I was there at the the Interfaith rally at the corner of Ayala and Paseo de Roxas avenues today, February 29. A light drizzle greeted me when I arrived hours before the start of the rally. Read More →
I first met Sister M, at the wake of Luijoe in May 2000. I looked around for the motherly Sister T, the principal that I knew, the nun that exuded that holy aura around her. Instead, before me stood a seemingly cold Sister with steely eyes. I turned away from her. Somehow, I felt uneasy. There was just something about Sister M that wasn’t right.
Three years later, the parents were divided on the fate of Sister M who was facing criminal charges at the Makati Regional Trial Court, and a civil suit at the Department of Labor and Employment plus numerous anomalies on diversion of school funds. How sad that my two daughters faced corruption from an authority figure. Moral fiber of the principal deteriorated right in front of their faces.
I took the side of a small group of fearless parents seeking the “truth”. We, the parents held a secret meeting and decided that the school board and the Department of Education (DEC) sat on our complaint for over two years. Yes, two years passed by and in spite of the complaints sent, no course of action was done to improve the situation. So what else was there left to do? Rally! What an impossible feat, never ever done in any High School in Philippines!
How impertinent we, rebel parents were! What pathetic examples we were to our children. I never imagined myself being such a “bad example” to my daughters. I risked L’s impending high school graduation or M being stripped of her honors. Together with my husband, we made banners “Parents-Teachers want the Truth”. Wearing black, we marched in front of the school grounds together with our kids chanting ““Sister, resign! Sister, resign! Did we get the justice we fought for?
If you read Lauren’s entry on You’ll never silence the voice of the voiceless, there were veiled threats of our children being sanctioned for joining the rally. Both girls marched out despite teacher’s feeble attempt to lock them inside their classrooms. The threats did not materialize because we, rebel parents and the School Officials reached an amicable settlement with DEC as witness. Children of rebel parents were not to be penalized for the mass actions we initiated. To make a long story short, Sister M was forced to resign two months later, after the Department of Education ordered the school closure if she didn’t resign. Though L already graduated and M moved to another school, justice was served nevertheless using the legal process but it wouldn’t have gotten DEC’s attention without our cries of justice. Truth finally set us free.
So why am I bringing this up? The other day, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said in a statement signed by Archbishop Angel Lagdameo that [The] truth challenges us now to communal action. .
What is this truth? As Candido Wenceslao asked, Is truth the one that the political opposition, militants and civil society groups believe: that everybody in Malacañang is corrupt? Or is truth the one insinuated by the Arroyo administration: that it is clean?
What is communal action? Do I storm on the streets and cry for “truth”? Do I join groups planning to do radical actions? Should I support the University Council of the University of the Philippines Diliman call that GMA must go? or agree with the Lawyers’ groups as it calls for Arroyo’s resignation ?
While CBCP “challenges us now to communal action”, do I influence my kids to join me?
Dine wonders But sometimes we parents worry what if they go overboard? what if they suddenly want to do it their own way?. I will be the first to admit that I will worry if my children join mass actions. These are exactly the thoughts that face me as a mother.
I leave that choice to my children, to decide on the communal action they will partake. Once upon a time, I decided to venture the radical path while listening closely to my father when it came to safety issues. I trust my children will know what is right for them and the future of their country.
Though not a popular choice by our Catholic Bishops, I believe, GMA has to go. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has to go. I truly believe that The President and her people have engaged in so much lying that they can no longer recognize the truth even if it stared them in the face. (PDI) As to the next step to take, I will take one step, one day at a time. I do not have the answers yet but in time, I will discern it. Our Filipinos will discern it. I will be there at the The Interfaith rally, at the Ninoy Aquino Monument in Makati City at 5 p.m, Friday , February 29.
I enjoin you to read Ricky Carandang’s report on Treason and Spratly Islands and Manolo’s Today the Spratlys, tomorrow Palawan. My husband has this to say on Treason:
Having sworn to uphold and protect the Constitution, she has likely delivered the country, or at least a significant part of the national patrimony, to a foreign power. This is treasonous conduct, by any measure.
The video best explains it:
and the rest of the video on The Correspondents – Kung ‘di ukol, bubukol (ZTE-NBN)
If you stumbled upon my blog via Shop Talk, welcome to my blog. I came up with this welcome page to guide all of you along in case you have questions on blogging. First let’s tackle the obvious, what is a blog?
Twenty two years ago, I was 8 months pregnant with my eldest daughter, Lauren. There was no way for me to join my husband and brother in EDSA People Power. My huge belly would be squashed with the millions of people. I felt so left out.
How hopeful I was that our country would prosper under a democratic government. When I heard the inauguration of Cory Aquino over the radio, my heart leaped with joy and so did Lauren as she tumbled inside my womb. I thought my baby was excited at the thought of a new government.
So much hope for a better future for my daughter. Lauren was born exactly a month later on March 25, the ““Freedom Constitution day”.
Today marks the two-year anniversay of aboutmyrecovery.com. Today, I will celebrate my blog’s anniversary with you.
So many confusing messages circulate these days to manipulate the opinion of the people . There is the YouTube video on Lozada, Crying Babies then today, I receive a text message with Jun Lozada‘s cellphone number so I can text him and ask about the truth on the so-called Patriotic Fund that Sen. Jamby Madrigal allegedly paid so he could lie.
One thing is certain, I also seek the truth.
As a little girl, I often thought adults talked too seriously. I figured in my little girl’s mind that it must be boring to be all grown-up. When mom’s friends converged at our home for afternoon chit-chat, the conversations revolved around gardening, orchids, roses, baking and other household matters. I am sure they had fun too.
[tag]Psycho killer in Rizal[/tag] on the loose? I didn’t really think much about it until …Diding, our household helper arrived home after walking the dog. Her worried look was painted all over her face. Maam, is it true there is a psycho killer? While walking the dog at around 6:00 PM, a concerned neighbor urged her to go back home because it was getting dark. Diding laughed. The neighbor berated her and added Don’t say I didn’t warn you about the serial killer. There are eight of them now.
Have you ever played Chinese Whispers? This is a game in which players sit in a circle. The first player whispers a juicy tidbit of information in their neighbor’s ear. The neighbor then buzzes it to the next player and so on around the circle. The final player then blurts out the message as they perceive it. Lo and behold! The original message in the telling changed and often drastically!
The game illustrates the origin of a rumor. The truth often gets twisted as it’s passed from mouth to mouth. As a game it’s amusing – but in life more is at stake.
The latest rumor mill involve a relative and three other friends (whom I know too). The “gossiper” shocked me more than the gossip itself. The nerve! Did the ““gossipper” intend to harm the ““gossippee”? If harm is the intention, this is a most despicable behavior that is never justified. What made it more shocking is that I know the “gossiper”. I look up highly to this person.
All of us love to share tidbits of information – it’s human nature. Right? except it often appears as mere gossip and defined as “idle talk or writing, tattle”. One can gossip good news, but too often the gossip game takes over and distortions set in. Negative gossip, the showing of others in a bad light, is especially popular as gleaned by the high sales of the gutter press. Scandal is more titillating!
My relative told me it’s no big deal and I shouldn’t worry. I believe she can tackle it and even the persons concerned can handle the situation. I can’t help but say my piece on this gossip game because I looked up highly to the “gossipper”. I feel betrayed and disappointed at this person and I hope the “gossipper” will stop this gossip game.
The good news is the “gossipper” was sane enough not to blog about it or else that would have been libelous.
Speaking of libel, my husband wrote about Libel Law in 2007. Article 353 of the Revised Penal Code defines libel as a public and malicious imputation of a crime, or of a vice or defect, real or imaginary, or any act, omission, condition, status or circumstance tending to cause the dishonor, discredit or contempt of a natural or juridical person, or to blacken the memory of one who is dead. If you call someone a slimeball, swindling pimp, even if this is fairly accurate, and post it online, you may be sued for making libelous statements.
If one made a libelous entry, one can resort to talking it out with the offending blogger instead of hiring a lawyer as the first recourse. A fundamental sense of fairness and simple good manners and right conduct is usually enough to keep you, a good blogger, out of trouble.
Oh and don’t pass on “juicy tidbits” of information (true or not) unless verifying the facts from the “gossipper” or the “gossippee”. It’s tempting to do so. Like the child gloating “I know something you don’t know”. Some may think that by exposing others, they themselves appear more righteous. Remember. when YOU point a finger, there are three fingers pointing back at you. Blowing out someone’s candle does not make yours shine brighter.
A “Think Rich Pinoy” with a tagline Creating One Million Pinoy Millionaires by 2020 event flashed on my facebook. Clicking the link, I discover it is a Think Rich Pinoy Seminar to be hosted by Larry Gamboa (best selling author of “Think Rich, Pinoy”) at Philamlife, Manila on February 16 and 17. I reserve my judgement on the seminar since I’ve never attended it. The thing is the fee is only Php1,450 pesos which is more affordable than the Make Money Online Seminar that has an entrance fee of Php6000 pesos.
One never can never go wrong in real estate investment. It is a hedge against inflation and a source of passive income. My father, a self-made man, was orphaned during his teens. He survived because his parents left a few coconut lands which gave his five siblings some passive income. More important than acquiring wealth, I learned from my dad the importance of risk-taking, investment and managing personal finances at a young age.
Whether or not one becomes a millionaire has very little to do with the amount of money you make, whether one attends this real estate or the Make Money Online Seminar.
