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Never again, never again, never again to martial law!

““The bad dream known as martial law has become an absolute nightmare under Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo!” , an activist during 37th Anniversary of Martial Law, September 21, 2009.

philippines-martial-law
Photo Credit to newshopper

I was 15 years old when Proclamation 1081 was declared by then President Ferdinand Marcos. My folks seemed overjoyed with the news. The administration did a great job brainwashing the old folks that the country was in turmoil and thus, Martial Law needed to be declared. I didn’t know it then, of course.

I felt a bit alarmed that any house could be raided for “subversive materials”. Any reading material might be “subversive” in the eyes of the military. Dad was wise. He started buying books and magazines that were pro-Marcos. But all of these inconveniences were insignificant compared to the pain of detained and tortured “political prisoners”, the loss of freedom of speech, the pain of seeing my brother in jail and so with my barkada. I was never brought to detention due to luck, perhaps.

Soon after Marcos declared martial law, one American high-ranking official described the Philippines as a country composed “of 40 million cowards and one son of a bitch” otherwise, he reasoned they should have risen against the destroyer of their freedom.

““Never again, never again , never again to martial law!”
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Our children are our most cherished possession. In their early years we must make sure they get a healthy start in life – President Gloria Arroyo, SONA 2009

It is 1984 and the Marcos regime is getting shakier as Anti-Marcos rallies are all over the place. This was my conversation with my then boyfriend (now husband)

Me: Do you plan to marry me? if you have no plans, then I am leaving for the United States to be with my sisters and start a new life there.

The Boyfriend (now husband): Yes, I will marry you next year. (of course he got pressured).

I felt like leaving the country then because the peso-dollar exchange rate dropped drastically. I wanted to be with my sisters.

No, this is not a love story.

See, I got married at the time when the political situation was so unstable. Was there a future for me and my husband? When People Power removed the dictatorship, I was ecstatic. I felt the future seemed promising for my children. My sister sent me immigration papers in 1987 and wanted me to move to the USA with my family. I declined. I wanted my children to stay here and work for the future of their country

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Who says Food and Politics don’t mix?

our choices of food determine a lot of things from politics to economy – wendell berry

noemi_cooking1I think most of you know that I have a Food Recipe Blog ( with over 6400 subscribers. I like to keep in touch with my readers so I invite them to add me in my facebook and the Facebook Fan Page for the Pinoy Recipes which has around 3,185 fans.

Everything was fine and dandy until I posted a link Join the Manolo Quezon For Senator a group for people who would like to see Manuel L Quezon III elected as senator on 2010. Of course I know, it is a food fan page but I forgot other facebook members can join. I took for granted that the members were also my readers. It didn’t help that the profile photo of the Facebook Fan page was Leche Flan.

Naturally, I got a few violent reactions

Read More »Who says Food and Politics don’t mix?

Noynoy’s Ad: ” Hindi Ka Nag iisa ” Music Video

I accept the plea of the people. I accept the responsibility to continue the fight for the people. I accept the challenge to lead in this fight. I will run in the coming elections, Noynoy Aquino

The Noynoy’s ad is just brilliant! Well, technically it is. The support given in this ad from the entertainment and advertising professionals is just inspiring. The star-studded cast will surely attract the masses.


A love offering to Senator Noynoy Aquino from entertainment and advertising professionals
Video Link

It’s beautifully made with an all star cast including two TV station’s talents such as Sharon Cuneta, Kris Aquino, Boy Abunda , Regine Velasquez, Ogie Alcasid, Bea Alonzo, Dingdong Dantes, Marian Rivera, Aiai delas alas, Mariel Rodriguez, Bianca Gonzales, Eric Santos , James Yap , PBA Players and more.

It certainly has mass appeal, but wait do we know noynoy’s platforms?

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Bangon Pinoy: Our Home After Ondoy Flood Damage

“I don’t consider myself a survivor; that’s someone who has gone through something terrible.” Geraldine Ferraro

Of course, you know our home suffered the Ondoy Flood Damage. My husband is traumatized about it already that he obsesses on the weather report. Friends ask me how it has been. I feel guilty that we didn’t really suffer that much damage, I mean comparing our situation to the Ondoy victims in Marikina and the Pepeng victims of Northern Luzon. I have to give credit to my husband who took a week’s leave of absence to clean our house. All I did was call insurance companies, service centers, and internet providers. My husband had to live in our flood damaged home for a week while me and my two daughters had it good in my sister’s home in Quezon City.

A week after Ondoy, we finally returned to our Pasig home. Internet connection was back. As a fussy homemaker, let me share you some tips I learned from the damage.

BEFORE before the floodwaters reached waist deep. My husband and two househelp try to save as much as they can to the second floor
ondoy-flood-damage

Read More »Bangon Pinoy: Our Home After Ondoy Flood Damage

Surviving and Recovering from Ondoy Flood Damage

Of course, I never imagined the wrath of Ondoy as it poured rain in Manila. I arrived in Singapore that saturday noon and saw a twitter message from my daughter.

“Oh no, the flood is entering the house. and mom is not here”.

No matter, the age of your child, they still look for good old mom. Their dad was around to help out move things to the second floor. Never in our wildest dreams did we expect the floods to reach neck deep in the house. Our former residence in Magallanes got flooded once and it was just ankle deep so the kids were pretty much exposed to floodwaters in the house. This time it was far more serious.

car
Our 3 cars submerged. Only 2 cars had insurance coverage for “Acts of God”.

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Noynoy Aquino as Presidential Candidate: The Game Changer

““Hope never abandons you; you abandon it” George Weinberg

Update (September 9, 2009)- Noynoy Aquino to run For President in 2010

I suppose I should be jaded by now. After living through the Marcos dictatorship, the revival of democracy through President Cory Aquino and the perception of President Gloria Arroyo‘s (GMA) bleak administration, the Philippines is not getting anywhere. The security of our children’s future is at stake as usual. I often wonder if our politicians truly love our country or are just living for the moment. They too have children, nieces or nephews who will inherit the future of this country. What is the use of all that money when you can’t bring it to the grave with you?

Now enter Senator Mar Roxas’ declaration as he gives way to Noynoy Aquino.

We agreed, let us forget about ourselves,” he said of his conversations with Noynoy. ““This is not about us. This is about our people and our country.”

““I do this for unity and in support of change. And that means that somebody must make a sacrifice. It must be me. Ako na,” Roxas said

That is a remarkable move for Senator Mar Roxas but it is not surprising news.

noynoy aquino

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Old and New Media will Join Hands in Covering the Elections in 2010

“In the end, sites that blend professional journalists with amateur, citizen journalists will probably do well,” Jay Rosen

(I have a perfect excuse why this blog has not been updated for almost a week. Holed up in the mountainous area of Laguna, internet connection was just painfully slow to do anything except check email, whine in Plurk , Facebook, Twitter. But I am back.)

I always feel stumped whenever I get invited to meet the “presidentiables”. These politicians don’t impose a definite agenda for these blogger meetings except perhaps to be known to our community or searchable in online media. I have talked to the likes of Senator Manny Villar, Senator Mar Roxas, Mayor Binay, Bayani Fernando, Erap, Loren Legarda but I still don’t know much about them. Just to veer away from the usual overplayed news by old media, I try to be more meaningful by delving on concrete platforms. Not just what? but how?

The next question I ask myself is, why am I doing this anyway? My blog is mainly a parenting blog yet I care a lot about the future of the country because my children are part of the voting population. Yes, I love my country and continue to hope that a leader will bring us forth to prosperity and a bright future for my children. The least I can do is to share my hope to all of you. As a blogger, my resources are limited to commentary, opinions and observations. I know I need to surpass myself than just being a mom blogger. I believe voter’s education is crucial at this point because an automated election (If supreme court decision does not stop it) is the first in Philippine history. There is so much to learn. Technology can be intimidating to the technophobes.

The 2008 USA election has been called the YouTube election, the Facebook election, the new media election and so on. I can see that our local politicians are also making use of the same strategy. I see them scrambling ways to make the most of blogs, bloggers, Facebook, online video, plurk, Twitter and all of the new tools out there. My initial belief was that it is high time for the new media, including bloggers, to take over where traditional newspaper, radio broadcasters and television journalists have failed, well until I received a training invitation.

Read More »Old and New Media will Join Hands in Covering the Elections in 2010

The Violent Dispersal of Students in the Mendiola Lightning Rally

““The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible, and achieve it, generation after generation.” –Pearl S. Buck

student-activist4
courtesy of Romeo Ranoco
unarmed protesters are no match for a baton, steel barrier, concrete barrier, and a metal signpost

Once upon a time, I was a student who joined lightning rallies in the seventies. But in the days of Martial Law, we knew that anyone caught in such rallies meant torture and immediate imprisonment in the military stockade for months. Lightning rallies entailed being with a buddy of the opposite sex. We ended up pretending to be steadies just strolling in the park. At a pre-arranged signal, the buddies converged towards the center of a busy place such as Luneta Park and chanting “Marcos , dictator , tuta” in front of a startled public, similar to what you would see in this Flash mob dance. Instead of dancing, we yelled , marched then scampered away as “love-struck steadies” on a date, even before the military or police authorities arrived. Our leader knew the dangers of such rallies and warned us to be careful at all times. I knew my limits but even then I got some close calls.

student-activist
courtesy of Danny Boy Pata
A member of the Presidential Security Group kicks a protester in the face even after he is subdued
Read More »The Violent Dispersal of Students in the Mendiola Lightning Rally

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a mom blogger who advocates constructive engagement in issues on family & society.
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