The Twilight Saga

Napanood ko na ang Twilight. Nabasa ko na din ang libro. Gusto kong sabihin kung anu-ano ang pagtingin ko sa dalawang ito. Uunahin ko ang libro, ang serye.

Kailangan ko yatang aminin na naadik din ako sa seryeng ito. Magaan ang pagkakasulat. Mabilis din ang mga pangyayari. Kaya parang hindi ko mahintay ang mga susunod na mangyayari. Kahit nga hindi ako nakaharap sa libro at may ibang ginagawa, naglalaro sa isip ko ang mga eksena sa libro.

Nagustuhan ko rin ang treatment na ginawa sa mga bampira at sa taong lobo. Mga kwentong bayan ito na pamilyar tayo kahit kwentong bayan ng ibang bayan. Bagamat ginamit ni Stephanie Meyer ang popular na banggaan ng mga bampira at taong-lobo, mayroon itong bagong mga elemento. Ang mga bampira ni Meyer ay hindi ang mga tipikal na bampirang nakilala natin sa iba pang naunang mga pelikula at libro na hindi kayang lumabas sa liwanag at walang pusong mga mamamatay-tao. Pinanatili rin naman ni Meyer ang ilan sa ganitong palasak na katangian ng mga bampira ngunit hindi sa mga bida niya, kundi sa mga kontrabida.




Kung sa mga taong-lobo, hindi ako ganoon ka pamilyar sa mga kwento dito maliban sa napanood kong Underworld: The Rise of the Lycans . Pero syempre, magkaibang-magkaiba naman ang treatment ng mga bampira at taong-lobo dito. Teka, napanood ko rin nga pala ang Lobo pero magkaiba rin ang pinagmulan ng lahing ito. Iba rin ang kontekstong pangkultura nito dahil Asyano na. Pero bago sa akin ang konsepto ni Meyer ng “pack mind” kung saan bukas sa buong grupo ang isipan ng bawat isa kapag nasa anyong lobo sila. Hindi ko rin alam kung halaw sa totoong kwentong bayan ng Quilete ang kwento ng mga taong-lobo ni Meyer.
Naaliw din ako sa karakter ni Bella Swan. Hindi ko alam kung napakatapang niya o napakatanga niyang babae. Sabagay, yung din naman ang sinabi ni Edward Cullen sa kanya, na hindi niya maintindihan si Bella kung bakit gustung-gusto pa rin niya si Edward kahit alam niya lubhang mapanganib ito. Pero, kakaiba naman siya talagang babae. Matalino, matalas ang pandama at mapagmahal sa magulang hanggang sa huling sandali.

Si Edward naman, the ever shining knight in armor with a twist. Hinangaan ko din ang kontrol niya sa sarili sa pakikipagrelasyon kay Bella. Nagustuhan ko rin ang humor niya at ang pagiging hindi makasarili. Biro mo ba naman, nanjan na ang palay, hindi pa tinutuka? Gusto na nga ni Bella na maging katulad niya para magkasama sila pero si Edward mismo ang may ayaw.


Yun nga lang, pagdating sa ikatlong libro, nakakasawa na ang kilig factor na ito. Buti na lang at medyo naiba ang focus ng ikalawang libro, nagkaroon ng focus sa mga taong-lobo at relasyon nila kay Bella. Pagbalik sa ikatlong libro na magkasama na uli sina Bella, nilalaktawan ko na ang ilang mga bahagi. “Hayy, napakabango ng hininga niya, hihimatayin yata ako.” “Ang gwapo niya talaga.” “Hindi ko masubdan ang sinasabi niya dahil napaganda ng mga labi niya.” Hindi ko na kinaya ito.

Naintindihan ko din ang nabasa kong mga review sa Twilight series bago ipalabas ang pelikula. Sa ikaapat na libro, bagamat napanatili ang tiempo ng mga bagay-bagay, parang nagmamadali na nga sa dulo. Iyung lumitaw na kauri ng anak nina Edward at Bella, parang pilit na ang pagkasingit. Nakakainis din ang ending na nag-uwian na lang ang mga bampirang ito. Nakakagigil ang Volturi sa paghahanap ng butas na magbibigay ng dahilan parang patayin ang pamilya nina Edward. Pero natapos ang lahat sa pananatili ng status quo, nanatili sina Edward sa Forks at umuwi na ang Volturi sa Italya. Sabi nga ni William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing.

Kahit pa nagsimula bilang non-conformist at revolutionary ang mga karakter ni Meyer, hindi niya ito napanindigan sa dulo at biglang bumaliktad. Imbes na maging tagapamandila ng pagkakapantay-pantay, pagbabago at pagkilala sa paniniwala ng iba, nauwi sa pagtatanggol sa status quo ang lahat. Hindi naging maganda ang mensahe nito para sa akin. Ayon Meyer, ayos lang na maging kakaiba at sumalungat sa agos, pero dapat matapos na iyon doon at huwag nang maghangad pa ng mas malalaki at mas magagandang pagbabago. Tama ba yun?

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A Picture Especially Posted for the Ampatuans

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When will the resting ancestor toe the line on top of the killer?

When will the resting ancestor toe the line on top of the killer?

just some gibberish.

i need to keep my mind away from the horrors of reality

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The Maguindanao Massacre

As of 8pm tonight, 46 people have been excavated from two different sites in Ampatuan, Maguindanao, Mindanao. They are mothers, fathers, wives and husbands, children, journalists, and filipino civilians who died for nothing but the selfish interest of one group.

Electoral violance reared its head early in the game, with the filing of the certificates of candidacy barely on a roll.

Almost half of the victims are people related to the vice mayor of Buluan. The other half are media practitioners who are just doing their jobs.

Accounts say that the military and local police declined requests from the media to escort them as they go about this coverage. Now, they're saying no such request reached their quarters. However, with a massacre this brazen, people are demanding that heads roll. The first batch of casualties include top ranking officers from the local police.

But this is not enough. Evidences point to Ampatuan, the governor of Maguindanao, as a political rival of Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu whose wife was among those dead, in the gubernatorial race. A backhoe, according to reports, was found in the hastily-dug graveyards allegedly used to dig out the craters which later served as graves. It bore the name "Andal Ampatuan Snr".



This is not the first massacre in the Philippines, neither will it be the last. What makes it chilling is the number of perpetrators indicating a private army, a cause that is possibly politically motivated, an alleged mastermind that is the incumbent governer of the province and the coldness in which it was perpetrated.

In the wake of the public outcry for justice against this brutal killings, Dureza, a cabinet secretary told Mike Enriquez on 24 oras that both families being close to the president, the people should expect that the [judicial] process will be fair. Well, isn't that what JUSTICE is supposed to be in the first place?

The Ampatuans are wealthy, powerful political figures who dominate ARMM as a clan reminiscent of feudal times. People say that money talks. Then, who is it talking to right now?




Picture from Michael Wosley's blog and Lauri Lipton

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A Chiz-y Presidentiable No More

The clock is ticking, it is only seven months before The Big Turn Over. And the road to the presidential elections is littered with candidates who have fallen before the race even began.

Months before the official filing of the certificate of candidacy, presidential aspirant Ping Lacson, stepped aside as old issues with the deposed president Estrada now-presidentiable again hounded him more rabidly.

Veep Noli de Castro also succumbed a few weeks after Ping. With the political situation very volatile, candidates switching parties faster than a speeding bullet, and an endorsement from the incumbent president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, De Castro was treading the political path very slowly, making sure that no misstep ends up blowing him to bits. However, he moved ve-e-ery slowly and missed the presidential train.

Today, a popular candidate once made the death bell toll. It is Chiz Escudero.




Chiz Escudero, a fledgeling senator, was once a district representative of Sorsogon who was at the forefront of the impeachement campaign against Arroyo. A very eloquent speaker, he is perceived as the least trapo (TRAditional POlitician literally, but trapo also translates into dishrag which most traditional politicians turn into) and is very popular among the idealistic Filpino youth.

Hoping to maintain an independent image, Chiz (I prefer to call him on a first-name basis) resigned from his party on the day that everyone was expecting him to make his formal announcement. Everyone was surprised, even his supposed running mate Loren Legarda. It spurred rumors that he will be running under Manny Villar's presidential bid. But, no, he went ahead and reiterated his previous statement against running with Villar. Chiz made it clear that IF EVER he would run for the presidency, it will be as an independent candidate, free from party affiliations and obligations.

The death of Chiz' presidential bid could also be a case bad timing. On the eve (not literally of course) of the Chiz' formal announcement of joining the presidential rat race, along came the twin disasters ketsana and parma. He decided to wait awhile and let the nation grieve first before the big announcement.Although that was a a fitting move for a gentleman and sensitive politician, putting the nation first before his own ass, but I also think it was a carefully calculated move to further bolster Chiz' popularity.

Anyway, today, Chiz's third (Imagine!) D-Day wasn't the bombshell everyone was expecting it to be. Early this morning he announced that he would no longer be in the running for the presidential bid, he wanted the presidency "but not at all costs". It would have been more dramatic only if it didn't coincide with the Maguindanao Massacre. Again, bad timing.

However, with Chiz dropping out, the ever-growing list of presidentiables, nuisance candidates and all, has trimmed down. And the nation has one less candidate to think about.

More importantly, with Chiz dropping out of the race, the opposition, busy with in-fighting themselves, has unintentionally become more united and more concentrated against the Evil Witch.

Now that's the silverlining in the dark, dark sky.



Thank you Michael Rodgers for the picture.

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Paskong Paksiw

Paskong paksiw yata tayo ngayong Disyembre. Parang si Mike Enriquez kasi ang mga problemang dumarating dahil hindi tayo tinatantanan. Biruin niyo, magtatapos na lang ang taon, dumating pa ang napakalalakas na bagyo. Winasak ang mga bahay, kinuha ang mga buhay at pinataas ang presyo ng mga gulay!

Ngayon, makalipas ang halos dalawang buwan, may ilan nang nagsisimulang bumangon kahit paano. Sa amin nga, mejo mukha nang bahay ulit, pero malayo pa rin sa dating itsura nito.



Pero muling nakaamba ang pagtaas ng presyo ng pamasahe dahil sa biglaang pagtataas ng presyo ng langis. Syempre, kapag tumaas yun, pati presyo ng ibang bilihin, susunod.

May nafeature sa GMA na isang kakaibang belen. Kumpletos rekados naman, may Joseph, Maria at Jesus at mayroon ding mga hayop sa paligid ng munting sabsaban. Iyun nga lang, mga taong biktima ng nagdaang kalamidad ang mga bisita doon at mga bigas ang dalang alay. Salamin ng pag-asa pa rin ng mga Pinoy kahit binugbog ng kalikasan.

Kahit naman siguro Paskong Paksiw tayo ngayon, masaya pa rin kahit paano. Mayroon pa ring mga ipagpapasalamat at mayroon pa ring pag-asang matatanaw kahit aninag man lang ng susunod na araw. Masarap naman ang paksiw, di ba? Maligayang Pasko!

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DED na si Lolo: isang rebyu

Sa paggunita sa araw ng mga patay sa susunod na mga araw, gusto kong ibahagi ang isang pelikula na nagpapakita sa kaugaliang Pinoy pagdating sa mga patay, and Ded na si Lolo.

Ang pelikulang ito ay isinulat at idinirehe ni Soxie Topacio.

Tawa kami nang tawa nang pinanood namin ito. Kuhang-kuha kasi ang kaugaliang Pinoy sa pelikulang ito. Para lang pinapanood mo ang sarili mo sa pelikulang ito.

Pamilyar ang mga tao sa mga pamahiin na binabanggit sa pelikulang ito, hindi na bago, ika nga. Pero ang nakakagulat, mayroon pa palang hindi ko alam. Tulad ng paglalagay ng pera sa kamay ng patay, hindi bilang pabaon sa kanya, kundi para maging maswerte sa hahawak ng perang ito na kukunin din bago ilibing ang bangkay. Isa pa’y bawal din daw ang maligo sa bahay na may patay. Dapat din daw, ang lahat ng malilikom na abuloy ay gagamitin sa patay lamang. Hindi rin daw dapat nakatapat sa pinto ang mga paa ng patay. Dapat din daw na agad na maglinis ng bahay sa sandaling buhatin ang patay palabas ng bahay. Maswerte din daw ang makasalubong ng prusisyon ng patay sa daan.

Ilan lang iyan sa mga pamahiin na bago sa akin at doon ko lang nalaman sa Ded na si Lolo.

Nakakatawang eksena din dito ang ugaling Pinoy na “picture-picture”. Mahilig magkuhanan ng litrato ang mga Pilipino. Gustung gusto kasi nating hulihin ang tuwa ng sandali at ikahon ang mga ito sa eskaparate para lagi nating makita at mabalik-balikan ang mga “Kodak moment”. Lalo nang nauso ang Friendster at Facebook, lahat na lang ng kilos ng tao, gusto nilang pakunan ng litrato para maipost sa internet at makita ng mga tao, kilala man nila o hindi. At oo, maging ang mga malulungkot na pangyayari, tulad ng pagkamatay ng isang mahal sa buhay, ay hindi ligtas sa pagnanais na maidokumento ito sa litrato. Hindi naman ito masama. Ang kaso lang eh, kailangan ba talagang ngumiti kapag nagpaplitrato kahit hindi naman bagay sa okasyon at dahil naiuugnay lang na kapag “picture-picture” kailangan lagi naka-”Smile!”

Bukod sa mga pamahiin na ipinakita dito sa pelikula, isang aspeto din nito ang pagpapakita sa isang hindi gaanong magandang ugaling pinoy. Hindi lamang pagdadalamhati ang dulot ng pagbaha ng luha sa lamay na ito. Sa isang eksena dito, may dumating na bisitang matandang babae na hindi kilala ng sinumang pamilya ng namatay maliban sa isang anak nito. Noon lamang lumabas ang isang matagal nang sekreto ng kanilang ama. Gayundin,
nabunyag din ang sama ng loob na kinikimkim ng isang kapatid sa napakahabang panahon.

Ang lamay na karaniwang ginagawa ng mga Katolikong Pilipino sa loob ng isang linggo ay isang okasyon para magdalamhati at magdiwang. Magdalamhati sa pagpanaw ng isang mahal sa buhay at magdiwang sa buhay na kaniyang tinahak. Ngunit, ang lamay, tulad ng ipinakita sa Ded na si Lolo ay okasyon din ng pagpapakatotoo at pagharap sa mga takot at pag-aalinlangan, at ng maluwag na pagtanggap sa mga ito.

Sa mga lamay, dahil tipon-tipon at kargado ng emosyon ang
hangin, lumalabas sa bulung-bulungan man o sa sigawan, ang mga sekreto pinakatatago hindi lamang ng patay, kundi maging ng mga taong nakapalibot sa kanya.

Ngunit sa kabilang banda nito, ipinakita ng pelikula ang ideyal na kalalabasan ng mga dramang nagaganap sa lamay, isang unang pamilya, inggit ng isang kapatid, (at kung ano-ano pa sa tunay na buhay). Ito ay ang pangingibabaw ng dugo, o ng relasyong magkamag-anak, at pagkakaayos ng lahat-lahat na tila mga pyesa ng isang nabubuong larawan.

Ang mga Pinoy kasi, dulot ng agrikultural at hindi pa industriyalisadong ekonomya at ng kulturang hindi pa lubusang nakakahulagpos sa makalumang pag-iisip, ay maraming pamahiin sa buhay, mula sa pagbubukang-liwayway hanggang sa pagdapit-hapon ng buhay. Tatak ito ng kulturang Pinoy na halo-halong kulturang sarili at kultura ng mga nanakop sa atin.

Ngunit kahit napakatagal na nitong namumugad sa ating isipan, maliwanag na ipinakita ng Ded na si Lolo ang kakapusan ng mga pamahiing ito sa harap ng nagbabagong panahon. Kinatawan ni Roderick Paulate dito, bilang baklang anak ng namatay, ang mapanuring isipan. Kung titingnan kasi, bilang bakla mismo, hindi na rin siya kabahagi ng namamayaning kultura dahil lumantad siya at kumawala sa pagkukulong sa kanya sa pananatiling lalaki. Dito, siya rin ang tanong nang tanong at naghahamon sa mga pamahiin na iyan. Sino bang nagsabi na bawal ang magsuot ng pula ang matatanda pero okey lang sa mga bata? Sino bang nagsabi na hindi pwedeng maglinis ng bahay habang may patay kahit nanlilimahid na ito sa dumi? Sino din ang nagsabi na hindi pwedeng maghatid ang mga taong namatayan?

Sino ba sila?

Magandang tanong hindi ba? Sino nga ba ang nagsasabi sa atin kung paano kumilos at mag-isip?

Ang Ded na si Lolo ay salamin ng buhay-Pinoy. Panoorin niyo ito at panoorin ang mga sarili natin.

Ang mga litrato ay video grab lamang sa pelikula.

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Freedom of Spits

Kuha ito sa Northern Luzon kung saan marami pa rin ang nagma-mama (o moma). Ito may ay saligang mga sangkap na bunga (bua/betel nut), apog at buyo. Nginangata ito at idinudura ang katas, pwede ring lunukin kung gusto mo.

Noong nakaraang taon, pinagtaibay sa Baguio ang isang ordinansa na nagbabawal na sa pagdura ng moma. Bilang isang lunsod kasi na naka-asa sa turismo ang ekonomya, hindi daw magandang tingnan na marumi ang paligid. At isa ang mapupulang bakas ng moma na napagdiskitahan.

Hindi ko lang nakuhanan ng litrato noong minsang nasa terminal kami ng bus papuntang Sagada, may nakapaskil na Bawal ang Moma at sa ilalim ng paskil na ito, isang matandang ngumunguya-nguya, syempre ng moma. May iba pang turistang naroon na nagpicture-picture pa sa ilalim ng paskil na iyon, pagkatapos, sabay sabing, "Ano ang moma?" (sabay-sabay tayo: "Nyeee!").

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Book Review: Meridian

(This is an article that never got published no matter how I tried —sad—- So, I’ll just post it here!)

Meridian’s Hill
“Perhaps it will be my part to walk behind the real revolutionaries – those who know they must spill blood in order to help the poor and the black and therefore go right ahead.”
- Meridian Hill
in Meridian by Alice Walker

Here is a story seldom told. Here is a story seldom heard. Meridian by Alice Walker appealed to me as a reflection appeals to its owner. Meridian Hill’s quest to make sense of her world and contribute something to it echoes humanity’s inclination to make its mark in the world, to effect a difference. Yet her story differs from the usual as she made her mark in ways that are not so popular and accepted by those bound by convention and conformity. Meridian is the story of a black woman-activist’s personal revolution as she joins the Civil Rights Movement.
As a black woman, life wasn’t kind to Meridian Hill at all. Her family is definitely not the ideal American family with the white picket fence, a porch and a dog. In fact, her father is the silent type that the Filipino society approves of, while her mother is a typical example of a bitter Filipino woman whose career and freedom was cut-short as society expects her to stay at home and raise fine children without any need for self-fulfilment and a sense of accomplishment besides being a wife and a mother.
Meridian’s childhood is far from perfect. Like the average victim of molestation, Meridian suffered in silence. She took it in all by herself and found comfort in exploiting her already exploited body, thinking that nothing good will ever come out of a damaged good. She got pregnant before even graduating from high school, distanced herself from, and eventually divorced, his husband and ultimately, gave up her child when a new opportunity to rebuild her life presented itself. Meridian, unknowingly and knowingly, rebelled from her mother’s image, both as a wife and a mother, and embraced her life’s passion, once she recognized it, wholly and without reserve. She is a survivor and an inspiration though not necessarily the epitome of a “good” woman.
In every person’s life, there comes a time when we make crucial decisions that change the course of our lives permanently and irrevocably. A change happens at the very core of our being that we cannot unchange and revert back to the way things were before. It happened to me as it happened to Meridian.
People say I have rebelled against everything I was taught, but in retrospect, I have not. With all due respect, I maybe more Christ-like, in terms of helping my brothers and sisters, than those who shake their heads and cluck their tongues, clutching their rosaries near their hearts, at my advocacy. Meridian wasn’t new to this either, she may not be considered religious but her spirituality is more than most religious people can hope to have.
At first, it was curiosity that drove me to join the mobilization for higher state subsidy. In my heart I know what I’m doing is right, in accordance with values my parents taught me and instilled by a Catholic upbringing. It was an innocent adventure at first, one with fellow but unfamiliar students. But when we hid streamers and stormed the Congress gates, it ceased being innocent and unfamiliar. The students I was with are obviously anticipating an initial confrontation and they came prepared as if in a war. That was the time when Meridian first connected to me, when we both “became aware of the past and the future of the larger world.”
And it’s true. The moment that you discover that life isn’t all about you is when you actually start living for yourself. You start to assess your beliefs, unlearn misinformation and amass a whole new education. It is when you find and stand for causes closest to your heart that you start living and cease just existing.
Meridian, like me, grappled with her conscience. As a civil rights worker, she debated on doing what is right or doing what is correct. Sometimes, the right thing is not the correct thing. Case in point, “the right thing is never to kill, but the correct thing is to kill when killing is necessary.” Complexity arises when the right and the correct don’t coincide and in fact, go the opposite directions. It took Meridian years to finally come to terms with this philosophical question and has found the answer to cement to commitment to her cause in the death of a total stranger. More often than not, the answer to the most complex question is the simplest one that we tend to overlook.
My own encounter with activism is fraught with struggles, both internal and external. Like Meridian, my health was affected with the stress that comes with work that is very stressful. My skin developed sores and I contracted various diseases as my immune system went haywire. I lost so much weight that I was half my size when I was a teenager. I let out a laugh when Meridian said, referring to her own frail health, “I am strong. I’m just not Superwoman.”
With immeasurable pressure, from the state, my family, friends and myself coupled with the innate difficulty of launching campaigns and getting the people to believe in the power that resides within them and make them get up and do something, everyday is war.
Battle fatigue is what Alice Walker called it in her book. Life sometimes presents itself as such a challenge that living it is tiring enough, without having the need to bother yourself with other’s problems. Sorrow without hope is probably the worst emotion a man, or woman, can show. Many activists whose initial idealism has been sapped by the seemingly endless confrontations succumb to battle fatigue and choose to live a more “peaceful life.” Meridian had it, and so did I.
But what a friend once told me echoes each time the fatigue crawls its way to me, “Everyday, you affirm your commitment to yourself . Everyday, you affirm your commitment to the people.” Everyday, I wake up and search for answers to very elusive questions as the world starts to include everybody else, not just oneself. All I have to do is look around, I need not go very far, only outside my door, onto the streets, into my child’s eyes, and the affirmation I need is there. Meridian understood when she said that “the respect she owed her life was to continue, against whatever obstacles, to live it, and not give up any particle of it without a fight to the death.”
Alice Walker, in Meridian, described a life that is most certainly far from perfect, but in its imperfection Meridian Hill found the peace that eludes most. Meridian’s revolution within has reached its decisive point and she emerged ever more sure of herself and her beliefs. But her life has not ceased to be a struggle as she continues to walk down the road, as Bob Marley said, to emancipation from mental slavery.

Cross-posted from my other blog.

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Gas Pains

Tapos na ang halos isang buwang stand-off ng gubyerno at ng mga oil companies. Hulaan niyo kung sino ang nanalo?

Noong lunes tinanggal na ang EO 839 na nagpako sa mga presyo ng gasolina (petroleum products, in general) sa presyo nito noong Oct 15. Ibig sabihin, pwede itong bumaba, ngunit hindi pwedeng lumampas sa presyo ng krudo noong petsang iyon. Ang dahilan ay napakasimple. Ipinag-utos ito para tulungan ang mamamayan na makabangon mula sa hagupit ng sunud-sunod na bagyo.

Talaga naman, di ba. Binaha, nawalan ng bahay at ng mahal sa buhay, at higit sa lahat inalipunga dahil kina Odoy, Peping at Santi, tapos magtataas pa ang presyo ng krudo. Aba, aba, aba, hindi na yata tama iyon! para bang pinagsakluban na tayo ng langit.

At eto, mula sa kataas-taasang opisina ng ating bayan, lumabas ang kautusan para kontrolin ang presyo ng krudo. Mainit itong tinanggap ng gutom na gutom at giniginaw na mamamayan.

Syempre, merong hindi natuwa sa eksenang ito at nagmukmok sa tabi-tabi at bumulong-bulong. Sabi nila, hindi daw kakayanin ng ganitong presyo ang demand para sa krudo. Tuluy-tuloy din ang pagbabanta nila na magkakaubusan ng krudo kung pananatilihin sa mababang presyo ang pagbebenta samantalang tumataas ang halaga ng pagbili nila.

Makalipas ang ilang araw, may ulat nang mga gasolinahan na nililimitahan ang krudong ikinakarga sa motorista. Anong full tank-full tank, full tank 'na mo! hanggang P300 lang ang pwede, ano ka sinuswerte?!

Meron na ring mga istasyon na nagsasara sa gabi kahit dapat 24 oras sila (serbisyong totoo lamang!) na bukas sa mga motorista.

Mukhang tinotoo ng mga oil companies ang banta nilang magkakaubusan ng langis dahil sa EO 386 kahit pa may mandatory 3 month inventory sila ng langis na nabili sa mas mababang halaga.

At hindi lang ito, marami din sa business community ang nagsalita laban sa EO 386 dahil hindi daw ito investor-friendly (talaga, kasi itsurang pro-people ito) kaya baka makaapekto sa pagpasok ng mga dayuhang mamumuhunan. Hindi raw kasi magandang nakikialam ang gubyerno sa "free market". Ibig lang namang sabihin nila, hayaan silang magkamal ng milyun-milyong tubo kahit sumusuka na ng dugo ang mga Pilipino. Free market yan eh, bakit ka makikialam sa mga batas na umiiral dito, samantalang ito ang niyayakap na moda ng produksyon ng Pilipinas?!



Makalipas ang halos isang buwang patutsadahan at pagtatambol ng dibdib, lumabas ang tunay na hari sa Strong Republic, ang mga negosyante.

Sa kasunduan ng gubyerno at ng mga kumpanya ng langis, babawiin na ang EO 369 kapalit ng pangako na hindi agad magtataas ng presyo at hindi biglaan ang pagta-taas ng presyo na gagawin para bawiin ang halos P5 daw na lugi.

Pero anong nangyari? Sabi nga ng matatanda, hindi pa nga malamig ang bangkay, may kalokohan nang ginawa ang mga kumpanya ng langis.



Napakaganda nga sanang hakbang nitong EO 369 na ito dahil nasa puso nito ang mamamayan (kahit pa sa tingin ko ay papogi points ito para sa 2010 elections. May bahid ito ng tangka ng gubyerno na kahit paano'y hawakan ang ekonomya ng bansa at hindi lamang lubos na iasa sa dikta ng internasyunal na merkado tulad noong nagdaang panahon ni Marcos. Bagamat matagal na nating inaani ang bunga ng Oil Deregulation Law, ngayon naramdaman nang mas harapan ang lakas ng kapangyarihan na inalis sa kamay ng gubyerno at sa esensya, ng mamamayan.

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