blackshama's commentary on Philippine issues

I am a martial law baby. I was four when Mr Marcos through Secretary Tatad read Presidential Proclamation 1081, placing the whole Philippines under martial law. Mr Marcos wanted to radically restructure the body politic, shutting Congress, arresting his political opponents and gagging once Asia’s “most free wheeling press”. Nonetheless, the early gains were remarkable. There was a decrease in crime rate, new infrastructure made, orderly traffic and disciplined pedestrians. My older cousins who were teens then, had to stay at home after 12:00 AM as there was a curfew till 4:00 AM. This was to the delight of my uncles and aunts. Their sleepless nights were over, at least with regards to teenagers. I was an innocent child then. I thought that “curfew” pronounced in Philippine English as “karpew” was akin to having no cars for all. A fact that as an adult, I realized, was not far off the mark, there were no cars on the street after 12. My days after school were spent at play with the nei...

I first read John Steinbeck in High School. While in the USA, Steinbeck is part of the American Canon for high school, in the Philippines he is hardly read in schools except by English Lit students in college. The first Steinbeck book I read was the short novel “The Pearl”. Later on I tackled “Grapes of Wrath”, “Of Mice and Men”, “Cannery Row” and “Winter of Discontent”. Steinbeck is best remembered for these novels. But he isn’t generally known for his essays and non-fiction. My interest in Steinbeck deepened when my marine biology professor suggested I read the “Log from the Sea of Cortez”. In this travelogue, I learned about the other Steinbeck, the devoted marine biology student and scientist. The scientist has to keep an eye on nature and fish for pattern. And if you keep on doing so you may feel something “religious” and realize that you are related and linked to all and with all of nature. It is then advisable to “look from the tidepool and into the stars”. Perhaps the best li...

Black or White? The recent impeachment complaint against the Philippines President Gloria Arroyo has made people think about the truth about the “Hello Garci” recordings. The is a new organization of civic society people who are for the impeachment of the president. They call themselves as “Black and White”. To them the truth about the impeachment complaint is black and white.  The Black and White Movement “believe the issues surrounding the presidency and the impeachment complaint are as clear as Black and White. There are no shades of gray when it comes to the Truth.” But what is truth anyway? Is it black and white? Has truth have many shades or colours for that matter? The best remembered rhetorical question in the Gospels is that of Pontius Pilate who asked his prisoner Jesus Christ, “What is truth?” Take note that the Black and White Movement spells truth with an uppercase T, while the Evangelist writes it with a small “t”. Pilate asked the most famous rhetorical question...

It is heartbreaking to see New Orleans submerged under 20 feet of water. This is one of the loveliest cities in the United States, perhaps second only to San Francisco. I was there in 1992. I spent some time in Texas and I made the trip to New Orleans. I fell in love with the city that I resolved that I will find the opportunity to do some research work in Louisiana. Last year I was offered to do post doctoral work in marine evolutionary biology at Louisiana State University and was supposed to leave in late July of 2005 until bureaucratic bungles made me decide to put off the offer until next year. If I had gone, then I should be atop a roof waiting for the Louisiana Air National Guard to pluck me out! Baton Rogue (where the university is located) and New Orleans are among the worst hit of Katrina's wrath. New Orleans is between two mighty bodies of water. One is the Mississipi River and the other is Lake Ponchartrain with its long causeway. The levees that protect the city were...