Angelo Reyes

     Angelo Reyes was a former general of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.  He rose from the ranks, after graduation from the Philippine Military Academy, from a neophyte 2nd lieutenant to being Chief of  Staff, crediting himself for pulverizing Camp Abubakar in Mindanao. After retirement, he held several cabinet positions:  Secretary of  National Defense, Secretary of Interior and Local Government, and Secretary of Energy.  When a new president was elected last May 2010 elections, General Reyes retired and lived a simple life with his family. Truly, his life is one with flying colors.

     Until few weeks ago, he was implicated in a large scale anomaly within the institution.  A former budget officer of the military came into open and tell the Senate that former chiefs of staff  received "welcome money" upon taking the post and "send-of  money" upon retirement. Amount ranges from 50 million to 180 million pesos, greatly reducing the budget allocated for the equipment, logistics and financial benefits of the troops on the ground.  This is in addition to a monthly allowance of several million pesos, exposed by no less than his compadre, a former colonel himself and the then budget disbursing officer.  As such, the whistle-blower seems to be believable against the denial of those former generals.
     As investigation intensified, mental pressure probably wrecked havoc on General Reyes, and he committed suicide. He paid respect on his parent's tomb and there, he shoot himself.
     I wrote this story just to voice out my opinion regarding this scandal that only added questions instead of answers. I do not wish to question the wisdom of the late general for taking his life, but for me, such act was an act of cowardice. For he was given the opportunity and privelege to correct a wrong, but he preferred to keep silent. I extend sympathy to his family and may he rest in peace.

MOVING

     A decade had past since we left our home province and migrated to a place a thousand miles away, on the southwestern part of the Philippines.  New place, new language and new environment, but that doesn't  keep us on setting our track on the  road.  We have four children, and since they were still in elementary and high school when we arrive here,  knowledge of the native language was not that hard to learn.  We have to settle by renting a  small house, with preference on the school's proximity to save on fare, and with an ample opportunity to earn whatever means we could. Since we do not have a house we own, we have the luxury of living on a place we chose.  Thus, whenever graduation occurs, we usually transfer to where the next school will be.  And since then, in a span of less than ten years, we had already lived on eight different houses.  Wow, that's a record.
     One good thing about  moving, is that you create many memories, especially when a family occasion happens.  And it is easy to remember what chapter of our life such events occur, considering that you only have to remember the house you were then living.  You also could accumulate friends on different places, that whenever there was fiesta on one of the places you lived in, you will always be invited.
     From a fifth grader, our youngest child is now on her fourth year in college, and her three siblings have their own job already.  We are now a little farther from our original place, settling on an apartment near the city. Although the idea of owning a house comes into the family discussion, it is quite puzzling why it doesn't interest us that much, and such idea  is always been put aside.
     Today, after settling for eleven months, we again find our present place to be uncomfortable, leaving no room for some additional furniture and fixtures purchased .  And so now, we are looking forward for our ninth   bungalow , with new hopes, new aspirations and with God's continuous blessings, a better place to live in.

First Words

     One of the things Filipino parents are really excited about is their baby's first words, or even any sound that comes from their baby's mouth.  Once our kid manages to stutter words, its already a heavenly feeling specially for young parents. Internet research suggests that a 2-year old kid can probably understand up to a thousand words but can manage to speak only with 150 to 200 words.
     However,  it seems that there are certain issues one might want to  tackle regarding how children acquire their language skills. Unfortunately, I'm not aware of  local studies dealing with this issue.  For example, Filipinos do tend to underestimate the ability of our children to learn and acquire language, that's why we prefer to communicate with them with baby talk. There is some truth that a baby can already comprehend many words even in their first year of life.
     Legitimate suggestions to stimulate language development on children includes talking and communicating with chilren as we would with adults, by making brief but complete sentences. We can expand our children's vocabulary by combining words; by attaching a verb to their noun or vice-versa, adjectives with nouns, prepositions with nouns, and even adverbs with verbs. Some kids pick words from different speakers resulting to multilingual situation.  From a Visayan housemaid, to an Ilocano grandfather, or even to a Chinese neighbor. The main challenge here is you have to decide on a primary language that you used to speak and which the child can then use to learn other languages.
     However, studies show that children's primary socialization in their schools later, do tend to correct and fill the gap of picking up the language,and that a child will learn to speak English and Filipino as his or her classmates do.
     We're fascinated when very young kids are able to say "thank you", "excuse me" or "please", not only because they show english expertise but because they show and understand certain values too.  It's better we stop counting the words they speak but listen hard to what the children are trying to tell us.


Photo Sources: http://www.tbclubbock.org 

A sweeter year for a diabetic

     My cousin Norly was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, as a result of hereditary genes, and eating more than the fair share of sugary food leading to his obesity. Type 2 diabetes happens when our body cells do not react to insulin anymore and our pancreas does not produce enough insulin resulting to glucose overload. Without insulin, the sugar we eat stays in our bloodstream, endangering our body's systems and organs. Complications suffered by diabetics varied from poor eyesight, kidney problems, heart conditions and bad circulation.
     However, while there is an increasing incidence of this disease, especially nowadays trend of instant noodles and sugar mixtures they called "juice drinks", life has become easier for many of us, simply because we now have high tech drugs, and that we know that exercise can help, with more and more sugar-free food available in the market.
     That's why now is the perfect time for a resolution to combat this dreadful disease, first by adapting a healthier lifestyle.  Find an exercise you like to do, at the very least, walking with your dog is a good start.  Also, never underestimate the power of sugar-free sweeteners known to be safer and more naturally made. More and more pastry shops are offering sugar-free desserts like chocolate and cheesecake, or a sugarless coffee. And then, of course, you have to carefully follow your doctor's advice and stay on top of your medication.
     My cousin's internist put him on a new drug called Januvia(sitagliptin phosphate).  Research shows that this drug is the first in a new class of drugs known as DPP-4 inhibitors, which enhance the body's natural ability to regulate insulin and lower its own blood sugar levels.  It helps keep insulin to do its job, thus the blood sugar is better controlled.  Thankfully, his diabetes is not out of  control just yet, and he managed to lose some weight.  At his age of 54, stress and fatigue, which often come with a businessman's job description, can be just as bad as a bowl of refined sugar.
     It's your choice to be vigilant about making sure your diabetes will not turn into a life-threatening situation. After all, diabetes or not, life and health are too precious not to celebrate.

cockfighting

     Cocks,or simply feathered warriors have only one purpose in a cockpit arena-to fight, and fight to the death. The cocks, trained to fight with each sharp three-inch-long spurs locally called "tare" tied to one of their legs, furiously strike each other, to the excited yells of the betting spectators. All is over in just few minutes, sometimes  few seconds , with one cock standing and the other downed hanging for his last breath.
     Unlike other sports, sabungeros come from all walks of life; cutting across social status, generation, political and religious divides.  Some say that there are even more cockpit arenas than there are churches here in the Philippines. That is why some considered cockfighting as the national sports, rather than basketball. Afficionados  considered this sports as a form of recreation that indeed brings the community together and cements long lasting relations between spectators. They says it is far better than drinking, for you always have the chance to win, while in drinking you have nothing but lose. But for animal rights activists, the sport is enough to make the skin crawl and the blood boil. Critics describe it as a reprehensible abuse of animals, while  enthusiasts say it's easily the country's national sport.
     Spectators consider first the fighting cock's pedigree and winning record before placing their bets.  Bets varied largely from few hundred pesos to even a six figure range, all tracked by the arena's resident bet takers called "kristo".  He is expected to keep tabs on who's betting on which cock, and to collect the winnings for the winners.  All these are done without any written records, nor receipts or tickets, but simply by means of mental calculations and memory.  About ten percent of the winnings go to the arena's management as its fee for organizing the cockfight, and a small percentage is given by the winner to the "kristo" for handling his bet.  Everyone has to honor his bet lest he be banished from the cockpit, a fate worse than death for the truly rabid sabungero.

people and population

Recently, I have read an article quoting a student asking if it is true that the entire population of the Philippines (90 million) could fit in the island of Bohol in the Visayas region. Conservative groups have since been attacking environmentalists for being alarmist and they oppose government intervention regarding environmental matters, specifically the population question, claiming that we have no population problem and therefore no need for family planning.
By simple arithmetic, they;re right. Fitting all Filipinos into Bohol would have about 20,000 people/square kilometer, just about the density of Quezon City.  But who would like to live in such an atmosphere where even your beaches would deteriorate in such a short period of time.  Boracay with all its glory, is already showing the kind of damage a large population can inflict.
List of what to do to protect the environment focuses on flora and fauna, and ways to combat pollution; personal initiatives consists of minimizing the use of plastic bags, not eating shark's fin, recycling paper, and the use of CFL lights instead of incandescent bulbs. These are all good advocacies, but we often fail to address an important variable connecting environment degradation to population growth. The greatest predator, the greatest threat today to the world's environment, is Homo Sapiens.
Love the environment, but recognize how much people need in terms of food, shelter, clothing, and most importantly, a natural environment that nourishes both body and soul. I personally do not support State restrictions like China's one-child policy, but we should also question the argument that people should just have as many children as they can afford.  Sure, a couple could have so much money they could afford a dozen children, but the costs of having it will be shouldered not just by the family and the community but the entire planet, and by generations yet to be born.

faith healing

I once read an article on faith and its power of healing, in which some of American doctors had expressed astonishment over the miraculous recovery of patients who had faith in the divine power.  Oncologists had claimed that some cancer patients at their last stage gradually recovered in an unknown way.  These patients did not cry or whine like many others; rather they happily recited prayers, talked of God and His blessings.
Despite doctors giving up on them, these devotees felt assured that they would survive on the basis of their faith in the Lord.  And surprisingly they showed improvement and their seemingly incurable disease was cured.
Over the years of watching the healing mass on television, I have realized the incredible healing benefits of faith.  I have found that faith in God is the greatest medicine, which is always available and free of cost.  When all others failed, the door to Him opens.  God is always there-for me, for you, for everyone- but we often fail to develop an unwavering faith to Him.  We surrender ourselves to doctors and feel that whatever they say is the truth.  We forget that the words of the doctor might be true or false, and that we also had a higher being who is there with us in all our hardships and will always be there for us.
Researchers had proven that even 61 year old patients who had suffered a heart attack recovered faster than those who were not spiritually oriented.
Faith in God, thus, has its own virtues.  Here in the Philippines, we have the likes of  Father Suarez and Father Faller; Catholic priests who conduct healing masses , on television and in their respective diocese. You could see for yourselves the astonishing miracle happening before your eyes, that nothing but only a Divine Intervention can perform.  Truly, faith in God is a way to an everlasting happiness.