METROPOST


DECEMBER 8 - DECEMBER 14, 2019 OPINION 5 DR. JENNY LIND ELMACO-CARDENAS


A SOUTHPAW’S MUSINGS


jenny.elmaco@gmail.com


enjoy the tradition of Thanksgiving in that it is actually giving thanks and remembering what we should be grateful for -- which can sometimes be drowned by negativity and buried under rubbles of suspicion and uncertainty. But there is much to be thankful for as Negrenses. Because our Island is full of exemplars, of role models, of heroes and she-roes.


I


When I look back at the past year, I can say it was not our best. It was challenging, at times irritating, there were days when our belief in the goodness of people was tested.


survival, a year of lessons, and a year of knowing that through it all, we are a community bonded together.


active churches for the sermons and life lessons, and for keeping us close to God, and with each other.


We are thankful for our leaders in local government for guiding this Province and the cities/municipalities in it. We are thankful for our media who are always guided by truth and principles. We are thankful to our business sector and entrepreneurs who exercise responsible enterprise and the belief in shared value.


teachers who go over and beyond the lesson plan, and who teach about a fulfilling life as well. And a special mention to our daycare and kindergarten teachers for their genuine care and love given to our kids.


We are thankful to our We are grateful for our But it was also a year of


and security sector for keeping us safe.


and garbage collectors who help keep our Province clean. Thank you to the scientists


implementing new means to create this balance with the environment, and prevent a more devastating climate change.


Daghan pa kaayo. There are so many things to be thankful for. How about you? What are


you thankful for? Why not have this exercise everyday to count at least three things you are thankful


healthy, and keeps things in perspective.


projects that are really close to my heart and I am happy to share them:


I have been busy with


Projects such as the leadership and mentorship initiative with the US Embassy called the Girls Congress, which brings together intelligent young women from the universities of Silliman, St. Paul Dumaguete, and Foundation who also aim to make an impact in their communities.


The Peace Education project with the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation and the Palanca Foundation which aimed to respond to the CHED Memo 2019 to integrate peace education in the curricula. And I am really impressed with the


WILLIAM E. ABLONG EYE OPENER wea_129@yahoo.com adviser.” A


lbert Einstein once said, “An empty stomach is not a good political


Oftentimes, when a man is distressed because he has nothing to eat or has nothing to send his children to school, he does things that he may regret later on but commits it anyway out of desperation. Just like what the Tagalog cliché states, “ang taong nagigipit, sa patalim kumakapit.” Let me explain a bit why I cited the above sayings. Last Nov. 29, DCCCO


Multipurpose Cooperative, CEO Floredliz Bokingkito, PDO Fe Ortega, and Kirby Nuñez participated in the Walk for Peace, together with the Cooperative Development


Commitment, Oneness – are being challenged by President Duterte’s EO No. 70 to implement the End Local Communist Armed Conflict. Executive Order No. 70 institutionalizes the whole-of- nation approach in attaining inclusive and sustainable peace. It created a National Task Force to end local communist armed conflict, and directed the adoption of a National Peace Framework. On the other hand, CDA-7, the lead agency for cooperative development, is a member of Regional Development Council Central Visayas Regional Task Force - End Local Communist Armed


Authority, Cebu extension office headed by Regional Director Dr. Nora Patron, and the different local government units led by their respective Mayors and Vice-Mayors, government agencies, NGOs, people’s organizations, rebel returnees, and students from various schools in Dumaguete. This activity was organized by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict and the Provincial Government of Negros Oriental.


DCCCO has been tapped by the Cooperative Development Authority through its Cebu office to help solve the insurgency problem in Negros Oriental through cooperativism. Indeed, DCCCO’s


Armed conflict


values – Dynamism, Christ- Centeredness, Compassion,


core


Conflict. As a member-agency of the Poverty Alleviation and Livelihood Cluster, headed by TESDA, CDA intends to discharge its mandated functions in the ELCAC project by working with DCCCO as its main partner through the Public-Private Partnership method.


CDA’s choice by saying that they are looking for big cooperatives to partner with them. They opted for DCCCO for many reasons. One is its being a recipient of the 2019 CDA Gawad Parangal as First Placer, and being adjudged as Most Outstanding Primary Cooperative for Large Billionaire Cooperative in the Philippines. DCCCO has the potential of having the biggest Community Development Fund assistance with over


RD Nora Patron justified Why DCCCO?


120,000 strong members. It may be recalled that


Tackling insurgency


DCCCO also received, among others, the following relevant awards which prompted CDA to engage the services of DCCCO: Most Outstanding Community Enterprise for Poverty Alleviation Award (Villar SIPAG Award) in 2016;2nd Place, Most Outstanding Cooperative in the Philippines for large category (CDA Gawad Parangal 2012); Best in Community Involvement (CDA Gawad Parangal 2012); Special Citation for Excellence in Providing Financial Products and Services to Members (CDA Gawad Parangal 2018). As instrument of equity, social justice and economic development, DCCCO accepted the


challenge of implementing the ELCAC program with CDA, TESDA, and other government agencies. It is willing to bring its products and services to far-flung rebel-infested barangays in affected cities and municipalities of Negros Oriental in order to transform the lives of the rebel returnees, sympathizers, and those in the movement.


I believe that NPAs and rebel returnees have the same needs, after all, they’re human beings like us. They have long been denied equal access to financial resources for poverty reduction, technical assistance for food production, and marketing outlets for their farm products. Since middlemen buy their products at very, very low prices, they are always at the losing end.


TO PAGE 6 ***** for. It is f inding ways Thank you to the janitors


and environmental warriors for


and Thank you to our police


ideas of the educators on how to move this forward.


Of course, I continue to promote the strengthening of the research and innovation culture in the Province. I believe there is a lot of untapped potential in science, the humanities, and in the other disciplines. I can imagine what we can accomplish if we put our heads together, and create.


Thanksgiving


The young people of the Illuminates of the Spectra, on the other hand, restored my faith in humanity -- not with grand gestures or fanfare but of creativity and passion and this genuine


*****


n October this year, about a year after I had written here about Santiago de Compostela and my Galician roots, I received an unfamiliar email. Rosa Mar ia Cores-


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intention to make a difference. I saw the best of humanity weave stories that heal, and art that brings people together. Because of these souls, we now have beautiful stories about acceptance, characters that teach us that it is okay to be different, and illustrations that show us love in its many colors. Their Reading Rainbow, a project that creates storybooks for children, is an incredible initiative.


Meanwhile, I was stunned when my students in Foreign Affairs answered my question on what they really wanted to learn in their class with me: their answers were not politics or foreign countries but they said they wanted to know more about the world in order to make informed decisions, and to contribute to a better society. I felt like standing up and applauding. Happy Thanksgiving,


everyone! *****


Burr emailed me from Florida, saying that she was drawn to this column in the MetroPost (http:// dumaguetemetropost. co m/santiago-d e- compostela-and-my- galician-roots-p10519-736. htm) while she had been reseaching for links to her own Spanish ancestry. It was truly amazing


while reading her email, each sentence sending shivers down my spine as she recounted the history of our great-great grandparents Jose Antonio Montenegro & Ana Mascato from Galicia in Spain. Our


grandparents Montenegro and Mascato come from a small town in Vila Xoan de Arousa in the province


of Pontevedra, about 50 kilometers from the Galician capital of Santiago de Compostela.


great-great My lolo Jesus Maria y Josef Montenegro


Finding my Galician family and the Cathedral. There,


Vila Xoan is where Knight Templars (Catholic military oder) once roamed and built their castles locally called paradors, which now have become hotels. We actually stayed in one of them, called Vila Nova de Arousa, a stone’s throw from Vila Xoan. In September 2018, I had the chance to visit Santiago de Compostela, one of Spain’s prime destinations for pilgrims who would walk up to 800 kilometers or more to reach the great square Praza do Obradoiro


the great Censer with the incense would be lit, and five monks would heave up and swing to a 180 degree arc that was in itself dramatic and breath taking. My companions and I visited Vila Xoan, a deep wish on my part, to stand on the ground where my ancestors came from. For a long time,


Pontevedra was just a place in the map, too far to be able to imagine anything about it. But as I stood there by the beach, and by the church of San Martin de Sobran, the place suddenly became real.


ESTHER CENIZA-WINDLER TREE HUGGER terryneemwindler@gmail.com


But some questions were burning in my mind: Would I have any relatives around? How could I reach them? Too bad, I could not express myself completely in Spanish to the two women sunning themselves at the beach. They instead corrected our pronounciation of Vila Xoan...”Vila Showhoang”, they urged.


Rosa Cores-Burr’s email tells me the story of her great-great grandmother Angela Montenegro, sister of Joaquin and Enrique Ruperto, from Vila Xoan, specifically from the parish


TO PAGE 7


Colorful lanterns produced by jail inmates adorn the Christmas tree at Quezon Park, which was lit up by City officials led by Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo, assisted by Ms. Dumaguete Krizia Hamsirani. With them Friday night were Councilors Chaco Sagarbarria, ABC President Dione Amores, Joe Kenneth Arbas, Danni Tolentino, Bernice Elmaco, Lani Ramon, Michael Bandal, and Vice Mayor Alan Gel Cordova. (Photos by Melissa Alexandra Pal)


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