The    sun
generous
with light.

The grass
lapping up
the sun’s
munificence.

The clouds
tempering
the heat.

The lilies.

The bees.

The shade.

The boy
strapped
to a wheelchair,
numb
from the neck down.

The bitter gaze
at the silent
swing.

The yearning
for motion.

The momentum
that is not
there.

The desire
to wriggle.

The dream
to flip
the finger.

The heft
of his sigh.

The ungraspable
doing.

The invincible
defeat.

The aching.

The post State of Being appeared first on The Manila Times Online.

ESTEEMED essayist Conrado de Quiros once described the Philippines as a “magic-realist” country, where the fantastical and supernatural — or any logic-defying occurrence — are often treated as real and natural.

No other place probably proves this more than Bicol, where de Quiros grew up. Outsiders may know of Bicol as home to Mount Mayon and Our Lady of Peñafrancia, but this enthralling region in the southern part of Luzon is more than what it presents. It is rich in stories that are both ordinary and extraordinary, in their content and in their telling.

Two writers from that region, anthropologist and film critic Tito Genova Valiente and former Manila Times literary editor Elmer A. Ordoñez, tell some of these little-known stories in handsome books that were launched at National Artist for Literature F. Sionil José’s famed Solidaridad bookshop in Ermita, Manila, on March 30.

Valiente said his latest book, The Last Sacristan Mayor and the Most Expensive Mass for the Dead: Tales from Ticao, began “as an attempt to do an ethnography of Ticao island” in his native Masbate province, partly in response to criticisms about his publisher mostly producing books of poetry.

The work, according to him, soon evolved into a collection of the stories he had heard as a boy, ultimately disregarding the classifications he used — “this is real, this is fantastic, this is natural, this is supernatural” — while writing them.

On the title story, Valiente said it was “actually about my real great-grandfather, who was a sakristan mayor (head sacristan) and who served the church. [When] he died, my lola (grandmother) said they thought the priest or the church would give him a special ceremony because he [had] served the simbahan (church).”

But “the priest charged a fee for the funeral Mass,” he added. “So, in a sense, that was the most expensive Mass for the dead in the world, because it was a Mass that smacked of hypocrisy at kakulangan ng utang ng loob (lack of debt of gratitude).”

For his part, Ordoñez said his newest book, The Saga of the Fugitive Indio Priest: A Novella, is “a fictionalized rendering of an authentic story of Don Lino Alindogan, who studied for the priesthood in Nueva Caceres Seminary in Naga, Camarines Sur, and served as a coadjutor in a parish church in Masbate until he was accused wrongly by the head priest, an Augustinian friar, of theft of church funds.”

“Lino’s escape from the clutches of the guardia civil, settling down and becoming a member of the landed gentry in the town of Juban is the main thread of this story,” he added.

The author noted that “there are at least two Alindogan clans: one in San Fernando, Ticao, where the patriarch, Pablo Alindogan of Arevalo, Iloilo, settled in San Fernando after escaping arrest for his participation in the Dagohoy revolt in the Visayas; and the other in Juban, Sorsogon, started later by a fugitive indio priest.”

That revolt, which began after a Jesuit refused to give a Christian burial to Boholano village chief Francisco Dagohoy’s brother Sagarino in 1744, was the longest staged against Spanish colonial rule in Philippine history. It lasted for at least eight decades.

Both Tales from Ticao and Fugitive Indio Priest are published by the Ateneo de Naga University (AdNU) Press, the leading publisher of regional literature in the country. Established in 2005, AdNU Press aims to be the premier resource of Bikol studies in the world.

A number of its titles have won awards, the latest of which are the poetry collections Mga Sugat na Naligaw sa Gubat by Emmanuel Q. Velasco and Running with Ghosts by Merlie M. Alunan at the 37th National Book Awards in November.

Tales from Ticao and The Saga of the Fugitive Indio Priest are currently available at the Solidaridad bookshop. For inquiries, visit www.adnu.edu.ph/upress or www.facebook.com/adnupress.

The post Little-known Bicol tales come to light in new books appeared first on The Manila Times Online.

GOOGLE “coral cove” and you will get a list of resorts offering beautiful views and tranquil spaces. In Coral Cove and Other Stories (University of Santo Tomas Publishing House; 160 pages; 2017), the latest short-fiction collection of award-winning author Angelo R. Lacuesta, you will get those — from Batangas to Boracay, Davao to Macau. But in reading the 11 stories in it, readers would be wise to be vigilant.

A passage from one of those stories, “Pacific Paradise,” pretty much sums up what you can expect from the book: “She wondered if she had known somehow that something like this would happen on the day her marriage began, or when she opened her eyes that dark morning.”

“She” is Maricar, who is taking a three-day break in a resort, where she unexpectedly meets high-school friend Carmen, her husband Arnold and their friend Ronald. The resort, Lacuesta emphasizes, has become a last option for vacationers. And much like the resort, dissatisfied mother-of-two Maricar has lost her youthful enthusiasm and is now a “shadow of her former self.” While there, she makes a last-minute decision to recapture life: have an affair.

Infidelity occurs in a number of Lacuesta’s stories. In “Spacer,” a story about overseas Filipinos working in casinos in Macau, it springs out of loneliness. In “Errand,” it is unsurprising for a tottering politician. In “The Debt,” it is the currency that greases the rise — and fall — of a man named Leroy.

It is in that last story that Lacuesta again shows why he is a master storyteller. It is one familiar to Filipinos — of people coming into money, by hook or by crook, and spending it all in one go as if there was no tomorrow, as if there was no debt to pay, as if one were not poor. Lacuesta tells it as it is, mocking us (me, anyway) into thinking life is such — it is desperate and we have to do desperate things to continue living a desperate life.

“It’s always a good thing to owe a little,” Leroy’s mother — who was buried right in their own backyard for lack of money — once told him. He may or may not believe her, but he certainly lives up to it. Leroy makes a precarious living as a fixer. If your driver’s license has expired or is about to, you can call him or he will call you. In exchange for grease money, he will get your license renewed with the help of two female government employees with whom he sleeps with and bribes with gifts. He later sinks into debt and never got out of it, even as he starts earning more than enough from collecting kotong as a traffic enforcer.

The elegance and casualness of the violence in Lacuesta’s stories leaves one breathless, and none more so in “Siren.” Reading this brings to mind a Twilight Zone episode, about genetic evil and such. The story unfolds like a typical melodrama. There is Anna, the not-so-pampered only child of an ordinary employee and homemaker who think they are worth more than what they are — a middle-class family. There is also Clara, their young housemaid with a penchant for radio dramas. A particular favorite of hers focuses on a couple on the run for a crime they did not commit.

Anna gets a birthday gift from her father: a bicycle horn instead of the wished-for bicycle. It makes three sounds, including the sound of a police siren. Her mother dresses up for the occasion wearing her South Sea pearls — an “investment,” she says. But these go missing the next day, resulting in Clara getting blamed and Anna getting what she desires.

In “Not Like Us,” violence is a weapon one wields to stay in power. The protagonist, Mike Santos, learns this a little too late, despite his sophistication. He returns to the country of his birth — after he and his family fled to America after Martial Law was declared — to work as an energy consultant. Here, he meets Joey, a lawmaker, and gets an invitation to the latter’s resort in Batangas. On the way there, they pick up Joey’s girl Lala. But Joey’s wife Erin makes a surprise visit to the resort. The legislator asks Mike to pretend to be with Lala, but it is a wasted effort, as Erin already knows. In any case, Mike gets a little too close to Lala and that’s where everything begins and ends.

Using evocative language, Lacuesta ekes out more violence in “The Witness,” “Sparrow” and “Fossil.” But it is the title story that takes the cake. Here, the author veers into Terminator territory. The protaganist co-developed an app called the “Randomaiser,” so named because it is a game of chance in which a press of a button could make the user gain or lose something small or big.

Randomaiser makes loads of money for the protaganist and his two co-creators, but it develops a taste for killing, all on its own. But despite the horror the app perpetrates, life goes on; people, unaware of this, continue to go to Megamall. Our protaganist eventually gets his own prize.

That, perhaps, reveals the strength of the entire collection. It ascertains that life will persist amid, despite and because of the violence. A Lacuesta story tells us that life is the prize itself, and it is worth clawing on to. Take the risk; read him to taste life.

Coral Cove and Other Stories costs P350 and is available in the UST Publishing House bookshop and leading bookstores.

The post ‘Coral Cove’: Beauty amid brutality appeared first on The Manila Times Online.

At the break of dawn, Belen Perolina and her family wake up to start the day. She quickly prepares a simple breakfast for her brood to nourish them for the busy day ahead. It is less than two weeks before the Catholic Church commemorates Palm Sunday — the Lord’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem — which calls them to prepare for annual opportunity to be of service to their faith while augmenting their honest and humble livelihood.

Blessed with hectares upon hectares of coconut trees in this vastly agricultural area, the Perolinas and their neighbors begin their harvest of young coconut leaves a fortnight before Palm Sunday to use for the “palaspas” they would weave and sell in various churches in Manila.

The run up to Palm Sunday is the only time they set aside weaving straw mats and hats — their bread and butter for the rest of the year — with the palaspas a sure sale as a quintessential symbol with which Catholics begin Holy Week.

An important day of the yearly Catholic calendar, and therefore across the predominantly Catholic Philippines, Palm Sunday — or Linggo ng Palaspas in Filipino — is also considered the culmination of the 40 days of Lent before the faithful are called to recall and reflect on the Passion and Resurrection of Christ from Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday.

For generations of Filipino families, buying the palaspas and having them blessed at Palm Sunday Mass remains a significant ritual in helping them to embark on a week of repentance and prayer.

Jesus Christ’s journey

Palm Sunday is essentially the reenactment of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and to understand why it is important for Christians to commemorate this event in the Lord’s life is to recall the circumstances that led to his journey.

Interpreted by various sources based on the Bible, it is believed that before Jesus traveled to Jerusalem where he would lay down his life to save the world, he and his disciples had been staying in Bethany.

A few kilometers away from Jerusalem, according to the book The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide from Earliest Times to 1700, Bethany is now known as Al-Eizariya town in the West Bank, the landlocked area between Israel and Jordan. It was in Bethany where Jesus performed the miracle of resurrecting Lazarus four days after his death.

Retold from the New Testament by the website aglobalworld.com, “[Jesus] sent some of the disciples ahead of him to get a donkey on which he could be carried as he entered Jerusalem. Additionally, he asked the owner of the house to prepare the Upper Room for the Last Supper.”

As Jesus entered Jerusalem in a donkey, the Jews hailed him for they heard he was the Messiah from the Scriptures who had indeed performed miracles and would save them from oppression. They did so by laying clothes on the ground he would pass and waving palms, which, according to catholic.org, was considered a form of lavish praise and customary practice to welcome people regarded with the greatest respect.

The website further explained that palm branches were a “widely recognized symbol of peace and victory” while the use of a donkey instead of a horse symbolized the “humble arrival of someone in peace, as opposed to arriving on a steed in war.”

More than 2,000 years after Jesus Christ’s historic entry to Jerusalem, Christians around the world have adopted varying commemorations of Palm Sunday.

Palaspas for Filipinos

In the Philippines, the celebration of Palm Sunday emulates the simplicity of Christ with the officiating priest and the congregation gathering in a procession to go into church and toward the altar waving palms like the Jews.

In more conservative Catholic towns in the country, women might line the procession’s route with heirloom aprons or tapis and huge pieces of cloth, while children dressed as angels sing “Hosanna” and strew flowers as they walk ahead of the congregation.

The mass with a lengthy Gospel reading of the Passion of Christ ensues with the priest ending the eucharistic celebration by going around the church to bless the palms with holy water. Traditionally, Filipinos bring home the blessed palms either to place them at the altar or hang them on doorways and windows. The latter is done based on an olden belief hanging them in entryways and openings in a home would ward off evil spirits, avert lightning and — believe it or not — prevent fires. To these Filipinos, the palaspas are considered totems.

“Blessed palms and candles can be kept in the icon corner of the house as [an] evloghia [meaning blessing], but they cannot avert lightning,” Fr. Anton Pascual, president of Radio Veritas Philippines, refuted in the Palm Sunday issue of The Sunday Times Magazine in 2015.

While the church allows palms to be fashioned in smaller crosses or personal devotion items to be kept for a year, they encourage the faithful to return palms to their parishes for use on Ash Wednesday the following year.

As catholic.org explains, “Because the palms are blessed, they may not be discarded as trash. Instead, they are appropriately gathered at the church and incinerated to create the ashes that will be used in the follow year’s Ash Wednesday observance.”

Palaspas-making

With the symbolic meaning of the palm and to the Catholic faith both explained, it may be of interest to learn about the humble palm’s own journey from the hands of humble folk and into those of their fellow faithful.

The Union of Catholic Asian News’ Joe Torres and Martin Jimenez wrote in 2017 that the tradition of palaspas making dates back to the pre-Hispanic era.

“In a 1589 account, Franciscan Father Juan de Plasencia noted that Filipinos use ‘leaves of the white palm, wrought into many designs’ to decorate lamps during festivities,” Torres and Jimenez wrote.

They added that similar uses of the palaspas have also been noted in non-Catholic ethnic groups citing the Islamized Tausug tribe in Mindanao who had used lightning-shaped palaspas as wedding decorations.

For countless generations, however, the sight of palaspas vendors selling simple to elaborately decorated palm leaves is common place every year a couple of days before Palm Sunday.

While city dwellers are inclined to think that the vendors are also from within the metro as re-sellers of palaspas, The Sunday Times Magazine learned from meeting the Perolinas that they are mostly from provinces who have made it their vow to make, transport and sell them in Churches across Manila.

‘Family’ business

It was on Palm Sunday 2018 when The Sunday Times Magazine first met the Perolina family who were among the throngs of palaspas vendors near Sto. Niño de Molino Parish Church in Pag-asa, Bacoor, Cavite.

From their hometown in Cavinti, a third class municipality in the province of Laguna, the Perolinas and almost everyone in their small barangay engage in making and selling palaspas year after year. Besides the two-week preparation of the actual palms, they need to travel three hours by land before dawn three to four days before Palm Sunday to make it to the first round of masses in various churches.

They transport huge and numerous sacks of palaspas and additional young palm fronds — all cleaned and cut up — in case they need to weave more depending on the demand, which expectedly surges on the day of Palm Sunday.

Lately for the Perolinas, they have decided not to go too far to set up shop and sell their palms in Bacoor City.

“Maaga pa lang, Huwebes Santo pa lang, pumupunta na kami dito sa Bacoor para magsimulang magtinda [as early as Maundy Thursday, we travel to Bacoor to start selling palms],” Nanay Belen, as she is fondly called, shared with The Sunday Times Magazine.

Nanay Belen averred she is a veteran when it comes to making and selling palaspas.

“Bata pa lang ako, namulatan ko na ang paggawa ng palaspas. Yung mga nauna sa akin, ang lola at nanay ko, pinakita sa akin kung paano gumawa ng palaspas hanggang sa matutunan ko na rin. Mahirap siya, nakakapagod pero tiyagaan lang.” [Ever since I was a child, I already knew how to weave palm fronds. I just watched my elders in the beginning until I eventually learned how to weave them on my own. It’s not easy to do and it’s very tiresome, but eventually, you also learn the patience to do it].

Nanay Belen proudly showed her expert handiwork with an wide array of designs she had mastered over the years. There is the “kandila” which resembles interwoven shoelaces; the “bawang bawang,” knots similar to garlic bulbs; and the “layung layung,” the bigger version specially made for mass officiants.

Nanay Belen further said that she was only tasked to weave and decorate the palm leaves as a little girl and left home as older members of her family went to Manila to sell them. Eventually in her teens, she was finally allowed to go to the city.

“Nagsimula ako magbenta sa San Pablo, Laguna pero nung nalaman kong mas malakas ang kita sa Maynila, sumama na rin ako dito [At first, I sold my palms in San Pablo City, Laguna but when I heard it was more profitable in Manila, I decided to go further].”

And so, for the past 15 years, Nanay Belen and her family — all five of children — would produce at least 50 pieces of palaspas each for days on end to come up with a total of 2,000 toward Palm Sunday.

“Maganda rin naman ang kita, pero yung kita dun hindi ko naman sasabihing sobrang laki na sasapat na para sa gastusin namin sa buong taon. Nakakadagdag lang siya. [We make good money every year for Palm Sunday but I wouldn’t say it would go very far to augment our needs.]

If the amount is not substantial or commensurate to the effort the entire family puts into making, transporting and selling palaspas every year, The Sunday Times Magazine asked Nanay Belen why they continue to do it.

Her simple answer is faith.

“Maliban naman talaga sa kita, naging parang panata na namin ang paggawa sa palaspas, parang penitensya na rin ba taon-taon at sakripisyo para sa Diyos.” [Besides the monetary benefit, we have taken this on as a pledge to the Lord, a sort of penance we offer to him].

In fact, Nanay Belen added that in her hometown, the community somehow considers this tradition as a collective penance involving children as young as five or six years old in the process. It also unites the community and rejuvenates the old, who even at 90 would eagerly join the mass production of beribboned palm leaves.

Moreover, Nanay Belen shared that the heavens bless them for the sacrifice believing with all her heart that the good health of her family and the success of some of her children are result of their faithful devotion to palaspas-making.

Of her five children, two have already started their own families and are doing well. Another daughter was employed by San Miguel Corporation, while a yet another son landed a job in one of Makati’s biggest restaurants. Finally, she continues to be able to send her youngest to school as the child does her proud.

Nanay Belen will therefore tell anyone she will keep on making and selling palaspas for Palm Sunday as long as she is strong and able to do so. And with this, her fervent prayer is that her children, just like she did, can pass on this devotion and tradition to their own children and their children’s children.

“Dinarasal ko na dito mamatay ang paggawa ng palaspas pero nakakalungkot isipin kung sa malaon ay wala nang gagawa nito. Kaya sana sa pamamagitan ng pagsama namin sa aming mga anak at mga apo sa paggawa nito ay matutunan din nila itong mahalin.” [The possibility of this devotion fading away in generations to come in my family saddens me. I have promised to make these palm leaves every year until I die so I hope that by involving my children in doing this, they will also come to embrace devotion and keep it alive].

The post The journey of the humble ‘palaspas’ appeared first on The Manila Times Online.

Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror and asked yourself, “Where have I gone to?” Of course, on the outside, we may still be the same people: we carry the same smile, our eyes, though weathered, still belong to us and yet, there is just something about the person we see is no longer someone we recognize.

Writing this Easter piece this year seems a bit difficult for me and only because I am in the middle of that moment of asking where the little girl has gone to? And just like any moment of self-reflection, this moment and season in my life is peppered in chaos – no upheaval or change is ever tidy and if it is, you are doing it wrong.

I have moved out of my homeland two years ago and I am still in a constant state of change and beginnings. It’s like getting on a balance beam (like I have briefly when I was six) and steadying yourself one crucial step at a time and just as you think you’ve got it down, boom! you fall flat on your face. Every day you fail, whether in a small or big way, and each day you get up and try again. Thankfully, I have transitioned from “surviving” to the little in-between before you fully thrive.

The act of survival truly makes you a different person and if you are not cautious, it will turn you into a bitter person or just a person who no longer dreams because you’ve been disappointed too many times. Fortunately, I have become more aware of my patterns to be either one. But we cannot stay in survival mode forever, we must move forward to it and try our best to survive.

Being plucked out of survival may have led me to the moment that I am currently having, the steadiness of my recent life has caused me to question where I was in life and what important things I have lost sight of.

I cried over The Unicorn Store because I realized that survival has made me stopped dreaming and living. The emotional trauma of recent events made me stop feeling and made me stop believing that hey, maybe something good will come to me. I was settling to just survive but in truth, the universe wants all of us to thrive for as long as we have the courage to do so.

And for me, this year, this is what Easter signifies. It signifies rebirth, redemption, and reawakening. Easter sometimes becomes a routine of some sort, something we “celebrate” mindlessly but we must take a moment to take it all in – to remind ourselves of the priceless gift we have been given and what we must do with it. Jesus sacrificed and overcame death so horrendous because He wanted to give us life and not just a life that happens after death but life here on Earth, as broken as it may seem.

Jesus came to give us life and, in His strength, we must find our own light here on Earth. We must fight to become the people we have always wanted to be and do the things that make our heart sing. This is the greatest praise to Jesus, to not just live this life in drudgery and routine but to really live and to thank Him every day that we are able to do so.

I hope you get a restart this Easter and I hope you remember, that it is never too late to be who you dream to become. Find that little girl in the mirror, find her, hug her, and make her dreams come true – today is the day you can be who you want to be, regardless of where you have been, you can begin again.

The post Easter brings reawakening appeared first on The Manila Times Online.

It’s a milestone worthy of grand celebration as Radio Veritas Asia and Radio Veritas 846 – the first Catholic radio station in Asia – commemorated their 50th founding anniversary on April 11.

Members of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) Office of Social Communication flocked to Manila to celebrate the milestone in three separate occasions.

First was the Thanksgiving Mass and Luncheon at the University of Santos Tomas (UST) on April 10.

Presided by Apostolic Nuncio Gabriele Giordano Caccia, D.D., with Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle, D.D. as homilist, the celebration highlighted the conception of Radio Veritas Asia at the UST Central Seminary through Conventus Episcopatum Asiae-Autro-Orientalis.

The festivity continued on April 11 with the unveiling of the Commemorative Marker; the inauguration, blessing and ribbon cutting of the RV Asia Museum and the anniversary program. Archbishop of Freiburg, Most Rev. Stephan Burger, D.D. alongside the FABC Chairman, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, D.D., of Myanmar, officiated the event, followed by the awarding of 50 individuals and institutions that have contributed to the ongoing social communications apostolate of both Radio Veritas Asia and Radio Veritas 846.

Archbishop Tagle will end the celebration today through a solemn Easter Sunday mass followed by a thanksgiving fellowship of Radio Veritas Asia and Radio Veritas 846 anchors, together with all the loyal listeners and benefactors.

“As we rekindle our past, we need to remember, we need to look back. We need to have come from and where we are going. We could attribute the growing importance of this tradition for us to many things: more years under our belts, more wisdom and more lives we have touched,” noted Radio Veritas President Father Anton Pascual.

“We pray for the grace that this anniversary will be an occasion not only to look back, but also to renew our commitment, to embrace truth, and to really be able to reach as many brothers and sisters around Asia, to be able to serve them and be able to proclaim the good news to them,” he added.

Meanwhile, RVA General Manager Fr. Victor Sadaya noted, “This celebration marks the convergence of all the various sponsors, coordinators, producers, and it also serves as a way of expressing our profound gratitude to those who continue to support Radio Veritas Asia station and to those who commit to the vision mission of Radio Veritas Asia, being the voice of Christianity, in Asia and the world.”

Honoring history

In its 50th anniversary program, it was recalled that Radio Veritas Asia (RVA) was built to proclaim and propagate God’s truth in homes through airwaves. It was during an assembly of 100 bishops across Asia and Australia at the central seminary of UST in Manila in 1959 when the concept came about.

Approved by Pope Pius 12th before his death, his predecessor Pope John 23rd, carried out the plan and sent delegates to discuss the challenges of Communism to the Church in Asia. It was Rufino Cardinal Santos who proposed the Philippines, being the only Catholic country in Asia, as the home of such radio station.

And so nine years since it was conceptualized, Radio Veritas — which stands for truth — began its broadcast in 1969 from Fairview, Quezon City, Philippines. Finally, on April 11, 1969, the first overseas broadcast via shortwave (SW) technology began.

Eventually, in 1990, the domestic and overseas services were separated and became two independent units. The Filipino broadcast became the commercial station called Radio Veritas to differentiate itself from the overseas service of Radio Veritas Asia.

Perhaps, Radio Veritas became familiar with Filipinos for the big role it played during the Martial Law and eventually, the People Power Revolution.

On the fateful day of opposition leader Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.’s assassination, only Radio Veritas presented a detailed account of everything that took place after during the historical event and continued to do so for a marathon of 20 hours.

Years after, Radio Veritas became the voice of truth and contributed in the unfolding of the People Power Revolution. Upon the defection of then-General Fidel Ramos and Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile to Cory Aquino’s camp, the late Manila Archbishop Jaime Sin’s appeal to the Catholics to protect them again aired on Radio Veritas. And the rest, they say is history.

To commemorate this contribution as well as the station’s rich history, RVA also launched the Radio Veritas Museum in its compound in Quezon City.

“I would like to invite everyone to visit the museum because one of the highlights of our museum is the role that Radio Veritas played during Martial Law, how Cardinal Sin’s message eventually called people to the streets and brought the downfall of dictatorship,” Fr. Pascual shared during the press conference after the celebration on April 11.

Looking forward

Besides honoring RVA’s rich history, the golden celebration also unveiled the new logo of RVA and the rebranding of Radio Veritas 846 as Radyo ng Simbahan.

“We want to be more visible and we want the brand to stick nang sa gayon, people would know na pag may kailangan ka, especially spiritual, at least there is a place where they can hear words of hope, of wisdom, they can find solace, consolation, even prayers, prayers of healing. Ito po ang nais naming i-offer sa tao sa pamamagitan ng Radyo ng Simbahan,” Fr. Pascual related regarding the rebranding of Radio Veritas.

In addition, the celebration further highlighted the adaption of RVA to the changing times. Since 2016, RVA has been on the road of reinventing itself as an online broadcast platform and has forgone the use of shortwave broadcasting.

“The reason for Radio Veritas adapting to digital communication precisely is because the shortwave is obsolete and very expensive to maintain, whereas using social media in particular, is less expensive. Another thing, social media is more interactive, while shortwave is not,” Fr. Sadaya shared.

“Social media is able to reach more people globally, whereas shortwave is just confined to a particular locality. And above all, we are into digital communication and the Church should embrace this inevitable change in order to be relevant,” he added.

“Dati po ang gamit ng Simbahan ay single preaching, sa podium, nag-print po tayo, even nga yung art, ginagamit natin and eventually yung radyo, TV, cinema and theater. Ngayon may bagong lugar kung nasaan tumatambay ang mga tao, yun po ang online, so kung nasaan po ang tao ay present din ang Simbahan doon for them to continuously hear the words of truth and hope,” Radio Veritas Corporate Secretary Fr. Roy Belen finally offered.

The post 50 years of bringing words of truth and hope to the faithful appeared first on The Manila Times Online.

SOX Writers, in partnership with the Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY) and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), will hold a SOX Summer Writing Camp in General Santos City from April 29 to May 2, 2019.

The camp aims to contribute to the growing literary scene in Region 12 (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani provinces and General Santos City, or Soccsksargen or SOX). It also aims to develop and promote the writing talents of young writers in the region, as well as encourage them to produce literary works that represent and highlight the diversity and richness of the cultures in SOX.

“The camp will provide a big opportunity for young writers in our region to hone and improve their craft,” camp director Kurt Comendador said.

“It will [give] them more exposure to experienced writers who will serve as their mentors in this four-day activity. It will give them a taste of what it’s like to live a writer’s life and experience dwelling in a community that shares the same passion as them. It is a rare vibrant event for us who live in the region, which is only beginning to appreciate local literature,” he added.

During the camp, there will be a plenary lecture, titled “Introduction to Writing and Literature;” specialized lectures on poetry, essay and fiction; and a zine-making activity and zine fest.

High school, senior high school and college students from different parts of the region will undergo general and specialized creative writing workshops. They are expected to write creative works and publish them in zines.

For the past few years, there have been several literary events to help grow the literary scene in the region. Still, it is undeniable that access to bigger writing opportunities remains outside the region. The SOX Summer Writing Camp not only aims to develop the creative writing skills of young writers, but also encourage institutional support from concerned agencies and writing communities in the Philippines.

“We hope this inaugural event will be successful and open numerous opportunities for writers in the SOX region. We hope that this will garner the support of our local institutions toward literary efforts in the regionand give SOX literature a chance to prosper,” Comendador said.

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ANVIL Publishing Inc., one of the leading book publishers in the Philippines, and Wattpad, the global multiplatform entertainment company for original stories, have teamed up to create Bliss Books, a groundbreaking new young-adult (YA) imprint for Filipino booklovers.

Targeting Filipino YA and romance fanatics who have found a home reading and writing on Wattpad, Bliss Books will publish hit titles from the platform. The new imprint will bring some of the platform’s biggest stories and authors to bookshelves across the country.

“Over the years, Anvil has published a wide range of titles in diverse genres and categories in several imprints,” Anvil General Manager Andrea Pasion-Flores said. “We think this exciting new partnership with Wattpad will allow us to serve a large segment of the reading population and discover new voices for a new generation of readers.”

“The Philippines has become one of our most successful markets, because Filipino readers and writers have embraced the limitless possibilities of storytelling on Wattpad,” said Ashleigh Gardner, deputy general manager at Wattpad Studios, Publishing.

“We’re thrilled to work with Anvil to bring more hit Wattpad stories to bookshelves all over the country.” she added.

The Philippines is one of Wattpad’s largest markets, and home to some of its most passionate users and successful writers. Millions of Filipino Wattpad users have shared more than 13 million story uploads on the platform.

To date, hundreds of Wattpad stories have been turned into books, TV shows and films in the Philippines.

One of Wattpad’s biggest successes in the Philippines was the hit TV5 series Wattpad Presents. Running from 2014 to 2017, the series aired 250 episodes representing 76 Wattpad stories, and reached millions of viewers across the country.

Since its inception in 1990, Anvil has published more than 2,000 titles, with a wide variety of bestsellers and award-winners.

The 2019 Bliss Books list will be released this summer. Titles from Bliss Books are expected to hit stores in mid-2019.

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INSTITUTO CERVANTES, the cultural arm of the Embassy of Spain, will again hold exciting activities to celebrate Día del Libro (International Book Day) at the Ayala Triangle in Makati City on April 27.

During Día del Libro, thousands of books will be up for grabs at the Book Market. Top bookstores and publishing houses will be selling a wide array of books at 20-percent off. Following Spanish tradition, everyone who buys a book will be given a rose.

Instituto Cervantes will also hold several cultural activities. One, the “Rewriting of Don Quijote,” commemorates the Day of Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote de la Mancha. In this activity, visitors are invited to copy Don Quixote by hand. Every year, about 500 book-loving volunteers hand-write an excerpt from Cervantes’ classic novel. Participants in the handwriting chain will receive a rose.

Another is the poetry reading of Dr. Jose Rizal’s “Mi Último Adiós.” Each reader gets to recite a line from the famous poem, which Rizal wrote before his execution on Dec. 30, 1896. Each recitation will be recorded. The final cut will be uploaded on Instituto Cervantes’ social media pages. Readers will also be given a rose.

A number of organizations are joining the celebration. From 9:30 a.m. onward, one of these, Kyusi Sketchers, will invite visitors to sketch their favorite scenes during the Día del Libro. At about 3 p.m., the sketches will be displayed. Those good at drawing and interested to join must email their names and contact numbers to cenmni@cervantes.es with the subject “Sketching at Día del Libro.”

Visitors can also catch a sneak preview of acclaimed Spanish playwright and poet Federico García Lorca’s tragedy, Blood Wedding. The play, to be shown in July, will be performed by students in the Theater Arts program of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde.

A book-signing session by prize-winning author Jessica Zafra and the launch of the new volume of the celebrated Filipino comic saga Trese (Thirteen) will also take place during the Día del Libro.

And to truly emphasize the love for books and reading, Instituto Cervantes will hand out hundreds of books for free. Visitors must purchase a shirt featuring an excerpt from a Spanish poem, and as a reward they would get not only a book, but also a rose.

First introduced in Manila by Instituto Cervantes in 2006, Día del Libro began in Barcelona, Spain to celebrate St. George’s Day on April 23. During this day, men and women exchange roses and books. The date also honors two of history’s greatest writers, Cervantes and William Shakespeare, who both died on April 23, 1616.

These prompted the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 1995 to declare April 23 as “World Book and Copyright Day” to instill the love of reading among young people youth and promote respect for the rights of authors over their literary and artistic works.

April has also been declared by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts as National Literature Month, as it is also the birth month of the renowned Filipino poet laureate and Florante at Laura author Francisco Balagtas.

Admission to all Día del Libro activities is free on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, visit http://manila.cervantes.es or www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila, or call (632) 526-1482.

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“FILIPINO moms shit on their kids’ dreams,” Filipino-American stand-up comic Jo Koy said in his Live from Seattle comedy special in 2017. In it, he related how his mother cried when he told her he wanted to be a comic. She had wanted him to be a nurse instead, telling him, “All your aunties are nurses, your cousins are nurses. Do you see any clowns in this family?”

Koy’s self-deprecating, rapid-fire delivery makes his Filipino nurse-mom spiel funny. However, its effect on kids whose dreams have been “shit on” may vary. As the comic explained: “I’m just saying, if you’re a nurse, God bless you. But you know there are some nurses out there who didn’t follow their dreams. There are some nurses working at the hospital who wish they were a Jabbawockee.”

The heroine of Erin Entrada Kelly’s well-crafted young adult (YA) novel Blackbird Fly (Greenwillow Books; 2015), 12-year-old Filipino-American Analyn Pearl “Apple” Yengko, may not want to be part of the Jabbawockee dance crew, but her dream of becoming a musician is shit on by her nurse-mom Amihan, nicknamed “Glo.”

The Yengkos relocated to America right after Apple’s dad died. Young as Apple was then, she still can recall it: “On the day we moved to America, it snowed in Chapel Spring, Louisiana for the first time in twenty years. My mother said it was a sign that the seasons of our lives were changing. Even though I was only four years old, I can still remember how she hugged me close and said we had something wonderful to look forward to: a life as real Americans.”

All Apple has left of her dad is a cassette tape. It is her most treasured keepsake from the Philippines: “I had an old postcard and a Beatles cassette tape. Abbey Road, to be exact. My father had written his name on it in black marker a long, long time ago. H. Yengko, it said. Some of the letters had rubbed off, but his name was as clear as ever to me. I grabbed the tape quickly before we left our barangay, because it was the only thing that would fit in my pocket.”

Apple held on to the tape, even when she couldn’t listen to it until she bought a tape player from a garage sale when she was around 11. After that, she was hooked: “Once you listen to the Beatles, you can’t go back. They’re the best rock band that’s ever lived, in my opinion.”

In fact, the book’s title takes inspiration from “Blackbird,” a song from The Beatles’ self-titled 1968 double album, also known as “The White Album.”

At any rate, Apple — whose favorite Beatle is George Harrison and dreams of becoming a guitar player just like him — knows more about the Fab Four than her own father. But Glo, it seems, still finds it too painful to talk about him.

Another thing that Glo avoids talking about is Apple’s dream of becoming a musician. “I used to count the number of times that my mother refused to get me a guitar. Last time I counted, it was up to twenty-two. Twenty-two times,” the middle-school protagonist says.

“I can’t remember the first time I asked, but from then until now, it’s been twenty-two times. You’d think that after twenty-two times, she would know how serious I am. But she doesn’t care.”

With emotional landmines at home, Apple tries to seek refuge from her eighth-grade friends Alyssa Tate and Gretchen Scott, who are both as American as apple pie. (Pun intended, of course.) Unfortunately, Alyssa and Gretchen are mean girls who like hanging out with equally mean boys.

The misguided Apple does her best to conform to the superficial requirements of the group, even when one of the boys — a cocky little misogynist named Jake Bevans — turns racist on her and calls her a dog-eater, among other things.

Unfortunately, rather than flee from the group, Apple still seeks their approval, to the point that she becomes a bully by association because she stays silent even when her friends pick on a girl named Heleena Moffett.

Apple learns a very painful lesson later on when she finds out that she is No. 3 on a disturbing list called the Dog Log, which supposedly features “the ugliest girls” at Chapel Spring Middle.

“The Dog Log isn’t actually written down,” Apple explains. “It’s spread, guy to guy, until any guy who is ‘in the know’ knows.” She adds in all seriousness: “The only thing worse than being on the Dog Log is being one of the top five on the Dog Log.”

Fortunately, she meets Evan Temple, a new student at Chapel Spring Middle. Evan, who is from California and whose parents are “woke” (aka Absolutely Not Racists), is the kind of kid who is not impressed by the Alyssas and Jakes of the world. Thanks to him, things take a turn for the better for Apple.

It may be a YA novel, but Blackbird Fly could easily cross over to the adult section. It may be a deceptively easy read, but it’s really a very complex book that deals with death, cultural confusion, racism and the petty-but-damaging power struggles in school that may scar you for life.

The best thing about the book is Apple, who is perfectly imperfect and real. Kelly should be commended for having an excellent command of her character’s voice. Her interpretation of Apple’s voice is as masterful as in Judy Blume’s 1970 bestseller Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret and Sue Townsend’s 1982 hit The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾.

Clearly, this proves that Kelly isn’t a Newbery Medal winner for nothing. She deserves a spot on our reading list.

Blackbird Fly costs P765 in hardcover and P249 in tradepaper and is available in leading bookstores.

The post ‘Blackbird Fly’: Coming-of-age story that soars appeared first on The Manila Times Online.

The first contingent of American volunteers from Washington during the Philippine-American War arrived in Pateros in March 1899. Eventually soldiers won the battles and established a temporary camp in the locality. Throughout this period, the Americans experienced Pateros culture and the duck-raising livelihood of the locals – including roast duck for meals.

The postcards about Pateros sent back home made Lieutenat Charles Nosler, a member of the contingent, rename the City of Ive’s Landing in the State of Washington in 1900 after the town of Pateros in the Philippines.

Pateros City, Okanogan County, Washington, USA was officially recognized on May 1, 1913.

A century after Ive’s Landing became Pateros, former Mayor Jaime Medina visited the Washington component to sign the “Sister City Memorandum of Understanding between the Municipality of Pateros, Metro Manila and Pateros City, Okanogan County, Washington State, USA.”

Although there was no application through Sister Cities International, the two Pateros, according to then Mayor Gail Howe, share the same goals of promoting culture and exchanges turning sisterhood into reality.

Much of the Washington city was destroyed by the Carlton Complex wildfire on July 17 and 18, 2014. No injuries or fatalities were reported from its almost 700 population, but at least 95 homes and one business were destroyed.

The city’s population today is 565, and the current mayor is Carlene Anders.

The post Trivia: There is a ‘Pateros City’ in the USA appeared first on The Manila Times Online.

Santa Marta de Pateros is the patron saint of duck-raisers and alfombra/abolorio makers. The shrine is located at the Pateros Church, alternately called San Roque Parish Church, on B. Morcilla Street, built in 1815.

According to folklore, Saint Martha (who tamed Tarasque – a fearsome legendary dragon-like mythological hybrid that inhabited Provence, France – with hymns and prayers) in 1700s was invoked by the people of Pateros to vanquish a giant crocodile that attacked their ducks in the nearby river.

One evening, under a bright full moon, a brave local decided to slay the monster. On his way, at the banks of river, he saw a brilliant light surrounding the figure of Saint Martha; the giant crocodile was never seen again after that and the duck-raising industry flourished.

People of Pateros attribute this miracle to their patron saint and a grand fluvial procession is traditionally held in memory of the miracle. Thus her image shows crushing a crocodile with her dainty feet.

Variably, the local feast in honor of Santa Marta de Pateros was held in the months of January, February or March – based on the abundance of balut and rice harvests, coinciding with a full moon that illuminates the surroundings as there was no electricity yet.

However, the feast was fixed to second Sunday of February in the 1960s, following economic and environmental changes to the municipality. Moreover, there was a move from the parish priest to change the date to July 29, Saint Martha’s liturgical feast in the Catholic Church.

The church is the only major shrine dedicated to Saint Martha in the whole of Southeast Asia to date, and there is a proposal to elevate it to the status of National Shrine of the Philippines.

Even with the loss of a fluvial procession, the Sta. Marta de Pateros Fiesta remains an old-fashioned fiesta in urban Metro Manila. Devotees form a long line to offer their petitions and touch the image of the town’s patron saint in the church patio. After the mass, a roving band of musicians play fandango music while a group of strong men carrying the image dance to the beat, as the crowd chant the song for “the savior” of their livelihood.

Sources: Department of Tourism-NCR, Wikipedia, www.pateros.com, Philippine Statistics Authority, citypopulation.de, muntingtinigngpaterosblogspot, pateros.metronewscentral.net

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“Easter egg-hunting is not a tradition in Pateros,” Balut sa Puti founder Andy Concio informed The Sunday Times Magazine, even with the abundance of duck eggs in town.

Nevertheless the municipality is probably the only place where the tradition of salubong is still practiced religiously albeit enhanced with touches of modernity.

Whereas two different barrios served as the starting point of the Risen Christ and the grieving Mother Mary in the past, a tradition began in the 1990s where a grand tableau is built for the reunion of mother and son on the church patio, depicting a chosen theme each year.

“It has taken on the identity of a grand theater production, complete with lights, sound and smoke. Each year is different from the last and people actually look forward to the grand spectacle even if they have to wake up early to see it. The downside is that less people would join the procession because they want to save good spots on the patio to get a better view of the salubong,” a local artisan shared in his blog “Munting Tinig Ng Pateros” on how Easter is celebrated in his hometown.

But for sure, in every home and every Easter gathering in and around Pateros, delicious balut is served on the table to celebrate the Risen Jesus.

***

Pateros in focus

From the Spanish origins of its name – pato for duck, and pateros for duck-raisers, the town could well have gotten its tag for its duck-raising industry. History also notes that the early 19th-century US diplomat Edmund Roberts used “Duck-town” as another name for Pateros and was quoted as saying he has “never seen so many ducks before” in a single place.

One lesser-known conjecture is that the name of Metro Manila’s smallest domain came from the bijou shoe-making industry – sapatos from the Spanish word zapatos for shoes, and sapateros for shoemakers.

However it got its name, Pateros remains famous for producing the best balut in the country, earning the moniker “Balut Capital of the Philippines.”

Besides balut, the municipality is also known for itlog na maalat (red salty duck eggs), local rice cake called inutak, and alfombra – tsinelas or footwear with carpet-like fabric on its top surface.

According to latest census figures (National Statistics Office, 2015), Pateros has a population of 63,840 people within the 15-64 years old range.

From the 2016 Population Density Report of the Philippine Statistics Authority, Pateros has the smallest density of 6,138 persons per square kilometer of land, with the City of Manila as the most densely populated at 71,263 per square kilometer and the Metro Manila median at 20,785.

Bordered by Pasig to the north, Makati to the west, and Taguig to the south, Pateros was only a barrio of Pasig before 1770, until the Spanish Governor General issued a decree making it an independent municipality. One of its original five villages, Mamancat, is now part of Fort Bonifacio under Taguig.

Pateros became one of the towns in the newly created Province of Rizal in 1900. Three years later, it was united with Taguig and Muntinlupa into one municipality under Pateros, but was renamed Taguig in 1905 through Philippine Commission General Order 40 Act 1308.

On February 29, 1908, Executive Order 20 separated Pateros from Taguig, gaining independent municipality status on January 1, 1909 under Executive Order 36. The town became part of the new Metropolitan Manila Area through Presidential Decree 824 on November 7, 1975.

Like the other municipalities in Metro Manila that became cities through Republic Act 7160 as enacted by both Congress and the Senate, Pateros attempted again to convert the town into a city (like San Juan which gained cityhood in 2007) upon the assumption of former Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to the presidency in 2016.

Through the collaborative efforts of the local government spearheaded by Mayor Miguel Ponce 3rd and the passage of a House Bill sponsored by Rep. Arnel Cerafica of the Lone District of Pateros-Taguig City, the proposal remains unacted as of this time though.

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A new beginning for Pateros and its famed exotic produce

Following images of the Risen Christ, eggs are the most popular symbol of new beginnings on Easter Sunday. According to history, this Christian symbolism started in erstwhile Mesopotamia where eggs were stained with red coloring “in memory of the blood of Christ, shed at His crucifixion.” The custom was eventually adopted by the Roman Catholic Church as a symbol of the resurrection of the Lord.

Through time, the meaning and uses of eggs at Easter evolved in many ways, among them how some Christians link the cracking open of Easter eggs with the empty tomb of Jesus. In Orthodox churches, meanwhile, the priest blesses the eggs at the end of the Paschal Vigil on Black Saturday, then distributes those to the faithful the following day to be accepted as new life sealed within the shells.

To make Easter celebrations more fun for children, the Western tradition of the Easter egg hunt eventually came to be ― first as hard boiled eggs and eventually as chocolate egg treats ― which, like the majority of American celebrations, crept into Philippine Easter celebrations too.

But today, for a different spin on enjoying eggs on this joyful day of commemoration for Christians, The Sunday Times Magazine goes to Pateros, famous for its abundance of the shelled Philippine delicacy balut.

Even as the town – the only remaining municipality in Metro Manila – celebrated this year’s Balut Sa Puti Festival some weeks before Easter Sunday, its 31st edition truly marked a new beginning for its famous exotic produce as the Department of Tourism-National Capital Region (DOT-NCR) took the first major step in promoting Pateros as a major attraction for culinary tourism.

Resilience and commitment

With hardly a tourist spot to call its own, Pateros still held its own for over a century taking pride in its thriving duck-raising industry.

Sadly in recent decades, the Pateros River which was highly conducive for the town’s signature trade diminished into a two-meter creek from its original 15 meters, practically killing its source of livelihood.

A resourceful and resilient town nonetheless, Pateros maintained its renown as balut producer with duck eggs supplied from neighboring provinces like Bulacan, Pampanga and Nueva Ecija. A major boost is how the local government encourages the growth of the industry with tax exemptions given to balut vendors in Pateros.

“We may have lost the duck-raising industry but balut-making in Pateros continues to thrive. We have been very active in reviving our balut industry, that in maybe a year or two, balut-making will take its position as the municipality’s main industry again,” Mayor Ike Ponce said to visiting media during the Balut Sa Puti Festival held at the Pateros Church grounds.

But while there is no contest that the best balut is produced in this town, with production reaching thousands each day, the traditional system has been a bane more than a boon to stakeholders. As such, the government has come up with the innovative incubator technology under the experimental guidance of Andy Concio, who initiated the Balut Sa Puti Festival and started the preserved balut-in-jar business.

The project is in its early stage in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology, but already shows promise with much less mortality rate for the fertilized eggs.

During the tour of the modern and traditional balut-making systems, The Sunday Times Magazine witnessed a huge difference in handling the duck eggs.

Concio explained that under the electric bulb or “silaw,” unfertilized eggs – which turn into either penoy or abnoy – can immediately be sifted without having to handle the rest. The process lowers mortality rate by 30 percent compared to the traditional way of sorting where every egg passes through the hands of balut producers.

There is also a plan to establish and maintain a duck farm somewhere in Rizal province (Angono, Taytay or Cainta) which is closer to Pateros to do away with transportation cost for vendors thereby raising their profit margin.

All these great plans complement the formation of the Pateros Balut Sa Puti Commission, which the town has tasked to promote, supervise, move and sustain revival projects for the industry.

Balut is it!

The Balut Sa Puti Festival was established three decades ago but little is known about this important celebration in Pateros’ annual calendar. The 31st edition this year, however, served as a kick-off to raising awareness for the festival given the maiden support of the DOT-NCR.

The agency announced its goal as to make Pateros a culinary tourism destination the whole year round beyond the one-weekend affair where locals, visitors and stakeholders gather to savor duck meat and balut sa puti dishes.

Emphasizing that tourism is all about experience, DOT-NCR Officer-In-Charge Cathy Agustin related, “We want people to experience something authentic, so the balut of Pateros is it. We want to push for the promotion of balut both as a community business and culinary tourism product.”

In agreement, the municipality’s acting tourism officer Renato Bade chimed in, “Pateros’ tourism industry is basically focused on balut so it is clear that food tourism is well alive here. We may not be known for tourist spots but it is our balut that makes Pateros stand out.”

People prefer to eat balut sa puti when the duck embryo is still small [16 or 17 days fertilized] and wrapped in egg white. As a rule, the bigger the puti portion, the better the balut sa puti is.

Besides balut, DOT-NCR is also pushing for the promotion of itik or dark-colored duck species specialty dishes as a staple menu in restaurants, local eateries and among catering services from Pateros.

To prove the goal is possible, local cooks and chefs proudly presented their best concoction of Afritadang Balut and Pickled Itik as part of a huge buffet of balut dishes. Best had via a boodle fight, the rich and varied flavors that had the exotic Philippine delicacy as the star definitely has a future of pleasing palates at the festival, during Easter and beyond.

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The National Commission for Culture and the Arts — led by its chairman National Artist Virgilio Almario through its Subcommission for Cultural Heritage headed by Teddy Co — is set to kick off the celebration of National Heritage Month for the whole month of May.

Pursuant to Presidential Proclamation 439 signed in 2013, the National Heritage Month celebration recognizes the need to create an appreciation, respect, and love for the legacies of Filipino cultural history.

Carrying the theme “Mga Pinuno Para Sa Pamana,” this year’s celebration aims to send a message to citizens to be the frontrunners in preserving and promoting Filipino culture and heritage as national identity.

The month-long celebration opens on May 2 at the St. Matthias Parish Church in Tumauini, Isabela – declared by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) as a National Historical Landmark and by National Museum of the Philippines (NM) as National Cultural Property. It is also one of the four Baroque Churches in the Philippines included in the tentative list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

A competition through social media called #TanglawNgPamana that intends to showcase talents in promoting cultural heritage through audio-visual presentations aims to reach wider audience particularly the millennials.

The Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) will also launch this year’s commemorative stamp featuring Women as Keepers of Heritage.

National government agencies, cultural organizations, schools, public libraries, Philippine embassies and consulates, and private organizations will hold heritage-related activities as well, such as lectures, demonstrations, conferences and exhibits, which aim to educate and raise awareness among the youth on tangible and intangible heritage.

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The University of Santo Tomas Symphony Orchestra (USTSO), one of the resident companies of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) for music, performed before an enthusiastic crowd at the Plaza Mayor in Balanga City, Bataan recently as part of the two-week long celebration of Bataan Day.

Billed as “Ika-77 Taong Paggunita sa Araw ng Kagitingan,” the event was organized by the Bataan Peninsula Tourism Council Foundation, Inc. (BPTCFI) to commemorate the valor of Filipino veterans in 1942.

USTSO played a two-part repertoire featuring classical music for the first part under the baton of Renato Lucas. Light classics and popular tunes for the last section was led by Herminigildo Ranera, who is the principal conductor and artistic director of the USTSO. Lucas and Reynato Resurreccion are associate conductors of the orchestra.

The orchestra was founded by Manuel Casas, a medical doctor, in 1927. In 1961, the USTSO was reorganized by National Artist for Music Antonio Buenaventura, known for his extensive research on folk songs and dances in collaboration with National Artist for Dance Francisca Reyes-Aquino.

USTSO’s Bataan concert was part of the flagship program of CCP president Arsenio Lizaso.

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Marc Anthony Nicholas, the Emmy-winning Filipino-American producer of “The Talk” is set for another milestone as he is inducted into the 2019 Asian Hall of Fame.

Marc, who was born to Filipino immigrants, moved to the United States at the age of four years old where he saw his parents rise above the challenges through hard work and exemplary work ethic.

Today, Marc, who initially pursued a career in the healthcare industry, is a producer for the Emmy Award-winning talk show The Talk. With over 15 years of television experience, he has worked on “The Tyra Banks Show” and is the only Filipino producer on The Talk which garners 2.4 million viewers daily.

His inspiring story and resilience has inspired many Filipinos both in the country and all over the world and this month, Marc will add another inspiring achievement by being named in the prestigious Asian Hall of Fame alongside “Crazy Rich Asians” director Jon M. Chu.

For Marc, being an honoree alongside the director is monumental.

“In 1993, ‘The Joy Luck Club’ hit theaters. It took 25 years for the arrival of Crazy Rich Asians. I’m so lucky to be alive during this day and age because Asians are finally making a huge mark in Hollywood. We need more Asian-led projects in the entertainment industry because we’re so talented and hardworking. Being inducted with the Jon Chu, director of Crazy Rich Asians gives me a sense of pride. I’m so proud to share the stage with such a trail blazer who is limitless,” he said.

He also believes that his induction is not just a win for himself but for the whole Asian community.

“This award is a celebration of my life! It represents my struggles and my triumphs, the highs and lows. I hope to make the Asian community proud — my ultimate goal is to empower and make our Asian brothers and sisters be seen and be heard.”

Marc also reflects on how significant the prestigious award is to him, a Filipino-American.

The 2019 Asian Hall of Fame Celebration will be one of the pinnacle events in my life. Being inducted into The Asian Hall of Fame is a dream come true. Bruce Lee, Kristi Yamaguchi, Connie Chung, Carrie Ann Inaba, and many deserving Asians have been honored in the past. I’m humbled and thankful for this opportunity, he exclaimed.

On a personal level, his induction is more special because it will happen on Mother’s Day weekend, a fact even made more significant because Marc lost his mom to cancer 10 years ago.

“This year marks the 10th anniversary that my mom passed away from breast cancer. I have a pocket size picture of her in my car… I feel like she guides me on the road and guides me in life in general. She was my best friend and we always had fun together. We sang karaoke but were both terrible, watched ‘American Idol,’ and she would always ask me every morning before she went to work, ‘How do I look?’ And I would always say, ‘More beautiful than yesterday.’ I miss her laugh, her smile, her hugs. I miss everything about my mom. I want to say, ‘Mom, you’ve made my life so happy and even though I didn’t grow up with a lot, just knowing you were by my side was enough. I love you Mom… I love you more than yesterday,” he related.

Marc is also quick to reflect on his journey and how far he has come.

“I was bullied and teased as a child. I was thrown against the wall by bullies inside the boy’s restroom when I was in the fifth grade. I was made fun of during Physical Education class because I wasn’t athletic enough in high school. I would tell my younger self, ‘You’re enough. Don’t let anyone tell you anything less. Go after your dreams and fear nothing. Want to write your own book? Do it. Want to become an actor? Do it. Want to be a motivational speaker? Do it. Live outside your comfort zone and do your best at everything you do. Be happy. Be healthy. Believe.’”

www.carlabiancaravanes.com

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More Filipino women are helping bridge the gap in the workplace as they find their spots in fields normally dominated by the male species through “Ahon Pinay,” an advocacy that celebrates and supports the modern-day heroine in every Filipina. The initiative is spearheaded by Ariel Laundry Detergent brand.

Specifically created to eliminate boundaries in gender professional capabilities, Ahon Pinay also opens dialogue on issues women face in their respective industries — a reality that thousands live with everyday.

Three women — Emilyn Saren, Marian Binalla and Armida Matibag — harbored few dreams for themselves, and never dreamed they could barge into male-dominated industries. Thankfully, Procter & Gamble Philippines partnered with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Women’s Center (TWC) for Ariel Ahon Pinay, allowing many Filipinas the opportunity to finish technical-vocational programs in fields traditionally thought to be reserved for men.

Through determination and hard work, they went through the intensive program of night classes, successfully getting their diplomas after months of rigorous training. The program allowed them to hone their skills in areas such as Shielded Metal Arc Welding, Plumbing, Automotive Servicing, as well as Electrical Installation and Maintenance, which are in-demand jobs in the country and abroad.

Today, they are successfully breaking gender stereotypes through their contributions and strong presence in the workplace, alongside other modern women.

Treading new ground

As expected, their journeys were not at all easy. As trailblazers, the three women experienced some skepticism from their male colleagues, especially when they were just starting out, but they did not let this faze them. They realized that being a female in a male-dominated field is not a disadvantage, especially when one has the right skills, a positive attitude, and determination to succeed.

Emily Saren shared her experience working in a job more commonly associated to men.

“May mga panahon din na nawalan ako ng tiwala sa sarili ko tapos iniisip ko kung paano ko malalagpasan yung mga pagsubok at kung kaya ko ba kasi lahat sila lalaki. Napakahirap talaga pero nung katagalan, naging okey rin. Maayos yung management at inu-orient talaga yung mga trabahador at sinasabi na kailangan respetuhin ang mga babae at sinasabi nila na, ‘TESDA graduate yan at respetuhin ninyo sila. Puwede natin silang paghangaan, dahil ang tipikal na trabaho ng lalaki ay nakakayanan nila.’”

In facing challenges in the workplace, persistence is necessary, according to Armida Matibag.

“Sa una, hindi naging madali ang pagtrabaho sa isang construction site lalo na sa isang katulad kong babae. Minsan, hindi maiwasan na may nambu-bully at nangangantiyaw kasabay ng mabibigat na tasks, pero kinaya ko naman lahat yun. Ginawa kong motivation ang challenges na yun upang lalo ko pang paghusayin ang aking trahaho at mapatunayang kaya ko,” she recounted.

Despite the difficulties, there is much that they have all learned.

“Mahirap din, kasi minsan nagbubuhat, at kailangan mo lakasan pero marami ka namang matutunan dito. Kung ano yung mga alam ng mga katrabaho mo ituturo rin nila sa ’yo. Marami talagang aral na mapupulot,” Marian Binalla said.

Positive sign for companies

All three women acknowledge how the training they received from TESDA has helped them in their respective careers.

“Noong hindi pa po ako nakakapag-TESDA, wala akong tiwala sa sarili ko, kumbaga walang pag-asa magkatrabaho. Nung nag-TESDA na po ako, naisip ko ‘makaka-graduate na ako, mabubuhay ko yung anak ko.’ Puwede na rin akong mangibang- bansa, at may pag-asa nang magkaroon ng maayos na sahod at trabaho. Mayroon po akong pinanghahawakang papel na nakapagtapos ako, lalo na para sa mga katulad naming indigenous people na walang aasahang iba,” Saren recounted.

For her part, Binalla recalled, “Bago pa po ako magtapos sa TESDA may mga nag-aalok na ng trabaho. Hinihintay na lang kami grumadweyt tapos papapirmahin na lang kami ng kontrata.”

If there is one thing that brings enormous satisfaction to the women, it is that their respective companies are now welcoming more women into their line of work. They see this as a positive sign and proof that their contributions are valued.

To date, the training program of TESDA in partnership with Ariel Ahon Pinay has produced 60 graduates of highly skilled Filipinas who are ready to shine in the workplace.

Partner for women empowerment

For the detergent brand, the success of these three women shows that gender equality can be realized.

“Procter & Gamble (manufacturer of Ariel) is a staunch supporter of gender equality. P&G’s global #WeSeeEqual initiative is alive in the Philippines through the Ahon Pinay campaign. We believe in empowering women to reach their full potential by helping break barriers that exist in society, particularly in the workplace. We know that there is nothing that women cannot achieve, and Ariel embraces its role in ensuring that women receive the right training and support to be whatever they want to be,” said Louie Morante, Regional Brand Communications, P&G Asia Fabric Care.

“We have seen that women can shine in fields that many have always thought were only for men. We are proud to be a partner of Ariel Ahon Pinay in their praiseworthy advocacy, and we are grateful to see that we are helping Filipinas fulfill their vision by letting them realize their dreams for themselves and their families,” TESDA Director General Sec. Guiling Mamondiong agreed.

To other women who want to get into male-dominated areas, the three women shared their valuable support.

“Tibayan mo lang ang loob mo at huwag kang panghihinaan ng loob kasi maaabot mo rin ang mga pangarap mo,” Saren said.

“Unang-una, respetuhin mo ang sarili mo at siguraduhin mong buo ang loob mo sa lahat ng pagsubok na maaaring dumating sa iyo,” Binalla shared.

“Sa mga kababaihang tulad ko, masasabi ko lang na huwag tayong matakot na ipakita ang ating mga kakayahan. Huwag tayong matakot na makipagsabayan sa mga kalalakihan, dahil kaya natin ito,” Matibag concluded.

Taking Ahon Pinay to greater heights

P&G will continue to push for its Ahon Pinay initiatives that will empower women to pursue their goals and make their dreams a reality.

Besides the refurbishment of the TWC Automotive training facilities, they will also be aiding through additional equipment necessary for the registration of the three-year diploma course in Automotive and Land Transport Technology, to be offered to 25 trainees.

This exciting opportunity with a new diploma course would be tied in with the registration of 10 female trainees of Automotive Servicing NC 2 for their international certification with the Institute of Motor Industry (IMI), which is an internationally recognized automotive awarding organization based in the United Kingdom.

In introducing this revamped partnership geared toward female empowerment, the course will be implemented by first conducting a Competency-Based Training in Automotive Servicing NC 2 within 2019 for 25 students.

The post Filipino women shine in male-dominated jobs appeared first on The Manila Times Online.

THE 69th edition of the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, the longest-running and most prestigious literary contest in the Philippines, is now accepting submissions to its regular categories in these divisions:

English division: Novel, Short Story, Short Story for Children, Essay, Poetry, Poetry Written for Children, One-act Play and Full-length Play.

Filipino division: Nobela, Maikling Kuwento, Maikling Kuwentong Pambata, Sanaysay, Tula, Tulang Para sa mga Bata, Dulang May Isang Yugto, Dulang Ganap ang Haba and Dulang Pampelikula.

Regional languages division: Short Story-Cebuano, Short Story-Hiligaynon and Short Story-Ilokano.

A fourth division, the Kabataan Division, is open to writers 18 years old and younger. It has two categories: Kabataan Essay and Kabataan Sanaysay. Submissions to this division must be informal or personal essays that answer the question “At a time when spreading of misinformation is getting common, what can you do to help people, especially the youth, search for the truth?” (for entries in English) and “Sa panahon na laganap ang pagkalat ng maling impormasyon, paano mo matutulungan ang mga tao, lalo na ang kabataan, na hanapin ang katotohanan?” (entries in Filipino).

The contest is open to all Filipino citizens or former Filipino citizens of all ages, except current directors, officers, and employees of the Carlos Palanca Foundation Inc. Those who wish to join may submit only one entry per category.

Deadline of submission of entries is on May 31, 2019.

Works that were first published or produced between June 1, 2018 and May 31, 2019 and/or unpublished or unproduced works may be entered in the contest. For the Novel and Nobela categories, works that were first published within two years prior to May 31, 2019, and unpublished works may be entered in the contest.

Only unproduced works may be entered in the Dulang Pampelikula category.

A work that has been awarded a prize in another contest before midnight of May 31, 2019 is not qualified for the awards.

All submissions must be printed copies. The foundation will not accept online or email submissions.

Established in 1950, the Palanca Awards honors the legacy of businessman and philanthropist Don Carlos Palanca Sr. It aims to develop and nurture Philippine literature by providing incentives for writers to craft their most outstanding literary work and to be a treasury of the Philippines’ literary gems and assist in its eventual dissemination.

For official contest rules and forms, visit the Palanca Foundation office on the ground floor of the Greenbelt Excelsior Bldg., 105 C. Palanca Street, Legaspi Village, Makati City.

Interested participants may also contact the CPMA office through cpmawards@gmail.com or at (632) 843-8277 for further inquiries and other concerns. Ask for Leslie Layoso or Susan Castillo.

The post 2019 Palanca Awards now accepting entries appeared first on The Manila Times Online.

STEVE Berry’s pragmatic hero Cotton Malone soon regrets taking on what is supposed to be a simple mission in The Malta Exchange (Minotaur Books; 416 pages; 2019), his latest blend of history and thrills.

Malone has retired from his job at the Justice Department so he can run a bookstore in Copenhagen. He freelances easy assignments for extra money, and when he’s asked to recover letters in Lake Como, Italy, that were supposedly written between Winston Churchill and Benito Mussolini, he jumps at the chance. It’s nothing more than meeting with someone who has the correspondence and then taking possession of the letters. He doesn’t expect another person waiting to grab them or the steps they will utilize to ensure that he fails in his endeavor.

The hunt for the letters that have historic significance leads to a vast conspiracy involving the election of a new pope and the Knights of Malta, an organization that has been in existence for centuries. Malone’s easy payday has become a battle for survival. Long-buried secrets are revealed and the consequences of failure could impact history and many cultural traditions.

He receives help from agent Luke Daniels, who works for Malone’s old employer. But even help comes with a price when Daniels’ covert operation is quickly compromised.

Trust and loyalty are merely optional in Berry’s fun and engaging tale. Elements of the story echo Dan Brown and Berry’s first Cotton Malone adventure, The Templar Legacy. What makes his novels stand out is the level of research to make the foundation of the story solid and then adding some mayhem and chaos. After shaking them all together, the result is a thriller that intrigues and provides historical context. Berry is the master scientist with a perfect formula for the best-seller lists. AP

The Malta Exchange costs P934 in hardcover and is available in leading bookstores.

The post The Malta Exchange: ‘Fun’ blend of history and thrills appeared first on The Manila Times Online.