Pacete: Basic education in the Philippines
CLASSES in the Philippines will open on June 4. Parents will streamline their budget to give priority to the education of their children considering that many schools have increased their tuition fees and other school fees. Teachers will be plunging themselves into another school year of...
Pacete: American Mentality
HELP, Uncle Sam! “Is Uncle Sam going to help us?” Let us walk down memory lanes to find an answer. Admiral George Dewey promised Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo that the United States of America would grant independence to the Philippines after the Spaniards have been driven from the islands of course,...
Pacete: Sugarcane Bill
I WOULD like to believe that the Sugarcane Bill under House Bill No. 6183 is not sugarcoated, or just a one-sided bill in preparation for the zero-tariff on imported sugar by year 2015. I hope that the riding tandem, Cong. Albee Benitez and Sen. Francis Escudero sponsoring this bill in the House...
Pacete: May is Mama Mary’s month
THE month of May is ‘Himabuyan’ according to ‘Almanaque Panayanhon.’ This is the month of flowers, ‘Flores de Mayo.’ It is the month when we honor Mama Mary through a religious and fashion rite, ‘Santacruzan.’ Pope John Paul II is a Marian devotee. The pope is a follower of San Luis de Monfort,...
Pacete: What's up in Negros Tourism?
THE town of Don Salvador Benedicto provided an idyllic venue for the tourism officers meeting and summer camp (May 11-12). Villa Ica of the dela Cruz family was the camp site. It is a flower garden with cottages for campers who long to see fireflies and white fairies.
Pacete: A Rose for Editha
“ABSENCE makes the heart grow fonder.” I would prefer to question proverbial wisdom rather than accept it blindly. I would be stupid not to accept that I admire her. I see her as a beautiful gift….just a small one belonging to the whole universe. That is my perception of her. Probably, I am just...
Pacete: Estacada
WE are not playing Indiana Jones and there are no Peruvian temples to explore...no dodging of various traps, no flying poisoned darts, no spiked walls, no giant boulder, no golden idol to steal, and we do not expect that there will be inexorable rumbles at the end of the tunnel.
Pacete: Low Intensity Conflict
TO A certain level, who allows that nations or territories will clash? Is it always possible that one country will collide with another country because of one particular interest? Or, is it possible also those conflicts are based on well-organized script to establish the New World Order? I do...
Pacete: Operation: All Fools’ Day
MY FRIEND in the tourism circle warned me that there is some kind of operandi victimizing hotel operators, tourism officers and government officials. Unofficially, my friend is calling this Operation: All Fools’ Day because the syndicate plays hurtful jokes on its victims. The strategies employ...
Pacete: I Was Lapu-Lapu
I KILLED Ferdinand Magellan (Fernao de Magalhaes, that’s how he wrote his name in Portuguese) in the Battle of Mactan on April 27, 1521.
Mr. Felipe Peñaranda, my teacher in Philippine Literature at St. Joseph Academy in E.B. Magalona, had wanted me to play Lapu-Lapu in a class...
Pacete: Ecospirituality
EARTH Day is not for celebration. There is nothing to celebrate if we know that our planet is facing issues of climate change, water pollution, acid rain, deforestation, hazardous waste disposal and the total annihilation of many plant and animal species. It is important to know also that human...
Pacete: The Dead As Tourist Attraction
TWO weeks ago, my artist friend showed me a picture of his grandfather (a former governor of Negros Occidental). It was mummified and remains well kept in the family mausoleum. “We never miss him. He is always available for viewing. His great grandchildren are given the opportunity to view their...
Pacete: The Sheep Business
“FEED my sheep.” – Governor Alfredo G. Maranon Jr. (the good shepherd himself). The governor of Negros Occidental has a vision of making this province the “sheep capital” of the Philippines. He is selling the ideas to the mayors. I hope the chief executives are ready to become good shepherds...
Pacete: Zootomy of local politics
TUESDAY, 10 a.m.: I was enjoying a cup of Fresh Start Kanlaon brewed coffee at the Panaad Stadium food court when a scholarly-looking man (around 75 years old) took a seat in front of me. He ordered a cup of brewed coffee also, without sugar. My attention was caught by the book he was holding,...
Pacete: Attention visitors
A CYNOSURE was on top of my table last Tuesday morning. "Are tourism officers aware that we confiscate Philippine rare, threatened, and endangered species at the airport?" That note came from my friend, Buddy. He is working at the cargo division of the airport in Silay.
Pacete: Panaad sa Negros
IT’S fun at Panaad! Our Panaad sa Negros 2012 festival is a facsimile of the tourism tag line for the Philippines plus the NEGROS FIRST agenda of Gov. Alfredo G. Maranon Jr. We are bringing more festivals, more food and more fun!
When we speak of “Panaad,” we are referring to a sacred vow...
Pacete: Disparates
ABSURDITY, nonsense, crazy idea… ‘disparate’. This may not mean anything to a man of science and religion but this is something which many of us entertain. This silly notion, which is a part of culture, of tradition and of our consciousness, exists and has been accepted with open eyes.
Pacete: Semana Santa (2nd of two parts)
ON A Maundy Thursday in some towns, the "hermano mayor" will host the dinner of the twelve apostles. Expect that the mayor is also there and his friends. The dinner is not the same with the Last Supper of Christ in the Holy Bible. The meal is sumptuous, the mood is happy, and the topic is about...
Pacete: Semana Santa (1st of two parts)
MY FRIEND Resty (full name Restituta) is back in Silay from the States for a family reunion, and to feel the observance of the Holy Week. When we were in the elementary school, she was my partner in the Maundy Thursday vigil or ‘AdoracionNocturna’.
Semana Santa rituals have been based on...
Pacete: Teacher’s Delight
TEACHING is my profession. I was employed by the government of the Republic of the Philippines through the Department of Education. My monthly salary doesn’t make me rich but this could be something to feed my family… send my nephews to school, buy medicine for my sick father, and be a source of...
Pacete: Shackled
MY ATTENTION was caught by a newspaper item restricting church goers to attend mass in sensual attire. I have nothing against bawdy fashion. I admire human forms and I am easily attracted to art. Fashion should have a reason and there should be a reason for every fashion. A style should conform...
Pacete: Tourism brainstorming
IT WAS a rainy Tuesday morning. The Department of Tourism (DOT) in Western Visayas Region scheduled a Brainstorming and Tasking Session with Bacolod and Negros Occidental tourism stakeholders at O Hotel in Bacolod City. That was one hell of an activity. After the bloody brainstorming, the...
Pacete: Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2011
“EDUCATION is a family heirloom which cannot be stolen.” This was the statement of my father to all of us while we were eating one evening…and that was many years ago.
I am confused. When can we say that education is an heirloom? There are some who did not finish college but ended as...
Pacete: Aswang Love Story
CORAZON, ang Unang Aswang, is one fine movie which did not lull me to sleep. It was a hot weekend and I decided to gamble my precious day inside the mall. I was intrigued to watch the movie because I was told that director Richard U. Somes is a Negrosanon. Radio announcements from Manila...
Pacete: My ahijado
MY KUMPARE Ben was so serious when he invited me to have a talk with him over cups of coffee. It was my first experience to see him drinking three cups. Our conversation was lengthy. He was so concerned on his only son, the third child in the family. I am the godfather of Arnold. My ‘ahijado’ is...
