By Mila D. Aguilar
The devil is upon us
He thrives on harmless
Vegetables we keep
To create compost
For our hungry gardens.
The stink will invade
Your noses day to day
Stinging your skin
Developing dots
For microbes to feed on.
But that is not
The worst of it.
Ripe compost produces
Methane, which is odorless
And could kill you
Without your knowing it.
The trick is to
Throw open your windows
So God’s air could come in
And dissipate the gas.
But lock your doors
Lock your doors
For the devil could get you
By climbing the fence
He himself built.
Remember, the devil is with us
Sending warts upon us all.
- May 12, 2010
7:10 - 7:22 am
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Answering Denise Levertov
by Mila D. Aguilar
Here, Denise, they don't
Chop off heads by the day
They just waylay you
On some lonely byway
Or highway
As the case may be
Whether you're alone
Or with
A convoy of journalists
Meant to protect your
Filing of candidacy.
One, two, fifty killed
Numbers don't matter
It's the principle that counts:
The principle of power
Over people
Of family
Over fold.
We know
No other life
We are the walking dead
Straddling the centuries
Without remorse
Shouting ourselves hoarse:
Producing nothing.
- November 24, 2009
9:30 - 9:59 pm
Here, Denise, they don't
Chop off heads by the day
They just waylay you
On some lonely byway
Or highway
As the case may be
Whether you're alone
Or with
A convoy of journalists
Meant to protect your
Filing of candidacy.
One, two, fifty killed
Numbers don't matter
It's the principle that counts:
The principle of power
Over people
Of family
Over fold.
We know
No other life
We are the walking dead
Straddling the centuries
Without remorse
Shouting ourselves hoarse:
Producing nothing.
- November 24, 2009
9:30 - 9:59 pm
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
I HAVE
By Mila D. Aguilar
I have seen you.
Yours is the robe
Glowing white in the sunlight
That I tried to clutch
As you rose to heaven.
But you left me.
In the desert of my soul
You left me
To contend with myself
Till the day
I emerged from the battle
Yearning for you
And then you came
As I sat tired and forlorn
At the edge of my bed.
I could see the skirt
Of your white robe
As your hand touched
My head saying
You're doing fine, it's okay.
I have felt you.
I have heard you.
Not with a voice
But in a breath
Surpassing understanding
As I walked in a dream
Knowing others were
Walking with me.
And you said
In no uncertain terms
That this was how
It was going to be
In the march to Malacanang:
One fine day
We would all arise,
Fully aware,
And start treading
Separately
On your instructions.
I have smelled you
In myself, sweet with love
For your creation,
Exuding care and concern
For all of mankind
Without distinction.
I have tasted you
In my thirst. You
Are my living water.
You flowed into my palms
When first I received you
And confessed I
Was nothing without you.
You fill my mouth
My eyes
My ears
My nose
My skin.
Thereof
I know you. You
Are my God.
April 1, 2009
7:00 - 7:34 am
I have seen you.
Yours is the robe
Glowing white in the sunlight
That I tried to clutch
As you rose to heaven.
But you left me.
In the desert of my soul
You left me
To contend with myself
Till the day
I emerged from the battle
Yearning for you
And then you came
As I sat tired and forlorn
At the edge of my bed.
I could see the skirt
Of your white robe
As your hand touched
My head saying
You're doing fine, it's okay.
I have felt you.
I have heard you.
Not with a voice
But in a breath
Surpassing understanding
As I walked in a dream
Knowing others were
Walking with me.
And you said
In no uncertain terms
That this was how
It was going to be
In the march to Malacanang:
One fine day
We would all arise,
Fully aware,
And start treading
Separately
On your instructions.
I have smelled you
In myself, sweet with love
For your creation,
Exuding care and concern
For all of mankind
Without distinction.
I have tasted you
In my thirst. You
Are my living water.
You flowed into my palms
When first I received you
And confessed I
Was nothing without you.
You fill my mouth
My eyes
My ears
My nose
My skin.
Thereof
I know you. You
Are my God.
April 1, 2009
7:00 - 7:34 am
Sunday, February 22, 2009
A Story Of Mothers
By Mila D. Aguilar
My son once had a dog
Not too long ago.
Her name was Helga.
She was a Labrador
Lovable and well-fed.
When she had children,
Still young and bouncy,
My son sold them, eight in all,
Keeping only one, whom he named
Sheik. Sheik it was, when
He'd grown bigger than she,
That she playfully ran away with
One day, the gate having been
Left open. Distraught, only
My prayers and his wife's
And daughter's guiding him,
My son looked far and wide for them,
Tacking wanted posters
With their pictures on walls
And trees, announcing a reward
For their return. We found
The two separately
The week after, Sheik
By a restaurant, haggard
And unkempt, Helga
In a house trembling,
Refusing to eat -- her rescuer,
A kind old woman, said.
By all accounts both
Had managed by their size
To escape from violent men
In passing jeeps.
But at a price.
Each got home days apart
Not only sobered, but
Interminably sad, as if
They had finally discovered
What kind of world they lived in.
Sheik recovered slightly
After some months, drawn
Closer to his mother
Than he had ever been,
But Helga was never the same
Again. After a year, she
Started to bleed. My son's wife
Took her to a vet twice,
Subjecting her to surgery
For the dog had cancer,
She was told. But
It couldn't be helped. Helga
Grew so thin, her big bones
Stuck out, only her belly bulging.
She could hardly move.
I would see Sheik circling round her
All day, his head hanging,
His shoulders draped
Like a sad cloak around him.
He would smell the blood
Trickling out of her the way
Angels prophesy the death of men.
And so one day
We had to bury her.
But we could not bury Sheik's
Anguish. His eyes lost
All gleam forever, his gait lost
Its youth. He started to walk
Like an old man though he was but
Four years old. Like me, up to now
He must still be dreaming
Nightly about his mother,
How they'd walk together in fun
Under the canopy of heaven,
Floating above the folly
Of the world and mortal men,
Wondering why, of all the dead
In one's life, whether it be long
Or short, mothers are missed most.
February 22, 2009
7:35 - 9:05 am
This poem was written expressly for the February 22 memorial to Mommy Adang de la Torre at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani on Quezon Avenue and dedicated especially to Ed and Girlie as well as all those who regarded Mommy de la Torre as their own mother.
My son once had a dog
Not too long ago.
Her name was Helga.
She was a Labrador
Lovable and well-fed.
When she had children,
Still young and bouncy,
My son sold them, eight in all,
Keeping only one, whom he named
Sheik. Sheik it was, when
He'd grown bigger than she,
That she playfully ran away with
One day, the gate having been
Left open. Distraught, only
My prayers and his wife's
And daughter's guiding him,
My son looked far and wide for them,
Tacking wanted posters
With their pictures on walls
And trees, announcing a reward
For their return. We found
The two separately
The week after, Sheik
By a restaurant, haggard
And unkempt, Helga
In a house trembling,
Refusing to eat -- her rescuer,
A kind old woman, said.
By all accounts both
Had managed by their size
To escape from violent men
In passing jeeps.
But at a price.
Each got home days apart
Not only sobered, but
Interminably sad, as if
They had finally discovered
What kind of world they lived in.
Sheik recovered slightly
After some months, drawn
Closer to his mother
Than he had ever been,
But Helga was never the same
Again. After a year, she
Started to bleed. My son's wife
Took her to a vet twice,
Subjecting her to surgery
For the dog had cancer,
She was told. But
It couldn't be helped. Helga
Grew so thin, her big bones
Stuck out, only her belly bulging.
She could hardly move.
I would see Sheik circling round her
All day, his head hanging,
His shoulders draped
Like a sad cloak around him.
He would smell the blood
Trickling out of her the way
Angels prophesy the death of men.
And so one day
We had to bury her.
But we could not bury Sheik's
Anguish. His eyes lost
All gleam forever, his gait lost
Its youth. He started to walk
Like an old man though he was but
Four years old. Like me, up to now
He must still be dreaming
Nightly about his mother,
How they'd walk together in fun
Under the canopy of heaven,
Floating above the folly
Of the world and mortal men,
Wondering why, of all the dead
In one's life, whether it be long
Or short, mothers are missed most.
February 22, 2009
7:35 - 9:05 am
This poem was written expressly for the February 22 memorial to Mommy Adang de la Torre at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani on Quezon Avenue and dedicated especially to Ed and Girlie as well as all those who regarded Mommy de la Torre as their own mother.
Friday, January 02, 2009
Walang Pakundangan
Ni Mila D. Aguilar
A-dos na ng Enero
Nagpapaputok pa rin
Nang walang pakundangan
Mga bata sa lansangan.
Tulad ng kanilang
Matatanda sa Malacanang
Na isa-isang kinakarne
Lahat ng lumalaban.
Lumalabas na ang pulbura
Sa maliliit na butas
Sa gilid ng aking mga mata
Wala pa ring pakiramdam
Bata man o matanda
Sa kanilang kapwa.
Nakasusulasok ang amoy
Pambara sa hininga
Isip mo'y talagang balak nila
Ang makapatay
Ng kapitbahay.
Kung di nga lang ba, oo na,
Inosente itong sa isang banda
At sa kabila ay gahaman
Sa kaban ng bayan. Pero iho,
Sunud-sunuran lang ang kawalan
Sa gawi ng imbing kaharian.
a-2 by Enero, 2008
7-9 n.g.
A-dos na ng Enero
Nagpapaputok pa rin
Nang walang pakundangan
Mga bata sa lansangan.
Tulad ng kanilang
Matatanda sa Malacanang
Na isa-isang kinakarne
Lahat ng lumalaban.
Lumalabas na ang pulbura
Sa maliliit na butas
Sa gilid ng aking mga mata
Wala pa ring pakiramdam
Bata man o matanda
Sa kanilang kapwa.
Nakasusulasok ang amoy
Pambara sa hininga
Isip mo'y talagang balak nila
Ang makapatay
Ng kapitbahay.
Kung di nga lang ba, oo na,
Inosente itong sa isang banda
At sa kabila ay gahaman
Sa kaban ng bayan. Pero iho,
Sunud-sunuran lang ang kawalan
Sa gawi ng imbing kaharian.
a-2 by Enero, 2008
7-9 n.g.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Your Egypt Is No More
By Mila D. Aguilar
Here you are,
Bowing before the pyramid
When Egypt is no more.
How many decades
Will the genuflection last?
Egypt is now
A relic of the past.
And yet He said
To not God anything
But Him. Bud, what
Are you trying to save
Of Egypt then? The meme?
And where to take it?
On what wall to beam?
Your Egypt's nothing
But library now. Go,
Leave it. Let God move
With His own plan.
If it's another Pharoah,
So be it, fight on
With Heaven in your hand.
October 16-17, 2008
Here you are,
Bowing before the pyramid
When Egypt is no more.
How many decades
Will the genuflection last?
Egypt is now
A relic of the past.
And yet He said
To not God anything
But Him. Bud, what
Are you trying to save
Of Egypt then? The meme?
And where to take it?
On what wall to beam?
Your Egypt's nothing
But library now. Go,
Leave it. Let God move
With His own plan.
If it's another Pharoah,
So be it, fight on
With Heaven in your hand.
October 16-17, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
More stories from Iloilo re: Typhoon Frank
Mila Aujero writes again to my sister, this time with pictures taken by a neighbor of Inday Regalado, who is either her friend or relative. Click on the first picture to see three men trying to survive the flood. The second picture shows the aftermath on Inday Regalado's front yard. I have omitted some real names to protect persons who may feel judged. Calamity spares neither rich nor poor; or, for that matter, good nor bad.
--- On Thu, 7/10/08, mila aujero wrote:
Del,
Kon stories lang about baha survivors, haaay endless.
Everybody has a story to tell. Sharing with you some.......
*Remember our classmate Lydia Torre? She was alone
with her nieces at their one story house in Alta Tierra when acc. to her ,suddenly in a split second taga neck na ang flood.All girls sila, nag panic siya.She saw a hose, tied it to
a tree nagkabit kabit sila sa hose for several hours until they were rescued.
*Got a friend who is very rich, xxx, who owns
several gasoline stations and a rice magnate from Pavia.She is a widow surrounded by maids and helpers.
At first she said she was not affected because her walls were secure and strong.In a split second kuno, the walls
fell, the water reached the roof of her single story house,
everything gone. Tapos na baha, gina strain pa kuno niya ang lay-on and mud looking for her alahas worth millions.
all gone .All she can do is cry,esp. that her bodega full of rice wala mapuslan. In short, ginkuha gid ang tanan niya nga material things.Many says gina gaba an siya kay "usurer" man kuno.
* A well known figure in Iloilo City, xxx,owner of xxx, lost 8 cars in their
garage,aside from their destroyed house and things. Many were commenting.... sobra na ina ang 8 cars....kon sa pagkaon gluttony na.
* Carlos Gellekanao, a retired aprominent person also,had been on top of their roof overnight,was not
rescued, gin heart attack.
[NOTE FROM 'KATHY', sent Friday February 20, 2009 2:03 pm (see Comments 3 & 4 below): "He is my father and is very well. Wala gin heart attack as you have described. Yes, he was a victim of typhoon frank having climb to the roof for safety but he did not have a heart attack. Please correct your statement though it is almost a year."]
* Stories have been circulating that a maleta full of jewelries were lost in the flood.The owner kuno was
a Saudi national who was here to sell it to a jewelry store.
Buenas lang to ang nakakita.
* The son of Lope Doromal ,our classmate and president was walking in Balabago on the way to their farm when suddenly the flood taller than him overcame him,he swam
to an unfinished construction and stayed there overnight until he was rescued.
I have a cousin ,a midwife who newly retired from Germany and have just came home, she said she was just resting for the meantime and biding her time to go to the bank to deposit ang dala ya nga kwarta, all in US dollars,
her retirement money. she won't tell the amount basta several thousands gid kuno, all gone, including her passports and everything.Nag overnight pa siya sa top of the roof, wasak ang aparador where she kept her valuables,
her house, the walls and gates.Baw daw buang siya subong
Daw "bombo reporter" na ako, ano? ha ha.
Just see for yourself sa
you tube,typhoon frank iloilo city
search web bala sa internet.
Love,
MIL
--- On Thu, 7/10/08, mila aujero wrote:Del,
Kon stories lang about baha survivors, haaay endless.
Everybody has a story to tell. Sharing with you some.......
*Remember our classmate Lydia Torre? She was alone
with her nieces at their one story house in Alta Tierra when acc. to her ,suddenly in a split second taga neck na ang flood.All girls sila, nag panic siya.She saw a hose, tied it to
a tree nagkabit kabit sila sa hose for several hours until they were rescued.
*Got a friend who is very rich, xxx, who owns
several gasoline stations and a rice magnate from Pavia.She is a widow surrounded by maids and helpers.
At first she said she was not affected because her walls were secure and strong.In a split second kuno, the walls
fell, the water reached the roof of her single story house,
everything gone. Tapos na baha, gina strain pa kuno niya ang lay-on and mud looking for her alahas worth millions.
all gone .All she can do is cry,esp. that her bodega full of rice wala mapuslan. In short, ginkuha gid ang tanan niya nga material things.Many says gina gaba an siya kay "usurer" man kuno.
* A well known figure in Iloilo City, xxx,owner of xxx, lost 8 cars in their
garage,aside from their destroyed house and things. Many were commenting.... sobra na ina ang 8 cars....kon sa pagkaon gluttony na.
* Carlos Gellekanao, a retired aprominent person also,had been on top of their roof overnight,was not
rescued, gin heart attack.
[NOTE FROM 'KATHY', sent Friday February 20, 2009 2:03 pm (see Comments 3 & 4 below): "He is my father and is very well. Wala gin heart attack as you have described. Yes, he was a victim of typhoon frank having climb to the roof for safety but he did not have a heart attack. Please correct your statement though it is almost a year."]
* Stories have been circulating that a maleta full of jewelries were lost in the flood.The owner kuno was
a Saudi national who was here to sell it to a jewelry store.
Buenas lang to ang nakakita.
* The son of Lope Doromal ,our classmate and president was walking in Balabago on the way to their farm when suddenly the flood taller than him overcame him,he swam
to an unfinished construction and stayed there overnight until he was rescued.
I have a cousin ,a midwife who newly retired from Germany and have just came home, she said she was just resting for the meantime and biding her time to go to the bank to deposit ang dala ya nga kwarta, all in US dollars,her retirement money. she won't tell the amount basta several thousands gid kuno, all gone, including her passports and everything.Nag overnight pa siya sa top of the roof, wasak ang aparador where she kept her valuables,
her house, the walls and gates.Baw daw buang siya subong
Daw "bombo reporter" na ako, ano? ha ha.
Just see for yourself sa
you tube,typhoon frank iloilo city
search web bala sa internet.
Love,
MIL
Labels:
calamity,
devastation,
disasters,
Iloilo,
Panay,
Philippines,
stress and trauma,
typhoon Frank
Friday, July 11, 2008
In the wake of Typhoon Frank: Letter from Iloilo
I am circulating as is, with her permission, a letter to my sister from Mila Damasco Aujero, a resident of Iloilo, together with the original Ilonggo it contains. I believe that, with a little work on any Filipino's part, the general sense of it can be understood. Not translating other Filipino languages into Tagalog is also a way of evolving Pilipino as a national language. Do write me if you feel I'm wrong.
God bless all!
Mila D. Aguilar
---
2008/7/10, to Delia D. Aguilar:
Dear Del,
Yes !" I cannot agwants the penetents of the kalibuts" expression is really true to the Ilonggos at this time after the calamity. Grabe gid ang pangabuhi namon diri......
since gasoline prices went up, it made a domino effect on everything...from jeepney fares to basic goods.Double gid ang mga prices ,maskin vegetables very scarce, rice also..
...ambot I just cannot describe ,wala pa ko ka experience sini since childhood where you can see everybody suffer,rich and poor....so many stories of survivors sa baha
...may nagatulala under psychiatric care(remember our classmate Elizabeth Pinosa,was-ag gid balay nila,everything gone,nagatulala na lang,incoherent,greatly affected gid....)
may ara nga nagalangot pa buot nila sa mga alahas nila nga wala na,the Jesenas wasak man balay nila and lost everything,subong nagatulala man.......Marilyn Ledesma
also na hospital gid kay non-stop ang hibi ya,naga hysterical pa. Haay damo naga buluang.......
.....may kaladlawan man nga stories like my co teacher at West, until the rooftop na ang baha sa balay nila,so the family has to swim to higher grounds ,sobra nga current sang water pagtakas ya wala na gali sya pants including panties naga "bomba" na sya she didn't notice .....Survival
lang ang sa ulo ya kuno.But now she can laugh telling us.
Damo patay more than a hundred.Many many cars nawasak
indi na mapuslan.Some brand new pa.
......may mga grim stories man,like the cashier of Iloilo Supermart, nagabaha na gin balik ya pa ang money ya sa kaha, na trap sya sang current,patay gid.
* may 2nd year HRM student lady nga tanan niya nga co-boarders ato na sa atop sang balay wala sya ka hingagaw
patay gid sya.
* may 22 years old guy nga patay inspite nga kabakod sang lawas ya.Balikbayan pa,bag o lang nag abot from the states.Daw maano ang family.
The water was 10 to 13 ft. high very strong pa ang current
ano abi agwanta mo?maskin good swimmer ka pa.
------So many are wondering what the meaning of all these.
They say perhaps the Illonggos are too comfortable and
complacent with their lives that they need reminders.
Patilawon man kuno mga Ilonggos.
It's a good thing wala kami iya casualty diri sa amon.Ang baha di up to the bust only.May 2nd story balay namon,ti wala kami iya ka swim like the others.However,at this time ubos gid wasak mga gamit,got no more ref,washing machine,two sala sets,gas range, halos everything.
.For 2 weeks no electricity.Up to now no water.Very expensive pa magbakal tubig,it's a precious thing at this
time .We learn to bathe sa isa ka balde lang.
Del, agwanta gid mo! The city gov't. has this slogan...
"Bangon,Iloilo.".....
Hope you have enough time to read this long letter.
Love,
MIL
God bless all!
Mila D. Aguilar
---
2008/7/10, to Delia D. Aguilar:
Dear Del,
Yes !" I cannot agwants the penetents of the kalibuts" expression is really true to the Ilonggos at this time after the calamity. Grabe gid ang pangabuhi namon diri......
since gasoline prices went up, it made a domino effect on everything...from jeepney fares to basic goods.Double gid ang mga prices ,maskin vegetables very scarce, rice also..
...ambot I just cannot describe ,wala pa ko ka experience sini since childhood where you can see everybody suffer,rich and poor....so many stories of survivors sa baha
...may nagatulala under psychiatric care(remember our classmate Elizabeth Pinosa,was-ag gid balay nila,everything gone,nagatulala na lang,incoherent,greatly affected gid....)
may ara nga nagalangot pa buot nila sa mga alahas nila nga wala na,the Jesenas wasak man balay nila and lost everything,subong nagatulala man.......Marilyn Ledesma
also na hospital gid kay non-stop ang hibi ya,naga hysterical pa. Haay damo naga buluang.......
.....may kaladlawan man nga stories like my co teacher at West, until the rooftop na ang baha sa balay nila,so the family has to swim to higher grounds ,sobra nga current sang water pagtakas ya wala na gali sya pants including panties naga "bomba" na sya she didn't notice .....Survival
lang ang sa ulo ya kuno.But now she can laugh telling us.
Damo patay more than a hundred.Many many cars nawasak
indi na mapuslan.Some brand new pa.
......may mga grim stories man,like the cashier of Iloilo Supermart, nagabaha na gin balik ya pa ang money ya sa kaha, na trap sya sang current,patay gid.
* may 2nd year HRM student lady nga tanan niya nga co-boarders ato na sa atop sang balay wala sya ka hingagaw
patay gid sya.
* may 22 years old guy nga patay inspite nga kabakod sang lawas ya.Balikbayan pa,bag o lang nag abot from the states.Daw maano ang family.
The water was 10 to 13 ft. high very strong pa ang current
ano abi agwanta mo?maskin good swimmer ka pa.
------So many are wondering what the meaning of all these.
They say perhaps the Illonggos are too comfortable and
complacent with their lives that they need reminders.
Patilawon man kuno mga Ilonggos.
It's a good thing wala kami iya casualty diri sa amon.Ang baha di up to the bust only.May 2nd story balay namon,ti wala kami iya ka swim like the others.However,at this time ubos gid wasak mga gamit,got no more ref,washing machine,two sala sets,gas range, halos everything.
.For 2 weeks no electricity.Up to now no water.Very expensive pa magbakal tubig,it's a precious thing at this
time .We learn to bathe sa isa ka balde lang.
Del, agwanta gid mo! The city gov't. has this slogan...
"Bangon,Iloilo.".....
Hope you have enough time to read this long letter.
Love,
MIL
Labels:
calamity,
devastation,
disasters,
Iloilo,
Panay,
Philippines,
stress and trauma,
typhoon Frank
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Ka Bel
by Mila D. Aguilar
Using too much of his head
He fell on it one day,
Blood oozing from the
Orifices he had used
To sense the world.
How I wish he had
Used more of his heart
Though he did,
Incontrovertibly he did.
It went to those
Who used their hands,
Like him, to yank
Steel bars out from stiffened,
Remorseless cement.
And that is why
His own arteries
Had hardened.
Would not have happened
Had he stirred that part
Of the heart
That ticks to heaven.
And yet he is forgiven
For he lived by the laws
Of the God he could not quite
Imagine.
- May 22, 2008
10:00 am-12:30 pm
On the way from Quezon City to Aurora Province,
remembering Romans 2:14-15
Using too much of his head
He fell on it one day,
Blood oozing from the
Orifices he had used
To sense the world.
How I wish he had
Used more of his heart
Though he did,
Incontrovertibly he did.
It went to those
Who used their hands,
Like him, to yank
Steel bars out from stiffened,
Remorseless cement.
And that is why
His own arteries
Had hardened.
Would not have happened
Had he stirred that part
Of the heart
That ticks to heaven.
And yet he is forgiven
For he lived by the laws
Of the God he could not quite
Imagine.
- May 22, 2008
10:00 am-12:30 pm
On the way from Quezon City to Aurora Province,
remembering Romans 2:14-15
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
She’s done for
She’s done for. It’s in the air. Everybody can feel it.
All except the clique that rules with her.
We don’t know how much more time it will take, but it won’t be long now.
In the face of such an event, what are we who are ordinary citizens supposed to do?
The answer is very simple: we should have registered our disgust over the present administration in the first place, long ago. There is still time to do so, but now the situation demands much more of us than just a registration of disgust.
We have to make it clear that we are not only saying No to Gloria; we have to shout, in our loudest voices, that we are saying NEVER to CORRUPTION – not never again, but NEVER, period.
For Gloria and her family, both official and ministerial, merely epitomize the rank corruption in our midst. They demonstrate to us the depths to which we have gone as a nation. They are the prime symbols of the pay-offs, the buy-outs, the suhol, the “hingi, hingi” that transpire everyday in our midst.
We cannot advance further as a nation if we do not unseat them.
At the same time, we all know that Gloria is not the end of corruption. Already, as history has shown time and again, deals are most likely being made to replace her. And we know that those who will most likely replace her will be just as corrupt, if not worse.
However, the prospect should not stop us from pushing for Gloria’s ouster; it should in fact urge us to go one step further after her ouster.
We cannot tire of the process of regime change, just because the regime that confronts us is not the ideal we strive for. On the contrary, with every regime change we must learn with better sense how to expunge the corruption in our midst.
Our mistake so far has been to think that corruption lies in our politics alone.
But the corruption lies not in our politics so much as in our economics (for politics is merely the external structure built on economics):
Our politicians can be blatantly corrupt because they cultivate a slew of dependents around them. These dependents are so abject that they could not object to whatever the politician does in their name.
Remove the dependents, and the politicians will be forced to deal instead with ideas for the betterment of the nation.
We have already proceeded a little farther away from charity – giving our people fish – to teaching them how to fish. Let us move even farther off, removing relations of dependency altogether by teaching our people how to market the fish – not only live fish but pickled, dried, or salted in attractively-designed packages, by the hundreds of thousands.
In order to remove relations of dependency between politicians and our people altogether, we cannot have just a few of these marketers of fish, even if they were to grow to be the biggest entrepreneurs. We have to have at least a million of them for a start, in fact an increasing number through the years.
For the politicians certainly have more than a million under their thumbs.
We should therefore demand, right now, from those who are poised to take over the Arroyo administration, a veritable program that will encourage an entrepreneurial mass movement. Those of them that carry one are those who understand the true nature of our problems, and therefore deserve our encouragement and support.
This entrepreneurial mass movement should push for and encourage both family and community enterprises using raw materials that are already found in the Philippines. All agencies of the government can and should be mobilized towards this goal.
Legislation in aid of the entrepreneurial mass movement should be instituted, among the most necessary of which are:
• The establishment of computerized one-stop registration shops in all towns and cities without the hassle of “suhol”;
• The minimization of registration fees and bureaucracy not only for small and medium, but large-scale entrepreneurs, whether foreign or local;
• Five-year tax incentives for small and medium-scale entrepreneurs, provided they are Filipino citizens;
• The establishment of entrepreneurial high schools modeled after the community schools of the late forties and early fifties, with parents, teachers and barrio/town officials working in concert with students in establishing small enterprises;
• The establishment of entrepreneurial communities all over the Philippines.
We must warn politicians, whether they are in power or waiting in the sidelines, that an entrepreneurial movement HAS started among the ranks at least of the middle classes and overseas Filipinos, and may get to the ranks of the masses soon enough. If they do not heed the signs of the times, they may get run over by this movement without their knowing it. The best way to survive is to recognize it as the long-term solution to the problem of corruption and poverty, and to be active in its implementation.
Now that we have a long-term positive alternative to the Arroyo administration, make your next move, Trapo.
And you too, ordinary citizen. ACT NOW, before it's too late.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Time to Act
You may have heard about what is presently happening in the Philippines. Below, for your information, is an exchange that I'm sure is happening many times over right now, in the country and without. For full appreciation, you may want to read the second letter first.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mila D. Aguilar
Date: Feb 9, 2008 12:46 PM
Dear Ben,
Amen and amen! But our recommendations and actions have to be not only concrete, but actual and physical. We can and should pray every step of the way, but God already answered what we should be doing long ago; he's been waiting for us to act.
The present situation calls for present action. If we do not act now, more and more of our people will think that corruption is the only way to go. If we do not show, by dislodging the corrupt from our midst, that corruption cannot and must not thrive, more and more of our people will feel that they too can get away with their petty sins. And as more and more of our people become corrupt, more and more of the honest will want to leave our country to the dogs and the foreigners.
We have to act now, and act fast, or our medium and long-term programs will come to naught.
Though we must not forget that the final answer is economic, we must remember that the present pressing problem is political. Once we have shown that corruption in the Philippines has been excised, no matter how roughly for now, we can go on with building our plural, responsible, and solidarity-based society.
Let me reiterate what I have advocated since 1999:
Corruption and poverty in our country feed on each other, but cannot survive once we have built a strong base of entrepreneurs. For once these entrepreneurs create wealth for the nation that can equal if not surpass the remittances of our hapless overseas Filipinos, poverty can be minimized. And once poverty has been minimized, corruption cannot thrive, for corruption thrives only on the dependency of the poor.
This is how concrete our medium and long-term program has to be. Some, like the Global Filipino Nation, can be even more specific: they are targeting the growth of medium-scale entrepreneurs. I, for my part personally, would rather spread the consciousness and practice of entrepreneurship among the masses through an entrepreneurial mass movement.
It's a chicken-or-egg situation, but the egg has been laid, and not only is it golden -- it can produce many more. Now it's time to go after the neck of that chicken.
Let us pray that the hand of God will guide us in our figurative neck-cutting.
God bless the Philippines!
Mila
On Feb 9, 2008 11:54 AM, Benjamin Quinones wrote:
Dear Claribel,
I received today through my mobile phone your text as follows: "Ben, What should be our response to these outrageous corruption scandals? Collective silence or collective action? -- Claribel David"
My mobile phone load is down to zero, I can't text you back, so I resorted to this email reply. First of all, I'd like to say I admire your courage in asking this question. Because the answer to your question is obvious from the way you framed it.
How can we keep silent when our future, especially our children's future is already compromised? How can we not take action when own country and people are looking for answers and alternatives to the existing bankrupt system, and part of that answer is in our hands? We have been advocating for a plural, responsible, and solidadrity-based society. We cannot dissociate that advocacy from what is currently transpiring in the country. Instead of folding down our banners and keeping silent, we should all the more intensify our advocacy. We cannot shirk from that social responsibility, we cannot turn our backs from the call to take a collective, constructive action.
But what kind of collective action? I believe in presenting the Filipino people a sustainable alternative. I believe in sharing with them a vision for the future that will move them to act for their own families, their communities, their country. I don't think people will respond to another short term palliative like the previous EDSA people's power action They are looking for something that will last, not only for themselves but most especially for their children and their children's children.
One of the reasons why I proposed a quarterly learning journey as a major agenda for our partners meeting in March 28 is to enable us to work together in a persistent move of rallying people to our cause for an other, solidarity-based society. We have a cause, we believe in sharing this cause to the Filipino masses, so that they will have the means and the collective will to overcome oppressive conditions. I'm sure our colleagues - Jun Simon, Pinky Cupino and her group, the Christian Businessmen's Forum Intl, EBEST and others will close ranks with us in this initiative. We should conduct the learning journey consistently as a means for mobilizing people towards an organized engagement of existing power structures in a constructive manner. The initiative we are taking is not necessarily risk-free. Every progressive move is risky.
We cannot change the scandalous situation in the country overnight. But we can commit to a persistent
collective action that could rally more and more people towards a plural, responsible, and solidarity-based society.
Blessings,
Ben
Arise, shine, for your light has come
and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
Isaiah 60:1
--
When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
- Matthew 10:19-22
Sunday, August 19, 2007
It Was the Caves of Vallorbe
By Mila D. Aguilar
It was the caves of Vallorbe
Les grottes de Vallorbe
That did me in.
That did me in,
Les grottes de Vallorbe
The cold of
The beautiful caves
Of Vallorbe.
The icy handrails
Of the caves of Vallorbe.
I hardly noticed
As I trekked up and down
The steel steps
Des grottes de Vallorbe
Admiring the
Stalactites and stalagmites
The odd formations
That produced not
One precious stone
That my back had clogged
That my butt had clogged
With the steely cold
Of the caves of Vallorbe.
And it did me in,
That was what did me in,
The icy cold
Of the caves of Vallorbe.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
2:46:51 AM
Philippine Time
Written at the airport in Frankfurt on a two-hour stopover of the flight from Geneva to Manila.
It was the caves of Vallorbe
Les grottes de Vallorbe
That did me in.
That did me in,
Les grottes de Vallorbe
The cold of
The beautiful caves
Of Vallorbe.
The icy handrails
Of the caves of Vallorbe.
I hardly noticed
As I trekked up and down
The steel steps
Des grottes de Vallorbe
Admiring the
Stalactites and stalagmites
The odd formations
That produced not
One precious stone
That my back had clogged
That my butt had clogged
With the steely cold
Of the caves of Vallorbe.
And it did me in,
That was what did me in,
The icy cold
Of the caves of Vallorbe.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
2:46:51 AM
Philippine Time
Written at the airport in Frankfurt on a two-hour stopover of the flight from Geneva to Manila.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
The Filipino Speaks to NICA & the CIA
(In memory of Prof. Jose Ma. Cui)
By Mila D. Aguilar
Killing them one by one,
You think you’re doing humanity a favor.
Not like Indonesia, after all,
A million in one swoop.
Here you’re targeting
The best of a generation: Just getting “commies”
Out of the loop, so that
You can mix your own soup.
Who was it that said
You can’t kill an idea by shooting it
Dead. And yet you just
May succeed, you evil weed.
Preparing for the coming
Of your Wicked One, the antinomy of mine.
Only remember you have but
Three and a half years
To spread your seed
And then your end will come for all time.
Oh, you’ll get your chance
Again, after a thousand
But the reversal will be
Compleat. So accept your defeat, beat a retreat,
Leave my world to me
And Him, who’s my eternity.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
12:30-1:56 PM
By Mila D. Aguilar
Killing them one by one,
You think you’re doing humanity a favor.
Not like Indonesia, after all,
A million in one swoop.
Here you’re targeting
The best of a generation: Just getting “commies”
Out of the loop, so that
You can mix your own soup.
Who was it that said
You can’t kill an idea by shooting it
Dead. And yet you just
May succeed, you evil weed.
Preparing for the coming
Of your Wicked One, the antinomy of mine.
Only remember you have but
Three and a half years
To spread your seed
And then your end will come for all time.
Oh, you’ll get your chance
Again, after a thousand
But the reversal will be
Compleat. So accept your defeat, beat a retreat,
Leave my world to me
And Him, who’s my eternity.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
12:30-1:56 PM
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
In Excelsis Deo
by Mila D. Aguilar
This woman’s playing chess
Without a tear.
After eating up all the pawns
She’s now targeting bishops
From the rear.
No storm, it seems,
Can stay her
Rather deadly,
Definitely
Ungodly career.
Why don’t the people
Arise, you ask.
So many lives wasted,
So much blood left out
In the sun to bask
Like dried meat seeking
Salt to stop the reeking.
Let me tell you one thing,
Dear, it’s not a simple,
Easy task.
You have been asked
To pray.
You have refused
On the excuse
Of forging broader fronts.
There is no way
This front can come together
Of its own accord.
If you’ll but see the greater power
This woman will not stay
Another hour.
October 4, 2006
11:03:59 AM - 12:55:06 PM
This woman’s playing chess
Without a tear.
After eating up all the pawns
She’s now targeting bishops
From the rear.
No storm, it seems,
Can stay her
Rather deadly,
Definitely
Ungodly career.
Why don’t the people
Arise, you ask.
So many lives wasted,
So much blood left out
In the sun to bask
Like dried meat seeking
Salt to stop the reeking.
Let me tell you one thing,
Dear, it’s not a simple,
Easy task.
You have been asked
To pray.
You have refused
On the excuse
Of forging broader fronts.
There is no way
This front can come together
Of its own accord.
If you’ll but see the greater power
This woman will not stay
Another hour.
October 4, 2006
11:03:59 AM - 12:55:06 PM
Friday, July 07, 2006
George and Macel
On coming home from Geneva to talk to OFWs about creating wealth for the country through entrepreneurship, I am confronted with the murder of people I never knew. One pair of deaths strikes me particularly. Why do I grieve so for this couple? Is it they I cry over, or the country?
George and Macel
By Mila D. Aguilar
George and Macel were lovers
Four children between them.
They rode out into the night
To be shot down in broad daylight.
George and Macel were lovers of country.
They did what they could,
Peacefully. But they were mowed down,
In view of so many.
George and Macel were lovers of freedom.
Young, they never realized that
Martyrdom would be the sum
Of their quest for the Kingdom.
George and Macel were lovers of God.
Born at the end of dictatorship,
How could they see
They would die on the tail of it?
Friend, I never got to know
George and Macel. Were they
On the list you made
Of those to be wiped out?
July 7, 2006
11:05 AM-12:04 PM
--
Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it. (says the Lord in Numbers 35:33)
George and Macel
By Mila D. Aguilar
George and Macel were lovers
Four children between them.
They rode out into the night
To be shot down in broad daylight.
George and Macel were lovers of country.
They did what they could,
Peacefully. But they were mowed down,
In view of so many.
George and Macel were lovers of freedom.
Young, they never realized that
Martyrdom would be the sum
Of their quest for the Kingdom.
George and Macel were lovers of God.
Born at the end of dictatorship,
How could they see
They would die on the tail of it?
Friend, I never got to know
George and Macel. Were they
On the list you made
Of those to be wiped out?
July 7, 2006
11:05 AM-12:04 PM
--
Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it. (says the Lord in Numbers 35:33)
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
HK-Macau Ferry Passengers
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Which will you choose?
Listen
By Mila D. Aguilar
Listen,
In the last days,
The forces of evil will be ranged against the forces of good.
They will win
One battle after another
You will even start to think they have won the war.
If you are
A weak-willed ninny,
They will take you by your guts and gobble you up like hot soup.
If you fight
Because you know what is right,
They will jail you, maim you, try their worst to murder you.
If you are
Without Lord and Savior,
Oh pity, pity, no one can come to your aid at the final moment.
What will you do?
Where will you go?
Which will you choose?
Will you
Choose to listen
Or continue, like those whose ears are plugged, to disobey?
March 9, 2006
11:17 PM
By Mila D. Aguilar
Listen,
In the last days,
The forces of evil will be ranged against the forces of good.
They will win
One battle after another
You will even start to think they have won the war.
If you are
A weak-willed ninny,
They will take you by your guts and gobble you up like hot soup.
If you fight
Because you know what is right,
They will jail you, maim you, try their worst to murder you.
If you are
Without Lord and Savior,
Oh pity, pity, no one can come to your aid at the final moment.
What will you do?
Where will you go?
Which will you choose?
Will you
Choose to listen
Or continue, like those whose ears are plugged, to disobey?
March 9, 2006
11:17 PM
Monday, February 20, 2006
Old story, new poem, higher level of struggle
It’s the Rot Antic
By Mila D. Aguilar
It’s the Rot Antic.
Rot of carrion.
Rot of corruption.
Rot of bodies
Under tons of slime and rock.
Under the weight of
Grime and muck.
ROT. Reign Of The.
Reign of the frozen grin
The thieving queen
The terror twins
Reign of the drones
Spying on our muted crones.
ANTIC. Antichrist.
Why wonder at the
Statistical lies
The brazen tricks
The felonious pricks
Following exactly nothing.
666. It’s the Rot Antic. It’s here to stick.
February 20, 2006
3:56 AM
By Mila D. Aguilar
It’s the Rot Antic.
Rot of carrion.
Rot of corruption.
Rot of bodies
Under tons of slime and rock.
Under the weight of
Grime and muck.
ROT. Reign Of The.
Reign of the frozen grin
The thieving queen
The terror twins
Reign of the drones
Spying on our muted crones.
ANTIC. Antichrist.
Why wonder at the
Statistical lies
The brazen tricks
The felonious pricks
Following exactly nothing.
666. It’s the Rot Antic. It’s here to stick.
February 20, 2006
3:56 AM
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