to volcano crater... and beyond!!!
Even when Michael Jackson's death flooded the news in the radios and televisions this morning, what caught my attention was the bold statement of Professor Randy David's announcement to run for Congress in the second district of Pampanga, believed to be location of the primary strategy of Gloria Arroyo's prime ministerial ambitions. Professor David's plans of thwarting GMA's term extension is a bold move yet impossible in some degree with the Arroyos' enormous political clout from the well-watered palace grounds in Arlegui up to the flooded farmlands of Lubao.
Second district in Pampanga is where GMA plans to run for a Congressional position while waiting for Charter Change to push through via Constituents' Assembly initiated by the Congress, and then she will be accepting the nomination for the position of Prime Minister, thereby fulfilling her mission of extending her powers within the context of the constitution. Although these ideas are all current speculations and has been denied to the fullest by GMA allies, everybody is wondering on what are Mrs. Arroyo’s plans post-2010 elections, if ever it will push through. Apparently, nine years of misery, poverty, political bullying, and billions or millions of commissions are not enough for her and her cohorts that talks of her planned term extension circulated within the political community. Whether the plan is true or not, I have always believed that there is a flame when there is smoke. Gossips have a certain percentage of truth in order for it to be seriously discussed within the circulation.
The beleaguered Professor, a veteran of Gloria’s martial rule experiment last February 2006, will be facing his adversary on the coming 2010 elections, trying to prevent an unprecedented term extension being planned by the extremely rich daughter of the poor man from Lubao. She wanted more power after 2010, he just wanted to make sure she doesn’t get any.
Everybody was frantic of Michael Jackson’s death and news has spread faster than AH1N1 virus. And while everybody weeps at a certain superstar-slash-molester’s death today, a simple person in the name of Randy David has placed the fate of the entire nation into his hands to rid this country of the greedy.
When the Americans left Subic devastated by Mt. Pinatubo in the 90’s, then Mayor Richard Gordon had a daunting task on how will Olongapo survive with its bread and butter away for good. It took unselfish dedication from Olongapeños until Subic was reinvented as a mix industrial and recreational location for people in nearby provinces, including Manila. Unlike in Clark Air Base were major looting happened perpetrated by people from adjacent towns, Subic has somewhat retained some of its natural beauty and is now known as one of the premiere leisure hubs in the country. So when people are actually looking for quick adventures, Subic usually comes into mind.
There are a lot of activities to do in Subic. You can try them all, or if you are budget conscious, you could at least try one. Whether looking at wild animals, learning jungle survival tips, or just merely taking a dip in its calm waters on the bay, each adventure is unique. You can even stroll at the boardwalk without any cost if you suddenly feel a little romantic and share the moment with somebody special.
With our limited budget and other plans lined up for us in the weekend, we decided to experience hanging on a tree top. While there are other greater activities to explore, we chose this because of the following reasons:
EL KABAYO – been there, have done horseriding already in Baguio and much better in Taal Volcano… it’s almost the same;
OCEAN ADVENTURE – getting wet by the dolphins is not enjoyable… we used to have an open invitation from its former marine biologist but since he’s gone, there’s no point visiting now;
ZOOBIC SAFARI – I had enough seeing wild animals every time the Congressional proceedings from Batasan were televised;
JEST(Jungle Environment Survival Training) – what I want is to be able to survive the urban jungle where greed and envy has encouraged corruption and moral degradation;
And the reason why we chose TREE TOP ADVENTURE?
Because we were all monkeys a long long time ago…
Dear Mr. Baldwin,
I am not angry at you at all. Your statement made on television might be true, depending on whose point of view it is. But before you probably blurt out another degrading remark about Filipinos in the future, consider the following facts:
• In 1898, Spain ceded all of its colonies in the amount of $ 20,000,000 to the U.S. Government. Historically speaking, those countries bought by the U.S., including the Philippines, were treated like mail-order-brides at the turn of the century. You see, Mr. Baldwin, your government made us what we are right now. It is entirely not our fault.
• Since 1898, the American government has been raping our natural resources, some of our women, and some of our children. The American government’s treatment of our country as a political prostitute is well known through the decades.
• The Philippines remains a poor country because a lot of American companies has profited doing business in this country while its workforce, the Filipino people, benefited less and sometimes not at all. Your government, Mr. Baldwin, beguiled us with the promise of progress but instead buried us with millions of debts disguised as foreign economic aid.
• Since the American government taught us English, they had also encouraged us to live and pursue the American Dream in the United States, and yet thousands of my countrymen has been offered demeaning work opportunities and are discriminated while pursuing those dreams.
• Since majority of the Filipino people has been continually neglected by its very own government because of greed and corruption that we have learned and copied from American friends, advisers, and capitalists for decades, the poorest of the poor have no choice but to PROSTITUTE ourselves in the hopes of improving our lives so that our families would have something to eat by dinner time.
So you see, Mr. Baldwin, what you - even Ms. Teri Hatcher and hundreds other American that have perceived our race and our country in a negative manner - it is actually the fault of your American government. People like you, who have never set foot in our country, talk of us as low-esteemed citizens of this world for the very simple reason that your government has been treating us like pigs even here in our own country ever since the Americans fooled us with their mock battle with the Spaniards more than a hundred years ago.
And yes, we admit, we are sensitive. Whatever negative comments we will hear from other people who do not know us, we will all take it personally as a proud race. We never dreamed of becoming domestic helpers, prostitutes, beggars, and mail-order brides in the first place. WHATEVER WE ARE RIGHT NOW HAS REFLECTED ON HOW OUR MASTER COLONIZERS HAVE TREATED US OVER THE DECADES. As I have stated at the start, Mr. Baldwin, I am not angry at you. Maybe next time when you answer Mr. Letterman or any pertinent questions asked to you, you can state a very precise answer like this:
“I’m thinking about getting a Filipina mail-order bride, after all, our American government taught the Filipinos how to sell themselves…”
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