The RH Bill and the President

     What is in the RH Bill that many people and organizations are so preoccupied with whether they are for

it or against it? ..and what is RH Bill? RH Bill is an act providing for a national policy on reproductive health, responsible parenthood and population development, and other purposes. 

     According to the bill, Reproductive Health refers to the state of physical, mental, and social well-being of a person and not merely the absence of a disease or infirmity, in all matters relating to the reproductive system and to its functions and processes. Responsible Parenthood refers to the will, ability, and commitment of parents to respond to the needs and aspirations of the family and children more particularly through family planning. Population Development, refers to a program that aims to: 

(1) help couples and parents achieve their desired family size; 

(2) improve the reproductive health of individuals by addressing reproductive health problems; 

(3) contribute to decreased maternal and infant mortality rates and early child mortality; 

(4) reduce the incidence of teenage pregnancy; and 

(5) enable government to achieve a balanced population distribution.
     The debate may be lies on the definition of the population development that aims to help couples and parents achieve their desired family size, the aim to improve individuals' reproductive health by addressing reproductive health problems, and the aim to reduce teenage pregnancy. For these three aims to achieve, the bill stated in Sections 9 and 10, the availability of family planning methods and services and the use of contraceptives as essential medicines. The bill, however, is against abortion as stated in Sec 3m. Sec 12 and 19, stated that mandatory health education to be implemented from grade 5 up to 4th-year high school, and the intensified campaign of public awareness on the need to protect and promote reproductive health.
     Here lies the disagreement between the Catholic Church and the government. The use of these contraceptives somehow according to the Church promotes abortion for the married couple since life begins at conception. However, the use of these contraceptives prevents this life to form. The use of these contraceptives insinuates that premarital and extramarital sex is being promoted. The protagonists of RH Bill insist on the right to be informed and the right to choose.
     I am not good at the debate but I think we have to examine every detail of this bill. I am not pro-abortion or pre-/extra-marital sex but I am for responsible parenthood. The Church plays an important role in teaching us the values of life, checking and reminding us of the values instilled in us. The leaders of this country are responsible for every decision that they should take and that he goes for what is right and necessary for their people. Everyone has their own reasons and convictions. When the President, the leader of our country made his statement that he is for RH Bill, it is his prerogative as a leader and I think the Church should refrain (or is it from the church?) from throwing malicious statements at him. I was not pro-Noynoy Aquino, I did not vote for him. But I have just exercised my right to vote and elect whom I think would be the best for our country. As a citizen of this country under his governance, is it not right to follow the leader?  All along, standing out for what he thinks is right and good for his people, I support him in his stand for RH Bill.
      

Read to check:

RH Bill 5043 

Teachers of The Decade

     Attending my son's graduation from high school last March 31 made me shiver and reminds me of my graduation day 25 years ago. I wasn't sentimental back then compared to my son's graduation..there's a mixed emotion..happy, that finally another stage of my son's life has ended and the joy of hoping he would be in college and that he would make it better this time...sad, that my son isn't a baby anymore, the one I used to cuddle, he would have his own life and decision and I'm afraid for him to have mistakes.

     As the ceremony has ended, we took pictures with some of his teachers..our teachers. This blog is actually for these teachers who have exemplarily done their work..our English teacher, our Social Studies teacher, and our Music teacher. Except for the first one, both teachers were known for their terrifying effect on students and I had been one of those students. They really have an impact on me as a person and as a teacher. I would say they are effective and efficient as well.

     They are the teachers of the decade, dedicated to their work, inculcating the importance of teaching and learning to their students...How come...I'm an English teacher too and planning to get a certification in TESOL, I still remember the Afro-Asian literature, the use of auxiliary verbs, doing a written report, the World history, reporting inside the class, how to read musical notes, and understanding the piano parts. How to be neat, how to talk in front of people, and how to recite even if you're nervous. Twenty-five years have gone by, and they became the teachers of my son.

     Imagine the times they have been in our alma mater, the times they have spent teaching kids, the many times students were leaving them and new ones came in. I've felt the same way they had felt many times when my own students have graduated. When all else are leaving for the American Dream, they were the ones who are left for the Filipino dreams. And still, no one can surpass the dedication they have..love them all..they deserve more of the best! Kudos to all my teachers..\o/

Our English teacher, Mrs. Raquel Naanep-Bato.

Our Social Studies teacher, Ms. Loida Estrada

Our Music teacher, Mr. Silvestre Mariano.

Graduation

     In the Philippines, we have a 6-year elementary grade and a 4-year high school. Handling the 4th-year students are not quite easy. You as a teacher need to emphasize to them how important to undergo a college or even a vocational course, even what we call a TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Authority) course that would only take 6 months or less. You also have to take note of their subjects if they are on the edge of failing and how much effort they should take for them to graduate. There is also involvement with their personal problems, and sometimes financial...it really took a long way. For almost 10 months that we had been together, finally, they have made it.

     At the beginning of our class, I had encouraged and motivated everyone to dream dreams, a belief in one's self, and faith in God. I have even given them a project on Values (since class advisers were the ones handling this subject as an additional from their expertise) to make a dream board. The objective is to focus on their goal and on what they wanted to achieve. We also had this statement made on the 1st day of our class, that they have to shout and convince himself/herself upon saying it, "Hindi ako magda-drop! ga-graduate ako!" (I won't drop the class! I'm going to graduate!). Classmates who would hear would clap and agree if they were convinced of what each was saying. The law of positive attraction is also convincing yourself that you're gonna make it, that you can do it, that you can have it, that you can achieve it. I told them that if they themselves cannot be convinced of what they wanted to happen, nobody can. I'm sure they did not forget these two starting events in our class.

     Last night, April 5 was their graduation day, all girls were in tears but I'm keeping myself holding on until one of the boys came to me and call me to say thank you and really cry his heart out...I never thought he would cry like a child to me while I'm hugging him...that's the point I can no longer hold on to my tears..it flows..and while I am writing this blog, tears rolling down my cheeks. I'm really gonna miss them..my cellphone for the last few days before graduation day has not stopped receiving messages from them saying their thank you's..that's the essence of teaching I think, letting them know how I care, whoever they are whatever they have done. They are like my own children. It somehow made them realize what I had been doing for them and unconsciously realized what I have told them that they are in school to learn how to learn..and after that night, I think they did...

4N batch 2011, my advisory class...

My Advisory Class on their Recollection

     Kinda late to write this on my blog, since it happened last January 17. The place were Alagad ni Maria (Disciples of Mary) Formation House in Tahanang Nasaret (Nazareth Home) Retreat Center. This is actually a seminary for aspiring priest but as part of reaching out to the youth they offer recollection program for the graduating students of some high schools in and out of Antipolo vicinity. I'm actually handling 4th year students and they have joined this program initiated by our school.
     I was not in the room where the session is being held but I know what is happening inside since I had been into this kind of recollection program when I was in high school. Some of my students were sharing what happened during the session, what they have heard, and what they did. Well, there are some things that some students never shared to anyone but the session made them open it up. I wouldn't share what some of my students found out from their classmates, and it's a realization for them to understand each other and of course to understand these kids..what they have been undergoing in such a young age. But thinking of it, what's the recollection is all about..
     Every Retreat and Recollection is a SPIRITUAL ENCOUNTER with GOD, meant to be a venue for silence, prayer, reflection and renewal. This Recollection is a special moment, each year, which would hopefully facilitate this meeting with God, so as to bring about transformation. A true spiritual experience brings about change in values, attitudes and convictions, rendering persons more “Christ-like” - this is the heart of all the goals and objectives of the Retreat and Recollection Program. As every students who had undergone a recollection program, each had their own story to tell, experiences to share and a reflection to think about. It is knowing who they are, what they have, what they will be if without God on their side or if with Him all through out their endeavors. Recollection is the time for them to bringing again their past experiences, recalling how it was, but not to mingle with these pasts but makes it a learned lesson on how they will face the present challenges in their lives and how they would walk on to their future.

     These students if properly guided and motivated can be pushed on to set and work out their goals. Though they are not the best of the best nor the cream of the crop, each has its own unique personality, special gift, and talents that they can use. Each passing day, I am discovering new things from them and the time is getting nearer for them to say goodbye to their alma mater. On Tuesday, they will receive their diploma and say, "I did not drop the class! I have graduated!"...

Watching The Super Moon

     As we all have known, the Supermoon started at 2 am Sunday, March 20, 2011 (Manila time).  A supermoon is a full or new moon that coincides with a close approach by the Moon to the Earth. The Moon's distance varies each month between approximately 354,000 km (220,000 mi) and 410,000 km (254,000 mi) due to its elliptical orbit around Earth. Lunar Perigee is what we call it. Super moon was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979. It is being said that with the combined effect of the Sun and Moon on the Earth's oceans, the tide is greatest when the Moon is new or full. At lunar perigee, the tidal force is even stronger resulting in more extreme high and low tides, but even at its most powerful this force is still weak.
     At 2:45 am, looking up in the sky, I took pictures of how the moon is closer to the earth. I was worried then if I could take a shot of it since I only have my Sony Ericsson Cybershot 3.5mega pixel cellphone..but..wow... it's very clear, to think I'm not even on top of a roof. That night you could even see the clouds slowly moving underneath because of the shining moonlight affecting the sky. According to some reports, this same phenomenon occurs every 2 decades.

The Sunflower, My Fave

     It's always been my standard-bearer, from email add, chat, IDs, my house, and decorations. Aside from the fact that my fave color is yellow (maybe one reason why I love this flower), the sunflower is very cool to the eye, whose shape and image depict the sun. It's like saying sunrise is here again for new hope and a new beginning. Sunflower for me symbolizes summer and spring, a bright day ahead, and, rarely, you couldn't see it in almost all commercial flower shops nearby.
     The sunflower got its name from its huge fiery blooms forming like a sun. Sunflower or Helianthus annuus is an annual plant native to the Americas that possess a large flowering head.  Sunflower has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves,  and circular heads of flowers. The heads consist of 1,000-2,000 individual flowers joined together by a receptacle base. Sunflower leaves can be used as cattle food, while the stems contain a fiber that may be used in paper production. With sunflower, what is usually called the flower is actually a flower head also known as a composite flower of numerous florets, (small flowers) crowded together. The outer petal-bearing florets are the sterile ray florets and can be yellow, red, orange, or other colors. The florets inside the circular head are called disc florets, which mature into seeds.

Head displaying florets in spirals of 34 and 55 around the outside

     Despite the common belief, mature sunflowers do not track the sun. The mature flower heads typically face east; only young sunflowers exhibit heliotropism or sun turning: the leaves and buds of young sunflowers follow the sun so that their orientation changes from east to west during the day. The movements become a circadian response and when plants are rotated 180 degrees, the old response pattern is still followed for a few days, with leaf orientation changing from west to east instead. The leaf and flower head bud phototropism occurs while the leaf petioles and stems are still actively growing, but once mature, the movements stop. These movements involve the petioles bending or twisting during the day and then unbending or untwisting at night. Members of the sunflower family are popular with butterflies because the wide flower head makes a good landing platform and the numerous individual flowers make for a high probability of finding nectar. Monarch butterflies are commonly seen nectaring on sunflowers during their fall migration.

     It's amazing to know the characteristic of the sunflower, my favorite flower. It signifies coolness and new hope. A flower that can make you smile, rarely seen but delightful to look at and amazing to know...hope you have seen one..(",).

Mesmerized by Baguio..

     City of blooms! The summer capital of the Philippines! whatever you may call it..it's the place I've always wanted to come back to.. the mountains, its landscape, her flowers, the wind, its people. It's been a long time since my last visit to Baguio, 12 years ago..but still the memories, all that is in Baguio lingers. A happy family back then, it seems. I have 2 kids then and we went boating in the man-made lagoon in Burnham Park, took our walk up the 100 stairs, and took pictures with the Mines View Park behind us and The Mansion. Sweet memories..we even experienced a tremor at 2am.  Earthquake!   at first, I thought there was a monster opening the door since our room is connected to the other moving through a common bathroom.
Traveling 6 hours from Manila.. always excited to get there.. remember my first visit when I was in college for a leadership seminar sponsored by one of our student societies I was a member of. Six months after the July 16, 1990 earthquake when Baguio, one that was badly hit at that time.. though we could still see the ruins, its natural beauty can still be seen despite the tragedy. The warmth of the native people living there, and the rich culture, would also make you back and even wanted to live there. I think this is the place where I can really be one with nature, be what I am, be with other God's creation, It's a beautiful place..being tired of the suburbs' polluted air, the noise. it's one place that will bring you to your senses. Though I know there is a far better place than Baguio, still, her flowers leave their color in my eyes.
     One day, two days, or even three days are not enough to see the marvelous splendor of Baguio..and maybe after all these tedious days, I would go back and experience once again the different colors and blooms of Baguio.