All is set for the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement in Dapitan City between the National Historical Institute (NHI) and LGU-Dapitan under the administration of Hon. Mayor Dominador G. Jalosjos, Jr. Such MOA containing the development of the Rizal Shrine situated in Barangay Talisay in Dapitan.

This is the latest development revealed by the City Council Member Hon. Apple Marie A. Agolong and the present chairman of the Committee on Tourism after a negotiation with the NHI- National Office in Manila.

Councilor Agolong personally appeared in the said office before the NHI Executive Director, Ludovico D. Badoy and worked to speed-up the issue on hand, which includes 1 million pesos as counterpart of NHI in addition to the 1 million pesos of the local government of Dapitan.

Later last year, Director Badoy visited Dapitan and the Rizal Shrine and agreed to enter into a MOA between the local government of Dapitan through the City Mayor and the members of the city council after the proposed prayer of the city government to be provided with immediate supervision and management over the shrine. As mandated by the law, the Rizal Shrine should be under the National government considering its National significance like Biñan Calamba in Laguna, Fort Santiago, Paco Cemetery and Luneta. Nevertheless, LGU-Dapitan is given authority to develop the park as stated on the MOA.

Councilor Agolong further revealed that Tourism-wise, the development of the Rizal Shrine is on top of the list of the Jalosjos Administration.

It will be on January 2005! This was disclosed by Mr. Leo Garcia of the Department of Agriculture during his meeting with Gov. Rolando Yebes recently to discuss plans of establishing the regional satellite office here in Dipolog City.

Garcia further revealed that there will be about 30 personnel who will man the satellite office but a total of 60 is seen during the complete transfer of said office to Dipolog City. The satellite office will be temporarily housed inside the ECO Park where the office of the Provincial Agriculturist is presently holding office, source said.

It’s purely environmental concern and nothing else. This was the strong defense of pro-environment non-governmental organizations regarding the alleged politicking of the group in their fight against the relentless cutting of trees of DACON and its subsidiaries. Mr. Michael Malacca, chief of Dipolog React Space Group has strongly reacted to a local radio commentary calling the pro-environmental groups political groups. 

Malacca stressed that the group started as a small group of concerned individuals, including church leaders who waged their fight for the preservation of the last forest areas in the province.

He further pointed out that there was no politician who ever helped them in their expenditures during the investigation.  In fact, Malacca disclosed, they tried to approach the former governor Isagani Amatong but sad to say Malacca claimed, they were never heard and they were not accorded any support by the provincial government.

Like trapped animals, Leo Denolan Villahermosa, 49; junar Magalso de Vebar, 22; Ena Aquino Reyes, 50; and Lenie Salvador Corpus, 45 Finally fell into the hands of police authorities as budol-budol suspects took a holiday rest at Village Hotel, Sicayab, Dipolog City.

Tipped by a room boy of the hotel, police operatives of Dipolog PNP and 902^nd Police Provincial Mobile Group led by SPO4 Manuel Acabal raided the hotel which forced the four suspects to surrender. PNP Provincial Director Jufel Adriatico presented the arrested suspects to the public and whom budol-budol victims positively identified as the persons who have run away their big money.

It was estimated that about P1M had been carted away by Villahermosa’s group in Dipolog City alone. The said syndicate was reportedly operating in Dipolog, Dapitan and Zamboanga del Norte. Confiscated by the police authorities from their possession were budol-budol paraphernalia’ which included cut-out paper money from grade four pads, envelops and bundled paper to look like real money.  Moreover, also confiscated from the group was a van believed to be the group’s getaway vehicle.

Elpidio Aripal Morandarte of Upper Turno, Dipolog City deserves a hundred death sentences. This was the reaction the inmates at the Dipolog PNP detention cell when he admitted having raped a seven-year-old girl three times and for having chained a seven-year-old boy to a tree in his very own backyard.

In an interview with this paper, Morandarte admitted readily his crimes without remorse in his face. It could be recalled that before he was apprehended by the police authorities, Turno Barangay Secretary Menard Baes and Social Worker Harry Vernus spotted a little boy who was stripped naked and was chained to a nearby tree in Morandarte’s backyard.

Chained like an ordinary domesticated animal, the boy was seen to have little space to move about and trembling in the cold. Both Baes and Vernus reported the incident to the PNP who immediately responded by raiding the reported house.  The chained boy led the authorities to find another victim in the house, a seven-year-old girl who claimed she was three times by Morandarte.

Mahitabo mismo sa dakbayan sa Dapitan ang pagpirmahanay sa kasabutan kun Memorandum of Agreement o MOA tali sa National Historical Institute kun NHI ug LGU-

I happened to view the movie, ‘Deep Impact’ several times. It seemed so real to me that for a number of times I was able to watch it, I couldn’t help but shudder at the thought that one day that fiction would turn into reality. I didn’t know why, but I really had that creepy feeling then that time will come when disasters of great magnitude would strike and change the face of the earth. So, when we saw the footages of the tsunamis that brought death to thousands, nay hundreds of thousands, of people in eleven countries last Sunday, I felt like I was watching Deep Impact again which climaxed with a scene where the protagonists ran to the mountains as rushing waters and killer waves wiped out New York City. It was truly heartrending to see people run for their dear lives and be washed away still in a great swell of water.

Why God chose to unleash nature’s wrath a day after we celebrated the birth of Jesus, our Savior, is something we should all ponder on. It was a blessing perhaps that we had our share of disasters-- small disasters in the typhoons and the flashfloods that hit Luzon earlier, that we were spared from that tsunami. With economic crisis hitting us, too,  we were able to celebrate Christmas Day as solemnly as we could. Those may have been in God's mind when without any clue, the nightmare that was set to take place the next day to our neighboring countries in Southeast Asia and some countries in Africa took form. The Editor described it only in one phrase-- Act of God. Survivors of the disaster claimed that the unusual calmness of the sea last Sunday hid the dangers that lurked behind the waves and the deep waters of the Indian Ocean. The once paradise islands in Thailand and Sri Lanka turned into a sea of mourning, pain and grief.

Maybe God was sending a message to the whole world that only a disaster can effectively transmit. As we can see, towards the end of this year, calamities struck nations across the globe and thousands of lives were lost. War tore the country of Iraq and the neighboring conflict in Israel and Palestine was no less threatening, claiming lives, innocent lives as fanatics turn themselves into literal human bombs. But nothing can compare to last Sunday’s devastation. In just one stroke, villages and islands in eleven countries became a valley of death. Wiped out from the face of the earth in one fell swoop. And for those who survived the disaster, such deliverance was God’s will, nay, compassion.

We may not have been affected by the tsunamis but we never feel safe inasmuch as our country is made up of hundreds of islands all vulnerable to disasters such as quakes, tsunamis and tidal waves. God forbid!

Much as we are in a hurry to see 2004 go, the year truly leaves a wound in the hearts of people greatly affected by the disasters. Maybe it would take a long time still before the wound would completely heal and the grief would be over.  So, we pray that the next Christmas would bring them peace, strength and renewed faith in the Lord for them to be able to cope with life’s challenges.

Before our sad experience in 2002, December has always been a month to look forward to.  Four members of the family celebrate their birthdays in December starting from December 24 up to December 31. However, after what happened to my brother-in-law two years ago, we could not just shake away the feeling of dread that somehow creeps in our sub-conscious mind when the New Year approaches. Something that only dread as dread can be, can ex plain. The tragedy is past us now, with all the "players" left to go on with their own lives productively, but somehow, the scar would remind us of that day when one call from my sister-in-law changed all our lives in, again, to repeat the cliche, one fell swoop.

Credits: Tingog PENINSULA is published by the Horn Blower Publications with editorial office at MINAOG HIGHWAY (100 meters after GSIS going to Dapitan City) Dipolog City with Tel. No. (065) 212-4703; Cell No. +63918346-8133

I should have written my original piece, The Year Of The Rooster, Jose. You see, year 2005 is the year of the rooster, and if not for the sudden twist of event that led me to the police station and wasted a whole morning talking to the leader of the Budol-Budol Gang a minute longer for me to write about him and his statements instead, I should have been glad to share to you my insights on this Chinese Lunacy called the year of the Rooster. No, don't consider me a patsy on the topic of the Rooster, Jose, underestimating my knowledge on the subject. After all, as all my friends know, I was born in the year of the Rooster and if I shall believe my Mom, God rest her soul, my Dad, God rest his soul, too, was the one who made lihi when she became pregnant with me. And you guess it right; Dad did make lihi of the Fighting Cocks! What a term! Bwahahahaha...

o0o

But I guess the topic could wait for the next issue. After all, the Budol-Budol Gang interview will make better reading for the community than reading me and my year of the Cock, ehe, Rooster, I mean! Bwahahaha...

o0o

He prides himself, for being the best spotter any con artist can compete with. Alias Leo, as he would just want me to refer to him, is the leader of the Budol-Budol Gang, who was nabbed by the police a day before Innocents' Day. By "spotter" he means, that he can "spot" a potential con victim from a distance. Asked how, he said that in his years as a con artist, he has made stereotypes of what a con victim looks like. And the method that's a surefire, nay,  foolproof formula to let them bite! What a mouthful. But it was not that statement that got my interest. It was when he started justifying why as a college graduate and a former "sharpshooter commando" from the army, he chose to lead a Budol Budol group instead. "This is the profession that would least hurt people. After all, we are not Nenitas (a term he uses for small time con artists content with victimizing people of their watches and cell phones), but big time sweet-talkers... If I used my sharpshooter's training then I would be killing people, and that would be a lot worse. In this "trade", I only hurt rich people whose greed for money is insatiable."

o0o

He admits he has no remorse for his victims. "They willingly parted with their money content with the thought that they were able to victimize us as they exploited our feigned weakness and lack of education," he explains. The modus operandi as he detailed were indeed so elementary, so crude, you could not help laugh at the victims as they fell prey to their artistry. He even can give out a chuckle or two in the process, knowing that he was conned to tell me the story he so expertly wove for the victims. "You are turning out to be a better con artist letting me blurt out in full bravado my accomplishments," he lamented. After all, that is what he best does to his victims. Let them talk and let them boast, giving out details he will soon use against them.

o0o

Another momentous year of our life has ended, and another new year has come our way. As we leave the year of the monkey, we are filled with excitement as well as apprehensions about the prospects of the year 2005. The same questions come up into our minds – What would happen next? Many fortune tellers have tried to read the lines in the palm of our hands to satisfy our inquisitiveness, but for others, this doesn’t make any sense at all! For they believe that tomorrows success depends on what we can do today. However, our fate – only God knows!

Last December 31, 2004, Dipolog City was one of the thousands of cities all over the world who joyfully welcomed the year of the rooster. Before the midnight had approached, the Dipolognons have already prepared for the festive event. The busy streets, the overcrowded malls and markets, the aroma of delicious cooked foods to be prepared for the Noche Buena, the joys of the children playing on the streets, the excited people, and the numerous vendors of fire crackers lining up on the side road were some of the activities that have been observed. As I wandered around the busy city, I have seen a lot of people making some variety of preparations for the said celebration. Not only chaotic buyers have I seen but as well as the abundance of vendors as well. Inside the public market, many kinds of fruits were displayed, sold at plunged prices. There were grapes, chicos, pineapple, bananas, Chinese pomelo, apple, water melon, oranges, pears, mangoes, kiat-kiat, jackfruit, etc.

Traditionally, a variety of thirteen fruits are usually prepared by each Filipino family during the New Year’s Eve. According to the grapevine that, through the said tradition, good fortunes and blessings will be obtained on the approaching year, or this is what the Visayans usually called “palihi”. And, of course, the New Year’s Eve would not be completely welcome without the fire crackers. Various kinds of fire crackers were available, such as the triangles, super lolo, pla-pla, fountains, twitis, Juda’s belt, and the like. But as what I have observed, it seems that only few costumers have bought these explosive stuffs. This is, maybe, because of the fact that all of us are suffering from crisis. “I’d rather buy some delicious foods than waste my money to those dangerous stuffs. One boom and your 300 pesos is gone into the air,” according from a nice fellow I’ve talked with. And, visibly, he’s right. Not only that they’re risky and dangerous, the fire crackers do cost a little expensive this kind of season. Thus, only “those who can afford to buy” have bought them home. For others, however, especially to those Chinese people, it has already been an irrevocable part of tradition. Actually, the old custom has said to be originated from China. Going back on the ancient era, the practice has been habitually done consistently when the New Year comes, mainly to drive the evil spirits away. Through this, good fortunes will be abundant on the successive year. Aside from this, fire crackers are fun to look at, and the New Year’s Eve will possibly seem to be boring without them.

When darkness has finally covered the city, the whiff of the forthcoming year 2005 can be felt into the air. There were street parties held on some parts of the town, particularly on the Boulevard and Jones Street, wherein the residents harmoniously joined together for the celebration. The vivacious beats of loud music from the disco can be extremely heard, as well as the blissful children on the streets.  A number of people can be seen dancing on the roads, having a good time while waiting for the midnight. But in the middle of all these excitements, there were some people who were still sincerely working, spending their time on the job in which they had already dedicated themselves, all in the name of service. Most of these people were the hospital employees, knowing the fact that accidents never choose time on its occurrence. The ambulances are also visible everywhere, ready to respond to emergencies. Even the fire stations are alert in case of some fire accidents since fire crackers are very rampant in this moment. There were also some policemen who kept on roaming around the place, making sure that peace and order can be mainly secured.

Few seconds drew near before the New Year cross the threshold, and the thrill of excitement scattered all over the place, wherein everybody prepared themselves for the coming of this one crucial event. When the most awaited and ultimate second has passed, the night suddenly turned like a festive carnival. Everyone wore themselves their pretty smiles, greeting each other a “Happy New Year!” Some even called up their loved ones who were far away from them during that time just to greet and express how they truly love and miss them. The earsplitting fire crackers can be extremely heard everywhere, and the colorful sparkling figures were visible on the dark sky in which everybody was amazed. The place became so very noisy. The environment was filled with joy and happiness and unity, an expression that tells how they preciously welcomed the year 2005.

Although 2004 closes with a very painful tsunami tragedy the world can never forget, we still wish to welcome 2005 with a hope that it will give us a fresh start to allow us to rise from the ashes of the past.

Let us rise above our lethargy: the complacency to report illegal logging even in its rawest form and graft and corruption, even the littlest kind like collecting money from subordinates on the pretext of donations, but using it for personal gratification.

Let us rise above our own waywardness like vindictiveness, greed, dishonesty, tactlessness, conceit, etc. and soar into some heights of goodness which brings happiness to other people.

Let us redirect our values for good reason.  Give only if it makes others independent.  Be hospitable only if it does not bring you to the edge of extreme indebtedness.  Do the bayanihan only if it is for the common good but not for the satisfaction of one and for the great disaster of many.

And it will be the greatest joy of God if we can rise above our own hatred against our enemies; instead love them without conditions.

The year 2004 has a lot of things to tell us and to our incoming generations. It tells of human successes as well as failures.

In the international scene, We, Filipinos were pleased to see the greatest boxer of our time, Manny Pacquiao, knocked down his opponent one by one. This is understandable because the man is part of us—a co-Filipino.

But we were saddened, too, of the Tsunami incident that happened in Indonesia which claimed thousands of human lives. We grieved because we belong to one human race.

In the local scene, supporters of the winning politicians in the national elections jubilated because they expected that something good would be rewarded to them this time.

But to those who lost, including their supporters, murmured. They continuously recited their protests in the streets and gave flimsy reasons why they lost.

Last week we celebrated Christmas in our own special way. Tingog Peninsula came out early and the editor also made the same insinuation early Tuesday morning. That means, all columns must be in before the regular deadline. With all the parties and reunions going on, the last thing on everyone’s mind is a deadline. After all, we are supposed to be on vacation. But like any alert girl scout whose motto is “Be prepared always”, then prepared I must be with an appropriate column to cap the year that has just gone by.

This column’s title is you guess it, another story for Christmas taken from the Chicken Soup book, which as I have stated last issue, was a Christmas gift. I learned many readers clamored for more stories, thus, I am giving in to their request (ehem).  Okay, let’s just say, the party fare has made one so lazy to think of topics that are “harmless”, thus, one has to resort for help.

This is the story of Dina Donohue. Please read on.

I was teaching a Grade 2 class in Ontario, Canada, and was asked to produce a Christmas pageant. Some people thought what happened ruined it, while others considered it the truest Christmas story they had ever seen. You be the judge.

After much thought and tact, I gave out the various parts for the pageant.  One problem was Ralph. He was a big boy for nine years and should have been in Grade 4. Besides being big, he was clumsy, slow-moving and slow-thinking. He was well-liked by all the children, especially the younger ones—he acted as their natural protector.

He wanted to be a shepherd with a flute. I told him I had a more important role for him. As the innkeeper, I reasoned, he would not have too many lines to remember. His size would make his refusal of lodging to Joseph more impressive.

We practiced and practiced, each child feeling his importance to the success of the evening. The auditorium filled with family and friends for the yearly extravaganza of a stage filled with exuberant children. But no one in the audience or on the stage was more caught up in the magic of that night than Ralph. The play progressed without any major mishaps until Joseph appeared, walking slowly, tenderly helping Mary to the door of the inn. He knocked hard on the wooden door. Ralph was ready and waiting.

“What do you want?” he cried, pushing the door open with a rude gesture.

“We are looking for lodgings.”

“Look for them elsewhere.” Ralph looked straight ahead, but he spoke with conviction. “The inn is full.”

“Kind sir, we have asked everywhere in vain. We have traveled far and are very weary.”

“There is no room for you.”

“Please, good innkeeper, this is my wife, Mary. She is heavy with child and must find a place to rest for the night. Surely you must have some small corner for her. She is so tired.”

Ralph looked down at Mary. There was a long pause. The audience became tense with embarrassment.

“No, begone!” I coached. Ralph just stood there. Three times I prompted him from the wings, each time louder than the last. The angels backstage with me were becoming anxious, too. At last, Ralph automatically repeated the words he had learned in those weeks of practice:  “No ,begone!”

Joseph sadly placed his arm around Mary and started to turn away. The innkeeper did not return to his inn as directed. He stood there watching the forlorn couple, looking perplexed, with his mouth opened, his brow creased with concern, his eyes filled with tears. Suddenly, this Christmas pageant became different from all the rest.

“Don’t go, Joseph. Please don’t go,” Ralph called. Bring Mary back. ” His face brightened with a big smile. He stretched out his arms.