Pinoy Only Hope

This is not thoroughly thought of nor is a spur of the moment thing. Great ideas took some time to gestate though they'd been popping in and out of the mind persistently nagging to give them a second look. Till they got the mind working day and night how to make them a reality against all odds or even with little hope of catching the attention of people who matter. Pinoy 101 is not complete as it is but it gives so much challenges for ordinary folks to keep on digging-in for solutions to make pinoy life bearable or at best worth living. As I saw and heard Mr Paul Potts of BGT, it reminded me so much of the pinoy in reverse. The pinoy would appear very confident indeed but it's all for show because there's no sincerity as one stares deeply into the eyes. What then should be done to put an end to these arrogant leadership cycles burying the common folks farther down the drain? People wouldn't want violence to escalate as it would definitely draw the country back to a worse situation than what has been "miraculously" achieved in spite of spates of greedy hypocrites alternating at the helm of the State. We deserve more than the state of things pervading now in our land. The continuing extra-judicial killings and disappearances that just happened to be the unavoidable consequence of lying and thieving wouldn't end as long as the people remain poor, powerless, apathetic to the caprices and whims of the ruling elite. Is there hope? a glimmer of hope behind those pirouettes in the world stage that everyone knows back home, even the actors themselves, are just brave fronts, last hurrah of a fast fading voodoo-ish leadership. On a simpler mindset, there is always hope. And that is simply the pinoy's indomitable spirit. "As long as there's life, there's hope." That's the common folks slogan handed down from their unyielding, unbowing ancestors. So what a simple-minded folk approach to end this unravelling political drama to a less damaging conclusion? To stop this cruel cycles of robbing and raping the country's people of their rights and dignity. This blog needs your help my dear deep-thinking blog scanners as your guesses are as good as mine. Before I head for the murky, stinking Pasig River for my first and only dive. The global blog is the only hope. My idea, obvious, just around the corner solution, will be published later because it is a long shot, it will take a generation or two to succeed. And it's all about people's solidarity which is as rare as the blue moon in this corner of the world.

Pinoy 101

Everyday is a study in progress on what pinoy is like. The global net has many negative stories especially the "only in the Philippines" series itemizing fumbling traits particular only to pinoys. The problem is even pinoys accept and just seem to surrender to these self-deprecating blabs with the home-grown pinoy humor that makes them one of the happiest race in the face of the earth. Where on earth can an election have yet to be decided after more than a month of counting?, "only in the Philippines". The flip-flops are so many that one begins to doubt the government direction on vital leadership issues. The pinoy is really one for the books. Reading the daily papers can turn the most brilliant of minds smile then shed tears on the soap-opera like contents of different politically-colored columns. Still the patriots among us wouldn't give up. They'd say the Filipino is worth dying for. There are a number of pinoy world champions in bowling, boxing and billiards, world class entertainers, pinoys who made good in foreign lands. Why we can't seem to move forward as a nation is quite perplexing even to prominent intellectuals and historians. The blame is on so many things, the language, their identity, damaged culture, even on the stars. Still, the pinoys keep on banging away, laughing away the things that keep them poor and hungry for generations. Someday, somebody from the poor will hit the jackpot as some before them did. That indomitable spirit that wouldn't give up. Life is too precious a commodity for them whether it is lived in a gutter or in luxury. They have a low suicide rate. Still they can snuff away another man's life if it threatens their own. Pinoy 101 is not as easy as it is supposed to be. There are some sneaky people who might have studied the pinoy psyche that keep them imposing their obnoxious will subverting the fun loving ordinary folk who's just happy to be born of a country rich in natural resources and cultural heritage and grow up free to leave for places where opportunities abound. In essence, they themselves are to blame for the rut they've placed their own "beloved" country in. The powerful just keep on pushing their weight around. They know nobody powerful would go to jail because money would buy them freedom or even life. The lot of the poor is their own making because they could be easily fooled or buy out. For such short-sightedness, the pinoys are actually all poor and hungry. The powerful crave material wealth for this assures them of followers and servants ready to kill or die for them. The poor kowtow with the powerful for this assures them that their simple and immediate needs would be met. Pinoy 101 is not a simple study. It is an explosive peep-through of horrible things to come. Colorful characters of all sizes start all together on opening day. All professes love of their land of birth but to observant foreigners such as the Koreans, the Filipinos, poor them, do not really love the Philippines. That is very big enough lesson to unlearn and fail in the course.

Yummy Haikus

aroma of pines
musky circling lingering
biting mountain air

tasty grilled catfish
caught bare hands from rice field pond
gift of summer rain
philvik lubao

Painful, Slow Unraveling

things that people do may soon unravel
the minds behind the plot, the show
only because there's a limit to one's wit
propped-up by artificial highs of choice

it's all mixed-up, they got it all wrong
to let the thing in and bring havoc
inside a young man's soul
lost like a sheep towards a cliff

it's war they've got themselves in
nowhere a gleaming chance of exit
amok they've become and more
they'd die in this cycle of lunacy
philvik lubao

Lim#2

Elections we had last May
But to the people's dismay
The counting's far from over
Because of some dirty maneuver
We're in for a long proclamation delay

Modern-day tyrants go globe trotting
Despite world-wide groups protesting
Chutzpah and gall to the hilt displayed
All trip expenses the people paid
Just so to hear the cheaters to the teeth lying
roy quiroz

Haikus in the past

one more last smoke

trembling hand, salivating
freed and pink at last

while birds chirp and sing
in a hammock enjoying
old hd thoreau's

dogs kept on running
rolling along with the kids
grandma shouted lunch
philvic lubao