A Blog out of Baguio

I haven't written in this blog for the longest time. I am just so busy. I am now in Manila doing the lay-out of the Corps Magazine. Finally, I have come to the point that we are the ones who call the shots for the issue. This is the traditional transitory issue where those who will succeed the ruling class are given the chance to practice doing the magazine. It has been a very good learning experience, being able to really get the feel how it is really done.

The good side of doing the magazine is that I was able to go home. Finally after beig incarcerated in Baguio for the l0ngest time, I find myself in Manila and was able to see my family. Tomorrow life will go back to being a cadet, I will again don my cadet uniform. I will just wait for the real break in two weeks time.

I really do not have something big to blog about. I just realized that I miss blogging. I miss talking to myself and I miss this blog. Collecting articles, pictures, editing, conducting meetings and many other things has drained my system. It was a good thing now that I am able to relax and be able to write. I am sorry if I am not making any sense, I am jus trying my best to enjoy every bit of my experience away from the Philippine Military Academy. I promise to write a better entry some other time... and yes I plan to do the remaining parts of my series on the places I went to during the Environmental Science Trip.

I love you people....

What makes Recognition Day important

I am not yet in the mood to write the continuation to my series. My mind now is occupied with so many things: a major exam tomorrow and articles for the Corps Magazine that I have to follow-up. I am trying to be calm in lieu of the responsibilities that are now on my shoulders.

Anyway, I haven't really written anything about Recognition Day. Last night, I read a feature article about this year's Recognition Rites and I felt that I just have to write my insight about the event.

This year's recognition day was at the front page of national broadsheets. Although a storm was rampaging Baguio City, the ceremony pushed through while the rest of the world watch us as we insist on doing it despite of the heavy rain. There is something in the ceremony that is more than the eye could see.

To anyone who has been a plebe at one time in his life, Recognition Day is the finish line to everything that makes plebehood bad. In normal days, heavy rains on a saturday was somethign that we cadets celebrate and pray that it will go on the whole day or at least until the afternoon. The reason for that is because we want the parade cancelled. In the day of the Recognition however, all of us were praying that the rain would stop, not because we really wanted to go on parade but because we do not want the ceremony of Recognition for the plebes to lose its essence. For my part it wasn't just reminiscent of my own victory over plebehood, but it was also my victory as a squad leader to the plebes that were about to be recognized. I have had ten plebes under me since I became a second class and I am proud to say that all of them made it to Recognition Day. For me, to shake their hands on that glorious day was also my congratulations that my mission to them was accomplished.

Today, those ten plebes smile everytime they see me. If that was last month, they would have suffered my wrath. I would have asked them to double time and ruin their day. I was not the type of squad leader that the plebes would consider as kind. The fact that I have a history of a plebe having marks on her shin is not something that I am proud of but is a simple illustration that I am not exactly kind to plebes. I made them do exercises for infinite number of repetitions, gave them seemingly impossible orders, tested their physical stamina and endurance and gave them a very hard time even at the most little things. They know that they can not smile at me but now when they do smile, I smile back. I smile back because they have earned their right to smile. People may not be able to understand why something as simple as a smile is a good thing. the truth is in that smile lies the sense of achievement that only those who have been plebes can understand.

Field Trip: Pera sa Basura (part 1 of 4)

"May pera sa Basura." That was how we were welcomed by Engineer Mendoza of the Metro Clark Waste Management Corporation. All of us listened to his orientation. We were inside an air conditioned office space. On one side were trees of all kinds, on the other is a man-made lake and beside it is a mountain. The mountain was actually a huge pile of garbage and the lake beside it was its juice that they call leachate.

Solid waste management has been a perrenial problem. Not just because of the fact that it is waste but also because it is something that is very visible, it is an eye sore. I remember the days when I had to accompany my mother going to Marikina Market. It was during the pre-Bayani Fernando days. When all the vendors begin to sell their products, all the garbage also begins to appear. I hated it. First the water becomes black, then my slippers becomes dirty with the black water, my feet begins to be slippery with the dirt and water combined. By the time it is time to go home, my feet feels (and smells) so bad that I promise myself not to go with my mother again. Well, things did change, lately Marikina has been making good in this area. Going there now, it becomes a pleasant visit and a worthy example of how things are if only people have more responsibility at disposing their garbage.

The orientation continued and then we were given the tour to the site including going to the actual garbage. I realized how our little trashes can grow into huge mountains like the ones in front of me. For most of us, we just do not care and yet we complain of floods, of diseases and other things that have some connection with garbage. The mountain of garbage reminded me of a sense of responsibility in the things that we do.

The next place we went to was Trust International Paper Corporation or TIPCO. It is the largest paper mill in the country and prides itself as the leading supplier of newsprints in the country. Most likely each of us have taken hold of the paper they produce because they are the ones who provide the paper of almost all leading newspapers in the country. What is interesting in this plant is that they use 100 percent waste paper for their products.

Mr Rox Pena, a manager in TIPCO, was the one who brought out the comment on garbage being the most visible pollutant such that it has to be addressed. In his little lecture he said that around 40 percent of all the garbage collected in the country is waste paper and yet his company is not able to retrieve that such that they still have to import waste paper from countries as far as the United States. Imagine how more profitable it is if only we have a system that will retrieve all this waste paper. More than how the paper is made, I took particular attention to their water treatment facility. This ensures that their waste water will not cause harm to society instead it has been used in other useful means. Their fire station boasts of using treated water to put off fires and they have hollowblocks made of clay from their treated water. I guess what is very evident in what they are doing is the sense of responsibility not just for their own personal gain but for the benefit of the wider community.

It is true that there really is money in garbage but more than finding money we should also remember that in everything we do, we should couple it wit a sense of responsibility. Not because it is being good but because it is only by being responsible that we can sustain this world for us to endure and continue living.

Tomorrow, I will introduce you to the birds of Candaba Swamp in Pampanga... till then

The Field Trip (Introduction to a four-part series)

I arrived last night from a very fun filled Field Trip for my Environmental Science Class. I enjoyed it a lot considering that I did not go on break, seeing other people that do not wear the uniform gave me something to be happy about.

Anyway, I have decided to write everything that happened in that trip. I am dividing it into four parts , the first of which will come out tomorrow, if I will have time to write about it. I am still getting all the pictures that I need for the write-up.

To start with, as a somewhat introduction, I will begin to write about the trip as a whole. Personally, there was this sense of urgency in the issues that were brought up in the trip. Although I was more interested in just leaving PMA and have some fun, the idle time inside the bus while going to the next destination became a venue for me to think about what was discussed to me in the sites that we went to. I was not able to resist the temptation of asking the resource speakers questions and express my own opinions regarding their advocacy. Somehow, there was this realization that everything is connected, that no matter how hard we try to find a life, even if we do not care about everything else, it will haunt us. Life should always be in moderation and be lived in a balance that comprises everything that makes this world.. the world.

And so I formally begin this series. In the next four entries, I will write about some realizations in the recent Field Trip that I have. I will write about the thing that I felt on the issues that they brought up. I will write about realizations and some personal decisions that I made in my own. I think the thing tha I can do to help them in some way is to just write about it even here in my little abode in the cyber space. Of course, I will still write about it in other avenues possible, but of course I can not write them all. So this is the introduction to a four part series (so there will be five in the series including this one... ????).

But of course let me just highlight some of the things that happened. These are the things that I may not have a reason to include in the other four write-ups that I will do. The pictures that do not fit... here it is:This was a picture taken from Candaba, Pampanga where we had a nice time bird watching. The Mountain is Mount Arayat and the sun was just about to set when this was taken

This is another picture but a glimpse of the sunset. A few minutes after this, the birds started flying in big groups and it was a very beautiful scenery.

We wondered how this fight was going to be. When I passed this poster in SM Pampanga, I just have to take a picture, the boxing fever was still on even if we knew we will not be able to see the match... true enought Pacquiao won.

If you think water is life, then take a look at this picture. This was the water that I and my other classmates had to use in taking a bath. After one whole day of going around, our bodies just felt so dirty and it was hot considering that we were "highlanders." Initially, we did not want to use the water but it was unavaoidable and so we did. At least we were not drinking it. The funny thing is that long after all the soap was removed from our bodies, it was still slippery.

We had this accident somewhere in Pangasinan. The bus in our rear collided with our bus (we were in front). It was a case of a bus driver going on auto pilot (if you know what I mean). It was a good thing that the bus was our other contingent. Sadly, it was another PMA bus that collided with a PMA bus. There are more "grueling" pictures of this damaged bus but I'd rather not show it.This is the Final Picture. I sure did not dream of being a Tricycle driver but the moment I saw the tricycle, it was as if it was calling out my name saying, "Come take a picture." Seeing this afterwards, I thought that I sure did not look bad if I was to become a tricycle driver.

Well, that's it for now, tomorrow will be the first in the series.

Hazing?

It is a very sad today. I have a major exam tomorrow on my Law class whose coverage is around 200 pages of laws and cases plus I was told that I have to make an incident report regarding the marks made when I kicked a plebe under the table last week.

I can not help myself but think about these things. I am not so much worried with the exam, its the incident report that I am afraid of. A few days ago, my squadmate bade me farewell after he was suspended in another maltreatment case. He made his explanation (a somewhat incident report) and then all of a sudden he was ordered suspended. That is the reason why I am so worried with this incident report, I just do not know what will happen out of it. I tried making one earlier but after reading it again, it was as if I am doomed thus my sadness now.

I do not really deny being responsible for the marks on her shins (the plebe was female and most of us here believe that the marks only appeared because of her "delicate" physiology). But before jumping to any conclusions I will have to state for the record that there was no intention of actually hitting her. I was hitting the foot of the chair trying to coerce her into answering my questions about something. I was trying to draw the point of her telling the truth and she refuses to do so. I guess, her legs got hit causing the marks.

Again I claim responsibility, I am just afraid that I will not be given the chance to really defend myself and I'd rather not allow it to prosper. I was at fault but there was never an intention to hurt her or try anything to that effect to any of the plebes. I am doing my job as to how I know it and if at some point I have done something wrong at least allow me to defend myself.

I am afraid that there is a possibility that I will bid goodbye to PMA. I have been in the same situation once and I will not go through it again. I know I have been good and that is why I can not help it but be sad with what is happening. Lord Help me!!!