O f f i c i a l S t u d e n t P u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f S a n J o s e - R e c o l e t o s F O R WA R D
T H E O N E J O S E N I A N D I R E C T I O N
S e c o n d S e m e s t e r I s s u e V o l . 6 2 N o . 2 S Y 2 0 0 9 - 2 0 1 0

A Toast to Immortality 3
4
EDITORIAL A Conspiracy Theory 5
PLEASE BEH! 6
VOX POPULI Notions on Elections 7
WIT FILLED Die Another Day 8
INK SPILL A Prayer for Junie 9
The Need for Speed 10
The Dark Side 11
IECEP:
Still in Fighting Form
18
Trial and Error 18
Unguarded 20
UR PAGE To My Fellow Filipinos 12
PERSONIFICATION Flushed Hopes 29
FICTION Thank God It’s Wednesday 32
JOURNALS
Me Versus Hitler 16
Dirty Dancing 34
Playing Deaf 35
BALAY KATITIKAN Takna 37
SILVER LININGS
The Man Who Saw Aurora 38
Captive of Independence 41
POETRY
EYECATCHER Not Your Average Cadet 13
ORGANIZATIONS
Hurrah for the Underdogs 14
IECEP: Still in Fighting Form 15
The Presidentiables: Of Kicks and Kisses 22
CEBUANO Lakaw sa Senyor 24
TEN THINGS
The Teachers You Don’t Want to Mess With 26
GOING VERBAL
Gearing for the 2010 e-lections 28
REVIEWS
The Unbearable Brilliance of P 36
2012: Emmerich’s Last Disaster Flick 39
Vanilla and Novelty 40
The Big Lift 42
43
15
38
Vote!
Put food on every table.
Give shelter to the homeless.
Employ the jobless.
Implement justice.
Vote!
Triumph over poverty.
Boost the economy.
Lift the country.
Vote!
Make the decision .
Use that power .
Mark that finger!
EDITORIAL BOARD AND STAFF
Jefferson M. Cruz
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
OPINION EDITOR/ FEATURES EDITOR
Jun Niño M. Nalipay
ASSOCIATE EDITOR/NEWS EDITOR
Wellah S. Mingo
MANAGING EDITOR-FINANCE/ LITERARY EDITOR
Amefil L. Benguillo
MANAGING EDITOR-ADMINISTRATION
Rodulfo P. Guerrero, Jr.
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Agnes B. Alpuerto
Eileen Q. Sorela
Jennifer L. Anor
Riza M. Letrago
Jan Patrice V. Lim
Faith Clovell T. Lisondra
Nikkah C. Lubanga
STAFF WRITERS
Dennis Sebastian B. Davide
Violeta Phiran D. Honasan
STAFF ARTISTS
Jose Lewis J. Gachalian
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Ms. Hazel G. Sevilla
Mr. Pacheco A. Polestico
PUBLICATION ADVISERS-TECHNICAL GUIDANCE
Atty. Jesus D. Velez
ASSISTANT MODERATOR
Reverend Fr. Charlito A. Orobia, OAR
MODERATOR
The FORWARD Magazine is printed every semester and once every summer under the name SOLSTICE . It is managed and published by the FORWARD Publication,
Ground Floor, San Agustin Bldg., University of San Jose-Recoletos, Magallanes Street,
Cebu City. The FORWARD Publication welcomes contributionst (informal/personal essays, poems, short stories, artworks, and photographs).
For comments, reactions, suggestions, and contributions, do contact us at (032) 412-
3221 or e-mail us at interact@forward.com.ph
.
You may also search FORWARD Publication in Facebook . If you want to know more about
FORWARD and read previous articles, log on to www.forward.com.ph
.
All rights reserved. No part of this magazine shall be used for any purpose, except when allowed by the law, without prior explicit permission from FORWARD Publication.

F R O M T H E E D I T O R
V alued reader,
To say that last semester’s issue of the
FORWARD magazine was successful is an understatement. If you would allow me to brag, I’d say it was revolutionary, a magnum opus that was embraced by the Josenian community. It has become a living proof that nationalism is never out of style.
Our team was dazed with the positive comments from people outside the four walls of this university. These remarks drove us to surpass what we have done in the last issue; thus, giving us a panicky feeling in coming up with the best magazine ever produced in USJ-R.
So what should be this semester’s theme after the well applauded nationalism? That was a very hard question which demanded hours of squeezing the creative juices from our minds. You will soon find out that this edition is closely connected to last semester’s. This is not because we can’t think of a fresher theme, but because we believe that we should not stop at being nationalistic. We should be the start of the change that we always preach. We have to be will-driven, and this issue is a strong reinforcement.
Nonetheless, valued reader, the pressure of meeting your expectations is really a compelling force. The
FORWARD Creative Team composed of lay-out artists and photographer have been eating that pressure for breakfast the whole semester. And it worked. At last, the team’s motivation to rival last semester’s edition manifests in the appearance of the magazine. Of course, producing photos for the cover is never easy, but we have managed to shoot a handful. In accomplishing that, we needed to transform our office into a studio. Thanks to Chong’s natural photographic ability, we had a hard time selecting a photo for the cover
(all of them are brilliant, believe me). I also have to commend
Levi Bayarcal for his willingness to pose for the cover. We love his finger!
This semester marks the milestone in the history of
FORWARD Publication. Since everybody is going online, we never want to be left behind. We should be just a click away!
And we started that mission by creating our own fan page in Facebook.
As of this writing, we already have a whopping
1, 379 fans and counting! Mind you, these fans, who are
Josenians and students from other schools, are not passive.
They interact to our posts, which is a good sign that they are exercising their right to be heard. The fan page has become an avenue where they can discuss their stand on current issues. In addition, the need to familiarize the readers with the previous articles also urged us to launch the newest student publication website in the Visayas, www.forward.
com.ph.
Speaking of milestones, I need to mention The First
FORWARD Grand Alumni Reunion which was attended by the first to the latest batches of campus journalists in USJ-R.
It was history and we are grateful that the momentous gathering of alumni who are already institutions in their fields happened in our time. And to think, all of these things, the website, the reunion, and the overwhelming acceptance of our readers, happened in just one year!
To sum it up, school year 2009-2010 is indeed significant for FORWARD, not just because four members of the
Editorial Board (Jun, Wellah, Amefil, and I) will start climbing the corporate ladder come March. This school year signals the takeover of the new breed of student journalists who will finally be given a chance to lead and manage the student publication. I am excited for them.
Will this edition be successful like last semester’s? It is too early to assume. In the end, the worth of this issue will be determined by how you, dear reader, will accept it.
Your feedbacks are highly encouraged. You can speak out by sending us an email at interact @ forward.com.ph or by logging on to our website. If you want to get noticed right away, search FORWARD Publication in Facebook, become a fan and pitch your comments. We love hearing from you!
Keep those comments coming!
Read on!
Jefferson M. Cruz
Editor-in-Chief
3
2 nd Sem 2009-2010 F O R W A R D

F r e e d o m W a l l
COLUMNS
Mr. Jefferson Cruz,
Having been a student journalist in my high school daze (sic), I read with much interest and great pride your “First Semester Issue
Vol. 62”, FORWARD . May I commend you and the staff for an excellent publication that reflects the quality and sense of urgency for any dedicated journalist?
Language and grammar were impeccable; content was fresh and compelling. It was as fine a publication as I have read at any student level, as good as many professional endeavors.
Not to proselytize, but please encourage Mr. Nalipay, as well as those that may share his viewpoint, that an outstanding school performance together with its related accomplishments greatly influence society and reflect well in the community. Whether you realize it or not, you do “walk the talk”.
Keep up the good work.
Edwin Long
Former Associate Editor, Westmont HS SHIELD, 1969-72 San Jose CA USA
PS I now reside in Cebu and would very much enjoy visiting your office.
MC Kent Sasan : I like the latest issue of the
FORWARD magazine, especially the front cover.
It catches attention and makes a person grab a copy and read it. Good work.
Adelante!
Reina Otarra
Joy Ann Villaceran
[of the magazine], not only Josenians appreciate ug nanon-Josenians. So keep it up guys!
FORWARD
: Amazing ang
: Nice encourage
front cover. :)) mobasa,
Choiii!
kaayo ang karon nga issue ang naka-
but also the
: Joy, this issue of the magazine was conceptualized to ignite and enliven the love for the country not just of Josenians but Cebuanos and Filipinos at large. We appreciate your inspiring comment. We could only do best next semester.
Hi, Jun Niño Nalipay!
Rankine here from the College of Engineering. I emailed you because
I found your article Unwanted Reflections in FORWARD interesting. I appreciate your thoughts and I think you have a point in proposing your
“school culture dependency theory”. As a student leader, I found myself relating to it. Yes, it is a sad fact that we student leaders are often too caught up in our own school activities that we forget the community or our home.
Your article somehow confirmed what I have been thinking all along, and made me understand also why, after all these years of being a student leader, I still haven’t been able to organize community projects as concrete expressions of my desire to see this nation move FORWARD .
May this be a wake-up call to other student leaders in school, too, as it was to me. Thank you very much, congratulations, and God bless. :-)
Rankine Ruel G. Novabos
B.S. in Industrial Engineering 5
Vicki Saguin : Oh, so you guys did that shoot all by yourself (painting of the hands, et. al.)? Very creative and thought-provoking, ha.
*Sigh*. Can’t help but be nostalgic looking at these [cover shoot photos in facebook]. FORWARD has always been that humble but firm and resilient advocate of truth and youth empowerment. Adelante!
Chris Ondona : I have a question. Who shot the front cover of the FORWARD mag? Nindot gyud siya. Gituyo gyud na siya or inyo ra na gigrab sa internet? No offense. Curious lang ko. Salamat.
FORWARD : Chris, one of our primary rules in producing the FORWARD magazine is never grab pictures from the internet especially if it will be used as the front cover or the back cover. We painted the hands of our probationary members and we shot the photo. No lies, no tricks. Thank you for asking that question. :)
Francis Bryan Cutamora : Ang other friends nako nga dili Josenians appreciated our magazine. Keep it up!
SECRET GARDEN
Dominique L. Monido : Nationalism just doesn’t get out of style. I’m really enjoying this semester’s issue.
Salamat FORWARD ! Mabuhi mo!
Phoenix Rising,
Hello! I have read Secret Garden fascinated me. You’re a good writer. The emotions are strong in that story. I can’t help but email you.
Mary Chris Auza
B.S. in Information Technology 2
and it
4 F O R W A R D 2 nd Sem 2009-2010
Arnold Castro : Hi, this is Emelito Torres hijacking
Arnold’s account. This cover piece is revolutionary, in the way it has redefined FORWARD ’s packaging: from the still life of 90s-last issue from the Warhollike sketches of the 70s-80s and from the outlined drawings of the 50s. But it’s grounded in its provocativeness, which is FORWARD ’s unverbalized standard in magazine covers. It’s nothing short of inspired.

E D I T O R I A L
M urder is the word perfectly appropriate in calling that incident in Maguindanao last November 23, 2009 that claimed more than 50 lives. Outrage of disgusts flooded over the archipelago and everyone seems to point to one culprit – the
Ampatuans, particularly Andal Ampatuan
Jr.
In 2006, we can take into account that
President Arroyo issued the Executive
Order (EO) No. 546 directing the
Philippine National Police (PNP) to undertake active support to the Armed
Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in internal security operations for the suppression of insurgency and other serious threats to the National Security, amending certain provisions of Executive Order No. 110.
According to Section 3 of the said order,
“The Department of the Interior and Local
Government shall exert efforts in securing and institutionalizing funding support from
Local Government Units. For this purpose, governors and mayors, as deputized representatives of the National Police
Commission in their respective territorial jurisdiction, and in relation to their sworn duty to implement Section 16 of the Local
Government Code, shall ensure that the sufficient funds shall be appropriated in their annual budget for the operational and logistical support of the concerned
PNP units for the implementation of this
Executive Order.” The section clearly stated its aim to fight against insurgents who are coming from Mindanao.
Recall the 2004 election when Gloria
Arroyo ran for presidential seat. It became glaringly obvious that when the last vote was counted, it was overwhelmingly in favor of Arroyo which was precisely dubious.
In addition, during the 2007 election, all senators in President Arroyo’s line-up won. The opposition candidates did not get a single vote in 20 out of the 22 towns in
Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao. Speculations arose that there was massive rigging of the votes and the Ampatuans were behind it.
In 2006, the market of Shariff Aguak,
Maguindanao was bombed and the
Ampatuans made it appear it was part of an attempt to ambush them. Coincidence or not, the Executive Order was issued shortly after the incident. Had President
Arroyo been tricked by Ampatuan Sr. to issue such EO? As what was reported, the Ampatuans clearly benefited from the issuance of the order. For the sake of what they believed as fighting against insurgency, the Arroyo administration provided them with an army and police generals. Four of Ampatuan’s sons who happened to be town mayors had their personal militia with the estimated size of around 200-500. We could not help but suspect that Arroyo was just returning the favor to the Ampatuans.
According to the National Economic
Development Authority, “63 percent of the Maguindanao population earns a meager Php50 per day. More than half or 55 percent of the residents of the Autonomous Region of Muslim
Mindanao (ARMM) are hungry.”
Therefore, we can’t expect officials to live a very extravagant lifestyle. But all over the country, the Ampatuans own
28 mansions and palatial houses. These are located in Shariff Aguak, Cagayan de Oro City, Davao City, Tacurong,
Koronadal, Quezon City, Makati, Cavite and Dasmarinas Village. Ironically, they live in comfort while their constituents in
Maguindanao crawl amidst poverty.
After the massacre, operatives from
PNP, AFP and NBI of the National
Capital Region raided the houses of the Ampatuans in Davao. There was a huge cache of high-powered firearms buried in a vacant lot inside the
Ampatuan compound and the authorities approximated them to be worth “millions of pesos”. This “privilege” is a smoking gun that there are people in power backing up the Ampatuans.
The then deputy presidential spokesperson, Lorelei Fajardo, seemed to confirm the strong tie between the
Administration and the Ampatuans when she said, “I don’t think the President’s friendship with the Ampatuans will be severed. Just because they are in this situation doesn’t mean we will turn our backs on them. It doesn’t mean that they are no longer our friends, if ever they indeed committed the crime.”
Now the ‘alleged’ perpetrator of the despicable crime is already behind bars and the Arroyo administration seems to distance itself from him. Yet some of the Ampatuans still remain in their positions. The government may have already done the most appropriate under the circumstance, but justice grinds exceedingly slow. So who should we condemn? The “criminal”? The
“backer”? Or both of them for their best laid plans?
F
2 nd Sem 2009-2010 F O R W A R D 5

beh!
A from us. s USJ-R’s offic
FORWARD be ial student pu takes full resp about issues c studentry. Th onsibility in c oncerning the lieves that the blication, FOR onveying trut is is what the
school and th
Josenians exp
only way to a chieve
WARD hs e ect l responsible re information fr whether they om ALL the p
are “big peop
Finding credib issues has bee n a struggle.
eople involve le sources wh es are always d in an issue – le” in the univ o will truthful ersity or stude ly answer the scarce while t he passive nts. ones abound.
unearthing th kes us more th e real stories b is that these “ credible” sour the reporters and have thei ehind the issu ces do not ha an ample time es. The sad re ve the balls to r voices recor ded. They like ality
face
to be chased like ce remain veiled lebrities.
There are only know nothing
“approachab
their high pit hy sources are ue or they wa
to protect the us blown with the time get t oo excited ab ir interests.
ched nag. The
mum: they nt the truth to le” sources wh t out the interv se sources mo iew and forge t to offer a seat.
The worst thin demand a cop y of interview actual intervie w. They want st answers the appen is whe n some sourc
questions firs to be “well-eq y could give d t before the uipped” with uring the actu es the al best and safe interview.
These sources
forget the po and clarify. Th report. Interv iews give equ fend and expl al chance to e ain their sides ws – to verify veryone invol
campus med
. But if the sou
-if-you-can, ia will be tota ved in rces lly portunity to c lear an issue to de themselves w the role and p defeated. The their names o ill keep on pla ying catch-me big shots will urpose of the y willingly get n an issue. In blame us for “
rid of their op the end, these reputation”.
FORWARD’s m facts. We beli eve we are do staining” thei reliable article it. Sources als tango.
F
does not just o have to do t
unreachable r “hard earned ieve balanced ing our part. T
depend on h heir part. It al
delivery of ow writers pe ways takes tw a n o to
6 F O R W A R D 2 nd Sem 2009-2010
N oti
E l e ons c t
on i o n

V O X P O P U L I
N oti ons c t
on i o n
E l e lang abo ke Il ut o lust he p
stor
or p ya.” o A have
. Ang
BM won seem
to k
uba and etim on’t
C- 1 it’s t
the
“I ca
oth es m
win ir pr
it’s n aayo alist ill n’t s
. Th ot er ru om akes ey tand nnin ises
me s
the g ic w hich
T wo months from now, people will exercise the power of suffrage by voting for the leaders who should steer this country to progress.
Aside from casting our votes during the May 2010 elections, the youth also have the right to be heard!
Jan Patrice V. Lim scoured the campus to gather
Josenians’ answer to this challenging, but relevant question, ‘How do you foresee the 2010 elections?’
“We think that the 2010 elections will be controversial controversial and sizzling as the US elections between
Obama and McCain. We think the next officials should be practical and should sacrifice personal wants in order to fulfill the public’s needs rather than continue the traditional game of politics.”
- 3rd Year ME Boys the pilot w
– Varie Joh e’ve been w n C. Orozco gress.”
“I wonder w us to be on during deb irectly hy Erap
his side?
to answer ates withou upcoming e lection, the se I believe
, BSCE – 1
he is t
“As an the 20 will b
optim e full
The w ist, of hop ay I se n’t on e it, ly e. a chan ge in ent, e, 201
0 elec ope t o the give h
– Dor een F aye T tions will
Filipi
. Borb nos.” on BS
IT-4 we do need the go but a ople’s
attitu vernm chang de tow e in ard th e the pe
– Barr y dela
Serna
Arriol a BSHM
– 3
– Joan Mariss ent k
“The machine for this year’s are convenien look after the e Deguma BS
ballot
IT – 1 ed s process faster ction le
of the probability of like teachers – achines also m
who inimize the
“I believ e that fraud an buying c d vote an’t be prevente
– Hanna
BSN – 4 d.” h Rodil, still in ad takin with
“The
the
– Ed has
gov take auto this mat year we d n th
. Tho on’t high liter g th
mod ilma apti e ris
hav k. Th ern rie C ng a ed e est c acy time alip n lecti ugh e th omp rate
.” ay B on uter
, we is is to co
SED interests.“ pe
-Ma th 2
“The election will be more bloody and chaotic since there are a lot of presidentiables who hunger for power. I
– Faye Roska, BSN – 4
7

Jefferson M. Cruz
C O L U M N
S o this is my last column. Days after the release of this issue, I will no longer be the Editor-in-Chief.
My editing job which I am so fond of doing will be given to another deserving staff. The locker where
I kept my things for eight semesters will have to be emptied to give room for others’ belongings. A few days more I will be leaving the office which for four years has become a home where I dealt with lethal pressures, beat non-extendable deadlines, coached and motivated writers, and laughed and cried my heart out. And the thought makes me teary eyed.
How could I give up the things which have become my life?
Enrolling in college was a difficult decision I almost never made. I used to think that I could go on with my life living simply and earning a little after high school. The scarcity of financial support for my studies discouraged me to dream.
And I dismissed my ambitions believing they were too grand and unachievable. I had to work in constructions with my dad, dig kanals, sell tempura, kwek-kwek and chicharon in the streets, work as a janitor in a mall, and experience all the hardships before I became conscious that life is so fierce and unforgiving to those who cannot keep up with the demands of the time. It was in those times I understood the importance of getting a degree.
I knew very well that my dad can’t send me to college. But
I also knew that he couldn’t take the sight of me holding a spade, mixing cement and carrying hollow blocks with my bear hands under the intense heat of the sun. He also knew that there was a greater possibility that I would suffer the same hardships he was enduring. He was aware that the cycle of poverty could be passed on to my grandchildren’s children, so he sent me to a state university. I took Community
Development in University of Rizal System in 2001, but I never lasted a semester. The lack of resources made it too difficult for me to survive. So I flew here in Cebu after five years for reinforcement.
You see, uprooting myself from the place I got used to was a big test. I never even thought I would last mingling with classmates younger than I. Until now, my biggest insecurity is my age and it frustrates me every time I can’t relate to younger people. I had to adjust to them every day of my college life until I became accustomed to their stubbornness and silliness. Somehow, I failed to resist their charisma and eventually learned to love their occasional irrationality.
Looking back, I could say that college is not all about memorizing the entire book to get a perfect score in
Sociology or whatever subjects that demand simple brain activity. You also have to co-exist with unfair teachers who are always enticed with their students’ physical appearance and “intellect”, butt kissers who always find a way to charm and manipulate instructors and classmates to get the grades they don’t deserve, and “honor” students who don’t even know how to construct a grammatically and syntactically correct sentence. I almost gave up with my everyday encounters with these horrors. My outspokenness turned me into a persona non grata. I became anti-social and obnoxious, sometimes hysterical. Thanks to my mom who always tranquilized me in our occasional phone conversations. She would listen to my rants and tell me, “Anak, kaya mo ‘yan,” or “’wag mo na patulan, bata lang yan.” My mom is really obsessed with me, and I don’t have to say why.
The pressures and stresses in my academics, internships, and position in the publication have made me resilient, and sometimes heartless. I have learned that if I want to survive in the real world, I have to be open to criticisms and hostilities.
I have finally come to know how to separate emotions from work. And every time my world seems to end I reflect on this: There are times we have to accept that we are finally defeated, and that we have reached our limit. But this is not that time!
What I’ve been through might be nothing compared to what others are enduring, that I know. There are those who defy the impossible to follow their dreams not just for their own sake, but also for the people they continue to love unconditionally. I know students who work in nightshifts to finance their studies. There are even some who do not eat lunch or snacks because transportation is the only thing their budget can afford. My heart goes to some who work double on their group projects because their skills and ideas are the most precious things they could contribute to the group.
These students’ determination is an inspiration. And I salute them for such untiring dedication!
My last column should be an opportunity to thank people who helped me become the person I am today: my family who always inspired me, Tita Gina who became more than a provider, my Grannie who is always patient with my tantrums,
Tito Junior who believed in me, and Karen for the acceptance and love beyond compare.
I would like to express my gratitude to Father Charlie and
Atty. Velez for making me understand how important it is to follow the rules, Hazel Sevilla for the love and friendship,
Pacheco Polestico who always reminds me that I should be the best father when it is my turn to be one, Rudy, a dear friend who is never afraid to enumerate my imperfections,
Wellah who is always ready to listen and whose music rocked my world, Jun who was always there to back me up, Fil for unconditional love, and Cherie, the sister I never had. I would also like to thank my team – Agnes, Eileen, Jennifer, Dennis,
Phiran, Lewis, Nikkah, Patrice, Faith and Riza.
The only way to move forward is to let go. And now is the time to let go.
F jeff.scribbles@gmail.com
8 F O R W A R D 2 nd Sem 2009-2010

C O L U M N
Jun Nino M. Nalipay
J ust two months before my graduation, I learned that Junie is my real name. I was in a denial state when I saw my birth certificate authenticated by the
National Statistics Office (NSO). My brain seemed to flow down to my feet and all I saw was a gigantic question mark. I was bothered because changing the name I am using into Junie is not possible before my graduation. Court hearings and publishing of my name still have to be done. I also do not want to change my name because I have been using it since I was born.
I started to worry as I approached people to get advices.
Most of them, especially the registrar personnel, said I need to follow my NSO so as not to encounter difficulties in processing my application for graduation. Left with no good choice, I used Junie, even if it sounds girly.
To convince myself that I have a good name, I started to google “Junie.” I found out that there are 879 people named
Junie in United States as of February 24, 2010 (17:49AM). As the statistics revealed, the use of the name Junie increases by seven every year. And yes, most of them are girls.
As I further searched Junie in Facebook, I found a group
“Still praying for Junie.” I became curious when I found that all group members seemed like prayer warriors.
The Facebook page says that Junie was diagnosed with oligodendroglioma (ODs) when she was just seventeen. ODs are primary glial brain tumors that are divided into grade II and anaplastic grade III tumors (World Health Organization
[WHO] criteria). Totally severe, she underwent a surgery to remove her brain tumors. Despite the surgery, the cancer consequently prodded her to enjoy her remaining couple of months here on earth.
Just like what the doctor advised them to do, Junie’s family prepared for that unwanted coming (of her death).
Since all the medical technologies are inutile, prayer, being the most powerful sword, was the family’s only resort.
Faithful enough, God did an amazing miracle to her. She was declared cancer free several months after she was diagnosed. Though she evidently has neurological problems and cannot get out of her wheelchair brought by the treatments and the cancer itself, God’s gift of life to her is more than enough. Last January 31, Junie celebrated her
30th birthday.
I thought I would end up still searching for my name, but instead, I ended up pondering what I read in Facebook.
I learned there’s more to explore in the social networking sites than just our mere routines. All this time, I only think of posting shoutouts, browsing the latest photos, confirming friend requests, checking the latest friends’ updates and chatting with friends. I knew of some advocacies and causes this site promotes, but I really don’t see their relevance.
It’s just like planting and harvesting in Farmtown.
There is more on social networking sites than our ghastly comments to either of our friends or enemies, more than our online political campaigns that abash others, more than mocking and laughing about the edited Manny Pacquaio and Nanay
Dionisia pics, or the cartoon figures of the 2010 election national presidentiables.
Perhaps, we are ignoring the advantages of instant messaging and social networking sites at that. Or, we just missed the beneficial side of them. I am also guilty of that. I laugh at humiliating photos, post non-sense messages and mock people.
When I happened to see the group who needs prayer warriors for Junie, I learned Facebook is not only about amusing ourselves by posting vanity pics or using our very free time just chatting with others. It’s also about helping others whom we do not know but need our precious little time. By this, I mean logging out for a while and offer a sincere prayer. The vulnerable, the cynical, the emo, the irresponsible, the vain, the heartbroken, the restless and the all types of people gather in Facebook.
Maybe because they want comfort and virtual companionship with people.
Because of Facebook, I learned to accept my name through Junie who has the same name. I don’t care if it sounds like a girl. I don’t care if it’s new to me. I don’t really care even if I am one of those who are victims of circumstances. Everytime I see Junie’s group online, I feel like I am the person they are praying for. Yes, like Junie I need prayer warriors for I also have many “cancers” in life.
In fact, a severe cancer has just healed – the “cancer” of finishing my education. I thought I would not survive this
“cancer” but God did a miracle in my life. Now, I don’t just walk; I also march to get my college diploma on stage.
P.S. I thank the opportunity of meeting and chatting with my long lost friends in elementary and high school including my childhood neighbors. We were able to reminisce all those years when we spent most of our leisure time with the birds, fish, bats, grasshoppers, frogs and snails in the field. And yes, the animal manure as a requirement for the clearance signing in our Home
Economics class. Thanks as well to my school Consolatrix
College of Toledo City. ARSCian rocks!
F jun_nalipay_m@yahoo.com

By 2012, a Bus Rapid Transit system will take over the jeepneys in the streets of Cebu. With this, Riza M. Letrago contends that adopting the BRT will be timely and practical for it will solve the city’s vehicle-related problems. Meanwhile, Jennifer L. Anor argues that the project will greatly affect the livelihood of many Cebuanos.
The
W
Need hile the City officials are excited that the Bus Rapid
Transit (BRT) system will finally to be adapted in Cebu, critics are skeptical about its feasibility and efficacy. Is BRT a better mass transport system for Cebu, or is it just another case of the Cebu government squandering funds like the corrupt story associated with rusting lampposts? There are also questions on losses of income on the part of Cebu’s jeepney operators and drivers. Such concerns should be addressed accordingly.
This is how the BRT would operate.
It will work like the train system but will use buses instead of train coaches. It will have designated bus lanes instead of rail tracks. The buses will run at higher speed compared to ordinary buses because the buses’ velocity will be enhanced by the combination of the advantages of a metro rail system and of a conventional bus system. Thus, the system can serve more passengers per mile. The passengers of BRT can easily pay bus fares at ticket booths located at bus stations in the middle of the road that are quite accessible from pedestrian lanes or overhead walkways.
Aside from its fine features, there are also good reasons why the BRT system should be implemented in Cebu. First, it eases traffic congestion. As of 2008, Cebu
City has over 67,000 registered vehicles and has a 3.6 percent annual average population growth rate. Theoretically, the public utility jeepneys (PUJs) will no longer be able to accommodate the needs of the riding public in the next fifteen years or so.
Once the BRT project is realized, commuters will then have a smoother ride. Commuters will also be less exposed to air pollution brought about by smokebelching jeepneys. Healthwise,
BRT will cause the decrease of the number of people affected with the respiratory diseases triggered by the inhalation of carbon dioxide. Also, emission of the greenhouse gases which for flow will ease up, more
causes the depletion of the ozone layer and global warming will likely lessen.
BRT may not be an immediate all-out antidote to climate change, but at least it can be one concrete step towards it.
Financing the construction of BRT is no longer a problem. The Clean
Technology Fund (a project administered by Australia, France, Germany, Japan,
Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, United Kingdom, and
United States) has pledged $6.1 billion dollars to support developing countries to combat climate change. Cebu City is borrowing from the $250 million grant that the Philippines received from this organization with zero interest rate for the BRT project.
Cebu businessmen also want to adapt the proposed BRT system. One of their major goals is to decongest the streets so that they can put up better means of transportation and facilitate the movement of vans, taxis, cars, buses, tourist vehicles, and trucks. Recently, the movement of the supply of goods and services has been slowed down, because of the worsening traffic situation in the city. Addressing this immediately is of great importance for the business sector, especially now that Cebu’s business elite is focused on the city’s development of its information and communications technology. If traffic by Riza M. Letrago investors will be attracted to transact businesses in the Queen City of the South.
The city will also become more attractive to tourists. When these happen, there will be more employment opportunities for
Cebuanos.
Source of income for PUJ drivers and operators will not be a problem. Mayor
Tomas Osmeña has guaranteed that there will be employment reservation for the affected PUJ drivers. This is the reason PUJ drivers are not against the project. Commuters don’t have to worry.
Integrated Transport Planning Director
Colin Brader assured that BRT fares will parallel to jeepney fares.
Compared to PUJs, BRT is a more reliable means of transportation. This has been noted by other developing countries like Brazil, Canada, China, United Kingdom,
Colombia, and other 19 countries all over the world that are using the BRT for mass transportation.
It is true that jeepney operations will be disrupted upon the realization of this project, but as what Cebuanos are experiencing, PUJs are not enough to cater to the growing number of commuters, and only the BRT system can solve traffic problems not only in Cebu City, but also in the entire province.
F
Sources www.sunstar.com.ph
www.lightrailnow.org
www.cebu-brt.com
www.philstar.com
www.inquirer.net
www.lto.gov.ph
V S.

The
F
Dark act: The proposal to adapt a
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Cebu
City will be finally realized in
2012, thanks to Mayor Tomas
Osmeña’s unrelenting persistence in pushing for such project. The buses will ply the Talamban-Bulacao route as recommended by the Integrated
Transport Planning Director Colin Brader.
Supporters from here and abroad have helped in the realization of the
BRT system. Two feasibility studies were being conducted prior to the project.
Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility
(PPIAF) financed the feasibility study
Side be done for the BRT? What about the negative repercussions these changes bring to those bus and jeepney operators who will soon lose their means of living?
How about their families who only rely on their “kita sa pamamasada”?
The government is too idealistic.
And there is the rub. It presumed that
BRT is the saving grace for all those economic hitches. Too overwhelmed of the possibilities, it overlooked the flaws.
The government seems nonchalant by the major changes needed before the
BRT could be realized. These include the following: widening of the roads, by Jennifer L. Anor steps is undertaken would lead to the same dead end - dumping more burden on Juan. BRT buses can provide swift movement for public commuters. But how about those who prefer to use their private vehicles? These commuters would also need to give way to the BRT buses as part of the modification of the traffic rules. All this would only favor the
BRT buses. And these private car owners would also have to bear inconvenience for the sake of the mass transport system.
BRT is a threat to the transport sector’s employment. But various groups are rather unreasonable in their support for for the BRT, with the Banilad-Talamban corridor identified as its location. BRT for the South Road Properties (SRP) was bankrolled by the Asian Development
Bank-Cities Development Initiative for Asia (ADB-CDIA). The Philippine
Government was granted US$250 million by the Clean Technology Fund.
The news of BRT being backed up by a number of local and global organizations is actually not a surprise. Adapting the
BRT system will be beneficial to the government such as alleviating Cebu’s traffic woes, lessening gas emissions from vehicles and facilitating a swift movement of the goods and services of the business sectors.
A caveat is however necessary before we get carried away by these “benefits.”
What about the other side of the story, that side which the government preferred not to highlight? And what about the major changes that need to incorporating the BRT system to the existing traffic rules and eliminating jeepneys from the roads. It is quite obvious that transformation somehow negatively affects people whom the government is supposed to uplift.
To implement the new transportation system, the government must first widen the roads. Cebu City Planning and Development Officer, Nigel Paul
Villarete said there is a need to widen the four-lane Gov. Cuenco Avenue into six lanes to make BRT operations possible.
To do that, the government would either appropriate the space for jeepneys or drive away private companies and households located alongside the “BRT route”. Taking away space for jeepneys automatically means depriving drivers source of income for their families.
Buying those private lots would also require demolishing the houses and business establishments along the route. Whichever of these the implementation of the BRT system.
Cebu Integrated Transport Services and
Cooperative Chairman, Ryan Benjamin
Yu said that they are not against the BRT considering that the city government assured them of an alternative livelihood.
Osmeña being also a politician promises to provide alternative livelihood to those affected. According to philstar.com, Osmeña simply said,
“Bitaw”.
Indeed, that statement was really convincing. It made us doubt about the promise he gave to jeepney drivers who have to feed the stomachs of their families.
Knowing that the welfare of some
Cebuanos is at stake, once again we ask:
Did the government have a detailed contingency plan for the affected businesses, private commuters, jeepney operators and drivers? Only if it did can the government convince us that it really cares.
F
Sources
www.cebu-brt.com
www.philstar.com
www.balita.ph
www.globalnation.inquirer.net
www.67.225.139.201
V S.
Photo credits
www.perso.ch
www. upload.wikimedia.org
www.imagesphilippines.com
www.newvistawallpaper.com
The photos used are for illustration purposes only.
Editor’s Note
The articles in the Josenian Textback do not necessarily reflect the stand of the authors regarding the issue. These are meant for discussion only. How about you, Josenians? What is your stand?
Send your feedbacks to interact@forward.com.ph.

T
U R P A G E W hy did God place us in a country which is one of the smallest in the map? And among all races in the world, why did God choose us to become Filipinos?
Well, I could add those questions to the many mysterious things in life. And they are mysteries we should enjoy about.
Why? God placed us in this country because He loves us! Let us look at this country in a positive light. The Filipinos have the most abundant natural resources and unique culture which make the Philippines famous despite being infamous at the same time.
We, Filipinos, are known for our values which we learned from our ancestors. They are known for being hospitable where guests are afforded royal treatment in their households. Respect for elders has become a protocol even outside the immediate family. “Utang na loob”
(indebtedness) refers to the moral obligation to repay in kind a debt incurred or a favor owed. A Pinoy’s need to be part of a group is reflected in “pakikisama” (comradeship).
When problems come, a Filipino’s way of forgetting them is by laughing.
White beaches in Boracay, Chocolate Hills in Bohol, Rice
Terraces in Banawe, Magellan’s Cross (our very own), and
Mayon Volcano in Bicol are just some of the most famous tourist destinations in the Philippines. Distinguished British traveler-writer A. Henry Savage Landor, thrilled upon seeing a Bicol landmark in 1903, even wrote: “Mayon is the most beautiful mountain I have ever seen, the worldrenowned Fujiyama (Mt. Fuji) of Japan sinking into perfect insignificance by comparison. Mayon has the world’s most perfect cone.”
A fiesta or festival is part and parcel of the Filipino culture. Rain or shine, a fiesta must go on. Each city or barrio has at least one local festival of its own with usually a feast about a certain patron saint – so that there is always a fiesta going on somewhere in the country. But the biggest and most elaborate festival of all is Christmas, a season
T
Carreen Malahay
AB-Mass Communication 2, winner of
To My Fellow Filipinos Writing Contest during the FORWARD
Awareness Days 2009.
T celebrated with all the pomp and pageantry the fun-loving
Filipino can succeed.
Charice Pempengco is one of the world’s most requested singers. She’s the only young singer who was given standing ovations for her performances in every country where she performes. A simple man named Levi Celerio became one of the most famous world class Filipino song writers because his songs cherish life, convey nationalistic sentiments and grand philosophies, render totally wonderful melodies.
The one-chip video camera was first made by Marc Loinaz, a Filipino inventor from New Jersey. And every single Filipino knows the name Manny Pacquiao. He spells the hope of the nation through his life story. In case you don’t know, he’s the only boxer who won in seven major world boxing titles and seven different weight divisions.
There are so many reasons Filipinos should be proud about being muddy-skinned and flat-nosed. We are not just rich in natural resources but also have variety of talents and values which are incomparable to any other races. Despite the political-social issues the country is confronted with, losing hope is not an option. Instead, we must prove to the world that despite the poverty and corruption in our country, we,
Filipinos will continue doing our best to succeed in the fields we choose.
These trials are just part of God’s plans in molding us.
We are just walking in the valley where problems and trials are given by our Maker to mold us into better and stronger people. God has great plans in our country and He is not lying. It is clearly stated in the Bible. He says in Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future!” (Proverbs 3:6-7) All we have to do is to trust God with all our hearts and our souls.
Yes, the Filipinos can excel in different fields! The Filipinos are unique and these things will bring us to success. Filipinos, stand and smile! Be proud to be Pinoys! Be proud of the
Philippines because there’s no place like our country!
F o my fellow Filipinos photo credits: www.fbc-lowell.com
12 F O R W A R D 2 nd Sem 2009-2010

“L akad patakda… na!”
The sound of this line spoken in an authoritative timbre might cause our knees to wobble as we struggle to march in place already. No doubt, military training is extremely challenging, but for one man, it is the exact opposite.
The Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) in the
Philippines has been the realm of disciplined individuals way back the Spanish Colonial Period when students were trained and organized into battalions to battle with the
English troops. However, due to the different accusations of corruption and cadet maltreatment, the mandatory program was abolished in the university in 2002 and revived as an optional subject in the year 2005. Despite the time lost, the
ROTC still managed to mold the best cadets and cadettes.
Among the record-breaking 565 ROTC cadets since its comeback, only one stood out among the Jaguar ROTC unit.
He’s someone who looks just another part of the Josenian crowd yet skillful enough to stand out in his field. His name is Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Jan Brylle Bañares, 1st Class. Or if you think that’s quite a mouthful, you can just disregard the titles and call him Brylle.
A third year AB Political Science student, Brylle has received numerous awards both in ROTC and academics.
Just recently, he reaped first place in the 6th Provincial
Shoot Fest held last October 18 and the third place in the regional level. His biggest feat was becoming the title holder of the ROTC Cadet of the Year in 2008 for Region 7.
It doesn’t end there. Academically, he, too excels as much.
The 19-year old was in the dean’s list in 2007 and 2008.
Moreover, he also has the skills in sketching. He was the
Editorial Cartooning Champion of the FORWARD Awareness
Days 2009. Last year, he also won Best in Casual Wear in the
Mr. and Ms. CAPSO ’09 for political science students.
With all these achievements, you may wonder how this young Jaguar did them. During Saturdays, Brylle and his fellow first class officers gather the cadets for formation wherein they perform basic military exercises such as marching and handling firearms safely. After, they put the cadets at ease during lectures about human rights, map reading, and other must-knows in the army.
E Y E C A T C H E R
Meanwhile, during weekdays, he sees to it that he could focus on his classes by studying but not sacrificing his simple pleasures in life. Like any other guy, he too is tempted to play Defense of the Ancients (DOTA), but that doesn’t mean he is not a bit concerned of his studies. Every time Brylle gets low scores on tests and if his goals are not achieved, he is easily discouraged. According to him, this attitude is his one big weakness. Nevertheless, he always drops by the chapel to pray and meditate when faced with disappointment.
Unfortunately, because of the allegations of hazing in the
ROTC unit in the early 90’s and the Mark Chua controversy in 2001, many are still doubtful of the purpose of the course.
However, Brylle assured that the ROTC does not perform such an act today. In fact, the trainings enable the students to be morally and physically equipped to face life in its toughest. Moreover, the group conducts more lectures than field training now so that the members could be intellectually ready.
The organization has also been preparing for more advocacies to cadets by maximizing the advantages and benefits like scholarship grants to deserving students and the chance to join the army upon graduating. Definitely, this buoyed up the interest of Josenians to enroll in this subject once again.
“ROTC isn’t that difficult. Discipline ra gyud and you’ll find it easy,” Brylle explained.
Brylle never forgets to show his gratitude to his fellow officers who were there in times of troubles. He did have a difficult time when he still belonged to the lowest class, but with supportive friends and efficient time management, he became one of the most respected cadet officers in the organization. Brotherhood is one thing that Brylle is proud of.
So the next time you see him, be reminded that being in the ROTC is not all about exhausting drills. The whole experience and the solid foundation of values it builds make the pains all the more worthwhile. And Brylle would be most willing to prove that over again. F
vel l Li son dra
by
Fai th
Clo

B oring as books. That is how some
Josenians see Bachelor in Library and
Information Science (BLIS). They think students taking the degree program are having the easiest time of their lives making their grades. Some students would even say “Wala pa lagi ko kadungog ana nga course.”
BLIS is the degree program of the soon-to-be librarians. With this degree program comes the formation of the organization of librarians – the
Josenian Library and Information Science Society
(JLISS). Like a book which needs series of editing,
JLISS had to pass the through the eye of the needle.
Chapter I: Identity Crisis
BLIS originally applied for the accreditation of the Library Science Organization (LSO). However,
LSO did not reach the 30 members cut-off requirement and only had 12 members. After a year,
BLIS put an end to that problem and was accredited with the new name Library and Information Science
Organization (LISO).
In 2009, the new president of the organization changed its name to Josenian Library and
Information Science Society. Now JLISS has 60 members. This number may seem small compared to the population of other organizations, but for the
JLISS it is record-breaking already.
In addition, officers of the organization made a research on how they can further increase their members. This includes asking members of the organization why they enrolled in the degree program. It was quite a surprise that 75 percent of the members answered that they were influenced by their relatives to take the program.
The remaining 25 is because of passion. However, these influences later turned into passion. Leahmie
Jean P. Prejoles, a third year BLIS student, shared “At first, mitake lang ko ug BLIS because of my father’s encouragement. But then, akong narealize nga nalearn na diay nako ug love ang program.”
After identifying the problem with the use of the research, the officers were able to take prior actions. The juniors and seniors gave words of encouragement to the members with the freshmen as their main focus. The JLISS president Maria Angie
A. Tanudra said, “Among sang i -inform ang mga freshmen nga ang BLIS dili awahi sa ubang degree program. Kusog sad ang demand sa program. Dili gyud sila magmahay nga mienroll sila niini.
Aside from that, promising sad ang salary.” Tanudra added that the degree program will let the enrollees grow professionally and develop patience.
Chapter II: Groomed for the Future
Some of the members of the JLISS take BLIS as their second degree program. This is done in one year through the Expanded Tertiary Education
Equivalency and Accreditation Program (ETEEAP). In fact, Tanudra is under that program. “For example sa akong case, working student man ko sa una sa
CDU then sa library ko naassign. Computer Science ang akong gitake up didto.
Then, pag graduate nako , akong narealize nga gusto diay ko maglibrarian so midecide ko nga moproceed ug BLIS,”
Tanudra expressed.
Last 2008, four graduates of the BLIS were from the ETEEAP. One of them is Ruel Romarate
Yu who ranked 3rd placer during the Librarian
Licensure Examination last November of the same year. Last 2009, all fresh graduates of BLIS passed the licensure examination, which is a proof that students under the program are being groomed to become successful librarians. Their academic triumph deserves a thundering hurrah.
For the BLIS students, taking the program is as hard as solving the integral of cotangent to the power of six. According to Tanudra, “100 percent sa mga BLIS students miingon lisod ang cataloguing.
Dili sayon nga mag -assign ug call number sa mga books.” As an example, the call number GREF
310.9G948 1998 42664, of one of the Guinness Book of World Records, did not just come out of nowhere.
It needed intense knowledge on cataloguing.
It can be said that the scarcity of the members of the organization is not a hindrance to achieve its long term goals. What the organization needs now is to be persistent in making other students aware that JLISS exists.
After all, libraries need librarians.
F
14 F O R W A R D 2 nd Sem 2009-2010

by Nikkah C. Lubanga
C an an organization exist without the support of its people? The support of members and the fortitude of the leader nourish an organization.
With all these, a remarkable team can be formed.
Some may think they know what an organization is, sadly they fail to carry out its purpose.
That is the on-going concern of the president of the
Institute of Electronics and Communications Engineers of the Philippines (IECEP) – USJ-R Chapter Francis Q. Bacus.
With all the pressures on him, he bravely admits that the organization is running without a clear direction.
The IECEP is the official organization of the electronics engineers nationwide. IECEP is recognized by the
Professional Regulation Commission as the only Accredited
Professional Organization (APO) for the electronics engineering profession.
The IECEP president believes that the general well-being of its members is the prime concern why this organization was formed and established. The organization aims to augment the understanding of its affiliates about IECEP as their organization and Electronics and Communications
Engineering (ECE) as their profession. To have the members equipped with knowledge and expertise, IECEP’s target is also to disseminate the most up-to-date technological advancement and information that will be useful in the field.
Striving to achieve its goals in the institution, IECEP-USJ-R
Chapter tries to increase membership and maximize the participation of its members in its activities. Bacus said that out of 235 ECE students, USJ-R Chapter has more than 100 registered members as of the school year 2009-2010.
The organization in USJ-R has come up with a plan to organize tutorial classes and seminars to ECE students. Bacus added that the officers of the organization are planning to conduct laboratory equipment tutorials to freshmen, sophomores and juniors. In such activities, they will not only contribute to the knowledge of their members, but also help lessen the burden of their instructors.
However, in spite of IECEP’s struggles, some ECE students said that IECEP has become ineffective and that they could not feel the organization’s existence. Bacus cleared this matter. According to him, some ECE students only register just for the sake of becoming members in an organization and most of them do not attend meetings and activities.
IECEP Adviser Engineer Sheila P. Añora stated that the organization cannot blame the students for not attending to their activities because the students are more concerned with their studies than getting involved in extra-curricular activities. She also added that there are times that the teachers would not excuse the students during class hours to join the organization’s activities. In effect, the students are discouraged to join and choose to attend their classes.
She further said that the students are somehow doing the right thing. “Ako, as an adviser, dili sad ko kapugos kay dili man sad nako under ang students ana nga [mga] teacher,” said Engineer Añora.
Bacus admitted that the organization lacks the support that it needs from its members and officers. Bacus added that some of the officers are stubborn and do their tasks half-heartedly. From how he sees it, support coming from the teachers and the organization’s adviser is also of great help in its success.
“IECEP is still alive and kicking,” Engineer Añora said with a grin. Though the organization is not that visible to the student populace, it functions in any sense. The organization strives hard, though the needs for support both financial and moral are decelerating their operations.
The officers of IECEP are still doing their best to make
IECEP a known organization in USJ-R. They are hoping that their formulated plans would be a big help not just to the
ECE’s but also to the whole engineering students.
The officers’ determination to excel is one great emblem of IECEP. However, judging from the organization’s experience, the members still need to work harder to take their present status a notch higher. If full support is encouraged and instilled in the members’ hearts, without a doubt, IECEP will win the race.
F
2 nd Sem 2009-2010 F O R W A R D 15

Note: The country’s automation of election became a law way back 2007. Senator and 2010 Presidentiable Richard J. Gordon authored the Automated Elections System Law or Republic Act 9369, an act amending Republic Act No. 8436 which states among others, “an act authorizing the commission on elections to use an automated election system in the May 11, 1998 national or local elections and subsequent national and local electoral exercises, to encourage transparency, credibility, fairness and accuracy of elections, amending for the purpose Batas Pambansa Bilang. 881, as amended Republic Act No. 7166 and other related election laws, providing funds therefore and for other purposes.” or the first time in the history of Philippine suffrage, the electorate will embrace the automated elections. Apparent in the various demonstrations, the elections will make use of machines which will be used in the 80, 136 clustered precincts nationwide. The Commission on Elections
(COMELEC) believes that with the kind of system that we have now using the PCOS machine, the voters are
•
•
•
•
• sa atoa
F or the first time in the history of Philippine suffrage, the electorate will embrace the automated elections. Apparent in the various demonstrations, the elections will make use of the Precinct Count Optical Scanner (PCOS) machine which is designed to scan marked paper ballots, interpret the voter marks, tabulate each vote, and store safely each ballot.
All in all, there are approximately 82, 200 counting machines which will be used in the 80, 136 clustered precincts nationwide. The Commission on Elections
(COMELEC) believes that with the kind of system that we have now using the PCOS machine, the voters are guaranteed with the following:
Efficient voting
Speedy and effecient electoral task
Fast electoral results
Less human interventions.
Fair, free, and easy process
Despite these gains, majority of the Filipino electorate are whining for they think they need to learn the process all over again. “Maglisod ta ana kay vendor added. kay igo nalang sila sa pag-
Finance student said
[Philippines].
computer
Malabat, a bananacue vendor said. because they think this is difficult.“ shade.”
“Basin unya magkasayopsayop ta ana kay bag-o ra ba ang sistema,” gud na,”
Bisag unsang sistemaha.”
Rebecca
Lito Tura, a peanut
Cebu City North District COMELEC Officer Atty. Marchel
Sarno said many voters have opposed the new system
Mas sayon gani ni karon
However, as witnesses of fraudulent and controversial
Philippine elections, the Filipinos also could not ignore the possibility that this new system is more susceptible to cheating. First time voter Rey Tudtud, a BS-Business and
“di man gyud na mawala [ang tikas] diri
With all the voters’ apprehensions on the automated system, the COMELEC is left with great challenge. That is, to educate all the electorates on the automated election system through seminars and voter’s education. Really, there is a need of the COMELEC to fully convince the voters that the voting process is never intimidating. Here is the manner of voting provided by the COMELEC to FORWARD.
•
•
•
• The voter, using a ballot secrecy folder and the marking pen provided by the COMELEC, shall fill his ballot by fully shading the oval beside the names of the candidates of his choice. It is alright if the shading goes beyond the lines of the oval space. Never use a check mark, a letter X, a dot or any symbol in marking the ballot. Never “over-vote” or voting more than the required number of candidates for a position. Take note that once over-voting is done, all the voted candidates in that position will not be counted.
• • The voter shall then approach the PCOS, insert his ballot in the ballot entry slot and wait until the ballot is dropped into the ballot box. The Board of Election
Inspectors (BEI) shall monitor the PCOS screen to make sure that the ballot was successfully accepted. Thereafter, the voter shall return the ballot secrecy folder and marking pen to the chairman.
• • The chairman shall apply indelible ink at the base of the right forefinger nail of the voter or any other finger nail if there is no right forefinger.
• again.
The voter shall affix his thumb mark on the corresponding space in the Election Day Computerized
Voter’s List (EDCVL).
• marking pen provided by the COMELEC, shall fill his ballot by fully shading the oval beside the names of the candidates of his choice. It is alright if the shading goes beyond the lines of the oval space. Never use a check mark, a letter X, a dot or any symbol in marking the ballot. Never “over-vote” or voting more than the required number of candidates for a position. Take note that once over-voting is done, all the voted candidates in that position will not be counted. his ballot in the ballot entry slot and wait until the ballot is dropped into the ballot box. The Board of Election
Inspectors (BEI) shall monitor the PCOS screen to make sure that the ballot was successfully accepted. Thereafter, the voter shall return the ballot secrecy folder and marking pen to the chairman. of the right forefinger nail of the voter or any other finger nail if there is no right forefinger. corresponding space in the Election Day Computerized
Voter’s List (EDCVL).
The voter shall then leave the polling place.
In the event of a rejected ballot, perhaps because it is wet or has unnecessary marks on its surface, the voter shall be allowed to re-insert the ballot. If the PCOS still rejects the ballot, the voter shall return the ballot to the Chairman, who shall distinctly mark the back thereof as “Rejected.” All the election board members are required to sign at the back of the ballot and place it inside the envelope (A15) for Rejected
Ballots, then seal with a serially numbered paper seal.
Take note there’s no chance to ask for another ballot again.
The voter, using a ballot secrecy folder and the
The voter shall then approach the PCOS, insert
The chairman shall apply indelible ink at the base
The voter shall affix his thumb mark on the
The voter shall then leave the polling place.
What if the voters suspect that PCOS machines contain fraudulent ballots even before the start of the election?
When FORWARD raised this concern to the COMELEC, Atty.
Sarno presented COMELEC Election Guidelines which states that “Before the voting begins, the chairman of the BEI shall show to the public and the watchers present that the
16 F O R W A R D 2 nd Sem 2009-2010

PCOS box is sealed; ballot box is locked and empty; and the package of official ballots and the book of voters are both duly sealed, and thereafter, break the seals.
“Though we can’t see the actual counting of votes, we are confident assume iphon,” nga ang machine is programmed to read or to nga kung unsa ang sulod sa balota mao ra pud iyang
Atty. Sarno said.
When the voting is declared closed, Election Returns (ER) will be printed in suggested number of copies where the casted votes are tallied. The PCOS machine will electronically transmit the votes to the City/Municipal/National Board of
Canvassers most especially to the central server in Manila.
Atty. Sarno explained that the sending of various electronic data to the various servers would prevent the possibility of hacking since hacking one server is not enough to manipulate the entire results. He further said that the automated system is safer than the manual system since the latter requires that ballot boxes to be brought to other precincts.
nga ang machine is programmed to read or to nga kung unsa ang sulod sa balota mao ra pud iyang
Atty. Sarno said.
When the voting is declared closed, Election Returns (ER) will be printed in suggested number of copies where the casted votes are tallied. The PCOS machine will electronically transmit the votes to the City/Municipal/National Board of
Canvassers most especially to the central server in Manila.
Atty. Sarno explained that the sending of various electronic data to the various servers would prevent the possibility of hacking since hacking one server is not enough to manipulate the entire results. He further said that the automated system is safer than the manual system since the latter requires that ballot boxes to be brought to other
Since the upcoming election is unstoppable, the
COMELEC officials are boldly said we must trust them.
Whether or not we favor the automated elections, we are
REQUIRED to vote. There’s nothing wrong to be skeptical about the system for it prods us to be more vigilant. What’s wrong is when we are become cynical and in the process succumb to despair and disappointment.
F
Sources
March 1 issue, Philippine Daily Inquire
www.comelec.gov.ph
2 nd Sem 2009-2010 F O R W A R D 17

by Eileen Q. Sorela and
Agnes B. Alpuerto
18 F O R W A R D 2 nd Sem 2009-2010
S eptember 23, 2009, 8AM,
USJ-R Basak Campus.
While everyone was heading to the coliseum for the Dance
Palabas, an unidentified person broke into the Keyboarding Laboratory 2 of St.
Ezekiel Moreno Building shortly after the
College of Information, Computer and
Communications Technology (CICCT) dancers left. The shoeprints on the door indicated that the culprit forcefully kicked it open. Eight cellular phones of the dancers and a laptop of a CICCT faculty were stolen. The dancers discovered the incident after the competition.
The Safety and Security Department, after being told about the incident, investigated and reported it to Pardo
Police Station.
“We immediately called the attention of the [Security and Safety Department]
SSD to conduct initial investigation and take the shoe prints of the suspect to the Pardo Police Station,” CICCT Dean Dr.
Gregg Victor Gabison said after learning the incident. He also said that a grade school student told an SSD staff that he saw a suspicious-looking man roaming around the third floor lobby. He further said that the stealing occurred too quickly. “Bisan nagblock dayon sa exit points [ ang mga guards] immediately after the discovery of the incident, wala na gyud nadakpan ang kawatan.”
In a separate interview, SSD Head Mr.
Primitivo Lano said that during intramural days, dancers for participating colleges are assigned different rooms. Advisers had been told to designate certain people to guard the belongings of the participants.
Dr. Gabison added that the laboratory was double locked, so the dancers were confident that their valuables were secured.
In the history of USJ-R Intramurals, it was the first time a thief broke in. Mr.
Lano considered that incident isolated because it never happened before.
However, according to Mr. Lano, there are three possible culprits who have access to the building: 1) student, 2) utility personnel and 3) outsider.
For years, students have been prohibited to stay in the building and conduct activities while a program is going on inside the coliseum. However,

during the last intramural days, it was observed that there was an online game competition held at the second floor lobby of the St. Ezekiel Moreno building, giving students the reason to stay there.
Aside from students, the alumni are the only outsiders who would be allowed entry in the campus.
On the other hand, PACUBAS employees said they don’t have anything to do with the incident. “ Wala gyud mi kahibaw nga naay gilungkab sa third floor kay giassign man mi tanan [janitors] sa silong,” Cresencio
Osayen expressed. He also mentioned that they are already used to being questioned when incidents like this happen. “Kami man gyud na kasagaran ang imbestigahan. Mutubag ra pud mi sa ilahang mga pangutana.” Osayen also expressed, “Dili kaayo makatarungan.
Tungod kami ang janitor kami dayon ang pasanginlan.”
A Josenian can only get inside the
Main Campus after scanning his or her ID. The students’ bags will also have to be inspected by the guards before they could be granted entrance to the university premises. However, this routine inspection has not always been practiced in the Basak Campus. A group of CICCT students even noticed that they could get inside Basak
Campus with their bags unchecked.
Students often react on this security difference. “Istrikto lagi kaayo diri sa
Main.
Didto sa Basak kay dali ra kaayo makasulod.” Some CICCT students regarded the security system in Basak as weak and ineffective. “[Security guards] only focus on rules on haircut and ID,” BS IT 2 student Beau Bayani expressed.
The lenience of security in Basak could mean that students can easily sneak in deadly weapons, explosive materials, firearms, intoxicating substances, narcotics, etc. inside the premises without being noticed by the unsuspecting guards.
Even Student Affairs Office (SAO)
Director Atty. Velez didn’t have any idea that the security guards are not always checking the bags of the students. “I’m not familiar with that,” he said. From his end, Mr. Lano assured that, “I’ll check this up.”
Mr. Lano said that in 2007, surveillance cameras were installed in the Basak Campus. However, only limited areas – the back gate, the front gate, the high school building and the accounting area - are covered by the cameras. Surveillance cameras have not been installed in laboratories and faculty rooms.
Mr. Lano said that the surveillance cameras have been a great help in monitoring certain areas in both campuses. However, “dili man gyud makasolve ang cameras sa problems,”
Mr. Lano added. As additional effort in solving the problem, Dr.
Gabison said that he has already sent proposal letters to the VP-Finance and the Property Administrator for the installation of cameras in the computer laboratories which will be hopefully functional in 2011. “Giapil na namo [ang cameras] sa budget for the laboratories,” he mentioned. Dr.
Gabison also proposed reinforcement to roving security guards and changing of door locks. The latter has already been implemented.
During the first semester of school year 2008 - 2009, FORWARD wrote an investigative report regarding the loopholes in the security system in the Main Campus. The report looked into some of the stealing incidents in some offices (THMD and Masscom
Office). Different angles of the incidents have surfaced. The report should have reminded everyone, including those in Basak Campus, to be vigilant and follow precautionary measures to prevent these incidents from happening again. Since the same incident happened again, it only proves that we only get so serious on matters regarding the security of the students when bad things happen.
So we ask this question again, “Are we really safe?” F
2 nd Sem 2009-2010 F O R W A R D 19

Estafa case with a businessman; Son
Lacks academic qualifica- tions; c

Estafa case with a businessman; Son
Lacks academic qualifica- tions; c

N
A l a s 4 : 1 0 s a O s m e n a B o u l e v a r d anghagting ang kainit sa dihang nangandam mi padulong sa gikahinamang kasaulogan sa tanang mga Sugbuanon, ang Sinulog. Sul-ob ang yanong biste, gisugdan dayon namo ang pagpanuroy sa sadyang kadalanan sa dakbayan.
A l a s 2 : 4 5 p a d u l o n g s a E c h a v e z
Sibog ngari, sibog didto. Lingi ngari, lingi didto. Pastilan, dugay gyud nakasibog ang gisakyan namong sakyanan.
Sama sa naandan, daghang pundok sa mga tawo nga daw mga hulmigas nga nanglakaw ang among nakit-an. Human sa kap-atan ug walo ka tuig, niabot na gyud mi sa dalan
Echavez. Bisan pa man sa presensya sa mga CITOM aron makontrol ang trapiko sa kadalanan, daghan gihapong mga drayber ang nagparking sa ilang mga sakyanan daplin sa karsada. Ambot kung nasayod ba ni sila sa balaod. O kung nasayod man, nagpakabuta-bungol lang. Tsk. Niining kalibutana, daghan gyud ang nagtuong hari sila.
Tinuod. Makapagimok gyud sa galamhan ang matag sipa sa tambol sa kadalanan. Nanglanog ang Viva Viva Viva.
Makabungol ang Pit Senyor Sto. Niño. Nabatyagan gyud namo ang tiunay nga kabuluhan sa selebrasyon ilabi na dihang naglakaw na kami sa mismong lugar diin gisaulog ang Sinulog. Sa dihang motabok na unta kami sa pikas, usa ka bonggang float pagbantay sa mga
ang milabay tungod namo. Hugot ang marshals dalan diin mopasundayag ang mga manayaway. Ug kay layo pa man ang among lakawonon, misakay dayon mi ug dyip nga nag-atang sa atbang.
aron mas hapsay ug luag ang
A l a s 3 : 0 0 s a P . D e l R o s a r i o
Dinhing lugara nagtapok ang libuan ka mga mamagligyaay. Klase-klaseng pagkaon ang gidayan-dayan sa ngilit sa dalan – adunay barbecue, mani, siopao, ug mga sinabaw. Siguradong sa matag tawo nga makaagi didto, dili mosipyat sa pagpanglad-ok. Kung softdrinks ang hisgutan, nagbaha pud. Bisan pa sigurog yarukon ang usa ka baril nga tubig, libuan pa gihapon ang nakareserba. Kay krisis lage, makainom lag tubig payts na. Apan dili pud magpaalkanse ang mga nanindag pagkaon. Aron mas daghan mahalin, iyahay nalang sa pagpuhalay. Ang tubig nga 500ml mapalit na lang sa tag 10 ug tag 15 pisos. Aduna puy uban kinsa hapit na lang ipanghatag ang baligya. Wala siguro ni sila nanginahanglan og ginansiya. Apan kinsa man pud mi aron ingnon sila?
Sa unahan adunay daw nagtumo-tumo og ilang piyesta.
Ug kay anak pud lagi sa mga kyuryuso, nikiat pud ang among mga tiil ug nipadulong didto. Daw trapo ang among mga tiil tungod kay bisag kinsa na lang ang motunob. Apan wala na namo panumbalinga ang kasakit. Ang importante, mahibaw-an namo ang hinungdan sa hugyaw. Nangangha kami sa among nakita. Adunay nanglupad nga mga t-shirt!
Mao diayng nagkagubot kay aduna diay duha ka artista sa usa ka sikat nga showbiz network ang nanghatag og t-shirts.
Sama sa EDSA 1, nisuksok ug gihawiran namo ang usagusa aron dili maguyod sa bagang duot sa mga tawo. “Mura man ni sila’g walay mga sanina sa ilaha oi!” Siyagit ni kuya.
Hmm. Sakto pud si Kuya. Abi pa lang naghukas tang mga
Sugbuanon.
Sa wala damha, nikalit pagbunok ang uwan. Sama sa gipabuthag bomba, nagdinaganay ngari ug didto. Ang mga tawo kinsa grabeng nakatapok ubos sa kainit sa adlaw nagiyahay na sa pagpamasilong. Morag mga basang piso.
Kalit nga mihunong ang dyip sa may dalan P. Del
Rosario. Nakita namo ang bagang duot sa katawhan kinsang alingasaw naghimog dakong kasaba. Sama sa mga Sugbuanon nga nakipiyesta sa senyor, nakipiyesta pud ang mga dagkong trak nga gilaray kilid sa dalan nga gihimong tungtunganan sa mga tawo aron lang makaambo sa mabulukong pasundayag. Bisan layo, naaninaw namo ang dalan padulong sa sunod namong adtoan, ang Osmeña
Boulevard.
Ug maayo na lang, nagbinuotan ang uwan. Nakiuyon pud. Nihunong. Gilibot namo ang mga nagpatukar sa rotunda (duna pa diay mi nakit-an nga nag-inum nga usa ka grupo sa mga lalaking nagsul-ob ug itom ug puwa) ug ang nagkadaiyang henna tattoo artists.
Human sa pipila na ka-oras namong paglakaw-lakaw, nabati namo ang nagkutoy namong tiyan. Ug didto duol sa
SSS kami nikaon. Dagha’g customer si Ms. Tindera. niya ang duha niya ka gagmay nga anak.
Assistant
22 F O R W A R D 2 nd Sem 2009-2010

Human sa among kaon, nagpaluyo kami sa mga gabantay sa dalan – mga ROTC cadets ug mga police interns . Ambot lang kung tungod ba kay tinuyo nila ang dili paghugot og kupot sa pisi o tungod lang gyud kay wala pay mga sulod ilang tiyan. Apan kay strict man si commandant , inig-abot unya makita nga galuya iyang mga sakop, kasaba dayon. Abi namo’g mutarong na ang mga cadets ug interns apan wala man gihapon. Daghan na ang nagyawyaw (apil na mi ato) sa among luyo nga buot unta nga molabang apan nagdumili ang mga nagbantay kay basin daw nangilad ra mi para lang makapwesto sa atubangan. Aduna sa’y magdala og bata aron kaloy-an. Tungod kay gihasulan na ang mga gabantay, gipalabang na lang mi pipila ka minuto ang nilabay.
Samtang galakaw kami sa dalan Juan Luna, mibundak ug balik ang makusog nga ulan. Misungog na usab ang kalangitan. Ug didtong tungora, nahawan ang kadalanan.
Dili maayo ang talan-awon. Daghang basura ang nagkatag sa kadalanan. Murag nagpaila lang nga hugawan ang mitambong sa Sinulog. Sa laing bahin, napuno og lapok ang kadalanan. Tinuod, lapok. Ambot asa to gikan. Hmmmm.
Global warming?
Pagkahuman namo sa Basilica, gisuwayan namo og balik ang Abellana.
A l a s 4 : 3 5 s a g a w a s s a A b e l l a n a
Nagdinutdutay na ang mga tawo samtang nagtan-aw sa Grand Street Parade. Napiit napud mi sa tunga. Kung pwede pa lang moutong amo na untang gibuhat aron lang dili mahanggap ang nagkadaiyang baho. Adunay baho sa opisina, sa ospital, sa botika, sa kanal, ug uban pa.
Padayon gihapon ang pagkaalingugngog sa palibot. Ug nidahunog gyud sa pag-agi ni Sen. Bong Revilla. Sukwahi sa uban nga mosakay gyud og de -aircon nga van , naglakaw ra si Sir Bong kauban ang maihap ra nga bodyguards.
Angkunon man nato o dili, usa to ka paagi ni Sir Bong aron mas mailhan sa katawhan ilabi na kay mao kadto ang panahon nga libuan ang makakita kaniya.
A l a s 5 : 2 5 s a S t o . N i n o
Padulong na unta mi mosulod sa Cebu City Sports Center sa dihang nakita namo nga daghan gyud ang nanan-aw. Sa
Filipino pa, di mahulugang karayom. Busa nidalikyat na lang mi sa Basilica aron mosimba.
Alas 7: 0 0 sa g awas sa A b ella n a
Nanghuyhoy ang among abaga sa dihang among nahibaw-an nga dili na mi makasulod sa sports center.
Bisan kapoy, naghuwat na lang mi sa gawas. Hapit usa ka oras mi nga naghuwat aron lamang masaksihan ang giingong
Grand Fireworks Display sa Abellana. Sama sa gipadayag sa tigdumala sa kalihukan, alas 7 kuno magsugod apan nitukar na pud diay ang Filipino time nga kinaiya. Naghinamhinam mi ug dako kay sigon pa sa among mga nadunggan, bongga gyud ang fireworks sa Abellana. Apan, napakyas mi sa pinaka-una namong higayon nga makasaksi unta sa fireworks display. Dili sama sa among gitinguhang makita ang ilang gipaambit nga fireworks.
Sayang. Dili ra kami ang naghulat niadtong tungora. Hain naman diay ang ilang gipasigarbo kuno? Mas ikapasigarbo pa ang fireworks sa
Basilica.
Sa among tagsa-tagsa nga nasinati niadtong tungora, maingon gayud nga nindot ug lahi ang pamati kung makasuroy ka sa tinuig nga Sinulog Festival. Ug kay unang higayon pa man to namo nga makasaksi sa selebrasyon, dako among panghinaot nga unta makasuroy mi sa sunod tuig. Apan bisan pa man nindot nga kasinatian, angayang hinumduman natong tagsa-tagsa ka Sugbuanon ug mga langyaw nga ang Sinulog dili ra kutob sa kalingawan ug sayaw-sayaw kon dili, ang hugot nga pagtuo nato kang Sr. Sto. Niño.
F
2 nd Sem 2009-2010 F O R W A R D 23

T E N T H I N G S
The
A side from our classmates, there’s one common breed of professional individuals who we see most days of our college lives. Believe it or not, this bunch may either drive us crazy or bore us to our seats.
No matter how common they have become familiar to us , they all possess unique characteristics that are difficult to ignore. Faith Clovell T. Lisondra shows you the list. Now, put your seatbelts on
and you can do the pinpointing later.
She is sitting in her throne, looking prim and proper, watching each and everyone in class above her goldrimmed eyeglasses. But beware!
Make a small glitch, and you’ll face havoc. “You think you’re all too brainy enough to pass in my subject?
You %$#@! Blah, blah, blah.” Some of us may are already used to her sharp words, but what about that sensitive pupil in class? She would spend the whole day crying for sure.
This type of teacher actually has two accomplices. There’s Missis Let-You-Pass-Not.
Don’t expect high grades from her. Even the Smarty
Pants and students with too much effort would not be spared from her unreasonable standards. What do we have to do? Memorize the whole book? Record your lecture just to give a verbatim answer? For a breather though, there’s Mister Pass-Pass-Pass. If you want a grade of 1.0 on a subject, go find him. We do not know the whereabouts of the merits he generously gives.
You may want to study or not, rest assured, you’ll pass!
We love your means, Sir, but are they really exact?
24 F O R W A R D 2 nd Sem 2009-2010

T E N T H I N G S
“Okay class, answer pages 101-202. You should finish the seatwork before I come back in 10 minutes.” The students find this a trick when it comes to this teacher. He does come back, only when the first bell rings. When we go out of the room, we can’t help but wonder.
What did we discuss in class again?
By the way, where have you been, Sir?
You’re cutting classes again, huh? Why don’t we try it together sometime?
The bell has rung but the most latecomer of the class strikes again. The worst thing is that he is the instructor.
Some of us would even intentionally come in late, too, but still find out that the teacher has not arrived yet.
The world would even go topsy-turvy when this teacher commits even more absences than the most computer game addicts in class. Haya-haya nimo,
Sir, uy!
Should we drop you in this subject? No? Where are your excuse letters, then?
Being at her class is like being disciplined in the army. Never slouch or yawn in front of her. Everything you pass should follow a very wellorganized format. A name tag should be placed in a 90-degree angle on the lower right hand corner of the notebook. It should be covered sleekly in plastic, without thumb marks on the scotch tapes. Do the same to your books. And please be sure to secure one, or else.
What’s the point of enrolling in a Christian-oriented school if teachers like you exist? Not only do you dirty our minds, you also dirty your own image. What do you want to be called? “That perverted teacher”? We know you have to jive with us, Sir, but don’t overdo it. Honestly, we find it weird to listen to elderly people crack green jokes to younger ones.
Don’t you know that you are grosser than the things you tell us? For heaven’s sake, it’s scandalizing!
We’re not psychologists but we definitely can tell that this teacher is a wacko. One moment, she enters the classroom with an enthusiastic spirit and with a smile that reaches her ears. She cracks jokes
– corny or not – and gives the students the best time of their lives. But on the next moment, she fills the whole classroom with gloom and jitters as she slams her books on the table and gives a surprise quiz. The students are even more surprised with the way she picks on some kids and give them the worst time of their lives.
“Did I give an assignment to you, class? By the way, we will have a test today about the Tell-Tale Signs of Old
Age. What? Didn’t I tell you to study for this? Oh! Ms. Complainant, I’m sorry I didn’t receive your paper during our last test, that’s the reason for your big, flat 3.0. What? You passed it? Oh,
I must have misplaced it. Where are my glasses, by the way?” Ma’am, just so you know, we are not your Post-
It’s. Don’t you have a lesson plan? Or can’t you even at least make a mental note on the things you’ve said and the things you haven’t? You’re dealing with our grades, Ma’am, and not just on simple things like those glasses on your forehead.
Be sure to pass the requirements. Be sure to participate in class and give the right answer. Be sure to follow his rules. If you fail to do any of these, expect a deduction of your sweet, hard-earned points. But before you groan, dig deeper. Isn’t this the kind of teacher who would make honor students from all of us? No doubt, our instructors are a great factor in our performance in class, but the greatest is our attitude towards school. We’re even lucky this article is not all about the ten students who drive teachers crazy. F
She’s the teacher, but she’s making student teachers from all of us. She does nothing but glue her butt on the chair and assign groups to report the next lessons. There’s also the laboratory teacher who sits in her chair and speaks in the softest voice possible about who-knows-what to students.
Aside from her dysfunctional built-in speakers, the other problem is her legs which she rarely uses to stand up and give demonstrations to students. We understand that we have to be trained to be independent, Madam. But should you be trained not to do your job, too?
2 nd Sem 2009-2010 F O R W A R D 25

G O I N G V E R B A L
T
e
he campaign period has already started. Political issues heat up two months before the 2010 elections. Aside from examining the candidates’ track records, there are things we need to know about the election. Amefil L. Benguillo educates us by defining some of the election terminologies.
N o, th ey are n ot b irds! T h es e vote r s d o n ot have w in gs , b u t th ey f l y f ro m o n e p re cin c t to th e oth e r to vote fo r a c an di date. T h es e are p e o p l e w h o have re gis te re d many tim es in an e l e c ti o n, an d this d oin g is p unishab l e by law.
E xample: 43, 0 0 0 f l y in g vote r s in C alab ar zo n w as dis cove re d by th e COM ELEC d esp ite th e co mp u te r ize d vote r s lis t .
T h e s e p e o p l e are re gis te re d vote r s au th o r i z e d by any re gis te re d p o li ti c al p ar t y o r c an di date /s to b e p re s e nt thro u gh o u t th e e l e c ti o n p ro ce ss .
T h ey are th e o n e s w h o f il e p rote s t s a g ains t any v i o lati o n o f th e law in th e e l e c ti o n . B e c aus e th e ir ro l e in th e e l e c ti o n is cr i ti c al to th e c an di date s , w atch e r s sh o ul d b e ke e n e n o u gh to t ake n ote o f w hat th ey s e e an d h e ar. T h ey mus t t ake p h oto g r ap hs o f th e p ro ce ss o r in ci d e nt s .
E xa m p l e: I nsi d e e a ch p re cin c t are t wo w atch e r s o f Pre si d e nt
J u an Po li c ar p i o w h o w ill w atch ove r th e votin g p ro ce ss an d co untin g o f vote s .
These people neither need to become a police to be inspec tors nor wear yellow or blue unifor ms like the CITOM.
This group is composed of teachers or registered and competent citizens who facilitate the voting and counting of votes in their respec tive polling places.
There will be three inspec tors in one precinc t, one of which shall be an IT- capable person as cer tified by the D epar tment of S cience and Technology.
Example: Af ter the woman casted her vote, the board of elec tion inspec tors prepare for the elec tronic counting of votes.
S e x b o mb Dan ce r s is r i ght by sin gin g
“ M a y b ilo g, ma y b ilo g na hugis itlo g.”
T h e b all ot f o r th e 2010 e l e c ti o ns alrea d y co nt ains th e c an di dates’ nam es w ith ov al shap es b esi d e th e nam es . I f di v i d e d in t wo co lumns , each co lumn c an acco mm o date 150 nam es . T h e vote r w ill sha d e th e ov al of his / h e r ch os e n c an di date /s . T his is au th e ntic ate d by af f i x in g th e vote r ’s si gnature at th e d esi gnate d sp ace.
E xample: S e nato r J uan D e la Cr u z sha d e d th e ov al b esi d e his nam e in his b all ot .
Techy - Ballot
May 10, 2010
,
National and Local Elections
Brgy. Hi - tech
,
Municipality of Computers
,
Techy Republic
Brgy. Hi - tech
,
Municipality of Computers
,
Techy Republic
This kind of voting is granted by the
COMELEC to Filipinos abroad (OFWs, immigrants, etc.) who cannot come back to the Philippines on the day of the elections.
Example: An estimated 10 million absentee voters are entitled to vote.
References:
•http://www.scribd.com/Automation-Scenario-COMELEC-December-
2009/d/23573407
•http://www.scribd.com/doc/24673023/Republic-of-the-Philippines-Commissionon-Elections-Manila-General-Instructions
•Resolution No. 8739
Wo n d e r in g w hy th e re are c an di dates w h o yo u think are n ot quali f i e d f o r th e e l e c to r al s eat , b u t s till f il e d c an di dac y?
Nuis an ce c an di dates are p e o p l e w h o f il e d a
Ce r ti f ic ate of C an di dac y to p u t th e e l e c to r al p ro cess in m o cke r y, disp u te, o r to c aus e co nf usi o n am o n g vote r s by th e similar it y of nam es of re gis te re d c an di dates . We b e t yo u k n ow th e m by n ow.
E xample: O li ve r Loz an o us e d th e K ilus an g B a g o n g
Lip unan (K B L), th e larg e l y d e f un c t p o litic al p ar t y of
Fe rdinan d M arcos , as th e
“n o minatin g p ar t y ” fo r a nuis an ce c an di date in
20 0 4, w h e n h e fois te d o n e
M e l ch o r Chave z a gains t th e b o na f i d e c an di dac y of f o r m e r S o licito r G e n e r al
Fr an cis co Chave z .
T his d e f in es any thin g an d eve r y thin g un d e r th e h eat of th e sun [usuall y m o n ey] that is p ur p os e l y gi ve n o r d o nate d to in di v i duals in o rd e r to inf lu e n ce th e result s of th e e l e c ti o ns .
E xample: T h e sup p o r te r s of S e nato r Po lic ar p i o gave e nve l o p es w ith Php10 0 0 to all th e co ll e g e s tu d e nt s w ith o u t an e x p licit e x p lanati o n .
Relax! This would not mean retaining the incumbent president.
Who would want that, right?
Failure of elections occurs when any serious violence such as terrorism, fraud, destruction of election paraphernalia, and the likes stop a freely, orderly, and honest elections in a certain polling place/barangay.
Example: A failure of elections was declared in Bagong Pagasa because the supporters of
President Policarpio rallied and went inside the polling place and wrecked all election equipment.
26 F O R W A R D 2 nd Sem 2009-2010

P E R S O N I F I C A T I O N
ou did what?!” Ms. Privy exclaimed.
“Oh yes. I had to bring myself into taking in feces for the whole three hours. Urghhh... And the taste of it…” Ms. Potty let out a sigh.
“Yummy, huh?” inquired Ms. Privy.
Ms. Potty just nodded, proud that she had done it.
“Okay, I lose. You’re doing a greater job than I am,” admitted
Ms. Potty.
“Ssshh. Hush. They’re coming,” cut Ms. Potty as she heard footsteps of teenage girls approaching the room.
“Isn’t he hot?” giggled a female student as she entered Ms.
Privy’s cubicle. “Yeah right, but I hate the way he talks,” replied her friend who positioned in the other cubicle. The two still blabbered on and on as they went out the cubicles and faced the huge mirror. “What’s his name by the way?” Then the two ramped their way to the door.
“Hey! That girl left little pools of urine on my lips,” Ms. Privy disgustedly complained after the girls left the room. “And her bloody pad on the floor. I thought she is Ms. Something here in the campus.”
“She is Miss Beauty Queen, but look at how she uses the restroom. She is leaving all her garbage wherever she wants.
Filthy! While the other girl laid her grimy shoes on me,” Ms.
Potty added.
“…and they just talk about boys, boys and boys. They are all alike! When they go inside our room they chatter about other people’s secrets and latest gossips in town, and leave their little wastes, their pads, their tissues, their spits, their hairs,
ETC!” Ms. Privy exclaimed.
“Does it even have to be like this every day? If we get sick and won’t flush anymore, where else will they unload their filth?” Ms. Potty wondered.
“You’re right. Nobody else on this planet would dare do this kind of dirty job sucking human dirt. Who else is concerned for us other than Ms. Pacubas?” Ms. Privy added.
“And look at these cuss words on my walls,” complained Ms.
Potty.
“Oh! Those ugly drawings on our cubicle walls! Do you believe a decent student can speak that way?”
“Looks cheap to me,” Ms.
Potty observed.
The two toilets kept silent, imagining what else people could possibly stick in their always-opened mouths in the next few days, while in the boys’ restroom, the urinals Mr. Jack and
Mr. John read aloud the writings in the wall.
Need text mate? 09********.
Ma’am *** should resign!
PE sucks!
“Horrible. How could the students write those silly doodles? They turned the place into a freedom board.
Oh they have a reason alright; cleanliness and responsibility aren’t part of their curriculum.” Mr. Jack said.
“Jack, when is the PAASCU visit?” asked the knowledgeable Mr.
John.
“What in the world is
PAASCU?” Mr. Jack seemed startled with what Mr. John asked.
“I’m referring to the school accreditors. Restrooms are well cleaned when they visit, I observed. We’ll have the time of our lives during accreditations.”
“How do you know such things?” Mr. Jack was questioning when two boys who were talking entered the room and stopped in front of them.
“Hold your breath,” warned Mr. Jack as the boys unzip.
“…and close your eyes,” joked Mr. John.
Relieved, the boys zipped their pants, faced the mirror and wiped their faces just like the girls. When they were about to leave, the other boy got a marker from his bag. “Wait,” he said and ran inside one of the cubicles. His companion followed him while the urinals John and Jack nervously kept silent. They don’t know what horrible things those two boys will be doing.
What you are holding right now is the hope of the Fatherland , wrote the boy. The other one wrote, Mr. ****** is gay!
The boys hurriedly left after molesting the cubicles.
“What the…!” Hub, the toilet exclaimed loudly after seeing the writings on his cubicle.
“Isn’t one of those boys the newest campus heartthrob?” asked
Mr. Jack.
“Yeah, he looks so good that Mr. Hub is so mad at what he did to the cubicle.”
Mr. Hub was still cursing when Mr. John shouted, “Get used to it. Those kids are getting nastier. Good thing we have cleaners.
Or else, we will be stinking like the sewers.” F by Jan Patrice V. Lim

ni Ronald K. Augusto BSECE-5
Sa dihang kitang duha nagkaila
Wa ko damha nga ikaw mamahimo kong higala
Sa panahon nga ako magul-anon
Ug sa kasakit hingpit nga mutalibon,
Imong tambag nga ang akong kinabuhi
Kinahanglan mupadayon.
Higala ko sa walay paglimod
Ug tuuhi ako kay kini tinuod
Nga ikaw lang gayod ang naghatag
Niining klase nga pagtagad
Ang mga adlaw nga puno sa kalipay
Atong gisaw-an sa kahamugaway
Ug wala akoy ikasaway nga bisan
Ako simple ra gidawat mo isip tinuod
Mong higala
Ugma damlag sugaton nato
Ang kahayag sugaton nato
Ang kahayag nga unta ang Ginoo
Maoy atong lamdag
Higala ko, hinumdumi nga
Bahandi ko na ikaw ug bisan nga
Ako mahanaw ayaw kalimti nga
Sa akong paglakaw
Kamingawan ko gyud ikaw
by Dzennipur Anor
Ikaw, kinsa ka?
Dili imong pangan ug apelyido
O kang kinsa kang anak ug apo
Kun dili imong pagka-ikaw way labot sila
Ikaw, unsa ka?
Dili imong trabaho ug gi-trabahoan
O, ang grado ug kurso nga imong naabot
Kun dili imong gibuhat sa uban dili kanimo.
Ikaw, ngano ka?
Dili tungod kay nagmug-ot ka
O ang rason sa imong pagkatawa
Kon dili ang imong tumong sa kalibutan.
Karon, asa na ka?
Dili sa lugar nga imong gikahimutangan
O kung asa ka padung sa imong lakaw
Kon dili ang imong panlantaw sa kalambuan.
O
o
by Azir Go Letters
Fire blaze
Heads crack
Brains are dwindling
All are fuming
Why not quieten down instead
Hush
Keep that mouth shut
Dare not to open out
Get out and go
Let silence dwell the spot
Take us away from your wrath
We’re not backers of your scheme
You prejudice.
28 F O R W A R D 2 nd Sem 2009-2010

Sa
U ni Pipo Arellano BSEE-2 na
Kahinumdum ko sa una
Katong ako bata pa
Mugawas ko sa among balay
Ako magduwa, dili mag-tagay
Pagkanindut jud sa akong nakit-an
Mga tanom, buwak ug mga apan-apan
Ang adlaw, ga-ngisi, lipay kaayo
Mura siya’g muduol, pero dili init iyang kayu
Magsunod siya namo, murag bata nga kuyog-baboy
Kami sige og duwa maglaroy-laroy
Takyan, Chinese garter ug dili matog
Mu-uban sa laag. Hala, Kuyog!
Inig hapon, mo-uwan ug kalit
Kaming mga bata, maka-syagit ug hapit
Mugawas dayon mi, pirting lipaya
Mura’g mag-uyab nga pirti sad ang gugma
Apan karon nga dako nako
Lahi na ang paglantaw ko
Inig gawas, pagkainit, hapdos pa gyud!
Mura man sad ug gikiskis sa lugud.
Ang adlaw, nagkalayo ug murag nasuko
Maayo unta’g mubugnaw, ako gyung gi-ampo
Apan pag-uwan, baha sad ang gi-balos
Sa kilid, galangoy-langoy si Mickey Mouse
Unsa naman intawn ning kalibutana
Mao nang mag-usab gyud kita!
Para mubalik pariha sa una
Ang kalimpyo, hapsay ug gugma!
L
By Soupliar
I smiled at the nimbus
The night’s filled with chill
I waited for the rain
I got time to kill
You sat beside me
The air’s filled with thrill
You lay on my lap
Time is standing still
The clouds got heavier
Down went a drop
The clouds just broke
I fell in a sob
Tonight is my leave-taking
I don’t want to go
You hold my hand tightly
But I do have to go
by eyelean
Come
Go
Sunken deep, eyes oozed
Out of nowhere, out of dim light
Streaks of white
Stunned and stupefied me.
Swoosh came a car
A hooded figure came out
Grabbed my hand and whispered
“C’mere…” His voice choked.
In the open, came out a group of three
Each laid their hands upon me
Then erupted screams.
“Let us run!”
2 nd Sem 2009-2010 F O R W A R D 29

The atmosphere is cold
Full of reading chairs
Can’t sleep, so tired
Out of that loud cabin.
To another room, I rest
The lyre struck at Tenth Song
Mocking during the wake
The hour has come, hie off!
Taking a deep breath
Placing the hand on the table
Thinking of what’s next to now
The bald one comes in suddenly
Oh King in distress,
Why didn’t you present yourself,
On the eve of my day?
What is wrong, my fellow?
The King raises his head
Nevertheless, he presents himself
The brilliance is magnificent as ever
The strength with nothing compared
His sound knocks my head
Makes my heart explode
He hit me without knowing
Truly a trickster!
Says people would be doomed
Doing things without his permit
The offense is eternal
The rain pours out on us.
Beside me, an able man
Just one and wise
But still fails
From recovering from the wrath
Another man, an older one
He raises his arms
Each with sword and shield
He is willing to do the unwilling
Older’s ballad, serene and beautiful
Vague thoughts, he raises my doubts
I’m at limit, the head bursts
I rise into objection.
R udy ni Gng. Laida Abarintos Amor
College Instructor, CAS
Biyaya siya ng mga magulang na sina Pedro at
Miguela
Bunso siya sa sampung magkakapatid
Sa masayang tahanan siya ay inalagaan at pinalaki,
Upang maging huwaran at kaaya-ayang lalaki.
Alejandro ang kanyang pangalan
Rudy ang kaniyang palayaw
Gwapo, mabait, mapagmahal at mapagbigay sa nangangailangan
Lalo na sa mga kapatid at mga pamangkin na talagang minamahal.
Lumipad siya sa Philadelphia para siya ay manrabaho
Doon ay nanunungkulan siya bilang Enhinyero
Ang lahat ng hirap at pagod ay ibinaliwala niya
Pagakat sa puso niya, ay ang pagpapayaman at pagtulong sa pamilya.
Nagdaan ang mga araw,
Malungkot na balita ay umalingawngaw
Sakit sa puso siya ay nagkaroon,
Ang kalusugan ay hindi niya nabigyang tuon.
The King listening is disgusted
First controlled, then patience lost
To hear why can’t we stop building the plant
To harass the virgin green and poor creatures?
He asks, no hesitation
Sacrifice us or sacrifice those
Lowly creatures?
Lost as it is, I knew
That he is also infected by plague.
Since ancients, the plague still thrives
Because of the bowels of man
Corrupting the mana of every generations
Disrupting the balance of nature
Oh earth, why not forsake us
When we forsake you?
Why give a chance
When we hear none of you?
Sa sakit na walang humpay at mintis,
Labinlimang taon na niya itong tiniis
Diyos ang kinakapitan at kinukuhaan ng lakas,
Tapang ang ipinakita ay sadyang tunay na likas.
Hindi naglaon ay pinaghinga na ng Diyos
Buhay at hirap niya tinapos
Mga kaibigan at mahal sa buhay ay nagluksa ng lubos
Mind bleeding, I stop my doubts
After a day, I muse.
Beauty is her ability
But love is her wisdom.
The dance of the rivers
The greens and zephyrs that blew
Everlasting and ever ready
To topple everyone of the kind.
Creatures as they are, humans are also
Equal yet unfair, what a protector!
Defying but still obeying the laws,
How come they are still existing?
Time will come when clones prevail
Biodiversity lost – plants no more
Men will eat one kind of food
For no lesser creatures roam
Pagkat’t taong mahal nila ay binawi na ng Diyos.
Masakit sa damdamin ang kaniyang pagkawala,
Ngunit alaala niya ay nagbigay lakas sa mga katawang balisa.
Na minsay nagkaroon ng mapagmahal at huwarang bayani,
Sa puso namin ay mananatili ka RUDY.

J O U R N A L Me
I wonder. If I commit suicide, would someone think
I’m a wasted prodigy – like how Vincent van Gogh was? I’m not normally vain and conceited, so don’t laugh. Seriously, I wonder how and if people will remember me after I die. See, I’m not a big shot. I was always the type whom you can’t even recognize in the crowd even if you were looking for me. I’m the one whom you could forget in the first meeting or in the second; the one whom you could mistake for a prostitute just by leaning on a wall post. I’m a social retard - a psychopath in the making; a loser who grudges; a dupe who prides. I’m nobody.
Why such insecurity? Well I’m telling you, it is not insecurity. It’s self-preservation. I just thought that if my mouth is my brain, my world is a living hell. Truth is, everything that I have been doing is fair act, and I think everyone fell into my little stage. I have a blood of a prodigy – excellent at being inferior. So I’m wondering if someone discovered my dirty little schtick.
Scary huh?
Do you know what’s scarier? Without people who act like me, no one can act superior. Without people who act superior, there is no variety. Without variety, there’s no fun at all.
Have you ever read about “selective breeding” or “Nazi
Eugenics” from your history books? During the WWII, Adolf
Hitler lived with his sicko fascination over the theory of the survival of the fittest that “the strong shall live and the weak shall die.” The handicapped, sickly, unsound, and the Christians were wiped out like maggots without question. They were judged as the “inferior race” – the ones
Hitler called as more inferior than beasts. The intelligent, talented, skillful, athletic, and beautiful – the superior race, on the other hand was propagated like prawns in the pond.
Hitler prevented variety. Hitler viewed it as the only way of nature. A holocaust came after.
I would like to talk to the ghost of Hitler. If I were lucky,
I would talk him out of his fantasy. I’ll tell him, “You know what? ‘Nazi Eugenics’ is a stupid utopian tale. Don’t you see you are denying yourself the context of ‘humanity’?
Tell me, who would be superior over whom? Who would do the cooking for you? Who would wash your underwear for you - your political adviser? Do you even have your own concept of ‘love’? Of ‘care’? Of ‘compassion’? Those that make human humane?”
“You are denying yourself the concept of ‘free will’.
You denied your people choice. Minds like yours disrupt nature’s balance. Did you forget about there’s an emotional brain? You are killing it.”
“I understand that beauty is the cruelty of selection but forcing your obsessions on other people while killing the meek is a different story. I’m not a slogging shrink wannabe. Just look at Michael Jackson, Heath Ledger, or by Wellah S. Mingo you! You could have prevented an ugly truth.
Jackson and Ledger could have inspired more people.”
Hitler becomes silent and our conversation continues, “You are a lot like Ferdinand Marcos, our former president. He stole billions from the country then took flight with a helicopter ride. He was undeniably an intelligent man, a man of pure brains and power. Because he was a smart ass, he even faked war medals for credentials. Now, isn’t it just so ingenious of him, clever and whatever?”
“And how could I not mention about Gloria
Arroyo, our current nervewracking president. Oh, she’s such a clever woman at her prime, like you were. Unpredictable and resourceful. She had issues even before she became president but she dodges everytime. Everytime.”
“What talented people!”
“Can intellect and power not just connive?”
Hitler would look at me but still speechless.
“So you see how your concept of ‘superior race’ will also go to waste! And when they go to waste, they do more good than harm. How many geniuses committed suicide during your time?”
“I understand prediction and probabilities, but those are just like the feeling of having a bedridden granny who is due anytime - anticipated and yes, called for but when you get there, the pain sucks the chocolates out.”
“Free will makes variety Sir. Nature is about variety. You can only use nature. If you try to kill it, you die first. So no one can control it because obviously we are all part of it, including you Sir with a square mustache.” F
2 nd Sem 2009-2010 F O R W A R D 31

F I C T I O N
by Faith Clovell T. Lisondra T hick-rimmed glasses. Hair that is as sleek as something licked by a horse. Old school band shirts. Faded jeans.
Worn-out Chucks. That’s my style.
But no, I’m not what they call “emo”.
For the campus cheerleaders, snob professors, band geeks, skater dudes, hunky quarterbacks, and probably everyone on campus, I am the allaround loser. To be me, one must be ready to sit on chewing gums stuck on your armchair; be posted on your back with a paper saying “I am the
21st century sucker”; or be laughed at by girls when sending love letters. I don’t know what they have against me.
Maybe they’re just jealous of how cool
I carry myself. Anyway, school sucked with them around until Wednesday came.
The first girl I ever liked during grade school was Amy. It was one
summer morning when I tried to write her a letter. Fortunately, she looked my way as her curly black hair swayed with her head, and smiled the cutest smile in the whole world. I stood up and approached her shyly, handing out the first confession I ever made. However, she looked like she was irritated when I blocked her way. Then, she just passed by me. I looked behind and saw the class hunk, Mike. Then I figured the cutest smile in the world wasn’t for me after all.
Amy was my first heartbreak. I was prepared for the many more to come in the name of love.
High school meant more rejections from girls. Everyone I passed by at the hallways either ignored me or snickered. That’s not all. Football jocks started to mock my every move.
Plus, they kept on spreading a rumor about me being gay for not having a girlfriend. For crying out loud, I was a grown man like any of them who’s longing for someone, too.
Right then and there, everything was in slow motion when someone walked in front of me. She had brown hair with big curls which elegantly emphasized her lovely face. I realized she was the new girl seated in front of the class. The name was Isabella. The
Spanish beauty was my second love.
Luckily, Isa and I got along really well. She would even join me during lunch. On other times, Isa would even hold my arm while we walk in the park and chat about lame rock bands such as Jim’s, her ex’s. Fine by me. I got pretty popular that time anyway.
Chicks with tantalizing eyes were starting to smile at me when our paths meet.
Then, the end of the world came.
We passed by Jim and the band having

practices at the gym. She just grabbed
Isa’s hand and said, “Okay, Isa. You got me. I want you back now.”
I was about to get Isa back when she looked at me with pitiful eyes and said, “I’m sorry. You were a great friend, though. Maybe we could…”
I ran away. I ran as far as my old sneakers and stinky feet would go. It was raining so hard but I didn’t care. I was never going to like anyone again.
It was a promise I swore in the rain and on the muddy sidewalk.
College came and there I was – back to being the same old loser. The girls were gone. Isa was gone. Mr. Popularity vanished in just a blink of an eye. I didn’t care. I found out I only survive by being all by myself. People should just…
“Hey, mister. Can I sit next to you?”
I wondered for a moment who this creature could be. It was brave of her to sit beside me. I looked up and marveled at the way she was lovely without having to put on make-up. She had straight, auburn hair that swung freely up to her shoulders and strong eyes which probably blend with her personality.
“What? Earth to this guy! Do you hear me?” she yelled while tapping my head with her finger. Mrs. Gomez and everyone in class looked our way. Man, she was gutsy. I guess it’s just not me who gets to be the laughingstock this time.
“God, you’re slow,” she complained as I gathered my stuff from the other chair.
“Wednesday,” she whispered and offered me her hand. I wondered if she was informing me what day it was or if that was really her name. Anyway, as soon as I gave her my name, we were the coolest duo there ever was.
Wednesday and I rarely had any similarities. Despite the fact that she didn’t seem to have a bunch of girlfriends like other teenagers do, everything we like, we idolize, we think of, we believe in, was opposite.
She liked classical music, I liked rock. She wanted democratization to be strengthened in the country, for me, to hell with politics. She thought school is very essential for the days to come, while all I ever think about in the morning was to go or not to go to school. Despite our differences, we seemed to fit like puzzle pieces.
I enjoyed arguing with her. I would laugh at her silly dance steps which she would proudly show in the corridors.
I liked the way she blurts out random stuff that may either be amusing or gross. She was the only person who survived being my seatmate, who sneered at those brawny jocks who made fun of me, who taught me that wishing to be someone you’re not was more ridiculous than her dance grooves in the corridor. I was surely breaking the promise I swore in the rain last year. She’s it.
It was Wednesday – the day – when
I was ready to take our relationship to the next square. Wednesday was at our usual hangout corner at that old building in school. I approached her with a teasing grin as I shook her lovely hair so hard that she looked like someone who just woke up in the morning. In return, I received a strong punch on my lanky arm.
“Ow!”
“You’re such a baby. Hush, hush now, little baby,” she teased. I let the moment last for a couple of minutes as she caressed my arm. When it was getting awkward, she stopped and I grabbed the opportunity to confess already.
“I like you,” I blurted with desperation in my voice.
She was stunned. Her sharp eyes became as round as billiard balls. Then her face fell.
“You know, Dad wants Mom and me to stay close to where he’s working at right now. And that’s far away from here. You wouldn’t want to know.”
Right then, only the chirps of birds filled the air. Then she smiled, “Besides,
I don’t really date my best friends.”
Silence followed that conversation.
We walked side by side, the back of our hands never touching, as I escorted her home. I waved her goodbye and she waved back with a grin that reached her ears. From that smile, a gush of memories filled my entire brain – the fun we had just hitting each other’s heads, how she barked at my bullies each time I was picked on, and the times she told me not to care too much about what others say. And I wasn’t going to waste all of them.
From that day on, I erased the 21st century sucker out of my system. Along with him, though, was Wednesday. F
2 nd Sem 2009-2010 F O R W A R D 33

J O U R N A L
by Jennifer L. Anor
I
’ve always been an avid viewer of a certain dance competition. I like it because it doesn’t only stage
Filipino talents but also how the competition shapes the Filipinos’ way of life and thinking.
So, last July 2009 I lined up to be one of the studio audience. It only took two hours for me to process my entrance. By the time I finished, I was immediately given the chance to watch the show any time no matter how many hours I like.
I went to the dance hall for the competition’s kick-off. The hype of rap music shocked me as I stepped into the venue. All the eight competing parties warmed up for the showdown. Some 48 million varied supporters cheered and booed one another. Every party member looked at the opponents with menace.
Goons surrounded the whole studio. Did
I enter the right room? I never expected to witness such bedlam.
Surprised, I wanted to turn back and never return. I regretted my excessive desire of viewing this competition. As I almost made my way to the exit, I saw a man in the balcony distributing money to the audience who would immediately nod when they receive cash. I continued to scrutinize the entire studio. Every performer looked so serious in winning the title. Then it hit me: this isn’t only about dancing, is this?
When the lights turned off, I still hadn’t come up with the decision whether to leave or not. The crowd hissed. “Welcome…” the host announced the start of the showdown. One by one, the teams grooved at the dance floor. I glued my eyes at every dance number.
One team started its presentation with an exhibition with two kids. The team backed up by some famous celebrities got the loudest cheer. When the cha-cha team posed at the stage, a commotion started at the crowd. Some jeered at the group’s megalomania. Some applauded.
It’s almost five hours and my legs started to ache but I couldn’t still make up my mind if I would continue watching the show.
What really interested me about this dance competition were the dancers.
When on stage, they all wore a smile with their glittering make-ups and dresses. While at the backstage, all fancy stuff wore out and the sober fact of wanting to win became the topic.
Every competing team made sure that it could gain the viewer’s sympathy and somehow ranked high in different polls.
The teams always saw to it that at the end of every showdown, they would emerge as the leading competitors.
Every party badly wanted the limelight.
They desperately did anything, to the extent of bribing and slaying the other teams with ghetto-like routines.
What was even more extraordinary about this competition was the fact that there was only one deciding factor who would win - the audiences’ votes. In its new season, the management promised for a better program. Voting system was even changed from manual to electronic counting!
The voted best star dancer, next lead dancer and back-up dancers led the dance enthusiasts in introducing new dance moves and in implementing them.
Despite the issues and its dirty nature,
I decided to stay. I was walking to a seat near the stage when one of the production staff handed me a ballot.
She mentioned that every live viewer is automatically a judge, and she explained to me the voting process.
I shaded the name of the dancers whom I think got the capability to revive the dancing industry and lead the enthusiasts. Then I proceeded to the tabulator.
“Whom did you vote?” I curiously asked a lady who lined next to me.
The lady grinned and said,” Whoever you think is popular and loved by the audience deserves your vote.”
“Isn’t it all about who’s got the flair?”
“You have to be practical, kid! The popular wins!”
Once again, I looked around the dance studio – desperate groups, hopeless audience-judge and dying field of art.
I’m still hopeful that someday all the dance enthusiasts will unite and restage this creative expressionism. I started it with my vote.
By the way, this showdown is known as the May 2010 Election.
F
34 F O R W A R D 2 nd Sem 2009-2010

J O U R N A L
P la y in g
Deaf
I can still remember when my deaf sister asked me why some people are deaf. I was stunned.
It never occurred to me that my sister would ask such a question. Being
12 years old, she seemed so happy and contented with the way she was. She never acted differently nor felt different from us. Not until that time.
Of course, I knew why she was deaf. When I was younger, my mother explained that she had a defective hearing because of an illness she had when she was still an infant.
I wonder why some people are impaired like her. Who decides it? Why didn’t she become the “typical” kid, like me who is a typical complete - with-the-five-senses child myself? Is it
“fate”? Or is it some sort of a fixed path, a mold such that nobody can exactly guess what an unborn child would be like? It is such that we can’t have a chance to demand from heaven how we want to be or don’t want to be?
My sister deserves to hear like other people. She deserves to be just like anybody else, like a normal child. Like me. She is a beautiful case, honestly.
She has brought a lot of things to my family ever since she was born – her gaiety and optimism. She has been the
“unifying factor” among the members of my family. She takes time to hug and give me kisses whenever I arrive home; her childish pranks make me realize that I also need to smile, to laugh my butt out even if other people find it very silly. Her attitude is way different compared to ours. Of course she sometimes throws tantrums and acts just like any other kid out there, but there’s just something about her that I can’t really put my finger on. It gets me into thinking that it would be such a blessing if she could only hear and talk.
Fate maybe did intervene in the case of my little sister.
However, as I was absorbed in my thoughts about it, I realized deafness is not merely due to fate. It’s more like faith as consequences of choices made. Some people are deaf because they choose to be. Isn’t it a common phenomenon we call “apathy”? This makes it all the more unfair for my sister.
Some people are endowed with complete perfect faculties, but they choose not to use them well. They would rather choose to hear juicy gossips than things that matter.
They would prefer to attend an allnight party to attending recreational workshops or volunteer works. Yes, the latter bore them.
On a lighter note, I’ve figured that these people are not alone. We are all deaf in one way or another. The classic example would be when students by Jan Patrice V. Lim choose to play dumb inside the classroom than listen and be attentive to the learning activity. Another is when we choose to ignore rules – rules in our classrooms, households, schools, in the streets (traffic), churches, hospitals…
And in a national scale, politicians are once again rearing their ugly heads because it’s election once more. They are again making promises even if people cries of suffering and hunger continue unabated. Corruption is still lurking – the Maguindanao massacre had recently proved it. It takes a decade to attain simple justice. Others are even still fighting against discrimination.
These politicians have not lost, I guess, their sense of hearing much less their sense of sight or sanity. I think they have become deaf and blinded in their capacity to understand. They know the rules; they hear and see them but don’t take them to heart. They don’t really listen.
Well, it gives me a great deal of comfort thinking that even if my sister is physically deaf, she nevertheless developed the capacity not just to hear but to listen. I guess this is so because she naturally lets the interest of her pure heart and immaculate soul, her goodness and compassion to evolve a sort of invisible faculties that empower her to really hear and listen.
F
2 nd Sem 2009-2010 F O R W A R D 35

I F I L M R E V I E W f you detest gore and brutality and would definitely faint at the sight of blood, NEVER watch Kinatay.
Its realism will bluntly expose you to human corruption in the most disgusting way you can ever imagine.
Kinatay (The Execution of P) is an independently produced film which stars the prince of Philippine indie films Coco Martin (Masahista, Serbis, Tayong Dalawa) as
Peping, Ma. Isabel Lopez (Room Service, Hilot, Fidel) as
Madonna, Mercedes Cabral (Ang Panggagahasa kay Fe, Latak,
Booking) as Cecille, John Regala (Bukas Bibitayin na si Itay,
Alyas Baby Face, Animal) as Sarge, Julio Diaz (Serbis, Ang Lihim
Ni Kurdapya, Tirador) as Kap, Jhong Hilario (Caregiver, Sukob,
Astig) as Abyong and Lauren Novero (Troika, Signos , Twilight
Dancers) as Boy Chico.
The story revolves around the life of Peping, a criminology student who is in dire need of money to support his seven month old son and his live-in partner
Cecille. To answer this seemingly unending problem, Peping decides to do sidelines like extorting money from sidewalk vendors and other illegal things. Although some of his illegal activities were not revealed in the film, viewers get the feel that he is used to doing evil things. And he does this for Kap who is a police big boss.
The tension in the film brews up when Peping learns that he and his gangmates were given the task to abduct
Madonna, a prostitute who owed money from his boss. The gang has been ordered not just to kill but to hack as well
Madonna to pieces and dump her body parts in different places. This may sound like a typical crime film, but Brilliante
Mendoza’s execution of each scene sets this film apart from other Pinoy trash films. Kinatay is way too far from Carlo J.
Caparas’ massacre films wherein the slaughters of the lead characters are overly dramatized. By the way, Carlo J was declared National Artist for Visual Arts and Film. I am still hoping that it was just a joke. Dolphy, the eternal comedy king, was never even granted the award. So who is Carlo J to receive such?
Unlike in Serbis where he had frontal nudity, Coco
Martin never takes off his shirt in Kinatay . This makes his character in this film different from his earlier roles. Some were disappointed because they expect Mendoza-Martin tandem to delve into sexual themes (e.g. Masahista). Should
Coco strip for this film to sell? As how it was directed, it is perfectly clear that the film is not intended for cheap thrills.
The film is way too serious and disturbing for that purpose.
Kinatay shatters the emotion. The musical score is never ostentatious. Majority of the scenes don’t even have background music. The scoring just blares in the climax which perfectly sends shivers to the anguished viewers. The hum of the jeeps and buses becomes the background music.
Even the sound in the room was perfectly captured; we can hear the cracking of Madonna’s bones and the slashing of her flesh while being chopped to pieces.
Lighting is dead. It helps rouse a creepy feeling when the gang in the van was about to dump Madonna somewhere.
Coco is still visible, though. His nervousness and fear of what is going to happen next is very visible that we unconsciously wear his shoes.
If Mendoza made us spectators with his stable camera shots in Masahista , in Kinatay, he turns us into voyeurs.
36 F O R W A R D 2 nd Sem 2009-2010
by Je ffers
P on M
. Cru z
The video was shaky you would think you are watching a documentary.
I wanted to say less of the actors, but what can I do? Their performances are sublime. I still can’t believe Ma. Isabel
Lopez, a former Bb. Pilipinas-Universe, said yes to gangrape and slaughter scenes. Her groans and screams in the film while she is being mugged to death will haunt us in our sleep. It is just unbearable. We will have to agree that the actors are not acting, what we see is the truth. We get too curious as the events unfold. We want more.
Kinatay, considered as nonsense by hypocrites, represented the country in the Cannes Film Festival and competed for Palme d’Or, the festival’s highest honor. Its toughest rival was Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds which stars the perpetually dashing Brad Pitt. And when
Brillante Mendoza emerged as the best director in that festival, he proved that his tandem with Coco Martin is really something to reckon with.
Kinatay is a tour de force, a testament of the auteur’s brilliance. With its sheer brutality and bluntness, the viewers will for sure flee from the cinema. But Mendoza just knows how to glue his viewers to their seats. His ways are eccentric and most of the time surprising that the audiences are caught unprepared. He pulls the viewers in at the right time and keeps them seated until the torture is over.
Mendoza makes sure that the torture, which is the reality, is inescapable and it endures even after the viewers step out of the cinema. F

P ila na lang ka buwan gikan karon, mahuman na nako ang hayskol. Ug sa umaabot nga Hunyo, kuhaon nako ang kurso nga tibuok kinabuhi kong gipangandoy ug giplanuhan - Tourism.
Daghan sa akong mga kaliwat ang nag-ingon nga angay ako sa ingon ani nga kurso. Tuod pud, pangandoy ko ang makaadto sa bisan asa nga dapit.
Paspas nga milabay ang mga katuigan sa akong kinabuhi.
Mahinumduman ko pa ang unang higayon na nitungtong ako sa eskwelahan. Singko anyos lamang ako kaniadto. Si nanay ang nagsilbi kong body guard, kada adlaw akong ihatod-kuha. Sa mga oras nga kauban ko siya sa paglakaw, mapuno ako sa iyahang mga pulong. Daw taas pa ang akong baktasunon sa kinabuhi. Daw ang akoang mga pagabuhaton maoy sukdanan sa akoang pagkataw.
Bisan sa kahilaw sa akong pangisip, nasabtan nako ug gamay ang buot ipasabot ni nanay. Nabati ko nga taas ug paglantaw si nanay kanako busa gisaad ko sa akong kaugalingon nga dili ko gayod siya pakyason. Naningkamot ko sa akong pag-eskwela para lamang manguna sa klase.
Ambisyosa gayud ako sukad pa man sa akong pagkabata.
Kinsa man ang dili mangandoy ug taas kung ang kinabuhi susama sa akoa nga puno sa kalisdanan?
Nahuman nako ang elementarya nga valedictorian.
Sa pagtungtong ko sa hayskol, doble ang gihimo kong pagpaningkamot. Apan parehas sa masinati sa ubang tawo nga parehas ko ug edad, nagsugod ako sa pagkat-on ug higugma. Si Dino. Usa siya sa mga nanguna sa among klase ug para kanako, siya ang pinakaambongan. Daw pareho kaming nanguna sa klase, isungug-sungog kami sa amoang mga klasmeyt. Sa akong pagtungtong sa second year, nagkasabot mi ni Dino. Walay kabutangan ang akong kalipay sa kada adlaw nga ihatod ko niya sa iskina paingon sa amoa. Si nanay? Wala ko siya pahibaw-a sa sitwasyon kay kahibaw kong iya lamang kong pugngan. Bentaha gayod nga nagboarding house ko diri sa siyudad. Wala ko gituyo nga mamakak kaniya apan tinuod kong gihigugma si Dino.
Hinuon, wala ko man pasagdi ang akong pag-eskwela.
Nilungtad kami ug usa ka tuig ni Dino. Gihimo ug gihatag
B A L A Y K A T I T I K A N ko ang tanan alang kaniya. Saad pa niya, ako na gayod ang iyahang one and only.
Dako ang akoang pagtuo nga tumanon ni Dino ang tanan niyang mga saad kanako. Apan sa pagsulti ko kaniya sa sitwasyon nga among gisung-an, akong namatikdan ang hinay-hinay niyang pagkausab. Pirmi ko siya mabantayang naghinuktok sa among classroom. Dili na pud siya hing-istorya bisan sa akoa. Apan nasabtan ko ang nabati ni Dino busa wala ko mibati ug kahiubos kaniya.
Kahibalo ko nga dili makaya ni Dino nga dawaton ang akong kahimtang. Tungod sa akong bug-os nga gugma kaniya, ako na lamang ang nipahilayo. Dili ko gustong maabot ang adlaw nga si Dino na mismo ang mupapahawa kanako sa iyahang kinabuhi.
Busa karon ania ako sa lugar nga akong gikahadlukan.
Pila na ba ka oras nga ako naghuwat kon kanus-a tawagon sa “manghihilot” ang akoang ngalan? Tulo ka oras na siguro ko sa gawas sa pultahan. Tulo ka tag-as nga oras na ang milabay apan wala pa gihapon mahapsay ang akong pangisip. Ipadayon ba nako ang paghimo sa usa ka butang nga mubag-o sa akong kinabuhi ug sa batang duha na ka buwan sa akong sabakan?
Nahinumduman ko pa ang akong mga saad sa akong nanay ug mga igsoon. Pabuhatan ko sila og dako nga balay. Pahumanon ko ug eskwela ang akoang mga igsoon.
Luwason ko sila gikan sa kapobre. Mga saad ug pangandoy, daghan ako niini. Apan ang akong gibuhian nga mga saad kanila, ako ra pud diay nga gipusgay.
Unsa na lang ang ikasulti sa akong mga higala? Sa akong mga kaliwat? Sa akong mga igsoon? Sa akong nanay? Wala nako tug-ani bisan usa kanila. Nahadlok ko nga mabatyagan ang ilahang kahisagmuyo. Gipakyas ko sila.
Kinsa ang angay kong isakripisyo – ang usa ka inosenteng bata nga wala pa nahimata sa tinuod nga kalibutan nga unta nagpaabot kaniya o ang mga tawo nga tibuok kinabuhi kong kakuyog ug gisaaran nga tagaan ug maayong kaugmaon?
Miabli ang pultahan ug anaay misangpit. “Miss, ikaw na ang sunod.” F
T akna by
Ag nes
B.
Alp uer to
2 nd Sem 2009-2010 F O R W A R D 37

S I L V E R L I N I N G S
Man
n a vivid dream, I was seated at the top of the hill watching the verdant trees below.
I rested awake as the cool north wind blew smoothly against my frame, sweeping away the woes of the day. The afterglow of the mighty sun was such a delight. And when I closed my eyes, a fatherly voice spoke to me. “Son, if this is your last day on earth, what do you want to see?” I stood startled looking for the owner of the voice. Moments have passed before I understood who he was. I answered his question in silence. He was omniscient.
I knew he saw my deepest thoughts.
“Close your eyes. It shall be done,” he assured as I sat back.
I was crouched on a piece of heaven when I opened my eyes. The cloud beneath me felt hollow but was strong enough to keep ascending until the houses and buildings turned into dots and the glowing city lights underneath began to look like clustered fireflies. The cloud was taking me to Aurora Borealis, I thought. I was in a trance when the cool current of air in the night sky knocked me unconscious.
It was very cold when I woke up. I was shivering and my ears almost froze.
Then my piece of heaven descended to an unfamiliar place. I started to spot the rusty rooftops of the neighborhood. This is not what I want to see! I complained.
The cloud carried me to the front door of a house. I was curious of what the cloud wanted me to see. I knocked.
Nobody opened, so I twisted the knob.
It was dark inside; my eyes needed a few minutes to adjust to the dimness.
I turned the light on when I spotted the switch. There was a family sleeping and I almost jumped in disbelief when
I had a second look. It was my family.
After five years, I was home again. I wanted to rush to mom and dad like a long lost son and tell them about my little triumphs, the places I’ve been and the people I’ve met. But I never remembered doing such when I was a kid, so I just contented myself watching them as they slept.
My mom was still the most beautiful mother. And that night I wanted to see again her dimple I never inherited. I wanted to feel her wavy hair and her pointed nose, but it would be rude to wake her up. She needed to regain her strength to battle everyday hardships.
The lines in her face were more visible than the last time I saw her. My mom, who was also a friend and sister to me, was graying. I never want to see her wither, but I can’t stop time.
I turned to my father, the man I never had good memories of. I blamed him for what mom had to go through and for all the hurts I had endured when I was growing up. He was never a father figure, and that made me felt different all these years. I hated him. But when I saw his austere face and his frail frame, my anger vanished. I forgot all his faults. I lied down and felt his heartbeat by Jefferson M. Cruz for the first time. I felt so free.
How can I ever ignore my siblings?
They have grown so fast that I almost haven’t recognized them. I smiled musing over the way we were.
I was excited to embrace my little sister. She had grown inches, but she was still my pretty little princess, the sweet imp with curly dark brown hair. I was about to kiss her when she stirred and opened her eyes. She wasn’t looking at me, so I said hi again and again. She never responded. I was invisible and inaudible. I stretched my arms to squeeze her, but all of a sudden a strong force dragged me away from her, from them. I screamed and called their names, but to no use.
The force was strong enough to toss me to the cloud which carried me away from them. “God, please let me stay!” my voice broke in protest. But it was unstoppable; I was slowly heading up to the sky.
I started crying when God granted me a miracle. My little princess ran to the front door and looked up to the sky as if she heard me. From a distance, I could see her smile. “Kuya!” she shouted in a melodious voice. My heart leapt. I could have jumped but I had ascended high enough.
I sobbed in sadness and fear of not seeing them again. I felt orphaned.
“Son, why are you weeping?” God asked me. “You just saw what you wanted to see. You have seen Aurora.” F
38 F O R W A R D 2 nd Sem 2009-2010

N ow, I have something to add to my ‘Junk Films List.’
2012 is not worth your money.Why did I watch this movie? You might ask. You would want a sane explanation of where your parents’ hard earned money went after watching the movie. In my case, I paid for the air-conditioned theater, the lame melodrama, and the computer generated images (CGI) effects for the first hour of the film. The remaining amount was for overpriced nonsense. And I have every reason to say such. Let me get you down to it.
The early trailers and posters in cinemas in August didn’t give the avid movie watchers a guessing game of what the movie was all about. I even thought that this movie would be like other disastrous films I’ve watched that simply blows our mother nature into smithereens, that is. And yes! The movie by all means was predictable. What triggered me to watch the film was the film’s more than $200 million production budget. I was expecting for something new and nerve racking. I realized the latter when I found out that I had watched the exact opposite.
Roland Emmerich was getting evenly redundant with this movie. He directed Independence Day, The Day
After Tomorrow, Godzilla, and now another “anti Earth” movie. A sucker for destruction, Emmerich really wanted to scare the viewers, but sad to say we have intellectual and unshakable movie watchers these days because people are getting used to watching such.
According to trailers, the idea of making this doomsday film was based on the Mayan prophecy of South America.
The Mayans who were considered to be
“experts” in astronomy have discovered an astronomical alignment which befalls once every 25,000 years – the next one befalls on 12/21/12.The Mayan Calendar also ends on December 21, 2012. The movie tells the audience that this alignment affects the heavenly bodies surrounding the Sun.
I hate to admit this, but the first hour of the movie was breathtaking as the
CGI effects were doing their best to spark the interests of the audience.Lavas spurted from the mouth of volcanoes, the grounds crumbling, infrastructures falling, and flood swallowing the world.
All of these were CGI’s magic. The rest were bits and pieces we have seen before in other cataclysmic movies.
The rest of the movie became excruciatingly boring and stupendous as it was swallowed by the shallow storyline and static characters. Curtis’ family was always chased by natural disasters yet you could always predict that they would eventually escape from death.
The characters’ dialogues were cheesy and they just revolved in clichés and plainness: “Today we are one family,”“You don’t have to save us, but please, just take my kids!” “Mommy, why is Daddy so crazy?”
There is this line that carried off
Cusack’s sense of humor, “When they tell you not to panic... that’s when you run!” He attempted to sound comical but I
F I L M R E V I E W wasn’t moved. It was corny. Emmerich got good stars as the characters, but they were limited to use their talents.They were mere frozen delights, just a waste of cast! The real stars in this movie were the CGI effects.
It’s a lame movie but the CGI made it good.
There were geographical and factual errors in the film.There were even loopholes in the plot. The movie explains like a genius. As an example, the movie tells the audience that the Sun’s flare infiltrated the Earth, thus heating up the
Earth’s core. Because of the core’s heat, the tectonic plates moved and eventually were the causes of the earthquakes, volcanic activities, and tsunamis. But wait!
If the Sun’s flare infiltrated the surface of the Earth, it should first boil the oceans and burn nature. The movie did not even show manifestations or signs of the Sun’s wrath on the surface of the planet, if you get what I mean. This film insults the human intellect: predictable, common, and nothing much to be anticipated.
According to Roland Emmerich, 2012 would be his last disaster film. That is maybe the reason he packed everything in this movie.
Why is Roland Emmerich so fond of destroying the Earth in his movies? Is it because he is an environmentalist and movies like this are giving humanity a warning that the Earth could backfire? Or destructive movies like this are moneymaking generating machines?
There are more things to care about aside from blowing the Earth and creating nonsense deaths like what we see in 2012.
I’m sure we are aware of the things that are pestering the humanity and degrading our morality. Corruption, dirty politics, false beliefs, and greed are just some of the things that eat the human soul. I got
Emmerich’s point: by creating movies that show humanity’s parasitic existence and annihilating them all together will awaken humans from their long sleep on the bed of apathy.
But maybe this movie is just plain business.
F
by Nikkah C. Lubanga

B O O K R E V I E W V
and
by Wellah S. Mingo
I n Chris McKinney’s first novel
“The Tattoo”, you don’t fancy a knight in shining armor looking for his damsel in distress or either way. The rhetoric rants about filthy underwear, guns under the pillow, cigarettes jammed in the anus
– you’ll know you are in a cosmos of murder, violence, pride, and hate.
However, to appreciate this novel, you need to be on your cold feet over this grand quote at the title story: “Do we have the power to shape who we ultimately become?” Hence, in order to understand the ridged tale of Kenji
Hideyoshi (main character), you need to understand yours.
McKinney plots an average indie flick and hits the nail on the head by being exactly average and universal.
Kenji’s story is seeping through the tale of Edmund Dantes (Count of
Montecristo) or Michael Scofield
(Prison Break) or your friend who hates his father or your neighbor who used to be a cyprian – all of them being prisoners of circumstance, emotion, powerlessness and virtual brain damage. His story is anyone’s hellhole story, or mine, no matter how unlike but parallel. It is the story of massive
Filipinos – like in how we are still stewards of the ‘sins of our forefathers’ for centuries now.
McKinney borders on two subversive schemes. First: the infernal area of
Hawaii kept shielded from earthly pride; a third world in an Eden like
Hawaii and where racism is blunt. The cohabitation of Filipinos with Koreans,
Japanese, and Vietnamese in that part of Hawaii suggests a typecast.
“Koreans, for some reason, always want to open their businesses, unlike
Filipinos who seemed to always work for somebody”.
Second: choices. Kenji becomes the danger-magnet, “the one who commits hara-kiri before accepting defeat” and the antipathetic. His tattoo, forced on him through tradition, was his portal to an angry past. But then this question remains: how can you wrestle against alien obsessions you are confronted with? How can you speak of love when all you know is anger? “Just when you think you’re out of the s**t, when you’re running, looking back, and laughing, you run right into another pile, slip and fall on your a**. You never even see it coming, but the only thing you can do is pick yourself up and head for the next pile.” This is the cliché answer which real life can’t figure out.
“The Tattoo” is a raw witness about discretion and consequences, principles and pragmatism, selfdetachment and sanity. And that of course, you make your own cookie cutter world.
Well enough of the scruple-raising blusters though. “The Tattoo” becomes seemingly semi-autobiographical.
The plot is all over the place but then makes a lot of sense in the end.
Kenji ends up killing the father he loathes because of a girl he loves.
When Mamasan intervenes, he kills three nameless Koreans and winds up disowning his child. In this type of story, McKinney put in details like how
Frank McCourt did in “Tis: A Memoir”.
But he only cared less about prose.
So for a greenhorn like him, don’t expect a well-written literature. In fact, the book is plainly hard to digest.
Besides the choppy, sometimes technical phrases, there’s an overt use of colloquial language: “neva take pork ova through dis tunnel,” which appeared in most conversations.
His susceptibility also shows in how he makes metaphors (though metaphors are incontestable): “… thinking of food when you are starving,” ”malignant tumor of fear”,
“flower leis which covered his neck on graduation day died…” and other too cheery blah blahs for a goon to say.
And how could I not mention that if this book were a movie, it is a cheap
American chick flick. This book is a lexicon of all cuss words in the world with all the love gone. McKinney uses expletives in diverse meanings which is maybe logical for the whole theme.
However, using it in almost every page (and sometimes unreasonably) is hyperbole.
McKinney probably had his crucial immersion with the Filipinos and intricate research about late president
Ferdinand Marcos for literature’s sakes. Besides the appetizing smell of the leaves and the red-and-black paperback cover, that is a literary mechanism which a Filipino reader might hate or want to hear. He keeps the reader spellbound to ‘nowhereness’ and unpredictability without getting too depressed.
In general, this book is good and bad. Good – because it is something that a writer has never thought of writing before. I think. Bad – because it is something that a writer has never thought of writing before. I think. Thus, a reader would only like it or…not.
So I guess I will rag you with this question: How will Kenji kill himself?
F
40 F O R W A R D 2 nd Sem 2009-2010

S I L V E R L I N I N G S
of
B efore scribbling this article, my family and I accompanied my sister to the airport. My sister, who is closest to my heart, was set for the United States of America to find greener pasture. As everyone waited for her departure, she started to hug everyone: nieces and nephews, brothers, sisters and my father. Being the last she hugged, I held her tightly and dreamed that moment would not end. Her tears fell in my shoulder as she cuddled me tighter.
Her tears were expressions that she will be missing us for the long time that we won’t be seeing one another. While her tears continued to soak me, she whispered,
“Take care of our father.” That moment, I became conscious that my sister and I are not anymore little children. We have our lives to live and battlefield to conquer.
God bless her.
---------------------------
Like my sister, I will be totally free, soon. Now that I am about to finish the fourteen years of my academic endeavors, I would soon live a life of my own, and earn on my own, but I am not even excited.
When I entered college, I thought
I would enjoy my freedom because I don’t have parents watching over me.
Like any other student boarders from provinces, I felt so free that I even went home late without someone scolding me, forbidding me from going to strange places and reminding me that
I should not put myself in danger by walking in the streets late at night.
Nobody even stopped me from working for my tuition.
Perhaps, what I am experiencing is the so-called absolute freedom, which
I
by Jun Niño M. Nalipay most of the people say is the freedom that does not exist. I say it does, but not all are “lucky” to experience it. Or maybe, most people just don’t realize they are enjoying it. If they do they would share the same sentiments with me. I could decide for my self but at the end of the day, I find no joy in it. I could say that those who say there’s no absolute freedom are the people who have experienced it and wished not experiencing it again. They don’t benefit from it.
This “freedom” is neither my choice nor my family’s. But it is not an indication that my father and siblings love me less. It is a consequence of circumstances. My loved ones could not do anything but to trust me in whatever
I do. Since I got used to it, I get tired, at times sad. Why should I force my parents to always scold me the same as other parents do to their children? Why should I force myself to always obey my family when I have good reasons not to?
Even if I felt like drowning from the abundance of freedom I have, I know
I live a normal life. After all, always obeying what my family demands from me is not the point. The point is being responsible for my actions whenever and wherever I go and being ready to face the consequences of what I did.
Freedom means upholding my loved ones’ trust in me. Above all, freedom is submission of our life to God. And God is with me, watching, in the absence of my parents. I won’t be enjoying much of my “freedom” if not for these two people who molded me when I was young – Ma and Pa.
Ma, the very first time I realized I need you was when I saw you inside that beautiful white box. I wanted to pull you up and tell you that your children could not live without your comfort. But you were behind the glass. I may not become a teacher just what you want me to be, but I could assure you that I’ll share my knowledge to others the best that I could. When you closed your eyes in eternal sleep, I was awakened.
Thank you, Ma.
Pa, thank you for the discipline and for the fatherly and motherly care when Ma left ahead. The pain of kneeling on granules of salt really helped. The burning feeling of the weight of books on the palms of my widely-streched arms. Hitting me with your favourite belt was indeed effective. I also thank you for being my temporary shepherd whenever I go astray. There were times I condemned you, but I just understood that beating me was your way of teaching me a lesson. I considered those days the sweetest.
I love you, Ma, Pa.
---------------------------
When I was about to end this article,
I remembered again what transpired in the airport. As we walked toward the car,
I saw my eldest sister Desiree looking back to where my other sister was.I could not tell what she was thinking. Like my other sister, she once lived and struggled abroad. We hardly recognized her when she arrived in the same airport. She was pale in plain white dress. Her legs were wrapped in bandage, and she was in a wheel chair. That was what she got from her freedom to work abroad. I just cannot tell if she really succeeded.
My other sister? I don’t know what is in store for her. She just flew.
F
41
2 nd Sem 2009-2010 F O R W A R D

The
Big
Lift
November 18-21, 2009 by Jennifer L. Anor
F
FORWARD Awareness Days, the campus media highlighted responsible journalism as a powerful instrument in lifting the Filipino Spirit.
or the past years, FORWARD has been aspiring to prepare youth for the tough world ahead of them.
It has also become the driving force that pushed students to take action. And during last year’s
With the theme “Lifting the Filipino Spirit through
Responsible Campus Journalism,” FORWARD Awareness
Days 2009 opened with a talk from one of TV Patrol Central
Visayas’ anchors, Atty. Haide Acuña. Atty. She shared her experiences when she was a campus journalist and encouraged the youth to do their part in the society. Team
FORWARD addressed the Josenians’ questions on how the student publication is being run during the brief open forum that followed Atty. Acuña’s inspirational talk. The day’s program concluded with On-the-Spot Editorial Cartooning
Contest.
Documentary screenings of GMA 7’s iWitness in the
Main and Basak Campuses Audio-Visual Rooms started the second day of the event. The documentaries tackled serious problems in the Philippines – malnutrition and child labor. In the afternoon, seven students competed for the 3rd Young
Voice Extemporaneous Speaking Forum which was held at the USJ-R Main Lobby. Winners of the On-the-Spot Editorial
Cartooning Contest, To My Fellow Filipinos Letter Writing
Contest, Young Voice Extemporaneous Speaking Forum and the first FORWARD Video Plug Contest were awarded.
Guest speaker, Mr. Victor Emmanuel Carmelo Nadera, Jr. a poet, fictionist, playwright and essayist explained the need for nationalism. Packed with humor and more interaction with the audience, Mr. Nadera asked questions which the students pondered upon; he also inspired them to be good citizens.
A night of reminiscing was the highlight of the fourday event. The First FORWARD Alumni Reunion served as the culmination of the FORWARD Awareness Days. Former staff from 1947-2008 gathered at the USJ-R main lobby to celebrate six decades of responsible campus journalism.
To show gratefulness and respect for the pioneer staff, the present batch of journalists honored the first Literary Editor,
Dr. Teodomira Cui Maghanoy and the first Staff Reporter,
Atty. Silveno Macerin with the first GAWAD FORWARD. The
FORWARD Editorial Board and Staff and the alumni also voted for the first set of FORWARD Alumni Officers. As a remembrance of that memorable night, the alumni wrote on the canvass their messages to the present FORWARD staff as a source of inspiration. F
42 F O R W A R D 2 nd Sem 2009-2010

to our very own FORWARD staff grduates!
Jefferson M. Cruz AB MassCom
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/OPINION EDITOR/ FEATURES EDITOR
Jun Niño M. Nalipay AB MassCom
Magna Cum Laude
ASSOCIATE EDITOR/NEWS EDITOR
Amefil L. Benguillo BS Nursing
MANAGING EDITOR-ADMINISTRATION
Wellah S. Mingo AB LIACOM
MANAGING EDITOR-FINANCE/LITERARY EDITOR
1 Taas ug kuti kaayo ang process sa pagpareserve sa lobby ug sa sound system. Apan follow gyud dapat kay lagi, mao may sistema. Go up, go down ta sa hagdanan ug magdali-dali aron makauna sa pag-reserve. Apan nganong sa oras nga gamiton na ang sound system kay magsugod na ang program, gi-unhan na diay kag gamit sa mga nagduwa ug basketball diha sa quadrangle.
Sir/Maam, sakto ba nga pahuwaton mi kanus-a mahuman ang duwa usa mi makasugod sa among show? Tang-tangon na lang nato ang reservation uy. Di magsilbi!
2
Ato lang klaruhon Maam ha. Ni-eskwela mi aron makat-on sulod sa klase ug dili aron maminaw sa imong paghinambog sa imong bag-ong appliances sa balay. Naa man sad mi ana. Nihunong gani mi sa pagtext-text aron makapaminaw sa imong leksyon. Ikaw man hinuon sige’g text sa klase! Wala gyud tay klarong discussion? Kung nabilin imong notes, resourceful man pud siguro ka! Maam, hinago-an raba sa among parents ang gibayad sa tuition.
3
Naunsa naman ni atong vendo machines sa mga CR? Sige na man lang tulon ug singko, dili muluwa ug tissue! Unsa man ni sila, alkansiya? Ilaray man ang show! Di pud raba lalim ang kwarta ron ha. Makig-away man gani ta sa kondoktor sa jeep kung kuwangan ug piso ang sukli. Ato na lang ni tangtangon beh, aron wala nay mailad.