Daytoy ti sangkakuna dagiti gagayyem, kailian, kaprobinsiaan, ken isu amin a nakalangenlangen ni Dr. Godofredo S. Reyes (1918-2009) idi maiwaragawag a pimmusayen ti pagtamdan a doktor, mannurat ken mannaniw, ken politiko itay Hulio 5.

Dr. Godofredo Reyes

Laureado a mannaniw iti Kailokuan, ni Dr. Reyes ti agpapaay a national vice president ti Veterans Federation of the Philippines (VFP) para iti Rehion Uno ken Chairman of the Board ken Presidente ti St. Mary’s College agingga iti ipupusayna.

Maaw-awagan a kas Grand Old Man iti tay-ak ti politika, maysa ni Dr. Reyes kadagiti manmano a politiko a pulos a di namansaan ti naganna bayat ti panagtakemna iti gobierno iti nadumaduma a nangangato nga akem.

Nagadal iti Medisina iti University of the Philippines (UP) a nangileppasanna pay iti Advance ROTC. Nagturpos idi 1943 ken maika-6 iti board exams iti dayta met laeng a tawen (naggiddan a nageksamen dagiti nagraduar iti 1942 ken 1943).

Apagrugina pay laeng nga agagas iti ilina a Sta. Maria, I.S. idi 1943 idi maawagan iti serbisio kas 1st Lieutenant ken kameng ti Medical Corps ken Battalion Surgeon ti 1st Bn., 66th Infantry, USAFIP, NL. Adu a biag ti naispalna iti gubatan ken nairaman iti grupo ti nangsunson ken ni Hen. Yamashita agingga iti isusuko daytoy iti Loo Valley. Kalpasan ti WWII, nagsubli iti ilina tapno luktanna ti Klinika Reyes. Nanglukat pay iti sanga ti Klinika Reyes kalpasanna iti Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija; ken iti Rosales ken Urdaneta, Pangasinan.

Nalatak a siruhano ken espesialista iti mata idi panawenna, maysa a nakabigbigan ni Dr. Reyes ti panangibukbokna iti panawenna a kas doktor iti away. Ad-adda a nalaka wenno saanna a singiren dagiti marigrigat a pasientena. Iti kinalaingna nga agoperar, naawat a kas Fellow iti Philippine College of Surgeons (FPCS), gimong dagiti doktor a nalaing nga agoperar iti pagilian, idi 1950 sa kas Regent ti FPCS idi 1959-61. Iti laingna nga agoperar iti mata, naawat pay a Fellow iti Philippine Academy of Opthalmology and Otolaryngology (FPAOO). Idi 1984, nagbalin a Fellow iti International College of Surgeons (FICS).

Napadayawan babaen ti Philippine Medical Association (PMA) a kas Physician of the Year iti PMA Annual Convention idi 1964.

Idi 1966-69, dinutokan ni Presidente Marcos a kameng ti Medical Board of Examiners. Nagpaay kalpasanna a chairman ti Medical Board idi 1969-1971. Ni Dr. Reyes ti kaunaan a nabutosan a mangibagi iti Northwestern Luzon iti Philippine Medical Association.  Nagpresidente pay iti Northwestern Luzon iti Philippine College of Surgeons ken iti Philippine Hospital Association, Ilocos Sur Chapter.

Kas politiko, immuna a nabutosan a mayor iti ilina idi 1947-51 sa nabutosan manen idi 1955. Idi 1957, nabutosan a diputado iti maika-2 a Distrito ti Ilocos Sur. Mairaman kadagiti kangrunaan a gapuananna a kas diputado ti pannakabangon ti Southern Ilocos Sur District Hospital iti Tagudin ken ti Medical Act of 1959 a nalatak iti awagna a Medicare Law. Idi 1960-63, nagkaykaysaan dagiti kaprobinsiaanna nga impatugaw a gobernador ti Ilocos Sur. Nabutosan manen kalpasanna a bise gobernador idi 1980-86. Kas kameng ti 1972 Constitutional Convention, impirmana ti darana iti napanday a Konstitusion ti Filipinas kas simbolo ti panangipategna iti pagilian.

Maibilang a teddek ti Literatura Ilokana, malaglagipto ni Dr. Reyes gapu iti  laingna nga agdaniw, iti panangidaulona iti GUMIL Filipinas iti 13 a tawen, ken iti panangtagibida ken ni Dr. Dedicacion Reyes a kaingungotna kadagiti mannurat nga Ilokano iti pagilian ken iti ganggannaet. Kas bukanegista, kinabalbalubalna iti bukanegan da Leon Pichay ken Manuel Gaerlan a padana a nalaing a dumadaniw. Nangrugi a nagsurat iti Bannawag idi sakbay ti Gubat, naglatak pay ti kolumna iti Bannawag a Ti Salun-at idi dekada 60s ken 70s a nairusat manen idi dekada 90s. Nagsursurat pay iti Philippine Journal of Surgery kadagiti scientific articles. Adun a libro ti naipablaakna ken timmulonganna a kas co-editor ket mairaman ditoy ti Angalo ken Aran ken ti Jasmine Blossoms a nakatiponan dagiti daniwna iti Ingles. Idi 1995-1999, inesponsoranna ti pasalip iti avant garde poetry manipud iti pensionna a kas beterano. Nailibro dagiti nangabak a dandaniw. Kasta met nga inlibrona met laeng ti Ti Salun-atyo a nakatiponan dagiti kolumna iti Bannawag kas nalaka a pagreperensiaan.

Mairaman kadagiti adu a pammadayaw a naited kenkuana ti Most Outstanding Congressman iti 4th Congress a nakabigbiganna pay a Defender of Virginia Tobacco; Dr. Jose P. Rizal Award kas pammigbig iti pananginspirarna kadagiti mangngagas nga agbalin a doktor iti away, Pedro Bucaneg Award, ti kangatuan a pammadayaw ti GF; iti Balagtas Bicentennial celebration, maysa kadagiti 10 a mannurat iti Filipinas a pinadayawan ti Writers Union of the Philippines; naipaay pay kenkuana ti Tawid Awards manipud iti Tawid Foundation, ken ti Gawad Balagtas manipud iti UMPIL.

Kas edukador, co-founder iti St. Mary’s Junior College iti ilina idi 1948 a nagpaayanna a Presidente ken Chairman of the Board agingga iti ipupusayna. Kas bankero, nakipagpundar ken nagpaay a presidente ti Rural Bank of Sta. Maria ken iti Rural Bank of Candon. Nagkameng pay iti hunta direktiba ti Philippine Veterans Bank, Philippine Virginia Tobacco Administration (PVTA), ken iti Manila Hotel.

Kas bise presidente ti VFP, uray idi kalpasan a maatake sumagmamanon a tawen ti napalabas, impangrunana a tinaming ti pakaseknan dagiti padana a beterano agraman dagiti balo ken ul-ulila dagitoy. Maysa pay a nangibagi iti VFP iti World Convention of Veterans iti Paris, France.

Kas pintor, nayeksibiten dagiti gapuananna maipanggep kadagiti napintas a buya ti ilina iti MMSU iti Batac.

Kameng iti Knights of Columbus, nagpaay a kas Grand Knight iti nasao a gunglo.
Idi 1960, naipaay kenkuana ti Papal Award, ti Knight of St. Sylvester.

Sumagmamano nga aldaw sakbay ti ipupusayna, impaayan ti UP Alumni Assn. iti Lifetime Achievement Award kas pammigbig iti gapuananna a kas mabigbig a doktor iti away.

Inulila ni Dr. Reyes ti kaingungotna, ni Doktora Cion, ken dagiti annakda, da Gerard Moises ken Ana Marie ken dagiti kakabsatna, da Engr. Peregrino Reyes (pimmusayen), Atty. Pascual Reyes (pimmusayen), Dr. Ponciano Reyes (pimmusayen), Cresencia Reyes-Foronda, Dr. Rebecca Reyes-Ulep, ken Estrella Reyes-Quibilan.

Maitabon ti bangkay ni Dr. Reyes iti Sementerio ti Sta. Maria itoy a Hulio 18, 2009.

Narigat a sawen a kasta aglalo ket agtultuloy dagiti damag a kaadda dagiti depektibo a libro nga us-usaren dagiti ubbing iti publiko a pagadalan (inrubuat ken itultuloy nga iparparagapag ni Antonio Calipjo Go) ken uray pay kadagiti pribado a pagadalan.

Diak met ugali ti agsapul iti kamali wenno depekto kadagiti textbook dagiti anakko, malaksid no madalanak dagitoy. No adda maduktalak, ibagak iti ubingko no ania ti rumbeng a pannakaisurat dagitoy a kamali wenno no ania ti pudno, ket isunton ti mangibaga iti maestrana. Kaaduanna, kamali iti ispeling ken gramatika; sumagmamano laeng ti panagkibaltang iti detalye (facts) kas koma iti panangibaga ti libro nga adda iti Ilocos Sur ti Batac, wenno adda iti Benguet ti Banaue Rice Terraces.

Ngem adda maysa a kamali iti libro a Science ti anakko a nakadismayaak la unay: Ti pannakairaman manen—wen manen ta maulit-ulit laeng daytoy—dagiti nagan nga Agapito Flores ken Eduardo San Juan kadagiti listaan dagiti “idaydayawtayo” a sientipiko ken imbentor a Filipino.

Nabayagen ti isyu a maysa a “hoax,” wenno inuulbod ti ibagbagada a panangimbento kano ni Agapito Flores iti fluorescent light.

No agsukisoktayo a nasayaat, wenno basaentayo dagiti sinurat dagiti pudno nga eksperto iti siensia, nakababain laeng nga agpayso iti pangipatpaturaytayo iti daytoy a kinaulbod. Segun ken ni Dr. Benito Vergara iti Philippine Science Heritage Center, adda kano managan ti Flores idi a nangisingasing ken ni Presidente Manuel L. Quezon iti idea maipapan iti “fluorescence light,” ket ditan ti namunganayan ti estoria (agkaarngi ti Flores ken fluorescence, saan kadi?). Ibagbagda pay a nakaala kano ti patente ni Flores manipud iti gobierno ti Pransia sa inlakona daytoy iti dakkel a gatad iti General Electric. Ti pudno ketdi, idi pay laeng 1901 nga addan patente ti fluorescent light manipud iti General Electric Co. baben ti prototype nga inimbento ni Peter Cooper Hewitt. Idinto a nayanak ni Flores idi 1897 (idiay Guiguinto, Bulacan)! No sumarem, uppat laeng a tawen ni Flores idi naimbentona ti fluorescent light!

Kas kalawag ti nakasindi a silaw ti kinaulbod ti isursuro dagiti textbook mainaig ken ni Flores. Awan dumana daytoy iti nakababain a napasamak iti pannakaduktal kano ti maysa a tribu iti Mindanao a di pulos naal-alian iti panagtulid ti panawen sipud pay idi Stone Age. Daytoy ti tribu a Tasaday a pinalatak ni Manuel Elizalde, hepe ti ahensia a binuangay ni Presidente Ferdinand Marcos tapno masalakniban dagiti minoridad kultural. Ngem naduktalan dagiti antropologo ken historiador kalpasan a mawaswas ti ahensia nga awan ti pisikal nga ebidensia a mangibagbaga a sariugma a tribu ti ibagbaga ni Elizalde; ketdi, binayadan laeng ni Elizalde dagiti sumagmamano a kameng ti tribu tapno agpammarang a kamengda ti tribu a Tasaday. Ngem kadagidi a panawen, nagramaramen ti pakasaritaan ti tribu a Tasaday kadagiti libro iti Araling Panglipunan nga inadaltayo.
“HOAX” WENNO “URBAN LEGEND”

Awan duma dagiti kastoy a hoax ti maaw-awagan iti “urban legend,” wenno sarsarita iti komunidadtayo a nayakar kadagiti henerasion a patien laeng dagiti mayat a mamati. Kas pagarigan, ti panangibagbagada a naaramid ti karne ti pusa dagiti siopao, ni Armando Lite ti nangimbento iti armalite, wenno ni Jose Rizal ti ama ni Adolf Hitler, di rumbeng a maibaga a kas pudno dagitoy aglalo la unay iti maysa a textbook a maar-aramat iti eskuela.

Iti biang ni Eduardo San Juan, nupay adda dagiti sinurat a mangibagbaga a nagtrabaho daytoy iti National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) ta maysa daytoy nga inhiniero, awan met pammaneknek nga isu ti akindisensio ti ibagbagada a Lunar Rover, ti lugan a nausar iti panagsukisok dagiti astronoto iti bulan. No basaem dagiti dokumento iti NASA maipapan iti panagsaganada a napan iti bulan, partikular ti panangaramidda iti Lunar Rover, awan ti nagan nga Eduardo San Juan a mabasa kadagitoy. No ipatarustayo ti maysa a nakasurat iti website ti NASA, daytoy ti ibagbagana: Ti Lunar Rover ti kaudian a dakkel a paset dagiti ramit nga insurotda nga impatayab a napan iti bulan. Dinisenio ken binukel daytoy ti Boeing Company ken ti Marshall Spaceflight Center ti NASA.

Ken maysa, no pudno a ni San Juan ti ibagatayo a nangdisenio, wenno imbentor ti Land Rover, awan duma daytoy ti panangipasaw ti maysa a karpintero nga isu ti nangaramid iti maysa a balay idinto a maysa laeng daytoy kadagiti nagtitinnulong tapno mabukel ti patakder. Ita, adda pay ibagbagada a tinakaw laeng ti NASA ti “disensio” ni San Juan, wenno dida inkabkabilangan ta Filipino laeng daytoy. Ngem agingga nga awan ti ebidensia a maipakita a kasta, wenno agpatingga laeng daytoy ti ibagbaga ti pamilia ni San Juan wenno dagiti naayat kadagiti urban legend, di rumbeng a tutupontayo pay dagitoy a banag. Kasla agparparang ngamin nga agbibisintay’ la unay a mangpaadu iti listaan dagiti mararaem a kailiantayo a nagballigi iti siensia nga iramantayo kadagiti suratentayo a textbook.

No maminsan, mapatpaturay dagiti opinion dagiti nagsurat wenno ti kayat ti gobierno, imbes a ti kinapudno a rumbeng a mayadal kadagiti agbasbasa. Ta saan kadi a dayta ti kangrunaan a panggep dagiti textbook iti elementaria, nga iti punganay pay laeng ket maiturongen dagiti ubbing iti kinapudno? No inuulbod ti maisuro kadakuada, daytanton ti agbalin a pudno iti henerasionda.
SAAN A NADISKOBRE TI ESPANIA TI FILIPINAS

Kitaem laengen daytoy. Asino kadatayo ti mangibagbaga a ni Ferdinand Magellan ti nakadiskobre ti Filipinas? Adu ti mangibaga a kasta, ta dayta ti nabayag a nayadal kadatayo kadagiti librotayo. Ngem no anagentayo ti ibagbaga ni Teodoro Agoncillo, autor ti History of the Filipino People, a di rumbeng a diniskobre ni Magellan ti pagiliantayo ta nadur-asen ti sibilisasion dagiti immun-una a nagindeg iti isla uray pay sakbay a dimteng dagiti Espaniol. Kayatna a sawen, nadiskobre laengen ni Magellan ti isla para iti imatang dagiti taga-Europa.

Dagiti kastoy a kinapudno ti marugrugian ita nga ipaspasagepsep dagiti propesor iti History iti nadumaduma a unibersidad ti pagilian. Daytoy met ti kanayon a yad-adal dagiti mannurat ken historiador a kas ken ni Ambeth Ocampo, hepe pay ti National Historical Institute (NHI).
Gapu ngarud kadagiti agsasallupang nga opinion, pudno man a pasamak, hoax wenno urban legend laeng dagitoy, napateg ti imprimatur wenno marka ti kinapudno nga ipaay ti NHI kadagiti pasamak wenno detalye iti pakasaritaantayo. Agingga nga awan ti pammaneknek tapno baliwantayo ti aniaman nga ibaga dagiti eksperto, surotentayo daytoy a kinapudno, tapno naur-urnos ken nalawlawag ti pananganagtayo ti pakasaritaan ti maysa a tao, lugar wenno pasamak a mayadal kadagiti ubbing.

Adda metten dagiti binaliwan ti NHI manipud kadagiti immun-una a naisurat ti pakasaritaantayo. Idi 2003, inyalis ti NHI ti marker a nakailanadan ti nakapasamakan ti umuna a kanalbuong a nangrugian ti Filipino-American War manipud ti ammotayo a Pinaglabanan Bridge iti San Juan, Metro Manila. Kas naduktalan ti NHI, adda iti nagsulian ti Sociego ken Silencio Street iti Sta. Mesa, Manila ti pudno a nakapasamakan dayta a pagteng ti pakasaritaantayo.

Ken sino ti di makalipat iti napasamak iti Kodigo ni Kalantiyaw a naduktalanda ken kadagitoy laeng nga aldaw nga inawat ti NHI a kas maysa a hoax? Napaut a nayadal ti Kodigo ni Kalantiyaw kadagiti librotayo; intal-oda pay ni Datu Kalantiyaw babaen ti panangipanaganda kenkuana ti dakkel a premio (Order of Kalantiaw) iti Malakanyang para kadagiti Filipino a napateg ti nagapuananda iti linteg ken hustisia. Ngem sipud pay idi dekada 60, addan dagiti ekperto a kas ken ni William H. Scott a mangibagbaga a bogus dagiti dokumento, wenno dinoktor ti immuna nagsurat maipapan ken ni Kalantiyaw dagiti ebidensia a nangadawanna iti impormasion maipapan iti sariugma a lider. Ken nangruna nga awan ti nalawag a pammaneknek a pudno nga adda Kalantiyaw wenno adda pinartuatna a paglintegan. Nagintutuleng dagiti historiador a kas ken ni Gregorio Zaide uray pay naidatagen kadakuada ti naduktalan ni Scott idi 1967. Ken awan ti mayat a mangbaliw ti pakasaritaan ta nairamuten ti kapanunotan ti tunggal Filipino ti kinamaingel ni Kalantiyaw ken ti “nainsiriban” a panagturayna.

Maysa pay a mapagdedebatean ti pasamak iti Martial Law. Segun ken ni Go, adda naduktalanna a libro iti Sibika a mangitaltal-o iti administrasion ni Ferdinand Marcos, partikular iti Martial Law babaen ti panangibinsabinsa ti autor ti gapuanan ti pimmusayen a diktador, nga awan ti panangdakamatna ti napait nagbanagan ti demokrasia iti babaen ti administrasionna.

Daytoy ti rason a napateg ti ania man a mailanad iti textbook tapno mapaturay ti kayat a kapanunotan dagiti agtuturay. Kitaem laengen ti Japon, no mabalin dida kayat a dakamaten kadagiti libro dagiti pagadalanda iti mainaig iti kinadursok dagiti soldado a Hapones a nangsakup iti Tsina, Korea ken iti Filipinas iti panawen nga isuda ti ari-ari iti Asia. Iti biang ti Filipinas, nayabaga ti pannakabantay ti ania man a mailanad kadagiti textbook, saan laeng iti DepEd no di pay kadagiti sumagmamano nga ahensia kas iti National Book Development Board.

Ngem ti rigatna di latta met mabantayan ti gobierno dagiti kamali, nangruna dagiti makunkuna a factual errors. Agraraira latta dagiti depektibo a libro. Manen, agsublitayo iti isyu iti kurapsion, kas kangrunaan a rason no apay a kasla sikikidem dagiti opisial iti isyu. Kas itay kunadan, makalusot laeng dagiti di rumbeng a makalusot babaen ti pasuksok.

Ngem saan laeng a kurapsion iti isyu ditoy, wenno ti kaawan ammo wenno panagimbubulsek dagiti nagsurat. No agtultuloy man a sibibiag kadagiti textbook ti kinaulbod a kas ti kunada a gapuanan ni Agapito Flores, gapu daytoy iti ay-ayattayo a mangitag-ay iti kina-Filipinotayo uray pay no kasapulan a ballikogen wenno tallikudantayo ti kinapudno. Gapu itoy, imbes a raemendatayo dagiti sabsabali a puli, pagkakatawaandatayo ketdi. Iti kaso ni Flores, awan ti ganggannaet a nasimbeng ti panunotna a makidebate kadatayo manaig iti daytoy. Ta apay a tutopanda wenno sayangenda ti orasda para iti maysa a kinaulbod?
BIYO ASTEROID

Ken ania koma ti pagbibisinantayo a punnuen ti listaantayo kadagiti naballigi a Filipino, wenno iti panaggagateltayo a mailanad dagiti lugartayo iti Guinness World Record babaen dagiti pinnaatiddogan, pinnadakkelan, pinnapautan iti ania la ditan?

Apay nga agsadagtayo iti pagduduaan nga ebidensia ti kinataknengtayo a Filipino no adda latta met dagiti pudno a Filipino a nagballigi iti bukodda a tay-ak? Kas koma ken ni Dr. Josette Biyo, agdama a director iti Philippine Science High School (Western Visayas), naipanagan kenkuana ti maysa nga asteroid gapu iti napateg a gapuananna iti siensia. Ken adda met dita ni Manny Pacquiao iti boksing ken ni Lea Salonga wenno ni Charisse Pempengco a mangitantandudo iti Filipinas iti tay-ak ti panagkanta ken teatro, wenno ni Brillante Mendoza iti tay-ak ti panagaramid iti pelikula.

Ken nangruna unay, kagiddan koma ti panangitagtag-aytayo kadagiti naballigi a pudpudno a Filipino, ti panagkaykaysatayo nga aggaraw tapno agbalin metten a nadur-as a pagilian ti Filipinas. Agingga nga awan ti pagsayaatan ti ekonomiatayo, ken agingga a narugit ti rekordtayo iti pannakaitandudo ti human rights, ken kaskasdi nga agtultuloy ti sinasaur nga aramid tunggal eleksion, ditayto namnamaen a raemendatayo dagiti sabsabali a puli.

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Naadaw iti http://ansi-neovaldez.blogspot.com/ a website ti autor.
Basaen ti kumpleto a bersion daytoy iti Bannawag, Hunio 22, 2009.

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Posted with Permission from the Author.

Panggep daytoy a pasken ti GLU, a dar-ayanto met dagiti opisialna, a sangalen dagiti vision ken mission ken policy statements ti gunglo tapno adda pagturonganna a kas mabigbig nga asosasion dagiti mannurat nga Ilokano iti La Union.

Kiniddaw ngarud ti GLU, nga idauluan ni Djuna R. Alcantara, ken ni Dr. Agcaoili nga umaynanto ibinglay dagiti pampanunotna maipapan ti pannakaparaniag ti masakbayan ti literatura ni Ilokano.

Mangisursuro ni Dr. Agcaoili iti literatura/kultura ni Ilokano iti University of Hawaii, ngem adda ita ditoy Filipinas.

Daytoy agmalmalem a pasken ket paset dagiti naikalendario a kapatgan a tamingen ti GLU ita a tawen. (Odilon E.Arizala)

Maangay ti espesial a miting dagiti opisial ken mamagbaga ti GUMIL Filipinas (GF), ti gunglo dagiti mannurat nga Ilokano iti Filipinas ken iti ballasiw-taaw, inton Hulio 12, 10 AM, iti Balay ti GUMIL, Suso Beach, Sta. Maria, Ilocos Sur, kas impakaammo ni Elizabeth Madarang-Raquel, presidente ti gunglo.

Mapagpapatanganto iti nasao a miting ti pannakapabaro ti bank account ken dagiti nadumaduma a proyekto ti gunglo kas iti GF website (http://gumilfilipinas.com) a mayalnag inton Agosto 23, ti naisubli a newsletter ti gunglo (Balikas) a manamnama a mayalnag met laeng iti mabiit, GF lecture series ken quarterly seminar-workshop, ken ti Balay ti GUMIL, ken sabsabali pay a pakaseknan ti gunglo.

Maigunamgunam met ti yaatendar dagiti presidente dagiti nadumaduma a chapter ti gunglo. (SEB)

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I remember an experience I once had with the Bureau of Internal Revenue. This was way back during Cory’s time when I was still paying my taxes. I am not paying my taxes now—not since 2005, when the “Hello, Garci” tape came to light. I was paying my taxes then, but for one reason or another failed to do so one particular year. Being a dutiful citizen, and having no problems recognizing Cory as a perfectly legitimate president, I resolved to rectify it.

I went to the BIR, waited a couple of hours for my turn, and finally got to talk with an appraiser, or whatever they call the people there that deal with these things. He took the documents I handed over to him solemnly, flexing his hands like a doctor about to perform a delicate operation. His solemnity vanished in an instant as he scanned my documents, and dismay overran his face like the hordes of Atilla. He suppressed an expletive and groaned, “Writer ka lang pala!” (You’re just a writer!)

I took it those words were a reaction to the couple of hundred pesos I owed government. I took it moreover that those words were a reaction to my entry in the box “occupation,” which was “journalist.” Whatever plans he might have had about negotiating a deal with me were dashed to pieces by that proclamation, or admission. His deflation was a thing to behold. “Writer ka lang pala,” he repeated.

He stamped my papers and dismissed me with a wave of his hand. He probably wondered what he had done to make God punish him that day by sending him someone who wasted his precious time.

That is the one phrase that has stayed with me all these years, one I wear proudly like a medal, and humbly like a reminder: “Writer ka lang pala.”

I remembered this in connection with something I’ve encountered over the years while writing a column for the Inquirer. It’s what detractors tell me when they cannot find a way to refute or get around, my argument. Which is: What you say is all very fine. But those are just words, they are not actions. When will you stop writing and act?

Sometimes, friends, and not just detractors, say this as well. Particularly those who have wondered why I do not entertain going into politics. “Why don’t you run for this or that?” they ask. “With the exposure you have in the country’s number one newspaper, you have an advantage which you can turn into votes. If you win, you can be in a position to do something for this country.”

My answer to this is not that I see no way of winning, although that’s probably true too, since the vote-friendly medium is TV. My answer to that is: “I’m already a writer, as ascertained by the BIR. Why should I want to demote myself and become a politician?”

I am not being entirely facetious when I say this. My point is simply, if a bit airily, that I cannot think of a better way to do something for the country than by writing.

Doctors will never be accused of merely saying and not doing. I do not know of another profession more resolutely associated with acting. You either cure or you do not. The patient either lives or dies. No action could be more fraught with meaning, no action could be more laden with consequence.

It is writers who routinely get to be charged with saying and not doing, of talking and not acting. It is writers who routinely get to be told: That’s all very fine, but when will you act?

It is the most astonishing thing because writing is acting. That is why we call it “the act of writing,” because it is an act. And like physically ministering to the sick, it is a vital act. It is spiritually ministering to the sick, an act that is fraught with meaning, an act that is laden with consequence. When you write, you either cure or you do not. When you write, the world either lives or dies.

What the writer does specifically, an act of awesome reverberations, is to articulate. It is to put reality into words. It is to make reality real.

We’ve all heard Socrates’ famous aphorism, “A life unexamined is a life unlived.” It is a profound insight into life. It is the difference between merely existing and living. Just drawing out the length of your days without looking at where you’ve come from and where you are going, without looking at whether you have been of service to others or only to yourself, without wondering what all this means or what all this amounts to, is not living, it is just existing. You may as well not have been there at all.

It is writers most of all that make that examination, of themselves and the reality around them. It is writers most of all who make that interrogation, of themselves and of the reality around them. It is writers most of all who articulate themselves and the reality around them.

Without that articulation, the world and ourselves are just as unreal as ghostly apparitions. Without that action, the world and ourselves are just a jumble of sense impressions.

We often speak of “grasping” things when we are able to understand them. The word “grasp” is only too apt. The action, like seizing something with the hand, is seizing something with the mind, turning it around, feeling its shape, marveling at its texture, realizing (there goes that word “real” again) that it is there.

You put things into words, you make things real.

It’s not true at all that sticks and stones may break your bones but words can’t. The opposite is true: More than sticks and stones, or indeed more than Manny Pacquiao’s fists, words crush bones. At the very least, you see that in the many knife fights that break out during drinking sprees in dingy neighborhoods because someone called another names.

At the very most you see that in what writers have done. In what a writer of no mean talent named Jose Rizal has done. (To be concluded.)

Taken from: Conrado de Quiros’ Philippine Daily Inquirer column, There’s the Rub

Read conclusion HERE

Virgilio Almario signs UP President Emerlinda Roman's copy of the book Ang Huling Hudhod ng Sanlibong Pagbabalikat Paglimot Para sa Filipinas kong Mahal

National Artist for Literature, Virgilio Almario (a.k.a. Rio Alma), today launched his latest book, Ang Huling Hudhod ng Sanlibong Pagbabalikat Paglimot Para sa Filipinas kong Mahal (The Last Hudhud: A Thousand Songs of Forgetting & Returning to the Philippines, Land of My Heart) at the newly opened C & E Information and Resource Center along Quezon Avenue, Quezon City.

Edited by Romulo P. Baquiran Jr., the book is a modern epic about Almario’s travels in the country from 2006 to 2007. Containing 188 pages and available in hard cover and paper back, it is the culmination of the authors extensive research about Philippine legends, history, and current events.

Copies of 'Ang Huling Hudhud' on display

Bienvenido Lumbera, National Artist for Literature

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Is there something in war that lures adventurous young men? Is it a measure of valiance? Does it also make heroes in exchange of their dear life? Is it a way to immortalize one’s name in the annals of history, or merely just to gratify the pride of a nation?

Was this the reason why 65 years ago, Japan embarked on its illustrious dream to unify East Asia? With the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, Japan attempted to equate the Industrial Giants in the New World and Europe.

But because of patriotism that fired in the hearts of these conquered foreign lands, war was inevitable! War was the penalty of this illustrious dream, for there was resistance.

Everybody cried for freedom.

And my country, the Philippines, is no exception to this destiny; all because of a noble cause or perhaps an illustrious dream!

How can we forget the barbarity of war when there are constant reminders that have been left behind like an old scar that always rupture to a fresh wound?

Here at Santa Fe, Nueva Vizcaya, we never forget.

Yes, the Balete Pass and Imugan, Santa Fe, Nueva Vizcaya were once the rendezvous of the ‘Angels of Death’ pitting the adventurous young men in the line of the Japanese Imperial Army againts the joint forces of the United States Armed Forces in the Far-East (USAFFE) and Filipino Guerilla movement under the umbrella of the United Armed Forces in the Philippines (USAFIP).

Hanging bridge in Imugan, Sta. Fe. PHOTO BY SEB.

It was in Balete Pass on top of the Caraballo Mountains that extends to Imugan in South-West border connecting to the great Cordillera Mountain ranges in the Northwest boarder where many lost their lives in the defense of a nation in search for an identity; and it was written in blood of these young men the saga of the debacle only few knows; a war story — the key in liberating Cagayan Valley.

It was in the chronicles of the National Historical Institute that by February 1945, the Americans were in Manila, the U.S. Eight Army was in Mindanao, the Japanese Navy had ceased to exist after the debacle at Leyte, Japanese air defense was likewise close to being non-existent, the pragmatic Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita held no illusion of winning the battle for the Philippines. He only hoped to pin down American forces in Luzon that might otherwise be used in invading Japan. He then mustered 152,000 Japanese soldiers for a protracted resistance in Northern Luzon. He concentrated his forces in the mountainous regions of the Cordillera and Caraballo, with its deep ravines and concealed caves to maximize his defensive position. Gen. Yamashita was going to sit and wait the Americans to force him out of the mountains. He was offering a battle in a place of his own choosing with all the strategic advantages favoring him. He was famous and a master tactician in jungle warfare. His position also guarded the entrances to the fertile Cagayan Valley, his source of food supply.

Gen. MacArthur, recognizing the defensive plan of the Japanese and the fact that delay would only give the Japanese more time to fortify their defenses, quickly directed the US Sixth Army under Gen. Walter Krueger to concentrate in this area. A careful analysis revealed the weakness of the Japanese defense wherein they can be routed in the Balete Pass-Santa Fe-Imugan area.

Region 2 Marker along Dalton Pass, at the boundary between Nueva Ecija and Nueva Vizcaya, the gateway to the Cagayan Valley. About a hundred meters from the marker stands the Balete Pass memorial. PHOTO BY SEB.

The mission of attacking the place was given to I Corps (under Gen. Swift), which has 3 divisions on the area-the 25th, the 32nd, and the 33rd. the plan was for the 25th and 32nd Divisions to link up in Balete Pass-Santa Fe-Imugan area, while the 33rd would take Baguio.

Late in February, 1945, the I Corps launched a three-pronged attack against Gen. Yamashita’s mountain stronghold. The attack on the Villa Verde trail, leading to the municipality of Santa Fe, was under the responsibility of the 32nd Division. By the first week of March, the Division was within 10 miles from Santa Fe. It was in this area that the fiercest battle occurred, owing to the area’s natural defensive barriers plus the tenacity of the defenders. Air strikes were called in. The Division took more than two months to realize their goal, sustaining 825 men killed and 2,100 wounded. The Japanese lost 5,750 men here.

Meanwhile, the 25th Division, under Gen. Charles Mullins, was attacking Highway 5 leading to Balete Pass. The peaks of Balete Pass were steep and honeycombed with ridges from which the Japanese could fire without being seen. By March 10, the Division, with three Infantry Regiments, was less than five miles of Balete Pass. However, the Japanese, firing from the craggy ridges overlooking the pass repulsed the 25th Division. On April 15, 1945 three US medium tanks managed to climb the mountainous terrain and penetrated the Japanese line of defense. This breach was utilized by the Americans, sending an entire battalion, who attacked the unsuspecting Japanese guarding the place, dubbed Lone Tree Hill by the Americans. The defenders were quickly subdued; some fled, leaving behind their weapons.

Although now only a mile from Balete Pass, the American forces did not press on as their supplies were dangerously low and they could not be supplied on the route they had taken. They had to wait two or more weeks for the rest of the regiments for one final victorious rush to destroy the remaining Japanese defenders.

Meanwhile, Gen. Yamashita, arriving on the Balete front after evacuating Baguio, which was captured by the American 33rd Division on April 26, decided to withdraw his remaining troopers from Balete Pass (3,000 out of 12,000) and retreated into the Central Cordillera, west of the Cagayan Valley, on May 5, 1945.

On May 9, an American patrol reached the highway of the pass and found the area deserted. They eventually linked up with other American foot soldiers. The Balete Pass was freed from the Japanese by Gen. Kruger on May 13, 1945. Yet it was only on May 29, 1945 that the 25th Division finally made contact with the main body of the 32nd Division. The drive through Balete Pass cost the division 2,200 battle casualties with 544 killed. The battle for the gateway to the Cagayan Valley was over.

The Americans, however, found much of the fertile valley of Cagayan occupied and under control, not by the Japanese, but by Colonel Russell Volkmann, leader of the USAFIP North Luzon guerillas.

In memory of the battle, Balete Pass was renamed Dalton Pass after Colonel James L. Dalton II, 161st Infantry Regiment Commander and belonging to the 25th Division, I Corps, U.S. Sixth Army who died during the debacle. The 161st led the main attack to Balete Pass.

Historical Shrine and a view deck overlooking the gateway of Cagayan Valley was constructed in memory of the heroic deeds of the defenders and constant reminder that freedom has a high price to pay.

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Amadeo Dulay
# 84, Tuao South, Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya

Nothing like a secluded beach. . .

I will be away on a fact finding mission and will be out of pocket for about a week beginning 06-18-09 and hopefully coming back online by 06-25-09. Where I am going there will be no access to the Internet, no laptops with WiFi allowed; it will be back to primal surroundings.  I am hopeful that my planned absence will not sever all my established ties with you as I have developed a certain fondness for your commentary and posts.

I will pick up where I left off as soon as I get back. Until then, have a wonderful time posting and see you all then.

Ciao, Sayonara, and Adios Amigos y Amigas, con permiso. . .

Rufus Agtedted Leaking

He lay there on the bed, speechless for the most part, totally spent but fully aware that this may be the last straw. He seemed paralyzed from the waist down, unable to move, his strength and energy sapped. The sound of her footsteps quickly faded into the far end of the hallway diminishing into an almost inaudible sneaker squeak on hardwood floors. Stretching out his arms in the general direction of the door, he attempted to will her to come back to his side. She slipped quietly away into the night.

The charm he wielded, his irresistible mojo no longer worked as it did so many times before. She had left him but always came back. Back for more abuse, more of the same, subtle brand of enslavement with which he had her yoked and shackled. Hers is a story of a woman in bondage. She was a woman who loved too much.

Shall we go over a litany of unresolved grievances? Nah. What for? It would just weigh you down and wear you out. Suffice it to say that she had filed these same concerns and requests over and over through the years but without much success. It was her fault of course that she was still in the same predicament as when she first realized his gross shortcomings. Her “Eureka!” moment came but she ignored it. She had an epiphany but shelved it. She made no moves to sever the relationship for whatever reason. She hung in there. She stuck with her man. But now she has finally reached the end of her rope.

For the record, here’s a partial list of grievances. His rampant womanizing. He had sown more wild oats than Johnny Appleseed had planted apple trees. His inability to hold on to some sort of gainful employment rivals that of Osama Bin Ladin hiding in the caves. Lastly, his total lack of a sense of domestic responsibility that can be traced back to his permissive parents.

Would you believe that this man lives just as had lived when he was still single, under the protection of his senile parents, under the kindness and generosity of his doting spinster sisters? They just about took care of everything for this worm of a man, from his laundry, to his pedicure, to the cooking of sumptuous meals that he enjoyed even while inebriated. His favorite pastime was hanging out with his jobless cronies in the corner store drinking gin and engaging in passionate but treasonous conversations about corruption in government politics and the concept of sedition.

But the day finally came when the dutiful wife had a uterine infection and had to go to the clinic for some tests. She was at the doctor’s office all day. They gave her a PAP smear test and it was then that they found traces of something that shouldn’t have been there. The first indication was that she was positive for malignant uterine cancer cells. Blood was drawn, with her doctor requesting for the blood samples to be evaluated right away. Turned out she tested positive for HIV.

This was the straw that broke the camel’s back. This was the sword of Damocles falling down. This was the Corregidor surrender. This was the Battle of Little Big Horn. This was Mohandas Ghandi burning in his funeral pyre. This was Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

She had always been faithful to her wayward husband. Obviously, the same was not true when it came to her womanizing husband. Somewhere in the equation he must have picked up something from somebody infected and had transmitted the deadly virus to her. It was a pretty grave and final indictment. For all her loyalty, hard work, love and faithfulness she was rewarded with her own death sentence.

There were times when she thrilled at the thought of having left him many times before but hated herself for each and every one of those times she had gone back to him. Like a helpless piece of iron ore she couldn’t resist the strong and strange magnetic pull this man exerted on her person. Yes, she had left him many times before - so many times that her story might as well have been summarized by the song, “By The Time I Get to Phoenix,” only she would be the one doing the leaving and saying those things with the pronouns in the lyrics reversed.

Now, life here on this earth as she had known it had come to pass. It was time to go. Curtains. The show’s over. Packing none of her things she left. She had always hated long goodbyes, extended farewells and dramatic exits. Saving her tears, she just left hurriedly and disappeared into the night.

My favorite merchants were the blacksmiths from Sinait. Their display of knives, bolos, machetes, axes, fighting cock spurs, and kitchen cutlery was very extensive. Add to that a demonstrator of their products. He would pick up a fighting cock spur (tadi), blow a chicken feather on the blade and surprisingly enough, the blade was so sharp it would cut the feather cleanly into two parts.

I would go with my mother during these trips. I volunteered to carry the shopping bag (bay-on). My mother was a very focused shopper. If she needed to pick up just fresh vegetables on that Sunday, she would go just to the vegetable section and totally avoid the inner market where the dresses, toys and other wares were displayed and sold. Her shopping trips to the Sunday market were planned and executed like a rifle shot; finely aimed at the bulls eye as opposed to a shotgun blast that would hit all over the place.

For many weeks now I have had my eye on a Spaulding basketball. I knew it wasn’t the real thing but it would have to do. We needed something to play with and most of the guys in our small barrio were itching to get into some kind of tournament play. Wouldn’t it be just peachy if I could get that basketball. Imagine how much power that would translate to - in terms of clout and pull amongst the playmate community.

One Sunday, I timed my request when my mother had to go inside the market place to buy some cloth piping that she needed for her sewing business. We were at the very merchant spot where they sold this rubber basketball. I asked my mother, “Nanang, please buy me this basketball.”

“Adu la amin. . .” she said not even looking at me or at the object that I was lobbying to buy. “Ammon met nga awan ti cuarta tayo.”

I thought about a strategy I had been hatching. If I started to fuss… perhaps the merchant will feel sympathy for me and thus urge my mother to relent and buy me the basketball. Losing all notion of self-respect, I let out a cry of anguish. After all, rejection is a horrible thing to happen to a young person. How can I possibly handle it? I felt traumatized. I wept a deluge of tears. In order to add more intensity to the opening drama and histrionics, I threw a horrible fit - throwing myself on the pavement and wriggling like a helpless worm, mopping the dirty cement floor with my freshly laundered clothes.

My mother was visibly embarrassed by my outrageous behavior and tried to comfort and console me. At first she was gentle. Knowing this was the public square, I decided to push the envelope. I brought out the worst in my repertoire of childish, tornado terrorist acts - I grabbed for the hanging merchandize, began to trash about and to demolish the entire merchant’s booth all the while screaming my head off and weeping like it was the end of the world.

A few seconds elapsed and I sensed a deadly silence that began to enshroud my immediate surroundings. I felt my right arm yanked out of its socket. I was lifted up and unto my feet without any fanfare. All I felt was a whopping wallop on my behind and a couple of quick snapping moves on my shoulders.

“Knock it off! Straighten up!” My mother’s voice has never lost its timbre. It carried with it full authority.

I became acutely aware that all hell was about to break loose. I grasped unto what little bit of self-respect I had left and became immediately amenable to any settlement and resolution of the matter. But by now my mother was way too upset, riled up and too mad to relent. She was fuming and wet-hen mad.

There was a tacitly communicated threat of yet another whipping at the hands of my father resulting from a full incident report by my mother, as soon as we got home of course. I had the entire trip home to think about my upcoming punishment. My thoughts were a jumble of orchestrated claims, denials, recriminations and attempts to justify my behavior. “All I wanted was a basketball,”… I quietly rationalized. “What could have been so difficult about buying a basketball?”

My father wasn’t too pleased to hear the outrage I had tried to pull. At first he appeared not to understand my situation, he even sounded unsympathetic to some extent. But then he sat me down and talked to me. He began with the fact that my mother was a seamstress and although she only was paid a mere pittance for her efforts, she used the money for the family’s needs - never spending anything on herself. My father asked me, “When was the last time you saw your mother wear a new dress? New shoes?”

I said, “Not lately. In fact, never… Sir,” I began to cry again only this time out of a feeling of shame instead of from the pain of rejection.

My father was truly a wise man. He didn’t whip my butt or even show displeasure at my poor judgment and behavior. “When you have your own children and family, you will understand,” he said, patting me gently on the head. “Now, go and apologize to your mother and give her a big hug.”

The small terrorist in me faded into obscurity. My mother’s feelings mended over time. It helped that I volunteered to do things for her as she directed her efforts and attention to her sewing business. I took care of my younger brothers and sisters to help relieve and to ease some of the tensions at home. Everything worked out fine for all as I learned to reason things out and to take rejection in my stride. I have accepted the maxim that you can’t win them all.