taken from the water

An Oriental Negros’ Gem: The Bleeding-Heart Dove

2011-09-25T09:21:00.004-05:00

I was touring a broken-hearted young lady from Manila and I congratulated her for choosing this side of the island of Negros to be the healing sanctuary of her heart-in-pain. I told her that this part of the country is indeed the best place to forget her “user-friendly” boyfriend.
User-friendly is our label for anyone who takes advantage of a relationship for selfish gain. This Manila girl is a victim of a user-friendly doof. And she made the right choice of taking a trip away from the toxic human elements of Manila. The welcoming hearts of our island are evidently shown everywhere in the gateway called Dumaguete, Romantic Rizal’s City of Gentle People. The lady visitor’s smile kept flashing as she found it almost unbelievable that there still remains a Philippine city that made her feel so safe even beyond midnight. She laughed when I gave her an assurance, “ walang mangyayari sa ‘yo dito. Kung meron man, masarap!” The sarap part could mean the Dumaguete Express of Lab-as, the sizzling bulalo and chocodome cake at Royal Suite, the chicken adobo at Gabby’s, the lengua in Mamia, the vegetable kebab of Jutz’ Cafe, and more.... She agreed and gave the sarap points excellent marks.
Our morning tour had me leading her to one proof of the island’s healing powers as echoed by this distinctive mark of the plumage on the chest of our iconic bird, the Negros Bleeding-Heart Dove (Gallicolumba keayi/featured as logo of the 7th Philippine Bird Festival). We went to the Center for Tropical Conservation Studies (CENTROP) of Silliman University, home of the Philippines’ Bleeding-Heart doves. First, I introduced the dove from Luzon and she was amazed at the beauty of the bird with the “shotgun hit”-like burst of red feathers on its chest. Then, I asked her to compare the Luzon Bleeding-heart Dove with the one endemic to Negros Island. She was even more amazed at the “healing impression” of the line of red feathers on the chest of the more colorful Negros Bleeding-Heart Dove. I told her in a tula manner, “ ipinahiwatig sa mga kalapating ito na kapag ikaw ay nasugatan sa Luzon, maghihilom ang iyong sugat sa pagdating mo sa Negros....” She guffawed at the unexpected love message from nature. But there was more in store for my friend: upon learning that these birds are capable of only one lifetime partner, she began to fall in-love with the Bleeding-Heart doves. What a man could have done for loyalty, the bird could do it better.
What is sad these days, according to the island’s forest angel Apolinario Cariño, “the population of the adorable species are extremely small, severely fragmented and still facing a continuing decline due to the reduced forest cover....” Environmentalists like Pol are alarmed as these birds are still on CRITICALLY ENDANGERED status, and they are working hard to give the Philippine pigeons the world’s attention.
2011, the United Nations’ Year of the Forests, is ending yet surprisingly, the impact of this celebration was never echoed by the Department of Education to young students. Just last week, I visited a number of public schools around the Visayas and Mindanao, and when I asked students about the Year of the Forests celebration, they have zero-level awareness of the focus on the trees this year. The story of the Negros Bleeding-Heart Dove would have been a powerful classroom inspiration for young Filipinos to be totally concerned with.
I hope more teachers had ushered school kids to view exhibits in the 7th Philippine Bird Festival in Dumaguete on September 24 with the theme, “Langgam Paluparon, Lasang Palambuon.” All bird angels of our islands and from other countries were all there and kids had a great time with them. Our very own Bird Angel Atty. Val, son of the Philippine Bird Man Dr. Dioscoro Rabor, gave a lecture on his father’s lifetime achievement. There were many inspiring points of the festival that LGUs would have supported. I was happy that the Mag-Degamo work spirit of the Oriental Negros Governor’s men was felt from beginning to end. Silliman icon of environmentalism Dr. Angel C. Alcala and University President Dr. Ben S. Malayang III were there with their valuable presence.
The Negros Bleeding-Heart, a ground-dwelling pigeon, is with unique features. Aside from the blood-red patch on its breast, its elegant regal-green crown down to the Mahogany brown hue spreads gradually to its wingtips interrupted by waves of white bands. In its breathtaking completeness, the colors naturally make the Negros Bleeding-Heart’s presence a fruitful reward when on a trek around the Twin Lakes.
The dove is truly our pride and joy as it is endemic to the Philippines. And we really need to work hard that these terrestrial species will have their favorite home, a dense forest, be preserved and recreated at some areas around the island and beyond. We have to ensure that their nestings on epiphytic ferns be totally protected. I wish too that the Provincial Government will make its glory a symbol of the country’s remaining tropical paraiso.
Let us not be user-friendly beings of this planet. Be inspired by the endearing presence of this lovely dove we can call our very own.

Asian invasion in the 2011 beauty universe

2011-09-23T04:10:00.006-05:00

I’m interested in the fact that the less secure a man is, the more likely he is to have extreme prejudice. -Clint Eastwood

Extreme prejudice was evident in those times when Donald J. Trump, the billionaire co-owner of the Miss Universe pageant, fixed the selection of the top 15. Trump’s way of ensuring slots for the prettiest representatives would usually result to a “seductive” blonde-dominated line of beauties or all-Latina finalists. This was evident in 2009 when no Asian beauty and only one African made it to the Top 15.

When I reviewed the arrival videos of the Miss Universe 2011 pageant in Sao Paulo, Brazil, I already predicted an unstoppable Asian invasion in this 60th edition of the world’s most popular beauty pageant. Beauties from Asia and Africa clearly made outstanding presence in all events of the month-long pageant.

Without the prevailing biases, three Asian beauties actually had the power to be part of the Top 5: most outstanding was Miss China Luo Zilin (5 ft 11 1⁄2 inches) who was the tallest among the 89 contestants, the best in promotional interview, Miss Malaysia Deborah Priya Henry (5 ft 10 1⁄2 inches), and Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup (5 ft 8 inches), the one with the most elegant everyday-presence. The other two top slots belonged to beauties who could easily be in Trump’s List: the all-natural blonde beauty Miss Australia Scherri-Lee Biggs (5 ft 9 inches), and the one who looked like the young Brook Shields, Miss Ukraine Olesya Stefanko (5 ft 9 1⁄2 inches) who ended as this year’s 1st runner-up. Miss Angola, Leila Lopes (5 ft 10 inches), was a popular candidate as she was the most stunning black beauty but her too-reserved projection and a-bit-weak ramp skills did not show the all-around-energy expected of a possible winner.

It was some kind of a miracle transition when the pageant ended with a “non-white” winner, Miss Angola. This should be the spirit of international beauty pageants – more accepting of all types of beauty.

The greatest Asian invasion was in 1988 when Porntip Nakhirunkanok of Thailand was crowned Miss Universe, Chang Yoonjung of Korea was 1st runner-up, Mizuho Sakaguchi of Japan was 3rd runner-up and Pauline Yeung of Hong Kong was 4th runner-up. Mexico’s Amanda Olivares, 2nd runner up, was the only South American in the Top 5. The Oriental-dominated glory echoed the spirit of the year of the earth dragon.

There was still the favored-hometown-girl culture in this 2011 pageant. Miss Brazil Priscila Machado (5 ft 11 inches), the only South American beauty in the top 5, was certainly a product of a manipulated entrance. Her placement in the Top 15 should have been for Miss Malaysia but Miss Universe organizers would usually dropped contestants who have joined Miss World – seemed to be part of the war against the other global beauty contest.

Why was Miss Brazil allowed in the first place? Everyone was wondering why was she was still considered even after her naked pictures were circulated all over the net, the day she won the Miss Brazil title. Miss Brazil’s second runner-up title should have belonged to Miss Philippines, the one who gave the best answer during the final Q & A.

Maybe it was Miss Philippines’ very “churchy” answer that brought her away from the crown. Shamcey was asked by the judge, actress Vivica A. Fox, if she would change her religious beliefs to marry the one she loves. The Filipina beauty, a born-again Christian, replied, “If I had to change my religious beliefs, I would not marry the person that I love because the first person that I love is God who created me and I have my faith and my principles and this is what makes me who I am. And if that person loves me, he should love my God, too.” She should have added a line to express respect for other religions. As a global goodwill ambassador like the Miss Universe, should always project a more welcoming spirit.

English-speaking Miss Philippines, just like Venus Raj of last year’s pageant which had the famous “major major” answer, got the toughest question in the question and answer portion of the competition. Shamcey was also the only one in the top five who did not use an interpreter. I wonder why Miss Angola, who is a student in United Kingdom, opted to use an interpreter?

Another unique twist in this pageant: the representatives from the countries with the greatest number of Miss Universe titleholders, USA (7) and Venezuela (6), failed to make it to the Top 10. Miss USA was too thin to shine in the swimwear portion and Miss Venezuala was a perfect body but with face framed with the crowning glory like an old autumn tree.

Miss Angola’s smile - the sweetest of them all and her effortless regal bearing, were clearly the factors that made her the choice of the judges. But in totally, the two Asian beauties Miss China and Miss Philippines were the queens of the universe that evening.

Beauties from the Philippines, Angola and China in the Top 3 positions could have been the ideal and could have been one of the most respectable results in the history of this pageant. Even with the clear injustice, we are still hoping for more unstoppable Asian invasions in the Trump universe.

The last Siquijor warrior

2011-08-06T20:06:00.002-06:00

It is a curious thing…, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who… have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well. ~J.K. Rowling, “King’s Cross,” Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, 2007, spoken by the character Albus Dumbledore

The Harry Potter phenomenon came so easily into the hearts of the Filipino film lovers, once cited by The Guinness World of Records as the ‘largest movie-going public in the world.’

Much of the witch culture points and artifacts presented in the book and film series were very familiar to us. Here in Oriental Negros, such culture “powers” would be always identified as all coming from the island of Siquijor.

Actually, the island dwellers are not so happy of the “black magic” identity and this could be the reason why there is a huge billboard at the port welcome area informing tourists that what the island has are herbalists and not magicians or sorcerers.

But such tourism packaging “clean-up” will not change the minds of the people as the folk stories have cascaded from generations to generations beyond Siquijor’s shores. I find it an effort-in-futility to erase what had been a one dimension that attracted tourists from all over the world.

The magic of Siquijor island has been experienced by many who have been there to have this “spiritual” emersion. Many of my artist friends are drawn to the island for they found it to be a real destination of the spirits beyond and of local folks who have the “third eye” for seeing what is beyond and for bringing in the powers from nature and the magic world.

The latest visitor on July 26, a national culture icon, confirms it and he is no ordinary visitor as he is a practitioner himself and he is not afraid to be labeled a witch.

His profile on the web states: “Tony Perez is a creative writer, playwright, poet, lyricist, painter, portraitist, fiber artist, trainer and psychic journalist.” He is known as literary artist but in the international circles for psychic healing and understanding, this true-blue Atenean and a magna cum laude graduate in Religious Studies is an in-demand resource person for knowledge in “Developing Psychic Abilities,” “Living the Tarot”, “Introduction to Shamanism” and other related topics. It was indeed an honor to be his usher to the magic island.

His main purpose for visiting was related to his day job at the Public Affairs section of the United States Embassy. But he was set with a “pure” intention to be diverted to his other world as it was his first time in Siquijor. There were reasons not to go, heavy rains and wild wild waves brought in by the Signal No. 1 warning of the stormy Bicol and the refusal of our earlier contacts from the island to bring us to the black magic man. But Tony insisted. He told me “they want me to be there.” I just assumed that “they” were those who sent the winds that gave us rain. My reading of the heavy rain was positive and so, I agreed and arranged for our trip.

When we got to Siquijor Island, we were lucky as my suki easy-ride driver Fredito “Noynoy” Tamala was available. He is husband to Grace, my schoolmate at Silliman who is now a public school principal. Noynoy is not just a driver as he is also a bankable tourguide. When I whispered to him our intention, he told me the sad news that the oldest medicine man of Siquijor, Juan "Daku" Ponce, died five days ago and that we arrived at the wrong time as it was the day of the funeral.

I asked him about Frank, the expert of the dancing paper dolls, and he said that this guro had given up the black magic career as it went contradictory to his being a healer.

I was worried that I would end up a failure as the point man for the curious white witch. I was wishing Ambrocia was still around, the renowned faith healer who died in 2002. I had a believe-it-or-not moment when local folks told me she was the last of the Siquijor wwhite witches. Her legend, as told, had its peak when then First Lady Imelda Marcos came to the island as she wanted the growth of scaly skin on her leg to be healed. It was Ambrocia who uncovered the root of the curse, an underwater being who was angered by the intrusion of the San Juanico Bridge, a Marcos project, into nature. It was said that Ambrocia’s oil healed the scaly skin as it vanished instantly with just one blow of the smoke coming from a heated concoction.

Tony noticed my frustration and he said we could just go directly to the main purpose of our visit. Then I told him about the death of Juan, the 99-year-old herbalist. His face suddenly was glowing and he instructed Nonoy to bring us to Juan’s home and he pushed us to hurry when he was told that the funeral was at 1 pm.

At Barangay San Antonio, Noynoy led us to a dirt road leading to the wooden house of Juan Ponce, Siquijor’s last warrior against any dark powers. Tony stopped as he noticed a white stone by the roadside, he got it and placed it inside his bag and said, “Someone told me to bring it home.” Juan’s last day gathered a good number of neighbors even with the heavy rain. I was told that after him, it would be hard to find one with such credibility and experience. He was the one who drew European tourists for healing as his oil, a special concoction from 300 herbs and cuts from various barks of exotic trees, was known to heal almost all kinds of ailments.

Out of the six sons of Juan, only Alejandro and his wife Anecita are seriously considering to continue his legacy of herbal healing.

Juan Ponce was born on June 24, 1912. He started as an herbalist at the age of 18. His career as an herbalist was marked with countless successes in the war against mambabarang (necromancy) who had sent severe misfortune to many innocent victims.

Tony asked Anecita to show him Juan’s anitos. These were made from wood that came from the tree believed to drive away bad spirits. These little white cuts were sculptured in shapes of the crucifix, the rose, the star and the long-haired man resembling The Savior. Tony managed to acquire them at P500 each. The amulets made of coconut shells which are said to be rare finds as these shells were totally smooth and don’t have “eyes.” Each was sold at P1,000.

Tony wanted one more thing from Juan’s career world, he asked for anything that the old man used everyday. Anecita brought in a shirt but Tony felt it was too much. I asked if the old man had a cane and Anecita smiled as she nodded but explained that it might be hard to find it. Tony’s excitement led Anecita to ask his sons to go and search for the wooden cane. The older son came back with the black wooden cane with a handle that was a natural curve of this branch of molave – truly a precious piece that reminded me of Harry Potter’s wand. I did not ask how much was paid for it. I knew that it was priceless for it came from Siquijor’s last warrior.

“This is an incredible journey!” was Tony’s word as we moved out from the house. I reminded him to pay respect to the old man. He went to see the coffin and offered prayers. He knelt down and brought out his own amulet, an amethyst, the violet queen of the quartzes framed by four gold lightnings. He placed this gemstone, believed to stop the coming of the storm, on top of Juan’s wooden coffin as he continued to pray. The women who were there for the prayer for the dead, seemed not disturbed by Tony’s theatrical homage as they continued with the repeated lines of “…Hail Mary, full of Grace….”

With Tony’s harvest from the household of the warrior, will there be hope for Juan’s legacy of power to continue? Maybe. I witnessed this: before we walked back to Nonoy’s leading, Anecita had asked for Tony to empower her and Tony said, “I already did.”

Out of the magical journey, we went to make the walk through at Coco Grove – his assignment from the US Embassy. The owner Mike Butler was so kind to have the lunch we ordered as part of his welcome for us. I told Mike about the death of Juan Ponce and he confirmed his fame as a good number of Coco Grove’s guests had come to seek Juan’s healing and this included a cancer patient from Germany.

Tony was indeed so lucky to have inherited the precious artifacts. We had to cut short our stay at paraiso Coco Grove, the best resort in Siquijor and the island’s No. 1 food destination, to catch the 3 pm trip back to Dumaguete.

We went inside the old church as we waited for the fastcraft. Tony was again kneeling in prayer in this old sanctuary. I went out to pick an ancient-looking coral stone and I gave it to him as souvenir. He told me, “I will take it as this stone is asking to be brought home.”

As we moved out from the Church, he raised Juan Ponce’s cane to direction of the gloomy sky. The heaven seemed to welcome Juan with the pouring of the rain.

Double treat from Paul and Paul

2011-07-27T09:51:00.005-06:00

Our very own Paul Pfeiffer was on another fruitful homecoming in June. In this visit to Dumaguete, I tried to usher him to the fun side but there was just no time for a full enjoyment of the City’s night life. The passion for his art led him to just completely embrace the main reason for this homecoming: work, work, work.

This Dumaguete son is known to the world by an honor he got from Newsweek‘s spread on “America’s Artist of Tomorrow.” This was after he won Whitney Museum’s 2000 Bucksbaum Award, the highest award for Visual Arts.

Paul Pfeiffer had chosen to depart from traditional art media, and had been showing to the world possibilities of the video screen by capturing images from popular culture. He had them all: NBA stars, Tom Cruise, enduring scenes from films by Steven Spielberg, deep forest camping, ancient cathedrals floor plans made out of sex scandal echoes….

Five years ago, Michael Jackson was the subject of a speech choir at our very own cultural center, the Luce Auditorium. The production, a collaboration with the Speech & Theater Department of Silliman, was directed by Hawaii-based educator Eva Rose Repollo-Washburn, and captured a juxtaposition of the King of Pop’s painful global media exposure to address the child-molestation issue, and of our very own speech choir students presenting an unusual piece: Michael’s defense.
Paul Pfeiffer’s fully- realized vision called “Live from Neverland,” got world attention. One art critic described the 2003 work on Michael Jackson as the essence of “the interdependent relationship between leader and crowd.” Actually, I saw much of the Filipino human nature in it as the speech choir sounded like one entire barangay in a chika-hilira-sa-ating-hagdanang-kawayan. I was smiling reading one web review which took the Luce production as an ancient Greek chorus when it was really totally Pinoy local color.

In this 2011 homecoming, Paul Pfeiffer was in a mission again: saving the art of speech choir which is no longer in existence in many parts of the world.
People were recently again at the Luce to watch the speech choir performances expecting the usual, as it remains an annual event at Silliman.
But this one turned out to be another double-treat from Paul Pfeiffer. Unfolded on stage was the building of another solid juxtaposition: the many choral versions of the victory press statement of boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, and the star quality in Manny.

The show was again directed by Paul’s Hawaii connection Eva Rose, and was staged in collaboration with the SU College of Performing & Visual Arts.
We still have to see the end product but there is great promise in it: the whole world will see the cool presence of the people of the happiest nation in Asia, with Pacman as the entry point.

The audience at the Luce had fun with the Pinoy sense of humor captured. Paul Pfeiffer’s magic will have the scenes cascaded globally with his distinctive video art of glory.

*****
July 22, the Cultural Affairs Committee of Silliman University formally opened the 2011 culture season with the performance of Ballet Philippines.
The country’s leading dance company is on tour to celebrate the sesquicentennial of the birth of our national hero Jose Rizal with the ballet Crisostomo Ibarra. The dance concert is inspired by the protagonist in Rizal’s novel Noli Me Tangere. I love this ballet by Paul Alexander Morales. The choreography went beyond just narrating the story as its characters, particularly the touching emotional twist in Sisa, never lets go of the audience from the opening movements, and much of this can be attributed to the dance artists’ successful embodiment of the icons in the pages history using the intense body poetry of contemporary ballet.
Sisa was brought to the stage with the complex play of Filipina grace and the pain from the fire of cruelty by principal dancer Carissa Adea.
Paul Morales called my attention on Sisa in two of our promotional events and indeed, he was successful in the harvest of love-for-the-motherland in Sisa.
Paul of Ballet Philippines’ visit to Dumaguete was actually a double-treat, too. I have known Paul only as a dance artist as he was still a teenager in his first performance at the Luce in Agnes Locsin’s Engkantada.
He came back twice with his own artistic direction for Ballet Philippines. The growth from dancer to director has been an amazing transition to witness.
In this visit, Paul Morales generously gave us a new glory in his being a total artist: as a film director.
I did not realize that the acclaimed director Paul Alexander Morales of Cinemalaya’s Concerto, an indie film featured in festivals all over the world, is actually Ballet Philippines’ power Paul Morales.
And he just made history in Silliman as his Concerto was the first film feature in the new CAC series to honor a Silliman icon in film, National Artist Eddie Romero.
In Concerto,we are told a story about a family surviving the ravages of World War II with the gift of music. It took Meryll Soriano, who played Nina, the strong-willed daughter, all of a minute of total silence to have me sympathizing with her longing to play the piano again – to enjoy freedom.
Actually, all actors made a perfect ensemble as they were all emotionally connected as a family even in moments of muted presence. Each of them had vividly brought me back to my mother’s rocking chair of war stories.
In these months June and July, Dumaguete had two valuable gifts of inspiration from Paul Pfeiffer and Paul Alexander Morales – both we dearly want to refer to as our very own.

Gifts of Gratitude, Goodwill

2011-07-11T23:18:00.004-06:00

The theme of the 110th Founders Day of Silliman University, A Mighty Fortress is our God was perfectly echoed in the recent faith journey of the SU Gratitude & Goodwill Ambassadors (SUGGA), a group of performing artists directed by Dr. Elizabeth Susan Vista-Suarez who travelled to Alaska for Tipon 2011.

The idea of this unique gift came from the dynamic president of Silliman University Dr. Ben S. Malayang III.

Everyone who attended the Tipon realized it was not just “another expense” to send 26 performing artists all the way to Alaska because their value measures beyond the money actually spent. When it was finally unfolded, it was revealed that Silliman’s “gift” to the alumni in North America was priceless as it became a “gift of faith”.

Even the process of totally approving such gift was stressful for some people behind the leadership as it was clouded with doubts. For one, the short span of time to process their visas became a daunting test, and the inevitable Doubting Thomases began to grow in everyone’s hearts.

It was this skepticism that made the process very painful to Susan who had nothing within her heart but the enlightenment for the value of obedience in the journey of faith.

With her obedience, she was misunderstood. To many, the planned journey was more of pride, and a selfish will, but what many failed to see was the constant communication with God which led them to more difficult challenges.

SUGGA was an intricate group to handle, with old voices that had been with Susan’s tutelage for many years, and with new voices, many of them needing not just voice training but most importantly, a refinement of character and discipline as goodwill ambassadors.

Too much emotions had prevailed as the director had to deal with what seemed like an orchestra of differing emotions within the group – which would painstakingly include some overbearing parents.

And there was more. The Philippine passports of majority of the members had not been processed within the required period which painfully resulted in two members failing to acquire their own passports on time.

Visa processing also seemed ill-timed when the US Embassy had changed its computer system which did not allow for group processing.

It was a miracle though that the care factor in Sanda Fuentes of Orientwinds Travel & Tours led the rest of the group to different schedules for their visa interviews on June 7, 8, and 9. Four of the choir members did not make it during the interview; two had pending petitions from their US-based relatives, and two were found to have inconsistencies in their passports.

But faith persisted, and the group came out of the ordeal (which included being soaked in the heavy rain while queueing for their visas – the same rain which saved the June 8th batch as the Embassy officials decided to give them just one priority number for all, so as to be sheltered from the storm) though not in total jubilation as their hearts where in sympathy for those who failed to get their visas approved.

Finally, they were ready to fly out of the country on June 17.

SUGGA has become a family of survivors who went through a long dark tunnel, together discovering a light of hope beaming through. The final 27 included Susan and Institutional Advancement Officer Jose Mari Jonathan “Jojo” Antonio, head of the delegation.

It was also unimaginable how Macrina Fuentes was able to book them all on the same flight from Manila–Narita–Seattle–Fairbanks even during this peak travel season.

God was indeed the artist of this journey. The pains that went with every step had humbled all of them and cleansed their hearts.

Susan’s mother, former dean of the College of Performing Arts Prof. Isabel Dimaya Vista, reminded them that only with pure hearts could they go on to become genuine goodwill ambassadors.

And Susan realized this, after all the beaming miracles they experienced while they were still in that dark tunnel, “that I have to forget that I’m Susan and everyone in SUGGA had to be humbled to become pure” and with all humility, they have allowed the gift of obedience from the “Mighty Fortress” to prevail.

With total obedience, they went on with the journey and there were still moments of testing again: Jose Mari Jonathan Antonio had to be rechecked at the Narita immigration as his name sounded like that of a Mexican druglord; funny guy Ian Caballes also had to face a bit of questioning. The two took quite a long time to be allowed entry into US soil.

And when they were celebrating being one family again, US-based alumnus Mister Silliman Spirit himself Gideon “Kuya Box” Alegado joined them as he was on the same flight. They serenaded him and he, as well as some people at the airport who gathered to listen to the singers, said they were touched by the sound of the angels. Kuya Box was in tears of joy and gave them a hundred dollar bill as gift.

The flight was delayed for four hours. The welcoming alumni group in Seattle led by Martin Ancheta were becoming anxious as they could not find the SUGGA whom they were hosting for the 14-hour stopover. Some members of the welcome party decided to just go back home but the Ancheta family and the rest of the alumni volunteers never stopped looking until they found the singers in a coffee shop.

Fellowshipping led to another Silliman Spirit day in Seattle, which included Hong Kong-based Silliman icon Dr. Betty Cernol- McCann who also was on her way to Fairbanks to represent the United Board for Christian Higher Education.

The Anchetas and friends were another reason to be thankful to the “Mighty Fortress.” They saved the SUGGA from being “sleepless in Seattle”.

Finally, out of the tunnel! In Fairbanks, daylight never left them as the sun would be up beyond everyone’s body clock.

SUGGA, with a name which means “where light meets light” in the Visayan language, started to find more wisdom in this journey.

The Tipon, a gathering of Sillimanians and friends from all over the world, were all with welcoming hearts for the SUGGA. Perpetual angel to Silliman performing artists Virginia Cacho-Almiron, wife of Tipon prime mover, Dr. Sylvester Almiron Jr. who was chair of the SU Alumni Council of North America (SUACONA). She expressed the clincher that on the celebration of this 10th year of SUACONA, “It would give a sense of completeness to have the music of SUGGA, a choir directed by Susan, as it was also Susan’s choir that gave the first Tipon in Chicago a unifying spirit.”

June 19 was the day of the SUGGA concert. It would have been a technical disaster as there was no time for sound check, no real stage to perform in the hall for the choreography to be viewed at one angle, and no complete sound facility to amplify the choral performance. But still in the spirit of the gift of obedience, they gave their best.

J. Rutter’s Magnificat shone to become a touching worship in the gospel opening, and the voices were loud and beautifully unified, touching everyone’s heart. Everyone was awed at the quality of every voice that was in the choir. Thunderous applause came after every song. The duet Sa Kabukiran in the Philippine Air of the repertoire was a display of the vocal magnificence of two sopranos, Ma. Elcon Cabasag and Katrina Saga. The piece successfully brought everyone into one sense of national pride that the applause was with fiesta glee.

The peaks of the concert were like running through a mountain range, bringing the Silliman family into heights of joys of homecoming, especially felt with the Mahal Kong Bayan which earned a standing ovation for these angels from home.

SUGGA came with music that touches, to give the generations of Sillimanians a moment of pure joy from the sense of pride of belonging to a culture of excellence, revisit into the inner soul stemming from the seed of faith in the Via Veritas Vita, the healing of the kindred spirit that had much of life challenges, and the realization that Silliman is a family worthy of a homecoming, with a legacy of faith within it expressed in gifts of gratitude and goodwill.

Truly, a Sillimananian in this journey of faith believes, “a Mighty Fortress is Our God”.

In Memory of a Poet PEARL GAMBOA DOROMAL 1923–2011

2011-07-03T16:34:00.003-06:00

“Each person is an enigma ultimately unknowable, not only so by nature, but also because he is self-masked….” – Edith Lopez Tiempo
Masked or unmasked, the poet Pearl Gamboa Doromal, was beautiful inside-out.
When her husband Dr. Quintin Salas Doromal was president of Silliman University, he always made it a point to introduce “the woman behind the man” in all occasions that called for his presence. All Sillimanians, with much pride, would welcome the lovely presence, applauding – echoing the same pride. There is also much anticipation for the moment when their beloved First Lady would stand with all humility and still emanate that outstanding verve. PEARL GAMBOA DOROMAL was The Silliman Woman who epitomized the ideal of elegance.

With her as First Lady, The President’s Home – a campus landmark now called The University House – was a busy center of hospitality. The greatest number of Ambassadors from different embassies that visited Silliman was during the time of the Doromals. Convocation time was always at the Luce every Tuesday with a particular country in feature and an Ambassador of the country as resource speaker. Hosting visitors with high protocol requirements was never a problem as there was always the First Lady in Pearl, herself a daughter of the Ambassador to the Court of St. James, Dr. Melquiades J. Gamboa. She had her childhood in Oxford, England.

The University House was all welcoming spaces from the doorstep to Meg’s garden swing. Each corner felt like a home of royalty from the silver teapot on the wooden dining table to the blue china of orange African daisies under lampshades made of capiz shells. There was only one theme in this home: elegance.
One enduring sweet memory with Ma’am Pearl was the visit of the late Zeneida Amador, the director of Repertory Philippines, and the actors of “Gingerbread Lady,” to be staged at the Luce, which included Joy Virata, wife of the Prime Minister. I was called to join them at the President’s Home as they wanted to see the works of visual artists under the Order of the Golden Palette (OGPA). I was handling the PR of this group of local artists. Ma’am Pearl with the Maestro Albert Faurot was helping me in the presentation of the paintings. She was very generous with the endorsement which elevated the works of the amateur artists’ market value. Two paintings were sold to Amador instantly. Maestro Albert was all smiles, proud that the works of his OGPA sons went to the hands of a prime mover of mainstream culture, thanks to Ma’am Pearl who organized the artists’ rendezvous.
She was always with this constant concern for Filipino artists. Her support to Repertory Philippines included strengthening the Dumaguete outreach program.
During the launching of “The Artist: Hand and Breath,” her book of poetry in 1995, she signed a copy for me. Her book contains very educational commentaries by the National Artist Edith Lopez Tiempo, her mentor in Creative Writing. The subtle impact of the book led me to write my own haikus as it truly was inspiring. Reading the pages of this book gave me two mentors—Mom Edith and Ma’am Pearl, her literary daughter and co-actress in campus plays.
I love Ma’am Pearl’s poems – describes Mom Edith, as having a “delicate touch, almost fragile, with which Pearl depicts the bright green world of creation – even while simultaneously, by using the devices of poetic art, she transforms this gossamer touch into a vehicle of expressing life’s weighty and inescapable truths.”
Even with degrees in Arts from George Washington University and from Wilson College in Chambersburg, she pursued a graduate degree in Creative Writing from Silliman University. With the stature of First Lady, she humbly immersed into student life by becoming editor-in-chief of the Sands and Coral and the Portal, the yearbook. I have been reading her works published in the Sands and Coral.
By the end of my immersion into Ma’am Pearls’ poetry, I figured out some points of human nature. I love the human quality she gave to a Waling-waling, “…don’t’ you know tomorrow will bring/Poor vestiges of your reign?” The beauty of it gives me the urge to help honor those who have responded to the need for Silliman to rally back from the brink of death in the country’s Culture excellence. Ma’am Pearl’s love for Literature, Theater and the Visual Arts expressed in concrete steps is a legacy that will be a driving force to turn around in many good ways the years of mediocre tendencies.
There is just too many points to recall of that golden time at Silliman with that lovely presence of the First Lady. My memory of her is here to stay, like her acacias on campus:

Towering acacias
Waving leafy branches:

The everlasting arms.

Teogenes V. Magdamo: Builder of the peace spirit of home

2011-07-03T02:05:00.001-06:00

By Moses Joshua Atega • Sun, Jun 26, 2011

Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures.  -John F. Kennedy

This wisdom of a leader who believes in the value of peace as a working force in building foundations of enduring legacies became the world’s greatest inspiration.

It is the same inspiration that was totally echoed in the life of Silliman University’s hardworking leader Teogenes “Tatay Tony” Villanueva Magdamo.

The testimonies of Sillimanians from all over the world when Tatay Tony passed away on Father’s Day in 2010 recalled the many endearing ways he helped build peoples ‘lives. All tributes gave a portrait of a working peace- builder.

This SU College of Engineering dean had been hailed as the “builder of the peace spirit of home”.

His ways were of sure calculated steps but always with humility. When he assumed as dean after his graduate studies in Syracuse University, Tony Magdamo established a reform agenda.

He believed in a doable goal “to engage in the intellectual and spiritual formation of rational, sentient human beings who can use the great reservoir and genius of scientific analysis and technology in bringing about a world where man can truly be at home….”

He encouraged everyone to work for excellence and achieve a golden era in the history of the College of Engineering (now College of Engineering & Design). He gave his best in the teaching of Hydraulics and Strength of Materials.

Under his leadership, Silliman enjoyed excellent years of Engineering education. All three programs -- Civil, Electrical, and Mechanical -- consistently obtained a 100 percent passing rate in board examinations with a good number of topnotchers.

Dean Magdamo was noted to be a strict disciplinarian but sensitive to the welfare of the faculty, staff and students.

At one point, he recommended for promotion as faculty member one talented shop assistant/staff, the decision of which gave the worker greater opportunities for progress.

There was one school year when some foreign students tried to force Dean Magdamo to delete the requirement for study of the Bible in the Engineering curriculum. But the Dean stood strong in protecting the ideals of a Christian University.

Even a dear relative attempted to use “family relations/connections with Tatay Tony” to fix a son’s poor academic performance at the College. But the Dean in Tatay Tony persevered; he stood strong in abiding by University rules.

Dean Magdamo was determined in laying down the necessary foundations that have actually enabled Silliman to produce graduates who were above the usual cut of Engineers.

He built linkages with institutions in Australia and Japan, that gave the University wider horizons for technology advancement.

Graduates of the SU College of Engineering who passed through the strict training of Dean Magdamo were known for their ability to resolve conflicts, make instant solutions, and to express themselves clearly with excellent communication skills; and for their leadership potential, distinctively characterized by their creativity in setting directions amidst challenging times.

The University alumni tracer study shows that Engineering graduates of the 1980s are currently occupying leadership positions in their respective fields.

Indeed, they have become living profiles of Dean Magdamo’s definition of the Engineering profession: “to create processes and structures within our physical and spatial world that would advance man’s control of his environment, and thereby, realize his greatest potentials as a human being.”

One successful alumnus, Benjo Camins, affirmed Dean Magdamo’s leadership style: “He led…so magnificently… the Silliman College of Engineering is what it is today not by accident but by design, and its designer practiced what he preached.”

Dr. Levi Oracion also concluded that Dean Magdamo “…lifted his college to high levels of excellence.”

Beyond his Engineering College, there were students in campus like me who were only too lucky to have Dean Magdamo as our Tatay.

He was always a loving and caring mentor to us who families were in far-away Luzon or Mindanao. We were friends of his daughters, and co-builders of campus events.

Every now and then, we would run to the Magdamo home when we needed comfort and comforting, as we were confident and secure that Tatay Tony and Nanay Nilda would, as always, treat us like their own children.

I personally became close with Tatay Tony and his family as I was Meda’s classmate, a co-officer at Silliman Church, and in our Psychology Society. I was also working with Tatay Tony as I was one of the student representatives in leadership crisis meetings. Then I was able to work with Tatay Tony again at Silliman Church where he was an Elder and chair of the Pastoral Call committee.

More of his builder wisdom was evident in the discussions they would make as Elders of Silliman Church. I witnessed how the views of Tatay Tony were always well-respected, and how his influence affected many important decisions. His was the generous sharing of a builder’s wisdom so valuable in a period of crisis, and in mentoring youth leaders.

Inspite of the very demanding role as dean, and at one point, part of the three-man force as University officers-in-charge during a leadership crisis at Silliman, Dean Magdamo remained the bankable family man.

He was always inward-looking when faced with matters affecting the home.Coming from a traditional Protestant family orientation, with parents as pillars in the United Chuch of Christ in the Philippines in Digos, Davao del Sur, both his parents were naturally Sillimanians also -- allowing Tatay Tony to bring this spirit of home to build peace within and beyond his household.

The Silliman job was never financially-rewarding, but Tatay Tony found ways to always be a good provider, and brought the family’s financial stature a bit beyond what was just sufficient.

This he did by his natural acumen in real estate investments. With some properties acquired, Tatay Tony made sure that land disputes would never be a source of discontent in the Magdamo household. He made concrete steps so that every member of the family had a share to bank on.

Opportunities to develop a property were well-explored, and new discoveries were generously shared with everyone who needed it.

Every wisdom that worked at home was borrowed by friends, and some projects included borrowing Tatay Tony’s direct supervision.

The sharing was always with willingness that stemmed from the heart, as it was Tatay Tony’s passion to see properties acquired, and homes built -- becoming shelters of peace and progress.

The Moving Variations, one of the most successful dance groups in Dumaguete in the 1980s had Tatay Tony to be thankful for. That’s aside from the fact that it was his daughter Mae who was the gelling factor that kept the group solid in all challenges.

The Magdamo home at the Silliman campus became the emotional shelter for the dance artists. With or without engagements, the Magdamos were always there to ensure that all things needed were made available. Beyond the long dance career, the Magdamo home was always the enduring rendezvous even when the family moved on to a subdivision out of the campus.

The new home in Bantayan became Tatay Tony’s pride and joy, and he shared the spirit of a peaceful home with everyone. The Bantayan Barangay Council in fact, recognized this with a Model Family award for the Magdamos.

Tatay Tony was always willing to be there for us from the airport to any point of the home he built. I have called it my own peace shelter.

In fact, when I had to make a major decision to work at Silliman after getting my degree, it was the simplicity of the Magdamo home that became my inspiration.

Thinking of this spirit of home at Silliman gave me a sense of security, and made me see the things that really mattered.

Meda tells me she is forever thankful to her father who became the anchor of her marriage to withstand all challenges.

Tatay Tony was the faithful and loving grandfather to Joshua and Isaiah, standing in as the kids’ loving parent when Meda and husband Gino had work far away from home.

I remember one day when Tatay Tony asked me to join him in taking my godson Isaiah to school, and I was amazed how every little expression of intelligence from the child made him very happy.

It is also very easy for Joshua to become emotional when asked to talk about his grandfather -- who was always there for him. Joshua promised never to forget his Lolo’s legacy of love and faithfulness.

This overflowing love, however, always came with a sense of discipline, as Tatay Tony had a unique way of telling straight-to-the-point without hurting. Even with his own daughters, a reprimand was always muted in the privacy of their bedrooms.

Nanay Nilda was always the one precious gem in Tatay Tony’s life. He was so fond of asking artists to paint portraits of his lovely wife.

When asked why of all the men, she chose this humble man who loved basketball, Nanay Nilda just smiled and proudly expressed, “Tony was the perfect gentleman.”

Looking back, one would realize that the “home” was not just the wooden swing, or Mae’s room, or the kitchen table always laden with food that it became everyone’s favorite part of the house.

Home was Silliman distinctly defined by the welcoming heart of Tatay Tony anytime of the day, and any season of the year. There were a lot of memories in that Silliman home that he built – sweet memories of peace that we can easily embrace even beyond Tatay Tony’s lifetime.

31st of May in Siargao

2011-06-06T04:03:00.003-06:00

I had to call my dear friend Lee Carlos of Malasag House in Cagayan de Oro whom I have introduced in this column as the “king of adventure in Northern Mindanao.” He had suggested that I should celebrate my birthday in Daku, one of the big islands in Siargao. Friends like Lee knew about the promise I made to myself, “never to celebrate my birthday on the same island in this country with more than 7,000….” It has always been this way, island-hopping on the 31st of May with an average of three islands in one day. It’s very doable: you may start with something I did on a Saturday in 2008. My 31st of May morning that year begun with the best breakfast in Dumaguete’s Café Filomena, I went via Sibulan for my next stop: the best lunch at-that-time was at Bodos Bamboo in Argao, Cebu and I took the Taloot roro to Loon, Bohol and proceeded to Panglao and had the best dinner at Bee Farm in Bohol – only the best for a special day. A day filled with sweet memories is the best birthday gift for the self.

This year, I agreed to the rescue of Lee for I had a commitment in Surigao City: I emceed the 50th Wedding Anniversary of Bing and Neneng Yuipco, among the city’s most successful entrepreneurs. The Yuipcos’ RSY was my home in this gateway city to Siargao islands. After the big event in the city, Lee’s leading in my birthday journey started. On Sunday morning, we took the Dapa Express at 10am from the city to Siargao’s business center, the town of Dapa. Then, we took a pedicab to be in Lee Carlos’ paradise corner in Siargao Island in the fishing village called Guiwanon in Barangay Union. This beautiful muted-yellow home is sandwiched by the seashore and a hillslope. Being inside this home felt like I was in a casa rico in Cancun. Everything in this seaside home, from furniture to windows, has a minimalist dream setting for the villa glory to simply be the frame of the nature angles all around it.

Just before sunset, I enjoyed dipping into the crystal-clear coolness beyond the spread of white sand and mangroves that framed the house. I was rewarded with two graceful flights above the blue waters to fish, the site of a the Red-backed Sea-eagle in a live action as it outdid a kingfisher in an ocean-fresh harvest was pure joy. Then, came the drama of the sunset behind the islands. Golden hues spread all over and every wave glistened with them. The enduring visual gifts of nature unfolded were truly priceless!

Lee has to drive 18-kilometer away from his Guiwanon corner to General Luna to welcome me to the night beat of the surfers’ paradise. At Cloud 9 Boardwalk, we had an instant party with surfers from Canada. Lee called my attention to the Japanese-looking guy who was smiling and who called me “Kuya Moe.” It wasn’t surprising at all as I always get this: The Silliman Spirit rendezvous is all over this planet. All my life I knew that Sillimanians can be everywhere. Bacolod’s green island prince Dadsie Ledesma Coscolluela, with the title he deserves as it’s his mission to preserve Dajugan Island trough the marine camps, was with his fellow camp counselor, the handsome young chef-on-the-go Gringo Benedicto. They were on their first Siargao island-hopping and they were with a definite surfing goal which Lee interrupted by extending to his fellow Sillimanian the invitation to join us in our 3-island tour the following day.

Everyone had fun hopping from one bar to another in General Luna. The haba-habal was the only means of transport from one party place to another. Lee and I ended up at GenLuna boulevard for he wanted me to try Arlene’s burger - a pleasant offering in this humble videoke place. I brought home one more perfectly brown burger as it was indeed delicious!

Conversations went crazy as the Canadians were discovering the power of Red Horse. Cris from Ontario was already enumerating his long Irish lineage, Simon was proud of his tattooed arms and he was serious in discussing with me the red arrow that leads to a tree which will be the manner he wants to be buried when he’ll die, a tree to be planted on his grave and the tree will become him. Kat, the only brunette in a dozen of blondes, was busy seducing her Pinoy surfing mentor. A lot more of interesting characters in this surfing paraiso and they all added colors to my birthday journey.

The morning after the crazy night with blondes and tanned multiculturalism: Lee led me to unpleasant discoveries in this paraiso. He showed me the pawikan (sea turtle) rescued from the hands of the butcher. He had to give 500 pesos to this fisherman/turtle slaughterer just for this marvelous creature to be free. Sensing that they would find the young “living fossil” again, Lee decided to create a pond and ask the kids around to take care of the poor victim. I’ve talked to the turtle slaughterer as he tried to convince me to try the turtle meat which the local people consider the best they have. He recalled that as kids, they would see hundreds of baby turtles crawling towards the ocean. They would harvest them as pets and the big ones butchered for food. I asked if his own kids are enjoying the same fun-frolic-with-turtles nowadays. He told me that he could no longer find a sandbar where turtles are freely making it part of their kingdom for hatchery. Lee told him that time will come when his own grandchildren could only see a carapace but with no smart living creature in it.

Career Lessons from American Idol 10

2011-06-02T20:51:00.004-06:00

"Slap that baby on the ass and call me Christmas!” Steven Tyler got the audience applause on this line he made after Scotty McCreery’s deep-passion interpretation of Josh Turner’s Your Man.

My excitement and anticipation involved in watching American Idol week after week came from the punches that could only come from new judge Steven Tyler.

Tyler proves to be a total entertainer with his wit and line flips. I also love his sensitivity and care for every artist who went on stage. He led me to an analysis of what was right and what went wrong with every performance.

When I went hopping from one island to another in our beloved Philippines to give career orientation to high students and their parents, my weekly AI delight became the mold for my talk. I would tell my audience that choosing a career is like singing for American Idol. You have to have the right song. A song that pleases the judges -- the possible employers.

At the same time, it must be the song that you love -- passion is essential for a good performance. It should be the song that blends with the outward packaging; look and perform like the one they need, just like how Lauren Alaina shines with her prom-queen blue gown. We may have hated it, but America loves it like that.

It should be the song and style blend that will outshine all “generic” tendencies of a performer: trying to look like a diva even with the ‘upbeat music’ requirement, which resulted in the elimination of Pia Toscano and Jacob Lusk -- too sweet even when the role calls for a more mature presence. That was the reason why Filipina Thia Megia’s American dream had to end; and too wild beyond the moments that required a more dignified and respectable manicure: Naima Adedapo did not have the voice range to sustain the image, and James Durbin failed to dwell in silence when he had a back-to-back song variation opportunity; instead, he chose to scream on both performnaces. My favorite Casey Abrams, my lady bet Haley Reinhart,my fashion icon Paul McDonald, and my sistahs' crush Stefano Langone were all victims of wrong song choices.

The 10th season of American Idol revived the world’s love for country music. The two artists in the 2011 final week battle, Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina, were both born to be country music stars. Their home circles -- McCreery hails from North Carolina, and Alaina from Georgia -- defined their natural style and voice technique; there was raw talent in them, and days with American Idol elevated what- they’ve-got to an enduring star power.

Honesty towards the innate capacity was essential in defining the direction to make. The other hopefuls crumbled as they failed to have a consistent direction. And the others failed to harvest the votes as they were too selfish to give back to the audience – the ultimate judge. The ultimate idol Scotty McCreery got all the love for he grew week after week with the humble heart of a learner and a drive of a dreamer.

Tyler’s feels-like-Christmas moment can easily be given when we are sensitive to what the world needs.

Philline, my summer earth angel

2011-05-23T06:20:00.004-06:00

Our world faces a true planetary emergency. I know the phrase sounds shrill, and I know it’s a challenge to the moral imagination. - Al Gore

VALENCIA, ORIENTAL NEGROS -- I did not have to be in an international conference to listen to the wisdom of Al Gore. All I had to do was go to the Writers Village in Camp Look-Out here, and discover an Al Gore-trained environmentalist Philline Marie Paye Dongga, one of the fellows in the 50th Silliman University National Writers Workshop.

This writer from Cagayan de Oro came to the workshop expressing her fear of not being worthy to be with the country’s best in the literary world. It is this sense of humility that made her presence heartwarming. But it turned out, her works in creative non-fiction successfully brought us to the soul of her passion. She is writing from the heart - the makings of a true artist. She made a promise to lead us more to good reading and towards a sense of mission: Go Green!

Philline, a TV journalist and event organizer, lives a life totally inspired by her training under the former US Vice President Al Gore at The Climate Project – Asia Pacific Summit (A-P Summit) in Jakarta with participants from 21 different countries from the Asia-Pacific region.

In a press release on her successful participation, she expressed: “I have always educated myself about the ideas of carbon emissions, carbon footprint and its relation to climate change but what I learned from the Summit, specifically the climate science update from scientists like Dr. Henry Pollack of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, made clear how urgent the situation is…. It is frightening when you consider the 2010 average annual concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has gone way beyond the upper safety limit which is 350 parts per million…. This means more extreme weather events like super typhoons and heavy flooding, which we have been seeing much of in the Philippines.”

During the lecture of Dr. Rowena Tiempo-Torrevillas to celebrate the golden anniversary of the writers workshop on May 10, Dumaguete’s tree angel Leo Mamicpic made a wish that young writers will make use of their gifts in poetry and fiction to make one important call: save the environment!

Dr. Torrevillas responded by introducing Philline to the audience. Philline expressed her willingness to extend her stay in Dumaguete to speak to groups who will need a concrete background on environmentalism. Leo's co-earth angels Cecilia Hoffman and Esther Windler right away got Philline’s contact for possibilities.

It’s awesome to know that someone from an urban center in Mindanao is living a life of an earth angel. I remember the weekend when we went to Siquijor, everyone rushed to buy bottled water, and Philline was quick to share with me that she has her own permanent water bottle so as not to add more plastic waste into the environment.

And I can’t help but follow her example as it is definitely one everyday habit that can be twisted to be a tool to send a green call of the people around me. Her bottle became a conversation piece and opened many more points of discussion. Each point came with much passion from my summer earth angel.

Welcome to DUMAGUETE, the Summer Workshop Capital of the Philippines!

2011-04-15T07:50:00.003-05:00

It’s summer! Time to bring the family to Dumaguete, the Summer Workshop Capital of the Philippines!

While Mom and Dad will be in a romantic hop from one waterfalls to another, their talented young son is sitting down as a fellow at the oldest creative writing workshop in Asia – this legacy of National Artist Edith Lopez Tiempo and her late husband Doc Ed which is turning 50 years old this May. Or their daughter can be in Guy Hall taking piano lessons, or maybe at Aquacenter for swimming. And while the youngest daughter is learning the basics in ballet, Grandma can keep herself busy with her own painting lessons under an internationally recognized visual artist Kitty Taniguchi.

Come witness Philippine ethnomusicology pioneer and Asia’s first Certified McClosky Voice Technician Priscilla Magdamo Abraham together with prolific Music Education author Dr. Elizabeth Susan Dimaya Vista Suarez as they mount again pioneering programs in Voice and Choral Music Education.

Flash those DSLRs at the best Photography workshop under the busiest king of images Greg Morales as he leads you to iconic subjects to be captured and the beautiful landscapes all over will be the harvest in your every frame. Or go beyond multimedia workshop under the multi-talented Hersley-Ven Casero of Foundation University.

Write the green spirit in your child’s heart with lessons in biodiversity and garbage recycling within a butterfly garden in St. Paul University. Bring the entire local government force and get the green wisdom directly from Dr. Angel C. Alcala, the world’s father in Coastal Resources Management.

Before your trip abroad, hit the gentle Dumaguete road with driving lessons and other skills training doable in short term arrangements at Negros Oriental State University.

Meet Ate Ely, Kuya Jar with Ate Shawee, Ate Edna and the rest of the big brothers and big sisters at Oriental Hall who are the best facilitators in town for team building and other corporate human resource development programs. For an inner journey and peace of mind, there is always the listening power of Dr. Margret Helen Udarbe Alvarez, Dr. Betsy Joy B. Tan and Dr. Noel Yasi.

Then, back to Guy Hall for more of the amazing Visual Arts explorations with two of Dumaguete’s most prolific art educators Yvette Malahay Kim and Jutze Pamate. Art-talk with Jutze and be overwhelmed by his almost never-ending stories and go home a walking almanac of the journey to the golden age of Renaissance and beyond.

Take a break from your computer game and check out the College of Mass Communication and the College of Computer Studies of Silliman University now opening new windows for young talents to learn the basics in journalism, broadcasting and computer graphic design.

Theater world in Dumaguete is another rewarding workshop as the stage queen Dessa Quezada Palm makes it a tool to make young talents become fully aware of their potential as community builders. Anticipate the actor in you come out of the workshop with a sensitivity to the call of the times.

The list is endless with all the workshop weeks to conquer and the nature trips to keep the family and guardians busy in waiting games.
But then something seems not in sync with the knowledge revolution, and it pains me that Summer in Dumaguete will be capped with this mediocre production called Kabulakan. What with all of those celluloid blooms and paper roses in May compared to Baguio’s Panagbenga and Davao’s Kadayawan? No wonder we hear tourists getting frustrated of the promise of a “Mayflower” experience vaguely realized under the heat of a summer sun. I can’t blame them — Dumaguete’s Kabulakan’s historical dimension and cultural value are without strong foundations.
Don’t get me wrong, I have much respect for the organizers and am one with them in giving tribute to the late Manolit Teves, Dumaguete’s Renaissance man, whose ideas and presence were the moving force in this festival. But I believe that the best way to honor the man is to move on and make his idea a kind of point of departure. A workshop on festival management is a must to develop what really belongs to Dumaguete and this University Town is so rich with resource persons on history and creative production. I really think that Kabulakan will have a better version if mounted in Valencia, Oriental Negros, the capital of blooms. Dumaguete’s “dagit” origin can be explored and I am confident that the brainstorm will have a fruitful harvest that we all can celebrate.

As of now, let’s just join hands in letting the whole world know that this University Town is the Summer Workshop Capital of the country. Family tours will then be flooding and our business community will be in their own productive workshops of food, fun jams, fares and flares!

Summer starts in Northern Mindanao….

2011-04-07T19:12:00.002-05:00

So there’s my dear friend Lee Carlos of Malasag House in Cagayan de Oro whom I fondly call as the “king of adventure in Northern Mindanao” – he’s led a few European stars to discover Mindanao, has worked with the local government to help develop tourism potentials he uncovered, he’s the man of the Malasag house and the breath-taking beachfront in Siargao, just to name a few – and he’s invited those friends closest to his heart to join him in his birthday. It’s always like that: on his birthday, he’s up for a new adventure — hunting for some undiscovered, pristine destinations you wouldn’t see in the pages of a travel guide. Of course this is the one call every year that was hard to resist for someone as free-spirited like me, but I had to say no this time because of an important job. And then he decides to postpone the party to wait for me, and that was that.

The evening dinner had a German flavor blending into home favorites — spaghetti, humba, a different twist of Bicol Express and a lot more with the centerpiece of Filipino dining, lechong baboy, putting smiles on everyone’s faces including Max and La Rissa, our German friends. Max had on the table this wet arrangement of sausages and balls called Sauerkraut while La Rissa capped the evening with her version of Black Forest — hers had these midget fruit sliced toppings, so you can just imagine what a colorful Black Forest it is. Then as a prelude to the King’s adventure, we belted Filipino and English songs while our German friends did theirs.
Saturday morning in Malasag House, a bed and breakfast haven, Ied me to Lee’s herb garden. At the deck overlooking the entire expanse of Cagayan de Oro’s bayview, I snatched a few minutes to read a few pages of Morgan Scott Peck’s The Road Less Traveled and Beyond: Spiritual Growth in an Age of Anxiety and performed the five steps of the Tibetan exercises I learned from this lady guru who lives in Camiguin Island. This spot in Malasag House became my corner of tranquility. The experience of a cool dawn in an herb garden is simply spiritual.
The call for breakfast came and the adventure king was already busy giving instructions of what to bring for our weekend discovery. Rhea, a Malasag princess, with a room in the house named after her was with me in thinking more of what to wear than what to bring. The fashionista in Rhea was in total expression as Max, the boy with the golden hair, was very much like the sunrise splendor that awakened all of us in this mountain slope rendezvous. I was in high spirits as well as Lee announced that the room I shared with Max will be named Mojo, my nickname since 2001. I would know friends’ time zone with me by the nickname they will use to call me: Mong for friends from the 1980s, Moe or Josh for friends from the 1990s and now it’s Mojo.

On the road to our weekend discovery, Rhea, and La Rissa joined me at the back of this pick-up adventure. Max had set a date with a lady he discovered on Facebook and he decided to just stay home as he did not want to miss what had been keeping him excited in this Philippine trip. Lee was driving and his lifetime partner Guus joined him by taking the leg-room in the frontseat. I started singing John Denver’s Country Road while beside me La Rissa was busy taking pictures of people and signs of Philippine countryside. I took the camera from her as she was lovely with the wind-blown hair and I became the camera man for this beautiful subject.
The road to Kahulugan Falls in Jasaan, Misamis Oriental was filled with scenic curves along rockwalls and river banks. I noticed the huge population of domestic goats and it was such a delight to see one brown-spotted family on a huge rock. I had my harvest of Marigold blooms and I helped Lee in his harvest of giant lilies. As we continued our upward journey, Lee shouted to announce that we were nearing the waterfalls and we started hearing the rushing sound of this glory in the sky. We stopped to park in this corner which was like in the middle of the rainforest and I ran to be on top of a rock and had my Tarzan moment with giant vines hanging from trees. It was time to make our final ascend and we had to cross the old hanging bridge. It was scary since it’s totally rusty, the wooden steps looked like each block is already decaying and too weak to hold us but the gleeful leading of Lee made us forget the fear of a possible fall. We danced with him as the swinging of the bridge was in perfect rhythm with the sounds of running water everywhere. Just a few more huge rocks to conquer and there it was: Kahulugan Falls – the ultimate reward. So high was the wide-rocky curved glory that framed Kahulugan and the entire expanse also framed the blue sky with the drama of cloud formation. It was indeed surreal that a dreamlike corner of the earth can just be found at the edge of a plateau in the highlands of Jasaan.

Back in Malasag House, I made this shout on my Facebook wall: “Northern Mindanao's KING of Adventure LEE CARLOS of Malasag House led us to discover Kahulugan Falls in Jasaan last weekend. Definitely in my Top 10 list of the country's most beautiful waterfalls. I hope the LGU can do something with the awful architecture of the totally neglected concrete development. Every Filipino MUST google and understand ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE, let's stop mediocrity please....”

And that’s how this summer has started for me.

BOXING-inspired BREAKFAST

2009-11-26T23:12:00.003-05:00

The Duchess of Dauin will soon become a rewarding discovery in the beach facing Apo Island. The Saturday fun with three amazing women Connie Padriga Belmar, Dina Buna and Hedi Block, the lady behind the Duchess, was unplanned but turned-out well and really fun. These ladies share one common experience, living abroad for so many years and like snowbirds, they come home to enjoy the Philippine sun. Our conversation first centered on Hedi’s line of business: incenses and scents. Passionately, she shared how her products are made and the events that featured them: aromatic oils for spa and interior cleansing, sticks with rose and lavender scents for concerts and more. We discussed the possibilities of our very own scents from Ilang-ilang, Champaca, Camia, Rosal and Sampaguita. Dina shared her amazement over a lemon grass oil sold in expensive bottles in Southern France. I shared how Malaysia made money from their discovery of Philippines’ Ilang-ilang and the lack of entrepreneurial vision of our Filipino producers. The conversation was pleasantly interrupted with Tita Connie calling our attention to the red moon.

The red moon rising ever the horizon signaled the time to make a decision, to stay overnight or go home for dinner. The red shades totally gone and the pearl-like moon made us stay. I started my evening serenade of songs from movie themes which ended with the 80’s hit, Michael Jackson’s “Someone In the Dark” – the theme song of the film “ET.” Tita Connie asked for more, I sang “Loveliest Night of the Year,” a Mario Lanza hit in the 50s. My bathroom singer voice had an instant audience, and I led them gradually to deep slumber under a starry sky.
Breakfast call came and it was a surprise when Tita Connie told us that our lady host is a boxing coach in tournaments abroad. At breakfast, Hedi gave us an instant boxing orientation. Hedi’s passion for sports is being put to work in Dauin with concrete steps toward building a boxing academy in Maayong Tubig, Dauin. The breakfast discussion on this well-love sports ushered in two unexpected rewards: a business idea and an analysis of the ultimate arena of the Manny Pacquiao vs Miguel Cotto boxing fight.
Hedi’s husband, Fred, was the president of the Yuma County Youth Boxing Association, Inc in the United States. In fact, Fred was in Las Vegas during the big fight. In Fred’s absence, we had one more consultant,Joe Clough, the former head trainer at the Tacoma Boys Club, an amateur boxing program in Tacoma, WA, USA. Amongst the outstanding fighters developed by Clough at the Tacoma Boys Club as amateurs were: Leo Randolph (World Champion, and Olympic Gold Medalist) , Rocky Lockridge (World Champion) , Johnny Bumphus (World Champion and National Amateur Champion) , Sugar Ray Seales (Olympic Gold Medalist) , Dale Grant (National Amateur Champion) and Davey Lee Armstrong (National Amateur Champion, Member of U.S. Olympic Team). Hedi and Joe LIVE! It was almost unbelievable that on this Maayong Tubig seaside, we had this close encounter with international boxing experts. Our corner that Sunday morning was certainly the best boxing viewing stand in all of the island.
What was Joe’s forecast of the Pinoy sports icon and did he guess it right? Pacquiao's long been defining his high-powered-punch: the uppercut. And this, according to Joe, would be The Pacman’s tool to outdo Cotto. And the indeed on the fourth round, Pacquiao capped what could had been his finisher for Cotto with a strong left uppercut and another set of seconds with another but Cotto was saved by the bell. Pacquiao survived his opponent’s jabs, and in a speed that destroyed whatever was the Cotto gameplan, the Pinoy hero after a successful right, and another left uppercut on round seven which had Cotto on ropes. Being in a neutral corner, Pacquiao flooded Cotto with blows, then one full wave of another ruinous left uppercut. It had a bloody outcome, Cotto was spitting blood from a lip cut and more bleeding from the nose. Pacquiao’s coach, Roach, suggested that this was the best time to stop the fight but Cotto asked for more.

The live sessions with Joe gave Dina an inspiration to give Dumaguete a boxing gym on top of Portal West. Then Joe, shared with us his own gameplan for Negros Island which will be realized with the help of Fred and Hedi: right on the seaside of Maayong Tubig, the Philippines’ boxing academy will rise – a dream born within the Duchess of Dauin. What a beautiful sunny morning!

SUGA: Making a Difference!

2009-10-09T00:29:00.002-06:00

"I would be nothing without knowing what God really wants for me. . .," IRESSE PATRICIA O. BULOS tearfully declared, in the Silliman University Goodwill Ambassador (SUGA) Search final challenge on September 25 in Café Antonio: a sermonette on the theme “Thy Will Be Done” -- one of the winning moments of this humble young talent who, along with the other Aspiring Ambassadors (AA) and their production team, (pressured with little preparation time, faith stories uncovered, ability to present a quality stage production) discovered with touches of elegance over a week-long run. All these made the event that capped the Youth Week celebration of Silliman Church a decision that is (or will prove to be) equally formative and, it being an avenue of working faith testimonies, far more determined, unyielding.

SUGA: Silliman University Goodwill Ambassador, a talent search inspired by popular reality TV programs, was an achievement of brave young workers led by Parish News Editor Gus Ganir, the Christian Youth Fellowship president Daniel Kho and Campus Ambassadors chairman Marky Cielo with the full-of-talent-energy hosting by Anna Espino and Carlo Regalado . Its entire expanse had been mostly an achievement of willingness to make a difference -- not for the self but in celebration of God-given talents. Although set within the spirit of a friendly competition, every solo presentation of an AA espoused the most passionate faith testimony of the youth; an ideal seriousness which, in a rare moment, was found in a generation usually lost in trivial peer-pressured frolic. Iresse, the winner, expressed that so far in all her life as a young achiever, her being SUGA was the most meaningful - simply splendid with subtle building-up of joy within a Christian youth fellowship composed of: Boyd Milan, the classical guitarist; Matthew Torres, the hip-hop dancer using praise songs; Fredilyn Fabillar, the Christian pop singer; Anton Sanchez, the Christian rock band lead singer; Raiza Majam, the inspirational motivator; Retz Pol Pacalioga, the composer and Olive Rubillos, the praise and worship leader. The SUGA experience im all its simplicity became the most authentic and complete of all of Iresse’s involvements, beside her other wins in other school contests which were not as fulfilling, she said.

Among the reasons for its mounting, the SUGA was committed to defining real youth challenges amidst inherent tendencies to just go-with-the-flow and that result in any work concerning the youth a mediocre undertaking without discernment of the beauty of God-given gift of creativity. It proves that Church youth work today requires a strong plan involving excellence in visual communication, a service that answers to the short-attention span of young people. Creative path is the nerve of today’s youth work, so that the young mind dwells within a meaningful journey which, to the majority of the chosen circle of friends, could still be regarded as “too churchy” and finds it absolutely boring compared to the challenge in a computer game or to the appeal of television primetime. While our Church youth are obliged to package themselves according to the concrete pleasant pressure of their contemporaries, youth ministry as a whole has to have an encompassing avenue to cover even the most unknown addressee. It should send vivid signals beyond boundaries and take courage that stems from the omnipotence of GOD, the Great-Giver-of-All-Talents.

Hari ng Negros 2009: “Arise the Phoenix”

2009-07-02T05:59:00.005-06:00

The Hari ng Negros pageant is considered to be the most popular male pageant in the country. The annual parade of princes is part of the celebration of the charter anniversary of the island of Negros’ city-in-the-sky: CANLAON.

It was on May 16 when I was invited to be in Canlaon City to conduct personality enhancement, speech improvement and handling Q & A workshops for the candidates of the 2009 Hari ng Negros pageant. The session gave me the opportunity to experience the daytime presence of the princes from the different towns and cities of the island of Negros. They were in their casual and comfortable weekend fashion and no one was wearing make-up. The workshop taught them how to achieve a strong manly presence while on a ramp walk, a review on the non-verbal and verbal considerations when in a panel interview and finally, a long session on common beauty pageant questions.

The session was an opportunity to make my own secret judging of the possible winners. My top 10 after the exposure were: the prince with the classic look and sizzling shirtless flaunting Prince of Talisay FERDINAND SAN FELIX, the prince with the over-all star presence Prince of Pamplona RAMI GALLEGO, the prince with the-perfect-gentleman bearing Prince of San Carlos RHAMRIC SIMPRON, the prince with the top model allure Prince of Bacolod CHARLES ANITO, the prince with the exotic appeal and perfectly-chiseled body Prince of Tayasan PHILIP MANUBAG, the prince with the sweetest smile Prince of Canlaon ALJUNREY TAUBAN, the prince with the rugged, muscular and raw magnetism Prince of La Libertad MARK GARGOLES, the prince confident of his boy-next-door appeal Prince of Dumaguete JAY-AR GANDOLA, the prince with the Oriental pretty boy charisma Prince of Bais CONAN AYUDA and the prince with endearing innocent aura Prince of Bindoy MELRICK CALIJAN. Others whom I forecasted to make a surprise cut were: the prince with the subtle handsome charm Prince of Calatrava VINCENT CALAPTI, the prince with the fighting spirit and face value to bank on Prince of Amlan LORD CHESTER TAN, the prince with the serious-business-in-a-contest zeal and the one with the most expressive eyes Prince of Vallehermoso JESSE CENIZA.

The final pageant night on May 27 in Canlaon City had my favorite Prince of Tayasan walking like a hip-hop kid in the Barong Tagalog portion and for this, he failed to make it to the Top 10 cut. Prince of Bacolod was in trouble with the new braces he had after a dental cosmetology, he was without the expected winsome smile. He also did not make it. The remaining semi-finalists were the princes from Talisay, La Libertad, San Carlos, Canlaon, Calatrava, Dumaguete, Pamplona, Bais, Bindoy and Vallehermoso. With almost all of my bets making it to this level in the competition, I did so well in my facebook forecast.

Body-painting champ Prince of Vallehermoso gave the best answer in the semi-final round but his facial make-up made him look arrogant and a bit less masculine. Mister Photogenic awardee Prince of Pamplona missed the second point in his answer to a question on the two roles of a Hari ng Negros. Prince of Calatrava also failed to share a complete thought. The screams of the young ladies in the audience did not save their favorite Prince of Bais when he failed to expound on his answer. And hometown favorite and the one with the best smile Prince of Canlaon also failed to give a confident answer.

The Final 5 round had The Prince of La Libertad in the lead with outstanding over-all performance especially in the swimwear portion, Prince of Talisay who harvested a good number of special awards with his high energy street-dance glory as the clincher, Prince of San Carlos who gave an impressive answer on the question about Philippine tourism, Prince of Dumaguete whose aura of confidence was beaming all-night long, and the one with the humble presence Prince of Bindoy who started to impress the judges when the Guest of Honor Miss Earth 2008 Karla Paula G. Henry asked him, "What is the common weakness among men?” The Prince of Bindoy, a sophomore Accountancy student from Silliman University, answered "it's pride that leads men to a common weakness: not being able to handle rejection specially when they try their very best to get a girl's approval and only to be rejected....”

In the Top 5 round, Prince of Talisay struggled to answer the question from Prince of Bindoy, “If you will be become a rock, how hard would you want yourself to be?” After a long dead air, Prince of Talisay managed to express, “I want a diamond.” With this delay in answer, the crowd’s favorite to win the crown failed to be among the Top 3 princes. Prince of Dumaguete also failed when asked by Prince of San Carlos to describe Canlaon to a blind person, he sounded like a politician talking about Canlaon being a paradise, a land of progress and a place of friendly people.

In the Top 3 were Best in Swimwear and Best Ramp Model awardee Prince of La Libertad MARK GARGOLES, the youngest and the tallest bet Prince of Bindoy MELRICK CALIJAN and the Best Personality for Commercial modeling awardee Prince of San Carlos RHAMRIC SIMPRON. Both Mark and Rhamric considered knowing God as the point of rebirth in their own life stories when asked to reflect on the pageant’s theme “Arise the Phoenix.” Melrick pointed-out a simple Phoenix-like experience in his life and that was being on stage as a Hari ng Negros aspirant. He explained, “This is a totally new experience for me and being here feels like being reborn to a new challenge.” With all three tackling well the final question, the pageant ended with a triple-tie in the final tally of points. The Chairman of the Board of Judges, acclaimed film director Mario J. de los Reyes, had to break the tie and the youngest phoenix was chosen. With his humble presence and gift of innocence, Melrick Calijan arose to be king so unexpectedly.

pride and joy: Lalimar Resort of La Libertad

2009-05-19T18:53:00.002-06:00

Many are talking about a mango orchard that has been transformed into a tourist destination.

Truly worthy of the threee-hour drive from Dumaguete is Lalimar Resort in the town of La Libertad!

Going there today, however, will temporarily give you an unpleasant interruption of the current election showcase: road construction all over the country. But the long drive will certainly be rewarded by this seaside gem.

The new resort is a work of art facing Tañon Strait. Cebu island serves as its sculptural line at the other end of the expanse of the familiar blue calm. All elements of the landscape architecture are made to blend with the existing dominant texture: the graceful waves of the ocean.

There is elegance in the strength of every shelter. The evident energy of the restless creative mind gives new ideas in the use of indigenous materials. A survey of the details is a refreshing experience.

The infinity edge pool as centerpiece defines tranquility. Its endless blue reflection is the coolness we badly need in this very humid season.

On special events, the music of the children rondalla will be part of the welcome.

Another source of joy are the products of the Lali women: native bags, baskets, hats, mats and a lot more. A digicam will certainly be busy capturing the endless display of colors.

The mango trees with yellow blooms are beginning to dance in the seabreeze with clusters of little fruits. A bit of Guimaras grandeur in Negros!

This new inspiration is part of the spirit of progress made possible by the generous heart of Congresswoman Josy Limkaichong.

Lalimar can only be our pride and joy. Not just because of its world-class impact. We take pride in Lalimar for it is the kind of progress that should be cascaded everywhere – a touch of high quality in its totality.

This local government project is an inspiration, for it speaks of the many possibilities when a public servant decides to be sincere and honest.

The Best Season in American Idol

2009-05-12T04:41:00.004-06:00

American Idol, the no. 1 TV show, is now on its 8th season. I have been an avid follower of this very influential reality TV. I have to agree with Simon Cowell when he said that the current batch is the best in the show’s history. Another judge Randy Jackson of the Jackson 5, also expressed that this batch is the best, with all in the Top 5 “who can really sing.” New judge Kara DioGuardi, a prolific songwriter, has pointed-out that she is looking for the artist in a singer and she was awed by the discovery that all five have the artistic ability in building his/her own character.
A Filipino-American singer, Jasmine Trias, got the third place on the third season, overshadowing Jennifer Hudson with the popularity voting scheme that had Hawaii and other Filipino communities united behind the sweet Pinay. But Hudson, who was ranked 7th, turned out to be the biggest star with a talent that gave her an Oscar win and a Grammy for an R&B album. On this 8th season, Indian singer Anoop Desai have his own community support but a wiser America agreed with DioGuardi, and voted for the ones with strong artistic potentials.`
I had a Top 5 forecast with consideration to “popularity base”. I included the inspiring blind singer Scott MacIntyre as I was banking on the sympathy vote but he did not make it with his lack of originality. My heart’s final 5 did make it: Danny Gokey, Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta, Kris Allen and Matthew Giraud.
Matt Giraud may have a University degree in Music and gave the true spirit of a musician with every creative interpretation but he missed to give America a charming presence. He had this constantly-disturbed expression – making him look sad at some points. He failed to give the welcoming identity of an entertainer. I guessed it right when he had to be the first to go home in Top 5 elimination. The judges loved his own version of Stevie Wonder’s “Part Time Lover” and the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive” but his being a dedicated musician did not save him. Passion was not in the common ground between him and the audience.
With the final four in a rock ‘n roll theme, there was a sure winner for he is naturally born with a rock star musicality: Adam Lambert. His version of English rock band Led Zeppelin’s "Whole Lotta Love " got the longest standing ovation and the nods of the judges with Paula Abdul screaming, “perfect! perfect!” But will America love the metrosexual fashion icon in Adam? Or will fans of mainstream rock will consider his tendency to be theatrical on stage? Can all of America take an Elvis-like handsome presence - always manicured? He was in the bottom 3 twice and these results were after he received excellent comments from the judges. Adam, an experienced stage performer, is my choice but am not sure if America will agree when the current star trend is the raw and all-natural Miley Cyrus and Jason Mraz.
Ladies’ choice is definitely Kris Allen with a flood of “Kiss me Kris” placards in the audience. His humble presence is in sharp contrast to Adam’s star packaging. He is charming and very handsome even with just a T-shirt on. His voice is that of a cool pop star and every performance looks effortless with his sunshine smile. Girls were screaming when he performed “The Way You Look Tonight” and they danced with him in “She Works Hard for the Money.” But the judges specially Simon made it known that he doesn’t have what it takes to be in the Top 3 after a too mild version of the Beatles’ “Come Together.” They were wrong for America’s heart was for pretty boy Kris who is now considered a dark horse in Top 3.
The general public will go for the wholesome Danny Gokey even if the judges considered his singing of Aerosmith’s "Dream On” as “out of his element.” Indeed it was a desperation-soaked rock ‘n roll. But America will remember his heartwarming versions of Diana Ross and Lionel Richie’s “Endless Love” and Ben E. King “Stand By Me”, Mariah Carey’s "Hero,” and Carrie Underwood’s "Jesus, Take the Wheel.” His presence is that of a gentleman with the mature Harry Potter coolness and having the hairstyle of last year’s winner David Cook gave him that idol stature on stage. This Church music teacher is predicted to get one of the final two slots.

If only voters were all from the High School Musical generation, 17-year-old Allison Iraheta - the youngest remaining contestant and the only female left in the race - would have been given a Top 3 slot. They have loved her spunky personality, and she stood-out with Adam in the rock ‘n roll theme. But she was voted-off in the final 4 performance. The Salvadoran beauty will still become a recording star for she is an awesome rock princess. Her version of “Total Eclipse Of The Hear” was enduring.

Chris Daughtry who also came in fourth place on the 2006 season turned out to be a huge rock star who was named one of Nielsen’s top ten selling artists of 2007.

Allison can definitely be Daughtry but with her versatility, there is a promise of a more bankable career for this new teen idol.

More than 47 million votes led Adam, Danny, Allison and Kris to Top 4. And 64 million votes led to the Top 3 battle next week and a greater audience share is expected. Be part of the best season! Take an American Idol moment and be serenaded by the remaining three princes: KRIS, ADAM & DANNY. Take the Simon power and declare your own new king of songs!

5 Moments with Mom Edith

2009-05-07T09:10:00.002-06:00

I was there…

…one summer afternoon when I went up to the Montemar home of NATIONAL ARTIST EDITH LOPEZ TIEMPO to accompany an editor of Good Housekeeping magazine and a noted photographer who were scheduled to do an interview and photo session. It was their first time to meet the National Artist and they were starstruck. The editor, who was ready with a notebook of questions failed to make a good start. I had to do the initial interview. The photographer was like a trigger-happy soldier, taking shots non-stop. It was my first time to witness a presence up-close that really overwhelmed her audience. The two visitors loved every moment of it, and they never stopped talking about how welcoming Mom Edith was, or how happy they were to capture her effortless regal bearing and how they were entertained by her way of sharing stories from a life loaded with romantic angles, the sepia of local scenes, and the wisdom of the pen.

…somewhere in the 1980’s when a student talked about the walk-out of one his panelists during a defense of his dissertation on Creative Writing. He criticized the need for cultural honesty with the writer’s use of local color. He cited a work of Dr. Edilberto K. Tiempo whom the student acknowledged as a major influence in his writing. The walk-out queen was the Dean of the Graduate School then, our beloved Dr. Edith Lopez Tiempo. She defended the work of the mentor as it was within the freedom of artistic expression. I loved the display of anger – I understood that it was not for the connection but of her pure passion. It was from a nurturing heart of an artist protecting the work of a fellow artist. Mom Edith is always a “mother hen” to any artist disturbed by confusion, and in this case, a criticism in full public view that had forgotten the element of respect.

… one morning in Montemar, she ushered me to sit down and ask, “Moses, would you care to listen to this… a poem, I wrote last night.” Being the first listener to The Writer’s Parentheses was a privilege I would forever cherish. When we mounted the event fir the renaming of the university library to Robert and Metta Silliman Library, in honor of the mentors that paved the way for her and her husband King to be Iowa scholars - I asked her to have the first public reading of “The Writer’s Parentheses” but the engagement was too early for her. So son Danny did it for Mom. and he successfully enlightened everyone of the Sillimans’ generosity to his parents, and the poem that was read became a testimony of the enduring legacy.

… a Christmas Eve at Silliman Church which had Dr. Edith Tiempo’s reading of a poem as the main expression of praise. The uniqueness of the moment made the worship elegant. The National Artist in a red dress was portrait of “the beauty of Jesus” seen through her glee while at the pulpit. She captured the true spirit of the season with Christmas Light, Christmas Dark.

…this birth is a time, yes, for festivity,
But even more, a time for humility,
A time for laying by
The feverish praise and loud celebration,
A time for quiet introspection.
A time to grasp in the darkness of our being
The wonder of this birth and the balm of its meaning.

This fact is even true in the fiesta month of May where “loud celebration” can bring people away from the “…time for quiet introspection.”

… when the Quizo Family Quintet serenaded the National Artist Edith Lopez Tiempo on her 90th birthday. The afternoon harana as suggested by the Silliman University president Dr. Ben S. Malayang was a surprise for her but I was more surprised at the energy she had that day listening and dancing with the music of James, Meriam, Jon, Onna and Yeshua. She stood-up to join them dancing and singing, “Rock-a My Soul... in the bosom of Abraham..." When she heard them with the prayer song “Lead Me Lord.” She expressed, “…there is only one word to describe their singing: terrific!” The fun went on, and I was amazed at the warmth exchanges of Mom Edith and the beloved children, the who’s who in the Philippine literary world: SUSAN LARA, MARGE EVASCO, DM REYES, MYRNA PEÑA-REYES, JIM ABAD, KRIP YUSON, ANTHONY TAN, SAWI AQUINO, ERNIE YEE, IAN CASOCOT.... Her majesty at 90 was a big story to share – truly an enduring moment with love overflowing!

TAKE 5

2009-04-15T01:22:00.004-06:00

My favorite number 5 led me to my favorite color. It was a billiard game that had 5 as the luckiest ball and its orange color was like a rolling sunshine. From then on, …T-shirt, slippers, toothbrush, a keyholder… everything orange invaded my room.

And SUMMER is the time to have them out with me as I go on island hop.

Here is more of my Take 5…

5 on-my-backpack Holy Week journey:

· Get to where Magellan had the first mass in Magallanes, Agusan del Norte to the Easter Sunday celebration in Cebu.

· Visit the oldest churches in the Visayas and the nearby beaches: Boljoon in Cebu, Baclayon in Bohol, Bacong in Negros, Lazi in Siquijor and Miag-ao in Iloilo.

· Away from the un-Holy Boracay is the country’s Holy Week Island: Guimaras

· Discover the tranquility islands near Sugar Beach in Sipalay

and back to the magic of Siquijor!

5 best listeners for PEACE-OF-MIND sessions :

· Keiko Shimada of L’Arche Punla, situated some 3000 km further South in the city of Cainta, Philippines (118 Camia Street, Bayanihan Village) was founded in 1988. This Japanese heroine, a nurse, will lead to a sense of purpose: becoming a volunteer to take care of the special children abandoned in Philippine hospitals

· Marvin Flores, Class of 2009 Valedictorian of Silliman University. The summa cum laude in Physics will inspire you with his success out of poverty.

· Gentle and kind Sanda Fuentes of Orientwind will inspire you to go an adventure underwater or over mountains or on a lake.

· Fashionista spirit with budget care! This is what you will discover when you go on “ukay-ukay” shopping with Rona Valente of Veronica’s Closet.

· Beyond the academia, Dr. Marge Udarbe Alvarez of Silliman University is available for sessions with those having troubled minds.

5 places to have the best Lenten season diet:

· Sonya’s Garden in Tagaytay

· Green Haven in Cagayan de Oro

· Eden in Davao

· Mountain View in Bukidnon

· And if you can only afford a pedicab ride from home, try the vegetable kebab of Boston Café in Dumaguete – an echo of Palawan

5 secrets to uncover:

· The stories of the last of the Pastor sisters in Dumaguete’s Casa Blanca

· The angel-witch power orientation by Kitty Taniguchi of Mariyah Gallery

· The history behind every part of the house of Karl Aguila in Andulay overlooking Tambobo Bay

· The old house without stairways somewhere up-there in Siquijor

· And a bit of the “Taj Mahal” parallelism in the story of Sariland in Valencia

5 moments of nostalgia within Oriental Negros:

· Experience the sunset in Basay

· Go inside Silliman Church and you will have the drama of colors in gemlike glory when the sun is right behind the Resurrection stained-glass window.

· It’s simply spiritual when on a blue boat around the Twin Lakes

· With a friend at Café Binfico at Silliman Hall

· And a wish of truth at the mountain slope of Canlaon after chasing all the five waterfalls…

Or simply take 5 minutes every morning of your life and define it with the way of your heart.

Their Eyes have it....

2009-04-03T04:18:00.007-06:00

“After 30 years of training, I am increasingly convinced that hiring

is more important than training”
Stephen R. Covey, Author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

Talent managers are like fairy godmothers, they will do magic for their wards to shine in every limelight dance. I love watching them as they quietly work behind the stars.

In October, three giant sensations of Philippine entertainment were in Dumaguete for a film shoot. Film Director Seymour Sanchez has chosen Dumaguete, the hometown of his father, as location for “Handumanan” – a story of an accidental rendezvous of its three characters. Playing the role of Soledad, a writer from Dumaguete who takes a journey home is the multi-awarded actress and Time Asian heroine Chin-chin Gutierrez. The 2008 Urian Best Actor Jason Abalos is Efren, a government auditor assigned in Dumaguete and the 2008 Cosmopolitan Magazine’s “man of the year:” Akihiro Sato is Peru, the top model who had a location shoot in Pura Vida and Antulang. All three were busy building their characters and getting inspired by the natural wonders of Oriental Negros. I had the opportunity as production manager, to have many moments of up-close interactions with the actors, but having them as subjects for this article will not give new dimensions to what is already publicly known about them. I decided to put the spotlight on the “magicians” behind them, their talent managers: JONAS ANTONIO GAFFUD for Akihiro Sato, ANJIE BLARDONY-URETA for Chin-chin Gutierrez and DANILYN NUNGA for Jason Abalos.

The Brazilian-Italian-Japanese male icon Akihiro Sato is under the management of Mercator’s Jonas Gaffud. The name of Jonas’ model management agency came from a word he had seen from an old map while taking up Geography at the University of the Philippines-Diliman. Mercator is the word for merchant, he explained. He said it’s a perfect name as selling an image today requires consideration of the global projections. What’s a social scientist doing in the world of model management? Jonas sensed his eye for discovering beauty during his college days. At UP, he met this campus beauty named Zorayda Andam. He told her she was beautiful and encouraged her to join Bb. Pilipinas beauty pageant. He successfully convinced the brilliant Business Economics student to be in the pageant. Jonas gathered all the resources to help his bet win and this included meetings with the UP circle of Binibining Pilipinas beauty scouts led by the country’s walking beauty pageant almanac Wendell Capili and film director Jeffrey Jeturian. Zorayda was crowned Bb. Pilipinas – Universe in 2001 and became Miss Tourism Asia. Jonas got so inspired by the thrill of discovering his first beauty queen. He became unstoppable – he has given our country our bets to the Miss Universe pageant from 2005 to 2008. His new found love meant “goodbye” to geography which had courses like anthropology, volcanology and other studies covering the contours and features of the earth. Now, he is still looking at contours – actually the possibilities of the required features within the physical make-up of a would-be talent. He worked full time in a talent agency and after two years, decided to establish Mercator. Mercator is the agency behind today’s top male models like Rocky Salumbides, Victor Basa, Bruce Quebral and Akihiro Sato, to name a few. A good number of the Binibining Pilipinas beauties are also under Jonas’ Mercator. (.http://www.mercatormodels.com/home.html).

"Television plays a very important role in shaping our consciousness. For instance, even if we were far away from where the 9-11 tragedy took place, we were still affected by it because we saw what happened on television. The feeling would be different if we just read about it in the newspapers. The same with the EDSA Revolution, we felt the drama because we saw how it unfolded on screen," explained the former Executive Producer Anjie Blardony-Ureta of ABS-CBN News and Public Affairs. It is for this previous job as a network producer of a news program that Anjie is easily recognized by those in the mainstream of the entertainment industry. When she became the talent manager of Chin-chin, their tandem would easily get the respect from those in the business.

The track records of both the manager and her talent are very strong, they mean serious business and they command professionalism in all aspects of the production. Anjie’s mere presence would add credibility to a program. She won’t hesitate to express a comment on something that should be corrected. Her professional life started as an educator in a basic education institution and this background gave her the strength in all aspects of management. It’s a moment of good education when one is with Anjie. She is inviting everyone to become part of their environmental advocacy through the One Planet, One Cradle Production Garden (ilog_uyayi@yahoo.com). The program is greatly inspired by Chinchin’s selection as one of the 2003 Asian Heroes for her dedication to the environmental preservation programs in our country. Chin-chin’s Uyayi (Lullaby) concert is aimed at promoting awareness to the need to save mother earth. Anjie is part of all these not just as a talent manager but because “It is not a choice to make, I have to be an environmentalist and everyone should because it a commitment to make as citizens of this planet.”

Danilyn Nunga wanted to become the next Korina Sanchez. This inspiration was the primary reason why she took up Mass Communication in college. But as she was facing the real world after obtaining the degree, she realized that the arena for broadcast journalists is too loaded with wannabes. In fact, when she applied as a reporter at ABS-CBN, she was told that they would need her at the network’s talent center. Left with no choice, she accepted the job. Her career literally blossomed in ABS-CBN as talent handler of Star Magic, then called Talent Center. She tried other jobs like being a store a manager but she wasn’t as happy as playing the “big sister” for the talents assigned to her. Her job with Jason is made easy for the actor is “very mabait talaga” and she added, “very professional and is really committed to his job.” Days of rejoicing are days of achievements of her “alaga.” “I was the happiest when we received the call that Jason was nominated for Urian.” She was literally jumping when Jason was proclaimed as the Urian Best Actor for “Endo,” the opening film during Dumaguete’s Cinemalaya. A hard day would be with an assignment that’s all face value with no talent to bank on. Danilyn’s dedication to her job was evident during the entire location shoot for Handumanan. We invited her several times to a tour around Metro Dumaguete while her talent was busy working but she, too, was busy making sure that her talent would get to the set on time and that every need would be provided immediately. She really loves where she is right now, and she is willing to stay for as long as she is needed.

All three know what it takes to be a star in Philippine showbiz. With just one look, they can right away spot a talent who is worthy of their touch and packaging.

ROBERT HASS capturing human nature....

2008-11-23T08:14:00.002-05:00

...from his 2008 Pulitzer prize winning collection, Time and Materials....

Though mostly when I think of myself
at that age,
I am standing at my older brother's closet,
studying the shirts,
convinced that I could be absolutely transformed
by something I could borrow.
And the days churned by,
navigable sorrow.

Manila’s new discovery: VERONICA’S CLOSET

2008-10-06T21:22:00.004-06:00

What happened to me in the Sixties was so major and so worldwide and so huge, there's no way I can repeat it. But in a way, I had nothing to do with it, it just took me over. It was bizarre, it was weird, and I had no control over it. I don't think anyone could have planned what happened to me. – Twiggy

Twiggy, the 60s fashion icon, overshadowed the creators of the mini-skirt Mary Quant and André Courréges – among the top fashion designers of the 1960s. Andre made “colorblock” style dresses a definitive feature of the era.
Mary made London among the world’s fashion capitals. Twiggy as the fashion model has become part of the popular culture while the designers’ fame has faded and many of them totally forgotten.

In the Philippines, we have the tendency to care for the image only and not the creator. We remember the singer of the song but not the composer, we remember the actor in a good film but not the director. We remember Twiggy but not the designers who created her image.

After decades of fashion evolution, only the image of Twiggy and the style she carried survives. All the image creators have long been forgotten. The image is so powerful that its influence is still very much visible in today’s fashion choices. In fact, it’s Twiggy’s enduring elegance that became the inspiration of the lady behind Veronica’s Closet, our very own Rona Valente. This young fashion engineer based in Dumaguete City is starting to make waves with the three lines available through Rona’s online boutique, the Veronica’s Closet (http://vintageprincess.multiply.com/).The most popular line is the VERONICA collection of dresses that are pre-owned, vintage finds and altered; this is the high-end version of the “ukay-ukay” but with a surprisingly low price range. Manila corporate women are starting to keep Rona’s text messaging (cp # 09165811421) loaded with orders. They love the easy way to shop through order forms available on the Veronica’s closet website. Another line which is still high-end ukay-ukay under the VENTAJA collection carries pre-owned items, in good condition, unaltered. Rona’s touch makes an item fresh and fully-sanitized the moment it gets to the new owner’s closet. Missing buttons or broken zipper tooth are an opportunity for Rona to give the dress a better look with more fashionable replacements. She even provide belts to give the needed accent. Free fashion consultation includes the right shoes to go with the outfit, the hairstyle, the jewel and more. Rona’s generosity is that of a fashion angel.

The Rona sense of style has total freedom as she gathers items under VESTIDAS. One can shop for brand new, not pre-owned items. Rona who is a civil engineer by profession has always been a fashion genius. She can transform an unremarkable piece of textile into a cosmopolitan statement. She feels frustrated when she is on field work for this is the time in her life when she can’t go beyond the usual. Wearing a scarf with a shirt would be out of place the moment she is surrounded by carpenters. This is why she loves Sundays, going to church for her is sincerely “giving the best look to the Master.”

Under VESTIDAS she can dream, have endless dreaming – her imagination going as fast as she mouths each possibility. She wants to revive the vintage classic Audrey Hepburn elegance and break the too formal fashion flow with the Farrah Faucet hippy chic combination.

Rona wants to put an end to the tendency to do matching with one dominant color. She would love to teach women the other brilliant options. To inspire them to carry themselves with confidence. She loves to share her Heidi Klum magic of giving one’s self a “not-too-thin and not-too-fat” packaging. She also believes that the cool aura of Drew Barrymore – charming and free-spirited – would be perfect for a University Town look.

Rona’s greatest dream is to be able to create a Filipino fashion zen for all the world to discover.

A “new life” is her gift to every woman. Her friends in Dumaguete love their finds at Veronica’s Closet, like Atty. Myrish Cadapan-and the Dejaresco twin sisters Mayen and Ellen. Ellen introduces Rona to the world via the internet with this,”... Veronica—creator and owner who we fondly call Rona—has the gift of transforming simple, mundane, sometimes even ugly stuff into something beautiful, useful and trendy. Fortified with passion and sense of style, Rona painstakingly roams around the ukayans and delves into clusters and clusters of clothes. I had the chance to see her at work once, and it amazed me that she didn’t seem to get tired of all the rummaging she did....”

Veronica’s Closet is all about “putting a piece of the past in your present” and it’s becoming the most rewarding discovery for the busy corporate ladies of Manila who have no time to shop. Beyond Rona’s expectations, a lady visual merchandizer from Fashion 21 Manila was her first actual visitor here in Dumaguete. The moment she opened her closet, the visitor was like in panic buying. The following week, the lady came back with her mother.

Top 5 Events on Silliman’s Founders Day

2008-09-14T05:23:00.005-06:00

"You don't have to have special effects or a naked woman or violence to make a good movie." - Emmanuel Priou, producer of March of the Penguins

I have noticed that big-budgeted events in Dumaguete usually become disturbingly heavy with their fiesta tendencies – gentle elegance totally gone. It’s ‘too much’ when you see a stage that overpowers the performer, it’s “too much” when two “politicians” outdo each other with Dolphy-inspired wit, its “too much” when the introduction is longer than the main part, it’s “too much” when the emcee will try so hard to cover every dead air and mouthing like a jologs Wowowee host….
The celebration of the 107th Founders Day of Silliman University banked more on human talent than on the financial source to define excellence. In fact, the events which were visibly commercial suffered from lack of the creative force to mute or tame their “ visual noise.”
The perpetually-Oscar-inspired creative mind of Ian Rosales Casocot actually works as a one-man team. He can produce a good event in just a night or two: a good idea, a workable script, a well-chosen creative team, a vigilant and secure (not suffering from attention-deficiency) director and a realistic time-table. I hope every event organizer was there to watch the mounting of the 2008 Outstanding Sillimanian Awards – it was an event that almost flowed smoothly from the working force backstage to the actual performers. I salute the awardees who , except for one, were sensitive to time and showed subtle humor in their acceptance speech. A slight interruption caused by a technical glitch was within the span of patience of our dignified audience. The MTV-inspired profiles of the awardees on power-point, the music of Dr. Elizabeth Susan Vista Suarez and the Campus Choristers and the intelligent intermission number - Marge Evasco’s “Sagada Stills in a Floating World” set in music by Reginald Bernaldez - it was a Seurat with the movement of Dali. All these made the 2008 Outstanding Sillimanian Awards easily the best event last August.
For sheer entertainment, all you need is a good performer, good choice of music based on audience appeal and a production design that blends with the performer. Ryan Villanueva, son of this year’s Outstanding Sillimanian awardee in the field of Community Health Service Dr. Romy Villanueva, was the sunshine at night last Founders Day. This Filipino-American artist was so popular, he was hopping from one stage to another and from one top bar to another. But his best performance was in Payag sa Likod – when the intimacy between the good-looking and talented performer and his audience was picture perfect. He started on common ground: the music from The Legend Bob Marley. The easy flow of his own compositions - Chillin’ Right Here, The Kite, Many Things to Learn and his own arrangement of Usahay - endeared him to Dumaguete audience.
Bayanihan was a good welcome for many of our campus balikbayans when they watched the homecoming performance of the Bayanihan Philippine National Dance Company dubbed as “Surging to the Crest”. Our Goodwill Ambassadors to the world won championships in the many dance festivals in Europe, and their magic was seen in their program mounted at the Luce Auditorium. The grace and energy of arnis - the Filipino martial arts were incorporated in their choreography for maglalatik, the sayaw sa bangko, and singkil. Campus visitor Nenita Ponce de Léon Elphick of Harvard University Department of Art and Architecture expressed pride in her Filipino heritage while watching the Bayanihan’s soaring at the Luce.
An intellectual exercise was among the best events last Founders Day: the International Symposium on Nursing which echoed the Founders Day theme: “Silliman Education and its Global Reach and Relevance.” The keynote speech of the Chief Scientist for Nursing and Midwifery of the World Health Organization Dr. Jean Yan (2003 Outstanding Sillimanian awardee) and the presence of the robot Stan were among the highlights. The delegates from Iloilo City whom I had the opportunity to send-off thanked me for their Silliman experience which to them defined the meaning of excellence in the nursing profession.
Four landmarks were named to honor leaders in Silliman’s history but the ceremonies naming the Silliman library in honor of Drs. Robert and Metta Silliman had the cutting edge: the presence of the honoree’s foster daughters and former students. It was a simple but a meaningful gathering. It started with poetry reading of the works of the students of Dr. Metta Jacobs Silliman which included that of country’s literary icons Edith Lopez Tiempo, Myrna Peña-Reyes and Aida Rivera Ford. The anecdotes and responses from Eleanor Funda Sardual and Emma Cole Teves, foster children of Bob and Metta Silliman, were inspiring and entertaining testimonies of the couple’s missionary care.
Special Mention: The best time to watch the Miss Silliman Beauty Pageant is always during the pre-pageant segment. It was a good idea this year to bring back the pre-pageant as a morning event. In the 1980s they had them also in the morning at SC IIO which had media people as panelists. The 2008 pre-pageant was held at the Luce Auditorium and it was a showcase of a quality student production. The speeches and the Q & A’s with the candidates this year were very impressive – it greatly overshadowed the Q & A of the Binibining Pilipinas which had the Janina San Miguel disaster. The talent presentations were not more-than-usual but the show’s entertainment value was saved with the medley of songs from the College of Performing Arts talents during the intermission: Jon Quizo, Krista Beatingo , Flintzel Diao and Abby Yap. Many of our visitors from Manila and abroad were saying, pageant organizers can actually get good ideas from the pre-pageant. The hosts Noel and Treana did so well.
Please don’t ask which events were in my worst list for they don’t deserve even a mention. As they say, the worst criticism is the total absence of a feedback.

I had my moment of silence as we mounted the 107th Founders Day of Silliman U....

2008-09-07T16:29:00.002-06:00

While doing a research on Professor Emeritus DR. METTA JACOBS ARMSTRONG SILLIMAN, I was drowning into a Silliman river of poetry and lit critique by her former students: Edith Lopez Tiempo, Eleonor Funda Sardual, Aida Rivera Ford... And MYRNA Peña-Reyes, my new icon in poetry. I love her river poems. I will have my own river poem soon. My name Moses leads me to a lot of rivers but I have this dream of a drama along the River Nile: my own ashes flowing as history should... and if no one will be there with the chosen clay jar, please bring the jar home where the river of my childhood dreams runs as great....

San Miguel Picnic

Sprawled on the rocks where water thrashed
I felt the river tug at my back,
jerk at my feet and drop
into a pool splashing with children.
The river sang stone
while children filled their hands with light.
Framing the sky
birds balanced on bamboo spires.
Snug in my stone and water pew
I held the foaming bottle high
and turned the sun
like amber in my hand.

The 107th Founders Day Theme

2008-08-14T06:39:00.000-06:00

The true test of the… ideal is whether we’re able to recognize our failings and then rise together to meet the challenges of our time. Whether we allow ourselves to be shaped by events and history, or whether we act to shape them. Whether chance of birth or circumstance decides life’s big winners and losers, or whether we build a community where, at the very least, everyone has a chance to work hard, get ahead, and reach their dreams.

BARACK OBAMA

Many of today’s speeches are inspired by the call of the new icon from America, presidentiable Barack Obama. In fact, when the initial meeting was called for Silliman’s 107^th Founders Day theme, I reviewed some of the lines that he has uttered that truly made an impact. Hope on the possibility of a major societal change is rekindled with Obama’s “yes, we can!” call. Even the “In Christ, I Can!” theme of our University Christian Life Emphasis week is inspired by this call. And so were the discussions on this year’s Founders Day theme. With President Ben S. Malayang III’s final touch, the 2008 FD Committee headed by Prof. Carlos Plaridel M. Magtolis has chosen , “Silliman Education: Its Global Reach And Relevance” as theme of the 107^th Founders Day.

It’s a theme that calls for a global direction. It is actually not something new to Silliman University for on its first year of operation as Silliman Institute in 1901, the classroom already had an international flavor. Aside from the Filipino students, the teachers were the American missionary Laura Cooks Hibbard and her husband David who was the Founding President. Later, there were two Chinese pupils from Jolo and a female classmate, Ethel Peed, from the home of an American local official. By 1910, a student from mainland China enrolled and two others from Bangkok in addition to students from the Chinese families of Cebu, Manila and Zamboanga. The Sultan of Jolo and all the other prominent families from Mindanao sent their sons here. Then, more American children joined as Dumaguete became a central Missionary station. There was no time in Silliman’s history when the international flavor was not present. Silliman University was and will always be an institution with global reach.

The school year 2008-2009 opened with 8,456 students enrolled, a slight increase in enrollment over last year’s figure and the result of more students enrolled in the Basic Education program this year. We have students from Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. The international population include students from Australia, Canada, Mainland China, Germany, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, Singapore, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tibet, the USA and Vietnam.

Our alumni have entered through the Gate of Opportunity and many of them went beyond the Gate of Service. And beyond, they have maintained “global reach and relevance.”

Our alumni are our best advertisement, not just for Silliman but also for Dumaguete. Wherever they have come from, all of them think of Dumaguete as home. We are all proud of the following alumni who have made a global impact: Silliman University’s Peace Resource Center founder Dr. Al Fuertes who is the recipient of the 2008 George Mason University Teaching Excellence Award; Vice President and Senior Agency Director of Manulife Philippines Bellaflor Ledesma de los Reyes who is recognized for her outstanding performance in the corporate field and who received a 2007 Star of Excellence award at a recognition Dinner in Toronto; Macarthur "Mac" F. Corsino who took his oath as Philippine Ambassador to Cuba on June 19; and 1989 Outstanding Sillimanian awardee in the field of Medicine Dr. Eusebio C. Kho, who received the 2007 PEACE Humanitarian of the Year award from the Philippine Economic and Cultural Endowment, based in Oklahoma City. Dr. Kho has traveled far and wide giving medical assistance to the depressed areas in El Salvador, Jordan, Kuwait and the Philippines.

We are also as proud of the 2008 Outstanding Sillimanian awardees: Northern California’s Rev. Francisco “Frank” J. Beltran in the field of Specialized Ministry, Southern California’s Efren A. Cordura for inventions in package engineering (he will give a lecture on Package Design on August 14-10 AM at the Silliman University Audio-Visual Theater 1- the event will welcome the local manufacturers. Please contact the College of Engineering and Design for details.); New England’s Ester P. Timbancaya-Elphick in the field of Education; our very own Dr. Marjorie Evasco in the field of Creative Writing; our country’s Father of the Alternative Dispute Resolution and of the Katarungang Pambarangay Atty. Alfredo Flores Tadiar; and in the Community Health Service, we will honor Dr. Romulo G. Villanueva of National Capital Region of the USA.

O’er in high place or in lowly,

Fortune sends us joy or pain.

To our love for dear old Silliman,

Loyal shall we e’er remain.

BEAUTIES from my Hometown: The City of Cabadbaran

2008-08-01T02:04:00.012-06:00

I want to be a person who makes a quiet difference.
- Ali MacGraw

For this week’s piece, I beg the reader’s indulgence as I write about the beauties of my hometown, many of them my close kin, of whom I am understandably proud. Silliman’s 107^th Founders Day had seven beauties vying for the Miss Silliman crown on August 25 and one of top 3 winners is from my hometown.

The City of Cabadbaran in Agusan del Norte had its charter celebration last July 28. In the many gatherings that I have attended, I loved that moment when I was with my own sisters, Joan Mita and Prosperity May. They were talking about their freshman year in Silliman University and how they were lured to join the Miss Silliman pageant which they had never done with their lack of self-confidence.

Joan came to Dumaguete in 1970, the year when the film Love Story introduced a new movie icon Ali MacGraw. Joan could not believe that a beauty from Mindanao could actually be noticed in this University Town where people were calling her as the “Ali MacGraw of Silliman.” As a Social Work student, she was chosen to represent the College of Arts and Sciences in the Miss Silliman pageant. The high school beauty queen of my hometown thought she would never find the courage to be in Dumaguete’s most prestigious pageant.

Prosperity May grew up being called by our father as “Miss Philippines.” Our late father would always introduce her as the most beautiful among his daughters. In our town, May also became Miss High School, like Joan. When she came to Dumaguete in 1973 as a college freshman, she was right away exposed to public attention when she was chosen to be the muse for the June 12 Independence Day city parade. The Dean of Students had chosen her to grace the parade and be the muse on the Silliman University float in the absence of the reigning Miss Silliman. Two months later, the dusky beauty from Mindanao was chosen to represent the College of Business Administration in the Miss Silliman pageant, but she felt that she wasn’t talented enough to do justice to the honor.

May’s daughter, Kara Atega Delgado, who was crowned Miss Cabadbaran in 2006 was recently crowned as Miss Silliman Headline Girl. She represented the College of Education in the 2008 Miss Silliman pageant. May was happy to hear the news on Kara’s selection. The proud mother and her sister, Joan came to Dumaguete on August 23 to witness the one who became something like a “blast-in-the-past-which-they-never-had.”

In 2001, it would have been my niece Annaliz Atega who could have realized the old possibility when she was crowned as the Miss Centennial of the College of Education. But her busy schedule as a senior student teacher never gave her time to be in the search for Miss Silliman Centennial. Annaliz joined the Miss Cabadbaran and Miss Agusan Tourism pageants after her college graduation and won the two beauty titles in 2002.

In 1946, my father’s cousin, Patria Obsequio was crowned the first Miss Silliman. In Patria’s 2001 speech during the search for the Miss Silliman Centennial, she shared a vivid recollection of her selection: “'My story begins in June of school year 1939-1940, when I arrived here, a trifle shy but anxious to start my college education. For my parents, there could be no other school but Silliman. They sent five of us to this institution.
I was registered as a resident of Oriental Hall. It being my first time away from home, I thought I was going to be homesick, but I didn't because everyone was friendly, going out of their way to make life pleasant... In 1946, the Student Government sponsored a beauty contest which was actually more of a popularity contest. Important consideration was focused on academic grades which were scrutinized at the Registrar's Office. The selection committee inquired about our extra-curricular activities. There were no interviews, no measurment of vital statistics, no parading around in swimwear. Had there been specific contest rules followed to the letter, I would not have made it to first base. Students cast their votes at the Silliman Bookstore. After the votes were counted, results revealed that I garnered the most votes so I was then declared winner.... Our roommates were jubilant over the results. They were excited hunting gowns for us to wear during the proclamation at the Assembly Hall. A kind friend, Mercedes Mijares, loaned me her evening gown with a three-tiered skirt. During a simple program that evening, I remember vividly Henry Nicolas presented me as Miss Silliman 1946 after which he gingerly pinned the sash on me. There was no crown or coronet, no scepter, no cape not even a bouquet of roses. Yes, only a sash but it made history!'

Beyond Patria’s glory as the first Miss Silliman, our family is always associated with beauty pageants. The most popular family member who won national beauty titles was our first cousin, Veronica Atega, a pioneer in the Bayanihan Dance Company. Veth was crowned Miss Fil-Am Queen of the former Subic Naval Base on the fourth of July in 1961. Her crowning made headlines for with the honor came, as she expressed in a Philippine Daily Inquirer feature last year, “… a once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet—and hold hands—with famous Hollywood actor Paul Newman who was my escort.” Veth became a favorite cover girl of magazines like the Philippine Free Press and she was also the cover girl for many of the Bayanihan albums. She was also crowned as Miss Philippine Air Force.

The 1996 Binibining Pilipinas-International Yedda Marie Mendoza Kittilstvedt is the granddaughter of my father’s sister, another Miss Cabadbaran, Basilisa Atega-Kittilstvedt. Yedda was a Camay Girl at the age of 15 and was 1st Runner-up in the Philippine Supermodel search. Yedda is now happily married to Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, the present1st District Congressman of Leyte.

Basilisa's sister Prosperidad was also a Miss Cabadbaran title holder including their sister-in-law Adela, mother of Veth Atega.

In 1981, Miss Cabadbaran 1980 Jocelyn Sanchez was crowned Miss College of Business Administration and was first runner-up in the Miss Silliman beauty pageant. Joy married Nilo Bobon of Pamplona, Negros Oriental and is now a very successful entrepreneur.

Two Miss Cabadbaran beauties married two prominent members of the Amante family in Agusan: Congressman Edelmiro Atega Amante married Rosario Malbas, a Miss Cabadbaran who became Mayor of the town just like the first woman mayor of Cabadbaran Basilisa. Edelmiro's nephew Dr. Ferdinand M. Amante married Ivy Oga, a Miss Cabadbaran who belongs the prominent Calo family.

1973 Miss Journalism Marian Lim who was second runner-up in the Miss Silliman pageant is also from Agusan del Norte. Her sister, Nilda Grande was a Miss High School in Cabadbaran and was crowned Miss Agusan Tourism in 1976. Marian’s two daughters, Tonette who was Miss Engineering in 1996 and Ana who was Miss Arts and Sciences in 1996, followed their mother’s footsteps; both won the second runner-up title in the Miss Silliman pageant in their respective years.

Beyond my hometown, we take pride in the Miss Silliman title holders who are from Mindanao. A beauty from Basilan, Carlisle Dans was the first Miss High School to win the Miss Silliman crown in 1973. We have four from Davao: Leah “Jingle” Sibala in 1978, Jean Escaño in 1980, Pia Francisco in 1986 and Celynne Grace Echevarria in 2000. Dapitan City produced two queens, Jean Ramoga in 1988 and Yvonne Forster in 1995. Cherokee Dawn Esguerra of 1996 is from General Santos City and Jenny Ortega of 1999 is from Pagadian City.

The City of Cabadbaran and the province of Agusan del Norte are also home to the following who have become part of Oriental Negros’ line of beauties: Estrella Cabrera, the mother of Governor Emilio C. Macias II and wife of the late Congressman Lamberto L. Macias; Margie M. Calo who married the Hon. Doroteo Teves; Evansuenda Oga who married today’s Chamber of Commerce leader Ernie Quiamco; Agnes Cecilia Gogo-Carballo of AGC Lending Investor…. With or without a beauty title, there is one definite source of pride: many of our women have made their own valuable “…quiet difference.”

A Culture of Giving

2008-07-10T17:18:00.003-06:00

What I know for sure is that what you give

comes back to you.

Oprah Winfrey

When Silliman University President Ben S. Malayang III made an appeal last June 26 for the Silliman and Dumaguete communities to extend help to the calamity victims in Iloilo, the picture that would motivate people to help the storm Frank-battered province was not that clear yet. Then, Former President Agustin A. Pulido called and described the sad state of the campus of Central Philippine University, Silliman’s sister school.

The entire campus is flooded as Iloilo’s two major rivers overflowed. The water came so strong that it broke into the groundfloor of the Henry Luce Library and other buildings including the University Church. Also badly damaged are dormitories where most of the students were left with nothing but their bedroom attire that night. Followed by fluctuating electricity, the internet connection was down and then, panic buying by households led to lack of food for the dormitory residents. There was no water supply. (Days later, Dr. Doris Pulido had to go to the SM Traveller’s lounge for a 30-peso shower)

President Ben’s call which was also carried through text messages and by the radio stations in Dumaguete received immediate response. On that same day, the Alumni and External Office was kept busy receiving donations until 10’o’clock in the evening. The Silliman dormitories were the first to respond. More and more angels from the Silliman and Dumaguete communities responded with food and water supply, clothing and cash donations.

Silliman University teams have made two trips since then to deliver the needed help. The first team consisting of a cargo truck and the Silliman firetruck was led by Prof. Roy Olsen de Leon who is from Iloilo, this was a heart-wrenching return home for him. Driven to tears, he felt that everyone was a victim including his own family. With the shadow of depression all over, there was no welcome awaiting the Silliman angels except the thankful Drs. Gus and Doris Pulido who were there to coordinate. Silliman firetruck driver Virgilio Valencia described the layers of mud that covered the surface of the entire campus. His team which included two SU College of Engineering faculty, was the only working force that did the needed major clean-up for three days. Some work students of CPU were asked to report to assist the team but they could only handle the minor sweeping of floors. The Silliman team, on their own initiative, decided to ease the burden by cleaning out the thick layers of muddy silt on groundfloors of buildings, with water from the CPU swimming pool which the Silliman firetruck had transported. Another problem arose, however, when Iloilo’s primary water source threatened to overflow, and attempts were made to divert the water through a man-made hole. This led, however to another major flow which crested at a record flood level, engulfing every part of Jaro district where Central Philippine University is located. The flood that came from the watershed put an end to the Silliman team’s heroic attempts, they had to leave before the water would trap them.

Mrs. Carmen Larot Rio, a Dumagueteña based in Iloilo,waited patiently for the day when the water would recede this flood-ravaged city. With no potable water available, boxes of bottled water from relatives and friends in Cebu, Manila and Dumaguete helped her survive the long days. She texted me a message of joy when at 2AM on July 5 clean water was finally distributed at intervals by the city government. But the stressful week-long ordeal had her hospitalized.

The flooding that has inundated much of the Jaro district these last few weeks is not over, as the swollen tributaries continue to threaten dozens of communities. After the initial clean-up, the evacuations, the last-minute rescues and the days of anxious waiting for the water to go down comes the long road toward recovery.

A second trip was made last July 8 with 137 boxes of food and clothing which were received by former Bacolod mayor Hon. Joy Santos-Valdez who is the current president of the Silliman alumni group in Bacolod City. The Bacolod Sillimanians have taken the responsibility of bringing these boxes to Iloilo. More boxes of food and clothing are being delivered by individual donors, families and student organizations to the Silliman Alumni and External Affairs Office.

Dumaguete’s distinctive culture of giving is very much alive. We would like to thank all those who were a part of the very successful Silliman Sagip Iloilo Drive – a manifestation of the Christian love we all share.

Hari ng Negros 2008: At The Homestretch

2008-07-03T14:52:00.019-06:00

You don’t need anybody to tell you who you are or what you are. You are what you are! –John Lennon

Many are still talking about the outcome of this year’s Hari ng Negros pageant—especially since the expected winners did not make it to the Final 3. Disappointed fans of this very popular male beauty pageant in Southern Philippines are asking so many questions, with some even expressing very vocal complaints. Still, all these have to be taken as signs that this year’s batch of princes is really good. Many of these handsome and very talented young men did make major splashes on stage, and no member of the board of judges could be wrong in their choices for it was too easy to find good points to believe in in any one of the prince’s winning potential.

But then again, the organizers could have given the audience a set of formidable winners if this year’s pageant had, in the first, a well-defined set of criteria and rules. The last two portions, which were selections of the top 7 and the top 3, had interview results as bases for screening—and yet the announced finalists did not reflect the quality of the actual performance of the candidates during the question-and-answer segments. Could it be that some members of the board of judges insisted on only considering stage presence and visual impact? The audience’s judgment was on the quality of the answers since the last portions were about ‘intelligence,’ as effectively stressed by the host of the pageant, Hari ng Negros 2006 Mark Xander Fabillar. But in all actuality there is no use for all these insistent queries, for in every contest one steadfast rule prevails: the decision of the judges is final and irrevocable!

One of the strong bets who failed to make to it to the final 7 later on asked me for my own evaluation of his performance. He begged for it, telling me that my judgment will give him much-needed “peace of mind.” Thus, I’m encouraged to announce my own FINAL 7 (using my own criteria of criteria of 50% visual impact, 20% talent, and 30% communication skills). Here’s my take on the potentials of the seven noteworthy princes, arranged in an order of a royal march, with the one deserving of the title Hari ng Negros presented last:

Joseph Hornido, Prince of Guihulngan. This nurse from the City of Cabadbaran, was an early favorite because his communication skills in English truly reflects his potential as our country’s export to America. (I actually questioned why a pageant involving Filipino men in the Visayas would have to be in English). His Chinese-white complexion made him look like a Korean telemovie star. Somebody whispered that he resembles Rustom Padilla during the actor’s “straight” era. A lady insisted that he is more like AJ Dee of Philippine TV. He was struggling to shine in the portions that required skills of a dancer but he managed to call attention for he was always wearing the right combination of bright and dark colors to compliment his milky-white presence. His best moment in the pageant was when he asked Mr. Silay this question during the Top 7 portion: “How will you react if you are the father of a daughter who is involved in a sex scandal?” (Mr. Guilhulngan was awarded the First Runner-up title.)

Jay Cainglet, Prince of Sagay. Jay is the youngest candidate at 17 but he had the strongest stage presence. He is the one with the body of a Prince in an Asian fantasy film. He exuded grace and strength in the dance segments. He towers over most of the candidates, yet his innocent charm makes him “the cute boy” of the pageant. He needs to work on his voice quality for a more mature impact is needed in portions that require talent in speech. He was the bet who had much passion in every part of the show. His Best in Professionalism award was a perfect citation for it’s a wonder to see a young man who is a good listener and who has the heart of a good follower

Michael Angelo Cristobal, Prince of Dumaguete. This senior business student from Silliman University is definitely a Top 3 winner when it comes to face value. He has the appeal of a boy-next-door Latino. He is also one of the best dancers in the pageant. In fact, he won the rave dance grand prize. Although he has the tendency to give very long answers to simple questions, a good listener would know that this gentleman is actually very sensible. (Many were mad when his name was not called in the Top 7 honors, since he was actually expected to be in Top 3.)

Orville Cordova, Prince of Talisay. His facial appeal brings us a unique cross between American presidentiable Barack Obama and Asian filmstar Aniki—and yes, Obama is my new definition of enduring sex appeal, and Aniki is really among the most handsome Asian actors. Hollywood-oriented pundits will say Orville is too exotic. But Orville takes center stage with one of the best sculpted bodies of the pageant. His best moment was the all-out presence in the rave dance portion. His Oriental-inspired street fashion made him a star that night. Then, he captured all of us with one touching moment: Hollywood actress Emily Trempe, one of the judges, asked him the classic question on one’s fear and Orville confessed, “I’m afraid of my father. My fear is when I get to finally see him and he will not accept me as his son.” He made the audience cry. (Mr. Talisay was indeed worthy to be chosen in the Top 7.)

Carlos Ruiz, Prince of Silay. He may not equal the handsome presence of the former kings, but he has his own qualities that would have made him the effective upset contender for the major title— excellent communication skills, best smile, and a surprisingly handsome runway style. He deserved to win the Best in Barong (which went to Mr. Dumaguete) and he deserved to win the over-all Best Speaker glory (but that went to Mr. Mabinay). Listen to his answer to Mr. Guihulngan’s question with the sex scandal angle: “A father should not over-react. The daughter needs all the support with the psychological impact of the issue. I should lead my daughter to a spiritual retreat, for with God’s intervention, nothing is impossible.” Clearly, he was the man of wisdom in the pageant, and so, when he was not given the Top 3 honor, the crowd reacted. His manager actually made a violent protest (he had the plaque of recognition thrown at the over-all chairman of the event.)

Stalin Lescano Jr. , Prince of Bacolod. I was not surprised why some judges had to fight for him to be in the Top 3. This Best in Swimwear and Best in Tribal Attire winner is the most charming candidate – truly a rugged handsome prince. He projected a James Dean appeal. Stalin’s wisdom could have been heard better if only he was allowed to express it in his own language. As he struggled with English, his answers which were right sounded wrong. When he was asked to choose between fame and fortune, he started right with “Fame is forever,” but as he tried to expound, some of his points were lost. (Again, I have to stress that it’s culturally unfair to insist on having them express wisdom using a foreign language). The Prince of Bacolod was the most comfortable on stage – his pleasant projection was a gift of joy. (He got the controversial Second Runner-up title.)

Ralph Jansen Jadraque, Prince of Mabinay. On our way to Canlaon to watch the pageant last June 28, my friends had asked me to forecast the winner. With confidence, I told them it’s Mr. Mabinay. My basis was his performance during the speech improvement session I conducted for the candidates. Ralph has the down-to-earth subtle presence and what is endearing is his sense of humility. He was also the one with the consistently sincere smile. His appeal is that of a cute guy in a typical Pinoy neighborhood. He gave direct-to-the-point answers that led him to clinch the Best Speaker award which was based on the pre-pageant portion. In every segment, he always had the spirit of a winner. He may not have a strong physical feature of a typical title-holder but he is definitely handsome with boyish charm. His shining moment was when he walked down the ramp with his barong – the coolest guy of the evening, with an effortlessness that made him shine. His was also the truest voice of the pageant with his answer to the final question, “What is the legacy of the Hari ng Negros pageant?” Ralph’s cutting edge was this answer: “The legacy of the Hari ng Negros is tourism. This pageant is primarily an avenue to promote the tourism potential of Negros Island. This pageant also aims to bridge the gap between the two provinces, Negros Occidental and Oriental Negros. With this pageant, there is no Ilongo on one side and the Bisaya on the other. We are ONE ISLAND and we are all proud to be A NEGRENSE!” (Mr. Mabinay was crowned Hari ng Negros 2008.)

nostalgia 2

2008-06-24T04:07:00.010-06:00

If you don't have enemies, you don't have character.

PAUL NEWMAN (Won Oscar. Another 36 wins & 47 nominations )

Be like a duck. Calm on the surface, but always paddling like the dickens underneath.

MICHAEL CAINE (Won 2 Oscars. Another 25 wins & 36 nominations )

introducing…. THE FRESHMEN

2008-06-20T01:06:00.006-06:00

Not everyone is meant to make a difference. But for me, the choice to lead an ordinary life is no longer an option.
-Peter Parker (Spiderman)

We all love this time of the school year when new faces tirelessly flash their youthful smiles. In our University Town where everybody seems to know everyone, people-watch is a favorite pastime. The school opening is always the perfect time for this slow-paced city’s no. 1 entertainment which has an added venue, the Portal West corner. We hear ourselves or overhear someone ask, “Who is that pretty face?” or “Oh another hunk, from Manila? Fil-Am?” Up-close one gets to hear a foreign student whine. “It’s humid here… “ or “The pedicabs are noisy!” Then, an LTCFTC (looking Tirso Cruz, feeling Tom Cruise) with a British accent exclaims, “People here are always looking at me,… makes me feel paranoid.”

But beyond the face value – our everyday entertainment, we want you to know that some of the new members of our beloved community are bound to make a difference with their potentialities:

MARIA ELVIE ANN BARTE graduated valedictorian from Basay National High School. With this honor, she is presently enjoying two scholarships while pursuing a degree in Business Administration at Negros Oriental State University. She is confident that her being a Class Math wizard will help her achieve more in college.
She hopes to work in a famous bank someday somewhere in Taiwan or in Japan. The film "The Passion of the Christ" has been her inspiration. She shared, “The movie is really touching and it reminds me of who I really am! It's taught me to share unconditional love. It also helped me realize that I am very worthy because someone died for me to be saved. And with that, I must live my life by touching other lives for me to be very worthy in the eyes of God.”

Her big crush is the actor Wu Chun of Brunei who became a huge film star in Taiwan. “I love his sense of humility…,” Elvie was almost non-stop in introducing her film icon.

Lynn Francine Batalan is very proud to have spent “my high school years in the bosom of Foundation University.” It is the school where “I learned to experience life to the fullest and discovered a lot of myself.” She was president of the Ushers and Usherettes Club, an exposure that made her realize that at FU, they “open their arms as wide as they can for all the students to have fun and experience new things….”
The organizations like the Buglasayaw Dance Troupe, the Science Club, the Debating Club and Peer Counselors Club were important exposures that led her to achieve two honors: the Valedictorian of Class 2008 dubbed as the “The Visionaries” and a beauty title Miss Teen Dumaguete 2007. These two “are also my memorable moments and treasured experiences in my high school life.” The Accountancy student, still at FU, wants “to see myself as a banker working in offices either private or public firms.” But first, she knows that she will have to work hard to have excellent academic records to ensure a good performance in the CPA Board Examination.

Negros Oriental State University’s GLYSA JADUCANA graduated valedictorian from Santander National High School. This Education student who is majoring in Mathematics complained,” My generation is more complicated and is harder to understand.” She read and seriously followed the teachings of Jose Rizal and she wants all the other young people to know that “Life is sometimes cruel therefore we must be strong enough. We must choose wisely because it is our choices that tell us who we really are….”

When this Dallas-born chinito expressed he doesn’t like walking around the wide expanse of Silliman campus, I quoted Barack Obama to cheer him up, “If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress.” BRYCE KING, a science quiz bee champ from Xavier School, is taking up Marine Biology. He said there’s just “…too much lawyers, too many businessmen, too many nurses….” The young environmentalist is hoping to make an Al Gore-kind of impact in his own humble way. The grandson of philanthropist Angelo King had sent college applications around the globe and was accepted by universities in the US, the UK… and in Manila but chose to study at Silliman, “I really think this is the best environment for Marine Biology.”

ELLEN MAE ELTANAL graduated from Sta. Catalina Community School as the Class Valedictorian. “The honor made my family happy and proud… because of it I was given the chance to study in this very wonderful university town.” A Bachelor in Secondary Education major at St. Paul University, Ellen wishes to help the less fortunate acquire a good education by becoming a teacher who is well-respected as a master of her field. She observed that “Living in a modernized world, our generation now is somehow a bit lazy. Doing things are done instantly, we are very much influenced by the westerns to the point that we don’t focus on our own values and culture.” But she believes that with “dreams to help the family and be able to help others,” the young generation can still make a difference. She loves Oprah Winfrey who as world icon, “influences us to learn living each day with hope and leaving the past behind.” She notes that Oprah has “really proven that there is always hope no matter how difficult the situation is.”

A talent search winner, an editorial writing finalist, a Christian Youth Fellowship president…. A long line of achievements for this Mass Communication freshman at Silliman University. ANTON EMILIO SANCHEZ belongs to the third generation of Sillimanians from the Sanchez family of the City of Cabadbaran in Agusan del Norte. His father Marvin, a fraternity Grand Chancellor during his students days is the brother of 1980’s campus beauty Joy Sanchez-Bobon ( Miss Biz-Ad who won the Miss Silliman first runner-up title in 1981) and who is among Dumaguete’s most successful entrepreneurs with her Sta. Theresa fastfood and other enterprises. Anton, a son of Dumagueteña Anne Marie Arnaiz, recalled his first week here, “My first week was probably the worst.... I became very shy and so insecure. I have never been this far from my parents, and being deeply attached to my family I was really really homesick...” His Tita Joy came to the rescue and gave him survival tips that ended with: gain back your confidence!

JELA MAE TANILON is the Salutatorian of Foundation University High School Class of 2008. This Accountancy student who is loyal to her Alma Mater found her first week in college as “Bad! Everything is new to me. I’m having a hard time adjusting…. I’m not used to have different classmates in different subjects. But I hope I’ll be able to surmount these as soon as possible.” She shares an observation that “Our generation is into modern technologies that are perceptibly, making us lazy. From brooms to vacuum cleaners, from hand washing to washing machines, and from books to surfing the net. It’s not always bad doing research in the internet, but we also have to comprehend that computer information is revisable and can be changed from time to time. Sometimes, computer facts are even mocked by some experts.” She is worried about the tendency to simply “copy-paste” things in life for it takes people away from the value of reading and understanding the truth. The film “The Freedom Writers” has inspired her for “aside from being a true story, the movie depicts new generation teenagers who made an enormous change in their lives.” Jela would like to remind her fellow students that the opportunity to be in college is valuable: “never quit. Love what you are doing. Work with full dedication. Never be afraid of failures.” She shares wisdom from Charles Lamb, “Pain is life—the sharper, the more evidence of life” to stress the value of perseverance.

THE RETURN

2008-06-01T08:02:00.003-06:00

A VIEW OF WATER IN A LAKE
by Edith L. Tiempo

How strange to hang suspended―
Our boat sitting on the water
Is a point in space;
Up, down, and around:
A deepness and a vastness of blue.
The soul flees its suspension
In upward tropism to the light;
Divinity in the heavens
Required no less: Lift,
Fly, elevate; the sky is ever
The hovering home.
Still, we transcend in nostalgia and in loss,
Foreswearing the earth,
Its mud, trees, color, its unyielding mass
And all that the body knows of heat and life;
So arch down and around, us, sky,
Blue sphere that is infinite height,
Infinite depth.
Wrap all of earth around:
Here, where water is heaven, fallen,
Water, no more a reference for earth.
Blue in the deep is permeable,
A membrane we can fall into;
Who needs the upper regions now?
Curved world of heaven under water,
Keeper of ultimate promises,
Vessel of the ceaseless mortal
Dreaming of foreverness,

Below the frail suspended hull,
Far below the swaying outriggers,
And the caulked and barnacled bottom―
Hoarding now man’s peace and his salvation,
The sky―deep, and inverted―waits.

May 10 marked the first weekend for the fellows of the 47th National Writers Workshop and that day, I led them to conquer the Twin Lakes: Balinsasayao and Danao. I know that this secret wonder of our island will always inspire artists for it is a spiritual journey to go on a boat ride around the lake or take a trek around Balinsasayao towards Lake Danao.

At the Twin Lakes, nature’s poetry runs with lines of peace and healing. Arlene Yandug of Xavier University wrote a poem after the trek:

Along the edge between you and the forest
I tread the silence-worn path of stones.
Stones precariously linked like my verses….

I have been here so many times but each visit is amply rewarded by gifts of inspiration. My artist friend, the late Kennedy Rubias, lived here for many months but he never got to any point of boredom. In fact, it was here that he created on canvass a kubo on an endless expanse of green – an image of joy, and a rare piece. We all know that Rubias’ brushstrokes were always dark and bloody.

From the same journey with the fellows, I made some lines of introspection and asked one of the fellows, Lawrence Bernabe of UP Visayas, to finish what I begun. My poem Coming Home now has a sense of completeness when Lawrence worked to give it a second stanza:

COMING HOME

Navigate the self for the second time:
Let the painted carapace melt like a mirror
Rafting into its river of faces and stories.
Relieve the humbled feet in still water.
On an unnamed rock, the green is blue
When the drowned end
senses the mossy comfort
The innocence of beginnings becomes
A new point of departure.

On an unnamed rock, the blue and the green
Becomes the mossy ground I stand on.
When I stepped into the river
(My feet never more sure of the cold)
The water carried me home.


The journey to the Twin Lakes and other wonders like the walk under lines of acacia trees, the wisdom from the Bleeding Heart dove in CENTROP, poetry and music at The Catacombs, the blue dream in Antulang, the frolic in Bacongham, the pan de sal siesta in Bravo Golf, nostalgia in Café Antonio, Hayahay reggae, high life in Atelier Aguila, stories on canvass in Mariyah Gallery, The
Forest Camp’s coolness, the green wall in Sariland, the mild rafting in Amlan’s Alma
Riverside and the crossovers to Apo Island, Siquijor, and many more – all these help define the uniqueness of Dumaguete’s National Writers Workshop, the nurturing institution of Philippine Literature with founder National Artist Edith Lopez Tiempo and daughter Rowena Tiempo Torrevillas as anchors. I consider the workshop’s return to the English and Literature Department of Silliman University as destiny as it moves towards its 50th year.

Bayanihan dancer recalls night with Paul Newman

2008-06-01T07:51:00.002-06:00

By Tina Santos
Inquirer
First Posted 01:19am (Mla time) 07/04/2007

MANILA, Philippines – “I felt like I was floating on a cloud the entire evening,” said Veronica “Veth” Elizabeth Atega-Nable [my first cousin - mojo ]of Paco, Manila, describing how she felt on the night she was crowned Miss Fil-Am Queen of the former Subic Naval Base on the fourth of July, 46 years ago.

With the honor came a once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet—and hold hands—with famous Hollywood actor Paul Newman who was her escort.

“I was tongue-tied for a moment,” Nable said, recalling the first time she came face-to-face with Newman whom she described as “very warm and friendly” and “has the lightest blue eyes I’ve ever seen. I felt like I was the luckiest girl on earth,” she added.

Nable, who won the title at the age of 23, said the chance in a lifetime came as a complete surprise to her.

She recalled that she was enjoying her summer vacation in Agusan del Norte when she got a call from Manila informing her that Rear Adm. Charles Duncan, then Subic base commander, and members of the 1962 Fil-Am Fiesta Committee had chosen her to be the queen of the Fil-Am fiesta to be held inside the American base.

“It was completely unexpected because I had not made any effort nor dreamt of succeeding popular movie star Gloria Romero, the title holder in the previous year,” said Nable, who is now 68.

“I was very excited and flattered they chose me, especially when I was told that Mr. Newman would be my escort.”

She later learned that the Agusan governor had submitted her name to the committee. Before that, she represented Region 10 in a nationwide search for Miss Philippines.

“And in Bayanihan perfomances, I didn’t know that they were observing me,” she added. Nable was a member of the original batch of the Bayanihan Dance Group, the country’s national folk dance company.

Perfect

“It was a perfect evening,” she said, adding that she was wearing a white beaded terno with a long cape and elbow-length gloves made by Pitoy Moreno. “There was Paul Newman beside me, a crown on my head, my colleagues at Bayanihan and famous local and Hollywood celebrities like Shirley MacLaine entertaining my court.”

Her court included movie stars Amalia Fuentes, Lourdes Medel and Adorable Liwanag.

But the parade that preceded the coronation night was equally thrilling, Nable said.

“A handsome Navy officer, who ‘won’ his escort duties in a raffle, stood beside me in the Queen’s float, holding an umbrella over me. It rained but it did not dampen the gaiety of the kilometer-long parade,” she recalled.

She said her stint as Miss Fil-Am Queen paved the way for other opportunities for her, including modeling stints and being on the cover of several magazines.

After her reign, Nable again focused on one of the things she loved doing most: Dancing.

She joined the Bayanihan at 19, while taking up nutrition at the Philippine Women’s University on Taft Avenue, Manila, which organized the dance troupe.

“I was recruited to form the first Bayanihan Dance Group,” she said. Nable added that being a member of the Bayanihan “fulfilled my love for dancing and allowed us to show our countrymen and the world the beauty of our dances.”

The Bayanihan, whose members have been touring the world as cultural emissaries for the Philippines, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this October.

“Life after Bayanihan revolved around marriage and family, another beautiful and fulfilling experience,” said the girl who gave it all up to marry Horacio Nable. “I stopped being active in the Bayanihan when I got married. But I have not stopped dancing yet.”

...and the winners are....

2008-05-06T07:08:00.031-06:00

Beauty is only truly irresistible when it shows us something less transitory than itself; when it makes us dream of that which charms life beyond the fugitive moment which sees us. It is necessary for the soul to feel it when the senses have perceived it. The soul never wearies; the more it admires, the more it is exalted.
- Baroness Barbara Juliane de Krüdener

Along Langheim Road afterward, an Art Appreciation student who was in the audience confided that the evening had made her smile, since she could still feel a bit of excitement after watching the Grand Night of the Search for the Silliman University Adventure Envoy 2008 held on May 2 at the Shaw Memorial Pool —that is, excitement from the new ideas in a summer beauty pageant. That was an echo of LINWEL’s brilliant choreography in the opening number inspired by the music of the hit production High School Musical. But ultimately a bit too colorful and too vibrant that it overshadowed the other succeeding numbers. Even the entrée of the show which had the danceable “Good Morning Baltimore” from the musical Hairspray came too slow with the high energy that was in the “We’re All In This Together” entrance of the aspiring envoys. It was the perfect salvo for a poolside event for it captured the spirit of summer. The explosive opening movements had every detail in place, with a surprise splash here and there from the varsity swimmers who made the pool dance with the music. As the candidates made their entrance, vibrant colors from light blooms were constantly on display.
The main portion of the pageant adopted the American Idol format with three judges in interaction after every talent presentation. Stage actress MARIA LUZ COLE HAVRANEK playing Paula Abdul made the expression “fabulous!” the favorite summer punchline for she was so generous in showering every contestant with “Fabulous! fabulous!.” Even the audience chorused to join her in the “fabulous” exclamation. But when it was PATRO APURA’s turn to share a sexy dance number, Maria had to add “you’re awesome! And girls, what a great body!” The audience responded with “fabulous!” Apura was awarded the best in talent. Havranek also liked RICKY DE LA CRUZ when he heartbreakingly delivered Kieth Urban’s “Tonight I Wanna Cry”, and aside from ‘fabulous,’ she pointed out Ricky’s potential in acting. But singer QUDDUS RONNIE PADILLA who was playing Simon Cowell expressed being “bored” by the performance. Quddus dared to be the evening’s most hated man when he told the popular handsome aspiring envoy MICHAEL CRISTOBAL, “Singing is not your talent.” Maria came to the rescue, told Michael that “you are a good performer. That was fabulous!” The audience had their best moment when it was GERALD HONGAYO’s turn. His moderate style of singing an OPM lovesong did not get an overall star rating from the judges but the swirling along of his intense interpretation made him a heartthrob that night. Quddus had to go with the screaming crowd after an initial critical remark, he ended his comment with “… but the audience loved it, and that’s the most important, an entertainment value….”
The judges were gentler with the lady aspiring envoys. Youth organizer and leader builder DAVE SACEDA who was the Randy Jackson of the night told JESSICA DE LOS SANTOS who gave a sing & dance number that she has grown into “a beautiful woman.” Maria stood up to lead the audience into another “fabulous’ moment making the talent portion really full of fun. As expected, Quddus gave the praises a descending scale when he told Jessica, “your dancing is just OK.” But Quddus was generous with positive lines after the elegant performance of DAISY SARIO. Dave noticed the beautiful costume in the ballroom dance of CANDICE JAYARI, Maria agreed with “fabulous” but told the young lady to work on her confidence level. LUZ CATAN’s lustrous voice came into view, with a slow-moving performance that got the nod of the two judges but to Quddus, “…you failed to capture your audience….”
There was never a dull moment from the sports to swimwear portions to the music of Moulin Rouge and Lady Marmalade. The goodlooking bets were all in shine! shine! glory. More gorgeous work in the direction as the gown portion came to the music of Enchanted. Like gems shining even with the when the audience’s attention span dwindled towards midnight, the end part was still one of the highlights of the evening.

At the finale, I realized that what was appropriately apocalyptic in this summer event was the venue-the poolside gave the night the needed glimmer with the ramp that was like floating across the blue waters - courtesy of the SU Buildings and Grounds’ creative-hardworking hands. And there were more: MATTI HESCOCK, MARK FERNANDEZ, ERI KAJIKAWA and JUN VILLAMERO - four hosts of the pageant who did so well in making sure there was adrenaline flowing in every climax, they have successfully ushered the audience to work overtime in the 3-hour run, but the lasting image was one of great refinement of a supermodel in two costume changes: Miss Hescock – simply elegant and beautiful. Jun was always effective without a little unbridled chaos in creating laughter. Nevertheless, when lovely-like-summer Eri joined animated Jun, the two sounded like the aural equivalent of two striking contrasting colors. And the discovery of the evening was Mr. Fernandez with his handsome hush to Matti’s mouthful. As hosts, they were all winners! The show was to become another CLAUDE RAMOS’ direction masterpiece: lovely textures alternating with moments of great smooth flows and the compelling use of music and dance twists from contemporary musicals. Another winner was the leadership of NADI ORILLANA in the production; under her are ranks filled with new players who can seemingly do anything. The heavenly moments could still be placed in higher quality ranges but as a new event in this university town, the Adventure Envoy search truly made history! The grand winners are: Patro as Silliman’s first Adventure Envoy and Jessica with the Miss Silliman Summer crown. And with their wins is the sense of satisfaction from the people behind and the audience that loved the show.
The Winners are:
Best in Sportswear PATROCINIO B. APURA III
Best in Swimwear JESSICA FRANCE M. DE LOS SANTOS
Cuttin' Loose Best Evening Presence RICKY LOUIE A. DE LA CRUZ
Cuttin' Loose Best Evening Elegance CANDICE CECILE ARBON JAYARI
Best Stage Performance PATROCINIO B. APURA III
Best in Talent PATROCINIO B. APURA III
Infinity Portrait’s Vibrance of Summer 2008 PATROCINIO B. APURA III
Infinity Portrait's Summer Smile 2008 JESSICA FRANCE M. DE LOS SANTOS
Infinity Portrait's Face of Summer 2008 MICHAEL ANGELO D. CRISTOBAL
@ Random Talkshow Best Male Guest MICHAEL ANGELO D. CRISTOBAL
@ Random Talkshow Best Female Guest JESSICA FRANCE M. DE LOS SANTOS
Miracle Mile's Wisdom of Summer 2008 RICKY LOUIE A. DE LA CRUZ
Aoda’s Mr. Summer Fitness 2008 GERALD A. HONGAYO
Living Café Best Fitness Advocacy 2008 DAISY JANE A. SARIO
Miracle Mile’s Wisdom of Summer 2008 RICKY LOUIE A. DE LA CRUZ
Expressions’ Summer Sweetheart 2008 CANDICE CECILE ARBON JAYARI
Pinkaholic’s Miss Portal West Fashion 2008 MARIA LUZ V. CATAN
Mister Dunut’s Pure Energy 2008 PATROCINIO B. APURA III
FilProducts' Best Speaker JESSICA FRANCE M. DE LOS SANTOS

Miss Silliman Summer 2008
JESSICA FRANCE M. DE LOS SANTOS

Silliman University Adventure Envoy 2008
PATROCINIO "Poodie" B. APURA III

MULTI-RACIAL IMPACT

2008-04-24T20:13:00.006-06:00

wherever i go in this country even in my hometown, the local people will always think of me as a foreigner. taxi drivers struggle with their english language to get me to a destination.
in america, i always get the question or the airport check on my being 'arabic.'
one time in a hotel in subic, i got a vip welcome for being mistaken as among their visitors from morocco.
i was a mexican during a guitar festival in San Antonio, Texas.
two students from jordan approached me for they were hoping i come from the same origin.
one lady from new york stopped while having her morning jog to check if am jewish.
while being a ninong in a baptism in batangas, the old folks were asking if i belong to Senator Recto's family.
in palawan, a lady doctor mistook me as a son of her spanish family friend.
in davao, an indian store owner asked me about my father's business in bombay.
a doctor in an optical clinic informed me that i got blue pigments in my eyeballs but i insisted they are all grayish dark brown.

so, what's the real score?
it's all because of my great grandfather: Rev. Father Pedro Garcia, a mooric-looking Spanish priest from Barcelona plus the tribal Manobo lineage of my grandmother Juana Beray Noja.
And my mother's father Gabriel Rañua Badajos from Camiguin Island had spanish and chinese lineage on both sides.
Thanks to all of them, I seem to naturally belong to an international arena, at least visually.

ANGELS OF ADVENTURE

2008-04-24T11:40:00.008-06:00

People don't notice whether it's winter or summer when they're happy.
--Anton Chekhov
Love is to the heart what the summer is to the farmer's year. It brings to harvest all the loveliest flowers of the soul.
--Billy Graham

Summer in slow-paced Dumaguete can lead our young people to boredom and perhaps to ‘unhealthy’ ways of entertainment if no avenues are opened to keep them busy. Summer is a time for them to release the energies which have been long-stored up for many of them are usually just glued to TV and computer games. To be mobile or physically active is the only way for them to have a healthier young life. Through the years, I have mounted channels for fun and fruitfulness so that the youth will have their own harvest of summer memories.

If one goes beyond the usual, Dumaguete could be a discovery for it’s a perfect place to celebrate the joys of the summer season. When I am just around here during summer, my restlessness leads me to mount the following: special tours and night events for the fellows of the National Writers Workshop at Silliman, the other summer I had a culture and art tour around Dumaguete for public school teachers, my Fine Arts Appreciation class had a taste of organizing an event by producing a show for a local artist, had ushered kids to a multi-media workshop, brought teens on a trek around the twin lakes, we had speech improvement sessions with out-of-school-youth, guided foreign photographers to cover historic churches around the Visayas, led families from Manila and abroad to discover the ‘secrets’ of Negros island and a lot more.

This summer, all my ‘natural’ resources are poured towards the mounting of the Search for the Summer Adventure Envoy, a youth-oriented event produced by the Silliman University Physical Education and Athletics Department. I find it exciting to be working with the two dynamic ladies: Athletics Director Meriam Merced Ramacho and P.E. Chairperson Audrey Claire Cabio-Tuballa, and the different varsity teams. We actually have a two-fold purpose for mounting this reality-TV inspired event: to give young people a new avenue for expression and to raise funds for the SU-UP Dual Meet.

Launched in a very successful dinner-for-cause last February, the aspirants are left with two more challenges to tackle: the Amlan Adventure Race on Sunday, April 27 and the talent showcase during the Grand Night on Friday, May 2 at the Shaw Memorial Pool. The challenges in this contest are inspired by two hit TV shows, the Amazing Race and the American Idol. The local contestants were featured guests in the @ Random talkshow of FilProducts and models in a fashion show that featured the collections of Portal West popular shops Il Primo, Mixed Berry and Ajar’s.
The eight finalists will be in Amlan today for a race in this budding adventure tourism capital of Oriental Negros. Hon. Bentham P. de la Cruz, the cool mayor of Amlan, himself a mountain biker, facilitated the planning of the activity for the Sillimanian young envoys. The race will include boating from the parola to the sand castle shore where they will have two options, skim boarding and sandcastle building. The Sillimanians will then hop to a habal-habal ride. The long day will be capped by rafting at the cleanest river of Central Visayas, the Amlan River.

The final 8 in the Adventure Envoy Search could be crowd-drawers with their looks, talents and vitality. Table tennis varsity team player 15-year old CANDICE CECILE ARBON JAYARI, fresh from her high school graduation, takes a break from her summer gardening to take part in this cause-oriented event. The 5’6” tall Candice is the sweetheart of her new college friends in the competition for she is simply adorable.
College of Education governor DAISY JANE A. SARIO who loves the latest craze in sports, frisbee, tries hard to keep a balance between her participation in the search and her summer job responsibilities. The dusky beauty hopes to make use of the exposure to encourage young people to “quit smoking, save money and lives.” This call is echoed by another bet, student nurse PATROCINIO B. APURA III or Poodie to friends, who is an active member of the SU volleyball varsity. The hunky prince of sports who also shines in basketball and soccer considers the event as a channel to promote a healthier lifestyle for young people.
Tall, dark and handsome GERALD A. HONGAYO of the Silliman Stallions
takes time to be part of the event to improve on his human relations skills. The 6’1” tall engineering student thinks of basketball as a way to be cool, but the event will bring out a different side of him the moment he goes on stage – it’s a way for him to gain more confidence.
Being among the Top 3 in the recently-concluded Miss Teen Philippines Dumaguete search, 17 year old student nurse JESSICA FRANCE M. DE LOS SANTOS is facing much pressure being compared to Gretel, her sister who was crowned Miss Silliman in 2006. The friendly France is charting her own set of glories, and being part of the Adventure Search is her way of relaxing from academic pressures. This graduate from the PETA Theater workshop really loves performing on stage, and sharing her talent for a good cause has her dedicated 100% to the search. The adventure side of the event is a new twist in her life in sports which so far has been devoted to badminton.

Student leader RICKY LOUIE A. DE LA CRUZ loves adventure. This Information Technology student has covered it all from swimming to fire dancing but he wants more. The event will also be an opportunity for him to explore possibilities as a performing artist. Being an officer of the Student Government, the program will provide a rewarding experience to him of extending help to his fellow students.

Another bet from the College of Education is MARIA LUZ V. CATAN. Luz stands 5’6” tall and considers basketball as her favorite. The event for her is a way to see a world beyond the realm of a student teacher. It will be an exploration to bring more colors to the modern classroom – a challenge in today’s educational field. The pressure of the adventure is actually pushing her to watch with much care the twin dimensions of her youth: health and fitness.
Dancing is a good exercise but it’s not enough to keep a fully-toned physique. One who can attest to this is dancesport artist MICHAEL ANGELO D. CRISTOBAL. This Business Management student regularly goes to the gym, in between dance sessions, just for body toning. He has badminton and swimming as variations for the mobility to have total impact on his ‘machine.’ Joining the Adventure Envoy search will be a showcase of Mykx’s harvest being a fearless fitness enthusiast.

These 8 angels of adventure will inspire many of us to go into a major investment in health and fitness. “Start ‘em young!” – this is what the Search for the Silliman University Summer Adventure Envoy is all about. Two more angels are behind them, Chairperson Naddie Orillana and Creative Director Claudio Ramos, to ensure a total entertainment that captures the vivid colors of summer on the Grand Night, May 2 at the Shaw Memorial Pool. We will all be there!
(Solos courtesy of INFINITY PORTRAIT studio in Dumaguete.)

Thank you very much for all your support. More power and may GOD bless you!

nostalgia 1

2008-04-21T16:54:00.006-06:00

“If you haven't cried, your eyes can't be beautiful.”
Sophia Loren (Italian film Actress, 1934)

"A person has to keep something to herself or your life is just a layout in a magazine."
Grace Kelly (Countess Grimaldi, the wife of Prince Rainier III of Monaco, 1954)

SELF-PORTRAIT... beyond narcissism!

2008-04-17T02:49:00.008-06:00

ageless and ever evergreen
Among the entries in the Life's Little Instruction Book that I have followed year after year was that of taking pictures of the self as part of the celebration of one's birthday. And I have pledged to do this more often before any facial line will grow deep as I age. This year, I decided not to wait for the 31st of May to have the annual pictorial. I had to take the shots before I said goodbye to my hair with tri-color rugged glam. I have to decided to have a military flat-top cut to welcome the heat of summer.
It could be narcissism but it's more than just self-love: it's a celebration of LIFE lived with much colors and fun fun fun twists....

PERSIAN FASHION INVASION

2008-04-16T20:24:00.003-06:00

“There is so much talk about Lily as a seasoned and articulate model, I thought that would be a good switch for me as the past 10 years of fashion week it's been about a different kind of hype.”
Charlie Brown (Fictional character from the comic strip created by Charles M. Schulz, Peanuts.)

It was in the 1970s when we had the first Persian “invasion” here in our University Town. Then, a political crisis in their country stopped them from coming to study in our city’s pride, Silliman University. In 2003 the Iranians started to grow in number again, becoming the second largest group among the 22 nationalities presently represented at Silliman (the welcoming colors near the Gate of Service are to celebrate the international presence in the campus by the sea).

Looking through the old yearbooks, the students from Iran then were not as fashionista as the present generation. The Iranians today go around town with statements from GQ and their simplest fashion expression would be the glamrock of today’s Hollywood icons. One or two of them present a glimmer of metrosexuality every Friday or Saturday night in El Camino or Why Not.

It was not really surprising news for me when I heard that an Iranian student from Silliman University won a national fashion contest advertised in Metro fashion magazine. I have actually worked with some of them in fashion shows mounted by Maria Havranek of Cuttin’ Loose. I feel proud that Pooyan Hasan Poor, one of the models we had at the Café Antonio fashion launch last year, is now one of the new faces of
Ray-Ban Philippines after having won the Ray-Ban Rockstar Model Search 2008. Happy to be chosen in the finals at Warehouse 135 Makati, a popular gimmick place, last April 5, Mechanical Engineering junior student Pooyan is thankful to the force behind
the glory: his girlfriend Ann Margarette Viente, a senior Mass Communication student of Silliman who was the photographer of the fashion profile they submitted through e-mail. Ann’s lovely self-portrait also had her in the Top Ten finalists. But it was her shot of her handsome boyfriend in a soaring animation that got the nod of the judges. The portrait that captured the win means a lot to Ann for it could be her launchpad to a possible career in fashion photography.
So proud of their achievement, I took time to have the goodlooking couple in an interview:
Mojo: Back home in Iran , did you have experience in modeling?
Pooyan: No, because situation in Iran is much different compared here in the Philippines.
Mojo: Beauty concepts vary from culture to culture; what is your concept of a male beauty?
Pooyan: For men, it’s not enough to just have good physical looks; what makes the package complete is the power of mind and good personality.
Mojo: Were you popular with girls back in high school?
Pooyan: Yes, I guess.
Mojo: How was the Ray-Ban experience?
Pooyan: I’m happy that I was able to represent Silliman University and Dumaguete City in the awarding night because some of the people there were not familiar with our place.
Mojo: Ann, do you consider yourself an experienced photographer?
Ann: I’m not that experienced. I started delving into photography in 2005 –it was purely experimental. I never had formal lessons in photography. I greatly rely on my own artistic instincts. It’s a combination of a skillful hand and an imaginative mind.
Mojo: What's your preference, being the subject of the photo or being the one behind the camera?
Ann: Both. However, it’s often hard for me to just plainly follow what the photographer would instruct me to do. Once I’m into it, I just can’t help but inject my own ideas. On the other hand, I also love photography and I totally enjoy doing it especially if the subject can portray my desired concept well. I may be a perfectionist at times, but I’m easy to work with.
Mojo: Do you have plans of becoming a professional photographer?
Ann: Yes. Hearing people’s appreciation of my works is actually the main aspect that convinces me to push through with this.
Mojo: You are a beautiful Filipina, but does one have to be as beautiful as you to be a good subject in a shoot?
Ann: We are all beautiful. Picking a model for a photo shoot would basically depend on the theme. Anyhow, I always work on making my subject feel comfortable during each shoot.
We say thank you to Pooyan and his friends from home for the added handsome presence in our University Town. But our Iranian friends could actually be the ones who are more thankful that Dumaguete’s welcoming public has an eye for culture and fashion – and in this Ray-Ban glory, we also thank Ann for such an excellent representation.

RONNIE’S RHYTHM

2008-04-09T20:34:00.001-06:00

“It's the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance. It is the dream afraid of waking that never takes the chance. It is the one who won't be taken who cannot seem to give. And the soul afraid of dying that never learns to live.”
Bette Midler

Dance is poetry when its measure is not too heavy for the imaginary wind that carries its every movement. This is what I always see in an excellently executed art that runs close to music or flows with it as a cultural component.
One of the biggest delights in the school year 2007-2008 for this University Town is the visibility of the newly-revived Silliman Dance Troupe, now known as the Silliman University Kahayag Dance Troupe. From its first revival concert to the triumphs in two international festivals in China, Kahayag has not failed to give the expected poetry in movement. Its distinctive rhythmic choreography is a creation of Ronnie B. Mirabuena, Silliman University’s Director of Dance.
Ronnie’s ability to create beautiful rhythm in his choreography was noted in Manila during the Douglas Nierras Choreography Clinic on March 24 to April 7 which was attended by dance teachers from all over the country. His Panata, a piece on the deep spirituality of the Filipinos during Holy Week, won for him the Best Choreographer honor. Douglas Nierras, who was a recent visitor to Dumaguete with his group, The Powerdance, for a concert at the Luce, was specially proud of Ronnie’s achievement.
Ronnie who considers dance teaching as his ministry, is not actually a new force in the country’s dance world. With Folk Dance as his specialization, he practically spend all his teenage years exploring dance traditions as a student at the Philippine High School for the Arts in Mt. Makiling, Los Baños, Laguna. In 1994, he was a dance performer in A Cultural Visit to Brunei, a production sponsored by the Filipino Community in Brunei. He was exposed not only to performance for he was lights designer in school productions like the ballet “Saot, Bayle, Sayaw” in 1999. On the same year, he represented the Philippines in the Citta di Erba Eurofolk Festival in Italy. As a college student, he served as president of the Philippine Normal University Folk Dance Troupe in 1997 to 1998. With his very active participation in the student cultural life of his school, he managed to be a consistent awardee for academic excellence. Graduation from the country’s leading universities in Teacher Education with degrees in Social Science Education and Physical Education led to more opportunities: he was a workshop trainor/facilitator of the CCP Sining sa Eskwela held at Iloilo National High School in 2002, a Philippine delegate to the ASEAN Art Youth Camp in Myanmar on the same year and a lot more.
His long journey with dance finally found a major destination: the Silliman University Kahayag Dance Troupe. It is the Christian dimension of the University’s mission that led Ronnie here to Dumaguete. His well defined faith is always reflected in every visible rhythm – actually a dance praise to the Great-Giver-of-all-talents.

BEAUTY and RONA

2008-04-03T02:09:00.004-06:00

By plucking her petals, you do not gather the beauty of the flower.”
Rabindranath Tagore

Every person on the face of the Earth has a gift.
For some this is revealed spontaneously,
others have to work to find it.
Paulo Coelho

Many of us in this University Town are drawn to the reality TV show Pinoy Big Brother aired on ABS-CBN’s Channel 2 and Studio 23 because of two reasons: BEAUTY Gonzalez and RONA Libby, both 16 years old .

In the April 1 episode, the two teens from Dumaguete got major exposure in the High School Graduation Day surprise. Rona was given a special graduation event inside the Big Brother House together with two other high school graduates, Robi of Ateneo de Manila and Jeriel of the Lamb of God School in Davao. The principal of the Dumaguete Science High School, Dr. Orlando Cadano took part in the ceremonies that included the awarding of the diploma and a special speech of commendation. Dr. Cadano joined Rona’s mother, Rose in presenting the young talent a medal of excellence in the Performing Arts. Rona is a familiar face for she is one of top three winners in the Miss Dumaguete beauty pageant and had been active in the high school debating team.
Beauty received the graduation cap of Jeriel and this came as a moving gesture from a new friend who knew that Beauty, who is now a freshman Business student at Silliman University, never experienced a high school graduation ceremony due to a “scandal.” Segment host Luis Manzano mentioned a bit about the scandal but without the details. High School classmates of Beauty at SLS Don Bosco would probably know but I did not bother to research. There is too much digging up of young people’s sad stories in this TV show. I have known Beauty as one of the headturners of the Silliman marching band. She is well-loved among her friends for her natural sense of humor.

Both were given a chance to show their talents as part of the reality challenges, Beauty in a baton twirling challenge and Rona in a debate on “Sino ang mas matalino: Babae o Lalaki?”

Beauty won the baton twirling challenge but it was not the win that people were talking about the day after. People were talking about her “ilok (armpit) monologue.” Dumaguete has been divided since Beauty’s first day in the Big Brother House; many are delighted for she’s consistently very frank and “bulgar” with ‘punchlines’ usually expressed in the Visayan language like “patilaon nako ni siya sa akong ilok” (I will let her lick my armpit). Many have disliked her for the same reason. On Rona, many are proud for she speaks flawless English and even her Tagalog is considerably good. But they were also disappointed in one kitchen scene where she seemed clueless on how to go about cleaning a fish and it was Josef, a student from La Salle, who was teaching her how to do it – an interesting irony on the rich-poor stereotyping.

Like the noontime hit Wowowee, the Pinoy Big Brother show’s popularity banks on real-life ‘dramas’ from the live narrations. I just wish that any “display of dirty linen” would be edited-out. In most cases, however, these are the moments that bring a TV show to high ratings in terms of audience share. Television’s intrusion into the young individual’s inner being should be controlled for this is evidently an exploitation. But today, no one seems to have the power to put an end to this crazy twist in our popular culture.

LYCAR’S LEADING

2008-03-27T14:39:00.003-05:00

Now, when people are dying, you don't really look at who's offering the help. You take it. The first issue should be to help the people.
-Benazir Bhutto

Sons are traditionally expected to follow in their fathers’ footstep but today we see more daughters giving justice to their fathers’ struggles and aspirations. The late Benazir Bhutto was known as the "Daughter of the East" for her leadership was greatly inspired by her father’s heroism and of other Asian men like Gandhi who bravely fought for their country’s peace and freedom.
In our country’s business world, the prominence of Shoemart (SM) Malls is attributed to the great foundation established by the Chinese tycoon Henry Sy Sr. But when interviewed by Time Magazine, Mr. Sy quickly acknowledged the leadership of his daughter Teresita that brought SM to its present stature as Philippines' leader in the retail industry. It’s breaking a Chinese tradition of always giving the glory to a son. Mr. Sy is among Forbes Magazine’s 500 richest men in the world. The Sy family is worth US$4 billion, but current estimate of Sy's assets would total US$5 billion [Forbes 2007].

Silliman University’s Most Outstanding Student of the Year LYCAR ARMENTANO FLORES, a business management major, is proud to admit that she is “Papa’s Girl.” A great dimension of her being is greatly influenced by her father, Carlos Flores. Mr. Flores was always there in all of his daughter’s undertakings. He is Lycar’s most bankable elder and friend.
Even Lycar’s leadership is very much defined by her father’s wisdom: leading people begins with respect even of the most ordinary member of the organization. Building a young person’s confidence by opening avenues for growth is the aim in Lycar’s way of leading.
A not-so-pleasant kindergarten school experience taught Lycar an important dimension in the art of human relations. Her mother loved to dress her up for school. Classmates did not want her to join their games for she was all dolled up. Her neat dolled-up look with ponytail hairstyle led to her alienation. At an early age, Lycar knew how it feels to be isolated and rejected by would-be friends. This hurt amazingly became a positive force: she grew up with a sensitivity for others, and she became a welcoming angel to those who felt ignored.

Sincerity is evident in Lycar’s dealing with the people around her. Lycar always makes sure that the strangers in a group will get her attention. She is not afraid of rejection for her smile is from the heart and her intentions so pure – always in the spirit of caring for others.
In contrast to her childhood’s dolled-up fashion sense, Lycar sported a humble everyday presence which was felt by Sillimanians even before she became Governor of the High School Department. As representative to the Student Government Assembly, she was very visible in service-oriented programs. Lycar became even more known when she was elected Vice President of the Student Government on her junior year, and finally as President in her senior year. Everyone loved her on campus. Her gift of listening was also shared generously.
Goodness and obedience are two goals of her existence. In sharing these two valuable gifts, she achieved much. On her senior year in college, she was awarded the Most Outstanding Student of the Year honor for her leadership, service, and generous sharing of talent which included her being a member of the Mary Immaculate Choir. For scholarship, she achieved University Honor - the highest academic citation.
On graduation day, we witnessed the great moment of harvest as Carlos Flores proudly stood with Lycar who received the Magna cum Laude honor. It was not just a gold medal of honor; it was a manifestation of the glory in faith and love that made father and daughter withstand all the challenges that came their way. The same faith and love will be with Lycar as she leads herself to the realities in the world of career, of her desired entrepreneurship possibility with Dad and beyond.

Mojo's Poetry

2008-03-19T07:35:00.003-05:00

DAYLIGHT DREAM

Eyes wide open as the earth prince
Awakes on realism beyond his canvass
The escape went within
As pain spells truth:
That a daylight dream is lesser
Than those born when eyes were
In shaded passion.

CARRIED AWAY

A headless frame became an open door;
My entrance into the rectangled persona
Was welcomed with worship
Of the unknown countenance.
No expectation from my end. –
Not even hope was there.

I was there for wisdom
Of gift from human nature.

There was leading towards a heart -
A loud drum like river over rock
Honest pounding was heard deeply
But it was not for long
Now, the river sound still flows
To become a lake of distant silence.

BEYOND TOUCH

A picture on screen beams with familiar sweetness;
I stop to connect with no wish to touch
And with no hope to hear wisdom from the silence
That was far.
You did question the distance. – Yet, I keep on.

I'm going for more
Now, the image floats with a little story
With no hope to touch – it’s too early to make dawn.
There is darkness in the present light.
Maybe its fear casting a shadow

MISS SILLIMAN: pride & joy... beauty from home

2008-02-12T05:38:00.003-05:00

Miss Silliman 2007 SARAH JANE MARTIN with Bryne and Grace

Not a typical beauty queen, a Miss Silliman beauty is well remembered by those who were there in her moment of glory and beyond....

1946 the first queen was crowned with her eloquence in speech and writing - a pride and joy... she graduated Magna cum Laude in Education... and today February 9, 2008... I recieved a text message: "PATRIA OBSEQUIO - Gonzaga, the first Miss Silliman is with the Lord now - at the age of 84...." When she came for the 100th birthday of Silliman, she shared this recollection: 'My story begins in June of school year 1939-1940, when I arrived here, a trifle shy but anxious to start my college education. For my parents, there could be no other school but Silliman. They sent five of us to this institution.
I was registered as a resident of Oriental Hall. It being my first time away from home, I thought I was going to be homesick, but I didn't because everyone was friendly, going out of their way to make life pleasant... In 1946, the Student Government sponsored a beauty contest which was actually more of a popularity contest. Important consideration was focused on academic grades which were scrutinized at the Registrar's Office. The selection committee inquired about our extra-curricular activities. There were no interviews, no measurment of vital statistics, no parading around in swimwear. Had there been specific contest rules followed to the letter, I would not have made it to first base. Students cast their votes at the Silliman Bookstore. After the votes were counted, results revealed that I garnered the most votes so I was then declared winner.... Our roommates were jubilant over the results. They were excited hunting gowns for us to wear during the proclamation at the Assembly Hall. A kind friend, Merceded Mijares, loaned me her evening gown with a three-tiered skirt. During a simple program that evening, I remember vividly Henry Nicolas presented me as Miss Silliman 1946 after which he ginger pinned the sash on me. There was no crown or coronet, no scepter, no cape not even a bouquet of roses. Yes, only a sash but it made history!'

1952 crowned Miss Silliman was the President of the Christian Youth Fellowship and one of the founders of the Campus Choristers... a soprano who graduated Magna cum Laude in Biology... Dr. ELMIRA LAYAGUE - Johnson became an Outstanding Educator in the United States... in 2001, she was planning to come home - she e-mailed me on August 22, 2001: "I plan to go later in the year to dedicate the Layague Endowment Fund I have established for SU in memory of my parents." Her wish for home was never realized... on the same year, she had a fatal accident - she and her husband was in car that caught fire....

As a tribute to PATRIA and ELMIRA, here's a poem written by Miss Silliman of 1971 URDUJA BABAN - Santos who like them graduated Magna cum Laude with an AB English degree:

THOUGHTS IN THE SNOW

The snow is a lie.

I am now
a palm tree
in the snow.

My fronds droop
to my feet
of frozen marrow
starved of blood.

Someone said I
should try to walk
barefoot in the snow.

I know of this because
a dream in the snow
is always of a rhinoceros and rain,
of jackals weighing hearts against a feather.

Mine are of warm sand
and the sun riding waves at the beach.

A friend said I was lying
and I asked why.
"Because you are wilting."
he said as a leaf crumbled at his touch.

Perhaps it is not the snow
but me in the snow that is
a lie.

Another poem for them written by Elsa Victoria Martinez - Coscolluela, Miss Silliman of 1964 who like them also graduated Magna cum Laude. She finished a degree in Creative Writing in 1965 and an MA in 1973. A multi-awarded writer, after winning the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for more than twenty times, she was instilled as a Hall of Famer in the Palanca Awards in 1999.

In Time Passing

in time passing, there are things you come to learn so well:
codes crafted by our fathers
and silences of our mothers as they spun
tapestries of their secret songs.

in time passing, you have broken through --
hurting past laws and language defining,
delimiting you to Other, Daughter, Sister,
Wife, and Mother: keeper of bones and beads.

and so you are all these: but always
you are more.

Adam's rib, apple-gatherer, candle-bearer:
Though you have plucked the forbidden fruit
Still, in time passing, you hold infinity
in your womb as from your blood and bone

lie the sole primordial source: revealing
there your awesome power --reaping
there a rich harvest of sons and daughters
all sprung from your marrow.

in time passing, though life has etched landmarks
and milestones upon your face, and your words
are weighed with mother-wisdom, you remain
stronger than light, gentler than rain.

early days with PHOTOGRAPHY

2008-02-10T08:36:00.000-05:00

Our house is like part of the town plaza, among the beings frequently dotting the park specially on Sundays are photographers. They are what I have learned to call the click-and-collect cameramen. With them, a stroll in the plaza could be more-than just a memory when with and only if there's a few peso which they call "patinga" - a down payment. Manong Donio and Manong Ben would do the measured clicking to capture the moments with their aged boxes but still bankable tools. They have been my friends- my first mentors in photography.
It was Susan Sontag who said,"to collect photographs is to collect the world. Movies and television programs light up walls, flicker, and go out; but with still photographs the image is also an object, lightweight, cheap to produce, easy to carry about, accumulate, store." And as we store them in our family albums, pictures have this power to bring us home - to where our hearts could feel the blessing of nostalgia.
Today, no one could be as good as Manong Ben (Benjamin Montalban) when it comes to his manual "photoshop" touch. He could transform a humble barrio girl into a Nida Blanca. The black-and- white prints with his set of lowly colors were like Sampaguita Pictures' window preview. His studio,specially the dark room, was part of my playground. My childhood treasure collection included the empty black film containers.
When I had my first camera, the carabaos at the riverside were my first subjects. I did not even know the shots were to become my first landscapes.
Two years ago, Shalom of National Geographic and I went to cover the Holy Week celebration in Boljoon, the oldest church in Cebu island. These pictures that I took felt like home:

LUIS C: alone, myself, again away
from that other self in the city
On this piece of ancestor land
My pulses slowed, I am at peace

I have no wish but this place
To remain here in stopped time
With stars trembling on that water
And in the sky a brightness

Answering: I want nothing else
But this stillness filling me
From a pure darkness over the land
That smells ever freshly of trees

The night and I are quiet now
But for small laughter from aneighbor
The quick sweep of a winged creature
And a warm dog, snuggled by my feet.

Evangelina “Eve” Nobleza – Bokingo February 24, 1921-April 18,2007 A LEGACY OF ELEGANCE

2007-04-23T05:09:00.001-06:00

This woman of elegance came from an era when an acquired privilege found itself curtailed by those in a position of authority particularly the conservative-churchy parents.

But having been educated in Silliman University during the time of the American missionaries, she has redefined her outlook in life: open-mindedness and sensitivity to others’ perception led her to a level of influence that was beautifully subtle.

Evangelina “Eve” Nobleza – Bokingo, professor emeritus in Home Economics, had much to share not just on good housekeeping but of building a more respectable image. Today’s dot-com ladies, who will usually conquer corporate chambers wearing fashion magazine replicas, could have taken lessons from Mrs. Bokingo, and would have developed some professionalism in their fashion sense.

Ma’am Eve’s legacy is much needed in the present altered world. Her former student Joy Arbolado-Kitane has one unforgettable lesson from the quintessential H.E. teacher: “… the universal law of 14 rules that when we dress-up for home, church, school, or any occasion for that matter, the number of visible items or colors in your person in one setting should not exceed 14. Beyond it, you are overdressed. Even the Queen of England follows this rule.”

I remember one time while Ma’am Eve and I were waiting in a lobby looking at people come and go, she whispered to me in a sad voice: “that lady with the choker really looks like she’s being choked as her neck is too short for such for an ornament.”

Fashion was not just an everyday lesson, it was a life lived and defined by modesty and humility.

On my freshman year in the dorm, we had an evening with Ma’am Eve where she taught us the basic things on social responsibility: our presence should not become a visual monster or an air pollutant within and beyond the dormitory.

She also reminded us on the importance of developing a “thinking process in English,” lessons on elegance in language and dignified professionalism.

Even Silliman First Ladies would be delighted whenever Ma’am Eve would visit the President’s Home (now called the University House). Her touch was always a bright wash of glory.

She often shared anecdotes of her precious moments with some of the pillars of Silliman: her unforgettable breakfast with Dr. David and Mrs. Laura Hibbard, the Rosel juice (made of pink petals) and the freshly-baked banana-oatmeal cookies – she learned first hand from Mrs. Dorothea B. Vernon, the Galilean fellowship of Rev. Douglas Vernon, Mrs. Ethel R. Chapman’s story of the ‘good pig’ and the ‘bad pig,’ the pressure from her Bible teacher Mr. Apolonio Molina to deliver a memory verse, Mrs. Edna Bell’s Christian Endeavor Society, Mrs. Metta J. Silliman’s rule for the students to speak only English and how she pushed Ma’am Eve to have her short story published in The Sillimanian, her confidence-building sessions with Mrs. Henrietta H. Glunz, the loyalty and friendship of her Home Economics teacher Miss Frances V.V. Rodgers, her membership to the Costume Ladies Committee in every theatrical production of Mr. William Hamme, her team work with Maestro Dr. Albert Faurot in production designs, the floral arrangements she did with Mrs. Bell and Thelma Appleton in the SU Church Aesthetics Committee, the tips on carpentry and furniture design she got from Silliman’s landscape architect Charles A. Glunz, and the wisdom on how to become a ‘real lady’ from the Dean of Students Mary Winternheimer.

All these and more were the defining moments in Ma’am Eve’s silent strength at Silliman: the rare elegance with her presence.

But the greatest elemental force was her gentleness that stemmed from her faith in GOD, the GIVER of all. Her encounter of Him had planted a seed of generosity and service.

Her home was always open for young people to experience a thanksgiving of a life abundantly blessed by GOD, not of financial harvest but of the joy in the beauty of HIS great faithfulness – this was her constant testimony.

She continued to demonstrate that rare elegance even in those six months she made the SU Medical Center her home, as she was suffering from physical pain. The aura of peace she projected was truly her gift to friends who came to visit.

Ma’am Eve’s faith in God was her ultimate-unfading ornament, and it was always in the right place: within her heart.

SISTER JOSELINE’S JOURNEY with BUTTERFLIES

2007-03-10T09:32:00.001-05:00

Everyone is like a butterfly, they start out ugly and awkward and then morph into beautiful graceful butterflies that everyone loves. Drew Barrymore

SUMMER SUN is here! School children will soon have their break and most of them will just be at home – not to rest but to keep themselves busy with uncensored television marathon, to play with plastic toys and break Mom’s favorite vase as they wrestle for the remote control.
Or they can take one sunny morning to explore the butterfly sanctuary at St. Paul University in Dumaguete and discover Sister Joseline’s beautiful journey with butterflies: every phase and every turn is a wonder, no ‘ugly and awkward’ moment, every step is full of wisdom.
The idea of a butterfly sanctuary came from the University President Sister Maria Nilda Masirag, Spc. The suggestion came as good news for Sister Joseline Lasala who is the head of the Maintenance Staff and the Physical Plant of St. Paul. Sister Joseline loves nature and had been wanting to build an eco-sanctuary since her earlier days at St. Paul Quezon City. She is happy that the dream has been realized in Dumaguete on October 28, 2006. Oriental Negros with its high bio-diversity is a perfect source for flora and fauna for a nature sanctuary within the city, and this made the project doable.

The St. Paul Eco-Sanctuary Park has butterflies as its first inspiration. Sister Joseline sent out inquiries to friends on how to start a butterfly sanctuary, and one responded with a down-load from the internet, providing a simple step-by-step process with details of the possible species that could be collected for a start. Sister Joseline has kept the original copy of the instructional material and is willing to share this with those who want to be God’s “co-creator.”
Sister Joseline’s research on butterflies has given her a lot of insights on life and its dimensions, all anchored on a spiritual connection. She has discovered that the word “psyche” actually means “butterfly” and is defined with the concept of the soul – its departure from the physical form as it flies to heaven like a butterfly.
Her observation of the complete metamorphosis from an egg to a caterpillar, to its pupa stage and eventually to its first flight as a butterfly is a life journey for Sister Joseline that has given her a lot of insights. She has learned the following lessons: the pupa stage gives points in zero-waste management; the presence of a butterfly is an indicator of clean air for its fragile flight cannot survive in a smoky space, today’s world is too toxic for a butterfly to enjoy total freedom; a person’s touch can guide a minute-old butterfly to enjoy honey on a dinner plate and to take its first flight on a chosen garden; life is so short for a flying beauty can only live for two weeks or even less; a specie of caterpillar needs a specific host plant but it can share the same nectar plant with other species the moment it becomes a butterfly – a lesson on unity-in-diversity. These are just examples of many lessons from Sister Joseline’s journey with butterflies.
This summer a regular morning visit to the sanctuary will lead children to discover the butterflies of the season: the white-winged with striking black in the middle is the Catopsilia florella but the female can have yellow wings; Catopsilia pomona are the yellows with black upper edges; Catopsilia scylla is white with black edge and yellow on the hind wings; the caterpillar on a camote top will soon become the regal Hypolimnas bolina which would have purple to deep blue shades in its wings; lovely as the sunshine with its brown-orange wings and dotted in white on the fore is the Cethosia biblis. There will be more as the heat of summer leads other species to lay eggs on their respective host plants. Sister Joseline’s assistant Joefel Amor who enumerated the scientific names is proud to say that, “one visit may be rewarded with seven species.”
After her wonderful journey, Sister Joseline who is originally from Siargao Island, has become an angel for the environment. Hopefully, her call for everyone to be God’s co-creator will take wing and bring this University Town to an awareness that like butterflies, we can be without the sting that harms the beauty of our world.

Mama's LOVE & LIFE

2007-02-20T20:45:00.001-05:00

News soon spread about my Mama Mening’s passing. Friends and relatives came. People noticed the growing number of floral offerings. Flowers where overflowing for this woman who really loved flowers. Maximina Minerva Rañua Badajos - Atega was known for her garden of orchids, roses and other unique collections – and for her endless charitable work. The chapel where she was honored was overflowing with floral arrangements, and when she was transferred to the big church, more flowers were offered, the others had to be placed in lines outside the sanctuary. Near her white coffin with silver trimming where two regal clusters of her favorite blooms, the Waling-waling. More orchid arrangements surrounded the casket: vandas in shades of gold and purple and dendrobiums in white and violets. She had them all and they all seemed like they were joyfully blooming to honor a dear friend.

It made me wonder how a daughter of a fisherman could gather all these touching ways of respect?

My mother, born on June 4, 1921 in Kauswagan, Cabadbaran, Agusan del Norte was an ordinary woman who made choices that gave her an ‘extra-ordinary’ life. Being the daughter of a farmer-fisherman from Camiguin Island, she knew the value of hard work and learned to be independent, for her mother died when she was still 4 years old. She chose to study in the town proper where education was of better quality even if she had to take long walks everyday to and from her barrio. To have money for lunch she would sell boiled camotes to her well-off classmates who would sometimes exchange their sandwiches with jolly Mening’s camote variations. On weekends, she would work in her father’s coffee farm, where she formed her great love (actually, more like an addiction) for any form of coffee drink, and in the evenings she would go fishing with her Tatay.

After graduating from grade school, she left her town to study in the big city. She spent her first two years of high school in Davao City, but World War II sent her back home. The lovely young Mening caught the attention of the Japanese commander who was assigned in Agusan. She made use of the special attention by asking the Japanese officer to build a classroom for children near her father’s coffee farm. Sunday school for children kept my mother busy during the war. With their closeness, the officer also made sure that my mother’s family would be protected, and the assignment was a pleasure to the Japanese soldiers for my mother had rewarded them with a share from the coffee harvest. Mama Mening’s special connection made her secret mission easy to undertake: help the Filipino guerillas with supply of food and medicine. She was able to save many lives, among them a woman who was almost raped by the Japanese soldiers; there were around 40 young Filipino men facing execution and her commanding voice had stopped the death sentence; families who, assured of protection, crossed the Agusan river…. She was a war heroine.

The mayor of Cabadbaran during the Japanese occupation was Virgilio, the handsome son of the town’s wealthiest land owner, Don Andres Atega. A bachelor, Virgil was very popular among the ladies, and he would visit them from barrio to barrio. He heard of three lovely sisters in a coffee farm and he decided to visit them. His eyes were not on the beautiful face of the very confident Cecilia, nor on the very shy Crisanta, but they were on the lovely pair of legs, the loveliest he had seen, belonging to the youngest of the three, Maximina. He also loved the simplicity of this woman whom others fondly called Mening. To give his visit a sense of purpose, he requested the three ladies to organize a benefit dance that would be held in the town plaza. On the evening of the event, Mening was asked to sing a song in tribute of the young mayor. Mening with her “Mutya sa Buhat” number instantly became the young mayor’s sweetheart.

The love that bloomed was strengthened by their secret mission during the war: they used their influence to help the Filipino guerillas.

After the war, Virgil decided to take up Law at Silliman University. The Japanese commander offered Mening a trip to Japan and asked her to become his wife, but she turned these down. Mening went to Agusan National High School in Butuan City to finish her secondary education. Her classmates would always remember Mening’s talent in theater, a Best Actress awardee in school plays. To support her schooling, she applied as assistant cook in a restaurant. For her college education, Mening went to Manila and took up a Teacher Education course at Philippine Christian College. To attain her college goal, she served as a cook at the UP Medical School canteen and on weekends she would accept laundry from the American missionaries.

Virgil had somehow forgotten Mening and found a new love at Silliman. Mening tried to keep in touch through letters but Virgil never responded. A female cousin of Virgil was the one updating Mening and explained that Virgil was too busy with campus activities: debating team member, student government president, work student at the Treasurer’s office, etc.

In 1949, Mening was graduating from college when she got a surprise visit from Virgil who had just finished his Law studies at Silliman and was in Manila to prepare for the Bar exams.

Virgil found her sleeping in her small room and she was surrounded by the laundry she just finished ironing. Truly a “Mutya sa Buhat”! Virgil was so touched by the lovely portrait of a hard working woman unfolding before him. He awakened her by touching her hand and instantly asked her to marry him. Mening was shocked but managed to gather her senses and say yes in a very shy manner. It was easy to say yes to her one and only love. However, Virgil was asked to find a husband for her best friend Aurora as they had a vow to be married at the same time – Mening and Aurora dreamt of a double wedding. Virgil sent a telegram to his friend Mariano Causing, a military officer based in Cagayan de Oro, about the beautiful Aurora. The handsome Mariano right away flew-in and joined Virgil in Malate’s Café Adriatico. It was a love-at-first-sight for Mariano and Aurora which ended in the realization of a dream wedding. With the pastor at the chapel of the Union Theological Seminary in Manila, there were only five of them inside the sanctuary. Mariano and Aurora witnessed and stood as sponsors as Virgil and Mening exchanged vows, and likewise, Virgil and Mening stood as sponsors for Mariano and Aurora. It was a simple ceremony for the two college seniors who were just wearing Sunday dresses with their grooms, Virgil in coat and tie and Mariano in military officer’s uniform. The reception cost them only twenty pesos for each pair – the four of them had a special dinner in Manila Hotel.

After graduation, the young Mrs. Maximina B. Atega went home with her husband Virgil to live in Cabadbaran, the town that they had always loved and together, as a teacher and as a lawyer, they served the people with faith and beyond….

A STRONG HEART

2007-02-20T20:26:00.000-05:00

The text message I was hoping I would never receive finally came and I had to go home. My 86-year-old mother, Maximina Minerva Rañua B. Atega was hospitalized for she had aneurysm and was declared brain dead. My family had to make an important decision. Before the journey home, my heart led me to Silliman Church, and I witnessed the last part of the Bible Reading Marathon. I actually had a hard time concentrating as some friends tried to start a conversation with me. I decided to transfer to a pew where I could be alone. Filled with much anxiety over my Mama’s situation, I asked God to guide my family with His wisdom. At this time, it was a good friend; Ate Mayette Utzurrum who was reading the 14th Chapter of the Book of Revelation and I heard the 13th verse with this line, “…blessed are the dead who die in the service of the Lord….” I forwarded the verse to all my brothers and sisters – all ten of them. Just like me, my sister Joan found the verse to be a manifestation of God’s wisdom, and she was driven to tears as it was a perfect line that made us accept the truth and the honor on Mama Mening’s inevitable last moment.

It was in the morning of January 15 when Mama complained of a severe headache. My sister, Jemimah tried to help by giving her a gentle massage on her forehead but she was really screaming with pain and so, she had to call my sister Joan to get an ambulance. At the hospital, the doctor explained that the brain scan showed my mother’s very difficult state, the brain hemorrhage resulted in blood clotting up to her nasal cavity. He was honest about the possibility of Mama leaving us on that day. Jemimah right away communicated with all of us. My brother Andre also sent a text message, which was more definite with the doctor’s estimated time of “departure”: around nine o’clock in the evening. Guided by the verse, I agreed to the suggestion to let Mama rest by putting a stop to the breathing machine that was keeping her alive. My brother Gabriel told them to wait for him before a decision would be made. When he got to the hospital at around 1pm, I reminded him to consider my request for 3PM as ‘holy time’ for Mama’s final rest. God’s will prevailed when the attending doctor explained that there was no need to do anything for he was sure that Mama would definitely go with the weakening vital signs. With the text message of Andre being forwarded from one recipient to another, many were already at the hospital to support the family and to express their love for Mama. The evening came, and many more came to be with Mama who was still in ICU. As the forecasted time was coming closer, almost every member of the family was already there except for my sister Ruth who was having a hard time booking a flight from Los Angeles to Manila, my brother Samuel who reasoned that he ‘had important things to finish in the farm” and myself who was still at Silliman Church praying. I was set to take the trip home and was anxiously waiting for the sad news. I had accepted the possibility of not seeing Mama for one last time. Pastor Haniel Taganas gathered those who were at the Silliman Church Bible reading to join Pastor Jonathan Pia who was leading a circle who prayed for “…God’s abiding presence and strength…” for me and family. As they surrounded me, I was touched by the precious act of love in that moment that I felt so very far from home – first flow of tears finally came. I told Ate Mayette that I was blessed by the reading of the scriptures and pointed-out to her the wisdom in Revelation 14:13.

Nine o’clock came, and each member of the family present was given a time to be with Mama. One by one, they all went. But after the farewells, Mama was still alive and it was already beyond ten in the evening. Midnight had come and Mama was still alive! The doctor was saying that it was impossible and told my family that maybe she was “still waiting for someone to come.” They had one thing in mind, get Samuel and force him to be with Mama. At dawn, Andre drove to Samuel’s farm and successfully convinced him that it was time he should talk to Mama.

Morning of January 16 came and Samuel was finally with Mama in ICU. Samuel is a brother who had unresolved issues with Mama: he was a consistent 1st honor pupil from grade one until grade four when he was accused of stealing in a scout camp and Mama had scolded him in front of his friends, this later turned out to be a false accusation – from then on, he changed direction and explored the world of a ‘kanto’ boy. When his very emotional time with Mama ended, the doctor went to check the signs again; Mama’s heartbeat had gone down to 41 and blood pressure went zero. Everyone agreed, it was finally Mama’s time; and they thanked Samuel for taking the courage to see Mama. But Mama kept on and on. The afternoon came and another evening, Mama was still alive. The doctor made another examination and he told my brother Gabriel that our mother “has a very strong heart and it’s keeping her alive.” Then the doctor said, “Maybe, she’s still waiting for another one to come.” They told the doctor with certainty, “She is waiting for Moses who is on his way, our youngest is her favorite son – the one who never fails to make her smile.”

Jemimah had been updating me with every development through text messaging and every message led me to pray for God’s gift of peace for Mama. My mother kept on with the heartbeat count going from 42 to 41. I was already on a bus and was nearing home. When I got the message that she could be waiting for me, I cried like a child and begged God to just let her rest. But her strong heart was holding on. People were looking at me, probably thinking of a different love angle as reason for my tears.

At midnight, my brothers and sisters decided to rest at a nearby hotel. I arrived at the hospital at 1:30 AM and was ushered to the ICU by my nephews Macky and Krisver who volunteered to be with their Lola. I was the only one allowed to go inside Mama’s room. I was very calm as I entered and was in prayer. When I held her hand, her heartbeat went up to 43 and then to 44, then 45. I continued praying for peace. Heartbeat was back at 43. I started singing, “kumbaya my Lord, kumbaya… someone’s dying Lord, kumbaya….” I sang more of her songs and then, I read my sister Ruth’s text message to her, “…Mama, you don’t have to wait for me. Be assured that the legacy of a strong-willed woman will be always in my heart….” I planted a kiss on my mother’s forehead, put her hand on my face, combed her hair with my fingers… I kissed her again. Then, I prayed for God’s will to prevail. At 4:30 AM, the time she would usually start her mornings, Mama’s strong heart finally rested. I cried as I realized that indeed, she was waiting for me. My eyes were filled with tears for I felt the special touch of a very loving mother even at her final moment.
touch of a very loving mother even at her final moment.

FIRSTS

2006-10-04T08:54:00.000-06:00

“All this will not be finished in the first hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first thousand days, … nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.”
John F. Kennedy

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you,
then you win.
Mohandas Gandhi

September in Dumaguete is turning out to be a month of many firsts. And all because some brave souls dared to begin something new even with the presence of loud negative forcasters.

When Naoki Mayuzumi, the president of HI-SAW or the Higala International : Students from Around World, expressed that the first thing he would do as leader of the foreign students organization of Silliman University was to raise funds for the Korean student Samuel Kim who had a vehicular accident and was hospitalized with neuro-surgery involved. He had a cultural-show-for-a-cause in mind as the way to achieve the goal. To ensure patronage and a good audience share, I suggested that HI-SAW would repackage the annual ICE (International Cultural Exchange) using a beauty pageant format, for the Philippines is a pageant-crazy country. Naoki right away made the first steps towards mounting the First Mister and Miss Silliman International. Many campus mentors tried to question the HI-SAW project but it went on with a creative force composed of Kenjie ColaC2 from Saipan and Chantal Theil of Germany with the students from Davao completing the working team, Nonito Cuizon as choreographer and Raissa Matunog as script writer. As expected in its first mounting, the show wasn’t perfect but it gave dimensions in pageant possibilities.
One thing that made it unique were the talents: Mr. Iran Tedrik Norouzi showed his expertise in Persian cooking, Miss Indonesia Precy Cua who was chosen Best in Talent performed her own Bahasa translation of Bryan Adam’s Heaven, Mr. Nigeria Japheth Chinedu Anyaji showed his MVP glory in soccer, Mr. Japan Yoji Kusumi displayed the art of Japanese calligraphy, Miss Korea Joo-Young Park performed a folk song using a bamboo flute, Mr. Jordan Muneer Ali Adel AbuRumman shared a poem in his language, the talent awardee for men Mr. Indonesia Bryan Wagey had fun on stage with his trumpet, Miss USA Treana Marie Havranek had a touching musical number of joy and hope overshadowing images of the 9/11 tragedy and there were a lot more. The 15th of September pageant was a memorable first in our University Town.

When people heard of Payag sa Likod, the restobar that’s giving Dumaguete its first party place with a Boracay energy, many laughed at its existence for it’s away from the waterfront. I heard them say that the party joint along the North Road would not last a year for people would get tired of the ‘artificial’ concept. But the management team behind Payag had proven them all wrong for last Monday, the 18th of September, Payag celebrated its first anniversary with a blast! Capturing an even more intense Boracay spirit with an RnB party featuring DJ Kimozave of Francis M’s concerts, Boracay’s MC Phat George who mounted ‘hot’ games of seduction with Manila’s Ledge Dancers – all these were put together by eventologist Toto Marquez, the man behind GEA Events. The night also had our very own Short Fun who gave a high-energy reggae jam. We forgot that it was on a Monday for Dumaguete’s livewires and party animals were all there. The celebration of The First will definitely usher us to another year of colorful Payag moments.

I also had a corner of sweet memory last Wednesday, the 20th of September, when I decided to revisit Woodward Little Theatre. I arrived before playtime and witnessed the transformation of familiar faces and the last touches on stage to capture the setting: a city park in the 1920’s. I was very delighted to see that this old little center of culture is alive with young talents. I was there to see the first work of a very talented comedy actor Rosbert Christian P. Salvoro as director. For his debut, this senior student in Speech and Theatre chose Glenn Hughes’ Red Carnations. It was my first time to experience a romantic comedy with the shortest running time but within the 35-minute act were good moments of laughter at those gentle heartfelt twists. First time to be in a theater production was Benjamin S. Dizon who played the father. His voice acting built a strong character on stage. Matti Hescock as the daughter had an effortless performance for she was perfect for the lovely object of desire. Successfully giving the boy an innocent nature was Josef Gil Cruz. He also gave it just the right tension although there were those uncontrolled Mr. Public Speaker hand movements. It was a wonderful first for Mr. Salvoro who gave much passion to the production.

Have you heard of Boston Market? It’s an American chain that specializes in rotisserie chicken, turkey, meatloaf, roasted sirloin, sandwiches, and a variety of side dishes with a catchy motto: Time for Something Good! A version of this classy food stop opened Monday, the 25th of September. It has the same name, but Dumaguete’s Boston Market along Noblefranca Street promises to share their own affordable fine dining delights: try the Boston Market Roasted Chicken and it will be your first taste of an oven roasted but perfectly moist chicken with seven herbs and spices giving it an inviting aroma, or the Pasta Tricolore with the hearty vegetarian sauce of brocolli, tomatoes and zubergines. There is only one man behind all these: Palawan’s favorite chef Quddus Padilla. I was there before it opened and this guy is like Superman’s version in the kitchen. There was no need for him to work with an architect and carpenters for he did it all from furniture design and carpentry to wall painting. With the help of his multi-tasking empowered staff: Eden, JR and Melanie and consultants like the constantly vibrant Sharon Dadang-Rafols with her buddy-for-all-seasons Jaruvic and Pam Galvez with her art & heart connection Jutze Pamate, Dumaguete now has the latest addition to its cosmopolitan lane. Quddus’ magical touch in interior design and carpentry stems from a childhood experience which was in his stepdad Franz’s boat building world. Check out how our lowly Daro bricks are used to give the dining tables the unique texture. Feel like a crowned prince with the chairs regal support. Business partner Michelle Joan Valbuena is always in excitement with the everyday new discoveries at Boston Market. Quddus’ inspiration in this business are the people of Dumaguete whose good taste has allowed him to explore new possibilties.

The greatest first moment in September was when our very own Carmelo A. Elli was given the very special opportunity to be guest conductor of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra in a concert last Thursday, the 28th at Foundation University’s Sofia Soller Sinco Hall. With his humble presence, Elli went to lead the orchestra with calmness that brought strength to Romero’s arrangement of the Visayan classic Matud Nila. This was followed by the his own arrangement of the Dumaguete Hymn. Elli with the PPO gave the familiar piece a new dimension – with the performance, our city’s hymn has reach a point of respect for its enduring value. Giving a space to a local talent is one beautiful act of generosity by the PPO’s conductor Eugene Fredrick Castillo.

Eugene, born and raised in America, as the conductor of the country’s leading orchestra gave our source of national pride a sense of completeness for he is truly Filipino in spirit. When told about his impact to the Filipino audience’ sense of nationalism, the young Maestro shared that race is not to be a consideration in his music for he has had equally wonderful experiences with musicians from other countries. He added that even the difference in language has no bearing for when “music begins, a connection will always be made.” Castillo’s welcoming and generous heart was at work on that memorable evening in Foundation University. Even with the disturbing applause in between movements of Schubert’s and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8, he was still very much into his music. The passion was strongly felt by the audience and his amazing control brought us to total silence – awed by the subtle energy of his dreamy touch. A force so serene manifest his unique leading like in those turns to face the violinists and bring them into an amazing unified range. The standing ovation finally came after he generously shared as an encore the all-time favorite medley from the Sound of Music. The applause in between movements and the delayed standing ovation were to be forgiven and be taken as part of the beautiful first-time experience – a point to grow for those would soon become faithful audience of the classical music. Thanks to Foundation University’s dynamic culture movers for a valuable gift of education. This outreach program of the PPO deserves a rewind on the same FU stage.

The last days of September would be the busiest for Claudio Ramos, the indefatigable performing artist. He is directing “Dinhi Ra Ko Kutob ug Daghang Salamat,” the first Cebuano play that will be mounted at Woodward Little Theater this school year. Mass Communication student Naddie May Orillana did the translation of the original play in Tagalog “Hanggang Dito Na Lamang at Maraming Salamat” by Orlando Nadres. The Silliman production which will open on October 2 will feature first time actors Kenn Acabal, Aiken Quipot and Ralph Olegario. From the rehearsals, Speech and Theatre Department Chairperson Prof. Nora Ravello noted how good are the actors in this play that digs on the world of a closet gay. It would be exciting to see another first and with the very creative Claude as director, the fun side of it is guaranteed. In his own words, “…this is my first play and I am giving it my all.”

Be the first in your circle to experience what are still out there beyond September.

31st of May in San Pablo

2006-07-04T08:47:00.000-06:00

If I should live to a ripe old age
May I possess some bit of individuality, charm and wit,
That I may not be discarded when I am withered, worn, and weak,
But sought after & cherished like a fine antique.

My friends know that when it’s the 31st of May, I’m somewhere in a place far from home. The birthday gift for myself is always a trip to a place that I have never conquered. It’s my way of gathering sweet memories for my rocking chair days. I also don’t want to be like most people who live in New York who have never set foot in the Statue of Liberty (which is, of course, right in the middle of New York harbor) or be like many people of this University Town who have yet to see the twin lakes in San Jose, the rice terraces and even just one of the five major waterfalls in Canlaon, the chocolate hills in Guihulngan, the yacht anchorage in Tambobo, be in the Old Convent in Bacong and the wonderful showcase of Karl Aguila’s furniture and other art works, or simply be at Mariyah Gallery and see the works of Kitty Taniguchi that brought her to China and the USA. There is so much to see in this beautiful world.

My ageless spirit, this time, brought me to San Pablo City in Laguna!

I was still in grade school when I first heard of a place called San Pablo. My sister Joan, a social worker, had his first job there, nd she would bring home stories of this city of the seven lakes, together with the pasalubongs that Laguna is known for.
*****
As they say, when in Manila, stay at Shalom Center in Malate where its inexpensive and safe. Being in Malate brought back memories of the days with my lawyer-father. He would sometimes bring his youngest son to his business meetings in Café Adriatico or at the Aristocrat Restaurant.

Day before my special day, I had dinner at the Café Adriatico – another great moment of nostalgia. And so I decided to have my breakfast the following day – my birthday - at the Aristocrat along the boulevard.

The 31st of May started with a walk towards Ellinwood Church where I had my prayer of thanksgiving. At Aristocrat, I ordered for some Spanish omelette, highlighted with a birthday serenade by my favorite Christian pop artist Jojie Perocho.

Jojie asked if I had a song request; I requested for my American Idol favorite, Somewhere Over the Rainbow. She sang instead Someone to Watch Over Me. It felt like a date with an angel. Her voice with much innocence was a beautiful gift. That one song would have been enough, but she gave me more-- an autographed cd copy of her album. This album has already been sold-out, with miniature jars made of the Pinatubo volcanic soil. I thought my day was already made with gifts of nostalgia and music; it was the prelude to the planned journey.

*****
Along Taft Avenue is the Pedro Gil Station, from where I took the LRT to get to the Gil Puyat/Buendia station for 12 pesos only. Somewhere near the Buendia-Taft intersection are JAC buses that ply to San Pablo are found. I paid 150 pesos for this two-hour air-conditioned bus ride.

When I got down at San Pablo, I asked pedicab driver Benjie to give me a tour around important points for 500 pesos. He agreed. Our first stop was lunch at a carenderia called Binalot Sa Dahon and indeed, everything was wrapped in banana leaf --from the hot steamed rice to the grilled maya-maya. The next stop after lunch was Villa Escudero!
At Villa Escudero will give you two options: 885 pesos with lunch at the waterfalls and 540 pesos without lunch. I had buko for my welcome drink, and a guided tour to the Museum.
Villa Escudero is a coconut plantation founded in 1872, and acquired by Don Placido Escudero and his wife Claudia Marasigan in 1880. In was 1980 when the Escudero family opened the plantation to tourists.
The collection at the museum, with an architecture capturing the grandeur of an old Spanish church, is amazing. There are religious artifacts with a complete altar as centerpiece, right below are the life-size statues of the characters of the Last Supper -- which they have updated it to include Dan Brown’s version of having Mary Magdalene in it.
My eyes were kept busy with centuries of silver alters, carrozas, Spanish galleon trade items and ceramics. Their Philippine dioramas celebrate the ethnic and tribal traditions of our country.
On the second floor, I was drawn to the collection of gowns, coats and barongs worn by Philippine Presidents and First Ladies, from Aguinaldo to Arroyo, on their respective inaugurations. There were more from the American Regime, and the World War II collection. Knick-knacks, dolls, toys, jars, jewelry and other stuffs from all over the world are echoes of the well-traveled Escudero family.
Part of the package is a carabao cart ride around the plantation. A perfect photo opportunity is at the gate of the Escudero pink mansion as this is where the historical markers are found. While on this enjoyable ride, a guitarist and a soprano entertain you with kundiman classics.
Statues of lovers and kids playing bring to life the Philippine countryside genres. I love the spot with Lolo and Lola having a frolic with their grandchildren; near this tableau is inscribed: “If I should live to a ripe old age. May I possess some bit of individuality, charm and wit, that I may not be discarded when I am withered, worn, and weak, but sought after & cherished like a fine antique.”
When I saw this line about aging gracefully, I somehow concluded that in this family estate, Don Ado Escudero’s influence must be truly working. Even in his absence, you can feel his presence for the Villla reflects so much of his wisdom.
I wanted to enjoy the rowing at the lake near the cottages but it was time for the afternoon cultural show-- colorful culture unfolded before me, another harvest of what would surely become a sweet memory.
May 31st in San Pablo is also happens to be the day Festival of the Seven Lakes.
Seven colorful bamboo rafts paraded around Sampalok, the biggest lake, and on each stood a diwata, a lovely barrio maiden in a flowing gown, and crowned with fresh flowers.
Around the lake, the Tilapia Festival was another crowd drawer but I had to run to the old San Pablo Church where the Flores de Mayo was about to begin.
My birthday was filled with vibrant colors and they gave me more of the zeal for life – making me feel even more ageless!

Silliman’s First Family

2006-06-28T06:13:00.000-06:00

“ My father always told me, ‘find a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.’ ”
- Jim Fox

Looking at how comfortable Silliman University President Ben S. Malayang III with his new job, I know that he has found a responsibility that is very close to his heart.

To Sillimanians, the name Malayang is always identified with the University as almost everyone in this huge family from Mindanao went through our beloved portals. It wouldn’t be difficult to share the bond we call The Silliman Spirit when with the Malayangs. The love for Silliman is evidently in their bloodline.

In fact, when you get to be with them in one of their family gatherings even away from the campus, you would always feel like it’s one of those familiar Silliman family fellowships. Many of the values that stem from the Christian environment prevail when with them: the spirit of joy simply overflows!

Visit the President’s Office today and you will experience this cool and easy feeling when within a Malayang zone. I‘m sure the President’s Home would even be a greater experience as you will have in the welcoming line not just the joyful Big Ben, but also the interesting members of his happy home.

Everyone loves the First Lady Gladys Fe Rio - Malayang. She graduated from Silliman University with a BS in General Science in 1976. She is always with a radiant smile. The pastor’s kid has grown to be a faithful servant to God’s ministry. When the family was based in Oakland, Gladys would drive several miles on the freeway just to be in a church where she was a big help in the Music Ministry – the First Lady loves the piano.

She has been leading various Church organizations, education committees and agencies and NGO’s concerned with human development.
As Executive Director of The Women’s Health Care Foundation (WHCF), she has been very helpful in educating the Filipino community with issues concerning reproductive health. Her present network and consultancy assignments on human development projects from around the world would be beneficial to the academic and extension programs of the University.

In fact, she is very generous with her ideas and has been a resource person during the celebration of the International Women’s Day in March.

I hope the Creative Writing circle of Silliman, and the students of the College of Law will also have the opportunity to meet the First Daughter Nayna Aurafe - it will definitely be a valuable intellectual exchange. Nayna graduated from the University of the Philippines with a degree in Creative Writing. She is now a senior Law student at UP. Prior to this, she was working with the communication arm of the World Wildlife Fund. Nayna would definitely love our University Town, the gateway to her other passion: scuba diving.

Miharu Jay Kimwell, fondly called Mij, has many Sillimanian friends as she was an active leader in the first two Hexagon camps, a gathering of Christian Youth Fellowship from six different churches. Mij graduated with a degree in Biology from UP Los Baños and worked with the Marine Science Institute. She had presented a paper during a national convention on Marine Biology held in Silliman. This junior medical student of the UERM College of Medicine is married to Bart Kimwell, a professor in Architecture at the University of Santo Tomas. Like her mother, Mij also plays the piano; she also loves to sing. Bart plays the drums.

Feeling so uncomfortable with the attention he is getting as the only son of the University President is the youngest Robert Jed, a junior Mass Communication student of Silliman. RJ is the president of Silliman University Debate Society, bringing home to MassCom glories from all the debates and speech contests he competes in. RJ is also a feature writer of the Weekly Sillimanian and was a representative to the Student Government Assembly. This founding president of the Renaissance Youth Leaders Forum (RYLF) hopes for more action relating to student welfare. He said a “convergence of interests will lead to a more dynamic intellectual life.”

When asked to describe his own family, he smiled, and said, “talkative.” Then he added that the Malayang family is: liberal, outspoken, loves to travel, opinionated. And that they all love good food, RJ added with laughter.

He said he’s glad he’s into outdoors sports like mountainbiking. That is why you don’t see the “typical Malayang build” on RJ. Yet?

Two more important family members – Musa and Toffee – will be flying in from Manila. Both Labradors. They, too, will feel at home in this City of Dogwalkers.

A DAY TO SAY ‘THANK YOU’

2006-05-19T03:15:00.000-06:00

Throughout our lives, in all its facets, a woman’s touch has given us strength. Count the miracle of growing within and beyond her cradle, count her art of listening and her word of encouragement, count the beauty of the comfort of home, her model of faith everlasting, the lessons taught at school, the inventions to make life easy, the voice of freedom and of courage. A woman is always a big blessing in our lives.

Today, as the entire Silliman University community says a million thanks to Dr. Agustin A. Pulido for his gift of leadership characterized by an amazing 10-year display of his sense of humility, sacrifice, and courage, let us also take time to say “thank you so much” to the women in Silliman University’s First Family.

Our heartfelt gratitude to the President’s wife Dr. Dorothy “Doris” Pulido, she never liked being referred to as the “First Lady” - a mark of her gift of humility.
DR. DOROTHY ANN " Doris " BERMEJO-PULIDO (center) with Silliman University Trustees Roselyn G. Delloso and Fema P. Sayson

All first ladies should learn from Ma’am Doris as she never put any effort to make her presence felt. Her way of helping her husband was always in a silent and humble manner. There was no need for audience whenever she would go unnoticed as much as possible. For that, she is greatly admired. Mayette Utzurrum-Montebon considers Doris Pulido her role model because of her unassuming nature.

Ma’am Doris has actually been a big sister to many women at Silliman Church to whom she taught through her example of a life dedicated to Christian service.

As a medical doctor, Dr. Doris spent many years in the healing ministry, which was capped with a big responsibility as hospital director.

She had served as Chairperson of the Board of Deacons at the Baptist Church in Central Philippines University. Over here at Silliman University Church, Ma’am Doris is a member of the Board of Elders, and the chairperson of the Personnel Committee, which takes care of an important call - the choosing of pastors to lead the Church.

Mrs. Pulido is an achiever, yet as a mother, she never pushed her children to be in the same height that she has conquered. There was no push for the children to surpass her being a high school salutatorian, nor for them or for them to follow her footsteps as a medical doctor, or for them to be at the level of her husband’s impressive performance in the academe.

What she wants other mothers to know is that what counts more is “building-up the children’s self-esteem at an early age.” This is best achieved, according to this outstanding mother, by a concrete demonstration of love for the children – an unconditional love for the way they are, and the way they want themselves to be.

“Don’t be too critical to kids, teach them kindness by being kind to them.” She counseled. She said that it’s easy to teach the kids love and respect when their parents consistently demonstrate love and respect for each other. “Walk your talk,” is the best way to teach. “No calling of names or saying of bad words at home,” she stressed. After all, home is the first place where children feel and believe that there is God and the parents’ best teaching would be to honor God.

As to career choices, Ma’am Doris has successfully led her two daughters, Cybele Ann and Deneel, to their own successes by announcing that she would not want them to be in the difficult experience she had as a medical student. She made sure both would be self-motivated.

So, the former Campus Crusade leader Cybele, named after the goddess of nature, took up Business Management and obtained a master’s degree. She is now based in the US, and is married to Engr. Luther Risma. The couple is blessed with two daughters, six-year-old Aidra Ann, and one-year miracle baby Chai Lee.

Deneel, taken from an original ‘concoction’ of her parents, majored in English Language Teaching in college and finished a master’s degree in the same field. She is at present the Resident Manager of Bethel Guest House and is happily married to Lt. Col. Ezra James Enriquez. They are blessed with two handsome sons, high school senior Mark James and fifth grader Joshua James.

Ma’am Doris loves to recall the days when she would watch Deneel dancing Philippine folk favorites, and to see more of her graceful movements in Hawaiian and Tahitian dances.

With the Dr. Doris Pulido’s wisdom on motherhood, Oprah Winfrey was right when she said,“Biology is the least of what makes someone a Mother.”

Thank you Ma’am Doris, Cybele and Deneel for the gift of subtle and humble presence, for letting us see so much beauty in a simple life, and for the great example of life anchored in Christian service.

Happy Mothers’ Day!

'Scrabble Queen' is a Sillimanian

2006-05-03T03:01:00.000-06:00

I love those years when the Filipino family thought of summer as a time for family board games: chess, Chinese checkers, mancala, its Pinoy version called sungka, Mastermind, Othello, Solitaire, Da Vinci's Challenge, Games of the Generals, Battleship, Snakes and Ladders, Monopoly, Dominoes, Charade through picture cards, Word Factory with its dice game version called Boggle. Among these, only chess has survived against TV and computer games, and it remains the only one in the mainstream of the international sports arena.

There are contest circles around the world, however, that are promoting one game that we all have known and loved -- the very challenging Scrabble. Its surprising to note that in the international arena, Scrabble is dominated by men; when we always thought of it as a home game for girls even at home, while chess was generally for the boys.

In the Philippines, a woman is lording it over all scrabble circles - mainly dominated by men. In fact, among the country’s Top 5 players, Odette Carmina L. Rio is the only woman. Odette, if some of you remember, graduated cum laude from Silliman University with a degree in Political
Science.
From justice halls, Odette moved to a small classroom in Iloilo City. You see, Odette is a lawyer by profession, but she now prefers teaching English as a second language to students from Korea. After a stint in the US, she says she has learned to live a “very simple life and uncomplicated life.”

Her teaching job now gives her time to devote more focus to her ultimate passion -- playing scrabble, achieving VIP stature in the world of word wizards.

How do you measure VIP stature? Check out the number of websites you get after you search about a person on Google. Try this: Search for “Odette Carmina Rio scrabble.” You’ll be amazed at the results you get: several websites announcing her “international player status” in the word power game. Abolutely the Philippines’ Scrabble Queen.

Odette was twice national champion in 2002 and 2004. Then she won third place in the Asia-Pacific Scrabble Championship held in Kuala Lumpur, fifth place in the Bertam World Scrabble Masters, and finished Top 10 four times in Thailand’s Annual King Cup. She has also achieved an ‘expert rating’ in the US with a rare 1,888.

Odette has been playing scrabble since she was still nine years old, along with her father’s favorite board games, chess and the Games of the Generals. The biggest challenge, she remembers, was always Daddy, a military general, who would approach the game with war tactics in mind.

In high school, the passion for the game reached an intense level for she had learned to love solitaire scrabble. Scrabble gave her the achiever’s zeal as she would face every challenge, such attitude of always learning new words very also very rewarding, in school.

Odette said she would love to visit Dumaguete again someday, and promote scrabble to the young. Say says it’s the “best way to increase their knowledge of words.”

I can only agree with Odette. If you will have noticed also, today’s generation in this University Town seems to have lost their ability to spell words correctly, or to comprehend what they read due to all-too-common weird abbreviations in text messaging.

That’s why I find it an important move to really bring her home here so she can help inspire young students. We can host Odette in the University Town for a peptalk on scrabble, or she can be the star player of sorts in an inter-dormitory or an inter-high school scrabble championship.

What would it take to play in a top-level game of scrabble? “An ability in Mathematics, as you look into probabilities and combinations.” She adds, “those good in Music can also be good in scrabble, as they know how to place the right scale in a given space.”

A website pointed out that a scrabble geek could only take a few minutes to find a way to put a Z or Q on a double letter score and at the same time, hit the triple word score.

There is so much wisdom involved in the arrangement of tiles in one’s rack to reach rewarding forms in a particular bag, like when it in a Double-Bag Scrabble where one divides the tiles into two separate bags: one for vowels, the other for the consonants.

Ah, there is just so much to learn from the country’s Scrabble Queen – truly Dumaguete’s very own!

GO, GUIMARAS!

2006-04-25T18:22:00.000-06:00

My first Holy Week on an island was in Camiguin and the great experience brought me to explore the other Philippine islands like an annual pilgrimage: Siargao had the best beach experience; three ‘holy’ days was is enough to explore Palawan’s frontier; there’s nothing holy in Boracay as it’s the perfect place for party animals; Siquijor leads you to the old churches, at the same time, you hear stories of the omnipresence of beings from the world beyond; Bohol keeps you busy traversing from one tourist spot to the next; with surprising rural glory was in Punta Bulata.

My original plan this time was to go to Pagudpud in Ilocos Norte where the renowned ‘cinematic beauty’ of Saud Beach has always been my dream destination since I first saw it in the Siguion-Reyna film Hihintayin Kita sa Langit. The other stops in this rustic town have very inviting names like Kabigan Falls , the Blue Lagoon and the Paraiso ni San Anton.

But Holy Week this year awkwardly fell just after the summer school started, giving us less time for travel. I decided I just had to be within the Visayas this time.

Then I remembered that I have never conquered any part of the “mango country” of Guimaras Island. “Go GUIMARAS!” became my Holy Week theme.

On Maundy Thursday I crossed the Visayan Sea. Sailing from Negros to Panay islands, the window view from the fastferry gave me a beautiful frame of Guimaras Island, leading me to conclude, I made the right decision.

I went through the regular route with Iloilo as my first stop. For Dumagueteños, the best place to stay in Iloilo is Pensione del Carmen along General Luna Street, home of a lovely Dumagueteña Carmen Larot-Rio. The Lonely Planet guidebook Pensione del Carmen as a place that feels like home.

The solemnity of Holy Week in the old city of Iloilo can really be felt with almost all stores, including SM City mall , closed. I did not waste time; I urged my host Tita Carmen and her daughter Odette to join me in a revisit of the Miag-ao Church, a national shrine. The Church of Sto. Tomas de Villanueva, built in 1786, is one of the four Baroque churches inscribed in 1993 on the World Heritage List. The historic sanctuary draws many families, apparently on their way to Boracay. Upon the request of my furniture designer friend Karl Aguila, I took several pictures of the baroque details on walls, doors and the stairways. The noise of the hundreds of visitors was still drowned by the silent grandeur of the majestic architectural achievement, shimmering in gold with the generous light coming from the huge classic windows.

After the beautiful long day, we rewarded ourselves with a dinner Junho, a Korean corner that was the only place open during Holy Week. All the food in the menu was authentic Korean, and the vegetarian variations of Kim Jin Ho were perfect ways to celebrate with our oriental version of the Lord’s Supper. I suggested to Mr. Kim to open a branch of his bankable business in Dumaguete. We exchanged calling cards and as token of our new friendship, he handed me a set of Korean table utensils in ornate silver.

My “Mr. Congeniality charisma”, as friends tease me, must have been radiating even until later that evening because when Mr. Kim saw us waiting for a taxi for the longest time, he even offered to drive us home to Pensione Carmen.

I should say that Good Friday is the best day to be in Guimaras. Streamers were all over the Province to announce the big event in the island, Ang Pagtaltal sa Jordan (The Crucifixion in Jordan). The trip on a huge banca was about 25 minutes. This joyride to Jordan, the capital town, departs every 30 minutes. Then as we dropped anchor, we noticed the people voluntary lining-up for inspection, not for guns or bombs, but for fruits, especially mangoes. The local government there confiscates fresh fruits brought into the island so that these do not contaminate their indigenous varieties.

We were hoping to catch the 3pm ‘crucifixion.’ It seemed like Jordan was having a fiesta; colorful banners welcomed the visitors including a good number of foreigners who were curious about the taltal. Inside the poblacion was a play on the trial of Jesus with dialogues in the local dialects.

Listening to the Good Friday drama in Hiligaynon and Kinaray-a was truly interesting. The theatrical production, complete with colorful Roman-inspired costumes, which ended in the actual ‘tatal’ on a hill- while we were having a sumptuous lunch.

Native cuisine like puso sa saging salad and many others were on display in a booth made of coconut leaves – true Filipino spirit!

After witnessing the colorful production on the death of Christ, we proceeded to the town of Nueva Valencia where the popular beaches are found. All resorts were fully booked but we were lucky to have found a space in a private cove called Villa Igang. It turned out to be the best place to stay as it was not crowded. The tranquility of nature prevailed as it is away from the summer fiesta of beach people. Its landscape was carefully manicured, careful not to destroy the natural beauty. Igang in Guimaras means a kind of stone in the Province, framing the cove with natural sculptural formations.

Dr. Mary Lou Lacson-Arcelo of the John B. Lacson Colleges Foundation, owner of this charming Villa Igang, explained that igang is actually a good material for cement production. She said she is thankful that their provincial government disallowed the establishment of cement factories for it will certainly destroy the tourism potential of the island.

Mary Lou’s magic in landscaping is wonderfully transforming her part of the 43-hectare property of the John B. Lacson Foundation into a haven of peace, with much fun: fear-conquering dive from a cliff, with a view of the coral grotto, or rowing in a pond surrounded by mangroves, or exploring caves.

Eco-tourism is on the right direction at Mary Lou’s corner as she has two highly qualified consultants: her husband, educator-economist Dr. Adriano A. Arcelo, who is a consultant for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Dr. Angel C. Alcala, the world’s father of Coastal Resources Management who has visited the resort twice with his family.

I saw Philippine Daily Inquirer society columnist Maurice Arcache jamming with friends at the beach. He expressed how much he loves Villa Igang as it is a “humble paradise,” he said.
Maurice added that he enjoys rowing with his buddies the most. Meanwhile, Visayan Daily Star’s social columnist Edward Lacson said their favorite ride is a boat with a bird shape.

They were all proud to have covered the entire pond without the help of a boatman. Edward also expressed his appreciation for the professional service of the seven-man staff. He added that HRM students should actually do their internship in places like this.

Resort Manager Lorlyn P. Arañador committed to explore other options to make their service consistently good or even better. She said she hopes to offer more variations of the seafood cuisine in our next visit.

Guimaras does have endless opportunities. We went up to Valle Verde Mountain Resort for a relaxing afternoon, and witnessed the frolic in the huge swimming pool sandwiched by the slopes.

Then, on to a major stop: an amazing view of more than 50,000 mango-bearing trees in Oro Verde, one of the Province’s three main plantations.

Having sampled the world's sweetest mangoes known as the Guimaras Super Mango, it was not to be the end of our round-the-island tour.

Next stop was the Our Lady of the Philippines' Trappist Monastery where the kind monks, generous with their smiles, welcomed us in a shop of mango jams, jellies and other dried fruit products.

I got some of their baskets made of twigs and the spoon and fork set made of coconut shells and bamboo. A tour around the monastery grounds is a walk of green peace with trees and flowers!

There are more to see, and more fun to experience: Roca Encantada where the summer house of the distinguished Lopez family is located, the coral islets called Siete Pecados; the 30-minute climb up to Bala-an Bukid with a stairway leading to a giant cross and chapel at its peak.

But alas, our time was up, we had to journey back to Iloilo on Black Saturday.

I spent Easter Sunrise with a garden fellowship at the UCCP. I enjoyed the egg hunt and the conversations over the Ilongo favorite breakfast delights like pancit molo, and puto with dinuguan.

After the Holy Week, you’ve still got 45 days under the heat of the summer sun; go on your own journey; GO, GUIMARAS!

Team Spirit in The Sison Twins’ Triumph

2006-04-18T07:01:00.000-06:00

They may not be as famous as Hollywood’s versatile twins Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen but the University Town’s favorite twins, Angela and Angeli Sison, are one of the neatest wonders we can talk about. And their recent triumph defines their edge over the other identical pairs, for Angeli and Angela graduated as Valedictorian and Salutatorian, respectively, from the St. Louis School-Don Bosco. High School Class of 2006 must be so proud that the Sison Twins led them with distinctive graduation honors.

The twin sisters have always been achievers in school since their kindergarten days. The secret, according to Angela, is not competition but team work. Definitely no sibling rivalry and no point of jealousy. They would support each other for they are not just sisters, they are the best of friends.

Angeli agrees to her sister’s point by expressing that “everytime Angela would win a contest, it always feels like I, too, won. It’s like being always in the same team.” Angela added, “ we are always together for we both love pushing ourselves beyond our limits, and we share in this great feeling of being able to prove one’s worth.”

Born 15 minutes apart on December 4, 1989, Angela and Angeli are not exactly the same. At some challenges, they would conquer same glories, like being both crowned as Miss Intramurals - Lili on her freshman year and Lala on her 3rd year.

But they can also be in two different directions like in the academe. Angela loves anything under Communication and Language but will never be as intense as Angeli when it comes to Science. And then, they are together again in their passion: the art of dance. They both love one of the most graceful sports, Dance Sport. They have been so good at it that have been featured in many events in the city and have been representatives to various competitions.

They credit their successes to three important points: the pressure and discipline coming from their mother, the indefatigable Dr. Aideline Erames-Sison, with the special expression of support from their Dad Aniceto who is always there for them; Developing good time management, and third, the pressure coming from a family tradition, coming from a clan of achievers.

As kids, their dream was to become flight stewardesses but now the twins want to become Nurses for they find fulfillment in being in touch with people and their needs. they have found a meaningful way to be of service to people and it is trough health care. High School life was for them a stage of finding themselves and they are thankful to their Don Bosco family for teaching them the importance of service, sharing and the value of equality among people.

They want their fellow youth to know that it is wonderful to have fun but it should always go with a sense of responsibility. Angeli stressed in the importance of developing intelligence and Angela joined her in stressing that it is possible to have a balance between fun and the intellectual life. “One doesn’t have to be a nerd to be called smart.” They had fun even in those times when they had to do hard work. They have joined contests in speech, journalism and dance. At home, they found joy in reading books, and loved all of Nicholas Sparks bestsellers: The Rescue, A Bend In The Road, A Walk To Remember, Message in A Bottle, and much more love and “kilig” for The Notebook.

Like the lady character Allie Nelson in The Notebook, the Sison Twins believe that a love that is enduring and deep can turn a trial into triumph, and may even have the power to create a miracle. What they’ve got is the love for each other as sisters and as friends. And together, they will face life with a “team work” that will bring them to more triumphs.

BIRD MAN, BAMBOO MAN

2006-04-03T10:04:00.000-06:00

Most people beat the heat of summer by going to where the coolness of the water can be felt even just visually. I’ve been to the Twin Lakes: Balinsasayao and Danao twice this week to guide University guests. As I bring them around the big lake, I love talking about two of my favorite environmentalists: the Bird Man and the Bamboo Man.

I never had the opportunity to listen to Doctor Joe, the birdman of the Philippines, live! But I love the recollection of Silliman campus kids who had those great times with him walking under the shades of acacia trees and he would tell them bird stories.

It was the 10th death anniverssary of Dr. Dioscoro S. Rabor, the country’s preeminent zoologist and conservationist, on March 25. He is never forgotten, his legacy is enduring.

He received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Silliman University in 1974. The name Rabor is internationally known. His legacy shines through pioneering works with birds which included the discovery of the sad state of the Philippine Eagle. Even in retirement, he was still active with consultancies in Wildlife Biology. Rabor's passion for nature conquered points beyond Negros island. Try to climb Mt. Ilong-ilong in Mindanao and you would find the name of this Cebuano carved on a stone at its peak and check on environment stories of Mount Isarog in Southern Luzon and you’ll find the same prominent name. He trekked and climed Philippine mountains as part of more than 50 expeditions into the forests of more than 25 islands. He discovered and named most of the Philippine birds. Other exotic species of animals including rats were his discoveries. Some of them were named after him like Rabor's Wren Babbler or the Napathera rabori found in the Sierra Madre Mountain.

A book on Philippine Birds by Robert S. Kennedy has this dedication, “to Dioscoro Rabor and wife Lina, ‘whose pioneering field efforts for more than half of the 20th century helped shape the field of ornithology and conservation in the Philippines.’”

To trek around the lakes is for me an experience of Rabor’s passion and when I’m rewarded with a sight of an endangered specie like the Negros bleeding heart pigeon, I do express thankfulness to the Bird Man for he paved the way for the new generation of Filipinos to still experience wildlife in a virgin forest.

Another person whose passion for conservation is so inspiring is the Bamboo Man of the Philippines, Frans Kleine Koerkamp who celebrated his 70th birthday with his friends at South Sea on March 29. He was actually born on February 11, 1936 in Netherlands. Frans who also came from a poor Dutch family is inspired by the molding he got from a monastery where he found his life motto, “Hand ignarus mali, miseris succurrere disco” (Since I came from poverty and misery, I have learned to help the poor and the miserable).

This ordained Carmelite priest came to the Philippines in 1964 and had Escalante, Negros Oriental as his first mission area. The severe poverty of the hacienda workers led him to take a strong resolve to help the poor. He underwent trainings on Cooperatives and helped the poor by organizing them into unified forces for community development.

In 1972, Frans mission brought him to Iligan where he was exposed to rampant human rights violations under the Martial Law era. A community development worker from Escalante Inday Rabelista also came to Lanao to work with credit cooperatives. With the same point of departure and with a shared vision, their friendship grew deeper. On March 29, 1979, they were married and have become strong partners in the service for others. Their respective missions brought them to Manila where they had their son Jobert in 1982 and daughter Monette in 1984.

With deep emersion into the Philippine society and the experience of the various crises faced by the people he loved and served, Frans has become a true Manoy, a foreign Man with a piNoy heart.

And having visited many parts of the Philippines, he has found a dreamland: Dumaguete. It was in 1994 when he realized his dream of building a home for his family on this University town.

And it was at this time and place that he found a great way to help the people: a community effort to preserve and develop a livelihood out of the lowly Philippine bamboo. Buglas Bamboo Institute (BBI) was founded by Franz and the revived traditions out the common kawayan is now being cascaded to other communities.

Kawayan, as a primary feature in Philippine architecture and landscape, has gained back its respect and glory. Thanks to Manoy Franz, our country’s Bamboo man.

Summer is the time to conquer nature! And as we go far and deep into our happy wanderings, let Doctor Joe’s free flight with the birds and Manoy Frans’ love for the bamboo be our compass so that we will never be lost in the dense fog of human selfishness.