I was only able to reach the historic Mendiola in a rally once last year and so I got excited as soon as I heard that in commemoration of the 38th anniversary of the First Quarter Storm, veterans of the historic days of student activism were planning to go to Mendiola.
It was a nice feeling to finally step again in the historic bridge where the statue of democracy-hero Chino Roces stand, the bridge that bore witness to peasant massacres, people's demonstrations in exercise and defense of their rights and police-state efforts to repress these rights which has led to countless street battles.
So here are a few pics of yesterday's rally, courtesy of arkibongbayan where I had the opportunity to once again hold the mic and speak atop the equally historical tora-tora, the jeep of the KMU, where we were able to sing the 70s version of the Internationale, where we were able to hold banners bearing the names of FQS organizations such as the Student Cultural Association of UP, the Samahang Demokratiko ng Kabataan/span>, and of course, Kabataang Makabayan.
goodbye blue monday goes to Mendiola
Hidden meaning daw ng "Roneil Villegas"
Mula sa: dito
| What Roneil Villegas Means |
 You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life. You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you. At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You are very hyper. You never slow down, even when it's killing you. You're the type of person who can be a workaholic during the day... and still have the energy to party all night. Your energy is definitely a magnet for those around you. People are addicted to your vibe. You are deeply philosophical and thoughtful. You tend to analyze every aspect of your life. You are intuitive, brilliant, and quite introverted. You value your time alone. Often times, you are grumpy with other people. You don't appreciate them trying to interfere in your affairs. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong. You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know. You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do. |
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komento
Ito ay repost ng aking komento sa studentstrike, ang blog ni Vencer, pambansang pangulo ng League of Filipino Students hinggil sa nagaganap na debate sa blogosphere sa pagitan nina Manuel L. Quezon 3rd, (sa post na ito at ito) at ni Tonyo Cruz (sa post na ito at ito).
Sa paggamit ni MLQ3 ng resulta ng nakaraang eleksyon upang masukat ang laki at lakas ng Kaliwa kumpara sa mga dominante at pangunahing partido ng bansa, nakalimutan ata niya ang konsepto ng dagdag-bawas kung saan nabiktima ang mga kaliwang partylist at tumabo ng ganansya ang mga kandidato at partido ni Gng. Arroyo. Lalo pang magiging katawa-tawa ang kanyang pagtutsa na mas malaki pa ang natanggap na boto ni Chavit kesa sa pinagsama-samang boto ng mga partylist na ito kung aalalahanin ang maruruming taktika ng administrasyon upang makakuha ng boto bukod sa dagdag-bawas tulad ng pagbili ng boto, etc. Wala akong naaalalang kaso kung saan ang mga partido mula sa kaliwa ay pinaratangang nandaya o bumili ng boto.
Kung gayon, hindi maikakaila, kahit mismo ni MLQ3 na patuloy na lumalaki ang papel na ginagampanan ng Kaliwa sa mainstream na pulitika. Wasto ang pagsabi ni Cruz na ang bukod sa pagbibigay ng "warm-bodies," makabuluhan ang kanilang papel sa pampublikong diskurso, sa pagbabago ng itsura ng mga debate, at sa pagbibigay ng alternatiba sa kasalukuyang kaayusan. Mahalagang banggitin muli na ito ay kanilang nagagawa sa kabila ng black propaganda at represyon ng administrasyon at militar.
Sa mga komento, binaggit din ni Manolo na "in retrospect, the resign all call was the correct one to make." Hindi ba't ito ay dogmatismo sa pinakapayak na depinisyon ng salita?
Una, sa pagtawag ng "resign all", ihinihiwalay mo ang isyong sarili sa mga grupo na naniiwalang patalsikin ang pangulo ngunit hindi ang lahat. Pangalawa, at lagi't lagi na ngang inuulit sa ilang mga blog ng mga progresibo, ang people power ay hindi tutungo sa matagal nang pangarap na pagbabago pagka't hindi nito binabago ang esensyal (malakolonyal-malapyudal) na katangian ng bansa.
Hindi rin naman isinasawalang-bahala ni Tonyo ang mga tumututol sa extrajudicial-killings. Ang sinasabi lamang niya, ang pagsasawalang-bahala at paglimot sa papel ng Kaliwa sa mga makabuluhang pangyayari sa bansa tulad ng EDSA dos ay tumutulong upang maipagpatuloy ang mga pamamaslang.
Salamat kung inyong kinukundena ang pamamaslang. Subalit hindi rin naman nakakatulong upang matigil ito kung patuloy na ilalagay sa margins ang kaliwa. Kung patuloy silang ikokonsiderang insignificant. Kung patuloy na sasabihin na hindi pa sila tanggap ng mamamayan kahit na ang kasaysayan na ang magpapatotoo sa kabaliktaran nito.
Huli na lamang.
Maaaring totoo ang sinasabi ni Manolo na kulang ang galit na ipinapakita ng mamamayan sa mga pamamaslang sa mga kasapi ng Kaliwa at kung gayon ay hindi pa rin sila tanggap ng publiko.
Subalit, mali na ikonsidera ito bilang ultimate na batayan sa pagtanggap ng mamamayan sa Kaliwa.
Hindi rin maikakalila na malaki ang isinusugal ng mamamayan sa pagsasalita laban sa pamamaslang - ang kanilang sariling buhay. Nagbubunga ng matinding takot ang mamamayan hindi lamang sa ilang kasapi ng Kaliwa kundi sa publiko mismo.
Dagdag pam ano ba ang hinihigi ni MLQ3 upang masabing may simpatya ang mamamayan at sila ay concerned sa mga pamamaslang? Sino ba ang kanyang "naririnig" at "nababasa?"
(Patawad sa mambabasa kung magulo. malayang paglalabas lang kasi ito ng mga naiisip at walang outline o ano pa man.)
Canary in a cat house
I was with Olga yesterday, browsing the shelves of the bookstore beside the office of the All-UP Workers Union at UP Diliman, looking for nothing in particular, waiting for time to pass by, doing the occasional "Tignan mo 'yun o!(point to a book)," and "Mahal naman nito" when Olga noticed in one of the shelves one of the books by our favorite author, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., behind it were other books of his, and we did not do much effort in reading the titles as we thought we have copies of them already.
Or so we thought.
We noticed this one thin book, and yes, the title was Canary in a Cat House in quite good condition apart from a tear in the back cover.
A quick search on the internet confirmed it. This is indeed the Holy Grail of Vonnegut Books. Published by Gold Medal (Firs Print in 1961), it could now fetch as high as $100 online (check out e-bay or amazon.com). Buccaneer Books published an illegal bootleg in 1991, which costs $25.
Canary in a Cat House is a collection of 12 Vonnegut short stories, all of which later appeared in Welcome to the Monkey House, apart from Hal Irwin's Magic Lamp which is included in the collection Bagombo Snuff Box.
Yes. this means that unless you are a collector of Vonnegut, Canary in a Cat House is of little value. But hey! I got my copy for Php100.
Did I enjoy my copy? The thought of having it when I didn't was greater than now that I have it. But that does not mean that I didn't love relishing the thought of having something that other book lovers would like to have.
This is my second time that I found a relatively expensive book dusting away in the shelves of second hand bookstores. My first was last year when I got Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude for Php50 at Recto.
Indeed, one man's garbage is another man's treasure. All it takes is diligence, determination, and the occasional bit of luck.
Will I sell it? I plan to hold to it yet for quite a while. I think the price will go up soon as Vonnegut just passed away last year. Huhu.
Well, that brings my list down to: Bagombo Snuff Box, God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian, Between Time and Timbuktu, Happy Birthday Wanda June and Sun/Star/Moon.
Help with these would be highly appreciated! Wink wink
Edsa Dos
When I recieved a text message from a friend of mine calling for everyone and anyone to go to the streets of EDSA and join the crowd calling for the removal of then President Joseph Estrada in what would later be known as People Power II, I immediately turned off the TV, changed clothes and despite the pleas of my mother went out of the house, took a bus and got off in Ortigas.
That was me in EDSA II. Then again, that was were I would have been had I not been stuck in Pangasinan when history was made.
I was in second year High School in Pangasinan then, five hours away from Manila (the North Luzon Expressway was yet to be fixed). So, I was one of those who watched the events unfold from the comforts of my home, eating potato chips and exchanging gossip and news with my mom.
Nonetheless, that does not mean that EDSA Dos was just another event for me.
In the days leading to EDSA II, we found ourselves hungry for news of what was happening in Manila. Suddenly, everyone was reading Newspapers or were willing to sacrifice Cartoon Network and Cable TV for TV Patrol and local media networks.
Those who had cellphones (usually N3310 which just came some months before) were spending load to forward picture messages, SMS with others: mostly Erap jokes and the occassional news which the recipient already knew.
"The second envelope will not be opened!"
"Nene Pimentel just resigned!"
"Hindi marunong sumayaw si Oreta!"
"When are they going to shoot Miriam Santiago in Luneta?"
Like the Promdi that I was, I was enjoying EDSA dos, cheering the crowds while watching the live coverage on TV. In school, some teachers stopped holding classes and so we watched TV from the set in our school's faculty room. I was staying up late to catch news, and send messages to my friends who were studying in Manila.
"How is it in there?"
"Are you in EDSA right now? How is it like to shout at a rally? Will you be joining the march to Malacañang?"
It was a rare, and awesome event for me, seeing millions of Filipinos joining together for a single cause that does not involve waiving white hankerchiefs in the air or anything to that effect. (i was yet to become a member of the LFS to know that the people, in varying degrees and level of commitment has been uniting together for change).
True, EDSA IIs was more of a TV spectacle for me. However, it was probably one of those early events that told me to become an activist. Join rallies. Make history. Don't just watch them from the sidelines and be the spectator.
Seven years after the events of People Power II, we are once again faced with a regime that is unpopular, repressive, corrupt, subservient, (i could go on and on with these adjectives). However, instead of the one at the receiving end of the "join the rally" text message, I am the one mass forwarding it.
The liberals in the Philippine media said that if there is anything that Juan has learned after two People Power uprisings, its that ousting Presidents do not bring about the change that everyone has been hoping for.
I agree. What I don't agree with is when they say that this lesson has brought People Power fatigue, and that they have lost all hope for progress.
What the people has learned is that for a country that is f***ed up (read: foreign dominated, pre-industrial and backward agrarian) like ours, changing presidents will never be enough. Especially since the replacement will come from the same ruling class, the same traditional politician: corrupt, subservient to foreign impositions, bankrupt (No more adjectives, you get the point), albeit from a different faction.
The much-used (and abused) slogan of "Change the system" remains true to this day.
How? I reserve that for another post.
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By the way, if unlike me, you were one of those who did not spent EDSA dos being a couch potato, wear this badge!
Click here and here
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Also, head to Kape Tasyo (Freedom Bar) in Anonas, Quezon City on January 19 at 2:00pm for Bloggers Kapihan 3.0, Remebering EDSA Dos, with, of course, EDSA Dos personalities.
Seer you there!