Image from aclworld.wordpress.com

A few minutes ago, Aethen asked me to view his wall post. He wrote something about taking roads. It said:

Choosing one path means abandoning others – if you try to follow every possible path you will end up following none (I followed many paths in my “younger and more vulnerable years”. But when you are young this attitude is a blessing – if you know when to stop) *reflective mode*

This was my reply:

That’s right. Taking many paths means seeing the world at several standpoints. The more paths you take, the more things you see, the better you learn. But when you discover which path can really make you–and the people you care about–happy, that’s the time you stop exploring and start following that one path. Life isn’t about how many things you’ve accomplished but how well you did what you were supposed to do.

Allow me to share some insights I have learned about taking roads.

Choices

Life offers us a myriad of options. However, we don’t have sufficient time to try all these, so we have to rank these options and do only that which are most important to us. The choices we make are very crucial–they shape our future. What we do today will greatly affect what we will become in the future.

Sometimes, you have to let go of something no matter how much you want it because not all that you want would be helpful in achieving your goals. Having a personal vision would help you decide on which options to prioritize.

Personal Vision

I have always believed that the most successful people in the world today are those who can clearly envision what they want to become in the future. In class, I would ask my students to sit comfortably and imagine how they would look, what they would do, and whom they would work with 10 years from now. I would also tell them: if your personal vision is clear, there is a greater probability that you will attain it. With clear goals, you can make bake better decisions.

Listening

God is communicating with us in so many ways. He uses people and events to tell us His message. This might sound fatalistic but I believe that God is communicating with us through signs and that our senses should be open to listen to God’s voice in everything that we encounter.

In my life, I have never insisted on what I want. I listened. And I am thankful to God for bringing me here.

Patience

Waiting is such a taxing thing to do. I am often compulsive but I know how to wait. It takes time before my patience reaches its elastic limit.

A lot of us grow tired after several failures. Others stop pursuing an endeavor too early because they expect to see the results of their efforts instantly. But life is not like that. There’s a right time for everything.

Defining SUCCESS in your own context

Success is not something generic. There is not one definition of success that fits us all.  Just us we have a unique mix of abilities and interests, we should also be assessed differently. Sometimes, people think of themselves as a big failure because they measure their achievements based on other people’s definition of success. That way, they allow other people to enclose them in a box, which can either be to big or too small for their abilities.

Thanks for reading this post. God bless you in your studies, career, lovelife, business, and in all your endeavors.

A bold move, the ordinance passed by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan is the first local government initiative in the country to ban open pit mining, a method of mineral extraction that the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, a national law, allows.

Image from bworld.com

The Environment Code directly affects the operation of the Sagittarius Mines Inc. (SMI), which is set to extract copper and gold in the municipality of Tampakan, South Cotabato.

The Tampakan Project is a 2.4 billion metric ton deposit, containing 13.5 million metric tons of copper and 15.8 million ounces of gold at a 0.3% cut-off grade. It is operated by Philippine-based affiliate Sagittarius Mines, Incorporated (SMI), whose 40% controlling equity is a joint venture among Xstrata Copper (62.5%) and Indophil Resources NL (37.5%). The 60% non-controlling equity shareholders of SMI are the Tampakan Mining Corporation and Southcot Mining Corporation (known as the Tampakan Group of Companies). from Tampakan Project Sustainability Report (pdf)

Fuentes appeared on TV Patrol SOCSKSARGEN and said that she made the decision for the good of the locals whose lives depend on the mining site, which is a watershed.

According to the Daily Star, the nature of an open pit mine–being a massive hole dug into the ground–contributes to a disruption of the nature and appearance of the natural environment around it. Deterioration of the quality of ground water is a possible danger. Also, open pit mines strip the topsoil of the land nearby, and unexpected water runoff from these mines–especially those that excavate coal–can be hazardous to life in nearby rivers and streams. from ehow.com

Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast mining and open-cut mining, refers to a method of extracting rock or minerals from the earth by their removal from an open pit or borrow. from Wikipedia

Open pit mining could turn Tampakan’s mountains from this:

Image from Tampakan Project Sustainability Report 2009 (SMI)

to this:

Image from Wikipedia

Peter Forrestal, president of SMI, expressed his concern on the impact of the Environment Code on the operation of the mining company. He also insists that based on SMI’s pre-feasibility studies, open pit mining in the best method to use in extracting the ore reserves in Tampakan.

These studies identified open pit mining as the safest and only economic extraction method given the configuration of the deposit and the geology of the region. from SMI News Release

The Tampakan Project is one of the largest mining projects in Asia. SMI is reportedly investing over US$5 billion dollars for this project and will employ 9, 000 people for the construction and 2,000 during the actual operation.

For the many years that SMI has existed in Tampakan, it has done several community projects for the indigenous people including scholarships, among others, and continues to stand on its promise of sustainable development.

If this project does not materialize, it would be an opportunity that the province and the surrounding provinces and cities would miss, as the project entails a lot of other developments.

On the other hand, the local government of South Cotabato only wanted to protect the interest of the people it serves and that includes protecting the natural resources of the province from potential exploitation.

Fuentes’ signing of the Environment Code does not put an end to this issue. For as long as the gold and copper reserves remain buried in the mountains of Tampakan, foreign investors with the technical and financial capacity to extract it would always be keeping an eye on this province.

As our country’s new leaders take their oath of office, the challenge of development versus environmental conservation is major issue that they should pay attention to. Let us hope that in their decision-making, they would always think of the people’s welfare and not the personal gains they could get.

According to reports Pacquiao personally requested Judge Jaime Y. Infante to be the inducting officer, so the latter assisted Justice Carpio during Pacquiao’s oath taking.

Gov. Miguel Rene Dominguez also took his oath for his last term as the province’s governor.

In his speech, he highlighted how Sarangani has improved from being the fourth poorest province in 2004 to being the 14th after his two terms as governor.

He promised that in three years’ time, Sarangani will no longer be classified a poor province.

In the picture below, he is flanked by his immediate family and a beautiful woman who could easily be identified as his fiance.

Vice-Governor Steve Solon, who is regarded as the governor’s team mate, with their slogan, ka-team-bayayong sa pag-uswag (partners in development) was also installed into office.

After the inauguration the Sarangani News Bureau of Kabataan News Network, composed of students from our school got the chance to interview Pacquiao, who gladly answered the students’ questions.

TIME FLIES so fast. Tomorrow, my fourth school year at Alabel National Science High School will officially start. The first year students when I joined the faculty are now in their senior year. That also means I am three years older now. I don’t want to get older but I can’t do anything about that. What I can work on, instead, is how I can be productive this year.

What are the changes that will take place this year?

First, I was not assigned as a class adviser. Is that good news? I don’t think so.

Yes, being a class adviser is a tedious task. You know, you would have to keep a school register. You’ll have to prepare class ranking every end of the quarter. You’d have to supervise the class organization. You would have to settle classroom problems. You’d have to make plenty of reports at the end of the school year.

Since I was not assigned as class adviser this year, you might say I have been given lesser load. Wrong. I am off to a more uncertain task, which is second of the changes I have to face this year.

The Principal asked me to assist her in her reports. This is why not being given a class to supervise this year is not good news.

Since I started working here, the principal has always asked for my help in preparing her reports since she doesn’t know how to use the computer and she trusts me in editing the report. For many times before, I have stayed very late in school, and even on weekends, helping her beat the deadlines.

This year, with the new DepEd Region XII administration,we are taking new directions. A lot of changes are expected and the principal said that we might be doing a lot of reports and evaluations and she needs me to help her prepare the documents.

I have been given a new subject to teach. We have added another section and, consequently, we we now lack teachers. Many of us are overloaded. I was given an additional subject to teach and that is Technical Writing. So I had to read the competencies for that particular subject and master them myself. It’s a challenge. That adds up to the many things I have to lean this year.

I am going back to school. Is you have been reading my blog, I stopped schooling in the second semester because I have foreseen that there would  be plenty of activities. I found out that it was a good decision. I would have gone crazy if I continued schooling. This year, I am going back to school so that I could master the subject I am teaching and complete my academic requirements.

Overall, this year is about juggling too many responsibilities and managing my time. Now here are the necessary adjustments I have to make:

1. Prepare a schedule of activities for the day and update my daily planner. Thanks Lotie for the planner. It’s becoming helpful. I’m getting used to it. It is becoming part of my system.
2. Stop procrastinating and do what I must do during my free time. I used to wait for deadline. This time, I should be more disciplines. I will be employing the reward and punishment system to keep me disciplined.
3. Say no to unnecessary activities. I have to plan my recreation as well and should not give in to pressure.
4. Get enough sleep and exercise. More that anything else, I have to take good care of myself. I wouldn’t be productive if I am getting sick every time. What good are my efforts if I am killing myself in the process?

So help me God.

With a wide margin of over 11, 000 votes and getting the trust of about two-thirds of the voting population, Emmanuel “Manny/Pacman” Pacquiao knocked out the champion of a 17-year dynasty, Roy Chiongbian.

It took the COMELEC three days after the election before finally proclaiming the new set of provincial government officials due to delays in the transmission of election returns.

VICTORIOUS: (From L-R) Gov. Migz Dominguez, Cong. Manny Pacquaio, Election Officer Atty. Michael Abas, and V-Gov. Steve Solon

Just before midnight of May 13, Pacquiao was finally proclaimed a winner, together with re-elected Gov. Miguel Rene Dominguez and Vice-Gov. Steve Solon.

Dominguez and Solon and the only Lakas-SARRO candidates elected into provincial government posts; the rest are all from the People’s Champ Movement.

Following are the Final and Official Results of the Election in Sarangani Province:

Congressman of Sarangani

Governor

Vice Governor

Board Members – District 1

Top 3 Only

Board Members – District 2

Top 6 Only

*Photo from Sarangani Province Updates

Following are the Final Official Results of the Local Election in Alabel, Sarangani Province:

Mayor

Re-electionist Corazon Grafilo of People’s Champ Movement won by a margin of 831 votes. It had been a close fight with Ronnel Español of Lakas, who the led the poll for a number of times during the canvassing, leaving the watchers gasping for breath.

Vice Mayor

It’s almost a 60-40 share in favor of PCM’s Vic Paul Salarda in the Mayoralty race, beating then Mayor Hernando Sibugan of Lakas..

Councilors

The Municipal Council of eight members was split equally between PCM and Lakas, with young engineer and re-electionist Mark Senit on the lead.

The council is also a mix of the young, newbies, and seasoned politicians. Marivic Flores, Menandro Dambong, and Moises Alaba are all experienced in the field of politics. Businesswoman Lotis Villarico and engineer Joel Aton of the Southern Philippine Power Corporation are new to public office. Meanwhile, Paul Villamora (son of a former councilor) and Irish Louie Arnado are the youngest ones. Arnado is only 22.

May this new set of public officials bring about change in my beloved hometown.

Visit this link for other election results.

*Provincial officials have not yet been declared because as of this posting, canvassing is still going on in the municipality of Glan. One thing is sure, Manny Pacquiao is really going to be our new congressman, given the wide margin between his and contender Roy Chiongbian’s votes.

WE ARE inching closer to the big day. We will again exercise our right of suffrage and perform our duty as citizens of this country.

Now here are some final notes that I’d like to remind myself about before I cast my vote on Monday:

1. Finalize my picks for the different positions from national to local level. I will write it in a clean sheet of paper I can easily put inside my pocket.
2. Keep posted on the recent election updates via RP2010, the election blogwatch.
3. Go to my polling precinct tomorrow or on Sunday, so I won’t have any problem comes election day. You could do the same, too, especially if you are not familiar with the school. If you don’t where your precinct is located. You can get help from Google’s Find Your Precinct Project, which we helped map. (Image courtesy of Sir Hecky)
4. Wake up early on Monday, so I could cast my vote early.
5. Make sure the batteries of my phone and camera fully-charged so I can post updates on plurk, fb, and on this blog after voting.

The fifth reminder is actually my way of taking part in ensuring a successful election through citizen journalism. Thanks to programs like ABS-CBN’s Boto Mo I-Patrol Mo for making the people realize that they have a role to play in the elections.

As of this posting, the CF cards are not yet installed in the PCOS machines at Alabel Central Elementary School. Expectedly, the same is true to precincts located in far-flung areas.

Fears of cheating by interfering with the operation of the PCOS machines still  abound. A lot of people are even doubting that the election with push through given the recent glitch with the automated election system.

Let us all pray for a peaceful and successful election.Let us also pray that whoever will be elected as leaders of the land can unite the country and finally bring about real change. Furthermore, let us pray that the losing candidates will humbly accept their failure and give their support to the elected officials.

I SAW this tarpaulin signage erected along the highway. I could not help but notice it, not because of its size (it’s only about 4ft tall and 6ft wide) but because of what it says. Something is wrong with it.

I have a friend who lives in Dapitan and he gives me updates about the political situation of the city. He told me that the people there have been so used to receiving money from a powerful political clan for their votes. I had to ask, “Do they have to buy votes? Aren’t they powerful enough to gain position without resorting to vote-buying?” He told me that it is already part of the system and that nothing could be done about it.

On the way home yesterday, two men were talking about their presidential bets. One of them mocked Eddie Vilanueva’s slogan, Anim na Taong Walang Kurapsyon. Impossible, they both agreed. One man said, “Testingi daw sugo ang bata kung motuman ba wala’y suhol?” (Do you think a kid would run errands for you without you giving him anything?)

And there is that sign in the photo above. Rough translation: “Accept the cash, but choose the good ones. Secure the future.”

Is there really no hope for this practice to end?

My friend would tell me, “In these difficult times, we have to be practical. They wouldn’t know if I’d vote for them or not. I will vote wisely but I’ll accept the money. It would be enough to pay for our electricity bill for a month.”

Many of us would find that a sound principle. But I see it narrow and shortsighted.

Whether you like it or not, by accepting a bribe from politicians, you make the process continue; you give it life.

You may call me a hypocrite, but what would you call yourself if you accept the bribe?

And to the Konsensya ng Sarangan, with that advocacy, are you really thinking of the future by encouraging the people to participate in the practice of vote-buying? Think again.

I RECEIVED my Voter Information Sheet for the May 10, 2010 National and Local Elections and with it is the official sample ballot from the Commission on Elections.

Have you received yours?

The COMELEC is actually required by law (RA 7904) to furnish every registered voter a copy of the Voter Information Sheet that looks like that sheet of paper  in the photo above. According the law, the COMELEC should distribute it 30 days before the election. The last day should have been last 10th of April. I got mine the other day only. Well, due to the intermittent brownouts, the COMELEC has a scapegoat.

I was right, the sample ballot could somehow make the voters feel at ease. Based on the conversations between people who drop by our sari-sari store, the voters have plenty of apprehensions about the upcoming elections. They fear that their votes might be invalidated. But after seeing the sample ballot, they now understand what they need to do at the polling precincts.

However, there are some gray areas. Following are questions that my neighbors usually ask:

• HOW SHOULD THE BALLOTS BE SHADED?

Ovals should be shaded fully. Marks are evaluated based on a COMELEC defined sensitivity-level. For example, a half-shade (filling half of an oval) will be evaluated by the Automated Counting Machine whereas a dot would not. This protects against accidental marking of an oval. Furthermore, the practice of shading an oval completely shows that the voter is actively and with full intention selecting the candidate of their choice.

• WHAT SHALL VOTERS USE TO MARK THEIR BALLOTS?

COMELEC / SMARTMATIC-TIM would be providing special ballot markers to each precinct, which will be used for the voting process. The Automated Counting Machine can accommodate pencil marks, but for reasons of securing the process (as pencil marks can be erased and replaced), black markers will be used. NOTE: Pencil marks are editable, and therefore not recommended. In an extreme case where marks are maliciously edited after the ballots have been casted, counted and transmitted, and an audit takes place, this could lead to a lot of suspicion and confusion in the process.

• WHAT HAPPENS IF A VOTER SELECTS LESS CANDIDATES THAN EXPECTED?

It’s called an under-Vote. Under-votes are valid votes, and will be interpreted by the system accordingly. For example, for a contest where the voter can select a maximum of 12 candidates, choosing a number of candidates less than the expected 12 is still valid and will be counted.

• WHAT HAPPENS IF A VOTER SELECT MORE CANDIDATES THAN EXPECTED?

It’s called an over-vote. The system will not accept over-voting for any contest. Should there be an instance of over-vote for a particular contest (for example, voting for 2 candidates in the President contest), that contest will not be counted. However, the other contests would still be evaluated and counted, provided that those contests were not over-voted in.

• IN CASE OF MASSIVE BLACKOUTS ON MAY 10, COULD IT LEAD TO FAILURE OF ELECTIONS?

NO. The Department of Energy can and should prioritize May 10, 2010 — 1 day for National Elections. There are always portable generators provided by the poll watchers, political parties, among others during elections. Comelec’s service provider, Smartmatic-TIM, is required to have 12 hour back-up batteries. Spares are also available at strategic locations from its technical support staff. The machines are essentially laps which require low power consumption and which can easily be connected to a variety of power sources including rechargeable batteries, inverters and portable generators. Rechargeable batteries are readily available in commercial retail stores nationwide. TELCOs have, as standard practice, 2 standby power generator sets in their stations/facilities. SO MANY ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF POWER. POWER FAILURE WILL NEVER LEAD TO ELECTION FAILURE.

At the end of the Voting Day, the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) will close the elections by accessing the Administrative Menu on the PCOS. Only upon closing the elections can the PCOS start counting the votes. Unlike in the manual process, counting by the PCOS process happens instantly. The PCOS then prints 8 copies of ER together with a statistic report and an audit log.

• HOW WILL THE ELECTION RETURNS BE TRANSMITTED?

The BEI then connects the Transmission device to the PCOS via the Ethernet port. The Automated Counting Machines is only “connected” once at the end of the voting day, and then disconnected after transmission. The transmission process takes less than 2 minutes. As in the manual process, the results from the precincts will be transmitted to the Municipal Canvassing Server / Station. The municipal canvassing server canvasses all the results from the precincts under its jurisdiction. Once all the results are canvassed, the MBOC (Municipal Board of Canvassers) can generate and print out the Municipal Certificate of Canvass as well as the Statement of Votes. This process is repeated, transmitting the results and printing the necessary reports in the Provincial and National Canvassing Stations.

• HOW SURE ARE WE THAT RESULTS CANNOT BE INTERCEPTED AND ALTERED DURING TRANSMISSION?

Prior to transmitting the Election Returns, the PCOS digitally signs the files using the SHA256 algorithm and encrypts them using the AES128 algorithm. This encryption level is as good, if not better than most online banking transactions, which are “connected” 24 hours a day, seven days a week. By contrast, the Automated Counting Machines is connected only at the end of the voting day, only for the short period needed to send the information. This makes the risk of “hacking” virtually impossible.

There are some more questions answered on Nopyi-Ako website where I got these information.

First time voters can also ask questions to Youth Vote Philippines.

Jingles are a creative way of introducing a candidate and conveying his message across to people. They are played over and over again to increase the probability that the electorate will recall the candidate’s name and characteristics.

Most campaign jingles are built on recent hits or songs that are familiar to many. In Alabel, Corazon Grafilo, who is aiming for re-election as the town’s mayor chose Wondergirl’s Nobody and Flo-Rida’s Low. Lakas’ bet in the mayoralty race, Ronnel Español uses The Corrs’ Breathless. Re-electionist for Vice-Mayor Vic Paul “Nonoy” Salarda’s jingle is based on Orange and Lemons’ Pinoy Ako. Independent candidate for mayor, Danny Lim, on the other hand, chose an old and relatively unfamiliar song, Jambalaya (On the Bayou), which was sung by American country singer Hank Williams (from wikipedia). My uncle, Hernando “Popoy” Sibugan, who is in the vice-mayoralty race used two songs for his campaign jingles: Victor Wood’s Carmelita and Lady Gaga’s Poker Face.

Aside from adding flavor and flair to the election frenzy, the campaign jingles also tell us something significant. As I listened to the jingles of various candidates, I was able to get a picture of the locals’ concept of a good public official. I listed phrases that are common to most campaign jingles. These phrases tell us the characteristics that a candidate must possess in order for people to choose him.

What do Alabelians look for in a candidate? Following are three phrases that are common to the local political jingles:

1. Maayong tawo/ Buotan – The people are basically looking for a good person. That probably means a person who is kind and has good intentions or someone they haven’t heard to have hurt others or did something unagreeable. In today’s context, the people have to choose the lesser evil, someone they think would chop off the least amount from the people’s money.

Although necessary, good intention, as we know,  is not enough. The person that we should elect is someone who is capable. We would know if the person is capable based on his track record, which is the second quality that Alabelians look for in a candidate.

2. Nasinatian na/ Nasulayan na – They would prefer someone who has political experience. Of course, someone who has held public office has better knowlegde of the government system. They know the situation of the town and of the people. The downside is they also know how to finagle their way to personal gain from government transactions.

I think that instead of looking for someone who has been in a public office for years, we should look for someone who has  achieved something significant for the people. There is this candidate who gives away fliers that contain a record of the many years of service he has rendered as government official. The question is, in those years, what has he done that greatly benefited the people he served?

3. Nakatabang/Makatabang sa katawhan – The voters are looking for candidates, who, if elected, would be of help to them. If the people are thinking of the common good, then this is just fine. However, most often than not, they would elect the candidate who promise them jobs and other opportunities. Worse, the help that some people have in mind is distribution of a kilo of rice or a pack of relief goods.

Wherever I go today, I would always hear people talking about the coming election. This is a good sign. I believe that more and more people are beginning to become aware that their right of suffrage is not merely a right to choose the leaders they but an opportunity to take part in making positive change happen.

God bless us!