PamagCUSA Blog

Transitions 2009.

A lot of people usually equates new years as new beginnings.

Pampanga, however, started its best beginning in decades in May 2007.

2009 is critical for the Philippines as it is the year before the next local and national elections. It is most critical in Pampanga because it will be the end of the first term of Among Ed Panlilio as governor. Why?...

The political (im)maturity of the Kapampangans will be tested. Will the election of Among Ed as governor be just an exception? Or will it signify the acceptance of clean politics by electing non-traditional politicians who will always put province first before self?

Will Among Ed run for governor of Pampanga again? Will he run for another office, perhaps on a national level? If he does not run for any position in 2010, what will be his role before, during, and after the 2010 elections?

What will happen to the numerous civil society groups that sprouted in Pampanga the past year? Will they be engaging their groups directly in the coming political exercise? If yes, how?

Unfortunately, a lot of these questions will only sire more questions; for now.

This makes the visions, missions, and goals (VMG) of the civil society organizations very important. The VMG provides the direction to the groups. If the VMG are personality based, the success rate will be very poor. However, issue based VMG will not guarantee continuing success for the groups. There will always be financial issues. There will always be people issues. And many more. . .

There is, however, one thing, that can overcome these numerous issues; THE HEART TO GO ON AT ALL COSTS.

With the wealth of intellects from among the Kapampangans, the advocacy for good governance and responsible citizenship will succeed if we put our hearts into it.

Pampanga will always be a fountain of heroism that will always flow when called upon. It is civil societies' responsibility that this heroism is perpetually cultivated for the good of the Kapampangan race.

Posted by pamagcusa at 03:00 PM | Permalink

Things I learned from Mayor Jesse Robredo
by: Harvey S. Keh
The Manila Bulletin
December 28,2008 (Sunday)

For many of you who don't probably know him, Mayor Jesse Robredo is the multi-awarded incumbent city mayor of Naga City, which is currently the main commercial area of the Bicol Region. Aside from this, Mayor Robredo was also one of the first Filipino winners of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service which is equivalent to Asia's Nobel Prize. He won the award because he was able to transform Naga City from a third class municipality to a first class city and uplift the quality of life of his constituents. Moreover, he was able to develop systems that would enable government processes to be more transparent and accountable to his constituents. As a prime example of this, when one visits the website of Naga City, you would be able to see all the expenses and purchases of the city government. In the more than 16 years of being the mayor of Naga, the city has received accolades from national and international organizations such as the World Bank and the United Nations. I met Mayor Robredo in 2001 at an event organized by Synergeia Foundation, one of the country's more effective institutions in improving our public education system. Since then, Mayor Robredo has been one of the people I have looked up to for advice and his effective brand of leadership has been a constant source of inspiration for me. As such, I wanted to share the things that I have learned through these years that I have worked with him.

Firstly, I have learned that there are still people like him who continue to remain ethical despite being in government service for the past 16 years. Many people have dissuaded me from entering government service since they say that no one actually survives the current system of pervasive graft and corruption. Mayor Robredo has shown that one need not compromise his or her values and principles to be able to govern and deliver basic services to the people in an effective manner.

When I asked him what was his secret for being steadfast in his values, he told me that his faith in God and his family are his main foundations, and this is the second lesson that I learned from him. In a society where we hear of politicians having several wives and families, we have someone like Mayor Robredo who continues to put premium on his being a loyal husband and a loving father who devotes time to his three daughters. I remember a time wherein he failed to attend one of our Kaya Natin! Caravan of Good Governance events in the province since his daughter sought his help with regard to her school project. Many politicians would often jump at the chance just to be able to speak before thousands of students but Mayor Robredo chose to be with his daughter who needed him during that time.

Aside from this, Mayor Robredo has also shown that he is a man that can stand up for what he believes in even if he already knows that majority are no longer with him. This can be seen when in the last 2 Presidential elections, wherein he chose to support the late Senator Raul Roco because he believed that he would make a good President for our country even if he already knew that surveys have shown that Senator Roco would have a slim chance of winning and even if he already knew that if Senator Roco loses he may not be able to get the support of the winning candidate. Standing up and holding on to your own principles is something that is clearly lacking in many of our leaders today. Our present day leaders will often support issues or people that will help propagate their own self-interests without necessarily thinking if what they are supporting will be for the common good.

Finally, one of the most important lessons I learned from Mayor Robredo is the simplicity of his way of life. When one thinks of Filipino politicians, large houses and expensive cars always comes to mind but when one visits Naga, you will see that despite being on his 6th term as mayor of a 1st class city, he continues to live in a very simple home. I remember one time wherein we met in my office in Quezon City and I saw him just taking a cab without any bodyguards to reach our office. Back then, I was quite surprised since I was used to seeing politicians with their big cars, blaring sirens and their throngs of bodyguards. Among all of these lessons, I think what Mayor Robredo has shown me is that there is still much to Hope for in our country if we have more principled leaders like him who will continue to deliver proper services to the people and will always put the interests of our country above his or her own interests.

For those who want to hear Mayor Jesse Robredo, you can attend the Kaya Natin! Caravan of Good Governance on January 10,2009 (Saturday) at Araullo University in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija and at the University of the Assumption in San Fernando City, Pampanga. You can reach Kaya Natin! by sending an email to kayanatin@yahoo.com or you can visit the Kaya Natin! website at http://www.kayanatin.com .

Harvey S. Keh is Director for Youth Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship at the Ateneo de Manila University-School of Government and Executive Director of AHON Foundation. Comments are welcome at harveykeh@gmail.com .

Posted by pamagcusa at 02:56 PM | Permalink

This year is still the year of Panlilio BASHING!

I have never seen anything like this before. I have never seen any government official subjected to so much open hostilities. Not even the dictator President Marcos nor the current and most corrupt president of our country has been exposed to this!

Obviously, no one fears Governor Panlilio.

Is this bad? NO.

To me, this clearly means that democracy is really working in Pampanga.

Anybody can say anything about or against the governor. What is sad about this is that those who have to protect their turf, thier "other sources" of livelihood, their benefactors, etc., are the noisiest and are really having a field year bashing the governor. I just hope that the silent majority of our Kabalens can stay active in making their voices heard and not allow themselves to be outshone by the voiciferous minority led by the TRADPOLS.

How do we do this?

The churches should be at the forefront of this fight. The JESUS IS LORD group led by former and future(?) presidentiable Brother Eddie Villanueva have been most consistent in this regard. The other Christian and Protestant Churches and Ministries have also been consistent.

Sadly, the biggest group among the churches in the country, the Roman Catholic Church, seem to be disarrayed in regard to providing a very clear direction for Her flock. There are Catholic Organizations who are very active participants in ensuring Good Governance and Responsible Citizenship in Pampanga. The Couples for Christ group is foremost among them. But the other organizations seem to have gone over to the sidelines of silence.

The Academe should also be into this. They have the power of influence to a good number of our people, specially the youth. The Academe also have the tools to organize people better. However, it is sad to note that they too have gone over to the sidelines of silence.

The local media should also be into this. But the Panlilio bashing continues in local media as I write this. It is not as bad as it was during the first year of the governor's term. A few local journalists have been standing up for the good actions of the governor. Sadly, there are those who only see the bad actions of the governor. They can even impute negative meanings to worthy actions and ignore the positives of the governor. Perhaps the dictum of BALANCE NEWS can be practiced even more accurately by some of our Kabalen Journalists.

The ordinary Kapampangan will always want to have a peaceful and prosperous life. We had peace before but our province was being robbed dry by some of our previous government officials. We can not be prosperous if we allow this robberry to happen again! We will not have sufficient services to our Kabalens if we allow the greedy few to control our province again. We will stop being the envy of a lot of our neighboring provinces if we let our resources' benefits be wasted by allowing a select few to pocket the monies out of it.

We will never be prosperous if we do not stop the bondage of jueteng in our lives. We will never be prosperous if we allow jueteng to erode our culture of hard work. We will never be prosperous if we continue relying on the ridiculous chance of winning big in gambling.

Let us go on bashing the governor when he is wrong. Let us also go on also by bashing ourselves when we forget the culture of hard work that our ancestors passed on to us. Let us also bash ourselves when we commit sins of ommission by turning a blind eye on the injustices that happen around us everyday.

When all of that is done, WE CAN BASK IN THE GLORY OF PEACE AND PROSPERITY amongst our midst.

LUID KA KABALEN!

Posted by pamagcusa at 05:23 PM | Permalink

Amung Ed Ampo'y Barack

Barack ing yaus mi kanitang alalan pa keni keng Meyalal Pangulung Obama. E nake man social climbers. Deni pin apu ku bala ra kamaganak ya. "Uncle Barack" neng "Uncle Barack" kukulayit itang metung kung apu kanita Newport News, Virginia, kabang pupusanan neng Tata na palapit kang Senador Barack kaybat nang mengamanu karing arapan ding dakal a dakal a tau. Anggang ngeni patye ilang manungge keng pangadi, pangadi dala di Obama ampo'y "Our Grandfather, McCain". Agwatan mina mu ing ayli o mayli nalang pasalikut ding matwang darandam karela. Yaku e raku ata pangadi map la pa dening politiku pangadi dala. Ita naman metung ikit na manalbe kung telebisyun, nganang tambing kinutang, "So Apu, what's wrong with McCain?" Buri ne kanu i McCain, bakit ngaku, "Because he is quiet". Ginana ing "My friend, my friend" at maamu nang lupa ning kakaluguran nang Joe The Plumber ngakung minisip. Ikit mu naman keni ing sangkan nung bakit i Senador Barack kanita e ya bisang mimwa kalupa ra ding aliwa,anti mo deng kukutang, "Is he Black enough?"

Pepalto nang Meyalal Pamuntuk Barack ing ali ka kaylangan mamuunan king kekang pangayapi para mitas ka bili. Wawangis bagya ketang sangkan da ding aliwang sasalunggat king affirmative action, a mirinan kang pamakaintagun matanggap obra o karing pipagaralan pauli ning ika ali ka maputi o nanu. Agya man manwala kung kaylangan ya ing affirmative action. http://pinoyarts.blogspot.com/

Maragul pamilupa ing kabilyan Kapampangan Pilipinas at Amerika ngeni king bage politika. King pamagbayu. Neng magsalita ya ing Maging Pangulu mi, agad yang aiisip i Amung Ed. Kalupa nang Amung Ed i Barack, maralas managwanta ya at mapili karing gagamitan nang salita. Neng pareo lang matas disan keng pamagaral nung pikakayan masora la karing dakal a kutang o kakalat a salita dikil karela. Dapot neng anti lang Apusan o Models da ding tau, lakwas na ding kayanakan mayinggat la reni. Lipat na pa ning mangasisti la karing ali makiburi karela.

Makanyan man, buri ku pung yapse ing ulaga ning panaun nang mitatagan ning Amung Gobernador ning Lalawigan tamu. Matula ke pu at magmaragul king akana ye ing Kapampangan king Babo ra ding Peka-Maperang Lalawigan Pilipinas! Makapihu kamin milyari ini pauli ning kalinisan yung mamunu ampong pauli ning ing kekayung administrador o talapamahala, e ya abogadang tapat, nunge accountant ya pa! Pagmaragul dakayu pu ampo ding kekayung kayabe ken king Capitolyu!

Sana keni man California at mabilug Amerika, aisip da ing sasabyan nang Ron Paul nandin king US Congress king mag-audit la at lawen yang masipat ing pigmulan ning malilyaring maragul a sakit na ning pamagabyayan Amerika. Bakit pin ali re saludsuran ing uyat na ning kabilyan? Nu ya megumpisa? Bakit duru-durut ya ing problema, e milalako, babalik yang babalik? Bakit ali la paganan deng accountants ampong auditors bangkanita mayakit ya ing sangkan, kaybat mayulu ya ing sakit?

Ding tau mamayad la, marakal dake ning balang daratang a panakitan mumuntang agad gubiernu, bakit ken kanung Marsu ing California ala neng pera? Pilipinas, Kapampangan atin pang VAT, sinali kong pan de sal, anya pala asmo kamal king mall pauli nitang VAT, at tambing ya pang makayabe keng price tag makasabi tindaan.

Sana tukyan dala ding good governance, transparency, accountability bangkanita ing recession, o depression e nala daratang. Kanita ding mapera ila ding sasaup at sasalud king gubiernu patye mika anti kanining kapalyaryan. I Benjamin Franklin ketang meyari ing Pamiabnu at melipit ya ing pamaalan, dininan neng atlung pulung libung dolaris ini bangkanita milakad ya. Ngeni, dening magnegosyung mangaragul ila ding dirinan pera. Makananu ita, kabang ala yang laman ing kaban? Utang o bali ngara pin ding Kapampangan?

Kaybat kukutang da nung makananu yang mayasamas ing pamipagaral o education. Nung makananu ding anak mitas la belwan at antas king science ampo math. Balamu mo mabyasa ka math at science nung ala kang amlat ampon kalalangan. Antanung ding pengari papagobran lang tsa adwa o atlu, bang mika-perang makagyung pamayad pamangan, bale at aliwa pa. At kanini ing pamaalan darakal ya tatanggapan a buwis. Bunga ya pin ding pengari ala nalang panaun makapanese karing anak da at makaturu makapamasa makapakyalung karing anak. Makananu lang musbung kabyasnan ding anak? Makananu yang mitas antas ing metung a pipagaralan. Makananu lang magtagumpe at sumaup king panyulung ning kabyayan at mabilug Bansa?

Ing Amerika e binang kaylangan masa karing tau aliwang bansa bang manatiling Pekamasikan mabilug Yatu. Ing Amerika atin neng memalayan a anak a apakilimpi karing aliwang layi at kalinangan. Ing ala ra ila pin ding Talaturung maki-ustung bayad. Ali talaturung mumunang diling babawasan a bayad patye ating problema king budget,ing makasaup king isanu mang lugal. Ding talaturu sukat lang pakanan masalese at suwelduan agpang king karelang maulagang bili king pamanalakad keng bansa.

Nung buri lang makayampang at mabyasang masalese ding anak, dinan lang panaun ding karelang pengaring mituru at makyabe karela. Ing sangkan ning pangabagsak ning kabyayan dakal a dakal atiyu karing palakad king pamaalan, karing manbabatas at karing tatalan karing pera ning Balayan. Kaylangan lang bina ding malinis at tapat a mamuntukan. Magtagumpe la sana di Meyalal Pangulung Barack Obama ampong Pun Lalawigan Amung Ed Panlilo king karelang pamaniral karing good governance, transparency, accountability, etc. bangkanita miyanggat lang pasibayu king bababang kabilyan ding adwang lugal mesambitla.

Tandanan taya ing kayayapse na pamung salitang Meyalal Pangulung Barack Obama, ngana antimo ing maralas nang sasabyan Amung Ed, adwa la ding lawe king politika. Politikang susuyu balen, ampon politikang pansariling pamaytas, self-aggrandizement. Atin taung politikung palakaran da ing gawi o kelumon a e makaayun batas at atin pa kanung masasabing mamayun batas ing karelang daraptan dapot ali malyaring masabing pamanyuyu karing malda o public service ing karelang daraptan. Sane tang akakit ini ken ampo keni keng mengagalabasan nang panaun pamu, sounds familiar ngara pin. Sana mitulid na ini. At tutung public service ing paganan da ding mengayalal.

Nung balabalawus na kayu pung mako kaybat ning panaun binye ra ding menalal kekayu Amung Pun Lalalwigan, panalangin ing dakal kayu atalakad. Ini nung dinan na kayu ngan kalam ning Indung Tibwan a kayabe ding Sangunian Panlalawigan dapat king katungkulan a binye ding memalayan.

PASKU KING PIPASYALAN
Christmas In (The San Jose, CA.) Park

Memanyumputan sulu
dapot mangalati lamu
Marakal tigtigan
dapot mangayna mu
Paramdam da'ng Pasku
karing mangalating tau.

Minatna ku banwa
ikit ke ing bulan
kapat ya'ng dake
Dapot isanu itang-
Maragul mabilug
sidsad ya king lare
kasiping ning
maputi malabulak a bulan-

Orasan ya king tori
Balayan nang Apung Ose
Paganaka na Batwin na ning Belen! http://www.earthsky.org/skywatching/closest-full-moon-in-years-to-elevate-coastal-tides

Posted by pamagcusa at 05:19 PM | Permalink

My ingkong is again mad at me!

Taksyapo mo Kiko! Mepagal ka ba inya pepainawa na kang susulat? Mepagal na ka ba king kasuyuan mu king lalawigan tamung Kapampangan?

Ali naman pu Ingkong. Kaya mu pu. . . . I replied but was immediately cut short.

Ena ka gagawa pang nanu man sangkan! Alang kayangganan dapat ing pamagobra para karing kalupa mung tau, lalu na karing kekang kabalen! Makananu kang makasimba balang aldo Domingo? Makananu kang makaharap king Apung Guinu? Alang kwenta ngan ita nung ali mu talakaran alang patugut ing kasuyuan karing tao!

I am really embarrassed.

When I think about what my Ingkong just told me, and then think about all the other leaders of KASAUP, I am more embarrassed.

What I just experienced is probably a picture of how the Kapampangan citizenry must be experiencing now. Laying thier guards down when Among Ed won the gubernatorial elections. Going back to ordinary business as if the fight was all over. Just turning a blind eye on what is actually happening not just in Pampanga, but the whole country. Avoiding involvement in anything other than personal matters.

Now I am more embarrassed.

The KASAUP leaders, specially the municipal coordinators are working so hard, they often have no more sufficient time for their personal matters including their source of livelihood. They sacrifice family times, rest periods, and sometimes, even risk their lives just so they can continue their participation in serving our Kabalens.

I do not know if people understands the absolute difficulties that KASAUP leaders face everyday. The struggles of organizing at the municipal and barangay levels and the requirement of educating their "constituencies." Add to this the endless meetings, coordinations with local leaders, the provincial leadership, the other civil society organizations, the church leaders, and the most difficult part of sourcing funds for all of these activities.

Now I am absolutely embarrassed!

A good number of people think that KASAUP is just a political arm of Among Ed.

I can not blame them. People see KASAUP mostly with Among Ed. This is because of the natural inequalities in media coverage. I am not blaming media. They can only cover so much.

KASAUP is not a political party and definitely not the political arm of the governor.

KASAUP is a people's organization that advocates Good Governance and Responsible Citizenship. Among Ed is not the be all and end all of KASAUP. KASAUP will continue its advocacies with or without Among Ed as Governor of Pampanga.

Undoubtedly, today, Among Ed is the best symbol of Good Governance for KASAUP. No matter what some people will say, specially the majority of traditional politicians, Among Ed have been a model of Good Governance. He is not perfect, but so is everybody else. Among Ed has shown grit in pursuing his advocacies. He has not wavered in delivering his campaign promises; no to graft and corruption, no to illegal gambling, no to partisan politics, deliver basic services to the poor, etc.

Fortunately, Among Ed is not alone. KAYA NATIN has identified a few more governors, mayors,and vice mayors that are planting the rare seeds of Good Governance in the country. Very few some may say. Not really. Before, there were a lot fewer.

I know all KASAUP members and officers are leaders in their own communities. I also know that all of them love their families so much. I also know that what they are doing for Pampanga in KASAUP is just part of loving their families. KASAUP wants a better Pampanga for the future of their children and their childrens' children.

Let KASAUP be the beacon that will keep the light shining for Pampanga for RESPONSIBLE CITIZENSHIP!

LUID KA KASAUP!

Posted by pamagcusa at 05:18 PM | Permalink