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[andreataguines]

Have you heard of the art of brass casting, an age-old craft practiced by the T’bolis of South Cotabato? Bundos Fara demonstrates how it’s done. Click on this link to watch the full video on Mukha’s Facebook page.

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The Children Who Cried Papa

*All names of family members have been changed, and the locations of the killings omitted to protect their privacy.

It was Annie’s birthday that December morning, a year ago. She was turning 10, and despite her age, she understood that her family could not be complete. Her mother was in prison, taken by the police days earlier when they could not locate her father, Tatay Romy, who was in hiding in Manila.

Romy knew he was a dead man once he came home. He had been warned he would be killed the second he stepped back in the village. Yet on that December morning, Annie awoke to see him in their kitchen cooking spaghetti. Romy’s mother, Lola Rowena, was terrified to see him, but all he could say was, “Namimiss ko na pamilya ko, at birthday ng anak ko (I miss my family already, and it’s my child’s birthday).”

So there he was, serving spaghetti to his seven children before they were to leave for school. Then suddenly they all heard a sudden crash as a raiding team broke down their wall, and six men came charging in.

The children were dragged outside, screaming and crying. Crystal, one of Romy’s daughters, threw herself at her father. “Pa! Papa! Pa!” she cried again and again as she clutched him with her tiny hands, till one of the men grabbed her and tore her away from him.

Then right in front of her, as her father begged, “Parang-awa niyo na, marami pa akong mga anak (Have mercy, I have many children),” the armed men shot him—in the head, in the chest and in the stomach—and then left him lifeless on their couch, holes in his body, blood oozing out.

This account of the story of Annie and Crystal was told to Project SOW which stands for Support for Orphans and Widows, a joint effort of St. Vincent School of Theology, De Paul House, and the Ina ng Lupang Pangako Parish in Payatas in Quezon City.

The accounts of the families mentioned in this article were documented by Project SOW and Rise Up for Life and for Rights Philippines, two organizations that help the families left behind by drug war victims recover, emotionally and economically, from the loss of their loved ones.

Psychologists and social workers say the left-behind children are going through a complex trauma arising from the violent deaths of fathers and sometimes mothers as well. They also face a stigma in their communities from having parents branded as criminals. And on top of these, the children have also sunk deeper into poverty now that the breadwinners are gone. And yet there is no support from government social welfare agencies for the orphans, as national social welfare officials point the finger at local offices which have not done anything for these left-behind children.

Psychologists and social workers from Project SOW and Rise Up were able to document the stories through processing and profiling sessions with the left-behind families. The writers were allowed to attend and observe the families during intervention sessions and were given an avenue to casually interact with them.

The families come from Caloocan, Navotas, and Quezon City—three municipalities in Metro Manila that have the highest drug incidents within their barangays, as recorded by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in 2014.

From the 14 families that were documented, 45 orphaned children are already affected. The local non-government organization Children's Rehabilitation Center (CRC) that helps children and their families who are victims of state violence told CNN Philippines in August 2017 that the estimated number of children orphaned by the current administration’s campaign against illegal drugs is now roughly between 18,000 and 28,000.

“It’s very hard to imagine how the child could continue on with this kind of situation,” said psychologist Grace Brillantes-Evangelista, chair of the Department of Psychology of Miriam College. Despite this, there is still little initiative from government agencies and different organizations to create specialized social welfare programs for them and their families.

Psychiatrist Maria Cecilia Mallari Ocampo, a fellow at the Philippine Psychiatric Association, said that generally children who witness these kinds of violence may develop post-traumatic stress disorder. They would usually have recurring nightmares, insomnia, and a replaying of the gruesome scene in their minds.

Left-behind families are afraid to approach any government institution like the Department of Social Welfare and Development or even their own local barangay for help.

They are afraid of approaching the very people who could be responsible for their loved ones’ deaths, said Fr. Daniel Pilario, C.M., director of Project SOW, which aims to provide community-based rehabilitation services to the left-behind families in Payatas B, Quezon City. Majority of the families have resorted to hiding, Pilario said.

With the drug war death toll at over 12,000, according to the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates, the anti-drug campaign continues.

Drug addicts or loving fathers?

Joyce and Henry couldn’t have been any happier for their parents Ronald and Hera who were about to get married after years of living together. Ronald was kind, generous, and never failed to put food on the table, according to the stories told to the social workers.

But the wedding never took place. One day, the family heard neighbors shouting “Patay na si Ronald (Ronald is dead)!” Hera couldn’t stand staying in a place with so many memories of her partner and one day ran out of their house and out of her children’s lives. Joyce and Henry are now staying with their 69-year-old grandmother, Lola Kyla.

“Nang buhay pa siya, wala talaga kaming problema (When he was still alive, we really didn’t have any problems),” Lola Kyla, the grandmother of the children Henry and Joyce whose parents were supposed to marry after living together for many years. The wedding never took place because their father, Ronald, was shot dead in government’s war against drugs.

Ronald was responsible for providing money and food for the family, and with his absence, the weight of such responsibility is now placed on the shoulders of 69-year-old Lola Kyla who can barely even stand upright. Out of the 45 children from 14 families documented by Project SOW and Rise Up, 18 were left to the care of their grandmothers who are only able to give the children an allowance of five pesos every day, and even that is hard to come by these days.

Jake, a young father, had just returned from a late evening out to buy milk for his eight-month-old son Jackson when 15 masked men—some in police uniforms, others in civilian clothes—suddenly barged into his parents’ house for a buy-bust operation, or so they say.

Jake and his own father Fred were forced down on their knees, screaming and begging for their lives, as guns were pointed at them, according to the family members who gave the account to social workers. Just a few minutes later, both of them were dead. Jake was last seen clutching a box of formula milk to his chest.

Remembering the first death anniversary of Fred and Jake, Nanay Jane, Fred’s wife, told a crowd how Fred would always be the one to stay at home and take care of the children. While she was busy at work, Fred took Jake’s four younger siblings to school in the morning and fetched them in the afternoon every single day.

The family had neither money, toys nor a big house to live in, but what the children were proud of were lice-free hair courtesy of Fred who would line them up to pick lice off their hair, his own gesture of love. Healthy scalp, trimmed hair, and even cut and groomed nails were the services Fred’s children received from him.

When his family had nothing to eat and Nanay Jane’s salary simply wasn’t enough, Fred was forced to score illegal drugs for people who did not know where to find some, Nanay Jane told the social workers. “Kalam ng bituka (It was out of hunger),” stressed Nanay Jane. But he stopped doing that and soon surrendered himself, even before President Rodrigo Duterte was officially inaugurated, when he was promised a second chance by barangay officials. He found himself a decent job and even served as barangay tanod (village guard) for a while.

“Pagkalipas noon, mga ilang buwan, ‘di namin sukat akalain na sa pagsuko niya, ikakapahamak pa naming buhay (From then on, after a few months had passed, never did we think that his surrender would endanger our lives),” Nanay Jane said.

At a forum, Pilario said, “They [the victims] are not rapists. They are, in fact, fathers who can bring spaghetti, no matter how difficult, for a daughter who is celebrating her birthday.”

“Call them drug addicts. Call them animals. Call them less than human, but for these children, they are always their loving father,” Pilario said.

The full version of this project can be viewed at: http://childrenwhocriedpapa.com/

[andreataguines]

The GUIDON’s Graduation Special: Seniors celebrate life in Ateneo during Blue Roast 2018, one of the many traditions students go through before leaving the university. Click on this link to watch the full newscast.

May 2018

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The GUIDON Glimpses: Photojournalists covering the Duterte Administration’s War on Drugs stress the importance of documenting killings that will help in compiling evidence of underhanded police operations. Click on this link to watch the whole newscast.

April 2018

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Prior to the #DefendPressFreedom grand protest at the Boy Scouts’ Circle, the Ateneo Confederation of Publications mobilized at Gate 2.5 in condemnation of the attacks against the Philippine press. Click on this link to watch the news report on The Guidon’s Facebook page.

The GUIDON Glimpses January 2018

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Given the surprise police inspections in establishments in the Loyola Heights back in September 2017, be reminded of the measures put in place to ensure your safety in case you get subjected to a bag check. Click on this link to watch the news report on The Guidon’s Facebook page.

[andreataguines]

Katipunan bar owners: No QCPD coordination for Wednesday inspection

IT WAS a usual Wednesday night of fun and drinks for the strip of bars along Esteban Abada Street last September 13, when officers from the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) showed up for a surprise inspection under Oplan Bakal, the Philippine National Police’s program to stop the proliferation of firearms.

According to an eyewitness who asked not to be named, the police set up a checkpoint near 7-Eleven before proceeding to enter Lan Kwai Fong, Jeepney Bistro, and then Tortuga for an inspection.

“Nilapitan lang nila ‘yung mga customer tapos pinatayo nila, tapos chineck ‘yung mga bag… ‘Yun na, umalis na sila, wala na silang sinabi (They approached the customers, made them stand up, and checked their bags…That’s it, and then they left without another word),” said Jeepney Bistro waiter Jonard Macawili.

Although they were not informed beforehand of the operation that took place that night, Jeepney Bistro manager Jenelyn Alere said this was already the third time it has happened.

A Tortuga employee who was present during the incident assured that the police were courteous and that no harassment occurred.

“Nagtanong naman muna sila bago sila pumasok. Sabi ko, ‘para saan?’ ‘Check lang, para sa safety ng community rin natin’ (They asked permission before they went inside. I asked, ‘what for?’ [and they said] ‘Just checking, for the safety of our community),” he recounted.

“Sabi naman ng police, inform mo muna ‘yung mga customer, baka kasi ma-shock sila… Okay naman din sa kanila… Hiningi rin permiso nila kung puwedeng i-check ‘yung bag. ‘Di naman hahawakan, titignan lang, sila mismo magbubukas so wala namang harassment. Nakita ko rin, magagalang ‘yong mga pulis,” he added.

(The police said to inform the customers first because they might get shocked, and it turned out to be okay with them. [The police] also asked permission to check the bags. They didn’t touch them, they just looked at them, [and the customers] themselves opened the bags so there wasn’t any harassment. I saw it myself, the police were courteous.)

In an interview with Rappler, QCPD Chief Superintendent Guillermo Eleazar said it was the barangay officials themselves who requested for the operation.

According to him, they were given the prior consent of the establishments through the association of bar owners in Katipunan.

However, in a statement released on their respective Facebook pages, Lan Kwai Speakeasy & Hong Kong Cuisine and Tortuga denied the existence of such association and clarified that no prior coordination was made with the police. Nevertheless, the statements also read that they complied to checks when the police came as the bars are public establishments.

“Tortuga would like to clarify that there is no association of bar owners in Katipunan (but we are all friends), and there was no coordination between surrounding establishments and the QCPD to search students and customers of Tortuga,” read Tortuga’s statement.

“However, we recognize that bars and restaurants are public spaces which are within police jurisdiction to search unannounced, so we comply with all government regulations and checks,” read Lan Kwai’s statement.

Lan Kwai also advised customers to “remain vigilant” and to “know your rights” during these times, reminding everyone that bag inspections and body searches can only be done with consent.

As stated in the PNP’s own primer regarding citizen’s rights, when a police officer approaches an individual to conduct a spot check, the officer is bound by the following rules:

He/She should clearly identify himself/herself as a police officer, if not in uniform, by announcing his/her identity and displaying official identification card and/or badge.

He/She should be courteous at all times and confine his questions regarding your identity, place of residence, and other inquiries necessary to resolve his/her suspicions and not hold you longer than is reasonably necessary.

He/She cannot compel you to answer any questions posed during the spot check/accosting.

He/She cannot arrest you on the grounds that you failed or refused to respond to his questions.

Tortuga also mentioned in its statement that it, along with other establishments such as Walrus and Lan Kwai, will soon be putting up posters on how to handle police inspections.

Considering that many customers of these bars are Ateneans, some on social media have also noted how the incident happened just hours after the Ateneo Blue Babble Batallion’s UAAP halftime performance where they protested against extrajudicial killings.

Just last month, the Ateneo community also raised concerns regarding police presence at an anti-EJK rally in Gate 2.5. In a statement released by University President Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ after their dialogue with the QCPD, the police promised that “they will remind their people to maintain good public relations with the community.” Villarin also urged the Ateneans to “remain calm, vigilant and prudent.”

Meanwhile, the four school representatives of the Sanggunian have also released a memorandum today urging the student body to exercise “vigilance” and “good judgement” along Katipunan Avenue and beyond campus borders.

Story originally published for The GUIDON.

[andreataguines]

Broadcast - Pop Culture Segment

November 29, 2016

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November 18, 2016

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November 6, 2016

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USAD releases nominees for Sanggunian Elections

THE UNION of Students for the Advancement of Democracy (USAD) released their list of nominees for the upcoming Sanggunian General Elections on social media last Sunday, February 19.

According to USAD Premier Lanz Espacio, all members of the political party met last February 13 to decide on their agenda. They then chose “candidates who are willing to bring to the Sanggunian the agenda of the party”.

On why she accepted the nomination, USAD standard-bearer Ia Marañon said that her principles are very much in line with that of her political party.

“The bulk of our conversations in USAD would always revolve around campus politics and, especially after the November rally, the Marcos burial… how could we be students at a time like this?” she said. “It came from a lot of reflection of how am I going to respond to this? Then I realized na we could do so much better than what we’re doing… there was just this drive to do more than what I’m doing now,” she added.

Espacio also said that their lineup had the advantage of a “loaded candidacy” as compared to independent candidates.

“They’re not just running because of their personal values but also because they see that the party has principles… having that common denominator would make their candidacies coherent when it comes to the campaign and being elected into the Sanggunian,” he explained.

“That’s why I myself place my full trust in our candidates for this elections,” he added.

In addition to Marañon, the rest of the USAD slate is as follows:

Benjamin Miguel Alvero for Vice President

Reycel Hyacenth Bendaña for SOSS Representative

Janine Francesca Montano for 4 AB Political Science Representative

Niels Gabriel Nable for 4 BS Environmental Science Representative

King Reiner Palma for 4 AB Philosophy Representative

Earl de los Santos for 3 AB Literature - English Representative

Jan Matthew Demavivas for 2 AB Diplomacy and International Relations Representative

Story originally published for The GUIDON.

[andreataguines]

LS revives ACP with TALAB

By Faith T. Lim and Andrea L. Taguines

THE TALAKAYANG Alay sa Bayan (TALAB) was an all-day event held last February 21 as a platform for promoting awareness and critical thinking among students regarding the current socio-political events in the country.  

TALAB is a rebranding and a relaunching of the Alternative Class Program (ACP) that ended in 2009.

“My ACP back then wasn’t strict about being social or socio-political so there were trips to the beach, scuba diving, etc., but this particular TALAB tried to bring back how ACP was like in the 70’s or 80’s where it was really a discussion on sociopolitical issues,” said Assistant to the Associate Dean of Student Formation (ADSF) Ophalle Alzona-Pornela.

With the theme of the 1987 Constitution, a total of 102 activities ranging from talks, workshops, and panels, to field trips and concerts were offered for TALAB. “I suggested the theme because it was the 30th anniversary of the constitution and looking through that lens seemed appropriate given what is happening to us today,” said Director of the Office of Social Concern and Involvement (OSCI) Leland Dela Cruz.

“The social issues we are facing are, in a sense, constitutional issues, like human rights violation, freedom of speech, but also looking forward to the possibility of charter change, to federalism. We were looking for a topic that was broad enough to allow people to participate,” he added.

Responding to the signs of the times

According to Dela Cruz, the idea for TALAB was conceived two days after the decision of the Supreme Court to allow the burial of the late President and dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

“We had a brainstorming session on how we can respond to the situation, not just to the Marcos burial, but to everything that is happening in the country like the extrajudicial killings,” he said. Ultimately, Vice President of the Loyola Schools Maria Luz Vilches suggested that the ACP be brought back.

In their individual capacities, Dela Cruz, Alzona-Pornela, and Tats Quiblat from the Office of Student Activities, along with the supervision of the ADSF Roberto Guevarra, started working on what was to be TALAB.

The ideas for the classes came from various departments, programs and student organizations, within and outside Ateneo. “We sold the idea of TALAB… we told them the theme, and asked if they would be interested in organizing activities,” said Dela Cruz.

Dela Cruz also explained their main goal of presenting a “broad spectrum of perspectives” and a chance to “engage with certain speakers they [students] will not usually engage with”.

“For example, the lowering of criminal age panel included a congressman who was actually for the lowering of the criminal age... the social justice panel, included not just what we call the social democrats but also national democrats,” he said.

“Our philosophy from the get-go was, we’ll invite a broad spectrum of people then we let students decide for themselves... who do they believe?” he added. He also stressed the importance of having the open forums so that students would be able to challenge the speakers.

“I think [this] is bringing out what an Atenean should be in terms of being aware and engaged in our issues right now in the country,” said Alzona.

The good, the bad

Regarding the enlistment for TALAB, Dela Cruz said he acknowledges all feedback from the students and that “the criticisms are valid.” Within the first hour of online enlistment, all available slots were already filled, leaving most students with insufficient or zero classes.

“We did not anticipate that some students would enlist for multiple classes. We thought students would just sign up for the bare minimum,” he said.

“[The Ateneo Management Information Systems (MIS) team] did their best to come up with a functional enlistment system… Nagulat sila, nagulat kami sa (They were shocked, we were shocked at the) volume of interest, or the volume of people that actually signed up at midnight,” he added.

“There is a lot of room for improvement, but given the time constraints, I think they did what they could,” said Alzona-Pornela.   

It was also a challenge for TALAB organizers to ensure the security and safety of its speakers, as a lot of “big names” like Vice President Leni Robredo and Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Eduardo Año, among others, were invited for the event.

According to Alzona-Pornela, TALAB would not have been possible if it weren’t for the help of the Campus Safety and Mobility Office, the Office of Facilities and Sustainability, and the school maintenance. “They were our heroes for that day,” she said.

Despite the setbacks and difficulties in preparing for TALAB, Dela Cruz said they received “overwhelmingly positive feedback” on the day itself, not just from the students but from the organizers and the speakers who were happy to have been part of TALAB.

Future TALAB

With the talks regarding future TALAB events underway, Dela Cruz hopes that students become more involved and more ambitious with whom they invite as speakers.

ACP has not been conducted for 8 years since it ended in 2009, leaving none of the current students aware of what it is about. This proved a setback for organizers since they had a hard time soliciting idea for TALAB. “Parang walang pick-up masyado, [in terms of organizations that want to organize talks],” he added.

However, Dela Cruz believes that now that people have a sense of what it could be, they will have a better idea of what they can contribute. He hopes that they themselves will propose activities for the next TALAB.

“My wish for the future is that more students would get involved in terms of hosting classes,” said Alzona-Pornela. Stating that although a lot of student organizations participated, it was not as much as they had hoped.

Story originally published for The GUIDON.

[andreataguines]

Back home

GROWING up with two older brothers can get irritating sometimes; I run out of food to eat if I’m too slow, I become their wrestling dummy even if WWE explicitly says “Do not try this at home.”, and I have no choice but to watch or to listen to whatever they like. Fortunately, both of them listened to really good music, like that of “Parokya ni Edgar”.

After six years of just touring and playing gigs, “Parokya ni Edgar” released their ninth studio album, “Pogi Years Old”, last October 17 with backup vocalist Vinci Montaner rejoining the OPM band. The new album contains 21 tracks – 14 original songs, one cover of Jose Mari Chan’s “Beautiful Girl”, and a remix of their “Harana” and Rivermaya’s “Panahon Na Naman” featuring Rico Blanco. It comes with five fillers or breaks which showcase the band’s unadulterated humor and easy chemistry with each other.

Honestly, I bet I could have figured out the who the artists were or whose album it was just by looking at the song titles. Like “O Inday, Isang Munting Harana ni Gardo sa Maid ni Mr. Lim”, “Kweba ng Ermitanyo”, and “Pan De Monio”, every one of them just had that vibe, that distinct “Parokya ni Edgar” brand of funny that instantly made me want to listen to them. I also found the album title funny, kind of like when you know you are already old so you refuse to reveal your true age to people, preferring to just joke about it by probably saying something similar to pogi years old.

However, they weren’t exactly successful in making me forget their age and how long they’ve already been in the music industry. Are they really getting old? Because I’m starting to hear the strain in Chito and Vinci’s voices. Are they starting to lose their magic? Because after listening to the whole album for the first time, none of the songs even stuck to my mind, not even their single “Lagi Mong Tatandaan” was catchy enough. Have we seen the last of their hit songs? Because that sounded like general bar music to me – familiar, but not quite up to par with the Parokya classics we know and love.

Although the album wasn’t completely disappointing, it didn’t fully meet my expectations or live up to the hype either. I felt kind of forced to love it just so I could address the cognitive dissonance going on in my head: I’m a big fan of Parokya ni Edgar and I've always loved their music so why am I not raging over this album?

I’m not saying that “Pogi Years Old” is bad. It’s actually okay. But for a band that has already made such a huge mark in Philippine music and for an album that was six years in the making? The fangirl inside me isn’t contented with just an okay.

But upon my second attempt to listen to it, as I really mulled over the songs and not just whether there was instant recall, I found redemption in “Friendzone Mo Mukha Mo”, the anthem of risk takers and hopeless romantics; in “Sing” and “Panahon Na Naman ng Harana”, the perfect mix of Chito Miranda and Blanco’s singing styles; and in “Ulan”, my absolute favorite song from the album because I somehow feel like its addressed to me – never been out in the rain, never fallen in love. I really liked “Ang Parokya”, featuring Gloc9 and Frank Magalona, as well. It was both hilarious and nostalgic to hear how the band came to be, all they’ve been through, and where they are now.

“Salamat Po” was also a fitting end to the album, an ode of gratitude for their fans. And once again, Chito Miranda reminds us that yes, he can still use and beautifully transition into his clean voice, the one where he probably steers away from cigarettes and alcohol for a while just to do properly, kind of like when he sings “Your Song” or “Pangarap Lang Kita”.  

The third time I listened to “Pogi Years Old”, I concluded that while I didn’t automatically like it because the songs didn’t seem as catchy as their old ones, I also needed to stop forcing it to be like those old ones. It may not be my favorite album, but it’s still the good kind of Parokya music that I grew up listening to with my brothers, in our living room after we all got back from school. It still felt like home.

I don’t exactly live with my brothers right now, being in college and all, but listening to “Pogi Years Old” transports me back there with them, to our living room, to our home. And at the end of the day, I believe that’s why I’m a fan of “Parokya ni Edgar” come hell or high water.

They say children are the most honest of people, so here’s a meme of a three-year-old me rating this album for you:

[andreataguines]

Middle Ground

I remember my friend telling me how his poetry professor said that the problem with spoken word poetry is that it’s hard to find the middle ground between a good poem and a good performance. That yes, the performance might have blown people away, but was it really a good piece? Or was it written so masterfully that even if the performance didn’t give it justice, people were still blown away?

Juan Miguel Severo’s “Habang Wala Pa Sila” is a collection of poems about meeting love, getting to know it, and eventually having to say goodbye – or in some cases, choosing to stay despite all odds. “Habang Wala Pa Sila” is the middle ground.

You may know Severo for his spoken word performances on ABS-CBN's “On The Wings of Love”, and although the show has already ended, here on his first book, he continues to ride those wings straight into our hearts and as the well-awarded Filipino writer Danton Remoto said, straight into the heart of Philippine literature.

There are two versions of the book cover, one with a dark blue color and another with a purple color. I was a bit intrigued about what else was different between the two, but turns out it was just the cover. I found that weird and unnecessary but okay, I let it slip. As they say, don't judge a book by its cover. And honestly, I'm glad I didn't.

The cover itself already has a story in it, and it just keeps getting better and better as you turn the page. Basang Sapatos, the first in the lineup of poems, is about a young boy from Malabon who grows up tough enough to weather storms and floods but finds himself yielding to love and to the heartbreak it brings. The flow of the poems started off with bliss and innocence, then came the struggle, hurt and the pain as shown in “Isang Letra” and “Ang Ikatlong Batas ng Pagkilos Ayon Kay Newton”. Throughout the book that theme continues but being the romantic that I am, my favorite parts were the small bursts of hope in between like in “Sa Parating Huli”, and the sweet poem dedicated to Severo’s sibling, Jomai. I fell in love again with the ones I was already familiar with like “Naniniwala Ako”, “Kapag Sinabi Kong Mahal Kita”, and “Ang Mga Lugar ay Pawang Mga Lugar Lamang”. I also loved how “Ang Nag-iisa”, the last poem, was a reminder to take the plunge and to choose to love again in spite of everything.

The whole feel of it, however, wasn’t overdone. Yes, some of the poems are a real dart to the heart, but they’re not written to purposely make you sad or cry. The book isn’t trying hard to be relatable, it isn’t intentionally catering to the current “hugot culture” of today, it isn't being overly sensational. Rather, it felt authentic and real.

At first I planned to put an asterisk beside the lines that I liked, but then I decided not to do that anymore unless I wanted to mess the book up with a whole constellation of them. From the vivid imagery (case in point: “Guimaras”), the play of words, to the emotion embedded into each and every piece; Severo proves that the Filipino language, when commanded right, is without question one of the most beautiful things in the world.

I've never been in a real relationship, I've never fallen in love, and I've never had my heart broken before. And yet, this book made me feel like I could have been in all of those situations. And yet, in the moment that I was reading it, this book made me feel like I was in all of those situations. And yet, this book made me feel.  

It also made me want to get into spoken word. If only I could learn to write as beautifully and as fluently as Severo does. For now, though, with the poems in the book mostly written as performance pieces, readers like me can somewhat fulfill the dream of being spoken word artists by trying to recite his words – even in just the privacy of our bedrooms. We may have already watched Severo do a number of them during his stint on “On The Wings of Love”, or on his Youtube videos online, but this book gives us the chance to do our own interpretation of the poems. And in the long run, it can hopefully encourage more people to try out writing poetry and to try out spoken word, most especially in our native language.

My friend’s professor also said that the mark of a good spoken word piece is when you are able to appreciate it in the form of the printed word as much as when you hear it being performed. “Habang Wala Pa Sila” does that all for me.

They say children are the most honest of people, so here’s a meme of a three-year-old me rating this book for you:

[andreataguines]

Hawaiian rollercoaster ride

“AHI Hawaii” is one of the newest hole-in-the-wall restaurants in Maginhawa this 2016 and just like every rollercoaster ride, it had its highs and lows. And lows. And lows. And lows.

Craving for something different, I found myself exploring way past the many burger joints and Japanese restaurants of Maginhawa, to a quiet little gated house serving Hawaiian food. The place was, as this generation would say, very instragramable: from its lei, surfboard, and Tiki statue decorations to the counter with bar stools which made you feel like you were ordering from a food shack at the beach. Inside the house, there were beach chairs, curtains with palm tree designs, and different paintings of surfers and Hawaiian locals. I liked the collection of vinyl records they had lying around even if they were only for aesthetic purposes.

Honestly I had no knowledge whatsoever of what Hawaiian cuisine was all about (pineapples, I learned, didn’t really count that much) so I was surprised when I saw that the standout ingredients of their Pokebowls seemed very Japanese, even down to how they were called – tuna sashimi, nori, tamago, and sushi rice. It didn’t help that they also had elotes sauce, which I knew was kind of Mexican, and sinigang-flavored fries which was obviously Filipino inspired. But as confusing and unexpected as it was, I was still pretty keen on giving it a try. There were two guys on the table next to ours who had already finished eating, and if their bowls were any indication (it was as Filipinos would say, simot), I’d say my friend and I chose the right place to have dinner.

I didn’t think the waitresses could have helped me in clearing up what Hawaiian cuisine was but they were really nice and welcoming. My order arrived quickly too. I got the Nani Bowl which had spam, tamago, buttered vegetables, and crispy fried kangkong on a bed of honey pumpkin rice, topped with toasted breadcrumbs and sesame oil. Given the very detailed description, I thought I knew what I was in for but I was wrong. It was overly sweet, spicy, sour, and salty all at the same time. It was like a firework explosion of textures and flavors in my mouth. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the New Year’s Eve pyro-musical kind but the cheap illegal ones you can buy from sketchy Chinese stores that only pop up during the holidays, the kind that people are banned from buying.

At one point, I didn’t even know what I was eating anymore like when I realized it had green peas. I don’t know if there’s such a thing as allergy to green peas but what if I didn’t just hate them and I really was allergic? I couldn’t even avoid them because of the red sauce which disguised the green little devils that they were. And speaking of the red sauce, sriracha would have worked so much better compared to the spicy banana ketchup they used for it. Not even my love for spam and crispy fried kangkong could save the day. My friend, on the other hand, ordered the Kobe Bowl and it didn’t look any better than mine: tuna sashimi with rice, cole slaw, mangoes, tamago, nori, and onions topped with elotes sauce, soy garlic dressing, and a whole lot of cheese.

The Tiki Sinigang and Luau BBQ Fries were a little underwhelming, plain powdered fries that we might as well have bought from “Potato Corner”. The Classic Sugar Malasadas were crispy on the outside but fluffy on the inside and were the right amount of sweet, but they also tasted like a Bavarian doughnut you could just get from “Dunkin’ Donuts”, only toasted. We regretted ordering them at first but in the end, they turned out to be our saviors because we would have never been able to keep our food down our stomachs without them. We thought our drinks would help too, but their Lemon Grass Cooler was like drinking efficascent oil and the “Brew Kettle” beer they served wasn’t ice cold.

I didn’t get to finish my Pokebowl, not because of the portions (the serving was actually small for its price, not that I wanted more of it) but because I really couldn’t handle the taste anymore. I would like to sincerely apologize to my parents for wasting 175 PHP of their hard-earned money on the said meal. In total, I spent 285 PHP – not to mention the additional 20 PHP that I gave to a random band that was able to sneak in, sing for us, and ask for donations. They were very aptly wearing floral shirts so I initially thought the whole thing was a gimmick of the restaurant. They sounded good, enough to be the only redeeming point of the night actually. Too bad they had nothing to do with “Ahi Hawaii”.

Staying true to rollercoaster rides, the aftermath of my experience here was quite the same: I wanted to barf. My friend and I later on looked for a cheap burger place to satisfy our still hungry tummies. Then again, maybe that was just the both of us. If there’s one thing I learned about Hawaiian cuisine that night, it is definitely an acquired taste.

They say children are the most honest of people, so here’s a meme of a three-year-old me rating this restaurant for you:

[andreataguines]

Waiting for that “dug dug, dug dug”

James Reid and Nadine Lustre are back in our television screens and nightly routines with “Till I Met You”, the newest teleserye on ABS-CBN’s Prime Time Bida. It’s only been about seven months since “On the Wings of Love” ended and three months since we last saw the #TeamReal couple in their movie “This Time”, but I am not complaining.

“TIMY”, as the show is now being called, is about two childhood best friends, Iris and Ali, who decide to give love a shot. On the other side of the world lives Basti, the ala James Dean adrenaline junkie from Greece who they meet through the internet. Right from the start, you know he’s going to affect the relationship of the other two, but not in the way we’re used to. Directed by Antoinette Jadaone, this show isn’t just new but it’s also introducing something new to the table.

To be honest, I was a bit worried at first because I usually root for the love team that’s initially established; just like Prince Edward and Giselle in “Enchanted” (sorry, Patrick Dempsey) or Jean Grey and Scott Summers in “X-Men” (no matter how cool Wolverine is). So in the case of “TIMY”, it drove me crazy as a JaDine fan to think that a part of me might like Iris and Ali together more than I do Iris and Basti’s pairing. The possibility of that happening was quickly extinguished, though, because of newbie JC Santos’s role.

This is probably the first time that the Kapamilya Network is incorporating gay themes into their show, and not just for the sake of comic relief or so that the protagonist has a sidekick. We delve into Ali’s life as we’re shown possible signs that he’s gay early on in the show. They put emphasis on scenes about his fascination with James Dean; how he’s never shown interest in other girls before, or how he loves cooking with his mother.

We also see the confusion and the struggle he goes through as he tries to discover and uncover himself, especially with his strict soldier of a father. So far, Santos is doing a good job with the character. I just wonder if the network is willing to go as far as actually giving him a male partner when he finally comes out.

I love the new gimmick they thought of as well. How the heart supposedly goes “dug dug, dug dug” while everything else goes silent as you fall in love –love, and then oblivion. I especially like the romantic prom scene where they suddenly cut the song Iris and Ali are dancing to (“Friend of Mine”) and all other sounds in the background to put focus on Iris’s heart beating for Ali. It also signaled their transition from friends to maybe something more. Sadly, but unsurprisingly, Ali’s heart does not beat back for Iris.

I do find it quite funny, though, that such a love-advice-gone-wrong would come from Carmina Villaroel’s character. Luckily for Iris, her mother should know how to console her when the time comes; when she realizes that she fell in love with a guy who turns out to be gay. Oh, the irony of casting decisions.

But along with these story innovations, also comes my disappointment that Lustre’s character is practically the same person as Leah from “OTWOL” –selfless, conservative, and very family-oriented. They both even dream of working overseas. Despite that, I still believe in her acting capabilities (the girl really knows how to cry, among other things), and I believe in the genius that is Antoinette Jadaone so I’m really hoping they think of a character arc for Iris as the show continues.

Thankfully, Reid portrays a somewhat different role from his “OTWOL” character. Although both have their own issues with their dads, that’s where their similarities end. From the hardworking and loving brother that was Clark, “Till I Met You” gives us an adventurous, ‘this is my life I’m going to do what I want to’ bad boy.

I guess it’s hard not to compare this show to “OTWOL” given that it’s the same love team and director. Not to mention how both are shot abroad –the latest trend, it seems, for movies and other teleseryes, thus having the same struggling overseas Filipino worker theme. And even if I love being able to see these other countries through shows like these, there’s a part of me that wants them to highlight, still, the beauty of our own country.

Episode three ended with all our main characters in Greece so I’m excited about what’s going to happen there. I can’t wait for the JaDine kilig parts to start. My diehard JaDine fan heart is ready. But although it’s not quite going “dug dug, dug dug” yet, I’m very much ‘in like’ with the show already.

They say children are the most honest of people, so here’s a meme of a three-year-old me rating this show for you:

[andreataguines]

The Shallows: You don’t have to go deep to see its beauty

I may have felt bad about the thought of yet another movie involving a shark feasting on humans, but boy, was this a feast for the eyes I did not regret watching. All hail cinematographers, all hail Flavio Martinez Labiano.

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, The Shallows is about a medical student named Nancy Adams, played by Blake Lively, who takes an indefinite break from school and life to visit her “mom’s secret beach” as a way to somehow reconnect with her deceased mother. Not so spoiler alert: SHE GETS ATTACKED BY A SHARK!

I was hesitant to watch The Shallows at first because I’m not really into horror or suspense movies. The Sixth Sense still keeps me up at night just thinking about it and Snakes on a Plane has forever got me paranoid about snakes in toilets, eating up your genitals before you even get to finish taking a dump. So really, if I was going to watch a movie (in Metro Manila where movie tickets cost way more than it does in the province), I’d prefer something that won’t make me cover my eyes with my hands the whole time.

The Shallows, however, was so visually appealing that it kept my eyes glued to the screen, even on the bloody parts and the parts where the shark was all up in my face. Nothing was to be missed: the sunlight through the trees in the beginning, the bright blue sky just demanding for your attention, every tight shot of Blake Lively’s beautiful face and surprisingly good acting (better and more challenging than anything she ever had to do in Gossip Girl and Green Lantern combined, that is), the underwater scenes that would make you fall in love with the sea (with sharks, not so much), the fun surfing scene before it all went downhill, the wide and aerial shots that showed how vast the sea was, and how alone Nancy was in her struggle to survive.

It wasn’t one of those group-of-friends-getting-killed-off-one-by-one thing. Just the shark, Nancy Adams, and you. The GoPro attached to one of the character’s head gear was such a useful tool to make you feel like you were in the movie itself: the exhilarating feeling of surfing, the fear of being chased by a shark ready for its meal, the feeling of drowning, you were there for all of it.

And the frustration, oh the frustration I felt! I wanted her to be saved, she doesn’t get saved, it’s okay because I know she can handle herself… but can she? Hooray, another chance for her to be saved! But no, she is a strong wave-riding, gun-wielding, independent woman with, thank God, a sturdy and unyielding bikini top. She doesn’t need anyone to save her! Why isn’t anyone looking for her, though?! Somebody save her!

Good thing I wasn’t frustrated for long because pacing-wise, it wasn’t dragging. Some movies are either too slow in building the story up that you become bored (case in point: Spectre) while others don’t give you the chance to breathe anymore with all the zoom and the bang and the boom (case in point: Man of Steel). It was, as Goldilocks would say, just right.

What isn’t right is for someone as smart as Lively’s character to go to a secret beach for the first time, ALONE, without the slightest hint of what said beach is called. Even if it does have a stronger internet connection than my dormitory that video calls can be made without lagging. Another thing I will never understand is how no one knew about the killer shark. It’s a feeding ground, ladies and gentlemen; a place where animals, sharks and whatnot, regularly go to look for food and eat. Surely one of the locals would know that, with the sea so close to where they live?

But that’s the thing with this movie, you don’t watch it for the plot. It’s been done many times before, be it great white sharks, anacondas or piranhas. You watch The Shallows for the stunning visual experience. So if you could go 86 minutes without blinking, then that would be great.

If there’s one thing the movie truly did fail at, it’s to keep me from surfing and going to the beach. I watched it with my friends and we all automatically agreed to put Lord Howe Island in New South Wales, Australia, the principal location, in our bucketlist of must-see destinations. The location was so beautiful; I can’t entirely blame any of the characters for thinking that such a horrific thing could ever exist or happen there.

We stayed in our seats until the screen went completely blank. Even the closing credits were a spectacle to behold and Sia very aptly going ‘I don’t wanna die,” made it all the better. Overall, it was a good movie. If you are to watch it, watch it with friends and definitely watch it in the big screen.

They say children are the most honest of people, so here’s a meme of a three-year-old me rating this movie for you: