Text and videos by Daniel Abunales, VERA Files

Cagayan de Oro City--Come April, blackboards are clean, desks are well-arranged, classrooms are left empty. But not in a school in Balulang, a village some 7 kms away that is still reeling from a terrible tragedy.

For five full days in April, the sound of drumbeats and guitar strums filled the air, and children honing their acting skills were a sight to behold. At the school’s covered court, a group played with soil to create art pieces.

In one classroom, children as young as 8 years old created characters for a storybook they were making. Another group keenly observed different subjects, examining it from various angles before clicking their still cameras. In one corner, young directors and cameramen shot their first film.

Behind these scenes is the Sinag 2 Creative Expressions Camp (Sinag), an art workshop designed for the young survivors of typhoon Sendong.

Photography by Joseph Gali, a 9-year-old who participated in the workshops of Kids for Peace Foundation Inc.Over 80 students aged six to 16 years old from Barangay Balulang participated

Valenzuela lives up to its label as ‘Plastic City.’

Although 11 of 17 cities in Metro Manila have already imposed a ban on the use of plastics, Valenzuela City still stands firm on refusing to follow their lead.

There will still be no plastic ban in Valenzuela, which has plastic manufacturing as “its trademark.”

The local government is under the leadership of Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian--- the son of plastics king William Gatchalian. The Gatchalian family owns the 60-hectare “Plastic City” estate in Valenzuela.

While a plastic ban seems to be out of the question, there have been initial efforts to regulate the use of plastic sando bags in the city.

In 2011, Sangguniang Kabataan Valenzuela City Federation president Cristina Marie Feliciano and Councilor Marlon Alejandrino filed an ordinance that seeks to prohibit the use of plastic carry-out bags in all establishments three days a week– on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The ordinance, which remains

Commentary

Modern-day Pieta. Not an unusual site in Metro Manila's sidewalks and underpasses.

By Ellen Tordesillas

President Aquino is discrediting the report of his own government agency- National Statistical Coordination Board which says the much-vaunted impressive economic growth has not trickled down to the teeming poor in the country.

The NSDB official release said: “Poverty incidence among population was estimated at 27.9 percent during the first semester of 2012. Comparing this with the 2006 and 2009 first semester figures estimated at 28.8 percent and 28.6 percent, respectively, poverty remained unchanged as the computed differences are not statistically significant.”

In simpler terms, life for the Filipino poorer has not improved in the past six years.

Aquino must have been so furious that government figures don’t jibe with the upbeat assessments of global think tanks and rating agencies about Philippine economy posting impressive growth that he bumped off from his Brunei delegation Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.

Speaking on the sidelines of

By Norman Sison, VERA Files
Photos by Carla Sison

If you’re traveling 90 kilometers just for lunch, there’s only one thing that should occupy your mind especially if you’re on an empty stomach: the food had better be really good to make it worth your time.

That’s aside from the one-hour drive going there and back, for it’s more than just a lunch — it’s a three-hour food fiesta. Which brings up another concern: how much can one gulp down in three hours without bursting or suffocating to death?

Bale DutungUnlike most restaurants, going to Bale Dutung in Angeles City, Pampanga province, requires one bit of preparation. Thou shalt wear pants or skirts that can be loosened. Seriously.

A group of 14 foodies arrives at noon, right on time. After a welcome drink of water to drive away the summer heat, a receptionist asks: “Would you like to begin now?”

It all starts to sink in. No, this isn’t a lunch. It’s a multi-course obstacle course. Lian Chua, who organized the food trip, is in thought: Why will it

The superb production design in Mana.

By Pablo A. Tariman, VERA Files

There is something unusual as siblings reunite in what looks like their ancestral home in Negros.

The matriarch (played by Fides Cuyugan Asencio) is heard wailing and coughing all over the place and she sounds like she is on her death throes.

The siblings (Cherie Gil, Mark Gil, Epi Quizon, Tetchie Agbayani, Jaime Fabregas and Ricky Davao) have disquieting conversation about something they should now take up with the matriarch – this urgent thing about who is going to inherit what.

Gil is bent on taking up the subject, Fabregas says this is not the time for that. The politician (Ricky Davao) – who is in the middle of a political campaign – is also for settling the issue once and for all.

Fabregas insists that the matter of the nature of the matriarch’s illness should be kept from the public – especially from the inquisitive press.

Cherie Gil, Mark Gil, Jimmy Fabregas as the siblings in ManaAnd no outsider from the family should set foot in that house.

Watching Gabby Fernandez’s “Mana” was like watching a 50s

Commentary

Sixto Brillantes

By Ellen Tordesillas

Comelec  Chairman Sixto Brillantes has  withdrawn his threat to resign less than a month before the May 13 national elections but he is still in a  retirement state of mind.

He told reporters that   he might complete his term  up to 2015 so he can get his retirement pay in full.

The bonus would be the  ambassadorial job in one of the countries in Eastern Europe, which he fervently desires.

Brillantes told reporters last week that he will ask President Aquino to name him ambassador to a country in Eastern Europe once he leaves the election body.

“I will wait to see the President so that I can ask him … My plan was to ask him, ‘Could you give me an ambassadorship instead so that I can rest. It’s so tiring in the Comelec,’” he was quoted by media to have said.

Brillantes named countries that he was eyeing: “Romania, Slovakia, or Hungary … where no Filipinos go.”

Two things are very wrong with what Brillantes wants:

One, the Commission on Election is a

By Darlene Cay and Vince Nonato, VERA Files

A clean election is on many people’s wish-list.

To environmentalists, this means less trash or even zero waste during the campaign and polling day itself. It also means using campaign materials that are less harmful to Mother Nature.

Campaign tarpaulins when burnt cause air pollution. Photo from ECOWASTE COALITION.

With three weeks to go before elections, campaigning is heating up around the country and the ubiquitous campaign posters, flyers, stickers, tarpaulins and other materials are seen almost everywhere – on walls, electric posts, fences, cars and even trees.

They’re not just an eyesore, but cleaning up the litter after the elections would be a nightmare for those who will be left to do the job – janitors, street sweepers and other barangay workers.

Then finally, where will the garbage go?

This is a concern foremost in the minds of green activists and concerned government officials who are intensifying their campaign for a greener election, calling on the candidates themselves to clean up their act.

The EcoWaste

Commentary

China aircraft carrier

By Ellen Tordesillas

China’s Defense White Paper released last Tuesday is an interesting read in the light of the current tension in the Korean Peninsula and its territorial dispute with the Philippines.

The White Paper titled, “The Diversified Employment of China’s Armed Forces” was released as US State Secretary John Kerry completes his Asia visit (South Korea and Japan) re-affirming the “rebalancing” policy initiated by the Obama administration in its first term.

Under the rebalancing or “pivot” policy, the US shifts its military power and presence from the Middle East war zone to the Asia Pacific region.

Apparently, the shift in the America’s focus to Asia is a matter of concern to Beijing. “The Asia-Pacific region has become an increasingly significant stage for world economic development and strategic interaction between major powers. The US is adjusting its Asia-Pacific security strategy, and the regional landscape is undergoing profound changes,”the White paper