My World

A bridge built by time and elements

Yolly Sotelo Fuertes — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 15:00:26 +0000

Somewhere in the Camagsilangan village in this town is an unusual bridge – about four meter high and five meter long. It is surrounded by trees and accessible only by a trail with a thick wall of thicket.

When I saw it, what came first to my mind was the Stonehenge of England – those hefty standing stones that could have been used (historians say) by pre-historic Englishmen for religious purposes or as an astronomical observatory.

But the Stonehenge was manmade, archeologist Willy Ronquillo of the National Museum said. This one is a natural geologic formation, which makes it more wonderful. At least for me.

Indeed, the bridge, short as it is, evoked awes in those of us who saw it one late afternoon last week. The sun was just about to set and walking along trails that led from one cave to another left us perspiring and tired.

We did not want to go and see the bridge anymore. But our "guide" – Rizaldo Cabrito, was insistent. "It’s just about 20 meters away," he convinced us while some of us tried to enter a cave which the residents described as "having a second floor with many rooms."

(We were not able to enter that cave because we did not have flashlights or anything to light the way inside, but we were shown photos that stalactites and stalagmites created rooms where persons can stand.)

What will I lose, I said to myself as I followed the group of archeologists and residents to the bridge. When I saw it, I said "Wow! This is a wonderful creation of God!"

It could have been formed thousands of years ago, built by time and elements, and could be where children of the historic period could have played.

Dionisio Edrolosa, 52, the owner of the property where the bridge is located, said the bridge has always been there. He lived in the property which he inherited from his parents ever since he got married in 1975.

I was not able to ask him if he spent his childhood there, but he must have and the bridge must have been a part of his playground.

His wife and a daughter were at the bridge when we got there. Come up here, the wife told me. A very friendly lady, she held my hand as I climbed up the stone. "Can you pull me up?" I said doubtfully. She very skillfully and strongly did.

Up the bridge, one can see tomorrow. Well, almost. Around are green fields, and towering trees, and a sort of dam. "That part is Alaminos already," Manong Diony, who joined us at the bridge, said, pointing to a place full of buildings

I did pose for the camera – standing, sitting, whatever. When I looked down, I felt dizzy so I refrained from looking down again. I crossed to the other side where Manong Diony said there was a short cut to where we started off.

Some plants were full of big ants, as if guarding the place from intruders like us. Some plants were really matinik (full of thorns) that one has to be very careful in touching them. I made a mistake of holding on to a vine as I was getting down the bridge and I pricked by its thorns. Nothing serious, but I need to learn dos and donts on mountain (or hill) climbing.

Why was I at the place? Because of an invitation of Ate Bell (Arabella Arcinue, wife of kuya Bing and mother of Sual Mayor John) to have a look at the cave where supposed treasure hunters found pre-historic relics such as stone tools and potteries. A burial ground, the archeologists said.

We were not able to enter the "inner chamber" of that cave either because of a massive stone that covered its door. Maybe when the team from the National Museum comes for survey and exploration, and when the stonewall is broken down, I will be invited to have a look-see of what’s inside.

This cave is at one side of the limestone hill at the property Manong Diony who said he never thought that inside the hills covered by thick vegetation, is a part of history that stayed undisturbed for many years.

Just imagine, in that village, two caves and a bridge were there for the residents to explore and enjoy for many years. Now, curious people from other places may go to the village for them to see these wonders of nature, too.

I just hope they will preserve the beauty and sacredness of the place.

Critiquing the critic

Yolly Sotelo Fuertes — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 11:59:22 +0000

LINGAYEN — Is "America is in the Heart" by Carlos Bulosan an authobiography or a fiction? The book describes Bulosan's childhood as a son of a small farmer Binalonan, Pangasinam, his voyage to America and his years of hardships and despair as an itinerant laborer in the rural American West.

Cecilia Daranciang, in her book "Defending Carlos Bulosan and Providing Cultural Context" used "content analysis" to prove that America is in the Heart is indeed an authobiography as told by Bulosan himself, debunking claims of two Filipino-American writers — Greg Castilla and P.C. Morante — that "some portions of Bulosan's autobiography have been either fictionalized, exaggerated or untrue."

Daranciang is a retired teacher of the Seattle School District of Washington State who lives now in her hometown Mangatarem.

Castilla's "America in in the Heart: An Autobiographical Fiction," as quoted by Daranciang, said Bulosan claimed as his own the experiences of others, that he fictionalized some people and conditions, and that he had the tendency to exaggerate certain realities to drive his point.

He cited that the "little grass hut" where Bulosan lived was actually a huge wooden house and that if his family were poor, his brother could not have been a mayor as money played a decisive role in winning elections.

Morantte on the other hand, published "Remembering Carlos Bulosan" which claimed that Bulosan's book was "30 percent autobiography, 40 percent case history of Pinoy life in America and 30 percent fiction."

Among others, he said the Bulosans had big landholdings and owed a mansion, that they were rich because they had a leg of lamb which only the rich can afford, that the mother sold beans and salted fish was untrue, that the family had enough resources to send all children to school, that Bulosan was an exaggerator, and that he lied when he said he could not speak English.

Daranciang interviewed relatives of Bulosan and residents of Binalonan who provided her with information about his past.

She was led to the former five-hectare farm where the Bulosans lived, and the exact location where the "little grass hut" was located. A conceptual framework of the hut, as described by Bulosan's relatives, was included in the book. Called "alolong" in Pangasinan and "kalapaw" in Ilocano, it is made of bamboo, cogon grass and palm leaves.

As to Bulosan's brother Luciano becoming a mayor despite his poverty, Daranciang said Luciano became a mayor through succession. "He ran for election for vice mayor and he did not need much money to win as (he) was carried by votes for mayor of same party," she explained. Also, at that time, money "did not talk much during election time."

Daranciang also debunked Morantte's allegations that Bulosan's father owned big landholdings. She interviewed Raymundo Bulosan Jr., a close relative of Carlos, who affirmed the ownership of only five hectare land which was not productive because it was stony, sandy and criss-crossed by huge roots of trees extended from the forested area that bounded the eastern part of the propery.

As to the leg of lamb, she said in Pangasinan province, it is either given by a neighbor or relatives for free or from the herd raised by the family. Lamb meat was never sold in Pangasinan markets but lambs were raised only for family consumption and parties.

Daranciang said she hoped that the readers are convinced that Bulosan will not be branded "well-off because of a leg of lamb."

She also interviewed relatives who confirmed that Bulosan's mother sold beans and bagoong, and that affirmed that the Bulosans afforded schools as elementary education was free.

In a review of Daranciang's book, Margarita Ventenilla-Hamada said the povery, deprivation and degradation Bulosan describes in his book was so much that they could not believe it was his autobiography.

She said, "They could not believe that he could have been that poor and was not ashamed to tell the whole world about it. Most people, as we all know, prefer to forget their humble beginnings and even lie about them. They couldn't believe that he, with only three years of sporadic formal schooling, could, by private reading, forge himself into a writer of caliber. They therefore dismissed his opus as fiction."

Hamada, the founder-driectoress of Harvent Schools here and in Dagupan City, said in dismantling the allegations of Morantte and Castillo that the book is a fiction, Daranciang used facts only as a true blooded Pangasinense like her can know.

"She hit two birds with one, masterful stroke: First, she was able to show that the Filipino race has produced another Jose Rizal, albeit from the opposite side of the social spectrum –in talent and degree of maturity– a man whose spirit enabled him to transmute the clay of pain and degradation into insights of gold. Second, the facts (she) presented in her rebuttal are historical gems that may have gone down the path of oblivion had she had not recorded them in her book."

Priests to marry, er, solemnize marriage again

Yolly Sotelo Fuertes — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 16:39:49 +0000

(Late last year, 30 priests from Pangasinan decided not to renew their license to kill, er.. to solemnize marriages. Things have changed, after the NSO decided to withdraw its order telling the priests to undergo a training on marriage laws. Where will all those wanted to marry go? The Catholic ones I mean? There are judges and mayors…but some of course think that being married by a priest is more romantic. And Godly?)

DAGUPAN CITY — Now the priests here whose license to marry has expired will solemnize marriages again.

The National Statistics Office has revoked its administrative order requiring priests, religious ministers and other solemnizing officers to attend a full-course orientation seminars before they will be issued a certificates of registration and authority to solemize the sacrament of matrimony.

NSO Administrator and Civil Registrar General Camelita Ericta issued memorandum circular 2008-001 revoking Administrative Order (AO) No. 1 series of 2007 which called for the solemnizing officers to undergo orientation-seminars which sought to ensure that they are "knowlegeable about marriage laws and other related laws, marriage registration procedures and the registration procedures of (their) authority to solemnize marriage."

Ericta told NSO regional directors and provincial statistics officers that the the "requirement of the proof of attendance in the orientation-seminars has been revoked (and) all schedules for (seminars) shall be cancelled effective immediately."

She also said the guidelines for the seminars and other related instructions are likewise rendered ineffective.

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz gave a copy of the revocation order dated January 9, 2008 to the Inquirer but refused to comment on it. Cruz has earlier questioned the legality of the conduct of the orientation-seminars and his office did not renew the expired licenses of 23 priests from the archdiocese. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines also asked the NSO to cancel the program.

A staff of the archdiocese said papers for the renewal of the licenses are already being prepared for submission to the NSO.

Cruz ealier asked lawyer Romulo Macalintal about his opinion regarding the NSO's AO which he described as "causing unnecessary friction between the CBCP and the Civil Registrar General who acted beyond her executive competence."

Macalintal said the order "constitutes an amendment or expansion of the law which defines the qualifications of persons authorized to solemnize marriage in the Philippines. The NSO has no power to amend the law, its function not being legislative."

He explained that the only requirement to be complied with by solemnizing officers is that they are "duly authorized by (their) church or religious sect and registered with the civil registrar general."

"There is nothing in the (Family Code) requiring (them) to attend a two-day orientation-seminar or refresher course or marraige laws and other related laws and/or marriage registration procedures," he added.

Macalintal also questioned the NSO why it did not require judges, ship captains, airplane chiefs, military commanders and consul-generals, consuls, vice consuls and mayors who are also authorized to solemnize marriages, to undergo the orientation-seminars.

The AO "discriminates against the bishops, priests, etc, because they are the only ones covered. It is unconstitutional because the persons authorized to solemnize marriage are not similarly treated," he said.

Macalintal pointed out that there was no consulation with the church leaders before issuing the order.

The problem sought to be solved by the AO can be addressed by a simple memorandum by the NSO to the heads of churches or ministries to be more careful or accurate in the preparation of documents required for the registration of marriages, he said.

"I do not believe that marriage laws and other related laws can be learned in two-days time," he added.

Rainbow connected town hall

Yolly Sotelo Fuertes — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 16:35:16 +0000

(Who are we to judge what’s nice and what’s not? What color is beautiful and dignified and baduy? The debate, albeit quietly and I heard, through texting and emails and blogs, continues about the colorful municipal hall of Lingayen)

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – What’s in a color? Much, especially when it involves the municipal hall of the capital town of the province.

Late last year, the façade of the municipal hall of this historic town was reconstructed with a Roman design and painted with bright colors like yellow, green and blue and gold.

Mayor Ernesto "Jonas" Castañeda said the colors were decided upon by the engineers and architects who worked on the reconstruction of the façade and extension of the municipal building.

He said many residents, including balikbayans, were impressed with results – a building with "happy" colors and which enlivened the town center. "I have not heard of any negative comments about the design and the color," he said.

But some residents are not impressed. The officers of Pangasinan Heritage Society, Inc. who are also from the town, went to his office and gave him a letter asking him to "evaluate the impact of the color scheme of the municipal building to the overall ambience of the town center."

PHS President Arabela Arcinue said the design of the government building in the town must be preserved and synchronized under "one period" as she urged the mayor to consult expert urban planners/ architects who can help towards that goal.

The Pangasinan Artist Group has also discussed among themselves the townhall’s design and color scheme. "It should have been painted with a color befitting a historical government building," said its president, Patrick Bacolor.

Arcinue pointed out that the muncipal hall was beside the Casa Real, the province’s first Capitol which was built in 1840s and which has been declared a national historical landmark by the National Historical Institute.

Castañeda countered that those who planned the building were experts themselves, and that they based the color scheme on the modern trend of painting buildings with lively colors.

He said in other countries and even in the country, the trend is towards bright colors. "Even some municipal buildings in the province are painted brightly."

The mayor also said that the municipal hall was not historical, but "a modern one built only in the 1960s."

"It’s not a Spanish design. It’s not historical. We only put extensions then improved the façade. Besides, is coloring the town hall with bright colors a crime? ," he added.

He also said he was aware that the the neighbor building Casa Real was a historical building which needs restoration and that he was willing to help the PHS to have it restored. The Casa Real is owned by the provincial government.

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – What’s in a color? Much, especially when it involves the municipal hall of the capital town of the province.

Talong recipes, anyone?

Yolly Sotelo Fuertes — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:57:11 +0000

(When I get the time, I will post the different recipes concocted by Villasis people, most of them women, with eggplant as the main ingredient. I tasted some of them during the cookfest and they were really delicious. The winning piece is a little difficult, or maybe time consuming, to prepare. But my friend Vir Maganes who is from Villasis, found it really worth the P5,000 cash prize. I asked the winners what they will do with the money and they said they will give it to the barangay council. I asked, “But why? It’s your money, you should do what you want with it. Maybe start a livelihood project… They just smiled and said they will think about it. Its not much but… Hurray to the women of Villasis!)
VILLASIS, Pangasinan — This agricultural town in eastern Pangasinan is set to prove that eggplant — its main agricultural product — can be cooked in a hundred ways.
During the cookfest during the Third Talong Festival on Friday, 22 recipes with eggplant as the main ingredient were prepared and cooked by representatives of the barangays. This brought to 65 the number of original recipes featuring the versatile vegetable prepared by the townsfolk, said Libradita Abrenica, the town's first lady and chair of the town fiesta's executive committee.
Abrenica said during the first and second runs of the annual festivals, there were 21 and 22 recipes entered in the cookfest. When the number of recipes reach 100, the local government will publish a recipe book, she said.
"The entries get better yearly.Before, the entries were simple ones. But they are getting much versatile and there are unusual entries, the presentation are much better, too," Abrenica said.
The first prize was bagged by Puelay village with its recipe Hidden Talong Mix. Estela Bautista, the group's leader, explained that she got inspiration from butsi, those small rice cakes with fillings like mongo and ube.
She said quail eggs are hard-boiled, halved, and the yolks are removed. The eggs are then filled with mashed eggplant (broiled), then coated with a mixture of mashed eggplant, shredded carrots, chopped hotdogs and pork, spices and seasonings. Then these are rolled in uncooked glutinous rice and coconut milk then steamed for 45 minutes. The Hidden Talong is paired with nutririous malungay juice, a concoction of boiled malungay leaves, honey and calamanci juice.
The second price was the Eggplant Con Yugghort (Camarutan), while the third was a tie betwen Eggplant Pizza (Zone I) and Nazi Guring con Talong (San Nicolas).
The winners got P5,000, P3,000 and P2,000 prices, respectively.
The other entries are also gastronomical delights — talong bopis, eggplant nugget, pinausukang talong, eggplant salad, eggplant sarciado, talong rings, fritters, fried eggplant with rolling bread crumbs, siomai na talong, ratata, salad.
"These recipes prove that eggplant is really a versatile vegetable and I am proud that the residents are able to come up with different recipes adopted to local taste," Abrenica said.
And if there's one thing that parents with picky kids should be happy about, these are recipes with vegetables but which children will surely love to eat.
Four of the five judges were Villasis residents already living abroad, including Fe Prado Nardini who, together with her husband Giulinao, operates a restaurant called Ristorante Pizzeria "I Nardini" in Toscani, Italy.
Nardini said she was bringing some recipes to Italy and teach her husband how to prepare them.
"Our restaurant faces a camping area where different nationalities like Dutch, English and German, come. They are experimental when it comes to food, and I hope to introduce the eggplant recipes to them," she said.

Houses for Sta. Barbara's poor

Yolly Sotelo Fuertes — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:40:40 +0000

( when Sta. Barbara Mayor Rey Velasco, one of the really committed mayors hereabouts, announced that the rural poor of Sta. Barbara will be the beneficiaries of the housing project of the local government and the Gawad Kalinga, he said a teacher and a policeman (or two teachers and two policemen) were included in the list. It's really sad that a teacher, a guardian of the hope of the fatherland, and a policeman, a guardian (supposedly) of the peace and order, are included in the list. Well, its nice that they were included… but to know that they are part of the rural poor, it breaks the heart).

STA. BARBARA, Pangasinan — The Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation has trained its eyes on local government units as partners in the implementation of its housing project as the LGUs have high rating and outstanding leaders, GK national president Tony Meloto said.

Meloto, who signed on Tuesday a memorandum of agreement with Mayor Reynaldo Velasco for the establishment of a GK community with 88 houses in barangay Leet here, said with LGUs as partners, many private corporation will surely assist in the project.

But while the GK has built communities in the country, there was "no good model yet in LGUs as there was no LGU which committed as many mayors are afraid of this challenge.".

"If you invest, we will bring counterpart investments. There are many Filipinos abroad, not necessarily Pangasinenses, who love our country and we will show them Pangasinan's potential by providing a model community which can be copied by other LGUs," he said.

Velasco said a one-hectare area has been prepared for the houses and an adjoining two-hectare lot is also ready for the beneficiaries' livelihood projects like communal vegetable garden and hog raising. The barangay road has been concreted and a concrete bridge has been constructed in place of the hanging bridge that connects Leet village to a nearby village.

Each beneficiary will get a 100-meter lot with 40 square-meter, one-bedroom unit.

The mayor has tapped relatives and friends and local businessmen for the initial funding of the project. "We have done the preliminary efforts so the visitors will know that we are determined to make the project something to be proud of."

The first unit will be ready in a month time and will serve as a model for the investors.

Meloto, who said he was coming back after a month, challenged the officials: "Give me bragging rights on the standard community that we will put up. Give me First World standards and even Bill Gates will go down on his knees to help us."

He said while it will house poor people, the GK community here should have first class subdivision standards, with landscaped yards and colorful paints that do not peel off.

Meloto gave these rules: The houses should have no clotheslines in front yard where tropical flowers are planted, there should be at least five kinds of vegetables including malungay, planted at the back, and no tricycles should be parked along the roads and in front of houses. Drinking alcoholic beverages and cockfighting are prohibited inside the community, he said.

These aspects of "social engineering" will raise the standards by which the residents will look at themselves and bring back their respect for themselves, he said.

Meloto also said that the residents will sign a contract they they can't sell or have their houses rented out.

"It's goodbye Bahay Kubo kahit munti. We will put up First World houses and raise the poor residents' standard of living," he said.

He pointed out the Pangasinenses are the biggest Filipino group in Canada and that they are willing to help in putting up GK communities in the province.

"Dati. walang partnership with LGUs. Ang Couples for Christ ang nagpapadugo pero naghemorrage (Before there was no partnership with the LGUs. It was the Couples for Christ which did all the work but was bled dry).Not one organization can rebuild the country and last year, Couples for Christ (which tried to separate from GK) was humbled. Everyone should should together," Meloto said.

He also said that there are many non-government organizations in the country but many Filipinos are still poor because the NGOs do not know how to work together.

"Some are focused on health, some on education. But if we don't work together, wala din (nothing will happen)," he said.

A New Year Story

Yolly Sotelo Fuertes — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:33:46 +0000

A New Year Story

(This story was written on January 1, 2008. It was for a national daily. But then, it was not published, so I’m posting it here. Yeah, I know it’s late! But there must be a lesson somewhere…)
The Earth shook, large firecrackers exploded with roaring noises, thick smoke rose into the air.

It’s 12 o’clock in the afternoon of January 1, the time and day Pogo Grande village in Dagupan City welcomes the New Year – perhaps the only village in the county that celebrates new year just as everyone is woozy from the past night’s revelry.
For more than 10 years this village has been holding the activity, said barangay chair George Galvan. It was started during the term of then chair Saturnino Siapno when the residents who manufacture firecrackers wanted to explode their unsold products.
It has grown grander yearly, he said. This year, a total of 75,000 firecrackers were strung together and hung above the street or lined along the road of Centro of Pogo Grande. In the western part of the village called Sagur, another 50,000 firecrackers were also exploded.
The residents started arranging the firecrackers at early as seven o’clock in the morning. The first explosive, a large rebentador, was lit at exactly 12 p.m. For the next 30 minutes, thunderous explosions pierced the air as residents watched from the sidelines, their hands covering their ears.
Then intermittent explosions followed until at around one o’clock, the village was silent and the roads littered with papers from firecrackers.
The barangay officials are ready for any eventually, Galvan said. Every year, a fire truck and an ambulance are on stand by to response to accidents.
“But there have been no untoward incident that occurred in the past 10 years,” Galvan said.
After the explosions have died, the residents retire to their houses, ready to partake of left over food from the Noche Buena the night before.
A resident said the residents also welcome New Year at 12 in the morning of January 1 with firecrackers and pyrotechnics. But they reserve the biggest explosives for the following day.
Many residents contribute to make the celebration bigger, former barangay village head Jojo Ramos said. Some balikbayans give money to buy firecrakers.
The manufacturers also make sure that the firecrackers used are safe, he said.
The celebration has become an attraction of sorts for the village as many residents from other barangays and other towns come to watch as firecrackers boom along the roads.
An observer said it was “very peculiar” to celebrate with deafening noises and environmentally-unfriendly materials, something that would need a social scientist to explain.

Why marriages fail, Bishop says

Yolly Sotelo Fuertes — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 06:42:03 +0000

He was never married and he never officiated a marriage. But Archbishop Oscar Cruz have seen so many broken marriages that he knows the reasons why husband and wife wanted the knot untied.

And the reasons could range from serious case of impotence to petty quarrels over crumpled pillowcases. It does not matter how long a couple had been married before they want out – which is from one week to years. It does not matter, too, if the couple belonged to the moneyed class or if the husband is a jeepney driver and the wife, a laundrywoman. The number of men and women filing for annulment is also about the same.

“Priestly celibacy is much easier than to live a conjugal life,” Cruz revealed..

He knows from where he speaks, being the judicial vicar of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines’ National Tribunal of Appeals, and before that, as the head of the Manila Tribunal of First Instance, the Church’s “courts” hearing annulment cases.

“I have entered into the lives of many couples who have many and big difficulties in the marriage commitment to the extent that they wanted to part ways. And if they do, no one really is happy, not the man nor the woman, much less the children,” he said.

On the other hand, a priest may also fail in priesthood that he leaves it.

“But the pain is not as much as when a espouse leaves the other and the children. I have yet to see someone who failed in marriage and live happily thereafter. A failure in marriage could not be compensated by any success outside of the family. In short, while the failure in priesthood is not fun, it is much worse to fail in marriage,” he disclosed..

The reason, he said, is simple. “When a priest fails, he fails alone. When a espouse fails, many suffer with him.”

From the records of the tribunals, Cruz said a good number of marriages fail in Metro Manila and other urban areas where there fidelity is lax, maybe because there are so many places where men succumb to temptations of the flesh and other vices like drugs and gambling.

On the other hand, marriages seem to be strong in rural areas because of strong cultural and traditional practices.

Emotional and mental disturbances are other factors. Cruz explained that a man whose family was dysfunctional (eg. his father is violent) would likely be violent towards his wife. “Not all of course, becomes violent,” he pointed out.

The other reasons are unwillingness to enter the marriage (such as when a girl is forced into marriage by her parents) and being unfit to marry (gender disorder, impotence).

“We also found out that both early and late marriages are by and large not successful. Teenage marriages fail because they are psychologically immature, academically unprepared and financially dependent. Late marriages (aged 30 above) can also fail because at that age, his or her ways are already set and they feel they have nothing to learn about the marriage,” Cruz explained.

More men are infidels than women, he noted.

The prelate revealed that the most painful he experienced from being a vicar was when he talks with the couple’s children. “They are the most affected. They all want their parents to stay together. They do not want violence in the home, but I have yet to hear a child who want a parent to leave.”

Cruz advised those contemplating marriage to “listen to their elders on what they have to say about a prospective mate.”

“The elders seem to have an ‘antennae’ about who their children are marrying. Those whose marriages failed claimed their parents never liked their choices in the first place.”

And do not say that you are old enough to choose, Cruz noted. He told of a couple, both in their 50s, who married against the bride’s parents advice. The man, a lawyer, was a widower with grown up children while the woman was never married.

They married, went to the United States for their honeymoon, came back a week later and filed for a nullity of their marriage. “While in the hotel, the bride saw that the pillowcases were crumpled and asked her husband to have them changed. She never used crumpled pillowcases, she said. The husband refused, saying he can sleep even without pillow cases.”

No, their petition was not granted, Cruz said.

Don’t think that the Church readily grants petitions to set couples free. The Tribunal First Instance where petitions are lodged, does its best to save the marriage. Cruz noted that for every 100 cases presented, 90 are usually granted canonical separation when the couples cannot remarry. Only 10 cases prosper or sent to the National Tribunal of Appeals for declaration of nullity. There are about 150 cases reviewed yearly by the Tribunal, which may or may grant nullity of the marriage.

If denied but the couple really wanted out, the petition could be sent to Tribunal of Third Instance in Rome.

“It’s not easy. And I know many couples just separate,” Cruz admitted.

Kimi closes beer houses

Yolly Sotelo Fuertes — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 06:36:33 +0000

Sison Mayor Kimi Cojuangco permanently closed down last week eight beer houses which were operating near two schools, and temporarily closed the others until they complied with the local government’s “strict health requirements.”

Cojuangco said the town had gotten a bad image for so long because of its seedy joints that are fronts for prostitution, and said it was time that “we cleaned up the image of the town.”

“The residents themselves clamored for the closure of the beer houses, and during a public hearing, they brought the issue up,” she said, noting that the bar owners and the bar workers were not locals but from other provinces.

There were 15 beer houses along the highways of Sison, eight of them within the 200 square radius of the Asan Sur National High School and Asan Sur Elementary School.

“We immediately closed them because it is against the law to operate bars near schools,” she said.

She issued strict health requirements for bar operations, such as certifications that the bar workers are free of sexually-transmitted diseases, including Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome.

Another requirement is the authenticated original birth certificate as “we know that most of the girls who work in bars are underaged.” But she said she did not know how many girls work in the bars because “they (owners) hide them from us.”

. Only one bar was able to complete the requirements and was allowed to operate, while the others are temporarily closed.

“I’m making it difficult for them. If they want to stay, they can stay but they have to follow the requirements,” Cojuangco said.

She added that many “clients” of the bars have been found positive of sexually-transmitted diseases, and “we do not want more to get sick.”

Sison is the location of the Northern Cement Corporation and truck buyers waiting for their supply are the usual clients of the “Paldit bars” known as such because they are located in that barangay.

fish cages

Yolly Sotelo Fuertes — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 08:50:16 +0000

Can fish cage operations be economically-viable yet environmentally-friendly and free from fishkills?

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in the Ilocos Region has established mariculture zone projects (MZP) in Sto. Tomas and Rosario in La Union province which will implement strict measures to achieve such visions.

BFAR Regional Director Nestor Domenden said the agency is the co-proponent of the projects along with the towns’ local government units, “thus the BFAR has the authority to implement the fishery policies and guidelines.”

He explained that in other coastal towns like Bolinao, Anda and Sual in Pangasinan, aquaculture operations are managed by the local government units with the BFAR only giving policies and directions.

“In the MZPs, the BFAR will be fined if there are violations of the Environmental Compliance Certificate issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to the projects. Thus, we will strictly monitor the fishery operations there,” Domenden said.

Rosario Segundina Gaelan, chair of the MZP committee, explained that a mariculture zone is an area in the sea and adjacent land from 100-400 hectares or more, with a communal, storm-resistant morning.

The area is subdivided into individual farm lots for fish cage operations, other marine culture techniques and land-based agriculture, and has infrastructure support facilities, communal fishing ground and navigational lanes.

The MZP follows the industrial estate concept with all concerns addressed, such as infrastructure, capability building, production, marketing and other ancillary industries or additional livelihood like feed suppliers and fingeling suppliers.

Gaerlan said investors who will put fish cages in the MZP and the caretakers will have to undergo a traiing on fish cage management, aquaculture technologies, environmental monitoring and coastal resource management seminars.

The BFAR on the other hand, will extend technical assistance on feeding and culture management and water quality and disease monitoring. “We have studied the water flow in the area and the cages will be arranged in such a way that water flow to the cages will not be hampered,” she explained.

She said while is a mininal rental of the area, the investors are safe because the MPZs are provided with security by the LGU, Bfar and the military.
The MPZs are divided into areas where small, medium and large investors can put their cages. There will also be demonstration areas in both projects.

Its not only bangus (milkfish) that can be cultured in the MPZs. The BFAR recommends high value species like siganid, caranx, seargeant fish, grouper (lapu-lapu), seabass, pomfret (pampano), saline tilapia and red snapper (maya maya). Fishcage operators may also culture crustaceans like lobsters, king crabs, sea urchins, and seaweeds; and shellfish like pearl oyster, oysters, mussels and abalone.

But there is a limit to the number of cages that an investor can put up in the MPZ. “Each investor can put only a maximum of six cages there,” Gaerlan said.