Undas: Mabuhay ang mga patay!
ARAW na naman nila sa Lunes.
Kakaiba sa ibang pagdiriwang ang Undas dahil magkahalong lungkot at saya ang dala nito. Lungkot dahil dito inaalala ang mga nawalang mahal sa buhay at saya dahil nagkakasama ang mga natitirang buhay na magkakamag-anak.
Matagal ko ring pinagtakhan kung bakit Araw ng mga Patay ang tawag dito sa Tagalog samantalang All Saints’ Day naman sa Ingles. Totoong patay na ang mga santo pero hindi naman lahat ng patay ay santo.
Nang medyo sinipag akong basahin ang nasusulat, lalo akong “nagulumihanan.” Ang Araw ng mga Santo ay Nobyembre 1 at ang Araw ng mga Kaluluwa ay Nobyembre 2, ayon sa kalendaryo ng Simbahan. Saan nanggaling ang Araw ng mga Patay? Ang sagot ay nasa paganong pagdiriwang sa Mexico noong unang panahon na kalaunan e naging bahagi na ng pistang Katolika. Nang makarating ito sa Pinas, pinagsama-sama ng mga ninuno natin ang All Saints’ Day, All Souls’ Day, Day of the Dead at tinawag itong Undas. At para kumbinyente Nobyembre 1 na lang ito ipinagdiriwang para isang araw lang ang holiday at hindi magreklamo ang mga kapitalista.
Marami nang pinagbago simula nang ipagdiwang ang All Saints’ Day nung unang panahon. Nahaluan ito ng mga pagdiriwang na pagano at nagbunga ng nakatatakot-pero-masayang pagdiriwang ng Halloween. All Hallows’ Eve ang dating tawag dito o bisperas ng Araw ng mga Banal (hallow). At alam naman natin ang nangyayari sa mga salita. Ang dating “gwapo” naging “pogi.” Ang “All Hallows’ Eve” e naging “Halloween.” At dahil “eve” o bisperas nga ito ng All Saints’ Day, ginaganap ito tuwing Oktubre 31.
Nagrereklamo ang Simbahang Katolika dahil hinayjak ng mga suwail ang Haloween at ginawa itong pagdiriwang para sa mga mangkukulam, kalansay, aswang at kung anu-ano pang nakapangingilabot na nilalang. Ewan ko kung pwede pa itong bawiin ng Simbahan gayong naging isa na rin itong industriya.
Noong araw, sabi ng tito ko, “nangangaluluwa” yung iba at nagnanakaw ng itlog sa manukan habang kumakanta ng “Kaluluwa kaming kambing….” Siguradong wala nang gumagawa nito sa Maynila dahil wala nang silong ang mga bahay dito na pwedeng pag-alagaan ng manok. Ang pangangaluluwa, kung hindi ako nagkakamali, e maihahalintulad sa “trick-or-treating” na ginagawa sa Amerika at iba pang bansa tuwing Halloween.
Bweno, yamang nariyan na ’yan, ‘wag na nating problemahin kung saan at kung paano nagsimula ang Araw ng mga Patay. Basta alalahanin na lang natin ang mga pumanaw at ipagtirik sila ng kandila.
Noong bata pa ako, masaya ang Undas. Nangungulekta kami ng mga kalaro ko ng tunaw na kandila, ginagawang bola at inuuwi sa bahay para gamitin ulit. Para sa amin, ang bisperas ng Undas ay parang bisperas din ng Pasko. Yun nga lang, sementeryo ang pasyalan at hindi bahay ng mga ninong at ninang. Maliwanag ang buong sementeryo at hindi mahulugang aspile ang dami ng tao. Maraming pagkain. Hindi pa bawal ang sugal, inuman at kung anu-ano pa sa loob at may mga kantahan at sayawan pa nga sa malalaking musoleo. Iyon ang gabing di mo katatakutang magpaumaga sa sementeryo.
Distressed
KADALASANG pumapasok sa imahinasyon natin kapag sinasabing distressed OFWs ang mga kabayang nakakulong at humihimas ng malamig na rehas na bakal, o kaya’y mga babaing nakayuko at naghihinagpis sa inabot na pang-aabuso.
Para sa mga nasa ibayong dagat naman, ang distressed OFWs e yung may mga problemang legal (o ilegal) at nangangailangan ng tulong ng mga awtoridad.
Pero kung tutuusin, maituturing na “distressed” ang lahat ng OFWs o manggagawang Pinoy sa ibayong dagat ngayon dahil sa pagtaas ng halaga ng piso.
Kung hindi pa ninyo napapansin, maraming OFWs at pamilya nila ang umiiyak ngayon dahil kokonti na lang ang pwedeng bilhin sa perang dumarating dito sa Pinas. Mula sa P46 kada dolyar noong Enero, bumaba ang palitan sa mahigit P43 na lamang ngayon at inaasahang bababa pa ito sa P41 bago mag-Pasko.
Maraming ekonomista ang nagsasabing magandang bagay ang paglakas ng piso (o pagbaba ng palit ng piso) laban sa dolyar dahil magiging mura ang imported material para sa produksyon at bababa ang presyo ng bilihin dahil dito. Bababa rin syempre ang panlabas na utang natin.
Pero sa tunay na buhay, mga giliw na kababayan, hindi naman bumababa ang presyo ng bilihin, itanong n’yo pa sa suki ninyong turo-turo o tindahan ng sari-sari. Hindi lamang OFWs ang nagrereklamo; nariyan din ang mga exporter na nalulugi dahil naging mura na rin ang produkto nila. Ang talagang nakikinabang lang ngayon e yung negosyo ng mga call center na wala namang nililikhang produkto kaya hindi maaasahan ang tibay.
At kung lumiit man ang halaga ng panlabas na utang natin, hindi naman natin ito nararamdaman. Ang nararamdaman natin e yung hindi nagbabagong lagay ng kabuhayan. Bago humalakhak sa tuwa ang mga pinuno ng bansa sa paglakas ng piso, dapat maintindihang umaasa ang ekonomiyang Pinoy sa remitans o padalang pera ni kabayan at siguradong maaapektuhan ito. Kumakatok na sa pinto ang delubyo samantalang ang pangakong dayuhang puhunan e nananatiling pangako at walang kasiguruhan kung magkakatotoo.
Habang naghuhugas ako ng pinggan noong isang araw, napanood ko sa telebsiyon na hindi totoong lumalakas ang piso; humihina lang ang dolyar dahil sa pag-atake ng mga kalaban nitong pera, lalo na ng yuan ng Tsina. Kusang ibinababa ng Tsina ang pera nila para maging gwapo sa ibayong dagat ang mga produkto nilang siopao, tikoy, kikyam at electronics. At dahil mababa ang yuan – alam naman natin kung gaano kamura ang mga produktong “made in China” – pati mga malalaking kumpanya sa Estados Unidos e lumilipat ng operasyon sa Tsina.
Para labanan ang “bagsak-presyong” atake ng Tsina, napipilitan ang US na pababain din ang dolyar. Kaso mukhang natatalo ito sa bakbakan. Malaki kasi ang kalaban ng US, buong mundo. Magkaganun man, hindi pinakikinabangan ng Pinas ang pagkatalong ito ni Tiyo Samuel. Sanggang dikit kasi sila. Salo sila sa pagkatalo pero solo ang US sa panalo.
Ganyan talaga ang buhay.
Malayang hangin
KAHAPON 33 minero sa Chile ang nakalanghap ng malayang hangin matapos ang mahigit dalawang buwang pagkakabaon nang buhay sa ilalim ng lupa.
Nagbunyi hindi lamang ang Chile kundi buong mundo. Hindi nga mapagkit ang misis ko sa harap ng TV simula pa kahapon ng madaling araw para panoorin sa CNN ang buong proseso ng pagliligtas sa mga sawimpalad na minero. Tumulong pa ang NASA sa disenyo ng kapsulang ginamit para iakyat paisa-isa ang mga minero.
Hindi sila pwedeng sabay-sabay na iakyat dahil maliit lamang ang butas na ginawa. At hindi rin mabilis ang pag-akyat dahil pwedeng mamuo ang dugo nila habang umaakyat. Kaya mabagal ito, isang oras ang tagal ng pagbaba at pag-akyat ng kapsula na isa-isa lamang ang sakay.
Na-trap ang mga minero nang bumagsak at matabunan ang lagusan ng minahan ng 700,000 toneladang bato noong Agosto 5. Pinagkasya nila sa loob ng 17 araw ang pagkaing para lamang sa dalawang araw, hanggang makontak sila ng mga tao sa itaas at binigyan sila ng pagkain sa pamamagitan ng isang maliit ng butas. Ang mailiit na butas na ito ang nagsilbing ugnayan nila sa labas. Para itong pusod o umbilical cord na tumulong para sila makaligtas. Nanatili sila roon habang pinaplano ng mga awtoridad ang pagliligtas sa kanila mula sa lalim na kalahating milya. At inabot nga sila ng 69 araw sa ilalim ng lupa.
Nakahinga nang maluwag ang lahat – pati ang misis ko – nang maiakyat ang huling minero. Nagbunyi nga ang mga taong nag-aabang sa labas kabilang ang presidente ng Chile na si Sebastian Pinera. Matinding hirap ang inabot ng mga minero at hindi maiiwasang hindi humanga sa kanilang katatagan sa gitna ng matinding problema.
Habang nanonood, hindi maiwasang isipin ng ordinaryong mortal na katulad ko kung ano ang kondisyon sa loob ng minahan na kinasadlakan ng mga Chileanong minero. Natural hindi chilly sa ilalim ng lupa, wala ngang hangin doon. Inisip ko ang malasardinas na minibus na sinasakayan ko noon sa Saudi. Mainit at halu-halong amoy ang malalanghap mo. Mas malala kung may mautot.
Maraming tanong ang pumasok sa isip ko; gaya ng paano sila dumudumi at umiihi? Natitiis kaya nilang hindi magpalit ng brief? Paano sila ng nagpapalipas ng araw at gabi? Nagkukwentuhan kaya sila ng mga biro at korning mga bagay? Naglaro kaya sila ng pusoy? Paano nila nalalaman kung araw o gabi? Anong kanta ang paborito nilang kantahin?
Maraming galit syempre sa may-ari ng kumpanya sa kapabayaan umano nito kaya nangyari ang sakuna pero pansamantalang kinalimutan iyon dahil araw iyon ng pagsasaya.
Ewan ko lang kung ano ang mangyayari dun sa mga minerong nabistong may kalaguyo o iba pang pamilya dahil maraming umiyak sa kanila habang nasa ilalim at nagmumuni-muni tungkol sa kanilang kapalaran. Pwede lang akong manghula.
6 OFWs die in Afghanistan plane crash
The Philippine Embassy in Islamabad confirmed that six Filipinos perished in a cargo plane crash in Afghanistan on the morning of October 13 (Kabul time).
The PAE Justice Support, through its Safety and Security Manager Ramji Ghimire, confirmed the report, according to Philippine Embassy official Simeon Abarquez.
PAE Justice Support is an organization operating in Afghanistan which provides logistical support and security services at the United States-operated Bagram Air Base.
The Filipino fatalities include pilot Henry Bulos, co-pilot Rene Badilla, crewmembers Nilo Medina and Ibelo Valbuena. There were also two unidentified Filipinos, a certain Mr. Castillo (mechanic) and a certain Mr. Padora (avionics).
Along with the six Filipinos were an Indian and a Kenyan national. Both also perished in the crash.
The eight were passengers of a cargo plane that Trans Afrique of Ghana. A US firm contracted said cargo plane.The plane was enroute from Bagram Air Base to Kabul Airport when it crashed in the vicinity of Kabul.
A joint Afghan-international security force is conducting a search and retrieval mission, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) press statement.
The DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs has directed the Philippine Embassy to provide assistance and to coordinate with their principals for the repatriation of the remains and entitlement to benefits of the respective OFW families.
Chile: Out from the depths of the earth
The rescue of 33 miners of Chile (one is from Bolivia) who had been trapped almost 700 meters down under the surface for 69 days is a story of strong will, remarkable love and respect for life of each man coming out from the depths of the earth to the cheers of their families and the whole world.
Determined Chile President Sebastian Piniera and First Lady Cecilia Morel, together with the committed Ministers of Energy and Health, and skillful rescuers remained in Camp Hope for almost 24 hours to give each miner bear hugs and congratulatory words in a dramatic rescue never seen in human history. They never left the site until the sixth rescuer Manuel Gonzales , the first to go down and the last to get out, was on the surface. In a dramatic report to the President, he said: “ Mission accomplished. Your order is done. The 33 miners and the rescuers are safe.”
The question now that comes to mind is this: Can the Philippines do such heroic rescue should a crisis of this magnitude happen in the country’s mining pits?
A few Filipino miners were able to come out alive – on different incidents – while thousands have died in Mt. Diwalwal or Benguet’s mining pits in the history of Philippine mining industry, news reports said.
Two miners were trapped in Mt. Diwalwal in Moncayo, Compostela Valley in the south on March 2008. They never made it through and were added to statistics of unknown miners who may have perished while torrential rains flood the mines.
Up north, Mt. Itogon in Benguet has buried in its cavernous maw hundreds of poor miners on different dates. Trickles were reported to have escaped drowning most of the time while others never found their way out. Some five out of 14 were found alive on 29 September 2008. But three out of 20 miners drowned on 30 March 2010.
Chileans’ handling of this national crisis was planned and organized that the promised rescue operation in December this year actually was executed two months ahead of schedule.
Nothing beats the tenacity, firmness (”sometimes bossy”) and calm demeanor of the 54 year-old Luis Urzua, the miners’ leader, whom the rescued miners call ‘boss”. He divided the 32 men into three shifts to make them busy looking for possible escape route, cleaning their small space, drawing maps and keeping their sanity. He instructed each miner to eat only one teaspoon of tuna every 48 hours to stretch the 22 cans of tuna they had for 17 days until they were discovered alive on the 18th day and help came down through a small hole where one bottled mineral water can only fit one at a time.
He also refused to be rescued first saying he will stay until the last miner in his team is saved. He never abandoned his ship. “I hope this does not happen again,”he said composed.
Letters of love from wives, girlfriends, parents and children had kept their hopes burning throughout the ordeal.
This is such a beautiful story of never-ending hope of humanity; a story of faith that will never be forgotten in history.
It is high time we learn from Chile.
Gipit sa gupit
MAY kasabihan sa Ingles na ang maingay na pinto ang nakatatanggap ng langis.
Iyan ang prinsipyong sinusunod ng mga nagpoprotesta sa kung anu-anong dahilan. Ang totoo niyan, mga higala, hindi naman kelangang maging maingay ang protesta para kalampagin ang mga nasa kapangyarihan. Meron ding tahimik, gaya ng ginawa ni Mahatma Gandhi ng India na nagsuot ng lampin at tahimik na umupo para kunsensyahin ang mga puting Briton na umalis sa lupa nila at bigyan sila ng kalayaan.
Maituturing din na tahimik na protesta ang pagpapakalbo ng mga OFWs noong ikasandaang araw ni PNoy sa pwesto. Nasabi ko na dati na wala nang epekto ang pagpapakalbo dahil karaniwan na lang ito. At lalo silang dinedma dahil hindi natupad ang pangakong sandaang OFW ang magpapakalbo.
Kung tutuusin, malaking tulong din naman ang nagagawa ng grupong ito sa mga nakararanas ng problema sa ibayong dagat, lalo na sa Gitnang Silangan kung saan malaking bilang ng mga kabayan natin ang minamalas sa trabaho. Mas gugustuhin kong nariyan sila kesa wala. Ang reklamo lamang ng ilang kabayan, may tendensya silang mataranta at makuryente. Gaya ng ulat tungkol sa apat na narses umanong na-gang rape sa Riyadh. Matapos mapilitang kumilos ng embahada ng Pinas at magtanung-tanong, napatunayang hindi pala ito totoo.
Kung halimbawang ipanganak ulit ako at maging isang diplomat o manggagawa sa foreign service, hinding-hindi ko gugustuhing mapadpad sa Gitnang Silangan, lalo na sa Saudi, dahil para kang bibingka dito na sinisilaban sa ilalim at sa ibabaw. Walang solusyon ang problema dito kundi pauwiin lahat ng Pinoy. Kaso, imposible ito hangga’t kulang ang trabaho sa Pinas.
Ngayon, makukuntento ka na lang na pumatay ng sunog na paisa-isa. Ganyan ang nangyayari sa mga opisyal na gobyernong Pinoy sa Saudi; tagapatay ng sunog. May magagahasa rito, may makukulong dahil nakapatay, may tumatakas at kinakasuhan ng pagnanakaw ng amo, may nagpapakamatay, may dadagsa sa opisina mo at magpupumilit na pauwiin mo sila sa Pinas.
Walang katapusang problema.
Isa sa nagpapalala ng problema ang malaking kaibahan ng kultura doon sa kulturang Pinoy. Oo nga’t makukutusan mo ang ilang taong gobyerno natin doon dahil sa mga kapalpakan pero may mga pagkakataong wala sa kanilang kamay ang pagpapasya. At malalaman mo lang ito kung natira ka roon.
Halimbawa, kung sanay tayong ang isang inaakusahan ay itinuturing na inosente hanggang mapatunayang nagkasala. Doon, itinuturing kang maysala hanggang mapatunayang inosente. At sa buong panahong iyon nakakulong ka. Pwede kang ikulong ng hanggang anim na buwan nang walang reklamo. Pakakawalan ka lang sa ikaanim na buwan kapag walang nagreklamo sa iyo.
Ganun ang nangyari sa isa kong kasamahan sa trabaho. Araw ng mga Pakistani noon at nasobrahan sila sa pagsasaya, nagtipun-tipon sa kalye. Pinaghuhuli sila ng pulis at napasama ang kaopisina ko. Kahit may ebidensiyang hindi siya Pakistani at nagkataong naparaan lamang siya, hindi siya pinakinggan ng pulis. Tatlong buwan “lamang” siya sa oblo kasama ng mga Pakistani dahil malakas sa prinsipe ang isang opisyal ng kumpanya namin.
Filipino seaman kidnapped in Cameroon arrives in Manila
Kidnapped Filipino seafarer Wilson Nisda arrived safely in Manila this morning from Douala, Cameroon aboard a Cathay Pacific flight, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
Nisda and a Croatian co-worker were aboard the Belgian vessel Amerigo Vespucci when they were abducted by suspected Nigerian bandits in Cameroon on September 12. The vessel was conducting dredging operations in the Cameroon coast during 
that time.
His captors released him unharmed on September 30 following negotiations between the Belgian shipping company’s crisis team and the kidnappers.
At the onset of Nisda’s abduction, the Philippine Embassy in Nigeria dispatched Consul Alimatar Garangan and Assistance-to-Nationals Officer Alex Emam to Cameroon to attend to the seaman’s case.
The DFA-OUMWA also coordinated with the local manning agency and the Embassy on the arrangements of his repatriation, the DFA press statement said.
The seafarer’s wife together with their infant son, the DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (DFA-OUMWA) Executive Director Ricardo Endaya, Special Assistant Atty. Enrico Fos, Legal Officers Emily Villanueva-Descallar and Sorhaya Dilabakun, met him at the airport.
Also present were Overseas Workers Welfare Administration representative Mario Antonio and representatives from Nisda’s local manning agency, and Gilbert Mabasa representing The Manpower Resources of Asia, Nisda’s recruitment agency.
Nisda expressed his heartfelt gratitude to all the people who worked for his safe release and who assisted him in his return to the Philippines.
Sense of responsibility of govt. and couples in RH Bill
(I am reposting here a wordpress blog I wrote last year because the same issue remains hot today.)
Emotions have always been running high at the mere mention of Reproductive Health (RH) Bill. Sister Pilar Verzosa of Pro-life Philipines cannot sleep the night before my scheduled interview with her. The words reproductive health mean unborn fetuses and wanton disregard for life for her.
Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development Foundation, Inc. (PLCPD) Executive Director Ramon San Pascual, on the other hand, was pensively looking outside his window the morning I interviewed him over the phone. He says he has been seeing women and children on the street battling for daily life and wanting to come out of abject poverty everyday.
Sister Pilar politely pointed to Pro-Life’s Education and Training Officer Egoy Descallar when I asked why they are against the RH Bill. Descallar pointed out how the United States has already made a blueprint for the Philippines’ “depopulation” program since 1974. He cites the US National Security Study Memorandum 200 signed by then President Henry Kissinger instructing the Central Intelligence Agency and poor governments to reduce the population through the intake and use of contraceptives.
Defending RH advocates’ position, San Pascual cites the 1994 Cairo Convention that says pregnant women have the right to quality health services to decrease maternal mortality rate. He explains the future of Filipinos cannot be dictated by any US president or by any international convention. It is “innate” for any person to have good and quality life which every government is tasked to give its citizens. Absence of information and indecision as to what kind of help to give robs anyone, every woman for that matter , of her right as to how big or small a family she wants to have.
Pro-Life’s Escallar likewise contends that population control is not the solution to the increasing poverty in the country. He explains the Philippines land area is big enough and has natural resources to sustain its growing population. Our main problem is unequal distribution of wealth, he continues.
This age-old problem of unequal distribution of wealth is a paradigm shared by Marxists and has been gnawing at every Filipino’s patience and sense of truth. This brings to mind how the Catholic Church during the Spanish times obligated Indios to bear many children to increase the native labor force that had built monumental churches and clear down forests to construct the physical aspect of a plaza such as a municipio, markets and roads.
While the Catholic Church prohibits abortion, Filipinos during the 17th century had the knowledge of herbal medicines and abortificient, a secret trade being continued up to this day and whom untrained herbolarios and back-alley practitioners have brought death to poor mothers who cannot avail of the government health services.
Accounts of early Filipinos admitting abortions abound in Father Ignacio Alcina’s three-volume book History of the Bisayan People. They reasoned out they can no longer feed everybody should another mouth be added to the growing number of the family.
PLCPD’s San Pascual clarifies the RH Bill teaches the Filipinos to have a sense of responsibility and lay claim on what kind of life they wish to have. It teaches the government, hopefully, to care for its people, as it will provide information and health services to its citizens. It likewise teaches husband and wives or couples to be responsible enough to give love and care to their offspring.
Approval of RH Bill is currently stalled in Congress as the debate between the pro-choice and pro-life advocates rages on.
Meanwhile, women who belong to the lower strata of the Philippine society continue to bear unwanted pregnancies and those who failed to seek professional help of medical practitioners die a slow, agonizing death day by day. (Gloria Esguerra Melencio)
Oblak
SARI-SARING gimik ang kelangan para mapansin ka ngayong mga araw. Kabi-kabila kasi ang mga isyu nahihilo at nalilito na ang mga tao.
Isang gimik na medyo nag-klik at napag-usapan rin nang kung ilang araw e itong ginawa ni Caloy Celdran. Isinuot niya ang costume ni Charlie Chaplin at sinabing siya kunyari si Joey Rizal; tapos nagpunta sa loob ng Manila Cathedral kung saan may ginagawang banal na bagay ang mga obispo. Hindi agad nakuha ng mga naroon ang ibig niyang mangyari nang itaas niya ang plakard na may nakasulat na “Damaso.” Akala siguro nila e hinahanap lang niya ang aso niya o yung drayber niyang Damaso ang pangalan.
Nang sumigaw lamang siya laban sa pakikialam ng mga obispo sa pulitika nalaman kung ano ang pakay niya. Gusto pala niyang magpakulong para mapansin ang sinusuportahan niyang reproductive health bill na tinubuan na ng uban sa Kongreso e hindi pa rin makapasa. Laging kasing nabubutata ng mga alagad ng Simbahan.
Ngayon naman, isang grupong may kinalaman sa OFWs ang magpapakalbo raw para mapansin ang kanilang maraming hiling sa gobyerno. Isa sa mga hiling ang pagbabalik ng pondo para sa legal na depensa ng mga OFWs na may kaso o problema sa ibang bansa.
Ginawa na ito ng mga kakampi nilang magsasaka at mga militanteng tutol sa pagmimina.
Ang gusto ko lang itanong sa mga may panahong sumagot: may epekto pa ba ito? Alam kong malakas ang epekto nung mga naghuhubad sa kalsada. Naalala ko yung isang grupo ng kababaihan na pinta lamang ang suot na pang-itaas. Nakalimutan ko na kung ano ang ipinaglalaban nila pero walang makalilimot sa ginawa nila.
Ganun din yung tatlong babaing sinabayan ang oblation run sa UP at maskara lamang ang isinuot.
Pero ang pagpapakalbo? Noong unang panahon pwede pa. Meron pa itong “shock value.” Pero ngayon na uso ang Mohawk at pagpapatato sa ulo? Hindi na sir. Mga ilang taon pa lang nag nakalilipas OK yun. Katunayan, may kasama ako sa opisina noon na lagi naming tinutuksong kalbo dahil hindi niya sinasadyang maging kalbo siya. Natural na lumalapad at kumikintab ang noo niya. Hindi pa naman kasi noon sikat si Jason Statham.
Dapat siguro magpulong-pulong ang mga aktibista natin at rebisahin ang nilulumot nang manual para maiba-iba naman. Ang problema lamang sa mga modelo sa ibang bansa, mga bayolente sila; malayo sa kultura ng Pinoy na sanay sa matahimik na mga protesta. Hindi ko sinasabing gayahin natin ang mga nanununog ng mga kotse at naninira ng mga ariarian sa Europa. May maiisip naman siguro ang mga tibak natin bukod sa pagpapakalbo.
Asocena: History of Dog Meat-Eating in the Philippines
Asocena: History of Dog Meat-Eating in the Philippines
(For the human family members of Spot, White Fang, Dikdik, Mutya, Thunder, Popsy Puppy, Dots, Isis, Bulak and other dogs)
By Gloria Esguerra Melencio
Warning: Some parts of this article are graphically violent. The author has to write it the way it was described by those who witnessed it.
Curiosity does not kill
Who, when, where, and why did the dog meat-eating in the Philippines start? What is its cultural background? What is its implication in the identity of the Filipino nation? What are its effects on human beings? These are only some of the questions this paper will address along the way.
Some peoples of Latin America, China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines eat dog meat as some peoples of Belgium, France and other European countries regard horse meat as a delicacy.
Various cultures view dog meat-eating in different ways. While it is said that famous actress Brigitte Bardot had accused the Koreans as “barbarians” because of their penchant for dog meat, Professor Yong Geun Ann of the Chungcheong College in Korea retaliated back with his pointing fingers at the French for dog meat-eating during the Franco-Prussian War.
Americans and other western cultures are shocked at viande de chevaline of Belgium and at the boucheries chevalines of France. They are as terrorized at the Philippines’ asocena or at Korea’s bo-shintang and boekum .
Besides Asians, some peoples of Latin America also eat dog meat. The ancient Aztecs of Mexico domesticate a hairless breed of dog called Xoloitzquintli for their food consumption. This breed has become extinct nowadays.
Brigitte Bardot’s ceaseless campaign against horse meat-eating until her death was extremely difficult because its eating has already spread worldwide: Italians have the pastissada (boiled) and pizzeti di cavallo (pressurized horse feet); Japanese have the basashi (spread on bread), yakiniku (barbecue), and baniku (skewed horse meat); Dutch have paardenrookvlees (smoked horse meat for breakfast); Swiss have the fondue bourguignonne ( ice cream from horse meat); and the Germans have the sauerbraten (sweet-sour braised horse meat as its traditional ingredient).
Debates in the Philippines as to the correctness of eating dog meat caught media attention when the Animal Welfare Act (Republic Act 8485) prohibiting killing of dogs and eating dog meat was passed into law in 1998.
The issue has become murky that even President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo unknowingly asked Baguio City Mayor Braulio Yaranon while hosting a state dinner in her Baguio official residence The Mansion in 2006 New Year’s day:”Dog meat keeps you warm, does it?”
Dinner discussion strayed to dog meat when Mayor Yaranon was explaining how to grill gigantic one meter-winged bats in La Union. The President who hails from Pampanga known for exotic foods such as fried locusts, fermented crabs and roasted lizard, among others, apparently has no knowledge of the intricacies of eating dog meat and has even defended it based on her question.
Who, when and where did dog killing start in the Philippines?
Felix M. Keesing in his book Taming Philippine Headhunters traces dog killing from 6,000 to 8,000 years ago more or less in the Cordilleras. He says:
“Perhaps six to eight thousand years ago, according to Professor Beyer’s estimate, there came by sea in canoes a folk to whom he gives the rather formal name “Type A Indonesian” (page 43) …The dog seems to be their only domesticated animal, and was apparently used – as it is today – for religious sacrifices and ceremonial feastings (page 45).
Long before Spain colonized the Philippines, our Malay ancestors had already been domesticating dogs for their personal needs. Another exposition reads:
“Culturally, the Malays were more advanced than the Negritoes, for they possessed the Iron Age culture. They introduced into the Philippines both lowland and highland methods of rice cultivation, including the system of irrigation; the domestication of animals (dogs, fowls and carabaos)…”
Blair and Robertson’s Philippine Islands says that the natives had killed dogs during 17th century Spanish colonization. According to their book:
“..they get some gold, though in very small quantity, and with what they get in one way or another, they descend in peace to the towns nearest them to barter cows or cattle, and these are the ones they eat in their public gatherings with the aforesaid solemnity, since neither for these gatherings nor for their sustenance do they breed any kind of cattle or other living things whatsoever except some very wretched little dogs which we have often had a chance to see.”
William Henry Scott in his book Discovery of the Igorots, however, made no mention of dogs during rituals up north. He only mentions pigs, carabaos and cows that the Igorots slaughtered for offerings. They were a symbol of wealth. The more skulls of animals stuck on sticks or hang outside of houses, the wealthier the Igorots.
What Igorots most often slaughtered as offering in rituals were chickens and pigs in the recent past. Insides of opened up animals were analyzed intently based on the shapes of the internal organs and directions of the intestines. From this reading, they make a conclusion whether they will win or lose the battle.
However, Filipino American Historical Society founding president Dr. Virgilio R. Pilapil wrote in his essay Dogtown USA: An Igorot Legacy in the Midwest disclosed how the Igorots started to be known to eat dog meat in St. Louis World’s Fair 1904.
This world fair was also called Lousiana Purchase Exposition to commemorate the 100th anniversary of USA’s purchase of Lousiana from France. It was the biggest and longest of all expositions that occurred in the world during that time. Joining the seven-month exposition were 45 countries with representatives from 50 tribes who lived in 1,500 buildings that were built on 1, 275 acres of land for six years.
Dr. Pilapil wrote that 1,100 Filipinos joined the Philippine Exhibit. Members of the Philippine delegation were Igorots who wore beautifully colored G-strings and later became known not only for their exotic dances with their gong beats but for their believed habit of eating dog meat. Dr Pilapil further discloses:
“The head-hunting, dog-eating Igorots were the greatest attraction at the Philippine Exhibit, not only because of their novelty, the scanty dressing of the males and their daily dancing to the tom-tom beats, but also because of their appetite for dog meat which is a normal part of their diet.
The city of St. Louis provided them a supply of dogs at the agreed amount of 20 dogs a week, but this did not appear to be sufficient, as they had also encouraged local people to bring them dogs which they bought to supplement their daily needs.
The poaching of dogs became so common in the area near the Igorot Village such that the neighborhood was warned to watch for their dogs; even then, many dogs were disappearing in this neighborhood, angering and upsetting many people.
There were obviously many people who objected to the supplying of dogs to the Igorots, particularly the St. Louis Women’s Humane Society, but there were also many people, perhaps much more, who sympathized with the Igorot’s need for dog meat.
As one Missourian, who had been to the Philippines and realized the difficulty of not being able to eat the food that one is used to, noted, “Every dog has his day, and every man his meat.” He donated 200 fat Missouri dogs to the Igorots!”
After this world fair experience, a small village in the southern part of Forest Park where the exposition in St. Louis, Missouri was held came to be known as Dogtown. This was later burned but another place, also in St. Louis, was renamed Dogtown.
High school students of Wydon Middle School in Dogtown baptized their annual yearbook as the Igorrote Yearbook in 1937. The Igorrote Football Team was also formed in 1974.
Dr. Pilapil likewise revealed that the word hotdog came from dog meat eating of the Igorots during the world fair. He further states in his essay:
“It first appeared at the St. Louis World’s Fair among several other firsts such as the first ice cream cone, the first iced tea, the first Olympic Games in America (Third World Olympics), the first sliced bread, and the first coin changer. Even though many people will claim that the hot dog has been known for a long time before the St. Louis World’s Fair, it is not so.
What was known, even as early as the late Middle Ages in Europe, was the making of sausages and it was a German butcher, Johann Georg Lahner, who developed prototypes in Frankfurt and later in Vienna, that were called frankfurter and wiener.
These franks, along with other types of sausages, were later brought to America by German immigrants in the nineteenth century. In New York, in 1900, a concessionaire sold a Lahner-type frank tie called a “Dachsund sausage” that was later sketched by a cartoonist in the form of a dachsund in a roll.
However, it was not until the St. Louis World’s Fair that a sausage-on-a-bun was made up to be called the “hot dog” for the first time. It is evident that sausages were known for a long time and were called by various names, but it was the St. Louis World’s Fair that gave the name “hot dog” to America.
Why was it called a hot dog instead of the already known names with which it has been associated? Was it because the sausage was made of dog meat? No, certainly not. The American public would just be horrified at the time to think of eating dog meat.
Was it then because the sausage was crafted to look like a dog or the bun shaped into the form of a dog? Again, the answer is no. Then why was it called a hot dog when there is nothing that could be associated with a dog in a hot dog? To me the answer is simple.
We have said earlier that St. Louis World’s Fair was the greatest of expositions that there ever was. We also said that the Philippine Exhibit was the largest one at the Fair and was considered as a Fair within a Fair.
Then we also said that the Igorots were the top attraction at the Philippine exhibit, not only because of their primitive skimpy attire and their constant dancing, but also because of their dog-eating custom.
The city supplied them with dogs and they also bought dogs from the neighborhood, in addition to receiving donations of dogs from other sources, for their food supply. The people in the neighborhood near the Igorot Village were concerned, upset, and angered at times because of the disappearance of dogs in their neighborhood.
The people in the city of St. Louis and surrounding areas were engaged in an on-going debate about the use of dogs by the Igorots. This was evident in the newspapers of the day which carried regular news, letters, and comments concerning the eating of dogs by the Igorots.
In short, the atmosphere in and around the Fair and in the newspaper media was saturated by the thoughts of the dog-eating custom of the Igorots. Their dog-eating activities at the Fair had been referred to as the “Bow-Wow Feast” and we may look at it now as the first “Bow-Wow Feast” in America by the Igorots.
I have no doubt that the name “hot dog” was picked as a label for the sausage-on-a-bun to attract the attention of potential customers at the Fair by riding on the popularity of the eating of dogs by the Igorots, which had inspired the creation of the name.
Thus, it would appear that in the hot dog, the sausage is German, the sausage-on-a-bun is an American label inspired by the dog-eating custom of the Igorots.”
“We are Igorots but we do not eat dogs”
Philippine tinseltown analysts say that the victory of Marky Cielo of Mountain Province as the Ultimate Star struck Survivor of GMA’s Channel 7 in March 2006 can be traced to his pride in saying “Igorotak!” ( I am an Igorot). Endearingly called Marky by his friends and Buknoy by his family, Cielo got the highest number of votes in the history of this television contest.
His being an Igorot was applauded but created a question among many Filipinos and people around the world: “Does he eat dogs?” Buknoy’s father, artist and educator Avelino Cielo gave a straightforward answer: “Hindi kami kumakain ng aso” (We do not eat dogs).
Earlier, Bing A. Dawang, Igorot editor of The Junction, a newspaper in Mountain Province, said not all Igorots eat dog meat. According to her article Dog Eating and my Culture:
“As an Igorot, I vehemently do not accept dog eating as my culture. I was not raised to eat dogs. Dog meat is not a part of my diet, nor has it ever been. I find it insulting that Igorots are branded as dog-eaters, not only in the Philippines but abroad. It is a shame, and because Igorots are Filipinos, dog-eating is a Philippine national shame. ”
Dawang further explained that Igorots slaughter dogs for spiritual practices done in solemn rituals much like the early pagans. Contrary to the present-day “pulutan” that goes with beer or wine because of the general belief that dog meat gives heat to the body, this is only done when a life-and-death situation arises such as during battles or conflicts.
Dawang disclosed: “It is true that in ancient times some Igorot tribes butchered their dogs before going to war. It was the belief of the then pagan Igorot that the spirits of the sacrificed dogs would guard them in battle. At times of tragedy, the family dog might also have been sacrificed to appease the spirits, and to assign the soul of the dog to guard the spirits of the living family members.”
Proof that the Igorots love their dogs is their great mourning when they offer their dogs in the solemn ritual. They deem their dogs as a sacrificial offering to cleanse the clan of foreboding death. Dawang continued:
“Dog sacrifice always connoted bad luck, tragedy, or death. When a family butchered a dog, who had to be the family dog, not just any dog bought from nowhere, the family was not feasting but either mourning, in extreme pain, or involved in some other activity connected with death.
Dogs were not butchered as drinkers’ fare, nor as a daily or regular part of the Igorot diet. Igorot families much preferred to avoid the circumstances which might lead them to sacrifice their dog.”
Another Igorot, Reverend Moreno Tuguinay, a former priest in Sagada, calls the ritual dog offering daw-es. He affirms Dawang’s claim and says that Igorot ancestors sacrifice their family dogs in time of tribal wars because they have to cleanse the warrior’s body spluttered or dirtied by the enemies’ blood.
Kankanaey and the Ibaloi tribes of Benguet also do the same. The number of tribal wars and internal conflict in the Cordilleras is directly proportional to the number of slaughtered family dogs: The more tribal wars in their areas, the higher the number of killed family dogs, according to Taguinay.
Mountain Province Vice-Governor Wasing Sacla in his book Treasury of Beliefs and Home Rituals describes dogs as “sacrificial animals” in a healing ritual called tomo. The Kankanaeys in the northwestern part of Benguet perform this ritual to prevent the spirit of dead enemies in the battlefield from following or haunting the living. In this process, the living can go home straight to their waiting tribes. Sacla notes:
“Since blood was spilled, the tomo was performed to cleanse or purify those who participated directly or indirectly in the battle. For the tomo, the ritual animal is the dog on the belief that it barks and, therefore, can drive away the haunting spirits.”
To perform the tomo, five men are chosen to wear weaved bamboo crown decorated with feathers and then arm themselves with itak or bolo and spears. The manbunong or mambunong, a native priest, instruct the five men to go on an expedition – in drama form – and hack the enemies represented by pine trees. The supposed to be head of the expedition strikes his spear through the trunk of pine tree. Other four representative men cut the branches of the pine tree to symbolize cutting the enemies dead.
How to cook asocena
The term asocena first came to use in the 1980s. The word became popular when a movie entitled Asucena written by Enrique Ramos and directed by Carlos Siguion-Reyes was shown in 2000. The film is about a pet dog brought to a butcher by a child’s father. It is also a popular word among the low strata of the Philippine society as men without jobs locally called istambay (from English word stand-by) usually cook asocena as their main fare to go with ice-cold beers or gin along street corners or stores by the road.
Through the years, asocena became a specialty in Baguio City, Pampanga, Iloilo and other parts of Luzon and Visayas – despite its being illegal as enshrined in Republic Act 8485 or Animal Welfare Act. Dog-meat eaters describe it as red-whitish meat with thin fats that does not look like beef, neither pork nor chicken. A Baguio restaurant discreetly has asocena written in its menu. Filipino istambays usually cook asocena this way:23
1. Strangle the dog from behind by surprise. Do this swiftly to prevent the dog from biting. Gag its mouth. Throw the dog in a waiting jeepney, tricycle or van. Drive as fast to avoid apprehension. When accosted though, bribe the barangay tanod or police with your crispy Php 500 bill. Should you bought the dog from a nearby area from an owner who is in dire need of money, put the dog in a sack. Carry the sack on your back.
2. Remove the dog from the sack. Tie the dog in a post. Do not hear its barks, cries and howls for dear life. Hit its head with a two-by-two inch piece of lumber with a nail at the end. Do this several times until it is dead.
3. Hang the lifeless dog on a tree branch or post upside down. Slit its throat. Place a basin underneath to catch blood. Sprinkle rice and salt on blood until it solidifies. (Blood of black dogs is a potent medicine against tuberculosis, says a folk belief in Negros.)
4. Burn the dog coat with a flame thrower. Release the lifeless dog from the post. Shave until its smooth white skin shows.
5. Slice to pieces. Wash.
6. Put the dog meat in a kawa or a big pan. Boil in vinegar for an hour.
7. Add a little water and sprinkle salt. Do not mix yet. Let it stand for a few more minutes.
8. Cook again in low, cooking fire. Add potatoes, soy sauce and sprinkle with black pepper.
9. Pour tomato sauce, tomato paste, yellow and green peas and garnish with plenty of laurel leaves.
10. Serve with plenty of ice-cold beers or gin.
Call it scary, violent or embarrassing for local governments – but mere words cannot express how inhuman and undogly, rather ungodly, this dog killing that has been going on for years. It has spread widely not only in Ilocos, Pangasinan, Pampanga or Bulacan but has also reached Batangas to as far as Iloilo.
This time, however, dog killing is no longer a solemn offering to drive away avenging spirits but has become an every weekend way of life that feeds on man’s greed for pleasure.
Despite the promulgation of Animal Welfare Act that prohibits violation of animal rights including killing and eating dogs, the wet section of Baguio City Market remains to sell dog meat though discreetly. A law in 1920 declaring dog meat as “hot meat” for the rabies it may have did not deter dog meat eaters from continuing to violate it.
Dog killing has been done openly with even the supposed authorities to implement the law such as local village officials and policemen violating it during their drinking sprees with istambays and local people.
Linis-Gobyerno (Clean Government), an NGO in the Philippines, estimates that 290,000 dogs are being killed in the country for asocena yearly. It is a multi-million peso business that earns dog meat traders an average of Php 174 million annually.
Conclusion: Cultural evolution, health and poverty
The concept of dog meat-eating during this 21st century has been corrupted and in most cases no longer in accordance with the intention that our early Igorot ancestors had. Through the years, the solemnity of the ritual has lost among those who have a penchant for meat eating combined with convenient excuses such as ‘dog meat goes well with beer or gin”, “it is cheap” or that “it keeps the body warm.”
Commercialism has obscured its traditional meaning as dog meat profiteers and eaters sell and kill dogs for money and pleasure.
Nita Hontiveros-Lichauco, president of Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), says the Cordilleran people love their dogs because they guide them in their hunting in the mountains. There have been many instances of pet dogs saving their humans and have the intelligence of a three-year old human being, according to studies. Dogs can feel, hear and smell 50 times more than humans can and that they save humans most of the time.
“The sacred tradition of the Cordillerans has been commercialized in the past 20 years,” observes Linis-Gobyerno, an NGO based in Baguio City.
Bing Dawang, an Igorot editor, emphasizes that this kind of “cultural evolution” has implications to the Filipino citizenry as a whole. She likens dog killing to headhunting as she explains:
“Igorot culture has greatly changed since 1904. Headhunting, for example, was also part of the Igorot culture and way of life a hundred years ago. We now recognize and reject that practice as murder. This is adaptation. This is cultural evolution.”
Dog meat traders also capitalize on poverty as they sell dog meat cheaper than pork, beef and chicken. A whole carcass of dog being sold from Php 300 up to Php 500 can feed 20 drunkards and their unsuspecting families. It may even be gotten for free when the dog is stolen in the neighborhood, accidentally went curiously out of the gate or totally gone astray. Dog meat eaters are usually poor people who cannot afford to buy the more expensive kind of meat, according to a general impression.
In Baguio City that has become a melting pot of many cultures, however, the cold temperature is made as a reason for eating dog meat. This was perhaps the reason why the Igorots ate dog meat at St. Loius World’s Fair in 1904 not knowing of the implication they will create in the future. Or maybe food had been scarce during their seven-month stay in that US territory. It was recorded that two Filipino exhibitors died because of extreme cold and undisclosed disease during this world fair.
The western and local media reported on this dog meat-eating at the exhibit essentially drumbeating what they perceive as exotic from the point of view of strangers who do not know the intricacies of the Igorot culture. On the other hand, dog meat eaters who do not know the real meaning and sanctity of the tradition made a counter attack branding those who pick on them for their dog meat eating habit as cultural imperialists. This “cultural imperialism” , dog meat eaters defend, has been another western imposition using as vantage point their own experience, standards in food habit and limited environment.
Unbeknownst to many – Filipinos and other nationalities – Igorots perform dog killing as a solemn ritual to save their lives, a cultural tradition that was misinterpreted to be just dog meat-eating per se stripped of its sanctity and depth by greed for profit and pleasure of and for the flesh.
Cultural tradition of foot binding in China is no longer practiced nowadays freeing girls and women of this age-old bondage; Clitoridectomy had already been banned in African and nearby influenced regions saving many girls of extreme pain and agony; Forced or arranged marriages or widow burning was also prohibited in India and other Asian countries; Same with the Igorots and other Filipino groups’ headhunting tradition that was stopped decades ago. If this headhunting had stopped, dog killing may also be stopped through time.
Some dog killers and dog eaters whom police apprehended falsely hide under the cloak of cultural tradition or guise of poverty. But they cannot hide the fact that while the number of tribal wars and Igorot conflicts has gone down in the past years, dog meat consumption has jumped up high not only in Baguio but also anywhere around the country.
It has been affecting how Filipinos relate to their families, to the people in the community, to the animals- dogs in particular, and to the environment in general. An egging question that can guide people in choosing the food to be eaten is: What is our intention in eating dog meat or any other food for that matter?
There are concepts and principles – and long forgotten history – in every food served on the table.
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References:
1. Blair and Robertson. Philippine Islands 1493-1803 (Volume 20), pp. 276-279
2. Felix M. Keesing, Taming Philippine Headhunters, A Study of Government and of Cultural Change in Northern Luzon (London: George and Unwin Limited, 1934), pp. 45
3. Virgilio R. Pilapil. Dogtown, USA: An Igorot Legacy in the Midwest. (Heritage, June 1994, Volume 8, Issue 2), p.15, p. 4, 3bw
4. Bing A. Dawang. Dog Eating and My Culture. The Junction, June 2004, p. 2
5. Vincent Cabreza. President Arroyo Defends Dog Eating. Philippine Daily Inquirer, 1 January 2006, p. A1.
6. Nita Hontiveros Lichauco. Telephone interview, 45 minutes (New Manila: 20 January 2005)
7. Juliet Corazon Patiño. Interview, 30 minutes ( Quezon City: 16 January 2005)
8. Women witnesses. Interview, 60 minutes (San Jose Del Monte City, Bulacan: 27 December 2004)
9. Avelino Cielo. Text Message on 12 March 2006
10. www. linisgobyerno.org
11. Dog,The Other White Meat@Everything2.com
12. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_meat
13. An online guide of Philippine History. www. geocities.com/College Park/Pool/1644/precolonial.html
14. http:// wolf.ok.ac.kr/-annyg/english/e6.htm
15. Sacla, Wasing. Treasury of Beliefs and Home Rituals.
16. http:// new.inq7net/regions/index/ph/index 2 & story_id63272
17. Cultural imperialism in the Ban of Eating Dogs. Inq7.net (2 February 2006). www. google.com.ph/search?hl=tl&q=dog+eating+philippine+cultural+imperialism&btnG=Hanapin&meta=
(Gloria Esguerra Melencio wrote this paper in Filipino as a requirement in Kasaysayan 10 in March 2006. The same author translated this paper to English for the philippinehistory.ph in June 2009.)