[Here’s a photo taken by my daughter WINCHESKA (aka CHESKA, herself) using her own GOPRO camera while we were touring KYOTO, JAPAN on December 18, 2017. CHESKA is celebrating her birthday on December 28. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHE!]

 

Your HOROSCOPE¹ describes you as STUDIOUS,

You’re described too as MODEST but so GREGARIOUS²;

‘Tis reported also that you’re INVENTIVE and ACCURATE…

You’re SELF-RELIANT and always QUICK to help and DECORATE³!

 

 

You’re INTELLIGENT and so focused on RESULT  —

A LEADER PERSON whose aim is to EXULT;

‘Cause you’re truly LOYAL and eagerly DEPENDABLE…

Professionally and personally, you really are so ABLE!

 

 

You like QUIETUDE and find the woods a place of COMFORT⁴…

You’re GENUINE, LOVING and HONEST to a FAULT;

As a CAPRICORN⁵ person, you’re elegantly AMBITIOUS,

You’re even described as PATIENT and so overly CAUTIOUS!

 

[CHESKA is here photographed by my eldest daughter SHAYNA, in an elegant pose in one of the shops in KYOTO, JAPAN]

 

My daughter CHESKA is a true HARD WORKER,

She is a frequent HABITUE of the DIVISORIA QUARTER⁶;

She has the natural talent of creating ornaments and THINGS,

And she produces them so QUICK from lots of BINGS⁷!

 

 

One time I was swayed to FETCH HER –

From DIVISORIA, as she was thence  a COMMUTER⁸;

At the GATEWAY Station⁹ in cozy CUBAO…

I almost was forced to shout HOW and WOW¹⁰!

 

 

CHESKA was sort of dragging a heap – ‘twas a MOUND¹¹,

Using a leash as though walking a HOUND¹²;

I cannot perceive how she managed to CARRY,

Amidst those throngs of commuters who’re always in a HURRY¹³!

 

 

According to your HEALTH HOROSCOPE¹⁴, you’re a HEALTH NUT;

Thus, you ought to do your EXERCISE ROUTINE…no IFs and no BUT…

Popping those vitamins and eating just RIGHT¹⁵…

That must be the way to drive you out of any BLIGHT¹⁶!

 

 

On this your NATAL DAY, I wish you SUCCESS;

I am sure you’ll attain it as you’re full of PROWESS—

For indeed, any DREAM that’s DREAMT…to be ACHIEVED…

HARD WORK is the ingredient and TRIUMPH will  be FULFILLED!

 

[Group photo taken by my son-in-law VIMI RIVERA in front of the food kiosk on our way to the OSAKA Castle, with CHESKA shown at second from LEFT. Others in the photo are: Alee, Shane, my wife Dang, Tonton and me. ] 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHE!!!!

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

[Legend: 1 – HOROSCOPE – the positive traits of those born on December 28, 1989 can be accessed by encoding at GOOGLE the birth date. Those positive traits could be accessed particularly at TheHoroscope.co via the weblink or URL at https://www.thehoroscope.co/birthday-analyser/December-28-1989-horoscope-and-zodiac-sign-meanings-14616.html

2 – GREGARIOUS – Actually, the descriptive word given at THEHORORSCOPE.CO is “OUTGOING”, well; GREGARIOUS is an apt equivalent.

3 – DECORATE – Cheska seems to have that natural talent for DECORATION as she truly is so creative.

4 – The other website at https://www.sunsigns.org/birthday-28-december-zodiac-sign-capricorn-astrology-dependable/; notes that persons born on December 28, 1989 find comfort in the woods.

5 – Being born on December 28, 1989; Cheska is governed by the ZODIAC sign of the CAPRICORN.

6 – The term QUARTER is used in this BLOG to mean AREA or PLACE.

7 – BINGS mean HEAPS or PILES.

8 – COMMUTER – When Cheska still did not have her MIRAGE Car, she would travel to Divisoria to buy heaps of pieces of clothings/garments/raiments to be used as material for their hiphop dance-costume business via the LRT plying the route from Marikina to C. M. Recto.

9 – The GATEWAY Station is along that line of the LRT plying the Marikina-C.M. Recto route located along Aurora Boulevard within the Araneta Center.

10 – I actually was wondering how Cheska was able to carry that heavy load without any assist from Divisoria to the Gateway-Cubao station. I finally learned however that a friendly soul helped Cheska to bring up the heavy pile of clothing from the street along C.M. Recto after riding a tricycle from Divisoria; up to the LRT station just using the stairs as the escalator was not then working.

11 – MOUND – The pile of clothings/garments/raiments, which Cheska was pulling like a large dog on a leash,  really looked like a mound just not a heap.

12 – HOUND is used in this blog to refer to a DOG.

13 – On a day-to-day basis, passengers commuting via the LRT are customarily going about the LRT station’s premises in HURRY-SCURRY.

14 – SUN SIGNS Horoscope under the website: https://www.sunsigns.org/birthday-28-december-zodiac-sign-capricorn-astrology-dependable/; indicates that those born on December 28, 1989 are generally HEALTH NUTS.

15 – It is said that taking vitamins and eating right is something that comes natural to those born on December 28, 1989; according to SUN SIGNS.

16 –  BLIGHT is used in this BLOG to mean DISEASE.]

 

 

 

 

 [We were told that the reason why the faces of those macaque monkeys are RED is because they are thin-skinned on their faces and the redness is caused by the large number of blood-carrying small capillaries on the monkeys’ faces. Our group photo at LEFT was expertly snapped by one of the caretakers while one macaque monkey was staring at him. ]

 

 

Yong most ENJOYABLE  s’aming Japan TRIP sa KYOTO,

Nang umakyat kami sa Mount Arashiyama¹ nang mag-aalas KUATRO²;

Ang sabi nung TELLER sa TICKET COUNTER,

Dapat naming bilisan ang akyat,  kailangan ay FASTER³!

 

 

  

Magsasara na daw kasi ang PARK⁴,

Yaon ang PARK ng mga UNGGOY na MACAQUE^4a (pronounced as “mahcack”);

Kaya dali-dali kaming hirap na hirap na UMAKYAT…

Parang hingal kabayong patpatin ako, dahil  ako’y halos PUYAT⁵!

 

  

Pero nang makita namin ang mga UNGGOY,

Talagang nakakatuwa at wala ng PALIGOY-LIGOY;

Syempre panay ang “photo-taking”, “staring” at “SIGHTING”,

Sari-sari kasi ang TRIP^5a ng mga Hapones na MATSING!

 

 

 

 

 May UNGGOY na animo’y suplado at sa mga puno LUMALABOY,

Meron namang sa isang tabi kinukutuhan ng MONKEY HOUSEBOY⁶;

Meron ding sa FEEDING HOUSE halos naka-DESTINO⁷,

Yun ang mga matatakaw na panay kain ang GUSTO!

 

  

Sa Mount Arashiyama, sa tuktok ng BUNDOK;

Mahigit isang daan TSONGGONG MACAQUE ang INIMPOK;

Nagbibigay kasayahan sa mga TURISTA,

Hindi mo na kailangang pang mag-LARGABISTA⁸!

 

  

Nung sa FEEDING HOUSE⁹ kami’y TUMAMBAY,

Magbibigay ng pagkain sa mga MATSING ang PAKAY;

Aba, mapili pa itong mga MATSING,

Gusto’y unshelled peanuts at apple na na-SLICING!

 

  

At bago magsara ang MONKEY PARK,

Pinakain sa labas on the ground¹⁰, ang mga MACAQUE (pronounced as “mahcack”);

Syempre nandun at nanood pa rin KAMI,

Pero naubusan na ang cellphone ko ng BATTERY!

 

Ang enjoyable experience  dito sa IWATAYAMA¹¹,

Ay sa dahil may “WORK OUT”¹² na KASAMA;

Halos katabi mo ang pulutong ng mga TSONGGO,

Pero mag-ingat din daw, yan ang  sabi ng CARETAKER who’s always on the GO¹³!

 

[From atop MOUNT ARASHIYAMA where the IWATAYAMA MONKEY PARK is located, you can take a photo of the panoramic view of this part of KYOTO, JAPAN. ] 

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

[Legend: 1 – Mount ARASHIYAMA – The Japanese word: “Arashiyama” actually means  Storm Mountain. Arashiyama is actually a district on the western outskirts of Kyoto, Japan. It also refers to the mountain across the Ōi River, which forms a backdrop to the district. Arashiyama is a nationally designated Historic Site and Place of Scenic Beauty.

2 – KUATRO is a Tagalog term which was inherited from the Spanish language and which means – FOUR or in this case, specifically FOUR O’CLOCK.

3 – The WALK UP or the TREK up to the mountain top by way of a trail would normally take about 20-25 minutes. But the TELLER at the COUNTER suggested that we do the WALK UP faster so that we could enjoy more the time spent with the macaque monkeys.

4 – PARK is the IWATAYAMA MONKEY PARK which is atop Mount Arashiyama where 120 to 170 macaque monkeys call as their HOME. The gate to the PARK at the foot of Mount Arashiyama is about a 5-minute walk from the ARASHIYAMA Train station, during which walk you can pass by and see the Hozu River along with quaint houses and shops lining the riverside leading to Mount Arashiyama. Once you reach the entrance, you will pass through a traditional torii gate and see a peaceful shrine located near the entryway.

4a – The MACAQUE MONKEYS (/məˈkɑːk/) constitute a genus (MACACA) of Old World monkeys of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. The 23 species of macaques are widespread over the Old World, especially Asia. Macaques are principally frugivorous (i.e. feeding on fruits), although their diet also includes seeds, leaves, flowers, and tree bark, and some, such as the crab-eating macaque, subsist on a diet of invertebrates and occasionally small vertebrates. All macaque social groups are arranged around dominant, matriarchal females.

5  – PUYAT means “sleepless” as I usually experience difficulty to fall into slumber or deep sleep in a hotel on my first night until I have acclimatized myself into its ambience.

5a – TRIP is actually an English word which has however acquired a Tagalog slang meaning of some kind of “fondness” or “liking”. The MACAQUE MONKEYS have varied “likings”; as some would just want to stay and sort of “roost” on the branches of trees, others would be running and prancing about at the large frontage area adjoining the feeding house, etc.

6 – MONKEY HOUSEBOY – I used this term to refer to a monkey who would do the task of picking head lice or some kind of fleas upon another monkey as though the monkey doing the picking is some kind of a servant to the master monkey whose head is being cleared of lice.

7 – Naka DESTINO – Some of the MACAQUE MONKEYS are there hanging on the chicken wire which covers the southern side of the feeding house. And those who would want to feed the monkeys hanging on to the chicken wire must buy a pack of feeds (i.e. either a pack of unshelled raw peanuts or slices of apple) and give it to the monkeys by placing the “feed” onto the palm of their hands. Guests are warned not to give the “feeds” through the fingers as it must be offered lying on the palm of one’s hand.

8 –   LARGABISTA is Tagalog term for BINOCULARS.

9 – At the FEEDING HOUSE; one can but the pack of FEEDS. You cannot offer FOOD other that those bought at the FEEDING HOUSE. Then, you can feed the monkeys hanging on to the chicken wire which covers the southern end of the FEEDING HOUSE.

10 – Before the PARK closed when we were there on December 18, 2017; the caretakers fed the troop of monkeys by strewing bunches of what looked like chestnuts, on the ground fronting the FEEDING HOUSE. And almost all of the monkeys would scramble for the chestnuts on the ground.

11 – IWATAYAMA is the name of the MONKEY PARK atop Mount Arashiyama.

12 – WORK OUT; the hike and walk up unto the top of Mount Arashiyama that we did was an arduous and vigorous and laborious task as we were all trying to catch up as the PARK was almost to close already at 5:00 PM.

13 – The caretakers at the PARK (i.e. actually THREE (3) of them: TWO (2) males and ONE (1) female) were always on the GO as it was conveyed to us, as they closed the PARK, that there is one MONKEY who is so aggressive, bad and a bit ferocious; and that they are always on the look-out as they would try to shoo this monkey out of the range of visitors and guests taking photos of the monkeys around.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 [LET US ALL DONATE TO ACHIEVE A RESOUNDING SUCCESS OF THE 3RD NATCON]

 

The 3^rd NATCON is fast APPROACHING,

And lots of hearts and minds are CRINGING;

On top of the list who is now actually COWERING,

Is our own NATCON Leader, our PREXY MARIANING¹!

 

 

 

But the name of the PI OMICRON is at STAKE,

And the least that we could do is to just DONATE^1a;

Though I was originally set to ATTEND,

There were some events which I failed to PORTEND!

 

 

 

I donated in fact THIRTY THOUSAND,

That actually included my advance of TWENTY THOUSAND;

As my penalty for not being successful in my TASK,

I added another TEN, and drunk a jigger of wine from the FLASK!

 

 

 

I am amazed with the industriousness of our BROD BERT,

And I do not want  this NATCON² to SUBVERT;

The present leadership which is indeed DANDY^2a,

It’s hard to find a leader who really is so HANDY^2b!

 

 

 

Let’s all pitch in, even just some PENCE³ —

To preserve our LEADER who is in fact a MENSCH⁴;

It’s CHRISTMAS TIME and CHARITY is urgently NEEDED,

I hope our FRAT LOYALTY is still IMBEDDED!

 

 

 

Our FRAT HYMN in fact announces and ROARS,

That we’re all LOYAL and would want lots of SCORES;

Let’s DONATE and keep the fervor BURNING…

The FRAT’s SOLIDARITY is all that we are YEARNING!

 

 

 

And so let’s scrape the bottom DOLLAR,

Or even if it is just some kind of CHEDDAR⁵;

For what counts most is our KINSHIP and BROTHERHOOD…

We’ll reminisce this all, when we’re all OLD!

 

 

PUSH ONWARD BROTHERS!!!!

 

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

[Legend: 1 – Brod Bert Somera’s full name, which I learned just recently is MARIANO ELPIDIO BERTRAND G. SOMERA. I jave thus endearingly called him MARIANING. Brod BERT is the incumbent President of the PI OMICRON INTERNATIONAL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, INC.

1a – A call for DONATIONS has been made as there is still a shortfall on the needed funds to insure the success of the 3^rd NATCON of about Php 1.2 Million.

2 – The NATCON is the 3^rd NATIONAL CONVENTION of the PI OMICRON FRATERNITY and the DELTA PI OMICRON SORORITY to be held at the ORIENTAL HOTEL in Legazpi City, Albay on December 15-17, 2017.

2a – DANDY means EXCELLENT.

2b-  HANDY means so USEFUL, HELPFUL and so ACCESSIBLE.

3 – PENCE is the plural of PENNIES.

4 – MENSCH is a person of honor and integrity and is personified by our Brod BERT SOMERA.

5 – CHEDDAR is another term for MONEY.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 [My UP Law batchmate, ATTY. MARIA LORETO U. NAVARRO (endearingly called by us as BABES)  is shown here slicing her birthday cake in her last year’s celebration of her NATAL DAY at her Makati Office. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABES!!!!]

 

Your HOROSCOPE¹ describes you as IDEALISTIC,

You’re even described as HUMOROUS and OPTIMISTIC;

‘Tis reported too that you’ve a mind which is ANALYTIC…

You are CREATIVE, it’s said but a bit SECRETIVE!

 

 

You’re STEADFAST, CHEERFUL and LIKABLE—

You seem to me so CALM and so IMPERTURBABLE;

But with talks about TOURING, the subject looms as your CYNOSURE…

As a hard worker, your reward is to TRAVEL with much LEISURE!

 

 

During our UP Law days, you were an APPLE,

As pictured in the eyes of one who wants to bring you to the CHAPEL…

But as his courtship style seemed not too PALPABLE…

He strayed as though a steed unwanting to leave the STABLE!

 

 

BABES is our CLASS’² remembrancer,

Virtually has memorized all our birthdates like a geomancer;

Even knows the dates of the passing via the GRIM REAPER,

Of our batch mates who have opted to unite early with Our MAKER!

 

 

In our reunions, BABES is almost always co-organizer..

As though a matriarch who wants to be a KAISER³…

Would be contacting all those in the ENUMERATION⁴…

She wants every one to be part of the CELEBRATION!

 

 

She is indeed so MOTHERLY in her concern,

MOTHERLY in trait as I and others could discern;

But among those of our female batch MATES,

She looks as though “BELO-FIED”⁵, not like those with balding PATES^5a!

 

 

And as a LITIGATOR she’s valiantly loyal to her CLIENT,

Couldn’t be swayed by the shenanigans of a dishonest SUPPLIANT⁶;

And the knavery of a rogue lawyer, she snipped;

The rascal eventually got his KARMA as  he got virtually GYPPED!

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABES!

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

 

[Legend: 1 – HOROSCOPE – the positive traits of those born on December 10 can be accessed by encoding at GOOGLE the birth date. Those positive traits could be accessed particularly at TheHoroscope.co via the weblink or URL at https://www.sunsigns.org/birthday-10-december-zodiac-sign-sagittarius-astrology-steadfast/

2 – BABES belongs to the UP Law Class of 1979 of the EVENING SECTION actually. I originally belonged to this class, except that as I went on a leave-of-absence, I eventually became part of UP Law-Class of 1980. 

3 – KAISER is used in this BLOG to mean a LEADER or a HEAD; and principally to achieve a rhyme.

4 – ENUMERATION would refer to the LIST actually of our classmates not only in the EVENING SECTION but also in the DAY SECTION.

5 – “BELO-FIED” is a reference to the country’s leading Filipina dermatologist and beauty consultant. If ever, a personality most particularly ladies would look so young despite of senior age and so cosmetically  pleasing, the label of having been “BELO-FIED” would usually set in.

5a – JOKE ONLY…ang tamaan huwag po sanang magalit…Balita ko si BABES, ay gumagamit ng GUGO kaya ang HAIR nya ay malago!!!!

6 – SUPPLIANT is used here, to mean as a party to a litigation, most particularly a PETITIONER.]

 

 [Shown ABOVE is the logo of the 3rd NATIONAL CONVENTION of the PI OMICRON FRATERNITY and the DELTA PI OMICRON FRATERNITY emblazoned with the theme-motto of the celebration: “RESILIENCY THROUGH GREENING”!] 

MARIANO pala ang FIRST NAME ni Brod BERT¹,

Say ng GOOGLE, ang mga MARIANO are sweet though at times are PERT;

Pero, tatawagin ko na muna syang MARIANING…

“MARIANOS” are absolutely wonderful, and that they are always WINNING…

 

Brod BERT is confronted by a GREAT CHALLENGE,

And we all in PI O must act as we’ll serve as the HINGE…

We must ALL strive that the NATCON² will open its doors to SUCCESS…

Thus, we all have NOW to contribute our timely PROWESS!

 

 

Paulit-ulit na syang NAMAMANHIKAN,

Kailangan na nating siya’y MAPAKINGGAN;

Sabi ng ating PI O HYMN, tayo’y “STRONG”…

Kaya dapat we must not let Brod BERT to wait for LONG!

  

 

“Loyal to GOD and our COUNTRY…

“And to the PI OMICRON FRATERNITY!”

Yan ang isinulat ni Brod JULES AMPER³,

Dapat NOW, we must ACT with our FULL POWER!

 

 

 

Yaong hindi pa NAG-EENTREGA,

Dapat ay magbayad at mag-deposit NA;

Baka tayo’y ma-LEGAL ACTION,

Kawawa naman ang PI OMICRON!

 

Ako nga ay mag-DO-DONATE PA,

Vi-VIDEOHAN pa ang MAHADERA;

Si LOLIT SOLIS na SIS NATIN,

Nagpasabing ‘di siya MAKARARATING!

  

 

Ang TEXT ni BROD MARIANING ay very URGENT,

Let’s all respect our industrious PRESIDENT;

Magpadala na po ng inyong PERA…

Send it to our PREXY BERT SOMERA⁴!

 

 

[Kapag hindi kayo nag-bayad AGAD ng SULIT, lagot kayo kay MANAY LOLIT!]

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

[Legend: 1 – Brod Bert Somera’s full name, which I learned just recently is MARIANO ELPIDIO BERTRAND G. SOMERA. Brod BERT is the incumbent President of the PI OMICRON INTERNATIONAL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, INC. I invariably referred to Brod BERT as MARIANING in this BLOG as it rhymes with part of the theme-motto – GREENING!

2 – The NATCON is the 3^rd NATIONAL CONVENTION of the PI OMICRON FRATERNITY and the DELTA PI OMICRON SORORITY to be held at the ORIENTAL HOTEL in Legazpi City, Albay on December 15-17, 2017.

3 – Brod JULES AMPER is a Charter Member of the PI OMICRON FRATERNITY.

4 – Per our Brod BERT SOMERA’s urgent text message, we can send him the money either thru CEBUANA LHUILLIER or PALAWAN EXPRESS via his VALID ID NAME of MARIANO ELPIDIO BERTRAND G. SOMERA.]

 

 [At left photo is the bunch of ASPAC singers with MARLON SILVA (seated & attired in black shirt) at the foreground. Right top photo shows the THREE of US (i.e. POCH, myself and DWIGHT) belting it out, singing the GO BEST song. Right bottom photo shows the THREE of US, preparing for the SONG RECORDING. Both photos were taken while we were inside the glass-encased room.]

 

 

Mukhang agresibo ang konseho ng ASPAC, lalo’t may QUORUM,

Aba’y matapos ang DANCING sa Bday party sa UNIVERSITY DORM¹;

…At SPORTS naman nung BADMINTON TOURNEY²,

Nagyaya ng “SONG RECORDING” itong si DWIGHT³ na ATTORNEY!

 

 

Sa MIXSONIC Studio⁴ sa may Panay AVENUE…

Ang siyang naging tagpuan at singing VENUE;

Revised LYRICS ng “GO WEST” ng VILLAGE PEOPLE⁵,

Ang siyang naging KODIGO ng SINGING COUPLE⁶!

 

  

Bumirit sa una ang GRUPO ng BOYS,

At siyempre BARITONE at TENOR ang VOICE;

Tatatlo lang kaming umawit at kumanta,

Nung RETOKEHIN ni MARLON^6a, parang umawit ay KUWARENTA⁷!

 

  

At pumasok na ang mga ASPAC Ladies,

Sa loob ng glass-encased room ay parang naging BABIES;

Animo’y nag-ngangawa at nag-uuuha,

Dahil sa hirap RETOKEHIN, si MARLON naluha!

 

  

Dahil nga kami ay dadalawa lamang,

Si DWIGHT at AKO, DALAWA ay KULANG…

Naisipang isama ang FRIEND ni DWIGHT sa QUEUE,

Si POCH⁸ na LA SALLE fan, hirap bigkasin “ATENEO”!

 

  

Si POCH ay LA SALLISTANG tunay na ma-DRAMA,

Naisipan pang ang RECORDING ay documented ng isang ISTORYA;

May photo-taking…kunwari ay nag-aantay⁹,

Pati pag-pasok sa glass-encased room, sa photos isinalaysay!

 

  

Kahit naging madalian ang syang PAG-PAPLANO,

Okey din naman naging RESULTA sa STUDIO;

Mukhang si KATTIE¹⁰ ay lubhang kating-kati,

Na magbenta ng CD ng ASPAC Singers 

sa GREENHILLS City¹¹!

 

[So EXCITED, as we have FINISHED the long and arduous task of making the song sound as though being sung by FORTY (just idiomatically…he,he,he…).] 

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[Legend: 1 – At the UNIVERSITY DORM in the ATENEO, on October 28, 2017 — a surprise despedida party was held in honor of the outgoing ASPAC President, Dr. Andy Tan. And the ASPAC parents showed their natural expertise in DANCE to the tune of the melodious and popular pop song; “DAHIL SA IYO”.

2 – On November 30, 2017; on the other hand, in the field of SPORTS… the SECOND ASPAC BADMINTON TOURNAMENT was held at the Badminton Hall located at No. 6 20^th Avenue, Cubao, Quezon City.

3 – DWIGHT is Attorney DWIGHT RAMOS who is an incumbent Board Member of the ATENEO SCHOOLS PARENTS COUNCIL, more popularly known by its acronym ASPAC.

4 – MIXSONIC Studio is a recording studio located at Unit 509 of the Futurepoint Plaza 1, No. 112 Panay Avenue, South Triangle, Quezon City.

5 –  Village People is an American disco group well known for their on-stage costumes depicting American masculine cultural stereotypes as well as their catchy tunes and suggestive lyrics. Originally created by Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo to target disco’s gay audience by featuring popular gay fantasy personae, the band quickly became popular and moved into the mainstream. The group scored several disco and dance hits internationally, including three hits in the US, “Macho Man, “In the Navy”, and their biggest hit, “Y.M.C.A.”.

6 – The singing group was composed actually of a COUPLE of singers: the MALE group composed of Atty. Dwight Ramos, myself and re-inforced by Atty. Dwight’s FRIEND and ROTARY CLUB colleague, Cesar Napoleon “Pocholo” Jaymalin, endearingly referred to by Atty. Dwight as POCH; and the FEMALE group composed of the following: KATTIE SY, JULIET REMORQUE, CYNTHIA ONG, MIKEE RUBINA, EDNA NATIVIDAD, and MARITESS CORDERO. Though JOAN NETTE, ASPAC’s Office Secretary was present during the SONG RECORDING, she did not dare to join the singing just as not to make the work of the studio owner-entrepreneur, MARLON SILVA, much harder.

6a –  MARLON SILVA is the owner-entrepreneur of the MIXSONIC Studio.

7 – KUWARENTA is Tagalog term with Hispanic origin which means FORTY. Through MARLON’s technique, he would ask us to repeat the singing lines; then bunch it together on top of each other…PRESTO, a trio singing like FORTY people (idiomatically though). He,he,he…

8 – POCH is Pocholo Jaymalin is Atty. Dwight’s friend and co-ROTARIAN who accompanied us in the singing of the MALE part of the song “GO BEST”, actually a revised lyric arrangement with the melody and tune of VILLAGE PEOPLE’s “GO WEST”.

9 –  A camera shot was taken by POCH himself, showing us all huddled in the ante-room of the STUDIO as though waiting for our turn to SING.

10 –  KATTIE is ASPAC’s incumbent President KATHERINE NGSUY SY.

11 – GREENHILLS CITY is a reference to the TIANGGE at the GREENHILLS in San Juan (at the VIRRA Mall) where a lot of CD and DVD are being sold.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 [Here are some photos of our Sis LOLIT SOLIS–From L-R: Bottom LEFT is the CROPPED-HAIR LOOK, Top LEFT is the SURPRISE LOOK and the one at RIGHT, is the WRINKLED LOOK…O, di ba!]

 

Mabubulyawan ako ng TOTOO ni Brod Butch CAPARAS¹,

Baka pag nagkataon ako’y maghimas pa ng malamig na REHAS²…

Malamang ako’y kasuhan talaga ni Brod BUTCH ng PERJURY³…

Kasi naman ang pangako^3a ko’y dinala ko pa si NOTARY⁴!

  

Ako naman ay tunay na nag-punta,

Sa bahay ni Manay LOLIT at may pang-CARIÑO pang dala⁵…

Nangako si Manay LOLIT na talagang DADALO…

Ang sabi ko nga’y ako nang bahala sa ABONO⁶!

  

Nagsimula ang istoryang ito nang nangulit si Brod BUTCH…

Tumawag sa akin at pilit na halos ay may halong PUTSCH⁷…

Totoo ba daw na si Manay LOLIT ay SIS?…

Bakit daw ‘di naman dumadalo ni ‘di maringgan  ng TSISMIS⁸!

  

Kaya nga’t aking pinangatawanan ng TODO,

Dinala ko pa nga ang ating poging PANGULO⁹…

Dinalaw namin si Manay LOLIT SOLIS,

Sa bahay nya sa NORTH FAIRVIEW, sa dakong DALISDIS¹⁰!

  

Halos  pati nga ang mga SISSES namin,

Sa DELTA PI OMICRON¹¹ halos ay BITIN¹²;

‘Di nga nila mismo alam na si LOLIT ay SIS,

Halos ang paliwanag ko’y kanilang DINI-DISMISS¹³!

  

Nagkaroon pa tuloy ako ng DUDA,

Baka nga si Manay ay ‘di SIS, just an AMIGA¹⁴…

Pero aking tinanong ang isang DELTA PI na LUMINARY¹⁵,

Aba! ako’y na-REDEEM, tunay na SIS…’tis a VERITY¹⁶!

  

Kaya si Brod BUTCH aking agad TINAWAGAN…

Sabi ko’y magkakaroon siya ng time for CHIKAHAN,

Kapag nadala ko si Sis LOLIT sa NATCON¹⁷,

Ngayong hindi… malamang si Brod BUTCH ay MAPIPIKON!

  

Hiyang-hiya ako kay Brod BUTCH sa ngayon…

Baka ako’y pag-suspetsahan pa ng may masamang LAYON;

Kaya iwas muna ako mga BRODS na POGI…

Sorry at baka ang katauhan ko’y MA-DURUHAGI¹⁸!

  

At ganito ang sagot thru TEXT ni Manay^18a kong MAHAL,

Nang aking babayaran na sana ang airfare nya sa PAL¹⁹;

“Naku WALTER, di ako pwede mag-biyahe…”

Agad ako’y nakaramdam sa mga BRODS at SISSES ng pagka-DYAHE!

  

Dagdag pa ni LOLIT thru her TEXT RECITAL…

“Naka-WAIVER ako WALTER sa OSPITAL…”

“…Dahil dapat ay ma-CONFINE talaga ako…”

“…Taas ang BP ko, dami pa ding mga TRABAHO…”

  

Tinakot pa ako nitong reynang MAHADERA²⁰,

Baka daw dun pa siya matigok sa ORIENTAL’s LAGUERTA²¹;

Kaya’t ako’y nahintakutan ng tunay at SOBRA…

Say ni SIS²²: “Sayang nga pero DELIKADONG TALAGA!”

  

Kaya Brod BUTCH, please accept my APOLOGY…

Marami ding BRODS ang nag-expect ng TRILOGY²³;

Pero kahit na paano, si LOLIT ay nagpa-WALANDYO²⁴,

Magkikita kami sa BAMBI^24a, upang siya’y magpa-VIDEO²⁵!

  

Kaya mga poging PI O BRODS at “byuting” SISSES ko…

Kung meron pang mga nagdududa sa inyo,

Kapag kayo’y may tiyempo sasamahan ko paroon-parito;

Sa bahay ni Manay LOLIT — hahainan tayo ng TSAA’t BISCOCHO!

 

[Manay LOLIT’s PA-CUTE look!]

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[Legend: 1 – Brod BUTCH CAPARAS is an alumni-member of the PI OMICRON FRATERNITY (my fraternity) of the HOLY ANGELS ACADEMY Chapter in San Fernando, Pampanga.

2 – “Maghimas ng rehas”, actually is a Tagalog idiom (i.e. more completely phrased as: “maghimas ng malamig na rehas”, which means to be incarcerated in prison or in jail.

3 – PERJURY in its generic sense is a crime committed when a person tells a lie in a statement made under oath.

4 – The term “NOTARY” is used here to imply that I made a written vow under oath and notarized by a notary public to the effect that I will bring Sis LOLIT SOLIS to the 3^rd National Convention of the PI OMICRON Fraternity to be held at the ORIENTAL HOTEL in Legazpi City. But, the term NOTARY was principally used to achieve a RHYME.

5 – Sis LOLIT SOLIS has an immense fondness for the MILAGROSA type of rice; thus, I did bring a sack of the rice as gift to Sis LOLIT.

6 – When Sis LOLIT SOLIS promised that she will attend the NATCON, it was on the condition that airfare for her and her assistant GORGY RULA will have to be covered by us, meaning Brod BERT SOMERA and me. I told Brod BERT that I will take care of it.

7 – PUTSCH implies some kind of violent reaction. The term is used here by way of some kind of HYPERBOLE. Well, as Brod BUTCH CAPARAS spoke over the phone, he sort of sounded a bit VIOLENT. He,he,he…

8 – Actually, for a time Sis LOLIT SOLIS may have acquired the title of MOVIEDOM’s TSISMIS QUEEN. From time to time, I will call up Sis LOLIT and ask her about the more recent TSISMIS (i.e. GOSSIP/RUMOR) in the world of the silver screen.

9 –  PANGULO refers to incumbent PIOAA President, BERT SOMERA.

10 –  NORTH FAIRVIEW which is part of Quezon City has an UNDULATING terrain; sometimes sloping. DALISDIS is Tagalog term for SLOPING.

11 – DELTA PI OMICRON SORORITY is the sorority-partner of my fraternity, the PI OMICRON FRATERNITY.

12 – BITIN as a Tagalog term is sued to imply a feeling of ASKANCE and DOUBT among my DELTA PI OMICRON sisses as they themselves do not know about Sis LOLIT as being a true DELTA PI sis.

13 – “DINI-DISMISS” is used here as a term (actually an English word which has been “TAGALIZED”) implying continued SKEPTICISM.

14 – AMIGA means FRIEND. Some students then during our time in UP Diliman, have the propensity to hang-out in a place know to be the hang-out of a particular organization, not as a member thereof but as a mere FRIEND of the organization.

15 – I eventually asked and confirmed from Sis PATRICIA SALVADOR-DAWAY, who is a UP Law graduate too and a member of the Philippine Bar and who also served as Associate Dean of the UP College of Law, that indeed Sis LOLIT is a DELTA PI OMICRON Sorority member.

16 – VERITY means TRUTH.

17 – NATCON is the 3^rd National Convention of the PI OMICRON FRATERNITY/DELTA PI OMICRON SORORITY to be held on December 15-17, 2017 at the Oriental Hotel in Legazpi City.

18 – DURUHAGI is a Tagalog term which means: “TO BE AGGRIEVED, TO BE WRONGED or TO BE INJURED”. The terms is used in this BLOG as some kind of HYPERBOLE.

18a – MANAY is Sis LOLIT SOLIS.

19 – PAL is Philippine Airlines.

20 –  MAHADERA is a funny term which means a domineering woman and is used in this BLOG to refer to Sis LOLIT SOLIS.

21 –  LAGUERTA means GARDEN. With ORIENTAL HOTEL’s being nestled atop a hill, it is actually surrounded by a natural garden of greenery and an environment of plant life.

22 – SIS refers to Sis LOLIT SOLIS.

23 –  TRILOGY is a jocular reference to the fact that with TWO (2) renowned brods who will speak on matters of their own expertise particularly PI O Brods VON HERNANDEZ ( who served as Executive Director of GREENPEACE-SOUTHEAST ASIA) and Brod JAIME ARISTOTLE ALIP (founder and Managing Director of CARD Bank, Inc.); Sis LOLIT SOLIS is seen as someone who could speak with expertise about the movie industry.

24 –  “NAG-PA-WALANDYO” is a term which connotes to do something good or wonderful. WALANDYO is actually a Tagalog slang which means “WONDERFUL”, “AMAZING” or “FANTASTIC”.

24a – BAMBI is the Bambi Fuentes Beauty Salon located along Timog Avenue in Quezon City where Sis LOLIT feels so at home being her favorite beauty parlor.

25 – VIDEO refers to the arrangement forged between me and Sis LOLIT SOLIS where she will make some kind of a speech to which I will “VIDEO” or convert in a VIDEO clip and to be shown and projected on the screen at the 3^rd NATIONAL CONVENTION of the PI OMICRON FRATERNITY and the DELTA PI OMICRON SORORITY at the Oriental Hotel in Legazpi City.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Here’s a group photo of those who participated in the SECOND ASPAC BADMINTON TOURNAMENT held on November 30, 2017 at the BADMINTON HALL which saw action among the FOUR (4) competing teams; namely: WHITE, BLUE, RED and YELLOW Teams.]

 

Matagumpay na naidaos ang TORNEO,

Ito’y siyang pangalawa ng parents of ATENEO¹…

Proyekto ng ASPAC^1a, na kalipunan ng mga MAGULANG…

Pero sa TORNEO matindi ang naging GULANGAN!

 

 

GULANGANG masasabi pero STRATEGY din naman,

Kapag-BINODEGA² ang bagitong kalaban;

Siyempre lahat ay gustong mahirang na KAMPEON…

Apat na TEAMS,³ at lahat ay  sa tropeo NAKATUON!

 

 

Meron ding CASH PRIZE na di-naman kalakihan⁴,

Pero siyempre DATONG⁵ din itong pambili sa TINDAHAN;

May KAMOTE ding naging syang pa-PREMYO,

Masarap na ilaga⁶, lalo na’t variety na YELLOW!

 

  

Masaya din ang mga naging GUEST players,

As in fact, they were not required to be PAYERS⁷;

Free ENTRANCE ito para sa lahat ng KASALI,

May RAFFLE PRIZES… na mouthwash, PH care^7a at isang TV na MINI^7b!

 

Pero kwidaw kayo at nagalit si TINA⁸,

Gusto nyang makalaban lahat ng UUBRA^8a;

Pero lumamig din namang ang kanyang ULO,

At nanalong muli ang TEAM ng dating PANGULO⁹!

 

Sumigunda naman ang BLUE Team,

Na pinamumunuan ng bagong VP¹⁰ namin;

Pumangatlo sa scoring ang WHITE Team ni KATTIE¹¹,

Si Juliet REMORQUE¹² naman ang syang naguwi ng KAMOTE!

 

 

Aba! DOBLE naman ang TSIBUGANG¹³ MATINEE¹⁴,

Meron ngang BOODLE-FIGHT at meron pa ding BUFFET!

Yaong hindi sanay sa pagkaing-KAMAY-KAMAYAN…

Sa BUFFET nga pumila  at mas mukhang SOSYALAN!

 

 

Tuwang-tuwa naman ako’t ang mga BRODS at SIS ko¹⁵…

Nakuhang lumahok sa TUNGGALIANG ito;

Si Brod NELIO ALCIM ay tuwang-tuwa sa dami ng PAGKAIN,

Ganun din ang BIBANG-BIBA¹⁶ na Sis kung si MADELYN!

 

 

Si Brod BUTCH LERIO naman kahit na galing sa FLU¹⁷,

Lumaban ng HUSTO– yan ang BROD na tunay at TRUE;

Kaya nagmamadaling umuwi ng SAN MATEO¹⁸,

Binabalak pala niya’y ang anak nya’y mag-ATENEO¹⁹!

 

 

Oo nga pala — si Brod DOC ED QUITIQUIT^19a!

Nagdala pa talaga siya ng MEDICAL KIT,

Isinama pa niya si PAUL^19b na ASSISTANT niya;

Upang ang GAMES ay di-magdulot ng DISGRASYA!

 

 

Pero ang “starring”²⁰ at much-in-demand PA!

Siyempre ang CUCUMBER JUICE ni DIGNA GAVINA²¹;

Marami ngang GUESTS²² na umorder daw sa KANYA,

Kaya nung SUNDAY’s²³ badminton game sa HALL, lahat ay hinahanap SYA!

 

 

Pero mabuti’t ang THUNDERSTORM²⁴ ay  dumating sa TORNEO ng HAPON,

Kung sa umaga’y malaking naidulot na problema IYON;

Bumabaha ng KAUNTI ang kalsada sa may BADMINTON HALL,

Naku si MARITESS²⁵ baka nagpakarga kay RAUL²⁶!

 

[The most remarkable finish in the BADMINTON TOURNEY was garnered by the BLUE TEAM…The BLUE TEAM as tail-ender in the FIRST TOURNEY was awarded the KALABASA AWARD. In the SECOND ASPAC BADMINTON TOURNEY, it won SECOND PRIZE. The DEFENDING CHAMP, the YELLOW Team; retained their TITLE.]

 

 

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[Legend: 1 – The Badminton Tournament which was held on November 30, 2017 at the BADMINTON HALL was a project of the ATENEO SCHOOLS PARENTS COUNCIL. It was the SECOND BADMINTON TOURNAMENT as the FIRST was held on May 1, 2017.

1a – ASPAC is acronym for ATENEO SCHOOLS PARENTS COUNCIL.

2 – BINOBODEGA is a slang and/or a badminton lingo which means hitting the shuttlecock in  manner that it would land, propel or lunge into the direction of the less-skilled or unskilled badminton player mostly done in a DOUBLES-GAME. The presumption is that the unskilled or less-skilled badminton player would not be able to hit or return the shuttlecock back to the opposing team.

3 – There were FOUR (4) competing teams during the SECOND ASPAC BADMINTON TOURNAMENT, namely: WHITE TEAM, BLUE TEAM, YELLOW TEAM and RED TEAM.

4 – The CASH PRIZES at stake during the November 30, 2017 TOURNEY are as follows: Php 10,000.00 to the CHAMPION, Php 5,000.00 to the SECOND-PLACER and Php 3,000.00 for the THIRD PLACER.

5 – DATONG is Tagalog slang for MONEY.

6 – ILAGA is Tagalog term for “TO BOIL”, as in BOILED KAMOTE.

7 – The SECOND ASPAC BADMINTON TOURNAMENT was actually an invitational tourney as no entrance fee or participation fee was required.

7a – The most prominent guest player during the BADMINTON TOURNAMENT who was so joyously glad to have received a package of PH Care as RAFFLE prize is Angeles City Executive RTC Judge, Hon. OMAR VIOLA.

7b – The mini-TV set was won by Ms. Jo Gadot, the better-half of Col. Sanny Gadot.

8 – TINA is Ms. Cristina B. Andaya, a BOARD MEMBER of ASPAC and is without doubt the best and the most skilled badminton players among the lady members of the ASPAC.

8a- UUBRA is a Tagalog term which means “to be able” or “to have the capacity or capability for”; as in this case, the capacity to play the game with the most skilled badminton player in the whole of present ASPAC members, actually. It was TINA’s contention (as quoted too by Atty. Raul Panlasiqui)  that the team that should emerge as CHAMP must the “best among the best”.

9 – The “dating Pangulo” of ASPAC is Dr. Andy Tan who was the former Team Captain of the SECOND ASPAC BADMINTON TOURNAMENT in view of a very urgent professional engagement.

10 –  VP is incumbent ASPAC Vice-President Robert Tan, who is the Team Captain of the BLUE TEAM.

11 – KATTIE aka Katherine Ngsuy Sy is incumbent ASPAC President of ASPAC and the Team Captain of the  WHITE TEAM.

12 – JULIET REMORQUE is incumbent ASPAC Treasurer and is the Team Co-Captain of the RED TEAM with Regional State Prosecutor Richard Fadullon as the RED TEAM’s Co-Captain.

13 – TSIBUGAN is slang for  “EATING SPREE”.

14 – MATINEE is used in this BLOG to mean an activity or a performance done in the morning or in the day; not a nighttime.

15 – I invited some of my brods and as sis in the PI OMICRON FRATERNITY; and it was good that Brods NELIO ALCIM (who is alumni member of the CLSU-PI OMICRON Chapter) and BUTCH LERIO (who is alumni member of the UP-Diliman-PI OMICRON mother chapter) as well as a sis from the DELTA PI OMICRON, in the person of Sis Madelyn Lazaro (CLSU-DELTA PI OMICRON) accepted mu invitation to play in the TOURNEY.

16 – BIBANG-BIBA is a Tagalog term, actually derived from the Spanish word “VIVA”, which means lively and energetic.

17 – Brod BUTCH LERIO was actually downed by INFLUENZA about 2 weeks ago before the TOURNAMENT date.

18 – SAN MATEO is the hometown and present residence of Brod BUTCH LERIO.

19 – Brod BUTCH LERIO confided to me his desire and aspiration to enroll his child at the ATENEO LOYOLA SCHOOLS in the future, after graduating from HIGH SCHOOL.

19a  – I sought the assistance of my fraternity brother, Doctor ED QUITIQUIT, who after working in the Middle East for so many years following his graduation from UERM, has decided to do volunteer medical work in the adjoining Barangay Socorro where his family resides. Brod ED went to the GAMES not to play but to administer medical assistance/help in case one of the more senior badminton players would need such help. As my team-tandem-mate and co-ASPAC member, Emily, sufered a gash on her knee after accidentally doing a fall; the medical kit brought by Brod ED came in handy.

19b – PAUL NOVELOSO was brought in too by Brod ED to help him in, as part of a MEDICAL TEAM stationed at the back of the UMPIRE’s desk during the GAMES. Thanks Brod ED and PAUL! 

20 –  “Starring” is an English term which has acquired a Filipino-slang meaning of being the cynosure or focus of attention.

21 –  DIGNA GAVINA is Doctor Digna Gavina aka DIGS, and who is an incumbent BOARD MEMBER of the ATENEO SCHOOLS PARENTS COUNCIL (“ASPAC”).  DIGS usually brings her famous CUCUMBER JUICE in most ASPAC parties and celebrations and her CUCUMBER JUICE is so much desired and much applauded and praised for its delectable taste.

22 – A lot of NON-ASPAC badminton players who have participated in the SECOND ASPAC BADMINTON TOURNAMENT actually placed order from DIGS to perhaps have their kith and kin taste this delectable juice-concoction that DIGS have made out.

23 –  At the regular Sunday badminton games (i.e. December 3, 2017), most lady badminton players were following up from me their order of DIGS’ wonderful juice-concoction.

24 –  Days before the TOURNAMENT, I actually checked in the INTERNET, the weather forecast for November 30, 2017 (a Thursday; and a holiday). My verification told me that November 30, 2017 weather forecast showed THUNDERSTORM to happen in the early morning. It was good that the THUNDERSTORM arrived actually after lunch at around 1:30 PM.

25 – MARITESS is Maritess Cordero, who is an incumbent BOARD MEMBER of ASPAC. Maritess has  become the object of the usual jokes (at times, ribald) that Atty. RAUL PANLASIQUI (another ASPAC officer; actually Chairman of ASPAC’s COMELEC) would customarily crack during ASPAC’s meetings and other social activities.

26 – RAUL, as earlier said, is the current Chairman of the ASPAC COMELEC.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Daddy Max P. Young (at right) is shown here casually chatting with  SULTAN HASSANAL BOLKIAH, Brunei’s YANG DI-PERTUAN and incumbent Prime Minister (at left) during one of the proceedings in the CONVENTION OF WAR VETERANS OF ASEAN COUNTRIES hosted and held in BRUNEI from November 23-27, 2017.]

 

Dapat sana ako’y kasama ni Daddy¹,

Sa CONVENTION ng mga beterano ng mga ASEAN² country;

Naging excited din sana akong kapiling ang isang YANG,

YANG DI-PERTUAN³ ang siya nyang PANGALAN…

 

 

Dahil sa marami akong OBRA^3a, si POTENG⁴ ang syang UMUBRA—^4a

Kahit nga siya’y may INDUCTION⁵ na naka-TOKA,

Napilitan syang maging CHAPERONE at KASAMA,

Yaon ang ORDER ni Doc⁶, para nga ay NO PROBLEMA!

 

 

At naging STAR nga si Daddy sa convention ng VECONAC⁷,

Talagang masuwerte nga’t ito’y PURE LUCK;

Nagkataong lumabas sa pintong malapit

sa lugar ni Daddy⁸,

Si SULTAN BOLKIAH, ang Prime Minister ng oil-rich BRUNEI country…

 

  

At nagkaniig nga silang dalawa, ang SULTAN at si Dad…

Namangha pa nga si BOLKIAH, nang malaman kanyang EDAD,

Di makapaniwala ang SULTAN na 95⁹ na ang AGE…   

Pagkatapos ng enkwentro nila’y there was LAUGHTER in seeming RAMPAGE!

 

  

When the SULTAN asked our Daddy…

As to his SECRET in aging LONG and    DANDY!

Daddy asked the SULTAN: “Can I just whisper it into your ears?”…

SULTAN did agree as though Dad was among his PEERS!

 

 

And there was seeming RAMPAGE¹⁰, after Daddy Max WHISPERED..

Daddy Max violated PROTOCOL¹¹…Oh GOD, he could be INCARCERATED¹²!
For Daddy MAX felt so elated and even so EXCITED,

Dad MAX did a SHOULDER TAP¹³, the ROYAL guards seemed INFURIATED!

 

 

But when the SULTAN heard Daddy Max’s MURMUR,

The SULTAN LAUGHED so LOUD and did it with much FERVOR…

And all the royal guards laughed in sequential UNISON,

But they didn’t  know in fact, what the SULTAN heard in his TYMPANUM¹⁴!

 

MABUHAY DADDY MAX!

PANJANG UMUR SULTAN BOLKIAH!

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[Legend: 1 – Daddy refers to Daddy Max aka Maximo Purisima Young, who was sent by the Philippine government to represent the country in the convention of war veterans in Brunei from November 23-27, 2017.

 2 – The CONVENTION among war veterans in the ASEAN region was hosted by the VECONAC of Brunei aka VETERANS CONVENTION OF ASEAN COUNTRIES from November 23-27, 2017.

3 – YANG DI-PERTUAN literally means “HE WHO WAS MADE LORD”. It is the appellation accorded to the Sultan and incumbent Prime Minister of BRUNEI.

3a –OBRA mean work and in this particular usage, it means court hearings and paper work/court pleadings.

4 – POTENG is the nickname of my youngest brother, WARREN TOBIAS YOUNG.

4a- UMUBRA is a Tagalog term which means “to be able” or “to have the time for”.

5 – Though POTENG aka WARREN was scheduled to be INDUCTED as new President of the country’s ALPHA PHI OMEGA Fraternity-Alpha Chapter (“APO-Alpha Chapter”); Warren obliged himself to chaperone Daddy Max as he was almost willing to be INDUCTED in-absentia and has designated a close brod of his to just read his acceptance speech. It was good that the APO hierarchy eventually decided to reset/reschedule the INDUCTION rites to December 16, 2017.

6 –  Doc is Daddy Max’s physician at the UERM, where my brother Wilson is Vice-Chairman; Doctor Stephen Medel.

7 – VECONAC is the acronym for VETERANS CONVENTION OF ASEAN COUNTRIES.

8 – The CONVENTION was conducted in a formal proceedings in a venue in Bandar Seri Begawan. It was not certain that Sultan BOLKIAH would arrive but that as the incumbent President of the VECONAC, a citizen of BRUNEI and who was in the past part of Sultan BOLKIAH’s Royal Army, is close to the Sultan, Sultan BOLKIAH arrived indeed. And the Sultan entered the hall nearest to where Daddy Max was seated. And the President of the VECONAC sort of bragged that there is a CONVENTION delegate from the Philippines who is 95 years old. Thus, Daddy Max and Sultan eventually rubbed elbows with each other.

9 – Daddy Max just celebrated his 95^th birthday on July 30, 2017. Daddy Max is thus now going into his 96^th year actually.

10 – The ROYAL GUARDS of the Sultan were all taken aback when Daddy Max requested the Sultan to whisper something into the Sultan’s ears. The ROYAL GUARDS were all ready to block Daddy Max; but with the hand-sign of the Sultan, Daddy Max was able to approach the Sultan and jokingly whispered something “dirty” into the Sultan’s ears.

11 – It is PROTOCOL that no one must lay a hand or touch the Sultan; but Daddy Max even did a SHOULDER TAP upon the Sultan. And when the Sultan burst out in LOUD laughter; all the ROYAL guards laughed in UNISON with much PRECISION (meaning when the Sultan stopped laughing; they all ceased laughing as well).

12 – As it was a time-honored principle that the Sultan cannot be touched by any other person; indeed, if an overly-enthusiastic ROYAL GUARD were around, Daddy Max could have been arrested and thereafter detained.

13 – The SHOULDER TAP is a common gesture between acquaintances and friends of tapping the shoulder of another or in an extreme manner of showing friendship via a side to side hug with the hands and the arms sliding over the shoulder of the other person.

14 – TYMPANUM means the EAR.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 [Shown at left is BRP Rajah Humabon while docked at the Philippine Navy Headquarters along Roxas Boulevard, Malate, Manila. The TWO (2) photos at right show the ASPAC Parents with their respective kin as photographed with the ship as backdrop (top photo) and at the facade of the PHILIPPINE NAVY HEADQUARTERS (bottom photo).]

 

 

Excited ang lahat na makatungtong sa HUMABON¹,

Mabuti nga pala’t dito sa Roxas Boulevard HUMAPON²;

Salamat kay EUVIN³ pati na rin kay REY⁴,

Everyone was so excited as all was raring to shout HURRAY!

 

 

 

At ang “paglusob” sa Philippine NAVY,

Ay puspusang nai-plano ng MABUTI…

Ang THEME kasi ng parating na ASPAC XMAS Party…

Ay nabunsod ng ‘sang SONG; pamagat ay “IN THE NAVY”⁵!

 

 

 

Ang mga naunang sa NAVY STATION na dumating,

Si EDNA NATIVIDAD⁶, si ROBERT⁷ at RACHELLE TAN⁸ na lahat ay “ISPUTING”⁹!

Si RAUL BRIOSO¹⁰ na naka-SHORTS…

Para bagang ready to do some SPORTS¹¹!

 

 

 

Kaya pati HEADGEAR sa XMAS Party sa NINE¹²,

Ay tunay na pinili upang lumabas na GENUINE (i.e. pronounced  as “GEN-WAYN”)…

Mayroong simpleng DOUGHBOY Sailor’s CAP…

Mayroon din namang marangyang NAVY CAPTAIN’S PEAKED HAT!

 

 

 

 

Halos FIRST TIME ng lahat na mag-NAVY SHIP TOUR,

Mayroon VIDEO SHOWING at meron ding PROTOCOL¹³,

Si RAUL BRIOSO¹⁴ na INQUISITIVE; nag-FOCUSED sya sa CANNON¹⁵!

Si CYNTHIA ONG¹⁶ nama’y nagtanong about PIRATES at  mga HOODLUM¹⁷!

 

 

 

But it truly was EDUCATIONAL & so FANTASTIC,

USS ATHERTON¹⁸ pala ang original na sya niyang RUBRIC¹⁹;

 Na-acquire ng PINAS noong NINETEEN SEVENTY-EIGHT²⁰,

Thence, the ship was used as a mere PATROL FRIGATE!

 

 

 

Sa una’y di-mag-kamayaw ang mga ASPAC parents,

Dahil gusto ay PICTURE-TAKING in all of the EVENTS;

Sa FANTAIL²¹ pa nga lang at umpisa ng TOUR,

FRANTIC na ang lahat until they reached some kind of “FORTY-FOUR”²²!

 

 

 

At the WARDROOM where the air was COOL²³,

We somewhat felt that we entered a MESS HALL…

There was a table there and plenty of heavy CHAIR,

And the guided TOUR was actually  done in a PAIR²⁴!

 

 

 

Matapos ang GUIDED TOUR na syang IDINAOS,

Bumalik sa FANTAIL at nagpasalamat ng LUBOS;

Ginampanan ni PREXY KATTIE SY²⁵ ang pagpapasalamat,

Naisip ko na rin ang dala-dala kong AKLAT²⁶!

 

 

 

It thereafter gave me the chance to donate a BOOK²⁷ for the NAVY,

So, I gave the BIO-BOOK entitled FOREVER YOUNG to its LIBRARY²⁸,

Daddy Max was a former soldier too²⁹,

It gives me full pride to share the BOOK for the NAVY’s CREW³⁰!

 

 

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[Legend: 1 – HUMABON is the BRP Rajah Humabon (PS-11) and was formerly the US Navy destroyer escort USS Atherton. USS Atherton saw action during World War 2, dropping depth charges while hunting for the German submarine U-853, which she is credited of destroying. This makes the HUMABON ship among the only active warship in the world credited of sinking an enemy submarine. Rajah Humabon, later baptized as Don Carlos, was the Rajah of Cebu at the time of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan’s arrival in the Philippines in 1521.

 2 – HUMAPON means to roost or to settle. Mostly used for BIRDS and FOWL; but used in this BLOG to mean “to dock”. BRP Rajah Humabon usually is docked in Sangley Point in Cavite. It was good that in reply to the ASPAC’s request for a guided tour of the ship, it was brought from Sangley Point to dock at the Philippine Navy Headquarters along Pres. Roxas Boulevard in Malate, Manila.

3 – EUVIN is Ms. EUVIN P. DELA CRUZ who is an incumbent Board Member of the ATENEO SCHOOLS PARENTS COUNCIL (“ASPAC”) and the better half of Philippine Navy Captain REY DELA CRUZ, who was formerly Liaison Officer of the Philippine government to the United States Pacific Command.

 4 – REY is EUVIN’s suave-looking husband, Philippine Navy Captain REY DELA CRUZ. In one of the meetings of the ASPAC, as the Christmas Party of the ASPAC which is set on December 9 adopted “IN THE NAVY” as theme, EUVIN casually broached the idea of having a guided tour unto the Philippines’ former flagship, the BRP Rajah Humabon.

5 – There appears to be a resurgence on the fondness of most of the ASPAC parents most particularly Ms. Cynthia Ong unto the songs of the VILLAGE PEOPLE, particularly the song “IN THE NAVY”. And the title of the song was adopted as THEME of the ASPAC Christmas Party on December 9, 2017 at the Rooftop of the ATENEO Leong Hall.

6 –  EDNA NATIVIDAD is incumbent Year Level Representative of the ASPAC.

7 – ROBERT TAN is the incumbent Vice-President of the ASPAC.

8 – RACHELLE TAN is ROBERT TAN’s better half and is incumbent Board Member of ASPAC.

9 – “ISPUTING” is Tagalog slang which connotes being well dressed, neatly-dressed or fashionably dressed.

10 – RAUL BRIOSO is incumbent ASPAC Year Level Representative.

11 – SPORTS – I am actually egging my friend and ASPAC colleague RAUL BRIOSO to join as participant in the coming SECOND ASPAC BADMINTON TOURNAMENT scheduled to be held on November 30, 2017 at the Badminton Hall located at No. 6 20^th Avenue, Cubao, Quezon City from 7 AM to 12 Noon.

12 – NINE, the scheduled Christmas Party of the ASPAC is on December 9, 2017.

13 – PROTOCOL  means some kind of procedure; as before the GUIDED TOUR, we were all apprised about the rules and regulations which are in effect and are being enforced within the Philippine Navy premises.

14 – RAUL BRIOSO is the same RAUL BRIOSO mentioned in No. 10, and is, as earlier said, an incumbent ASPAC Year Level Representative.

15 – The CANNON is a 3 inch/50 or 3”/50. The 3″/50 caliber gun (spoken “three-inch fifty-caliber”) in the United States naval gun terminology indicates the gun fires a projectile with the following specifications: 3 inches (76 mm) in diameter, and the barrel is 50 calibers long (barrel length is 3 inches  × 50 = 150 inches or 3.8 m). Different guns (identified by Mark numbers) of this caliber were used by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard from 1890.

16 – Ms. CYNTHIA ONG is incumbent ASPAC Board Member. CYNTHIA was more interested in the operations of the Philippine Navy most particularly with its sovereignty surveillance chores. And the query made by CYNTHIA eventually pertained to pirates who conduct their illegal trade in the high seas as well as other criminal activities in the high seas such as illegal entry through the high seas of drugs.

17 – HOODLUM refers to criminal elements doing their trade in the high seas.

18 – US ATHERTHON – USS Atherton (DE-169), is a Cannon-class destroyer escort, and it was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Lt. John McDougal Atherton, who died when the USS Meredith sank near Guadalcanal during World War II. Atherton (DE-169) was laid down on 14 January 1943 at Newark, New Jersey, by the Federal Drydock & Shipbuilding Co.; launched on 27 May 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Cornelia A. Atherton, the mother of Lt.  Atherton; completed at the Norfolk Navy Yard; and commissioned there on 29 August 1943, Lt. Comdr. Paul L. Mansell, Jr., USNR, in command. The ship was acquired by the Philippine government on December 23, 1978; thence it was commissioned on February 27, 1980. BRP Rajah Humabon, for a time served as the Philippine government’s flagship, but is now being used merely as a training ship by the Philippine Navy.

19 – RUBRIC refers to the name or the signage given the ship.

20 – The SHIP formerly known as USS ATHERTHON and now as BRP Rajah Humabon was acquired by the Philippine government on December 23, 1978.

21 – FANTAIL is that part of the ship which is a  rounded overhang of its STERN. The STERN, on the other hand, is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The STERN lies opposite of the BOW,  the foremost part of a ship.

22 – FORTY-FOUR is a slang term which connotes a condition of “COOLNESS” as differentiated from a condition of being so EXCITED.

23 – COOL – It would seem that the only places inside the ship BRP Rajah Humabon, where it is air-conditioned are the BRIDGE, the WARDROOM and I guess, the MESS HALL. We were not actually led to the MESS HALL as perhaps, we might then feel as though they are inviting us to take our lunch on board BRP Rajah Humabon (joke only Sirs!).

24 – PAIR – The group of ASPAC parents plus their kith and kin were divided into TWO; actually a PAIR. After the video presentation was had at the covered portion of the FANTAIL, the first group (with Prexy Kattie Sy and Veep Robert Tan as members) started out with a guided tour at the SHIP’s Wardroom while the second group (with me and ASPAC Treasurer Juliet Remorque as members) started at the SHIP’s BOW where the 3inch/50 cannon was mounted.

25 – The BOOK (entitled FOREVER YOUNG) is the biographical book which I wrote about my Daddy Max, who is himself a soldier, a war hero and once a sailor in a commercial ship in the 1930s.

26 – PREXY KATTIE SY is incumbent ASPAC President Katherine Ng Sy.

27 – AKLAT which is Tagalog term for BOOK which I opted to bring to donate to the PHILIPPINE NAVY MUSEUM and LIBRARY.

28 – BOOK The PHILIPPINE NAVY HEADQUARTERS stationed along Roxas Boulevard in Malate, Manila has a MUSEUM which doubles as its LIBRARY.

29 – Daddy Max as previously said was a soldier. He was conscripted into the military when the World War 2 broke out, as a member of the United States Army Forces in the Far East aka USAFFE. Daddy Max was awarded the Silver Star Medal by the US government in recognition of his daring war feat during the SECOND WORLD WAR. Daddy Max was also awarded a GOLD CROSS Medal by the Philippine Army in recognition of his heroic role in the Battle of Miudong during the 1950 KOREAN WAR.

30  – In the dedication I wrote on the blank FRONTISPIECE page of the BOOK, it is there written: FOR: THE PHILIPPINE NAVY HEADQUARTERS’ LIBRARY/MUSEUM/ TO THOSE WHO MAY HAVE THE CHANCE TO READ THIS BOOK/ THINK YOUNG! LIVE YOUNG! STAY FOREVER YOUNG! ]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[The melange of photos spread through this BLOG shows WARREN in his jovial mood. Photo at left above shows WARREN with former VP Jejomar Binay; and at right above, with incumbent DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III. Whilst the other two (2) photos shown below at the bottom portion of this BLOG show WARREN bonding with whom he so loves most to BOND, with FAMILY. *-BULANGKEG 2 is WARREN’s sort of NOM DE GUERRE, a PSEUDONYM accorded to him — as has been customary with the ALPHA PHI OMEGA Fraternity; when WARREN entered and became neophyte of the ALPHA PHI OMEGA Fraternity, at its ALPHA CHAPTER, the FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY.]

 

The venerable APO¹ Frat was FOUNDED in March in R.P.²,

‘Twas on March 2, in NINETEEN HUNDRED & FIFTY³;

R.P. is acronym for our Philippine COUNTRY,

‘Tis that year the ALPHA Chapter ^3a  elected a humble LUMINARY⁴!

 

WARREN⁵ was indeed BLISSFULLY ELECTED,

He’ll re-assume a leadership post, and we’re all ELATED…

 For he was Grand Chancellor in Year 1983^5a;

At the F.E.U.⁶, a prestigious UNIVERSITY…

 

His BRODS and SISSES gave him the VOTE,

They truly admired his stint as captain of the BOAT;

The memory of LEVY⁷ would stay instilled in their MIND;

SERVICE will always be part of their DAILY GRIND!

 

And the founding papers got documented at NICANOR REYES HALL⁸,

‘Twas the  first meet which ushered the APO PROTOCOL;

But for the cause of FAMILY, WARREN had to miss the CALL⁹…

He’d have to serve our 95 year old Dad for any mishap to FORESTALL¹⁰!

 

Membership in APO has spread like wild FIRE,

With the teeming chapters, ‘twas something that INSPIRED…

 And as loyal  member of this SERVICE FRAT,

WARREN has turned CHIVALROUS from being once a CHILD-BRAT¹¹!

 

In a call for SERVICE, TENG¹² is really  APPROACHABLE…

He seems to be truly always AVAILABLE,

A plea/request from BRODS/SISSES and KIN,

He responds too QUICKLY  as though ordered by a KING!

 

TENG is so profusely COOPERATIVE,

He’s EXUBERANT — that means CHEERFUL and HIGH-SPIRITED—

He inspires CONFIDENCE in all of his FRIENDHIP…

He’s endowed with INTELLIGENCE and a TENACIOUS SPIRIT!

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

[WARREN is shown in these photos bonding with whom he loves most to BOND, with FAMILY!] 

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ASSUMPTION AS PRESIDENT OF THE APO-ACAI FOR 2017-2019!

 

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

[Legend: 1 – APO is acronym for the ALPHA PHI OMEGA Fraternity.

2- R.P. is acronym for Republic of the Philippines.

3 – The Alpha Phi Omega Fraternity was founded on March 2, 1950.

3a- The ALPHA Chapter of the ALPHA PHI OMEGA Fraternity was organized at the FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY located in Morayta Avenue, City of Manila.

4 – LUMINARY is used in this BLOG to mean an unassuming servant leader.

5 – WARREN is my youngest brother, WARREN TOBIAS YOUNG, in a brood of EIGHT (8) children brought to this world by our parents, Maximo P. Young and the late Norma Tobias.

5a- WARREN during his collegiate stint at the F.E.U was elected as GRAND CHANCELLOR of the APO-Alpha Chapter, which is the APO Fraternity based at the F.E.U.

6 – F.E.U. is acronym for FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY.

7 – LEVY is SOL GEORGE LEVY, who is an Alpha Phi Omega-Gamma Alpha chapter member in the United States of America. In January 1950, being a professional Scouter, he went to the Philippines to generate interest among Scouts here in the Philippines. And through him the Philippine chapter of the Alpha Phi Omega got established.

8 – NICANOR REYES HALL is a building at the F.E.U. campus where the first meeting of the first APO Chapter in the Philippines was held.

9- WARREN has to skip attendance at his INDUCTION as the new President of the APO-Alpha Chapter Alumni Association as he was designated CHAPERONE to our 95-year old Daddy Max (i.e. Maximo P. Young) who has been handpicked by Secretary of the National Defense of the Philippines, DELFIN LORENZANA, to represent the Philippines in the REGIONAL CONVENTION OF WAR VETERANS in BRUNEI from November 23-27, 2017.

10 – As Daddy Max, by reason of his age, needed to get a medical clearance prior to embarking on the BRUNEI trip; he was given the GO signal and a clean bill of health by his physician, subject however to the condition that Daddy Max has to be accompanied by a CHAPERONE in the person of our youngest brother WARREN.

11- WARREN was never in fact a BRAT; and that the use of the word “BRAT” is to achieve some kind of rhyme. CHILDHOOD however connotes some kind of “BRAT-NESS” or of being like a BRAT (especially among the youngest of the brood like WARREN).

12- TENG is WARREN’s more endearing NICKNAME, actually a contraction of his other more popular nickname, POTENG.]

 

 

[Photos shown here from top to bottom (clock-wise) are as follows: group photo with the lagoon which serves as venue for the wakeboarding sports, as backdrop; another group photo (except that most are already wading in the sea water) inside the BALSA; photo of the breakfast had at the impressive mansion of my friend JOE and finally, the photo of our Law Office Secretary, ELLA, simulating the driving of the MOOMBA   OUTBACK SHIP/TOWBOAT.]

 

Mabuti nga at nagkaroon ng mahabang HOLIDAY¹,

Dagli ay naisipang magkaroon ng JOYFUL JOURNEY²…

Matagal na akong iniimbita ng  Kumpare kong si JOE³,

Mag-swimming at mag-TEAM-BONDING doon po sa may LAGO⁴!

 

Nakaligtaan ko na NCR⁵ nga lang PALA,

Ang covered ng HOLIDAY, Mindoro’y⁶ di KASAMA;

Kaya tuloy si Attorney JOVY⁷ na may hearing PALA…

Di naka-JOIN, pero “sumimple”⁸ yata sa PUERTO GALERA⁹!

 

We headed to CALATAGAN¹⁰ at 5:30 AM¹¹,

Arrived at Pareng JOE’s house¹² almost 9:30 AM;

Aba ay… SUMPTOUS BREAKFAST awaited all of US…

Mayroong FRIED EGG, KALDERETA, HOT DOG at DAING NA BANGUS!

 

We thereafter rented a BAMBOO-MADE BALSA¹³,

Watched those wakeboarding as though they’re dancing SALSA¹⁴;

Thence, we were brought towards the middle of the SEA¹⁵, 

That was after we got introduced to the suave Sir ANDREI¹⁶!

 

And every one of us DOVE¹⁷ into the water and CAVORTED,

Into the sea we GAMBOLED…..

PRANCED, LEAPED, BOBBED & SALTATED¹⁸…

Except for JUN¹⁹ who didn’t want his skin  further BURNED & BLISTERED!

 [Here is a photo showing JUN REVILLA being fetched by the boatmen from the LAGO beachfront unto the BALSA.]

 

At si SAMANTHA²⁰ ang syang nagsilbing STAR…

She became the cynosure of everyone pati nga ni GREGOIRE²¹,

SAM was this 3 year old TODDLER…

Who spoke as though she’s a BARRISTER²²!

 

And ELLA^22a seemed to want to be among the FAMOUS & the RICH…

As she opted to be snapped aboard a MOOMBA OUTBACK SHIP²³,

We’ll not much of a BIG SHIP but actually a TOW BOAT—

Perhaps ELLA is thinking to sashay via a water ski ROUTE!  

 

 

Si LITO^23a naman ay nag-silbing SEA URCHIN HUNTER…

Pero siya ang na-biktima ng nasabing SEA CRITTER²⁴…

Tinusok ng SALUNGO²⁵, at para syang na-KURYENTE…

Diga ni LITO animo’y tuklaw daw ng SERPIYENTE²⁶!

[Shown in this photo; from left to right are: Samantha aka SAM, GARY, and LITO aka ENREQUE LUTUC before he was pricked by the SEA URCHIN.]  

 

Kaya nag-higanti ang mga nag-sasayang KAKOSA²⁷,

Inutos kay GREGOIRE alias GREG na humuli ng ISA…

Aba’y isang tambak naman ang siyang SEA URCHIN na NAHULI,

Nilantakan ng kain (no more cooking ni FE^27a), ang ma-alat-alat na UNI²⁸!

  

[Here is a photo of our COOK and UTILITY WOMAN, Fe Tobias. She did not have to cook the UNI as it was eaten sort of “straight from the gonads”.]

 

Si JOE VERGARA na sya naman naging aming  HOST,

Walang ginawa kundi patawanin kami nang LUBOS,

Kaya umalat lalo ang SEA WATER sa BALIBAGO²⁹,

Malayo-layo kasi ang CR³⁰ at punong-puno ng TAO!

  

And the LUNCH aboard the BAMBOO-MADE BALSA…

Was so delicious and aplenty, na para bagang  “one to SAWA”³¹!

And the PUSIT na LUMOT was so very SWEET,

KILAWING KAMBING was fresh & perfect as though we’re still hearing its  BLEAT³²!

  

After we have said ADIEU to the VERGARAS³³,

We trekked to the MUSEUM³⁴ with those quaint TERRAZAS³⁵;

Nice to learn that the late ENRIQUE ZOBEL was HEROIC³⁶—

We’ve learned too that his life story, is a true EPIC³⁷!

  

And the MORAL of our trip to CALATAGAN at LAGO DE ORO—

You don’t need to be RICH to enjoy life… ES CLARO³⁸!

With ANDREI as the new owner of the Cable SKI park, that is LAGO…

He has made the RESORT affordable to the common TAO³⁹!

  

Anent our trip to the MUSEUM of EZ⁴⁰,

It gave us the learning of classifying the RICH in society…

There’s the PROFLIGATE RICH and those who are IDLE on WEALTH⁴¹…

But EZ as a WORKING RICH gave the poor so much HELP⁴²!

 

[Photos above were taken at the ENRIQUE ZOBEL Museum. The one at right is at the entrance to the Museum while the one at the left is at the LOBBY of the Museum. The Museum also features a coffee shop and souvenir shop at the right end extreme portion of the front yard patio of the Museum.]

…And it’s ASEAN’s⁴³ goal to close the gap between RICH and the POOR till the betterment of all in the ASEAN region is FELT⁴⁴!

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[Legend: 1 – In view of the ASEAN Summit from November  10-15, government declared November 13-15, 2017 as non-working holiday in the whole of the National Capital Region/Metro-Manila.

 2 – Due to the continuing heavy workload in our law office, we have not had any office excursion since 2015. Thus, the long streak of holidays (i.e. November 13-15, 2017) which got declared in Metro-Manila gave us the chance to have an office excursion to Lago De Oro in Calatagan, Batangas.

3 – JOE is Jose Vergara, my kumpare & friend who was my childhood chum during our younger days in Murphy, Cubao, Quezon City. JOE eventually become a PC Scout Ranger and thereafter a member of the elite Constabulary Highway Patrol Group (“CHPG”). Eventually, after a living a bachelor’s life like a true lothario (i.e. an un-intending seducer of woman), JOE finally tied the marital knot at age 45 after having been swept off his feet by a Calatagan beauty named AMY.

4 – LAGO is the LAGO DE ORO CABLE SKI PARK & RESORT located at Barrio Balibago, Calatagan, Batangas.

5 – NCR is National Capital Region or Metro-Manila.

6 –  MINDORO – It happened that Atty. JOVITO B. GAMBOL, one of our partners in the Law Office, has a previously scheduled court engagement in San Jose, Mindoro on November 13 and 14, 2017. For which reason, Atty. JOVY was unable to join us in the Lago De Oro excursion. Aside from Atty. JOVY, Ms. Veronica Santiago-Resurreccion, Administrative Assistant; was also unable to join as one of her children got sick.

7 – Atty. JOVY is the aforesaid Atty. JOVITO B. GAMBOL.

8 – SUMIMPLE is Tagalog slang which connotes and is used here to mean as some sort of sneaking an engagement or possible journey-destination to a resort on top of Atty. JOVY’s court engagement.

9 – PUERTO GALERA is another famous resort and topnotch tourist attraction located in Mindoro; which Atty. JOVY could have possibly reached so that he will have his own SOLO excursion…he,he,he.

10- CALATAGAN is the town in Batangas  where the LAGO DE ORO Cable Ski Park & Resort is located about 130 kilometers south of Manila.

11 – We left our Law Office in Cubao around 5:30 AM and thought that at around 8:30 AM we will be at the house of my friend and Kumpare JOE. But the heavy traffic after getting out of the Eaton Exit along SLEX delayed us for a couple of minutes.

12- The house of my friend JOE VERGARA is just adjacent to the LAGO DE ORO Cable Ski Park & Resort.

13- BALSA is a RAFT.

14- Those wakeboarding enthusiasts whom we saw seem like acrobats doing a lot of fantastic movements when coming out from the top of the SLIDER with lots of wakeboarding tricks such as a FLIP, a BACKSIDE BOARDSLIDE, a BACKSLIDE SPIN, etc. What I love best is that trick where the wakeboarder would flip and turn around in the air to get the grab-handle by the other hand; as though doing a SALSA dance.

15- SEA is the South China Sea to which the LAGO DE ORO Resort’s beachfront adjoins.

16- ANDREI is Sir ANDREI TAGHAN, the French-speaking, suave and debonair-looking Lebanese who owns the LAGO DE ORO Cable Ski Park & Resort. When Pareng JOE introduced us to ANDREI as LAWYERS, he immediately commented and joked that we are a breed of EXPENSIVE people as he said that his retained counsel to help him out in his businesses is the BAKER & MCKENZIE Law Office which, according to him, bills & assesses attorney’s fees just like a taxicab meter especially when he calls in by phone to ask for legal advice.

17- We did not literally DOVE into the water but just plunged into it.

18-   There was a lot of horseplay in the water as every bobbed, jumped, and cavorted…SALTATION is another term for jumping…

19- JUN is ANASTACIO E. REVILLA, Jr. who is my UP Law classmate and partner at our Law Office.

20- SAMANTHA is the cute 3-year old daughter of Gary Ramos, who works as Assistant at the Liquidator’s Office of RUBY INDUSTRIAL CORP. which is housed at the Ground Floor of our Law Office.

21- GREGOIRE is actually GREG who is Amy’s kin (i.e. Amy is the better half of my Pareng JOE); and GREG was our BALSA boatswain and helper combined.

22- BARRISTER is a LAWYER. Sam aka Samantha talked as though she was a mature fellow and chatting, even arguing even with our co-lawyers and the other joiners to our Office excursion.

22a- ELLA is Ms. Romelyn Solomon Hadap who is our Law Office Secretary.

23- The MOOMBA OUTBACK Ship is actually a towboat owned by Sir ANDREI and is used in the resort as towboat for a banana boat ride and other water rides.

23a- LITO is ENREQUE LUTUC (a native of Apayao who at one time after having had the chance to hobnob with former President FVR was suspected by FVR as an NPA), who is our Paralegal Assistant/Messenger and Driver, all rolled into one. 

24- CRITTER is another term for SEA CREATURE which is used here to refer specifically to the SEA URCHIN.

25- SALUNGO is Tagalog term used in Calatagan, Batangas to refer to a SEA URCHIN.

26- SERPIYENTE is another term for SNAKE.

27- KAKOSA is a Tagalog slang which means COMPANION or member of a group.

27a- FE is FE TOBIAS, our Law Office Cook and Utility Woman.

28- UNI is the edible part of the SEA URCHIN. UNI  (oo-nee) is actually the Japanese name for the edible part of the Sea Urchin. While colloquially referred to as the roe (eggs), UNI is actually the animal’s gonads (which produce the milt or roe). UNI ranges in color from rich gold to light yellow, and has a creamy consistency that some love and is off-putting to others.

29- BALIBAGO is the barangay in Calatagan in Batangas where LAGO DE ORO is located.

30-  CR is the popularly term used in the Philippines to refer to the TOILET. CR is acronym for COMFORT ROOM.

31- “ONE TO SAWA” is actually a Tagalog slang. But it is a phrase with a combination of English words and a Tagalog word: “SAWA” which means SATIATION. “SAWA” actually connotes UNLIMITED nature or of being APLENTY as the LUNCH at the BALSA was really APLENTY, namely: crabs, prawns, chevon vinaigrette aka kilawing kambing, porc vinaigrette aka dinakdakan, calamari grille aka inihaw na pusit-lumot, chevon cuit aka kalderetang kambing,  thon grille aka inihaw na yellow-fin tuna, etc. (with Frenchy culinary terms attuned to ANDREI’s Frenchy twang)

32-BLEAT is a goat’s cry.

33- JOE’s surname is VERGARA.

34- MUSEUM is the ENRIQUE ZOBEL Museum located in Calatagan, Batangas.

35- TERRAZA is the patio at the ENRIQUE ZOBEL Museum. It could also refer to the porch along the outside of a building or an outside coffee shop.

36- HEROIC – We learned after a trip at the MUSEUM that after the Japanese forces entered Manila in 1941, the 14-year-old Enrique displayed his resourcefulness and audacity, having to care for his mother while his father was with the USAFFE forces in Bataan. To generate income for their daily needs, he used his father’s polo ponies to offer kalesa rides to his countrymen in Manila. In the 1970s, the late Enrique persuaded his family to award so many hectares of their land to the tenants/original settlers of their land in Calatagan.

37-EPIC- The late Enrique Zobel’s life could be considered as an EPIC as can be shown in this narrative about his early career. Thus: Enrique Zóbel joined Ayala y Compañia in 1955 as a mechanic and worked closely with his uncle, Col. McMicking, who was credited for engineering the transformation of Makati from vast tracts of swamplands into the Philippines’ premier financial and commercial district. When the Ayala y Compañia partnership became a corporation in 1967 (after the retirement of Col. McMicking), Enrique Zóbel became its first chief executive. Like McMicking, Enrique Zóbel showed great strength and business savvy in contributing to the growth of Ayala as one of the Philippines’ biggest and most respected conglomerates. He sustained McMicking’s vision for the Ayala group. He professionalized the Ayala group and was instrumental in fulfilling Ayala’s goal to become a major player in the banking sector, as the company gained control of the Bank of the Philippine Islands. Ayala also moved into new industries then- semiconductor (Integrated Micro-Electronics, Inc.), food processing (Pure Foods Corporation – now, San Miguel Pure Foods Company, Inc.), agribusiness (Ayala Agricultural Development Corporation) and telecommunications (Globe-Mackay Cable & Radio Corporation – now, Globe Telecom). In 1973, Enrique Zóbel welcomed the Mitsubishi group as partners and took Ayala Corporation public in 1976. On November 8, 1976, Ayala Corporation was listed in the Makati Stock Exchange (now Philippine Stock Exchange). Among the RICH in thePhilippines, the late ENRIQUE ZOBEL was among those who really cared for the poor as can be seen from the many charitable activities that he championed in Calatagan, Batangas particularly his version of LAND REFORM thereat. ENRIQUE ZOBEL was the one who coined the classifications of the RICH in the Philippines such as: the PROFLIGATE RICH, the IDLE RICH and the WORKING RICH like the late ENRIQUE ZOBEL who showed compassion for the POOR.  In 1981, he founded the Makati Business Club (MBC) to support or oppose policies which affected national life. He felt that the business community needed to speak out as a single solid voice and not lobby for its own corporate or sectoral interest. From 1983 to 1986, MBC would be the prime advocate of political change.

38- CLARO is Spanish word which means “IT’S CLEAR!”.

39- COMMON TAO would mean the ordinary folks or the masses. ANDREI, the Lebanese who now owns LAGO DE ORO has somewhat scaled-down the price rates of the hotel rooms. On top of this, he has even renovated the resort. The resort is now, not only so spic and span, but most importantly, more elegant-looking. Instead of a wooden railing-barrier that separates the beachfront and the hotel premises; ANDREI put up instead the more durable and almost corrosion-free & gleaming stainless-steel  railing along the fence-barrier.

40- EZ is acronym for the late ENRIQUE ZOBEL.

41- IDLE on WEALTH refers to those IDLE RICH. IDLE RICH would mean those who have abundant possessions and especially material wealth having high value or quality but are in fact lazy and who do not care to help those who are poor.

42- As earlier said, it was the late ENRIQUE ZOBEL who persuaded his family to have the first version of land reform in Calatagan, Batangas by awarding home lots and agricultural lots to the original settlers in the lands owned by the Zobels in Calatagan, Batangas.

43- ASEAN is acronym for the Association of South East Asian Nations. The ASEAN Declaration states that the aims and purposes of the Association are: (1) to accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region through joint endeavors in the spirit of equality and partnership in order to strengthen the foundation for a prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian nations, and (2) to promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and the rule of law in the relationship among countries in the region and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter. In 1995, the ASEAN Heads of State and Government re-affirmed that “Cooperative peace and shared prosperity shall be the fundamental goals of ASEAN.”

44- With economic growth as the primordial goal of the ASEAN for the whole of the ASEAN region, this would translate to an inclusive economic growth for all.]