Day of mourning today, really?

“I am declaring a day of mourning for the victims of the mass murder in Mindanao,” so said Gloria Arroyo.

“I am outraged as everyone is at this crime. It is a travesty of our pledge to uphold the basic humanity of every Filipino,” so sad Gloria Arroyo.

What was it? A pathetic response on on the most gruesome event and barbaric acts.

Since the likes of you assumed power, there is no despicable person or group of persons so long as these guys deliver what you want, what you need, and what you wish to stay in power. Such is your world, transactional and based on patronage.  Such is the culture you nurture, a culture of impunity.

Ask the mothers, the fathers, the kids and the families of those human rights victims under your administration. They would tell you that they have been mourning ever since their sons, daughters and parents disappeared or killed. They will mourn until that day their lives on this earth shall come to an end too.

Ask the million impoverished Filipinos who day by day have to live a life lesser that a rat while you, your cohorts and the likes of you live a life of plenty. They may not care much about Joc-joc Bolante and the likes of him that you keep and protect but for sure, they know, they are half dead.

“Commitment [to] human rights and human dignity shall prevail in the Philippines,” so sad Gloria Arroyo.  TALAGA PO? Really? I heard that many times before. Words, words, words;  they are all words and as always, they are plenty, cheap and meaningless.

Day of mourning today? Millions of Pinoys have been mourning everyday Madam President ever since the likes of you sit there, do shit and talk non-sense.

Efren Peñaflorida: Pinoy CNN Hero 2009

“Each person has a hidden hero within, you just have to look inside you and search it in your heart, and be the hero to the next one in need.”

“… you are the change that you dream as I am the change that I dream and collectively we are the change that this world needs to be.” – Efren Peñaflorida

Efren Peñaflorida receives the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year 2009 award

You can’t be proud enough! He is not Manny Pacquiao. He is Efren Peñaflorida. He may not be the King of the ring like Manny Pacquiao but he fights with a heart, determination, grit, dignity and love for his Kabayan.

Manny may have fought for the country, as he claimed but, that’s too far to compare to what Efren did. While Manny fights for big money and fame, Efren fights the most devastating of foes, IGNORANCE.

While Manny inspires Pinoy while accomplishing the insurmountable task of winning inside the ring and where material benefits go to his pocket, Efren not only inspire,  he educates young people, he pulls and raise them up from the morass.  He helps them to be a better Pinoy with no material benefits in return.

Efren Penaflorida INSPIRES people not to be famous and rich instead he gives our poor kababayans the CHANCE, the HOPE and the LIGHT to help them get  out of darkness called  Ignorance. He EMPOWERS them.

Manny Pacquiao’s legacy may last forever and  boxing history books will be full of it but,  Efren Penaflorida’s legacy is written on the hearts and minds of those poor Pinoy kids he helped.

And heaven knows which legacy is far more important and worthy of great praises.

Mabuhay ka Efren. You are truly and definitely Pinoy!

Read CNN’s full story here and visit Efren Peñaflorida’s Dynamic Teen Company.

A story seldom told

This is the story of the Goddess in Heaven and the Devil/Evil One.

Before the Bird Flu Break-out:

The Goddess in Heaven who was creating a wonderful world free of bird flu virus,of peace and love when She noticed the Devil/Evil One rubbing hands gleefully together. She asked, “Why are you doing that?,” and the answer was,  “I am already done playing with my bird.”

“What do you mean done playing with your bird?,” the Goddess in Heaven inquired.

“You are so amazingly beautiful. What i am saying is, I am doing what i am supposed to do. I am already planning how I will ORGANIZE it.”

The Devil/Evil One then disappeared.

Before the Swine Flu Break-out:

The Goddess in Heaven who was creating a wonderful world of peace and love, and free of Swine flu virus when she noticed the Devil/Evil One rubbing hands gleefully together. She asked,  “Why are you doing that?,”  and the answer was,  “I am already done playing with my bird and I am already planning how I will ORGANIZE it.”

“And what was that sticky thing in your hand?”, the Goddess in Heaven asked.

“Ah this one,” the Devil/Evil One a bit surprised, “this is hand sanitizer… Yes, hand sanitizer.”

“Sanitizer, what hand sanitizer? You bastard!!!’

“Did I not tell you many times that You are so amazingly beautiful, and besides, I am What I am. The Devil/Evil One!” then disappeared.

Happy Halloween everyone.

Blog Action Day: Honestly, what have you done to Mother Nature lately?

“We know this is going to come but we never expected it to happen this  fast and so soon,” my activist friend wrote me.

And that exactly what it was few weeks ago and it is still what it is right now in Cordillera and parts of Northern Luzon in the Philippines.

In what was previously confined in every environmentalists, activists and experts’ imagination and graphical presentations, the picture perfect scenarios of the things that are forthcoming, happened exactly the way they are presented, GRIM!

Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng efficiently delivered the GRIM message that caught everyone by surprise, right where it mattered the most, inside the houses and communities of many Pinoys.

GRIM is for helplessness, pains, hardships, agonies, tragedies, destruction and deaths. GRIM is a word to describe the effects of Climate Change which, Mother Nature wants us all to know and understand.

The Principle of Emptiness

Something to think about.

It’s not the objects you keep that stagnates your life but rather the attitude of keeping…

Thank you for your time.

Efren Peñaflorida: Young Pinoy CNN Hero

Please vote for Efren Peñaflorida, our hero. Your vote is a great way of letting him know that we appreciate his great work in helping and building our nation.

Efren Peñaflorida is a young man who against all odds, succeeded in “giving the Filipino youth an alternative to gang membership through education. His Dynamic Teen Company’s 10,000 members have taught basic reading and writing to 1,500 kids living in the slums.“

I always tell my volunteers that you are the change that you dream and I am the change that I dream. And collectively we are the change that this world needs to be. -  Efren Peñaflorida

Just click the widget below to cast your vote. You may vote as many times as you like.

Thank you very much.

No Time

Sometimes.

What about you?

Leisure by W. H. Davies

WHAT is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?

No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

Literally and Figuratively speaking?

Ang sabi ng mga ka tropa ko ng mga tambay, tricycle driver, seaman, bankero, abogado, doctor at pati lamok:

Habang lumalalim ang gabi, lalong sumasarap ang inuman at pulutan.

Well, it really is true, figuratively and literally.

Literally in the sense that the longer you stay and drink, the level of alcohol goes higher. (malabo ba?)

Figuratively,  when one or two of your senses become numb dahil laseeng o lango ka na, even if the liquor and the pulutan are the worst kinds (kahit rubbing alcohol o bulok na daing), you ’still think’ that the alak is the best and the pulutan tastes great,  at lalong sumasarap. (Pag minsan nga, pati poste, nagiging babaeng seksi. di ba kulas? ha ha ha)

And the longer the drinking session becomes, the more it turns out to be fun, loud and noisy, and  more neighbors are being pissed off especially the wives and their pet dogs. Consider yourself lucky if they just ignore you, perhaps your neigboooors accepted you as crazy. But,  on some other times, kapag pumasok na sa kanilang nerves ang iyong kalokohan,  do not be surprised if you have an uninvited guest, Mr. Pulis Patola,  knocking at your door or calling you in front of your gate.

Such is the case for drunk neighboooors and their guests. Such is also the case for “the Glooooria and her gang.’

The only difference is that when Mr. Pulis Patola finds out that  ”the Glooooria and her gang”  are the ones having fun, he would usually join them and later, pag laseeng na rin sya, hina-harrass na ang neigboooorhood na nag re reklamo.

Literally and figuratively speaking!

Ang pag-ibig nga naman

Ang sabi ni Kulas:

Ang paghihirap at pagtitiis ay meron hangganan
Ang poot at galit ay umaabot din sa sukdulan
Katulad nang mga bagay sa mundong ibabaw
Sa kalaunan ay kumukupas at tuluyang nagwawakas
Pero iisa lang ang walang katapusan,
Ito ay ang pag-big o pagmamahal na tunay.

At bakit naman bigla ka na lang naging makata Kulas?

Wala lang, sa next month kasi enrollment na naman.

Kaya pare ko,  baka may ekstrang datung ka dyan,   sa halip na matalo ka sa merkado o kalakalan,  pagmamahal mo sa kaibigan na  nangangailangan  ay iparamdam,  dalawang libong doyares lamang,  ako ay pautangin mo naman.

AYOS, ang pagmamahal nga naman.

President Corazon “Cory” Aquino, 1933 – 2009

“There is nothing that causes me greater pain than to see our people betrayed again and again by those they have elected to lead and serve them. To those of us who fought long and hard to restore our democracy, the pain deepens at the thought that all our gains have so quickly been eroded. ” -  Cory Aquino

Philippines President Cory Aquino, 76 years old,  passed away at 3:18 a.m., Saturday,  August 1, 2009 at Makati Medical Center as announced by her son Senator Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III.  The official cause of death was cardio-respiratory arrest.

myepinoy joins the nation in mourning the demise of a brave woman, a mother and People Power icon, Tita Cory.

May her soul rest in peace.