You Don’t Know

“You Don’t Know”
By Jasmine Roa

 

She was young! Didn’t know what the world is
Curious! She want to know all of this
Certain! Of finding what the truth is
In her world where she lingered in

One day, she looked, elsewhere
Find the truth, she seeks, everywhere
But, Oh my! What a pleasant surprise
Group of people caught her eyes

She was startled, she started to fall
All she have to do is, call
They grabbed her! Powerless woman!
She lie, with different man..

Assaulted, raped, cannot walk her legs, crippled
She stayed quiet, let her tears ripple
No voice to speak for she will be judged
By the people who didn’t experience all of that

Disgrace, we all see her
Replace, everything, but stayed forever
We see, we judge, people we crush
She can’t, she tried, she left without saying goodbye

Suicide, dreams have crushed
Set aside, all the voice hushed
Cannot speak, whatever leaks
Truth hurts, dreams have already been burnt

You don’t know, what happened
You weren’t there when it happened
She shut her mouth and cried all day
Hoping that everything will go away

Don’t have a choice but to let it be
So I just let myself free…

 

 

Total Cleansing of the Philippines may be Impossible, but Something is being Done by Duterte

TOTAL CLEANSING OF THE PHILIPPINES MAY BE IMPOSSIBLE

BUT SOMETHING IS BEING DONE BY DUTERTE

By Apolinario Villalobos

 

Unlike the past administrations, something is being done by the Duterte’s own today as regards the problem on drugs and criminality. It is an accepted fact that had the past administrations after Marcos did their job in at least curbing the proliferation of the drug menace in the country, it could have not gone to the seemingly uncontrollable extent at the time of the Duterte administration. Pro-life advocates say that since the death penalty had no effect on criminals anyway, it is good that it has been scrapped. They forgot that when Marcos had a big time Chinese drug lord shot at Luneta, there was an exodus of other drug lords out of the country and the spread of illegal drug somehow decreased, as even the use of marijuana to which the drug users resorted was minimized.

 

Duterte himself, insisted that the reason why some observers say that the death penalty has no effect on criminals is because, the laws were not strictly implemented. Although there were apprehensions before, convictions were very insignificant in number due to corrupt judges or the so-called “rogues in robe”, even the police rank has been tainted with involvement in view of the so-called “recycled drugs” that find their way to the streets. Some high-ranking government officials were not spared with the uncovering of the systematic “narco-political” scheme in which “narco-money” is raised to finance the campaign of many politicians who as expected get elected. Even some of those in the military are involved according to the list revealed by Duterte. As it is a public knowledge that as soon as apprehensions were blotted down, but with suspects bailed out by their financiers who will be hanged or convicted to die if there are no convicts?

 

The stumbling blocks in the effort of cleansing are the so-called, religious and human rights advocates who by their acts, show that those they protect are the criminals instead of the victims. Their banner is emblazoned with “unjust extrajudicial killings” with their fingers pinpointing at the police and the new president. Not a single banner carries even a lightly-written “save the victims of illegal drugs”. Their acts show hypocrisy to the highest level!

 

Total cleansing of the country from illegal drugs could mean a lot for the Filipinos who are surprised by the number of those affected, as practically, greed has bred corruption in all levels and sectors of the society. Again, the problem here, are the stumbling blocks.

 

By the way, in building highways, boulders and rocks that block the way are bulldozed, otherwise, the highways will never be leveled and paved with either concrete or asphalt.

 

The Priest is a Painter…Fr. Bong Villalobos

THE PRIEST IS A PAINTER…FR. BONG VILLALOBOS

By Apolinario Villalobos

 

Despite his busy schedule as assistant secular priest who is assigned to numerous areas such Nueva Ecija, Mandaluyong, Quiapo, Sta. Cruz, and today, Caloocan, Fr. Bong still has the time to delve on painting. Even during his student days, he has been expressing his inner feelings and emotions through sketches and paintings. Aside from painting, he has drafted a book on the discipline of meditation complete with inspiring religious figures. He is a member of the Tuesday Club, an active organization of painters who holds exhibits occasionally.

 

During our early morning meeting, he gave in to my request to take photos of his paintings available at the time, as some are displayed in the office of a friend. He also promised to show the portfolio that contains a complete set of his paintings. I was fortunate during my visit because his mother, Aurora, was around and also consented to my request for a photo opportunity with her son. In my future blog, the rest of his paintings from the portfolio shall be shared with viewers.