METROPOST NORM SCHRIEVER


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proprietor, positively bubbling with energy. “Would you like to try the best fruit shake in the whole world?” she says, appearing behind me now as if by magic, but with that same jubilant smile.


W


I rub my eyes, but I’m not seeing double.... Let me introduce you to


Loulou and Lori, identical twins (Loulou proudly tells me she’s a few minutes older) who own Karma Café in Dumaguete’s Ever Mall. Actually, you won’t even


find that name on their kiosk because the official business name is Wah’Crepe.


“We serve what you deserve” became their mantra


elcome to Karma Café, sir,” says the smiling Filipina


after Loulou read about the concept of karma in a book; and the name Karma Café was adopted by patrons and regulars. Karma Café serves an array


surrogate family for so many who would otherwise be alone in Dumaguete.


of fresh fruit smoothies (with healthy turmeric and ginger added), strong brewed coffee, crispy crepes (their ham & cheese is the most popular), and waffles. They keep the prices low because they don’t want to price Filipinos out of eating there, and they love serving local students. But the twins look to nourish


But if you meet the mellifluously talkative, ever- entertaining twins these days, you’d never guess they come from humble beginnings of a small village deep in the jungle of Bohol.


fter colonial Spain and neo-colonial America, it is arguably modern Korea that enjoys the greatest friendship and fellowship of Dumaguete locals out of all foreigners. I moved to Dumaguete City


A


more than just stomachs, as the café has become a gathering place for tourists, foreigners, and expats as well. Together, they form a community of those far away from home, a


Their father was a barangay captain so their small home received many visitors nightly while the shy twins peeked out from their room. But life took a cruel turn when they were nine years old. First their mother passed away, and then, their father less than four years later. Sent to live with a cousin in


Cebu, they were exposed to a bigger world than their small jungle village.


Their cousin was married Seeing double at Karma Café


to a nice German man, and soon, their shyness around foreigners butterflied into outgoing and fun-loving personalities. As their English got better,


so did their grades in school, and the twins were able to attend university in Cebu. After graduating, they forged their work ethic by working for a Chinese store owner, earning P200 for a 12-hour day, including scrubbing the floor on their hands and knees. So when a 2013 earthquake leveled their ancestral home in Bohol, they collected their meager savings, and relocated to Dumaguete, in search of a future they could call their own.


Shortly after, Wah’Crepe was born. The twins never lost


TO PAGE 6 MOSES JOSHUA ATEGA


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“They call themselves Muslims but what have been done by these Maute-led groups are not within the values of the Islam faith.” - Chanda, a Maranao teacher in Dansalan College


n Iligan recently, we joined a team of Psychology teachers and community workers to conduct a Trainors’ Training on Trauma led by Dr. Michelle Joan Valbuena, chairperson of the Psychology Department of Silliman University, and by


I


Rebecca Capulong, an expert on reconciliation and peace. The participants included teachers from Dansalan College who experienced 12 horrifying days being surrounded by Maute snipers. Dansalan Col lege in


Prof.


Marawi is a Christian school but 87 percent of its student population come from the Maranao tribe, and are mostly Islam in faith.


Maranao-speaking people who live principally in the Lanao provinces have long- defined the culture colors of these communities around this Presbyterian USA-established education institution. They are the most influential Muslim tribe in Mindanao.


Mautes with its campaign to “purify” the region. They were recruiting supporters to transform Marawi into an Islamic State, and the huge student population was an easy target.


Dansalan College with a campus that overlooks Marawi City was a strategic point for the war offensives of the Mautes. And this year in May, the whole country was shocked when news reports revealed the presence of an active ISIS-related movement led by the Maute brothers in Marawi.


Philippine President


Duterte declared Martial Law in the entire Mindanao with one war mission: to obliterate ISIS presence in the country. This story is about the


killing of a number of Christians by the men in black who were roaming everywhere. I am fortunate that my family and I were able to escape from the war but I know people close to me who were killed. Seven of my co- workers in school continue to be in captivity. In Marawi, it was a regular thing to hear gunshots. I was still a child when my family would move around many times because of peace & order-related conflicts. Whenever we heard the sound of gunshots, we would actually ignore them as it was the usual occurrence.


Chanda’s story


Historically, the Maranaos have faced challenges of discrimination within the Philippines. The marginalization in their home communities in Mindanao was largely due to their religion and beliefs. Starting a few years back, ISIS-influenced extremists have continuously targeted students in Marawi, a university town, and the


Marawi crisis as experienced by a Maranao teacher named Chanda in Dansalan College, She shared her story during the trauma healing sessions we conducted. I have omitted some details in an attempt to better protect her identity and safety. This is Chanda’s story: I came to this workshop as I want people to understand that not all Muslims are like the Mautes.


I am from Marawi, and I am a mother. I am one of the teachers in Dansalan College who survived the days when we were surrounded by the Mautes and government soldiers who were fighting in a real war .


Nearly all of my family, my daughters, my son, our neighbors went through the same ordeal. In this war, I witnessed the


But on May 23, 2017, we could no longer concentrate on our school work as gunshots were ringing loudly non-stop. I had to ask permission to go home early that day. When I reached home, I gathered my family members, and we moved to a part in our house that had concrete walls, and we closed all the windows and locked all the doors.


in 2004, and by then, Koreans seemed to be the biggest international group in the Silliman campus. I would later learn that most of them came to the Philippines specifically to learn English, if they chose not to undergo a formal English education in Korea. Others, moreover, go on a relatively inexpensive vacation to the Philippine archipelago, and in that


vacation period solicit the services of private tutors to help them practice English in real time.


Typically, I go through basic grammar lessons to start the session with, and then ask the tutee to talk or write about something, while enforcing his English along the way. As they shared about life back home, their relationships with their families, the nature of their work, and sweet, nostalgic descriptions of what life in Korea is like, I would catch small yet very meaningful glimpses of Korean life and experience.


the most memorable, as well as the very first of them, was Sungkug. He was a software


POLICE....FROM P. 1


said it appears that some people are seeking justice for the dead and wounded policemen.


“Sometimes the NPA would engage in treacherous ways to get the sympathy of the people,” Biñas said.


certain businessman was killed allegedly by the NPA a few years ago in Hinakpan for alleged land-grabbing. Asked if most, or if not all


According to him, a Of all the students I had, I was one such tutor.


AUGUST 20 - AUGUST 26, 2017 MICAH STEFAN DAGAERAG OPINION 5


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engineer, and loved to travel. When I met him, he had been on all continents except Africa, and that was exactly where he went right after his stay in the Philippines. At first, I found it awkward that I was teaching somebody who was older than me. (I was 19, and he was 27. But in Korean years, he was apparently already 28.) His passport had a picture


essays in reaction to some of the articles there. We eventually realized


of him when he was still in their national mandatory military service. Sungkug was quite surprised and even envious that I did not have to go through something similar. What I found immediately


odd was how impulsively he bought fruits from the supermarket. He eventually said that fruits are not common in Korea; one time, he actually asked permission from his neighbors to pick bananas from the tree in their yard. Sungkung had apparently never tried picking fruit from trees before in his life. And the neighbors were gracious enough to oblige. Sungkug was as gentle


as he was deep. He was well-versed in politics and government. He asked me if election season was coming up because all the roads were being repaired. (He said the same thing happens where he comes from.) Eventually, we decided he would bring a local newspaper and write short


retaliation but he did not elaborate.


families of the slain police personnel to let the wheels of justice turn.


Remembering Sungkug


the similarities between our two countries, as well as our shared historical experiences. We were both from Asian countries that enjoy significant American patronage over the decades. Our peoples place a high premium on education, valuing hard work, and enjoying close family ties. Both countries were occupied by the Japanese, and have had American soldiers stationed in their territories since World War II. Unfortunately, we also discovered that our countries have both been


ruled by the elites, typically landed politicians and well- connected businessmen. Both states were also under Martial Law in the 1970s, with Park Chung-hee declaring martial law in Korea only a month after Marcos’s declaration of martial law here.


Sungkug was more than 10 years ago. And while I have not tutored Koreans in English anymore in the last several years, I still do end up meeting new Korean students. As far as I can observe, young Koreans here are generally brilliant minds, particularly in mathematics and in the hard sciences. What I have not heard as much from them here in recent years is their views and feelings towards politics, history, and culture. I miss it. I hope they do, too.


He appealed to the


Biñas disclosed that some family members of the slain policemen have been receiving threats in recent days.


of the shooting incidents in recent weeks in Guihulngan were related, Sr. Supt. Biñas said there appears to be a pattern of retribution and


CITY....FROM P. 3


accountability, according to City Information Office Dems Rey Demecillo. Once passed, the


Ordinance will not allow anybody to become a parking attendant unless having the authorization from the Traffic Management Office, Demecillo said.


I heard my neighbors calling out to us, asking permission to occupy the back side of our house that also had concrete walls. I welcomed them in, as somehow, it also made me feel secure that there were more of us together. I would check if they were well-protected, and also invited other Christian neighbors to join them at the back. We made sure the Christians got to learn our Ali Akbar prayer, as the men in black were asking those whom they would encounter to recite this prayer as a test of their dedication to the Islam faith. And they would kill outright those who failed to recite this measure of their Islamic identity.


I got so scared as I was witnessing Christians being killed


TO PAGE 9


requires that the TMO provide identification cards to these parking attendants, who used to be only men, with a few older women now being spotted in some areas. These parking attendants are to attend and complete seminars on traffic laws, courtesy and discipline, and good grooming. They also have to pass random drug tests before they can be qualified to work as parking attendants, the Ordinance states.


But for Marlon, this would mean losing his job at least this year because of his age. He will turn 18 next year.


specifies that an informal public attendant must not


The proposed ordinance The proposed ordinance


be less than 18-years-old, must not be afflicted by any contagious or infectious disease, not convicted of any crime, and must submit yearly police and barangay clearances, Demecillo said. It will impose the following duties and responsibilities to parking attendants: IDs must be worn at all times when working, must be neatly dressed, strictly follow traffic rules, inform parking violators, report to the TMO the time and day of duty, contact number, address, and other vital information, he added.


thoughts about this, Marlon’s face could not but hide surprise and sadness. A sullen Marlon no longer wanted to answer questions about his life upon hearing of the news. He said in the dialect that he will cross the bridge when he gets there, adding that he’s been staying away from friends who are taking drugs because he dreams of going back to school someday as he has started


When asked for his


In fact, one person appeared at his office on Wednesday asking for assistance after receiving threats through text messaging.


Sr. Supt. Biñas said he has offered the use of the Negros Oriental Philippine National Police Provincial


Office camp as temporary refuge for those who are under threat. Binera, 40, was shot dead while his two companions, Alan de Asis and Angelito Villarmente, were wounded by unidentified riding- in-tandem suspects in barangay Tinayunan, Guihulngan, some 114 kilometers from Dumaguete City, Thursday morning. The suspect escaped


using a motorcycle, whose driver was seen waiting for him.


crime scene were six pieces of caliber .45 fired cartridges. (Judy Flores Partlow)


DGTE...FROM P. 3


so they can afford payment of contributions to SSS at a minimum of P15 per day. SSS OIC Vice President Lilani Benedian of Visayas West 1 Division lauded Mayor Remollo for initiating the efforts to enroll the job order and casual employees to the SSS. She also lauded the City Council for authorizing the mayor to sign the MOA. Benedian considers the signing of the MOA institutionalizing the collection and remittance of SSS premiums as a mi lestone that further protects the rights of the workers, said Demecillo. (PR)


saving up for it. According to Marlon, he hopes that the City government will reconsider the proposed Ordinance, and adjust the age limit so that he can still continue to work as a parking attendant which he describes as decent and “better than selling illegal drugs”. (Judy Flores Partlow)


Recovered from the


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