IN A country where leaders are into endless political bickering due to their personal ambitions the real social problems remain unseen and, therefore, not addressed.

Noralyn Obrial Ramos sent me emails on Facebook entitled, “Frustrating Facts About Regular Philippine Public High Schools” and “More Frustrating Facts About Regular Philippine Public High Schools“.

In the email–which she also posted on her blog– she blurted out her frustrations about the situation in Philippine public schools, where she has spent 16 years of her life as a teacher. She presented a cross-sectional view of the problems in the school.

MOURNFUL CHRISTMAS. That is how it would probably be for the families of the victims of the massacre in Ampatuan, Maguindanao that left 47 (as of this writing) innocent people dead.

I couldn’t imagine what kind of animals could rape and kill those innocent individuals, including a dozen of journalists.

This is probably the worst killing incident I’ve seen so far. Worse, the likeliness that justice will be served is very dim as the suspected mastermind, aside from being a powerful clan in ARMM, is a close ally of the President.  Not only are they allies, the President must be indebted to them, looking at the result of the 2004 election in the region.

RIGHT NOW, as I am writing this, throngs of locals  flock to the municipal plaza of Alabel, Sarangani Province to welcome the boxing champ.

Aside from the chance of meeting the famous boxing icon, most of the people here expect to receive, if not cash, giveaways from Pacman.

Last year, the Pacman team distributed bags to gradeschool pupils. He’s also sponsoring free embalming and free casket for indigenous Sarangans. His political ads are also being shown on local TV since last month. All these are proofs that his camp is more than ready for the political battle.

MY HOME province is on the spotlight right now for a number of reasons.

First, the world’s pound-for-pound king Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao has confirmed his political bid for congress against the rock-solid Chiongbian dynasty.

Locals flock to the Municipal Plaza of Alabel, Sarangani Province right now to welcome Pacquiao, half of them expecting that they are not going home empty-handed.

Secondly, our governor, Miguel Rene “Migs” Dominguez, has been recently installed as president of Lakas-Kampi-CMD party.

In the National Convention of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD at the PICC, Migs has ben appointed as the new national president of the party, replacing Eduardo Ermita.

LAST NIGHT, I was trying to figure out what went wrong with my life. I seems like entropy is working at an increased rate and I am now wallowing in a huge mess.

But I couldn’t figure it out. What I came up with instead is a list of things I hate about growing up and grown ups. My inability to fit in is what I think caused all this mess.

Four Things I Hate About the Grown Ups’ World:

HE SAYS I should be part of Introvoys. No, it is not because I can sing well. Definitely not. It is because when he asks me to sing, I only sing the first few lines of the song and he would always prod me finish it.

My conversations with Ken on the phone does not only keep me sane. They also make me realize some of life’s little lessons.

One recent insight I got from him is about beginnings.

Yeah, I am man of beginnings. I am always enthused with starting new things, trying out something new and something different.

THE PAST month reminded me that time is so precious. Even more precious than gold, if I’m allowed to modify the cliché. Well, I’ve been chasing time and nudging deadlines. Although some things can still be tweaked, other deliverables have already been missed that making up for  what was lost is almost impossible.

The reasons?

• Special tasks. I have been my principal’s favorite when it comes to preparation of urgent reports. Though it’s an addition to my learning experience, it eats up a great portion of my time.