tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83625381942831664382024-03-12T18:11:13.299-07:00Bunsuran CaravanNiconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407813340473872526noreply@blogger.comBlogger164125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362538194283166438.post-23149949685351113472017-04-27T02:47:00.001-07:002017-04-27T02:47:05.407-07:00
The Baroto as Cultural Icon
There is art in the Asi way of cooking ginat-an nak tawan, or ginat-an nak yangka, as well as in shredding the coconut meat, pagkurkor it nidog, from which the milk, either yapot or yasaw, is derived. The art extends to shredding the other main ingredient of the ginat-an, the bago leaves, whose English Niconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407813340473872526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362538194283166438.post-22784149113450654462013-05-06T04:16:00.002-07:002013-05-06T04:20:38.884-07:00The election that should make us politically mature, but will not, unfortunately
On
Monday, 13 May 2013, voters all over
the archipelago will troop to the polling stations to choose from among a
mixture of the serious and the buffoon; the rich and the poor; the ignorant and
the educated; the authentic and the false idol; the generous and the greedy;
and the honest and corrupt candidates who will lead this country for the next
three years.
The
choice is ours, no oneNiconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407813340473872526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362538194283166438.post-50869009063815511482013-04-08T18:48:00.002-07:002013-04-09T03:27:27.992-07:00The Firmalo-Madrona 'marriage': A coalition? A 'grand collision'? Or a collusion?
My friend, the late Manuel
Festin Martinez, one of Romblon's greatest writers and, in my estimation, the
most politically articulate Romblomanon, coined the title of his soaring epic
of a book about the late former president Ferdinand 'Macoy' Marcos and the late
former senator Benigno 'Ninoy' Aquino Jr. as a 'grand collision'.
In The
Grand Collision: Aquino vs. Marcos, Martinez depicts the Niconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407813340473872526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362538194283166438.post-62611174679857984962013-03-29T06:43:00.003-07:002013-03-29T06:43:38.472-07:00Run, Beltran, run
Natalio
Beltran III is a very lucky guy.
After
getting thrashed by Dr. Eduardo Firmalo in the 2010 election for governor,
Beltran faded away from the province, with his brief, corruption-ridden reign
fading away with him.
Political
observers predicted that 2010 would be his swan song, the last that can be
heard from the son of Natalio "Puti" Beltran, Jr. They said he was already
a spent force Niconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407813340473872526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362538194283166438.post-26683294544518959542013-03-15T02:51:00.007-07:002013-03-15T02:51:55.135-07:00A conversation with Dr. Arnulfo de Luna
Dr.
Arnulfo Formon De Luna, most probably a year younger than this pen pusher, is
in a vantage position. As president of the Romblon State University, he
commands over an empire, a state institution that has become an orbital center
of higher education in Romblon.
A
few years ago, the RSU became an infamous focus of public attention when some
personages inside its walls and halls Niconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407813340473872526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362538194283166438.post-88539078294569378072013-03-03T05:15:00.001-08:002013-03-03T05:22:16.982-08:00Mercury, the poison; not Mercury, the druggist
Pamoso
ang Mercury Drug Corporation, ang pinakamalaking network ng tindahan ng gamot
sa Pilipinas. Isa rin ito sa pinakamatandang parmasyutika sa bansa. Isang
mayamang pamilyang Filipino-Chinese ang may-ari ng Mercury Drug, at sumikat ang
kumpanyang ito sa kaniyang slogan na "Gamot ay laging bago."
Totoo
ito. Noong nasa Senado pa ako, pinaupo ako ng yumaong Sen. Blas F. Ople bilang
isaNiconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407813340473872526noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362538194283166438.post-27895562921186371682013-02-17T07:38:00.000-08:002013-02-17T07:38:11.632-08:00B.M., or Before Mining
Si
Woodritz F. Rabino, taga-Simara, ay nag-aaral upang maging titser. Gagradweyt
na siya ngayong Marso. Sa Facebook ko siya nakilala noong mag-post ako tungkol
sa mga aksidente sa mga minahan.
Ang
sabi ko kasi, nitong nakaraang linggo, halos sunod-sunod ang mga aksidente na
nangyayari sa mga minahan na ipinagbuwis ng buhay ng mga minerong walang
kahina-hinala na ang kanilang hanapbuhay ay Niconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407813340473872526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362538194283166438.post-35295215152480963862013-01-26T17:22:00.000-08:002013-01-26T17:23:55.508-08:00Looking for an early upset? Look, it's in mining
If
there is one thing that many Romblon politicians lack, it's the ability to
think.
Thinking--hard
thinking--is a rare trait, and those imbued with the ability to think often
have the powers of imagination at their disposal. And imagination, when used
properly by a leader, could lead to rational decisions.
One
does not need to be a rocket scientist to figure this out.
On
17 January Niconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407813340473872526noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362538194283166438.post-40999201225556641362013-01-22T17:32:00.003-08:002013-01-22T17:34:29.920-08:00'The Times They are A-changin'. Alas, Romblon is not
Poet,
musician, lyricist, artist Robert Allan Zimmerman, at the height of his creative powers, wrote the
following poem which became an entry in the bible of the common
man--Romblomanons included--for the poem captures in vivid color the soul and
the angst of all human beings, politicians and voters alike.
Zimmerman is Bob Dylan. He
is now 65 and highly revered as one of the greatest Niconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407813340473872526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362538194283166438.post-48387068809696853732012-06-10T06:11:00.001-07:002012-06-10T06:19:21.940-07:00The Asi identity in the age of globalization (4)
(Last of four parts of commencement address to the graduating class, Class of 2012, Sibale Academy, 23 March 2012, Concepcion Parish Church, Concepcion, Romblon)
With
education, you will gain enough confidence to be in the labor market. This
market, by the way, is very competitive and open only to the skilled and the educated.
It is blind to race, religion, color, nor creed. Remember, we are in Niconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407813340473872526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362538194283166438.post-14970822610510680582012-06-10T05:58:00.000-07:002012-06-10T06:22:49.676-07:00The Asi identity in the age of globalization (3)
(Commencement address to the graduating class, Class of 2012, Sibale Academy, 23 March 2012, Concepcion Parish Church, Concepcion, Romblon)
The
first of these life-long learning is getting an identity. You yourself must
identify who you are to be able to recognize your place in a highly globalized
world. And what is this identity? That you, first and foremost, is an Asi and a
son or daughter ofNiconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407813340473872526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362538194283166438.post-39523276409348289922012-05-27T08:06:00.000-07:002012-06-10T05:59:53.907-07:00The Asi identity in the age of globalization (2)
(Commencement address to the graduating class, Class of 2012, Sibale Academy, 23 March 2012, Concepcion Parish Church, Concepcion, Romblon)
The
buzzword of today is “globalization”. As it suggests, globalization indicates the
very close interaction between peoples and countries of the world in trade and
commerce, culture, education, and communication. Globalization has shrunk the
world not just Niconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407813340473872526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362538194283166438.post-64859516436236110432012-05-27T07:36:00.000-07:002012-05-27T08:14:27.819-07:00The Asi identity in the age of globalization (1)
(Address to the graduating class, Class of 2012, Sibale Academy, 23 March 2012, Concepcion Parish Church, Concepcion, Romblon)
The
Reverend German Mehler, SVD; Principal Cristina Fadera-Ferrolino; Members of
the Faculty; Parents; Graduates:
It
is a great honor and a privilege to join you as your commencement speaker
today. The Sibale Academy, as many of you very well knew, is my Alma Mater, Niconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407813340473872526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362538194283166438.post-54600872236544830802012-05-12T17:10:00.001-07:002012-05-13T00:58:24.901-07:00Agit-agit has kin, but unlike in politics, not engaged in double-speak
Politicians of the Romblomanon kind share a common lot with
their brothers and sisters elsewhere in the archipelago: most engage in double-speak,
which is akin to newspeak, one of those familiar terms in George Orwell’s
classic novel, Nineteen Eighty Four.
This novel gave birth to Orwellian,
an adjective, which means one who deceives and manipulates the people to
further one’s political agenda.
Niconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407813340473872526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362538194283166438.post-17789993104971003522012-05-04T03:33:00.000-07:002012-05-04T03:33:11.555-07:00Agit-agit and the literature of politics
It is so amazing how the Asi language, in all its strengths and weaknesses,
its romance and tragedies, its verve and sorrowful rendition of things native
and original, and its elegance and directness, can, in a twist of the tongue,
produce a narrative with just a single word: agit-agit.
John Rufon, whose passionate affair with
the Asi language has led him to the
confines of the classroom to Niconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407813340473872526noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362538194283166438.post-81575005058046876542011-11-08T23:48:00.000-08:002011-11-08T23:48:48.613-08:00Adoniedo Fabreag Fameronag, 74In-between his 74 years on this chaotic, polluted, disease-ravaged, politically-victimized, climate-altered, over-populated, drug-crazed, scheming, and over-burdened earth, the late Adoniedo ‘Doding’ Fabreag Fameronag planted trees and sired seven children—but never wrote a book—to complete his run of life’s amazing race.
Eldest son of Igmedio Fameronag and Maria Fabreag, two of the most Niconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407813340473872526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362538194283166438.post-63769444397420014672011-10-24T04:12:00.000-07:002012-05-04T03:37:05.652-07:00An excess of access
Melbourne—What a first-time traveller to Melbourne can immediately notice is how Australia, a continent of 22 million people scattered over a territory of 10,000 square kilometers, could easily be “accessed”.
Let’s begin by air. There is a direct flight via Philippine Airlines from Manila to Melbourne, but because of Lucio Tan’s troubles with the unions, a PAL flight to the land down under did Niconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407813340473872526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362538194283166438.post-86925034080807159632011-10-09T17:15:00.000-07:002011-10-09T17:15:12.145-07:00Is Ragipon making the Sibale fiesta in Sibale irrelevant?Last week, I had an interesting exchange with Auntie Nel Yap, Sibale’s municipal agriculture officer, about—of all topics—the Sibale fiesta.
Sibale celebrates the feast of its patron saint, the Lady of the Immaculate Conception, every December 8. It used to be, many moons ago, that the Sibalenhons have only one fiesta celebration, and that takes place in Sibale. This fiesta is almost a week of Niconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407813340473872526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362538194283166438.post-57691893676316608992011-10-09T17:02:00.000-07:002011-10-09T17:02:43.072-07:00The PESO: Eleven at 11Alice Fetalvero and I had only a brief chat during breakfast at the cavernous covered patio of the Davao Waterfront Insular Hotel, where the 11th National PESO Congress, an annual pilgrimage of PESO managers, was ongoing. The conversation topic was, of course, the PESO.
Manang Alice, as I call the former vice governor of Romblon, was ecstatic. She is newly-installed as provincial PESO manager Niconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407813340473872526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362538194283166438.post-11384601292296007472011-10-02T08:03:00.000-07:002011-10-07T03:58:53.808-07:00A most unusual giftI listened to a very uplifting sermon last Sunday, courtesy of the Rev. Pastor Teofilito A. Rufon of the Odiongan Baptist Church.
My presence at Pastor Rufon’s congregation was not an accident. It was fate—and a recipe called Christian Faith—that carried my feet inside the OBC’s imposing cathedral, the newest in Odiongan’s rising skyline.
I was invited to the service by John, Pastor Rufon’s Niconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407813340473872526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362538194283166438.post-43633825142153849092011-10-02T07:59:00.000-07:002011-10-02T07:59:38.011-07:00Romblon mining financiers have namesThe Romblon Sun, in its May 30-June 6 edition, bannered a story expressing the desire of Sibuyan local government officials and anti-mining advocates for the revocation of a contract that allows mineral exploration on Sibuyan Island.
The newspaper did not name the officials, saying only that it has interviewed the mayor of San Fernando, but that is obvious. Mayor Dindo Rios, a good friend, Niconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407813340473872526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362538194283166438.post-42556277726101817722011-10-02T07:54:00.000-07:002011-10-02T07:54:42.811-07:00The Romblon Sun columnists: eagle-eyedI will write this week in praise and comment of the columnists of Romblon Sun.
I have been raring to do this because if the news are the soul and spine of a newspaper, the columnists—call them opinion writers—are its conscience. I have long wanted to highlight the conscience of the Romblon Sun, the only newspaper which has one.
Columnists are a noisy lot. They have opinion about everything and Niconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407813340473872526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362538194283166438.post-82717864187219504332011-10-02T07:49:00.000-07:002011-10-02T08:09:52.574-07:00The munisipyo as grocery storeIf I were Gov. Lolong Firmalo, I would immediately conduct an investigation involving the mayor of Ferrol to find out why the municipal hall has become a grocery store instead of a public service office. The Romblon Sun photos of the munisipyo being used as a veritable marketplace don’t lie.
In the April 18-24 issue of the newspaper, Awe Eranes and Tony Macalisang reported that 200 beneficiariesNiconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407813340473872526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362538194283166438.post-9860769566884989292011-05-17T03:11:00.000-07:002011-05-17T03:11:13.674-07:00Taking notice, Firmalo asks Fabicon to mind cultureThe report was sketchy, but it was a report worth writing about.
Last week, Ismael Fabicon, Asi poet and Banton’s cultural warrior who divides his time between Chicago where his family lives and Banton where his roots belong, called me with the happy news that Gov. Lolong Firmalo has asked him to be provincial consultant on cultural affairs.
I was delighted and promised to write about it, not Niconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407813340473872526noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362538194283166438.post-78883831610567210262011-04-20T20:05:00.000-07:002011-04-20T20:07:16.333-07:00Badly wanted: A Firmalo information officer to respond to Madrona and inform the peopleA doctor by profession, Gov. Firmalo, before he became a full-time provincial chief executive, was a full-time physician. His clinic at the Delos Santos Hospital in Manila was one of, if not the most, frequented clinics in town.
To many Romblomanons, especially the poor, he dispensed his services for free, so much so that when he ran for political office, he had already built an horde of Niconhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407813340473872526noreply@blogger.com0