Muni-muni ng Isang Gala

How can I be so unfeeling How can I be so insensitive When I am just near Yet, I haven’t noticed your suffering I even talked to you I wonder if you hear me When you are full of sadness When you are full of pain Then I noticed your coldness Everyday you withdraw from me You have lost the luster And before my very eyes you wither away Deaf to my pleas Of coming back Frantically, I brought you back From where your spirit hide To forever escape my scrutiny To never feel abandoned and uncared By a mere mortal like me… My despair turned to anguish You have given me many chances Yet, I was reckless Never learned my lessons Now, you are just a limp And withered body A mummy of my old Lebanon. Forgive me. P.S. I am still deluding myself in hoping That one day you will smile again A tiny flicker of leaf will sprout From your wasted body

Puso’y nanimdim Diyata’t mga kaibigan Sa mundo ng mga buhay Unti-unting lumisan Una,si Tatay Boning Di tunay na ama Subalit sa akin Nais maging… Pangalawa,si Manong Jun Katulad ni Tatay Boning Isang inspirasyon Sa mga katulad ko At marami pang iba Nais makibaka magkaroon Ng mundong masagana, Mapayapa at Malaya Ngayon, si Bai Helen Isang ina at asawa Iilang beses lamang nakasalamuha Ngunit naaninag ko na Katapatan, mababang kalooban At matiim na paniniwala sa kanyang maylikha Pinaubaya sa amin kanyang tahanan Naging pugad ng pagmamahalan at pundasyon Ng kanyang pamilya Kay ikli ng panahon Kayo ay naging bahagi ng buhay Parehong iginupo ng kanser Inyong mga katawang lupa Subalit kayo ay nanatiling matatag Hindi alintana sariling sakit Upang inyong mahal sa buhay Gabayan kahit sa gitna ng dalamhati Sa inyo,mga kaibigan Isang ma

The November 23 Maguindanao massacre have shaken many of us. I was in a place with the only access to the outside world is through a 2-channel television when the news of the carnage broke out. Thus, the magnitude of the incident only sinks in the next day when I read it on the papers. A colleague had to make a trip to the City to buy the papers. Scanning the news, a victim’s name from the media caught my attention. A chill ran through me, it was one of our Council of Peoples’ Representatives from the Bagobo tribe, Mr. Napoleon Salaysay, from a local community paper in Cotabato City. I did not have the chance to get to know him fully, but I feel a deep sadness, not only for him but also for the rest of the massacre victims and their grieving families. Like other ordinary citizen, I also felt outraged with the callousness and impunity shown by the perpetrators. When the call from Atty. Harry Roque of CenterLaw Philippines came that his organization is planning to bring in forensic