BEHIND THE SCENES

Alfred P. Dizon
Gambling characters

BAGUIO CITY – So what if a casino would be set up in Camp John Hay? Aren’t we a city of gamblers? We gamble on anything – lotto, bingo (legal and illegal), sweepstakes, monte, tong-its, lucky 9, cara y cruz and yes, jueteng. Name it we have it.

We don’t begrudge the so-called Baguio Multi-Sectoral Group which warned the city council not to allow casino in the area or they would raise hell. The council could have been deathly afraid of being portrayed as gamblers or gambling advocates and being burned at the stakes come elections that they gave in to the BMSG’s demand. It is the right of the group to voice out their opinion on the matter. But then what about those of other lower life forms like us in this so-called “character city.”

It seems the city council was railroaded into backing the stand of the group without benefit of a public hearing or consultation on the matter. For all we know, the so-called multi-sectoral group could just be a composition of noisy characters who think they have the infallible right to determine the morals of city residents and how they should live their lives.
***
We are supposed to be living in a democratic society where every stakeholder on an issue should have a right to say what is on his or her mind like on gambling. But no one should impose one’s will on others particularly on matters of public concern if the issue is not thoroughly threshed out or discussed.

There are anti-gambling advocates but there are also gambling advocates, the latter of whom think it would be better to open a casino in the city so everybody could do some gaming (a Pagcor term). Anyway, most officials of the region and residents of Baguio and Benguet are the ones who frequent casinos in La Union and Clark. At least, they reason, the money would stay in Baguio and prop up its economy considering its diminishing tourism allure. A gambler would always find a way to gamble.

As to illegal gambling advocates, they abound everywhere, even in the media. Don’t tell me you don’t see these characters everywhere betting or soliciting bets for the favorite numbers game called jueteng. They are at restaurants, stalls, parks, sidewalks. Yes, even at city hall. The discreet undertakers of course who go to the expensive restaurants are always the ones who win even without betting a single centavo.
***
I’m no gambler, (gambling bores me) although I place my bet every now and then on lotto hoping I would win the jackpot so I would be able to buy Session or Abanao roads and close these anytime a big time concert promoter or company would approach me.

Now, gambling aficionados are saying it is high time the council amends the 19-point conditionalities imposed on the developer of the former American rest and recreation camp to allow gambling in the area, after a public hearing.

The council resolution noted “any plan to put up an activity that would corrupt the family, destroy the moral fiber and offer wrong choices to the people will create a societal problem in the city. It is imperative that the city take an aggressive action to immediately stop any plan to put up a casino or any gambling activity in any form or guise in the city including within the Club John Hay." Morals or molars? Organizers of the BMG, which includes religious leaders from mainstream evangelical churches, earlier revealed two members of the Bases Conversion Development Authority board of directors allegedly revealed plans to set up the gambling center inside Camp John Hay.
***
The BMG invoked a provision of city resolution 362-1994 which provides that "BCDA shall ensure that only wholesome, family-oriented entertainment and recreation facilities will be established within Camp John Hay."

Now the pundits are asking: “Aren’t casinos wholesome and family oriented? If not, they say, the officials who go to such places are not wholesome and are not good family men. Their argument: people who go to casinos learn (often the hard way) about arithmetic and economics that things should be done in moderation.

The BMG and the city council cited resolution 362 that set the 19 conditionalities for the city council approval of the Master Development Plan for Camp John Hay as formulated by the BCDA in 1994. T

hey said condition No. 2 (on entertainment activities) provides "the BCDA shall ensure that only wholesome, family-oriented entertainment and recreational activities are conducted within the Zone." The condition stated "no casino operations shall definitely be allowed under any guise or form."
***
The body also invoked resolution No. 221 series of 1989 "which condemns all forms of illegal gambling in the city and calls on all concerned government agencies to eradicate and stop the proliferation of gambling activities in the city. The presence of gambling activity runs counter to the moral standards which our heritage has impressed upon our people," the council said in its resolution. Echoken bebe, I could see Wilson Tuling, my friend and kingpin of Tuding saying with a grimace.

Go to popular watering holes along Session Road like Luisas Restaurant and you will get an idea on who the gamblers are (particularly those who are deep into illegal gambling) and the takers. As I said earlier, gambling bores me. It is when we have these self-righteous and hypocritical characters play their comic acts in the gambling stage play that our amusement makes our ears flap. Heehaw, heehaw, heehaw! You think I’m joking? Place a bet.

PERRYSCOPE

by Perry Diaz
Color-blind generation

On August 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. evoked the name of Lincoln in his "I Have a Dream" speech. "I have a dream," he said, "that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Almost half a century later on November 3, 2008, his dream came true with the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America.

Obama was catapulted to the presidency with the vote of a new generation of Americans: idealistic, young people of diverse colors -- white, black, brown, yellow, red -- who judged Obama not by the color of his skin but by the content of his character. This is the color-blind generation that Dr. King dreamed about and they're the vanguard of a movement that changed politics in America.

The road America took towards a color-blind society -- we're not there yet but getting closer to it -- was pock-marked with violence and hatred. In 1860, Abraham Lincoln led his Republican Party to stop the expansion of slavery beyond the borders of the 11 pro-slavery southern states. Lincoln's ascension to the presidency sparked the American Civil War in 1861 that took 620,000 lives -- the bloodiest in the nation's history. In 1862, in the midst of the civil war, Lincoln made a bold step and issued his Emancipation Proclamation with the goal of ending slavery. The victory of Lincoln's Union Army in 1865 ended the civil war.

Although freed from slavery, the African-Americans had to fight for equality for the next 100 years. Racial segregation was the rule rather than the exception. African-Americans were systematically disenfranchised particularly in the Deep South where Jim Crow laws relegated African-Americans to second class citizens.

With the landmark legislation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which ended segregation and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which outlawed discriminatory voting practices against African-Americans, African-Americans and other minorities made inroads in politics. However, gerrymandering still lived -- electoral districts were arbitrarily redistributed to the advantage of the majority whites.

Forty-three years after the Voting Rights Act was enacted, a black man finally shattered the racial barriers in politics. The key to Obama's success was his ability to register and mobilize millions of young voters… and get them out to vote on election day.

Polls showed that Obama got at least two-thirds of the young -- and first-time -- voters. But what became apparent during the campaign was that these young voters were ethnically diverse. They looked upon Obama as a leader whose blackness was irrelevant to their cause. To them he is the visionary that they believe would lead America in a new direction and change the way the government works.

Obama saw the strength of the Internet-savvy youths. He used state-of-the- art technology to gather and compile the email addresses of 70 million Americans that he could reach at the click of a laptop keyboard. Aaron Smith of the Pew Internet and American Life Project said, "They have millions of e-mail addresses, phone numbers and whole communities of supporters – both geographic and online – and it will be very interesting to see how they use them in government."

Obama's Internet-based networking website www.my.barackobama. com attracted millions of young voters. He used "viral networking" to spread his message by email and text messaging. And he raised a record-setting $158 million in September alone, 75% of which came online.

Obama has changed the way of reaching out to voters. Indeed, it was his consistent message of "Change" that attracted this color-blind generation of young idealistic Americans who are restless for change. Finally, America is beginning to outgrow its race-conscious ways of doing business.

A year ago, many people were saying that America was not ready to elect an African-American President. Even African-Americans were cynical of Obama's quixotic quest for the presidency. Before the Iowa caucuses, many African-Americans opted to support Hillary Clinton whom many believed was in a better position to clinch the Democratic nomination. Many believed that Obama did not have a chance to win the Iowa Democratic caucuses.

The conventional wisdom at that time was that Iowa was too lily white -- and very Republican -- for Obama to snatch. But snatch he did… with the support of young white voters who flocked to the caucuses that gave Obama his first primary victory. By the time South Carolina held its primary, the African-Americans had detoured from the Clinton trail and gave Obama his first southern state victory.

With his African-American base and the newly empowered color-blind generation of young voters, Obama clinched the presidency on November 4th. Now, the question is: will the color-blind generation continue to expand and flex its political muscle in electing our national leaders without regard to race? And finally, would other people of color be able to follow Obama's footsteps to the White House? (PerryDiaz@gmail. com)

BENCHWARMER

Ramon S. Dacawi
Formula for a carless Sunday

(My son Johanne, a Ferrari fan without a car and father of two boys addicted to Ferrari models, writes this week’s column.)

Last year, when he was sitting on a seven-point lead in a Mclaren Mercedez, rookie Lewis Hamilton cracked under pressure at the final race of the season at Interlagos in Brazil. Kimi Raikkonen won by a point and Ferrari ended a dramatic, thrilling and scandalous year as winner of both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships.

I was reflecting on this when I was about to take a nap on a Sunday afternoon. I wanted to rest so I could gain enough energy to watch the final race on the calendar. This might sound overboard, but last year's race in Interlagos was enough to stop an old man's ticker.

So at about ten to six in the evening my wife tried to wake me up. After a while my elder son Lukie came to tell me it was about to start. I was already awake, praying in bed that Hamilton would crack up again. I was getting out of bed when my wife came in for the second time.

It was raining hard in Brazil. I held my little two-year old Dylan between my legs and hugged him tight. This was to contain my excitement, tokeep me from jumping up and down the living room. But when the red lights went off, I found myself hopping with Dylan in my arms.

He was competing at home and so Massa took control of the entire race. He needed to finish on top and Hamilton to place sixth on the standings to win the driver’s title. For Hamilton, he just needed to finish fifth or Massa to finish lower than first place to clinch the championship.

I thought this was the first time I saw Hamilton drive his MP4-23 like he was slightly pulling on the reins. I thought he was calm and his aggressiveness was not there. At the end of the race he said that his heart was in his mouth the whole time and that this was one of the most difficult races he ever did.

Of course it was! Because a seven point lead was nothing. He didn't only have to worry about the red cars. There were also two teams who were using Ferrari engines and they would definitely help their supplier in any way they can. There's also Fernando Alonso, who fell out badly with Hamilton when he was at Mclaren Mercedez, who said he would help Massa win.

My wife and Lukie wanted Hamilton to win. Dylan can not talk yet but I know he was for the Rosso car. It was painfully hard to accept that for six long years my own flesh and blood was a Ferrari fan like his Pa. But now Lukie sided with Hamilton and his Silver car. The reason for this, the kid told me one time, was because Hamilton won in the first race of the season.

And he predicted that he would then win the championship.

OK . . . . . Where did that come from? I tried to tell him that the passion and speed of the legendary "Prancing Horse" of Maranello is to die for. There was nothing I could do to persuade him, he was dead serious in his decision. In a last attempt, I told him I was his father! He calmly replied, "sei sempre il mio papa." (You are always my father)

My wife was rooting for Hamilton just to annoy her better half. Many times during the race, the camera man focused on the people on the box to have some sort of a break from the cars that go in circles around the circuit. There you see the team, some guest stars, the families of the drivers and their girlfriends or wives. You could tell how the race was going on from their faces.

What I liked to see were the facial gestures of the fathers of the drivers. Especially when their sons lose or make a serious mistake on the track. That look they have that says "It’s okay, my boy, it’s all fine and I'm still proud of you!" You can really see that special bond of father and son in Formula One. And in every race, win or lose, the fathers are just happy and thankful their sons crossed the finish line unharmed.

I saw something strange at the paddock of the Mclaren Mercedez team and told my wife about it. My wife didn't believe me at first but when they showed that Pussycat Doll again wearing a sexy red dress, it was like someone poured a bucket of cold water on her when she saw the Doll.

Quickly she said that she didn’t care about Hamilton any more - win or lose. It was like she was breaking up with someone and I was like, Uuhh okay. . . . . ? where did that come from! The girl in the red dress was Nicole Prescovia Elikolani Valiente Scherzinger, Hamilton’s girlfriend.

Back to the race. On the final laps the race stewards predicted it would rain again. Massa was beyond reach but it wasn't enough to lead him to the crown. He needed a miracle and the home crowd did the rain dance, Brazilian style. The heavens granted their wish.

On lap two all the cars went in for wet tires except for one, driver Timo Glock on a Toyota. Coming out of the pits the Brazilians cheered Massa on. As I knelt down in front of the TV with clasped hands pressed on my lips, my heart was beating so fast like I was ready to faint. When Massa passed by the final stretch to start his last lap, the cheering crowd sounded like a typhoon. Never in my sports watching life had I heard that kind of sound from the fans in any sport.

The volume of cheering doubled as Sebastian Vettel and Timo Glock made a pass on Hamilton, who was running fourth. Hamilton lost the title on that short moment that made the crowd wild as hell. But he held his nerve and drove on until he reached the final corners to see the Toyota struggling for grip on the wet tarmac. I got up and lost my temper. I cursed in front of the TV while my family was watching. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe myself after.

Driving on his parade lap, the Brazilian driver was addressed on the radio that he didn't make it. As he parked his car in the winners circle, still with his helmet on, he held his tears with his hands while his gloves were still on, too. I thought he was trying to stop his tears. A very emotional Felipe cried with the heavens as he beat his chest several times to dedicate the race to his fellow men. He won the race but lost the title.

My poor son Lukie didn't comprehend what went on during the final laps. He was in tears, too, as he thought Hamilton lost but wasn't sure. I comforted him and explained what happened. Lewis Hamilton made history.

When we were all preparing for bed that night. Lukie asked me to buy him a poster of the 2008 world champion like the poster we have on Ferrari and Kimi Raikkonen last season. Tucking him in bed I said we'll see. But deep down in me I promised to get him one.

As I kissed Dylan and then Lovelyn goodnight, brushing away the thoughts of her faded support on the new world champion, I was thinking about how Hamilton lost by a point the last time and in this race he won on that single point. It was a momentous win and nothing could have been better on how the race ended.

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

March Fianza
Bolante’s loose caper

Congratulations to Regional Trial Court Judge Ed Claravall for being elected National President of Young Men’s Christian Association, vice Ramon Cardenas, financial analyst and senior executive secretary of former President Erap.

Like US President Barack Obama, “advocate for change,” who will take his seat in January, Judge Claravall who will also sit as national president in that month will bring new changes in YMCA.
***
It is time the abductors of Cordillera Peoples Alliance co-founder James Balao should be thinking of their situation. They may choose to turn witness against the crime because soon the truth will come out anyway – maybe not in this lifetime but as the law of karma works mysteriously, their descendants are those who will suffer the consequences.

News reports had it that police authorities stepped up their effort in identifying and looking for James Balao’s abductors. Thank you. Setting aside political ideologies that are less permanent as compared to culture and relations, proper police investigation must be pursued as much as any other crime. Bias must be left out since the case involves the life of a fellow Igorot.
***

There maybe truth in the line that “flight is an indication of guilt.” First, Mr. Jocjoc Bolante took off for America after the 2004 elections. Second, when asked to come home to answer charges that he manipulated government money in a scam worth P728M, he immediately sought shelter in an American court and said that he can not go home because he fears for his life.

He should not have left if he did not feel guilty of a crime. He could have come back right away when the Senate summoned him, and he should not have told tales of conspiracy because he knew that not even the American court would believe him. All these actions after the 2004 elections have pulled him deeper into the mud.

There was nowhere else to go but home after America cancelled his visa. But Jocjoc and his spin doctors have not run out of tricks. He got sick right away when his airplane landed here, but he was fit to travel when he left America . Of course, any sick person would be rushed to a hospital.

And so, there he was with the best doctors of St Luke’s hoping against hope that Bolante was really sick. They could not find any so that eventually, after having more time to plan out his moves, he had to be released. Until now his doctors do not know what ailed him. If he had wished to stay longer and turn St. Luke’s into a hotel room, maybe the doctors had no choice left but to invent a very sick report for him, so that there would be legitimate reason for him to be confined.

Aside from his true and false statements in the American court, there are evidences produced by the COA and other sources that are now in the custody of the Ombudsman. Now, he can not be saying something in America and the Ombudsman while talking about another thing in the Senate. Otherwise, he will find himself caught in the tongue with his own hook.
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While in Manila , a jeepney that was ahead of us had the words “street farmer” boldly painted across its mud guards. I knew what the driver meant by those words but what flew to my mind was the fact that certain LGUs in Metro Manila, a concrete jungle, were recipients of funds for overpriced foliage fertilizers.

When and how Manila roads and residential subdivisions turned into agricultural farms overnight, that we do not know. These things only happen in dreams. But in this administration, even dreams come true. And even allied politicians who know that rice, corn and camote do not grow on cement become recipients of fertilizer funds.

If Bolante said Malacanang is not knowledgeable of the money releases that involved P728M and therefore it is not guilty, then there must be many other fund releases that Malacanang does not know about, even as their signatures appear in the documents.

Well, it is good to have a President who is ignorant of things that he signs. Our beloved country is up in the list of Most Corrupt nations and so the more ignorant a President is about things that his secretaries do, we go up the list and the more popular we become.

Farmers who were supposed to be the true beneficiaries said they never received any assistance even if records proved that their congressman or governor or mayor did receive the funds. Surely, politicians whose names appeared in the list of recipients will deny anything that will implicate them.

If so, there is no doubt that the investigation by the senate will end earlier as expected. Aside from these delays, there are senators and department secretaries identified with the administration who say that the senate probe is useless – giving us the hint that they already know the whole truth. – ozram.666@gmail.com

HAPPY WEEKEND

Gina Dizon
DOST has millions of pesos for livelihood

BONTOC, Mountain Province -- Regional Director Benjamin Ladidad expressed dismay that Mountain Province is not showing availment of livelihood loans from the Department of Science and Technology .

Speaking before some 25 entrepreneurs from Mountain Province who attended the consultation two weeks ago, Ladidad identified six major priorities in the government ‘s program Small Enterprises Technology Upgrading Program.

Said program of the government is in response to the need to set up more micro, small, and medium enterprises through technology application. Interested entrepreneurs can avail of the livelihood project through interest –free loans from DOST.

These six major programs are on food processing, furniture, horticulture,marine and acquatic resources, gifts and houseware, and metals and engineering. Since 2003, the government allotted P45 million livelihood supervised by DOST nationwide, and another 45 million in 2004. In 2005, the government allotted 60 million, P100 million in 2006, then 120 million in 2007.
This year, the government budgeted P150 million for the livelihood program. For the Cordillera and Mountain Province most especially, their respective quotas have not been significantly tapped by the populace, Ladilad said.

In the five provinces of the Cordillera, only 34 projects worth P17.969 million since 2003. Of the total projects were two in Abra, two in Apayao, six in Baguio, seven in Benguet, seven in Ifugao, six in Kalinga and four in Mountain Province.

Figures showed only Baguio and Benguet availed of the project in 2003; in 2004,only Benguet and Kalinga. In 2005, Abra, Apayao, Kalinga and Mt Province availed with Ifugao getting more than a million in livelihood funds.

In 2007 and 2008, entrepreneurs from all Cordillera provinces availed of the program.

A total of P 927,600 was released for Mountain Province from 2005-2007. Those who availed for Mt Province only were Maguen’s Furniture, Ol-is FCM shop, Robert’s Furniture shop and Maribel Lusad’s furniture shop.

An allocation of P885,000 was budgeted for Mountain Province for year 2008.

Ladidad advised those interested to avail of the government’s economic project to file their project proposals to be accommodated for the 2009 budget. With the program open since 2003, it is a frustration that only few availed in Mountain Province.

Was there lack of information? Some sectors said the entrepreneur sector in Mountain Province didn’t want to take big risks. Others said DOST requirements were too rigid to include post dated checks among other requirements in making a project proposal.

One big loophole of the opportunity was lack of information about the opportunity. Here’s hoping DOST will do something more about its information programs and let Cordillera entrepreneurs know about the good opportunities available like capital and technology such as packaging .

THE MOUNTAINEER

Edison L. Baddal
A view to a win (2)

BONTOC, Mountain Province -- Obama served as hope to the youth, the most economically active and productive group. His economic program and priorities successfully generated an optimistic and confident outlook for their economic future.

Looking back, Franklin Delano Roosevelt won a landslide victory during the 1931 US presidential elections due to his practical and economically vibrant programs. Fifty years later, Ronald Reagan also won by a landslide on the heels of the 1980-1981 economic downturn caused by Carter’s failed economic policies.

Another factor to his victory is his being a biracial man. A product of a white American mother and a black Kenyan father, he is both a white man and a black man although the black pigments prevailed in his skin color thus he is blacker than white. Even so, he is not totally black unlike his tribemates in native Africa and other blacks in the USA whose strains have never been infected with white strains and hence are utterly black.

His deep-brown complexion may have helped divert the attention of people to his skin color. Besides,aware that he is the product of both white and black races, whites are identified with him even as blacks are more so. This must be the reason why Obama was able to get 43% of the white votes to Mccain’s 55%.

Nonetheless, this advantage of Mccain was largely compensated by a wide margin as Obama clinched 96% of the black votes. Incidentally, McCain got most of his white votes from the deep South which used to be the hotbed of racism that gave rise to the civil rights movement.

Meanwhile, Obama’s deep-brown skin color contrasted with the blacker complexion of Rev. Jesse Jackson who ran as president in both the 1984 and 1988 presidential elections but was rebuffed on both instances. In the 1988 presidential derby, though, he was the first runner-up to Michael Dukakis in the race for the democratic nomination.

At that time, segregationist policies were making a strong comeback as Reagan reinforced racial equality even as he failed to enforce laws on affirmative actions. Americans then were fearful of a massive influx of black faces in the cabinet. Jesse

Jackson was among the frontrunners during the heady days of civil rights movement in the 1960’s led by Martin Luther King,Jr. Thus, his crocodile tears and affecting stance following Obama’s landslide victory are no less tears of joy and expression of inexpressible triumph for the civil rights movement as Obama overwhelmingly succeeded where he failed twice.

Lastly, he is credited with an awesome organizational skills as he was able to mobilize thousands of volunteers who kept his campaign awash with liquid cash both at the height of his races for the democratic nomination and for the presidency. It is said that his volunteers were able to solicit $600 million to bankroll his presidential campaign.

This spanking organizational skills enabled him to overcome Hillary Clinton’s almost insurmountable lead during the initial months of the primary elections for the democratic nomination. It also enabled him to sustain his pre-poll survey lead over McCain in the run-up to the presidential election.

Black power is now a reality in America even as it began to manifest in thw world before Obama’s win. Black power began to stir worldwide when Kofi Annan from the African continent led the United Nations for two terms from the late ‘90s and into the current decade of the twentieth century.

This energetic stirring of black power in America is the fruition of the dismantling of many segregationist state and federal policies and laws as a result of the massive, but non-violent, civil rights movement that started in the mid-50’s and spilled into the decade of the sixties. Obama as the first elected black president of the USA is the culmination of said movement that claimed the lives and made martyrs out of leaders like Malcolm X, Medgar Evers and Martin Luther King, Jr.

It is also the culmination, a century and a half later, of the thousands of lives that were wasted in the fratricidal American civil war from 1861-1864 on the issue of slavery. President Abraham Lincoln died as a martyr for the abolition of slavery and a century later, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated allegedly due in part to his sympathy to the civil rights movement.

Hence, Obama’s victory is the greatest affirmative action that the whites did for the black Americans. As the civil rightists in the 1960’s used the battlecry “We shall overcome” against the malevolent evils of racism, racial inequality and segregation, this time the blacks are shouting jubilantly in every corner of the USA with the resounding triumphant cry “Yes, we did.”

If anything, it is a concretization of Martin Luther’s aspiration in his “I have a dream” speech where he fervently wished that a time will come in Mississippi and elsewhere in racist states of America when a black man and a white man will sit face to face in one table sharing a meal together in the spirit of brotherhood, camaraderie and equality. That time is now.

BULL'S HIT

Rudy Garcia
Nevada Square untouchable?

BAGUIO CITY -- How time flies so fast that little did we know it’s another year comes fast approaching after which graduation time follows. My once little daughter will now be graduating from high school and so this early, I asked her what she wants to take up in college. I was a little bit surprised when she told me she wants to take up Bachelor of Science in Architecture and she wanted to be rich and famous.

This is far from what I thought she wanted to be like a flight stewardess, businesswoman, a nurse or a doctor, an office executive or even a lawyer. Again, I was stunned when she further said she wanted to follow the footstep who she describes as among the greatest architect of the times, “Architect Joc-Joc Jocelyn Bolante of the fertilizer fund scam.

I could not blame my once little girl of what she believes is the fastest way to realize her dream of becoming rich and a famous architect someday. Only history could let her realize the fact that fame could lead to one's road to perdition especially if this was attained through fraud and corruption.

Maybe, I just have to explain to my daughter how Bolante was called an architect of this fertilizer scam building, and how and where did the proceeds go; if this went to the people deserving or to big Bolante's, err... I mean big “bulates” or crocodiles. Really this needs a lot of explaining to do.

Then now this sounds the opposite since somebody and not Bolante is now doing the ground work at the drawing table. From the airport, to St. Lukes and now at the Senate hearing is an excellent job done by a good architect. The testimony of Bolante is full of clout that any Juan De La Cruz may doubt its credibility more so its sincerity. It’s a seeming act to circumvent the facts that Bolante should be bringing out to the public in waiting.

And if the on-going investigation at the senate is for real or not, let us wait and see. You could place your bet who will be the best architect of them all! Would this be coming from Bolante’s camp, the Senate or from Malacañang.
***
A resident of DPS barangay called my attention regarding the seeming resurgence of violence near their residences caused by young customers coming from adjacent bar joints along Nevada Square.

The complaining residents said street brawls occurring at night near their homes were often caused by fraternity conflicts and gang wars, that has long been a problem at Nevada Square. Local authorities upon pressure, acted on this problem the reason why Nevada Square became peaceful for several months.

Now, I wonder if said authorities are back sitting comfortably in their offices not minding the resurgence of violence happening within the vicinity of Nevada Square. Or is Nevada Square really that “untouchable? Or are the trouble makers family members or relatives of city officials hence they are helpless in putting an end to this long time problem at the area? Or are our authorities again afflicted with the ningas kugon syndrome? Let us give them the benefit of the doubt, but as the saying goes, “silence means yes.” Do you agree?

RAIN OF FIRE

Cesar G. Bonilla
Rising violence in Ilocos Norte

LAOAG CITY -- The sickening rise of violence in the province poses an alarming situation for it seems no one is safe even if someone is within the confines of his or her own residence. This is a threat to all of us if our public officials and law enforcers will not unite to combat this menace. Our economic survival is at stake if our political stability is not well.

Former Association of Barangay Councils president of the town of Dingras, punong barangay Joefrey Saguid was shot by two men using a motor vehicle but fortunately, he survived. The guy was accommodating and hospitable to this writer when he visited their residence at Barangay Guerrero before the local election of 2007.

His family showed warm friendship. With this incident being under investigation by police, let not injustice be served but fairness in accordance with law.
***
The word Gandhi is universally associated with non-violence. Yet, Mahatma Gandhi died at the hands of an assassin. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was murdered by her Sikh bodyguards in 1984. Her son former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was also a victim of an assassin.

Political assassinations seem to be becoming a tradition in India that is known for Mahatma Gandhi’s satyagraha, meaning truth, force, or passive resistance against injustice. Political assassinations are oversimplified solutions to political problems. In the United States, we had the assassinations of Presidents John F. Kennedy, William Mc. Kinley, Abraham Lincoln, and James Abram Garfield.

Martin Luther King, a great advocate of non-violence was also a victim of an assassin. It was Mahatma Gandhi who said: “I can imagine a fully armed man to be at heart a coward. Possession of arms implies an element of fear, if not cowardice.”

It seems as if things have not changed much since the Mahatma’s time. There are still people who go for violent solutions to political problems. Violence used to be attributed to the law of survival of the fittest. But as Mahatma said: “Non-violence is the law of our species as violence is the law of the brute. The spirit lies dormant in the brute and he knows no law but that of physical might. The dignity of man requires obedience to higher law, to the strength of the spirit. Target of political assassins are generally people who enjoy popular support.

Since the assassin cannot do away with the people, he goes after the person who he believes will implement the people’s will. But you cannot destroy ideas. Political assassinations are usually counter-productive. The classic example was the murder of our hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, which marked the beginning of the end for the abusive, cruel, and despotic Spanish regime.
***
November 16 is a great day for the Ilocanos because President Elpidio Quirino, who was Ilocandia’s first contribution to the presidency was born in 890 in Vigan, Ilocos Sur. His birthplace was the second floor of the provincial jail of Vigan, where his father worked as the warden. His father, Mariano Quirino, a native of Arayan, Ilocos Sur was a commissioned officer of the Spanish Army, and his mother, Gregoria Rivera, of Agoo, La Union, was a pretty girl who studied at the exclusive Santa Rosa College of Manila.

He was the third in the family and the second son of that happy couple. Interested in painting, he drew sketches of the Filipino patriots, Jose Rizal, the national hero; Juan Luna, the famous painter; and Antonio Luna, the noted general. He was also an excellent debater and orator. Inclined to the legal profession, he finished his law degree at the University of the Philippines.

He was appointed as law clerk in the Philippine Commission, the upper chamber of the legislative set-up at that time, after passing the bar. He was elected as representative of the province of Ilocos Sur. Not long after his election, Quirino married charming Alicia Syquia, a scion of the wealthy family of that name in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, on Jan. 16, 1921.

By their marriage, five children were born: Tomas, Armando, Norma, Victoria, and Fe. Three of them including their mother fell victims of Japanese massacre in February 1945 at the height of the Liberation Campaign in Manila leaving only their father and Tomas and Victoria (Vicky) as lucky survivors. Quirino was designated delegate to the International Bar Conference in Peking, China in 1921.

He was elected senator at the comparatively age of 35. In the election of 1938 he launched his candidacy for representative in his district but he lost to Benito Soliven, an equally promising lawyer-politician. His electoral defeat was attributed to Quezon’s intervention in that fight in favor of Soliven.

A man easy to forgive and understand, Quezon soon reconciled with Quirino. Quezon had him appointed as Secretary of Finance during the governor-generalship of Frank Murphy. Later, he became Secretary of the Interior, dean of the Adamson College of Law and president of the Philippine Economic Association.

He won, together with President Manuel A. Roxas, as Vice-President under the newly formed Liberal Party. When President Roxas died on April 15, 1948, after delivering a speech at Clark Field in Pampanga, Quirino succeeded to the Presidency. He was elected as President of the Philippines in the 1949 Presidential election with Fernando Lopez as his Vice-President.

He was the Father of Philippine Industrialization. His two major goals as president were: restoration of the faith of the people in the government and total economic mobilization program. He died of heart attack peacefully on Feb. 28, 1956 in Novaliches.

Years after his death, it seems that people are recognizing his virtues and qualities as a man and leader as well as the significance of his contributions to his country’s progress and stature as an independent nation.
***
I would like to greet the readers of Northern Philippine Times especially Sky cable TV Laoag like: Jojo Cumlat, Joey Diculen, Jr., Arnold Reynon, Alpha Tolentino, and Maebel Dahilig.
I would also like to greet the employees of St. Joseph Durgstore like: Juliet, Sheng, Lilibeth, Juvy, Rexy, Macel, Lemerie, Blesie, Jenn, and Valerie. All of them are gifted with noble hearts. More Power!

STRAIGHT FROM THE BIG CITY

Ike ‘Ka Iking’ Seneres
Distance learning and indigenous peoples

MANILA -- It is interesting to know that Australia is using radio as a tool for distance learning, to reach out to remote locations that could not even be reached by the internet. Here in the Philippines, radio is hardly used for distance learning, and the use of the internet for this purpose is just barely starting.

The Department of Education is reportedly planning to put up a broadband network supposedly to be used for distance learning. While that may be a noble purpose, perhaps it should consider more affordable options such as radio. Datu Didilusan Arroyo, the Supreme Datu of the Talaandig Tribe in Mindanao has started a project that merits the support of international development organizations. Now in its startup stage, the Rizal Internet Based Distance Education System aims to reach out to the members of his tribe that are spread out all over Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental and Agusan Del Norte. Together with former Assemblyman Ric Abian and with international chef Abdulatif “Tato” Sangcupan, Datu Didilusan is also going to offer online courses in basic Halal cuisine, in cooperation with a Halal school that was pioneered by Ric and Tato. The latter just returned from a long stint in Saudi Arabia after working there as a chef for the Saudi royal houses.

Mark Mazzarella, an American resident of Angeles City has a project that the American Thomasites would be proud of. Mark has founded Mabuhay Learning, an online school that will enable all Filipinos to get a high school diploma if they don’t have it yet. He is now looking for non-profit organizations who could partner with him in putting up learning centers nationwide.

Unlike Datu Didilusan who is using Pyton freeware for his online school, Mark has developed his own online learning software that is close to being free, but has the advantages of more functional features, continuing upgrades and guaranteed technical support. Knowing Mark, I am sure that he would also want to include the indigenous peoples in his project.

Lawyer Fortunato Fermin “Jun” Viray, an accomplished trial lawyer based in Manila, has found another worthy cause aside from giving free legal assistance to indigent clients. He is now helping Aeta families in putting up their own livelihood by planting mango trees. While doing this, he found out that many among this indigenous tribe do not have social security. A long time friend, Jun has asked me to find ways to deliver this basic service to the Aetas.

Jun and his partner Zenaida “Ida” Galdiano are helping the Aetas in Zambales so that they benefit from their ancestral domains. They are among the founders of the Mining Association of the Philippines, a group that is helping independent miners including the Aetas who have gone into small scale mining. Going back to my friend Ric, he is actually an Ilocano who became a Mindanaoan by circumstance, and eventually converted to the Moslem faith. Perhaps out of his love for the people of Mindanao , he is now helping the indigenous tribes there in developing their ancestral domains, so that they could directly benefit from it, instead of being exploited by outsiders. The Talaandig tribe is only one of the many tribes that he is helping.

It must be my good fortune that gives me friends that actively helping our indigenous tribes. Another friend, Atty. Mel Sagado is also helping the Higaonon tribe in the Misamis provinces to directly benefit from their ancestral domains. Putting together the work of Ric, Jun, Ida and Mel, I could see a good future ahead for our indigenous peoples.

In my conversations with Datu Didilusan and Ric, we have come up with plans to develop model communities in the ancestral domains of the Talaandig Tribe, where all households would have access to all basic needs. Ida also wants to do this in Zambales, and Mel also in Misamis.

Working with a group of experts, we are now putting our minds together, in an attempt to make this work. The online learning school project is only just a start, because a community has many other needs. Can anyone help? Email iseneres@yahoo.com or text me at +639293605140. Watch my TV show “KA IKING LIVE” every Friday from 930 to 1030 PM in Destiny Cable Channel 3. Form your own Inter Charity Circle and build our Nation. Tune in to “KAPIT-BAYAN” in DWIZ 882 KHZ 5 to 6 PM Mon to Fri.

OVER A CUP OF TEA

Henry S. Tenedoro
The powerful brain

The human brain is an ever-fascinating masterpiece of creation. It is both a powerful instrument and a fragile organ: capable of penetrating insights, breath-taking visions and staggering versatility, but at the same time highly susceptible to injury, distraction and disorder.

Even now, after centuries of study, and despite scientific and technological advancements, the finest brain experts and researchers in the world admit that we still have a long way to go towards truly understanding its complex structures, processes and capabilities. The good news, however, is that brain research has established some facts which can help us understand as well as enhance learning.

For example, the brain is a simultaneous processor: at any one time, it controls several physiological functions and receives and processes several megabytes of information. Knowing this, we should not be surprised that some learners - specifically, those with a global learning style - prefer to be doing other things at the same time that they are processing (that is, .acquiring, elaborating, incubating and integrating) new information.

Brain research also reveals that maximum attention span ranges from 20 to 25 minutes. This means that new stimuli - whether physical, emotional or intellectual - are required in order to recapture attention. Energizers, wholesome humor, music or even a simple change in the speaker’s tone of voice are examples of such stimuli.

Emotions are now better understood as critical to the learning process at every stage, from priming all the way to integration. Different emotions trigger different chemical and neurological reactions within the body, and these, in turn, either enhance or inhibit learning.

Threats give rise to negative emotions, and there are different kinds of threats: physical, emotional (embarrassment, humiliation, shyness), intellectual (rejection or criticism of one’s ideas) and socio-cultural (discrimination, alienation, isolation).

Teachers should take special note of this: their body language, their tone of voice, and the way they dress can - alone or in combination - trigger positive or negative emotions in their students, thus helping or hindering their learning.

Teachers must also be on the lookout for other emotional triggers: the home situation, the social situation inside the classroom or in the school at large, or perhaps the very personality of the student. The point is that teachers would do well not to resort to “drastic” measures when a student is being inattentive or, on the whole, failing in a subject. A little non-threatening dialogue with the student can go a long way.

Retention is another major challenge for teachers: how to help students remember their lessons. Brain research shows that there are different retention rates for different activities. Thus: reading -10 percent; hearing - 20 percent; seeing - 30 percent; saying/doing - 70 percent. In other words, we retain or remember only 10 percent of what we read, 20 percent of what we hear, 30 percent of what we see, and 70 percent of what we say and/or do. This is why audiovisual presentations are more effective: because the new information is acquired through at least two modes - reading and hearing (30 percent total retention rate), or hearing and seeing (50 percent total retention rate).

Most classroom instruction is conducted in lecture mode, that is, verbal or spoken, thus requiring students to learn through hearing. This is the least effective teaching mode, because children are seldom auditory in their perceptual preference. In short, they rarely remember more than 25 percent of what they hear. Writing on the blackboard will, of course, help retention - so long as the handwriting is clear and legible. Graphics, such as drawings and pictures, especially if colored, will be a bigger help. We humans are visual animals: for many of us, to see is to remember.

Research studies ascertain that three-fifths or 60 percent of a person’s learning style is genetic: it is a matter of nature. The rest is a matter of nurture: developed through the learner’s response to various elements such as sound, light, temperature, design or seating arrangement, intake or nutrition, mobility, and time of day.

TRAILS UP NORTH

Glo Abaeo Tuazon
Timeless valley of echoes

SAGADA, Mountain Province -- The bus dropped me off one dusty day in the middle of this called Sagada. For some reasons, there weren't much people today. One sitting idly beside the giant bell at the entrance to Saint Mary's Church and one sleepy vendor nodding in the afternoon heat, her head almost touching the crate of oranges in front of her. A stray dog came by, sniffing at me awhile and decided I wasn't interesting enough and left. I lifter my pack and started up the stairs to the St. Joseph Lodging House.

Sagada doesn't know me but I come here often enough to escape from the pressures of work and constant body aches, caused by life's wear and tear. Sagada has always had some effect on me, I could stay in my hotel room all day and still feel the whole town in my system. I come here invited or uninvited and wouldn't care if it makes a difference or not. The thing is, I love the place.

I have taken to the trails, enjoyed the hike through mountain passes crossing the graveyard down to the timeless echo valley. Have hollered to nonexistent friends from the height and heard it come back to me, pretending someone was on the other side calling my name. Have gone down to strain my neck looking up to the hanging coffins and wondering how they were put there in the first place, or who started the tradition and everyone else followed.

Did they call it a fad back then? Or simply for a reason that the dieties have required? A culture much unlike anyone's? One that fascinated me and fascinates me to this day. The limestone walls that created the facade my guide told me was what reverberates the sounds back throughout the valley. Looking up on gorges at sundown the silhouettes creates images of gargoyles eyeing everyone who happen to come by.

Pass through underground rivers sandwiched between the ridges of deep gorges and mountains and see the marks of ages etched on the limestone walls. How the flow of the water created patterns of art on the river floor, the sediments a varied hue of browns and yellows and ochres. I loved these walks, especially when the leaves are the colors of autumn. To end up sweaty and content with a bowlful of yoghurt and a quarter of chicken done in a manner I can't explain to this day.

Sagada has its shares of caves too. Grand old caves with narrow to huge chambers. The big cave took us to an intricate maze of winding passages, some i had to crawl through. I was once "lost" here. We came to the part where the icy water trickled to a pool almost swallowing me, reaching to my chin. I never quite figures out what got me there but I spent a night sleepless after that.

There seemed to be a voice calling to me, luring me back there. That was almost two years ago, i came back to find my voice. The caving was uneventful though and the sun greeted us back out from where we started.

Sagada is one place I like to walk through leisurely. A sight everywhere I go. An interesting tale every now and then. A casual hello once in awhile from strangers and a cup or two of knowledge gathered every time I come around. -- email: twilight_glo@yahoo.com

BUSINESS BITS

Henry Ong
Always short of cash?

Have you ever wondered why you sometimes experience cash shortages even if your business is booming? No matter how much money your business generates, perhaps you always feel that you are always short of cash every time your suppliers are knocking on your door. The cause of the problem may be poor accounts payable management. When managing cash flows, therefore, you should remember that timing your accounts payable payments is as crucial as collecting your accounts receivables.

You can manage your accounts payable by stretching out the payment terms as long as possible without damaging your credit standing to suppliers. There are some business owners who pay their payables too early simply because they have so much cash in the bank, but they don’t know that they lose the opportunity to earn extra interest income on their cash. On the other hand, there are entrepreneurs who pay their suppliers too late and end up being slapped with penalties and charges. It is thus important that you manage your payables to the best interest of both parties.

As a guide, you can determine your days payable outstanding by first computing your payable turnover. For example, assume that your accounts payable at the start of the month was P150,000 and that during the month, you made total merchandise purchases of P250,000. After one month of operation, you found out that the balance of your accounts payable by month’s end was P100,000.

To compute for the payable turnover, divide your total purchases of P250,000 by the average accounts payable of P125,000; this will give you a ratio of 2.0x. This ratio simply tells you that you pay for your purchases two times a month. To get the number of days payable outstanding, divide 30 days by the ratio 2.0 to get the average of 15 days.

What this means is that on the average, it takes about 15 days for you to pay your suppliers. With this information on hand, you can now check how many days it takes you to sell your inventory and collect all your receivables. Ideally, the total number of days of inventory and receivables should not exceed your days payable outstanding; this way, you would receive all cash collections just in time when you are about to pay your suppliers. In this example, let us say you can convert all your inventories into cash in 12 days.

This would mean that on the 12th day, you would already have the available cash to pay your suppliers and enjoy three more days before your accounts payable becomes due. You can then take advantage of this by depositing the cash in an interest-bearing bank account.
If business is slowing down and you are finding it difficult to unload your inventory and to collect from your customers, you may consider stretching out your credit terms with suppliers. From the same example, if the number of days to convert your inventory to cash is rising to 18 days from 12 days, you may need to negotiate your credit terms with your suppliers, for instance by having them extended by at least three more days up to 18 days to protect your cash position.

Sometimes, so you will be encouraged to pay early rather than on the due date, suppliers may offer you a trade discount like, say, a 2 percent discount if you pay within 10 days for an account payable due in 30 days yet. In general, trade discounts are good because it allows you to take advantage of it to lower your purchase costs. But there are times when trade discounts are not favorable.

How would you know if it is good or not? You can do this by computing the effective interest cost assuming that you are going to borrow the money to pay your account in 30 days. You then should compare this to the prevailing borrowing rate from the bank. The formula for effective interest cost is EAI = (discount / 100 percent - discount) x (365 / payment period – discount period).

Suppose the prevailing borrowing rate is 16 percent per annum and you are offered a 2 percent discount if you pay in 10 days an account that is otherwise payable in 30 days. Using the above formula, we will find that the effective annualized interest cost is 37 percent as compared to only 16 percent, so it is wise to take advantage of the discount.

If you have negotiated your credit terms to 60 days, your effective interest cost would be 14.9 percent, lower than the prevailing bank rate of 16 percent. In this case, you can afford not to take the 2 percent discount because it is cheaper to stretch out your payment.

It is perfectly all right for you to control the terms of accounts payable so it is to your advantage. Perhaps, it will be helpful if you can put a monitoring system where you can sort all accounts payable that will soon be due; this way, you will know just how much cash you will need to prepare to pay your suppliers on time.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Alfred P. Dizon
No carnapping, holdups in Baguio?

BAGUIO CITY – Believe it or not, but according to Senior Supt. Wilfredo Franco, city police director, their records bared there were no taxi holdup incidents in the city over the past three weeks.

He said taxi holdup and robbery cases in this summer capital which plagued local police the first eight months of this year have significantly gone down the past several weeks due to increased police mobile and foot patrols in barangays. Police visibility coupled with community participation and cooperation, he added, helped in thwarting lawless elements.

But despite this, local folks and visitors should still take precautions when riding taxis as there have been instances (which haven’t been recorded) as relayed by credible sources of holdups reportedly committed by taxi drivers themselves and their cohorts. One modus operandi of these criminal drivers is reportedly to have an accomplice hide in the cargo compartment and when the taxi is in a secluded place, they stage the holdup.

Often, is better to take the jeep as there are other people inside the vehicle and criminals would think twice before doing their dastardly acts. Taxi drivers have also been the subject of complaints for being arrogant in not following traffic rules and for being mean to riders.

It is high time law enforcers become stricter with these public utility vehicle drivers who violate traffic rules. At night starting around 9 along Session Road for example, the stretch from the Assumption entrance to the foot of the main thoroughfare becomes a veritable nightmare for those who would like to park as taxi drivers form a long line with their vehicles and block the road.
***
There still are carnapping incidents in Baguio and it is always best to be on guard and install safety devises on your vehicle if you don’t want it chopped up in a Pampanga warehouse. Latest incident was morning of Oct. 27 when police received a complaint that a maroon Tamaraw FX Wagon with plate number TSR 311 parked near the victim’s residence at Purok 5, Hillside was missing about 5:30 a.m.

Investigation disclosed the owner parked the vehicle at the place around 6 p.m. on Oct 26. The next morning, the victim woke up to find it missing so he reported the matter to Station 4. A flash alarm for all units was aired to look for the vehicle.

At about 9:30 a.m. of Oct. 28, city police headed by Insp. Joseph Ramos were preparing a follow-up operation on the incident when they received a telephone call from an informant that a maroon Toyota Tamaraw FX with no plate numbers was spotted at km 24, Atok, Benguet night of Oct. 27 at the vicinity of the house of one Peter Chilem y Makkanoy, 43, married, a contractor who hails from Maligcong, Bontoc, Mountain Province. The following morning at about 8 a.m.

Chilem was reportedly seen driving the vehicle and bringing it inside their enclosed compound.
Immediately, Marcos with his team composed of SPO4 Bromeo Lumiib, SPO1 Robert Sagmayao and PO3s Reynaldo Badua and Pedro Mendoza Jr., met the informant and went to the location. At Chilem’s residence, police identified themselves and told him their intention regarding the vehicle. He was read his Constitutional rights in Ilocano, police said.

Chilem said the vehicle was brought to him by five males whom he knew only by their first names as Junjun, Jordan, Allan, Amboy and Ben, all from Bauko, Mountain Province. Junjun reportedly told him the vehicle was owned by his uncle. Chilem surrendered the vehicle to the operatives.

Marcos instructed Insp. Tan of Police Station 4 to contact the complainant and go to the said location to identify the vehicle which he confirmed later with documents. The complainant claimed some items of undetermined value were missing. Chilem said Junjun told him they would get the vehicle night of Oct. 28. He asked the operatives to stay as he would send a text message to Junjun to come and get the vehicle so they could be arrested. However, after several hours of waiting, Chilem received a text message from Junjun saying they will not come anymore.

Chilem volunteered to go with the operatives at the SOTG office and later subjected to medical checkup at the Baguio General Hospital. He was turned over to Station 4 with the complainant and the stolen vehicle. Chilem was ordered detained by city prosecutor Alfredo Centeno.

The city police is now trying to identify and arrest other members of this carnap gang. Next time you buy a secondhand vehicle, better check its ownership. You could be headed to jail if it is found out you bought a stolen car.