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| THE MUNICIPALITY OF UYUGAN |
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| Like many of us, what’s right and what’s fair (as I see it) has always been my guiding principle in life, and it’s easy for me to understand why I was cancelled: It’s just not right and just not fair that I shall be given the privilege to speak (albeit by proxy) before a distinguished group without giving the same privilege to those similarly situated as myself. |
| The 4 BARANGAYS (MUNICIPAL DISTRICTS) OF UYUGAN, BATANES |
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| Kayuganan |
| Imnajbu |
| Kayvaluganan |
| Itbud |
| VBC’s proxy appearance cancelled
Season's Greetings! |
| Away in a Manger |
| Victor B. Caballero’s Remarks
PTCA Christmas Program and Dance Uyugan, Batanes December 20, 2009 ____________________ ____________________ |
| Overcoming obstacles along the way translates to success and joy akin to Christmas! |
| Capian camu pan nu Dios a anyiven a caidian!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I want to thank you all for inviting me to be with you tonight even in my absence. I’m deeply honored by your invitation, and to be in your presence even in my absence is extraordinary, indeed, but thanks to your president, Anthony de los Santos, for making it possible. I’ve been away for too long that I’m still not totally educated on the real state of affairs of local education in our community, but this I know: All of you have selflessly devoted your time and efforts to promote deeper and more effective parent involvement in the education of our children – the future of our community. As you know all too well, your mission or your work is not easy. In so many ways, promoting parent involvement is swimming against the tide of socio-economic reality. Our lifestyle and way of living has changed. More and more kids are living in single-parent families, so the amount of time families have to devote to school activities has diminished. At the same time, the income gap has widened, and we have more and more parents struggling with the stress of daily living. Overcoming obstacles along the way translates to success and joy akin to Christmas! These pressures on parents are truly daunting that they have caused obstacles, but obstacles that we must either dismantle or find ways around, because today parent involvement is more important than ever. We all know that today's kids will need higher levels of skill and knowledge in the future, acquired through both formal education and informal education. Politics aside, there is a need for reading centers or reading rooms to house computers, TVs and reference materials. The centers or rooms while mainly geared to the youth are also open to the general population. For the short-term, a space in the barangay halls may suffice, but for the longer-term (10 to 15 years), there is a need for a public library here at Uyugan Centro, a reading center in Itbud and a small reading room in Imnajbu. Hornal! Without discounting the benefits of temporary employment or “Hornal,” the key to poverty alleviation and poverty reduction is education or knowledge, whether acquired formally or informally. It’s very important that we broaden our knowledge. For example, on government, we must know how it functions so that we can have a better understanding of how our taxpayer’s money is being spent by our public servants – both appointive and elective officials. Remember always, they’re there because of us – we elected them to serve us - and hopefully to serve us well. We must lobby our education and local officials, from the Sangguniang Bayan to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, and all the way to our representative in Congress for funding of well-maintained school buildings and adequate school facilities and equipment. All of us must do whatever it takes to help our students reach the summit of academic excellence through a healthy school environment. Educators can't do this alone. We are all together. Parents, teachers, students, businesses, and communities will either make it to the summit together, or fall backwards into the abyss of mediocrity together. Parents must lead this expedition up the summit. They’re our children's first and most important teachers. All of us are their advocates, but parents, more than anyone else, must be the ones who push our schools and teachers to help our kids meet or exceed the standards. Parents play such a crucial role in pushing our schools to improve. The day is long over when PTAs and parents supported schools simply by helping with field trips. Today, parents must push for full partnership in the decision-making processes of every school. Parents and schools together must redesign their relationship, and make schools family-friendly places that welcome adult participation from both parents and other community members. But even these changes won't be enough to get us where we need to go. To really succeed in raising the academic achievement levels of our students, we have to change our culture. We have to create a culture that honors and supports learning by everyone, of every age. Every home, every business, and every community must become a center of learning. Parents need to show their children what it means to learn for life. Communities must make a conscious effort to show respect and appreciation for teachers, and to mobilize volunteer tutors and mentors for kids who need extra help. Everyone - from university and college students to our most senior citizens - has a role to play in helping today's kids meet or exceed our academic standards. Everyone has a role to play in making all of Uyugan a place of learning - a place where everyone, of every age, is engaged in learning in one way or another throughout their entire lives. The Spirit of the Isantonino! These are immense challenges. But in this gathering, I see immense hope – and the Spirit of the Isantonino! In closing, may the spirit of goodwill be with all of you always. Happy holidays and my best wishes to all for a happy new year! Now, let the celebration begin! Dios mamajes! |
TORONTO – The weather outside was frightful (blowing snow), but the message was so delightful, and since there’s no place to go: Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow! A Christmas scene it ain't, but it was a cold and snowy day when I got a message advising me that the PTCA wanted me to be the guest speaker (to be delivered by proxy) at their Christmas Program and Dance to be held in Uyugan Batanes on December 20, 2009. Delightful, I said, but with no speechwriter, I tried to gather my thoughts of the place that I spent many a wonderful time in the early years. I thought back of youth and the good old days and the near-empty municipal hall and the porch where I used to stand and see (during the incumbency of the old man) a couple of spotless and well-maintained school buildings, one to my left and the other to my right. I also thought of how life was relatively better even with a local bureaucracy of only 5 staff: the municipal secretary that served concurrent as civil registrar, the municipal treasurer that served concurrent as assessor, the chief of police with his 45 caliber pistol, the patrolman with his night stick (batuta), and the janitor . . . __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ O' yes, let's not forget the municipal jail (more like a pet cage) at the ground floor of the town hall and the slamming sound as the door shuts down for a drunk or petty trouble maker (especially during the fiesta) taken into custody. Well, that was history. Today, the same school buildings still stand but weathered by time, and a larger municipal hall still stands at the same spot, with a local bureaucracy staffed by how many, only Heaven knows – cumalebkeb sa du caro (not my words), I was told. Mayvuh a chapatac na am nu capanlakem su Iswan (farm tool) . . . One thing good with many Isantoninos is that they can laugh at themselves. In my brief stay there, I heard of many comments, some serious and some laughable. For example, there's that comment like: Mayvuh a chapatac na am nu capanlakem su Iswan (farm tool) amna alit na am ari a mamisina! Equipped with the knowledge of how things were, the little that I know from my brief stay of how things are today, and what our dreams are for the future, I prepared my remarks. Aware of the current political situation, I tried to stay beneath politics or off politics, but politics touches our daily lives. We cannot talk of parents and teachers, schools and communities, without touching politics and government. I finished preparation of my remarks and sent it. Then not surprisingly, I got a message that with regret and asking for my understanding, the proxy appearance will be cancelled because of the current situation, and that a priest will do the honors instead. Like many of us, what’s right and what’s fair (as I see it) has always been my guiding principle in life and it’s easy for me to understand why I was cancelled: It’s just not right and just not fair that I shall be given the privilege to speak (albeit by proxy) before a distinguished group without giving the same privilege to those similarly situated as myself. - Vbyssey, December 2009 The ff. was my prepared remarks: __________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ Victor B. Caballero, now Part-time Farmer (Farm Specialist?) in Uyugan, Batanes, was Budget Analyst in the Budget Commission (now the Department of Budget and Management) in Manila and Demographic Specialist and Economist in the Ministry of Finance in Toronto. |
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| The realist sees the evil in all of us which is the Devil and the real world which is Hell. |
| The idealist sees the good in all of us which is God and the ideal world which is Heaven. |