Last blog May 17

 18 ways to know you are loved

1. They think about you when you’re not around.

They see a billboard that reminds them of you and they text you. They remember you said you needed dish soap and they bring you some because they were running errands. They think about places you guys could go to dinner tonight and then invite you.

2. They’ll take care of you when you’re sick.

And tell you you’re beautiful even when you look mucus-y and nasty.

3. They listen to you. Really listen.

And respond with thoughtful, relevant insights.

4. They get into your interests and want to share their own with you.

They hate comic books but they’ll come with you to Forbidden Planet. They don’t get sports, but they root for the Giants with you. They’re psyched to show you their stamp collection or take you to an antique show.

5. They plan for the future.

Whether it’s a trip or a concert — placing you in their future means they see a future with you.

6. Your thoughts and opinions are treated with respect.

They never push their views on you or laugh at/dismiss yours, even if they’re wildly different. They should love you for your unique brain.

7. They are eager to help you, and gracious about accepting your help.

If they love you, they want to make your life easier. And if they love you, they should be able to accept help from someone who loves them back.

8. They put your needs above their own.

Not in an unhealthy way, but in a selfless way. (Hopefully, you’re both doing this and it even outs.)

9. You know you can trust them.

You feel safe, heard and secure. Similarly…

10. You never want to break the truth you’ve earned from them.

If someone loves you, they’ve been vulnerable with you. Don’t abuse that.

11. They support you.

They come to your art show. They encourage you to practice with your band. They don’t get jealous or upset when you have to work late. They genuinely want you to succeed.

12. You share a sense of humor.

They think you’re funny. You think they’re funny. That’s true love.

13. They give you freedom to grow.

You don’t feel stifled, stuck or in a rut.

14. You are loyal to each other.

You feel like they are on your team. You’re a partnership. You’re a twosome. You’re in this together.

15. They don’t put you down.

Nagging might be part of The Game handbook, but it’s no good in a relationship. They shouldn’t be putting you down. They should be building you up. If they’re doing anything else, they’re insecure and can’t truly love you.

16. They don’t hide anything from you.

Trust, communication and honesty become more important than anything else. It’s humbling and scary, but if you’re truly loved, it’ll come naturally.

17. You are comfortable being silent or away from each other.

Someone who needs to keep talking or needs to cling to you in social situations might seem like they love you, but they actually just need you. It’s not the same, and it’s not as good. If they love you, you will both be secure in comfortable silence, and have the ability to be apart — but still catch each other’s eyes across the room and just…know.

18. They don’t let you get away with bad habits.

They want you to be your best you and they won’t take you being depressive or hating on yourself. They want you to love yourself, as much as they love you.

CAN LOVE BE MEASURED? It can be measured. We need in to think of things that are being done. Would we do those for others? Am I giving it the best effort? They deserve only the best. =)

May 12 - Why i love Philippines

Quick facts:

The Philippines is a Southeast Asian country in the Western Pacific, comprising more than 7,000 islands. Its sprawling capital, Manila, is famous for its waterfront promenade and centuries-old Chinatown. Intramuros, a walled city in colonial times, is the heart of Old Manila. Its home to the baroque 16th-century San Agustin Church as well as Fort Santiago, a storied citadel and military prison.

President: Rodrigo "Rody" Roa Duterte

ISO code: PHL

Population: 98.39 million (2013)

Sources include: World Bank

Points Of Interest:

Boracay is a small island in the Philippines located approximately 315 km south of Manila and 2 km off the northwest tip of Panay Island in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. Wikipedia

Area: 10.32 km²

Province: Aklan

Municipality: Malay, Aklan

Population: 12,003 (2000)

Island group: Visayas

Adjacent bodies of water: Jintotolo Channel, Sibuyan Sea, Sulu Sea, Tablas Strait

San Agustin Church is a Roman Catholic Church under the auspices of The Order of St. Augustine, located inside the historic walled city of Intramuros in Manila. Wikipedia

Address: General Luna St, Manila, Metro Manila

Opened: 1607

Province: Manila

Phone: (02) 527 4060

Dedication: Augustine of Hippo

Archbishop: Luis Antonio Tagle

Architectural styles: Colonial architecture, Baroque architecture

The Banaue Rice Terraces are 2,000-year-old terraces that were carved into the mountains of Ifugao in the Philippines by ancestors of the indigenous people. The Rice Terraces are commonly referred to as the "Eighth Wonder of the World". Wikipedia

Address: Nueva Vizcaya - Ifugao - Mountain Province Rd, Banaue, Ifugao

Hours:

Saturday              Closed

Sunday Closed

Monday       12AM–11:59PM

Tuesday       12AM–11:59PM

Wednesday  12AM–11:59PM

Thursday     12AM–11:59PM

Friday          12AM–11:59PM

Phone: 0946 068 6965

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is a protected area of the Philippines located about 80 kilometres north of the city centre of Puerto Princesa, Palawan. The river is also called Puerto Princesa Underground River. Wikipedia

Address: Palawan

Area: 222 km²

Phone: (02) 523 6023

Established: November 12, 1999

Management: Department of Environment and Natural Resources

Fort Santiago is a citadel first built by Spanish conquistador, Miguel López de Legazpi for the new established city of Manila in the Philippines. The defense fortress is part of the structures of the walled city of Manila referred to as Intramuros. Wikipedia

Town or city: Manila

Architect: Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas

Completed: 1593

Construction started: 1590

Designation: National Historic Landmark

Renovated: 1733

Mayon Volcano, also known as Mount Mayon, is an active stratovolcano in the Philippine province of Albay, on the island of Luzon in the Philippines.

Last eruption: August 2014

Elevation: 2,463 m

Prominence: 2,447 m

Province: Albay

The Chocolate Hills are a geological formation in the Bohol province of the Philippines. There are at least 1,260 hills but there may be as many as 1,776 hills spread over an area of more than 50 square kilometres. Wikipedia

Address: Loay Interior Road, Carmen, Bohol

Area: 50 km²

Hours:

Saturday              8AM–11:30PM

Sunday                8AM–11:30PM

Monday               8AM–11:30PM

Tuesday               8AM–11:30PM

Wednesday          8AM–11:30PM

Thursday             8AM–11:30PM

Friday                 8AM–11:30PM

Phone: 1800 1 888 7777

May 11 - My future

I want to be a Teacher

Why become a chemistry teacher?

Teaching chemistry is an exciting, challenging and hugely rewarding career.  There is no “typical” chemistry teacher – recent graduates as well as career changers from across the chemical sciences all make excellent teachers. All teachers should be passionate about their subject, and want to inspire the next generation of scientists. There are plenty of benefits to becoming a teacher, such as:

The chance to make a real difference to children and young people;

A competitive starting salary;

Opportunities for progression into a wide range of management roles, such as managing a year group, subject or key stage.

As well as teaching a range of age groups and abilities, a career in teaching will involve planning lessons, marking students’ work and assessments, and providing pastoral care.

May 10 - Story of my LIFE

Story of my Life

    

      Do you know what the importance of family is? Family is the most important influence to a child’s life from their first moments of life, children depends on parents and family to protect them and provide them for their needs. Parents and families form a child’s first relationship. In a world of turmoil and uncertainty, it is more important than ever to make our families the center of our lives and the top of our priorities. This statement from “The Family; A Proclamation to the World” declares the responsibilities of parents to their families.

    

     Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. Children are on heritage of the Lord (Psalms 127:3). Parents have sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to deserve the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live.

    

     Then what happen to a child who belong to a broken family? Do you know the effects of broken family on children? Government research reveals that a broken family is likely to cause children to suffer damaging mental troubles, five times more than children with parents staying together, Steve Doughty explain on MailOnline.com. Moreover, the research show that children with two parents are more likely to avoid slipping into anti-social behavior and emotional distress. Doughty reports that children often supper badly from parental breakup or divorce, and those raised by a single parent usually perform poorly in their studies, suffer bad health and fall into addiction, crime and poverty in adulthood. The study unveiled that children whose parents split when they were between five and sixteen years old had higher possibilities of developing an emotional disorder and conduct disorder. The research findings say that the family background of children are as important as the health, income and educational qualification of their households.

    

     Children from broken homes experience a hard time finishing school and finding jobs, says Stephen Lunn of News Corp. Australian. Studies show that these children have higher tendencies of entering into multi live-in relationships upon reaching adulthood. Moreover, girls from divorced families are more likely become teenage mothers. Children from divorced families engage in de facto relationships instead of marriage as a means of protection to avoid social and economic risks related to marriage.

  

     Now let’s talk about my personal experience. As I remember when I was just a boy we had a good family a stable when it comes to financial, spiritual and any needs that you can think of, but reality hit between my eye. It suddenly happens when I was still in 5th grade in my elementary years when my parents separated. One afternoon, after school I rushed to go home with a huge smile in my face and a silver medal on my right hand.

     I’m really excited to show it to my parents because we won 2nd place in football on Inter School Tournament. When I came home the first thing I saw was my mother crying and my father packing his things, his clothes and then my father look at me in the eye and he hug me and said “Palangga tamu tanan” he left. I cried even if I don’t know what is really happening but in my mind I know there’s something bad with my parents. After few days, weeks on that very early stage of my life I experienced being lost. There are lot of thoughts floating in my head and slowly I get it, I belong to a broken family already.

     Because of all the pain my mother felt because my father choose another woman, my mother decided to go to Manila so that she can forget all the pain and struggle in Negros. My aunt Jessica, younger sister of my mother worried about me and my studies, so she decided to get me and took care of me because my mother also left. It’s hard for me to adjust because I am living in different home, went to a different school in Tanjay. But the hardest part of all was to live without my parents. I live each day thinking what might happen to me if my parents are intact. After finishing my elementary years my father decided to get me back and continue my studies in Mabinay National High School. He decided that I am not be back to our home because my oldest brother turn our home to a “Gang house” where he and his gang members staying.

    My father thought that it could be a hindrance and give bad influence to my studies at that time. Even if our house was not that far away from the school, my father decided to rent a boarding house for where I could stayed in. At first it really hard for me, because I need to live on my own starting high school. I need to cook for my food and wash my own clothes which I am not really used to it at that moment.

     There is a time maybe I am in 2nd year high school when I got sick. I had a fever and I need to buy my one medicine, cook my own food even if I am really sick. All I can do was to cry. There is no one to lean on, no one to call if I needed help because my father lived already in Kabankalan Negros Occidental.  Maybe it is the reason why I know some vices at early age. I drink and smoked cigarettes. I think I used it as an outlet of what I felt inside. I mean it that I am not rear to righteousness at that time because my parents are not around to look after me. 

     During my 3rd year in high school I did not pay more attention to my studies more of my time I spend it with my friends. I keep on cutting classes, stay late at night with friends while sleeping all morning skipping all the classes. My good friends and teachers started to worry about me and my studies, wondering what might happen to me if I continue doing this. One of my teacher ask a bit of my silly time and talked about me. He said that I am good at school before and what happen to me now? He said “If you don’t want your life this time change it by going to school regularly”. This advice from my chemistry teacher really change my way of thinking and mind set at that period.

    I go to school regularly. I participate in all school activities and continue playing football for the school team. My father also continue supporting me financially and morally, we talked a lot because he keep on visiting me in my boarding house. After graduation my mother suddenly showed up and got home. I am really happy and grateful that my mother got home after a long five years but after few months on a very first day of enrollment in college at the time that I am so happy and excited for stepping in college my dearest father had a cardiac arrest and died.

    After the death of my father I lived with my mother and my younger brother in our family home. I got a share from my father’s money I used it again for my vices and even worst like drugs. It’s late when I realized I lost all my money to a nonsense things and now I regret it. During my 1st year in college in Central Philippine State University in Kabankalan city I did not perform well in school I keep on cutting class again, I don’t know the reason why I cut classes but maybe I am just lazy. I spend my whole semester playing computer games like Dota and spending all my time to my friends while my batch mates doing their best to limit at least 4 years staying in college and to graduate immediate  with a degree while me living life to the fullest as a youth without direction in life.

     All of this change when I realized I really do lot of stupid thing and waste most of my time doing unproductive and nonsense things. My girlfriend set as a good example to me how to become good in all aspect. My girlfriend has a good family background and they are also very religious. It’s really funny when you become so pressure because you’re still in college while your girlfriend younger than you are already graduated and become a registered Medical Technologist within in five years. But it also gives me millions of reason to be good on my own and to do well in my studies.

     And now I continue living life in righteousness after I realized all the bad effect of having broken family. But for me having a broken family is not the only factor of what you’ve might become it’s about what you’ve done to your fellow men and your love which presupposes justice. The role of the family in society is also significant, because the family is the transmitting unit of the values of a culture for the next generation. When children learn the right ways to behave and handle themselves at home, then they are more likely to contribute effectively to society and have a content, productive life. Families that do not transmit those values do a disservice to society.

    The role of the family to the society. It has been said that the family is the bedrock of society and can be proven by the fact that all over the world every society is structured by the same pattern. A man and woman marry and form a family. This process is repeated multiple times making multiple families which form villages, regions, and eventually countries. When several countries come together they form a continent and all of the continents make up the world. The foundation of this entire process is the family. I propose in this essay that the family has a crucial role in society by being a model of love in three different aspects; love for the children, love between husband and wife, and finally love in promoting moral values.

     As people we are created to be visual with a need to see illustrated models of things that are important to our lives, especially the love relationship between children and their parents. As children we learn everything by watching the examples or models of others such as eating and walking. The family functions the same way. For example, sons who have seen their parent’s abuse alcohol or show extreme violence towards one another, practice these same activities. The role of the family is to give a good model so that others within the society can imitate resulting in the edification of the society. God’s Word – the Bible, teaches us that an earthly father is an earthly example of God, the heavenly Father. The heavenly Father is patient, kind, loving, and always willing to spend time in an intimate, personal relationship with His children. The earthly father is to be a living model of patience and kindness, showing love through his intimate relationship with his children.

     One of the most important roles of the family in society is to show the much needed model of love between husband and wife. The ultimate example of such love is the way that Jesus Christ loves His church. He loves her so much that He nourishes and cherishes her on a daily basis even giving His life on the cross for her. The husband – wife relationship is to model Jesus Christ’s pattern of love by loving each other on a daily basis, cherishing and nourishing each other as the

most precious thing in their lives. Such a model is greatly needed within society because in most cases there is a lack of models for families and individuals to see and imitate. If these principles were to be applied then the society would radically change for the better giving people happiness as each generation follows in the footsteps of the previous one.

     During this crucial time in history while moral values are declining, the family must love moral values by living according to and promoting them throughout the easily misguided society. Many values could be listed but the focus will be kept on the ones that are hot topics in the world today being: sexual immorality, homosexuality, and abortion. The family must be a model and demonstrate the fact that the sexual relationship has a place only in marriage between a husband and wife. Mothers and fathers must teach their children about the importance of maintaining their virginity until marriage and that there is no such thing as safe sex outside of marriage. The family must promote marriage as being between one man and one woman and that any other marital relationship outside of this is harmful as well as dangerous. Families must discourage abortion because it is taking innocent lives. If society aborts its future generations then who will be here to welcome the future?

     The family has a decisive role having the capacity and responsibility to impact the entire society by its positive example. The parents must show love towards their children by spending time with them and building intimate, personal relationships. Spouses must love each other according to the pattern of Jesus Christ. In order to fulfill its role in society the family will educate children in moral values so that they will mature and pass on these values to the future generations making society a safe and happy place for all people to live and enjoy.

May 9 - What I expect from Duterte as a New President in the PH

President Duterte

I want to see a government that is sensitive to the needs of our countrymen who have less in life. A government that sincerely cares about the plight of poor Filipinos and acts immediately to improve their condition. I am expecting that the mistakes of past administrations will not be repeated and, in fact, that changes for the good of everyone, especially the less privileged, be implemented sooner rather than later. The priority should be poverty alleviation by providing more job opportunities even for those with limited educational background. Provide better mass transportation system to ease traffic and shorten the time needed for commuters to get to and from work. And finally, stop all forms of corruption at all levels. I’d like to see that the new top leaders in the executive and legislative departments of our government are seriously, sincerely, unselfishly and honestly thinking of and doing what is best for the country and the great majority of the people. If those who will be elected in the executive and legislative departments possess the qualities I specified above, we can expect high economic growth, political stability and peace in our country. I hope the new government will be magnanimous in their victory, and will focus on moving forward. May the leadership have the heart to honor the living and dead heroes of our land. The mind to visualize the future of the Philippines as a first-world country. The skill to excel in the performance of his task. And the will to continue to serve all our countrymen always! The government’s job is not to hand out fish/cash but to teach people how to start a business and create jobs and income for all.

May 6 - Wonders of my Province (Negros Oriental)

MABINAY Caves

The prevalence of limestone rock and extensive karst phenomena secures Mabinay’s claim to being the Cave Town of Negros Oriental. According to the locals, there are over 400 caves honeycombing Mabinay’s lower regions. In 1989-1990, the Belgian-Dutch-Philippine Club undertook an expedition and identified 45. Among these:

BULWANG – 159 meters long, with icicle-like dripstone. The Provincial Government has installed a walkway into the cave, and amenities at the approach such as a visitors’ reception building and dining hall.

Odloman – at 8,870 meters, went on record as the second longest cave system in the Philippines. Accessed by rappelling through a hole in the ceiling or by swimming 20 meters across an underground river, Odloman has large galleries, many narrow corridors, active streams and more than enough difficult obstacles to lure extreme cavers.

Cayaso – with a subterranean river flowing through its main chamber, measures 2,222 meters long to rank 9th longest cave in the country.

Other caves of note:

Baliw – 769 meters long, with white concretions called “white forest.”

Mambajo – 670 meters long (right), has a chimney access and a subterranean river flowing towards a siphon to emerge in Mambajo 2.

Kabugan – 373 meters, with a large opening called the “sunny walk” midway towards a bat-colonized area. (On the other side of the valley is Tokko, a shallow cave only 20 meters deep, believed to be part of the Kabugan system.).

Panligawan and Pandalihan – popular among amateur cavers, comparatively shallow at 143 and 282 meters, respectively. The dome-shaped Panligawan has a skylight, and wide and flat ground ideal for in-cave camping.

Mabinay is an interior highland town 87 kilometers northwest of Dumaguete City, through which a “short cut” highway exits to neighboring Negros Occidental. It is predominantly agricultural, with sugar as the main product. A side-trip to take is Mabinay Spring which feeds a lake set amid lush vegetation in the heart of the poblacion, ideal for picnics and swimming.

Poblacion Mabinay is about an hour and a half north of Dumaguete City by all types of vehicles.

Dolphin Watching BAIS

Described as one of the most successful dolphin-and-whale watching operations in the country, the cruise takes off from Port Capiñahan every 8:00 AM and traverses the Bay towards Tañon Strait, the narrow channel between Negros and Cebu islands, acknowledged to have one of the biggest concentrations of cetaceans in the world.

Out of twenty-four cetaceans sighted in Philippine waters, eleven species are found in the Bais Bay – Tañon Strait area. Among these are dolphins and the pygmy sperm whale Kogia simos. The Bais City government operates two Dolphinboats. Five privately-owned pumpboats are also available. The cruise averages six hours. It may include side trips to Talabong Island and the White Sand Bar.

Talabong Island is located in South Bais Bay. It has an area of 217.59 hectares, heavily vegetated with 85% mangroves and 15% associated mangrove species, which provides an ideal habitat for significant fish and shellfish species, various marine life, birds and wildlife.

Bais City is 45 kilometers (approximately one hour travel time by all type vehicles) north of Dumaguete City.

 White Sandbar MANJUYOD

A 7-kilometer-long strip of white sand beach in the middle of North Bais Bay. Ideal for swimming and snorkeling. The area is submerged at high tide. Four cottages are available for guests. Manjuyod is 58.2 kilometers from Dumaguete City.

Travel to the White Sand Bar from Dumaguete is approximately 1:5 hours.

Casaroro Falls VALENCIA

Valencia’s elevation at 715 feet above sea level endows it with a cool climate. Trekkers access Casaroro Falls via three hundred concrete steps which descend into a scenic site surrounded by steep rock walls where a single column of sparkling water plunges almost a hundred feet into a chilly swimming caldera. The Municipal Government has erected picnic sheds for the visitors who frequent the area.

Casaroro Falls is located in Apolong, Valencia approximately 30 minutes by 4-wheel drive or motorbike from Dumaguete City.

An expansive mountain resort developed around Balanan Lake, a humerus-shaped body of water, 25 hectares in surface area, 285 ms above sea level, oriented along a northwest-southeast direction (right). The lake encases a kilometer-long waterway ideal for water sports. Among the prominent features of the resort is a 4-kilometer circumferential pathway for trekking, a variety of pools for swimming, passenger bancas for boating, waterfalls for great photo-ops.

Balanan has an old forest of almost a hundred balete trees, atop one of which is a treehouse. An 8-room hillside hotel, Balodge provides air-conditioned comforts with a view of the lake. Other amenities include a thatched dining pavilion and a staffhouse. Balanan Lake Development Authority will implement regular rates beginning May 19. Entrance is free every Tuesday.

Balanan located in Sandulot, Siaton is 60 kilometers from Dumaguete City, or approximately 1.5 hours travel time.

Apo Island

Apo Island is a 72-hectare, 200-meter high volcanic island about 5 kilometers off the municipality of Dauin. Five pocket beaches of white pebbles, two mangrove lagoons, and a lighthouse. The Apo Island Protected Landscape and Seascape comprises 691.45 hectares (72 terrestrial, the remaining is the marine area surrounding the island). An average total coral cover of 63.1% and a magnificent variety of corals and marine life led to Apo Island’s being acclaimed as one of the world’s Ten Best Divesites. Coconut Point is referred to as the best divesite in southern Visayas. In “Clown-fish City” the colorful Amphiprion melanopus inhabit anemones that have colonized seven large coral heads. This underwater splendor is replicated in the Schedd Aquarium of Chicago.

Apo Island is approximately 45 minutes by motorized outrigger (pumpboat) from Dauin.

May 5 - Favorite Filipino Dish

Chicken Tinola

Ingredients

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (1 1/2 inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

1 tablespoon fish sauce

3 pounds chicken legs and thighs, rinsed and patted dry

2 (14 ounce) cans chicken broth

1 chayote squash, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces

salt and pepper to taste

1 head bok choy, chopped

1/2 pound spinach

Directions

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat; cook and stir the onion and garlic in the hot oil until fragrant. Quickly stir the ginger and fish sauce into the onion and garlic mixture before adding the chicken; cook together for 5 minutes. Pour the chicken broth over the mixture and cook another 5 minutes. Add the chayote to the mixture and simmer until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, about 10 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper. Add the bok choy and spinach; cook until the spinach is just wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve hot.

Reason of choice

This is a Filipino recipe that I grew up with without the spinach. We like to use green papaya and bokchoy. Also chili leaves. Fish sauce just makes it taste better.

This one of the best soups I have ever tasted it is full of flavor and it is so fresh. This is a great soup to eat while you are on a diet.

May 4 - Filipino Poems

JOSE CORAZON de JESUS

José Corazón de Jesús, also known by his pen name Huseng Batute, was a Filipino poet who used Tagalog poetry to express the Filipinos' desire for independence during the American occupation of the Philippines, a period that lasted from 1901 to 1946

Born: November 22, 1896, Santa Cruz, Manila

Died: May 26, 1932, Santa Maria

Spouse: Asunción Lacdan

Buried: Manila North Cemetery, Manila

Parents: Susana Pangilinan

Children: José Corazón de Jesús, Jr.

POEMS

ANG TREN

Tila ahas na nagmula
sa himpilang kanyang lungga,
ang galamay at palikpik, pawang bakal, tanso, tingga,
ang kaliskis, lapitan mo’t mga bukas na bintana.

Ang rail na lalakara’y
nakabalatay sa daan,
umaaso ang bunganga at maingay na maingay,
sa Tutuban magmumula’t patutungo sa Dagupan.

O, kung gabi’t masalubong
ang mata ay nag-aapoy,
ang silbato sa malayo’y dinig mo pang sumisipol
at hila-hila ang kanyang kabit-kabit namang bagon.

Walang pagod ang makina,
may baras na nasa r’weda,
sumisingaw, sumisibad, humuhuni ang pitada,
tumetelenteng ang kanyang kainpanada sa tuwina.

“Kailan ka magbabalik?”
“Hanggang sa hapon ng Martes.”
At tinangay na ng tren ang naglakbay na pag-ibig,
sa bentanilya’y may panyo’t may naiwang nananangis.

ANG POSPORO NG DIYOS

Sa dilim ng gabi’y may gintong nalaglag,
may apoy, may ilaw, galing sa itaas;
at dito sa lupa noong pumalapag,
nahulog sa bibig ng isang bulaklak.

Ang sabi ng iba’y kalulwa ng patay,
luha ng bituin, anang iba naman.
Lalo na’t sa gabi ay iyong matanaw
tila nga bituing sa langit natanggal.

Bituin sa langit at rosas sa hardin,
parang nagtipanan at naghalikan din;
nang di na mangyaring sa umaga gawin,
ginanap sa gabi’y lalo pang napansin.

Katiting na ilaw ng lihim na liyag,
sinupo sa lupa’t tanglaw sa magdamag;
ito’y bulalakaw ang dating pamagat,
posporo ng Diyos sa nangaglalakad.

Kung para sa aking taong nakaluhod
at napaligaw na sa malayong pook,
noong kausapin ang dakilang Diyos
ay sa bulalakaw lamang nagkalugod.

Sampalitong munti ng posporong mahal
kiniskis ng Diyos upang ipananglaw;
nang ito’y mahulog sa gitna ng daan,
nakita ang landas ng pusong naligaw!

Ito’y bulalakaw, ang apoy ng lugod,
na nagkanlalaglag sa lupang malungkot.
May nakikisindi’t naligaw sa pook:
Aba, tinanglawan ng posporo ng D’yos.

BAYAN KO

Ang bayan kong Pilipinas
Lupain ng ginto’t bulaklak
Pag-ibig na sa kanyang palad
Nag-alay ng ganda’t dilag.

At sa kanyang yumi at ganda
Dayuhan ay nahalina
Bayan ko, binihag ka
Nasadlak sa dusa.

Ibon mang may layang lumipad
kulungin mo at umiiyak
Bayan pa kayang sakdal dilag
Ang di magnasang makaalpas!

Pilipinas kong minumutya
Pugad ng luha ko’t dalita
Aking adhika,
Makita kang sakdal laya.

ITANONG MO SA BITUIN

Isang gabi’y manungaw ka. Sa bunton ng panganorin

ay tanawin ang ulila’t naglalamay na bituin;

Sa bitui’y itanong mo ang ngalan ng aking giliw

at kung siya’y magtatapat, ngalan mo ang sasabihin.

Ang bitui’y kapatid mo. Kung siya ma’y nasa langit,

ikaw’y ditong nasa lupa’t bituin ka ng pag-ibig;

dahil diya’y itanong mo sa bituin mong kapatid

kundi ikaw ang dalagang minamahal ko nang labis.

Itanong mo sa bitui’t bituin ang nakakita

nang ako ay umagahin sa piling ng mga dusa;

minagdamag ang palad ko sa pagtawag ng Amada,

ngunit ikaw na tinawag, lumayo na’t nagtago pa.

AGAW-DILIM

Namatay ang araw
sa dakong kanluran,
nang kinabukasa’y
pamuling sumilang,
ngunit ikaw, irog, bakit nang pumanaw
ay bukod-tangi kang di ko na namasdan?

Naluoy sa hardin
ang liryo at hasmin,
Mayo nang dumating
pamuling nagsupling,
ngunit ikaw, sinta, bakit kaya giliw
dalawang Mayo nang nagtago sa akin?

Lumipad ang ibon
sa pugad sa kahoy,
dumating ang hapon
at muling naroon,
ngunit ikaw, buhay, ano’t hangga ngayo’y
di pa nagbabalik at di ko matunton?

My favorite poem out of all this is the AGAW DILIM - The term agaw-dilim means “snatching darkness” or “grasping darkness” — it refers to twilight.

May 3 - My favorite Pinoy HERO

My Favorite Pinoy Hero

Lapu-Lapu

Datu Lapu-Lapu/Kolipulako (1491-1542)

Lapu-Lapu is considered one of the greatest figures of ancient Philippine history. Although the first thing that usually comes to mind when the name of Lapu-Lapu is mentioned is the fact that his battle with Magellan led to Magellan’s death, Lapu-Lapu was not honored because of that. Rather, he is honored because he was among the first to reject submission to a foreign power even though Raja Humabon, ruler of the neighboring island of Cebu, and other chiefs recognized the king of Spain as their ruler and agreed to pay tribute.

Chief Lapu-Lapu’s (1491-1542) other name is Kolipulako. The hero of Mactan and conqueror of Magellan, is described as stern, proud, intelligent, unyielding. He waged continuous war against the powerful ruler of Cebu, then a very much greater kingdom than his little island of Maktang. Of him, President Gullas of the University of the Visayas writes:

Lapu-Lapu is a good example of determination and willingness to work well. He learned how to ride on a horseback and on carabao proficiently at the age of six years; knew how to read and write at seven; boxed well at nine; became a champion swimmer, boxer and wrestler at eighteen; beat the Bornean marauders and pirates twice at twenty’. In the lives of men who have almost become legendary one finds it diffucult to separate fact from fiction. This must be true in the case of the material quoted above.

History has it that Mactan Island although small was a thriving community when the great Magellan was in Cebu. The brave Spanish navigator and soldier, upon learning that some inhabitants on this tiny island across Cebu refused to recognize the King of Spain, burned one of the villages. Lapu-Lapu was one of he native leaders who refused to acknowledge the sovereignty of Spain over the Islands.

When Magellan, with three boatloads of Spaniards and twenty boatloads of Cebuanos, went to Mactan to help a friendly chief, Lapu-Lapu and his men armed with native fighting elements, wooden shields, bows and arrows, lances, met them. The invading Spaniards and Cebuanos were driven back to their boats, but their brace leader, Magellan, met death in the hands of Lapu-Lapu. On what is believed to be the exact spot where Magellan fell and died, now stands an imposing monument in honor of the gallant explorer.

In the well-kept plaza of Opon, one of the two towns on Mactan Island, stands today an inspiring monument in honor of Lapu-Lapu, considered the first Filipino to have repelled European aggression.

The battle between Mactan Island Chieftain Lapu-Lapu and the Foreign aggressor Ferdinand Magellan occurred in April 27, 1521. It depicts the hero holding a bolo in one hand and a pestle on the other. Said weapons were believed to have been used during his combat with Magellan. This monument stands as a reminder of Filipino bravery.

I will pick Lapu-lapu over Rizal as National Hero

1. He or his forces actually killed the invaders. Rizal got shot by the invaders.

2. I don't think Rizal wanted to make the Philippines fully independent from Spain. He still wanted to make the Philippines something like a commonwealth of Spain.

3. Lapu- Lapu imposes an image of strength and feirceness more than Rizal does.

4. Lapu- Lapu is the genuine Filipino warrior. He embodies what Filipinos are or were. Filipinos are fierce warriors. Earlier Filipinos were headhunters not some weakling.

5. He is a BISAYA like me. :)