THE FESTIVAL REINVENTED
By: Iris P. Concepcion

I took a leisure time yesterday for less than an hour walking to Yala's fruit festival. I am simply assuming that it is a fruit festival as I am not familiar with Thai alphabets announcing the event. I do recognize its splashes of colorful fruits and pageantry though.

This is an approach adopted by Philippine fiestas too, only with finer twists. The venue for this year's festivity is well-secured as uniformed men litter the area. Bags are checked  for inspection at the main entrance. I surrendered mine with the inspector obviously baffled by the emergence of  my three perfume containers inside. My armory to foul smell.

The festival is  located near the beauteous, manmade lake I had written as a subject entry in this blog. The fruits sold are genuinely humongous; even the plants look like giants. It has an array of goods sold, from cooking oil (very, very affordable in clear containers) to dried fish. The durian seeds look like big rocks. Even the banana chips are tremendously large like anahaw leaves.

I am using hyperbole but these people are showcasing what they can do with their products and how they may be improved on. They are, moreover, meticulously packed. I have seen Mediterranean dates that are neatly wrapped in biodegradable cartons. Three hundred baht can go a long, long, long way here.

The food strip crosses all racial boundaries. I bought my Japanese maki at roughly 40 baht. I swear to Vishnu, this is one of the best tasting Japanese fare I have tasted in years. It carries wider varieties and comes in colorful variations. The vendor provides plates in blue and pink for the maki buffet in appetizing, marching circles. It includes a free wasabi. The festival likewise sold an Indian-inspired, sweetened roti  that tastes like barquillos, wrapped in a recycled paper. This paragraph is a multi-cultural annex of writing fusion. One must remember that Thailand is similar to India in the field of arts. Hence, finding Yamamoto here is a delectable surprise.

The fruits are not usual. Aside from the big, big santols,  durians, plums, passion fruit and mangosteens,  rambutans and pink-colored thorny balls (called grenade fruits by some) are likewise sold.  I had observed that underneath the King's picture, kids and adults alike can gather the fruits for free as they can friskly roam around the area with a nearby built-in playground. The more affluent  Filipinos back in Manila pay for these privileges in the malls.

There likewise sell pillow cases similar to our markets in the Philippines.

More than five performing stages are built for on-the-spot programs. The one fronting the maki store is the most opulent. It is like a set for a variety show. I have seen spa and massage stalls too.

The grapes are deliciously low priced. There are no tents for ukay ukays as special places are reserved for these in the other areas of Yala.


I do wonder before the raison-de-etre  of these festivals in shaping our economic destiny. I now have a full grasp of its terrain. It can be carnival-like without outshadowing the limitless products that Nature has given us. It is a showcase for people who could not afford highly-priced tags of fruits and food to have them. They are very confident about their products as they give out free samples of their fare to the public.

I came out fulfilled and my mind, off from crankiness as I read this in front of one stall:  Yala Technical College Food Industry Incubator.

Even the appearance of  signages rock.

I need to eat my santol now which is the size of my baby avatar's face as carried in my Facebook account. It is really, really, BIG. Better other knows how to distribute discounts to poor people like me. Sniggers. And the mangosteens are free at the foot of the King's picture.

To drift away from my usual musings, I have this ode to my non-participative role in nation building:

"I have not met the most successful businessmen in the Philippines nor have I seen their works outside their offices. I have not met Bill Gates nor his ultra hip, gadget bag. I have not discussed fiscal belt tightening measures with President Aquino. I have not met real agriculturists and I am naive about farming. I have not met Tom Cruise nor Brad Pitt nor Angelina Jolie. I have not been trained by a top-prized Thai boxer.  I have not been humored by Black Jack. I have not unnerved Liaam Neeson although I would love to borrow his twang. I have not been  taught  commodity pricing by a Harvard graduate nor its attendant remunerative repercussions to the economy. I have not swapped balls with either Matt Damon or Ben Affleck. I have not seen Robert de Niro either and his critique work on the nutritional value of Big Sheet, a Japanese junk food sold at 7-11. I have not been explained  on travel notices by Robin Williams. Keith Richards never knocked on that door. In short, I am clueless about the world and I never influence anybody in my line of work. I do the dishes, wash clothes, accompany my family with their grocery shopping that I adore so much.  I do know something about "good" maki when I taste one. I am sure never to meet John Updike nor Barrack Obama. And I do know how to be comfortable around galactical elephants whenever I pose with them with a big smile."

WHY MERCEDES BENZ IS A FIRST CLASS B**CH
By: Iris P. Concepcion

Thailand, just as pictured in Alex Garland's "Beach" book, has several gateways to nomads out to discover the world through their sensible eyes which are already tired of metaphorical advertisements for trite text messaging.

I have tried its train rail, an ode to a naturalist's eye. I have seen landscapes and their secret realities roll in film clips before, detached from urban insanity and artificiality. I have tried both its golden and futuristic buses with the wonders of a kid out to discover the functions of a wheel. I had tried its fleet of vans in front of announcements for school building inaugurations. I have, moreover, mystified myself with the wonders of its street motorcycles.

Earlier, I was invited by my sister-in-law to take a short trip to Pattani, a nearby city. She is going to deliver her examination questions for her students.

This time around, we tried Yala's taxi fleet and its sassy, hard-knock shoots for the best machine cylinders on Earth. I know by the way I had sat on the upholstery that this German transportation icon could never be beaten.

My taxi is a Mercedes Benz. 

They are not new; they are fleets of very, very old models. I had been privileged to have been invited for a ride by a superior for a corporate function in the past using its latest model and did not expect the surprising consistency of its motoring work with its 70's edition now.

First off, I do not know anything about cars. I am a friend of people who could talk lengthily about its parts like it is Holy Grail. I do know when I experience a prime ride though.

The upholstery is not much to look at. Considering its age, that is a given. It even had scotch tapes pasted near one of its windows. When it started zooming though, I bet my whole life unto the gods of comfort, this machine could outlast even the newest models of new 4x4s and could outwin them all. One never feels bumpy inside it. This is Indy 500 minus the race. I could not help muttering about the smoothness of the wheels; you never hear a single screech nor rickety sound once it moves. It glides like a sleek, hair conditioner on the road.

It wheezed past trucks, buses, pick-ups, other beat-up vehicles with nary a loud scream. This beauty can eclipse a splatter of cute graffiti by the sidewalk. Our driver wore an imam's head gear and he took the road through its safest side. In here, you feel protected. Even for a single moment, I could swear that I owned the whole journey.

How does it feel being inside one of the most technologically astute cars ever invented? Consider this: it never touches the ground; it feels like you are aloft.

The fare costs only 50 baht but the experience could never be quantified. Imagine then if its newest model shall join a car "beauty" contest. This old edition already beat the rest through extreme class and functionability.

After the official transaction, my sister-in-law bought an Imarflex electric pan with steaming and frying functions for only 800 baht upon reaching Pattani.  She purchased quality materials of men's clothing for my nephew, shoes for me, groceries and meat cuts. Her bill is just over 2,000 baht. My brother had likewise gifted me with huge servings of pizza last night. This couple does work in schools and are compensated for it by this government with decent wage.

Thailand is pure heaven from a consumer's point of view. It offers everything from transportation to food to accommodation without being ostentatious. I do not know if it is mere love of their heritage but Thai people possess this luxury of flight without being caste oriented.

On our way home, we rode in another Mercedes Benz taxi and true to form, its consistency never fails, not even for a minute.

Upon reaching Yala, I thanked the driver by saying my sincerest : "Your car? It is very, very good."

He replied : "Yes, it is good. Thank you."

ON GETTING MY FACTS STRAIGHT
By: Iris P. Concepcion

I am back in Yala, a beautiful ode to structural mixes.  I had visited upon my return its spacious and serene park, a Central Park-themed oasis for university students who exchange blabbers under shades of eloquently-built trees.

The youths are taking their afternoon snack with food-in-stick palate appeasers and I had exchanged a word or two about the trickling rain and how it cast a shadowy bliss over  bridges and man-made ponds.

I, on the other hand, am reading a book on formal research writing as well as acquiring tips on how to use the library. This is Jorge Luis Borges in thematic exploration with his imaginative Tlon universe.

With the emergence of Google and other search engines, the rules to proper citations had radically altered. It does make intelligent sense to learn the old and basic research rudiments though. Every writer must know this. Each student is obliged to follow proper sourcing in non-fiction works as the teacher had implored. I direct the uninitiated to Wikipidea's site on Thailand. It bears the correct bibliography styles  and similar research references even online. Not knowing these basics is not a badge to while away in Belgium on a paper grant.

The blogsphere has introduced a post-modernist alternative to traditional information gatekeepers and it is rattling writing nerves quite unceremoniously. Formalities withdrawn, raw inking has gained a modern edge and is challenging word traditions in the print world. It is exciting as I am centered within the vortex of this explosion in both print and visual forms. Index cards could be usurped by the words : "According to the Master Jedi blogsite__________."  Further verifications are always handy when video clips are posted to supplement the writings. Personally, that too, is research.

I do confess that I had been tested by some of these stalwarts, ranging from "naivete" (really) to the outright hood language of "you look like a slave beside me". I believe the originator of this rather enterprising, billowed assessment did not question my own motive of protracted reply.  It is pure bollocks but I took the classicist writer by his mouth and piddled with his emotional content. I do win despite my miniscule treks right inside the "real" fields of argument. I credit the people who did and are still dreaming for blitzkriegs of light becoming affordable. The battle is half-won.

I suppose I had explained myself amply and need not expound. I express my thanks for these benignly  exciting encounters. Everyone came out victorious with, this is what I was hoping, altered forms about the world and about themselves.

The roles are well-kept; housekeeping to policy formulations drafted roughly on flotations of views and ideas. It is some crooked mastery but you are talking to people who can subsist on a P20,000.00 budget to last a lifetime. They scrub the dirt off their own back with stones gathered from a streaming, rural river. Some may wilt under the heat, the rest are simply itching to dip their kaleidoscopic brains on those offices where customers pay for their basic utilities.

I admire these experts for their thoughts without closing my eyes to the trodden more, toilers who had silently championed the sensibility of balance and foresight. They were fed to the foxes but delivered.  I never throw a tomato to a work if it upsets my own work. I glorify in the ingenuity of people; I celebrate communal, artistic spirits.

I had often wondered in the past why I could not sufficiently post the beautiful visages of Manila with its renowned improvements. They are "uglified" when posted. This happened to my camera grabs several times. My visual documentations on how I view my country never seem to be adequate in pigments. Even the Wikipedia entry about the Philippines needs better photographs. The President said it right when he lamented over the fact that some consider it a sin to document the good things that is happening in the Philippines. I have seen with my own two  eyes how our buildings have become more embracing of historical lineages (Quezon City) but no smart writer would dare break his limb to have this lithographed on the front page. I think it is a worthwhile material than reading a bit about a neighbor's fence razed by a bull.

I write this as a realization after I had encountered students who were tasked to write a research paper on pollution. I had noticed that they already formed a conclusion even with the absence of questionnaires to support their hypothesis.

I asked: " Have you been to that place?"

In unison, these tech-savvy students answered: "No."

I advised them to visit the countryside, take photographs of what is truly happening in the area and attach the video grabs to their study. It became a source of joke between us as I ribbed them if they already took the golden bus to observe the greenery of the forest wildlife. I likewise advised them to take  pictures of  garbage bins if ever they exist in the plowed fields. If they can make noontime dancers gyrate to the beat of  novelty songs, they sure can locate a garbage bin in a northern swamp filled with bottled water.

A long treatise on environmental concerns can be made moving by a video clip. That, too, is research I presume.

I had delivered quite a litany on paper highlighting these stories. I write as a citizen about my own political beliefs but I can be wildly free with my essays and  fictional pieces. Both sides, I heavily treasure.

I therefore conclude without the aid of references that I am now a suspect for plagiarism; that an inquisitive mind with a good, public intention could be viable starting off points for research studies. Making it a qualifier point for a scholarship grant makes it burdensome. If the purpose is to serve this universe its long-lasting conservation through further education, then, the pursuit is nobler.

The best way to engage here is an enlightened reporting of what is fair; of tracing back  roots outside of its silhouettes; of meeting face-to-face the majestic fruits of unheralded presences who could not afford to buy a comma nor punctuation marks for frontpage news.

I believe that I do exist not to create a blurred view of a world. It does contain shining moments of unspoken wisdom and unsung imagery. I am simply brave enough to write about them.

My line is a Henry Greene-inspired. Pardon the pun.

An attempt at eliciting some grins:

Knee socks. Knee caps. Knee Son. Underlining words could create mumps. Bawdy turds. Stop twiddling with the wife's words, says the teacher with a corn wife. Hubby has a knife the size of Thailand's geographical mass.Return to the moviestar with JK cups. Have you met God? His bologna is meatier than yours. Ditch the hair, cut the skirt and pay attention to the Princess poet. Children of the corn mouth off lines direct from Saturn. Stay away from the curly one. He is over protective and a genius. He named a lake after his enemy, in bold graffiti. I was flown by a scallop from a football field. I, therefore, ate a football field.

I just realized I had evolved two different styles of writing and am comfortable with both. I shall try to write in Scandinavian next time.

DITCHING THE BEAUTY OF PHUKET FOR NA FA i.e., WATCH MY PRESIDENT'S SONA
By: Iris P. Concepcion

I should not be comparing the two. After all, the former is a worldclass beach icon while the latter is a cute, plump, high school kid with a swift reply for my time queries.

Takuapa is just a two hour ride to Phuket. I could have frolicked in the sandy beach with  my fats enlarged by faraway camera satellites and I could have landed in the gossip section of an underfunded political and satire magazine. I had instead discovered people and the immediate trickling of tears without being Vick's- motivated.

I was curious by the appearance of teachers in the midst of refining a skit which is originally written by a writing nomad like myself. It talks about the environment and the multi-ethnicity of the characters discussing about it. I was pre-destined to read this play. My ride to Pha nga had given me a view of the mossy greenfields and its quiet but abundant, rustic life. I think I know better who is irrigating those lands industriously.


Na Fa delivered his lines in a non-opposing manner, interjecting the words "that's my script and you are stealing my line" in perfect delivery I wanted to pinch him. I am usually surrounded by little people with quick wit tucked under their belts. They like to argue in broad daylight with their coterie of odd food and noodles. Always, they astound. I had only one week of interaction with them but I had proven my otherwise stale point that words, no matter how winding they might be, do create a tangible impact to  a square world. They know their Math. They know their English. I am a student like them.

If a reader of this blog finds them surprising, be rewarded.  It is not a fluke. I am used to their ingenuity. Those Champ billboards and tacky "I love you" trios in bad costumes did not spring into flowery bloom overnight. I am used to their mind maps since Day One.

Na Fa is what I would like a kid to possess in spirit. Determination with extreme, funky politeness, an itch for improv dialogue and a clairvoyant watch. I could not rehearse it any better under my own terms with the face of a sad clown but all underestimation of sloth and inexperience are gone to waste once they are fed to the wolves. I was particularly moved by their compromising words as delivered in poems and stories. Pho, a rimmed, lanky girl, recited a poem about a Princess. It was a riposte to her own self; that she was bugged forever that she could not read. She sounded like heaven. I was advising her to insert some lines; she decided to do it on her own terms with the pesky but defiant sentences " I can do this, Mom." She had cleaned the kitchen once for this writer.

Na Fa's humor is never attacking. She reserves a ready smile for this writer and picks up my dialogue immediately. Underestimating the brains of kids can be a tragic assault to one's ego but I have already embraced these turds long before the corn had wombed them. Visually, they are top notch. Their emotional quotient could be the size of a peanut but rest assured, they always beat to the rhythm of their own, inner selves.

It does add a conjointed laughter to have a boorish partner who swarmed the laughing group with his beautiful scallops but that is just a fully-accounted Rotarian library talking. We normally do this together as a form of spiritual habit.

I had shed tears before for these people; I do not think they shall shape the world badly if you deliver it onto their hands.

They are loved by monks too. I, too, am happy that you had been terribly annoyed and happy by my existential presence, bringing you to my world of tricksters and clowns and better other.

What had I advised before? Meet them and they could alter your views.

My ride back to Yala could be nerve-wracking to some, but as already implored, I have seen them do this over and over and over again that I am no longer astonished.

On President Noynoy's SONA: Wang-wang has transformed into another meaning. Expanding the term, it now means the acceptance of corrupt practices as a way of life. It has become a symbol for what is unjust and unlawful. I agree with a very meticulous tweet reader that the speech of the President was more of a mind-changing ploy to accept the changes from within in fighting corruption rather than praising to high heavens what had been achieved. The use of Tagalog is meant to derail the obnoxious ways of hackers who corrupt his message on television and the Internet. Good ploy.  This could be the first time that the State of the Nation is done in conversational Pilipino, with halting, coughing pauses. They are not there for props. Even those gaps have subliminal messages that would not be lost to keen listeners especially when he delivered the delivery of basic water and energy services.  He need not outline what he wants to accomplish in terms of economic gains; they were already implemented. Brief and to the point, these are not merely talked about, they had been passed. Visuals are the only gauge to proper documentation and they do not need further elaboration. Who needs to argue when the photos are clearer. That is the key to governance: proper delivery where it matters. I believe this is an impromptu speech, meant to thwart the engaging writers who get advance copies of the contents to shred them piece by piece after. He truly speaks this way. That is a dialogue with the people; the rest can just listen. He has a mouthful to relay: that means he had done things to deliver them. I know for a fact that as a writer, it is difficult to whip up a story picked from nothingness but pure rhetorics. He talks a lot because he has salient points to get across. I specifically love the last part, especially on saying thank you to people who had served this country good.

Full text of the President's message:




Second State of the Nation Address of President Benigno Aquino III

Delivered at the Session Hall of the House of Representatives, Batasan Pambansa Complex, Quezon City on July 25, 2011

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile; Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.; Bise Presidente Jejomar Binay; mga dating Pangulong Fidel Valdez Ramos at Joseph Ejercito Estrada; Chief Justice Renato Corona at ang ating mga kagalang-galang na mahistrado ng Korte Suprema; mga kagalang-galang na kasapi ng diplomatic corps; mga butihing miyembro ng Kamara de Representante at ng Senado; mga Local Government officials; mga miyembro ng ating Gabinete; mga unipormadong kasapi ng militar at kapulisan; mga kapwa ko nagseserbisyo sa taumbayan;

At sa mga minamahal kong kababayan, ang aking butihing mga boss:

Humarap po ako sa inyo noong aking inagurasyon at sinabing: Walang wang-wang sa ating administrasyon. At ngayon, patuloy nating itinitigil ito. Naging hudyat at sagisag po ito ng pagbabago, hindi lamang sa kalsada, kundi pati na rin sa kaisipan sa lipunan.

Sa matagal na panahon, naging simbolo ng pang-aabuso ang wang-wang. Dati, kung makapag-counterflow ang mga opisyal ng pamahalaan, para bang oras lang nila ang mahalaga. Imbes na maglingkod-bayan, para bang sila ang naging hari ng bayan. Kung maka-asta ang kanilang mga padrino't alipores, akala mo'y kung sinong maharlika kung humawi ng kalsada; walang pakialam sa mga napipilitang tumabi at napag-iiwanan. Ang mga dapat naglilingkod ang siya pang nang-aapi. Ang panlalamang matapos mangakong maglingkod—iyan po ang utak wang-wang.

Wala silang karapatang gawin ito. Ayon sa batas, tanging ang Presidente, Bise Presidente, Senate President, House Speaker, Chief Justice, at pulis, bumbero, at ambulansya lang ang awtorisadong gumamit ng wangwang para sa kanilang mga opisyal na lakad. Kung sa trapiko nga ay di masunod ang batas, paano pa kaya sa mga bagay na mas malaki ang makukuha, tulad ng sa mga proyektong pinopondohan ng kaban ng bayan?

Kayo po ba gusto ninyong makulong ang lahat ng tiwali? Ako rin. Gusto ba ninyong matanggal ang wang-wang, hindi lamang sa kalsada, kundi sa kaisipang nagdulot ng baluktot na sistema na pagkatagal-tagal na nating pinagtiisan? Ako rin. Gusto po ba ninyong mabigyan ng patas na pagkakataon ang lahat na umasenso? Ako rin.

Narito po ang halimbawa ng resulta ng ating kampanya kontra wang-wang sa sistema. Nitong taong ito, taumbayan na mismo ang nagsabi, nabawasan ang nagugutom sa kanila. Mula 20.5% na self-rated hunger noong Marso, bumaba na ito sa 15.1% nitong Hunyo, katumbas ng isang milyong pamilyang Pilipinong nagugutom dati, pero ngayon ay nakakakain na nang tama kada araw.

Sa larangan po ng negosyo, sino ba ang nag-akalang pitong ulit nating malalampasan ang all-time-high ng stock market? Ang dating 4,000 index na inaakalang hindi maaabot, o kung maabot man ay pansamantala lang, ngayon, pangkaraniwan nang hinihigitan.

Kung dati napako na ang bansa sa mababang credit ratings, itinaas ng Moody’s, Standard and Poors, Fitch, at Japan Credit Ratings Agency ang ating ranking, bilang pagkilala sa ating tamang paggugol ng pondo at sa malikhain nating pananalapi. Ang mataas na credit rating, magpapababa ng interes sa perang inuutang natin. Kumpara sa unang apat na buwan ng nakaraang taon, mas malaki po ng 23 billion pesos ang natipid nating interest payments mula Enero hanggang Abril ng 2011. Maaari na po nitong sagutin ang dalawang milyon at tatlongdaan libong benepisyaryo ng CCT hanggang sa katapusan ng 2011.

Paalala ko lang po, sa siyam at kalahating taon bago tayo maitalaga sa puwesto, iisang beses lang tayong nakatikim ng ratings upgrade, at anim na beses pang na-downgrade ng iba’t ibang ratings agency. Sa isang taon pa lang po natin, apat na beses na tayong nabigyan ng upgrade. Alam naman po natin na hindi madaling ma-upgrade sa panahon ngayon. Itong mga ratings agency, nabatikos na mali raw ang payo bago magkakrisis sa Amerika, kaya ngayon ay mas makunat na sila sa pagbibigay ng magandang ratings, at nakikita nga natin ito sa sunud-sunod na pag-downgrade sa ibang bansa. Pero tayo po, inupgrade pa nila. Sang-ayon silang lahat: gumanda at lalo pang gaganda ang ekonomiya ng Pilipinas. Isang hakbang na lang po, aabot na tayo sa investment grade, at wala pong tigil ang ating economic team upang tuluyan na tayong makaarangkada.

At may mabubuting balita pa pong parating. Dahil wala nang wang-wang sa DOE, muling nabuhay ang kumpiyansa ng mga namumuhunan sa ating energy sector. Patunay dito ang isandaan at apatnapung kumpanya na nakahandang tumaya sa eksplorasyon at pagpapalakas ng ating oil at natural gas resources. Sa huling energy contracting round noong 2006, tatlumpu’t lima lang po ang nakilahok. Nitong Biyernes lamang po, nilagdaan na ang panibagong kasunduan para sa isang bagong power plant sa Luzon grid upang pagdating ng 2014, may mas mura at mas maaasahang pagmumulan ng enerhiya ang bansa.

May kumpiyansa, may pag-asa, at tinutupad po natin ang ating mga pangako. Naaalala ko nga po ang babaeng nakausap ko nang ako’y unang nagha-house-to house campaign. Ang kaniyang hinaing: “Miski sino naman ang manalo, pare-pareho lang ang kahihinatnan. Mahirap ako noong sila ay nangangampanya; mahirap ako habang nakaupo sila, at mahirap pa rin ako pag nagretiro na sila.” Sa madaling salita, ang hinaing po ng marami, “Walang pakialam ang mga pinuno namin kahapon, wala silang pakialam ngayon. Bukas, wala pa rin silang pakialam.”

Di po ba’t may katuwiran naman siya sa pagsasabi nito, dahil sa pagwawang-wang sa mga ahensya ng gobyerno? Wang-wang po ang pagbili ng helicopter sa presyong brand new, pero iyon pala ay gamit na gamit na. Wang-wang ang milyun-milyong pabuya na tinanggap ng mga opisyal ng GOCC, tulad ng sa Philippine National Construction Corporation, gayong hindi naman sila nakapaghandog ng disenteng serbisyo, at ibinaon pa sa utang ang kanilang mga ahensya. Bago sila bumaba sa puwesto, dalawandaan, tatlumpu’t dalawang milyong piso po ang inomento ng dating pamunuan ng PNCC sa kanilang sarili. 2007 pa lang po, wala na silang prangkisa; lahat ng kikitain, dapat diretso na sa pambansang gobyerno. Hindi na nga nag-abot ng kita, sinamantala pa ang puwesto. Ang bonus nila mula 2005 hanggang 2009, dinoble pa nila sa unang anim na buwan ng 2010. Ibinaon na nga po nila sa bilyun-bilyong pisong utang ang kanilang tanggapan, nasikmura pa nilang magbigay ng midnight bonus sa sarili.

Para po pigilan ang pagwang-wang sa kaban ng bayan, sinuyod at sinuri natin ang mga programa. Dalawang magkasunod na taon na po nating ipinatutupad ang zero-based budgeting, na nagsisilbing kalasag sa walang-saysay na paggastos.

Sa Laguna Lake po, magtatanggal nga ng 12 million cubic meters sa dredging, pero pagkatapos ng tatlong taon, garantisado naman itong babalik. 18.7 billion pesos ang magiging utang natin para lang maglaro ng putik. Hindi pa bayad ang utang, nag-expire na ang pakinabang. Pinigilan po natin iyan. Ang food-for-school program na bara-bara lang ang paghahanap ng benepisyaryo, at iba pang inisyatibang pinondohan ngunit walang pinatunguhan—binura na natin sa budget upang ang pera namang nalibre, ay mailaan sa mga proyektong totoong may silbi.

Ang budget po ang pinakamalinaw na pagsasabuhay ng ating tuwid na landas. Ang aking pahiwatig sa lahat ng gusto pang ilihis tayo rito: Kung mang-aagrabyado ka lang ng mahirap, huwag ka nang magtangka. Kung sarili mo lang ang papayamanin mo, huwag ka nang magtangka. Kung hindi iyan para sa Pilipino, huwag ka nang magtangka.

Sana masabi na natin na tapos na ang utak wang-wang, pero nakikita po natin ang latak ng ganitong kaisipan na pilit bumubulahaw sa aliwalas ng ating biyahe sa tuwid na landas.

Mukhang marami rin po kasi ang nagwawang-wang sa pribadong sektor. Ayon sa BIR, mayroon tayong halos 1.7 million na self-employed at professional tax payers gaya ng mga abogado, doktor, negosyante na nagbayad lamang, sa suma total, ng 9.8 billion pesos noong 2010. 5,783 pesos lang ang ibinayad na income tax ng bawat isa sa kanila—ang ibig sabihin, kung totoo po ito, ang kabuuang kita nila ay umaabot lang ng 8,500 pesos lamang kada buwan. Mababa pa sa minimum wage. Naman.

Nakikita naman po ninyong napupunta na sa tama ang buwis ninyo, kaya wala na pong dahilan upang iwasan natin ang pagbabayad. Nananawagan po ako sa inyo: Hindi lang po gobyerno, kundi kapwa natin Pilipino ang pinagkakaitan sa hindi pagbabayad ng tamang buwis.

Pinananagot at pananagutin po natin ang wang-wang saanmang sulok ng gobyerno. Ang masakit, hanggang sa mga araw pong ito, may sumusubok pa ring makalusot. Mayroon nga pong isang distrito sa Region 4B, may proyektong gagastusan ng 300 million pesos. Kaso hanggang 50 million pesos lang ang puwedeng aprubahan ng district engineer.

Kaya naisip nilang ichop-chop ang proyekto para di lumampas sa 50 million pesos ang halaga, at di na umabot sa regional at central office ang mga papeles. Kani-kaniyang diskarte, kani-kaniyang kaharian ang nadatnan nating situwasyon sa DPWH. Sinubukan nilang ipagpatuloy ang nakasanayan na nila. Kadalasan, dahil sa lump-sum na pagbibigay ng pondo, wala nang tanung-tanong kung ano ang plano at detalye ng proyekto. Miski yata bahay ng gagamba ang ipapatayo, bibigyan ng pondo, basta may padrino.

Hindi ito pinalusot ni Secretary Babes Singson. Tinanggal na niya sa puwesto ang district engineer. Pinigilan din po ang pag-award ng proyektong ito para busisiin kung ano pang magic ang nangyari. Masusi na ring iniimbestigahan lahat ng nagkuntsabahan. Ang mga kontratistang mapatunayang nakipagsabwatan para mag-tongpats sa mga proyekto, ibablack-list natin.

Tingnan nga po ninyo ang idinulot na perhuwisyo ng pagwawang-wang sa sistema: Tuloy ang pagdusa ng mamamayang dapat nakikinabang na sa proyekto ng bayan.

Hindi lang po iyan sa region 4B nadiskubre. Ngunit natigil na po ito dahil hindi na padrino kundi tamang proseso ang naghahari sa DPWH. Hindi na puwedeng walang work program; kailangang magpakita ng pinag-isipang plano para hindi magkasalungat ang pagsasagawa ng mga proyekto. Malinis at hayag na ang bidding, at pantay na ang pagkakataon sa pagpasok ng mga kontratista.

Sa sistemang pinaiiral ngayon sa DPWH, nakatipid na tayo ng dalawa’t kalahating bilyong piso, at umaasa tayo na aabot pa sa anim hanggang pitong bilyong piso ang matitipid sa taon na ito. Ang pinakamahalaga po, nakakaasa na tayo sa mga kalsadang matino, hindi ‘yung maambunan lang ay lulundo o mabibiyak agad. Paniwala natin dati, imposibleng maitama ng DPWH ang sistema nila. Hindi lang po ito posible; sa unang taon pa lamang, ginagawa na natin ito.

Kahit po sa mga bukirin, may mga nagwawang-wang din. Bago tayo maupo noong 2010, nag-angkat ang bansa ng 2.3 million metric tons ng bigas. 1.3 million metric tons lamang ang kailangan nating angkatin, ngunit pinasobrahan pa nila ito ng isang milyon. Dahil nga sobra-sobra ang inangkat, kinailangan pa nating gumastos muli sa mga bodegang pagtatambakan lang naman ng barko-barkong bigas.

Ilang taon bang walang saysay na pinasobrahan ang bigas na inaangkat? Dahil dito, umiral ang pag-iisip na habambuhay na tayong aangkat ng bigas. Ang akala ng marami, wala na talaga tayong magagawa.

Ngunit sa loob lamang ng isang taon, pinatunayan nating mali sila. Ngayon, ang dating 1.3 million metric tons na kakulangan natin sa bigas, halos nangalahati na; 660,000 metric tons na lang po ang kailangan nating angkatin. Kahit dagdagan pa natin iyan ng panangga laban sa sakuna at gawing 860,000 metric tons—na ginagawa na nga po natin—mas mababa pa rin ito sa tinatayang taunang kakulangan na 1.3 million metric tons.

At hindi po buwenas lang ang nangyaring pag-angat ng ating rice productivity. Bunga po ito ng matinong pamamalakad: ng paggamit ng maiinam na klase ng binhi, at masusi at epektibong paggastos para sa irigasyon. Nito nga pong nakaraang taon, labing-isang libo, animnaraan at labing-isang bagong ektarya ng bukirin ang napatubigan natin. Dagdag pa iyan sa halos dalawandaan at labindalawang libong ektarya na nakumpuni o nabigyang muli ng irigasyon matapos ang panahon ng pagkakatiwangwang. Ang resulta: umangat ng 15.6% ang inani nating palay noong nakaraang taon.

Ang gusto nating mangyari: Una, hindi tayo aangkat ng hindi kailangan, para lang punan ang bulsa ng mga gustong magsariling-diskarte ng kita sa agrikultura. Ikalawa: Ayaw na nating umasa sa pag-angkat; ang isasaing ni Juan dela Cruz, dito ipupunla, dito aanihin, dito bibilhin.

Balikan din po natin ang dinatnang kalagayan ng ating mga kawal at kapulisan. Labingtatlong libong piso po ang karaniwang suweldo ng isang PO1 sa Metro Manila. Apat na libong piso daw rito ang napupunta sa upa ng bahay. Tila tama nga po na isang-katlo ng kanilang sahod diretso na sa upa. Isang-katlo pa nito, para naman sa pagkain. At ang natitirang isang-katlo, para sa kuryente, tubig, pamasahe, pampaaral sa anak, gamot sakaling may magkasakit, at iba pa. Maganda na nga po kung tumabla ang kita niya sa gastusin. Kapag naman kinapos, malamang sa five-six po sila lalapit. At kapag nagpatung-patong ang interes ng utang nila, makatanggi kaya sila sa tuksong dumelihensya?

Kaya ang ipinangako nating pabahay nitong Pebrero, ngayong Hulyo ay tinutupad na. Nakapag-abot na po tayo ng apat na libong Certificate of Entitlement to Lot Allocation sa magigiting nating kawal at pulis. Bahagi pa lang po ito ng target nating kabuuang dalawampu’t isang libo at walong daang bahay sa pagtatapos ng taong ito. Ang dating apatnalibong ibinabayad para sa upa kada buwan, ngayon, dalawandaang piso na lang, para pa sa bahay na pagmamay-ari talaga nila. Ang dating nalalagas na halaga na pambayad sa buwanang renta, maaari nang igugol para sa ibang gastusin.

Mayroon pa raw pong mahigit isang libong bahay na natitira, kaya po sa mga pulis at sundalo nating di pa nakakapagpasa ng papeles, last call na po para sa batch na ito. Pero huwag po kayong mag-alala, sa susunod na taon, lalawak pa ang ating pabahay, at hindi lang pulis at kawal sa Luzon ang makikinabang. Inihahanda na ng NHA ang lupang patatayuan sa Visayas at Mindanao, para sa susunod na taon, makapagpatayo na tayo ng mga bahay doon. Sa ating mga kawani ng Bureau of Jail Management and Penology at Bureau of Fire Protection, may good news po ako: kasama na po kayo rito.

Kung seguridad na rin lang po ang ating pag-uusapan, di ba’t karugtong din nito ang ating pambansang dangal? Dati, hindi man lang natin makuhang pumalag tuwing may sisindak sa atin sa loob mismo ng ating bakuran. Malinaw ang pahiwatig natin ngayon sa buong mundo: Ang sa Pilipinas ay sa Pilipinas; kapag tumapak ka sa Recto Bank, para ka na ring tumapak sa Recto Avenue.

Tama nga po kaya ang kuwento tungkol sa isang stand-off noong araw? Tinapatan daw ang mga marino natin ng kanyon. Ang ginawa nila, pumutol ng puno ng niyog, pininturahan ito ng itim, saka itinutok sa kalaban. Tapos na po ang panahong iyan. Parating na ang mga capability upgrade at modernization ng mga kagamitan ng ating Sandatahang Lakas. Literal na pong naglalakbay sa karagatan papunta rito ang kauna-unahan nating Hamilton Class Cutter, isang mas modernong barko na magagamit natin para mabantayan ang ating mga baybayin. Maaari pa po tayong makakuha ng mga barkong tulad nito. Idadagdag iyan sa kukunin na nating mga helicopter, patrol craft, at sandata na bultong bibilhin ng AFP, PNP, at DOJ upang makakuha ng malaking diskuwento. Lahat po ito, makakamtan sa matinong pamamahala; mabibili sa tamang presyo, nang walang kailangang ipadulas kung kani-kanino.

Wala tayong balak mang-away, pero kailangan ding mabatid ng mundo na handa tayong ipagtanggol ang atin. Pinag-aaralan na rin po natin ang pag-angat ng kaso sa West Philippine Sea sa International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, upang masigurong sa mga susunod na pagkakataon ay hinahon at pagtitimpi ang maghahari tuwing may alitan sa teritoryo.

Alam ko pong magbubunga ang pag-aarugang ipinapamalas natin sa mga lingkod-bayan na nakatutok sa ating seguridad. Mantakin po ninyo: sa unang anim na buwan ng 2010, umabot sa isanlibo at sampung (1,010) kotse at motorsiklo ang nanakaw. Ikumpara po natin iyan sa apatnaraan at animnapung (460) kotse at motorsiklong nanakaw mula Enero hanggang Hunyo ng taong ito. Ang laki po ng naibawas. Malas ko lang po siguro na ‘yung isa o dalawang kaso ng carnapping ang nai-heheadline, at hindi ang pagbawas sa mga insidente nito o ang mas mataas na porsyento ng mga nanakaw na kotse na naibalik sa may-ari.

Isa pa pong halimbawa ng pagbabagong tinatamasa natin: Mayo ng 2003 nang lagdaan ang Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, pero dahil hindi sineryoso ng estado ang pagpapatupad nito, dalawampu’t siyam na indibiduwal lamang ang nahatulan sa loob ng pitong taon. Nalagpasan na po natin iyan, dahil umabot na sa tatlumpu’t isang human traffickers ang nahatulan sa ating administrasyon. Ito na po siguro ang sinasabing “sea change” ni Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ng Amerika. Dahil dito, natanggal na tayo sa Tier 2 Watchlist ng Trafficking in Persons Report nila. Kung hindi tayo natanggal sa watchlist na ito, siguradong napurnada pa ang mga grant na maaari nating makuha mula sa Millenium Challenge Corporation at iba pa.

Dumako po tayo sa trabaho. Dagdag-trabaho ang unang panata natin sa Pilipino. Ang 8% na unemployment rate noong Abril ng nakaraang taon, naibaba na sa 7.2% nitong Abril ng 2011. Tandaan po natin: moving target ang nasa hanay ng ating unemployed, dahil taun-taon ay may mga bagong graduate na naghahanap ng trabaho. Nito nga pong huling taon, nadagdag pa sa bilang nila ang libu-libong hawi boys, tagasabit ng banderitas, at iba pang mga Pilipinong kumuha ng pansamantalang kabuhayan mula sa eleksyon. Ang resulta po natin: Isang milyon at apatnaraang libong trabahong nalikha nitong nakaraang taon.

Dati, nakapako sa pangingibang-bansa ang ambisyon ng mga Pilipino. Ngayon, may pagpipilian na siyang trabaho, at hangga’t tinatapatan niya ng sipag at determinasyon ang kanyang pangangarap, tiyak na maaabot niya ito.

Malaki pa po ang puwedeng madagdag sa trabahong nalilikha sa ating bansa. Ayon pa lang po sa website nating Philjobnet, may limampung libong trabahong hindi napupunan kada buwan dahil hindi tugma ang kailangan ng mga kumpanya sa kakayahan at kaalaman ng mga naghahanap ng trabaho. Hindi po natin hahayaang masayang ang pagkakataong ito; ngayon pa lang, nagtatagpo na ang kaisipan ng DOLE, CHED, TESDA, at DEPED upang tugunan ang isyu ng job mismatch. Susuriin ang mga curriculum para maituon sa mga industriyang naghahanap ng empleyado, at gagabayan ang mga estudyante sa pagpili ng mga kursong hitik sa bakanteng trabaho.

Ngunit aanhin naman po natin ang mga numerong naghuhudyat ng pag-asenso ng iilan, kung marami pa rin ang napag-iiwanan? Ang unang hakbang: tinukoy natin ang totoong nangangailangan; namuhunan tayo sa pinakamahalaga nating yaman: ang taumbayan. Sa dalawang milyong pamilyang rehistrado sa ating Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, isang milyon at animnaraang libo na ang nakakatanggap ng benepisyo nito. Sa pagpapakitang-gilas ni Secretary Dinky Soliman, tinatayang may mahigit isandaang libong pamilya ang naiaahon natin mula sa kahirapan kada buwan. Kaya naman mataas ang aking kumpiyansang makukumpleto ang 1.3 million na dagdag na pamilya, mula sa kabuuang 2.3 milyong pamilyang target na benepisyaryo ng CCT bago matapos ang taong ito. At sa compliance rate nito na hindi bababa sa 92%, milyun-milyon na rin po ang inang regular na nagpapacheck-up sa mga health center, ang mga sanggol na napabakunahan, at ang mga batang hindi hinahayaan sa labas ng paaralan.

Simula pa lang po ito, at sa ganitong kalinaw na mga resulta, umaasa ako sa suporta ng bawat Pilipino, lalo na ng lehislatura, sa mungkahi nating salinan pa ng pondo ang Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program. Inaasam po natin na bago matapos ang 2012, tatlong milyong pamilya na ang mabibigyan ng puhunan para sa kanilang kinabukasan.

Binibigyan natin ang mga maralitang pamilyang ito ng pagkakataong makaahon sa buhay, dahil ang pag-asenso nila ay pag-angat rin ng buong bansa. Sino ang tatangkilik sa mga produkto at serbisyo ng mga negosyante, kung isang kahig, isang tuka naman ang mamimili? Kapag may amang kumakapit sa patalim para may kainin ang kanyang pamilya, at siya ay nagnakaw o nangholdap, sino ba ang puwedeng mabiktima ng krimen kundi tayo rin? Kung ang mga kababayan natin ay walang maayos na pagkain o tahanan, mahina ang kalusugan at may malubhang karamdaman, hindi ba’t tayo rin ang nasa peligrong mahawa sa kanilang kapansanan?

Naglalatag po tayo ng pagbabago upang mas mapatibay ang pundasyon ng maaliwalas na bukas para sa lahat. Halimbawa, sa kalusugan: Di ba’t kapansin-pansin ang pagtaas ng bilang ng mga benepisyaryo ng PhilHealth tuwing maghahalalan? Ngayon, sa pamamagitan ng National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR), tiniyak natin na ang limang milyon at dalawandaang libong pamilyang Pilipino na nakikinabang sa PhilHealth ay ang talagang mga nangangailangan nito. Malawakang pag-unlad at pag-asenso ng lahat: Iyan po ang panata natin. Walang maiiwan sa tuwid na landas.

Tumungo naman po tayo sa ARMM. Ang dating sistema: Nagbabatuhan lang ng huwad na utang ng loob ang mga baluktot na kandidato. Kapag pambansang halalan, malaya ang nakaupo sa ARMM na imane-obra ang makinarya sa kaniyang rehiyon para matiyak na bokya ang boto ng mga hindi kaalyado. Kapag naman eleksyon sa ARMM at maniningil na ng utang si Mayor o Governor, ang administrasyon naman ang magpapatakbo ng makinarya para manalo ang kanilang kandidato.

Ayon nga po sa naungkat ng COA, sa opisina ng regional governor ng ARMM, mula Enero 2008 hanggang Setyembre 2009, walumpung porsyento ng mga disbursement ang napunta sa mga cash advance na wala namang maayos na paliwanag. Kung hindi nawala ang pondong ito, nakatapos na sana ang isang batang tumawid sa ghost bridge, para pumasok sa ghost school, kung saan tuturuan siya ng ghost teacher. Walang humpay na paghihirap, at walang pag-asa ng pag-asenso.

Gusto nating maranasan ng ARMM ang benepisyo ng tamang pamamahala. Kaya ang solusyon: synchronization. Dahil dito, kailangan nilang tumutok sa kani-kanilang mga kampanya; magiging mas patas ang labanan, at lalabnaw ang command votes. Salamat sa Kongreso at naipasa na ang batas na magsasabay ng halalan sa ARMM sa halalang pambansa.

At bakit po postponement ang kailangan? Sa kagustuhang makabalik sa puwesto, nakahanda ang ilan na ulitin ang nakagawian para manalo. Isipin na lang po ninyo kung pumayag tayo sa kagustuhan ng mga kontra, at itinuloy natin ang eleksyon. Wala po silang ibang gagawin sa loob ng dalawang taon kundi paghandaan ang susunod na halalan at isiksik ang kalokohan nila sa mas maigsing panahon. Habang nananatili sa pwesto ang mga utak wang-wang na opisyal, naiiwan namang nakalubog sa kumunoy ng kawalang-pagasa ang taumbayan.

Wala akong duda sa kahihinatnan ng mga repormang inilatag natin. Hindi po tayo nagbubukambibig lang; may kongkretong resulta ang ating mga paninindigan. Kapag sinabi nating tuwid na daan, may katapat itong kalsada sa Barangay Bagumbayan sa Sta. Maria, Laguna. Kapag sinabi nating malinis na pamamahala, may dadaloy na malinis na tubig sa mga liblib na lugar gaya ng nasa Barangay Poblacion, sa Ferrol, Romblon. Kapag sinabi nating liwanag ng pagbabago, titiyakin nating may liwanag na tatanglaw sa mga pamayanang dati ay nangangapa sa aandap-andap na gasera, gaya ng ginawa natin sa Barangay San Marcos, sa Bunawan, Agusan del Sur. Ganito na ang nangyayari sa marami pang ibang lugar; pinipilit nating ito rin ang mangyari sa kabuuan ng Pilipinas.

Nakatutok na po ang iba’t ibang ahensya ng gobyerno; nag-uugnayan at nagtutulungan sila upang maabot at mapabilis ang mga solusyon sa mga problemang kaytagal nang pinapasan ng bayan.

Di po ba’t may problema tayo sa baha, na alam naman nating dulot ng walang humpay at ilegal na pagputol ng mga puno? Ang dating solusyon: photo-op ng pagtatanim na ang tanging benepisyaryo ay nagpapapoging pulitiko. Nagtanim nga ng puno kontra-baha, pero hindi naman siniguro na mananatiling nakatayo ang mga ito pag-alis nila.

Isa sa mga solusyong pinag-aaralan ay ang gawing kapaki-pakinabang sa mga pamayanan ang pagbabantay ng puno. Bibigyan sila ng binhi ng kape at cacao para itanim at mamunga ng kabuhayan. Habang hinihintay ang ani, makakakuha sila ng stipend upang bantayan naman ang mga punong itinanim laban sa baha. Puwedeng maging benepisyaryo ng programang ito ang mga informal settlers, na ngayon ay nagkukumpulan sa siyudad. Mamumuhunan tayo sa taumbayan, habang namumuhunan din sa kalikasan.

Noon bang isang taon, inisip ninyo na kaya nating gawin ito? Sa ngayon, tinutupad na natin ang ating mga pangako. Bukas makalawa, katotohanan na ang lahat ng ito.

Marami pa pong malikhaing konsepto na inilalapit sa atin. May mosquito trap na pinapatay ang mga kiti-kiti ng lamok, na siguro naman po ay may kinalaman sa halos labing-apat na porsiyentong pagbaba ng insidente ng dengue; may hibla ng niyog na itatapon na sana, pero puwede palang murang solusyon sa mga daanang madaling mabitak; may landslide sensor na magbababala kung tumaas na ang panganib na gumuho ang lupa; may mga kagamitang magbibigay ng senyales kung malapit nang umapaw ang tubig sa mga ilog. Lahat po ito, gawa ng Pilipino.

Pinag-aaralan na rin po ng DOST at UP ang pagkakaroon ng monorail system, para tugunan ang problema sa pangmalawakang transportasyon. Sa malikhaing pag-iisip ng kapwa Pilipino, may pag-asa palang magtayo ng light rail system nang hindi hihigit sa 100 million pesos ang gagastusin kada kilometro. Sa matitipid na pondo, mas mahabang kilometro ng riles ang mailalatag at makaka-abot sa mga lugar na malayo sa sentro ng komersyo. Ang mga dating sumisiksik sa siyudad para maghanap ng trabaho, maaari nang tumira sa malayo, nang hindi pahirapan ang biyahe.

Uulitin ko po: ang mungkahing ito ay galing sa kapwa natin Pilipino, para sa Pilipinas. Naaalala po ba ninyo ang panahon kung kailan ni hindi man lang maabot ng mga pangarap natin ang ganitong mga proyekto? Ngayon, sinasabi ko sa inyo: pinapangarap natin ito, kaya natin ito, gagawin natin ito. Hindi ba tayo nagagalak, Pilipino tayong nabubuhay sa ganitong panahon?

Sa kabila ng lahat ng ito, huwag po sana nating lilimutin: masasayang lang ang lahat ng ating narating kung hindi tuluyang maiwawaksi ang kultura ng korupsyon na dinatnan natin.

Sa mga kapwa ko empleyado ng sambayanan, mula sa tuktok hanggang sa bawat sulok ng burukrasya: Di po ba’t napakarangal na ngayon ang magtrabaho sa gobyerno? Di po ba’t ngayon, sa halip na ikahiya, gusto mo pang isuot ang iyong ID kung sumasakay ka ng bus o jeep papasok sa iyong ahensya? Sasayangin po ba natin ang karangalang kaloob sa atin ng sambayanan?

Iyan din po ang aking panawagan sa ating Local Government Units. Kabilang po ako sa mga sumasang-ayon na kayo ang pinaka-nakakaalam sa pangangailangan ng taumbayan sa inyong mga lungsod at munisipyo. Makakaasa po ang ating mga LGU sa higit na kalayaan at kakayahan, kung makakaasa rin tayong gagamitin ito sa tuwid na paraan, at isasaalang-alang ang kapakanan ng buong sambayanan.

Halimbawa po, may ilang munisipyo na naisipang magbuwis sa mga transmission lines ng kuryente na dadaan sa kanilang mga pook. Magpapasok nga po ng kita sa kanilang lokal na kaban, pero kapalit nito, tataas din ang gastusin ng mas nakararaming Pilipino sa kuryente. Tiwala po akong kaya nating balansehin ang interes ng inyong mga nasasakupan sa interes ng sambayanan.

Kailangan pong manatiling magkatugma ang ating mga programa, dahil ang ikauunlad ng buong bansa ay manganganak din ng resulta sa inyong mga pook. Wakasan na po sana natin ang agendang nakatuon sa susunod na eleksyon lamang, at ang kaisipang isla-isla tayong maihihiwalay ang sariling pagsulong sa pag-unlad ng bansa.

Tayo-tayo rin po ang dapat magtulungan tungo sa kaunlaran. Malaki ang pasasalamat ko sa Kongreso sa pagpapasa ng mga batas ukol sa GOCC Governance, ARMM Synchronization, Lifeline Electricity Rates Extension, Joint Congressional Power Commission Extension, Children and Infants’ Mandatory Immunization, at Women Night Workers.

Noong isang taon nga po, nagpakitang-gilas ang Kongreso sa pagpasa ng budget bago matapos ang taon. Dahil dito, nasimulan agad ang mga proyekto at hindi na inabot ng tag-ulan. Bukas na bukas po, ihahain na namin sa lehislatura ang budget para sa susunod na taon. Umaasa po ako na muli kayong magpapakitang-gilas, upang tuluyan na nating mapitas ang bunga ng mga naitanim nating pagbabago.

Maganda na po ang ating nasimulan. Pero mahalaga pong maalala natin: simula pa lang ito. Marami pa tayong gagawin. Hayaan po ninyong ilatag ko sa Kongreso ang ilan sa mga batas na magpapaigting sa pagtupad ng ating panata sa bayan.

Layon nating bigyan ng kaukulang kompensasyon ang mga biktima ng Martial Law; ang pagkakaloob ng makatarungang pasahod at benepisyo para sa mga kasambahay; at ang pagpapatupad ng isang mas maayos na sistema ng pensyon para sa mga kawal. Sinusuportahan din natin ang pagpapalawak ng sakop ng scholarship na ipinagkakaloob ng DOST sa mahuhusay ngunit kapuspalad na mag-aaral; ang pagtataguyod ng pinaigting na pangkalahatang kalusugan; at ang pangangalaga sa ating kalikasan at sa mga pasilidad na titiyak sa kaligtasan ng mga mamamayan sa oras ng sakuna.

Kabilang din po sa ating agenda ang pagpapalakas ng BuCor, ng NBI, ng NEA, at ng PTV 4, upang sa halip na mapag-iwanan ng kaalaman at panahon, mas maayos nilang magagampanan ang kanilang pagbibigay-serbisyo sa publiko.

Hindi ko po nailagay ang lahat ng gustong magpasali ng kanilang adbokasiya dito sa SONA. Pero kumpleto po ang detalye sa budget at budget message. Sa mga interesado po, pakibasa na lang.

May mga nagsasabing pinepersonal ko raw ang paghahabol sa mga tiwali. Totoo po: Personal talaga sa akin ang paggawa ng tama, at ang pagpapanagot sa mga gumagawa ng mali—sino man sila. At hindi lamang dapat ako ang namemersonal sa usaping ito. Personal dapat ito sa ating lahat, dahil bawat Pilipino ay biktima nito.

Ang mali—gaano katagal man ito nanatili—ay mali pa rin. Hindi puwedeng “Oks lang, wala lang iyan.” Kapag kinalimutan natin ang mga ito, mangyayari lang ulit ang mga kamalian ng nakaraan. Kung hindi magbabayad ang mga nagkasala, parang tayo na rin mismo ang nag-imbita sa mga nagbabalak gumawa ng masama na umulit muli.

Ang totoo nga po, marami pang kalokohan ang nahalungkat natin. Halimbawa, sa PAGCOR: kape. Isang bilyong piso po ang ginastos ng dating pamunuan ng ahensya para sa kape; sa isandaang piso na lang po kada tasa, lalabas na nakakonsumo sila ng sampung milyong tasa. Baka po kahit ngayong iba na ang pamunuan ng PAGCOR ay dilat na dilat pa rin ang mata ng mga uminom ng kapeng ito. Hanapin nga po natin sila, at matanong: nakakatulog pa po ba kayo?

Pagpasok ng bagong Ombudsman na si dating Supreme Court Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales, magkakaroon tayo ng tanod-bayan na hindi magiging tanod-bayad ng mga nagwawang-wang sa pamahalaan. Inaasahan ko nga po na sa taon na ito, masasampahan na ng kaso ang lahat ng nagkuntsabahan sa katiwalian, at naging sanhi ng situwasyong ating inabutan. Tapos na rin po ang panahon kung kailan nagsasampa ang gobyerno ng malalabnaw na kaso. Kapag tayo ang nagsampa, matibay ang ebidensya, malinaw ang testimonya, at siguradong walang lusot ang salarin.

Tutok tayo na ang pagkakamit ng ganap na katarungan ay hindi natatapos sa pagsasakdal kundi sa pagkukulong ng maysala. Buo ang kumpiyansa ko na tinutupad ng DOJ ang malaki nilang bahagi upang maipiit ang mga salarin, lalo na sa mga kaso ukol sa tax evasion, drug trafficking, human trafficking, smuggling, graft and corruption, at extrajudicial killings.

Wala pong tsamba: ang tapat at mabuting pamamahala ay nanganganak ng mabuti ring resulta. Isipin po ninyo: naipatupad natin ang mga ipinangakong serbisyo ng gobyerno, at nakapaglaan pa ng sapat na pondo para sa mga proyekto nang hindi kinailangang magtaas ng buwis.

Iyan naman po talaga ang plano: siguruhin na patas ang laban; itigil ang panlalamang ng mga makapangyarihan; at tiyakin na ang dating sistema kung saan nakikinabang ang iilan ay magiging bukal ng oportunidad para sa lahat.

Tinutuldukan na po natin ang wang-wang: sa kalsada, sa gobyerno, sa kalakhang lipunan. Ito po ang manganganak ng kumpiyansa na magdadala ng negosyo; ito rin ang sisiguro na ang pondo ng taumbayan ay mapupunta sa dapat nitong kalagyan: Imprastruktura na titiyak sa tuluyang pag-angat ng ekonomiya at pagmumulan ng trabaho, at serbisyong panlipunan na sisigurong walang mapag-iiwanan. Bubukas ang marami pang pintuang pangkabuhayan sa pamamagitan ng turismo; sisiguruhing hindi magugutom ang Pilipino sa pagpapalakas ng agrikultura. Ang mga dating kinakaligtaan, bibigyang-puhunan ang kinabukasan.

Magbubunsod ito ng siklo kung saan tiyak na may pupuno sa mga nalilikhang trabaho, at may mga konsumer na lalong magpapalago sa mga negosyo.

Batid ko po na hanggang ngayon ay may kakaunti pang nagrereklamo sa ating estilo ng pamamahala. Nakita po ninyo ang aming estilo, at ang kaakibat nitong resulta. Nakita po ninyo ang estilo nila, at kung saan tayo nito dinala. Sa mga taong bukas ang mata, maliwanag kung saan ang tama.

Ngayong tayo na ang nagtitimon sa gobyerno, malinaw ang direksyong tinatahak ng ating bayan. Isang bansa kung saan ang pagkakataon ay abot-kamay; kung saan ang mga nangangailangan ay sinasaklolohan; kung saan may saysay ang bawat patak ng pawis, bawat sandali ng pagtitiis, at bawat butil ng hinagpis na dinaanan natin. Kung may gawin kang mabuti, may babalik sa iyong mabuti. At kung may gawin kang masama, tiyak na mananagot ka.

Naaalala ko nga po ang isang ginang na lumapit sa akin noong kampanya; ang babala niya, “Noy, mag-iingat ka, marami kang kinakabangga.”

Tama po ang sabi niya: Tao po akong may agam-agam din. Pero wala po akong alinlangang tumahak sa tuwid na daan: Buo ang loob ko dahil alam kong nasa likod ko kayo.

Salamat po sa mga pari at obispo na masinsinang nakikipagdiyalogo sa atin, katulad nina Cardinal Rosales at Vidal. Di naman po kami ganoong kalapit ni Cardinal Rosales, pero naniniwala akong ibinuhos niya ang lahat para mabawasan ang hindi pinagkakaunawaan ng gobyerno at simbahan. Sa paghahalal kay Archbishop Palma, tagapagtanggol ng karapatang pantao at kalikasan, lalo pong tumibay ang aking kumpiyansang ugnayan, at hindi bangayan, ang mabubuo sa pagitan ng estado at simbahan.

Salamat din po sa ating Gabinete, na walang kinikilalang panahon ng tulog o pahinga, maipatupad lang ang pambansang agenda. Special mention po ang PAGASA, na tunay na ngayong nagbibigay ng maaasahang babala.

At sa mga nasasagasaan po natin sa landas ng katapatan at integridad sa pamamahala, ito naman po ang aking masasabi: Pinili ninyo ang landas kung saan naaapi ang sambayanan. Pinili naman namin ang landas na ipagtanggol ang taumbayan. Nasa tama po kami; nasa mali kayo. Sa inyong magbabalik ng pang-aapi sa sambayan, hindi kayo magtatagumpay.

Sa lahat ng mga kasama natin sa tuwid na daan: Kayo ang lumikha ng pagkakataong baguhin ang dinatnan, at gawing mas maganda ang ipapamana natin sa susunod na salinlahi ng mga Pilipino. Kayo pong mga tsuper na pumapasada pa rin; kayong mga guro at estudyanteng pauwi pa lang mula sa klase; kayong patuloy ang paglikha ng mga obrang nagpapaalab sa apoy ng ating pagka-Pilipino; kayong mga pulis, sundalo, kaminero at bumbero; kayong mga marangal na nagtatrabaho, sa Pilipinas man, sa gitnang dagat, o sa ibang bansa; kayong mga tapat na kasama natin sa gobyerno, anumang probinsya o partido; kayong mga Pilipinong nakikinig sa akin ngayon—kayo po ang lumikha ng pagkakataong ito.

Lumikha po kayo ng gobyernong tunay na nagtatrabaho para sa inyo. May limang taon pa tayo para siguruhing hindi na tayo babalik sa dating kalagayan. Hindi tayo magpapadiskaril ngayong napakaganda na ng resulta ng ating sinimulan.

Kapag may nakita tayong butas sa sistema, huwag na po tayo magtangkang lumusot. Huwag na nating daanin sa pakiusap ang madadaan sa pagsisikap. Tama na ang unahan, tama na ang tulakan, tama na ang lamangan, dahil lahat naman po tayo ay makakarating sa minimithi nating kinabukasan.

Tapusin na po natin ang kultura ng negatibismo; iangat natin ang kapwa-Pilipino sa bawat pagkakataon. Bakit po ang iba, ang hilig maghanap ng kung anu-anong pangit sa ating bayan? At napakahirap—parang kasalanan—na magsabi ng maganda? Naalala pa po ba natin noong huling beses tayong pumuri sa kapwa Pilipino?

Itigil na po natin ang paghihilahan pababa. Ang dating industriya ng pintasan na hindi natin maitakwil, iwaksi na po natin. Tuldukan na po natin ang pagiging utak-alimango; puwede bang iangat naman natin ang magaganda nating nagawa?

Kung may nakita kang mabuti, huwag kang magdalawang-isip na purihin ito. Kapag nakita mo ang pulis sa kanto, nagtatrapik nang walang kapote sa ilalim ng ulan, lapitan mo siya at sabihing, “Salamat po.”

Kung magkasakit ka at makita mo ang nars na nag-aruga sa iyo, sa halip na magserbisyo sa dayuhan kapalit ng mas malaking suweldo, sabihin mo, “Salamat po.”

Bago ka umuwi galing eskuwela, lapitan mo ang guro mong piniling mamuhunan sa iyong kinabukasan kaysa unahin ang sariling ginhawa; sabihin mo, “Salamat po.” Sa aking guro, Salamat po Ginang Escasa.

Kung makasalubong mo ang iyong kinatawan sa kalsadang dati ay lubak-lubak, at ngayon ay puwede nang daanan nang maaliwalas, lapitan mo siya at sabihing: “Salamat po.”

Kaya po, sa sambayanang Pilipino, ang aking Boss na nagtimon sa atin tungo sa araw na ito: maraming, maraming salamat po sa pagbabagong tinatamasa natin ngayon.

Buhay na buhay na ang Pilipinas at ang Pilipino.

BEING A STUDENT FOR ONLY ONE DAY
By: Iris P. Concepcion

Takuapa School in Bang-Rai Si, Phang nga, Thailand immediately made me compare it with the University of the Philippines campus.

I am here upon the invitation of my sister-in-law's sister who is teaching Mathematics in high school. I have almost forgotten that the triangle, no matter how you expand or shrink it, would still result to the same size in all angles.

It houses teachers' dormitories in their old states, untouched. The buildings are sturdy but need some repainting.  Each classroom has different wooden desks and chairs. I had noticed that the Rotary Club donated at least a million baht from its members to properly stack up its library shelf. The amounts are marked outside, similar to Anuban Primary School in Yala. Its books are properly catalogued and has a lavender "Welcome" sign at the right side of its entrance.  It has a mini-stage in front for its school's extra-curricular programs.

I had noticed a mini e-library with old computer units as monitors blinked of anime characters flashing the peace sign. I like coming in here because of the paintings adorning it. They are fit to be hanged at any reputable museum. I know a little artistry and this is indeed one piece of such.  I have seen a variation of this from a tourist information center, with lobsters installed inside canvasses. They costs around 3,000 baht and they look immensely priceless. I also saw a chiller for drinks and water inside the library.

The school's flagpole is eerily dramatic like the improved pole at our very own Rizal Park. I attended its flag raising ceremony with surrounding, functioning fountains and widespread green leaves. It looks like a park.

It has a covered pathway similar to La Salle's at the main gate. Based on the newness of the structure, I had surmised that  these had been one of the improvements introduced to the place.

Since I am an incorrigible and, using the word of one of the teaching staff, naughty, I found myself being a student for one afternoon in two of the teaching sessions.

I personally think that being a teacher is more difficult than being a carpenter or an investment banker.  A teacher must control at least thirty minds in a united direction. It is one heck of a bionic composition to marshall divergent craniums, much less, the young and agile bodies of these craniums, in one destination.

The classes that I had sat in are all about conversational English. The kids can craft sentences admirably well and can do impromptu improv on their language usage with props. The topic is all about ordering food from a restaurant. I could sense a wonderful person with advocacy as a daily vocabulary gadget in his mind. I presume he had divested himself off material wealth  and had spent day-in-day-out, teaching these kids absorb the English grammatical fixes such as present continuous and past continuous.

This brings me to the vibrancy of the topic.  I have read in one of the Top Notch books a starting off point for learning English. It goes along this way:

A: "What's this called in English?"
B: "A stapler."
A: "A stapler?"
B: "Yes. That's right."

Of course, in The Little Prince, the author Exupery just drew a boa constrictor for immediate comprehension of an object using the words:

"This is a boa constrictor."

Dave Eggers, bless his snaky hair, had revolved it around the words:


 "This is a drawing of a stapler."

My otherwise stale and poor mind drafted little contributions to the ongoing conversation fit for a film scene.  I thought of it as overtly hilarious.

Here:

A: "What's this called In English?"
B: "A stapler."
A: " Oh, a stapler."
B:"Yes, it is a stapler."
C: "Oh my God, it is a stapler!"
D: "Is it really a stapler?"
E: " Yes, it is a freaking stapler!"
F: "How could it be a stapler?"

And so on and so forth. In varying intonations no less.  Of course, I need to insert character G with his ominous, biting words, for heightened cadence:

G: "No, it is a boa constrictor."

Education has all the balance, rigidity and evolvement that could shape or break a nation. I say, put the teachers just below the President/King/Prime Minister in that Top Most Important Occupations In The World.

Upclose, their job is like going to the guillotine. I suggest governments pay them extremely well.

And do not mess around them nor twist the words of teachers' wives. They can be ridiculously dangerous. Razor-sharp and direct.

Postscript:

Back in the Philippines, the new buzz word in President Aquino's economic team is Aquinomics. In Ana Marie Pamintuan's Philippine Star column, Secretary Cesar Purisima outlined the gist of this program :

"Aquinomics 101? Its four pillars: fiscal sustainability and macroeconomic stability; private-public partnership or PPP program; ease in doing business, for both local and foreign investors; and, investment in people—giving Filipinos health care, education and the skills 
necessary to become productive participants in the economy.

ON FRUITS AND WRINKLES
By: Iris P. Concepcion

I just had a farm moment with the most beautiful 50 and above woman yesterday.

We picked mangosteens and rambutans from her farm. She never grew tired carrying her blue pails filled with fruits. She advised me to wear boots. She  had likewise taught me fun Thai language that is Bangkok in accent.

I said she could get a lawn mower for the grassy talahibs growing out from her palm oil trees and fruit trees. We were escorted by a Muay Thai boxer whose face was plastered  in a boxing magazine that I had browsed earlier.  This sport is bloody and I told him to teach me how to kick my legs as far as Antarctica. He merely laughed. He brought rakes and other plant implements as if going to the gas chamber. Upon reaching the destination though, he used these to clean the toilets, fix the plumbing systems and yes, we did broom the already tiled floors.

It is still hilly but I had noticed that electricty and water had definitely seeped into the place. It has a mini convenience store precisely to give the rural folks that: convenience. I am living the life of an apple picker in Thailand for one day and this woman showed me how to do it with much elan, grace and succor. She is never selfish with her knowledge. She readily told me the average growth of palm oil. I had reparteed with my own take that perhaps, she could save more if she knows how to grow its seedlings instead of buying them. It makes sense for replanting. I taught her the word "reforestation" and she translated this to our companion. Our talks went from farm prices to seedlings; on how to choose the best fruits and how to get them from trees. You never rake them. One gets stainless stairs and harvest the fruits like climbing the cabinet  when looking for a Gunter Grass book.

I vowed to grow old like her. She knows how to get the proper sizes of clothes. We ate shell innards and fried rice and fish. We both are not hearty eaters; but her coffee is top of the world in an instant brew. She is ludicrously pretty but knows a lot about agriculture. She dug her hands unto the soil. I looked like a turd when I bit my fruits instead of using my hands.

We drank oranges after. Sometimes you encounter people in your life who can educate you about the most simple but finer dimensions of living. My stock knowledge of Thai words are now shortened. They  are pleasant to hear. She had corrected my crude sentences with opening lines that are tongue-manageable.

The roads to farms are well-paved and cemented.

I did not realize the world importance of grass cutter until now. It is similar to a pricey lipstick if you are a farmer.

This woman looks very posh and rich and empowered but she does not squeal when presented with snakes, worms, heat of the sun and some rotten fruits.

I am thankful for an afternoon of discovery about farming.

Who knows, I could be a perfect Muay Thai boxer to fight water pollution.
.
(P.S. Note to corn kids: She translated the title of my blog as Khun. You are now officially the Khun Kids. I take delight over the fact that you make stupid videos about your mother. Is Con the new soccer team aside from Manchester United?)

TSUNAMI, REDUX
By: Iris P. Concepcion

There he is with his massive tusk, carrying a green chair atop his flapping ears.

Startled, I have seen his humongous brood inside the wild rubber trees, inhabiting the life of humans.

Elephants. They rule this area.

A son of my sister-in-law's sister was asked by this writer if there is a park in Takuapa.  He replied that it is still being developed.

He asked if I wanted to see the beaches. I said  "Yes."  The three of us glided ourselves in a motorcycle and explored this other dimension of the urbane forest.

Here, a lane for motorists is especially  reserved for humanoids with motorcycles.  We wheezed past elephant camps and schools and buses and trucks and wheezed just as fast as bullet trains.  I was told to wear a helmet which made me look like a car mechanic.  I thought it was silly but it made sense once we hit the gravel-ly roads.

Along the way, the elephant with a green chair on his head, munching grass leisurely, was on cue, prepared to face the digital camera looking  like a very serious Rodney Dangerfield.  I am very comfortable with these giant animals despite my bantam stature. I could not figure it out and bears no illusion to dissect this instant affinity.

This is the tsunami memorial area but no traces of disaster is apparent here. Khao Lak had resurfaced as an invigorating town and it had removed any traces of its disastrous experience.  It is filled with resorts and hotels; its surroundings a John Wayne scene template. I was impressed with its innovative store signages: "Good Goods", "Think Of", "Book Tree"  that made absolutely no sense at first glance.

Words run silkier through the gates of a futuristic wilderness.

These people know how to pay respect to their dead with the dynamism of encompassing, architectural heritage.

One could not miss the nuance; this ever evolving routes to creative roulette.  Bowing down to the forces of Nature with its dark secrets and little compartments of honey and frogs and butterflies.

This is a good, narrative style done in installation art. We had passed by champion taglines on the way back and rightfully so. The three-eyed men of restrained but justifiable conceit bearing the gifts of words, music and possibly, hypnosis, have come afront in their quest for explanations. They have more than parried; they have perpetually won over them by bringing the skeptics straight to where the vortex of action is. This is what we do; this is how we live.

We passed by a stall that always makes my eyes bright : a McDonald's outlet. We nonetheless dropped by Khao Lak's local 7-11 store. I bought four Mexican burgers done in homestyle barbecue and met a guy who asked me where I came from. I replied that I am from Planet Mars and he simply nodded. These things happen often in this side of the planet. His burger looked bigger than mine and that was the skit between us, meat chompers.

This is how Alex Garland had envisioned a modern nomad: leaving a path  with a changed view. My elephant taught me tenacity to accept surprises with tact.

I am caught in the middle of this transformation/ And I beg to differ, fifteen questions contain immediate perpetuation.

This begs for a novel chapter as the experience astounds beyond immeasurable margins.

Meanwhile.

I have seen this rough draft by a housemate lying on the table. She was writing a poem. She wrote:

"My journey continued with blessing in disguise 
I was bearing a life which suddenly disappeared
A life was sacrificed for me to realized many things about life
I felt sorry for my angel, and I thank him/her for the change have given to me
I felt sad for what happened between me and the man I love


Many there were really  things that a person must face
A situation that he/she must go through
Pains, fears, wonders, doubts and struggles must felt."

After listening to a kid being taught conversational English, I sat beside her and made her outpouring collude with some semblance of poetry.

I had inserted some words here and there and changed some for tonal bounce.

"A journey continues with blessings in disguise
I am wombing a life which suddenly disappeared
Sacrificed for me to realize many things about life
I feel sorry for my angel and I thank him for the changes winged upon me
Desolation awaits between me and the man I love.


Maybe there are things that a person must face;
Situations lived, felt and digested
Pains, fears, wonderings, doubts and struggles, converged."

I had asked someone if he could attach melody to the words. This is called evolution and it turns round and round and round.

P.S. I am extremely proud of the corn kids. Do not ask the writer who these are but they are never, ever porn without a societal feel to what is just, humane, creative and transformational. Drop the heels, dig the bus. Right  now, I am reading an original play titled "One" which is a serious comedy on cross cultures.

THE COLD THAI RANGE ACCORDING TO IRIS
By: Iris P. Concepcion

I embarked on another opened road, now toward the cold and rainy terrain of Thailand going to Phuket.

I got off  at Phanga, a city after Trang and Krabi.  I took the bus this time and had noticed the most eclectic and multi-faceted structures of Thailand's outback life.

I left Yala while it is still about to wake up with its rattling books and tea kettles; I was sent to a terminal on the way to the bus station.

I boarded a van with space-age interiors. The drivers took turns in driving; one hails the vehicle and without proper introduction, takes the wheel and drives forth. It is like a cycling match. The roads skimmed of factories and industrial facilities. I sat beside an intense guy in blue and yellow shirt. He has a serious entitlement to himself as he reads his projects.  I was dozing off all the time; this is like a train ride on the land that I have already seen in my numerous rail travels. I had noticed an intersection of the train and remembered the "wat" and its cemented elephant. I saw an incredible fish pond along the way, with fishes hopping in arched manner.

I got off at Pattalung, a place where a small but busy section of buses and vans is located.  I had observed that Thais never run out of options to consider when travelling and can be freely nomadic without sacrificing their cultural heritage. They are keen on their future without abandoning the majesty of their origin.

I boarded a single decker bus this time, remnants of the old, plied route in my own province. The one I rode in has a worn-out Panasonic television set with a backturned freshener beside it.  It has a non-functioning audio equipment.  The conductor has eagle fingernails: long and Martial Arts like stuck in hands that never seem to end.  Their ticket dispenser is mile long. They are placed inside a tin rolling pin. It is a curious receptacle of tickets.  Two dolls were swaying on the left of the driver's seat, bouncing off steadily like hoopla women as the travel motioned. In front of these are pictures of a man who looks like the guy I had beaten in Scrabble back in the Manila hood. He is a monk. He is with two men in brass band outfits cum Japanese kimonos with shining samurais. They look like movie posters.  Their pools of eyes soeak of tales, far, wide and deep.

The bus stops that command awe are Trang and Krabi. Trang is home to a sprawling mall Robinson which is bigger than Haad Yai's outlet.While it is clearly urbane at first glance, it houses curious edifices that are inch shades of fairytale materials. Its park is enchanting from the outside: it has rows of trees with big barks and pretty benches.  I saw a ship-structured building as pointed at by my seatmate, a jean-clad woman with haunting eyes and huge mangoes. Her name is impeccable: Aiyada. The building is a hotel. I have also seen a house that is shaped like a bus, a real vehicle structure, erected beautifully in one of the city's corners. In wonderment, I sense some creative juices bent on shouldering the brunt of creative  craftsmanship as dwarfs and giants gleefully peek from  the forest. This is pure marksmanship delivered straight to the bullseye target.

Krabi is specked with fusions, both old and new. Its movie theaters made me recall the Western flicks, all done with celluloid themes in mind. I took a pee in its bus toilet and saw a pair of Caucasian backpackers discussing about Waterloo or so I had placed dialogues just above their heads.

I left Yala at 5:30 in the morning and reached Phanga at 3:00 p.m.

The place is enthralling as it is majestic because of its foggy mountains.  I have come and met personally the setting of my fictional story Meth; its sculptures stuck in wood ranges like the Grand Canyon. It is breathtaking as it is loudly Godly. Is is peace in a world shift.

Perched below these are establishments that bow down and kneel before the Gods of Earth, in hued fogs. Henry Greene's character may be lost here.

Immediately, I beckon the familiarity of scenes with my favorite telley program "Northern Exposure" set in the Alaskan wilds. What is lacking is the frolicking deer, but it does not snow here. Its KFC outlet does not offer gravy and I invented a skit with one of its crewmembers centering around the absence of gravy. This is the reason why in Malaysia, I was made to wait for additional minutes to have my sauce. They truly cook this especially for customers who demand it.

I was fetched by a sister of my sister-in-law at the bus station and headed to her home.

We hopped in a wooden bus this time with the most exquisite interior design inside, if ever one exists in a rustic setting. I was not turned off by its garish display of  faces. The craggy mysteries behind the faces of a king, monks and a lavender garland are all Almodovorian: they are cinematically out of bounds. These people know how to coalesce the past and the future with undying ease.

One store blares: World Vegan, World Peace. This shall turn out as a toplist sentence memoir that I shall lock, forever closeted in my mind. These are English lines that even Webster will approve of with grin.

The other one is penned this way: The Largest Fashion In The Whole Market.

As dark sets along the road, I have touched the sensory connection with the wilds and forests. Everything is mossy green.

Palm oil plants were placed in dug soil and it is agricultural aesthetics at its best. No barren field is left untoiled; everything is green.

I even had the best gift while I screen the imagery: an elephant surprised me at my bus window, uncaged and in its own habitat:, thumping in a moldy soil. With the ponds and farmers.

I laughed and laughed and laughed. I finally arrived as darkness engulfed the place.

This is a town but its biggest and meaningful structure is politically, health-correct. A hospital.

In one day, as is usual in my days, the world is at my fingertips and is revolving in its glorious magnificence.

ACORN STUCK IN SQUIRREL'S MOUTH
By: Iris P. Concepcion

In this dusky weather of unobtuse forays into the wonders of still sleeping, I opened a book for synonynyms and loaded up mentally on the word "rendezvous". A ward back in Manila can spell this without a pause and without batting her dominant eyes, and she was in Grade One at that time.

There used to be a restaurant in a town next to mine called "Rendezvous." There is possibly an overtly literate hippopotamus living in a lagoon who thought of giving our food joint this exasperating (to the tongue) word.

My father and mother had pronounced it properly. I thought I had acquired an amount of class even when we were in a rustic place because my parents can speak very well. Many had mispronounced it, ranging from "ran-desboos" to "rin-debu."

We had no source of electric lights then and we fetched water from a man-made pump. Our restaurants have fanciful names though. Our literacy rate could be judged by how we had baptized our eating joints. This could be a source of practical education. Litter the place with difficult words and the inhabitants can acquire the craving for correct spelling and diction. My style of educational sharing precisely hinges on this. I always advise for every learner of English to buy a compact Thesaurus. "I am hungry" sounds boring beside the vocabulary-charged "I am famished." This is an area where the hardware store is manned by a Chikoy Pura-lookalike of the band Jerks and women had developed a crush on this blue-eyed, motorcycle-riding animal called Winston plying its streets with a James Dean strut.

Curiously, I see the quiantness of my place of origin more vividly now. There were three Chinese merchants at my town center buying the local produce. My father then partook of the food of local natives; him and his fellow teachers' treks to the chilly and mountainous ranges look like the epical location sites of the Brokeback Mountain. Its fog, its cold bites. They all had been there to build schools out of nothing; teaching people how to write and read. My father had combed them all.

I am proud of my lineage for this sacrifice.

Here in Yala, I am reminded of my own personal History by the sights of school buildings flashing before me. I had visited one yesterday, Anubal,  and was astounded by the numerous computers stacked inside its libraries and teacher lounges. I had likewise observed that it had listed down the donors of buildings and their corresponding amounts in cash similar to the Wat Chang Hai train station marker with its immaculate comfort rooms spocked in an agricultural terrain.  It has its own school tee shirt, designed presumably by its students. This is a primary school but it is governed like a university. This area is called the "Green Learning Room" by the school administrators. I have listened to its pupils and was astonished by how proficient they are with their faculty of language.

And the ways of the world had turned circumferential. And inside its wheel is myself, grinning at the feast of sumptuous fare of the intelligentsia and the wicked and the funny, thrust like window sills for me to scrub and refine.

P.S. Joan Rivers does sound ecstatic and hilarious on primetime television. Do not ask her for directions or you would end up in the Himalayas. I am likewise brushing up my knowledge on Thailand and had encountered a wikipedia article about this film that bagged a Cannes. It looks interesting. I was bawled over by the fact that the Thai government, through its Royal Thai Ministry of Culture, helps young directors to finance their flicks. The themes and plots seem to be overtly exciting too, with the little  themes involving sex with/among catfish. Goofy aspect. I have learned that Thais are known for their smiles (Land of Smiles) and they have a term for this: sanuk, or that life should be fun. Read this for some plot inspiration. As an aside, I actually sat beside a woman who is with the Ministry of Culture during the Hindi-inspired wedding which I had attended, the event of which is chronicled in one of my previous entries.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Boonmee_Who_Can_Recall_His_Past_Lives

PESSIMISM MAKES ONE CRY
By: Iris P. Concepcion

I finally had a taste of the Hindi-Bollywood type of modern, wedding feast for a Muslim couple.

My sister-in-law was given an invitation by one of her former students.  She tagged me along with my unchewed chocolate squares after I had cleaned up  the bloody mess around me in a fictional Eminem setting.

The call was set hurriedly and I had managed to fix a mismatched clothing and slip-ons not knowing what to expect.

It was a wedding, all right,  but I saw one of the most beautiful bikes parked outside the wedding area. Its mechanical innards are transparent. It bears the brand Schaas, perhaps from Frankfurt, and it is gleaming and immaculate.It wails on top the words Bad XXX. Literary luminaries have cautioned me off to the realms of the mundane. Perhaps, they had  missed the point. It is in the funny details that you gain fat and proteins for your paragraphs to luminiscently swell in galactical proportions. Kurt Vonnegut made fun of time travels; he too must have met this bike in his lifetime.

I was told that the wedding feast lasts for weeks as people continue to partake of the food, gaiety and laughter unceasingly. Sometimes, the banquet lasts for a month. My Big Fat Greek Wedding is by no means a fluke. It does burst surprisingly in some Asian cultures. No wonder the bride and the groom become gaunt after the celebration. They have a whole Earth to feed to bless their union.

I took an immediate liking to the bride, clad in pink-white satin (tulle?). The wedding started at ten in the morning but guests who arrive at eight in the evening can still fill their tummies with shrimps in som tum, giant fish in spicy sauce, mango salad and bottles of Fanta. And the couple would still be around to greet their well-wishers, I presume, even after the Chinese New Year.

The bride is a happy blabbermouth; she speaks a very well-intoned English as she informs the guests of her husband's whereabouts (he is praying, she tells us).

Ever the gracious hostess, she walked in her regal wardrobe talking to people, loudly announcing that her mother does not understand English. They did not take my sister-in-law's envelope as is customary in this rites. Guests must give the newly-wed cash that must not be below 500 baht.

We were readily accosted to a table near the wedding stage. We ate the mix of food served. I had to re-acquaint myself with the abundant chilis enough to make one's lips plump. I invaded my sister-in-law's plate and ate her fish. I drank orange and shredded the shrimps. I consumed the mango salad, a delectable manner of piercing this fruit's eclectic food uses.

The stage is a Nine West bag. A fantastic arrangement of pink and white flowers with a sprightly clean and white sofa set in front. It is picture perfect. A sage once told me that no matter how much money you have in your hand, an artist never selects his forum for expression. You create only  the best whether or not you have six-pence or a million dollars. The flower arrangers put their hearts into making these flowers breathe. Reese Weatherspoon's Elle character would have swooned over the magical garden. It is all done in pink and white.

Like a photoshop studio, the bride and the groom who finally showed up in a Sgt. Pepper-like suit ensemble, posed for a lens adjusted by a guy in shirt with a Nora Aunor mole on his left mouth. His shirt bears the words Mr. Epic, perhaps foretelling the narrative of the Grapes of Wrath. It is embossed in seagreen. The husband  beamed with a big smile as his wife hopped from one area to another. I noticed that she packed a camera by herself to take pictures of her own wedding banquet.

Our seatmates at the table are from Pattani, a place reachable by train from Yala. They happily munched their cucumbers and bean stalks. I would have sworn to the authenticity of their sidekick postures. They were eating dramatically like plenty of men do: in huge gulps and slobs. The guy in shirt fiddled with the stalks though. He cleaned up the whole serving. He is the photographer-in-residence. I had elongated my mouth one time as the spicy food hit my palate like a volcano. Even their pancit noodles have chilis on top. I like the mango salad and the fish best. The laughing junglemen might be rating the food with the same star rating as mine. I had to desist myself from smiling as they catch the food in various array of mouth stretches. The most robust one looks like Yao Ming, the recently retired Houston NBA player.

We were invited to pose for pictures with the couple. I had refused and shouted to the wife who was already prettily transformed on stage, that I look like a slave beside her. Thank God for her gift of fortitude and language, my humor did not get lost.

And yes, she had announced that she has an existing Facebook account and would share the captured visual poetry online.

We bid adieu to the couple's family. We were all smiling as we came out. I was given a wedding souvenir: candy-shaped rings tied in a cute, pink fan.

We passed by the beautiful, manmade lake park on our way home. We did not catch its dawning allure as the streetlights were not turned on. I saw some boats anchored beside the trees. The lake at night invites a novel destiny beckoning for a brilliant discovery.

The lights above were still in dark hues; they have not used the newly installed ones with stadium and amphitheater-like watts. Everything looked dim after the feast until we reached Arkansongkhor Street where my sister-in-law bought me my little dough eggs that tasted like patiently baked waffles. They were sold near a stall of a guy in curious, outer space visage. He is spooning dark soup and had  floated the white quail eggs on top of it for a brightened look. At ten baht, I had my just dessert.

While we are at this hodgepodge of traditional and pop cultures combined, I would like to engage my readers to a poetry hummed and spoken through the artist named MarsRaps. Listen to the lyrics and cultivate the passion for a spoken angst, positively stitched in this gem find. Rap is never slow. Cherish the juxtapositions of his words.

They remind me of Noynoy Aquino's gut-soul language in Filipino. We link and relink because of one thing: we never see the future as dimlight but a bright and illumined highway.