3. Why not Rodrigo Duterte?

There was a wedding in Davao City.  After the affair, the gun afficionados among them were brought to the range for target practice. The folks got all excited as they showed off their stuff, compared calibers and makes. Then, the targets were ushered in -- the dogs from the city pound.  These were the catch from Davao City's no stray dogs ordinance.  Dogs, left to fend for themselves, littering the queen city of the south, stinking, probably rabid-- they had no use, why not for gun training? So, the guests had their day shooting off the dogs one by one. You could hear the dogs yelping in pain as bullets pierced through their bodies. These were dogs not people.  But somehow you think the rumors of death squads roaming around Davao City to protect it from bad elements seem plausible. They shoot dogs if they're strayed or rabid. They shoot people if they're criminals. The lawyers keep it legal. If you want to live in a country where there are no stray dogs and criminals, Duterte is your man. The man has a vision. Iron will with an iron hand.  So why not Duterte?

2. Why not Mar Roxas?

He's beyond good and evil. He's the Nietzsche guy. The man with the will to power. If this were your high school elections, he's the man always hovering around the teacher, carrying the teacher's books, bringing him coffee, mopping the floor, and dusting off the blackboard. He annoys you for being there all the time. You know he wants to be president so bad that he agreed to run for vice president. You have the feeling that he always had the tough job. A plane crashed and he's there. A freak explosion, robbers breaking in a jewelry shop with hammers, a typhoon devastation, sometimes just bad traffic -- he was there. He'd do anything for your vote in 2016. He even got the goods on Binay and probably everyone else running against him. Man, he's ready and you know he wants it.  All these years that he's been working as an errand boy of the Republic are now due for payback.  So why not Mar? He's the Nietzsche guy.

1. One Paragraph A Day

Facebook did it. Twitter was a conspirator. They shrunk my brain. I used to write kilometric posts. Yet, for the past years, I've been confined to one-liners, two-liners at the most. My thoughts had to fit 140 characters, spaces and all. Then I had a dalliance with Sunday night  AM radio, which produced 200 podcasts. Bayan at Batas, we called it, a show in bloodied Taglish that had me chatting on a wide range of stuff from Tasadays to world history. My Kindle books have piled up from all that reading. Then, I decided enough is enough.  I'm taking a sabbatical from the broadcasts and the podcasts. I'm taking silence as a sport. I'm thinking, reflecting, calibrating the next move of this 21st century life. So today, I remember my late mentor, NVM Gonzalez, and his words about writing -- let them out into the wild, and they will find their own friends. A blog post from 2006 was discovered by a filmmaker and he said he's doing a film on it, with it (?) or inspired by it (?). Whatever it was that he said he was doing about it, it has lit up my passion for this blog again. Indeed, this blog continues to find friends long after I've left it.  Here, where my web writing adventures begun. Here, where I made enemies and friends. Here. I'm going back here. One paragraph a day. At least one paragraph a day.Yeah.

More from my wordpress blog, which I've sort of abandoned.

More photos of Caluagas

Landing in Calaguas

Upon setting foot in Calaguas, I blurted that I feel like Magellan landing in Limasawa Island. This is the real deal. Pristine waters, dramatic rock formations, beautiful landscapes. There is so much to discover in this place. Just to memorize the islands and the islets scattered around it will take hours even days. 

The trip from Vinsons to Calaguas though is quite a challenge. We left port in Vinsons at around 8:00 am and went through the southern canal towards the Pacific. 

This is a pleasant ride. The wave measurement website said the waves would be at 1.2 meters on the trip, I wondered what it meant.

They're moderate but for those who are not used to it, these waves give you a semi-roller coaster ride. To counter the waves, I tried sitting on lotus position, which was a bad idea. It gave me backache. So, I decided to stand up for most of the trip. 

The cellphone signal was intermittent so I managed to make a few phone calls with the expectation that the island is off line. An hour and half later, the islands became more visible and surprised us with great views. After two hours, we managed to get to the opposite side of the Pacific in Calaguas Island, which is what they call Mahabang Buhangin. 

Can this compare with Boracay, Panglao, or Bantayan?

You be the judge. Come over here. I'm going for a swim.

Sent from my iPhone

Selfie on the pumpboat from Vinsons to Calaguas

Sunrise at Labo, Camarines Norte

We're here at Villa Eusebia Labo, Camarines Norte

The estimated time of arrival was spot on. Ten hours after we left Pasay City. The trip could be faster were it not for the traffic in San Pablo City. Also, the first stop over was not that necessary or it didn't have to be longer than ten minutes.

Most part of the trip was comfortable and even entertaining, especially the coastal road leg from Atimonan to Gumaca. But it became a drag at the later part from Sta. Elena to Labo which seemed like two hours of relentless zig zag.

Our host for tonight is Mang Andin, through the generosity of AMT. We had crispy tadyang, binagoongan and hot sisig and rice for dinner. This is capped with fresh watermelons and buko juice.

We're finishing the night on the karaoke machine. It's a bit loud. We should really go back to the days of pianos and guitars. Anyways, I'll just sing my wife's song, "Each day with you", and call it a night. Calaguas beckons.







Sent from my iPhone

We're here yey!

Update later

Awa ng Diyos, wala pa rin kami dun

It's been a long trip.  I feel that if I met my wife at the start of this trip for the first time as a stranger,  by the end of this trip,  I'd be married to her already. We're  in Labo but the station is still elsewhere. The BlackBerry and the IPhone have conked out and I'm down to one working phone. I hope it lasts for the rest of the trip until I could get the others charged.

Sta. Elena to Labo is a wild ride.

The bus was swinging,  bags were falling off,  water containers were rolling on the bus floor, and Mr.  Snore was wide awake. This is one rugged terrain that could rival Kennon road of Baguio. The good thing is we're almost there. A few more minutes of this and I think I need those anti-dizziness tablets. I've finished off all the food stuff in my bag,  and is just left with two bottles of Gatorade that I'm saving for the boat trip to Calaguas. It's been a cool trip. The bus aircon worked fine and the weather here is somewhat damp. You wouldn't know that it's summer. It must have rained.

The Home stretch.

We're now in Calauag. The next town is Sta. Elena and then our destination for the bus, Labo. Based on the map, this last leg is all mountain terrain. On the ground, however, the route gives you occasionally a glimpse of the Calauag Bay bathing in the afternoon sun.

Gumaca, Quezon

We  had a ten minute break at the pit stop of Philtranco in Gumaca, Quezon. Based on the map, we're halfway done. But we've spent a good seven hours on the road already. This means the pace is going to quicken as we head on to Bicol. We're expected to be at Labo at 5:00pm. Then, we proceed to the Luzarraga Ancestral home for dinner  at 6:00pm.

At the pit stop, I was looking for local delicacies and John, our staff member, suggested I get the special tikoy, as it was Gumaca's specialty. What is unique with this tikoy is that it's neatly  covered by layers of dried palms that make it look like corn with the cover. I peeled off about four layers of palm, before I got to the tikoy, which was covered in plastic. It seemed like a lot of work so I told Macoy,  our maintenance guy in the office to get a knife to open the thing as I was getting impatient with it. Finally,  he hands it to me partially without the plastic. I got a pinch, tasted it, and handed the rest of it to Macoy to share with the others. Well,  it's tikoy alright, just a tad creamier than the average.

I settled for the chicharon balat ng baboy and got surprised as it could compete with Lapid's in the market. Excellent find here in Gumaca,  Quezon.

Gumaca, Quezon

Atimonan, Quezon

Now, it gets interesting

We've passed Pagbilao and now are about to enter Atimonan, Quezon. According to the map, the road is near the coastline so I'm hoping to catch photos of the sea. The trouble is there's so much road construction going on and it gets irritating at times.

Atimonan got a bit notorious after a drug related violence involving money and policemen brought it to the headlines. Of course, you don't see that from the bus. The locals look peaceful from this vantage point, but you know violence is lurking somewhere.

The guy behind me is snoring again so that means its getting more comfortable. Jeez, I should congratulate him after this trip for having a good and relaxing sleep. Who knows, he must be a call center guy who hasn't slept for weeks.

Sent from my iPhone

It gets bumpy from here

The town is called Pagbilao, Quezon. In the 80s there was a hellish bus accident on this town that killed tens of passengers on their way to Lucena. The news hugged the headlines for weeks and that left me the only memory of this place. True enough, we've been swinging from left to right since we got here, but our bus driver doesn't seem to mind as we're doing about 90 kph. It's going to be hard getting a nap this part of the trip. Even the snoring guy behind me is now awake.

Lunch at Fermil"s

We stopped at Fermil's Fast Food for lunch. I had a bowl of beef stew and rice, which cost barely a hundred bucks. Not bad. I don't how they make money on that.

I saw bottles of lambanog on the stand but our staff told me there is a lot more lambanog where we're heading so there's no need to get one from here.

This lambanog links to a memory of a family, which happens to be that of my wife's great grandparents, Magdalena and Pedro Lecaroz, who brewed lambanog during the war to make ends meet. Their son, Aristeo, former Governor of Marinduque, recalls his life as a kutsero, tending to the horses, as his parents load the lambanog to the kalesa for delivery. Those events were barely 70 years ago. And I'm quite lucky having heard of that story from the Governor in one of our meetings in our efforts to sell one of the old couple's prime lands which they bought from their earnings in lambanog and other products. I have a feeling somewhere around this place a similar scene is happening where a couple and their son are tending to their lambanog deliveries. Of course, the world knows how to reward they who can brew good lambanog wherever and whenever.

Ah, I think of alcohol and this trip gets exciting.

"Sent via BlackBerry from Smart"

Looking for Ungasis in Tiaong, Quezon

We've moved on a bit faster as we entered the town of Tiaong, Quezon. I'm familiar with this place as this town is also a gateway to San Juan, Batangas where my wife is from. If we turn right at the corner of Chow King, that road leads us to San Juan where the beaches of Laiya are found.

But prior to my meeting my wife, Tiaong lived in my imagination as the hometown of Victorio Ungasis of Wanbol University, the nerdy character of Vic Sotto in the 70's sitcom, Iskul Bukol. Ungasis's mother n the show played by Dely Atay-Atayan was funnier with that thick tagalog accent of Quezon. Although, I haven't really met anyone in real life with that sing-song Tagalog of hers.

That show has left such a mark in my life that until now there is no other way that I describe people with messed up work and messed up lives, including messed up governments, but Iskul Bukol. I wonder what is the story behind Ungasis and Tiaong, Quezon.

"Sent via BlackBerry from Smart"

Traffic in San Pablo, Laguna

We're crawling here as the bus hits the urban areas of San Pablo City Laguna. Meanwhile, the guy behind me is snoring like a pig. This is one of the many hassles commuters have to live with. My Blackberry is also about to get its battery drained. It's just been three hours since we left.
"Sent via BlackBerry from Smart"

Preacher on the Bus

The stop over gets a little edgy for me as this preacher took the center of the bus to ask for donations.

Before that he distributed little envelopes to everyone. I returned the one he gave me because I thought it was a disturbance of my privacy. He then took the center, apologizes for disturbing us, and rattles off the mantras of giving and other quotes from the Bible. He then goes around asking for cash donations.

I was tempted a bit to demand for his DSWD permit. There is a regulation for this practice, and it requires solicitors to secure a DSWD permit before the can solicit for money from the public.

Ah, let's not ruin my day. So, I chose to ignore him as he gets his donations from the others on the bus. I wonder how much he makes in a day.





"Sent via BlackBerry from Smart"

Marvin B. Aceron's Location

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Marvin B. Aceron's Location

Where does the sun rise?

That sounds like a stupid question, unless you're riding a bus on a ten hour day trip. Why? You want to avoid the sun during the trip because it's uncomfortable to be under direct sunlight, even if you're riding in an air-conditioned bus.

Of course, the sun always rises on the east. But on a trip to the south which side of the bus is east? I missed it. I'm on the left side of the bus. In the confusion for the bus reservations earlier, I thought the sun would be on the right side. Yet, all is not lost because the left side is the morning sun. So, it won't last for too long. By 11:00 am, the sun will be off my face, and the guys on the right side will get the heat, as it were, for the rest of the trip.

Nice trip so far.
"Sent via BlackBerry from Smart"

Look No Seat Belts

The bus is clean and cool. That would have been settled at that, except that this is a ten hour trip. The trip would be bumpy midway so it would be nice and comfortable to have seat belts and a mechanism to recline the chairs. But, I don't expect to be asleep the entire trip, so ditch the seat belts.

We had reserved seats for ten and when it seemed that two ladies have taken over our reserved seats, the two lawyers in this trip (that includes me) demanded for their tickets. The frightened ladies said they gave theirs to the driver as we examined our tickets to find out the cause of the confusion. Ooops, a little misreading by our staff led us to believe they took our seats. Okay, we're squared. Everyone is now in his place. The bus is about to roll.


"Sent via BlackBerry from Smart"

The Way to Bicol

Our group will take the 8:00 am bus of Philtranco to Daet and get off the town Labo. It's expected to be a ten hour trip. The bus will take the South Luzon Expressway, exit in Laguna, pass through several towns of Quezon then enter the province of Camarines Norte. The trip will get tricky when we get to the hilly roads of Quezon.

I've taken this trip before on my way to a court hearing in Naga. But, I found it uneventful as it was a night trip. Today, we're doing this the whole morning and afternoon. For provision, I have four bottles of Gatorade, four hard boiled eggs and half of the left over pizza from last night. Our lunch is most likely going to be burgers, but I wish there will be some local dish for lunch.


"Sent via BlackBerry from Smart"

Notes on a Trip to Calaguas

"Sent via BlackBerry from Smart"

Calaguas is a group of islands in the far fringes of the Bicol region. What prompted me to take this trip after many years of seeking comfortable and predictable ttraveling is probably boredom. Boracay, Bohol, Batangas and Cebu sound like tired destinations. Calaguas offers a back to the basics trip, i.e. the islands have no electricity, I brought along a tent and left my laptop. But the kindle is with me with books from my kindred spirits, David Foster Wallace, Gary Shteyngart, and Danilo Kis. Have beer. Will travel.
"Sent via BlackBerry from Smart"

Hello, Blogger. It's been a while. I'm going on an adventure/work-related trip to Calaguas Islands today with our staff. I'll try posting here from the old Blackberry similar to my Notes on a Trip to Cotabato. I found a web tool for the trip called the windGuru to check on the waves and this blog entry from Travelogues gives a good heads up on the trip.

Bayan at Batas Episode 2: WW II Comfort Women and Plagiarism in the Supreme Court

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Bayan at Batas Episode 1: Ang Paglilitis kay Juan Luna

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Ang Paglilitis kay Juan Luna

Mga Pangyayari:


Setiembre 1892

Villa Dupont Rue de Pergolese

Paris, France


Nabaril ni Juan Luna ang kanyang bayaw, Felix Pardo de Tavera, biyenan, Juliana Gorricho, at asawa, Paz Pardo de Tavera Luna sa bahay nila sa Paris. Gamit ni Luna ang isang baril na kanyang binili higit sa isang linggo pa lang ang nakakaraan bago nangyari ang insidente. Buhay ang bayaw niya. Namatay agad ang kanyang biyenan, sugatan naman nang malubha ang kanyang asawa, subalit namatay din siya lumipas ang ilang araw.Isinakdal si Juan Luna sa naturang krimen. At nagsimula ang isang paglilitis na matuturing na napakahalaga, hindi lamang sa France, pero pati na rin sa Pilipinas.

Mga Kaganapan sa Paglilitis:

Binasahan ng sakdal si Juan Luna ng Clerk of the High Court nung paglilitis na naganap ng 7 Pebrero 1893.Tinanong ng huwes si Juan Luna sa mga pangyayari, at inamin ni Luna na nagpaputok siya ng baril, subalit sinabi rin niya nawala siya sa sarili, at matapos ang unang putok na tumama sa kanyang bayaw, ay hindi na niya maalala ang mga pangyayari.

Sa ganitong sagot, nagtaka ang huwes at sinabing kung nawala ka sa saril, bakit nakapagsalita ka pa sa tabi ng bangkay ng iyong biyenan, at nawika mo pa na napakabait ng iyong biyenan.Ang sagot ni Luna ay, "yun ay dahil sa sakit na labis na pagkawasak. Totoong napakabait niya, lalo na sa aking anak..."Tinanong siya uli ng huwes kung pinagsisihan niya ang pangyayari, at sumagot si Luna na lubha niyang pinagsisihan. Dati siyang maligaya, honorable, at mahal niya ang kanyang asawa. Ngayon ay hindi na niya alam kung gaano ka miserable ang kanyang buhay. Pagkatapos ay napasubsob si Luna sa kanyang upuan, lubhang luhaan.

Sinuspinde ang paglilitis ng panandalian.May walong tao pa ang tumestigo, kasama si Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, kapatid ni Paz, at si Antonio Luna, kapatid ni Juan.

Sa kanyang testimonya, winika ni Trinidad na lubhang nanibugho si Juan sa kanyang asawa dahil pinagsususpetsahan niya na ito'y may relasyon sa isang pranses na nagngangalang, Dussaq. Naging biyolente si Juan at binubugbog sa Paz hanggang sinabi ni Paz na gusto na niyang idoborsyo si Juan.May isang insidente kung saan sinundan ni Juan si Paz isang hapon sa lugar na Mont Thabor. Pumasok si Paz sa isang bahay, sumunod si Juan subalit hindi niya nakita si Paz at sa halip ay nakita niya si Dussaq.

Ang insidenteng ito ay pinatunayan ni Charlotte, isang conciege, na tumestigo rin. Sabi ni Pardo te Tavera, hindi naman inamin sa kanya ng kanyang kapatid ang pangyayaring ito. Pagkatapos sinabi sa kanya ni Luna na tinutukan niya ng baril si Paz at ito'y umamin sa kanya at pumirma ng pag-amin at kasulatang ipauubaya niya na ang anak na si Andres kay Luna. Subalit nagbago ng isip si Luna at nagsabing dadalhin na lang niya ang kanyang mag-ina sa Vigo, Espana upang malayo kay Dussaq.

Sa desisyong ito, hindi pumayag si Juliana dahil sa pangamba na lubusang bugbugin at mapatay ni Luna ang kanyang anak. Pinatawag niya ang kanilang abogado na si Antonio Regidor. Nang dumating si Regidor ay siyang araw din kung kailan dapat umalis sila Luna at nangyari na nga ang patayan. Nang umupo si Antonio Luna bilang testigo, inamin niya na minsa'y sinagip niya ang kanyang hipag sa kamay ng kapatid niyang si Juan na sinasaktan ang asawa dahil sa isang bayarin.

Ang pagsasara ng diskusyon ayon sa mga abogado:

Unang nagsalita sa harap ng hurado and abogado ng magkapaid na Pardo de Tavera na si Felix Decori:

Nilagom ni Decori and mga pangyayari at hinihingi sa hurado na parusahan si Luna. Sinabi niya na hindi dapat makalimutan ang paglilitis ay tungkol sa pagkamatay ng mag-inang Pardo de Tavera at hindi ang paratang ni Luna tungkol kay Paz at sa kanyang mga kaanak.

Binasa ni Decor ang isang liham ni Juliana, ina ni Paz, kay Trinidad kung saan inulit niya ang pamgbubugbog na inabot ng anak sa kamay ni Luna, at ang ang insidente kung saan sapilitang pinapirma ni Juan si Paz ng pag-amin ng kanyang relasyon kay Dussaq.

Sa isang punto, sinabi ni Decori na si Luna ay nabibilang sa lahi ng mga Malay, na kilala sa pagiging tahimik, tamad, walang pakialam subalit biglang nagiging biyolente. "Malay Madness", sabi niya, ang tawag sa kundisyung ito ng mga Malay na pumapatay sa tindi ng galit, katulad ng mga nakahithit ng opyo, hindi nila alam ang kanilang ginagawa, at si Luna ay sadyang ganiyan.

Nagsalita naman ang abugado ng prosecution na si M. Bonn, at sinabi niya ang "Malay Madness' na ito ay hindi kabilang sa mga pagkasira ng ulo na inaabswelto sa batas ng Pranses, kaya hiniling niya na si Luna's parusahan ng hurado.

Ang huling nagsalita ay si Albert Danet, ang abogado ni Luna.

Pinakita ni Danet kung gaano katapat at kagaling sa Luna sa pamamagitan ng mga liham ng mga leader sa Espana at mga sikat na tao sa larangan ng sining at politika na sumulat upang suportahan siya.

Pagkatapos, winika ni Danet and mga liham ni Luna kay Paz kung saaa makikita kung gaano kamahal ni Luna ang kanyang asawa.

Winika niya rin ang pag-aaral ng isang Dr. Felizet na si Juan ay isang indio, kaya dapat siya ay husgahan din ng parang sa indio. Sabi ni Danet si Juan ay hindi katulad ng mga Pranses, iba ang mga bagay na nagpapatakbo ng kanyang mga pulso, kaya hindi siya dapat na husgahan ng parang isang ordinaryong Pranses. Siya ay dapat husgahan na ayon sa kanyang pagkatao.

Sa puntong ito, tinawag ng huwes si Luna at tinanong kung meron siyang gustong sabihin

Tumayo si Luna at humingi ng tawad Sinabi niya sa mga hurado na sana'y hayaan siyang lumaya upang maalagaan niya ang kanyang pangalan na malinis at maisalin niyang mabuti sa kanyang anak.

Ang Hatol

Sa aspetong sibil, pinagbayad si Luna ng halagang isang franc sa magkapatid na Pardo de Tavera bilang danyos perwisyos at ang halaga ng gastos sa kaso.

Sa aspetong kriminal, nagpasya ang hurado na si Luna ay walang kasalanan at siya ay pinalaya.

(Halaw sa Rage! ni Alejandro Roces na inilathala ng La Solidaridad Publishing nung 2008)