The Augustinian Mirror, March 2017

Vol. 83 // No. 2

mirror THE

AU G U ST I N I AN

THE OFFICIAL STUDENT MAGAZINE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SAN AGUSTIN // Iloilo City, Philippines

March 2017

mirror THE

AUGUSTINIAN

Volume 83 // Number 2 // March 2017

FRENNIE M. TABABA Editor-in-Chief

RJ JUNSAY Managing Editor PHILIP ROBERT C. ALABAN OIC, Associate Editor ENGR. RAY ADRIAN C. MACALALAG Moderator ART AND DESIGN TEAM HEROD A. MONTIEL Art Director ROMARI CHARLZ F. DIAZ, KYLE J. SARTE ZOE GWYNETH J. TAN (Intern) Staff Artists COMMUNITY AFFAIRS TEAM ROCHELLE MAE M. MUZONES Community Editor JECEL T. BUENAVIDES, WILKIENSON C. MURO TIMOTHY JAMES V. SARIA (Intern) Staff Writers CREATIVE WRITING TEAM EDWARD DOMINIC E. EMILIO OIC, Literary Editor ANDREA NICOLE C. PARCE, ERIKA DANIELLE M. PEPITO JOHN ERO A. AGOS (Intern) Staff Writers PHOTOGRAPHY TEAM MARA ELAIZA A. FLORES Photography Director ALLAINE ROSE M. EMNACEN, CLYDE ALLEN E. SOLLESTA EDREA CLAIRE G. GREGORE (Intern) Staff Photographers PROGRAM MANAGEMENT TEAM ARMIE THERESE C. PENUELA Program Director ATHENA GABRIELLA E. JULABAR, DARYL S. SELERIO NICOLE AILICE F. SERISOLA, JUNFEL G. SOTELO (Intern) Staff Writers

USA Publications Responsive • Developmental • Research-based

Address: 2/F Alumni Bldg., University of San Agustin, General Luna Street, Iloilo City, Philippines 5000 Phone Number: (033) 337 4842 local 189 Website: www.usapub.net Email: usapublications1@gmail.com

f t

USA Publications @usa_pub

i y

@usapub USA Publications

THE AUGUSTINIAN MIRROR is the official student magazine of the University of San Agustin, Iloilo City, Philippines. It is published regularly by the USA Publications, which envisions itself as an Augustinian center of campus journalism, fostering the advocacy of the common good and acting as voice of the student body through responsive, developmental, and research-based campus journalism. Contributions, comments, and suggestions may be sent to the editors. No part of this publication can be reproduced by any means without permission and authority from the USA Publications.

Colophon: This magazine was produced using Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, and Adobe Illustrator under Adobe Creative Suite 3. Clear Sans, Freshman, and Roboto were used for the text.

01 Editor’s Note

DARE TO BE DIFFERENT Unfortunately, WE HAD NO IDEAS UNTIL WE REALIZED THAT THINGS CAN BE UNTHOUGHT.

W

WHAT IS THE FEELING OF BEING ON THE frontline? How will the youth contribute to the future? What does the generation of today become? These and other topics that are within the context highlighting the randomness of individuals, events, cultures, and even jobs in the society would definitely let you understand and correct the mistakes you have done and broaden your horizon about living in this world.

This would be my second and last issue as the editor-in-chief of The Augustinian Mirror and on a personal note, allow me to bid goodbye to the people who have become a part of me in my three-year stay (not too early to give up) at the Pub: To our dear Moderator, Sir Ray, thank you for the undying effort, patience, and dedication that you gave to ensure the

quality of our outputs.

To Sir Jeff and Nang Ayah, thank you for accommodating me whenever I ask for your help in editing the articles.

To Nong Joel, thank you for the continuous motivation and support and for always believing in me.

To Rj, words are not enough to express my gratitude to you, thank you for backing me up, always. Take good care of the Pub, and no more KDrama and anime for you.

To Nang Mara, Nong Daryl, Armie and Jecel, I know you will miss the Pub as much as I do, though I hope that you will continue to help the Pub in any way you can.

To the Pub babies, I will surely miss the fun times that we had, the karaoke and mickey-mickey to name a few. Thank you for helping me out and may you continue to

serve the Pub and bring its name back to its glorious days.

To Nong Elmer, Ma’am Mercy and Nang Narle of Panorama Printing Inc., thank you for opening your doors to us.

To the people who, in one way or another inspired us in making this issue, a big thanks to you.

And to God Almighty, who is indeed great, thank you for giving me this opportunity, to be a part of something different.

I may still have a year left in this University (crossing my fingers) yet I will leave the Pub a year earlier to continue my other passion, and I will leave with a light heart for I believe, the Pub is in good hands.

Enough with this drama and start scanning the last pages of my term, thinking the unthinkable.

Frennie M. Tababa Editor-in-Chief

Photographs Allaine Rose M. Emnacen

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02

OPINION Irreconcilable Differences (5) Unli or Unlit (6)

SOCIETY

inside the

mirror

The Torch is Ours (7) Measures before Pleasures (9) ‘Out’ is the New ‘In’ (12) The Lips of Lolita (14)

ENVIRONMENT Tinigpas na Buhay (16) The Ravages of Lady Caycay (18) Swine Dining: Misteaks and Baconfessions (20)

FEATURE Homeless but not Hopeless (24) Mariit (26)

CAMPUS Ang Kwento sa Likod ng mga Bintana (28) Bookworm on Board (30)

REVIEWS Enigmas (32) Transcending Tradition (34)

FOOD AND LIFESTYLE Quenching the Thirst for Blood (36) Handy Boarding House Hacks (38) Alone in Hong Kong (40)

THE AUGUSTINIAN MIRROR

03 ABOUT THE COVER

OPENING ONE’S EYES IS NEVER ENOUGH TO PERCEIVE WHAT’S SUPPOSED TO BE IMAGINABLE.

Artwork Kyle J. Sarte

ERRATUM IT HAS COME TO OUR CONCERN THAT the article entitled, “The Guimarasnon Titanic”, published on the October 2016 Issue of The Augustinian Mirror pages 9 to 10, and written by our staff writer, Edward Dominic E. Emilio, has caused dismay to one of the parties that was mentioned.

It was stated by our source aliased with the name, Mario Gonzales, that his party received only PhP 12,000.00 as aid which was allegedly controlled by the Sangguniang Bayan of Nueva Valencia, Guimaras during the wake of the 2006 MT Solar I Oil Spill in the province of Guimaras. He further mentioned about corruption activities on the distribution of help and that the owner of Magic Island offered a deal

with him to take their case to court on the condition that they receive 12 percent of the award if their case would win.

Due to catching up of our release dates and deadlines, the USA Publications was not able to properly confirm the claims of the said source.

It was only discovered when the said magazine was already out and released that there was no such deal that was made by the owner of Magic Island to Mr. Gonzales. The former party called for the attention of the Mr. Emilio regarding the wrong information which was stated by Mr. Gonzales.

We in the USA Publications, sincerely apologize for the confusion and misinformation which was caused

due to our lack of validation of information being provided to us by our primary sources. As a mechanism, we will be rectifying the said article and republish the said issue online omitting the said claim of Mr. Gonzales that he was offered such a deal by the owner of Magic Island.

We maintain and live up to our vision of a responsive, developmental, and research-based campus journalism. Rest assured that these unfortunate honest mistakes will be a lesson for our continued growth as the one of the leading campus journalism organizations in the country and the most-awarded in Western Visayas.

Again, our sincerest apologies.

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04

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IS AGAINST THE BEST JUDGMENT OF MODERN CRIMINOLOGY AND, ABOVE ALL, AGAINST THE EXPRESSION OF LOVE AND THE NATURE OF GOD.

– Martin Luther King Jr.

THE AUGUSTINIAN MIRROR

Photograph Edrea Claire G. Gregore and Allaine Rose M. Emnacen

Opinion

05

IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES SCHIZOLAIZA

Mara Elaiza A. Flores, BS Psych ‘17

VICE PRESIDENT MARIA LEONOR “LENI” ROBREDO RESIGNED from her post as the chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinated Council (HUDCC) in President Rodrigo Duterte’s cabinet after she received a text message from Cabinet Secretary Jun Evasco, Jr. stating the President’s instruction for her “to desist from attending all cabinet meetings” starting December 5, 2016. Leni called the text message as “the last straw” after several attempts to derail her and her current political career. If these leaders would be prioritizing the needs of the nation rather than their “irreconcilable differences,” their promises during the campaign period would be realized sooner, thus, giving the Filipinos a new seed of hope. The capitalization of their differences would not, in any way, solve the Philippines’ problems.

In Robredo’s full statement, she enumerated the obstacles thrown in her way: 1) Budget for all key shelter agencies in 2017 slashed by more than PhP19 billion; 2) No action on all our key shelter agency appointment recommendations; and 3) Executive Order designed to make HUDCC effective was not signed.Despite these hindrances, the agency had “solid accomplishments” for the past five months. With the efforts of the administration in suppressing the duties of the vice president, how will the 100 million Filipinos experience the promised “change” in the country?

According to the official website of the Office of the Vice President, as a member of the Cabinet, the vice president has an advisory function or has a role in the formulation of policies in the implementation of government programs and projects. The cabinet secretary serves as “the alter ego of the president,” thus he or she possesses the power “to issue directives relative to their departments,” as stated on the website of the Official Gazette of the Philippines. Without Robredo’s presence during Cabinet meetings, the administration holds back her duty as the second highest

Artwork Herod A. Montiel

official and her power of voicing out the needs of the agency and the Filipino people.

Since Robredo assumed office, she has been consistent with her oppositions to alarming national issues, such as the extrajudicial killings, reinstating death penalty, lowering the age of criminal liability, sexual attacks against women, and the burial of former President Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

“I have exerted all effort to put aside our differences, maintain professional working relationship, and work effectively despite the constraints because the Filipino people deserve no less,” stated Robredo on her resignation letter. “If the president is abusive and you have a strong vice president, he could be the voice. But if they are partners and both are corrupt, the vice president will sing the same tune. It’s good to have a balance,” said Allen Surla, a political science professor of De La Salle University, in an interview with Rappler Philippines.

Just like the Yin and Yang, without the balance from the two opposite and complementing poles, harmony will not be achieved contributing to catastrophes. With Duterte closing his doors to Robredo’s opinions and the increasing imbalance between them, change may be too far from the Filipinos’ reach. How will the Philippine government attain the promised “change?” Will it even happen with their abusive and toxic relationship?

The feud between these two highest executive officials should be on the list of the problems that the nation is facing today. With the Filipinos trust and voting power, their partnership was chosen with hopes that the country will rise up to the call of change.

Personal differences can be settled with respect for one another and professionalism. However, they should choose which is more important – their personal differences or the lives of the Filipino people.

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06

Opinion

UNLI OR UNLIT PRAGMATIC

Philip Robert A. Alaban, BEEd ‘19

EAR-SHATTERING FIRECRACKERS AND BREATHTAKING FIREWORKS displays have been part of the New Year tradition of many Filipinos, aside from the usual media noche and the wearing of shirts emblazoned with polka dots and rectangles. This long-standing tradition proved hard to break that President Rodrigo Duterte deferred the signing of the Executive Order (EO) on firecracker ban, amidst the call of the Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) for a pyrotechnic-free Philippines during New Year’s Eve. Industry groups who lobbied against the declaration of the firecracker ban can now have a sigh of relief, considering that the potential threat to their livelihood and source of income is now out of the picture, much to the chagrin of the DOH, PNP and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) – all of which were on the grind to minimize firecracker casualties before, on and after January 1. We were presented with the typical “go hard” or “go home” scenarios when the two sides engaged in their own version of tug-of-war to get the President’s approval, advancing each of their pros and cons to convince the head of government and the public in general that their proposition is better.

But the two parties remained ignorant of the fact that they could have reached a compromise and push for “regulated use” of firecrackers to keep public safety and public interest in equilibrium.

For several years now, the DOH has been using their “Iwas Paputok” slogan in their annual “scare-a-thon” in order to minimize injuries and casualties during New Year celebrations. As of December 27, 2016, the DOH recorded 70 fireworks-related incidents, 44 percent lower than the 124 recorded in the same period last year. Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial noted that most of these cases involved children because many youngsters still play with firecrackers during the holiday break. Of the 70 incidents, one was caused by fireworks ingestion while the rest were blast injuries (half of which happened in Metro Manila and were caused by illegal fireworks like piccolo and boga). These accidents were not caused by the purchase of firecrackers itself, but by mishandling. Instead of merely spreading awareness on the dangers that pyrotechnics bring, why not disseminate information on proper handling? What stops them from changing “Iwas Paputok” to “Ingat Paputok?” In the words of Ubial herself, the DOH advocates for the controlled and supervised use of fireworks and firecrackers, not total eradication.

Since 2002, Ordinance No. 060-02, which prohibits the manufacturing, selling, distribution, possession or use of firecrackers

THE AUGUSTINIAN MIRROR

or pyrotechnic devices has been in effect in Davao City and this is what the EO that was submitted to the President’s hopes to replicate on a nationwide scale. It was President Duterte himself who signed the said ordinance when he was still the mayor of Davao City. Although he made a clear stand on the proliferation and use of firecrackers during the presidential campaign, Duterte still acknowledges that there are families who rely heavily on the firecracker industry and he is aware that the pending EO would result to huge financial loses to these Filipinos. The implementation in Davao only proved to be successful since there are other Filipino markets for the industry to go to, but if the said ban would be applied on a national scale, manufacturers and laborers depending on the firecracker industry would be fighting to survive.

Despite the evident consideration that the President had shown with the “No Firecracker Ban,” his lenience still acts as a double-edge sword (or in this case, blast) because he expected the tally of firecrackerrelated cases to drop from 900 recorded cases last January 2016 to only 400 or lower. In the words of Department of Interior and Local Government Assistant Secretary for External and Legislative Affairs Rico Judge Janvier Echiverri, “The President saw too many defects in the way firecrackers are produced. The Bureau of Fire Protection wants a total ban on firecrackers. The Philippine National Police wants stricter regulations. This indicates that agencies are leaning toward a total ban so we must strive for zero casualty.”

Celso Cruz, president emeritus of Philippine Pyrotechnic Manufacturers and Dealers Association Inc. (PPMDAI) said, a ban would encourage smugglers to bring in unregulated firecrackers and would push some fireworks manufacturers to operate illegally. Cruz cleared that they prefer tighter regulations and stiffer penalties against erring manufacturers of firecrackers and pyrotechnic products. While it is true that we cannot be completely nonchalant with regards the plight of firecracker makers and users, seeing extravagant firecracker displays have been deeply ingrained in our culture and tradition.

Skeptics may argue that prevention is better than cure but in this case, prevention brings about the same results as searching for the cure. In a scenario wherein we are faced with two options, both with equally devastating results that are tied to them, we should always go with the lesser evil. Revel in the controlled lights and supervised sounds of regulated use or blindly follow the weak kneed and half-hearted attempts of trying to keep an unlit fuse. The choice is in our hands.

Artwork Romari Charlz F. Diaz

Society

07

THE TORCH IS OURS Joining the fight for societal change

IS NOT JUST ABOUT VOICING OUT WHAT YOU WANT OTHERS TO HEAR. IT IS ABOUT BEING PART OF IT AND LETTING OTHERS LISTEN TO YOUR HEARTS CONTENT.

By Rj Junsay

SCREAMING ON THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS, NO longer hearing his voice but the harmony created by the voices of his fellow youth luring in the street bursting out their innermost advocacy for societal change, Marlou didn’t mind the burning heat of the sun and sweat all over his body.

All he ever wanted always seemed to be in his reach, yet still far.

John Marlou Salido, is just one of hundreds of youth activists here in Iloilo. Despite being a third year college student in the University of the Philippines, he managed to be a member of Katilingban ng mga Aktibong Kabataan Para sa Bayan (KAAKBAY) which is a sociocivic organization in UPV which is composed of young people who are involved in the pursuit of student empowerment and dynamism since his freshman year in college.

“I started when I entered UP in 2013 and joined a socio-political organization in the University. Probably it was on my fourth year when I became the Chairperson of the College of Management Student Council when I became strong to voice out not just my stands and opinions regarding controversial issues but as well as the voice of the whole student body,” Marlou explained.

GLORIOUS PAST Makibaka! Huwag matakot! (Join the struggle! Do not be afraid!) is the age-old battle cry of student activists which is primarily the most well-known for the Millennials. The People

Photograph John Marlou B. Salido

Power during the time of Marcos regime raised the awareness of the youth about their role in societal development. During this time, the students were urged to join the demonstration and rallies to fight for their advocacies – to be heard.

“The youth have always been an active part in society’s change. Since the days of the French Revolution, the youth have shown the world that they are capable of toppling down age-old traditions and institutions including monarchies that have been set for hundreds, if not thousands of years,” Hon. Lady Julie Grace Baronda, Iloilo City councilor and chairperson for the Committee on Youth and Sports Development of the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Iloilo City explained.

Looking back in our history, youth activism started all the way back during the Spanish era when Rizal began his war for Philippine independence with just his pen. No placards or protests in the streets happened yet many were moved by his words. Indio students were encouraged to write their thoughts and encourage others also to work for their advocacies. La Liga Filipina and La Solidaridad were the first form of youth activism which then rooted the eagerness of the Filipino revolutionaries to let Katipunan be born.

“Youth activism is synonymous to terms

youth movement and youth volunteerism.

Usually it is tangled with militant way of struggle. However, in today’s generation, we have no Padre Damaso or even Marcos who would trigger the need to have such mode of struggle,” Martin Ortiz, activist and lead motivator at ILeads Trainings shared.

Marching amidst the heavy downpour of rain during their rallies is a typical scenario where you could picture both Martin and Marlou.

“Youth activism is our way, as young individuals, to show to people that we are relevant in the society. The beauty of youth activism is that we do not selfishly focus on our problems as youth but we exist because we become a support to strengthen the calls of other sectors of the country,” Marlou added.

IN LIGHT OF MODERN DAY Youth activism took another form by the youth activist indulging themselves to immersions and inspiring others to be part of the change that they want.

“Unlike the old times, youth activism is quite different. Today’s generation is not fond of hearing what people say during rallies. The media became the means of the youth to convey what they are fighting for. We do immersions, community outreach activities and talk to the group of young people for them to be aware of

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08

ACCORDING TO ARTICLE III, SECTION 4 OF THE 1987 CONSTITUTION, NO LAW SHALL BE PASSED ABRIDGING THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH, OF EXPRESSION, OR OF THE PRESS, OR THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE PEACEABLY TO ASSEMBLE AND PETITION THE GOVERNMENT FOR REDRESS OF GRIEVANCES.

THE AUGUSTINIAN MIRROR

what we are advocating,” Martin said.

According to Article III, Section 4 of the 1987 Constitution, no law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances. This gives the youth the upper hand to do rallies and other movements for the societal changes they are promoting.

“Great changes in the world’s societies were achieved through the efforts of the youth.

The youth still hold their ideals fresh and they are not yet tainted by the circumstances that envelop most of society’s people. Their blood is still strong and they are not yet influenced by doubts that are products of years of experience,” Hon. Baronda stated.

“Due to the emergence of social media, through these, we post our sentiments and in some ways, those who are scared of putting into words their opinions and stands, simply share the posts that we have created. In this way, they become empowered. They do not anymore hide what they feel of that issue because their shared posts become their platforms,” Marlou added.

WHAT LIES AHEAD Pursuing these advocacies requires commitment and sacrifice for the time for the studies and families of these student activists.

Criticisms are always part of their life, and also affect their loved ones.

“It changed me. I took a 360-degree turn. The best experience for me when doing youth activism activities is the immersions and exposures. Aside from these are for a greater cause of sharing to the public of what we are really fighting for,” Marlou gladly shared.

“You cannot call yourself an activist if you only joined rallies once or twice. Being an activist is a life-long commitment,” Martin added.

“I believe that it is the youth’s strong sense of idealism that highly influences our young people to engage in youth activism.

Idealism within the youth is still very powerful.

They believe in a world or society where nothing is impossible. And this should be encouraged, because these ideals are the real causes of change in our country since the days of our National Hero, Dr. Jose Rizal,” Hon. Baronda shared.

Youth activism might always be associated with rallies and other forms of demonstrations in the streets or before government offices. It might be thought at first to be part of militant movement.

For Marlou and Martin, it goes beyond that. With the different problems and issues the country is facing, youth activists continue to find their means for them to be heard by the government for their various advocacies.

Youth activism might not be the same during the time of Marcos or Rizal, but it is still about being in the shoes of poor Filipino families and fighting for the societal change for the Filipino people.

Photographs John Marlou B. Salido and Mara Elaiza A. Flores

Society

09

measures before

pleasures

AMIDST THE DRAMATIC INCLINATION OF HIV CASES,

will you take the test to save another life?

By Wilkienson C. Muro

Artwork Kyle J. Sarte

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7,829

10

9

got diagnosed of HIV per day in 2012

17

26

4

1

in 2008

in 2010

6,011

got diagnosed of HIV per day in 2014

Filipinos got diagnosed of HIV per day last year

4,815

3,338

2,349

The 15 Years of HIV in the Philippines

1,591

BASED ON TOTAL NUMBER OF HIV CASES REPORTED PER YEAR

835

Source Department of Health Epidemiology Bureau

174 2001

193

184 2002

2003

199 2004

210 2005

309 2006

528

342 2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

HIV/AIDS IN NUMBERS Source HIV/AIDS Registry of the Philippines

1,163

adolescents are diagnosed with HIV in the Philippines in just a period between January 2010 - October 2016.

HE JUST GAZED AT HIS FORLORN BEDROOM, feeling gloomier and more fragile by the minute.

But one particular sound captured his attention while sitting in melancholy – lubdub-lub-dub. The sound reminded him of the glimmering redemption beneath the ribbon in red that was tattooed on the side of his right hand. He reached for the black backpack on the table across his bed and saw his recovering skinny physique in the cobweb-covered mirror.

Looking at his reflection, he finally decided: “I will advocate.”

GRAVITY THAT PUSHES Everything for him felt like rainbow. He saw himself as diverse creature living amidst the rowdy streets of Jaro Iloilo. Until such time he discovered something mouth-filling by the lustful acts of Bill. They found the activity for four years fulfilling. Nothing grander than the exchange of oral masculinization happened until he reached college. This time, the sweet chocolates Jake and Bill once contentedly shared turned into a dark one after their

THE AUGUSTINIAN MIRROR

93%

of the adolescent infections were sexuallytransmitted.

separation.

To Christine B. Mosqueda, Regional Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) nurse coordinator of the Department of Health (DOH) Region VI, “At this stage of young men and women, they already started burning some curiosity wherein if not promptly aided could lead to different sexual abuses.”

Dark chocolates are really best enjoyed during late nights. Jake proved it by levelling down his oral relationship with Bill. Jake blindingly found his asylum in the lap of Mark and Paulo. He spent his college adoring the unprotected company of the two. In the long game of fire he had been into, he never knew that he was already severely burnt.

In the 2013-2015 Integrated HIV Behavioral and Serologic Surveillance (IHBSS), only 17 percent of the general population of young male and female, 15-24 years old, of the Young Key Affected Populations (YKAP) in UNICEF sites like Iloilo, Cebu, Davao, Zamboanga, Quezon City and Pasay has comprehensive knowledge about HIV. One day, he woke up on his bed unable to

19 out of 26

of the estimated new HIV infections per day come from the youth sector aged 15 to 24.

2%

of the number of new cases reported as of June 2016 come from Western Visayas.

sit properly. With all the tingling sensation in his spine and scourges in his posterior pelvic region, he saw the earnest need not to resist the pain any longer and went to a hospital for an immediate checkup. After a perspiring fiveminute checkup, the doctor identified soring anal warts.

“Try undergoing an HIV test,” the doctor advised him in a soft yet profound voice. The next few words sounded like a curse. Jake is HIV-positive.

DISCONCERTING BUILDING BLOCKS Jake was in Makati when he was diagnosed with HIV and he remained there to cover everything up from his family. At first, Jake could not fathom the fiasco that happened due to his risky behavior. If he had any idea that it would result to this, he would have prevented it through orientations and counselling but it was too late.

Anchored to the aforementioned surveillance of IHBSS, risky behaviors of young population like injecting drugs, transactional and premarital sex start in the age of 15

Photograph Clyde Allen E. Sollesta

GETTING FACTS STRAIGHT The age group with the biggest proportion of HIV cases has become younger. The 15-24 age group has increased shares to 28 percent in the period between 2010 and 2016.

The National Capital Region has the highest number of new cases among the regions in the country followed by Calabarzon and Central Visayas.

Males having sex with males comprise predominantly the mode of transmission of those infected with HIV, roughly 81 percent. It is followed by malefemale sex.

A total of 3,040 cases reported in HARP from December 2012 to June 2016 were people who engaged in transactional sex.

96 percent or 2,910 of the said group were male.

11

Cumulative deaths since January 1984 to June 2016 reach 1,822. Among those, 1,594 are males and 228 are females.

Fifteen children aged below 15 are among the casualties.

“TRY UNDERGOING AN HIV TEST,” THE DOCTOR ADVISED HIM IN A SOFT YET PROFOUND VOICE. THE NEXT FEW WORDS SOUNDED LIKE A CURSE. JAKE IS HIVPOSITIVE.

and access to condoms to prevent sexuallyrelated infections come in the age of 20 and 18, respectively. Adding those to the zero percent correct demonstration of condom use in Quezon City and Cebu City and the belowthe-national-target condom use among YKAP lead to the infection of 19 youths out of 29 estimated HIV cases every day. This makes the youth drivers of the country’s HIV epidemic.

Jake underwent surgery of his anal warts first. Then, signed up for a lifetime medication of anti-retroviral drugs (ARD) from a Social Hygiene Clinic (SHC) in Makati for the suppression of his HIV. He came back to Jaro to live the life he swore he was going to rebuild. In the process, lots of misconceptions on HIV from his family and friends challenged him. Direct contact with people living with HIV (PLHIV) can infect an individual, sharing utensils and belongings, the ingestion of saliva and semen and even in contact with the menstrual blood of a woman were all part of misconceptions he suffered from.

According to Dr. Ma. Odeta B. Villaruel, STI-HIV-AIDS program coordinator of SHC

in Tanza-Esperanza, Iloilo, “the virus has only three modes of transmission – through unprotected sexual contact (without condom use) that can be anal, vaginal, or oral; through mother-to-child; and, through blood transfusion because it only stays in four body fluids – blood, semen, cervical fluid and breastmilk. Those were the only ways you will get infected.”

She also clarified HIV and AIDS as two different ideas. As defined by HIV/AIDS &ART Registry of the Philippines (HARP) Epidemiology Bureau, “AIDS is a condition characterized by a combination of signs and symptoms caused by HIV. It makes the afflicted individual susceptible to other life threatening infections.”

HIV: HOW I VYE After a long detachment from his typical regimen, he was finally able to sit normally again – without any pain between his buttocks.

Unprotected anal sex is a bliss and at the same time threat to his kind. As reported

by HARP on October 2016, male to male or transgender women sex among YKAP is the

leading contagion of HIV with 58 percent infection rate. This assists to the 1,163 youths that were diagnosed with HIV in the country.

Currently, there are 55,005 estimated PLHIV and after 14 years it is predicted to bloat to uncontrollably 508,006. This incidence is considered only as a tip of an iceberg and as everybody knows, this could already kill 68 percent of the whole population of the titanic. How much more when the entirety of it prevails, will there still be an Iloilo, or even Philippines, to pursue on?

To Mr. Robert Figuracion, Jr., vice president of the United Western Visayas, “HIV is everybody’s concern. As for the youth, you should act as a hope now. Get tested before it is too late. Do not be afraid of the test. Be afraid of the AIDS because the moment you missed the chance to get tested, you also missed the chance to live another day of your life.”

As he gazed melancholically at his forlorn bedroom, the beat of his heart reminded him of saving his life through others. “There is hope,” he mumbled.

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12

Society

‘OUT’

BE YOURSELF, CHANGE THE WORLD.

#BeProud

IS THE NEW ‘IN’

By Philip Robert A. Alaban

THE STREETS BECAME THEIR OWN PERSONAL Victoria’s Secret runway. They paid no heed to both the blazing heat of the afternoon sun and the buzz of noise bearing down on them.

Peppered with hoots and cheers every now and then, no one knew what surprise every corner and turn would bring. Each step was accompanied by an onslaught of faces, bearing unreadable expressions. Were they of shock?

Delight? Fear? Amusement? Dismay?

Shrugging off the stares, they were relentless in their advance. Amidst the crowd, a young boy of around seven stood awestruck before this throng of people bathed in multicolored hues. Grabbing an elderly woman THE AUGUSTINIAN MIRROR

by the hem of her dress, he jumped up and down, shouting in glee, “Mommy! Mommy!

Look, a rainbow!”

OF RAINBOW THREADS AND TAPESTRIES OF GOLD On June 26, 1994, about 60 placard and streamer-toting marchers clad in every hue of the rainbow fearlessly braved the crowded streets of Quezon City with their courageous, confident and colorful call for equality during the Metro Manila Pride March, the first, and undeniably, the most controversial of its kind in the city, the country and all throughout Southeast Asia.

Two decades and two years later, spearheaded by the Iloilo Pride Team, Bahaghari National LGBT Organization and Amnesty International, the first Iloilo City Pride March was born.

In an interview with Justin Francis Bionat, team head of the Iloilo Pride Team and vice chairman for the Visayas of the Bahaghari National LGBT Organization, it was revealed that the idea of conducting a Pride March here in the city was not something done simply on a whim. “[The concept] actually started somewhere as early as 2014. A group of local LGBT leaders all coming from Iloilo met to discuss the possibility of a Pride March in the city.” Now, from being only a far-off pipe dream, Iloilo City’s first Pride March has already become a reality. “It was a joint collaboration of many agencies: Amnesty International, University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) – Lipad, Youth First Initiative, Produkto Lokal and the Family Planning Organization of the Philippines, just to name a few.”

Indeed, very much like a dream come true, last December 2, 2016, the gray streets from the UPV City Campus, all the way to the Freedom Grandstand, were flooded with red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet and the vision of celebrating love – in all shapes, forms and sizes – in the City of Love.

PUTTING THE “I” IN PRIDE The theme alone, “Be Yourself, Change the World. #BeProud” speaks volumes on the goal of the Pride March not only in terms of political and humanitarian reforms, but also anchoring on fulfillment for every member of the LGBT Community’s personal advocacy: to freely love and be loved.

In a conservative city and a predominantly Catholic country where tolerance is high, but acceptance is nowhere nigh, it is no surprise that the plight of these trailblazers have been incorrectly branded as a call for attention, when it is simply nothing but a silent cry for acceptance. As Reymund Alagos, a Lawin of UP –Lipad and co-organizer of the event, recalls his own experience of gaining both self-identity and confidence through coming out, he also shares an insight on the Pride March: “Pride Marches are not just there to showcase how colorful or how lively the LGBT community is. For me, it is a statement of the LGBT Community that we are still fighting against discrimination, bigotry and oppression. A statement that despite all of the mud that everyone is throwing at us, we are still standing up, marching, and waving our rainbow flag. Still beautiful and colorful, too.”

Unfortunately, one cannot easily dismiss the preconceived notions and stereotypes that have been associated with the terms “gay” and “lesbian”, lanky, limp-wristed gay men parading around in girl’s clothes for the former and buffed up women sporting body tattoos and boy cuts for the latter. Yet, despite this being true in Photographs Courtesy of Humans of Iloilo

13

some cases, though not all, it cannot be denied that the only thing they have fought, and are still fighting for, is for the public to welcome them with accepting gazes instead of the steely glares that they are often met with.

As if in answer to their fervent prayers, Inday Lee Zulueta, one of Iloilo City’s councilors, announced during the march that the AntiDiscriminatory Ordinance of Iloilo is currently under the works. Likewise, for the Province of Iloilo, days following the event, Liecel Seville, board member of District 2 of Iloilo Province, authored and passed Iloilo Province’s AntiDiscrimination Ordinance.

NOWHERE NEAR THE POT OF GOLD Being the first city wide March in the province, it is needless to say that Iloilo City’s 1st Pride March stood on shaky ground.

Yet, judging from the support that came in the form of the various NGO’s, LGU’s, other organizations, agencies, groups and even the participants themselves, the event was a monumental success.

Justin advises everyone to stay tuned as he hinted that the 2016 Pride March was only a prelude to more and better things that the Iloilo Pride Team has in store for the Ilonggo’s this year. Meanwhile, Reymund ends our interview by recalling a short exchange he once had with a friend when he was jokingly asked, “Bakit kayo may Pride March? Eh kami nga walang Straight March. (Why do you have a Pride March?

The Difference between Sex and Gender GENDER EXPRESSION is the way in which you express your gender. Sometimes these

expressions go along with socially sanctioned ideas what is appropriate, but sometimes they don’t. The way that someone expresses their gender is not necessarily a clue as to how they identify their gender.

GENDER IDENTITY is a

personal conception of oneself as male or female. It is, quite simply, the gender with which you identify. It’s a word (or words) that you could use to decide yourself that simply makes sense to you. An internal, deeplyrooted, and a central part of many people’s senses of self.

ATTRACTION

is the action or power of evoking interest, pleasure, or liking for someone or something.

BIOLOGICAL SEX is what

identifies a person as male or female. It includes our internal and external sex organs, chromosomes, and hormones. So which one should be answered ‘male’ or ‘female’, sex or gender?

Source Genderbread Man v.2.0

We even, don’t get a straight march.)” and instead of answering with the passive laugh or the snarky retort that this question commonly elicits, he responded by putting into words what every pro-LGBT and anti-discriminatory advocacy stands for, “Just be thankful that you don’t have to be out on the streets struggling to fight for the one thing that you should easily be afforded: your rights.”

Ultimately, nothing ends here. The fight for equality does not die out with us, it will remain with those who succeed us and surpass our current achievements in the revolution for freedom under from bigotry, discrimination and oppression both in guts and in glory.

It lies in the hands of the young boy, who, seeing bravery in every antic, courage in every step taken and love all the way, silently promises to himself, “When I grow up, I want to be just like them.”

Illustrations Romari Charlz F. Diaz

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14

Society

"Sheba, Sheba, open your eyes!

THE APES DEFILE THE IVORY TEMPLE, THE PEACOCKS CHANT DARK BLASPHEMIES: BUT I TAKE YOUR BODY FOR MINE TO TRAMPLE....."

— THE INNOCENCE OF SOLOMON, NICK JOAQUIN

the lips of

lolita

By Edward Dominic E. Emilio

THE CLOCK STRUCK 12 MIDNIGHT, BRIDGET* breathed a sigh of relief. She had just finished painting her lips blood scarlet, her cheeks a gentle pink and her face dull white. She knows hers is no Cinderella story, but this barren regret that makes her feel half-uneasy in the dead of the night could not forestall her from sneaking her way into a certain street along City Proper. There she waits for a nameless client, more often than not a nondescript middle-aged man asking for her body.

LIGHT OF MY LIFE Nineteen-year-old Bridget would rather meditate on her textbooks but because of poverty, she has to make a stifling compromise: find tuition money or be unable to take her exams. “I cannot ask for support from my parents,” she says.

“My family comes from faraway Mindoro and I have lost contact with them. I came here for the opportunity but I was victimized by illegal recruiters.” She is a lost lady in a foreign land, forced by poverty to engage in commercial sex because of extreme need.

Bridget is just one of the countless

THE AUGUSTINIAN MIRROR

victims of circumstance coerced into a life of sex work. Sex workers usually fall into the oppressive industry as victims of human traffickers and illegal recruiters. They would then be antagonized by the tripartite system of the 3 B's: Business, which includes the pimps and establishments; Buyers, or the customer with “buying power”; and Bought which is the person whose body serves as both capital and commodity. For situations like those of Bridget where she acts alone, she becomes all the more vulnerable to harm from various antagonists – the law, the society, and the patriarchy.

As of the last count, there are more than 800,000 persons currently trapped in the six billion dollar Philippine sex trade industry. A study from the University of Western Ontario narrates the cycle in which they are trapped: from sex work they get illnesses and unwanted pregnancies. Because the costs for treating health problems are high and might hamper their only source of income, they often do not seek medical care, or if they do, they pay it with their own income. They could also seek for backstreet abortions to remove unwanted

* Not her real name

pregnancies, which could in turn lead to health complications. These lead them back to a state of destitution and back to commercial sex.

FIRE OF MY LOINS When asked to tell her tragic tale, Bridget silently narrates, “I only engage in commercial sex when it's exam season and we are required to pay our tuition fees.” She then pointed to the general direction of a particular street and said, “During weekends at 2 am, I would stand beside a post and eventually a car would stop in front of me. We both understand what we want from each other so the conversations are cut short.

Plus, I would not want to talk too much or else I would be remembered. We would discuss the deal and he would take me to a lodging house.

There I would receive the money in exchange for sex. There are times when a client would force me to take pills or liquor. I never once accepted anything they gave me. I just kept thinking 'It's only for this time....it's only for this time.”

Lodging houses and cab drivers often stand witness to these activities. An ominous observation was presented in a published report

Illustration Herod A. Montiel

15

AS OF THE LAST COUNT, THERE ARE MORE THAN 800,000 PERSONS CURRENTLY TRAPPED IN THE SIX BILLION DOLLAR PHILIPPINE SEX TRADE INDUSTRY.

by Professor Ma. Rosario Victoria de Guzman on “Survival Sex in Iloilo City”. It showed that in one week, more than 270 taxi drivers brought students to seven different lodging houses in the city. The average was 31 customers every weekday, 10-15 every weekend, and 18 during special holidays. The fact that beckoned attention, however, was that majority of those who engaged in commercial sex from 12 to 24 years old. “This is survival sex.... sex just to survive,” Prof. De Guzman says in a news report.

This phenomenon has been linked to the recent spate of HIV cases in the city. According to the latest figures from the Department of Health, 220 cases have been recorded in Iloilo City from 1984 to 2015, the most vulnerable being those from 15 to 24 years old, almost the same age group reported by Prof. De Guzman.

MY SIN, MY SOUL Governments are not blind to the complex moral, psychological, and philosophical issues that underlie this problem. The Iloilo City Moral Task Force has been mobilized to address these issues and first offense violators would undergo moral counselling as per law.

As Harvard professor and philosopher Michael Sandel explains, “In a world where everything can be bought and sold, we lose track of why some things shouldn’t be.”

Various recommendations have been suggested to curb this practice like the banning of pornographic materials and the regulation of minors from entering hotels. As of January 14, access to known porn sites had been forbidden, either through mobile phones or laptops. Users were redirected to a page notifying them of such a ban. “This website has been ordered blocked under authority of the Philippine government pursuant to Republic Act 9775 or the Anti-Child Pornography Law,” the notice on the websites read.

The Philippine government has blocked Internet users from accessing adult websites, just 10 days after a popular porn site found Filipinos to have spent the longest time watching adult content for the third straight year and this legalization and prohibition often has the same goal: the protection of Bridget and others like her – 40 million of them all throughout the world. Only time would tell what the fates may bring.

An unpleasant and heavy sensation sat at Bridget's heart after she told her short story. “What can I do? If I stop schooling, I would never have a job and would only be forced to engage in commercial sex again and again,” she utters. “It is necessary, I never knew I would be trapped in this scenario and I could not think of anything else.”

As she talks in her lowly voice, Bridget might have been finding her way out of her predicament. This girl who was caught in a sea of unwanted sorrow waits for the day when the poor cease to be things and their honor becomes more precious – when no daughter, or son, would ever be regarded as commodity by the flesh merchants.

THE MISSING LINKS ON EDUCATION, SEX, AND EMPLOYMENT

51.5% Source National Youth Assessment Study, 2015

65

24

OUT OF 100

OUT OF 100

working youth (who have not graduated) want to go back to school.

aged 15-24 are currently not enrolled in school.

of persons aged 15-24 years old are studying in school:

2.2%

are selfsupporting

5.6%

have part-time employment

4.8%

merely rely on scholarships

15.2%

31

87

OUT OF 100

OUT OF 100

say that sex outside of marriage is acceptable.

out-of-school youth believe school is important.

are looking for work for additional income.

V O L . 8 3 // N O . 2 // M A R C H 2 0 1 7

16

Environment

SABIHIN NA NATING NASA LIMANG MINUTO LANG ANG MAKIKITIL NA ORAS UPANG PUTULIN ANG ISANG PUNO, NGUNIT AABUTIN NG HIGIT 30 TAON BAGO PA TULUYAN ITONG MAHINOG.

TINIGPAS NA BUHAY ANG HULING SULYAP SA PAGHINGA NG

5,123 na puno SA BAYAN NG POTOTAN

Ni Edcel B. Fajutag

HABANG SINASARIWA ANG MGA ALAALANG dala ng bawat pagbiyahe ay langhap mo ang sariwang hangin sa tuwing ika’y mapaparaan sa isang daang pinuno ng madadahong puno.

Isang panganuring iba ang hatid sa ating ginhawa. Isang karanasang may hatid na galak at buyo sa bawat paglalakbay. Puno – isang elementong taglay ng kalikasang madalas ay atin lang namang sinisilungan. Isang parte ng sanggayong panahon na siyang may malaking hatid sa ating buhay.

Paano na lang kaya kung ang mga punongkahoy na siyang pumuno sa lansangang naging marka na ng ‘yong pagdating sa iyong pinakamamahal na bayan ay tuluyan nang malulusaw? Tila ba sa isang iglap ay bigla kang maliligaw – maliligaw sa katotohanang ang dating abot-tanaw mong pasayaw-sayaw

THE AUGUSTINIAN MIRROR

na berdeng mga puno ay mapapalitan ng konkretong tanawin na wala ng iba pang kulay kung hindi maputlang pagka-abo.

HALAGA Lubos na kalungkutan ang bumalot sa ilang mamamayan ng bayan ng Pototan nang sinimulang patumbahin ang mga matatayog na puno sa labas ng kanilang mga eskinita. Mga punong kamagong na siyang nagsilbing salaan ng hanging kanilang nilalanghap. Mga punong sa mga bata’y dating nagsilbing tabing. Mga arbol na minsang inukitan ng pagmamahal ng mga mamamayan at ng mga biyaherong dumaraan. Ngunit, dumating na ang panahon ng kanilang pamamaalam.

Hindi mo lubusang maipasok sa ‘yong gunita na mayroon lang namang 5,123 buhay

ng 25-taong gulang na punong kamagong ang gigilitan ng mga matatalim na lagare.

Ang kabayaran nito ay ang pagpapalawak sa kalsadang dinaraanan ng mga sasakyan. Ngunit, mapapalitan ba ng konkretong daan ang halaga ng bawat isang puno?

Ayon sa isang pag-aaral na isinagawa ng Unibersidad ng Calcutta, ang 50-taong gulang na puno ay may halagang $193,250 na katumbas ng higit 9 milyong piso. Ito ay binubuo ng $62,000 o 3 milyong pisong halaga para sa kontrol ng polusyon sa hangin at lupa, $37,500 o 1.8 milyong halaga ng tubig, $31,250 o 1.5 milyong katumbas ng organikong pampataba ng lupa, $31,200 o 1.5 milyong halaga ng resiklo, at $31,250 o 1.5 milyong halaga ng tirahan. Iyan ay higit na kawalan para lang sa isang puno. Paano pa kaya sa higit 5 libong

Mga Retrato Mara Elaiza A. Flores

17

okupadong kalsada at upang maiwasan ang bilang ng tumataas na disgrasya. Bilang ama ng bayan ay ikinalulungkot ng alkalde ang pagkawala ng mga kamagong ngunit ayon sa kanya ay ating pagbigyang daan ang proyekto na pakikinabangan ng buong probinsya at ng mga dumaraan sa bayan.

kahoy? Kung ikukumpara sa isang 25-taong gulang na puno ay may higit sa 5 milyong pisong halaga ang mawawala sa bawat tindig na kanilang itutumba. Kung susumahin, may higit 25 bilyong pisong halaga ang mabubungkal kasabay ng pagtumba ng higit limang libong mga punong ito.

“Kasubo lang nga panumdumon nga ang mga kahoy nga nagmal-am imaw kanamon mas nauna pa nga madura kaysa kanamon,” saad ni Lolo Bering*, isang mamamayan ng isang barangay na sakop ng pagpuputulan ng mga puno. “Kalain lang nga makit-an nga ang kang una nga maharon nga dalan, mahawan kag mainit na,” dagdag pa niya.

Ito man ay pawang tanim lamang na madaling ipunla at putulin ngunit sa bawat ugat na nabubungkal ay malaking halaga ang nawawala. Dagdag pa rito ang sentimental na halaga ng bawat puno sa mga taong kanilang napalilibutan na pawang naging katapikang-

balikat na ng mga matatanda at naging silong ng mga musmos na bata. “Indi lang abi bastabasta nga mga kahoy daya, kung isipon mo to, daw nangin migo kag miga don namon ya mga kahoy nga ini,” pabirong saad ni Lolo Bering.

SAKRIPISYO Pawang isang engrandeng paghahandog ang pagputol sa mga puno upang palaparin ang pambansang daan na dumurugtong sa probinsiya ng Iloilo at mga probinsiya ng Aklan at Capiz. Ayon sa alkalde ng bayan na si Tomas Peñaflorida, ang pagpuputol ng mga punong mahogany sa 13 kilometrong inat ng pambansang daan ay may permiso mula sa Kagawaran ng Kapaligiran at Likas na Yaman na inilathala sa Kagawaran ng mga Pagawain at Lansangang Pambayan.

Tila ba’y may 5,123 buhay ang inihandog para sa pagpapalapad ng kalsada sa kadahilanang ang daan ay isa sa mga pinaka* Hindi totoong pangalan

KABAYARAN Ayon na rin sa kanya, ang permiso ay nag-aatas sa Kagawaran ng Kapaligiran at Likas na Yaman na magtanim ng 100 puno sa bawat isang punong puputulin. Iyan ay higit sa 512,300 puno na dapat na maitanim ng kagawaran bilang pampalit sa mga arbol na nawala. May kapalit man ay may mahabahabang panahon pa ang hihintayin bago pang muling makapagsilbi ang mga maipupunlang puno sa lugar. Hindi mo lubusang madiwa na ang dating langhap mong simoy na dala ng matatayog na punong-kahoy ay tuluyan nang mawawala. Sabihin na nating nasa limang minuto lang ang makikitil na oras upang putulin ang isang puno, ngunit aabutin ng higit 30 taon bago pa tuluyan itong ay mahinog.

WAKAS Hindi sukat akalain na maraming taon pa ang hihintayin upang muling tumubo ang mga musmos na punong maipupunla. Ilang taon pa ba ang hihintayin bago pa muling masilayan ng mga matatanda ang muling pag-usbong ng mga makabagong kaibigan na kanilang magiging kasama sa mga huling taon ng kanilang buhay?

Ilang taon pang maglalakad ang mga bata sa tabi ng kalsada na walang nagproprotekta sa kanila mula sa sikat ng araw? Kaian pa ba silang makakalanghap ng sariwang hangin? Pawang sa loob ng higit 25 taon ay maiiwan na lang ang lahat bilang alaala.

Sabi nga nila, lahat ay may wakas kaya buhay ng nasabing mga puno’y tinigpas.

V O L . 8 3 // N O . 2 // M A R C H 2 0 1 7

18

Environment

the ravages of

lady caycay A Beautiful Princess WHO ONCE

SHOOK PANAY IN 1948 BEYOND ITS DEPTH IS CURRENTLY ASLEEP BENEATH OUR LANDS. WILL SHE WAKE UP AGAIN TO MAKE MOUNTAINS BOW DOWN TO HER GLORY?

By Erika Daniella M. Pepito

IT WAS NEARING THE SECOND HOUR OF January 25, 1948, when people were absorbed in preparing for a fiesta in the district of Jaro.

They were perfecting a song and dance routine until the rooster crowed in the early morn. As their feet pounded and their stomps vibrated against the pavement, there was a sudden quivering, the intensity of it making their hymns wail for help as they thrashed towards the ground.

A twentieth of an hour – that was all it took for churches and belfries constructed for years to topple down to the ground and for roads paved for weeks to crack. Giant waves broke the sea’s tranquillity and boulders upon boulders trampled down from the mountain slopes.

After struggling to rise from the rubbles of the Second World War, Panay once again found herself buried in the aftermaths of Lady Caycay, the second biggest earthquake recorded in the Philippines.

STARTING FROM ‘SCRATCH’ Panay faced another quandary three years since the World War II ended. The Magnitude 8.2 quake struck on January 25, 1948 at 1:46 am with an epicenter originally pinned in the boundary between Anini-y and Dao (now Tobias Fornier), Antique but was later relocated by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) in the Municipality of Igbaras due to the extent of wreckage found in the town and its neighboring areas.

Magnitude refers to the amount of energy released during the earthquake, and intensity describes the effects of the earthquake to the earth’s surface and on humans and structures.

It was a tectonic type of seismic activity, meaning that the movement of plates caused the ground shaking.

The Lady Caycay is the first earthquake event baptized by the local residents with a vernacular term. The Hiligaynon term caycay describes the scratches on the ground made

THE AUGUSTINIAN MIRROR

by chickens. The fissures that were found later on low-lying parts after the quake resembled chicken scratches, thus earning the label.

An urban myth also recounts that a beautiful lady called Lady Caycay arrived in the land of Panay. Her beauty was so exquisite that even mountains bowed down to her, causing the ground to shake. The earthquake was then named after her.

TOO STRONG TO THINK OF A research paper authored by Dr. Leonila Bautista, a Department of Science and Technology (DOST) scientist assigned in PHIVOLCS, and Ramil Atando, a Science Research analyst of PHIVOLCS, indicated that according to a lone original report, “55 Spanishera churches in the island were damaged, 17 of which totally collapsed and 20 cracked beyond repair”. Jose Maria Cuenco, then-bishop of Jaro, estimated that the damage to 15 of the churches

amounted to PhP 7,000,000. The churches that were severely damaged and eventually demolished were in Igbaras, San Miguel, Oton and Maasin. The Jaro archives declared that the church and convent in Igbaras were in “total collapse”. In Maasin, the erected new structure was adjacent to its former location. Two casualties were found in San Miguel and Oton; falling debris from the church killed a policeman doing his rounds in the former and a boy was buried in the wreckages in the latter. Fissures were also seen in Oton. The mentioned places were assigned Intensity IX. The earthquake also ruined the bell towers of the churches of Alimodian, Dueñas, Dumangas, Guimbal, Lambunao, San Joaquin, Arevalo and Jaro, where four church workers were trapped in the Episcopal See’s campanile.

Also affected were Arevalo’s Coronet Tower and Leon’s Central School and its church’s back portion. The quake reportedly killed 21

Artwork Romari Charlz F. Diaz

Source Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology

19 EARTHQUAKES IN PANAY OVER THE YEARS 1620

An Intensity IX earthquake struck Northern Panay with casualties in Capiz, Aklan and Northern Iloilo. It has even changed the course of flow of Aklan River.

1948

1990

Lady Caycay quake with epicenter near Anini-y and Dao towns in Antique shook Ilonggos early morning and destroyed several churches.

On June 14, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit Panay leaving seven persons dead and 31 others injured.

Ten Deadliest Earthquakes in Philippine History BASED ON NUMBER OF DEATHS

4,791

08/16/1976 Moro Gulf

1,666

07/16/1990 Luzon

<600

11/30/1645 Luzon

<400

03/31/1955 Mindanao

people and injured 43 in the city alone, with an estimated PhP 200,000 damage to the city’s churches. The churches of Pavia, Tubungan, Miagao, Sta. Barbara and Tigbauan were not spared from the aftermaths of the quake, having been assigned Intensity VIII after experiencing great wrecks.

Fissures were discovered from Pototan to Dingle, as well as along the railroad tracks of Santa Barbara. In Pototan, Cabatuan, Dingle, Passi and Calinog, ground disruptions described as “little canyons” were found. A small brook appeared in the now Iloilo Airport’s Tiring Landing field in Cabatuan. Sea water was made visible after large fissures up to four meters wide and 10 meters long opened at Fort San Pedro.

It was reported that the earthquake again destroyed the church of Libacao in Aklan, once razed to the ground during the war. The tremble swayed Panay’s biggest bridges at that time the Ibajay Bridge sank two meters deep, and the approaches to the Calivo (Kalibo) Bridge were wrecked. Effects of the Lady Caycay were also felt in the towns of Pandan and Culasi in Antique, wherein 50 percent of the households fell into ruins. Landslides in the mountains occurred in the area. Portion of Capiz’s Immaculate Conception Metropolitan Cathedral experienced damage.

The tremor was also felt in Bacolod, and caused the municipal building of Asturias to collapse. The railroad tracks inside the central sugar mill were misaligned upon the appearance of fissures, ultimately resulting to the sugar factory’s wreckage.

In the said research paper, there were accounts of tsunamis after the quake. In a barangay of San Joaquin, some who were sleeping along the beach woke up drenched in sea water that crashed on the shores. Another

271

08/02/1968 Aurora Prov.

222

10/15/2013 Cebu / Bohol

78

11/15/1994 Mindoro

account was from a resident of Guimaras who was aboard a boat called batel with five other passengers. While in the coast line of Miagao, the passengers felt the shaking then heard a whistling sound. Upon hearing the sound, a two-meter high wave was quickly approaching their boat and pushed the boat towards the shore. The resident’s wife also recounted that a tsunami wave was observed in Guimaras and also carried another batel. Some newspaper reports stated that after the quake, two bodies were found, assumed to be fishermen whose boats keeled over during the tremor.

IT WAS ALL IN THE FAULT When asked on what could have triggered the quake, Dr. Bautista and Atando detailed that, “the main reason was the presence of an active fault in Panay Island that transects the Provinces of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, and Iloilo.

The earthquake was so strong maybe because of the long inactivity or quiescence of this fault.

It might not have moved in the 100 to 1,000 years prior to 1948.”

The fault being referred to is the West Panay Fault, which runs from the Province of Aklan, and passes through the Municipalities of Libacao, Madalag, Ibajay, and Malinao; in Antique, the Municipalities of Pandan and Valderrama; in Capiz, the Municipalities of Jamindan and Tapaz; and in Iloilo, the Municipalities of Calinog, Lambunao, Janiuay, Maasin, Alimodian, Leon, Tubungan, Igbaras, Miagao, and San Joaquin.

The nature of the soil in Panay at that time was also to blame for the extreme degree of the quaking felt in the island. Much of Iloilo province is founded on soft ground, causing numerous fissures to appear. The destructive effects could possibly be because of liquefaction, which usually happens during an earthquake or a

51

02/06/2012 Negros

50

01/25/1948 Panay

19

06/19/1665 Manila

seismic event that causes the soil to act fluidly.

THE NEXT BIG THING Earthquakes as intense as these victimized other nations such as Chile with a Magnitude 8.8 earthquake in 2010 with 524 people dead, China with a Magnitude 8 earthquake in 2008 that killed 69,195 people, Haiti with a Magnitude 7 earthquake in 2010 with 100,000 to 316,000 casualties, and recently the Philippines, specifically in Bohol with a Magnitude 7.2 earthquake killing 144 people.

No one can really see an earthquake coming – it comes like a thief in the night to snatch away lives and properties invested with time and work.

The government has been making extra efforts to raise the awareness of the people on The Big One, a feasible Magnitude 7.2 earthquake scenario from the West Valley Fault, a 100kilometer fault cutting through six cities in Metro Manila and the Capital’s surrounding provinces.

Studies have been conducted on when could the next earthquake take place with recurrence intervals, or the average time span between earthquakes, but a definite date cannot be provided on when the earth will be shaken next.

Numbers of seminars and drills were conducted, but none of these could really guarantee the people’s safety. The thought of the looming Big One is beyond palpable, but being prepared with emergency bags filled with necessary materials to aid for the next five days after the trembling and being equipped with the necessary knowledge and plans could never hurt .

In the words of Salman Rushdie, “Once you have been in an earthquake you know, even if you survive without a scratch, that like a stroke in the heart, it remains in the earth's breast, horribly potential, always promising to return, to hit you again, with an even more devastating force."

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20

Environment

A REPORT PUBLISHED IN 2006 BY THE U.N. FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION (FAO) TITLED “LIVESTOCK’S LONG SHADOW,” CLAIMED THAT MEAT PRODUCTION WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR 18 PERCENT OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, WHICH IS GREATER THAN THAT OF THE TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION INDUSTRY.

SWINE

MISTEAKS AND BACO The Oddly Unsatisfying Truth ABOUT THE JUICY, MEATY, DELICIOUS FOOD SERVED ON YOUR TABLE

By Andrea Nicole C. Parce // Rj Junsay

THE AUGUSTINIAN MIRROR

Photograph Courtesy of Time

21

DINING:

ONFESSIONS LIVESTOCK FARMING ALREADY OCCUPIES 30 PERCENT OF THE WORLD'S SURFACE AND ITS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT WILL DOUBLE BY 2050 UNLESS DRASTIC ACTION IS TAKEN.

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TOUCH BY TOUCH. SKIN TO SKIN. They were all drenched in steam. Four months. Five months. Six months. Yet the day came. And they had to leave.

Get slayed. Cooked. Marinated. Eaten.

Tongues talked. Truth twitched.

The biggest clues to finding our strongest cure in this malady that has ailed our milieu are still at large.

Everything was a blip, except now it’s not.

TRACING THE TERRAIN Developed countries such as the US and Canada have much more in common than just white men.

The influx of settlers has produced an overwhelming demand for food especially the meat industry, rippling the necessity of expanding feedlots, pastures and arable land for feed crops.

Clearing the forests for this expansion, plus clearing a few more for the feed crops, as well as the thousands of metric tons of water every day for its maintenance, and the added effect of methane and anthropogenic CO2 emissions, will likely send an extreme volume of greenhouse gas emissions over the threshold of safety.

“People are unaware of the environmental effects of meat production and livestock for methane gas and other greenhouse gases because these are not visible to the naked eye. Unlike the smoke from the vehicles which can be seen in everyday transportation, the environmental effects of livestock and meat production can be felt like today by the climate change,” Gareth Bayate, head of the Livestock of the Department of Agriculture Region VI and an agriculturist said.

Livestock farming already occupies 30 percent of the world's surface and its environmental impact will double by 2050 unless drastic action is taken. The current Philippine

THE AUGUSTINIAN MIRROR

setting, however, fails to see the same as it has remained very supportive to swine slaughter houses in the past 5 years with its victims amounting to almost 700, 000 annually. By 22 weeks, one hog has already consumed 286,328 grams of grains and 385 liters of water. Multiply that with a six digit number and the result is extremely alarming.

Further, methane emission from livestock and poultry is 47.5 million tons per year and swine production alone is 9,756 million tons per year, hitting the nail right on the head.

In a recent interview during the June 13 World Meat Free Day here in the Philippines, Jamie Plotnek, Carbon Trust corporate communications manager remarked the meat craving trend of the new millennia citing that an average person now consumes 35 kilograms of meat everyday with higher rates in the UK and United States which ranges from 80 kilograms to 115 yearly and still increasing. Sadly, the inner torment is yet to be dragged eight miles further.

Greenhouse Gas Sources Source Philippine Greenhouse Gas Inventory

32%

Agriculture

10%

9%

Industry

Waste

49%

Energy

FEED ME NOT Beyond the glorious meals that we feast on are deep horrors of hogs drenched in feces or suffocating swine dens and narrow cages. They yelp in sorrow and agony before they get hauled and tethered into cold rails, then skewered to drain the blood in rush.

Such is a common tale in the Americas, yet the scent has already gone far.

For a former colony and an ally like the Philippines, the probability of depending on the imported is highly accepted. Consuming commercial meat however, is a responsibility and whoever carries the tag willfully claims the tankful of damages it has caused the planet.

A poultry farm for instance, with 15,500 layering chickens feeds on 1,705,000 grams of commercial

Photograph Edrea Claire G. Gregore

23

FAST TALK ON LIVESTOCK IMPACTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT Source Department of Agriculture

Livestock production is among the major causes of the world’s most pressing environmental problems, including global warming, land degradation, air and water pollution, and loss of biodiversity.

It is estimated that livestock are responsible for the 18 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions.

Methane from livestock and poultry is pegged at 47.5 million tons per year; swine alone cause 9.7 billion tons.

feeds containing yellow corn, cereal, soybean oil meal, fish meal, vegetable oil, wheat pollard and rice bran, every day for 365 days. One poultry alone requires approximately one half acre of corn, a figure that can feed an average person for half a year according to experts.

The supposed land for humans are being planted with the food that is being eaten by the livestock and the poultry industry. In this sense, energy is extremely wasted when water irrigation, gasoline for land plowing and harvesting, and the delivery to the markets is a much more considered plot rather than it being fed straight to the entire populace.

A report published in 2006 by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) titled “Livestock’s Long Shadow”, claimed that meat production was responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, which is greater than that of the transportation and communication industry.

MEAT ALL YOU CAN The threats of this burgeoning industry has become the elephant in the room. The Globe has been warned, except for small countries where the after effects are not exceedingly prevalent.

On the other hand, environmental organizations have

been walking underwater for too long. Avoiding queries and bits of uncanny responses it might consider. This sustainability secret that might save the unborn from inadequacy has been barred from being divulged primarily because it is to challenge a large portion of the economy and killing the same will definitely sunken the ship.

Reportedly, the meat and livestock industry provides 6.2 million jobs and generates $864.2 billion annually, or roughly 6 percent of the entire U.S. GDP as of 2015 according to the data from North American Meat Institute (NAMI).

The lady is torn, she ‘felt very still and empty, the way the eye

of a tornado must feel, moving dully along in the middle of the surrounding hullabaloo,’ and chose to eye the wide plateau now covered in crimson.

Professor Edgar Hertwich, the lead author of a report from United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) international panel of sustainable resource management filled the lacuna that has been haunting the meat industry’s existence. In his report he exposed, “A substantial reduction of impacts would only be possible with a substantial worldwide diet change, away from animal products.”

Bred in captivity, this truth has never been set free. That is a blip, except now it’s not.

Livestock Slaughtered in Slaughterhouses

BY ANIMAL TYPE // CARABAO // CATTLE // SWINE Source Philippine Statistics Authority

Photograph Courtesy of Horse Life and Love Blog

2012

2013

Photograph Jesus Navalta

57 ,

46 1 48 ,

1 ,5 6

22 ,7

55 2014

50 5

672,989

625,875

47

,6 13 53

7 26

8

633,094

45 ,

54 ,9

46 ,5 0

5 ,8 4 55

8 ,8 3 44

2011

07

681,789

637,993

2015

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Feature

MANY HAVE IT,

more still

HOMELESS

BUT NOT HOPELESS

By Armie Therese C. Penuela

THE AUGUSTINIAN MIRROR

Photograph Armie Therese C. Penuela

25 BEING HOMELESS SHE WAS CONSIDERED BY PEOPLE TO HAVE LOST HER SANITY BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS, IN HER CASE, A SHELTER TO PROTECT HER AND AN UNSTABLE SOURCE OF FOOD.

LYING ON THE COMFY SHEETS OF HER water bed, curling her toes while pulling over the blanket to endure the coldness of the evening breeze, she falls asleep to the lullaby of the crickets outside. She wakes up to the aroma of food. Like an awakened giant, the pets in her stomach rumble to indulge themselves with the graces served before her. Her eyes glistening with bliss and face lightened up with glee showing her toothless mouth.

For many, this is just a mundane scenario, but for Jack, this is her ideal definition of home which she considers a dream. As she talked about her envisioned home, a smile escaped from her mouth – the same smile she showed at the thought of her dreams.

LIVING NOT AT HOME Strolling around the Duenas Public Market, one couldn’t miss seeing Jackelyn Placo, commonly known as Jack, either sitting along the corners or roaming around the place. When asked where she spends the night, she was unhesitant in saying “sa sagwa ka tinda kung kis-a sa sidewalk kun diin indi mabasa ulan [outside of the market, sometimes on the sidewalk where you can’t be wet by the rain].” She even said that she started building her own “balay-balay” yet, before she was able to live there, an unexpected event happened, “Typhoon Yolanda,” she uttered.

After she was left by her father in the market, she managed to live for more than three decades with no home and no consanguineous relatives. She depended on other people’s help in exchange of her services, like sweeping the floor, washing the dishes, buying some stuff in a nearby store or to exchange bigger bills to smaller coins.

SURVIVING AND KICKING Miss Nelly Baylon, a retired teacher and presently, a councilor in their sitio shared, “At first I couldn’t imagine how she could survive the day without taking a bath, I really thought she didn’t clean her body at all. But, I was amazed at how she was able to find means to bathe herself almost daily.” When asked if she knew of any means

Illustrations Daryl S. Selerio

that Jack was helped by the government, she shared while slowly shaking her head, “Too bad she hasn’t availed of the benefits from the government, not even by the 4P’s (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program).”

Being homeless she was considered by people to have lost her sanity because of the lack of physiological needs, in her case, a shelter to protect her and an unstable source of food. But people like Mrs. Estela Lomigo, a retired teacher and an inhabitant of the town shared, “She is a fighter. I can’t imagine how she survived series of flash floods in our place. Not to mention the disastrous Typhoon Yolanda that was accompanied by strong winds.

It was dangerous when you’re inside your houses how much more when you don’t have one? Look at her. She’s alive and kicking!” She also added, “Jack is very industrious. I always see her sweeping the streets. You can ask her to run some errands for you sometimes, too.”

ONE IN A BILLION According to the latest Global Homeless Statistics released by the United Nations in the Year 2005, an estimated 100 million people are homeless while 1.5 billion people lacked adequate housing around the globe.

Jack is considered to be lucky enough to live in a less-polluted province compared to the busy streets of Manila. According to the IBTimes UK (2014), it has the largest homeless population of any city in the world - 3.1 million.

Needless to say, Jack’s struggle in fulfilling her needs each day is mirrored by billions of people across the globe.

Her experiences may even be a lot better compared to the others who are living in crowded cities like Manila. One cannot fathom how she survived the long years of inhabiting the sidewalks which can’t assure her protection from harm, the scorching heat of the sun or the heavy storms.

After telling her stories, I asked her what Christmas meant to her, she looked me straight in the eyes and blurted, “Paskwa. Pagkaon. Duro nga pagkaon, parehus sa damgo ko.” [Christmas. Food.

Abundant food just like in my dream.]

Most Homeless Cities in the World Source list25.com

1. Manila, Philippines

2. New York City, USA

3. Los Angeles, USA

4. Moscow, Russia

5. Mexico City, Mexico

6. Jakarta, Indonesia

7. Mumbai, India

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Feature

HINDI LANG ANG MGA BAGAY NGA MAKITA SANG IMO MGA MATA ANG MATUOD DIRI SA KALIBUTAN,

Kis-a ara lang sila sa palibot kag gapabatyag.

MARIIT Ni Jecel T. Buenavides

DAW MAY BULANG LANG SANG NAGTILILIPON ang mga kasilingan nanday Nanay Elsie sa sagwa sang ila balay. Mahawat-hawat ang mga hitabo. Tanan nga mata nakatuon sa ibabaw sang kubo. Ila ginalantaw ang bangkay ni Nonoy nga ginpaagi sa bintana sang isa ka kwarto sa ika duwa nga palapag sang balay. Sadtong hapon nga ato, indi manok ang ila ginpaupas, kundi ang kalag ni Nonoy kag ang natungdan nga engkanto nga nagtapos sang kabuhi sini.

PAGPAMANDAY KAG PAGBAG-O “Ngaa indi atong mga adik ang ginkuha?

Ngaa si Nonoy ko pa nga mabuot kag matarong?”

Ini ang pang-adlaw-adlaw nga pamalangkutanon ni Nanay Elsie nga nahanungod sa bangungot nga natabo sa iya bata. Sa edad nga 31 anyos, si Nonoy ang pinaka-magulang sa ila nga magutod nga nagapuyo sa mataas kag masuik nga bahin sang Tubungan – ang Barangay Bato.

Nagdaku si Nonoy nga may handum nga luwason sa kabudlayon sang kaimulon ang ila pamilya. Sa pagbutlak sang adlaw, dayon dagun-dagon si Nonoy padulong sa banwa sang Tubungan agud mangita sang palangabuhi-an.

Kung iya isipon, masobra pa sa napulo ka tudlo ni Nanay Elsie ang mga tinuig nga nagabakabaka si Nonoy ubra para sa iya pamilya.

Tungod sa pagpamanday ni Nonoy kag iban pa guid nga mga raket nga ginsudlan niya, napa-eskwela niya ang iya nga mga utod. Siya ang gahatag sang allowance kag siya man ang gatig-ang adlaw-adlaw bag-o magsulod sa klase ang mga utod niya.

Sang tuig 2015, ginkuha si Nonoy nga mamanday sa ginapatindog nga balay sang ila paryente. Tuman ang kasadya ni Nonoy sang

THE AUGUSTINIAN MIRROR

NANGIN BAHIN NA SANG MADABONG NGA KULTURA SA KAUMAHAN ANG PAGPATI SA MGA TINUGA NGA NAGAPUYO SA IBAN NGA DIMENSYON.

nahibaluan niya ini kay sigurado siya nga indi mabuslot ang iya bulsa.

“Sang gina-ubra nila ang balay, kaupod niya nga naga-tulog didto ang iya utod nga ginapa-eskwela niya sa banwa. Kada Sabado lang gapuli si Nonoy sa amon. Wala guid ko naghuna-huna nga didto maga-umpisa ang dako nga pagbag-o sa kabuhi ni Nonoy,” saysay ni Nanay Elsie.

BINAYLUHAN SANG TAGLUGAR Madamo na nga tuig ang nagligad pero daw misteryo gihapon nga indi malubong ang gulpyada nga pagkapatay ni Nonoy. Matapos ginsugid ni Nonoy sa iya utod nga si Ging-ging nga ginhulidan siya sang isa ka dako nga lalaki nga may maitom nga nawong, daw mabugto kuno ang ugat sini sang singgit nga gusto niya magpatan-aw sa surhano ukon magpaluy-a.

Sa sini man nga ti-on ginsambit ni Nonoy nga ilisipon na lang ang iya mga inadlaw. Biyernes adto sang kaagahun sang natabo ang paghulid sa iya sang masami nga ginatawag nila nga “kapre” tungod sa deskripsyon ni Nonoy sang itsura sini.

Ginpahayag ni Nanay Elsie nga, “Sabado sang aga sang gapanghalay ako sang amon nilabhan, gulpi may nagtakop sang mga mata ko.

Gapinamangkot ko kung sin-o ini, dayon hayo nga tama na kay gapanghalay ko. Pagbalikid ko, si Nonoy man lang gali. Ginsugilanon ko siya kay pinsar ko indi siya mag-uli pero ni isa ka tinaga, wala ko may nabati-an sa iya.”

Base sa pag-istorya sang iloy ni Nonoy, dululungan sila panyapon sang Sabado nga adto kag normal man kuno ang pag-ginawi sini. Amo adto nga gab-i nga naghulid si Nonoy

kanday nanay niya kay nahidlaw na guid kuno siya sa ila. Dungan sang pagtilaok sang manok, nakabugtaw si Nanay Elsie kag daw nagbulag ang kalag niya sa iya lawas sang nasapwan niya nga wala na gaginhawa si Nonoy.

Suno kay Nanay Elsie, cardiac arrest ang sanhi sang kamatayon sang iya bata: “Amo na ang findings sang manugbulong. Tam-an kadasig sang mga hitabo. Kabudlay batunon nga ang gasakdag sa amon pamilya, gulpi lang ginkuha.”

Naghiwat sang ritwal ang namatyan nga pamilya kag ginpaagi nila ang bangkay ni Nonoy sa bintana agud makabalik siya sa iya lawas. Wala sila ginpalad nga maibalik si Nonoy kay tuman ka hina ang dungan sini siling sang surhano.

Sang inugbalsamar na si Nonoy, daw hinuyupan sang hangin ang itsura sang mga manugbalsamar sang ginbulaga sila sang kululbaan nga bangkay.

Pahayag pa ni Nanay Elsie, nakibot guid sila sang nakita nila liwat ang bangkay sang ila bata.

“Malayo guid ang paglain sini. Ang abaga tuman ka lapad, ang ilong niya nga mataas nagdusngal, ang panit niya nga malaburi ang duag, nangin itom katam-an.”

Wala ti adlaw sa isa ka semana nga wala gatawag sa ila ang punirarya sang Tubungan Employees Development Cooperative (TEDCO).

Nahadlok sila magbalsamar sa bangkay bangud gadako ini kada adlaw. Kung ila kiluhon, magalab-ot kuno sa 150 kilos ang kabug-aton sini. Gindala sang pamilya ang bangkay sa surhano kag ginpapahidan sang luy-a ang bilog niya nga lawas.

“Sang ginpaluy-a namun ang bangkay ni

Artwork Herod A. Montiel

27

Nonoy, nag-untat na ang pagdako sini. Ang una nga lungon nga ginbakal namun, ginpa-islan kay indi na siya makaigo,â&#x20AC;? pagexplikar ni Nanay Elsie.

Sang ginhaya na si Nonoy, ila ginputos ang lawas niya kay wala sing magtuyo nga magtan-aw sa iya kay daw indi nawong sang tawo ang ila makit-an.

KATAS SANG KULTURA SA KAUMAHAN Nangin bahin na sang madabong nga kultura sa kaumahan ang pagpati sa mga tinuga nga nagapuyo sa iban nga dimensyon.

Sa paghanas sang panahon, ang manggaran nga kultura sang Pilipino nangin malapnag pa guid tungod sa salin-bibig kag dala sang eksperiensya nga nagpamatuod sa mga hutik-hutik lang sang una.

Sa natabo kay Nonoy, gapati ang pamilya niya nga ginbayluhan ini sang tinuga nga nahamtang sa pihak nga parte sang kabuhi nga nagatuhaw sa gihapon.

Sa isa ka pagtuon nga ginpangunahan ni Fransisco Demetrio nga ginatiguluhan The Engkanto Belief: An Essay in Interpretation, nagalab-ot sa 87 ka nasari-sari nga mga sugilanon ang iya natipon sa sulod sang isa ka tuig. Sa natumpuk nga mga istorya, 60 ka inpormante nga naghalin sa Northern Mindanao ang nagsaysay sang ila nagakalain-lain nga naagyan.

Suno sa ila kag sa ila mga himata, gindala sila sang engkanto sa iban nga lugar ukon nangin abyan man nila ang mga ini.

Base sa mga natuhaw nga impormasyon, ang tanan nga ini resulta lamang sang ginatawag nga inisasyon. Pagpatay kag pagkabanhaw, bag-o nga pagkatawo kag pag-ginawi, pagtulog kag pagbugtaw. Para sa eksperto sang makabalaan, ini isa ka pamaagi para mabalanse ang kalag, palaminsaron kag ang kainugalingon sa isa ka komunidad.

Suno kay Dr. Ma. Elfleda Ecube, isa ka sosyologist, ang mga Pilipino gapati nga kung bayluhan sang engkanto ang imo lawas, dapat indi anay ini pag-ibalsamaron.

"Kung naga-suspetsya na ang pamilya nga ginbayluhan ini, dapat indi anay sya pag-ibalsamaron kag gilayon magtawag sang surhano para maghiwat sang mga ritwal kag seremonya agud magbalik siya sa iya lawas," pahayag ni Ecube.

Apang bisan wala pa may nasapwan nga ebidensya nga may nagbalik sa iya lawas halin sa iban nga bahin sang kalibutan, ini maga-serbe nga leksyon sa mga Pilipino nga dapat amligan kag tahuron ang mga ginatawag naton nga supernaturals.

Suno pa kay Ecube, subong sa pahanumdom kag kasugtanan sang antropolohiya kag sosyolohiya, ma-angot nila ang superstitious beliefs sa mga butang nga indi makit-an sang hublas naton nga mga mata. Kapin sini, sila nagapati nga dag-on gihapon sang aton pagtuo ang ano man nga gahum ang naangkon sang sining indi mahimutaran kag takup sa mata nga mga tinukib.

"Para matapna ang ining mga butang, dapat mangin bugos ang aton pagtuo kay kita ang mga tinuga nga ginlalang sang balaan naton nga Makaako," dugang pa ni Ecube.

Mariit. Ini patimaan nga indi lamang kita ang nagakabuhi sa sining kalibutan. Mariit. Bangod sini, dapat aton padunggan ang ila presensya. Mariit. Aton matim-os nga ang kahimtangan sang aton huna-huna amo ang matuod nga katalagman sa sining kalibutan. Tuhay kaayo ang gahum sang aton paminsaron nga sarang sini mabag-o ang mga hitabo dala sang kahapon kag mabayluhan ang ilig sang palaabuton.

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Campus

ang kwento

sa likod ng mga bintana Mga Tagong Istorya SA BUHAY NG ISANG TELLER

Ni Rochelle Mae M. Muzones

EKSAKTONG ALAS-11 NA NG TANGHALI AY hindi pa rin humuhupa ang pila na mala-EDSA sa ilalim ng mga bubong ng pasilyo ng Herrera Hall. Dalawang araw na lang kasi mula ngayon ay kukuha na ng preliminaryong pagsusulit ang mga estudyante. Kasabay ng nagbabagang init ng araw at siksikang mga upuan ay ang tumataas na tensyon sa mga parokyano dahil ika nila ay usad-pagong daw na serbisyong hinahatid ng Unibersidad.

Ito ang kadalasang sitwasyon na inyong natutuhangyan sa accounting section tuwing papalapit na ang pagsusulit. Karamihan sa mga pumipila ay pinapairal nila ang kanilang emosyon pagdating sa mismong bintana kung saan sila nagbabayad – bunga ng inip na naranasan sa ilang minutong paghihintay matapos lang ang kanilang transaksyon.

Subalit, lingid sa kaalaman ng mga nagbabayad na magulang at mag-aaral sa likod ng mga bintanang kanilang binabayaran ay ang iilang mga taong dugo’t pawis ang ibinubuhos mapaglingkuran lang ang humigit kumulang 9000 mag-aaral ng Unibersidad.

HAMON NG TRABAHO Kung ang pagbabayad ng mga bayarin ang iyong pakay, kanilang mga mukha ang unaunang bubungad sa iyo sa accounting section.

Mistulang mga artista ng isang box office hit na pelikula ang kanilang opisina dahil sa walang humpay na pagdating ng mga mambabayad, ano mang araw at oras ito, mapa-bata man o matanda. Sila ang inaatasang kumolekta ng

THE AUGUSTINIAN MIRROR

bawat barya na inyong binabayaran kapalit ng dekalidad na edukasyon sa Unibersidad – ang tellers.

Ang kanilang trabaho ay naka-depende sa kung anong transakyon ang ibinibigay ng kanilang kliyente. Ito ay maaaring para sa enrolment, sa terminong pagsusulit o ibang bayarin na hindi kabilang sa dalawang unang nabanggit. Ayon sa mga parokyano, ito raw ang isa sa mga pinakamapaghamong hakbang sa anumang transaksyon dahil bago ka pa man makausad sa susunod na hakbang, kailangan mo munang makipagsapalaran sa haba ng pila sa accounting section. Subalit, bago ka pa man makapagbayad, kailangan mo munang makumpleto ang mga papeles gaya ng registration form, sectioning form, clearance slip at iba pa.

Dagdag pa rito, kabilang din ang tellers sa may pinakametikulusong trabaho sa loob ng mga rehas ng Unibersidad. Pagpatak pa lang ng

enrolment, ginagawan ng teller ang bawat magaaral ng student’s ledger. Ang student’s ledger ay ang lehitimong kasangkapan ng tellers upang matukoy ang bawat transaksyon ng bawat magaaral.

SA LIKOD NG MGA BINTANA Sa kabila ng pag-unlad sa serbisyong ibinibigay ng Unibersidad kung saan maari kang magbayad ng tuition fees sa mga kinikilalang bangko, hindi pa rin maiiwasan ang sandamakmak na tao sa accounting section tuwing peak season.

Isa si Baby Rose Buenaventura, accounting assistant, sa tatlong tellers na nagtratrabaho sa Unibersidad. Bagamat iba ang trabahong kinabibilangan, linilipat siya ng kanilang direktor tuwing peak season gaya ng linggo nang terminong pagsusulit at enrolment bungsod sa kakulangan sa mga empleyado.

“Tuwing Finals, mayroong apat na tao

Mga Retrato Allaine Rose M. Emnacen

29 TUWING PAPALAPIT NA ANG PAGSUSULIT, HUMIGIT KUMULANG 300 KATAO ANG PINAGLILINGKURAN NG BAWAT TELLER SA BAWAT ARAW. KATUMBAS ITO NG HUMIGIT KUMULANG 900 KATAO NA MAMBABAYAD SA ISANG ARAW.

na nagsisilbi bilang tellers. Tatlo rito mula sa Unibersidad at isa mula sa Union bank. Subalit tuwing Prelim at Midterm naman ay tatlo na kami ang nagtratrabaho rito,” pagbabahagi ni Buenaventura.

Tuwing papalapit na ang pagsusulit, humigit kumulang 300 katao ang pinaglilingkuran ng bawat teller sa bawat araw. Katumbas ito ng humigit kumulang 900 katao na mambabayad sa isang araw. Pagkatapos ng araw ay mayroon lamang silang 15 minuto upang balansehin ang perang kanilang kinolekta at ang perang narehistro sa kanilang mga kompyuter.

“Bago namin maibigay ang pera sa Treasurer’s Office, sinisigurado namin na kung magkano ang pera na narehistro sa sistema ay ganoon din ang perang aming binibilang,” salaysay ni Buenaventura. “Hindi talaga maiiwasan na may mga pagkakataon na hindi sumasangayon ang pera na rehistro at perang hinahawakan mo. Kaya ang ginagawa namin ay

hinahanap namin ito hanggang sa mabalanse na namin ang mga numero,” dagdag pa nito.

KUNG AKO BA SIYA “Kapag isa kang teller, kailangan mong matutong umintindi sa anumang modo ng iyong kliyente sapagkat naniniwala kami na customer is always right sa anumang sitwasyon.”

Ito ang mga salitang binitawan ni Buenaventura sa kalagitnaan ng kanyang pagbabahagi. Pilit man nitong ikubli, makikita mo sa kwentong ibinabahagi ng kanyang mga mata ang kwentong ni minsan ay hindi nauunawaan ng karamihan sa mga mambabayad.

Araw-araw, iba’t ibang uri ng tao ang nakikisalamuha ng mga teller. May mabait, may masayahin, may tahimik, may maingay at kadalasan, karamihan sa mga mambabayad ay galit at abala sa pagrereklamo sa kanilang mga silya dahil ayon sa kanila ay tila nalipasan na ng panahon ang accounting section. Gaya

ng dati, ito pa rin daw ay mabagal sa kabila ng modernisasyon sa teknolohiya. Subalit, lingid sa kanilang kaalaman, katumbas ng ilang minuto nilang paghihintay ay isang buong araw na pagtratrabaho ng isa sa mga maituturing na haligi ng Unibersidad.

“Kailangan mong maging mahinahon kung makikipag-usap ka sa iyong kliyente kahit na galit pa ito kasi sila ang customer mo. Kailangan mo lang ipaliwanag nang maayos kung ano ang dapat at kung ano ang tama,” pagsasalaysay niya. “Kailangan mong pairalin ang interes ng iyong customer bago ang iyong sarili sa anumang sitwasyon sa iyong pagtratrabaho,” pagsasalaysay ni Buenaventura.

Bago pa man matapos ang isang buong araw na pagtratrabaho, magsisimula na naman sila sa bagong gawain – ang pagbabalanse ng mga pera. Kasabay ng pagsikat ng araw kinabukasan ay ang pagsisimula na naman ulit ng mga masisipag na tellers.

Hindi biro ang pagseserbisyo sa humigit kumulang 9000 mag-aaral sa Unibersidad at gawin ang parehong proseso sa halos 9000 katao. Hindi man sapat ang kakarampot na kita ng tellers sa Unibersidad upang tumbasan ang hirap at pawis na kanilang iniaalay para lamang magampanan ang trabahong siyang tumutugon sa kumakalam na sikmura ng kanilang mga pamilya kapalit naman nito’y kagalakan sa mga puso ng kanilang pinaglilingkuran. Nawa’y sa bawat hakbang na iyong tatahakin papunta sa maliit na bintanang kanilang tinutuluyan ay iyong mapagtanto na nasa bawat pawis at hirap na kanilang iniinda ay pagpapakitang para sa isang institusyong minsan nang tiningala at patuloy na titingalain sa komunidad.

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Campus

bookworm on board Meet the Guy

WHOSE DRIVE FOR READING HAD HIM SAILING IN THE SEAS OF

Philosophy

By Daryl S. Selerio

THE AUGUSTINIAN MIRROR

Photograph Edrea Claire G. Gregore

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HE ADMITTED THAT BEFORE HE WAS CAREFREE ABOUT LIFE AND DIDN’T GIVE WORTH OR VALUE TO RELIGION. KHALIL GIBRAN, ANDRE GIDE, GABRIELA GARCIA MARQUEZ, Homer, W.B. Yeats,Tolstoy, Jorge Luis Borges, Victor Hugo, Shakespeare, and the list goes on.

In this digital age, most would probably only recognize these names through the tiny cranny on their Facebook Newsfeeds. Some would even see them as a frivolous matter to discuss about. But one thing’s for sure, few have really smelled the intoxicating scent emanating from books of these notable writers. Wait ‘til you meet Ervin Alingalan, whose addiction to reading had driven him to set sail on a voyage majority would find a waste of money especially of time.

OPPORTUNITIES OF A SEAMAN A graduate of Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation at John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University (JBLFMU), Ervin shared that he already had the opportunities to travel to different places and to visit tourist spots he only saw on television or read on books or magazines before.

“For me the greatest thing about my former profession is the pleasure of adventure,” he exclaimed after he was asked about his practice of his profession as a seaman for four years before he took up his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy here at the University. He is just like everybody else who keeps his family in mind while doing everything else to also reach his own dreams.

BURNING PASSION FOR READING He admitted that before he was carefree about life and didn’t give worth or value to religion. It wasn’t until he discovered Tolstoy that he began asking himself about the meaning and purpose of his life. Eventually, his passion for reading books, essays, and poems consumed him like fire; devouring every sensation known to him to the succulent opportunities and pleasure that he could get from his former profession.

“I consider my reading as my tragedy,” said Ervin. “Yes, I do admit that my reading is one of the reasons why I took Philosophy.” In fact, his love for books and poetry was already evident even before when he was still working as a seaman. He

gave me swift glances as he shared his hobby of bringing not one book, not two, but a pile of books and poem collections every time he gets on board to work.

THE SEEKER OF TRUTH However, he reads not because he wanted to learn, but because he wanted to know the truth. “For me, learning is a way to know truth, and truth is incapable of being uttered, for if it is uttered, language would impose limitations which relegates it to something which in essence is not something but something that which is incapable of becoming something. In short, truth is a mystery,” he shared numbing my brain cells for a moment.

“I will never forget Joyce. I will always adore Tolstoy.

I am going to read again and again Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude. I want to write like Jorge Luis Borges. I want to float in the symphonic words of Khalil Gibran and Andre Gide. I want to travel in the land of difficult poetry of W.B. Yeats. But most of all I want to be Augustine,” Ervin proudly enumerated on top of his other favorite poets and writers like Victor Hugo, Shakespeare and Homer.

THE FALTERED READER On the other hand, he confessed that despite of his being predominantly Agnostic nature, he is very much welcome to the idea of God. “I’m studying Philosophy now because I want to know God, and if you are asking me if there is any chance of me entering the seminary, my answer is yes,” he shares.

“I’m beginning to believe that one day we are to meet each other, and when that time comes I will say to Him, ‘All my life I wait for this moment to come, and now that I finally see your face, my heart is at peace’,” concluded the 28-year old Philosophy sophomore.

Reading has a preponderant influence on the way he thinks now. His perspective in life has changed and veered into different directions, changing and transforming him in the process into becoming a better version of himself.

FACTS ABOUT READING

The top three most read books in the world are: The Holy Bible, Quotations from Chairman Mao TseTung and Harry Potter.

Illustrations Daryl S. Selerio

One in five adults around the world cannot read or write, with the highest rates in South and West Asia and subSaharan Africa.

Source express.co.uk and mediaworks.io

Former United States of America President Theodore Roosevelt was fond of books and read an average of one book per day.

People in India are the world’s biggest readers, spending an average 10.7 hours a week. How many hours do you study in a week?

People in Iceland read more books per capita than in any other country. As a tradition, they give books as gifts on Christmas Eve.

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Reviews

Young Adult Novels

THAT HAVE YOU THINKING ON WHAT WAS ONCE UNTHINKABLE

ENIGMAS Book Reviews By Timothy James V. Saria // Junfel G. Sotelo // John Ero A. Agos // Erika Danielle M. Pepito

EVER HAD THOSE MOMENTS WHEN YOU READ a book and let the words unveil the mystery of the plot and once the bulb lights up in your head, you ask yourself, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Some writers have you wondering how they created all these loopholes for the readers to untangle with every flip of a page. These three books will surely have you asking that question for a number of times.

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN Rating [4.2] The Girl on the Trainby Paula Hawkins is actually about Rachel, the girl on the train, Megan, the girl looked at by the girl on the train, and Anna, the girl who stole the husband of the girl on the train. The disappearance of Megan, a woman that Rachel sees every morning on her ride into New York City, is the focal point of this creation by Paula Hawkins. Megan represents the idealized life that Rachel could have had, had she not been an alcoholic. To make matters worse, Megan lives only a few doors down from Rachel's ex, Tom, who is now married to Anna, the woman he cheated on Rachel with. On the morning of Megan's disappearance, Rachel notices Megan canoodling not with her husband Scott, but with her therapist Dr. Kamal Abdic.

It's enough to send Rachel on a martini-fueled bender; when she wakes up from her blackout, Megan is gone. Rachel rides the train from Ashbury to London and back again every day because she is living under the pretense of having a job. She passes through her old town, Witney, which is where she spies on Megan, Scott, Tom, and Anna.

The book follows a chapter structure of Rachel, Megan/Anna, Rachel, Megan/Anna, and so on, with Rachel being every odd-numbered chapter for the majority of the book. This is

THE AUGUSTINIAN MIRROR

fitting for the structure because Rachel is the odd-woman out. And while Megan and Anna are neighbors, Rachel is the outsider—but she is still the one who brings everything together.

Rachel has figured out who killed Megan and firmly inserts herself into the story. She's no longer an outsider; she finally has the power to influence the outcome. She's standing on even ground, ready to take charge.

At the end of the book, Rachel learns that she misinterpreted the kiss between Megan and Kamal—it's not Kamal she should have been looking out for; it's her ex-husband, Tom. Megan was pregnant with Tom's baby and Tom killed her. Rachel misinterpreting the kiss between Megan and Kamal doesn't really change anything, though. Even if it hadn't happened, Megan would still be dead. This explains that even without Rachel’s involvement, at the end of the day, Megan’s death was planned already.

It was just like being in love with Tom is similar with poison, the more you take a daily dose of it, you'll eventually die.

Murder mysteries rely on witnesses, and problems arise when the witnesses are unreliable. Rachel is not unreliable because she is a liar; she is unreliable because she literally cannot remember what happened, no matter how hard she tries. Almost every theme in The Girl on the Train branches off from Rachel's alcoholism, and her memory is no different.

At times, it feels like Rachel's past lies at the bottom of a bottle. She cannot see it through the alcohol, but if she drinks it all, she will pass out before she sees what lies beneath.

PLAYLIST FOR THE DEAD Rating [3.9] What if things were only unthinkable because they were devoid of thinking?

Playlist for the Dead, Michelle Falkoff’s debut novel, centers on prevalent issues of today: bullying, mental health issues, and suicide. The plot contains chapters that feed the curiosity of the youthful characters in the story, leaving the protagonist and his qualms with preconceived notions to put into test.

The story is about a teenage boy named Sam who tries to understand his best friend’s suicide by listening to the playlist of 27 songs he left behind. In retrospect: there was a party, a fight, and the day after, his best friend, Hayden, was dead. To add more confusion to the plot, a suicide note was found: “For Sam – listen and you’ll understand.”

The narrative in the beginning, albeit foreshadowing a cliché theme of twisted pre-adolescent life and its misadventures, establishes a relevant part mystery and part love story. In addition to this, Falkoff’s integration of music at the beginning of every chapter helps the readers create a more vivid imagery and insight to the story. Sam’s quest reveals a big portion of Hayden’s life, alongside the personality contained in every character. Although most of them were not that memorable, each was somehow distinct from the other. They completed a vital part which would help Sam solve the puzzling events that have transpired.

In the end, the unknown is made known, but not in the most flattering, unexpected style. The way I see it, it’s a metaphor of the circumstances we face in our day-to-day lives.

Expectations sometimes annihilate the real meaning of finding the answer.

Along the way, we might overthink and overdo things that we would miss out. “Playlist for the Dead,” makes us realize that attesting our qualms in life is never a waste of time nor

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waste of emotions. To answer the question: things become unthinkable if we give up at some point.

If you like this book, try James Asher’s “13 Reasons Why”, which will soon be adapted into a TV series.

THE HACKER Rating [3.9] What if there was a way to tap into the unseen reality that surrounds us all? Would you hack in? How far would you go to find the answers to your deepest questions? The answer lies deep beyond the firewall.

Ted Dekker’s latest offering from Worthy Publishing is titled “Hacker”. It’s a story about a seventeen year old Nyah Parks, a genius hacker whose world is unraveling. Deeply scarred from a horrific accident that killed her father and brother, and left her mother with irreparable brain damage, Nyah is barely holding the last shreds of her life together. Now, her mother’s health is deteriorating quickly and Nyah faces the grim prospect of losing her, too. One last ditch hope exists–an experimental brain surgery that could buy her mother more time. But Nyah must scrape together enough money to pay for it before it’s too late.

Desperate and with no other choice, Nyah turns her programming skills to cracking the firewalls of the world’s largest corporations. She exposes their weaknesses, and then offers her services to secure their systems from hackers.

She makes the decision to attempt the biggest hack of her life, and that is where things begin to go sideways. When the most dangerous job of her life backfires and forces her to go on the run, she encounters an impossible reality that shouldn’t exist, but does. A hack unlike any other, a hack that will take her beyond the

firewall of the human brain itself and a hack which may be the only way to save her mother now.

In typical Dekker fashion, there are story twists and plot turns that you would never see coming and it keeps the pages turning faster and faster until you reach the end.

The only thing this novel shares with every other Ted Dekker work is that I have been unable to put it down until I finished reading it from cover to cover. Dekker is one of those writers that seamlessly weaves real life, faith and hope into an addictive thriller, yet never tells the same story twice. “Hacker” is a well written addition to the Dekker catalogue, and even if you have not read any of the “Outlaw Chronicles”, you will be in for a treat. This book is good for thriller and fiction fans, and it will surely be a “worthy” read for any current Dekker fan. These are transformational stories that take the reader on an intense ride full of twists that unravel the deep mystery or reality in ways rarely seen.

THE MEMORY BOOK Rating [3.7] The Memory Book of Lara Avery stars Sammie who has has everything mapped out in her head – graduate on top of the class, leave her past in Vermont behind and set out a new adventure in NYU – until her world came crashing down when she was diagnosed with a degenerative genetic disease. The disease called Niemann-Pick Type C just had to flush her plans down the drain. It causes dementia or cognitive impairment coupled with impassivity, and systemic physical deterioration.

Scornful as she was about the disease ruining her plans, she uses her laptop as a virtual diary to keep tabs on her current life to remind

Future Sam of the things that make Sammie, the same old Sammie minus the illness. She takes note of even the smallest details in her day and the great ones that would be saved in her memory – at least, until the ailment slowly eats it away.

As her memory gradually dissipates, so does her relationships and her knowledge on even the daily routines. But a sparked romance, a re-acquaintance with her idyllic life, and a compilation of biographies for her siblings fill Sammie’s presupposed pre-college summer.

The shifts in Sammie was carried all throughout the plot. The main character’s bravery to live with what is left of her life and love every single minute of it is a trademark of the story’s progression and of the main character’s personality.

This book might leave the reader pondering on what will happen in a minute, in a day, in a year of his life. Unchartered territories await in the future, one might just be taken aback with what could happen because it was not imagined or even thought of before. It is always a shock to hear about someone who has it all, lose it all later on.

This young-adult novel lets its reader pause and take a while to think if he would do the same things that Sammie did – immortalize her life prior to the loss of her memory by documenting it, imagine the future she might never have due to the unknown time she has left to live and write about the possible future of her siblings, and imprint her remaining time with love for her loved ones and for herself.

The Memory Book poses a challenge to its readers to value time, life and memories – some of the things that are seemingly tucked away in shelves as we move about in this fast-paced world.

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Reviews

transcending TALES OF GOING

Above and Beyond

THE WALLS OF THE FATHOMABLE

LAWS. RULES. POLICIES. THESE are the things in society that commonly depict ideas of conformity. They keep us in check and in a sense, they are what keep our demons at bay, bubbling under the surface, struggling to emerge.

But how long can we hold out until we are consumed by our most basic and carnal impulses? Keeping in mind “substance over season”, we give you three flicks, challenging the laws of comprehension that will make you question yourself, “As to what extent will man go for Love, Life and Freedom?”

In finality, we bid you, Apparentia non habent fidem. Have no faith in appearances.

ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (2004) Could you possibly erase someone or an event from your mind?

And if you could, would you really want to? Joel (Jim Carrey) is a semi-employed cartoonist and graphic artist who is madly in love with beautiful, blue-haired Clementine (Kate Winslet). When a catastrophic stage in their

THE AUGUSTINIAN MIRROR

tradition Movie Reviews By John Ero A. Agos // Junfel G. Sotelo // Timothy James V. Saria

relationship comes and their love affair turns sour, Clementine treats Joel as if they've never met each other.

Nifty and bored, technically “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” is a very Kaufmanesque narrative experiment. A mysterious, chronological jumble concentrates between Joel and Clementine.

Seconds after they introduce themselves on the train early in the movie, Joel and Clementine are bickering like they’ve done it before. They have never seen each other before, but somehow there's a connection, a distant shadow of déjà vu which seems strange. It is later on revealed that Joel and Clementine used to be lovers.

They met in Montauk in 2002. Sometime in 2004, their relationship took a turn for the worse and a short time later, with the relationship still in limbo, Clementine impulsively decides to erase Joel from her memory at Lacuna Inc., a company that has refined a special procedure that gets rid of unwanted memories, and in a fit of vengeance, Joel does the same. However, as Joel watches his memories of her fade

away, he realizes that he still loves her, and tries to hide away some of his memories in hidden corners of his mind, but the process is hard.

The flick is filled with writer Charlie Kaufman's mission to penetrate the human mind and to reveal secrets that are oddly touching, Director Michel Gondry’s humane affection for the downtrodden and amidst the unthinkably puzzling hoops of its story, an emotional center, which is that's what makes it work. At the end of the day, our memories are all we really have, and when they're gone, we are too. Although Joel and Clementine ricochet between romance and reality, what remains constant is the human need for love and companionship, and the verge to keep seeking it, despite all odds.

MIRACLES FROM HEAVEN (2016) We all have experienced a myriad of ethereal things in life; and they are not always luxury wrapped neatly in a box waiting to be opened.

Based on the Beam Family’s real life story, “Miracles From

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Heaven” revolves around Godfearing Anna (Kylie Rogers), cured of a supposedly incurable intestinal disease by what her parents call a divinely-gifted miracle. The film begins with voice-over narration from Anna’s mother, Christy Beam (Jennifer Garner), explaining that a miracle is an unexpected, positive event that is not explicable in terms of scientific or natural laws.

In Anna’s case, the fall out of a tree gave a peculiar look as to how her condition was treated. Director Riggen flawlessly featured the vital role of a mother in her unending pursuit of her daughter’s cure.

The film, albeit its faithbased theme, is not filled with proverbs from a specific bible or religion; but messages that require a probing process within are highly predictable, alongside cliché remarks about faith. It solely centers on the message of possibility and positivity which makes it more tolerable for the nonbelievers. "They'll get there when they get there," Anna says softly amid the solemn conversation with her parents, after her mom suggests that negative reactions may bombard the miraculous and heavenly things that the young girl claims, summing up the movie’s atmosphere as well.

Indeed, of all the ethereal things we experience every day, the miracle is the not so little thing that we choose to acknowledge. The miracle is something that makes connecting the dots not easy, but rather challenging. The miracle is

every kindness we see that makes our heart pound. And for what it’s worth: every miracle that is bound to happen is a reminder that we are not alone.

FROM WHAT IS BEFORE (2014) What was the condition of the country before the imposition of martial law? How were the people like during the time when nothing was out of place, until one man decided to put our fate in his hands? Lav Diaz once again takes us on a journey back in time when authoritarianism was merely a looming shadow to understand the particular period which has come to define recent Philippine history.

In a remote rural village, traditional beliefs coexist and even intermingle with Christianity, the latter represented by the kind Father Guido (Joel Saracho), and the former by two sisters, Itang (Hazel Orencio) and Joselina (Karenina Haniel), who are believed to possess healing powers. Itang, the older of the two, is selflessly devoted to Joselina, whose gifts may explain the mental and physical disturbances that rack her petite frame. But it will take more than mere supernatural phenomena to account for the inexplicable menace that seems to take up residence in this impoverished, weather-beaten village, and that slowly makes itself known over the film’s first two hours.

Cows are found hacked to death in a field, costing barrio elder

Sito (Perry Dizon, also credited as production designer) and his young nephew, Hakob (Reynan Abcede), their jobs watching over the herd. Three huts are burned to the ground one night. A man’s body is discovered in the middle of a road, bearing a mysterious neck wound, is there a vampire at work? In the end, ambiguity is ultimately dispelled, the mystery clearly resolved, and fortunately the solution is tied to something more substantial than a theory of innate human malice.

The filmmaker’s deliberate pace gives him ample time to explore this troubling problem, to weigh the morality of his characters’ thoughts and deeds without passing judgment. Father Guido has a long (if one-sided) conversation on the viability of telling a compassionate lie with Tony (Roeder Camanag), a handsome winemaker who’s sheltering a dark secret. Sito has his own painful truths to spill regarding the matter of Hakob’s parentage, and when they arrive, they merely confirm our sense of a world that has long since tipped into madness. It’s no surprise that the only despicable figure here, a peddler and a meddler named Heding (a terrific MailesKanapi), is someone bent on uncovering everyone else’s private matters, spreading lies and rumors that represent the opposite of Diaz’s patient observational probing.

“From What Is Before” concludes on a bold gesture of human defiance.

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Food and Lifestyle

RED TO DARK CHOCOLATE BROWN TO BLACK,

bloody experience indeed

QUENCHING THE THIRST FOR BLOOD

By Nicole Ailice F. Serisola

BEFORE THE AGE OF VAMPIRES AND OTHER BLOOD SUCKING MONSTERS crawled out of fiction books and people’s imagination, blood has long been used by us, humans (yes you, not Nosferatu) for consumption. With its historic introduction, it now re-emerges in the culinary world.

Marked by several cultures and religions as a taboo form of food – basically, hands off - animal blood, is consumed in many cultures across the globe, cultivating mainly in Europe and Asia. From the blood sausages or black pudding of the Europeans, and the pig blood cake and pig blood soup of the South East Asians, the usage of animal blood popularly prevails up to now. It still boosts the adage waste not, want not – with the inventive and resilient attitude and resourcefulness among cooks and chefs worldwide.

According to Mark Hay of GOOD, blood-based cooking dates back to the time of ancient Greece, remarking that blood sausages were once mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey. No source can be quite certain as to indicate the first ever recorded usage of animal blood for human consumption.

However, the majority of food historians attribute it to the practice of humans started animals as food sources for its protein - not wasting any part of the slaughtered animal or “kill”- for survival. Upon slaughter, the carcass is

BLOOD ALL OVER THE WORLD Source The Oxford Companion to Food

SAUSAGE

PANCAKE

SOUP

RAW BLOOD

SOLIDIFIED

Black pudding is a sausage made from a blend of onions, pork fat, oatmeal, flavorings, and pig’s blood.

Blodplattar is a pancake made of whipped blood and other ingredients common in Scandinavia.

Czernina is made out of duck blood and clear poultry broth. Sweden and Korea also have their own versions.

Right after killing the seal, raw blood is traditionally eaten (or drank) to keep the body warm.

Popularly known as betamax. These are roasted chicken blood cut into small cubes and skewered like barbecue.

(United Kingdom)

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(Sweden)

(Poland)

(Greenland)

(Philippines)

Illustrations Allaine Rose M. Emnacen

37

I DARE SAY IF YOU’RE ALREADY A BUDDING FAN YOU MIGHT END UP BLOODTHIRSTY FOR MORE. IT MIGHT BE QUITE BLOODY DELICIOUS.

cut open, with organs and various innards removed for the purpose of nourishment or rituals and the blood is drained. You can probably guess how it goes afterward. Prevalent as it may be, however, some parts of the [culinary] world have not yet embraced and some shun the practice of cooking blood in their traditional fare.

This slaughterhouse byproduct, despite being a prolific food item in classic and modern cuisines, is still not widely acceptable due to several reasons aside from plain old disgust. Alan Davidson, in his book Oxford Companion to Food (2nd edition, 1997), writes that, “Contemporary American society eschews the consumption of blood.”

While there are those that aren’t so enthusiastic about digesting animal blood products, countries with large populations of Muslims and Jews forbid blood due to its prohibition in their respective religions. Food preparation amongst them is refined (e.g. halal and kosher) making sure that meats to be eaten are blood-free. On the other hand, the British, Scandinavian and Germanic countries of origin in Europe have at least several dishes incorporating blood if not as staple for main dishes.

“Blood Lady” Elisabeth Paul, one of the few chefs who are part of The Nordic Food Lab - a test kitchen in Copenhagen which experiments on the weird, taboo and peculiar, came up as far as to substitute animal blood for eggs, as it was one of the major food allergies kids have in Europe. Besides the benefit of aiding egg intolerance, preventing anemia was also one, and thus Paul’s experiment project was born. Samples of her peculiar

Photograph Allaine Rose M. Emnacen

tests included blood ice cream, sourdough blood pancakes, blood meringue, and sponge cake.

Francesco Pellegrino, another famous pastry chef hailing from Europe also concocted one of his own dessert dishes using animal blood inspired from his childhood.

While cooking blood may have benefits and a certain ring to it, some still can’t easily shake the feeling off Scottish chef, Nick Nairn, once vomited on television at the mere spectacle of cooking blood.

The sight of a vivid bright red goo, depending on animal type, gradually and inevitably changes into this dark chocolate brown to almost black color, with its signature metallic or irony taste. Experts and chefs alike recommend seasoning the blood with various spices and aromatics to subdue the bloody aftertaste.

Even though it has a high content of different proteins, minerals and vitamins (e.g. iron) that easily just explains the flavor, the mass of blocked or congealed blood won’t make all fussy kids and adults alike screaming for more.

Various culinary adventurers have dared to undergo trials and errors to understand the complexities of cooking this byproduct waste such as that of The Nordic Food Lab. Here, I gave my still-learning hand a try to creating a blood mousse – baby steps. By slowly educating to oneself the creative and innovative procedures of using what some may consider waste, the proliferation of a nearlyforgotten important ingredient will revalorize once more.

I dare say if you’re already a budding fan you might end up bloodthirsty for more. It might be quite bloody delicious.

Pork Blood and Chocolate Mousse with Green Chili Puree INGREDIENTS 150 g pork blood, cooked* 75 g - 100 g chocolate ganache, dark or white** 2 pcs large egg whites 1 Tbsp granulated white sugar 70 g whipping cream*** Green chile puree, as needed white chocolate curls, as needed Dark/Chocolate brown paste (optional) * if other animal blood is desired, adjust flavor to taste ** amount may be adjusted according to taste *** if unavailable, substitute chilled all-purpose cream

METHOD 1. First, process the pork blood using an immersion blender in a medium stainless bowl, making sure the paste is nearly smooth with no significant chunks of clumped blood.

2. Slowly, incorporate the blood and chocolate ganache.

Season, if desired. Mix well and set aside. [If using blood from a stew dish, season the blood paste according to taste and adjust amount of chocolate.]

3. In a separate container, whip the egg whites gradually into stiff peaks while slowly adding the sugar.

4. Whisk in one-thirds of the whipped egg whites into the blood mixture to lighten, then fold in the rest.

5. Whip the cream to soft peaks in another container, then fold in the cream into the rest of the mixture.

6. Mix until all items have blended well, making sure no cream or egg whites visibly remain.

7. If desired, impart a small portion of gel paste to the mixture to alter or strengthen the color of the mousse, based on preference.

8. Chill the mousse completely for several hours and pipe afterwards into small serving glasses.

9. Mound a small amount of the green chili puree above the mousse and garnish with white chocolate curls.

Note: The green chili puree is a tribute to the addition of chili peppers among the traditional cooking of Filipino stews such as dinuguan. In addition, the incorporation of spiciness in the dessert complements the combination of the sweet and savory flavor of the mousse.

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Food and Lifestyle

MESSY ROOM NO MORE

HANDY BOARDING HOUSE HACKS

By Frennie M. Tababa

SINCE I ENTERED COLLEGE, I ALSO started living away from home, home that is located 48 kilometers from school. As much as I want to feel the comforts and perks any student could have in their own house, I am always tired at the end of the dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s schooling given that I have a very stressful course.

For three years, I also have been into three boarding houses in search for a place that resembles home, home that can offer comfort and peace. And for three years, I have learned many hacks to survive as an independent person.

Your boarding room may be small, cramped, disorganized and stressful, yet, you can still find cute ways to store all your stuff. Save space, time and optimize the fun aspect of living away from homeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; without cashing out on organizers and decor.

Thought you had to sacrifice some of your favorite shoes or leave your lucky shirt behind? Think again. These super easy (and cheap!) DIY boarding house decor and storage hacks will give your room a chic update.

SAVING SPACE Everyone wants space; a space to atleast anyone can have lone time, a space for upcoming things, and a space that you will appreciate no matter how small your room may be. It is given that since you

THE AUGUSTINIAN MIRROR

39 EVEN THOUGH BEING MESSY HAS BENEFITS, IT IS BETTER FOR A PERSON TO HAVE A CLEAN SETTING.

are living in a boarding house, you will have roommates and space is a necessity. So these are some hacks that will really help you save space.

1. Stacking hangers. Boarding room closets are usually tiny and many hangers offset them. So, pile the hangers to optimize closet space for a decent amount of clothes and get double the storage without taking up too much space.

2. Shoe rack under hanging clothes.

Shoes take up so much space. If you have enough room under your hanged clothes, put a shoe rack so they’re easy to access without being in the way.

3. Under-the-Bed Storage. Stuff everything underneath the bed, but for maximum efficiency opt for stackable storage bins. If you need that extra storage space, raise your bed with bed lifts.

BEING ORGANIZED All our lives, we’ve been told to “be organized.” Organization has always been pegged as a direct key to success.

Whether at home or at your boarding house, organization is something that has been instilled in everyone pretty much from birth.

On the other hand, being messy has been equally condemned and made to be a quick path to failure. And, honestly, no rebuttal could say otherwise. I mean, what good can come from being disorganized, right?

Perhaps more than you might think. With that, I give you these tips to be organized.

1. Making a snack door. Nothing helps you power through an all-nighter like a good snack. Hang a storage bag on the back of your door. It keeps everything organized and easy to grab, and in this way, you’ll know right away when you’re running out of something and you’ll avoid having wrappers and crumbs all over your desk or your bed.

2. Using a shower caddy. It can hold your notebooks and other school supplies that you need every day. You can

Illustration Romari Charlz F. Diaz

also hang your keys on it. These are inexpensive and will hold a lot.

3. Have a separator. Divide your drawers into easy to access sections with papers trimmed down. While this works awesome for clothes, it can definitely be a huge help for organizing any drawer.

OPTIMIZING THE FUN ASPECT You cannot do anything but to accept the fact that in order to survive college, you have to learn to have fun and forget the negativities that surround you. Making work faster, fancier and enjoyable are our primary aims in this world so here are the hacks that will surely satisfy your appetite to live more.

1. Heat faster. Because we’re all that impatient, heat two bowls in the microwave by putting one bowl on top of a mug.

2. Fancy charger station. Grab a shoebox, design it in any way possible then make a cute charger station to keep all of your chargers in one space and out of the way.

3. Shoebox projector. Just visit your local store and pick up a magnifying glass.

Cut a hole in a shoebox, tape the glass over the hole, place your phone inside and you’ve got yourself a movie night!

A study conducted by psychological scientist Kathleen Vohs and her fellow researchers at the University of Minnesota revealed that clean setting leads people to do good things, such as not engaging in crime, littering, and it also showed more generosity.

However, it was also found out that messy setting can have really valuable outcomes, leading to something that firms, industries and societies want more of: Creativity.

Even though being messy has benefits, it is better for a person to have a clean setting. But being a college student is challenging and spare time to clean and be organized is considered a rare privilege. How do you even find time to arrange your room?

These hacks will make you wish you knew about them sooner.

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40

Food and Lifestyle

Yes, just me.

ALONE IN

HONG KONG

OF COURSE, AS A STRANGER I KNOW HOW TO GET IN BUT NOT HOW TO GET OUT.

By Edward Dominic E. Emilio

TRAVELLING ALONE (FOR THE FIRST TIME, ON A STRANGE country) might be a pain in the behind but there are things one could keep in mind before hopping on that plane to Neverland.

1. BE CONVERSANT IN ENGLISH. You don't even have to be that fluent, you wouldn't really need Shakespeare or Hemingway everywhere you go. You just have to be able to communicate.

My first experience out of the country was in Hong Kong during August last year for the Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations Conference. I was looking for a bus to the airport and all I could see were Cantonese signs. I approached this old ladyguard and told her, “Which bus should I take if I want to go to the airport?” She was confused. I repeated. Still confused. Then I said, “Bus. Airport.

Where?” She exclaimed and pointed to the right where I saw people lining up. I laughed and went to the bus after that conversation.

2. DEVELOP SELF CONFIDENCE. DON'T BE SHY. ASK QUESTIONS. MAKE FRIENDS. Because a wise man once said, “all you really need in life is 'kapal ng mukha'”.

Of course, as a stranger I know how to get in but not how to get out. Luckily I befriended one of my groupmates who was a Hong Kong citizen. She was kind enough to give me instructions on how to get home: which train to ride, which stop to get off, which bus to take, how much fare to pay, and even which souvenir to buy. If you are alone in a foreign country, make friends! They are going to make your life A LOT EASIER. 3. TRY TO FIT IN, BUT IF YOU CAN'T DON'T FORCE IT. Chopsticks man, ugh!

During the conference, we were tasked to eat at one table together with our groupmates. I had friends from various nationalities: Chinese, Japanese, Australian, Kenyan, American. And here I am, watching them eat noodles so gracefully with chopsticks which I desperately tried to use.

After two minutes of trying, I gave up and left my seat. I approached the counter and asked for a fork. I would not want

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to embarrass myself. Cultural differences will always be there on an international trip but never be afraid to do what you want and what you're comfortable with.

4. ENJOY! At the end of it all, going out of the country on your own would not be fun if you frowned at every misfortune that falls upon you.

During the middle of the conference I had to go back to my dormitory which was about half a kilometer away from the venue hall. I perfectly remember that picturesque night, filled with such sweet solitude. I went out of the building and saw the darkness of 9 o'clock. The rain was pouring its soft drizzles as though it was baptizing me, calling me to stay in this strange land. I had no phone with me, no internet, no companion, nothing. I was alone, walking that distance, stepping on foreign soil. I was a pilgrim – a pilgrim who felt at home.

Reader, you might not have plans of travelling as of the moment. But heed my words, you'll need them.

Photographs Edward Dominic E. Emilio

PERSPECTIVE CHANGES EVERYTHING. LOOK AT EVERY ANGLE.

Photograph Ray Adrian C. Macalalag

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