MURMURINGSbyACS

Don't mess with the turkey.  And I say it with conviction.  If you're fascinated with eating a beautiful turkey and wants to roast one, do not even try unless you have an heirloom family recipe, researched on it or gotten some expert who will do it for you. It is expensive.  Everybody knows, chicken tastes better.  The secret is in the pre-roasting stage: stuffing, soaking, basting, choice of spices or herbs --- either the classic or the novel way will do, meaning you can always refer to the all-American tradition.  But then again, which part? Michigan?  Or is there a Filipino way? I am about to try this Christmas my way, without any reference to tradition.  But in keeping up with the turkey fascination - and to be on the safe side, we will employ the classic apple-and-orange stuffing, rough it up with the ever-dependble rosemary leaves, and smooth it with what else but honey and extra virgin olive oil. It will be an awesome and fabulous kitchen ...

Stories on indigenous peoples (IPs), who comprise 10 to 15 percent of the Philippine population, have always been about their being a marginalized sector or beneficiaries of development programs. More than that, IPs should be portrayed by media as “partners in development,” according to the International Labour Organization (ILO). “We have to graduate from these kinds of stories and start looking for better angles and treatments that put them in a good light,” Lawrence Jeff Johnson, director of the ILO country office in the Philippines, said. “We need to see stories that show them as partners in economic growth.” He said that journalists have an important role in reaching out to IPs to be able to write positive stories about them other than their being the most disadvantaged sector. Johnson challenged writers to move from stories that “shock and awe, and to focus on what is going right rather than what is going wrong”.

massacre photo with backhoe It has been two years since a most heinous crime happened in the town of Ampatuan in Maguindanao province in Southern Philippines. On Nov 23, 2009, 58 persons were killed, 32 of them journalists and media workers, earning for  the Philippines the  notorious tag as the second most dangerous place for media practitioners in the world, next only  to Iraq. Suspected perpetrators of the crime were members of the Ampatuan family, the political lords in the province. Two years since that tragedy, 103 of the 196 suspects remain at large and only two of the principal suspects have been arraigned. The case remains snagged on hearings on petitions for bail of the accused.

Referring to the extrajudicial killings that were so much a part of the past Arroyo administration, and the killing of journalists that spiked on November 23, 2009, President Benigno Aquino III declared in his 2010 State of the Nation Address (SONA) that his administration would “hold murderers accountable.”   Despite that pledge, six journalists have been killed since then, or a total of ten since the Ampatuan Massacre of November 23, 2009 which claimed the lives of 58 men and women, of whom 32 were journalists and media workers. Dozens of human rights workers, political activists, labor leaders and others have also been abducted, tortured and killed during the same period. In addition to the killings that have continued in the Aquino administration, a number of community journalists have also been threatened, sued for libel on the flimsiest grounds, barred from attending interviews and press conferences, and physically assaulted. In a recent incident, unidentified persons al...

Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Youngblood First Posted 23:19:00 12/26/2007 There’s something about the month of December that makes me want to stay in it forever. Perhaps I’m still stuck in my childhood merriment and I don’t want it to slip away. When I was a child, my mom used to deck the house with Christmas trimmings as soon as the ‘ber’ months began. She always did it, and did it very creatively, and scored this with her all-time favorite Gunter Kallmann Choir record, which I liked better than Ray Conniff’s, which she alternately played. You’ve probably heard Gunter on the airwaves or inside the malls, and mistook it for Conniff. I could name the song or recite the sequence of songs in the entire  medley which ends with ‘Hark the Herald’. Mother once warned us, ‘Loose or misplace any record or album but not Gunter Kallmann ’. We didn’t; the old cassette tape is still with us to this day, now with a CD back-up. Once I wrote her a letter with an article on Brown and White Chris...

It was a festival that had the child as the center of the universe. Six films -  Nino Bonito, Debut, Kapogs, Lumang Kahoy, Kinulayang Kiti,  and  Sweet Mandy- looked at the world through the children's smiles and tears in the recent 3 rd  CinePambata Film Festival held at SM Centerpoint. Declared the best of them all was   Nino Bonito. The movie is about Boni,  a young rap-mumbling boy from the slums who squares off with the reality of drugs, petty crimes and dysfunctional family. "The story and the depiction of characters are so clear and compact that they hit right to the bottom of  children's issues," according to the citation.

There is a big difference between conditional cash transfer (CCT) and cash-for-work (CFW).   A classic example of lost in translation by some media reports, according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). While both are financial-assistance programs of the Department, the target beneficiaries make the difference. The historic highway robbery of 8 million pesos intended for poor beneficiaries in Catarman, Northern Samar prompted the DSWD to clarify one major point: that the amount referred to is cash-for-work program of the Department contrary to news reports that it is CCT.

No one would think that 17-year-old Ariel Bowagan was a child offender before he became the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK)chairman of Barangay Dontogan in Baguio City. Bowagan has indeed changed for the better, thankful that God gave him a second shot at life. He now enjoys his newfound calling as a young public servant.  He actively serves his barangay by leading an anti-drug campaign. Bowagan is not ashamed to admit that he used to be a child in conflict with the law (CICL) ---that is, a person below 18 years old found to have committed a criminal offense. With the help though of a child-sensitive justice system, he has become not just a productive member of society but a role model to many other CICLs. "I went back to my old friends and encouraged them to join me in many good activities in our barangay so that other teenagers can do the same," he said. Bowagan was one of the guests at a recent forum on understanding CICL, who spoke about his transformation as a resu...

At the outset, do not even try.  Let your home be and make it look like Christmas when you really care about doing it.  Feeling it, is one; looking like it, is another.  But both emanate from a natural sense of feeling good while anticipating the Season.   When my mother was alive, she used to decorate our house as early as September.  And when December got closer, all things came picturesque and complete. Growing up, I and my two sisters were already exposed to an environment that regards Christmas as the penultimate celebration.   It is far more important than our own birthdays. My family’s sense of Christmas originated from our parents who together - a sight to behold - donned our home with trimmings with utmost care and affection --- that no matter how old decors were recycled, they still looked good.  Creativity was only secondary. We carried on the tradition.  And so we assemble Christmas decors earlier than our neighbors would...

Who really cares about the bunch of flying reindeer led by the famed red-nosed Rudolph that carries Santa Claus and his gifts across the globe during one night of gift giving?  Santa does.  And they are not reindeer for nothing.  That’s why he keeps their company. According to numerous literatures about these famous Christmas characters, the personalities of Santa’s reindeer vary.  Some say that their names speak for themselves or about their identities. Of the nine imagined reindeers, three are females and six are males.  A female reindeer is called a cow while a male is called a bull. A young reindeer is called a calf. It is born with no antlers. This first eight were the original group created in 1822 via the poem ‘The Night Before Christmas’.  Rudolph was the last addition in the sleigh-pulling team in 1939. A stanza of the poem reveals the original eight. More rapid than eagles his coursers they came, And he whistled, and shouted, and call'd them by...

Are things better now for local governments 20 years after the Local Government Code, or Republic Act 7160, was signed into law on October 10, 1991? Former senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr,,acknowledged as the Father of the Local Government Code, believes so. The devolution of powers from the central government to what are known today as local government units (LGUs) pursuant to the Code allowed every province, city and municipality to chart its own political destiny without the dictates of so-called imperial Manila. "Monies that were previously collected and disbursed by the central government now go directly into the coffers of local government units," Pimentel said during the celebration of two-decades of the Code at the Philippine International and Convention Center in Pasay City.  "But there are abuses," Pimentel was quick to add. "The looting of public funds does happen unfortunately in some LGUs."

If numbers is a reflection of  love, the Philippines should be a nation that loves children. Media practitioners and journalism students look into samples of stories on children. “But think again,” Frank Rivera, executive director of the National Council for Children’s Television (NCCT) said.  Rivera said that it is ironic that child protection is a right that is oftentimes overlooked in this country, which is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. There are more than 31 million Filipino children, comprising 31 percent of the country's total population of  over 101 million. But many of these children suffer violation of their rights. This was one of the topics discussed during a seminar-workshop in Baguio City that included child abuse in schools and media reportage on children.

President Benigno Simeon Aquino III inducts the officers and trustees of the Philippine   Press Institute (PPI) in a ceremony at the Rizal Ceremonial Hall, Malacañan Palace Monday October 03, 2011 . PPI is a private organization whose principal mandate is to defend press freedom and promote ethical standards for the professional development of the Filipino journalist.  Founded in 1964 and reactivated in 1987, it is also known as the national association of newspapers which represents the interests and concerns of the newspaper sector in media and in all forums.  Its membership includes the 69 major national and provincial daily/weekly newspapers in the country.  ( From left to right) Malaya Publisher Amado P. Macasaet – Chairman and President , BusinessWorld Publisher Vergel O. Santos – Vice-Chairman , Philippine Daily Inquirer Publisher Isagani M. Yambot – Treasurer , Southern Leyte Times Publisher Ruevivar T. Reyes – Board Secretary and Trustee for Visayas ,...

As promised, this is the continuation of my Christmas article. When giving gifts, be willing to give and not pressure yourself into gift-giving.  Remember that people do not demand presents from you but expect you to give gifts in return.  The cycle of gift-giving only stops when 'willing and consenting' parties cut the expectations process.  This does not necessarily undermines generosity but only puts into proper context and perspective the act of being generous:  that either one gives or receives. Of course, there is excitement and thrill at the sight of gifts. And the whole idea of receiving gives a semblance of 'this is the only time when I can get as many gifts as I want'.  Call this the height of materialism or the commercial underpinning of Christmas.  Can we do away with the whole notion?  Only when we embrace the nobility of its purpose. The profundity and pure intentions escape once clear grasp of Christmas when everything appears to b...

In a display of unperturbed solidarity and support --- members of the media, lawyers, legal luminaries, human rights groups and advocates, families and friends of slain journalists and victims of extrajudicial killings (EJK), made an appeal to the President to make a definitive statement against killings and impunity in the country during a forum at the Integrated Bar of the Philippines. The forum highlighted the beginning of a multisectoral campaign to end impunity which also underscored recommendations from lawyers and media to thwart threats and violence against them.  The broad coalition challenged once again the government to put an end to extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. Also present were officials from the Department of Justice, Philippine National Police, Commission on Human Rights and National Bureau of Investigation who presented their own plan of actions. Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno (Photo by NUJP) Former Supreme Court Chief Ju...

Before we know it, Pinoys will be rushing again for bulk purchases for presents this Christmas.  Seemingly there goes again the vicious cycle of buying gifts and groceries at a time when malls are thick with crazy shoppers and streets are seriously heavy with 'I do not know where all these stuff are coming from'. We hate it; but why we do it over and over again, just escapes rhyme and reason.  Probably, it goes with the thrill of the yuletide season --- or is it because where everything in this country is just a mess --- we just love mess.  When things get messier and our level of tolerance runs dry, we put the blame on somebody and anybody who we think is getting into our nerve.  Stupendous! I mean, plain stupidity. But what are we to do!  Christmas is just so infectious.  And anything Christmassy is fashionable and fascinating.  Pinoy's unquestionable penchant for long and extended celebrations goes beyond socio-economic limitations.  It's c...

Just like the Oscars, the Miss Universe can be unpredictable --- and also predicable in the choice of winners.  For any country whose occasional happiness and temperament are latched on either a demigod or a modern-day hero, any result of any competition – from a small-time barangay contest to one that is national in scale can be questionable.  And no amount of explanation or justification whatsoever will vanquish any misgiving on an unfavorable result. Call it extremism, fundamentalism, obsession --- they’re all one and the same – fanaticism, a do or die. If things written about the recent beauty pageant are not enough, here goes another mouthful.  Yes, there is a pattern and a formula too.  And in between, spring surprises which by the way, are all part of the grand scheme or confluence of things we spectators will never fathom.  Leave them to the experts who are as confused and adamant as the hard-core, when their predictions wander from the actual result...

Imagine the time when PLDT was the dominant player in telecommunication for more than half a century, the oil industry only had three players --- Pilipinas Shell, Petron and Caltex, and Philippine Airlines was the only choice for an airline.  “Lee Kwan Yew once quipped that in the Philippines, 99 percent of the population waited for a phone line, while the remaining 1 percent waited for a dial tone,” said Dr. Ronald U. Mendoza, executive director of the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Policy Center in a media forum on competition policy at the AIM organized by the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR).  Deregulation changed all that in the mid-1990s.  The emergence of competition in various industries have policy makers and competition advocates now thinking if this is favorable to the consumers, new players or small-scale businesses.

Published in Yahoo Fit to Post | The Inbox Saturday, September 3, 2011 Even government officials have now joined media practitioners and civil society organizations in urging President Benigno Aquino III to certify as urgent the passage of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill, which has failed to make it to his list of priority bills.  The call was made at a recent forum on Philippine Public Transparency Reporting, advocating support for citizen engagement towards good governance. It is a project supported by the Australian Agency for International Development (AUSAID).  Senator TG Guingona, forum guest speaker, said the FOI Bill is a very important bill that needs to be passed because  "freedom of information is the cornerstone of transparency." 

(Film Review) What makes an independent film like one?  Is it the product of a ‘small’ filmmaker’s egotistical creativity? Ang Babae sa Septic Tank does not answer the questions but attempts to go into the psyche of those who veer away from making mainstream or glossy commercial movies.  It is a funny satire of the dynamic interplay among stars, director, producer, scriptwriter, production staff --- and  an audience waiting and wanting to see the difference --- and eventually be awed by its uniqueness, if at all.

Published in  Yahoo Fit to Post, August 25, 2011   Photo courtesy of NCCT  

This project is the output of the writer during a seminar-workshop on photojournalism "Writing Beyond Stills" conducted by Vera Files in 2010 in Subic, Zambales.  It was voted best script by the trainers.

By Ariel C. Sebellino For Yahoo! Southeast Asia There was one scene in the recently-concluded television soap opera Momay that belittled children studying in public schools: character actress Glydel Mercado, playing the role of a mother, told her nephew, “O ikaw Jay-jay, sa public school ka nalang mag-aral kasi bobo ka naman (You, Jay-jay, will go to public school because you’re dumb).”  That was one of the scenes discussed in a media dialogue organized by the National Council for Children Television (NCCT) with scriptwriters and program producers of the three major television networks. Teacher participants said the infamous line disparaged public schools and the children who study in them. Television director and NCCT executive director Frank Rivera told writers of the popular Momay, Magkaribal, Panday Kids and other primetime shows to “look into the welfare and protection” of children. Veteran television and stage director Mario O’Hara agreed, saying that while writers are ...