The Mangyan Educational System (Crossing Mountains and Fingers)

It started with a noble legislation from an equally noble public figure slowly getting prominence not only among those who belong to indigenous cultural communities of Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro but even in the town’s lowland areas. The Indigenous People’s Open High School Education System started when Hon. Ruben P. Dangupon, a true-blooded Mangyan Alangan and IP/ICC representative to the local legislative board or the Sangguniang Bayan (SB), tackled the need for a “Mangyan-friendly” high school education for the people in Sitio Kulasisi of Brgy. Batong Buhay and Malatungtong in Brgy. Burgos. These schools are going to open the moment the AY 2012-2013 starts this June and all the preparation are now on the way. It is going to be the first ever Mangyan high school in the whole country initiated by the first ever Mangyan legislator in the Philippines.

In his privilege speech sometime last April, Dagupon emphasized the need for such educational project and program not only for the Alangans but for Tao-buids as well. He even consulted people from Department of Education (DepEd) in the locality through the facilitation of key people from the office of Hon. Mayor Eduardo B. Gadiano specifically his Senior Executive Secretary Bong B. Marquez and with all modesty, this representation as the LGU’s indigenous peoples’ affairs in-charge. Our local chief executive supports the project 101% .

By the way, barely just four months in office, Dangupon have already sponsored more or less six resolutions forwarded to concerned national agencies and government officials. Those legislations consist of the immediate awarding of the Certificate of Ancestral Domain Titles (CADTs) of the two IP sub-tribes of Sablayan, the appeal to stop the application of JCET Mining, the proposed socialized housing in specific IP areas, among others. In fact, our IP/ICC representative has already surpassed some of his colleagues in terms of quantity and quality of legislations sponsored in their august body. They are ahead of him in experience and in tenure (And to protect their identity (?), I would not mention their names here!).

Another distinguished and noble gentleman whom worthy to recognize for this endeavor is Mr. Arnaldo G. Ventura, Principal IV of the Sablayan National Comprehensive High School or SABNAHIS including his teachers who are willing to teach, live, immerse and learn from the Mangyans. Mr. Ventura lobbied exhaustively in the past two weeks to the DepEd division office in Mamburao. The two learning centers are extension campuses of the SABNAHIS. The multi-awarded educator, like Mayor Ed Gadiano, is 101% supportive of the project.

Last May 17 and 18, we employees from different offices of LGU-Sablayan headed by Fernando B. Dalangin and Alfredo R. Ventura, our environment and natural resources and administrative officers respectively, along with other partner agencies like DepEd conducted a community consultation cum ocular inspection and data gathering, went up to said far-flung highland communities. Mr. Ventura discussed thoroughly to the community dwellers the DepEds Open High School policy and other details. He said that this academic program is tailor-made for the Mangyans. No amount is to be collected to the enrollees or students, their curriculum will be different from those taking regular studies in other schools, the books and other education materials including uniforms will be provided free of charge by the department and support groups. Ventura further stressed that the curriculum is more heavy on customary learning and culturally based economic and entrepreneurship and would not concentrate that much on subjects that has little to do with their way of life and goals. All of the residents, regardless of age and sex, who have finished their elementary studies are also allowed. Of course, they will also be dwelling on reading, writing and arithmetic. This education system is also open to counterparts from the municipal government and the IP leaders themselves. All systems go for this project.

Crossing by foot the stiff hills, makeshift bridges and creeks going to Malatungtong, we have heard the tribal leaders and elders belonging to Fakasadian Manga-nguyang Tao-buid Daga Incorporated of FAMATODI, stating that the IP High School is a welcome development in terms of basic education for the Mangyans. FAMATODI chair Peping Poyngon and sitio leader Temio Tikwanade promised to sustain the project through things agreed upon by the tribes.

Since the 1920’s in the whole Mindoro, the Mangyan education system remained inadequate due to various socio-political reasons. Major policies have not been truly adapted to the Mangyan culture and aspirations and racism played important role for this crisis. Our IP sisters and brothers suffer exploitation from influenced political leaders and business elites, then and in the recent past. The system became completely futile, if I may reiterate, because it was not according to the way the Mangyans want it to be and not adapted to their needs. Educational systems must be dynamic and ultimately serve even the most vulnerable and marginalized sectors of society like the Alangan and Tao-buids of Sablayan.

Let us keep our fingers crossed like how we crossed the hanging bridge in Burgos under the extreme heat of the sun that day…

My First Lessons in Ermita

Filipino music icon Freddie Aguilar mentioned the name of this street in his famous song “Magdalena”. Here’s the line of the song: “Kaya ika'y namasukan, doon sa Mabini napadpad/Mula noon, binansagang kalapating mababa ang lipad.” Indeed, Mabini Street in this particular district of Metro Manila called Ermita was once notorious being the red light capital of the country. Today, everything’s been different they say. Commercial buildings are all over sans the old pub houses and flesh trade workers roaming around old Mabini at night, once destination of their usual customers - dirty old men, philandering husbands including sexually adventurous male teenagers. But still, elegant and expensive bars and watering holes can still be found there. Ermita’s image been changed in recent decade, said one of our hosts.

No, no, no. We were not there for such mundane enjoyment or tour. I was with the company of respected ladies and gentlemen in my second hometown. My “we” here pertains to the eight Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) members of LGU-Sablayan. They are all department heads of the municipality. This lowly blogger joined them apparently because they want me in the BAC Secretariat the moment I have already an official appointment from the mayor.

We are sent to Ermita by our local chief executive for a four-day seminar on the Government Procurement Act, otherwise known as Republic Act 9184. He made sure that concerned department heads participate in the regional training-workshop to be armed with knowledge and information that would guide us in our job. I believe that every local chief executive must have a firm information and hand on the Act and I am sure Mayor Ed Gadiano is aware of it. For four days, from May 8, to 11, we are bombarded with letters and intents and details of said legal instruments including its Internal Rules and Regulation or IRR and other matters regarding the execution of duties and functions of the BAC. I nearly collapsed to the ground like the Ruby Tower of old for everything and everyone inside the hall are all Greek to me. Speaking of tower, the activity was held at Citystate Tower Hotel proudly calling itself “A New Landmark in Sunshine Manila”. It was sponsored by the Local Budget Officers Association LBOA-MIMAROPA and Department of Budget and Management (DBM) IV-B. The participants are composed of selected government employees from the provinces of Romblon and the two Mindoros. Majority of them have background either in engineering, law, accountancy and commerce. So, I asked myself what I am doing here. As a consolation, I just convinced myself that the advocacy for good governance and public accountability knows no academic boundaries so I have nothing to be afraid of. Anyway, a pundit was once a neophyte. Besides, DepEd once has this slogan: “Be proud to be a teacher. The Future Depends on You”. I am a teacher by profession, but worked as social communicator and community development in various NGOs in the last 30 years, in case you are interested to know.

Being new to civil service, I have personally learned that in all government procurements shall be in all cases must be governed by the following five major principles: 1.) Transparency in the procurement process and in the implementation of procurement contracts. 2.) Competitiveness by extending equal opportunity to enable private contracting parties who are eligible and qualified to participate in public bidding. 3.) Streamlined procurement process that will uniformly apply to all government procurement. The procurement process shall be simple and made adaptable to advances in modern technology in order to ensure an effective and efficient method. 4.) System of accountability where both the public officials directly or indirectly involved in the procurement process as well as in the implementation of procurement contracts and the private parties that deal with government are, when warranted by circumstances, investigated and held liable for their actions relative thereto. 5.) Public monitoring of the procurement process and the implementation of awarded contracts with the end in view of guaranteeing that these contracts are awarded pursuant to the provisions of the Procurement Law and its implementing rules and regulations, and that all these contracts are performed strictly according to specifications. We have terrific and well-versed resource speakers headed by Dir. Renato M. de Vera of DBM Region IV-B.

To reiterate, RA 9184 was designed to cover everything government needs to buy, construct or provide. It set down that procurement along with the rules and regulations around it covered acquisition of goods, consulting services, infrastructure projects. But to tell you, like any other law, this Act is good but the evil is in its true-to-life realization. In the real situation nation-wide, conspiracy, gross negligence of duty, splitting of contracts and other anomalies are experienced. Indeed, representation from the private sector is needed in every BAC and we must all be cultural sensitive to corruption.

That’s what I have learned from present-day Ermita aside from knowing that there is such thing as Pre-bed, err, bid Conference in every bidding transaction. To inject a little Pinoy movie trivia, if I were not mistaken, way back in the 1990s there is also a Filipino film entitled “Mga Birhen ng Ermita” starring then bold starlet Marixi Luna and Philippines’ first Miss Universe Ms. Gloria Diaz ( But Dante Varona’s “Ermitanyo” has nothing to do with Ermita!).

And since Ms. Luna’s flick was sexually oriented, I didn’t watch it but all I can say is it’s surely about that famous night time trade in Ermita then. A predicament I did not dare to experience for I do not belong to any of the category of men I have mentioned in the first paragraph of this blog entry.

A fact that some of my male companions are not aware of…

Green Pope, Green Code

I just finished reading my newly acquired book called “Ten Commandments for the Environment: Pope Benedict XVI Speaks Out for Environment” written by Woodeene Koenig-Bricker. Koenig-Bricker is the former editor of Catholic Parent magazine and she is the author of three other spiritual books. Published and distributed by Paulines Publishing House in 2011, the book is a good read for all those who desire for a sustainable future. It is about the Holy See’s views and teachings on creation and environmental responsibility including Holy Father’s theological reflections and quotations.

In the book’s foreword Bill McKibben rightfully observed, “The Catholic Church has often been slow to engage on issues – but once engaged, it can be a powerful source. …. [Pope’s] message is neither liberal nor conservative, it is just plain hopeful.” BXVI is rightfully called the ‘greenest” pope but among his Ten Commandments for Environment, due to my present work, I can relate well to his sixth commandment. It reads, “The politics of development must be coordinated with the politics of ecology, and every environmental cost in developmental projects must be weighted carefully.” This statement helped me connect its wisdom to the presently implemented Environmental Code of LGU-Sablayan initiated by Mayor Eduardo B. Gadiano when he was still the vice mayor along with the rest of the local legislative council and the former LCE. If Catholics have a “Green Pope” in BXVI, in municipality of Sablayan, we have a “Green Code” aimed at keeping the town ecologically intact and viable.

But do not get me wrong. I am not comparing anybody to the Roman Pontiff for that would be a stupid thing do. All I wish to say is that, like any other LGUs, we have a working environmental charter that is in some ways go hand in hand with the teachings of the Church pertaining to environmental protection.

Municipal Ordinance No. 2008-003 is an ordinance enacting the Environmental Code of Sablayan. The local charter consists of important details on usage and protection of natural resources, specifically, forest, mineral, and water including solid waste management, ecotourism and land-use planning. This was signed December 8, 2008. The Environmental Code has this as one of the principles: “People are mere stewards of God’s gift of nature’s bounty tasked with its judicious utilization for the future generation; All development activities shall give due importance and respect to the cultures and practices of the indigenous communities and people’s belief system, incorporate gender equity and population concerns consistent with ecological principles…”

The Compendium of Social Teachings of the Church initiated by the present pope makes this responsibility clear: “An economy respectful of the environment will not have the maximization of profits as its only objective, because environmental protection cannot be assured solely on the basis of financial calculations of costs and benefits.” Rightfully so, any economic development must be consonant with environmental protection and not only aimed at boosting government revenue. Economic development must be secondary and guided by strict ecological standards. Those are the same principles behind the “Green Code” of Sablayan. This is what every local chief executive and legislator should be aware of specially those who are in ecologically fragile island provinces such as ours. We ordinary citizens are not spared.

Because if we fail to do so, if we do not collectively struggle against foreign intruders out to destroy our natural resources, we become Occidental Mindoro’s most deadly air pollutants or toxic wastes.…

Basketball Legends in Sablayan on Earth Day

It’s sports extravaganza all the way here in Sablayan. After boxing, here comes basketball.

After the triumphant success of Drian Francisco via first round knockout over Thailand's Pichitchai Twins Gym to capture the interim IBF Pacific super bantamweight title last April 14 brought to us by Bong Marquez Boxing Promotion, Saved by the Bell Promotion and LGU-Sablayan, local basketball fanatics are expecting to see five of their favorite Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) legends. The organizers behind PBA legends versus local-import selection are looking forward for a forceful impact, ticket sales-wise, of said exhibition game like the straight right unloaded by Francisco right to the chin of Pichitchai that sent the latter to the canvass at 33 seconds of the first round.

Said game is sponsored by CDSS Batch 78 and LGU-Sablayan and according to Elvis Leyto, one of its organizers, 5 former basketball pros composed of Marlou Aquino, Nelson Asaytono, Val David, Edward Jospeh Feihl and Noli Locsin will be coming over for the loop show. The event will be held at Sablayan Astrodome on April 22, Sunday, global celebration of World Earth Day. Coincidentally, the 2012 Mayor Eduardo B. Gadiano Summer Basketball League is on-going and very well supported by basketball fans all over the town.

The advocacy for the defense of the Earth and protection of environment can also spearheaded by individual athletes and sportsmen including the whole team. Only last month, the world-famous Harlem Globetrotters inked with Earth Day Network, a non-profit organization whose mission is to broaden, diversify and mobilize the environmental movement, on an Earth Day initiative that will help spread the green message to fans worldwide. The team already used a special green Earth Day Ball for their youth clinics in Beijing, China, recently.

“The green efforts of Earth Day Network are vital to the future of the environment, and the Globetrotters are thrilled to partner with them on their effort to spread the word,” said Angela Leaney, executive vice president of brand marketing for the Globetrotters. “We are proud to celebrate Earth Day with our fans and help in any way we can.” For the news, please click here.

As I have said time and again, sports and advocacy for Mother Earth may come in a one whole package. Sadly, sports enthusiasts in Occidental Mindoro are not so (or not yet) inclined on this line of thought…

How to Recognize the Risen Lord in Occidental Mindoro Context

Like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, we, citizens of this province, are in deep frustration. We are frustrated with the socio-political and economic situation in our midst. We are frustrated how the two leading political titans divided instead of uniting us, and how they are pulling each other down. We are frustrated with the series of unsolved crimes happening in supposedly quiet and peaceful places like beaches and fields. We are frustrated with the sub-human conditions and anxiety of our Mangyan sisters and brothers because of the imminent threat of mining and oil exploration projects and exploitation of pseudo welfare organizations. We are frustrated with the misery of our fisher folks due to an alarming decline in their catch because of illegal ways of fishing often let go by some barangay and LGU officials. We are frustrated with landlessness of majority of our farm workers while suffering from the claws of usury and loan sharks amidst plunder of the public coffer by some of our public officials. Some are frustrated with the saddest consequence of political dynasty and patronage politics while many seem not to care about it. Upland communities are frustrated with the denigration of our forests due to legal and illegal logging that surely could attribute to climate change. Many of us are frustrated how cockfighting proceed is used to fund parish pastoral center. Majority of us are frustrated with how authority and power being wield for political and business gains of some local elites.

The list seems endless. So is our frustration.

We are people of frustration like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24: 13-25). So frustrated to long for someone to talk to and to lean on, someone who would listen. Someone must butt-in for these frustrations. Someone (or perhaps a human institution) that would break and share the “bread” as medium of the Lord’s prophetic and liberating message and fearlessly proclaim her social agenda. That someone or something could be our Particular Church, the Apostolic Vicariate of San Jose.

But what hindered her to regain her ground, like what Jesus did four times on His way to Calvary, after that sacrilegious fire and continue the mission of social communication apostolate to be the believers’ mouthpiece against the aforementioned immoral situation? Finding funds and focus, as a talented steward would know, are more sensible than finding faults and foes.

Unlike Jesus, they ignored the magnitude of those faithful walking down the road victimized by such unholy deeds of influential people and systems. Every task is worth accomplishing like how every pastoral cross is worth lifting. In sum, the question is this: What happened, pastorally speaking, to Church’s social teachings in the diocesan level at this particular juncture? Until when shall we resurrect from our ashes like the mythical Phoenix? When will we move on and remain an active Church aiming for social transformation? The gravity of these problems cannot afford us to enjoy our regular siesta.

Unlike before that we led the PAKRIS or Pamayanang Kristiyano, together with the pro-environment LGUs, cause-oriented organizations and Mangyan ethnic groups in staging series of successful mass actions against the Mindoro Nickel Project (MNP) and the Service Contract 53. Not to exclude our faith-based advocacy campaigns against gambling and the power crisis in the province and the other collective pastoral endeavors in the past. Including charity programs like educational assistance to poor but deserving sons and daughters of our indigent catechists and lay ministers. Those relief and rehabilitation preparedness aimed at communities affected by man- made and natural calamities, militarization or typhoons. Those are services at the diocesan front in the past that we rendered and worth mentioning here with all modesty and humility.

Our present Church leaders just passed us by while we are on our road to Emmaus in those particular socio-political instances. Jesus taught us that every person is worth stopping for but those people seem unmoved by our present predicament. As a result, unlike the two disciples on road to Emmaus, the people who live in far-flung, poor communities, the indigenous peoples in the mountains, the relatives and victims of unsolved recent crimes and all those I have mention above, failed to see and recognize Jesus in them!

Priests and lay people alike do not “break bread” only by regularly appearing on television celebrating healing masses. Neither by giving bowls of porridge to children who would come to hear mass or by taking care of the temporal goods of the Church and by wining and dining with the wealthy project donors, but also by breaking and sharing of the burdens and crosses of the victims of structural and systematic social sins and ills. It concretized too by joining the Pamayanang Kristiyano (PAKRIS) in their misery, hopes and struggles as citizens and believers no matter how risky it may be. It is likewise through keeping her social action mandates she can respond to the long agony of our people in this “forgotten half of the island.” This mission animates alongside with equally important sacramental, devotional and liturgical duties or healing ministry. This is imperative and not mere optional role of the Church no matter how controversial it may appear.

Pope Benedict XVI in his recent trip to Brazil said, “The Church is the advocate of justice and of the poor, precisely because she does not identify with politicians neither with partisan interests.” He added, “Only by remaining independent can she teach the great criteria and inalienable values, guide consciences and offer a life choice that goes beyond political sphere.” Then and now, this concern is not fully addressed among the ranks of the clergy and the lay people in our local Church.

In his letter to the Philippine Bishops in June 28, 1986 called “Ministry of Teaching and Guidance at the Service of Truth and Justice”, Blessed John Paul II rightly said, “This service to man will demand an intense evangelical effort, which is the proclamation of God’s salvation, in every context where people live and work. It will thus be faithful to an integral proclamation of the Gospel that must spread its light upon earthly realities, in such a way that may be helped free himself from everything that oppresses him and alienates him, so that he may be enabled to travel the path to his full self-realization, both earthly and transcendental.” We have no other option but keep our social action arm, charity programs and radio ministry incarnated now.

But it cannot be achieved without dialogue among us faithful. We have to be open to communication and communion. In his book “The Making of a Local Church”, Bishop Francisco F. Claver, SJ wrote, “In a church that is to be communion, mutual listening is a sine qua non for everyone: laity listening to the hierarchy, hierarchy listening to the laity, and all listening to the Spirit. Again, the need to a discerning Church- and a church that is in dialogue at all times, both externally (with the world at large) and with itself (with its members both clerical and lay). But dialogue is communication. So for it to be truly dialogic Church, it must be par excellence a church of communication.” We need not a fixed or closed mind. In such a situation there will be no dialogue but only an attempt to assert or impose the position of one on the other. Without brotherly dialogue, we cease to be a church.

To put them more accurately, men of faith cannot afford to lip service our social teachings on charity, advocacy and Traditions of the Church. We need to cast out our nets into these social “deeps”. Indeed, the Church must be sensitive to the “signs of times” (i.e., the socio-political and economic context of our province) as she manifests herself in the inspiration and frustration of the people of God.

It is only through this breaking and sharing away our self beyond our comfort zones and convictions that the poor and downtrodden recognize Jesus’ image in us.

Like how the Risen One recognized by his disciples on a village along the road to Emmaus…

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Photo : SJCS File, Salafay

Of Footsteps and Conserved Areas

Two leading Taobuid leaders, namely, Juanito Lumawig and Fausto Novelozo with his aide Poor Galubidan attended the First National Conference on Indigenous Community Conserved Areas (ICCA) in the Philippines held last March 29-30, 2012. Since Mt. Iglit-Baco was declared by the government as protected area within municipalities of Sablayan and Calintaan, yours truly and Mr. Samson Tejada of Calintaan were there including its area supervisor PASU Rodel Boyles of DENR-PAWB. Almost all of the IP luminaries nationwide attended headed by Datu Vic Saway and Datu Ed Banda of Mindanao, among others. Initiating said National Conference are different organizations here and abroad. On top on the list was PAWB-DENR’s New Conservation Areas in the Philippines Project (NewCAPP); the Philippine Association for Intercultural Development, Inc (FAFID); the Koalisyon ng mga Katutubong Samahan ng Pilipinas (KASAPI); the National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG) and ICCA Consortium, an international association for the promotion of recognition and support of the ICCAs.

People from the national government came and among them were DENR Usec. Analiza Rebuella Teh, Sen. Koko Pimentel, NCIP chair Zenaida Brigida H. Pawid and Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chair Etta Rosales. Around 220 participants packed the Assembly Hall of the (NCPAG) at UP- Diliman, Quezon City. Two of the main objectives of the gathering are to generate common understanding among IP organizations, NGOs, LGUs and the national government including all the development partners on the concept of ICCAs, their value to the communities and their conservation to biodiversity conservation. Also to strengthen awareness on the contribution of IPs in the management of the ICCAs; the threats facing their sustainability; and enjoined concerned stakeholders into positive action to address these threats and finding consensus on the National ICCA framework and strategies. As a major output of the ICCA Conference, the so-called “Manila Declaration came into the limelight.

From the National Conference on ICCA opened a new challenge for us LGUs of Calintaan and Sablayan, in our conservation initiatives in Mt. Iglit-Baco National Park. Said conservation area is an ASEAN heritage park. This multi-strata of evergreen forest of dry season deciduous shrubs and trees and habitat of the biggest remaining population of the endangered Tamaraws. LGU-Sablayan, especially now under the administration of Mayor Eduardo B. Gadiano, believes that the Taobuids and the Alangan Mangyans in his municipality should be the traditional caretakers and primary end beneficiaries of the forests and its natural resources and the activities toward these economic activity must be anchored on biodiversity conservation. In creating the Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Office or IPAO and his championing for the mandatory IP representation in local legislative boards, our local chief executive is all out in empowering the IPs in deciding, implementing and enforcing management decision on projects especially within their ancestral domain. His administration closely coordinates with IP bodies such as the National Commission for the Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) as well as numerous NGOs working with the Mangyans. As a true believer of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act or IPRA, Mayor Ed hold true to its provision which states that the ICCs have the right to manage their ancestral domains through traditional resource management practices. These principles should immediately turn into local plans, implementations and action. Efforts like those needed continuity. There are still a lot of unfinished businesses for my principal, indeed. He is also supportive of the immediate issuance of Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) to strengthen the IPs right in managing the ICCA.In Occidental Mindoro, the ICCA is threatened by the Mindoro Nickel Project or MNP.

Aside from getting ICCA 101, the Conference became an opportunity to meet my new friends and seatmates from DENR-Region III specifically Ma’am Minerva J. Martinez and her staff, Precious Lopez (AKA Apples)and Ms. Grace C. Diamante, Executive Director of Mindoro Biodiversity Conservation Foundation, Inc. or MBCFI.

In parting, allow me to say that the First National Conference on ICCA in the Philippines is this: “Nature Conservation in the Footsteps of Our Ancestors”. Very poetic, isn’t it? Sad thing is, mostly in community projects such as this: the only visible and acknowledged footprints are not those of indigenous peoples and their ancestors but of those in the academe, technocrats, some politicians and bureaucrats.

They are carrying the IPs towards their modern but aggressive Golgothas…

My Untruthful Resume

It’s job hunting time so it’s resume writing once more for the newly graduates and this helped me remember the knowledge I do not have and the experiences I haven’t experience yet. Listing those things does not make me feel inadequate but full of contentment. This further helped me realize that God isn’t finish with me yet. That I am God's on-going construction project in laboratory called Earth and a test tube called Mindoro. Glad to share you this untruthful resume.
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Summary: A Mathematics wizard and was able to travel in major cities of the world.

Professional Experience:

Served as legal consultant of United Nation’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights;

Produced and directed the first ever Filipino film “Kung Bakit Todo Asar Ako Kay Kris Aquino” which won Best Foreign Film in 2025 Oscar Awards;

Pioneer and founder of the Taobuid and Alangan Mangyans Academy of Rural Arts and Welfare (TAMARAW), an educational institution focusing on Mindoro Studies and its island resources;

Chess player with IM rating by the World Chess Federation;

Author of the best-selling (blog turned) book “Minding Mindoro”.


Education:

Took up Law at Harvard Law School at Cambridge, MA, USA

Graduate of Philosophy at Stanford University Department of Humanities and Sciences, California USA;

Finished Doctorate on Theology at Loyola School of Theology, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City;

Honors and Awards:

Recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 2025;

Awarded the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature in 2020 for the Short Story for Children via his “Ang mga Salamangka nina Jose at Josephine”

References:

Bob Ong
Chief Justice Renato C. Corona

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That’s how I want my resume would look like. But as I have said, I have no regrets for I am already and contented with what I am today but continuous to achieve those doable (and not impossible) parts of my untruthful resume.

By the way, I didn’t lie about that Kris Aquino thing…

Chipping Off in Leadership

I was asked by our Municipal Administrator, Mr. Alfredo R. Ventura last Thursday to give an inspirational message in behalf of our town’s local chief executive in the opening program of the Department of Education (DepEd) Division Leadership Training for Supreme Student Government/Supreme Pupils' Government (SSG/SPG). Mayor Ed Gadiano was in Manila that day and on an official business travel. Participants composed of more than 200 student leaders and their respective advisers from different campuses in mainland Occidental Mindoro. Being a good soldier and a good follower, I did not hesitate to follow my immediate superior. But what would my talk be consists of? Matters concerning DepEd are above my paycheck as the designate Indigenous Peoples Affairs Officer (IPAO). IPAO’s immediate counterpart, by the way, among national government agencies is the National Commission of the Indigenous Peoples or NCIP. Suddenly I have decided to share with these young leaders the important lessons I have learned from Mangyan leaders and their leadership style. And it became a wonderful, balanced opportunity to learn and… unlearn. I also emphasized that under Gadiano's administration, the IPs are greatly considered.

I told them a story about a Taobuid chieftain who once told me that effective leadership is a simple as carving wood. We are seated near a big block of wood and he told me what true leadership is made of : “Parang pag-gawa lang yan ng lusong.” Indeed because to make a "lusong", all you have to do is to chip off the pieces that doesn’t look like a “lusong”. A “lusong” by the way is a mortar conventionally made of carved wood and is used for pounding rice so as to remove the hull from the grains. In leadership of course there are a lot of things that we have to learn but we also have things to be chipped off, to forget, to unlearn. That’s the main thought I have shared with the group headed by Ma’am Raquel P. Girao, Education Program Supervisor of Division of Occidental Mindoro and Mr. Arnie Ventura, Principal IV of Sablayan Comprehensive High School, when we were at the Sablayan Astrodome last March 22.

The Taobuid and his mortar and leaning to unlearn reminds me of Lao Tsu’s, “To attain knowledge, add things everyday. To attain wisdom, subtract things everyday.” In Occidental Mindoro and elsewhere in the world the biggest challenge today is unlearning, which is not easy or even much harder. In Reader’s Digest October 1997 issue, in its regular feature called “Points to Ponder”, John Seely Brown has this to say : “Before any of us can learn new things, we have to make our current assumptions explicit and find ways to challenge them … In fact, the harder you to fight to hold on to specific assumption, the more likely there’s gold in letting go..”

That’s Mangyan Wood Carving 101 I have shared to our future leaders that day…

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(Photo : Courtesy of I Love Mindoro Blog)

Their Meanest Vice

I am against the use of revenue both from illegal and legal gambling even if it intends to finance a noble cause like construction of a pastoral center or any other church project for that matter. In a blog entry entitled “Clean Little Hands” some years ago I have emphasized: “In the Catholic Church, there is no general rule or universal agreement regarding the acceptance of money from gambling in general by priests, bishops or nuns for any pastoral project or program. Nowhere in Catholic Church teachings or laws can we find them. That is where the big problem lies. This is one of the biggest gray areas in Church so far.” But instead of benefitting from gambling, the parish priests and the lay leaders should continue to advocate against the evils of gambling and exposing how government officials tolerate such activities. Tolerating gambling is manifested by not regulating it. Concretely if a certain game of chance like “roleta” is played in your sidewalks almost every night the whole year round. The bishop or the priest concerned should lead their flock in such examination of conscience with respect to gambling practices and the harm being caused to our brethren, our fellow citizens, our faith and our society.

You may call me a religious nuts or an over acting Catholic but I believe that a Catholic institution must never be attached to, in one way or another, any gambling activity or to be precise, to get funds coming from gambling that exploits the weak and the vulnerable. My faith, which also happens to be the main source of my politics, taught me that we must not do what is wrong in order that good may come of it. Certainly, the ends do not justify the means. My Catholic faith taught me that.

How about cockfighting? Can a priest get cockfight proceeds for certain projects? Here in the Philippines, cockfight is both entertainment and vice, sports and gambling. It is usually done during local fiestas. By the way, as we all know, cockfighting is legal in the country under Presidential Decree No. 449.

As early as the time of Padre Damaso and Don Ciriaco Torquato fighting cocks made their debut in Spanish Philippines. According to some accounts, cockpits eventually became a source of revenue for the Spanish colonial government. Cockpits charged a gate fee, but roosters frequently served as a gate pass. A document on the financial state of the Philippines for the year 1819-1822 reported a net revenue of P175,000 to P280,000 per annum. It was said that this additional income by the government went to building highways, bridges, and schools. I just do not know if Padre Jose (Rodriguez) also received money from cockfighting that time for a Church project say a bell tower or a parish hall. One thing I am certain: Cockfighting for me is above all gambling, thus a vice.

Gambling in general is a morally problematic activity and the parish priest and the bishop must stand on their moral ground. They should remember that when an edifice is recognized and distinguished as venue of expressing, practicing our Catholic faith, we cannot separate it from our true mission. When a bishop or a parish priest constructs something, they recognize that said infrastructure project participates in the life and mission of the Church. As such, it is not only subject to the authority of the local bishop but to their fidelity to the Church's doctrines especially on faith and moral grounds. It is but proper to reflect on this question: “Is giving and accepting money from gambling true expressions of Christian charity?” Men of cloth should also look where the money came from and not only where it would go. In spiritual feeding or even in giving religious nourishment, it is necessary to keep everything clean and not only the food we prepare but our hands and the utensils we use as well.

By not accepting money or fund from gambling and declaring an all-out-war against it, we live our faith and at the same time we are not tolerating this vice. Sadly, many people are hooked into gambling but I am making clear that what I hate is gambling and not the gambler. Indeed Archbishop Emeritus Oscar V. Cruz is right, “Gambling is a vice and a vice cannot be a virtue.”

May their asking and accepting money from gambling will not become some of our priests’ meanest vice...

Chrism Mass of Unity, Hopefully, for Apostolic Vicariate of San Jose

I do not know if all of them would be attending their Lenten retreat and celebrate the Chrism Mass at the San Jose Cathedral this coming Thursday. Here, Bishop Antonio P. Palang, SVD,DD is going to bless three oils — the oil of catechumens (oleum catechumenorum or oleum sanctorum), the oil of the infirm (oleum infirmorum) and holy chrism (sacrum chrisma) — which will be used in the administration of the sacraments throughout the vicariate for the year. The most important thing is this: Chrism Mass manifests the unity of the priests with their bishop. Yes, the Catholic priests who have been entrusted with the awesome privilege and duty to celebrate the sacred mysteries, the sacraments of the Church, for the sanctification of souls and the salvation of the world. Come Thursday, the priests of the vicariate, both diocesan and religious, will be asked: “Are you resolved to be faithful ministers of the mysteries of God, to celebrate the Eucharist and the other liturgical services with sincere devotion?”

The bishop will go on to say: “Are you resolved to imitate Jesus Christ, the head and shepherd of the Church, by teaching the Christian faith without thinking of your own profit, solely for the well-being of the people you were sent to serve?” And each of them will respond, “I am.” I remember the Chrism Mass in 2007 when a priest, right after renewing his priestly vow, filed a Certificate of Candidacy for the local elections and that was the first instance or issue that divided the priests under the administration of our current bishop.

Needless to say a priest should be a man of character, or any human being for that matter. Character to me is more important than the past, than what other people think, say or do. Now, why am I talking about the importance of character at this Chrism Mass? It’s simply because I think that this celebration gives us an opportunity to renew Christian our character on how we respond to the challenges and intricacies of life. Lenten season must bring readiness for major overhaul for each one of us, the laity and the clergy. Still, it’s always good to hear the “good news” once again and to be re-energized ever more deeply into the life of faith, to have a prime character adjustment to become priest of character.

Character’s still the best. From my priest of character comes priestly character. The sound priestly character for me stems from the priestly ministry that gives meaning to the life of the clergy. The Eucharistic Lay Ministers, the catechists, the PAKRIS leaders, the lectors and commentators, the acolytes and sacristans, the members of the choir,- practically everyone, could attest that a pastor possessing a good character brings a lot of inspiration to us. Jean Galot,SJ rightfully observed that, “The priestly character impresses upon the being of a baptized person an orientation which commits the whole self to the mission of the priest. God engraves that mission in every person. He makes it inseparable from personal being.” If he does not possess this good trait and values, the parish or the apostolate and office that are entrusted to him would endlessly be in shambles.

There are few priests who are extreme legalists who forgot what St. Paul taught us: “”Everything is lawful,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is lawful,” but not everything builds up. No one should seek his own advantage, but that of his neighbor.”” (1 Cor. 10:23, 24). Why too much fuzz about temporal things such as financial administrative concerns and errors than saving souls?

Last time I checked, the three major obligations of a priest are as follows: 1.) Pursuit of Holiness; 2.) Fulfillment of the Pastoral Ministry; and, 3.) Nourishment of Spiritual Life. Others are just “value added”. To emphasize themes of brotherly dialogue and fraternal correction or clerical fraternal bond, Canon 275, par 1 CIC has this to say: “Since all clerics are working for the same purpose, namely, the building up of Body of Christ, they should be united with one another in the bond of brotherhood and prayer. They should seek to cooperate with one another…” With extreme legalistic traits like those of the Scribes during Jesus’ time, any man of cloth will just be sowing seeds of hatred and diversity instead of unity wherever he is assigned. How can a priest stand before God with such miserable, sad and damnable division of His Church?

It is foolish for a sheep to be closely identified with hungry, greedy wolves. This foolishness would result to unimaginable horror to the sheep farm that would even result to and division among his brothers. The Scripture have warned us: “Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” – (1 Cor 15:33 [NIV])

The major document of Vatican II that tackles extensively about Priestly Ministry is called “Presbyterorum Ordinis” or PO for short. PO7 indicates the special relationship of priests as co-workers and assistants with the bishop, and the parallel relation of priests to presbyterium of priests who, with the bishop, makes up the ministerial family of a local Church. By the way, is our Diocesan Curia still intact?

PO8 on the other hand exhort priests, whether diocesan or regular, to assist one another as fellow workers in the service of the truth. It exhorts hospitality and kindness and the sharing of goods. PO9 reminds priests that they were themselves reborn in the font of baptism and are thus related as brothers to all baptized. May their relationship with lay people be one of service: “to be sincere in their appreciation and promotion of lay people’s dignity and the special role the laity, specially our lay ministers, have to play in the Church’s mission.” Instead of too much dealing with the “side shows” of the crisis, hope the present officials find internal ways finding internal solution to the problem with competent Church authorities. Only through this we become sincere in giving flesh to the priestly ministry that every priest vowed to defend and protect.

I just do pray that a new break of dawn and of hope can be expected this Chrism Mass..

Pit(i)kin Today

The last time I blogged about Pitkin is sometime in March 2010 and I would like to reiterate here that I am against all “all out” yes to any extractive industries coming to our fragile island, whether it is (mineral) mining or oil exploration, whether it is under Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) or Department of Energy (DOE). I just do pray that our LGU officials, including officials of our local Church who are at present in-charge of her social action apostolate, will make sure that the welfare of the people, especially the Mangyans and our ecosystems will not be sacrificed in the altar of so-called progress.

I have heard from the grapevine that Department of Energy (DoE) Undersecretary Jose R. Layug will have a meeting with LGU leaders of Occidental Mindoro headed by Gov. Josephine Y. Ramirez-Sato and Vice Governor Mario Gene J. Mendiola on Wednesday, March 7, 2012. Their main agenda is the Pitkin Petroleum PLC Service Contract 53 Exploration Project. Pitkin is a United Kingdom based oil and gas exploration company and its worldwide exploration manager is William J. Ashby. Apparently, the invitation letter to all LGUs in the province was sent by DOE’s energy resource development bureau director Ismael U. Ocampo.

In 2010, I have reported that the late energy secretary Angelo T. Reyes revealed in a letter to Froilan A. Tampico, president and Chief Executive Officer of the National Power Corporation (NPC) that the Pitkin Petroleum PLC discovered natural gas instead of oil in their exploration in the southern part of Occidental Mindoro. According to a Pitkin report then, they have drilled a natural gas discovery which they call Progreso A1X. The oil company is proposing that NPC lease natural gas generators to replace the leased diesel generators and use the natural gas from the Progreso discovery as fuel. El Progreso, where apparently they discovered natural gas is part of Brgy. San Isidro (Canwaling), San Jose, Occidental Mindoro.

On Wednesday, it is expected that our LGU leaders, Pitkin and DOE people will be talking about Aeromagnetic Gradiometry Survey. It is a survey that is expected to augment the previous Magneto Telluric and Seismic Surveys conducted four years ago. The aeromagnetic gradiometer measures all small changes in the earth’s magnetic field by using an aircraft. In this case, Pitkin will be using a twin-engine plane for the project. Pitkin assured everyone that the aircraft will leave no disturbance whatsoever except to the noise of the plane. Aside from the aircraft, one base station for differential GPS and a magnetometer base are needed. So, in the next 20 days or so, a plane will be hovering over towns of Occidental and Oriental Mindoro like a big fly circling around over a delicious cake.

I would like to reiterate that the law that regulates the oil industry in the Philippines is a product of the dictatorial regime of Ferdinand E. Marcos: the Presidential Decree (PD) 87 or the “Oil Exploration and Development Act of 1972”, also known as the “Service Contract Law”. It is one of the many Marcos laws that need to be amended. On the outset, the government and the oil exploration companies claim that their aim is to develop an indigenous Filipino oil industry but in reality its provisions are extremely favorable to foreign corporations like Pitkin Petroleum PLC.

When Sablayan Mayor Eduardo B. Gadiano was still the town’s vice mayor and presiding officer of Sangguniang Bayan, he echoed the call then of the Fakasadian Mangagoyang Tau-Buid Daga, Inc. or FAMATODI that Pitkin should first secure Certificate of Pre-condition from the NCIP before they could resume any of their activities within the ancestral domain of the Tau-Buid Mangyans specifically in Burgos, Sablayan.

While General Ordinance No. 2007-GO03B, an ordinance of Sablayan for a 25-year mining moratorium, is limited only to large-scale mining, Sablayan’s Environmental Code known as Municipal Ordinance No. 2008-003, prohibits all extractive activities including non-metallic resources in the municipality.

Our shout remains the same : “Pitikin ang Pitkin!”…

Our BCMR, Our Scapular

Maybe due to my blogger’s instinct, whenever I see new things and places, I always find a way how to connect them to people and things that I love and cherish. I, together with my wife and the other 14 couples, my sisters and brothers from Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals (BCBP) from chapters and outreaches in San Jose and Sablayan in Occidental Mindoro and Nasugbo and Batangas City in Batangas, participated in what we call as Brotherhood Christian Marriage Retreat or BCMR. The event was held in Tagaytay City from February 24 to 26, this year.

The most unforgettable and everlasting symbol of my oneness with Vicky, my wife, a Christian, is a scapular (forgive my brothers and sisters for I cannot awkwardly call her my “Christian Wife” because it connotes that I have other wives, “Protestant Wife”, “Agnostic Wife”, “Atheist Wife”, etc. I am more comfortable in introducing her this way: “This is Vicky, my wife, a Christian.” This is more grammatically correct, isn’t it? ). That piece of cloth that I kept in my wallet for more than 20 years now was her first gift to me. Wherever I go that fine little fabric goes with me, not for its religious or spiritual purposes but to me, it is the symbol and a reminder of her love and faithfulness, then and now.

I was 30 and she was 29 when we exchanged vows officiated by Rev. Fr. Mario Veloso that beautiful morning of June 27, 1992 but before that almost silent but unhesitant utterance of our “I do’s”, that tiny scapular have been lost three times. I lost it in three distinct and environmentally-opposed places. I lost it the first time in a beer joint in Lucena City but the waiter kept it and returned it to me the next morning. For the second time, I lost it in an indignation rally in support with the victims of human rights violations in Calamba but another activist from the youth sector luckily found it and returned it to me immediately. And last time around, Vicky and I lost our scapular inside the San Jose Cathedral one afternoon but when we came back the next day, we found it on the floor of that particular spot in the building. Our brown little thing was covered by vougainvilla flowers that luckily Melchor, the Cathedral’s errand boy, hadn’t swept and threw in a trash can. Can you imagine that? Three times and still being recovered? Like problems we have encountered during our marriage life, they come but they always go. Since then I realized that not only that brown scapular really belongs to me forever but also Vicky, my wife, a Christian.

My relationship with Vicky can somehow be compared or connected to our little scapular. It is colored brown who said to be, according to a Filipino folklore, a perfect skin complexion. It has two dangling pieces, one at the back and one in front. Just like our personal characteristics, some are open and some are hidden. Our relationship is somewhat already time-tested just like scapulars worn by the old devotees in churches whose faith cannot be defeated by time.

I am not in the liberty to divulge everything we have experienced at BCMR. True enough for it would only spoil the surprises it brings like what Bro. Edward Bagatsolon constantly reminding us that chilly days and nights in Tagaytay. All I can afford to do is to echo Bro. Mannie Rosales, “Being [t]here is a blessing!”

As I have told you, whenever I see new things and places, I always find a way how to connect them to people and things that I love and cherish. Our brown scapular and the venue of our BCMR have indeed "connectivity". To let you know, we stayed at the Carmelite’s Missionaries’ Center for Spirituality.

Yes, we experienced the wonder and blessings of BCMR in a Carmelite Retreat House with a Carmelite scapular in my wallet. You call it coincidence? No, I call it faith…

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(Photo: BCBP- San Jose Chapter File)

The Sibuyan Connection

They reminded me of my YS (youth) years when I was still a budding social activist way back in college. I was once like them for they are daring but humorous, dynamic but funny. I can see myself in them and that I must admit. They are young and full of hope, not unlike my two eldest children. I am referring to five senior accountancy students from Romblon State University (RSU) in their native Odiongan and officers of the Alliance of Students Against Mining or ASAM in said campus. They are, and this is according to height, Emilyn Arellano, Michelle Ferry, Arjay Barrios, Ryandolph Vicente and Levi Marc Mesana. They are all single and all ready to mingle (with the older ones in environmental advocacy works like ATM’s Jayvee Garganera, MACECs Myke Magalang, former Odiongan legislator Pearly Harder and myself!). Seriously, we were in Siburan to attend the Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) MIMAROPA Regional Assembly. For five days we stayed at the Sanctuary Garden Resort in Magdiwang, hometown of track queen Elma Muros-Posadas. We crossed the Pacific Ocean from Odiongan to Romblon and finally to Sibuyan. We hiked up to Dagubdob Falls in municipality of San Fernando, site of the Princess of the Stars tragedy and all the twenty five anti-mining advocates in the region had a wonderful getaway from February 15 to 20, 2012.

Of all the places, it was in Sibuyan where I met ABS-CBN's Gina Lopez and not in any of the Philippines' major cities and she was talking with Mayor Dindo M. Rios and the town's local legislators. The participants too were able to be oriented on the life of one of the anti-mining martyrs of Sibuyan, the late councilor Armin R. Marin who was gunned down by a security guard of a mining firm some years back.

Among other things, we participants of the assembly re-echoed and put flesh to our calls: Scrap Philippine Mining Act and enact the Alternative Mining Bill and revoke EO 0270-A and reject the Mineral Action Plan. As representatives of Sablayan-LGU, Arcris Canillo and I ventilated that the new national policy on mining must guarantee that LGU have venues and spaces to genuinely participate in decision-making regarding mining applications and operations. We are firm in saying that the LGUs and its officials decide if the benefits of mining overweight the costs they bring to our localities and our natural resources. Prior to our Sibuyan trip, Occidental Mindoro Governor Josephine Ramirez-Sato and Rev. Fr. Gerardo F. Causapin initiated the signing of a manifesto on these calls.

Concerted endeavors are imperative to protect the environment. Pro environmental alliances are formed when we, social actors, are building bridges or filling the physical gaps between us. Generation and age gaps included.

I may soon forget the names and faces of the ASAM kids who were with us but not the reason why we joined hands for this event. That is the very reason why we connected with each other that wonderful rainy days.

Both in being funny, being in love and being an activist we forget about ourselves. So, keep our aspirations intact wherever you go, guys.

Por favor….

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(Photo from Arjay Barrios' FB account)

Mangyans and Mandatory Representation

If we are to examine Table 42 of the Community-Based Management System (CBMS) Survey in 2009 conducted by no less than our Municipal Planning and Development Office (MPDO) of LGU-Sablayan, we can see that the total number of household members who belong to IP groups in Sablayan is at 5,890. This is in proportion to the total number of household members pegged at 8.31 percent. Same Table shows that the Mangyans have the highest number of population at 4,541. Other IP groups in the municipality include Bago tribe (359); Ibanag (42); Kankanay (28); Aeta (20); Ibaloi (19); T’boli (7); Manobo (5); Mandaya (2); B’laan (1); Tagbanuas (1); Tao’t Bato (1); and Palawano (1). Moreover, there were 869 individuals other than the Taobuid and Alangan Mangyans.

Across barangays, five have proportions higher than that of the municipal statistics while the rest is lower. Those with higher proportions are Pag-Asa (62.66%); San Agustin (49.40%); Burgos (22.48%) Batong Buhay (16.97%); and Ligaya (10.06%) Pag-Asa had the most number of IPs with total number of 2,895, followed by Ligaya with 684, and San Agustin 578. On the other hand, only Tagumpay and Victoria recorded no IP residents. As we could notice, practically almost ALL of our barangays have IP residents.

This statistics can of course be contested. We all know for a fact that we cannot have exact data of the total number or population of Mangyans living in Sablayan. This is due to the fact that the greater number of Taobuid and Alangan Mangyans live in the inaccessible mountain areas thus getting the exact figure of their number is extremely difficult. We believe that the number in actuality is much higher. So, it is but proper that one from their ranks must represent them to local legislative councils.

Furthermore, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Memorandum Circular No. 2011-119, dated October 20, 2011 that requires mandatory representation of the IPs in local legislative councils, is specifically for IPs and in Sablayan’s case it’s the Taobuid and Alangan Mangyans, including other migrant IPs enumerated in the CBMS survey. I just do not know if there exist similar memoranda for other sectors- i.e. women, farmers, fisher folks, youth etc.- issued by said department. In various local legislative bodies nation-wide, we can find regularly-elected officials coming from said sectors. We can find women legislators, farmer legislators, youth legislators, etc. but we can hardly find IP representatives especially in a non-IP dominated (population wise) areas or region such as ours.

No doubt that the IP is the most marginalized sector in our society. They are the poorest of the poor in Mindoro. Consequently, because they lack resources and they are oftentimes considered by us lowlanders as uncivilized and uneducated, this hinders the IPs involvement in the non-customary or legal electoral processes. Suffice to say that our election laws and electoral processes are not “IP-friendly”, so to speak, thus the DILG Memorandum Circular No. 2011-119, dated October 20, 2011 came into existence. I am not a lawyer but this is how I see it from a social communicators' lay spectacle.

Do we need the concurrence of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) for the IP representation? The answer is in the negative.

The Indigenous People’s Rights Act (IPRA or RA 8371) and the Local Government Code (RA 7160) were “harmonized” via a MOA between NCIP and DILG that paved the way for the Memorandum Circular No. 2011-119. The NCIP, not the COMELEC, being the primary government body tasked on IP matters would take care of all the needed requirements, including the confirmation of the chosen IP representative, consonant with Section 6, Paragraph 1, Rule IV of Implementing Rules and Regulations of NCIP Administrative Order No. 001, series of 2009.

By the way, the term “representation” here refers to representation in legislative and oversight functions of being a member of an august body and not functions represented by actions pertaining to delivery of basic services, i.e. health, education, infrastructure, livelihood, relief and rehabilitation services, etc., including acts of charity extended to the IPs.

Any elected IP representative cannot be held in abeyance by any Sangguniang Bayan because it is beyond the authority of the latter acting that way because the ICC/IP representation in local legislative bodies, as we all know, is mandatory under IPRA. To emphasize, mandatory representation is not subject to availability of funds, because when all legal things have been done,- selection, confirmation and oath-taking - it is already a statutory obligation of the LGU to prepare and approve a budget for such undertaking.

So, we have no other choice but to have a heart for our IP representative. Whether we like it or not....

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(Photo from LGU Sablayan File)

The Political Neutrality of Mayor Ed Gadiano

My principal, Mayor Eduardo B. Gadiano, is often accused by some quarters here in Occidental Mindoro of “extreme neutrality” but he doesn’t seem annoyed by such uncalled for labeling. Despite of the fact that he ran under the so-called Performance Team last in 2010, stalwarts of the rival Dream Team can go inside and out any time in his office. Another great achievement of LGU-Sablayan was when it bagged the most-coveted 2011 Seal of Good Housekeeping given by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in MIMAROPA Region. The plaque of recognition was awarded September 26 last year by Atty. Rolando B. Calabazaron, the department’s regional director.

Only last Saturday, February 4, 2012, Governor Josephine Y. Ramirez Sato and Vice Governor Gene J. Mendiola, along with representatives of almost all municipalities in the province attended a luncheon meeting on good governance with Vice President Jejomar C. Binay at Sablayan Convention Center. Prior to this, Gadiano and Sato both served as witnesses when Calumpit MPCI received the most coveted Gawad Saka Award at Malacañan Palace handed by no less than President Benigno Simeon S. Aquino III late last year. On the other hand, in the third issue of “Tugon”, the LGU’s newsletter, there was an almost full page news item on the projects and accomplishments of Congresswoman Ma. Amelita C. Villarosa, spouse of Sato’s arch political rival and the opposite team's head figure. Prior to this, Mayor Gadiano and Rep. Villarosa joined hands in meeting with Department of Energy (DoE) Secretary Jose Rene Almendras after the latter formed the Task Force Power Crisis (TFPC). Fair, isn’t it?

But is there really such thing as objective political neutrality? My answer is in the affirmative but it is not practiced here in our country. Allow me first to say something wonderful about the “politics” of Mayor Ed Gadiano. The second issue of “Tugon” bannered a headline which reads: “Serbisyo Muna, Hindi Pulitika”. In said issue, he appealed to various political blocks to join hands for development. He said, “Ngayon ang panahon ng serbisyo, hindi ang pamumulitika. Dapat tayong maglingkod sa mamamayan batay sa ating katungkulan at kakayanan. Ang taong bayan ang apektado ng pamumulitika sa serbisyo…” (“Now is the high time for service and not for politicking. We must serve the people based on our authority and capacity. The people are the most affected when politicking comes before service”) The speech was delivered on the occasion of 111th Anniversary of Civil Service in a little ceremony held in Sablayan also carrying its national theme, “Championing R.A.C.E. in Public Service Excellence at Full Speed.”

He’s never been neutral in situations of injustice and environmental destruction for he stood firm against the Mindoro Nickel Project (MNP). He sided with dignity of labor when he ordered the long overdue promotion of six (6) department heads and elevated to permanent status some four (4) casual municipal employees just last year.

To my mind, a model of political neutrality in government can be summed up with these words: Politics and policy are separated from administration. (This is what the good mayor, perhaps, had in mind when he rendered his above speech.) Public servants are to be judged on the basis of merit, rather than on the basis of party affiliation or contributions or the whims of their party leaders. Public servants do not engage in partisan political activities while not yet election time. Public servants provide forthright and objective advice to their political patrons in private and in confidence and the latter is expected to listen to them in return and do not get mad. Public servants execute policy decisions loyally and zealously, irrespective of the philosophy and programs of his political patron or allies. As a result, public servants enjoy security of tenure during good behavior and satisfactory performance. This is how I differentiate politicians from genuine public servants.

To this humble blogger, in what I call "Politics of Friendship", friendship is possible and can be maintained without surrendering your principles or sacrificing your personal judgment. In "Politics of Friendship", being polite is the utmost rule so it's big no-no for its practitioner to badmouth his opponents specially in public.

Human as he is, Mayor Ed also has shortcomings but he assured everyone that he’s open to constructive criticisms. But what can he do? Some people tend to look at weaknesses of an individual seedling rather the grandeur of a forest.

In reality, this model of political neutrality is never been truly practiced in its "pure" form. Here in the Philippines, people cannot separate politicians from public servants like the way we cannot rightfully define “conflict of interest” and to majority of Filipinos, there is no such animal as “political neutrality”. Theory and practice, as usual, often diverge anywhere in the land.

Knowing Mayor Ed for a very long time as a human rights advocate and an environmental activist, he would never use his authority for personal gains. Like a good housekeeper, Mayor Ed keeps everything in proper order and trying to be so friendly to everyone.

He doesn’t care if his visitor is a political friend or foe…

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(File photo from Mayor's Office)

Gingerbread

I wonder if he felt like bread in an oven that very hour.

Jaime E. Dela Cruz, municipal administrator of LGU-San Jose came to the ceremonial launching of Competitive Selection Process (CSP) for new power providers and the event was initiated by Occidental Mindoro Electric Cooperative or OMECO. Mr. Orlando M. Andres, chief for corporate finance services of NEA-MAG and Ms. Beverly M. Estella, Corporate Staff Specialist A of the Special Planning Division of NPC’s PTSD-SPUG were there last January 28, 2012 for the occasion held in said municipality in Occidental Mindoro. Dela Cruz came along with him a letter from the town's chief executive giving the former the authority to represent the Island Power Corporation (IPC) to “speak for or against” the CSP.

Both Andres and Estella stressed during their separate talks that two of the main objectives of the CSP is to reduce power cost and power reliability will be assured. They also conveyed that their respective agencies support the process. For his part, OMECO General Manager Alfred A. Dantis exhaustively discussed some background information prior to its launching, the Energy Development Plan and the legal grounds to the holding of CSP.

CSP refers to the process wherein a New Power Provider (NPP) is selected through transparent and competitive bidding undertaken by an Electric Cooperative (EC) to secure, among others, the lowest long-term cost of power and services, a transparent procurement process for the fuel used in the generation of power, environmental compatibility with the local area, and the most advantageous implementation schedule.

The meeting went smooth since OMECO chair Samuel A. Villar officially proclaimed its launching until the start of the press conference cum open forum when Alex del Valle insisted that dela Cruz should be asked about the present office address of the IPC in order for to know where the court summon should be addressed. Dela Cruz retorted that he is only there to speak in behalf of the IPC. This prompted OMECO counsel Jose Aguila-Grapilon, former president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), to ask dela Cruz if the latter could receive the notice or summon but dela Cruz also declined.

In our huddle after the CSP ceremonial launching, all of us are wondering in what capacity did his principal issued the authorization, was it in his capacity as the town’s chief executive or as owner or former chair or president of IPC?

If dela Cruz didn’t present his boss’ authorization letter and came to the event as municipal administrator or a plain OMECO member-consumer, he couldn’t have been the gingerbread man from the king’s court…

Finally, Mangyans as Municipal Legislators

November 20, 2011 was a red-letter day for the Tau-Buhid and Alangan, two of the biggest ethic groups of Mangyans in Occidental Mindoro, specifically those who dwell in the upland communities of Sablayan. Municipal Mayor Eduardo B. Gadiano signed Executive Order No. 2011 – 014 creating the Technical Working Group (TWG) for the preparation and adoption of local guidelines on the mandatory representation of the indigenous cultural communities/indigenous peoples in policy-making bodies and local legislative councils. Said representation of IPs in local legislative councils is mandatory under the DILG Memorandum Circular No. 2011-119, dated October 20, 2011. Such representation is likewise in accordance with Section 10, Article II and Section 17, Article XIV of the Philippine Constitution. Aside from the Mangyans, Sablayan is also second home to some migrant Igorots and Aetas.

The TWG was chaired by Gadiano himself and MLGOO Jerry V. Santos serves as co-chair. Along with some 17 other members and representatives coming from various private and government sectors, the group have already prepared local guidelines for the selection process of IP who would sit in the town’s selected legislative councils. The finalization of the local guidelines was facilitated by Atty. Ulysses Bambo and Eden M. Cenon, legal officer and field officer, respectively of the National Commission for the Indigenous Peoples or NCIP.

In the Joint Memorandum of NCIP and DILG, and this was followed by the TWG, the Mangyan tribal leaders and elders were given a free hand in selecting who would represent them in said bodies. The traditional process hinged on their culture was used by the Tau-Buhid and Alangan leaders who among them will represent their sector in said bodies including how would be the sharing of their terms of office.

Even before he entered into politics, Gadiano have been working close with the Mangyans. A known environmentalist during his NGO days said that his administration recognizes the contributions of our Mangyan brethren to the total development of Sablayan.

Statistically nationwide, the IPs number from 12 million to 14 million. They have a presence in 110 communities. Yet they are represented—in appointive capacities at that—in only 21 local councils. Of some 1,700 local government units (LGUs) in the country, only 21 have complied with the requirement of the Indigenous People’s Rights Act (IPRA) of 1987 for the mandatory representation of IPs in policy-making bodies and local legislative councils. The Local Government Code also requires the appointment to the municipal or city council or the provincial board of representatives of marginalized sectors, which may include the IPs.

On January 24, 2012, no less than President Simeon Benigno S. Aquino III hopefully will be coming to Sablayan to award the Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) to the Tau-Buhids and Alangans in the towns of Calintaan, Sta. Cruz and Sablayan. The future Mangyan legislators will also take oath before the chief executive that day called Dugoy Manganwa or Mangyan Day. The event will be held at Sablayan Plaza in Brgy. Buenavista and part of the weeklong 110th Araw ng Sablayan.

Ironically, many LGUs in the country do not recognize the rights of the IPs, especially their ancestral domain.

Sablayan is not one of those LGUs…

The Mangyan Christmas Connection

You cover your noses when we pass by while running away from us as if we are inflicted with communicable disease. You drive us away with words and gestures we hardly know but we do understand what you feel. You considered us nuances when we are in a crowd or public places. We know we are different in ways though we breathe the same air and share the same island. Rivers, mountains, forests and cultures made us apart but do not forget that we too share the same dream of living in harmony with nature and of unity. You laugh at us and you lined the generic term “Mangyan” with negative words in your dictionary but still we keep on daring dangerous terrains and risk our lives and limbs only for this season you call Christmas. At times we are objects of your insensible jokes and ethnic slurs. Even though, we cross angry rivers and life-threatening cliffs and sleep in the cold and dark forest just for this occasion. By the way, would you dare do that in return to reach us and celebrate with us in our rituals? I’m afraid not.

I feel sorry for the inconvenience, you who considered yourselves civilized, every time we beg for your leftovers and loose coins while you are eating in food courts or anywhere this Christmas. We do not have those kinds of stuffs in the mountains. They are good smelling foods of various tastes, colors and shapes that we also love to try once in a while. Like how you are delighted in seeing the exotic orchids and tasting the distinctive taste of our yellow ginger as one of the ingredients of your menu or in the comfort of lying on a hammock that we made.

We regret to annoy you while you enjoy. We beg you for food, clothing and money not only because we need them badly back in the upland but we also want to continue the tradition your great grandparents have started centuries ago. Christmas originated from your beliefs not ours, remember? Isn’t this tradition this time of the year was initiated by wealthy powerful lowlanders who grabbed our land and displaced us from our former haven? The natural resources that our ancestors nourished for generations are now within your reach thus under your care. Hope you care for it like what they have done for you are in such advantageous position having practically all the power, responsibility and the legal authority to protect them from intruders and exploiters and to promote them through environmental programs and projects. It is emphasized in our culture that the tribes are profoundly interconnected to our Creator, to others and to all creation.

At least, we always celebrate Christmas with you despite of everything and we both know that it allows us to feel that you are people of faith who care for the least of your brethren. Christmas connects us even if we always spoil your strolling around the plaza including your holiday revelries and parties wherever it is done with your loved ones and friends. But that’s the only way to connect and interact with you for, as I have said, we are world apart. You are not fully aware of our rich customs and traditions for you did not sincerely immerse with us. Who would be interested with irritants or inferior people, anyway? Oftentimes you people in government treated us as objects instead of subjects of progress and development. You only absorbed negative things about us using your own standards of looking at things. Looking through many spectacles that you designed and wear, we are inferior if not abnormal people based on every aspect of life.

We both don’t expect discussions on news of the day, the country’s present political feud, the global socio-political reality or the latest rumor in the entertainment world including the recent developments in modern technology and gadgets. For sure, you will not allow us to dive and swim on a pool with you and your beautiful kids or allow us to enter the privacy of your homes, to join you in your banquets inside air-conditioned halls. Thanks but no thanks, we are not interested in any of those either. We have our own swimming pool in rivers and we also throw parties of our own when we give thanks to the creator and we have homes where we share our blessings for all. Our homes are communal and even strangers are most welcome. Chances are, you would not be interested if I let you know how to catch wild pig or get honey from a beehive, to know what particular herb heal certain sickness or any of our economic activities, our own music, poetry and art, and the rest. There are indeed a lot of barriers between us specially language. But we have to acknowledge that there exists a “language” which we both speak and compassionately understood today: the hand gestures of asking and giving.

We may be nasty and dirty, foul-smelling and yucky minorities or natives (in fact, we do not want to be called as such) but please do not judge us. To borrow from your pop goddess Lady Gaga, we are “born this way”. Also, we were told that that long-haired man in g-string and was born surrounded by animals inside your churches is in no way judging on man’s appearance but the sincerity of one’s heart. How people share each other’s experience and how they define and refine their relationships, soul and spirit.

It shows that in five hundred years of our recorded history we have been abused. Your governments, past and present, does not truly help us restrain our rights and foster economic developments for us. But Spartan as we are, we have survived. We still celebrate and connect with you at Christmastime even you considered us as its mega-spoilers. Isn’t irritation at times wonderful than solitude? Truth to tell, annoyance is preferred by most people of my kind than being alone and lonely.

We are not acquainted with legal and political customs of your society and we let you took our land which is our life. We did not resist for we love peace. That was long ago but still we are discriminated. I cannot help too but wonder why you hate each other and why you can afford to hurt and kill your fellow citizens for senseless reasons. Why you forsake your own brother over petty temporal things such as finances and related processes. This way, we are more human than you are and forgive me for saying it. No wonder why you treat us differently. You cannot be at peace even with your own kind! How about us? We always avoid conflicts and we survived for centuries. Our main concept of justice is healing of broken relations rather than punishment. Consist of eight ethnic groups we never waged war against each other. Violence never be, never been and never will be a Mangyan norm. Have you forgotten that Peace is one of the major themes of your, or could I say our, Christmas?

When will you realize that Christmas is not celebrated to display your supposedly modern culture of excessive individualism and the obsessive pursuit of personal gains? The small amount of money, the used clothes and the crumbs from your table and everything you give us are keys that would free us from your chains of isolation and neglect. Even for a moment we feel freedom and relief, belongingness and acceptance. And we owe you a sack load of gratitude for that which words alone cannot express. To tell you the truth, it is more redeeming to embrace us with compassion than to discard us and therefore reject the connection that we begged and aimed for. We hope that one Christmas you come to realize that the things, both big and small, you hold in your hand placed on mine, whether as gift or alms, is a symbol of our interconnectedness. If you would only analyze you will know that you are not always the giver and we the receiver. We handed unnoticed important contributions from our culture to your great men such as missionaries, scientists, journalists, academicians, sociologists, scholars and community workers and the institutions or organizations where they belong. Since we are the ones who have direct contact with our endangered, beautiful flora and fauna including our wild animals and watersheds, we take good care of them the best way we can according to our culture, tradition and beliefs including legislatures that wherein our rights as indigenous peoples are written. Those are the things we humbly offer in exchange of what you are giving us this Christmas. Most importantly, we gave identity to this island we both cherish. Let this sense of interconnectedness brought about by Christmas lead us to similar acts of love displayed by that half-naked man wearing g-string, like me, inside your grandiose churches.

The man whose birth also annoyed the rulers of His time and made us all interconnected today…

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(Photo : Education Ethnic Mangyan Center)

Junking Childish Junks

I have reached this age but it is only now that I completely realized that it’s insane to argue with a hard line political partisan and arguing with them is like arguing with a two-year old. Most of them are childish, just like a child of two who cannot yet distinguish between fact and fancy. To that toddler, Santa Claus is real no matter what he is told. He do not give a damn if his patron owns the meanest mouth in town as long as he’s is included in the “list of special gifts”. They are all praise to “Santa” the whole year round and especially during the holidays because if they don’t, their fat bellied giver would warn each one of them, “You better watch out…” But what really makes Santa so enticing to a young child? By nature, children are egocentric or self-centered. A child of this age believes in everything that will bring fulfillment to his desires, or “ambitions”. They are told: “Do not be naughty. Santa will not give you a toy for Christmas!” So, everybody in the kiddy station behave nicely but only to each other. But anyone to those who belong to other nursery will be the objects of his savage fury and hitting. When they are told not to heart and respect each other for they belong to same profession, they will even accused you of siding with the other group. It is indeed, useless to argue with a baby, or with people having traits of a baby, no matter how old they are.

Arguing with your opponent or somebody that are blinded by political eye-pads is very much the same with arguing with a baby. If we put different objects, both nice and mean, in his crib, say; a pacifier, a hacksaw blade, a leaded toy, a bottle of milk, a candy, a box of pin, a running chainsaw, etc., you cannot tell the child to treat them differently. All of your arguments will be in vain because for a baby - not unlike some of the political partisans in Occidental Mindoro - anything can be judged by whether or not it can be put into the baby’s mouth and eaten. Political partisans, on the same vein, have only one way of judging every issue, whether or not they can be swallowed by their patrons! As I have told you, it is only now that I fully understand that it is stupid to talk to a wall like where the stupid egg named Humpty Dumpty sit and fell.

Grown-ups like politicians usually “answer” arguments by vituperation and slander. They counter allegations with harsh words no matter how truthful they can be. According to Frederick Faber, “The art of saying appropriate words, especially in public, in a kindly way is one that never goes out of fashion, never ceases to please and is within the reach of the humblest.” They as leaders who attended Catholic schools supposed to know that. How can we communicate objectively our ideas if we use arrogant and foul words against our rivals or anybody who do not have same opinion as ours? The communication of ideas is impossible when all of the logical argument is inefficacious.

Me? I have learned my lessons. Fulton J. Sheen once wrote (the title of the book skipped my almost “golden” mind) that discussion and argumentation are useless with certain people. There are some souls that are incapable of understanding spiritual truths. Indeed, the late cardinal is right. He stressed farther, “As Christ was silent before Herod, there are some with whom discussion is futile because of their behavior, so, too, discussion is useless with certain minds because of their abnormal mentality or obsession with lies they created and repeated until they believe that they are the truth.” That childish junk should be junked like Santa Claus in proper and appropriate time.

Learning that sometimes arguments with someone is pointless, Jesus said, “Cast not pearls before swine,” since swine are not capable of appreciating pearls…

Timely Words from Future Cardinal Chito

Among his many credentials and achievements, Luis Antonio “Chito” G. Tagle, was a member of the International Theological Commission (Vatican City) prior to his ordination as bishop of the Diocese of Imus. He was here in our diocese some years back to ordain two diocesan priests, his former students as seminarians, and in his homily he constantly reminded the candidates of “pagpapakababa” (humility) and “pagpapakumbaba” (humbleness). The San Jose Cathedral was filled with laughter for reason that I prefer to keep to myself. Now, I had mixed feelings of laughter and pain whenever the anecdote crosses my mind. One thing is certain, Cardinal Chito, wherever he addresses the public he continues to bring light lightly.

Manila Archbishop Chito Tagle formally took over his archdiocese during solemn installation rites at the Manila Cathedral yesterday morning attended by more than 1,500 priests, religious men and women, and lay faithful from his previous diocese.

In his speech entitled “Priestly Communion” delivered during the National Congress of the Clergy held at the World Trade Center in Metro Manila last July 5 to 9, 2004, the prelate emphasized that, “A priest exercises his authority effectively when he finds, especially in difficult times, what the Church holds in common and lives by them…. He searches for what he holds in common even with his enemies, those who want to exclude him and whom who might want to exclude him in turn.” True enough, with constant rediscovery and rooting of a precarious bond among the priests would lead to dialogue, discernment and unity. He said that the practice of consultation and dialogue with other gifted people are to be intensified. We do not need a dynamic and intelligent bishop like Cardinal Tagle to understand that what we currently need as a local Church is the constant and intensification of consultation and dialogue among the clergy. All of us, friends and foes alike surely have things in common, and he jokingly added, “Ah, there they have something in common – they dislike each other!”

If you would ask me what would be the local realities to achieve unity and communion in my workplace and my diocese, I’ll just borrow in verbatim the words of Bishop Tagle: “A priest of communion cries with others until their common tears become the Church’s lamentation. He smiles with others until their common smile becomes the Church’s ode to joy. He is frightened with others until their common fear becomes humanities longing for trusts. He is poor with others until their common poverty becomes the world’s cry for justice. He loves with others until their common love becomes creation’s paradise. He is with others in order to be for them. And by being for them, he becomes more with them. And the Church becomes more what is meant to be.”

By actively doing her usual advocacy works and charitable programs within her ecclesiastical territory, we locate the Church where she belongs, not in the four-corners of our offices but in faith communities...

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(Photo from Rafael Alfonso's Paintings)