AUTHORS OF PERFIDIA

     "Authors of Perfidia" is the title of one of the poems in "Umayka Manen, Ganggannaet/Come Penablanca Again, Stranger," an anthology of Ilokano and English poems with critical introduction by Dr. Aurelio Solver Agcaoili of the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

    The poem was one of those analyzed by Dr. Agcaoili in his lengthy introduction to the book. It hinted of a house of writers that was started but never finished because of alleged anomaly committed by leaders of the organization.

     In the critical introduction, Dr. Agcaoili spoke of the house dreamed by the founder of the writers' group, who had for 13 years hosted the annual affair of writers and would-be writers. It was his wife who made a comment on the "rottenness" of the organization. She said it to the blogger when the later paid a visit to the husband and wife, both of them now dead, in their house by the sea. "Bulok ti gunglo, Peter," she said then. The writers' house was supposed to have been constructed at the lot donated by the couple.

   In the writers' gathering at the Callao Cave, Penablanca, Cagayan, the then president of the organization submitted copies of financial statement or expenses incurred in the construction of Balay ti Gumil.

    During the last day, the blogger questioned the entries in the financial statement. The answers made by the president of the organization was not satisfactory.

     The following was in response to a text message sent to the blogger by a female member of the organization:

     "I did not question JB out of pique regarding the Balay ti Gumil in Suso, Sta, Maria, Ilocos Sur when I raised the questions before the delegates to the annual national conference at Callao, Penablanca, Cagayan in April 2002. It was only for information on how P700,000 was spent for the construction of a supposedly 2-story house. At that time, three concrete walls of the first floor (ground) had been finished along with the flooring of the second floor.

     Here were the entries of said financial statement, in pesos:

    billboard                                            2,500
    initial materials                                 47,050
    labor                                                40,000
    materials and labor                           100,000
    labor                                                  45,000
    materials/labor                                  90,000  

TOTAL DISBURSEMENTS                P489,000
TOTAL BALANCE                               178,349.50

There was a notation (written by JB in long hand that he returned to the organization a total of P183,849.50.) The date, also in long hand, was 9-7-02