PAGWANAWANAN

    PETER LA. JULIAN
    THE CUDIA CASE AND THE DECISION OF THE COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS


      Not guilty.

     The findings of the Commission of Human Rights in the Jeff Aldrin Cudia Case show there is a need to overhaul or scrap the honor system in the Philippine Military Academy.

     The members of the Honor Committee that ousted First Class Cadet Cudia from the PMA and did not allow him to graduate should be damned because they are dishonest and irresponsible. Now commissioned as officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, they should not be appointed to positions of authority because their reputation is stained. Is there guarantee that they would not go in the way of PMA graduates who have become notorious in their participation in mayhem and corruption?

     The findings also cast a dim view of the kind of persons at the helm of the military academy that earlier approved the decision of disgraced Honor Committee.

The Snakepit

Chained in morass of lies--
the womanizer, the female prostitute,
the cursing fogey who believes
she is God,
the old robber baron
who stole pennies from them--
they are gathering forces
in paradise.
To break the knot?
What insanity!

Some guidelines in the translation of the Philippine National Anthem 

     1.  translator should be an expert in the language (language A) of the text to be translated.
     2.  translator should be an expert in the language (language B) into which the original text would be translated 
     3. the anthem's musical scoring should be retained and this can only be done by making adjustments in the translation. (This needs elaboration.)
     4. translation should be done by a committee of at least three members excluding the musical scorer.

     The Spanish version as written by Jose Palma, courtesy of Apo Errol Abrew:   

     Viernes Santo; in Laoag. Errol, starting from Caba, is in Candon before three this morning. He flagged the Maria de Leon bus in Caba. No trips today for GMW buses for Cagayan. Will check if there are vans or minibuses bound for Claveria. Errol, like the blogger, is attending the Ilokano writers' annual affair in the seaside town. More than 100 participants are expected to come, according to Freddie Padua Masuli, president of the provincial writer's chapter.
    Spending this holiday on the road for drivers who earn by commissions is a kind of sacrifice, a holy sacrifice for their families. 
     Errol arrives in Laoag and we meet at Chowking across the street from Puregold mall in the poblacion. We ride on a van in its terminal near GMW terminal. Arrive in Claveria before lunch.  Some of the old guys of Gumil: Joel Manuel, prize-winning writer; Rudy Contillo, former Bannawag staffer. The next day we would meet Cles Rambaud, Dionisio S. Bulong and his wife Eden- we shoke hands, telling Eden, "Lumaklakay, lumaglagda; bumakbaket, pumimpintas." Eden laughed. 

     Miercoles Santo. Flagged the Ilocos-bound bus at the Cabatuan junction. A few vacant seats at the back of the bus. My laptop, a small bag full of books and canned drinks and cookies, a big bag full of clothes in below the seat. Finally, the bus was full of passengers, some sitting on the aisle. The bus winded its way on mostly good road in the north country, mostly in Cagayan where economic development seems to be at standstill. It was past five in the afternoon, when we arrived at the bus' Laoag terminal, where there were a lot of passengers were waiting for a ride or two for their hometowns.
     The plan was to get to Laoag this day, and take the same transit to Claveria on Biernes Santo. One of the drivers told me, there would be no trip on Friday. The operation will resume on Saturday, he said. The blogger will find a way to get to Claveria Friday or very early on Saturday.

AFTER ALMOST A DECADE

     "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."--Mahatma Gandi.

     The blogger, on invitation of the Ilokano writers' organization, will attend the annual event called Dap-ayan 2014 to be held April 18-20 in the seaside town of Claveria in the imagined country of Amianan.  He will share his thoughts on Ilokano poetry with new, old and aspiring mannurat, some of whom the blogger has not seen in years.
     God bless the affair and the organizers!