Dear John,

you know what? i wanna look like Will Blakelle and have my own “Ronnie” someday.

To be honest, I don’t want my stories to run like yours John, I want it to be like

Noah Calhoun, loving his “Allie” ‘til the end of time. Well, I want that love to be faithful,

as faithful as Landon Carter to his “Jamie”. But it doesn’t mean I don’t wanna be like you,

I need your courage. I will face life’s challenges, over come trials…

and love in the right time, like how you’ve done it for “Savannah”.

Hope I will be the best man for her. I don’t know her yet, but I’m sure… She will come.

‘til here.

Reymond -A Nicholas’ fan.

Malena,

Save nothing for me

but your sweet silence

Oh Malena,

As I paddle

my bicycle

to your way

I hear

your heart

calling

me.

As I climb

the tree to

see

your

fullness,

your dance steps

allure me.

As your melodies

grew louder

you harden

the softness

in me.

Save nothing

but your silence

Malena.

As I play

that song

before I sleep,

No way to

stop but

help my self

through

my hands,

thinking of

you

on my bed.

As we move

like waves

on my

dreams

don’t mind

the words of papa.

He wants you,

he just

envy me.

So hold that silence

and keep it for me.

As these

loco men

draw near

to you,

like crazy idiots.

like insane dogs.

As they beg

to enter

on your

folds..

and they

got you.

Took advantage

of my young

age, they

stole you.

But save

that silence

My beloved.

As I want

to defend

you

from

women’s

tongues

full of

gossips.

As I want

to save

you

from men’s

eyes

filled

of malice.

But I’ve done

nothing

when they

beleaguered

you.

So please

if you’re angry

save nothing

for me…

Save nothing but

my love in silence.

save that

sweetest

silence.

Because

That’s the only thing

I could have

in this pressing

world.

Save it.

Oh, Save it.

Love,

Renato

In this room

where we lied,

touched

each hidden lines

and stroked

many smiles,

I recall

the voice

of your heart

genuinely speaking

next to mine;

told me

no deception

nothing but precision

of feelings

You kept inside.

In those moments

You called love,

a glimpse

of bitter truth

was found.

With the words

You’ve spoken

to my ears widely

open, a name

came into

My mind,

completely disposed

the bodily

pleasures I was

sensing behind.

Your heart

told me

You still love him.

It’s true

no wonder why

You left me

alone

in this room

where every little

actions were faked

by Your beam,

by Your blissful move

and by Your tender touch.

I was bogusly gratified

In this room

Where We lied

Where You lied.

Wings of a butterfly
covered my eyes
So gentle, so sweet
so smooth like a dye.

Reasons are not here
to answer me why;
why those gentle wings
made me smile,
made me cry.

TO MANY, the images and letterings on the sidewalk walls of Matina Town Square down to NCC Mall of Maa may seem nothing more than vandalism; filth and sabotage.

For the one who left those marks, these are not mere defacement of an existing structure but an expression of himself and his message for us.

Those marks, which are considered as street arts, are evolving custom of an ancient art called graffiti. The earliest forms of graffiti date back to 30,000 BCE in the form of prehistoric cave paintings and pictographs using tools such as animal bones and pigments. No wonder why anthropologists made use of graffiti as their basis in studying the lives of ancient people. Other than that, this prehistoric art evolved in later centuries and played significant roles.

The modern graffiti of cicra 1960s carried thought-provoking lines, like, “The progress of the country depends upon what you’re holding now!” found in various male rest rooms.

Today, the principle of expressing one’s self, which is the core reason why these anonymous individuals are marking on public walls, has not changed. For graffiti artists, this activity is a lifestyle.

“Whenever we go bomb (writing on public walls), we could feel this so called satisfaction. Marking city wall’s personally satisfies my urge to leave marks. It is my way of expressing my emotions, myself,” said Maze of DCK (not his real name), a self-professed graffiti artist in the city.

Others have their own purpose why they paint or draw on streets. Some say it’s a way of gaining popularity since their works steal attention, though they may not be identified, at least they can proudly say to themselves that they own those markings.

More than that, graffiti builds their identity and strengthens their self-esteem. Maze stressed that the street walls are the places where they could freely voice out their sentiments. Most especially regarding social issues and politically inclined matters.

“This is the best way we could tell the government of what we think of them, of how we are dismayed of their rotten actions,” he said.

Graffiti as an art form goes beyond personal expression, it even sends a message, it’s a form of activism. But it is undeniable that no matter how they explain themselves, there are a lot of Dabawenyos who don’t like to see their so-called masterpieces. This strong opposition they disregard as they continue to strike a chord that sooner or later the public will accept their art.

“I consider graffiti as an art. It’s usually bound with random bursts of creativity. Hence, it doesn’t really follow a unifying concept. But for the artist, there’s always a deeper meaning to it,” said Jamira Martinez, a student who is fond of graffiti.

A Threat

The local government considered the activity as a threat for the city’s image as clean and reputable. The painted words, some of them indecent, make the “artists” be labeled as scums.

Their graffiti not only destroys the visual appearance of the community but also its spirit.

“I don’t know why they use vulgar words. Those are highly improper. Everyone could read those especially the children,” Cyril Almanzor, a concerned citizen, commented.

Legal Issues

Our city has an existing ordinance against vandalism. According to the law, graffiti is a form of defacement.

“Personally, I find those graffiti beautiful, however the act of writing on public walls without permission is a direct violation of the ordinance,” said Ian Garcia of Davao City Tourism Office.

He even added that they couldn’t promote illegal vandalism in the city. “Its beauty should not be the sole basis for promotion; they could be pleasing but there are exceptions.”

In other provinces of the country, graffiti is starting to win acceptance. Like in Cebu, it has been considered as a tourist attraction. Various creative markings and paintings on street walls are highly appreciated such of UBEC Crew’s works. They are professional graffiti artists who are hired to put life on the dull walls of Cebu.

The Dilemmas

Not here. There’s a law and that’s why the graffiti artists proliferate.

“The notion that it is illegal adds thrill and fun. Though legalizing graffiti could be okay, but we rather choose not to legalize it. The marking of places have their own stories. There, we find deeper meanings of our pieces,” Maze said.

“We will never stop. No one could stop us. This is more than an expression as I said,” Maze added.

It will be very difficult to judge and even mitigate the conflicting principles and values being protected between the Dabawenyo graffiti artists and of our city government. But we are human beings entitled of to chosen ways of expression. The performing artist does it on stage; the stars do it in front of the rolling camera; the journalist does it in his column, while a graffiti artist does it on our city streets. Except that, there’s the law.

photo source: http://pixelsdavao.wordpress.com

As you step on the land of Barangay Datu Salubay of Marilog District in Davao City where the hard working peasants live, you will surely witness the wide ranges of abundantly green fields; you will somehow smell the future excitement of a big harvest and you will slightly hear the farmers’ anticipation to gather the crops and turn them to gold. But beyond this bountiful scenery, there’s a hidden irony. The community of Datu Salubay is besieged of hunger as its number one problem.

Brgy. Capt. Merilyn Wayan unveiled the ironic reality of their green community in an interview with the Mass Communication students from the Ateneo de Davao University last month. Mrs. Wayan has shared the issue on poverty, which is a major struggle of the inhabitants within their barangay.

“It is true that we are delivering goods to the city market, as what you can see, we are an agricultural area. But it is also a reality that many of the residents here does experience starvation” said Mrs. Wayan.

The people’s tradition of prioritizing economic exchange while sacrificing their stomachs is the main reason why hunger is evident. The money they got from selling crops in the city markets directly goes to the payments of their credits. Leaving them without a single of centavo, or if there is, it is not enough for the family to buy foods.

“They can eat camote and the like, but still they choose to sell everything. They store nothing for them to eat” a barangay kagawad stressed.

Beside from the local residents’ tradition, the family’s number has also an impact why they experience poverty.

According to Mrs. Wayan, the citizens are not aware of family planning. They don’t think of limiting the numbers of their kids. They assume that when their children will grow, they will have added workers to till the soil and plant crops in their lands.

 Since the families don’t eat well, another problem co-exists. Malnutrition has been a glaring caused of hunger. The kids are the most vulnerable sector who is greatly affected by the crisis.

“We always ask help from the City Office in solving this problem. We perform immunization, feeding programs and the like to counter the crisis” said Mrs. Wayan.

Today, the small government of Datu Salubay is coordinating with Davao City Office’s project in strengthening the advocacy to correct the wrong practices and eradicate the pressing issues of their community.

“The local government is supportive. All we’re hoping for is the cooperation of our people.” Mrs. Wayan added.

Today, their small government unit is working hand on hand to attain their community goals. So that, sooner or later, there’ll be no more irony of Datu Salubay’s green pastures.

SKATEBOARDING is a popular sport in the West. It ranks 3rd as the most well-liked game for the teenagers after football and basketball. It even gained its popularity all over the world because of its simple anatomy where it only requires yourself and the skateboard. No wonder why we have several young Dabawenyos in our city hooked at it.

“Anyone could actually try skateboarding,” said Troy Bascon, a college student who is inclined in skateboarding. He viewed this sport as an activity where it doesn’t discriminate anyone.

you’re girl or boy, fat or thin, small or tall, young or old–everybody is welcome to try and enjoy it as long as they are able.

This sport is also a good way of self-expression.

“The tricks and moves a skater does are actually reflections of his personality. The gracefulness of how you move your feet and scroll with your skateboard is not only an art to be considered but also a mirror of a skater’s attitude,” Troy added.

However, despite of the positive effects skateboarding could bring to individuals, the eyes of the spectators aren’t that impressed with the so called “benefits”. Many Dabawenyos look at skateboarding as a dangerous activity in which young people should be discouraged to get into.

Worst, they are tagged as gangsters or bad guys. They are stereotyped as people who are possible snatchers around.

They think that it is a sport which is prone to accident. It could break your bones and give you wounds. But skaters believed that the dangers which you could possibly encounter are not exclusive to skateboarding only. They usually perceive that whatever sports you are in, you could probably get wounds, injuries and the like as long as you’re not careful. These possibilities are evident also in basketball and other prominent games.

“The lack of knowledge about this sport and about the skateboarders passion why they do (skating) are reasons why people tend to give judgment,” said Lee Roy Guzman, a skateboard competition organizer and a skater for 11 years.

Instead, this sport could give important values like discipline, camaraderie and a sort of escape from gangsterisms. It is actually considered as a leeway for a healthy lifestyle.

“We really want to eradicate the misconceptions around us,” Lee Roy stressed.

One of the biggest concerns of Dabawenyo skaters are the area where they could enhance their ability. They have nothing but city streets and parks like in Magsaysay where they could perform skateboarding.

For several years, they make of their own rails and ramp. They get nothing from anybody except from themselves.

“We did [ask] for support from the city government yet nothing happened,” Lee Roy said.

Skateboarders think that because they are in minority, they aren’t given premium. They are often neglected and misunderstood.

A city ordinance was passed banning skateboarders to go on streets. Since city law-enforcers want to keep order on our highways and prevent the occurrences of street accidents where skaters could have possible involvements.

That is why the small community of skateboarders wishes to ask the city government one thing “a skate park”. They want to have a place to practice and improve their craft. Since the ordinance doesn’t want them to be on streets then better provide them a venue where they could continue to thrive on their skating abilities.

Besides, the sport could be a room for tourism. Just like what is happening now in Manila and Cebu, skateboard competitions are considered as tourists’ attraction.

Like any other unnoticed good athletes, skaters want to seek governments’ guidance. They think that if not now, maybe tomorrow, skateboarders’ community in Davao will bring pride not only to our city but even to our country.

Like how our boxers and football team rings across the board; they were called goats and like skateboarders, they were often neglected. But when they have started to prove themselves globally, the country is now cheering for their achievement.

Let us hope that our government mainly the LGUs won’t wait for an international recognition before they’ll encourage our potential citizens to do better on their respective fields. The best thing to do is to support and acknowledge all sports within the city.

Who knows, the next world renowned skater will be a Dabawenyo.

 Photo source: Davao Skateboarding FB Account

It is said to believe that an average Filipino citizen doesn’t go to a doctor directly whenever he experiences something bad in his body. He must be very sick before he goes to the expense of calling a licensed doctor to give him scientific remedies. He considers these medical doctors in the hospitals as a form of last resort. Maybe because, the concept of going to hospitals in the Philippines is a costly act that would force these poor citizens to sacrifice a lot just to pay long lists of hospital bills. That is why traditional practices like faith healing remains popular in the country.

The so called faith healing which refers to notably overt and ritualistic practices of communal prayer and gestures is the most accessible means of attaining cure in the country. Aside from the fact that it is cheaper, it has been said to be proven throughout the centuries.

Several “mananambal” or “albularyo” (faith healers in English) are believed to be gifted people chosen by gods. They are said to have super powers that can cast out bad spirits causing diseases and bring cure to various ailments.

Most of the doctors don’t believe with faith healers idea of pointing out bad spirits as the main cause of body disorders and illnesses. Since science has its own way of clarifying things out with clear bases and logic.

But according to a faith healer interviewed by Dr. Juan M. Flavier, President of Rural Reconstruction in the Philippines, no one can deny the existence of these spirits which doctors continue to contradict as causes of problems. That is why there are illnesses that doctors can’t cure and these cases are eventually end with albularyos.

Many say that faith healing is a non-problematic procedure of attaining wellness; however cases that had harmed lives of people are being recorded -bringing doubts with their powers of healing.

Like of in Gladstone, Oregon where a teenager’s death was identified a simple problem that could be easily treated however because of the family’s preference to access faith healing instead of scientific remedies, the teenager died.

No wonder why issues on faith healers legitimacy in performing their so called profession is now being questioned by various prosecutors in liberal democracies, which is under debates and discussions.

As of now, the medical world is pushing efforts to put awareness to the people around the globe to shift their preferences if they really value life.

However, in scenario where incapacity of paying medical doctors to be treated is evident and the lack of the government’s support to create cheaper hospitals and provide free welfare for its citizens like in the Philippines, then no one could question the public on why they are still falling in long queues, hoping to acquire cure in the hands of their mananambal or albularyos.