The Dereliction of Local Media Propagandists and their Political Patrons

It’s election season once again so the local political propagandists are very much alive over the radio, social media groups, and pages hurling accusations of everything at each other's bosses. Or among the media practitioners themselves.

It is also when radio programs sponsored or paid by politicians mushroom all over the local radio stations in the province.

I assume that the only ones who are intensely and "intelligently" following such radio programs and stations are composed of partisan "hardliners," few "politically- interested," or their close-in supporters. But the rest are and thousands who want "cheap entertainment", a comic relief amid left and right problems in our middle. This situation makes us limp in hardships as people sprint towards our shared dream of political maturity. Is there hope to this current local media situation from this unfortunate social reality?

How could our local politicians in their respective ways, rightly empower the people through the radio and social media if their paid broadcasters or social media propagandists/influencers fail to convey public information and communication that would present the general interest of the masses and the general public? If they could only offer the same old issues and concerns and communication approaches, techniques, and methods? If they allow them to retort to ad hominem and other fallacies or witless questions or comments?

Propagandists and commentators of such kind become senseless as far as educating the public is concerned. They become extraneous due to a poor selection of stories and items to be presented on air or social media. Most of the topics that they like to discuss can right away be predicted in each episode: from irritating praises for their (political) patron /patroness to personal attacks against their rival to their fellow broadcasters.

The pressing concerns and burning issues that the general public or most people wanted to know or ought to be informed of are not adequately elaborated and discussed. The data-based economic situation of the province, for instance, our innovative response to the pandemic, in-depth analysis on our marginalized sector, to name just a few. Ours is propaganda and communication based on personal attack or utter mudslinging tolerated by their respective politician patrons.

Not to mention other political stunts that these self-acclaimed media people chronically use. They employed propagandists while what the public needs are communicators. But before we go further, let us first distinguish "communication" from "propaganda." Communications aims to empower the audience by giving them information that they can weigh and be acted on at once. On the other hand, propaganda seeks to influence, often subvert, the thinking of that audience.

In short, "communication" here deals with the two-way process of sending messages and getting feedbacks, while "propaganda" is persuasive talking (or writing or social media posting). Conversely, politicians usually communicate in press conferences and interviews, while propaganda is what they talked about on stage during political rallies and other campaign sorties.

Thus, it is annoying, if not disastrous, to put the communicator and the propagandist (who is also an aspiring politician or has his or her political agenda) running a radio talk show like what we hear in most programs (and stations) nowadays. More so, if the hosts are in a dilemma whether if s/he going to be a communicator or a propagandist. If the patron politicians do not give a heck about this essential and objective aspect of the trade, they are putting the risk of being branded as “trapo”.

In short, the patron-politician needs to separate these two tasks and delineate these two functions. In not doing so, we are forever doomed to political immaturity manifested by our either fanaticism or unusual turncoat-ism. As unusual as a venom transferring from one aging cobra to another.

This situation manifests especially if the anchors or hosts have two different or opposing intellectual standpoints on issues other than their partisan political views, due to their different experiences before they jumped into the job, much more great differences in beliefs and ideology. Anyway, education is a lifelong process.

But it would be good if they adjusted themselves to such reality in a gradual manner, but it's not an assurance that their listeners who are privy to their backgrounds would easily understand that. The people will just be confused between "developmental" and plain image-boosting, the kind that utilizes persuasion towards a desired political gain. Especially if they have political ambitions (or in reality their ambition to make money out of their candidacy!).

The communicator and the propagandist work hand-in-hand towards a common goal. Their loyalty to their patron-principal is ideally second only to their commitment to God and country, truth, and citizenry. Though these things cannot feed them or can't be eaten.

My second observation deals with their means of presentation. Both political camps are confined only to political talk shows or public affairs programs without considering that most listeners are already tired of talks about politics (or hearing politicians talking).

All of their paid or sponsored programs only employ such overused broadcast type and format. I must agree that there's nothing wrong with the talk show, but why not toy with the idea of trying new approaches? In our modern world, stereotyping and complacency are considered mortal sins. To many, talk shows, no matter how light when presented to everyday people, are overly intellectual or political, thus annoying, boring, and disinteresting.

Another way of making the talk shows more interesting is to bring them to public places where the setting is similar to a press conference and hold it with a live audience or through teleconferencing where they could participate live. By so doing, we already have a captive audience of our own. We must also conduct research or survey on what topics are closest to people's hearts and minds regarding immediacy and relevance. Do not just impose issues or be covertly selective. We get our topics from the non-aligned listeners and not just from our avid supporters or party members.

We may call it also from events unfolding right at our very eyes. Presenting a sincere and balanced news selection is what the people ask, even from a politically partisan broadcast practitioner. Every broadcaster of whatever political line is duty-bound to present factual reports as informative and formative as possible.

If the just reinvigorated or reincarnated media war or war between local broadcasters is inevitable, might as well humanize it. Allow me to conclude by saying that we can humanize this media war by way of these simple steps (that I guarantee you are very familiar with).

First, putting into ethical action standards already in the KBP Code of Ethics must be strictly imposed by its member stations. Secondly, by learning not only from our patrons-principal but even perhaps from their (and our) mortal enemies and remembering that in this world, much with politics, nothing is permanent, and no one is indispensable.

 A good communicator or propagandist needs brain than voice, unequaled wit than brute arrogance, credibility than ability. Without those traits, we can easily fall prey to the narcissism of our patron-principal. We would be like cabbage that what we saw on the outside is what we also see on the inside or in its totality.

A principled communicator or propagandist need not bootlick their patron-principal redundantly and wantonly in the entire duration of his program or comments in a discussion thread. Without noticing it, we, in the process, are giving away our own identity, principles, and whole self. On the other hand, our being propagandists or communicators is not a license on going overboard.

We should constantly be reminded of our limitations and to remember that ours is a distinct realm and be aware that our work is a little apart from our principal's governance and administrative functions. As free and unique individuals, we all have the right to show a little discomfort whenever our patron-principal does something detrimental to the dignity of others by, say, being folksy whatever remarks or gesture of objectivity and levelheadedness, if not moral uprightness. This is to make them feel that we have principles of our own, and it's up to us how to make our patrons-principal understand us.

We may be paid propagandists and communicators, but we must remain human beings and not worthless puppets. With regards to our enemy, ignoring them more often is still our best option. Shoot the message and completely ignore the messenger. Beyond this is stooping down to their level and, if I may add, is allowing ourselves to be treated as mere puppets.

In addition, rude remarks and bullying in whatever form is intolerable regardless of where it came from and whoever uttered those. As I am mentioning time and again, arrogance usually defeats the purpose of awareness-raising propaganda and genuine communication. Arrogance contributes nothing in this particular learning process, in the holistic development of man, and in keeping his dignity intact, no matter how flea-like that man is.

Somehow, it would jeopardize all the good things we are doing and bound to do, especially if our bullying and arrogance became habitual. That even the Revised Penal Code and Jesus' teachings will find inutile.  

Even the bravest knight cannot morally defend an arrogant king (or queen) unless the former conspires with the latter for mutual gain or in exchange for privileges or favor. In this sense, the communicator and/or the propagandist became slaves to their earthly lord (i.e., politician boss) and Opportunism and its evils.

As communicators or propagandists, we are tasked to say what we like so long as we are forbearing. So, again, avoid anything that would be vulgar, and try to remain essentially sincere to all our audience or listeners and fellow media practitioners, whether they come from our side or elsewhere.

Doing political propaganda is not a free-for-all thing. Not all things are allowable in doing political propaganda because showing your fairness and kindness toward your “rivals”, fleshing out decency and rationality are also political propaganda themselves. This would boil down to the advantage of our principal, the ones we are currently supporting.

The local media industry is at its best when it adores no “sacred cows”, it bows to no “superior humans”, it is blind to the “glitter of gold” and deaf to the “sound of silver”, to paraphrase the late Bishop Oscar V. Cruz, my primary source of social communication beliefs.

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(Photo: Philip Saligumba)

 

 

Of Spraying and Praying

The photo above shows my aunts (L to R) Rosita (Ylagan), Ligaya (Jimenez), and Helen (Paglicawan), the only surviving among the ten children of Pantaleon Salarda Novio and Roberta San Diego Delos Santos. As we celebrate Grand Parents’ Day today, September 12, allow me to share with you a story about my grandparents, the origin of all the Novios in Pandurucan (now San Jose, Occidental Mindoro), and in the whole province.

As early as 1906, the Philippine Bureau of Health established its Malaria Control Division. He conducted research, study, history, and epidemiology of malaria in the Philippines, including control practices such as annual spraying of all houses in areas affected by malaria. Malaria is a protozoan disease, and the word “malaria” means “bad air” in Italian, reflecting an old view and misconception that malaria is caused by gases from swampy regions where the anopheles mosquito, the carrier, usually dwell. Papang was the medical technician of the Malaria Eradication Unit in southern Mindoro and the team leader of the unit’s spray men.

Even before WW2, my grandfather was sent by the government to Mindoro from far-away Sta. Maria, Bulacan to be part of the malaria control team. The group was composed of doctors, paramedics, health workers, and insecticide spray men from all over Mindoro and the Philippines. He was born in Tolosa (or was it Baybay?), Leyte, on July 27, 1903.

Though stationed at the San Jose Sugar Central, they went to remote areas, including sugarcane plantations believed to be infested by malaria and breeding place for the dreaded mosquito. According to Papang’s account then, hundreds and thousands of residents, employees and sacadas (sugar cane workers) suffered and died from the disease. No less than ten people die every day because of malaria and other related conditions, including cholera.

The old folks I met today could still recognize my grandfather, for he helped them treat the disease. Without the malaria-carrying mosquitos, we could have been in Leyte with the Romualdezes or maybe in Davao with the Dutertes!

On the other hand, our Mamang was a typical Filipina wife born on June 7, 1913. Good at cooking sinigang na bangus sa hinog na bayabas, ginataang dahoon ng gabi na may kuhol, inihaw na baboy, minatamis na calumpit, papaet and dinuguan to mention a few dalicacies, at times strict but loving, and very prayerful. She swigs siyoktong and chews mascada but was a very religious woman of both physical and spiritual strength. During the war, Mamang and several other ladies of Central worked as laundrywomen for the GIs belonging to the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment. And since they transferred from Central to the main town of San Jose in the early 50s, they were involved in various religious organizations such as the Cursillo Movement, the Apostolada ng Panalangin, and the Holy Name Society. They recite the rosary every night, and her very intention always centers on overcoming the difficulties their children are in that particular time. They are devoted churchgoers hearing the masses of the town’s parish priests from Fr. Carlos Brendel, SVD, to Fr. Ramon Del Rosario, SVD.

Responding to the dreaded epidemic, the American government launched the Six-Year (1953-1958) Philippine-American Program for Malaria Control in the Philippines and my grandfather became part of it. Aside from giving anti-malaria drugs as an additional relief measure, they sprayed practically every house, from San Jose to Rizal, for at least three consecutive years. And after that, another spot-spraying of homes as conditions demand. They used dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane or DDT. DDT is a potent insecticide rediscovered in 1939 by Paul Muller of Switzerland but banned in the United States in 1972. The Philippines had banned DDT entirely only in 1994 due to the harmful effects of DDT.

I grew up in the smell of DDT and Chloroquine and playing with test tubes and microscope glass slides, including the taste of oatmeal from the United States Agency for International Development or USAID. 

Not unlike other infectious diseases like COVID-19, malaria can be traced or rooted in various factors. The mosquito, the virus, or the medical dimension only takes the supporting (or is it "character"?) role. It has a social, cultural, and political aspect to its resolution for the world to return to normal. 

The calculated response of the government and its entities, especially the health department, must be the core of every plan and action toward adequate or suitable surveillance and treatment strategies. If those basic things worked for malaria before, why cannot work in COVID-19 today? But of course, this goes with the praying of Oratio Imperata or other spiritual supplications. Along with spraying alcohol and disinfectants.

My grandparents "infected" me with this implicit advice: pray for and spray excellent seeds in whatever and wherever soil you are planted. 

Final Salute to Tito Rodrigo

He was barely 12 years old when the war ended, and that was when the liberating US forces established a sawmill in their area in Tunnel, Central in Pandurucan. That hilly part near the bank of the historic Busuanga river was once camp of the 503^rd Parachute Infantry Regiment.

The boy nicknamed by his close friends Oding worked as a mess hall apprentice whose primary duty is to open K-rations for the GIs. Before the war, his family lives in the main barrio of Central. His father is a medical technician assigned by the health department in its battle against the malaria epidemic in that area of the province.

He and his elder brother Addie befriended the soldiers as the GIs exposed them to different types of machinery, trucks, and tractors. The two young boys are errands to the mechanics and gradually learned how machines work. Rodrigo, “Igo” to his relatives and “Rudy” to his friends and comrades in the navy, learned about machines further from his uncle Jacinto Delos Santos, whom they call “Tata Cinto” of Barrio Iriron, Calitaan, brother of his mother and look-alike, Roberta.  

Rodrigo S. Novio was born in Sta. Maria, Bulacan on December 11, 1933. Of Pantaleon S. Novio and Roberta’s children, only three, Pantaleon Jr. (Addie), Rodrigo, and Ligaya or Gay (now Jimenez) were born in Bulacan. The rest of the children were all born in Occidental Mindoro.  

His joining the United States Navy (USN) in 1953 is just a product of peer pressure. He had two other friends who wished to enter the navy, and they tagged my Tito Igo along, our late Mamang, told me. She once relayed how much she prayed for his passing the requirements to become a navy serviceman.

The three friends went to Sangley Point in Cavite, the US naval force's recruitment center. He and his friends underwent all the recruiting processes and protocols and were later informed to wait for their applications. Instead of returning to San Jose, armed with great determination to be a successful child of the then-budding town of San Jose and in preparation for his enlistment in the navy, Rodrigo worked in a passenger lantsa taking the Batangas-Calapan route. After some months, the intense prayer of his mother paid off. Her second child Rodrigo became an enlisted sailor while his two friends did not receive any news from Sangley Point. Later he became one of the USN’s enginemen that year.

The memory of Tito Igo, while he was still in service, is still vivid in my recollection. I remember him clad in a fatigue uniform, alighting from his jeep, visiting his parents, and handing me chocolates and toys, for he is not only my uncle but also my ninong. My father filled in for Tito Igo in escorting his future wife Nenita Endencia when she was crowned beauty queen in their place in the late 50s.

After twenty years of service and tours in Vietnam (I do not know how many, for I am not privy to his stint in the navy), Tito Igo finally retired in 1973, and many years have passed his parents died of natural death. Tito Igo loves playing mahjong with Auntie Nita, his wife, his brother Baby (or Ottie), and sister-in-law Nida. The game was their favorite pastime, usually during weekends. Seeing them shuffling tiles at the terrace is a usual scenario to me. He is also topnotch at table tennis during his days, and somebody told me that he is one of the best in town. He was also into cooking, and my favorite is his carbonara.

Tito Igo loved to visit his relatives and friends, especially his parents. Even when he was already a retiree and staying here in San Jose, he regularly visits his aging and already ailing parents at the family’s ancestral house at 132 Capt. Cooper Street and giving them what they need, from food to medicines and little somethings. I was a witness to how grateful he was for his parents. That is the most significant attribute I have learned and copied from him. This characteristic is what I think we should emulate from our dear departed Tito, Papa, and Daddy, or Lolo Igo. I will never forget him because of this.

Rodrigo S. Novio, Sr., at 87, breathed his last at the ER of Goco-Luna Hospital in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro, on September 3, 2021. After just hours have passed, he was put to rest at around 2:00 in the morning of the following day at the San Jose Public Cemetery, observing protocols imposed by the local government on the occurring pandemic surge. No one was there except for his eldest child, who accompanied him in the last hours of his life, and some men excavated it.

His remains encased in silence and darkness of the dawn.   

No sounding of taps.

No gun salutes.

No folding and presentation of the flag.

No ceremonies or whatsoever.

I could only do the same respects during deep, prayerful hours of remembering him.

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 (Photo courtesy of Yvonne Novio)  

 

 

 

Si Mabini, Ang Dakila na Walang Jowa

Sa pagtatapos ng Pambansang Araw ng mga Bayani at pasimula ng pagdiriwang ng ika-121 anibersaryo ng Serbisyo Sibil sa Pilipinas, gusto kong bigyang pugay ang bayaning may kakaibang iniwang marka sa ating kasaysayan: Si Apolinario Mabini, ang Dakilang Lumpo. (Mula sa panulat ng nasa larawan  na dating isang dakilang lumpen.) 

Una sa lahat, ibig kong ipaalam na si Mabini, ay katulad ko, o katulad ng ilan sa atin, na maggagawa rin ng pamahalaan. Opo, siya ay taong gobyerno na naglilingkod sa bayan sa ilalalim ng isang lider-pulitiko.

Matatandaan natin na si Mabini, na tinatawag munang “Ulong Ginto” sa kanyang lalawigan sa Batangas, ay ipinatawag ni Heneral Emilio Aguinaldo nang ang huli ay makarating sa Pilipinas mula sa Hong Kong para maging kanang-kamay sa pamamahala ng bansa noong panahon ng himagsikan. Naging kasapi din siya ng gabinete ni Pangulong Aguinaldo at itinalagang Prime Minister at Secretary of Foreign Affairs mula Enero hanggang Mayo, 1899.

Si Mabini ay tulad ninyo, tulad ko, tulad ng ilan sa inyo na kawani rin ng pamahalaan.

Saan ba galing ang salitang “Bayani”? Ayon sa isang batikang historyador na si Zeus Salazar, ito daw ay mula sa salitang Javanese na "wani" o "wērani" na pinag-ugatan din ng salitang “kawani”. Samakatuwid, ang pamahalaan pala ay maaari ring maging “duyan ng magiting” at tayong mga kawani nito na nasa serbisyo sibil, sa pamamagitan ng ating mga gawain at posisyon, ay may malaking pagkakataon ding magpakita ng kabayanihan. Ang salitang “Kawani” ay may marangal na kahulugan kung gayon.

Kaya nga sabi ng CSC, bawat kawani daw ay lingkod-bayani. Kung tutuusin.

Kung masusunod lamang sana natin sa ating araw-araw na paggampan sa gawain ang kanyang mga habilin sa  El Verdadero Decalogo, lalo tayong magiging isang mabuting lingkod-bayan. 

Noong si Mabini, na single for life government employee, ay ilagay sa kalinga ni Heneral Paciano Rizal sa Los Baños sa ilalim ng  Pamahalaang Amerkano, ay may isinulat siyang ganito:

“Fortunately, I have no wife or children for this reason is more tolerate the sadness of my life for I do not suffer in my loves except that of my country.” Kainamang hugot ‘no?

Shout out sa mga government employee na single diyan dahil syota sila ng tungkulin at jowa nila ang bayan!

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Mga Referensya

https://opinion.inquirer.net/142355/mabini-conscience-of-the-nation#ixzz74zYpFZZ0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL7LR-Ut0GI

 

Tayutay

Bago man lang matapos ang buwan ng Agosto bilang Buwan ng Wika, maganda rin sigurong pagnilayan natin ang isang bahaging ito ng balarila.

Malimit nating marinig ito ngayon: “Si (pangalan ng pulitiko) ay wala namang nagawa sa tagal ng kanyang panunungkulan.” Ang pangungusap na ito ay isang Tayutay at hindi literal ang dapat na interpretasyon. 

Ang Tayutay ay isang salita o grupo ng mga salita na kadalasang ginagamit upang maipahayag ang isang emosyon sa paraang hindi karaniwan upang makabuo ng mas malalim na kahulugan kaya ka-hunghangan na ito ay berbatim o letra por letra na patulan o intindihin.

Isa sa mga uri ng Tayutay ay ang tinatawag na Hiperbole o Pagmamalabis na ginagamitan ng eksaherasyon. Halimbawa ng Hiperbole ay ito: “Narinig sa buong Occidental Mindoro ang kanyang mga kasinungalingan.” At ito pa ang isang halimbawa: “Sa tagal niya sa pulitika, lawit na ang kanyang dila sa pagtatalumpati.”

Sa madaling salita, ang Tayutay ay salita o isang pahayag na ginagamit upang bigyan diin ang isang kaisipan o damdamin. Damdaming mula sa lahat ng tao, kabilang na dito ang mga botante na matagal nang dismayado dahil sa hindi umaayon sa kanilang mga inaasahan ang ginagawa ng nanunungkulang mga lider, pulitiko man o hindi, halimbawa. Ang mahalaga ay hindi ang paraan ng kanilang sinasabi (o pagtuturing na literal ang salitang “wala”) kundi ang mabigyang diin ang saloobin ng nagsasalita at ang karapatan niyang magpahayag at kalayaan niya sa ekspresyon.

Ang wika, kagaya ng batid na natin noon pa man, maliban sa instrumento ito ng pagpapahayag ng saloobin at pananaw ng isang tao, makapangyarihang sandata rin ito upang warakin (pahiram po, Kalihim Francisco Duque) ang kanyang kapwa o mga karibal sa paniniwala. Kabilang na ang maging magmukhang inaapi at kaawa-awa.

Ayon kay Dr. Pamela Constantino, isang Tayag, este, tanyag, na lingwista at propesor sa UP, mas madalas gamitin ang Pambansang Wika sa mga usaping pulitikal gaya ng pangangampanya tuwing eleksyon at talumpati nila sa mahahalagang okasyon. Sa mga ganitong sitwasyon, mas kinakailangan ng mga pulitiko na maunawaan ng masang Pilipino ang kanilang mga sinasabi.

“Nasa wika ang mga konsepto o kaisipan na bumubuo sa lawak ng gawaing pulitikal kaya naman ginagamit ito para magkaroon ng political control,” ani Constantino. Aba’y tumpak, ‘di ba?

Balikan natin ang ating paksa hinggil sa Tayutay ngayong magtatapos na ang Buwan ng Wika 2021.

Isa sa mga uri ng Tayutay ay ang tinatawag na Simile/Pagtutulad. Halimbawa: Ang paghahangad niyang manatili sa posisyon ay parang walang katapusang araw at gabi.

Meron ding tinatawag na Metapora/Pagwawangis. Halimbawa: Talaba silang nakadikit sa nabubulok na bakawan.” 

Ang Paglipat-wika naman ay paggamit ng pang-uri upang ipaglalarawan ang mga bagay. Halimbawa: “Ang pabago-bagong mukha niya ay nakikita ko na taon-taon sa kalendaryo, dalagita pa ako hanggang ngayong ako ay may mga apo na.”

Ilan lamang po iyan sa mga uri ng Tayutay at mga halimbawa. Paki-Google na lang po ang iba pang ibig ninyong malaman tungkol sa Tayutay.

Sa pagtatapos, taglay ng wika ang kakayahang baguhin ang paniniwala ng isang indibidwal. Sa pakikipag-ugnayan gamit ang wika, maraming bagay ang maaaring magbago.

Maging sa pananaw ng tao sa pulitika at sa mga pulitiko.

 

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Reperensiya:

 

https://varsitarian.net/filipino/20081117/pulitika_ng_wika_wika_ng_pulitika

 

 

 

A COVID History

I was confined at the COVID Fastlane section of the San Jose District Hospital (SJDH) when weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz got her medal for the country’s first-ever gold in the Olympics. I experienced difficulty in breathing with other severe symptoms of the disease.

They admitted me to the hospital on July 21, 2021, and for exactly one week, I was alone in that tomblike and white-painted square chamber. Either an oxygen mask or a nasal cannula is stuck in my nares to deliver supplemental oxygen and allows sufficient airflow to my lungs. I was in dire need of respiratory help. I have immediately undergone various tests and chest x-ray and other emergency procedures that I failed to ask the ill-equipped (compared to those in private hospitals in Manila) overworked, understaffed medical frontliners at SJDH.

I was lying helplessly in my hospital bed when hundreds of families have evacuated from four villages in three municipalities in Occidental Mindoro because of flooding caused by the effects of the southwest monsoon enhanced by Tropical Storm Fabian. I took a handful of different capsules and tablets until my breathing gradually becomes easy each day as the floods slowly subdued in the affected areas, and the evacuees came back to their dwelling places the next few days.

I also battled sleepless nights. It was Saturday morning, July 24, and while I was saying my morning prayer, a tremor followed. My fear doubled, for I am in a situation between the devil and deep blue sea: Earthquake and COVID. But as expected, the latter subsided, but it did not shake the COVID virus out of the breathing system of each Filipino in affected areas.

Global pandemics and disasters like earthquakes and floods or events like the Olympics, for that matter, are not only part of history. They are history themselves. We are victims of history, witnesses to history, and socialized by history and such reality made the human spirit always triumphant!

In my hospital bed, bored and isolated, I composed this short poem:

“You do not have regal bearing over my breathing,

Your crown has no dignity over me.

My breathing is a kingship where you are nothing but a slave

I am royal, no matter how I breathe.

As I inhale and exhale, my spirit behests my lungs and my mouth:

“Iustum inssufla.”

(Just breath.)”

The next day, a hospital apprentice appeared from my door in full PPE, pushing a wheelchair telling me that I will be moving to the recovery ward called “Italy.”

 “Ano naman ang pangalan nung room na inalisan ko?” I asked him while we are heading to the next building.

“Wuhan po.”

Me to self: “Not a bad name.”

(I later found out that the names were just coined by Dr. Anna Monica Bracamonte, the former hospital head, and my cousin Barbie, her nurse, during the height of the pandemic.)

*****

I am patient number 638 logged in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro. I was already on my second day in the recovery ward when Nesthy Petecio settled for a silver medal for the women’s featherweight boxing final bout. She lost to Japan’s Sena Irie. That was the same day when they took out the oxygen tube from my nostrils, as my oxygen level had already been stable for days. All in all, I consumed five tanks of medical oxygen.

My hospitalization, other than realizing the importance of friends, family, and relatives in supporting both in terms of financial, moral, and other material supports. That includes medical guidance from my cousins in the medical field, which made me do something I could not do for decades: cry. 

I cried once again for my wife, the love of my life, showed me how much she cares for me.

I will not mention the names of my friends and relatives here for they will not indeed like it. Perhaps, such love and kindness they have shown to me are part of why I cried.

I repeatedly played through my Vivo Camera and Music phone Willie Nelson’s rendition of Yesterday When I Was Young. It just popped from my cellphone’s screen on the third day of my confinement while I was browsing for a piece of country music that I love to listen to. I hadn’t heard the song since the Nora Aunor version was released when I was ten.

At 88, Willie Nelson is still alive, and part of the collaborated Asleep at the Wheel 50th-anniversary album, due this coming October 1 in the US. The song made me reminiscence on my childhood and practically the significant memories of my life with places and people that are both gone and still alive.

I am 59 now, and next year I will be considered a senior citizen. 

Well, thanks for the tears. Crying made me feel great.

Those tears have curative value to me.

****

I took five doses of remdesivir. While clinical trials suggest the drug is not very effective in treating COVID, recent studies have shown that it does block Coronavirus activity. Remdesivir is an experimental drug developed by biotech company Gilead Sciences in collaboration with the US Centers for Disease Control and Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases.

Maybe my system responded positively to the drug. That is why I defeated COVID in this bout.

Finally, on July 29, 2021, I was discharged from the hospital, and since then, I have subjected myself to further home quarantine. I have comorbidities, so I have to stay on the safest part of the road.

I was vaccinated with Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine on August 7 at the San Jose Public Health and Diagnostic Center.

It took 97 years for the Philippines to get its first gold in the Olympics. It took me 50 years or so to hear again the song Yesterday When I Was Young and I cannot remember when I last cried before this hospitalization and solitary confinement. One thing is sure. I will be a different man after this. I will cry a lot.

Remdesivir may have done its job well, but I am not counting out all your prayers and well-wishes, and my all-time favorite is the macaroni salad, which I devoured for the first time after many years.

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(Photo: Deccan Herald)

Donaire-Casimero: A Classless Social Media Clash

A classless clash over social media has exploded between the camps of Filipino world bantamweight champions Nonito Donaire and John Riel Casimero. Instead of seeing the fight happen on top of the ring, we saw them on YouTube, Twitter, or Facebook.

In the past, John Riel Casimero said Naoya Inoue must change his moniker from “Monster” to “Turtle,” and recently, he called Nonito Donaire a “Stinky Fish.” Casimero calls Inoue “Turtle” because, according to him, the undefeated “Monster” is eluding him like a turtle and afraid to face him. 

Why “Stinky Fish?” Well, this is an allusion to Jose Rizal’s famous line, "Ang hindi magmahal sa sariling wika, daig pa ang hayop at malansang isda."  (My translation: He who does not love his language is worse than an animal and a stinky fish.) A line from the poem Sa Aking Mga Kababata taught in schools in the Philippines is a piece written by our national hero when he was just eight years old. Casimero is trying to impress the public that he is more nationalistic than Donaire to get the attention of many. At first, the Angas ng Pilipinas sounded like merely selling or hyping the fight. There is nothing wrong with that, but it became wayward only when the Casimero camp insinuated that Donaire, an expat who speaks fluent English, is not a true Filipino.

Casimero is so used to taunting. He is not new to such theatrics. In November 2020, he provoked Jerwin Ancajas, the Filipino IBF junior-bantamweight champ, by referring to Ancajas as a “child.” Gentleman as he is, Ancajas just shrugged it off by way of a respectful and calm response.

It was all Casimero show until Rachel Marcial, the Filipino Flash’s wife and manager who was a former national collegiate and military Taekwondo champion in the US herself mentioned the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA). I will not repeat what transpired here, for you probably followed them in social media as they unfold. I will not expose and expound those nasty posts of blatant ad hominem and gender-biased statements. Why are such dirty exchanges when the fight itself, being the first-ever Filipino champ versus Filipino champ, is in itself would already make a lot of money?

The great Filipino boxers from Pancho Villa to Gabriel “Flash” Elorde to Manny Pacquiao never been into trash talking and arrogance. Even the so-called “Bad Boy from Dadiangas,” Rolando Navarrete, never trash-talked his opponent ever. He never called them names.

Moreover, the World Boxing Council (WBC) Code of Ethics has this to say: “All boxers, especially those who are champions, are role models and must behave with exemplary actions.” It further states that “All boxers must understand that there is an expectation that their behavior, inside and outside the ring will be held to high standards in accordance with the honor and privilege associated with representing the World Boxing Council as a champion.” I believe it rings true in other boxing bodies. Boxers say the nastiest words in the dictionary to sell his fight, but it should also be within the boundaries of ethics. Even in boxing’s business side, hitting below the belt is not allowed. All businesses follow ethical standards. Boxing as an enterprise and as a sport is not as savage as that.

To maintain our cherished Filipino values and respect our heritage in a foreign land, forego the Donaire-Casimero fight and move on with their next non-Filipino opponents.

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 (Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc. via Getty Images)

 

 

 

 

Will Donaire Wear Yellow Again?

 

When Nonito Donaire, Jr defeated Panama’s Rafael “El Torito” Concepcion on August 15, 2009, the now WBC bantamweight champion nicknamed “The Filipino Flash” dedicated the fight to former President Corazon “Cory” Aquino. During the battle with Concepcion, Donaire even donned a yellow robe, and yellow trunks with “Aquino” printed on its back waistband.

The Donaire-Concepcion fight was for the interim WBA belt, and it happened in Las Vegas, where the pride of Tagbilaran, Bohol, won via unanimous decision.

By the way, before the Filipino Flash faced El Torito, there are announcements that Occidental Mindoro’s very own Drian Francisco would face the latter. Still, it did not happen for one reason or another. Concepcion then was ranked No. 4 by the WBA, No. 6 by the WBO, and No. 8 by the WBC, while Drian (Jong) Francisco was ranked No. 10, both by the WBA and WBO for the WBA International super flyweight title. As I have said, it did not materialize. 

In his column, which appeared in Philstar.com dated August 22, 2009, Mr. Joaquin M. Henson, the so-called Dean of Philippine Sports, wrote that according to Cory and Ninoy’s daughter Pinky Aquino-Abellada, Donaire’s belt, robe, and trunks would be on display at the Aquino Center in the Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac. The family recreated Ninoy’s Fort Bonifacio detention cell and exhibited the clothes he wore during his assassination.

According to Henson, Nonito and his wife-manager Rachel presented the boxing apparels to the Aquino family in a mass to commemorate Ninoy’s assassination at the Roozen Hall of the Don Bosco complex in Makati. The scribe further wrote, “After the turnover, former President Cory’s daughter Ballsy Aquino-Cruz sprang a surprise when she announced the family is “adopting” Donaire as a “bunso” brother.” Of course, the Flash and his wife were overwhelmed and considered the gesture as a great honor. Rebecca or Kaye, Rachel’s mother, is from Tarlac.

Understandably, the Donaire’s supported Benigno Aquino III in his presidential bid in 2010.

In the fight against Hernan “Tyson” Marquez, Donaire again donned yellow trunks with “Aquino” stitched onto the waistband. He presented the trunks to President PNoy after his win. Donaire KO’d Marquez in the 8^th round in a duel at the Coliseo Jose Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on November 14, 2010.  

Former President Noynoy died just days after the official announcement of the Nonito Donaire-John Riel Casimero, the first-ever Filipino versus Filipino all champion encounter will happen in the States this coming August 14, 2021. Let us hope that unlike the Francisco-Concepcion bout, the Donaire-Casimero will not be aborted.

Yesterday, June 24, 2021, Nonito Donaire tweeted, “Ang pinaka malalim na pakikiramay at dasal sa Aquino family na nawalan ng pinakamamahal na kapatid na si Benigno Aquino III. Galing sa familia Donaire. Salamat po.”

Will Donaire wear yellow again in his fight against Casimero? That we do not know.

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 Photo: Pound4Pound.com

References:

https://www.philstar.com/sports/2009/08/22/497966/donaire-honored-aquino-family-too

https://www.wbaboxing.com/boxing-news/nonito-donaire-blasts-out-hernan-marquez-in-eight#.YNWKfOgzZPY

https://www.philstar.com/sports/2010/08/11/601352/donaire-and-road-ahead

 

Madam Girlie’s Gone

My good friend Chona C. Ordenes is now grieving because of her former principal and mentor, Deputy Speaker Ma. Amelita Calimbas Villarosa of the lone district of Occidental Mindoro’s representative to Congress died on her 78^th natal day on May 30, 2021.

The former solon passed away at the Intensive Care Unit around 4:34 p.m. that day. Villarosa died of an aneurysm while receiving treatment at a hospital in Metro Manila, according to her husband, former congressman, and governor Jose T. Villarosa.

A very religious woman, Chona’s Madam Girlie rested in the hands of her Creator on Trinity Sunday. Cong. Villarosa first held the electoral post as her district’s representative to the House of Representatives from June 30, 1998, to August 29, 2000, to the 11^th Congress as a Lakas-CMD stalwart. Still, the election was declared annulled after an electoral protest lobbed by her rival Ricardo “Ding” Quintos. But Villarosa bounced back, defeating her competitors in the polls in 2001, 2004, 2007, and 2010. She took office from June 30, 2004, to June 30, 2013. She exhibited gentle prowess in the tough realm of politics.

Ma’am Chona told me via Messenger that the former lady solon collapsed after coming from office and rushed to Makati Medical Center on May 27 and was in a coma for three days.

Mrs. Villarosa made history in 2007 when she was elected by her colleagues at the House of Representatives its first woman deputy speaker. That year, she took her oath before then Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. Villarosa represented her 53 other female colleagues in the lower chamber. In a way, Villarosa’s appointment recognized her capability as a lawmaker and the vital role of female House members. She was a close ally of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. She escorted President GMA in many of the latter’s official functions here and abroad.

The former deputy speaker from Occidental Mindoro was born May 30, 1943, in Balanga, Bataan. According to Ate Chona, her Madam Girlie was a hard-working and giving woman. Not only was she committed to her daily tasks, but she was also committed to giving back to the community. She always encouraged the people closest to her to be involved in life as she brought out the best in them. She kept on reminding them to make the best of everything

Ma’am Chona remembered her saying that she was her second mother, very kind, supportive, and helpful to everyone, especially to her family. Her supporters widely considered Girlie Villarosa as the Mother of the Province.

Aside from JTV and Mayor Bambi, Madam Girlie is survived by her children Bunny Villarosa-Kalaw, Nanny Villarosa- Drilon, Sookie Villarosa- Chiongbian, and Mikho, the youngest son.

“She is very motherly and very caring, especially when we are out of town during the campaign sorties,” says Ma’am Chona. Ms. Ordenes worked as her close-in aide while officially functioning as chief of staff then of Mamburao Mayor Voltaire “Bambi” Villarosa, Mrs. Villarosa’s eldest son. “Madam Girlie was also very loving and generous,” she adds.

Isabelle Allende once said that people only die when we forget them. Our dear departed is best remembered by all as once served her province as their representative to Congress. 

Even Death cannot take that truth away from her.

The Aborted Municipality of San Miguel in Occidental Mindoro

On December 8, 1965, President Diosdado P. Macapagal, Sr. approved Executive Order No. 222 creating the Municipality of San Miguel in Occidental Mindoro. You can find a copy of this nearly 60- year old document in the Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines, 62 (9), 1329.

The EO is under the provisions of Section 68 of the then Revised Administrative Code. The supposed new municipality that time will consist of the territory, “from Busuañgan River to the boundary between the Municipalities of Sablayan and San Jose, and the barrios of Calintaan, New Dagupan, Tanyag, Iriron and Concepcion, all of the municipality of Sablayan, with the seat of government at the barrio of Calintaan.” Macapagal’s Order further states, “The municipality of Sablayan shall have its present territory minus the portions thereof which are included; in the territory of the municipality of San Miguel.” The document has it that the creation of the new municipality was an offshoot of House Bill No. 7983 and approved that time by Congress. I cannot find over the net the details of this bill as of yet.

Please take note that in 1965, Calintaan was still a barrio of Sablayan. Then a time came when Congressman Pedro Medalla, Sr. was elected as representative of Occidental Mindoro to the Philippine Congress. Medalla filed a bill to create the Municipality of Calintaan, and on June 18, 1966, under Republic Act No. 4732, Calintaan was separated from Sablayan and made as another municipality. Placed under its jurisdiction were the barrios of Concepcion, Iriron, New Dagupan and Tanyag.  The total land area of the proposed new town is thirty-eight thousand two hundred fifty (38,250) hectares.

Through Cong. Medalla’s effort, Republic Act No. 5460, was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Ferdinand Marcos. Rizal became a municipality on April 3, 1969. According to Wikipedia, ten barrios composed the new town, specifically Adela, Rumbang, Salvacion, Magui, Magsikap, San Pedro, Santo Nino, Pitogo, Aguas, and Limlim (now Rizal, Rizal). Rizal in 1965 is still part of San Jose, and during that time, Medalla was a neophyte congressman starting his first year in politics. I am wondering if there is a barangay in Rizal named Magui. Probably it is the old name of Manoot. Was it?

Medalla, by the way, then owns a large parcel of land inside the supposed territorial jurisdiction of the aborted Municipality of San Miguel in Occidental Mindoro.

From its looks, the creation of the Municipality of San Miguel failed before it could take off. If somebody materialized it, the projected new municipality would have covered a portion of the present territories of Calintaan and Rizal. The truth is, the patron saint of Calintaan is Saint Michael, the Archangel or plainly "San Miguel" to Filipinos.

 

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Photo: Eco Exploration

References:

 https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1965/12/08/executive-order-no-222-s-1965/

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rizal,_Occidental_Mindoro

 https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/downloads/1965/12dec/19651208-EO-0222-DM.pdf

 https://sites.google.com/site/occidentalmindorohistory/historycalintaan

 

 

 

 

 

Tulfoed!

Now I am convinced that as far as the people of Occidental Mindoro is concerned, like the rest of the Filipinos, Raffy Tulfo is greatly considered as the fix all problem solver, the messiah, if not the mediatrix from above. This is based on the reaction I got from his viewers yesterday featuring the incessant power interruptions that we experienced lately. Incidentally, this part of Tamarawlandia was once labelled as the “Blackout Capital of the Philippines” owing to power outages happening in all of its mainland towns for more than 3 decades now.

Last Tuesday, a netizen from Rizal town called the attention of the anchor of the public affairs program “Wanted sa Radyo”, a popular radio-television show and YouTube channel. Angel Mendoza, a member of the LGBTQ community bravely faced the camera and discussed the currently-prevailing rotational brownout schedule in the province and brought it to the attention of one of the famous Tulfo Brothers, Raffy Tulfo or “Idol Raffy” to his millions of diehard followers. Me, not included.

I salute Angel Mendoza for his/her bravery and courage, first and foremost. Mendoza’s sentiment is shared by the people of Occidental Mindoro that the power shortage problem has not only affected the daily lives of the electric consumers, but has also curbed our economic activity and thereby impairing our economic growth. 

The following day, and that was Wednesday (May 5), the same complaint from Mendoza was again given airtime by their Idol Raffy. I will not mention who are his guests that day for what they have told Tulfo is the same thing that they were telling us time and again. But admittedly, I was entertained by the show and I am 110% sure that after all what they have discussed in that episodes, we, the consumers, citizens and netizens, still groping inside a dark tunnel and at the mercy of our electricity providers who think nothing but their own businesses and capital. Including the electric cooperative which had been kowtowing to business interests of influential people from politics and business both from our locality and elsewhere, then and now. Methinks.

OMECO from the start, since it entered into an onerous, one-sided contract with Island Power Corporation (IPC) up to the legality and technically confusing predicament how the much trumpeted Emerging Power, Inc. (EPI), the developer of the Montelago geothermal project, suddenly "transformed" as Occidental Mindoro Consolidated Power Corporation (OMCPC) and its plants are like those of IPC powered by bunker fuel. 

Instead of EPI, how did OMCPC came into the picture? At the start, there was an existing Power Supply Agreement (PSA) between OMECO and EPI. The former was apparently hoodwinked by the latter as OMECO’s Meliton Pasol, as its Board President and Rodolfo Plopinio as its Director, signed the PSA with EPI. Lo and behold, later EPI, the supposed geothermal power company, assigned its PSA to OMCPC through Deed of Assignment on September 9, 2015. Some incumbent politicians then sit with EPI top honchos in various forum and occasions in the past. When the PSA between OMECO and EPI was signed last February 28, 2014 at Sikatuna Beach Hotel in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, the lawmaker who was in interviewed by Raffy Tulfo last Wednesday was also there vouching for the worth of the EPI. Many attendees said that with EPI, our brownout days will finally be over. Just like how another local politician operated the IPC with its 25-year exclusive contract which was also signed by OMECO for more or less 3 decades now, without thinking its atrocious consequence in the coming years. 

It was such a blunder on the side of OMECO when it informed the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) in writing that it had no objection to the assigned PSA from EPI to OMCPC. Ergo, the PSA is now between OMCPC and OMECO. I just do not know if there is an on-going legal or judicial determination on the issue but that is now the very meat of contention. The then overhyped EPI geothermal project which was trumpeted in 2014 as the sole supplier of geothermal energy in the whole island of Mindoro went pfft like the bubbles in their nostrils.  

We live in the same ambiguous tunnel. We are still riding on the same banana (boat) in the same sea of uncertainty, so to speak.

Is the Raffy Tulfo show really an alternative mechanism for seeking justice? I doubt it. We still have the courts of law and pertinent quasi-judicial bodies to do that. For me, there are entertainment shows camouflaged as public service.  Truly, there is a very thin line between public service and rating, and in case of social media, likes, followings or views and subscribers. The more subscribes, the more bucks one can rake out of the anguish of the people.

Do we really need only Raffy Tulfo to get out of this hellish energy crisis for decades and the current brownouts? Again, my answer is in the negative.  The magnitude and extent of this decades-long debacle of power crises could not be capsulized in an entire episode, if not season of a public service program or YouTube podcast or streaming. Brace for more rotational brownouts every summer season of the year specially now in the midst of the increasing COVID-19 cases in the province. 

The struggle we must wage against this unjust act of those in the local power industry cannot be a proxy struggle. Hopefully, our action and protest against brownouts and power crises in the province should not end at Tulfo’s show. Letting our quest for justice only remain in the show, we are all Tulfooled just the same. We should do more than than (social) media projection. There are thousand ways of battling this.

Citizens and netizens must rally beyond that. How? That is the question we should address in unison. Certainly it could be through the courts or elsewhere but must surely be within the bounds of law by way of active and non-violent means. I have been calling for this since 2008 if my memory serves me right. 

Be like Angel Mendoza, Occidental Mindoro’s version of Greta Thunberg. Shout bravely about our sorry state in whichever venue.

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 (Photo: YouTube)

Remembering the Street Brothers

Reminiscing about the San Jose Summer Basketball League would not be complete without mentioning or thinking of the Street Brothers Basketball Team. The father and son tandem of Edward “Jee” Bagatsolon and Domy “ParDoms” Bagatsolon worked together a piece of basketball history in this part of Occidental Mindoro titled “The Street Brothers Basketball Team” and I am publishing here part of said collaborative work.

To open their literary piece, Jee and ParDoms has this to say: “While “import” players were making waves in the Senior Division of the San Jose Summer Basketball League in the mid-eighties, the entry of the Street Brothers team in the Junior Division of the San Jose Summer Basketball League (SJSBL) made an impact and created another huge fan base which was unprecedented at that time. This is a capsule story of the team when they played in the Junior Division.” The photo above shows the first batch of the Street Brothers team in 87-88 with their muse, the petite Marie Joy Casao.

In the 80s, the Bagatsolon family used to reside in Magsaysay Street in San Jose across the house of former Occidental Mindoro governor Arsenio “Senying” Villaroza, father of Ms. Victoria “Vki” Villaroza. Looking back, Edward wrote, “We put up a post with a board and basketball ring in front and across our rented house.  Every afternoon we would play a three-and-three game with a bet of a couple of ice, which will be used as cooler of the Tanduay Rhum and Coke mix that we imbibed after the game. The barkada and amateur players were all young – 18 to 20 year olds.” The logo that the team employed for years on their jersey is the logo the rhum that made the Philippine famous and also to give reverence to the boys’ favorite drink.

Jee remembered how they named the team: “When we decided to form a basketball team, we did not have any idea what to call our team.  There were several names suggested.  Someone suggested “M Street” as a pun to the movie Nightmare on Elm Street and also to signify the name of our street, which is Magsaysay St.  Another suggested “Gil’s Bros.” as a play of words on the Hills Bros basketball team in the PBA then and as a possible funding from Kuya Gil Manuel.  Finally, we settled on Street Brothers to jokingly refer to our friend (a Born Again quitter) “brother” and also to signify that we started as mere street players.” The Street Brothers later was managed by Vki Villaroza and followed by Congresswoman Josephine “Nene” Sato.  Both managers spent much for the team’s uniform and balls and other equipment.

As he remember the original players, Edward explains, “The initial players were composed of members of the Order of the DeMolay. Papa Doms or Pardoms saw the potential of the players when the DeMolay held a basketball tournament of their own.  Among the DeMolay members are Dominic “Nik” Bagatsolon, Manolo “Macaw” Macawile, Ronald “Nald” Novio, Rogelio “Jojie” Sarmiento, Jr. and brothers Danilo “Danny” and Armando “Ding” Santos.  Romeo “Ardee” Dula and Noel “Wewe” Sano were included because they are both close friends of Nik.  Joe Marie “Jomar” Villar was brought in by his cousin Jojie.  Eduardo “Jun” Mazo, Jr. was brought in by Pardoms to play center while I (Edward “Jee” Bagatsolon) was included because I’m the son of the coach. (He, he, he-NAN) I brought in my friend and classmate Rey “Boyet” Alcones also to play the center position. The Order of the DeMolay is part of the "family" of Masons and associated organizations. DeMolay is the youth group for young men.

The Street Brothers is indeed a lasting and most decorated team in the SJBL and again, as per Edward’s account, this is how they go down in San Jose’s basketball history: “We started and became champion in the Junior C division.  The following year we climbed to Junior B and became champion again.  On the third year we joined the Junior A division and emerged only First Runner Up.  Luckily, Epoy Langcauon, Egay Salvacion, June Palmares and Gary Calitang joined the team when some members relocated to other places and continued their college studies in Manila. With Epoy, Ardee and Wewe (Noel Sano) on the floor it was very frustrating for our opponents to guard them because they were all good shooters, ball handlers and inside penetrators.  In June Palmares and Egay Salvacion, we had legitimate centers who could defend the lane and get the necessary defensive and offensive rebounds.  Gary Calitang was a marksman from the wings and poured in points when needed.  With this refurbished line-up we joined the Junior A Division once again and romped off with the championship crown.  The team went on to play at the Senior Division and, if memory serves me right, Street Brothers won at least five more championships.”

By way of conclusion, Edward stressed further, “After these events the SJSBL was never the same.  When SJSBL resumed only a handful of patrons would watch the tournament.  Ticket sales went down and organizers of the summer league are hard-pressed to pay the salaries of the referees and staff.  This went on for a couple more summers until the popularity of SJSBL waned and died.  Millennial’s nowadays don’t even remember the yearly summer basketball league anymore.”

Indeed, San Jose basketball’s glory days were gone.

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(Photo: From the album of Edward Bagatsolon. Left to Right : Danny Santos, Jojie Sarmiento, Ding Santos, Nick Bagatsolon, Manolo Macawile, Jomari Villar, Boyet Alcones, Edward Bagatsolon, Ronald Novio, Ardee Dula. Not in the picture Noel Sano. Muse Joy Casao.)

 

 

Ang Lolo ni Bokal

 

Ngayon, ika-9 ng Abril, ay ginugunita sa buong bansa ang Araw ng Kagitingan o Day of Valor at alam nyo ba na si Senior Board Member Aniceta Diana Apigo-Tayag ay may lolo na beterano ng Ikalawang Digmaang Pandaigdig?

Ang kanyang lolo ay tubong San Fernando, La Union ngunit napabilang sa 124th Philippine Constabulary (PC) Company na na-deploy dito sa Occidental Mindoro sa Mindoro Sugar Central ng Philipine Milling Company noon pang Peace Time (Pre-War) na kasamang lumaban sa mga tropang Hapones noong giyera. Sa tinatawag na Lubang Camp sa Central ang kampo ng 124th PC Company sa ilalim ni Lt. Filemon Reodica na isang graduate sa Philippine Military Academy (PMA) noong 1938 at ng Executive Officer nila sa Central na si 2nd Lt. Pablo Carino.

Kahit noong matapos na ang digmaan, ang lolo ni Bokal Diana ay nagsilbi pa rin at nagpatuloy na maging konstableng kawal. Kasama ang mga dating sundalo noong digmaan na sina Federico Saulong at Crisologo Pineda, naging tagapagtanggol lalo laban sa mga lokal na bandido at kilabot na tulisan ang matandang Apigo. Ang isang tinaguriang si “Kilabot”ay napigilan nilang patuloy na maghasik ng lagim sa mga mamamayan noon ng Central at Pandurucan (lumang tawag sa bayan ng San Jose). 

Ayon sa aklat na Mindoro sa Panahon ng Digmaan 1941-1945 (pp. 221)  na isinulat ni Rodolfo Meim Acebes noong taong 2008, mga ilang taon din daw matapos ito ay nadestino si Apigo sa Siniloan, Laguna kung saan naging aide-de-camp siya ni PC Major Eliodoro Camandang na siyang patriyarka ng mga kilalang Camandang sa bayan ng San Jose, Occidental Mindoro.

Hindi lang iyon, noong pumutok ang digmaan sa Korea noong 1950, nagboluntaryong sumabak sa digmaan doon si Apigo sa ilalim ng 14^th Battalion Combat Team ng  Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea o PEFTOK ngunit noong sumahin ay sagad na pala ang taon niya sa serbisyo kaya force to good na siya ay nag-retire na.

Sa Calintaan na dating baryo lang noon ng Sablayan ay gumampan bilang Teniente Del Barrio si Apigo dahil siya ay nanirahan at nagsaka doon. Nang lumaon, ganap na itong tumira at namalagi sa San Jose at ang magiting na matandang sundalo ay namatay noong taong 1968 at naulila niya ang aming Lola Conching (Consolacion Gracelia) at anak na si Eduardo o Ed na nang lumaon ay napangasawa si Neneth Credo na naging mga magulang nga ni Bokal Aniceta Diana Apigo-Tayag. Si Lola Conching ay sumakabilang buhay noong Abril (13) 1994.

Ang pangalan ng beteranong sundalo ng Ikalawang Digmaan na lolo ni Bokal ay si Sgt. Aniceto Fontanilla Apigo (Alam nyo na siguro ngayon kung bakit may  "Aniceta" sa buong pangalan ni Bokal Diana).

Gunitain natin nang may pagmamalaki ang kabayanihan ng mga war veteran na hindi ko kayang isa-isahin sa lalawigang duyan din ng magigiting!

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(Photo: Philippine Information Agency)