agad namang nilinaw ng Commissionon Elections (Comelec) na ang pagkasirang mga makina ay hindi nangangahu-lugang “failure of elections,” sa halip ay“failure of the machines” lamang.

Ito ay dahil sa nakahanda rin ang sundan sa pahina 7


Republic Of The PhilippinesRegional Trial Court Of Bulacan

Third Judicial RegionOffice Of The Ex-officio Sheriff

Malolos City, Bulacan

PAG-IBIG FUND (HDMF),Mortgagee,

-VERSUS-NILO C. TORIBIO married toAIDA R. TORIBIO

Mortgagor/s,x------------------------x

NOTICE OF SHERIFF’S SALEUpon extra-judicial petition for sale under Act 3135 as amended, filed by PAG-IBIG FUND (HDMF), with principal office address at 2nd Floor, Room 202, TheAtrium of Makati, Makati Avenue, Makati City, the mortgagee, against Nilo C.Toribio married to Aida R. Toribio, with residence and postal address at 2411-D, Leonor Rivera St., Sta. Cruz, Manila, the mortgagor/s, to satisfy the mort-gage indebtedness which as of August 4, 2009 amounts to FIVE HUNDREDEIGHTEEN THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED NINETY SIX PESOS and 04/100(P518,796.04), Philippine Currency, including/excluding interest, penalties,attorney’s fees, foreclosure fees and other expenses incurred thereon, all se-cured by real estate mortgage and such other amount become due and pay-able to the aforementioned mortgagee. The Ex-Officio Sheriff of Bulacan thruthe undersigned Sheriff hereby gives notice to all interested parties and to thepublic in general that on January 21, 2010 at 10:00 o’ clock in the morning orsoon thereafter, infront of the Office of the Ex-Officio Sheriff of Bulacan locatedat the back of the Bulwagan ng Katarungan, Provincial Capitol Compound,Malolos, Bulacan, will selI at public auction thru sealed bidding, to the highestbidder for CASH, Philippine Currency, the real property/ies below together withall the improvements existing thereon:

TRANSFER CERTIFICATE OF TITLE NO. T-311336 (M)“A parcel of land (Lot 3, Blk. 69 of the cons. subd. plan Pcs-03-007845 being aportion of cons. Lots 1 & 2 (LRC) Pcs-4480, LRC Rec. No. ), situated in the Bo.of Pob., Mun. of Pandi, Prov. of Bulacan. Bounded on the NW., along line 1-2 byLot 1 Blk. 69, on the NE., along line 2-3 by alley 36; xxx containing an area ofFORTY TWO (42) SQ. Meters. xxx”

This NOTICE OF SHERIFF’S SALE will be posted for a period of twenty (20)days in three (3) of the most conspicuous public places in the municipalitywhere the subject property is located and at Malolos City, Bulacan where thesale shall take place, and likewise a copy will be published for the same periodin the MABUHAY a newspaper of general circulation in the province of Bulacan,once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks before the date of auction sale.

ALL SEALED BIDS with its accompanying transmittal letter addressed tothis office must be submitted to the undersigned on or before above stateddate and hour at which time all sealed bids thus submitted shall be opened.

In the event the public auction should not take place on the said date, itshall be held on January 28, 2010 without further notice.

Prospective bidders or buyers are hereby enjoined to investigatefor themselves the title to the property and the encumbrances thereonif any there be.

Malolos City, Bulacan, December 16, 2009.

EMMANUEL L. ORTEGAEx-Officio Sheriff

BY: DONATO C. BUENAVENTURA Sheriff IV

Copy furnished:– PAG-IBIG FUND (HDMF)– NILO C. TORIBIO married to AIDA R. TORIBIO

Mabuhay: December 25, 2009, Jan. 1, & 8, 2010

EJF NO. P-120-2009

EXTRA-JUDICIAL FORECLOSURE OF REAL ESTATE PROPERTY/IES

UNDER ACT NO. 3135AS AMENDED BY ACT 4118



Malolos City, BulacanPAG-IBIG FUND (HDMF),

Mortgagee,-VERSUS-EVELYN M. REYES

Mortgagor/s,x------------------------x

NOTICE OF SHERIFF’S SALEUpon extra-judicial petition for sale under Act 3135 as amended, filed by PAG-IBIG FUND (HDMF), with principal office address at 2nd Floor, Room 202, TheAtrium of Makati, Makati Avenue, Makati City, the mortgagee, against EvelynM. Reyes, with residence and postal address at #20 Azusena St., Roxas Dis-trict, Quezon City, the mortgagor/s, to satisfy the mortgage indebtedness whichas of July 1, 2009 amounts to ONE MILLION THIRTY SEVEN THOUSAND TWOHUNDRED NINETY PESOS and 29/100 (P1,037,296.29), Philippine Currency,including/excluding interest, penalties, attorney’s fees, foreclosure fees andother expenses incurred thereon, all secured by real estate mortgage and suchother amount become due and payable to the aforementioned mortgagee. TheEx-Officio Sheriff of Bulacan thru the undersigned Sheriff hereby gives noticeto all interested parties and to the public in general that on January 15, 2010at 10:00 o’ clock in the morning or soon thereafter, infront of the Office of theEx-Officio Sheriff of Bulacan located at the back of the Bulwagan ng Katarungan,Provincial Capitol Compound, Malolos, Bulacan, will selI at public auction thrusealed bidding, to the highest bidder for CASH, Philippine Currency, the realproperty/ies below together with all the improvements existing thereon:

TRANSFER CERTIFICATE OF TITLE NO. T-282166 (M)“A parcel of land (Lot 27, Blk. 56 of the cons. subd. plan Pcs-03-006194, beinga portion of cons. Lots 4115, 3435-A & 3913, Lolomboy Est., Lot 3917-E-1 &Lot 3917-E-2 (LRC) Psd-164164, Lot 1 & 2, Psu-206673 Lot 87, Lot 43 & Lot81, Lot 3917-B (LRC) Psd-126165, Psu-159860, Psu-100532, Psu-100533,Psu-171810, Psu-159864, LRC Rec. No. ), situated in the Bo. of Mozon, Mun. ofSan Jose del Monte, Prov. of Bulacan. xxx containing an area of FORTY (40) SQ.Meters. xxx”

TRANSFER CERTIFICATE OF TITLE NO. T-282167 (M)“A parcel of land (Lot 29, Blk. 56 of the cons. subd. plan Pcs-03-006194, beinga portion of cons. Lots 4115, 3435-A & 3913, Lolomboy Est., Lot 3917-E-1 &Lot 3917-E-2 (LRC) Psd-164164, Lot 1 & 2, Psu-206673 Lot 87, Lot 43 & Lot81, Lot 3917-B (LRC) Psd-126165, Psu-159860, Psu-100532, Psu-100533,Psu-171810, Psu-159864, LRC Rec. No. ), situated in the Bo. of Mozon, Mun. ofSan Jose del Monte, Prov. of Bulacan. xxx containing an area of FORTY (40) SQ.Meters. xxx”





Malolos City, Bulacan, December 11, 2009.EMMANUEL L. ORTEGA

Ex-Officio SheriffBY: GLEN A. UMALI

Sheriff IVCopy furnished: All parties concernedMabuhay: December 25, 2009, Jan. 1, & 8, 2010

EJF NO. P-125-2009





Malolos City, Bulacan

PAG-IBIG FUND (HDMF),Mortgagee,

-VERSUS-CARMENCITA M. PINEDA married toREYNALDO Q. PINEDA

Mortgagor/s,x------------------------x

NOTICE OF SHERIFF’S SALEUpon extra-judicial petition for sale under Act 3135 as amended, filed by PAG-IBIG FUND (HDMF), with principal office address at 2nd Floor, Room 202, TheAtrium of Makati, Makati Avenue, Makati City, the mortgagee, against CarmencitaM. Pineda married to Reynaldo Q. Pineda, with residence and postal address at#32 Rincon St., Valenzuela, Metro Manila, the mortgagor/s, to satisfy themortgage indebtedness which as of August 4, 2009 amounts to TWO HUN-DRED FIFTEEN THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED FOURTEEN PESOS and 39/100(P215,414.39), Philippine Currency, including/excluding interest, penalties,attorney’s fees, foreclosure fees and other expenses incurred thereon, all se-cured by real estate mortgage and such other amount become due and pay-able to the aforementioned mortgagee. The Ex-Officio Sheriff of Bulacan thruthe undersigned Sheriff hereby gives notice to all interested parties and to thepublic in general that on January 21, 2010 at 10:00 o’ clock in the morning orsoon thereafter, infront of the Office of the Ex-Officio Sheriff of Bulacan locatedat the back of the Bulwagan ng Katarungan, Provincial Capitol Compound,Malolos, Bulacan, will selI at public auction thru sealed bidding, to the highestbidder for CASH, Philippine Currency, the real property/ies below together withall the improvements existing thereon:

TRANSFER CERTIFICATE OF TITLE NO. T-342624 (M)“A parcel of land (Lot 14, Blk. 11 of the cons. subd. plan Pcs-03-131324-005439being a portion of consolidated Lots 4084-A (LRC) Psd-33422, Lot 4086-C LRCPsd-25017 Lot 4085 Sta. Maria de Pandi Estate; LRC Rec. No. ), situated in theBo. of Caypombo, Mun. of Sta. Maria, Prov. of Bulacan. Bounded on the NW.,along line 1-2 by Lot 1-2 by Lot 13, Blk. 11, xxx containing an area of THIRTY SIX(36) SQ. Meters. xxx”





Malolos City, Bulacan, December 16, 2009.


BY: DONATO C. BUENAVENTURA Sheriff IV

Copy furnished:– PAG-IBIG FUND (HDMF)– CARMENCITA M. PINEDA married to REYNALDO Q. PINEDA

Mabuhay: December 25, 2009, Jan. 1, & 8, 2010

EJF NO. P-123-2009



Republic of the PhilippinesSUPREME COURT

Office of the Ex-Officio SheriffMalolos City, Bulacan

RURAL BANK OF SAN RAFAEL(BUL.), INC.,

Mortgagee,

- versus -

MAXIMO INOVERO M/TOROSALINDA V. INOVERO,

Mortgagor/s,

X——————————————X

NOTICE OF THE SHERIFF’S SALEUpon extra-judicial petition for sale under act 3135 as amended by Act4118 filed by RURAL BANK OF SAN RAFAEL (BUL.), INC., with officeaddress at Cruz na Daan, San Rafael, Bulacan, the mortgagee, againstMAXIMO INOVERO m/to ROSALINDA V. INOVERO, with residence andpostal address at Bagong Baryo, San Ildefonso, Bulacan the mort-gagor/s to satisfy the mortgage indebtedness which as of May 15,2009 amounts to FOUR HUNDRED EIGHTY ONE THOUSAND THREEHUNDRED FIFTY PESOS (P481,350.00) Philippine Currency, includ-ing/ excluding interest thereon, including/excluding _____of the totalindebtedness by way of attorney’s fees, plus daily interest and ex-penses and thereafter, also secured by said mortgage, and such otheramounts which may become due and payable to the aforementionedmortgagee, the Ex-Officio Sheriff of Bulacan through the undersignedSheriff hereby gives notice to all interested parties to the public in gen-eral that on JANUARY 26, 2010 at 10:00 A.M. or soon thereafter, infront of the Office of the Ex-Officio Sheriff of Bulacan, located at theback of the Bulwagan ng Katarungan, Provincial Capitol Compound,Malolos City, Bulacan will sell at public auction through sealed biddingto the highest bidder for CASH and in Philippine Currency, the describedreal property/ies below together with all the improvements existingthereon:

TRANSFER CERTIFICATE OF TITLE NO. T-180613“A parcel of land (Lot No. 669-C-4-A) of the subd. plan Psd-03-127541,

E.J.F. NO. 239-2009

EXTRA-JUDICAL FORELOSURE OFREAL ESTATE PROPERTY/IES

UNDER ACT 3135 AS AMMENDEDBY ACT 4118

being a portion of lot 669-C-4, Psd-03-090294 LRC Rec. No. ) situ-ated in the Bo.of Bagong Barrio, Mun. of San Rafael, Prov. of Bulacan.Island of Luzon. Bounded on the xx xx xx containing an area of NINETYNINE (99) SQUARE METERS.”

TRANSFER CERTIFICATE OF TITLE NO. T-180615

“A parcel of land (Lot No. 669-C-4-C) of the subd. plan Psd-03-127541,being a portion of lot 669-C-4, Psd-03-090294 LRC Rec. No. ) situ-ated in the Bo.of Bagong Barrio, Mun. of San Rafael, Prov. of Bulacan.Island of Luzon. Bounded on the xx xx xx containing an area of FOURTHOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED TWENTY SIX (4,526) SQUARE METERS.”

This Notice of the Sheriff ’s sale will be posted for a pe-riod of twenty (20) days in three (3) conspicuous public placesin the municipality where the subject proper ty/ies is/are lo-cated and at Malolos City, Bulacan where the sale shall takeplace and likewise a copy will be published for the same pe-riod in the MABUHAY a newspaper of general circulation inthe province of Bulacan, once a week for three (3) consecu-tive weeks before the date of the auction sale.

All sealed bids with its accompanying transmittal letter addressedto this office must be submitted to the undersigned on or before theabove stated date and hour at which time all sealed bids thus submit-ted shall be opened.

In the event the public auction should not take place on the saiddate, it shall be held on February 2, 2010 at 10:00 A.M. or soon there-after without further notice.

Prospective bidders or buyers are hereby enjoined to investigatefor themselves the title to the property/ies and encumbrance thereon,if any there be.

Malolos City, Bulacan, December 21, 2009


BY: JOSEPH ELMER S. GUEVARASheriff V

Copy furnished: All par ties concernedMabuhay: December 25, 2009 Jan. 1 & 8, 2010

continued from page 3are unable to make good laws or de-liver good public services.

The fact that the Greek city-statesexisted and functioned very well be-fore the broader Greek nation stateemerged is solid proof enough thateven in these present times, our lo-cal cities and municipalities couldoperate and survive on their ownwithout depending so much on thebroader national government. In-deed, sovereignty is a political term,but that not mean that the local com-munities could not become economi-

cally independent.Is it possible to bring about sover-

eign communities in the Philippinesetting? I think so, but I also think thatthe key to this is the direct participa-tion of all citizens in day to day gover-nance, in a way that would make themtake their own destiny in their ownhands. How do we make this happen?

As it is now, many cities and mu-nicipalities have already put up theirown websites, and some have acti-vated their own online feedbackboards. I just do not know how manymayors are reading the feedbackssent in, but this is already a goodstart. But how about using mobile

messaging also?Considering the fact that there are

more cell phone users than Internetusers, I think that it is about timethat the cities and municipalitiesshould put up their own short mes-saging service (SMS) servers, andthis is not a very difficult thing to do.I have been using Text Genie, locallydeveloped software for eight yearsnow, and it works perfectly for me.

Watch my business show 9:00 amto 1:00 pm in Global News Network(GNN), Channel 21 in Destiny Cable.Email [email protected] or text+639293605140 for local cable list-ings. Visit [email protected]

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Fair & Squareof dying for love of God and of souls.

It upholds truth and justice, but it does this always inthe context of understanding, compassion, quickness toforgive and forget, willingness to drown evil with an abun-dance of good. The only violence involved is the one in-flicted on oneself rather than on others, of the kind thatis more moral than physical.

There are also those who think that an emphasis onreligion in wielding power in our human affairs will makeus awkward and even incompetent. This, of course, canhappen precisely if religion is misunderstood and mis-handled.

But it need by like that. In fact, it should not be likethat. If anything, what an abiding relation with God doesis to give us a greater sensitivity and firmer determina-tion to identify, assess, solve our problems thoroughly.

It would truly be funny, if not utterly dangerous, if wejust rely completely on our own resources and devices,independently of God. We would have every reason toworry and fear, because no matter how smart and cleverwe can be, such qualities are nothing compared to thechallenges we have to face.

Even without mentioning our spiritual enemies, ournatural and infranatural challenges alone can already beso daunting as to guarantee our defeat and failure. Weneed to hook our exercise of leadership, power and au-thority on God always! We just have to learn how to do itwith naturalness.

stitution, na nagsasabing ang lahat ng may kaso ay maykarapatan sa mabilis na paglilitis.

Dahil diyan, maaari kang humiling sa hukuman kungsaan nakabimbin ang inyong kaso na madaliin angpaglilitis o pagdedesisyon.

Maaari mong gawin ang kahilingang ito sa pa-mamagitan ng inyong abogado dito, o, kung gusto, sapamamagitan ng aming public service dito sawww.batasnews.com.

Ipadala mo lamang ang mga dokumentong maykinalaman sa kaso dito sa aming tanggapan, babasahinnamin ang mga ito at tapos ay susulatan namin ang judgena lumilitis dito.

Maaari rin kayong mag-e-mail sa amin sa:— www.batasmauricio.com o— [email protected].

* * *BATAS RADIO: Pakinggan po ang BATAS INTERNETRADIO, isang Internet radio station sa ilalim ng dalawangwebsites, ang www.batas mauricio.com at ang www.eradioportal.com. Pumasok po kayo sa alinman sa dalawangsites na ito, i-click ang BATAS RADIO, at mapapakingganna ninyo kami sa loob ng 20 oras sa isang araw, mula ika-4:00 ng madaling araw hanggang ika-12:00 ng hatinggabi.

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Cebu Calling from page 3

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Kakampi mo ... mula sa pahina 4


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Forward to Basics from page 3

blaring trumpets shattered the otherdevils’ whistles except the one Satanhad. God commanded the angels tofind and destroy it otherwise Luciferwould continue with his mischief.

But Satan made sure to hide hisevil whistle well by keeping it underhis eyelids. One by one, he confusedevery creature of God. When the an-gels were not looking he would blowhis whistle on a rose and make thornssprout from it. He blew it upon asnake and its fangs grew deadly withvenom. Lions and tigers, once meeklike lambs, became ferocious and dan-gerous.

And when he blew into the ears ofmen, they became confused and werefilled with hatred and lust. Theirhearts were hardened from prayingand seeking repentance. He alsotaught the other devils, withoutwhistles, to make sounds with theirlips. This also, although not as pow-erful as Satan’s whistle, tempted mento sin against God as they began toforget God’s music and ended up be-ing ungrateful.

One day, as Lucifer was taking awalk, he overheard some good angels.“Did you hear that God is about tocarry out His plan to save all menfrom the devil’s clutches and lies?”

“Yes,” the other angel said. “I won-der though how God is going to dothat? We couldn’t even find Satan’swhistle.”

“No one really knows, but Michaelsaid something like God sendingsomeone to save man.”

“Who might that man be?”“We will never know until the

right time comes!”Satan impatiently brooded over

what he just heard. “Who can thismessenger be?”

Being wary about this plan of God,he instructed the other devils to proptheir ears and pry their eyes for what-ever they could hear or see that wouldhelp him know what God was up to.

* * *One rainy day, a devil appeared

excitedly before Satan. “You will beso happy to hear what I just learned,”he said.

“Go on, what did you hear?”“Angel Gabriel appeared to

Zachariah to convey a special mes-sage that they will soon have a sonwho will prepare the coming of God’sherald, His Chosen One”

“God must be so desperate,” Sa-tan chuckled. “What can a sterilecouple do to save mankind from myclutches?”

“Lucifer!” A younger devil camein rushing and evidently eager toshare what he had just discovered. “Isaw Gabriel talking with a certainMary of Nazareth. And his word weretoo heavy to understand.”

“Why do you say that?” Satan’seyes gazed angrily at the young ap-prentice.

“I don’t understand what Gabrielmeant when he said Mary was goingto give birth to the Emmanuel.”

“Hmmm, that means God withus,” the devil pensively said whilestroking his dark oily beard. Sud-denly he angrily slammed his fist onthe arm of the chair. “But how canGod become a man! That is inconceiv-able! The one to born is most likelyonly a man, but with special gifts!”

“Then do you want us to stop thisEmmanuel?” the other devils asked.

“Oh, if he is only a man then I caneasily corrupt him,” Lucifer said. “Iknow what I will do, I will give thischild a gift.”

“A gift?” the other devils said quiteconfused.

“Yes, I will be there to wait for hisbirth and I shall play my whistle andcorrupt him!”

* * *(Nine months later…)

“You will be all disguised as goats,and you will be my flock,” Lucifersaid. “Then I will act as though I hadonly chanced upon the child and thenI will play him my most vicious tune.”

So the devil and his goats headedfor Bethlehem. When they reachedthe stable, his eyes immediately sawthe Child wrapped with swaddlingclothes. “That’s the Emmanuel?” hesnarled. “How can he even challengeus in such poor conditions?”

They approached the stable acting

as if they weren’t aware of the HolyFamily’s presence. “Oh, I’m terriblysorry,” the devil said. “I thought thestable was empty.” When he saw thechild, he said, “Oh, what a wonder-ful newborn baby! Can I play a tunefor him with my whistle?”

“Yes, as long as you don’t wakehim up,” Joseph and Mary replied.

The devil then blew his whistleand played the worse tune he couldbrew. He blew, blew and blew.

To his surprised the goats –theother devils– began to bleat in agony.“Please, master, stop playing!” Onedevil tried whispering but couldn’thide his pain. “What tune have youdecided to play? It’s so horrible thatyou are making us wish we were alldeaf or better that we were all dead!”

Satan couldn’t believe what heheard. When he stopped whistling, hewas angered to hear Mary and Josephsay, “That was a wonderful tune, mis-ter shepherd.” The devil, with rageand frustration, blew once again withall his might.

“Stop! Stop! Stop!” the other dev-ils pleaded as they grimaced in pain.Lucifer became angrier because hesaw that Mary, Joseph and the Childcontinued to serenely listen to histune.

“Why are they not tormented?What is it they hear?” He blew evenharder and suddenly [CRACK!!!] thewhistle exploded into three parts.

The other tormented devils trans-formed themselves back to their origi-nal forms but were dismayed whenthey could not regain their oldshapes. Instead, they continued tohave goat’s hooves, hair, horns andeyes. That is why until today, devilsare drawn like goats.

* * *As the devil and his followers dis-

appeared in a cloud of black smoke,Michael gathered the three pieces ofthe whistle as a sign of God’s victoryover the devil’s evil melodious ploy.The dark night sky lighted up as theangel’s rejoiced singing with theirtrumpets God’s divine hymn: “Gloryto God in the highest, and peace toall men of good will!”

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Promdi mula sa pahina 2

naginip.Bangungot naman ito para kay

Mendoza.* * *

Kung pabor naman kay Mendozaang desisyon ng Comelec o hindi mai-lalabas ang desisyon nito bago mulingmaghalalan, magkakatotoo rin angkanyang magandang panaginip.

Pero ang katumbas nito ay patuloyna bangungot kay Pagdanganan.

* * *Iisang upuan ang pinaglalabanan

nina Mendoza at Pagdanganan. Itoay ang upuan ng gobernador ng Bula-can, ang pinakamataas na halal naposisyon sa lalawigan.

Siyempre, hindi isang simplengupuan o silya ang kanilang pinaglala-banan. Iyon ay ang posisyon ng ka-pangyarihan, karangalan, at imp-luwensiya.

* * *Mula 2007 hanggang sa kasalu-

kuyan ay patuloy ang paglalabannina Pagdanganan at Mendoza sapag-angkin sa nasabing upuan ngkapangyarihan.

Sa isang banda ay maihahalin-tulad sa pamaskong palaro na kungtawagin at “trip to Jerusalem” angkanilang labanan.

* * *Alam natin na mga silya ang mga

pangunahing kasangkapan sa larong“trip to Jerusalem”. Umiikot sa mgasilya ang mga kasali, at pagtigil ng

tugtog ay nag-uunahang maupo sasilya.

Isa sa kanila ay walang mauu-puan, dahil ang bilang ng mga kasaliay laging lamang ng isa sa bilang ngsilya. Kapag nabawasan ang kasali,babawasan din ang bilang ng silya,hanggang sa isang silya na lamangang matira na pag-aagawan ng dala-wang huling kasali.

* * *Ngunit may isang kaiba sa “larong

trip to Jerusalem” at sa pag-aagawannina Pagdanganan at Mendoza saupuan o posisyon bilang gobernadorng Bulacan.

Kung ang pagbabatayan ay angmga kaganapan mula nang mag-tunggali sila noong 2007, lumalabasna nadadagdagan ang mga upuanpara kay Pagdanganan patungo sakapitolyo.

* * *Ito ay dahil sa mga legal na balakid

na inilatag ng abogado ng kampo niMendoza.

Ayon kay Pagdanganan kabilangsa mga legal na balakid na inilataglaban sa kanya ay ang sunod-sunodna mosyon na inihain ng abogado niMendoza.

* * *Kabilang sa mga nasabing mosyon

ay ang petisyon na inihain ng kamponi Mendoza sa Korte Supreme noongnakaraang taon na naging dahilanupang pansamantalang patigilin nito

ang isinasagawang proseso ng Co-melec.

Ngunit ibinasura ng Korte Sup-rema noong Oktubre 15 ang petisyonng kampo ni Mendoza at hinayangituloy ng Comelec ang proseso nanaging daan upang madesisyunanang nasabing protesta noong Dis-yembre 1.

* * *Hindi pa doon natatapos ang

nasabing protesta. Ayon kay Men-doza lalaban niya ito at gagawin anglahat ng makakaya niya. Iginiit paniya anuman ang maging desisyon ngComelec en banc sa protesta niPagdanganan laban sa kanya ay tiyakna iaakyat muli iyon sa Korte Sup-rema, pagkatapos ay muling ibabaliksa Comelec para sa pinal na desisyon.

Kung muli nating ikukumpara salarong “trip to Jerusalem” angkalagayan ng protesta ni Pagda-nganan laban kay Mendoza, luma-labas na parang nagdadagdag siya ngsilya upang antalahin ang pag-upo niPagdanganan sa kapitolyo.

* * *Lumalabas din na patuloy din ang

pagbabawas ni Pagdanganan sa mgasilyang inilatag ni Mendoza sa kan-yang dadaaan.

Ang nalalabing tanong ay kungmahahawing lahat ni Pagdangananang “mahabang pila ng silya” sa kan-yang “trip to Kapitolyo” bago mata-pos ang tugtog sa Hunyo 30, 2010.

Mga protesta resolbahinmuna bago uli maghalalan

mula sa pahina 5ang nakasaad sa batas para magkaroon ng mandato angmga pinuno ng bayan na mahahalal.”

Para kay Munsayac, “mabibigyan ng katarungan angmga Bulakenyo kung ipatutupad agad ng desisyon ng Sec-ond Division (ng Comelec).”

Iginiit naman ni Gabejan na ang pagresolba sa protestani Pagdanganan laban kay Mendoza ay isang daan “paramalaman ang totoo. Hindi dapat pahintulutang mangi-babaw ang katiwalian sa katotohanan, para hindimaguluhan ang taumbayan.”

Inayunan ito ni Montehermoso sa pangambang “bakakatulad pa rin ng dati ang mangyari. Kawawa angBulacan.”

Para naman sa matagumpay na halalan, sinabi ngmamamahayag na si Rommel Ramos na dapat ding linisinng Comelec ang kanilang hanay dahil sa may mga kawaniito na inaakusahan ng pagkakasangkot sa pandaraya.

Pabiro pang sinabi ni Ramos na kung hindi malilinisang hanay ng Comelec, ang “dapat itawag sa kanila ayCom-select.”

Ang pahayag ni Ramos ay may kaugnayan naman sapahayag ni Bokal Pat Laderas ng Hagonoy na nagsabi na“parang sindikato ang Second Division ng Comelec, sub-servient sila sa Malakanyang.”

Iginiit pa niya na “wala ring nangyari sa ‘Hello Garci’(scandal) dahil kakampi nila si Garci.

Inayunan ito ni Larry Ocampo ng San Miguel. “Kungako ang tatanungin,” aniya, “walang katapusan angproblema natin. ‘Yun bang case ni Ninoy ay naresolbana? Pati ‘yung kaso ng pagpatay kay Nida Blanca?”

Ipinaliwanag naman ng isang Bulakenyong tu-mangging magpakilala na isa sa dahilan kung bakitwalang kasong nareresolba ay dahil sa pera.

“Pera-pera ang labanan kaya hindi manaig angkatotohanan. Iyan ang pulitika natin,” aniya. “Money ispower.”

Nagpahayag naman ng pangamba si Jesus Mangobang Malolos sa hindi pagresolba sa mga isyung kina-sasanngkutan ng Comelec.

“Delikado ang ginagawang pagsasawalang bahala’tinisyatiba sa mga kasong iyan. Naging inutil ang Comelecdahil sa kawalan ng integridad ng ahensiya na hindi nanakabangon mula sa panunungkulan ni (chairman Ben-jamin) Abalos,” ani Mangoba.

Ipinaliwanag naman ni Pastor Rolando Delos Santosng God Is Able Ministry na nakabase sa Malolos na angpandaraya ay bunga ng pagkahumaling sa kapangyarihanna ang dulo ay kapahamakan.

“Ang gobyerno kasi ang may hawak sa Comelec kayanagagawa nilang manipulahin ang lahat sa ating bayan,para sa kanilang pansariling kapakanan. Ang kapang-yarihan ay nakakahumaling dahil sa naidudulot nitongpanlupang kaligayahan na humahantong sa kapa-hamakan ng kanilang kaluluwa,” ani Pastor Delos Santos.

Mga banta sa halalan mula sa pahina 5

Comelec sa tradisyunal o mano-manong paraan ng pagbilang ng mgabalota sa darating na halalan, atbilang patunay ng kanilang kaka-yahan ay sinabi nilang “dati na nam-ing ginagawa ang mano-manongpagbilang ng balota.”

Kung hindi naman masira angmga PCOS machines, ani ng mga

kritiko, baka naman daw hindi maka-rating sa bansa ang sapat na bilangnito sa tamang panahon.

Batay sa pahayag ng Comelec, ha-los kalahati o 40,000 ng kabuuang82,000 PCOS machines ang dapatihatid sa bansa bago magtapos angnagdaang Disyembre.

Ngunit ang mga nasabing makinaay naantala, dahil na rin sa inilipat

sa Shanghai, China ang produksyonnito matapos masalanta ng bagyongOndoy (Ketsana) ang pabrikanggumagawa ng PCOS machine sa Tai-wan noong Setyembre.

Gayunpaman, naninindigan parin ang Comelec na tiyak na maka-kaboto ang mga botante dahil matu-tuloy ang halalan sa Mayo.

– Dino Balabo

PANGALAGAAN ANG KAPALIGIRAN

There is but one road which reaches God

and that is Prayer. If anyone shows

you another, you are being deceived.— ST. THERESA

Presyo ng sementotumaas; supply kapos

NI DINO BALABO

HAGONOY, Bulacan—Tu-maas ang presyo ng se-mento sa Luzon bago mag-Pasko, ngunit normal angoperasyon ng mga higan-teng planta ng semento sabayan ng Norzagaray, Bu-lacan.

Ito ay nagbunga ng pag-kaantala ng mga konstruk-syon ng imprastrakturapartikular na dito sa Ha-gonoy na naging sanhi ngpagkakabuhol-buhol ngdaloy ng trapiko. Nagsipag-reklamo naman ang mgamotorista.

Ayon sa mga may-ari nghardware store o mga tin-dahang nagbebenta ng se-mento at iba pang con-struction supply, tumaasang presyo ng semento saBulacan mula P197 isangsako hanggang P230 bagosumapit ang Pasko.

Ito ay dahil sa kapos angsupply ng semento na, ayon

sa Department of Tradeand Industry (DTI), ay na-ramdaman sa buong Lu-zon.

Sinabi ni Rhine Aldana,direktor ng DTI sa Bula-can, maging ibang lala-wigan sa Gitna at HilagangLuzon ay naramdaman dinang kakulangan ng supplyng semento. Isa ito sa mgapangunahing produkto nagamit sa konstruksyon ngmga imprastraktura.

Ayon kay Aldana, tatloang dahilan ng kakulanganng supply ng semento sapamilihan.

Una ay ang pagkasirang isang tulay sa lalawiganng Batangas na nagingdahilan upang bumagalang paghahatid ng sementomula sa Timog Luzon pa-tungo sa Kalakhang May-nila at mga lalawigan sahilaga nito.

“Malaki ang epekto ngpagkasira ng tulay sa Ba-tangas sa supply ng se-

mento sa national market,dahil sa Bulacan sila ku-mukuha ngayon.

Ikalawa, nagsagawa ngpreventive maintenanceshutdown ang mga pabrikang semento sa bayan ngNorzagaray na nanganga-hulugang bumaba ng halos50 porsiyento ang produk-syon dahil halos dalawanglinggong nilinis at kinum-puni ang mga makina.

Ikatlo, kasalukuyanginaapura ang mga dambu-halang proyektong pangimprastraktura ng gob-yerno upang matapos at ‘diabutan ng “election ban.”

“Government infra-structure projects are beingrushed now to avoid elec-tion ban, kaya doon napu-punta ang biggest supplyng semento natin,” aniAldana.

Ipinaliwanag niya na isasa mga dahilan kung bakittumaas ang presyo ng se-mento ay “dahil sa short-

age.”Kapag may bumili ng

semento sa isang hardwarestore at walang maibentaang tindahan, sabi ni Al-dana, kumukuha ito ngprodukto sa kapwa tin-dahan.

Dahil sa sitwasyong ito,tumataas ang presyo dahilpinatungan ng hardwarestore ang halaga ng kinu-hang semento.

Samantala, sinabi na-man nina Pol Placido atBobby Sajonia, mga opisyalng Holcim Cement factorysa Norzagaray na normallamang ang kanilang ope-rasyon.

Kinumpirma nila nanagsagawa sila ng preven-tive maintenance shut-down at bumaba ng 50porsyento ang produksyonng Holcim.

Subalit iginiit nila nakadalasang nagsasagawasila ng shutdown kungbuwan ng Disyembre dahil

sa Kapaskuhan ay karani-wang mababa ang panga-ngailangan sa semento.

Gayunpaman, sinabi niSajonia na isa sa mga da-hilan ng mataas na panga-ngailangan sa semento sahuling bahagi ng 2009 ayang malawakang pagkasirang mga bahay at impras-traktura hatid ng kala-midad na sanhi ng mgabagyong Ondoy ay Pepengnoong Setyembre at Ok-tubre.

Ipinaliwanag naman niPlacido na normal lamangang pagkakaroon ng maha-bang pila ng mga trailertruck sa labas ng kanilangplanta.

“Kadalasan ay umaabotsa 100 hanggang 200 truckang nakapila sa labas ngplanta dahil naghihintaysilang makargahan, at ka-pag nakargahan na ay nag-papalipas pa sila ng oraspara hindi mahuli sa pag-labag sa truck ban sa mga

pangunahing lansanganpartikular na ang mgapatungo sa KalakhangMaynila.

Gayunpaman, lahat ngmga truck na nakita ngMabuhay sa labas ngplanta ng Holcim ay walapang kargang semento, atayon sa mga driver at pa-hinante na nakapanayamng Mabuhay ay mahigit48 oras na silang naghi-hintay na makargahanupang makabiyahe.

Dahil naman sa kaposna supply ng semento, ‘dinatapos ang rehabilitasyonng kalsada sa Hagonoy.Ayon kay Vice Mayor El-mer Santos, dapat sana aybago magbagong-taon atnabuhusan na ng sementoang kinukumpuning kal-sada sa tapat ng PlazaCrisostomo ng bayang ito.

Ngunit hindi iyon na-gawa dahil sa kapos sasemento, ani ng bise al-kalde.

PILA — Humaba ang pila ng trak sa labasng pabrika ng Holcim Cement sa Norza-garay, Bulacan sa paghihintay na makar-gahan ng semento. Ayon sa Department ofTrade and Industry, kinapos ang supply ngsemento bago mag-Pasko kaya't tumaas angpresyo nito. Kuha ni Dino Balabo noongDisyembre 23.

Bumaba ang bilang ng nasaktan sa pagsalubong sa Bagong TaonMALOLOS—Bumaba angbilang ng mga nasaktan saBulacan sanhi ng paggamitng paputok sa pagsalubongsa taong 2010.

Ayon sa Provincial Di-saster Management Office(PDMO) ng Bulacan, uma-bot lamang sa 48 katao, ka-bilang ang mga bata, isi-nugod sa Bulacan MedicalCenter (BMC) at animpang district hospitals salalawigan. Ang bilang naito ay higit na mas mababasa naitalang 65 katao nanasaktan sa pagsalubongsa taong 2009 sa lalawigan.

Ayon sa PDMO, maramisa mga nasaktan na nasahustong edad, ay nakainomng alak nang magpaputok.

Isa sa mga biktima angmenor de edad na mula sabayan ng Hagonoy na na-putulan ng apat na dalirinang sumabog sa kanyangkamay ang isang paputok.

Sinabi ni Dr. RodanteParulan, municipal health

officer ng bayan ng Pandi,na tatlo katao lamang angisinugod sa kanilang ruralhealth unit.

Una rito, nagpahiwatigang mga nagtitinda ngpaputok sa bayan ng Bo-caue na posibleng bumabaang bilang ng masasaktansanhi ng paputok dahil samababa ang produksyon ngpaputok sa lalawigan ma-tapos manalasa ang bag-yong Ondoy noong Setyem-bre at nalubog ang mgatindahan at bodega ngpaputok sa Bocaue.

Ngunit hindi namankumbinsido sa pananaw naito ang Philippine Pyro-technics ManufacturersDealers Association Inc.,(PPMDAI).

Ayon kay Celso Cruz,dating pangulo ngPPMDAI, nananatili pa rinsa merkado ang mga ilegalna paputok dahil sa kaku-langan ng pagpapatupadng batas.

Isa sa halimbawa nito ayang hayagang bentahan ngnaglalakihang paputok saMacArthur Highway saBocaue noong bisperas ngBagong Taon.

Sa mga lalawigan ngPampanga at Tarlac, uma-bot naman sa 55 katao angnasaktan sanhi ng paputokat isang bahay sa AngelesCity ang nasunog.

Ayon kay Supt. BaltazarMamaril, tagapagsalita ngpulisya sa Central Luzon,umabot sa 35 katao ang na-saktan sa iba’t ibang bayanat lungsod sa Pampanga sapagsalubong sa 2010.

Sa lalawigan ng Tarlac,sinabi ni Supt. Mamaril naumabot sa 20 ang nasak-tan, at sa lalawigan ngNueva Ecija ay tatlo angnamatay sanhi ng pagsa-bog ng mga tindahan ngpaputok sa harap ng mu-nisipyo ng Science City ofMunoz noong Disyembre31. — Dino Balabo

LUGI MULI — Muling nalugi ang ma-raming manggagawa ng paputok sataong 2009 dahil sa krisis sa ekonomiya

at walang habas na pagbebenta ng mgaipinagbabawal na paputok bago sumapitang Bagong Taon. — Dino Balabo

MabuhayLINGGUHANG PILIPINO MULA PA NOONG 1980

VOL. XXXI, NO. 1 • ENERO 1 - 7, 2010 • PAHINA 8

mabuhay issue no. 1001

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