Bacon News Report

1.The First Bacongnon Parish Priest assigned in Bacon is Rev. Father Douglas Dimaano, the eldest son of the late Engr. Felix Dimaano and Fortuna Manduriao Dimaano(a former school principal). Douglas, as he is called among relatives, former classmates, and friends is well known as an achiever, highly intelligent with a very good sense of humor. Bacongnons happily welcome the good news.Another first in Bacon is the Assistant Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Romy Dimaano, son of Bacongnons too. First time that Bacon has 2 Bacongnons with the same surnames ( Dimaano), cousins who are assigned as priests in one parish.

2. There are 3 often talked about potential mayoral candidates in Sorsogon City. They are the incumbent Mayor Leovic Dioneda, incumbent Vice Mayor Edmund Atutubo and Bobet Lee, son of Gov. Raul Lee and Sally Lee. However, Dioneda and Lee have the most money to spend on this return political bout of the 2 candidates. Both are supported by political giants nationally and locally. Sorsoganons are expecting a titanic battle of 2 opposing parties and their supporters figuratively and possibly literally. Hopefully, no blodshed will flow in the extreme heat of the contest.

3. The 2-story Public Market in Sorsogon City is already completed, while the bridge in Bacon going to barrio San Juan is still being repaired. Bacongnons are saying that the bridge repair is motivated by the nearing election.

There is still no budget for the repair of the Bacon Public Market which is too cramp, leaking and extremely old.

4. The Catholic Cemetery in Bacon is fast running out of burial space. Almost every space has now been taken. The church is planning to buy the adjacent private land beside the civil cemetery owned by the family of the late Luis Duka. There is an undergoing negotiation with the family.
There is a seeming phenomenon in Bacon with regard to the daily dead Bacongnon which require a burial lot.
People are saying that the often occurences of death are a result of extreme poverty, lack of food and medical negligence. Some said the deaths are now proportionate to the increasing population in Bacon???

5. A seminarian in Sorsogon Carlo Ebrada, presently studying in the Divine Mercy School is so much in need of a kind benefactor to financially assist him in his goal to become a priest. Carlo, a struggling young man from Banao, Bacon is very poor but very passionate in his desire to complete his noble goal to be a priest. He is wellknown among his former teachers, friends and school principals ( Mr. Amado Manduriao, Jr.among them) in his elementary years as compassionate, highly intelligent, who received a lot of scholastic awards and with a natural leadership talent. Carlo, has a bright future if only someone generous will extend a financial hand. You will be proud of him someday.

Any kind person who wish to help may contact Mr. Amado Manduriao, Jr. of Burabod, Bacon, Sorsogon City, Philippines.

Chiz Escudero: missing the forest for the trees

Chiz Escudero: missing the forest for the trees
[I]f ever he made up his mind, [Senator Francis] Escudero said there was zero probability of him teaming up with Villar due to the C-5 double funding controversy the former Senate president was embroiled in.

Escudero declared his commitment to good governance and... said his conscience would not allow him to team up with Villar.

He said he would rather run with former president Joseph Estrada, who supported his candidacy for the Senate in 2007.

-- “Escudero: Yes to team-up with Estrada”

So let me get this straight. Chiz Escudero is hoisting his image and possible candidacy for higher office on the issue of corruption by refusing to associate with Manny Villar. Villar is currently battling charges of anomalous legislative behavior on the Senate floor. His case has yet to be brought to court, his guilt or innocence still far from settled. He may or may not be guilty, but in Escudero's mind, Villar's stench is now so great that it wouldn't be in his best interests to align his stars with the one politician who's been leading in most presidential surveys.

However, Escudero would gladly team up with Erap. As in Joseph Estrada, the ex-president booted out of office and eventually convicted of plunder by a court of law after a trial that lasted more than five years, during which Estrada and his top-flight lawyers enjoyed all the opportunity to present his defense in full. The trial itself was preceded by a closely-watched Senate impeachment process that, while prematurely aborted, brought to light serious proof of crimes and misdemeanors by Estrada and his minions.

The pardon Estrada received from GMA was no absolution; it did not expunge his guilt or declared him innocent of his crimes. On the contrary, the pardon could be given only after he had been convicted in court, after his perfidy had been conclusively established. Officially, irrespective of the presidential remission he now wields with shameless alacrity, Estrada remains the country's first plunderer-president.

How can Escudero justify his professed advocacy for good governance and anti-corruption when he shuns Villar but embraces Estrada?

I happen to be from Sorsogon, the province Escudero represented as a congressman and the home base for his quick leap to the Senate. I am one of his constituents, and he is, in effect, my representative in Congress. Not that I am proud of it. I have never voted for Escudero, and have never bought into his putative promise as a new kind of modern, no-nonsense, trapo-busting politician. His record speaks for the man.

During the height of the Estrada scandals and EDSA II, Escudero stood by Estrada all the way to the end. His only defense against the avalanche of evidence testifying to Estrada's gargantuan incompetence and corruption in office was loyalty--loyalty then, and loyalty now, to the kingpin who had invested in him and helped fast-track his ascent in politics and the celebrity circuit. It's possible he had sincerely believed in Estrada's innocence, which only raises the question--especially in light of his fulminations now: How bad a judge of character is he?

Then, in what was clearly an act of revenge for Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide's tough, even-handed management of the impeachment trial, Escudero and a bunch of young congressmen under Danding Cojuangco's Nationalist People's Coalition tried to impeach Davide on the flimsiest of grounds. That outrageous act put the country at risk of a full-blown constitutional crisis. Does anyone remember now what Davide's supposed sins were? Does anyone remember, for that matter, that Escudero was one of the leaders of a youthful gang of rising political stars who attempted to hijack the Republic to their bratty, dangerous tantrum, who were perfectly willing to rend this country apart and put it through a potentially disastrous upheaval?

Quite a number have been taken in by Escudero's slick facade--the obvious intelligence, the preternatural calm and self-assurance, the flawless, eloquent command of Filipino. As with most everything else in this sentimental country, he straddles politics and showbiz with ease, and Escudero himself is not shy about banking on his Internet-savvy rock-star status particularly among young people, helped along by vapid media commentators who have hardly called him out on his political behavior. He has compared himself and his youthful politics to US president Barack Obama.

But scratch that PR-buffed persona by examining his history and what do you get? A man so afflicted by myopia that he sees the trees and misses the forest. A man whose moral compass tends to swing not only narrowly but selectively. Every time he rails against GMA for corruption, I remember TV interviews of him strenuously defending Estrada when his favorite president's Boracay mansion was all over the news. When he slams the Arroyos' lavish spending, I remember NOT hearing him condemn the Bacchanalian lifestyle that Erap and his cronies indulged in. And now that he sees fit to twit Villar for his supposedly crooked ways, he then proclaims his fealty to the biggest plunderer this country has managed to convict so far.

Estrada, GMA, Villar--all of them reek of rot and corruption, if by varying degrees. If Escudero were the least bit intellectually honest, if he were even half-serious about promoting the new kind of clean, honest, conscientious governance that he has loudly pledged his brand of public service to, he'd be denouncing ALL of them, and not only those whose political patronage has not been as generous or accommodating enough to earn his tribalistic sense of loyalty and gratitude.

A plague on all their houses. But reserve an extra swarm of locusts and frogs for a hypocrite like Francis Escudero.

By Gibbs Cadiz

New Voices: U.S. should support all its troops, including gays -- OrlandoSentinel.com

New Voices: U.S. should support all its troops, including gays -- OrlandoSentinel.com

By Joe Dellosa

Special to the Sentinel

August 1, 2009

It's time to end the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that prohibits openly gay people from serving in the military.

U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, a Democrat from Pennsylvania and an Iraq War veteran, has been pushing the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, which would eliminate "don't ask, don't tell." It is sound, timely legislation that strengthens America.

The numbers are staggering. Since 1993, more than 12,000 servicemen and -women have been discharged under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Of those, about 60 were Arabic linguists, positions that are so critical and difficult to fill that, according to a 2008 Christian Science Monitor article, the Army considered offering retention bonuses of up to $150,000 to native Arabic-speaking soldiers.

"Don't ask, don't tell" takes a severe financial toll as well. In 2006, a University of California Blue Ribbon Commission concluded that the cost of implementing the policy from 1994 to 2003 was more than $363 million.

Most of these discharges aren't the result of inappropriate or unprofessional conduct. The mere discovery and lack of denial of one's homosexuality is enough to warrant a firing. Stephen Benjamin, a former Arabic translator in the Navy, wrote in a 2007 New York Times column that he was fired under the policy after his instant-message transcripts with a friend were found. The transcripts contained nothing remarkable, Benjamin wrote, except that they happened to indicate that he's gay.

If polls are any indication, the American public generally supports repealing "don't ask, don't tell." A December 2008 CNN/Opinion Research poll of Americans found that 81 percent believe openly gay people should be allowed to serve in the military. There is strong bipartisan support, too; a May 2009 Gallup poll put support for openly gay people serving at 58 percent among Republicans, 67 percent among independents and 82 percent among Democrats.

Those who oppose repealing the policy are often quick to cite tepid support for the policy's repeal among those serving in the military. And it's true. An October 2006 Zogby poll of current and recent military service personnel found that only 26 percent agreed with allowing openly gay people to serve; 37 percent disagreed, and 32 percent were neutral.

But in the same poll, 73 percent said they feel "very" or "somewhat" comfortable in the presence of gay people. Among those who know someone in their unit is gay, 66 percent said the presence of gay people had no impact on personal morale, and 64 percent said it had no impact on the unit's morale.

This suggests that, even if opinions about "don't ask, don't tell" are mixed among service personnel, there's already an established comfort level about gay people serving in the military, and that comfort level increases for those serving alongside them.

I'm not in the military, and I doubt I have the guts to join voluntarily. But I have nothing but gratitude for those who put on a uniform to stand up for justice and improve the lives of people around the world.

And that's why this matters. When we say we support the troops, for that to be more than a slogan on a magnetic yellow ribbon, we have a responsibility to honor everyone — gay and straight — who does what the rest of us won't. Every day that the "don't ask, don't tell" policy remains in force is a day we fail at that responsibility.

Only nine Florida representatives have co-sponsored Murphy's bill, with Reps. Corrine Brown of Jacksonville and Alan Grayson of Orlando doing so last month. Other Central Florida representatives, including Ginny Brown-Waite, John Mica, Adam Putnam, Bill Posey and Suzanne Kosmas, haven't — but they should.

This is, after all, an apolitical issue, one of national security and respect for all who serve. Murphy deserves our support and, more urgently, the support of his House colleagues.

E-mail submissions of 600 words or fewer to newvoices@orlandosentinel.com or mail them to New Voices, MP-218, Orlando Sentinel, 633 N. Orange Ave., Orlando, FL 32801. Include a high-resolution JPEG image or photo.

Copyright © 2009, Orlando Sentinel

"Sorsogon one of the poorest.."

NACIONALISTA PARTY ALREADY TAKING POTSHOTS ON 'CHIZ' ESCUDERO OF NPC
MANILA, AUGUST 18, 2009 (PHILIPPINE STAR) By Delon Porcalla - Election season is here, and the gloves are coming off.
This early, Nacionalista Party (NP) spokespersons are taking potshots at Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC).

Lawyer Adel Tamano said Escudero would surely lose in the May 2010 presidential elections if poverty were the barometer, since his home province of Sorsogon remains one of the poorest in the country.
Tamano said that Sorsogon should have been the “showcase” of the opposition senator.
“Chiz is a friend, but I think anybody who aspires to be president must be able to show that he has done something for the people. I think it’s fair to ask: What have you done for your district?” he asked.
“He needs to show that he has proven something,” he added.

Tamano, who belongs to the NP senatorial slate of projected standard-bearer Sen. Manny Villar, also cited the long period of time in which Escudero could have best helped his province, since he served as Sorsogon congressman for three terms or nine years until 2007, when he became senator.
“Chiz is very intelligent and articulate, but people will ask: What achievements has he done to deserve our support? He spent nine years as a congressman, it’s better if we have a basis to show how your district developed,” he added.
Tamano’s fellow NP senatorial candidate, former Cavite representative Gilbert Remulla, echoed the same sentiments.

The relationship between Escudero and Remulla, former colleagues in Congress, went sour in May 2007.
Escudero, who will be turning 40 on Oct. 10 and therefore qualified to run for president, is among the frontrunners in the surveys, ranking third in the June 19-22 survey of Social Weather Stations.
According to his website (www.chizescudero.com), the former congressman said one of the laws he helped pass was Republic Act 8980, entitled “An Act Promulgating a Comprehensive Policy and a National System for Early Childhood Care and Development.”

House records showed that in the nine years Escudero spent as congressman of the first district of Sorsogon, he helped pass eight laws – four broadcasting franchise laws, two local measures including Sorsogon cityhood, one renaming the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) to DepEd and the last regulating the practice of veterinary medicine.
His father, Salvador III, a veterinarian by profession, has since taken his congressional seat back, following the election of his son to the Senate in 2007.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2009 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE All rights reserved
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE

Huring Paaram - Last Farewell in Bicol Dialect

Huring Paaram- Last Farewell in Bicol dialect
Bicol Translation of Last FarewellBicol: Huring Paaram
Ni Dr. Jose P. Rizal

Sinurat sa Bicol ni Jose T. Figueroa

Paaram saimo banuang minamahal, dagang pinaorog nin astro nin aldao,Perlang magayonon, mutia sa sirangan, maguinhauang Eden, ica babayaan.Aco mapa-gadan ta saimo I-alay buhay cong mamondo asin malipongao,Cun cuta na maogma, masarig, mabansay, lalo cong idolot ngani cang ma-buhay.

Sa campong labanan minaagap dacol, buhay hinahatod daing orong-orong,Di na iniisip cun anong aabton, lango an cabagay cun momoninongon.Dustang bibitayan, cetro o corona, madaog, manaog, magsaquit, mag ogma,An gabos na ini ranya sa sainda cun iyo an hagad can satuyang banua.

Can aco sadang pa, culang pa nin boot, caso dacula na sangcap na nin cosog,Ica, iyo sana sa isip an laog, ica daing iba an pinngangatorog.¡Daing hanap cundi, oh, mutia nin dagat! An luha sa mata obos na mahoblas,Angog mong magayon ma-panong liuanag, sa puso ma-hale an tacot, an ngirhat.

Aco magagadan oras nin pag-sinag sa licod nin diclom, aldao nin libertad,Cun hanap mo, banua, dugo mag-uarasac, uya an dugo co minsan anong oras.I-uasac mong biyo, di mo pagnyanongan, cun mataong curay sa aldao na iyan,Tara sacong laom dugo co uarasan, gayon nin banaag na bagong somirang.

Banuang dayaday co na pagñatorogan, mau-ot cong bolanos sa bilog cong buhay,Ma-buhay ca banua! Iyo an agrangay caining ma-hale, saimo ma-suhay.Ma-buhay ca! Oh, labilabing gayon, na aco ma-pucan, ica an bomangon,Ica an ma-buhay, aco an gadanon, asin an bangcay co sa lindong mo ilobong.

Cun sa linobongan co sa hodian na aldao, sa tahao nin doot igua nin somongao,Macumbabang burac saca mo matanao, hadoque ta iayn ancalag cong tunay.Hadoque ta nganing sacong ma-matean sa tahao nin lipot nin sacong linobongan,Masangayang init nin saimong hangao asin an managum na simong pagmahal.

Hare pag-olanga liuanag nin bulan, can boot somongco sa sacong linobongan,Aldao pabayae oras nin pagsirang cun i-alay saco an saiyang bangrao.Di mo pag-pogolon tomangis an doros, an gamgam tomogdon sa sacuyang cruz,Gamgam togotan mo na an pagcamoroot ipag-roquiao nia sa maogmang tigñog.

Pabayae an aldao sa cosog nin init, oran na ma-holog ibalic sa langitNa day nang ati, lobos nang matubis, ta caiba caiyan sacong hinanaquit.Pabayae an gabos na sacong catood magnangag-tangis sinda caining pag-talicod,Cun iguang ma-mibi sa sacong panongod, hagada man, banua, murauay co sa Dios.

Hagada sa lagñit an camoninogñan can manga gadan na simo an dahelan,Can magña aqui mong nasa bilangoan, ipaquemaherac an caguinhauaan.Asin magña inang sa luha nalamos, balo patin ilo tagob nin pag-tios,Sa gabos caini hagadang padagos hanap mong libertad ma-camtan mo tolos.

Cun sa labing diclom nin banguing lipotoc, ma-para sa mata an linobongan gabosNa day na cundi gadan an magtanod, moninong galange, hero mo i-ontoc.Herote nin marhay an camoninongan, misterio nin Bangui di mo pag-ribocan,Cun maca-dagñog ca tigñog na ano man, aco iyan, banua, simo nagroroquiao.

Cun an linobongan co lingao na nin gabos, day na nin tanda, day na minsan cruz,Arado togote asin an asadol, ronoton, i-uasac dagang minaosbol .Asin an abo ngapit can sacuyang bangcay, cun manga ronot na gabos sagcod tolang,Bago mapa-balic sa day nin saysay, sa simong alfombra maguin alpog lamang.

Cun siring day na sa saco nin haros na aco lingawan, paraon padagos,Sa panganoron mo, patag patin bolod di co oontocan sinda nin paglibot.Sa ogong, sa bac-ho, sa pag-aagrangay, sa manga pag-auit asin sa pag-roquiao,Saimong pagdangog tingog cong malinao, ta tingog mo aco sagcod noarin man.

Ma-saro sa curay, sa bangrao ma-salac, ma-iaba sa amio nin gabos na burac,Sa pagolit-olit, sa puso mo i-bogtac dalisay cong pag-tobod na di mapa-hamac.Inang Filipinas, saquit nin saquit co, huri cong paaram gñonian acoon mo,Ama patin ina iualat co saimo, sagcod pa an gabos na minamahal co.

Aco ma-paduman sa dagang mapalad, na daing oripon, verdugo, o palpal,An pag-tobod day iquina-gagadan, haros ta an Dios sana an nag-hahade duman.Paaram ina co, ama, magña tugang, buhay nin buhay co, saco nag-ataman,Paghale cong ini pag-pasalamatan ta iyong ma-tapos manga casaquitan.

Paaram, oh!Agom na nagherot saco, taga ibang daga ranga caining puso,Paaram sa gabos, di camo mag-mondo ta an cagadanon iyong pag-hingalo.

Note: Some words with gn have to be revised.

Why there couldn't be a Filipino US President

Top 10 Reasons Why There Couldn't Be
Filipino-American USPresident
By David Letterman

10. The White House is not big enough for in-laws and
extended relatives.

9. There are not enough parking spaces at the White House
for 2 Honda Civics, 2 Toyota Land Cruisers, 3 Toyota Corollas, a
Mercedes Benz, a BMW, and an MPV (My Pinoy Van).

8. Dignitaries generally are intimidated by eating with their fingers at
State dinners.

7. There are too many dining rooms in the White House -
where will they put the picture of the Last Supper?

6. The White House walls are not big enough to hold a pair
of giant wooden spoon and fork.

5. Secret Service staff won't respond to 'psst...
psst' or hoy hoy hoy

4. Secret Service staff will not be comfortable driving the presidential
car with a Holy Rosary hanging on the rear view mirror, or the statue
of the Santo Nino on the dashboard.

3. No budget allocation to purchase a Karaoke music-machine
for every room in the White House.

2. State dinners do not allow 'Take Home'.

AND THE NUMBER 1 REASON WHY THERE COULDN'T BE A
FILIPINO-AMERICAN U.S. PRESIDENT IS....

1. Air Force One does not allow overweight Balikbayan
boxes!

Bacon Church

This is the newly painted Bacon church. Look closely...