Teamwork

"The strength of the team is each individual member.

The strength of each member is the team."

~Phil Jackson, American retired basketball coach

This is the team behind Team Manila (see yesterday's post), a graphic design studio which is now popularly known in the country for t-shirts and accessories with distinctly Filipino designs. The company was founded by college friends Raymund "Mon" Punzalan (fourth from the left) and Joseph Lee "Jowee" Alviar (the only guy in a white shirt), who both took Fine Arts in the University of Sto. Tomas.

Soul patch

"It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand.
I beat people up."

~Muhammad Ali 

My Filipino-American cousin really got around during his three weeks here. Look who he bumped into at Café Havana in Makati City—fellow Filipino-American Nonito Donaire, the boxer known as "The Filipino Flash." Of course he had to take a selfie!

In case you're wondering what the title is all about, I just discovered that the little patch of facial hair under the lower lip is called a soul patch. • PHOTO BY JOSE

Oww!

"My body is my journal, and my tattoos are my story."

~Johnny Depp, American actor

A cousin whose family moved to the U.S. when he was only four years old came to the Philippines for a visit recently. On his last night here, he got this pretty awesome cross, dragon and rose tattoo. The tat was less than 24 hours old when I took this photo, the day of my cousin's departure. I think he had to go through the long flight home—more than 19 hours—with his shirt sleeve rolled up.

24th and 1st

Meet Maria Lourdes Sereno, the 24th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. She is the first female to head our judiciary and, appointed last year when she was 52 years old, also one of the youngest.

Please pardon the fuzzy picture again. I managed to get a few clear shots, but I chose to post this one because I just love her smile here. She was smiling at her husband who happened to be standing right behind me.

#ScrapPork

It all started with the shocking discovery earlier this month of a scam headed by one woman involving fake non-government organizations (NGOs), ghost beneficiaries, and the pork barrel funds of our lawmakers (officially called the Priority Development Assistance Fund or PDAF) which resulted in the theft of billions of pesos of Filipino taxpayers' money. As details of the breadth of the plunder were released, normally lackadaisical middle-class Filipinos suddenly couldn't sit still. A no-organizer Million People March to Luneta (Rizal Park) event was created in Facebook, scheduled on National Heroes Day, the last Monday of August. People were simply asked to gather in front of the Quirino Grandstand with family and friends—maybe even have a picnic—to show the government the number of citizens who want the pork barrel system scrapped, and to demand that lawmakers involved in the scam be investigated and prosecuted.

So, gather we did, despite the threat of rain.
  In fact, it rained over the weekend and the field was very muddy. People just avoided the muddiest parts.
  In the two weeks that the event page was up, people got a bit more organized. The leaders of the biggest groups joining the protest met and agreed that the center of the field would be reserved for those without affiliations. More militant groups—with their banners and chanting—would stay at the periphery. My ground-level photos don't do the crowd justice; see this photo from Paulo Alcazaren, who uses a drone for his aerial photos.
  I think that organized groups were the minority that day, however. More people came with their families and friends, and despite the seriousness of the issues being discussed, the atmosphere was very relaxed and even—dare I say it—fun.
   Someone was even flying a kite. I must admit, the wind was perfect for it, especially since Rizal Park is just beside Manila Bay.
  Many people came with their "abolish the pork barrel" t-shirts and banners, like these three young students with their "The evolution of pork" banner.
  There was ample media coverage, of course. ABS-CBN's Korina Sanchez set up an elevated platform with a tent so she could interview famous personalities who showed up at the rally. Juana Change (actress Mae Paner) came in her signature red lingerie and a Miss Piggy mask and wig.
   Musician, writer and activist Jim Paredes refused to be interviewed on the platform, saying that he wasn't an organizer but just a participant. So ABS-CBN found a way to interview him on the ground, where he was surrounded by other participants who stopped to listen to him speak.
  Unlike the issue of the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill, religious and lay persons agree about the pork barrel—it has to be scrapped if the Philippines is to progress beyond patronage politics.

Gentleman farmer

Ernest Escaler is the president of Gourmet Farms Inc., the producer of the delicious lettuce and pesto chips in yesterday's post. He began the farm in 1987 with coffee beans, then added herbs and vegetables in the 90s during the slump in the coffee market. Even back then, all of the farm's produce were organically grown—when "organic" wasn't being boasted about in product packaging (at least, not here in the Philippines). Gourmet Farms' retail products now include bottled salad dressings, pasta sauces, spreads, and dips, all made from their organic produce and all free from preservatives, too.

Love for the Filipino

Rafael C. Lopa, better known simply as Rapa, is the Executive Director of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) and concurrently the President and Executive Director of the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation (NCAF). In various and sometimes diverse ways, both organizations are committed to alleviating poverty in the Philippines and developing competent and ethical leaders for the country. You can just imagine what kind of man chooses to lead such organizations in a country where one-fourth of the population live below the poverty line, and where stories of corruption are received with a shrug because it is so pervasive. Listening to him speak about his motivations, heartaches, and joys during the 2013 Ignatian Festival was profoundly moving and inspiring.

But of course!

Because of the presence of the President of the Philippines during the Ignatian Festival (see yesterday's post), all participants (and the working staff too, for that matter) had to go through bag and body checks by the Presidential Security Group (PSG). There was even a special check for cameras. I just had to prove that my camera really is a camera—by taking a photo of something.
 
So I took a photo of the PSG guy checking cameras. The poor man lightly protested, saying it might end up being posted somewhere. Guess what my reply was.

Man in blue

My husband and I attended the Ateneo de Manila University's Ignatian Festival last Saturday, which was keynoted by the president of the Philippines, Benigno S. Aquino III, an alumnus of the university.
 The only other person on the stage during the opening talks was the university president, Fr. Jose Ramon T. Villarin SJ. It is widely known that President Aquino is not a morning person, so I guess it shouldn't have irritated us that he was 40 minutes late.

A fountain for a hero

I've already posted a photo of the grand central fountain of Liwasang Bonifacio (Bonifacio Park) with the Manila Central Post Office in the background. This is what the fountain looks like from the post office, with the clock tower of Manila City Hall just peeking above the plumes of water and a view of the heavy weekday traffic of Manila. The park is named after Andres Bonifacio (whose statue is on the far side of the fountain, beside the street), considered the father of the Philippine Revolution against Spanish colonial rule.

Filipino Australo-Melanesians

The Aetas are an indigenous people who live in the mountainous regions of Luzon, most notably in the province of Zambales. They are usually darker and smaller in frame and height than the average Filipino, and tend to have curly or kinky hair. Of course, they now live like any other Filipino, and these three young men donned their traditional bahag (loincloth) only to demonstrate several of their traditional dances during our Zoobic Safari tour. But truth be told, like many other indigenous peoples in the Philippines and all over the world, they have problems claiming and protecting their ancestral domain from people who want their land, and their access to basic services (eg, healthcare, education) and employment opportunities are not at par with with the rest of the population.

Musical heritage

Portraits of violinist Ramon Corpus hang at the entrance to the music hall (see yesterday's post) in Casa San Miguel in Zambales which is named after him. Aside from Alfonso Bolipata, who started the school and foundation, Ramon Corpus has two other grandsons—brothers of Alfonso—who are musicians: Jaime is a pianist, and Ramon (obviously named after the grandfather) is a cellist.

Balloon lady

The lady selling balloons just outside the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish church was nice enough to pose for me when she saw me trying to take her photo. Business must be good during Sundays, when entire families attend Masses at the church, but I hope she also does well during weekdays.

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I apologize for my sudden disappearance again. We had internet connection problems the entire week! Everything's okay now, thank goodness.

P-Noy

Last Thursday, my husband and I went to the wake of the mother of a friend who, it turns out, is a good friend of the President of the Philippines, Benigno Simeon Aquino III.
  I'm afraid this isn't a very flattering photo of the President, but it was the clearest of several photos I took. I discovered that the man moves a lot and has a very animated face.

Cool dude

Last week, I posted a photo of one of the more-than-life-size cut-out figures being used in the Ateneo de Manila University to prepare people for the new one-way traffic scheme. That exercise to ease traffic inside the campus begins today, so here is another one:
  Meet the new university president, Fr. Jose Ramon T. Villarin SJ, whom everyone calls by his nickname, Jett. He took over from the previous president, Fr. Ben Nebres, just two years ago, in 2011. Fr. Jett is a physicist with a doctorate in Atmospheric Sciences from Georgia Tech, and he just turned 53 last January 30.  

For the curious, his sign translates as "Follow the advice of parents and teachers. And the new traffic scheme." Today, we find out how well it works.

Gratitude

Dolphy, whose real name was Rodolfo Quizon, was a consummate entertainer, actor, singer and comedian who passed away in July just a a couple of weeks shy of his 84th birthday. He entertained millions of Filipinos for more than sixty years, and was so respected and beloved by people from all walks of life that he was honored with a National Day of Remembrance soon after his death. Wanlu the ventriloquist and puppeteer (see yesterday's post) made us remember Dolphy again with his marionette and the lovely song "Handog" (gift, offering), which Dolphy was fond of singing to his audiences, especially as he got older. I am translating it poorly, but the song begins with, "It seems like only yesterday that my dreams were so hard to reach. Because of you, I arrived at where I wanted to be, and I want to thank you, even with just one song."

Bless his big little heart

The children from the poor communities served by the Ateneo de Manila University—and this big little kid—who attended this year's Lights for Hope Christmas outreach program were treated to a wonderful performance from Wanlu, a puppeteer and ventriloquist who provides entertainment for many events, and who appears regularly in local television shows. Wanlu heard about the outreach program and volunteered himself and one of his sons, who is also a puppeteer. This puppet's name is Nicolo and he's an incorrigible joker, mercilessly teasing Wanlu every chance he gets. He also has the sweetest singing voice I've ever heard from someone made of wood.

Listen

Amanda Burrell, current Director of the British Council Philippines, reading poems by George Gordon (Lord Byron) at the Ateneo de Manila University's "Literature and Music" event in celebration of Philippine–British Friendship Week. The event was organized by the British Alumni Association with the collaboration of the British Council and the School of Humanities. The music was provided by the Blue Symphony, the university's student symphony orchestra.

Student and teacher

September 28, 2012 marked the launch of my husband Exie's first book, a collection of creative nonfiction titled "Trafficking in Nostalgia." His essays and stories have been published in various anthologies many times in the past, but this is his first solo publication. His freshman English teacher Doreen Fernandez (1934–2002), also a writer, cultural historian and food critic, would have been proud.

Tapping strings

Abby Clutario, of the bands fuseboxx and HUMANFOLK, with her 10-string Chapman Stick. It was my first time to see one and I found it so fascinating, I ended up interviewing her about it. Apparently, it's been around since the 1970s and can have 8 to 12 strings. You can read more about it in its Wikipedia entry.