Saturday, December 23, 2017

QUIAPO, NOT A THING OF THE PAST

Christ personifies goodness. He lived a spotless life while on earth; in fact he only lost his cool once when he saw the vendors at the temple. 

"Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves." NIV


That was a long time ago but if you go to Quiapo, the center of business in Manila, where you will find the Quiapo Church, with the Plaza Mirando in front of it,  you will see lots of vendors  selling all kinds of things -- agricultural produce, even a reading of destiny.  No one drives them away. In fact, there could be more than a thousand of them, luring pedestrians to buy from them. 

And if you look at the grounds of Quiapo you will see a lot wastes -- plastic bags, fruit peels, crumpled paper, 

Now how come after all these years, Quiapo has not turned into a likeable, admirable place for promenading? 

Vendors are in bedraggled clothes - maski papano na lang. They wear worn slippers and shout at the top of their voices trying to attract buyers. 

SUGGESTIONS; 
1. SILENCE I have the idea that a place of worship should have a quiet surrounding and clean environment. It's going to be a no-smoking area and no loiterers, either. 

Shouting for people to buy should be banned. the whole Carriedo street parallel to the Church should have vendors only two meters of vending in the center. The areas right after the gutter should be free of vendors.  

2. Itinerant vendors should be disallowed. Or they should be confined to only one area. 

3. AND EVERY VENDOR SHOULD HAVE A WALIS TINGTING AND A WASTECAN. If one does not obey this rule, then they should not be allowed to sell anything at all there. 

4. Candle sellers should be prohibited from lighting the candles. Customers could buy the candles and enter the church to put them in the proper places inside. Folks,  I don't believe that the prayers said in front of the sellers while lighting the candles could reach heaven at all. The current practice is just pure commercial transaction and nothing more. 

5. Herbal vendors should all be lined up in one place and not scattered all over the place. 

6. All vendors should price mark their products. They should give the least price already. Walang tawaran to speed up the business. 

7. Ukay-ukay vendors should also be confined to one area. Actually some fool the customers claiming their products are brand new. To the new Metro Manila settlers, everything looks new. So to prevent and stop deceptive business practices, the vendors should all be lined up in one area. 

In other words, there should be a categorization of vendors in Quiapo. 

8. Jewelry makers should have a license from the Professional Regulations Commission. By having a license, and their certificates duly displayed, they would not be attracted to deceiving customers of their products. When they say that a stone is genuine, then the customers could always run after them if these turn out to be otherwise. 

If a jeweler cannot fix a ring, he or she should not be allowed to bring it to another jeweler but instead make the customers themselves bring their jewels to the next jewelers. 

I remember having sought the help of a female jeweler, who turned out had a blurry eyes. She brought my ring to another jeweler. Yun pala, pinalitan ang mga bato ng russian diamond. My ring had old stones as it was a gift from my daughter. It is actually difficult to distinguish Russian diamonds from real ones. I presumed that the jeweler must have been truly hard up and so had to resort to nefarious ways. Childless,  she and her husband live on the mezzanine of their stall which is one meter by three meters long. The two meters is reserved for their small canteen offering merienda to passersby. Hay naku, for a measly sum, should I still make bruhaha over that? 

But I could no longer tolerate being fooled. One day,  I asked a jeweler  to goldplate my ring. He got it and put it inside the box of his table. It took him such a long time to do it. Then a woman (spy) came and they talked. when the jeweler gave me back my ring it was no longer the same. So I reported him to the police at the corner of Raon. He was fetched ad was forced to pay me the cost of the ring. After that I was hoping that he would lose his puwesto, but lo and behold, the other day, I saw that he even had a karatula with his name on it written in big font. Sounds like Robin's nickname. 

9. Now, the sermon of the priest in Quiapo is so loud, it reverberates all around the plaza. And it is so irrelevant when all around, is the scenery full of hagglers, buyers, cheaters, fortune tellers, children selling bags, beggars, vendors with their carts selling lumpia, maize and the like. The place looks so unholy, just like when Jesus drove the vendors from the temple. I wonder what Pope Francis would say about this travesty of spirituality. 

No one would feel holy at all in such a place. 

I think that Quiapo should be made more elegant, respectable and admirably a place that has long historical value. Don't we remember that someone once said, if you want the people to hear your opinion, go to Plaza Miranda which is in front of the Quiapo Church and speak out there? That means that people who linger there  really listen to you and analyze your opinions when you are there exercising your right to speak. In fact, every vendor that I have engaged has a mind of his or her own. They could discuss with you for hours and hours. 

I  think that we could still make Quiapo a truly memorable place, not a thing of the past, with greater resolve of local officials to make it so. 




Monday, December 18, 2017

GIFTGIVING AND TOYS FOR PEACE

Christmas in Mexico, Holidays around the World, Feliz Navidad, posadas, gifts, Spanish, cute clip art

I think we are the topmost people in the world who really go gaga over Christmas. It is a time for family gatherings, for exchanging gifts or even just gift-giving, and going to mass in the early mornings. The tradition is very deep and goes back hundreds of years I suppose to the Spanish era. 

We should be proud of that because it means we value being a part of the community. We belong to each other; we nurture our past; and we are of one race; one historical consciousness, and one deep kinship with each other. 

However, what we should guard against is measuring gifts in terms of monetary value. We must learn to value every gift that we receive no matter how inexpensive, especially if they have been done by the giver. It shows that we have been in the mind of the giver and that he or she values our presence in this world. 

Children particularly must recognize that Christmas is a time for being open, for being generous to other people. When they go caroling, they must give their best and not just sing even when out of tune just so they could make a quick cash. Parents must teach their children the value of singing the Christmas carols; what they mean and what message they give to other people. 

I have been making beaded balls and giving them away to children in the streets. The Mindanao group (Badjao I presume) shows great pleasure in receiving them. They know what artistic products are. But the children in the slums, ask me: "Para saan po ito?" They have forgotten or maybe they were not taught to appreciate artistic products and instead only watch gifts  for their practical value. "Pwedeng dekorasyon, lagyan mo ng tangkay, o kaya pantali sa buhok. Bahala ka kung ano'ng gusto mong gawin."Then they smiled and asked for another one as there were the two of them. I said, "isa lang. Mag-share na lang kayo." The other one who lost in the "pik" a game that makes the winner get the beaded ball, grabbed it. But I told them not to quarrel over it as they should share it between themselves.

New toys, imaginative toys, toys that can be manipulated, toys that make the children think --  these are what are needed as gifts by our children. Toys that will educate them to tell the time, a children's magazine like Regalo, to read; Toys for Peace, not the guns and swords which teach them to harm, injure others and even kill. Computer war games are the worst lot on this score. 

Way back in the 90's Aida Lava (God bless her soul,) was one of the leaders of the Forward Looking Women or FLOW toegether with Inday Pineda and Rosario Dos Santos who were at the forefront disseminating the value of toys for peace. That was a very long time ago and as the proliferation of violent toys exists it seems we have not not really made a dent in the consciousness of manufacturers especially those coming from the People's Republic of China. 

The Department of Social Welfare and Development must lead in inculcating among the children and people in general the real value of Christmas. Jesus Christ was born in a manger, a very lowly place, not the air-conditioned rooms of posh hospitals. We should never forget that. Or at least we should respect the Christian people's beliefs in the modest roots of Christmas. 

Saturday, December 9, 2017

JUSTICE LEAGUE VERSUS CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION

Justice League poster




I saw two kinds of saviors the first week of December. One was the Christmas Concert at UST with the UST Conservatory of Music student musicians under the helm of Prof. Herminigildo Ranera playing beautiful Christmas songs at Plaza Mayor on December 1, 2017 as the lights were turned on the university grounds. We were in celebration of the anniversary of the birth of Christ, the Savior of humanity. 

It was highly exhilarating listening to musicians play Christmas songs because they were all Christians in the real sense -- believers of Jesus and hence, their musical performance permeated their souls, minds and hearts, not just physically. It is highly different when listening to musicians whose idea of performance is being glued to the score, playing according to the dictates of the composer, and yet not believing in the true import of the songs. 

It was the 15th celebration with King of Kings as the theme to usher in the Christmas season. Sopranos included Thea Perez, who sang Payapang Daigdig, Elisana Cortes and Nennen Espina who sang 12 Days of Christmas. Abdul Candao who is Vienna-trained according to a faculty member, sang "O Holy Night" and I thought I had heard Pavarotti that night. He was full of reverence when he sang the song. 

Naomi Sison meanwhile sang Light of A Million. There were children and other women and men singers in the whole show, coordinated by Dean Antonio Africa of the UST Conservatory of Music. A narrator said that the Conservatory now has 600 students and 73 Faculty members. Prof. Ranera who also conducts the PPO at CCP handles Composition, Conducting, Orchestration as well graduate classes which he handles with great ease and humour, a very nice approach to budding artists. Maybe that is why UST has a lot of students. 

But what struck me about the Festival is that the Savior being celebrated was a real human being, who never pretended to be ultra strong but delivered many parables to emphasize the need for a moral life. 

Unfortunately, when I saw Justice League, a movie with 5 heroes (with one woman) I just could not reconcile that idea of their being saviors of the world. The movie tries to make us believe that we have those real martyrs ready with their magical tricks to overcome evil in this world. The villains are not the real villains that we would see in the streets or in the seedy sections of our society. Instead, they are imaginative figures shaped by digital effects artists. 

And now I really pity the American girl children who have to swallow a very fantastical image of a woman but who could not be a model of social responsibility at all as the whole story is concocted for movie delectation, and not a spiritual awakening to the need to love our neighbor, especially the needy, and for girls to have the courage to stand up and fight the evil forces in society. Besides, the costume of Wonder Woman is too sexually attractive and I don't see the point how the girl children could possibly see themselves as she is

Am I being cynical of sci-fi movies? Not really, but as this film had come during the Christmas season, it brings out a negative impact of the need to have a moral overhaul of our values where society is concerned. The movie is just for appreciation of how the producers had created a film that uses computer tricks and all the way through and nowhere is it possible to identify with any of the heroes and the heroine. 

Maybe it is time to rewrite these sci-fi movies and make them credible as real saviors of the world. And please give us real enemies of the people, like those who subvert democratic processes and land as pretenders to the throne. 

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

MGA KABABAYAN SA CONDOMINIUM UNITS

MGA KABABAYAN SA CONDOMINIUM UNITS

Ang baradong sewage system sa groundfloor, sa mga units A, ay nagpapahirap sa paghinga, pagtulog at paglalakad ng mga naninirahan dito.  Tinangkang ayusin ng Association ito subali’t nag-breakdown ang makina. Ngayon, isang unit owner ang nagmagandang loob at kinatulong si Pabling para malinis ang mga tubo ng sewage system atnatagpuan kung bakit barado:
Buhok    Sebo     Condom    Panty; atbp
Ang mga bagay na ito ang nagging dahilan ng pagbabara at siyang nagdudulot ng perhuwisyo sa ating pamayanan. Mahalagang masolusyonan ito dahil kung hindi ay

1.Darami ang mga lamok, maaaring maging dahilan ito ng mga sakit na malaria at dengue, liban pa sa pananakit ng tiyan dulot ng pag-singhot ng masamang hangin;

2, Pati ang pagtapak ng maruming tubig sa daanan at pagpasok n gating mga sinelas at sapatos sa bahay ay magdudulot ng panganib dahil papasok ang mga mikrobyo at bakteria na dala ng tubig;

3. Ang mga bata ay lalo’t higit na magiging vulnerable o mahina sa paglaban sa mga sakit dahil mura pa lamang ang kanilang katawan;

4. Pag nagpatuloy ang kalakaran at nagkasakit tayo, mararatay tayo sa karamdaman at mawawalan ng pagkakataong maghanap-buhay at humanap ng paraan para umigi ang ating pamumuhay;
KUNG KAYA’T UGALIING:
1.     Huwag magtatapon ng mga pagkain sa lababo. Linisin muna ang mga plato ng mga kanin bago hugasan;
2.     Buhusan ng mainit ang lababo para matunaw ang sebo;
3.      Ibalot ang kondom sa papel at itapon sa basura, huwag sa toilet bowl. Hindi ito natutunaw sa tubig  dahil goma ito na may plastic;
4.     Huwag maglalaba at ibubuhos ang tubig sa toilet bowl dahil maaaring may masamang maliliit na damit, tulad ng medyas at panty na siyang magiging dahilan ng bara;
5.     Huwag magtatapon ng upos ng sigarilyo sa lababo, sa toilet bowl o kahit saan. Parating itapon ito na patay na ang sindi sa basurahan.

TANDAAN NATIN: ANG MALINIS NA KAPALIGIRAN AY NAPAPANATILI SA PAGIGING AKTIBO NG LAHAT SA PAGBANTAY SA KALAGAYAN NITO MINU-MINUTO, ARAW-ARAW. 5. Ang malinis na kapaligiran ay magdudulot ng higit na malusog na pamayanan.


ANG SAMA-SAMANG PAGKILOS TUNGKOL DITO AY MAGDUDULOT SA ATIN NG PAGSAMYO NG MABANGONG HANGIN GALING SA KAPALIGIRAN AT MAGIGING MAPAYAPA ANG ATING PAMUMUHAY. ANG PAGSAMYO NG OXYGEN AY NAGBIBIGAY NG KALAKASAN NG ISIP, KATAWAN AT DAMDAMIN TUNGO SA ISANG SPIRITUWAL NA PAMUMUHAY.