Tonight I Can Write the Saddest Lines - (3 versions?)

by Pablo Neruda

Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
Write, for example, "The night is shattered and the blue stars shiver in the distance."
The night wind revolves in the sky and sings.


Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
I loved her, and sometimes she loved me too.



Through nights like this one I held her in my arms.
I kissed her again and again under the endless sky.
She loved me, sometimes I loved her too.
How could one not have loved her great still eyes.



Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
To think that I do not have her. To feel that I have lost her.
To hear the immense night, still more immense without her.
And the verse falls to the soul like dew to the pasture.



What does it matter that my love could not keep her.
The night is shattered and she is not with me.
This is all.

In the distance someone is singing.



In the distance
My soul is not satisfied that it has lost her.
My sight searches for her as though to go to her.
My heart looks for her, and she is not with me.



The same night whitening the same trees.
We, of that time, are no longer the same.
I no longer love her, that's certain, but how I loved her.
My voice tried to find the wind to touch her hearing.



Another's.


She will be another's.


Like my kisses before.
Her voice, her bright body. Her infinite eyes.




I no longer love her, that's certain, but maybe I love her.
Love is so short, forgetting is so long.



Because through nights like this one I held her in my arms.
My soul is not satisfied that it has lost her.


Though this be the last pain that she makes me suffer and these the last verses that I write for her.





(Ang susunod na salin ay buhat, palagay ko, kay Rio Alma.)



Maisusulat ko ang pinakamalungkot na berso ngayong gabi.


Maisusulat ko, halimbawa: “Mabituin ang gabi
At nanginginig, bughaw ang mga tala sa malayo.”


Lumiligid sa langit ang simoy-gabi at umaawit.


Maisusulat ko ang pinakamalungkot na berso ngayong gabi.
Minahal ko siya, at minahal din niya ako paminsan-minsan.


Sa mga gabing ganito, ibinilanggo ko siya sa aking mga bisig
Ulit-ulit ko siyang hinagkan sa lilim ng walang hanggang langit.


Minahal din niya ako, paminsan-minsan ko rin siyang minahal.
Sino ang hindi iibig sa kanyang mga matang malaki’t tahimik?


Maisusulat ko ang pinakamalungkot na berso ngayong gabi.
Maiisip kasing hindi na siya akin. Madaramang wala na siya sa akin.


Maririnig ang gabing malawak, at mas lumalawak kung wala siya
At pumapatak sa kaluluwa ang bersong tila hamog sa pastulan.


Ano naman kung hindi mabantayan ng aking pag-ibig.
Mabituin ang gabi at hindi siya kapiling.


Ito na ang lahat. May umaawit sa malayo. Sa malayo.
Hindi mapanatag ang kaluluwa ko pagkawala niya.


Upang waring ilapit siya, hinahanap siya ng aking mata.
Hinahanap waring ilapit siya ng aking puso, at hindi siya kapiling.


Ganito rin ang gabing nagpupusyaw sa ganito ring mga punongkahoy.
Kami, sa tagpong iyon, ang nagbabago.


Hindi ko na siya mahal, natitiyak ko, ngunit minahal ko siya nang todo.
Hinahanap ng tinig ko ang simoy upang hipuin ang kanyang pandinig.


Nasa iba. Siya’y nasa iba. Tulad noong katalik siya ng aking mga halik.
Ang kanyang tinig, malinaw na katawan. Ang kanyang matang walang hanggan.


Hindi ko siya mahal, natitiyak ko, ngunit baka mahal ko siya.
Napakaikli ng pag-ibig, napakahaba ng paglimot.


Dahil sa mga gabing ganito na ibinilanggo ko siya sa aking mga bisig.
Hindi mapanatag ang kaluluwa ko pagkawala niya.


Kahit ito na ang huling pighating ipapataw niya sa akin,
At ito ang huling mga bersong isusulat ko para sa kanya.


KAYA KONG MAGBITIW NG BITTER WORDS
Mark Angeles

Kaya kong magbitiw ng bitter words ngayong gabi.
Mag-scribble-skribulan halimbawa: "Ang gabi ay pilantod
at nangangalantutay, bugbog-sarado, ang mga bituin sa malayo.
Paruo't parito ang hangin at ngumangawang parang baka.

Kaya kong magbitiw ng bitter words ngayong gabi.
Labs ko sya, at minsan daw labs nya rin ako.

Sa mga gabing tulad nito, nilalamas ko sya sa aking kandungan.
Nilalaplap ko sya sa silong ng marvelous na kalangitan.
Labs nya ko, at minsan labs ko rin sya.
Panong di ko mamahalin ang malalaki't bilugan nyang mga mata--
parang pugita?

Kaya kong magbitiw ng bitter words ngayong gabi.
Imagine kong wala sya sakin. Ma-feel kong na-lost ko na sya.

Mapakinggan ko ang gabing OA, mas lalong OA dahil wala sya.
At ang talinhaga ay dumidila sa malay tulad ng hamog sa talahib.
Ano pa bang meron dyan, Ineng, kung hindi sya mapapasaakin?
Period. Sa malayo, may ngumangawa. Sa malayo.
Aburido ang multo ko sa pagkawala nya.

At para bagang nandyan lang sya sa tabi-tabi, hinahanap ko pa sya.
Hinahanap sya ng puso ko, kapag wala sya sa tabi ko.
Ang gabi ring ito'y nagkukulapol ng dirty white sa mga troso.
Hindi na kami ang dating kaming kami.

Hindi ko na sya labs, pramis, pero labs na labs ko sya dati.
Hinahagilap ng hininga ko ang hangin para bugahan sya.

Nilalaplap na sya ng iba, tulad ng paglaplap ko sa kanya.
Ang boses nya, ang seksi nyang wankata, ang for layp nyang mga mata.

Hindi ko na sya labs, pramis, pero medyo labidabs ko pa rin sya.
Maigsi lang ang lablayp ko pero ang makalimot,
sangkatutak na 50 golden years ang inaabot.

Dahil sa mga gabing ganito nilalamas ko sya sa aking kandungan,
Aburido ang multo ko sa pagkawala nya.

Kahit ito na ang last chance ko para magmaasim
at ito na rin ang huling chuminess ko sa kanya.

Sad Days (part 1): Lawful Demise

I have pretty much hit rock-bottom the last couple of months starting when I was fired from work.

Actually, it wasn’t just me whose employment was terminated: it was everyone else’s. The Japanese owners of the factory where I work decided that it wasn’t worth saving the Philippine manufacturing plant considering the downturn in the US economy---our main customer---whose consumer demand constitutes about 80% of our monthly exports.

The truth is, it’s not really me I’m worried about. I’m fairly young, sharp, and have re-tooled my skills by going back to school while working full time. There’s a considerable chance I can find employment elsewhere. I’m more worried about my co-workers. Many of them are too old to be considered for gainful employment and most have not honed any marketable skills aside from the factory work they have mastered through the years. As I listened to the spontaneous wails and cries of disbelief as the announcement was being made, I came to realize something which I may have known for years but nevertheless have taken for granted: these people meant more than mere co-workers to me.

They were my family.

Maybe that was the reason why I refused to leave the company (with its pittance pay which I get every week that I have derisively referred to as my “allowance”) even if other employment opportunities abound---like those ubiquitous call centers.

“Anak (son), what will I do,” asks a middle-aged woman. She calls me anak because I happen to be a name-sake of her son. “Don’t you worry, ‘Nay (mom), everything will turn out for the better,” I assured her, not really knowing what I mean. Another woman sidles up to me, tears welling in her eyes and says: “Arnel, both me and my husband work here. What will happen to our children?” Her voice broke and I could not do anything but hug her.

She was, after all, my mother, too.

I may be an orphan but under the roof of my own little factory I have found many mothers and fathers. It took a single day for the company to spring the unwelcome surprise. To bid us all---mothers, fathers, sons, daughters---goodbye and good riddance. The vice-president says they commissioned a third party to compute the severance pay and we could get them on that same day. A battery of lawyers, accountants and Department of Labor representatives suddenly swooped down from nowhere to bear witness to the “lawful demise” of the factory. Don’t worry, we were assured, we can still come back the next day to get our things.

After the announcement, I approached the mic and told the assembly: “Hold your heads high, as you go out of this place. You are workers with dignity, and we have worked for years in this place with grace and dignity.” As a union officer, I also appealed for them not to take the severance pay on that same day. The union will have to meet to plan the next move and we have to remain united in the next collective course of action.

The former union president stood up to declare he’s going to be the first to get “his money” and that I was in no position to tell anyone not to get the money due them. If I were you, he says, I’d get the money since the factory is closing anyway, and the offer may not stand for long.

Everyone knew the real color of that sleaze-bag and that is why he was repeatedly rebuffed during the local elections. But on that day, the people chose to follow him.

As I watched my friends and colleagues, form a queue to get their severance pay, I felt as though a thousand daggers have pierced my heart. I felt numb. Like being orphaned a hundred times over.



It was a sad, sad, sad day for me.


==========================================


The next day, the company allowed us to retrieve our personal belongings. What I took liberally were pictures, instead. Like a madman, I took pictures of every nook and cranny. I was trying to freeze-frame my decade-long memory of the place. The factory, like Willy Wonka’s, had been a special place for me, too.

I took shot after shot even under a light drizzle---something I got to rue later because it ruined the digital camera.

Meanwhile, the rest of the union officers decided to capitulate. The company deviously included the salary for that week into the computation of the severance pay. And since we practically have no more money just before pay day, the check would really come in handy. “Look at it this way,” a fellow union officer opines, “at least the management paid up unlike other companies that closed shop”. Still, I was not convinced.

I was still hurting from the stab wounds I got yesterday.

Then the union president and vice-president talked to me. I, the union secretary, was the last hold-out. They told me it’s a war I can’t win. The people have already surrendered. I knew that, of course. I knew when to accept defeat but maybe, I just needed someone else to spell the same for me.

Finally, as I approach the severance pay counter, I can hear the Department of Labor vultures and their minions heave a sigh of relief as they patted themselves on the back ostensibly, for another job well done. After I signed the check, the Japanese president, sitting at the far end of the table, extended his hand to shake mine.

I turned my back and quickly walked away.

Gary Granada vs GMA Kapuso

Gary Granada vs GMA Kapuso by dosomethingworthwhile

My heart bleeds for Gary Granada, and for all other artists who find themselves in the same predicament.

I know some comix artists gets commissioned by these giant TV networks to design the costumes for their superhero primetime programs and then gets zilch for their effort or waits for an inordinately long time to get paid. It doesn't matter if the artist devoted 15 minutes or 2 days to draw the costume design (or in Gary Granada's case, to compose it), they should be properly acknowledged and peremptorily compensated for their work.

It's high time for these companies, not to mention for all Filipinos, to respect the rights of artists to their work.

We can thank these artists by respecting their rights.

Best and Worst Filipino Film of 2008

The Best Filipino film I saw in 2008 is Paul Alexander Morales' CONCERTO.

I've seen a lot of good films last year from various film festivals like Cinemalaya, Cinemanila and CinemaOne Originals, aside from the usual movies shown in UP Cine Adarna and Robinson Galleria's Indiesine like "Adela", "100", "UPCAT", "Ambulancia", "Imburnal" and the much-ballyhooed "Serbis". I also greatly liked "Endo" but that was technically a 2007 film.

CONCERTO is a period film about a Filipino family striving to retain their humanity amidst the inhumanity of war with the music from the family piano ostensibly serving as the symbol for peace and universal understanding.

In syncopated rhythms, ‘Concerto’ shows how a family strives to carry on a normal life in abnormal times, with the piano as symbol for harmony not only within the family itself but also within the countryside setting that accommodates the Japanese. Instead of frontline encounters, this war diary reveals the quiet interplay of suspicion and trust

The worst film I saw is LALAMUNAN.

Don't even bother. I rue the day I went to its premiere at UP. The lighting,the story, the acting---everything is the pits.

If you don't believe me, try to look up the preview at Youtube. Horrible!

Araw ng Pasko

(Para sa mga kapwa ko manggagawa na naapektuhan ng krisis pang-ekonomiya.)





Sa pagdating mo, / O araw, na inaasam-asam,
Bakit binalot ang puso/ ng pag-aagam-agam;

Halip kasabikan/ pangako mong kasiyahan,
Ako’y nakatanghod,/ tulala sa kawalan;

Kung sweldo sana’y sapat, / bibili ng krismas tri,
Isasabit sari-saring/ ilaw na patay-sindi;

Noche Buenang sagana/ sa sebo at halakhak,
Sapatos at mumunting/ damit na busilak;

‘Di ako, butihing araw,/ sa ‘yo nagrereklamo,
Ang tanging hiling/ nitong pobreng obrero

Ay turuang ipaliwanag/ kalagayang aba
Sa aking bunsong/ may mata ng pag-asa.

Pag-ibig sa Isla ng Pagpapakamatay

Ang kwentong ito, "Pag-ibig sa Isla ng Pagpapakamatay" ay mabilisan kong isinulat noong 2006 para lang may maipasa sa isang klase sa Malikhaing Pagsulat. Halaw ito o mas mainam sigurong sabihin na na-inspira ito sa napakagandang maikling kwentong sci-fi ni Roger Zelazny na may pamagat na "The Engine at Heartspring's Center. Kung sakaling mahanap ninyo ang orihinal, tiyak kong maiibigan ninyo ito. Sa loob ng ilang salita ay napadugo niya ang bato, naiparama sa mambabasa ang damdamin ng bakal.

Subalit pamilyar man kayo o hindi sa orihinal na materyal, nawa'y pagdamutan muna ninyo ang munti kong handog.


"PAG-IBIG SA ISLA NG PAGPAPAKAMATAY"


MGA TAUHAN:

Bork – isang cyborg: kalahati tao, kalahati robot. Dati’y isang kilalang bayani sa digmaang pangkalawakan subalit ngayo’y unti-unting nawawala na ang anumang alaala ng pagiging tao. May kakaibang kapangyarihan na nakakapag-paralisa ng anumang robot o gamit electronics na malapit sa kanya. Nagtungo sa Heartsping’s Center, isang Euthanasia colony subalit nagbago ang isip at ngayo’y pagala-gala na lamang sa may dalampasigan ng nasabing isla ng mga gustong magpakatiwakal.

Elsa – isang misteryosang babaeng tumakas din sa Heartspring’s Center dahil tulad ng Bork, nagbago ang kanyang isip matapos lumagda sa kasunduan ng pagpapakatiwakal at tumungo sa isla.


ANG PINANGYARIHAN:

Sa isang barong-barong na gawa sa ilang piraso ng bakal, halamang dagat, lumot at ilan pang basura na inaanod sa may dalampasigan malapit sa Heartspring’s Center: ang kaisa-isahang gusali sa abandonadong isla na pinupuntahan ng mga nilalang na may nais magpakatiwakal ng may dangal mula sa buong kalawakan.

Ilang linggo na rin ang lumipas matapos sagipin ng Bork si Elsa mula sa mga robot na tumutugis sa kanya.




Elsa: Nakatulog ka ba nang mahimbing?

Bork: Hindi na kailangan ng Bork na matulog.

Elsa: Pero natutulog ka, hindi ba? Ilang linggo na rin ako narito kaya
napapansin kong natutulog ka rin.

Bork: Hindi kailangan ng Bork na matulog pero pumipikit din ang Bork dahil
nakasanayan na.

Elsa: Oo nga pala: dati kang tao. Kung magsalita ka kasi’y para kang robot.

Bork: Ang Bork ay hindi robot.

Elsa: O sige, pero ano nga pala ang pangalan mo? Alam ko ang “Bork”
ay tawag mo lang sa iyong sarili. Ano ba ang pangalan mo
noong nabubuhay ka pa bilang tao, bago ikinabit ang mga parteng
metal na ito sa iyong katawan?

Bork: Ang Bork ay hindi tao.

Elsa: May nabasa ako tungkol sa isang heneral noong nakaraang digmaang
pangkalawakan. Pinamunuan niya ang pwersa ng mga taong nagtagumpay
na maitaboy ang mga taga-ibang planeta na nais manakop sa mundo.
Subalit lubha siyang nasugatan sa labanan kung kaya’t maraming parte
ng katawan niya ang pinalitan ng artipisyal na bahagi...Pagkaraan
ng digmaan, nawala na lang siya.

Elsa: Sabihin mo sa akin, ikaw ba ang heneral na ‘yun?

Bork: Ang Bork ay hindi tao.

Elsa: Hindi mo na ba maalala---o ayaw mong alalahanin?

Bork: Ang Bork ay---

Elsa: “Hindi tao”. Oo na, Diyos ko! Kay hirap mong kausap! Kung may iba
lang nilalang dito sa dalampasigan, hindi na ako mati-tiyaga sa
‘yo, ano?

Elsa: Pero bukod sa paglilinis dito sa dampa mo, ano pa bang gagawin ko?

Bork: May inihandang pagkain ang Bork sa iyo kagabi pero hindi mo kinain.

Elsa: Ha? Ah, wala akong gana, eh. Pero salamat sa pag-aalala.


(Panandaliang tatahimik ang dalawa.)


Elsa: Umm, teka, antagal ko na dito hindi mo pa rin sinasabi sa akin kung
bakit pumunta ka dito sa isla. Bakit gusto mong magpatiwakal?

Bork: Bakit gusto mong magpatiwakal?

Elsa: Ako? O sige, sasagutin ko ha, basta sagutin mo rin ang tanong ko.
Ah, paano nga ba?

Elsa: Sapilitang iniwalay ako sa aking magulang noong tatlong taong gulang
pa lang. Nagtatrabaho sila sa isang sasakyang pangkalawakan nang
madiskubreng may dalang sakit na malubha pala ang isang pasahero
doon galing ibang planeta. Na-kwarantina sila hanggang mamatay
lahat. Hindi alam ng gobyerno kung saan ilalagay ang tulad ko. May
mga nagtangkang umampon pero umaayaw ‘pag nalalaman ang tungkol sa
magulang ko. Lumayas. Lumaki sa malupit na batas ng kalye. Nang nasa
sapat na gulang na, sinabing “tangina, tapusin na natin ang lahat!”.

Bork: Hindi ka dapat pumirma sa kontrata. Tutugisin ka ng mga taga-Center.

Elsa: Alam ko pero nagbago isip ko, eh. Bakit ikaw, nagbago ang isip at
hindi pa rin nila mapatupad ang kontrata? Dapat pwede ‘yun: pwede
magbago ng isip. Buhay yata pinag-uusapan.

Bork: Hindi na maaaring magbago pa ang isip mo kapag nasa Center ka na.
Nakasulat ito sa kontrata. Tutugisin ka pa rin nila kapag hindi na
kita kayang ipagtanggol.

Elsa: Sinubukan na nila ‘di ba? Pero hindi naman sila umubra sa
kapangyarihan mong ma-paralisa ang lahat ng electronics na malapit.
Teka, ikaw, bakit hindi mo tinuloy ang plano mong ... alam mo na?


(Sandaling tatahimik ang Bork bago magsasalita.)


Bork: Hindi pa oras ng Bork. Naalala ng Bork ang panahong may kumalinga sa
kanya. Naisip ng Bork na ito ang bumubuhay sa kanya, ang bumubuhay
sa lahat.


(Pagmamasdang maiigi ni Elsa ang mukha ng Bork at ang paligid bago magsasalita.)


Elsa: O kay laki kong tanga! Ginawa mo ako ng masisilungan kahit hindi mo
ito kailangan, binibigyan mo ako ng pagkain at pino-protektahan sa
mga robot ng Center. Dahil ba sa... dahil sa... O Diyos ko!


(Yayakapin ni Elsa ang Bork.)


Bork: Hindi ko na maigalaw ang aking mga paa. Sabihin mo: sugo ka ba ng
Center para ipatupad ang kontrata?

Elsa: Patawarin mo ako! Tinurukan kita ng gamot habang natutulog ka
kanina. Kung alam ko lang na...

Bork: Huwag ka nang humingi ng tawad. Isa lang ang hiling ng Bork bago
tuluyang magdilim ang paningin.


(Umiiyak na si Elsa habang nakayakap sa Bork.)


Elsa: Kumalat na ang lason sa iyong dugo. Wala na akong magagawa.

Bork: Hiling ng Bork: pabaunan mo ng isang ngiti.


(Pinilit ni Elsang ngumiti sa gitna ng mga luha.)


Bork: Salamat. Handa na ako.



WAKAS

The Call for Moral Renewal

I would like to begin the year for this blog by talking about the call for moral renewal issued by the esteemed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Reynato Puno. Specifically, this was my reaction to an earlier post in my alma mater's yahoogroup (former students of Divine Word college of San Jose) on the same topic.

This is what the original post written by besprenjames said:

From: besprenjames
Subject: DWCsjom Morality Issue
To: dwcsjom@yahoogroups.com
Date: Saturday, January 17, 2009, 9:50 AM

Chief Justice Reynato Puno is talking now moral regeneration,
after someone leaked a document about an electoral issue,
stirring for his ouster through impeachment.

The problem with morality is that it is subjective. What is
moral to a group could be immoral to another sector. What
an impressionist classic painting for Jawo could be porno to
the eyes of Jowa. It is immoral by larger segment to drink
wine, but for the Germans and look-at-me, drinking wine
relaxes reflexes and can induce literati juice. Iglesia ni
Cristo, vampires, and the aswangs hate the cross, but the
Catholics use it, sign themselves with it, at every moment
of low-bat.

What is actually Filipino brand of morality ? Well,
morality changes color at the knock of compromise. Let me
tell a parable:

There is an earthworm looking to the sky where a bird is
gliding gracefully. The earthworm wished: "If I have that
wings, I can be happy and free up to high heavens."

Up in the sky, the bird saw the earthworm, and decided to
approach the latter.

The bird said: "I am hungry and hunting for lunch."

The earthworm answered: "I wish to have wings like you."

Being with different intention, the two decided to compromise,
find the acceptable half way.

In the end, the bird has its lunch and the earthworm is
inside a body with wings.

And this was my reply:

This post by Mr. James or besprenjames---who has a predilection for starting several threads of discussion in this group at a single time that I am tempted to appeal for some moderation---deserves more than a passing thought. He attempted to use the current issue on the call for "moral regeneration" by the current Chief Justice as a springboard of discussion, flippantly dismisses the same by saying morality is subjective, and goes on to relate a "parable" that made me wonder whether it is still related to his main topic of morality or he has wandered off to another topic (for instance, the Filipino's apparent knack for compromise.)

As an aside: I have to say that drinking wine was never considered an immoral issue unless you were in the US during the time of the Prohibition; in which case the morality issue stems more from flouting the law, not on the mere act itself (unless the moralists could overturn the events of the Miracle at the wedding in Cana first). And although I can't speak in behalf of aswangs and vampires, I wouldn't be so quick to conclude that our Iglesia ni Cristo brethrens actually "hate the cross". It's just that they regard the holy Cross not in the same manner we Catholics do. Also, I have to point out that when you say Catholics "sign themselves with a cross" it comes across(no pun intended) as Catholics signing their names with a mark of the cross---in which case that only happens in two instances:when one is a prelate or a priest or when one is dead(in which case, somebody has to sign for you, of course). A better turn of the phrase to avoid confusion therefore is "making the Sign of the Cross". But I quibble.

Now the main issue is the call for Moral regeneration by the Chief Justice. I am no particular fan of Chief Justice Puno but he has earned my utmost respect for leading an independent Supreme Court under his stewardship. Aside from the Church, he is in the best position to call for such a campaign, having an untarnished reputation. Here is a decent man, having no ulterior motives sounding the alarm for the rest of us. Joe de Venecia may have called for the same a few months back but the people naturally did not listen. They know he's as rotten as the rest of them. Also, it is quite unfair to say that CJ Puno only gave this call after he was besieged by the electoral issue since he was essentially saying the same in many of his previous speeches(for instance when he called for a human rights convention that eventually led to the decision for the issuance of the Writ of Amparo).

Impeachment is an extraordinary means to remove a constitutionally-protected public officer. It is the people's last resort against flagrant abuse of public office. What's particularly galling about this rumored impeachment call by former Congressman Paras, a stooge and the usual attack dogs of GMA in Congress is that Puno's supposedly heinous "crime" is just sitting on an unpromulgated Supreme Court decision on the citizenship of Paras' erstwhile political nemesis. It's a flimsy excuse for such an extraordinary constitutional measure as impeachment. More likely it is designed to ensure a favorable decision from a Puno-less Supreme Court on the the proposed cha-cha to extend the terms of the sitting officials as some pundits contend.

And to think that just months before, these same benighted Congressmen junked another impeachment complaint aganst GMA whose supposed crimes against public office run the gamut from the Hello, Garci scandal, to the ZTE scam, the Fertilizer fund scam, the forced disappearances and summary executions of journalists and dissidents, etc. It certainly helped that GMA has the power of the purse to entice Congressmen to look the other way.

But what are we teaching the next generation of children here? That a man who pilfers telephone cables can rot in jail but those who are convicted plunderers like Erap get pardoned; or in the case of Imelda, gets a government contract to have sharing of the loot? PDEA's Marcelino sounds the alarm that bribery maybe afoot in the DOJ, and our DOJ Secretary gets to question the constitutionality of Marcelino assuming his position as PDEA chief, thus jeopardizing all other drug cases filed by PDEA? How did we, as a nation, come to this pass?

I think Chief Justice Puno is challenging us to be ever more vigilant. We must guard against abuses of power by public officials. We need to maintain the integrity of our Courts. We need to re-assert our age-old values...well, despite having to live under the increasing amoral administration of the current illegitimate president.

Yes, what is 'art' to Jawo may be 'porno' to Jowa, but we are not talking about art or aesthetics here. The concept of morality may be culturally and temporally-bound but change does not happen overnight or as the writer puts it "changes color at the knock of compromise". You see, the "morality" CJ Puno was talking about is entirely different from the nebulous morality of what self-appointed moralist of art and literature the writer may be talking about. To refer to such "morality" after using the call of Puno as springboard is intellectually misleading and dishonest. And to dismiss the talk of morality on the account that it is subjective is missing the point entirely.

As far as I know: I was taught by my parents (not to mention my teachers at DWC) that CHEATING IS WRONG, so when I hear that the sitting president may have influenced an election commisioner to make her win by a margin of 1 million votes, I am certain that that is morally wrong. I can't compromise on that. I was taught that LYING IS WRONG so when the sitting president tries to deny knowledge of the ZTE scam and later admits flying in the middle of the night to sign the ZTE agreement, then I know she was dishonest. I was taught that KILLING YOUR NEIGHBOR IS WRONG so when I hear about journalists being killed I know that is wrong and that any government that ostensibly permits the same is wrong. No compromises. When somebody like Chief Justice Puno calls for the moral renewal: he was certainly not talking about our taste in art. He was talking about our values as a society living in this day and age.

And come to think of it, those were the same values Moses advocated when he came down from the mountain.


To know more about the facts of the Puno impeachment issue I suggest you follow this link:

http://newsbreak.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5764&Itemid=88889051