The National Terrorist

“Pag binisita niyo ang community, don’t condemn. Isipin niyo, ‘paano ko kaya sila matutulungan?’” the fat coordinator  from Gawad Kalinga told our Economics 151 class last Wednesday. It was a very humid day and we arrived at Onyx St. San Andres after a 40-minute jeep ride. Once seated, we were given a talk on what Gawad Kalinga is and what it does. I actually appreciated their goals, which smack so much of common sense: unity, not agitation; help the poor by giving them not only decent housing but also education, employment, health services, and a sense of community (among others); and provide spiritual guidance for the community. Gawad Kalinga used to be the social arm of the Couples For Christ here in the Philippines until recently because of a schism regarding one very crucial point.

After the hour-long talk and a warning to keep our bags near our chest and our cellphones out of sight, we were given a short tour around the compound. It was lunch time so a lot of people were on their doorsteps cooking food along the dirty canal, as most living spaces were too cramped and windowless. There were at least three groups of swarthy men in their 20s and 40s hanging out in nooks just talking and laughing. It seems to be a flourishing community, but not in the positive sense, since the most noticable thing during our tour was the number of children in the compound. Most of the children I saw were not older than five years and almost each house has a young child playing near it. Some women had babies to their breasts as well. (more…)

Immunity

“Can Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo be tried in an international court?” I asked Professor Tuazon a year ago in our Special Topics in Political Science class. We were discussing the theory of command responsibility then and I was interested to know whether it could apply to our beloved President regarding accusations of human rights violations.

“How?” the professor asked. I didn’t know. He proceeded to explain that while the President is in power, she cannot be tried for anything anywhere. We might have hope after her term is over (hopefully) in two years when she could be tried in any court—local or international—but it is not that simple. It depends on the political landscape present in two years’ time.

(more…)

Issues.

It’s really raining hard at 4 am. It’s the same rain that woke me up. Believe it or not, I slept at around 9 pm because I felt so tired and stressed out. My eyebags are really healthy lately and I’m not particularly excited to nurture them.

I just want to relax and have coffee in a quiet hole somewhere with a good book. I’m not a fan of coffee and I haven’t held a book that’s not related to academics for so long that I’m not sure if this would work. But I could try.

Aside from this, I feel stupid and incompetent.This might just be the rain and the really early morning talking, though.

I Need More Rainy Days

There’s something about rain that makes people think. It might be because the monotonous patter of water drowns all the other human sounds out—the rumble of vehicles on the nearby street, snatches of music from a stray radio, the din of conversation from nearby people—the sound of rain tends to mute these things. Rain also has the power grayscale the world; our attention to colorful and shiny things dissipates along with the gradual loss of light. The rain can turn us partially deaf and blind, allowing us to be more introspective than normal.

That’s what I’ve been these past few days. 

  (more…)

The Things That Make My Day

It’s easy to make my day. A mild morning with sunlight on my face can make me smile. A man giving up his seat for a woman can make me smile. Two friends getting together romantically makes me smile—corny, I know, but like I said it doesn’t take a lot. I especially like compliments, like everyone does.

Yesterday my professor returned a paper I passed. Before that, he asked us to grade our own paper according to what we believe it’s worth. I gave mine a 1.5. It’s minus .25 from uno because the last part was a bit sketchy; it’s not as solid as I wanted it to be (I did the darned paper in less than 30 minutes, which is not an excuse though) and another .25 less because the organization was shot. So I wrote a huge “1.5″ on the upper-right corner of my paper and passed it. I might have said this already somewhere but: I am not known for my humility.

When I got the paper back, here’s what I got:

 Lol.

Untitled Draft

If you say something hard enough, people are bound to believe you. Unfortunately this only works for when you say something negative, since everyone loves to have dirt over someone. It makes them feel better about themselves. Say something positive and people won’t nearly care or believe as much as when you say something bad. We all just lap it up. (more…)

Not Her Real Name

The ugliest and most evil thing that could happen to a female or a male is rape. Sex after all is not just a physical activity—it involves our thoughts and emotions in the process. These are our most private and basic possessions. Once they are accessed against our will (rape is a special case since it is more often than not, violent), the effect will most probably be lasting lacerations on our life and consciousness. Thus, rape violates not just a person’s body, but the core of his or her very being: the identity.

If you’ve been following the news, you’ve probably heard of the PUP gang rape case. A 16-year old Marketing freshman claims that she has been drugged and then raped in turns for three days by 20 students in the PUP campus. There is an ongoing media frenzy regarding this case, and as usual, there is the blow-by-blow account of tests on her vagina and her bloodstream (for drugs), shots of the victim’s silent and immobile body covered with whatever jacket, towel or handkerchief is available, blurred head shots of the alleged rapists, and so on.

  (more…)

Liz Monologues: On Mac, Blogs, and Plurk

Here I make a total ass of myself. I said “missing in absence” instead of “missing in action” and my grammar is deplorable! Aaaanyway, here I talk about:

• My MacBook and my favorite application there (Garageband) 
• My three favorite blog posts of the week (Fritzified, Mike Villar, Blog ni Inday) [edit: “Gary Wants To Punish Me” appeared on my Google Reader as Mike’s latest post. However it was posted last June 6. Wtf is that about? Also, his old blog is at mikey.i.ph, not mikevillar.i.ph]
• Top five Plurks (add me up people, it’s here)

Here goes nothing.

macblogsplurk

music: All Hail The Heartbreaker by Spill Canvas and Stranger, You and I by Daphne Loves Derby