Victor Denis T. Nierva

KAN NAKAULAY TAKA PO, MAYOR Raul Matamorosa, makusog an pagsabi mong bilang alkalde kan banwaan, prayoridad mo an kamugtakan kan mga taga-Lupi. Alagad, an sinabi mong ini garo natunaw kan sinabi mo man sako na mayong plano an lokal na gobyerno kan Lupi na kontrahon an proyekto kan mag-inang Gloria asin Dato na dam diyan sa Malaguico, Sipocot, na maglulublob sa banwaan na saimong pinamamayohan.

THE PROPONENTS of the Libmanan -Cabusao Dam Project (now Cabusao-Sipocot-Lupi-Libmanan or Casilli Dam Project) must have learned out of the tragedies plaguing the northern parts of the country today. Pangasinan is still deep in flood waters. Residents of Botolan, Zambales had seen their cemetery demolished by raging waters that disinterred coffins and corpses.

UYA AN RAWITDAWIT na binasa sa 'Haliya nin Banwaan: Protesta sa Pagratak kan National Artist Awards':

Haliya! Haliya sa itaas!

Haliya! Haliya sa too!

Haliya! Haliya sa wala!

Haliya! Haliya sa ibaba!

Madiklom! Madiklom!

Hilnga an kalangitan, abo an panganoron.

Totoo nanggad an bulan hinalon,

Tampalasan na Bakunawa satong purisawon!

Amakan an baga, ibudbod an arawa,

Hare baya, mga katood, si Bakunawa pahangusa.

Tangani na an bulan ibalik niya sa langit

PERHAPS, I'M JUST LUCKY to have a munchkin for nephew. Let's say it makes everything different. It makes leaving in the morning a little funnier than when we were just three adults in the house. Phone calls are always interrupted by reminders of the much awaited úbong (guess what it means). Arrival in the evening are welcomed with a fanfare of jubilation. That's why the úbong should never, never ever be forgotten; a child will appreciate anything from three pieces of chocolate krinkles to a twenty-peso worth plastic toy to a rubber octopus filled with water. The úbong defines what the family will experience on the night it was given. My sister-my nephew's mom-abhors any úbong that is musical by nature. It means same music-or, yes, noise-playing over and over again until late midnight, until the boy sleeps, tired and exhausted. His sleep would be frequented with dreams and sleep-talking about playtime, other children, toys, and animated movies.

LAST WEEK, THIS PAPER featured four articles on the Church’s rejection of the secular celebrations, military parade, and other civic activities during the Peñafrancia week. Take note that I used ‘week’ instead of the ecclesiastical term ‘novena’ which is a little more than a week.