Heavy rains flood numerous towns‘Pepeng’ forces 200K evacuees in BikolLIKE A RIVER. Naga City’s Panganiban Drive is inundated by flood waters brought by Pepeng’s heavy rainfall last Friday. dominic bacungan

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Evacuation ordered in CamNorte town

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Cordero wins 2009 Maningning Miclat Poetry Prize

by jOnAs cAbilEs sOlTEs

Catanduanes evacuates to higher ground as typhoon ‘Pepeng’ comes closer by cOnniE b. DEsTurA

VIRAC, CAtANduANEs--GoVERNoR JosEPh CuA today ordered the evacu-ation of families from different coastal baranggays and other low-lying areas in the province as typhoon “Pepeng” started to dump heavy rains.

The Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC)was convened after the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pa-gasa) declared that “Pepeng” would affect the province.

The Disaster Operations Center was also set up on a 24-hour basis.

Warnings and advisories have been sent to all municipalities in the morning, Friday.

Transport trucks are now on stand by at the capitol compound for emergency purposes.

The province’s rescue team, Catandu-anes Emergency Search and Rescue Team (CREST), is now on full alert status for any incident that may happen as typhoon ‘Pepeng’ comes closer in the province.

The province’s amateur radio groups, Kabalikat and DX4-ARCC, are also on disaster operation mode.

LEGAZPI CItY--thE muNICIPAL GoVERNmENt of Vinzons, Camarines Norte ordered the preemptive evacuation of residents living in the town’s coastal vil-lages.

PAGASA hoisted storm signal number 2 over Camarines Norte after Typhoon “Pepeng” had threatened the northernmost Bikol province.

As of 11:00 am today, 500 persons have been evacuated to Vinzons Pilot Elementary

IRosIN, soRsoGoN--ALICIA P. BALAstA, 61, of this town, lost his son Jonathan three times.

The first time was when Jonathan worked in Manila after dropping out of college. The second time was when he joined the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

The third and last time was when he was killed in the bloody firefight that also took the lives of eight of his com-rades last September 25.

He was 29. “A neighbor told me that my son was among the nine

rebels killed in Pilar (Sorsogon) and that authorities were

Rebel falls, mother loses son for the last time by jOnAs cAbilEs sOlTEs

dILImAN, QuEZoN CItY--thE BIkoL literary circle and the avid sup-porters of this artistic renaissance in the region has another reason to celebrate in the winning of Kristian Sendon Cordero in the Maningning Miclat Poetry Prize (Fili-pino Category) last September 24, 2009 at the Abelardo Hall of the University of the Philippines.

Cordero, a graduate school student of Ateneo de Manila University, joins other two winners, Mikael de lara Co for the English and Chen Liang from Fujian Province for the Chinese category respectively.

In a press release statement issued a week before the awarding ceremony by Alma Miclat, the Executive Director of the Maningning Miclat Art Foundation and

mother to Maningnging Miclat, three final-ists were named for every category. The finalists for Filipino and English categories are all in their mid20s, with age below 28, which is part of the criteria in joining the contest, are all previous winners of Palanca and other important literary competitions in the country.

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LEGAZPI CItY--dEsPItE BEING sPAREd FRom the direct route of tropical storm “Pepeng” which was packing some 195km. per/hour winds, the affected prov-inces of Catanduanes, Albay, Camarines Sur, and Camarines Norte had an estimated 200,000 evacuees crowd their evacuation centers due to the typhoon’s heavy rains, the office of the Civil Defense base in Camp Ola here reported on Friday (October 2).

The Albay PDCC reported that Albay Gov. Joey Salceda has ordered a preemptive evacuation on the coastal towns of Albay, and localities near Mt. Mayon’s danger zone since Thurs. (Oct. 1).

The PDCC said that on Friday evacuees

by sOnny sAlEs

have swelled to 115,000 individuals in Albay, particularly in Daraga and Legazpi City, prompting Gov. Salceda to order relief work-ers to provide some 15,465 food packages for evacuees in this province.

However, PDCC officials in Albay denied reports of heavy lahar flow from the shoulders of Mt. Mayon during heavy rains last Friday; nonetheless, localities near the volcano were earlier evacuated to safeguard residents from possible volcanic erosions.

In Catanduanes province, the De-partment of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) reported on Friday that landslides have blocked the national highway leading to the capital town of Virac, while similar land-

2VoxBikol 28 SEPT. - 04 OCT. 2009bikol news

UNEP soars high in skills competitions

‘tabang kan Bicol’ draws support Romualdez ranch threatened by squatters

www.voxbikol.comBe the fi rst to read the news, visit us online at

Call us at 473-4234

NAGA CItY--oNE oF thE earliest relief drive for the victims of tropical storm “Ondoy” in Metro Manila, dubbed as “Tabang kan Bicol,” started in this city where some 4,000 members of the Metro Naga Chamber of Com-merce and Industry (MNCI) and 10 other adjacent towns have started to appeal for food dona-tions, clothing, other basic neces-sities for typhoon–victims since September 27.

MNCI president, Abet Ber-

by sOnny sAlEs

casio, said the Plaza Quezon in Naga’s old commercial district has become the base of the relief drive where they are accepting relief donations until October 2.

The fi rst batch of relief goods is to be transported by six-wheeler trucks and will be brought to Rizal province and Marikina City which were hit the worst by Ondoy’s fl oods.

Bercasio said the Naga based relief drive has been supported by at least 300 individuals, civic

groups, students from Universidad de Sta. Isabel, doctors and lawyers associations, and the water district associations in Camarines Sur.

Meanwhile in Legazpi City, rescue teams of the Albay provin-cial disaster coordinating council, considered well–equipped and experienced rescuers after the recent Mt. Mayon eruption, have been tasked by the NDCC to help in the fl ood clearing operations in Metro Manila.

Albay Public Safety and

Emergency Offi ce Chief Cedric Daep said the Albay PDCC had sent rescue boats and their water purifying equipment in fl ood–stricken areas.

Albay offi cials at the PDCC also said they offered to help in the rescue and clearing operations in Metro Manila, noting the same experience of devastation brought by typhoon “Reming” in 2006 wherein some 1,500 Albayanos perished in the said catastrophic storm.

IRIGA CItY--studENts oF thE high school department of the University of Northeastern Philip-pines (UNEP) have dominated the 2009 Student Technologists and Entrepreneur of the Philippines (STEP) division competitions held Sept. 16-17 at the Zeferino Arroyo High School here.

Six UNEP contestants bag nine awards during the Division of City Schools’ STEP skills development and competition participated by private and public schools that had for its theme, “Upgrading Skills, Improving Lives.”

UNEP President Remelisa Alfelor-Moraleda named the UNEP STEP winners as follow: Patrick Allan V. Peralta, who garned the Mr. STEP 2009, Best in Filipini-ana Attire, and Best in Summer Wear awards; Nikki Charmaine B. Alfelor, who won as Ms. STEP 2009 and Best in Filipiniana At-tire awards; Christopher Jean N. Manlapaz, 1st Place Electronic Poster Making; Ma. Angelica M. Sergio,2nd Place Electronic Spread Sheet; Nikki Charmaine B. Alfelor, 2nd Place Facial Make-Up and Hair Trimming; and Maria Jela m. Moran, 3rd Place Skirting and Table Setting, Napkin Folding and Flower Arrangement.

Moraleda said the recent outstanding performances of the students in the STEP contests only show that UNEP’s consistent tradition of excellence in academic and non-academic activities are concrete proofs that the univer-sity is indeed the Home of Global Achievers.

She also commended UNEP High School Principal Maria P. Dela Vega, Edith O. Martinez (Makabayan coordinator) and the coaches of the winning contestants for a job well done. The coaches include: Marivic S. Brebon-eria; Juvy A. Calabines;Roger L. Nierva;Gina B. Uvero; Hyan C. Nacario;and Niño Roger N. Dacara.

The STEP is the offi cial co-curricular organization of the Department of Education (DepEd) in the Tech-nology and Livelihood Education (TLE). It aims to provide pupils and students with practical experi-ences, technical know-how, and opportunities s in home economics, agricultural technology, industrial arts, entrepreneurship and ICT inte-gration while developing their lead-ership abilities and personal skills, and building wholesome character to strengthen national competitive-ness and productivity.

NAGA CItY--CAREtAkERs oF thE 60-hectare Romualdez Ranch situated in barangays Tam-bo and Del Rosario in Pamplona, Camarines Sur has sought police protection after illegal settlers had threatened with violence the ranch employees.

The Police Provincial Offi ce (PPO) here reported that earlier, two ranch security guards of the SunStar Security Agency, a certain Rolly Arandia and Ading Padilla, were pelted with stones and hurled empty bottles by the squatters, prompting Arandia to fi re his 12-gauge shotgun on the attackers.

Four of the settlers identifi ed as Ronaldo and Dennis Tuyay, Romero Palomero, and Rommel Nobelo were treated for gunshot wounds at the Bicol Medical Center (BMC).

Police investigators reported the security guards were attacked by the squatters while a hired photographer was taking pictures of a concrete fence allegedly demol-ished by the squatters at the ranch.

Camarines Sur police of-fi ce spokesman, SPO4 Romul0 Pabiano, said that Pamplona town Mayor Gemino Imperial had requested for police visibility at the vicinity of the Romualdez Ranch to prevent further altercations between the ranch employees and the squatters.

Pabiano revealed that the 60–hectare pasture land, report-edly owned by Avila Romualdez, a relative of former fi rst lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos, was a seques-tered property during the Aquino Administration in 1986.

From 1987 to 2001, portions of the ranch were occupied by combat battalions of the Philippine Army and later made to a battalion headquarters.

During the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the sequestered land was returned to the Romualdez clan, but retired army personnel from previ-ous battalions stationed in the area had settled illegally at the ranch, putting–up sari–sari stores, vulcan-izing shop, and even small eateries along the Maharlika Highway-side of the ranch.

Currently, more than 30 house-holds have illegally settled at the Romualdez property.

by sOnny sAlEs

LIBmANAN, CAmARINEs suR--moRE thAN 1,000 couples walked down the aisle in the “Kasalan sa Ngalan ng Diyos” church mass wedding held at the St. James de Apostle Parish church, Libmanan under the sponsorship of the Provincial Government of Camarines Sur here October 1-2.

The two-day affair tops the spot as the biggest mass wedding ever conducted under the Kasalang Bayan Program held at various municipalities in Camarines Sur with some 526 couples sealing their wedding vows during the fi rst day and at least 600 on the second day.

Looking their best, the newly-weds vowed to stay together in sick-ness and in health in the ceremonies offi ciated by Msgr. Emmanuel Ricafort, Libmanan’s Vicar General, assisted by nine other priests from different churches in Libmanan.

Principal sponsor Gov. LRay Villafuerte extended his warmest wishes to the couples through a message imparted through Provin-cial Budget Offi cer Fortunato Pena who held the crowd in stitches as he shared his own thoughts on the issue of commitment in marriages. Board Member Darius Nopra, Board Member Romulo Hernandez, Municipal Councilors James Jau-cian and Teng Besa together with ex-Board Member Ariel Orino and other barangay offi cials of Lib-manan were also present to grace the occasion.

The oldest couple who tied the knot during the mass wedding were Pablo Cervantes, 72 and Teresita Guevarra, 66 of Camabugan, Lib-manan. They have three children and ten grandchildren. The pair had long been living together without the benefi t of marriage for 46 years before their marriage was fi nally

more than 1,000 couples marry in Libmanan church wedding

solemnized in the momentous mass wedding.

The continuing project to for-malize the relationships of common law couples is among the major thrusts of Gov. LRay’s leader-ship and is a major component of

a comprehensive human resource development program of the gov-ernor in his advocacy of promoting family development as an impor-tant tool for the establishment of a vibrant and progressive community. (andujar/anntuy-MMEC)

Available at Ina nin Bikol Foundation, Inc.

Peñafrancia Basilica, Balatas, Naga City

Workers are piling rocks at Brgy. Puro for the seawall project, envesioned as Roxas boulevard of Legazpi City. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo inagurated the project last September 31. Pons caudilla

3VoxBikol 28 SEPT. - 04 OCT. 2009bikol newsmANILA--thREAts oF LA-hAR FLows in towns surround-ing Mayon and Bulusan volcanoes loom as Typhoon Pepeng (inter-national code name PARMA) is poised to pummel Bikol Region in the next three days.

“Watch out for possible lahars in case of heavy and prolonged rainfall,” Renato Solidum, Philip-pine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) chief, said as the state weather bureau raises signal number 1 in Albay and Sor-

sogon where Mayon and Sorsogon are situated, respectively.

The state weather bureau forecast Pepeng to make a landfall in Aurora-Isabela area by Saturday morning but it initially blew strong winds and poured heavy rains in the Bikol, prompting the cancel-lation of flights and sea travels. Signal number 2 is also hoisted over Catanduanes and Camarines Norte.

As of 10 a.m., Pepeng is still

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As of press time, 785 families, or 3,751 persons in the towns of Bato and San Miguel have been evacuated to higher grounds. Bato has 388 families or 1,840 persons evacuees; Virac, 309 families,or 1,545 persons; and San Miguel, 88 families or 466 persons.

Road access in the different municipalities are now impassible due to landslide. Roads affected by landslide include Bagamanoc Km. 86+500; Mabel-Tokyo, Km. 79+100; Magsaysay-Mabel; and Caramoran, Dariao-Tabli Km. 145+160.

Inalmasinan river and South

Panabananon Bocon spillway remained impassable due to recur-ring landslide ,floods, and mud-slide.

Gigmoto and Baras road ac-cess, however, remained passable to all types of vehicles. Pandan, San Andres, Viga and San Miguel roads are hardly passable due to floods.

A total of 498 passengers were stranded at the port of Tabaco.

The provincial government was providing immediate assist-ance to 498 ship passengers who were stranded here on their way to port of Tabaco. (PNA)

Catanduanes...

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School in the town proper from the affected villages. The number is expected to rise, according to Michael Narido, planning officer at the Mayor’s office.

Affected villages include Calangcawan Norte, Calangcawan Sur, Sula, Cagbalogo, Cagbalogo, and Sabang. The six villages face the Pacific Ocean.

The municipal government will also order the evacuation of residents living along Labo River, which is expected to overflow if the if rains continue.

Narido said they were more worried on the situation of residents in the three villages of

Calaguas Islands, which is part of the town. “The islands, because of their location, usually bear the brunt of a storm passing the sea off our province,” he said.

But he said the municipal government would coordinate im-mediately with village officials in the islands.

The municipal government has started providing relief goods to evacuees using government funds.

The municipal disaster coor-dinating councils of Vinzons, Labo and Mercedes, which were hard-hit by flash floods in 2007, are alerted akready in preparation for the upcoming storm.

Cordero, one of the bright luminaries in Bikol contemporary writings, as New York-based poet Luis Cabalquinto described him, has already won several national awards including the 2007 NCCA Writers’ Prize for Poetry, the Madrigal-Gonzales Best First Book Award and the Palanca in 2006. He has three books of poetry in three languages and is a regular name that appears in the leading univer-sity journal in the country today. His latest collection was a finalist in the 2008 National Book Award for Poetry. Last April, he went to Germany under Ateneo de Naga’s partneship program with the Friedrich-Alexander Gymnasium in Neustadt as der Aisch to present his poetry and give short talks on Philippine contemporary writings especially Bikol literature.

His winning collection for this competition, Labi (Remains) is composed of ten poems, which dealt on the physical and meta-physical losses that confront the individual-poet. In a literary journal where some of poems in the Labi collection appeared, editor and poet Ronald Baytan, decribed Cordero’s poetry as “lyrics of remarkable clarity and tenderness. They express the sentiments of the self dealing with absence, with grief, with cosmos.”

The Judges for Filipino cat-

egory were university professors and award-winning poets, Vim Nadera, Former Director of the U.P. Institute of Creative Writ-ing, Marra Pl. Lanot, and Rogelio Mangahas, a National Book Award Winner and one of the prime mov-ers of Filipino modern poetry in the late 60s.

The announcement of win-ners was held during the tribute concert that featured Maningning’s younger sister Banaue Miclat, a multi-awarded theater actress and the Mabuhay Singers. All win-ners received P 28,000, books of the Miclats and a much- coveted Julie Lluch trophy from Mrs. Alma Miclat and National Artist for Lit-erature Virgilio S. Almario.

The Maningning Miclat Poetry Prize is named after Maningning Miclat who was a talented poet and visual artist when she passed away on September 29, 2001 at the tender age of 28. It is to her name that the family and the foundation decided to put up the Maningning Miclat Prize for Poetry and Visual Arts given alternately every year, to recognize the growing talents among Filipinos and Chinese artists. The foundation has been handing the award since 2003 and is now reputed as one of the most prestigious literary competitions in the country and even in Southeast Asian region.

asking relatives to claim the bodies of the dead rebels,” Balasta said.

Although she was scared, she summoned all her courage to bring home the body of her son.

The last time she saw her son was in 2002 that the day she claimed his body was a tearful reunion.

“As a son, he was kind and obedient. Among all my children, he was the most caring. I felt it. When I would be sick, he would always take care of me. He would even give me sponge baths,” she said.

Few days before her son disappeared in 2002, she said she overheard him telling his friends to start calling him Ka Ely instead of Jonathan. She was puzzled.

She was thinking that her son only return to Manila to work. It was only after months and years without communication from him and without knowing where he was when she learned that her son joined the NPA as Ka Ely.

She was no stranger to los-ing a son. She earlier lost one of Jonathan’s brothers to a road ac-cident. But losing Jonathan to the armed struggle was a blow to her, she said.

“I lost a loving son who was friends to everyone in the commu-nity, and who was a doting uncle to his nephews and nieces.”

She long had noticed her son’s progressive way of thinking.

She said she once asked Jonathan to send her money dur-ing the time he was still working in Manila. But her son only told her there were other things more important than money.

Once, she tried discouraging him from being an activist. But he only told her that people should fight for their rights, she said.

“So I stopped discouraging him. I just respected his beliefs.”

Jonathan had been a medic for the rebels. He had performed sur-gery from tooth extraction to more sensitive operations, according to Paul, one of his friends, who asked that his full name be withheld.

“We don’t know where and when he learned to conduct surgi-cal operations. We just learned one day that he had been doing teeth extraction and other operations,” said Balasta.

She said her son’s death left a void that would be hard to refill. “Although I would have preferred him to have stayed with us for the

last seven years, I feel no regret even after my son’s untimely death, knowing that my son lived fully the life he chose. The number of persons who attended my son’s funeral spoke for it. It eases my pain somehow.”

Almost 500 persons attended Jonathan’s funeral.

Balasta’s love for her son Jonathan, a medic for the rebels, is just one of the many stories intertwined with the four-decade struggle of communist guerillas in the Philippines, which the govern-ment hopes to eliminate before the end of the term of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

CPP-NPA was founded in 1968 based on Maoist philosophy. It has been outlawed for years now. The United States considers the CPP-NPA a terrorist group.

The group has been linked to alleged terroristic activities including extortion, summary execution, and burning of telecom-munication facilities.

According to the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Bikol, especially Sorsogon Province, is one of the areas in the coun-try where CPP-NPA operates in numbers.

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slides in the localities of Pandan and San Andres, Catanduanes also occurred.

Hundreds of evacuees were also reported in the towns of Baga-manok, San Andres and Francia as a result of flash floods in the area.

Meanwhile, the PDCC of Camarines Sur based at the Pili Provincial Capitol reported on Friday evening that evacuees have swelled to 34,000 persons in 118 evacuation centers, and that 141 villages were affected by floods in the province.

More than a meter of floods were reported in Bulauan, Sipocot town forcing residents to climb roof-tops of their homes; flash-floods were also reported in Ragay, Cabusao and the critical coastal village of Barceloneta.

In the Rinconada district, Buhi Mayor Lacoste had ordered the forced evacuation of residents along the banks of Lake Buhi due

to the heavy rains which resulted to an overflow of the lake; reported landslides near the lake villages of Sta Cruz, Sta Clara and Sta Fe similarly prompted evacuation.

Philippine Army personnel also evacuated residents along the national highway in barangays San Roque and San Francisco in Baao town as water level reached waist-deep, flooding the entire stretch of the Maharlika Highway up to Iriga City and adjacent Nabua town on Friday evening.

In Naga City, Mayor Jesse Robredo also called on residents in the low lying areas of barangay Calauag to move to high ground; evacuees eventually reached more than 300 residents.

Flash floods were also reported in the City’s main thoroughfares of Panganiban Drive and Magsaysay Ave., after a reported overflow of the Naga River on Friday evening; the overflow led to the flooding of

barangays Lerma, Abella, Mabulo, Sabang and Triangulo which are near the river banks.

In the meantime, one fatality was reported in barangay Pacol, Naga City, when a certain SPO1 Edgardo Moreno, an Iriga City po-liceman, died of electrocution while fixing the roof of his home during heavy rains on Friday morning.

Meanwhile, CASURECO I electric-coop spokesman, Jun Romano, reported that a power fuse at the sub-station in Pamplona town got burned, resulting to a power outage in seven towns in the first district of Camarines Sur since 4:30 A.M. on Friday.

Meanwhile, the OCD also alerted passenger bus firms that stranded passengers in major Bikol ports in Albay and Sorsogon have now reached 2,287; those stranded in the Port of Matnog, Sorsogon numbered 1,631 persons bound for Catanduanes province.

mayon folks warned vs lahar

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sA sARARoNG tINGoG sA PAGkoNtRA sa Lupi-Cabusao Dam Project ni Gloria asin ni Dato kaiba an saindang mga pusikit na pag-iriba, uya an teksto kan Position Paper na pinipirmahan ngunyan kan mga tawo sa Lupi. Ini an saindang paninindugan na labanan an pagtugdok nin dam na magkakaw-sa kan pagkawara kan saindang mga erokán, kabuhayan, asin kan banwaan:

Dangogon an Tingog kan Nagkakasararong mga Taga-Lupi!

Mga nasa kapangyarihan asin kagtogot sa pagtogdok kan Libmanan-Cabusao Dam Project,

Boot niyamong itaas an samong mga tingog ngunyan na kami binabasang-basang na garo bakong mga tawong tuyong pinapahale sa dagang samong kinamundagan, dinakulaan asin pinaghurmahan kan samong mga pangatorogan sa buhay. Igwa kaming makuring pagkontra sa pinangengenotan nindong pagbugtak nin dam, dam na sinasabi nindong magtataong-kabuhayan sa mga taga-primer distrito alagad magwawalat man samo sa kaherak-herak na kamugtakan. An pagkontrang ini makosog ming gigibohon huli ta namamaanan mi an lataw na salang gawê, dai tamang palakaw, asin kakulangan nin mga kaipuhan na isaalang-alang sa proseso kan siring na proyekto.

Uya an samong mga paninindugan:(1) Kontra kami sa dam! Huli ta mayo ining lehitimo asin

tamang pagkonsulta samo na mga namamanwaan kan Lupi. Sinasabi nindo na igwang ‘social acceptance’ an proyekto, alagad pano man nindo ini masasabi kun kami—an sinasabi nindong mga apektadong pamilya—kosog-tingog ngunyan na nagpapaabot na habo mi sa dam project na iyan!

(2) Kontra kami sa dam! Huli ta dinadaya nindo an kagab-san sa pagsabing tres siyentos (300) na pamilya sana an ma-dadanyaran. Alagad kami, kami na iyo an direktang apektado nagtutubod na labi-labi pa, ribo pa sosog sa Community-based Management System sa sinasabi nindong numero. Nagtutubod kami na padaya ini para sana makahimo kamo nin pag-oyon gikan sa iba pang sektor asin lugar.

(3) Kontra kami sa dam! Huli ta dai samo pinahiling asin pinasabot an mga magkakanigong mga papeles na magpapasa-bot sa samo kan mga epekto—positibo asin negatibo—kan dam sa samong lugar. Dai mi nahiling asin dai man samuya ipinaliwanag an sinasabi nindang Environmental Compliance Certificate asin man an katakod kaining Environmental Impact

Assessment na nagtataong permiso sa pagtugdok kan dam. Alagad, kun igwa man kan sinabing mga dokumento, dai man liwat kami minatogot huli ta nadaya kami sa katotoohan na igwang ECC alagad mayong ‘social acceptance.’

(4) Kontra kami sa dam! Huli ta an banwaan mi an labi-labing madadanyaran alagad dai man kami mabebenipisyohan. Lalamoson saná kaini an samong historikong banwaan na tinogdas pa kan 1726; lalamoson kaini an mga memorya kan samong buhay; lalamoson kaini an mga pinundar ming kabu-hayan; lalamoson kaini an samong identidad.

(5) Kontra kami sa dam! Huli ta kami nagtutubod na dakol an distroso kaini kisa benepisyo; ilulubog kaini an saro sa pinakamataba asin pinakamayaman na dagang tanuman sa satong distrito. An kadagaan na ilulubog kinukumpunir nin mga badang asin mga tanuman na kinukuahan nin kabuhayan asin pagkakan kan kadakol ming kahimanwa.

(6) Kontra kami sa dam! Huli ta ini tuyong pagratak sa diretso asin dignidad kan tawo. Dai kaini dinadangog an agrangay kan mga namamanwaan asin pinapasipara sana; ini-enot kaini an pansadiring kapakanan kan mga paratulod huli sa mga kaduda-dudang mga bagay. Nagtutubod kami na kaipuhan nganing imbestigahan an proseso pinansiyal kan proyekto tan-ganing malikayan an korapsyon asin man mga katiwalian.

An mga pagkontrang ini ikinukurahaw mi sa saindo tanganing orog pa nindong masabotan an kahalagahan kan samong ipinapakipaglaban. An mga pagkontrang ini pipira sana sa rinibong pag-kontra na samong ilinalatag sa saindong pagsiyasat.

Mga simpleng namamanwaan sana kami na daing ibang pangatorogan kundi an kauswagan kan banwaan. Bakong dam, kundi tamang palakaw, marhay na sistema, pagmakulog sa kasaraditan, pagsulong kan pangkagabsan na karahayan, asin malinig na liderato an kaipuhan kan samong banwaan, kan satong distrito.

Kontra kami sa dam! Mabuhay an samong banwaan na Lupi!

Matanyog man logod an mga institusyon asin mga establi-simiyento kan satong sosyudad na tabangan an mga taga-Lupi na itulod an saindang mga paninindugan. Labanan an pagtug-dok kan dam kan mga tampalasan!

Si Vic Nierva nagba-blog sa http://aponihandiong.blogs-pot.com.

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4VoxBikol 28 SEPT. - 04 OCT. 2009ViewPoinTsCosts

Damuntris

LAst sEPtEmBER 27 wAs ELECtIoN Sunday and all Germany was called to vote for the new Federal Ger-man Parliament (Bundestag). The political landscape has changed much in the last decades and the number of parties running for parliament has increased. Back some 20 years ago Germany had two main parties, the Conservatives on the right wing, being CDU/CSU and the Social-Democrats, SPD, on the left. The Liberal Democratic Party, FDP, kept a minority of votes, but used to be the „Government-Makers“ as their votes made one of the main parties gain the needed 50+ majority. Things have changed, and many more par-ties have entered the scenery today. Thus it has become less predictable who will finally be in government, as that indeed depends on coalition negotiations only after elections. One thing however seemed to be clear even before that: Angela Merkel would most probably remain in office, and in fact, last Sunday, September 27 the Conservative Party and its number one candidate for Chancellor, Angela Merkel, gained the majority of votes and was thus the party to provide the new chancellor: Angela Merkel.

Who is Angela Merkel, one might ask, and what made the Germans place their confidence in her?

Angela Merkel, the new, but also the former Chancellor is the first woman in Germany who ever felt the power of being the person of policy-making in Germany. The first lady on a “guy’s seat”, and all she says about that is: “I was never a man, and so I cannot say how other it could have gone. I think things go well, and I enjoy that they do.”

That indeed Merkel enjoys her job was already visible in 2005, when her party won the elections and she was then elected Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany by the new parliament. It was a long fight for acknowledgement, mainly in her own party. She was the lady from the “East”, and the guys form the “West” were not really benevolent towards her, but oftentimes disapproved of her doing and her person, yet the common prejudices seemed to not fit her. So finally those voices neutralized themselves. Angela Merkel has already become the Conservative Party, the Conservative Party has become Angela Merkel. She has learned to well deal with the media, she shows up with the mighty in the

Angela merkelworld, like in Obama’s visit to the concentration camp Buch-enwald, June 2009. Here the politician and the person Angela Merkel were one. The same refers to her fight regarding the global warming.

Her greatest challenge was and remains the economic cri-sis. She has wrapped and tied packages for trade and business, has pumped billions into banks and economy, has given the people of Germany an unprecedented promise: “We are telling the savers that their deposits are safe. Even for this the Federal Government vouches for.” Success is expected from her.

Her style is the one of small steps. She prefers to analyse before acting, and she disapproves of doing things merely for the sake of doing things. She well knows how to many times remain friendly but undetermined. Opposing parties etch loudly against her and her reaction is somewhat typical: “Everyone has his or her own habit and style, … and I observe all those.”

She dislikes tensions, but she attacks the Pope in Febru-ary 2009 for his dealing with Bishop Williamson, who in public and repeatedly had denied the Holocaust - a crime in Germany. She also clearly judges the Afghanistan policy. But she prefers to mediate rather. This might be a result of reign-ing Germany in a coalition government. Mediating however also means to come up with compromises, to often times feed more than one side and to at times give in to positions that are not exactly one’s own. This has of course brought up her own party against her, but Merkel seems to be beyond that. Her popularity remains “up”.

Her appearance - so critics - remains pale, always a bit too complicated, always a bit too serious, she situates herself in explanations many times, not brilliant but reliable. Yet as for foreign affairs she is the constantly shining star. Voters say she is “dynamic, human and sympathetic” as well as “a bit coy and a bit funny”, but also “efficient, modest and maybe still underestimated.”

Whatever the judgments are, the Germans have once again put their confidence on her, on Angela Merkel. She was re-elected last September 27 for another legislation period of four years. She again is given to represent Germany for the Germans.

There is someThing absurd and even narcissistic about Camarines Sur Gov-ernor LRay Villafuerte’s TV ad which has been airing for awhile in local television.

The TV ad shows numerous public school elementary students milling and crowding around the youthful governor, with some of them even shrieking as if the said

public official was a movie celebrity. The ad then focuses on a young female student

who expresses her thanks for the scholarship supposedly given by Governor Villafuerte, as well as for the bags she and other stu-dents have been given. It ends with the same girl blurting out the governor looks like her crush.

We can only hope that this TV ad which has been airing for several weeks now has not been paid for by taxpayers’ money. It would be scandalous if it were.

Moreover, we wonder what exactly was the point of the ridiculous ad which seemed to have no rhyme or reason, except perhaps to project the image of the governor as a celebrity. Yet, if that were the case, it would appear very narcissistic of him.

In our political culture which remains personality-based--as opposed to being principle-based--the governor’s TV ad makes a lot of sense nonetheless. Cultivate and promote a cult following is a patented ploy of traditional politicians, or as they are aptly called, trapos. Use utang na loob to establish loyalty, like providing scholarships and school supplies. We wonder too if the scholarships are from the personal funds of the governor and not from the hard-earned money of the province’s taxpayers.

For were the funds for these scholarships channeled through the governor’s initiative, little credit must be given him: these funds remain to be the taxpayers’ and not his. As such, gratitude must be accorded to them and not to the public official who presum-ably is only doing his job of rendering public service.

If the governor wishes to promote him-self as a celebrity like the ones he often hob-knobs with at the province’s (and not his or his family’s personal playground) Camarines Sur Watersports’ Center, then he ought to ensure that taxpayers’ not be “dis-credited” in the process.

Celebrity

5VoxBikol 28 SEPT. - 04 OCT. 2009ViewPoinTsRawit-dawit

Nilampaso ang aking pagkataoNg mga dilang mapagkanuloHinusgahan ang bawat himaymayNg aking nanliit na dangalAt walang awang niluray sa malapotna putikan ng kahihiyan Pangalan ko’y isinabit sa pagsikatNg araw, kaya’t naging kilalaat ginawang pampatawasamantalang ibinabaon samurang isipan ng bawat nilalangang pangungutya’t pagkasuyasa aking pagkataong aba. Ngunit nasubukan mo na baNa bulatlatin at usisahinKung bakit ako’y ngumangaSa tapat ng bunga ng bayabas? Napagnilayan mo din ba angaking pinagdaraanan at kalagayan?Subukan mo namang dumungawSa bintana na nakadilat ang mataAt iyong masasaksihan ang gaya kongMahirap na pinapahirapan at nahihirapanHindi dahil sa aking katamaranKundi sa inhustisyang bumabalotSa sistemang nakakapangilabotSamantalang yaong sumasasaSa kutsarang ginto, tila monopolyoNila ang karapatang mabuhay naMaayos dito sa ibabaw ng mundo Ngayon sa isang tulad ko na inagawanNg karapatang mabuhay sa maayosAt marangal na sandaigdigan Paano ba ako mangangarap na sungkitinAng nagniningning na bituin?Ni hindi ko nga alam kong anoAt paano ko gagawin dahil sa ako’ySadyang walang alam sapagkat diNakatungtong sa paaralan dahilWalang pangpaaral si Inay na umaasalamang sa basurang nakakasuka. Paano ko ba aakyatin ang punong bayabas at pitasin ang bungakung din ko na nga kayang tumayodahil sa patuloy na paghagod ngmga bulate sa manipis kong sikmura?At higit sa lahat paano ko itoPipitasin kung ang puno ay nababakuranNg nanlilisik na karatulang“No Trespassing”? Kaya’t bago mo ako husgahanTingnan mo muna ang aking kinatatayuanDahil sa gaya ko ako’y isang nilalangNa hindi mailalang sa puso at isipanNg mamamayan, dahil sa mata nilaAko’y walang pangalan sa lipunan. Pakiusap ko kaibigan huwagMo naman akong ikulong saSinasabing katamaran na nagingkarsel ng aking pagkatao’t dangalsa loob ng maraming taong lumisanBagkos tulungan mo akong buhatinDito sa aking pagkakahiga bago pa manAko’y tuluyang malagutan ng hininga.At lapain ng mga uod na gahaman.

ANthoNY PABoNHoly Rosary Major Seminary

moNoLoGo NI JuAN(kung bakit ako’y ngumangaat nahiga na lamang)

hovering over the ocean, and continues to gain strength. Pepeng is seen to be the first super typhoon to enter the country this year.

In 2006, areas surrounding Mayon was battered by super typhoon Reming (international code name Durian) when powerful winds and heavy downpour blew away houses, uprooted trees, and left tens of thousands of resi-dents displaced, and some buried alive under boulders, lahar and mud that streamed down in villages at the foot of Mayon.

The typhoon produced heavy rainfall across its path, reaching over 18 inches in Albay province. Earlier erup-tions of Mayon Volcano combined with the rainfall trig-

gered widespread mudslides across the province. Solidum issued the warning in view of Mayon’s

activity with sulfur dioxide emission, crater glow, ground swelling and 35 volcanic earthquakes which were recorded Thursday and Friday.

The Phivolcs strongly recommended that the six-kilometer permanent danger zone and the seven-kilometer extended danger zone be off-limits to any human activity due to threat of sudden explosions and rockfalls from the upper slopes of the volcano.

Residents living along river channels, gullies and low-lying areas were also warned about possible lahar flows, he said. (PNA)

Cordero... FROM PaGE 3

mAGIGING hIstoRIkAL NA ARAw ANG Setyembre 26, 2009. Ito ang araw na lumubog ang Metro Manila at karatig-lugar. Ang araw na pinagmistulang lawa ng tubig at putik ang Marikina at Quezon City. Ito ang pinakamasahol na pagbaha ng kapitolyong rehiyon sa naalaalang kasaysayan.

Text nga ng isang kaibigang guro mula sa Ateneo ukol sa isang kagurong nakatira sa Ateneo-ville sa Marikina City, para na raw itong The Day After Tomorrow (2004), ang disaster na pelikulang Hollywood ukol sa mabilisang pagkasira ng environ-ment ng mundo. Umakyat ang tubig sa subdibisyon ng mga guro ng Ateneo. At dahil wala siyang ikalawang palapag, tinanaw na lamang niya ang mabilisang paglubog at pagkain ng mga kanyang bahay at gamit ng nag-uumapaw na tubig.

“The great equalizer” daw ang baha dahil kahit mahirap at mayaman, sikat at di ordinaryo ay apektado nito. Walang pini-pili, walang kinikilingan, walang kinakampihan, na para na itong tagline ng balita sa gabi ng GMA 7. Ang dalagang artistang si Christine Reyes ay simula pa lamang tanghali ay nasa bubong na ng bahay ng Provident Village, na sa pagkakataong ito ay hindi na-paghandaan ng pangalan ng subdibisyon ang dumating na sakuna.

Hindi naman tulad ng malling na patas lang ang laban ng mahirap at mayaman sa karanasan ng konsumeristang kasiyahan sa pang-araw-araw, ang pagbaha, bagamat patas na pagdanas ng pagdurusa’t pagpapakasakit, ay hindi naman dinadanas sa pang-araw-araw. Dahil sa mismong korapsyon ng pambansang pamunuan, nagiging exceptional ang pagdanas ng pagsalanta ng pinakamalaking baha sa kasaysayan.

Ayon nga kay Rep. Teofisto Guingona III, ang paggamit ni Gloria Arroyo ng P800 milyon para sa kanyang biyahe mula sa contingency fund ay pagbawas sa kapasidad ng gobyerno sa siga-lot na dulot ng malawakang pagbaha. Hindi nga ba’t sinasabing pipito lang ang rubber boat ng Marikina City, isa sa nakaranas ng pinakamarahas na epekto ng pagbaha? Ang buong National Dis-aster Coordinating Council (NDCC) ay mayroon lamang daw 13 rubber boats. Kung hindi sinalat ang pera, maaring nakabili, ayon sa lider-kabataan na si Vencer Crisostomo, ng 1,600 na rescue boats ang gobyerno para sa disaster relief operations nito.

Lubhang napakatagal at napakabagal ng pagtugon ng goby-erno sa naganap na disaster. Ang pinapatingkad ay kung paano si Arroyo ay naging biktima ng mismong pagbaha, nang hindi na makaraan ang sinasakyan nitong army truck, nag-MRT na lamang at naglakad sa baha para lamang makarating sa opisina ng NDCC. Samantala, ang mga ulat ng mga field reporters ng magkaribal na ABS-CBN at GMA 7 ay ang malawakang miserableng kondisyon ng mga naapektuhan ng baha.

Mayroong nag-uulat mula sa kasagsagan ng baha sa Montal-ban o sa North Expressway. Mayroong nakasakay sa dump truck para lamang mabisita ang iba pang lugar na naapektuhan ng baha sa Rizal area. Mayroong hindi pa nakakarating sa kani-kanilang pamilya, dumudulog sa mga coverage na sana ay makarating na ang rescue operation sa kanilang naperwisyong pamilya.

Ito ang pagkondisyon ng media sa disaster—na parang patas lamang ang lahat sa pagdanas nito, media practioner man o hindi. Kung gayon, tayong lahat ay biktima ng pagbaha. Wala na namang may kasalanan nito. Walang preparasyong tunay na makakapa-ghanda sa magnitude ng disaster na tulad nito.

Pero hindi ba’t matingkad naman ang givens ng disaster sa bansa? Una, ang Pilipinas ang pinaka-disaster proned na bansa sa buong mundo. Nasa gitna tayo ng fire belt ng mga bulkan, pinaka-maraming bilang ng bagyo kada taon, maraming lindol, at hindi pa rito binibilang ang man-made disaster, tulad ng landslide dahil sa iligal na pagtrotroso, pati ang chemical spills mula sa liberal-ized na industriya ng mining? Hindi pa rin kasama rito ang isa sa pinakamariing insidente ng korapsyon sa buong mundo.

Ikalawa, hindi raw tantyado ang buhos ng ulan dahil kulang ng mas sofistikadong radar system. Bakit hindi bumili, kundi man mag-invest? Bakit ang prioridad ay ang foreign trips ni Arroyo, pati na ang pagkain nito sa mamahaling restaurant sa New York City at Washington, D.C.? Ano ang interes ng mismong pamaha-laan na di pangalagaan ang defensibong pagtatanggol sa kagalin-gan ng mamamayan nito?

Eh kung hindi bumaha at bumagyo, sayang naman ang gamit at pondong ginasta! Kaya parating reaktibo ang reaksyon ng gobyerno, dahil lalo na kung ito ay gawa ng kalikasan, wala na-man direktang masisi dito, di ba? Si Ondoy ba ay taong pwedeng pagbunturan ng galit? Si Arroyo ba ang may gustong bumaha si Ondoy?

Higit sa lahat, sa pamamagitan ng pamumuno sa disaster, na-papamunuan ang bansa. Naitataguyod ng ofisyal na disaster man-

ni Roland TolenTino

agement ang kagalingan ng pamunuan at gobyerno. Kahit papaano ay mayroong mabibiyayaan sa pagtulong ng ahensya ng gobyerno. Hindi nga ba’t ito ang sentrong paksa at tematiko ng komersyal ni Gilbert Teodoro para higit siyang makilala ng bobotong publiko?

At kung ito naman ay man-made disaster, mas simple ang reaksyon ng gobyerno, at kalkulado na ito. Sa paglubog ng Super Ferry, halimbawa, o sa mga bagong skandalo ng korapsyon, ang ginagawa lang naman ay manahimik si Arroyo, ipaako sa kanyang spokesperson ang pagsagot, malinaw na putulin ang chain of com-mand na hindi umabot hanggang presidente, at mag-antay ng mas malaking disaster. At this is it na nga!

Dahil nga tayo ay bansang pinalilibutan at pinaiilaliman ng natural na disaster, mauuna pang matabunan—at madalas, literal ito—ng gumuguhong putik at torso, o lumulubog na barko ang inaasahang mas maraming bilang ng mamamayan nang mailipat ang pansin kaysa sa pagkahon ng alingasngas ng gawang-taong disaster, ngayon ay mas kilala bilang gawang-Arroyong disaster.

Ewan ko ba naman, lahat ng salatin ni Arroyo, nagiging bun-dok ng skandalong basura na mas malaki pa kaysa sa nahuli nitong kinasangkutan. At ito ang afinidad ng natural at gawang-Arroyong disaster: ginagamit ng huli ang una para pagtakpan ang sarili ni-tong kalabisan, mula sa sariling paglulustay o pagkimkim ng pera hanggang sa kalabisan ng kasalatang pabayaan ang kahandaan ng bansa sa mga disaster, pati na ang pagbawas ng kahirapan at ang karagdagang pasakit sa mamamayan, ng malawakang korapsyon.

Kaya ang itatampok ay ang bayanihan, na ang atas ng pana-hon ng disaster ay pakikipagtulungan at pakikipagkapwa-tao. Ito ang ethos ng telethon, ang kumbersyon ng regular na palabas sa sistematikong pagdulog sa taong may ginhawa para magbigay ng kanyang labis sa taong walang ginhawa. At hindi rin kakatwa na si Kris Aquino ang sentrong figura ng ABS-CBN para sa operasyong ito.

Sa pamamagitan ng ikonikong status ni Aquino, na ang showbiz ay behikulo ng politisasyon ng estado nito, at ang show-bizifikasyon ng politika ang nagdulot ng naturalisasyon ng politika sa antas ng ordinaryo’t pang-araw-araw, ang kanyang lupon ng ka-pwa artista ay mapapa-donate ng panahon at salapi, mapapahimok sa kanilang sponsors at endorsements na mag-donate hindi para makatulong sa kapwa kundi para maging publiko ang pagtulong sa kapwa.

At ito ang politika ng pilantropiya sa panahon ng post-disas-ter, ginagawang charity work ang rekurso ng pakikipagkapwa-tao. Na ang pagwaksi sa gawain ng gobyerno ay sinasalo ng orkestra-syon ng malalaking negosyo, na sa huli ay sabwatang makakapag-panatili ng sanktidad ng estado poder. Tulad ng orkestrasyon ng mga ito para sa pambansang eleksyon, sa pagdiriwang ng pasko at semana santa, ng konsumerismo ng three-day holiday at tag-init, ang indirektang pag-uusap ang siyang nakakapagpanatili sa estadong di man matitinag ng pinakamalakas na bagyo o insidente ng skandalo.

Ilang araw lamang, huhupa na ang baha, malilinis na ang kalsada, babalik ang trafiko, magiging normal na naman ang buhay. Na parang hindi normal sa panahon nitong pagbaha gayong pinakamatingkad nga ang pagdanas ng kapangyarihan ng estado sa mamamayan nito—sa araw at gabi ng walang palyang malakas na ulan, narerealisa ng mamamayan ang kanyang abang lagay, at handa siyang tumanggap ng tulong, kundi man, mula sa bubong ng kanyang bahay, umasa habang basa at giniginaw na darating pa rin ang tulong.

Nainternalisa ng apektadong mamamayan ang kapangyarihan ng politika ng pilantropiya. Umaasa kahit hindi naman darating ang tulong. Para lang siyang nakabili ng tiket sa sweepstakes o sa lotto, na sa pamamagitan sa pag-asa, ang aspirasyon na gaganda ang kanyang kinabukasan ay nakakasapat na sa pag-invest sa tiket at sa posibilidad na darating nga ang pinakakaasam na tulong. Hindi na siya magagalit, dahil bago pa man siya sumunggab sa kapabayaan ng awtoridad, nainternalisa na niyang umasa at mag-paubaya na lamang sa paghupa ng baha.

Sa mga oras na siya’y nasa kanyang bubong o inaanod ng rumaragasang ilog, tumatawid sa tumataas at mapuputik na baha, umaasang mailigtas ang kanyang sarili at pamilya, nagninilay-nilay na siya, at ang kapabayaan ng estado ay nagiging sariling kapabayaan. At kapag dumating ang pagligtas, tulad ng pagsuong ng speed boat ni Richard Gutierrez para iligtas si Reyes at ang kanyang pamilya sa kanilang bubong, may kumpiyansa siya, kahit hindi siya ang aktwal na nailigtas, na ang sistema ay gumagana pa rin.

Tunay na propetikong nalinis ng baha ang kabulukan ng sistema. (Bulatlat.com)

Samakalawa(The Day After Tomorrow)

VoxBikol 628 SEPT. - 04 OCT. 2009FeaTuRe

mANILA--IN A thIRd woRLd country like the Philip-pines, it is probably not surprising that the poor are always the first to suffer the worst of any disaster. The havoc that Ondoy (Ketsana) wrought the past week not only added to their suffering – it underscored the reality that interventions to mitigate the impact of calamities hardly work, if at all, for the poor.

“Poor people in much of the world are constantly threatened by the variability of the weather that they experi-ence from year to year,” said a report last year by the United Nations Development Program.

“Poor people have become very good at adapting to the vicissitudes of their weather,” it said. Unfortunately, the report added, they “are already close to the limits of their capacities to cope, and the added effects of climate change may push them beyond their coping capacities unless real efforts are made to prepare for changes in climate.”

A disaster-prone country like the Philippines – it is battered by storms and typhoons at least 20 times a year; volcanic eruptions, landslides and earthquakes are fairly common – should by now be a nation of experts on calami-ties and how to deal with them. But, as Ondoy has shown, Filipinos are almost always caught unawares. And often, the high cost of these calamities are caused not so much by lack of knowledge or resources as by poor governance.

“We were all caught by surprise,” Gwendolyn Pang, secretary-general of the Philippine National Red Cross, told Bulatlat in an interview.

Pang’s assessment may baffle many. After all, Pagasa, the country’s weather bureau, had issued warnings on Ondoy as early as Thursday last week, even raising alert levels the next day. The warnings had been unheeded. It is understandable for the poor not to immediately vacate their homes. The same cannot be said of the government’s appar-ent failure to anticipate the magnitude of the calamity.

As a result, while Ondoy did affect severely the middle class and the rich, the poor suffered much more greatly. Even cities that prided themselves with orderliness and dis-aster preparedness proved unable to cope with the ravages of Ondoy.

To be sure, the volume of rain Ondoy poured on Metro Manila and several nearby provinces was unusually large – a month’s worth of rain in just 12 hours, the most since 1967 – and experts said Metro Manila would have been inundated anyway even if it had the best sewerage and drainage sys-tem in the world.

“There are not enough infrastructures to cope with the problem of high volume of precipitation,” said Arjun Tha-pan, the director-general of the Southeast Asia department of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which has been financing programs in the region to improve sewerage and drainage systems. But, he added in an interview, “no matter how sufficient the system is, it was probably not enough to handle” the flooding of Metro Manila.

“Even if the infrastructures were in place, it would still be overwhelming,” said Anthony Golez, the vice-chairman of the National Disaster Coordinating Council. He defended the government by saying that it had always been prepared for calamities. But, he added, “Let me put it this way: We were preparing for an Intensity 7 earthquake but Intensity 8 came.”

Critics may chafe at Golez’s statement but what is not in dispute is that Ondoy’s toll could have been much lesser had government agencies and local governments done enough preparations and had they not been merely reactive, as one expert put it. Metro Manila, after all, is a disaster waiting to happen.

Choked by GarbageMetro Manila is groaning with overpopulation — more

than 12 million people. Its waterways – most of it are old, narrow and ill-maintained — are choked.

According to the ADB’s “Garbage Book,” a book on solid-waste management in Manila published in 2004, Metro Manila generates more than 6,700 tons of solid gar-bage every day. Only a small fraction of it — 720 tons — is

recycled or composted. Nearly 4,500 tons are hauled into dumpsites that local governments maintain. But the rest — about 1,500 tons — end up in lakes, rivers, creeks, even in the Manila Bay, or burned openly.

Such a high volume of solid waste has proved challeng-ing to local governments units, with some LGUs fighting over the dumping (the “not in my backyard” argument) and often with the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the superbody tasked to manage the capital’s garbage and traffic systems.

Equally challenging is instilling discipline among residents on how to be responsible with their garbage. The MMDA and some local governments, for instance, have launched campaigns on this but still, Metro Manila remains littered with trash, from the big ones that are dumped in street corners to the candy wrappers carelessly thrown by commuters in streets.

The capital’s garbage, needless to say, clogs its drainage system, so that a slight downpour often floods many com-munities – from the low-lying slums of Tondo to the poor communities of Pasig. Worse, Metro Manila has a combined septic and storm-water system so that every time it flood hu-man waste is expelled onto the streets along with floodwater.

Blocked waterwaysComplicating this are the waterways blocked by slum

dwellers. Among these are the Perdito family, who, along with 20 other families, had shanties built on the underside of the Cambridge bridge in West Kamias in Quezon City, over an estero or creek. Ondoy completely washed away those shanties so that today, Evangeline Perdito, the 37-year-old mother of six, is scavenging for scraps of wood to rebuild her home under the bridge.

Metro Manila used to have nearly 30 esteros but these are either blocked by garbage and slum dwellers or have been appropriated by commercial developments such as malls and other big structures.

The Manggahan Floodway, which was built in the ‘80s to ease the pressure of floodwater in Metro Manila, is also choked by informal settlers, fish ponds, even growths of kangkong (water spinach), the source of livelihood for many of these poor slum dwellers.

Most of the pumping stations around the metropolis that are supposed to decrease floodwater by pumping excess wa-ter into the Manila Bay are working but because the esteros and other waterways are clogged, not much water can reach these stations, so they don’t do much help.

According to the MMDA, there are more than 70,000 families in Metro Manila like the Perditos, mostly Filipinos who are forced to seek their fortunes in the capital because of the lack or absence of livelihood or jobs in the provinces. Authorities have been trying to demolish these shanties but have not been offering any viable alternatives to the fami-lies, so they return or move to another area in the capital.

Faulty urban PlanningExacerbating the problem is the failure by the govern-

ment to implement effective plans for urban, land use as well as emergency or disaster management. It has also failed to impose the law, according to experts. This, they said, can be attributed to corruption or sheer incompetence.

While local governments may hesitate to prevent the poor from building shanties along the banks of creeks and rivers, there is a law that prohibits that, according to Meliton B. Juanico, an urban and environmental planner who chairs the Department of Geology at the University of the Philip-pines (UP). Juanico acknowledges the reasons these poor families have in living along these waterways but, he said, “an effective leader should have the political will to imple-ment the law and the imagination to deal with the needs of those affected.”

Moreover, lax implementation of zoning laws has al-lowed commercial establishments to put up structures on esteros.

Another law — Presidential Decree 705, or the Revised Forestry Code – prohibits the building of houses and resi-

dential development on slopes of more than 10 degrees. But developers are able to get away with it and the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) has been approving development plans that violate this law, Juanico said.

“The demand for subdivisions with scenic vistas is high,” Juanico pointed out, “and as a result many developers look to areas like Rodriguez or San Mateo” — both in Rizal province, the hardest hit by Ondoy. He explained that devel-oping areas for housing on slopes of more than 10 degrees results in serious erosion of the soil.

And to think, Juanico added, that the Sierra Madre, at the foot of which the towns of Rodriguez and San Mateo are located, is now denuded and not able to catch most of the rainwater that eventually flows down to Metro Manila.

Thapan, of the ADB, agrees that as far as zoning and development controls go, “there has been a weakness in that respect, in so far as city management is concerned and requires strengthening.”

Lack of ForesightFouad Bendimerad, an engineer who chairs the Earth-

quakes and Megacities Initiative, a nonprofit group that advises governments around the world on disaster manage-ment, rues the fact that the Philippines is so battered by dis-asters that it hardly has time to create, let alone implement, master plans. “What is happening is that we are constantly reacting to the disaster that is happening,” he said in a phone interview from Bangkok. The government, he said, “is al-ways in reaction mode and that takes all the resources.”

Bendimerad also recalled how a comprehensive earth-quake disaster plan that he and his team developed between 2005 and 2007, with funding from the Japan International Cooperation Agency and other agencies, remained unimple-mented for lack of funds.

Juanico, of the UP’s geography department, agrees. “We are good at making plans but are bad at implementing them,” he said in an interview.

Many find such a failure to implement a disaster-management plan a disaster in itself, considering that, as per the allegation of Bukidnon Rep. Teofisto Guingona III, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had used a large portion of her emergency and calamity funds for her travels abroad, where she and her entourage spent millions on expensive dinners.

“Mrs. Arroyo, who designated herself ‘climate change czar,’ should be held accountable for lacking in genuine policies and programs for mitigating climate change impacts and for mismanaging funds for emergencies and disasters,” said Clemente Bautista of the environment group Kalikasan-PNE. Arroyo, he added, should also be held liable “for pro-moting and pursuing environmentally destructive practices such as mining, logging, and land-use conversion. All of these hasten and aggravate the effects of climate change.”

Another group, the Philippine Climate Watch Alliance (PCWA), assailed Arroyo for failing to implement honest-to-goodness measures to deal with the effects of climate change.

“Scientists, experts and even the basic sectors have warned that the Philippines will experience extreme weather events, floods, landslides and worsening poverty because of climate change,” said Meggie Nolasco, PCWA’s spokesper-son. “This should have prompted the Arroyo government to map out plans and policies to lessen and help its people adapt to these problems.” However, she said, “these warn-ings were left unheeded by the government.”

Juanico, of the University of the Philippines, said the Philippines needs an effective and compassionate political leadership. “With that type of leader, even if we have limited resources, we can make do and deal with calamities more ef-fectively,” he said. A weak national leadership, he said, does not invite cooperation and does not encourage discipline among the public.

And in a calamity-prone and poor country like the Phil-ippines, “an ineffective leader,” Juanico said, “is a disaster in itself.” (With a report from Alexander Martin Remollino / bulatlat.com)

Poor Are Worst Hit by Ondoy; Inept Political Leadership Makes Them Suffer Even More

A disaster-prone country like the Philippines should by now be a nation of experts on calamities and how to deal with them. But, as Ondoy has shown, Filipinos are almost always caught unawares. And often, the high cost of these calamities are caused not so much by lack of knowledge or resources as by poor governance.

By CaRLOS H. CONdE

VoxBikol 728 SEPT. - 04 OCT. 2009noTices

Available at Ina nin Bikol Foundation, Inc. Peñafrancia Basilica, Balatas, Naga City

Republic of the PhilippinesREGIoNAL tRIAL

CouRt5th Judicial Region

Branch 36, Iriga City

IN RE: CORRECTION OF ENTRIES IN THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE OF MARIASALVACION N. MOSTOLES BY CHANGINGHER DATE OF BIRTH FROM “MARCH 18, 1966”TO “MARCH 15, 1966” SPEC. PROC. NO. IR-2431

MARIA SALVACION N. MOSTOLESPetitioner,

-versus-

THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OF THEMUNICIPALITY OF BUHI, CAMARINES SURRespondents.

x-------------------------------x

ORDER

A verified Petition was filed by petitioner through counsel on August 26, 2009, praying that after hearing, an order be issued directing the Office of the Civil Registrar of Buhi, Camarines Sur to make the necessary correction in the certificate of live birth of MARIA SALVACION N. MOSTOLES, particularly the DATE OF BIRTH from MARCH 18, 1966 TO MARCH 15, 1966, which is the true fact.

Finding the petition to be in order, notice is hereby given that this petition will be heard on November 9, 2009 at 8:30 o’clock in the morning, at which time and place aforesaid, all interested persons are cited to appear and show cause if any, why this petition should not be granted.

Let this order be published at the expense of the petitioner in a newspaper of general circulation in the province of Camarines Sur once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks. Furnish the Office of the Solicitor General and the Office of the Civil Registrar General, and the National Statistics Office with a copy of this Order together with the petition.

SO ORDERED.Given this 15th day

September, 2009 (sgd.) TIMOTEO A. PANGA. JR.Acting Presiding Judge

Vox Bikol: september 28, october 5 & 12, 2009

Republic of the PhilippinesREGIoNAL tRIAL

CouRt5th Judicial Region

Branch 60, Iriga City

IN THE MATTER OF THE ADOPTIONWITH CHANGE OF NAME OF ANDY V.

LAUTA, JR. SPEC. PROC. NO. IR-2434

SPOUSES ELMER AND TERESITA OSEAPetitioner,

x--------------------------------x

ORDER

Before this Court, a verified petition for the adoption of minor Andy V. Lauta, Jr. filed by Spouses Elmer and Teresita Osea, praying that after due notice, publication and hearing, judgment be entered adjudging that the minor child Andy V. Lauta, Jr. be freed from all legal obligations of obedience and maintenance with respect to his natural parents, and that he be declared to all legal intents and purposes, the child of the petitioners, and his name be changed to that of the petitioners.

Finding the petition to be sufficient in form and substance, notice is hereby given that this petition will be heard on November 23, 2009 at 8:30 o’clock in the morning, at the sala of RTC Branch 60, Hall of Justice, Iriga City, at which time, date and place aforesaid, all interested persons any appear to show cause if any, why this petition should not be granted.

Let this order be published at the expense of the petitioners once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the province of Camarines Sur including the Cities of Iriga and Naga. Furnish the Solicitor General. Makati City, the Provincial Prosecutor, Iriga City, the Department of Social Welfare and Development through the Municipal Social Welfare Office of Polangui City, Albay and the Local Civil Registrar of Polangui City, Albay and the biological parents of the adoptee.

The Social Worker of this court is directed to prepare and submit child and home study reports to this Court on the adoptee, her biological parents and adopters, at least one(1) week before the hearing and to conduct counseling sessions with the biological parents and the adopters on the matter of their adoption of the above-named minor and submit a report thereon also before the scheduled date of hearing.

SO ORDERED.Given in Chambers this

9th day of September, 2009 at Iriga City, Philippines. (sgd.) TIMOTEO A. PANGA. JR.Acting Presiding Judge Vox Bikol: september 28, october 5 & 12, 2009

Republic of the PhilippinesREGIoNAL tRIAL

CouRt5th Judicial Region

Branch 56

Libmanan, Camarines Sur

tRANsFER oF CERtIFICAtE oF tItLE No. t-64323

“ A parcel of Lot situated at Bo. Sacnagan, Municipality of Pilar, Province of Sorsogon, containing an area of TWENTY THREE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED NINETY FOUR (23, 794) SQURE METERS. Bounded on the NW, by Swamp; on the NE, by Lot 4125, Pls-716-D; on the E, by Swamp; on the S, by Hipanao River; and on the W, by Lot 4123, Pls-716-D, Declared for taxation purposes in the name of Myrna A. Andes, with an assessed value of Php 630,346.85.”

NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of said Writ of Execution and in accordance with Rule 39, Sec. 19, of the Rules of Court, the undersigned Deputy Sheriff will sell at public auction to the Highest bidder, for CASH and in Philippine Currency, on october 8, 2009, at 10:00 o’clock in the morning, at the main entrance of the Provincial Capitol of sorsogon, the rights, interest and participation of defendants EDGARDO L. ANDES and MYRNA B. ANDES, the above-described properties in order to satisfy said Writ of Execution, together with interest, costs, sheriff’s fees and the expenses of sale.

Libmanan, Camarines Sur, Philippines, September 1, 2009.

(sgd) ANTONIO SM. AZCARRAGASheriff IV

Vox Bikol: september 14, 21 & 28, 2009

EXtRAJudICIAL sEttLEmENt

oF EstAtE wIth doNAtIoN

INtERVIVos

Notice is hereby given that the intestate estate of the late BRAuLIo BRILLANtE who died in Busak, Libmanan, Camarines Sur without any will had left certain real property situated in Busak, Libmanan, Camarines Sur more particularly described as follows : “A parcel of land containing an area of EIGht thousANd EIGht huNdREd FIFtY two (8,852) sQuARE mEtERs. Which real property is covered by Katibayan ng Original na Titulo Blg. 13428 at may Kaloob na Patente Blg. 051718-94-3690 registered of Deeds Camarines Sur.” These have been subject to extrajudicial settlement among heirs acknowledged before Atty. Redentor R. Castañeda under Not. Reg. No. 285, Page No.81, & Book No. 21, Series of 2009.

VoX BIkoL: september 21, 28 & october 5, 2009

dEEd oF EXtRAJudICIAL sEttLEmENt oF

EstAtEwIth ABsoLutE sALE

Notice is hereby given that the intestate estate of the late GRACIosA FERNANdo CAPuCAo who died on June 19, 2004 at Camaligan, Camarines Sur had left parcel of agricultural land denominated and more particularly described and bounded as follows, to wit:

“A parcel of land, denominated as Lot 2617, Cad. 516-D Case 13, Camaligan Cadastre, situated at Barangay Sua, Camaligan, Camarines Sur, containing an area of TEN thousANd FouR huNdREd FIFtY sIX (10,456) sQuARE mEtERs, covered by katibayan ng orihinal na titulo Blg. 18604, with tax declaration No. 97-012-0065 with an assessed value at P6,840.00.” These have been subject to extrajudicial settlement among heirs acknowledged before Atty. Tirso P. Mariano. VoX BIkoL: september 21, 28 & october 5, 2009

dEEd oF EXtRAJudICIAL sEttLEmENt oF

EstAtE wIth wAIVER oF shAREs

Notice is hereby given that the intestate estate of the late sPousEs VALERIANo VILLAREAL and toRIBIA PARAEN VILLAREAL who died on January 18, 1985 and December 1, 1981 at San Fernando, Camarines Sur had left parcel of agricultural land as herein below described as follows, to wit: “A parcel of agricultural land, situated at Beberon, San Fernando, Camarines Sur, denominated as Lot. No. 3395, Pls-737-D, San Fernando Cadastre, containing an area of thREE thousANd EIGht huNdREd sIXtY FIVE (3, 865) sQuARE mEtERs, covered by oCt No. 17514, with tax declaration No. 97-002-00101, with an assessed value at P9, 600.00.” These have been subject to extrajudicial settlement among heirs acknowledged before Atty. Tirso P. Mariano under Doc. No. 2477, Page No. 10 & Book No. 34, Series of 2009. VoX BIkoL: september 21, 28 & october 5, 2009

AdJudICAtIoN wIth dEEd oF doNAtIoN

Notice is hereby given that the intestate estate

Rosales...FROM PAGE 8

of the late EuFRACIo VILLAREAL who died on December 2, 1948 at San Francisco, Camarines Sur had left parcel of agricultural land particularly described and bounded as follows, to wit: “ A parcel of land, denominated as Lot No.2262, San Fernando Cadastre containing an area of sIXtEEN thousANd thREE huNdREd ELEVEN (16, 311) sQuARE mEtERs, embraced by Tax Declaration No. 97-017-00065 with an assessed value at P25,740.00.” These have been subject to extrajudicial settlement among heirs acknowledged before Atty. Tirso P. Mariano under Doc. No. 2499, Page No. 14 & Book No. 34 Series of 2009. VoX BIkoL: september 21, 28 & october 5, 2009

EXtRA JudICIAL sEttLEmENt

wIth wAIVER oF RIGhts

Notice is hereby given that the intestate estate of the late NIEVEs s. mARAsIGAN who died on March 13, 2008 at Tagkawayan, Quezon and mARCELINo mARAsIGAN who also died on October 21, 2007 at Tagkawayan, Quezon had left her own exclusive separate paraphernal real property co-owned, to the extent of one-fourth (1/4) with her sisters Josefina, Judith and Zurajaida all surnamed Sumayao, which property id more particularly described as follows: “ A parcel of land (Lot 75 Cad-291) situated in the Municipality of Pili, Camarines Sur containing an area of Seven Hundred Forty Seven (747) square meters more or less covered by Transfer Certificate of Title No. RT-2732 (4810) of the Register of Deeds of Camarines Sur.” These have been subject to extrajudicial settlement among heirs acknowledged before Atty. Ronald E. Rimando under Doc. No. 307, Page No. 62 & Book No. 6 Series of 2009. VoX BIkoL: september 21, 28 & october 5, 2009

Republic of the PhilippinesLocal Civil Registry OfficeProvince of Camarines Sur

City of Naga

NotICE FoR PuBLICAtIoN

In compliance with Section No. 5 of R.A. No. 9048, a notice is hereby served to the public that LISSA GAY ALBRANDO MORENO has filed with this Office a Petition for Change of

First Name from FRANCIS ANTHONY to PAUL MATTHEW in her birth certificate of FRANCIS ANTHONY PRESTO ALBRANDO who was born on September 24, 1992 at Naga City, Camarines Sur and whose parent is LISSA GAY PRESTO ALBRANDO.

Any person adversely affected by said petition may file his written opposition with this Office not later than October 5, 2009.

(sgd) ALEXANDER M. CAYETANCity Civil Registrar

Vox Bikol: sept. 21 & 28, 2009

“to come to the aid of the families heavily affected by typhoon Ondoy and the floods.”

Meanwhile, Fr. Anton Pascual, Executive Director of Caritas Manila, explained that donations for flood victims may be sent to any nearby parish or diocesan social action center.

“These donations can be brought to the differ-ent Social Action Centers who in turn will coordinate with Caritas Manila for distribution to the nine af-fected dioceses which are the Archdiocese of Manila and the Dioceses of Pasig, Kalookan, Cubao, Novali-ches, Malolos, San Pablo, Parañaque, and Antipolo,” he said.

Caritas Manila, the social action arm of the Archdiocese of Manila has already distributed relief goods to 20,838 affected families since relief opera-tions started Sunday.

“We want our broth-ers and sisters to feel some comfort to ease their pain and suffering when they receive the relief goods,” Pascual said. (Kate Laceda)

He also heads the Task Force on Peace and Order of the Northern Samar Peace and Development Forum.

According to Santiago Salas, spokesman of the National Democratic Front-Eastern Visayas, “Lucero was the 4th person to be extra-judicially executed in Northern Samar this year.” (Kate Laceda)

Slain...FROM PAGE 8

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mANILA--thE BIshoPs oF sAmAR Islands along with the local government units headed by Easter Samar Governor Ben Evardone have decided to give a posthumous award to the murdered priest, Fr. Cecilio Lucero.

Evardone said that this move to grant Lucero an award is a recognition and tribute to his involvement in creating peace and development in their province.

During the recently held 12th Samar Island Partnership for Peace and Development (Sippad) headed by Borongan Bishop Crispin Var-quez and Calbayog Bishop Isabelo Abarquez, the two bishops and the participants of the forum have drafted a resolution for the award.

The group also issued a state-ment stating that the brutal and vile slaying such as that of Lucero had never happened even during the Martial Law, against any of the servants of the Church.

Lucero died last September 6 in Catubig, Northern Samar due to multiple gunshots in his body and head in an ambush by several unidentifi ed men.

Before his death, Lucero was an active member of Sippad and the former chair of the Human Rights Desk of the Social Ac-tion Commission of the Catarman Diocese.

mANILA--thE soCIAL AC-tIoN ARm of the Catholic Bish-ops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) plans a massive increase in its relief aid program, with an initial allocation now reaching to around P30 million.

National Secretariat for Social Action (Nassa) executive secretary Sr. Roseanne Mallillin announced the decision in a press conference Friday due to increasing number of families ravaged by typhoon Ondoy.

She said the pouring donations from its international partners also helped boost their relief drive for families who lost properties and livelihood from the wrath of the strong storm.

Sr. Mallillin said Nassa is currently working on distributing sustainable relief packages to an initial 10,000 families that can help them start afresh after the

onslaught of disaster.“These are items that will sus-

tain them for a month or so, unlike other simple relief efforts where they are given limited portions of rice and canned goods that will last them for only days,” she said.

Among those included in the packages are kitchenwares, family size mat, blanket and mosquito net, canned goods, two big towels, underwear, slippers, toiletries, plates, cups and saucers, and uten-sils, laundry detergents, and most importantly—one sack of rice.

Each package, she said, has over P2,000 worth of goods.

The church offi cial said that the recipients are chosen by social action directors (SADs) from at least fi ve hardest-hit dioceses—Malolos, Pasig, Antipolo, Laguna and Pampanga, after applicants submit socio economic profi les to their parishes.

Only those who fall under the criteria—least attended and most in need will be included in the list of benefi ciaries, she said.

But Sr. Mallillin said those who are not included in the will still be served by their churches through the provision of food packs which contain six cans of sardines, 10 packs of noodles, 1 dozen instant coffee sachets, one big box of milk and one pack of crackers.

Their initial distribution also included fi ve kilos of rice per fam-ily after Agriculture Sec. Arthur Yap released 40 sacks of rice last Sunday for relief efforts.

Sr. Mallillin added that the church structure from the par-ish to the diocesan level is very advantageous, especially in times of disaster relief efforts since this ensure an organized process of distribution.

She said that having their SADs and priests in place also help their efforts because they personally know the people in the area and are capable of identify-ing who are those who are really in need.

With these measures in place, they are given an opportunity to widen the range of their coverage, even to areas not reached by other non-government organizations.

Among those who helped in the church’s relief efforts is the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, which donated $250,000.

CRS representative Luc Picard, and regional information offi cer Laura Sheahen, pledged to help in the early recovery and planned rehabilitation drive after witnessing the devastation left by the typhoon in the country. (CB-CPNews)

28 SEPTEMBER - 04 OCTOBER 2009 8 PAGES P8.00cHuRcH news

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Rosales declares special sunday collection for typhoon victims

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slain priest in samar to receive posthumous award

TO PAGE 7

TO PAGE 7

CBCP mounts relief aid for Ondoy victims

mANILA--mANILA ARCh-BIshoP GAudENCIo CARdI-NAL Rosales has announced that a special collection will be gathered at all the Sunday masses through-out the Archdiocese of Manila this weekend in parishes, chapels and malls to help the victims of typhoon Ondoy.

“This coming Sunday, Oc-tober 4, a special collection will be made at all Sunday Masses, including the anticipated Masses, in Parishes, Chapels and Malls for the victims of the Ondoy disaster,” the cardinal said adding:

“A destruction as large as this becomes a call to all of us to reach out to our brothers and sisters who are out there literally still wet and cold—homeless.”

He also challenged all Catholics nationwide to continue