Monday, December 24, 2007 Pangan: Christmas routines By Benjie R. Pangan At Close Range
JUST like the rest of us, I'd like to have several more years on earth, a healthy body and productive mind and plenty of friends and acquaintances with minimum detractors.
I want to see my family healthy and cheerful, with needs just as simple but relevant.
You too can make wishes. Who knows, they may come true.
This Christmas, our routines usually include dinner consisting of nilaga and broiled chicken and for dessert, leche flan and rice cakes or what we know as homemade kalamay.
After meal, the elderly gather on a round table and take coffee, salabat or tea, whichever suits each one's taste.
The conversation starts with lively banter and laughter and then towards midnight, the hushed tones will consider talking about the dearly departed ones who are sorely and sadly missed.
Before departing for their respective homes, the relatives embrace and do beso-beso and whisper encouraging words to each other.
In some homes, gift boxes, neatly wrapped, are handed to every one and those who are absent also get their regalo through proxies.
This scene is repeated ten fold in middle class families and, in some exclusive villages housing the rich and the famous.
But what about the poor ones, the marginalized sector of the populace?
Have we every thought of how they survive, and have survived, current and previous Christmases with their glitter, plenty of food stuff and material things and lots of time spent for revelry?
Could we have imagined how those living under bridges and near esteros let Christmas pass with nary a meal to eat and a drop to drink?
Have we included them, at least in our minds, while we savored luscious ham, rich cheese and enriching dishes and drank the best of wines?
Ah, let us reconsider how we gave Christmas 2007 its true meaning before it passes away.
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A SEASON of plenty. The report on massive withdrawals from the automated teller machines (ATMs) only shows large spending on items related to the Christmas celebrations.
It was reported that banks had to put up sufficient amounts of crisp bills to meet the demand of clients.
I have to caution those who are unaccompanied in making withdrawals.
They have to be very careful not to attract the attention of bad elements that case the ATM sites and wait for potential victims.
If possible, they should go in groups and take out money during daytime and in safe places.
The same goes true to those who claim money from the chain of shops engaged in money transfers.
As we know, there are several of these money padala counters in the area. Watch out for plain holduppers, salisi and budol-budol gangs, please.
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MABALACAT cityhood. After the fiesta celebrations in February 2008, I just hope the task force created to drumbeat the cityhood drive will go full blast in documentation and paperwork in order to fast track the cityhood goal of this now first-class municipality.
With an ally and supporter in Congress, such as Representative Carmelo “Tarzan” Lazatin who, I learned, has already filed the bill, this ambition is achievable now and Mayor Boking Morales may realize his long-time dream for his constituents.
