tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118458402024-03-26T17:02:24.967+08:00Indung KapampanganPreserving our Kapampangan heritageIvan Henareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08952639023631049082noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11845840.post-89861702636921582122008-03-14T00:23:00.001+08:002008-03-14T00:26:43.507+08:00Holy Week reflections on cultureby Robbie Tantingco<br /><br />Once again, all roads lead to San Pedro Cutud next week. There will be thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, crowding the long and narrow path leading to the hill of crucifixion, like a scene from a Cecil B. De Mille movie. When you have a crowd like that descending upon your town or village, their safety and comfort becomes your responsibility, whether you like it or not and whether you invited them or not.<br /><br />Which is why local government units are now scrambling to cope with the situation. I’m sure it’s still going to be a nightmare out there, no matter how the organizers try, because Cutud simply attracts more visitors than it can take.<br /><br />But the more important problem to solve is really the cultural authenticity of the Holy Week practices, not just in Cutud but in many other places in Pampanga. There is no other region in the country during Holy Week where so many things happen in so many different places at the same time. In fact, Lent in Pampanga is more festive than Christmas.<br /><br />In their excitement to cash in on the arrival of so many tourists and media people, local officials and organizers should prioritize the authenticity of a tradition more than its tourism value. The reason for this is simple: Tourists come to see folk traditions in their original, unadulterated form, not stylized or updated versions. You lose their authenticity, you lose the tourists.<br /><br />For example, tourists prefer seeing penitents who carry crosses made from banana trunks or logs from their own backyard, rather than mass-produced crosses donated by a local official or businessman. In Cutud, I’ve always wondered why someone has to use a microphone to annotate the proceedings for the benefit of the crowd, unless the organizers treat the whole thing as a show instead of a religious ritual that the crowd is only privileged to witness.<br /><br />Tourists come to Pampanga during Holy Week because Kapampangan penitents perform their acts of penitence—and not Kapampangan penitents perform because tourists come to Pampanga.<br />What our penitents do is a very personal and sacred act, and we should protect them from media who sensationalize, and tourists who trivialize, this act. When a man has himself nailed to a cross, I am sure he does it not for show or for money, but because he is fulfilling a vow, or asking God a favor, or expressing his gratitude for a favor already granted—any motive that I’m sure is private and definitely not for a reporter, interviewer or cameraman to want to know, record and broadcast to the world.<br /><br />Tourists should be treated as, well, tourists, to be accorded the usual courtesy and hospitality and given the necessary amenities. But tourists should not be allowed to distract or interact with the penitents; they should merely watch and observe, with as much distance from, and reverence for, the penitents as possible. I’ve seen cameramen calling out to a man who was nailed on a cross to turn his head and face the camera, and I did hear some people in the crowd actually poke fun at one crucified man.<br /><br />I have nothing but compassion for the men and women who flagellate themselves or allow themselves to be nailed to the cross every year. What they do is a continuation of a long tradition that’s found nowhere else but in the Kapampangan Region. You know that it’s unique here because our word for it is as original as it is beautiful: “magdarame.” It comes from an ancient Kapampangan word “dame,” which is defined in Bergaño’s 1732 dictionary as “to voluntarily take part in someone else’s situation or predicament.” Thus, when a Kapampangan picks up a cross or flagellates himself on Good Friday, he is doing it not just in imitation of Christ, but in fellowship with Him—it’s a mystical relationship in which the penitent, believing that Christ still relives His Passion every Good Friday, offers to alleviate His suffering by imposing on himself, or trying to approximate, or at least taking part in, Christ’s own suffering.<br /><br />Flagellation as a religious ritual started in medieval Germany and may have been brought here by the Spaniards, because even Mexicans still do it. But then so do Hindu mystics in parts of south and southeast Asia, so it’s possible that we got the practice from our prehistoric ancestors and the colonizers merely Christianized it.<br /><br />It really amazes me that of all the people in the Philippines, it is the Kapampangans—known for their vanity and love for the good life—who still cling to this tradition. It also amazes me that instead of vanishing, like what’s happening to most other cultural practices in Pampanga, the tradition of flagellation continues to thrive and even prosper. Last year, there were more Kapampangan boys and men who carried crosses and mutilated their bodies than there were in the previous years, and I’m sure next week the number will increase again.<br /><br />This, despite the continuing Archdiocesan ban on flagellation, which goes against the Church doctrine that God’s forgiveness is readily available through the sacrament of confession alone. You ought to see the multitude of flagellants converge in Mabalacat at sunrise on Good Friday. It’s a sight that will make your jaw drop to the ground, and it would make you wonder what overwhelming social stress, trauma or dysfunction is driving all these Kapampangan boys and men to self-mutilation.<br /><br />Yes, there are other destinations in Pampanga other than San Pedro Cutud and yes, we want tourists and media to discover them. But let’s remind ourselves that culture should never be sacrificed on the altar of tourism.Ivan Henareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08952639023631049082noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11845840.post-21200294574742401192008-03-06T10:30:00.000+08:002008-03-06T10:31:18.131+08:00Holy Angel is foreverby Robby Tantingco<br /><br />I love my alma mater, St. Louis University, dearly and with all the affection and nostalgia that an alumnus holds for the school that nurtured him, but there’s another school in my life that has my equal devotion.<br /><br />Still, despite serving Holy Angel University for 23 long years—practically all the best working years of my life—I have no right to call myself an HAU alumnus. When you’ve worked that long for a certain school, cared for it and grown old with it, you sometimes begin to feel like an alumnus yourself, until you go home and see another diploma hanging on your wall.<br /><br />This week, as Holy Angel University opens its Diamond Jubilee Year, I would like to cheer the thousands upon thousands of HAU alumni out there, those who carry their alumni card proudly and those who take it for granted, those who know how lucky they are and those who don’t realize it. As an administrator, I can only join in the celebration as a worker in the background, but the party belongs to all the students, past and present, who can claim that their lives have been molded and their destinies shaped by this great institution.<br /><br />St. Louis University and Holy Angel University are actually alike in many ways: both are the biggest in their respective regions, both charge relatively low tuition fees, both aren’t contented with just being big—they risk their enrolments by upgrading their academic standards. As a result, both SLU and HAU are now recognized as the most prestigious universities in their areas, being the only private schools north of Manila with most of their programs given Level III accredited status by PAASCU.<br /><br />Many schools in the country find it difficult to balance low tuition fees (to attract students) with high salaries (to attract faculty and administrators). Some schools sacrifice one for the other, and as a result, they become big but poor quality, or they get good quality but small population. SLU and HAU are successful in both.<br /><br />But it is no secret to the community that Holy Angel has struggled with this in the past. The social unrest after World War II, followed by the ravages of the Marcos dictatorship, followed by the eruption of Pinatubo, followed by the relentless lahar devastation, wreaked havoc on the school. Faculty and students alternately and sometimes simultaneously held strikes and boycotts. I remember seeing Vice President Noli de Castro, then still a TV newscaster, walking in to interview administrators and student leaders during one particularly nasty boycott, and I remember wondering how a campus issue would interest him and the rest of the nation.<br /><br />Well, with 15,000 students and nearly 1000 employees, multiplied by the number of their families and friends and the people in their respective neighborhoods, plus the thousands of alumni again multiplied by the number of their relatives and acquaintances—indeed, anything that happens on campus has the potential of becoming the topic of conversation in practically every household in the region.<br /><br />I can even go farther and say that with all the government officials, businessmen, educators, civic leaders, artists, etc. as well as ordinary citizens acquiring their values and their education from HAU, not to mention the thousands whose present and future livelihoods directly depend on the school—the University’s ups and downs actually help shape the destiny of the whole region.<br /><br />When I first joined the school in 1985 as an employee, the new President, S. Josefina Nepomuceno, OSB was just beginning to undertake the sweeping reforms that would ultimately take it to where it is today. She is a member of the great Juan D. Nepomuceno branch of the Nepomuceno family tree, the same branch that built the electric plant, the ice plant, the shopping complex, the premier subdivision, and of course, Holy Angel University.<br /><br />The founding of the school is credited to Don Juan and the parish priest at the time, Fr. Pedro P. Santos, but two other people played equally crucial roles in the story. Don Juan’s eldest son, Javier, who convinced his father to open a new school after he and his classmates had decided not to reenroll in their old school (they didn’t like some school policies), and Ricardo Flores, a teacher at Javier’s old school who had also quit along with other teachers (same reason). Flores, in fact, had already returned to his hometown in Laguna and started a new job with the government when Don Juan and Javier wrote and convinced him to return to Angeles. His role cannot be underestimated because it was really the laymen like him and Don Juan who managed the initial years of the school, which prompted historian Dr. Luciano Santiago to call Holy Angel “the country’s first Catholic school run by laypersons.”<br /><br />On Saturday, March 8, Angelites all over the world will join the Holy Angel University community, in person or in spirit, in opening the school’s Diamond Jubilee Year. I know many in your own family, in your company and in your neighborhood are graduates of HAU, and they probably don’t think much of their alma mater.<br /><br />Well, tell them about this billionaire software developer from Silicon Valley who has a Holy Angel diploma in his room, or this alumnus who helped build the Ayala empire, or the Dean of the Ateneo School of Law, or the former Secretary of Trade and Industry, or those Catholic bishops, Benedictine abbots, Olympic athlete, Miss International, US state legislator, Grammy Award winner, and even the patriots who founded Kabataang Makabayan and the New People’s Army—all of them started at Holy Angel, they got their education there, they are proud of it, and they are grateful for it.<br /><br />I don’t have a Holy Angel diploma at home, only an ID card that says I work there. All of you who have an HAU diploma, cherish it like a diamond. Make sure to dust it off this week, or if it’s tucked away in some cabinet, take it out, have it framed and hang it on your wall, and on Saturday, March 8, join all the alumni, wherever they are, in cheering Holy Angel University for all the great and wonderful things it has done to you, to this region, and to the world.Ivan Henareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08952639023631049082noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11845840.post-40416805732760375532008-02-29T10:10:00.000+08:002008-02-29T10:12:02.356+08:00Pampanga and people powerby Robby Tantingco<br /><br />The handsome coffee-table book “Luid Ka!” launched last Sunday in Betis, should remind us Kapampangans that, whatever they say about People Power-—that it is outdated, it won’t work again, it will hurt rather than help the nation—-and despite all the bad reputation that People Power has acquired through the years due to abuse and misuse, we Kapampangans did get a glimpse of it in its purest form last May 2007, and yes, it was beautiful! Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.<br /><br />And thank God they made a book that captured the moment and preserved it for all generations, so that our children, their children and their children’s children will never forget that once upon a time, Kapampangans came together, created a piece of heaven on earth, and took a direct hand in altering the course of history.<br /><br />That moment, unfortunately, is gone. All the heavenly glow that surrounded the key players and their supporters on that night at the convention center—captured so vividly in photographs—has evaporated in the harsh daylight of political realities.<br /><br />I hope the book will remind us once again that doing good is more important than being right, and that we have the capacity to transcend our daily battles and create moments of miracles where anything is possible.<br /><br />The book also made me ask why a people power movement succeeded so spectacularly in Pampanga last year, while the rest of the country today is failing so miserably in trying to organize another.<br /><br />One possible explanation is that People Power is really the desire to install someone, not the desire to oust someone. The People Power in 1986 was fueled by the popularity of Cory Aquino, not the unpopularity of President Marcos, because had the presidential candidate been Doy Laurel instead of Cory, I don’t think millions of Filipinos would have risked their lives at EDSA.<br /><br />In Pampanga, had the candidate not been as charismatic as Fr. Ed Panlilio, whose spirituality defined the election as a classic battle between good and evil, and whose inexperience made him the underdog against one candidate’s showbiz-style popularity and another candidate’s huge campaign funds—people power would not have happened in Pampanga.<br /><br />I think People Power, in its purest form, occurred only twice in history: in 1986 at EDSA, and in 2007 in Pampanga.<br /><br />The one that ousted President Estrada and installed Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (now known as EDSA 2) was motivated by a desire to unseat a corrupt, uncouth President, not by a desire to install Vice President Arroyo. I remember watching on TV how wildly the crowd in front of the EDSA Shrine cheered when they heard the news that Erap had fled Malacanang; however, the moment a giddy Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was introduced as the new President, the crowd applauded only politely. That was the moment, I think, when Filipinos got disenchanted with People Power. The attempts that came after that (EDSA 3, EDSA 4, etc.) did not succeed anymore.<br /><br />Today, as the political situation in the country continues to deteriorate, Filipinos remain reluctant to do another People Power because there is no overwhelming desire to install anybody, just an overwhelming desire to unseat the President. They’re probably thinking: Whom are we going to risk our lives for—Noli de Castro?? Why change a defective TV set when the replacement is another defective TV set?<br /><br />Well, come to think of it, why not?<br /><br />Just because President Arroyo is doing a good job at improving our economy doesn’t mean we have to turn a blind eye to a crime she might have committed. We want her out not because she is not a good manager (she is), but because she may have committed a crime, which leaves the nation no option but to punish her. Even the class valedictorian loses his medal if proven he cheated, and even the company’s best employee gets fired if caught he stole money. No amount of good behavior or excellent accomplishments can immune or rescue you from the consequences of one terrible mistake.<br /><br />That’s what we call responsibility and accountability, and that’s what we should teach our children. Every time we say GMA should stay even if she may have cheated or stolen money, because she is doing a good job with the economy anyway and her replacement will not do as well—what values are we teaching the next generation?<br /><br />If indeed she is guilty as charged, and she refuses to go, then the people will have no other option but to summon People Power. Don’t blame the people for resorting to it; blame Malacanang for forcing the people to resort to it.<br /><br />Last Sunday, the book launching of “Luid Ka” in Betis reminded me how beautiful People Power can be, and yesterday, the 22nd anniversary of the 1986 EDSA Revolution reminded me how proud we all were then. People Power was “our gift to the world.” Today, they’re forbidding us to give that gift again.<br /><br />Pampanga may have something to teach the rest of the nation.Ivan Henareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08952639023631049082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11845840.post-44585165503547488062008-02-19T09:53:00.001+08:002008-02-19T09:53:42.259+08:00Our Kapampangan Presidentby Robby Tantingco<br />SunStar Pampanga<br /><br />When I watch on TV the thin crowds that gather for anti-GMA rallies, I can’t help feeling sad—not so much for the opposition as for the country as a whole. Rallies are the yardsticks for measuring not only the popularity or unpopularity of a President, but more importantly, the level of people’s interest in their country’s affairs.<br /><br />When people stay away from rallies, it doesn’t mean they are pro-GMA; the surveys already tell us that she is a very unpopular president. The thin crowds in rallies simply mean people no longer care whether GMA stays or goes. And that’s bad.<br /><br />Some call it people power fatigue, others think it is a sign that Filipinos have matured politically because they now rely more on the electoral process than on people power to change their leaders.<br /><br />Well, I have a more cynical explanation.<br /><br />The world today is so much more complex than the world that produced the People Power movements in the 1980s and the 1990s. Whereas before we only had five TV channels, now we have over 50. We also have cell phones and iPods and malls and DVDs and the Internet.<br /><br />In other words, people today are so distracted by so many things happening at the same time that they can’t focus on any single thing. They tune in to the Senate hearing for a few minutes, then switch to American Idol and Desperate Housewives. They drop by the rally in Makati and after a few boring speeches under the sun, they rush to Greenbelt to cool their heels at Starbucks and later to Glorietta to catch the last full show. And how can corruption in government arouse anger in a teenager whose head is swimming with Justin Timberlake’s music from earphones plugged in all day?<br /><br />Of course they read the papers and follow what’s happening in politics, and for a few moments they probably feel stirrings of patriotism and even send their politicized thoughts to their friends and co-workers through text messages, but to go beyond that—like march in the street and risk being hosed down by the PNP—that’s probably stretching it a bit.<br /><br />It will probably take a tyrant like Marcos to reignite people power, and for all her repressive policies and dictatorial tendencies, GMA is no Marcos. I think it will take a series of earth-shaking events, instead of just one, to really create the critical mass that will erupt in a phenomenon called people power. In the 1980s, the assassination of Ninoy began the chain of events that led to the rigged Batasang Pambansa elections and the snap elections and the walkout of Comelec tabulators and the mutiny of Defense Minister Enrile and Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Ramos. In the case of Erap, the nightly TV coverage of his trial that showed a steady procession of witnesses and damning revelations, with defections by friends like Chavit Singson and even Nora Aunor, sustained the people’s outrage long enough to finally push them to spill into the streets.<br /><br />In the case of GMA, the scandals are as earth-shaking as the others, but they are spaced so few and far between that the people’s anger keeps rising and falling. The Hello Garci episode could have been it, except that the crowds didn’t show up. FPJ’s wake and funeral aroused people’s sentiments for about a week, then also fizzled out. Joey de Venecia’s expose came and went, too, and now, this Jun Lozada thing looks like a noisy circus that is also doomed to fade away, like all the others before it.<br /><br />Well, I sincerely hope not.<br /><br />This government has corrupted itself with such impunity that if the people would not bring it down, I am certain God would.<br /><br />As a Kapampangan, I truly wish GMA well and I am grateful for all the preferential treatment she has given Pampanga. However, as a Filipino, I cannot be so selfish that I don’t care if she robs the rest of the nation blind as long as my province benefits from it. Our love for our province should stop where our love for our country begins.<br /><br />Sometimes we should sacrifice provincial interests for the sake of the nation—I emphasize sometimes, because other times, we shouldn’t (like in the case of language). Whether we like it or not, all the regions and tribes in these 7,100 islands came together at one point in history and decided to be one nation, so even if our own Kapampangan Nation antedated the Philippine State by 400 years, this is where we find ourselves now, struggling to coalesce with other regions under one flag.<br /><br />We cannot privilege our province at the expense of the nation. The attitude that we should stick to the President because she is a Kapampangan or because she has done so much for Pampanga—is selfish and unpatriotic.<br /><br />As the political events unfold in the next few days, we Kapampangans should start thinking as Filipinos instead of just Kapampangans so that we can assess the situation more objectively. I support GMA for her wise decisions and enlightened policies, and I will abandon her if she is proven to be a crook. Our cabalen who will stand by her come what may, who will stick their neck for her and even take the bullet meant for her—that’s their choice.<br /><br />But when you are loyal to one person, you can expect reward only from that person. Those who put the country’s welfare above all—they can expect the gratitude of an entire nation.Ivan Henareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08952639023631049082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11845840.post-974029687010072142008-02-13T12:09:00.002+08:002008-02-13T12:10:46.676+08:00Abe, Larry Cruz and my begukanBy Robbie Tantingco<br /><br />My friends often told me that my begukan (pork pieces sautéed in shrimp paste) was the best in the world. They told it so often that I had started to believe it. Until Larry Cruz walked into my life and tasted my begukan.<br /><br />I first met Larry Cruz two years ago when a common acquaintance, Vic Torres of the Intramuros Administration, linked us up for a book project. Before I made that trip to Makati to meet him, I Googled his name to make sure I had my facts right about the man I was going to do business with.<br /><br />I learned that Larry Cruz headed the LJC Restaurant Group which owned a chain of restaurants that included Café Adriatico, Café Havana, Bistro Remedios, Larry’s Bar, Abe Restaurant and Bollywood. I also learned that Larry Cruz was credited for popularizing the so-called bistro lifestyle in Manila, i.e., the subculture that thrived in the Ermita-Malate area, specifically around the Remedios Circle, where the culturati and the literati mingled with tourists and transvestites in coffee shops, bars, antique shops and restaurants, dining, drinking and who knows what else until the wee hours.<br /><br />Larry Cruz, being a native of Magalang town, was a Kapampangan who, like Ricco Ocampo of San Fernando, was one of the country’s best-known restaurateurs and, like Claude Tayag of Angeles, was one of the country’s most sought-after culinary consultants. Like Claude, he had an art-house filled with antiques and paintings, where he loved to entertain friends and visitors with the best that Kapampangan cuisine had to offer, but unlike Claude, he didn’t cook. <br /><br />We met in his Bollywood Restaurant, located on the third level of Greenbelt 3 in Makati. I sat facing him, a little intimidated by the combined gravitas of his personality and reputation, and as I pretended to know exactly what to do with the exotic Indian food on my plate, he pretended not to notice my clumsiness. But there I was, a probinsyano being asked by Larry Cruz to be the publisher of the biography of his father—writer, painter and diplomat E. Aguilar Cruz—written by no less than the greatest Filipino writer in the English language, Nick Joaquin. It was Nick Joaquin’s certified last book before he died (I emphasize certified, because there are other books claiming to be the National Artist’s last works), and it was to be Larry’s tribute to his father.<br /><br />To cut the long story short, the book was launched on the same day Larry’s Abe Restaurant opened. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that it was probably the cultural and social event of the year, because it had everything in it: Larry Cruz, E. Aguilar Cruz, Nick Joaquin, the hottest restaurant at The Serendra, the most upscale spot in the upscale Bonifacio Global City, performers that included Ballet Philippines and the country’s top soprano Rachelle Gerodias, the emcee a Binibing Pilipinas title-holder, and the guest list with such names as Carmen Guerrero Nakpil, Bencab, Gilda Cordero Fernando, Armando Doronilla, Ambeth Ocampo, Claude Tayag, Adrian Cristobal, Kit Tatad, Gemma Cruz, Krip Yuson, Patis Tesoro, Serafin Quiason, Manolo Gatbonton, Italian Ambassador Rubens Fedele, Rep. Cynthia Villar, the Mayors of Taguig and Magalang and the family of Nick Joaquin. I was grateful to Larry Cruz for the honor of being a part of such an important book, and Larry was equally grateful to me for convincing Holy Angel University to publish it.<br /><br />Larry Cruz and I became text mates after that. He never failed to invite me to parties and meetings, sometimes at Café Havana where Carmen Guerrero Nakpil’s group regularly met, and other times at his art-house in Magalang, at the foothills of Mount Arayat, which has now been converted into a spa and events village called Abe’s Farm. Sometimes I went, but often I didn’t.<br /><br />But one time I brought along a friend to Abe’s Restaurant; I think we came unannounced but still, Larry sat with us and told us we should order his green salad which came from his farm’s produce in Magalang, and his begukan. When he heard ‘begukan,” my companion’s face lit up.<br /><br />“Oh, you don’t serve begukan to Robby,” he told Larry. “Why?” Larry asked, and my companion replied, “You can’t beat Robby’s begukan. Wanna bet?”<br /><br />I don’t know if Larry took it as an insult or as a challenge, but he left and came back with his chef. My hand instinctively crept towards the knife on the table as I expected the worst, but Larry smiled and said, “Robby, I want you to teach my chef your recipe!” My companion clapped and said, “Go, Robby! This is your chance to have a recipe named after you! At Abe Restaurant no less!” <br /><br />If you saw the movie “Ratatouille,” the scene where the rat was discovered and everyone in the kitchen stopped for one second and stared at the rat in disbelief and in disgust—that’s how I felt when I entered the kitchen and everyone turned to face me. From the corner of my eye I saw one cook with a chopping knife exchange glances with another cook holding a slicing knife, and I honestly feared for my life. I only relaxed a bit after the chef’s assistant smiled at me and told me he knew me because he’d graduated from HAU and lived just across my parents’ house in Mabalacat.<br /><br />The chef tried to maintain a straight face as I lectured him on how to cook begukan—my way, or rather, the way my mother had taught me. First parboil (sinkotya) the pork pieces (really tiny pieces), then sautee in baguk until brown, before adding the leftover stock from the parboil. Add a dash of sugar to slightly caramelize. <br /><br />Larry walked in to tell me to cook, not lecture, it. So I did. You could hear a pin drop as I peeled the garlic and cut the onions; the chef shook his head when I sautéed longer than I should, and when I sprinkled sugar on it, I swear someone gasped.<br /><br />So, did Larry like it? You can measure the compassion a man has in his heart by his willingness to tell a white lie to save you from getting hurt. That begukan I cooked in Abe’s kitchen was the worst, because when I cook my begukan, I want to take my time and I don’t like people watching and waiting. And I have to cook it in my own kitchen using my own pots and pans.<br /><br />Yet Larry said it was good, and I knew it was a lie because when I came back to eat at Abe Restaurant months later, the menu still didn’t say Robby’s Begukan.<br /><br />(Larry died last week in the United States while being treated for cancer. I join his family and friends in praying for his eternal rest.)Ivan Henareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08952639023631049082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11845840.post-10312903653829921572008-01-13T15:00:00.000+08:002008-01-13T15:05:48.580+08:00Gov. Ed Panlilio is Inquirer’s Filipino of the Year 2007<a href="http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20080113-111988/Gov-Ed-Panlilio-is-Inquirers-Filipino-of-the-Year-2007">Philippine Daily Inquirer</a>, 01/13/2008<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_-fGx2wDrdVc/R4m4OguM0II/AAAAAAAACCQ/jQzIdiBlqZg/s1600-h/20080113.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_-fGx2wDrdVc/R4m4OguM0II/AAAAAAAACCQ/jQzIdiBlqZg/s400/20080113.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5154853807943635074" border="0" /></a>MANILA, Philippines -- <a href="http://www.ivanhenares.com/2007/05/fr-ed-panlilio-is-pampanga-governor.html">“Among” Ed Panlilio</a>, priest turned plain-dealing prophet of hope, is the Inquirer’s Filipino of the Year for 2007.<br /><br />The governor of Pampanga, according to Inquirer sources, is facing a do-or-die struggle with the 3 Rs of no-holds-barred political resistance—recount, recall and ‘‘requiem.”<br /><br />The first refers to the election protest his closest rival in the May 2007 polls filed against him; the third to the death threats he has received. The second is an unusual and rarely used tactic in Philippine politics—a recall petition to remove him from office, which his political enemies are poised to file as soon as the one-year condition is met.<br /><br />All three offer proof that the almost miraculous election victory of Panlilio is a silver dagger thrust at the heart of the vampire known as transactional politics—and the vampire is fighting back.<br /><br />His victory and the improbable campaign that made it possible will be studied by election strategists and political analysts for a long time to come. His practical but principled approach to governance, which includes both directing the work of idealists and carefully diagnosing festering ills before prescribing a cure, is both exemplary and empowering.<br /><br />Not least, his first months in office are a showcase of effective executive action.<br /><br />In the most dramatic turnaround he has engineered, lahar quarrying fees have jumped from less than P30 million during the last full year of his predecessor, Gov. Mark Lapid, to almost P120 million in his first six months in office.<br /><br />For all these—his inspiring election victory, his surprising political savvy, his initial success despite great difficulty—the Inquirer names Gov. Ed Panlilio as 2007’s Filipino of the Year.<br /><br />The choice reflects the sporadic outbreak of optimism that brightened an otherwise bleak year. Many other harbingers of hope emerged out of the political darkness: Chief Justice Reynato Puno inaugurated a new era in judicial statesmanship by leading the Supreme Court in hosting an unprecedented summit on extrajudicial killings and in launching extraordinary new legal remedies; the Sandiganbayan special division trying deposed President Joseph Estrada on plunder convicted him on two of the four charges, reaffirming the primacy of the rule of law in a well-reasoned and highly convincing decision; the first three Filipino women to climb Everest did so on their first attempt, thrilling a grateful nation; not least, the Overseas Filipino Worker continued to labor in other countries at great personal cost, helping through regular remittances to stabilize the entire trillion-peso economy.<br /><br />Any of these icons of inspiration would have richly deserved being named Filipino of the Year. But Inquirer editors ultimately chose “Among Ed” Panlilio, in part because the hope he embodies is found where despair is deepest: politics, in the age of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.<br /><br />Panlilio, 54, has left an indelible impact on national politics in another, altogether unforeseen way. He exposed the distribution of cash gifts—bundles of cash, contained in paper bags—that took place in Malacañang last October.<br /><br />In truth, Panlilio did not so much expose the cash gifts handed out to governors (and, as it turned out, also to congressmen) as admit that he received his share: P500,000, handed to him by Bulacan Gov. Jon-Jon Mendoza, who also received the same amount in the same kind of paper bag.<br /><br />Both governors said they received the money in good faith, and assumed it came from government funds and were to be used for barangay projects.<br /><br />But the simple act of confirming receipt of the money ignited a political firestorm. Malacañang and its political allies issued many contradictory statements—disavowing any knowledge of the cash gifts, claiming to know their true source, or creating implausible versions of the circumstances.<br /><br />If the controversial Pulse Asia survey conducted later in October is any gauge, the firestorm quickly consumed much of what was left of President Arroyo’s political reputation. That month, a plurality of voting-age Filipinos thought Ms Arroyo was the most corrupt President in history, outranking even the dictator Ferdinand Marcos. It may well be that that dismal finding can be traced directly to Panlilio’s disclosure.<br /><br />This may help explain the intense animosity many Pampanga local officials feel toward Panlilio, many of whom are closely identified with a President who is a favorite provincemate. But the priest-on-leave’s candor did not start it. It started when Panlilio dared to throw his social worker’s hat (and his parish priest’s soutane) into the ring. His upset win hurt the political forces allied with former Provincial Board Member Lilia “Baby” Pineda, the wife of alleged ‘‘jueteng” lord Bong Pineda—they were headed for a victory over Lapid, the lackluster reelectionist incumbent, before Panlilio’s entry galvanized the so-called middle forces in Pampanga.<br /><br />The animosity deepened when Panlilio took his anticorruption platform seriously. When he revamped the lahar quarrying fees collection scheme, he antagonized not only the political forces allied with the Lapids but also many of the local officials who, judging from their incomprehensible reaction to the new arrangement, must have benefited from the old one too.<br /><br />It is already a part of political lore that Panlilio did not, in fact, intend to run for governor. When he, together with many of his provincemates, realized in 2006 that the looming choice for governor was stark—it was either Mrs. Pineda or the young Mr. Lapid—he joined a concerted effort to look for a third candidate. The group’s objective was to persuade eminent Kapampangans, including former Cabinet secretaries and university professors, to offer their provincemates an alternative.<br /><br />But while the search was begun in optimism, it eventually ran into the depressing reality of Philippine politics. Entrenched political dynasties, the politics of personality, deep-rooted patronage watered by the irrigation systems of jueteng and quarrying fees: The race for Pampanga governor seemed to be over even before it started.<br /><br />With such long odds, the search looked destined to fail. In the end, Panlilio heeded the call of like-minded citizens and offered himself, reluctantly, as the alternative.<br /><br />It was not an easy decision. To run for public office, Panlilio needed to go on leave from the priesthood. For someone who has been a priest since 1981 and parish priest of Santiago Apostol church (in Betis, Pampanga) since 1998, the suspension of one’s priestly faculties was a wrenching, almost impossible, sacrifice. Finally, a few days before filing his certificate of candidacy, Panlilio met with his superior, Archbishop Paciano Aniceto of San Fernando, and asked for and received a dispensation.<br /><br />The rival political camps had extensive political networks and even (both parties claimed) the tacit support of Ms Arroyo. Lacking both the money and the network, supporters of the third way in Pampanga had yet an abundance of idealism. Volunteers multiplied; donations started to pour in.<br /><br />What had started as a search had metamorphosed into a movement. Kapampangans from around the world spread the word. Politicians in Metro Manila took special notice. Four of the country’s top election lawyers crossed political lines to offer their services to Panlilio, for free.<br /><br />The race was tight, violent and dirty. But the groundswell of support for Panlilio that began the day he filed his certificate using a “kariton” helped carry the day. With 219,706 votes, a mere 1,200 over Pineda’s 218,559 and only 9,000-plus over Lapid’s 210,875, the Commission on Elections declared him the winner.<br /><br />His victory made him the first priest to be elected governor in the country’s history. It also inspired many Filipinos, not only in Pampanga or throughout the archipelago but even those among the OFW diaspora, that the light of hope can shine even in the blackest night.Ivan Henareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08952639023631049082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11845840.post-65513778014716636182008-01-13T14:51:00.000+08:002008-01-13T14:59:16.208+08:00Catholic Church preserves Art Deco mansion in PampangaBy Tonette Orejas<br /><a href="http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view_article.php?article_id=109833">Philippine Daily Inquirer</a>, 01/01/2008<br /><br />CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Philippines -- An art deco-style mansion, designed by architect Fernando H. Ocampo for a relative here and bought by the Archdiocese of Manila as the official residence of <a href="http://www.ivanhenares.com/search/label/Central%20Luzon">Pampanga</a> bishops, is being renovated in time for the 60th year of the Archdiocese of <a href="http://www.ivanhenares.com/2006/10/san-fernando-heritage-program.html">San Fernando</a>.<br /><br />The Arsobispado de Pampanga, formerly the Dison house on A. Consunji Street in the village of San Jose here, is now 85 percent restored. Hopefully restoration work would be completed in time the 60th anniversary of the Archdiocese of San Fernando as a diocese in 2008, according to Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, who supervised the heritage conservation project.<br /><br />The house was built in 1935 for the couple Luis Dison and Felisa Hizon, Ocampo’s aunt on the side of his mother Leoncia who married Basilio Ocampo, gobernadorcillo (colonial governor) of San Fernando.<br /><br />Monsignor Prudencio David, the vicar general of the Archdiocese of Manila, mediated for its purchase in 1948, which was approved by Archbishop Michael Doherty and Auxiliary Bishop Rufino Santos, a Kapampangan who later became the first Filipino cardinal.<br />Bishop Pablo David called the Pampanga diocese a “daughter” of the Manila archdiocese.<br /><br />The cost of the two-story structure and the one-hectare lot on which it sits is not known to older priests. Some surmise it went for P300,000.<br /><br />Ocampo first worked on the Dison house and later became involved in the restoration of the war-damaged Manila Cathedral.<br /><br />David said Santos not only hired a Kapampangan architect to design the house, he also employed builders and craftsmen from the province.<br /><br />Thanks to a Japanese gardener that the Dison couple hired to create a genuine Japanese garden, the Dison house survived the ravages of World War II.<br /><br />Treated fairly by the couple, the gardener, who turned out to be a military officer, reciprocated by protecting the mansion.<br /><br />After the war, the Dison family relocated to Manila and decided to sell the house to the Archdiocese of Manila. It was not known if the decision to move out of Pampanga was because of the peasant rebellion.<br /><br />The mansion’s first tenant was Cesar Ma. Guerrero, the first bishop of the diocese of San Fernando. His term was from 1949 to 1957.<br /><br />The house was witness to Guerrero’s devotion to the <a href="http://www.ivanhenares.com/2006/09/culture-is-alive-in-san-fernando.html">Virgin de los Remedios</a> under whose auspices he began the crusade for peace when the province was rocked by agrarian unrest. The Virgin Mary’s canonical image has been enshrined in a chapel beside the house. The devotional practice continues to this day.<br /><br />So when David agreed to restore the Dison house, he had in a way, come full circle. It was David’s maternal grandfather, Victoriano Siongco, owner of the Catholic Trade Center, who carved Mary’s image in the chapel.<br /><br />Guerrero’s successor, Bishop Emilio Cinense, lived in the mansion during his term from 1957 to 1975 and three years after when he, as archbishop, saw the transition of the San Fernando diocese into an archdiocese on March 11, 1975.<br /><br />For a decade starting 1978, Archbishop Oscar Cruz stayed in the room that Cinense built at the Mater Boni seminary, about two kilometers from the Arsobispado.<br /><br />The present resident, Archbishop Paciano Aniceto, has also stayed here since 1989.<br /><br />The archdiocese found use for the mansion as the office of the econome (finance officer) and mandated organizations like Adoracion Nocturna, Mayap A Balita publications and the Association of Parochial Schools.<br /><br />During the Marcos regime and until now, the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines held office here, launching many civil liberty campaigns and fact-finding missions for desaparecidos (the disappeared).<br /><br />The Social Action Center of Pampanga had its roots here in 1988, providing a venue to development workers, who in 1991, faced a big challenge in disaster management following Mt. Pinatubo’s eruptions.<br /><br />The mansion, having witnessed so many significant events, was worn out by decades of use. A restoration was in order.<br />Bishop David said Aniceto, 70, gave him a free hand in the undertaking, working on a P1-million budget.<br /><br />Before the restoration began in July 2006, Bishop David said the roof was leaking, the gutters were broken and the wooden floors creaked or sagged.<br /><br />Through years of use, the mansion’s architecture had been altered. Glass panels covered the entire verandas on the first and second floors, shutting out elements harmful to the structure.<br /><br />Additional panels hid the high ceilings and folding walls. A service staircase from the dining area to the second floor was removed. Some of the callado, originally in harp design, were missing. The French windows were permanently closed. Air-conditioned units were put in the wrong places.<br /><br />Without formal training, David established the mansion’s original features “by taking a closer look at the house.”<br /><br />He also relied on his personal familiarity with old houses and tapped a network of workers in the wood-carving village of Betis, his birthplace.<br /><br />Work, as of the third week of December, was 85 percent completed, Bishop David said, adding that at this rate, the house has once again become a “fitting residence of the archbishop.”<br /><br />On the first floor, two rooms have been converted into the offices of Bishop David and Bishop Roberto Mallari. The main hall serves as a conference room. The smaller room next to it is an office, complete with computers. The dining area and kitchen are clean and tidy.<br /><br />The main staircase to the second floor is elegant, leading to a room that has been converted into a chapel. Here, there is an image of the Virgen de los Remedios on a refurbished altar.<br /><br />The 14 Stations of the Cross, made by wood artisans, fit well in the 14 panels like they belonged there.<br /><br />Bishop David has reserved the next room for the archbishop. Another room serves as a property office. The bigger hall is now a library with some heirloom pieces donated by Good Shepherd nun Tess Feliciano of Magalang town.<br /><br />From the warehouse, they found two posters of national eucharistic congresses in 1929 and 1937 that have been framed. There is a concrete bust of Pope Paul VI and portraits of Pope Pius XII, John XXIII, John Paul II and Pope Benedict.<br /><br />A mesa altar that Bishop David found in the warehouse of the Dominican Sisters in Apalit town has been refurbished, and now graces a corner in the hallway.<br /><br />The tiles—Malaga upstairs and bronze-lined on the first floor— have been polished for a bright shine. A few pieces of wooden furniture, capia among them, were put to good use by replacing the worn-out parts with recycled pieces.<br /><br />The efforts seemed to have appeased the unseen occupants.<br /><br />“The ghosts are quiet now. On the first night I slept here, I slept soundly. The spirits must be happy now,” Bishop David said.<br /><br />The heritage conservation work faces a threat, though. The Department of Public Works and Highways plans to raise the road by one meter, which would put it on the same level as the base of the house.Ivan Henareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08952639023631049082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11845840.post-36755516214366910312007-10-24T13:58:00.000+08:002007-10-24T13:59:21.634+08:00Ed Panlilio and the nation<span style="font-style: italic;">by Robby Tantingco, SunStar Pampanga</span><br /><br />Dogs never bark at parked cars.<br /><br />The only reason I can think of for all the undeserved criticisms against Among Ed is that he is moving. Kapampangans have gotten used to absentee governors that when a real working governor comes along, they get disturbed and suspicious.<br /><br />In the past (I won't say how long ago because you'll know whom I am referring to, but I think you know), on the three or four separate occasions I came to visit the Capitol, the Office of the Governor was always empty, as in nothing was going on—the Governor wasn't around, his table and shelves were clean, the carpet had not been stepped on for days—while across the hall, the Offices of the Vice Governor and Board Members were swarming with people and abuzz with activity.<br /><br />Today, Governor Panlilio reports for work daily and on time like a regular employee, and what's even better is that, his work ethic has inspired the others to do the same. He was right when he said, during the campaign, that the first thing he would do if he won was to lead by example. He has no family to prioritize, no vices and no extra-curricular activities, so he can devote longer hours at work.<br /><br />I am saying this because I am really disturbed by the criticisms our fellow Kapampangans hurl against the Governor for what I think is an extraordinary, unprecedented, even historic act—a public official admitting he received money, admitting he may have erred in doing so, and admitting, in effect, his political naiveté.<br /><br />The Governor's critics, I'm sure, are mad at him because he dared embarrass a sitting President of the Republic, and also because he broke the code of silence which protected the honor among thieves. They probably also suspect that he did this only as an afterthought, or only after a reporter had confronted him with the question.<br /><br />If you were in his shoes and you attended a meeting at Malacanang, after which one of the President's men handed you a bag, would you peek at its contents before taking it and, finding cash in it, return it? The Governor, in my mind, was merely observing protocol (or at least simple courtesy) when he took the bag with him back to Pampanga, discovered its contents, and then figured out what to do with it. The discrepancy between the stature of the giver and the nature of the gift posed a dilemma to the Governor, for which he needed time for introspection. Given the implications of the situation and his inexperience in politics, why should we blame Among Gob for locking himself up in his room to pray and grapple with it for a while? What is important is, when he finally emerged from that room, he was at peace with himself and had God beside him.<br /><br />Governor Panlilio's courageous move is probably the catalyst for change that this country has been waiting for. Graft and corruption in this country is already cultural, i.e., it is so ingrained in our way of life that it has become normal—we already expect to find some form of it in everything we do, by everyone and in one way or another. When we pay only P10 for the residence certificate instead of the required amount based on our income—that's graft. When we give someone P100 to fix our driver's license—that's corruption. When we look for our friend or relative in the city hall and sweetly ask him to facilitate our papers ahead of the others—that's corruption, too. These things, I'm sure, also happen in private companies, in schools, in the Church, both in high places and low, by young people and old, by the rich as well as the poor—the only difference is, the poor do it in small scale, involving only a few pesos and centavos, while the rich bribe big-time, in hundreds of millions and even billions, in dollars, not pesos.<br /><br />And so while millions of poor Filipinos starve, while soldiers die in battle because the military cannot provide them decent shoes and weapons, and while our boys and girls grow up delinquent because their parents are working abroad—our government officials approve overpriced deals so that they can get fat kickbacks and still have enough left to distribute to every visitor in the Palace.<br /><br />In this country, one of the reasons the rich get richer and the poor poorer is that the rich get into deals that make them richer, and then leave behind the debt for the poor to pay. Another is that the rich shamelessly underdeclare their total earnings and properties, and therefore pay taxes that are only a fraction of their total worth, while the poor work so hard for so little money, a full one-third of which automatically goes to the pocket of government through withholding tax.<br /><br />If I compute all the withholding taxes I have paid this government since I started working, I can probably buy myself a house and lot with a brand-new car in the garage, and yet, what has this government given me in return for all the millions of pesos it has taken from my salary? The amount it deducts from my hospital bills is so small it's insulting. And the long process it takes to get that amount is even more insulting.<br /><br />And then I hear about hundreds of billions of pesos floating around in Malacañang and given away in brown paper bags like party goodies—you tell me this government cannot afford to build classrooms and augment social security funds? You tell me this country is poor?<br /><br />And this disgusting spectacle of politicians (partymates at that) pointing fingers and blowing the whistle on each other—look how greed is making our leaders self-destruct and bring the whole nation down with them, and they don't even realize it.<br /><br />Just last month, a former Philippine President was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for accepting bribes and kickbacks. Did it scare us? Did it stop our public officials from giving and accepting bribes?<br /><br />Last week, Governor Panlilio made the simple announcement of receiving and returning potential bribe money, and that's the one that rocked the country.<br /><br />Why did the conviction of a President not send shock waves and the simple gesture from one honest man did?<br /><br />It means that good example is more effective than punitive action. Punishment does not deter crime; role-modeling does. Again, Fr. Panlilio was right: he would lead by example.<br /><br />Last May, when God came down from heaven to protect Fr. Ed Panlilio's votes, I thought He only had Pampanga in mind. Now I think I know: He had the entire Philippines in mind.<br /><br />What could be a Divine Plan for both the province and the country is probably unfolding right before our very eyes.Ivan Henareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08952639023631049082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11845840.post-3941400115248101012007-05-23T16:57:00.000+08:002007-05-23T17:01:27.533+08:00San Fernando Fiesta 2007 ScheduleSCHEDULE<br /><br />May 21 (Monday) 5:00 p.m.—Rosaryo at Nobenang Panalangin<br /> 5:30 p.m.—Banal a Misa<br /> Tema: Ing Balayan ning Dios, Balayan yang<br /> mipasiknangan, Balayan yang mamie sikanan<br /> Magmisa: Rev. Msgr. Mario Ramos<br /> Mantabe king Nobena: Legion of Mary Jrs. and Srs.<br /> Magdaun: MC Rectoral Council<br /><br />May 22 (Tuesday) 5:00 p.m.—Rosaryo at Nobenang Panalangin<br /> 5:30 p.m.—Banal a Misa<br /> Tema: Ing Balayan ning Dios, Balayan yang mangadi,<br /> Balayan yang mipapangadi<br /> Magmisa: Rev. Fr. Marius Roque<br /> Mantabe king Nobena: AP at Honorarias<br /> Magdaun: Barangay Lourdes<br /><br />May 23 (Wednesday) 5:00 p.m.—Rosaryo at Nobenang Panalangin<br /> 5:30 p.m.—Banal a Misa<br /> Tema: Ing Balayan ning Dios, Balayan yang mipnung<br /> tula, Balayan yang mipapamatula<br /> Magmisa: Rev. Fr. Nick Sabile<br /> Mantabe king Nobena: COMLEC Jrs. and Srs.<br /> Magdaun: Barangay Sta. Teresita<br /><br />May 24 (Thursday) 5:00.p.m.—Rosaryo at Nobenang Panalangin<br /> 5:30 p.m.—Banal a Misa<br /> Tema: Ing Balayan ning Dios, Balayan yang<br /> misanmetung, Balayan yang misasanmetung<br /> Magmisa: Rev. Fr. Ramon Torres<br /> Mantabe king Nobena: COMI at KBS<br /> Magdaun: Sitio Ponduan, San Jose<br /><br />May 25 (Friday) 5:00 p.m.—Rosaryo at Nobenang Panalangin<br /> 5:30 p.m.—Banal a Misa<br /> Tema: Ing Balayan ning Dios Balayan yang<br /> mapagmasabal, Balayan yang mipapagmasabal<br /> Magmisa: Rev. Msgr. Cenovio M. Lumanog<br /> Mantabe king Nobena: LAC, DMI, KC, SFO<br /> Magdaun: Sitio Tinajero, Del Pilar<br /><br />May 26 (Saturday) 5:00 p.m.—Rosaryo at Nobenang Panalangin<br /> 5:30 p.m.—Banal a Misa<br /> Tema: Ing Balayan ning Dios, Balayan yang talatuki,<br /> Balayan yang mituburan<br /> Magmisa: Rev. Fr. Israel Garcia<br /> Mantabe king Nobena: CWL, CCD (Cathechists)<br /> Magdaun: B. Mendoza St., Sto. Rosario<br /><br />May 27 (Sunday) 3:30 p.m.—Rosaryo at Nobenang Panalangin<br /> 5:15 p.m.—Banal a Misa<br /> Tema: Ing Balayan ning Dios, Balayan yang<br /> mipabanalan king Banal a Espiritu<br /> Magmisa: Rev. Fr. Resureccion Diwa<br /> Mantabe king Nobena: EMDC at ANF<br /> Magdaun: V. Tiomico St., Sto. Rosario<br /><br />May 28 (Monday) 5:00 p.m.—Rosaryo at Nobenang Panalangin<br /> 5:30 p.m.—Banal a Misa<br /> Tema: Ing Balayan ning Dios, Balayan yang malugud,<br /> Balayan yang micacalugud<br /> Magmisa: Rev. Fr. Lyndon Valenton<br /> Mantabe king Nobena: Holy Face Crusaders<br /> at Cenacle Movement<br /> Magdaun: A. Consunji St., Sto Rosario<br /><br />May 29 (Tuesday) 5:00 p.m.—Rosaryo at Nobenang Panalangin<br /> 5:30 pm—Banal a Misa<br /> Tema: Ing Balayan ning Dios, Balayan yang nuan,<br /> Balayan yang mipanuanan<br /> Magmisa: Rev. Fr. Homer Policarpio<br /> Mantabe king Nobena: BPAC San Jose-Ponduan,<br /> Sta. Teresita, Lourdes at Tinajero-Del Pilar<br /> Magdaun: City Government Officials<br /><br />May 30 (Wednesday) Feast of St. Ferdinand: <br /> Schedule of Masses: <br /> 5:00 a.m.—Guest Priests<br /> 6:00 a.m.—Guest Priests<br /> 7:00 a.m.—Guest Priests<br /> 8:00 a.m.—Most Rev. Paciano B. Aniceto, DD<br /> 9:00 a.m.—Most Rev. Roberto C. Mallari, DD<br /> 10:00 a.m.—Most Rev. Pablo S. David, DD<br /> 4:00 p.m.—Guest Priests<br /> 5:00 p.m.—Guest Priests<br /> 6:00 p.m.—Guest Priests<br /><br /> 6:00 p.m.—Grand Procession<br /><br />The Comité de Festejos would like to thank the different parishes, barangays and carroza owners for allowing the barrio patrons to join the image of San Fernando in the Grand Procession.<br /><br />Download the official program here:<a href="http://www.geocities.com/heritageconservationsociety/files/fiesta.pdf"> http://www.geocities.com/heritageconservationsociety/files/fiesta.pdf</a>Ivan Henareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08952639023631049082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11845840.post-1156538693170883082006-08-26T04:42:00.000+08:002006-08-26T04:46:57.496+08:00Wings over the Candaba Swamp<span class="fontheadline"></span><span class="fontbyline">By Bayani San Diego Jr.</span><br /> <a href="http://globalnation.inq7.net/philippineexplorer/philippineexplorer/view_article.php?article_id=16832"><span class="fontbyline">Inquirer</span></a><br /> <span class="fonttimestamp">Last updated 01:29pm (Mla time) 08/23/2006</span><br /> <p>“Heaven on earth” was how RPN 9 cameraman Ralph Runez described the Candaba Swamp and Wildlife Preserve in Pampanga, where he saw thousands of wild birds the first time he visited the area in February this year.</p> <p>Runez journeyed to the 70-hectare nature reserve with colleagues from the non-government organization, Kaakbay (Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan) Citizen’s Development Initiatives Inc. including executive director Alain Del B. Pascua and deputy executive director Orlando V. Balbido.</p> <p>“He never imagined that a place like Candaba existed in the Philippines,” Balbido recounted. “In Manila Zoo, you’d see these birds in cages. But not in Candaba, where over 90 species of migratory, endemic and resident birds congregate.”</p> <p>Visiting bird watchers and naturalists have visited Candaba—which was declared a bird sanctuary in 2004—reporting sightings of birds such as Garganey, Egret, Chinese Pond Heron, Siberian Rubythroat, Peregrine Falcon, Grass Owl and the Kingfisher.</p> <p>These migratory birds fly thousands of kilometers, across continents and seas, to spend the winter months in the Philippines.</p> <p>According to Pascua, the 2006 Asian Waterbird Census recorded “more than 11,000 birds and more than 80 species in Candaba in only three hours of counting.”</p> <p>Runez, a Caloocan-based cameraman, was there to witness the event.</p> <p>“He was in awe,” Pascua recalled. “The time of our visit was the peak of migration. There were 11,000 birds in Candaba. He was surprised, but also frustrated because we didn’t bring a zoom lens for close-up shots of the birds.”</p> <p>Soon after that initial visit, Runez became a “committed” member of Kaakbay, an NGO that aims to protect the bird sanctuary.</p> <p>“He was brought in by his good friend and fellow cameraman Rene de los Santos when we decided to make a documentary on the birds of Candaba,” Pascua explained.</p> <p>The 15-minute documentary titled “Wings in the Water: The Birds in Candaba Swamp” was among the 16 finalists in the second Moonrise Festival of environmental films, ongoing at the Gateway Cineplex in Cubao, Quezon City this August.</p> <p><strong>Jolly person</strong></p> <p>Balbido described Runez as a jolly person always cracking jokes. He was also soft-spoken and unassuming, according to fellow videographer Rocky Sison/</p> <p>But when it came to work, he was a no-nonsense person. “He wasted no time and put all his knowledge, skills and even resources into our project,” Pascua said. “At first, we were embarrassed because our organization lacked funds and we didn’t have the money to pay a professional cameraman like him.”</p> <p>To everyone’s surprise, Runez volunteered his services and equipment as videographer and film editor. “He used his own video camcorder, a Canon XL1, when we shot for four days in Candaba. He had his personal computer upgraded so he could edit the documentary at home,” Balbido said.</p> <p>Those crucial days of editing the documentary solidified the group.<br />“We edited the docu for five days nonstop and without sleep. It was during that time that we got to know Ralph better,” Balbido said.</p> <p><strong>Nominated docu</strong></p> <p>“Photo finish kami; we finished editing and submitted the docu only three hours before the Moonrise festival’s deadline on June 30,” Pascua said.</p> <p>The group’s hard work paid off when the docu was nominated in the Best Cinematography and Special Citation for Rivers and Lakes categoriesl.</p> <p>Runez was credited as videographer along with De los Santos and Sison. Although the docu didn’t bring home any award, the group felt like winners “because we were all first-time filmmakers, and we pulled it off,” Pascua said.</p> <p>On July 26, during Kaakbay’s “critiquing night,” the group decided to make improvements on the docu. “The group gave the assignment of implementing the changes to Ralph,” Balbido said. “He became our group’s official technical person.”</p> <p><strong>Tragedy</strong></p> <p>“He edited out the shaky footage; he put in bird calls and natural bird sounds,” Pascua said.</p> <p>In fact, Runez was “working on the documentary all through the night until the dawn of July 28—the day he was murdered,” he recalled.</p> <p>“He took a break from editing to withdraw P35,000 from a Metrobank branch in Lagro, Quezon City. He was going to lend the money to a friend,” Balbido said.</p> <p>On his way home to Caloocan, Runez was accosted by robbers who shot him twice.</p> <p>“He was declared dead on arrival at the Tala Hospital,” Pascua said. “Ralph was only 35 years old.”</p> <p>Although suspects in Runez’s murder have been arrested, his friends and colleagues could only hope “that justice would be served in Ralph’s case because a policeman had been implicated.”</p> <p>“At his wake, his 4-year-old son Rafael looked as if he was oblivious that his father was gone,” Balbido said.</p> <p>Determined to pay homage to Runez. Kaakbay gave a special screening of “Wings in the Water” last Aug.19 at the Gateway Cineplex. “He will forever be a part of Kaakbay. Rocky reedited the ending to include a tribute to Ralph,” Balbido said. </p>Ivan Henareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08952639023631049082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11845840.post-1155433927694935572006-08-13T09:50:00.000+08:002006-08-13T09:53:55.656+08:00Giant Lantern Festival 2005Here are some of the lanterns from the Giant Lantern Festival in 2005. The first one is that of Barangay Sto. Rosario which won top honors...<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9XamLJNOSIU"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9XamLJNOSIU" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="350" width="425"></object><br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jt0IjjQSw5k"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jt0IjjQSw5k" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="350" width="425"></object><br /><br />For more information on the festival, click <a href="http://ivanhenares.blogspot.com/2005/12/giant-lantern-festival-san-fernando.html">here</a>.Ivan Henareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08952639023631049082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11845840.post-1155401445331760882006-08-12T00:48:00.000+08:002006-08-13T23:09:15.930+08:00Nicolasa Dayrit Re-interment Ceremonies [September 9 to 10, 2004]Here are some videos of the re-interment ceremonies and military honors for the remains of revolutionary heroine Nicolasa Dayrit held on September 9 to 10, 2004...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Military Ceremonies on September 10, 2004</span><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MdKbNQyPI_U"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MdKbNQyPI_U" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="350" width="425"></object><br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uj323YGUq48"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uj323YGUq48" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="350" width="425"></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Arrival Honors on September 9, 2004</span><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lNRVRVL-t8I"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lNRVRVL-t8I" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="350" width="425"></object>Ivan Henareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08952639023631049082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11845840.post-1151051681028665822006-06-23T16:33:00.000+08:002006-06-23T22:23:25.296+08:00A Petition to the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines: Please Stop the Further Defacing of Philippine Heritage Churches<span style="font-weight: bold;">Most Reverend Eminences and Excellencies:</span><br /><br />Almost every town in the Philippines has at least one church built during the Spanish colonial period, all of which are inherent parts of the architectural heritage of Filipinos and stand as testaments to the excellence and creativity of Filipino artisans and craftsmen of yesteryears who labored to create these works of art.<br /><br />These properties of the Filipino people are under the custodianship of the Roman Catholic Church and their representatives in the Republic of the Philippines.<br /><br />It must have come to your knowledge that several parish priests have taken it upon themselves to modernize and renovate heritage churches under their care without proper consultation with conservationists or representatives of agencies mandated to protect cultural and historical heritage. In their desire to "leave their mark" on the churches, parish priests have caused irreversible damage to our old churches during their short stints in their parishes.<br /><br />Sadly, there have been instances where parish priests sold off priceless antiques and other church property to unscrupulous antique dealers and collectors to fund these renovations, with the treasures of the Church ending up in homes and other private collections.<br /><br />In many occasions, the renovations are costly and unnecessary, and at times ostentatious. Priests and parish pastoral councils have undertaken and continue to undertake large-scale fundraising campaigns for these renovations when such funds could be put to better use, especially in a Third-world country such as the Philippines.<br /><br />The funds could instead be directed toward the three-fold pastoral program of action of the CBCP, to <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">build character, capability and community</span>. Instead of spending on renovations, the various parishes could use the funds <i>“to empower those who are needy to construct a better future”</i> by supporting <i>“social action programs, training programs and institutions, research centers, schools, charitable agencies and organizations, religious orders and congregations, lay organizations and movements, Basic Ecclesial Communities,”</i> that would <i>“help people grow in capacities, such as the capacity to govern themselves, the capacity to develop their abilities, the capacity to find meaningful and fruitful employment and work, the capacity to care for our environment, the capacity to make leadership accountable.”</i><br /><br />We, the undersigned petitioners, thus urge the <b>Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)</b> to protect the cultural heritage of the Philippine Catholic Church from further damage by ordering the immediate stop to all ongoing and proposed renovations to heritage churches that have not been approved by the <b>CBCP Committee for the Cultural Heritage of the Church</b> or reviewed by representatives of agencies mandated to protect cultural and historical heritage.<br /><br />We also urge the CBCP to declare all Catholic churches in the Philippines fifty years or older as part of the cultural heritage of the Church and create a comprehensive list of all these churches for the information of the Filipino people and to aid the CBCP Committee for the Cultural Heritage of the Church in monitoring the said churches.<br /><br />It should also empower the CBCP Committee for the Cultural Heritage of the Church by giving it the sole authority to approve any restoration, construction or further improvements of heritage churches, with the aid of representatives of agencies mandated to protect cultural and historical heritage, and the power to order the halt any restoration, construction or further improvement that it deems damaging to a heritage church.<br /><br />Finally, we urge the CBCP to adopt a policy of frugality with the renovation of churches. It would be best to channel the funds for unnecessary renovations to the pastoral program of action of the CBCP.<br /><br />---<br /><br />To sign the petition, visit <a href="http://www.petitiononline.com/cbcp/" target="_blank">http://www.petitiononline.com/cbcp/</a>Ivan Henareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08952639023631049082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11845840.post-1150362117170318222006-06-15T17:01:00.000+08:002006-06-15T17:11:04.820+08:00War museum at train station eyed<a href="http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/pam/2006/06/15/news/war.museum.at.train.station.eyed.html">http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/pam/2006/06/15/news</a><br />By Albert B. Lacanlale<br /><br />CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- A granddaughter of a war veteran is sharing the City Government’s enthusiasm to convert the old San Fernando Train Station in Barangay Sto Niño here into a World War II museum.<br /><br />Indira Manaay Kane, descendant of a soldier who died in the hands of the Japanese soldiers at Camp O’Donnell Concentration Camp in Capas, Tarlac, said the train station is rich in history.<br /><br />“Though it had been historically significant even before World War 2, it played a crucial role in the history of WWII because it is where the Death March ended, and where the hell trek to Capas, Tarlac started,” Kane said.<br /><br />The train station, historical accounts say, was where Dr. Jose P. Rizal disembarked on June 27, 1892 to recruit members of the La Liga Filipina.<br /><br />On April 9, 1942, Gen. Edward P. King surrendered the Luzon Force in Bataan to the 14 Imperial Army under the command of Lt. Gen. Masaharu Homma. The surrendered men were ordered to gather in Mariveles, Bataan.<br /><br />The Filipino and American soldiers were then forced to form columns of 100 to 400 men. These columns, guarded by Japanese soldiers, were forced to march to the train station in San Fernando, Pampanga.<br /><br />The first two columns began the march on the evening of April 9 and the last column left Mariveles on April 16, 1942.<br /><br />This march was to be completed in two phases: first, was from Mariveles to Balanga, Bataan; second, from Balanga to San Fernando, Pampanga.<br /><br />This forced, four-to-six-day march was later memorialized by the name “Bataan Death March,” which for Filipinos and Americans symbolizes the greatest example of patriotic sacrifice, heroism and man’s inhumanity to man.<br /><br />Upon arriving at the train station in Barangay Sto. Niño, the malnourished, dehydrated and diseased men collapsed from exhaustion in the area around the train station. Many citizens of San Fernando risked their lives, in full view of the Japanese, by attempting to give the Marchers food and water.<br /><br />Most of the marchers ere kept in those open fields over night -- many died there. The next day, they were packed like sardines into steel box cars for their train ride to Capas, Tarlac.<br /><br />Although the end of their journey was Camp O’Donell in Capas, the marching portion of the Death March ended in San Fernando.<br /><br />“I believe that if we enforce that part of history in the minds of our people, we don’t only re-educate them, we are also making them aware of its importance, thus, we can get their support for this project,” Kane said, referring to the idea of housing WWII memorabilia in the train station.<br /><br />Recently, the National Historical Institute (NHI) declared the train station as among the country’s protected historical sites.<br /><br />“We need to develop the train station as tourists get to visit it all year round. Its preservation is a must. There are lots of WWII veterans here and abroad who are supporting this project so there is a need to make the people of Pampanga aware about it,” Kane said.Ivan Henareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08952639023631049082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11845840.post-1150362071106589992006-06-15T16:59:00.000+08:002006-06-15T17:10:00.880+08:00Kapampangans told to unite in nation-buidling<a href="http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/pam/2006/06/15/news/kapampangans.told.to.unite.in.nation.buidling.html">http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/pam/2006/06/15/news</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/pam/2006/06/15/article_177402_06-13-2006.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/pam/2006/06/15/article_177402_06-13-2006.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- The local citizenry and all Filipinos were urged Monday to unite in order to achieve the freedom and prosperity for which thousands of Filipino revolutionary forces have laid their lives in the struggle for sovereignty against the Spanish colonizers.<br /><br />This call for unity was aired by officials all over the province during their respective celebrations of the 108th Philippine Independence Monday.<br /><br />At the Capitol, provincial executives said the people must be more nationalistic to realize unity, peace and development for the Filipinos, while at the City Hall, the Independence Day celebrations served to heighten the nationalism and patriotism of the government officials for the interest and welfare of the Filipinos.<br /><br />In Angeles City, city officials said it is only through unity that the bickering among political forces would end and allow real economic progress to set in.<br /><br />The Independence Day celebrations in the City of San Fernando started with a flag raising ceremony and the releasing of white doves in front of the City Hall, led by Mayor Oscar S. Rodriguez, Vice Mayor Edwin Santiago and councilors.<br /><br />In his speech, Rodriguez reiterated the sacrifices of our heroes, who gave their lives for us to attain freedom.<br /><br />“Many people forget these sacrifices that our heroes did for us to be free — a privilege they themselves did not enjoy at the hands of oppressors,” Rodriguez said.<br /><br />This was then followed by a parade of floats together with students carrying flags who were accompanied by their teachers from Barangay Dolores to the Pampanga Sports Complex.<br /><br />Among the guests during the parade were former tourism secretary Gemma Cruz Araneta, who is now the chairwoman of the Heritage Conservation Society; and Tofa awardees Eddie Chua and Ivan Henares.<br /><br />Angeles top city councilor Vicky Vega Cabigting, meanwhile, said during Angeles City’s Independence Day celebrations, that if each and everyone of the Filipino people would continue to strive to become good citizens, the country would eventually realize the aspirations for sovereignty of Filipino revolutionary soldiers who shed their blood against the Spanish regime and later, the American forces.<br /><br />The Kuliat Foundation Inc. (KFI), Angeles City’s keeper of historical and cultural heritage, also highlighted the city’s role in the revolution against the Spaniards and subsequently the Americans in a reenactment of the first anniversary of the Declaration of Philippine Independence at its actual site — the Pamintuan Mansion in Barangay Sto. Rosario.<br /><br />Carmen McTavish, KFI president, said the foundation is committed to continue the annual reenactment to increase everyone’s awareness of city’s role in Philippine history, with the Pamintuan mansion serving as the headquarters of revolutionary forces and being the seat of the short-lived First Philippine Republic.<br /><br />KFI presented the reenactment in cooperation with the Angeles City Tourism Office (Acto) headed by Ethel Galang.<br /><br />Galang said the event highlighted the shining moment in Philippine history when Angeles was in the center of the struggle of the revolution.<br /><br />Galang said actors from the local theater group The Academy’s Theater Ensemble (Tate) of The Academy of Performing Arts, composed the cast<br /><br />“The Pamintuan Mansion, where the Central Bank Clearing House is presently located, is the very place where the said first and only celebration actually happened. The mansion became the general headquarters of Filipino Revolutionary Forces, and the seat of the first but short-lived Philippine Republic,” Galang said.<br /><br />“The historical mansion was recently given its due recognition by the National Historical Institute, when its temporary stone marker was placed,” she added.<br /><br />Meanwhile, the local government unit of Guagua, in observance of the Independence Day celebration, also held a civic military parade which coincided with the unveiling of the monument of the late President Diosdado Macapagal.<br /><br />During the program,” 2nd District Representative Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo called for unity to obtain a strong republic.<br /><br />“We must be united as one and work for peace, progress and prosperity for us to move as one nation towards a stronger republic,” the young Arroyo stressed.Ivan Henareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08952639023631049082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11845840.post-1149646040944086142006-06-07T10:06:00.000+08:002006-06-07T10:07:21.576+08:00Lack of support frustrates foundation<a href="http://news.inq7.net/regions/index.php?index=1&story_id=78117"> http://news.inq7.net/regions/index.php?index=1&story_id=78117</a><br /> <span class="fontheadline"></span><br /> <span class="fontgry1"></span>By Tonette Orejas<br />Inquirer<br /><br />ANGELES CITY, Pampanga -- Officials of a foundation organizing commemoration rites for the first and last anniversary of Independence Day here held by the short-lived first Philippine Republic said they were frustrated by the national government’s lack of recognition of the event.<span class="fonttext"><p>Despite invitations, no representatives from the executive, legislative or judicial departments had graced the reenactment of the June 12, 1899 episode at the Pamintuan mansion here since its centennial, according to Jose Paras Jr., Kuliat Foundation Inc. vice president and museum curator.</p><p>Paras said the events had remained local occasions although the National Historical Institute (NHI) installed a marker at the mansion in 2004.</p><p>The NHI recognized the mansion as the general headquarters of Filipino revolutionary forces led by Gen. Antonio Luna and the seat of the First Republic and a presidential palace.</p><p>It was President Emilio Aguinaldo who led the celebration of the first anniversary of the declaration of independence in Kawit, Cavite, on June 12, 1898. Generals Gregorio del Pilar of Bulacan and Manuel Tinio of Nueva Ecija led the Army parade.</p><p>From one of the windows of the stately European-style Pamintuan residence, Aguinaldo was said to have waved the original flag sewn in Hong Kong and raised during the Kawit rites.</p><p>However, the event turned out to be the last celebration because the republic started to crumble, leading to the eventual capture of Aguinaldo by Americans in Isabela province on March 23, 1901.</p><p>Paras said Aguinaldo regarded the 1899 rites significant.</p><p>A copy of an English translation of his speech that day quoted Aguinaldo as describing the event as a commemoration of the “greatest event in our political evolution.”</p><p>“[It was] the date on which the [Filipino] people, thirsting for liberty, justice and the exercise of their proper rights, thronged to Cavite, to carry out this highly patriotic manifestation, the beginning of a new era of progress and well-being for our idolized country, to the cry of ‘The Philippines free and independent,’” said Aguinaldo.</p><p>“The Philippines is for the Filipinos,” he said.</p><p>Luna protected the seat of the republic by putting up a defense line in the towns of Sta. Rita, Porac, Magalang, Mabalacat and Angeles.</p><p>These areas were secured by 25,000 soldiers with about 10,000 riflemen protecting Angeles as American forces captured Malolos in Bulacan and advanced toward San Fernando, Pampanga, according to local historian Daniel Dizon, 76.</p><p>The mansion served as headquarters of Gen. Arthur MacArthur until after the Filipino-American war in 1901.</p><p>“We are frustrated. Our national officials have given no value to this event when there are so much proof about its historical importance and to think that President Macapagal-Arroyo hails from Pampanga. We don’t know their reasons for not coming. We hope it’s not [because of] indifference,” Paras told the Inquirer on Thursday.</p><p>“We’re still not losing hope that they would come. Their presence is a statement that the 1899 event is just as important in the struggle for freedom,” he said.</p><p>The mansion still stands intact because the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, through its former governor, Jaime Laya, rescued it from dilapidation as well as sale by the heirs.</p><p>In 1976, the BSP spent P25 million to buy the lot and restore the house, said Dizon.</p><p>The BSP uses the mansion as an office, lending it only to the foundation every June 12.</p></span>Ivan Henareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08952639023631049082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11845840.post-1147879026682297672006-05-17T23:15:00.000+08:002006-05-17T23:28:26.916+08:00HAU stage country’s oldest zarzuela<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7662/1454/1600/zar5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7662/1454/400/zar5.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The Center for Kapampangan Studies of Holy Angel University will present Ing Managpe on May 27, 2006 at the HAU Main Building quadrangle.<br /><br />The Kapampangan zarzuela written by Mariano Proceso Pabalan Byron of Bacolor, Pampanga was the first zarzuela ever written in any Philippine language. It is older than Severino Reyes’ Walang Sugat and Crisostomo Soto’s Alang Dios, the best known Tagalog and Kapampangan zarzuelas, respectively.<br /><br />The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Filipino Heritage Festival, Inc. headed by Ana Maria “Bambi” Harper, are co-sponsoring with the Center the production of Ing Managpe.<br /><br />The play was first staged at the Sabina Theatre in Bacolor on September 13, 1900. Its original music, composed by Amado Gutierrez David and the first published by Cornelio Pabalan Byron on May 19, 1909, has been reconstructed for this revival production by Stan Palma, a scion of the popular Palma clan of Bacolor.<br /><br />Ing Managpe revolutionized Philippine theatre at the turn of the century by introducing the theme of Filipino family and using drab domestic setting, instead of the usual European pomp and pageantry of colonial zarzuelas. The play’s plot revolves around the domestic quarrel between Doña Juana and Don Diego; a subplot involves their maid and househelps. The title, which means “The Patcher,” refers literally to the name of a dog and figuratively to the character who patches the feud.<br /><br />The cast and crew of the zarzuela is composed of HAU students: Remijia Lacson (Doña Juana), Edgar John Ocampo (Don Diego), Rona Reyes (Sianang), Roillingel Calilung (Fermin), and Daniel Madlangbayan (Pablo). The play is directed by Michael M. Manabat and Peter Joseph “PJ” B. Nepomuceno, the the newly designated University Special Projects Officer. Their adviser is Ms. Erlinda Cruz, also an officer of the Center.<br /><br />The play starts at 6 PM. Admission is free.Ivan Henareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08952639023631049082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11845840.post-1143688256123649302006-03-30T11:05:00.000+08:002006-03-30T11:10:56.140+08:00The ‘Parthenon’ gets a facelift<a href="http://news.inq7.net/regions/index.php?index=2&story_id=70904">http://news.inq7.net/regions/index.php?index=2&story_id=70904</a><br /><br />By Tonette Orejas<br />Philippine Daily Inquirer<br /><br />THESE buildings are called the Gabaldon. Three, perhaps more, generations of Filipinos learned the Three Rs (reading, ’riting and ’rithmetic) in what are now regarded as the “Parthenon” of the golden years of Philippine public education system.<br /><br />The structures count by the thousands and are spread out all over the archipelago, with some towns or cities having two or more.<br /><br />Almost a century since Assemblyman Isauro Gabaldon of Nueva Ecija in 1907 authored Act 1801 that set aside P1 million for their construction, the buildings—many of them run down by time, the elements, looting and neglect—are enjoying a restoration boom with a strong thrust for conserving the original, functional design.<br /><br />Yale graduate William Parsons, the consulting architect of the Bureau of Public Works from 1905 to 1914, designed the school buildings that were later named after Assemblyman Gabaldon.<br /><br />The Department of Education and the <a href="http://preservephilippineheritage.blogs.friendster.com/hcs/">Heritage Conservation Society</a> (HCS) are leading efforts through the heritage school building restoration program.<br /><br />“Pioneering” is how architect Augusto Villalon of the HCS calls the partnership.<br /><br />The idea, Villalon said in a recent column in the Inquirer, came from former Education Secretary Armand Fabella, and was pushed by his successors, the late Br. Andrew Gonzalez FSC and Edilberto de Jesus, as well as Undersecretary Juan Miguel Luz.<br /><br />The program has completed the restoration of the Rizal Elementary School in Bacolod City, the Pampanga High School in the City of San Fernando in Pampanga, and the Baguio Central School in Baguio City, according to HCS member <a href="http://ivanhenares.blogspot.com/">Ivan Anthony Henares</a>.<br /><br />Up for restoration are the West Central Elementary School and its adjacent home economics building in Dagupan City, said Henares, who has created a web log or blog (<a href="http://gabaldon.blogspot.com/">gabaldon.blogspot.com</a>) to link individuals, groups, institutions and donors to the effort.“The sheer number of Gabaldon schools all over the country and the lack of funds to restore these buildings would not make it possible to include all in the program,” he said.<br /><br /><strong>Heritage resources</strong><br />The buildings are “an inherent part of our country’s heritage resources,” he said.The project has the support of the locals.<br /><br />In Naga City, Councilor Lourdes Asence has authored a proposed ordinance that seeks to create a task force for the preservation and restoration of all historical structures, including six Gabaldon buildings in that city and in Camarines Sur.<br /><br />In Bohol, the provincial government spent P2.5 million in 2004 to repair some of its Gabaldon buildings.<br /><br />In their respective websites, historians in Infanta, Quezon, and in Leganes, Iloilo, have cited the history of their towns’ Gabaldon buildings and their impact on the people’s education.<br /><br />Party-list Rep. Florencio Noel (An Waray) has filed House Bill No. 4392 proposing the rehabilitation and repair of Gabaldon school houses nationwide to “preserve their historical significance and to address the need for more school buildings.”<br /><br /><strong>History</strong><br />Some have indeed etched their place in history.<br /><br />For instance, the Gabaldon building in Dagupan became a temporary residence of American Gen. Douglas MacArthur during World War II, according to Carmen Prieto, chair of the city’s heritage commission.<br /><br />Others served as hospitals, town halls or evacuation centers in times of war and calamities.More importantly, it was in the rooms, libraries and wide grounds of the Gabaldon buildings that American and Filipino educators helped unlock the potentials of students, many of them poor.The Pampanga High School, for one, nurtured many of the country’s leaders like the late President Diosdado Macapagal (Class 1929).<br /><br />But perhaps one of the most poignant memories of the Gabaldon and a vivid description of the edifice comes from one who passed through its halls.<br /><br />Former Quezon Board Member Frumencio “Sonny” Pulgar, in his website, said that as a student, he was a habitué of the “Gusaling Gabaldon” or “Bagong Iskul,” the elementary school in his hometown of Calauag.<br /><br />“For me, Gabaldon was the biggest edifice I had ever seen and played in,” he said.“True, it is not a multistory structure; in fact, it’s a mere one-story affair, but I looked at it with awe. Its ceiling was high, about five meters. I thought giants walked through the corridors of Gabaldon. It had a long five-tread flight of stairs leading to its elevated portico, which we used as stage on special occasions,” he said.<br /><br />The Gabaldon’s center rooms were divided by a collapsible wooden partition that could be folded and converted into a pavilion, he said.<br /><br />“Gabaldon’s windows were huge … The windows were sashed and made of latticed capiz-tagkawayan. Its façade had those Romanesque Doric-like pillars I’d seen only in pictures like the Parthenon,” Pulgar said.<br /><br />“Its rooms were big and wide, with lauan floors. Its doors were imposing and made from thick and heavy narra. It had a cavernous silong (basement)—home of the kabag (bats), ahas tulog (snakes), alupihan (centipede) and giant rats. Though it stank in there, we used it as (a) hiding place whenever we were late in flag rites,” he said.<br /><br />The Gabaldon buildings are “attuned to the tropics,” Villalon noted.<br /><br /><strong>Breezy and cool</strong><br />“The building is breezy and cool. Being inside the restored building today proves that old-style tropical architecture is still the best for our climate,” he said.<br /><br />There’s a practical sense to ongoing, albeit slow, efforts.<br /><br />“Instead of being rendered obsolete, old structures can still be recycled for modern academic uses,” Villalon said.<br /><br />“By restoring classrooms, the DepEd drives home the lesson that patrimony lives and continues to be relevant to our lives. Classes in heritage classrooms provide experiential learning on patrimony with a stronger impact than textbook instruction,” he said.Ivan Henareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08952639023631049082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11845840.post-1142879475098328472006-03-21T02:29:00.000+08:002006-03-21T02:31:15.130+08:00Pampanga High School soars above lahar<a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7662/1454/1600/phs-inaug.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7662/1454/200/phs-inaug.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>After that anxious wait, the restoration of the Pampanga High School main building, a Gabaldon schoolhouse built in the early 1930s, is finally complete. As always, members of the <a href="http://preservephilippineheritage.blogs.friendster.com/">Heritage Conservation Society</a> trooped to the inauguration and turnover ceremonies. And since this time around, the event was in my own turf, I was the designated driver... hehe! In the group was HCS president Gemma Cruz-Araneta, restoration architects Toti Villalon and Melvin Patawaran, Carmen Prieto of the Dagupan Heritage Foundation and <a href="http://ivanhenares.blogspot.com/">myself</a>.<br /><br />With a current enrollment of 11,000 students, the <a href="http://www-rcf.usc.edu/%7Ecamiling/history_phs.htm">Pampanga High School</a> is the biggest public high school in <a href="http://www.pampanga.gov.ph/">Pampanga</a>. Its early roots can be traced back to 1902 when the Americans established the first high school in <a href="http://www.cityofsanfernando.gov.ph/">San Fernando</a>. But due to the lack of students who made it to senior year, students were forced to finish their secondary education elsewhere. So it was not until 1912 that the first class graduated from the Pampanga High School.<br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7662/1454/1600/phs02.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7662/1454/200/phs02.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The restored main building is actually the second one since there was an earlier Gabaldon building completed around 1908 together with the Pampanga Capitol building. When the current building was completed in 1935, the older structure was reused as an annex. From 1980 up to 1995, it was used by the University of the Philippines Extension Program in San Fernando, Pampanga. What remains of that historic structure today is a result of the merciless looting and pillaging by some public officials. It stands as a harsh reminder of how badly certain leaders value their own heritage.<br /><br />But even the newer Gabaldon almost became a victim of well-meaning but misinformed efforts of certain indiviuals and groups. Good thing the Department of Education, through Undersecretary Mike Luz, intervened and saved the structure from a merciless renovation, including it in the <a href="http://www.inq7.net/globalnation/sec_phe/2004/jun/23-03.htm">DepEd-HCS Heritage Schoolhouse Restoration Program</a>.<br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7662/1454/1600/phs01.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7662/1454/200/phs01.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Today, it stands as a testament to how heritage should and could be conserved. The Pampanga High School itself is a monument to the many leaders it molded, most prominent of which is former president <a href="http://www.macapagal.com/dm/biosketch.htm">Diosdado P. Macapagal</a> of the Class of 1929. As a young kid, I was already familiarized to this outstanding group since my grandfather, Mariano D. Santos, his sister Felicidad, and their first cousin renowned pre-war journalist Amando G. Dayrit, were all members of the Class of 1929. And my lolo always beamed with pride when he showed us photos of himself together with the former president. A sampling of PHS' prominent graduates can be found <a href="http://www-rcf.usc.edu/%7Ecamiling/history_phs.htm">here</a>.<br /><br />After the program, the group proceeded to Betis and Bacolor to visit their heritage churches. And our visitors were not disappointed. PHS photos courtesy of <a href="http://community.webshots.com/album/546158319QrQZnj">Arch. Melvin Patawaran</a>.<br /><br />Related articles<br /><a href="http://www.inq7.net/globalnation/sec_phe/2004/mar/24-05.htm">PHS alumni, city government clash over heritage building </a>Ivan Henareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08952639023631049082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11845840.post-1147560403446912172005-10-14T06:44:00.000+08:002006-05-14T06:46:43.706+08:00The lantern industry of San Fernando: Pampanga's model for "One Town, One Product"PIA Press Release<br />09/16/2005<br /><br />San Fernando, Pampanga (16 September) -- See a parol or Christmas lantern, think of Pampanga! This has been the case for sometime now but the lantern makers of San Fernando and the city government want bigger things for the lantern industry.<br /><br />Seeing its big potential waiting to be tapped, the lantern industry of San Fernando had been identified as the model for Pampanga's One Town, One Product (OTOP) program, a significant part of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's ten-point agenda.<br /><br />Indeed the parol industry has come a long way but it can go a longer and better way towards fueling economic activity, not just in Pampanga, but in the whole of Central Luzon.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best lantern makers</span><br />Roland Quiambao wears several hats - chair of the City Arts and Culture Council; chair of the recently formed Lantern Makers Association of San Fernando. He is also a major awardee twice over - Most Outstanding Fernandino in the field of arts and culture in 2004; Kabuhayan awardee in 1998 presented to him by then President Fidel V. Ramos in Malacañang.<br /><br />He had done a variety of jobs before he concentrated on his true love - lantern making. He worked as an OFW for three years in Dubai; he came home and became a jeepney driver, In between, he was a "musikero" - playing the trumpet in cultural shows. His musical experience started at the University of the Assumption in San Fernando where he enjoyed a scholarship by virtue of his being a member of the school rondalla. He graduated with a degree in Commerce which he finds useful in his prosperous lantern making business.<br /><br />Much farther back, Roland started at lantern making at age 10, assisting and learning from one he considers the master, the late Mario Datu, the sole record holder of winning the annual parol contest for nine consecutive years, a record unbroken to this day.<br /><br />Roland and several others learned the ropes from Mang Mario. They apparently learned very well since he and his peers eventually became winners of the annual lantern contest, alternately winning over one another, to this day.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Big break from lahar</span><br />Roland started his lantern business in 1986 but his big break came in late 1995. In October that year, a big lahar flow hit San Fernando suddenly and hard. A month later, just before a Christmas which would be understandably bleak, then San Fernando Mayor Reynaldo B. Aquino asked Roland if he could decorate the city streets with Christmas lanterns as an attempt to brighten up the place and buoy up the sagging spirits of the residents.<br /><br />"Tinanggap ko ang challenge, kahit hindi ko tiyak kung kaya ko," Roland admitted.<br /><br />But he rose to the challenge, beyond anyone's expectations! The sight of his lanterns adorning the streets and major spots in the city certainly gave the weary residents a reason to smile and find new hope in the future. This opened up doors of bigger opportunities for Roland, opportunities which he enjoys and nourishes to this day.<br /><br />In 2003, he was a recipient of a Php200,000 loan under President Arroyo's One Barangay, One Product program. This was a "no collateral, no interest" loan amounting to one million pesos and given to a group of five entrepreneurs, each getting Php200,000. It was given through the city government under the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) assistance program of the President. Roland started paying this loan every month without fail in 2004 and shall have been paid in full in October 2006.<br /><br />He has also formed a tie up with television stations who have their backdrops and other set décor done by Roland. His continuous innovation and attempts to revolutionalize lantern making has paid off. Even during the off -Christmas season, he gets orders for various lantern-like décor such as the ones found in his workshop cum residence in Barangay San Felipe- butterflies, plants, flowers, fruits.<br /><br />"One should not limit himself to the traditional but instead, continue to explore new ideas, improve their products," Roland advises new entrepreneurs not just in the lantern industry but in any field.<br /><br />He has also been joining the annual Likha ng Central Luzon (LCL) held every October at SM Mega Mall, even providing for free the main décor of the event. In return, he gets free space or a stall where he displays and sells his products. Through the LCL, he has also attracted the interest of foreign clients who have become his regular customers.<br /><br />He has come a long way from the time when he would offer his services/products to would be clients, they now come to him and he could hardly cope with all the orders that pour in. He has 30 regular workers and sub-contracts to 60 others in San Felipe and neighboring barangays.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">LGU factor</span><br />Apart from implementing the loan assistance program to SMEs, with the assistance of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the local government of San Fernando has been a big help, writing to other LGUs and corporations, offering the lantern makers' services to decorate their municipalities.<br /><br />They are currently working on major support activities for the lantern makers and other entrepreneurs. One is the Christmas lantern strip which the Lantern makers Association is putting up from October 15 to December 31 this year. The venue is a 5000 sq m.vacant lot owned by businessman Eddie Chua who offered it for free use of the project. It is strategically located along the Gapan-San Fernando-Olongapo (GSO) Road, very near the Paskuhan Village.<br /><br />The city government shall put up the stalls which the association members could pay back once or twice later. Or, better still, if the corporate sponsors that the LGU has approached agree to shoulder expenses for the stalls, much better for the lantern makers! They would just have to pay for their electric bills but even this would be negotiated with the San Fernando Electric and Power Company; if discounted rates could be given,! No let up in the city government's support for the lantern makers.<br /><br />It will also try to work out the possible transfer of the Paskuhan Village's management to the city government. According to Fer Santos of the City Tourism Office, they could do much for the huge yet, largely unused Paskuhan Village, also along the theme of San Fernando being the country's Christmas capital.<br /><br />But whatever the outcome of these plans, the city government is serious about maintaining, even upping, the quality of San Fernando products, lanterns or otherwise. They plan to come up with the quality seal on all local products to ensure that indeed, "Gawang Fernandino, Gawang Filipino" is world class!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Gearing up for Ligligan Parul</span><br />The Lantern Makers Association of San Fernando has only 17 members presently. The city government is encouraging other makers to join the association knowing that there is strength in an organized act.<br /><br />Roland Quiambao can attest to this, and so does Daisy Flores, secretary of the association. Organized only in May this year, the members have felt the vibrancy of being in an association. They are very much into the thick of the preparations for the planned Christmas fiesta strip starting in mid-October.<br /><br />Within their ranks, there is also specialization. There are production people doing the creatives - designing and execution of the lanterns, like Roland Quiambao. There are members who focus on the commercial side, the marketing of their products, like Daisy Flores. This way, there is specialization and focus, according to Roland.<br /><br />But Daisy has started producing her own lanterns and she finds a new excitement in it. In fact, she is challenged by the fact that she and her workers shall decorate the streets of Angeles City and Mabalacat this Christmas.<br /><br />Roland's Christmas décor, as in the past years, shall be seen in Parañaque, Quezon City, and the Ortigas area. Their production usually starts in March, during the off season, to make it in good time for their regular orders.<br /><br />Roland is busy with San Felipe's entry to this year's giant lantern festival which they call "Ligligan Parul" in Kapampangan. While his entry remains a secret, he gave away enough clues for one to conclude that it is going to give other entries a run for their money. His concept is timely, relevant and universal - proof that Roland is committed to revolutionizing the lantern making industry in San Fernando.<br /><br />What sets San Fernando lantern craftsmen from those in other places is the cultural depth that lantern making has reached in their consciousness. They have a history of the origins of parol making, culled from the stories from the folks of old; when the candle was used to light the path of a procession during the nine consecutive novena nights before Christmas. How the intricate designs and technically simple, straightforward parol of yore evolved into the less ornate designs yet highly technical features of the modern Christmas lantern.<br /><br />A giant lantern has an average of about 2,500 to 3,000 light bulbs and costs anywhere from Php300, 000 to Php500, 000. The high cost of producing an entry to the contest is partly subsidized by the city government and assisted by other sponsors. The play of color, lights and music and artistry during lantern festival night makes a spectacle of the grand scale.<br /><br />A trophy and prestige are the stakes in the annual lantern festival. Roland is a candidate for the grand slam win this year so that he would get the revolving trophy coveted by all the barangays entered in the contest.<br /><br />An added incentive is the possibility, nay probability, of having the winning entries displayed at the United Nations Headquarters and other lanterns hanging at New York's 5th street, again through the efforts of the city government of San Fernando in coordination with the officials of the Philippine consulate in New York.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Continuing partnership</span><br />Even with the current energy crisis and the call of the government for conservation measures, the lantern makers have more job orders than they could handle. Christmas has such a magical pull among Filipinos that they would not pass up an opportunity to light up their homes and streets, whatever the state of the world's energy supply.<br /><br />The continuing partnership among the lantern makers, the city government of San Fernando, the DTI and other support groups augur well for the future of the lantern making industry in San Fernando.<br /><br />Fer Santos of the city tourism council summed it up beautifully when he said "as long as may Pasko, may parol". Since Christmas is forever, it is safe to say that San Fernando's parols will remain in demand and that the talent and craftsmanship of Roland and other lantern makers shall live on in their heirs from family and friends and neighbors. (PIA-MMIO <a href="http://pia.gov.ph/news.asp?fi=p050916.htm&no=30">http://pia.gov.ph/news.asp?fi=p050916.htm&no=30</a>)Ivan Henareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08952639023631049082noreply@blogger.com0