Jay M. Pascual

Photos from Makabayan Coalition

Alas-dos na ng madaling araw. Hindi ako makatulog. Dangan naman kasi ay kainitan ng isang bayle sa di kalayuan. Imbes na iduyan ako ng antok ay kinakabog ako ng mga masisigla’t mahaharot na musikang disco. Ano ba itong bayle? Para sa mga hindi pamilyar, ang bayle ay isang pasayaw. Ito ang disco sa komunidad.  Halos hindi na ito uso sa malalaking lungsod.  Subalit sa mga baryo, ito’y tampok na tampok pa rin.

I get rich each month, around several K's, when my freelance pay day arrives. Unfortunately, I also get negative balance sheet after paying my bills. Month after month, my poverty level increases as the cost of living normally overtakes what I earn. Not so for the Filipino-Chinese billionaires and a lone meztizo.  It seems these tycoons are immune to the economic crisis.  According to Forbes Asia, the net worth of the 40 richest Filipinos soared by 39% in 2010.  This translates to around $22.8 billion. (see: Newsbreak ) In contrast, the poverty incidence in the Philippines spiked by 1.5%. This was the estimate of IMF. It means some 1.4 million Pinoys will be joining the merry ranks of the poor and the dirt poor.  Talk about the rich getting richer while the poor gets, well, really dirt poor. This news item really unmade my day: " Ex-partylist Representative May Head CHR ". Ettangina naman oo, these Akbayan stalwarts were the first to echo the military line that activists ...

Lately, the Philippine political milieu has been deluged by discussions about the so-called “wangwangs”.  For those who are not familiar with the term, wangwang is a local slang which denotes a siren.  It is the ever conspicuous sound that one would hear when a police car or an ambulance pass by carrying a victim of a shooting incident or running after the perp, in the case of the former.  So, going back to my first impression; one of the first political acts of Benigno Aquino III, the newly installed President of the Philippines, is to ban the use of wangwangs -- even for his presidential convoy. 

Sentro para sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo (SENTRA) 20-C Maaralin St., Bgy. Central, Diliman, Quezon City Telefax 434-6957 March 16, 2010 MEDIA RELEASE Reference: ATTY. JOBERT ILARDE PAHILGA, Executive Trustee 0928-7021549 Noynoy is either confused or lying; Aquinos have no right to sell Hacienda Luisita The statement of presidential candidate Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino that they would have earned billions of pesos if they had sold Hacienda Luisita belies his claim that he has only less than 1% share in it. This only shows that Aquino has not been upright all along on the Luisita issue according to Atty. Jobert Ilarde Pahilga, the Executive Trustee of Sentro Para sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo (SENTRA) and lawyer of the farm workers of the hacienda. As owners of the land, the Aquinos would have been paid by the government for its value but they opted to place the same under the Stock Distribution Option. This only shows that they have no intention to let go of their cont...

Press Statement 12 March 2010 Katribu Partylist – Northern Mindanao, an indigenous peoples sectoral party, expresses disappointment over the distortion of Lumad culture during the recently concluded Kaamulan Festival held last February 18 – March 10, 2010 in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon. The inappropriate and insensitive use of rituals, dances, and costumes and the prevalent commercialization in the Kaamulan has been a blatant mockery of Lumad culture and the festival’s history. Rituals that are considered sacred and private are shown publicly at the city streets and the provincial plaza. To cite some, the Igbabasok and Pagologdok are rituals done before harvest and hunting respectively. These are supposedly observed at appropriate venues such as ricefields and forests and not on the streets. Pamalas or the lumad wedding ceremony was depicted with actors playing as husband and wife which bastardizes the rite and is strictly prohibited under the Lumad law. Some non-lumad locals and touris...

The January 26 Confrontation « The First Quarter Storm Library : Here is a stirring account of the turbulent nights and days of the First Quarter Storm of 1970.  On Jan 26 (that's tomorrow), the 40th year of the FQS will be commemorated. To commemorate this historic event, The First Quarter Storm Library will also be launched on that day.  Actually, the Library is now online at http://fqslibrary.wordpress.com I only read about the First Quarter Storm on Jose F. Lacaba's book, Days of Disquiet, Nights of Rage.   The creation of an online library that chronicles the events of the FQS is a welcome development.  Kudos to Mr. PT Martin who pioneered this project.  Now, the younger generation will know and will not forget what happened during those turbulent days that defined the future of the Philippines as a nation. Here is an excerpt from The First Quarter Storm Library taken from an article by Jose F. Lacaba which was published in the Philippine Free Press on February 7, 1970: ...

This A/V presentation was created by my Tito Boy. In celebration of Nena or Jesusa Teodoro Martin, the grand matriarch of the Martin-Teodoro Clan, on her 107th birthday on January 19, 2010   Nena.wmv

Satur C. Ocampo was born on April 7, 1939 in Sta. Rita, Pampanga to a family of landless tenant farmers. He is married to Carolina “Bobbie” Malay, a writer and professor of journalism. He has four children and three grandchildren. Ocampo has been Pesident of Bayan Muna since 1999, and led the party in the elections for party-list in 2001, 2004, and 2007. Bayan Muna consistently topped the party-list race. Three Bayan Muna-sponsored bills, the Overseas Voting Act, Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, and Strengthening the Public Attorney’s Office Act have been enacted into law. In 2005, the progressive bloc of Bayan Muna, Anakpawis and Gabriela Women’s Party broke away from the House majority. Ocapo has since been elected as a Deputy Minority Leader, and remains the acknowledged leader of the progressive bloc. He is a principal author of the law abolishing the death penalty. He has authored bills penalizing torture and enforced disappearances, the Marcos human rights victims compensati...

A Challenge of Conscience - Yahoo! Philippines News A CHALLENGE OF CONSCIENCE The brutal, indiscriminate mass murder on Monday in Ampatuan town, in Maguindanao province, raises the ultimate challenge of conscience. It carries the culture of impunity at work in this country to such levels of horror that, if it remains unpunished for long, can send the nation into an inexorable descent into absolute dehumanization. The crime thus calls for swift justice, which can only be achieved through a credible and independent process, which in turn can only be achieved without the hand of this government – a government justly mistrusted generally and openly friendly precisely to the very members of the clan accused in the massacre. We, ourselves colleagues of the more than a score journalists who were killed, demand the following: One, the creation of a commission outside the government to investigate the crime; Two, the arrest and prosecution of all the people involved in it in any way, as murdere...

The decision of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to run for the 2nd Congressional District of Pampanga drew fiery criticisms from several sectors.  I'm amused by the decision of the president, but well, The Madame from Malacañang has always been amusing, or I should say - annoying. I compiled several flowery criticisms that were hurled against her. Here they are: Roman Catholic Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz : “addiction to power.” Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo : "I wholeheartedly suggest she give others a chance to serve and not give in to the temptation of power.” Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas II : "Her ultimate goal is to become House Speaker and ram through her burning desire to change the Constitution." Sen. Francis Escudero: “it surely leaves a bad taste in the mouth.” Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr : “sets a horrible example for politicians to follow,” Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Satur Ocampo : “The main burden there would be on the voters.” Bayan Mu...

I dumped post2blog and I'll try ScribeFire. It's a browser based blogging tool. Will see how it performs. Getting Started With ScribeFire - Scribefire: Fire up your blogging

This just come in: President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will formally seek a congressional seat for Pampanga’s 2nd District. Such greed for power has been displayed once again by Madame Gloria.

Writer’s Block – this is probably the biggest enemy of all the writers in the world. Writer’s block is simply a condition wherein you can’t put any of your thoughts into words. It’s a horrible condition. It comes at the worst possible times like when you have to submit before the due date. They can happen any time. They can happen before you even start, or smack in the middle of your work, or worse, in the ending. Also, it’s so hard to get over a writer’s block. Some writer’s blocks last for only a few minutes but the worst ones last for days, even months. There have even been cases of writer’s blocks lasting for decades. Causes of Writer’s Block Writer’s block is primarily caused by lack of inspiration. Of course, if you’re not inspired, it’s so hard to write anything. For example, you’re supposed to write about how ‘good’ the government is. But you know quite well that the government isn...

Im trying Post2Blog as my new desktop blog client. Im still not familiar with its interface but I pretty interested with its nifty features. Hope I can update this blog more often. This is a test post, I hope this software works better than Windows Live Writer.

Here's a blogpost about Congressman Teddy Casiño. Together with Rep. Satur Ocampo of Bayan Muna and Rep. Liza Maza of Gabriela Party, Teddy will run for Senator in 2010 Philippine national elections. Follow this link to know more about Teddy Casiño and why he is more than qualified to become a Philippine senator. Teddy Casiño for Senator Movement: About Teddy Casiño

Bayan Muna Representative Teddy Casino is going to run for a Senate seat.  It is a good thing and it's about time. Watch a cool video here:

Conrado De Quiros, the ever brilliant and prolific writer-journalist, captures, in very simple words, the anguish and hatred felt by the Filipino masses against the insensitivity of the government of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Read his full op-ed piece at Inquirer.net or follow the link below. May Araw Din Kayo or I would say "papatapos na ang araw ninyo, humanda kayo!" May araw din kayo - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos Shared via AddThis