Discovering the beauty of Taal Volcano

I was asked by a friend to come with them for their short break at Tagaytay. As agreed upon, we will meet at one of the malls in Dasmarinas Cavite, April 22, 2014. But due to unexpected circumstances, they decided to just pick me up along the way. After almost an hour of waiting, they picked me up and finally get to the place at around 11:30AM.

Our initial plan is just to explore Tagaytay City. When we get off the bus, a man approached us and asked if we want to go to Taal Volcano through Talisay, Batangas. With so much excitement, we decided the visit Taal first and resume our Tagaytay adventure as planned when we came back from there. We took a tricycle ride from Tagaytay to Talisay for about 25 minutes. It’s a little farther than we expected. But the fully concrete road is good enough for the travel. Along the way is a relaxing view of Taal Lake and the volcano itself. A breath-taking view of deep ravines and the zigzag road will give you an experience of travelling to Baguio City (according to them, I haven’t been there yet).

Revisiting My Hometown

Part II

April 18, 2014 – Moriones Festival: I am Crucified, You are Saved!

 9:00 AM. We’re ready for the Moriones Festival. We decided to move early to be able to catch up with the parade of Morions in the town of Mogpog. During this time, it’s not easy to get a jeepney or tricycle because everyone is busy for some church activities and we really have a hard time to get one. Luckily, a Good Samaritan passed by offering a ride with them. Unfortunately, the parade is done already and we are not able to watch it. We decided to just have some photos with the Morions roaming around the town. We also managed to visit the town’s church, San Isidro Labrador Parish Church, where we found busy local folks preparing for the late afternoon procession. After a while, we decide to look for a place to eat. We found one at the public market so we take our breakfast there. Right after, we decided to move to Boac, Marinduque’s capital town, hoping that we can watch the Via Crucis(Station of the Cross) – the re-enactment of Jesus Christ’s carrying of the cross and His crucifixion.

Luckily, the activity is just about to commence when we arrived the town. Everyone is in high spirit for the highly anticipated event. This is one of the highlights of the festival (the other one is the Pugutan – the beheading of Longhinos, a left-eye blind Roman Centurion who struck Jesus’ body with a spear and the blood from it make him see the world). The activity started at about 11:30 AM. Under the intense heat of the sun, the Via Crusis started roaming the town. Almost everyone is on the street to witness Jesus suffering for our salvation. The event ended up in Jesus Christ crucifixion along with the two sinners.

Revisiting my Home Town

Part I

Two weeks before the annual Moriones Festival in Marinduque, I was asked by my friends if they can come with me to witness the spectacular tradition of the Marinduquenos. Without any hesitation, I agreed believing that this is the time to showcase what my province got. Everyone is excited.

April 16, 2014 – All the Buses are packed. 

We decided the rendezvous at Turbina Terminal, Calamba City at 2:00PM. Two of my friends need to attend to their job on that day but decided to go out early to avoid a heavy traffic and make it on time. Unfortunately, the 2:00PM call time became 5:00PM because of the crowd of passengers taking the opportunity of having a long vacation. All provincial buses are packed, so it’s hard to get one that can accommodate us. After several tries, we are lucky that we get one. Although we are standing, we are happy that we finally get the trip started. We leave the terminal at around 5:30PM. Along the street are groups of passenger waiting for buses. I wonder when will they reach their destinations if (even in the terminal), (the) buses can no longer accommodate the passengers?

On our way, some passengers get off the bus leaving empty seats where we can seat comfortably. We reached Dalahican Port at 9:15PM. We paid for our ticket and started boarding. The ships started its 3-hr course at around 9:45PM. The sea is calm making the travel more enjoyable. The moon is watching over our journey, lighting our way. The gently blowing wind gives us comfort. 

Ang Cybercrime Law sa Pananaw ng isang hamak na Blogger.

Criticism and/or giving your point of view on a particular matter is not libelous at all. Kaya relax lang madlang people. Ano ba ang pinagkaiba pangkaraniwang libel case sa online libel aside from the gravity of sanction? Wala naman di ba?

Cyberworld is now a part of mass media and just like TV and prints na may nagre-regulate, maybe it's time na ma-regulate din ang internet.

Kailangan nating maliwanagan na maraming probisyon ang batas na ito (tulad ng online libel, cybersex and phornography, and cyber squatting) upang malaman ng mga Pilipino kung ano ba talaga ang tinututulan nila. Tutol ba sila sa kabuuan ng batas o sa ilang probisyon lang nito.

Maraming netizens ang nangangamba na masisikil ang ating karapatan sa pamamahayag dahil sa bagong batas na ito (particularly on the provision on online libel).  Bigyan natin ng ilang punto ang usaping ito.

1.       Ano nga ba ang Libel? Ayon sa umiiral na batas sa ilalim ng Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, Libel is defined as a public and malicious imputation of a crime, or a vice or defect, real or imaginary, or any act, omission, condition, status, or circumstances... so on and so forth. Malinaw na ang libel ay pagpaparatang kasalanan sa isang tao ng walang basehan.

Halimbawa:

Non-Libelous:  Saan ba napunta ang pondo ng gobyerno na dapat ay para sana sa mga mamamayan? Kailangan magpaliwanag ni (pangalan ng pulitiko) para maliwanagan ang taong bayan.

Libelous: Ninakaw ni (Pangalan ng Pulitiko) ang pondo na dapat sana ay para mga mamayan.* *Pero kung may nakita mo o may record ka na katibayan, hindi na libelous ang pahayag mo.

2.       Ang batas na ito ay gagamitin lamang ng mga pulitiko upang pagtakpan ang katiwalian sa gobyerno. Kung may sapat kang katibayan laban sa katiwalian sa gobyerno bakit ka matatakot? Kung alam mong tama ka dapat ipaglaban mo. Bakit sa facebook mo lang ilalaban? Ang una among gawin magsampa ka ng kaso sa Ombudsman. Ilabas mo ang ebidensya mo at hindi ka makakasuhan. Hindi pwedeng sa social media lang dahil walang maglilitis ng kaso sa internet.

3.       Bakit ka mag-aakusa sa isang tao kung wala kang sapat na katibayan? Marami sa mga Pilipino ang madaling maniwala at manghusga base sa lamang sa kanilang mga naririnig o nababasa. Siguro panahon na para maging rational ang mga Pilipino na timbangin ang mga impormasyon sa internet.

4.       1987 Constitution, Article III Bill of Rights, Section 4 states that “No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.”  Paano masisikil ang iyong karapatang mamahayag kung may basehan at makatotohanan ang iyong mga sinasabi? Sinabi ba sa batas na bawal mong sabihin ang katotohanan? Malaya mong ipahayag ang iyong saloobin sa paraan na hndi mo matatapakan ang karapatan ng ibang tao. Halimbawa: Nagpost ka sa facebook na nakita mo si Juan na minomolestiya ang alagang ninyong aso. Nabasa ng buong baranggay ang post mo. Hiyang hiya si Juan dahil sa post mo sa facebook. Sa puntong ito pwede ka niyang kasuhan ng libel kung wala kang maipakitang katibayan sa paratang mo. Malaya mo ngang nagamit ang kalayaan mo sa pamamahayag ngunit natapakan mo naman ang karapatan nya na mamuhay ng tahimik.  Ngunit kung may sapat kang katibayan o nakunan mo ng litrato. Kayo na lang ang bahalang mag-usap. Huwag  na ninyo akong idamay.. J

5.       Bakit matatakot ang mga Pilipino na maaari silang  makasuhan ng libel, dahil ba kasama na sa pang-araw- araw na buhay ng mga Pinoy ang tsismis? Nahihirapan lang tanggapin ng mga Pilipino ang bagong batas sapagkat nasanay sila sa tsismis. Maraming mga kritisismo na walang laman at hindi pinag-isipan. Yung tipong  Me ma lang. (May masabi lang). Reality bites.

Yung number 5 ay joke lang. Pero kapag pinagisipang mabuti ay parang totoo na din.

Based on the things that I pointed out, apparently, I’m in favor of this #CyberCrimeLaw. No one should be afraid of being charged as long as you know how to criticize the government constructively. This law can’t stop me to say what I feel as long as I am responsible for things that say. This is my opinion and I will stand for it.

Billy Lantita

Blogger

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