Brain Contour » Filipino

List of 30 Media Men Who Died in Maguindanao Massacre

braincontour — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 01:55:37 +0000

The recent Maguindanao Massacre in the Philippines claimed 30 people from the media alone. These men were brutally killed last Monday November 23, while doing their jobs as active journalists on the field.

I salute these men and women and my heart goes to the families left behind.

1. Adolfo, Benjie, Gold Star Daily, Koronadal City

2. Araneta, Henry, Radio DZRH, General Santos City

3. Arriola, Mark Gilbert “Mac-Mac,” UNTV, General Santos City

4. Bataluna, Rubello, Gold Star Daily, Koronadal City

5. Betia, Arturo, Periodico Ini, General Santos City

6. Cabillo, Romeo Jimmy, Midland Review, Tacurong City

7. Cablitas, Marites, News Focus, General Santos City

8. Cachuela, Hannibal, Punto News, Koronadal City

9. Caniban, John, Periodico Ini, General Santos City

10. Dalmacio, Lea, Socsargen News, General Santos City

11. Decina, Noel, Periodico Ini, General Santos City

12. Dela Cruz, Gina, Saksi News, General Santos City

13. Dohillo, Eugene, UNTV, General Santos City

14. Duhay, Jhoy, Gold Star Daily, Tacurong City

15. Gatchalian, Santos, DXGO, Davao City

16. Legarte, Bienvenido, Jr., Prontiera News, Koronadal City

17. Lupogan, Lindo, Mindanao Daily Gazette, Davao City

18. Maravilla, Ernesto “Bart,” Bombo Radyo, Koronadal City

19. Merisco, Rey, Periodico Ini, Koronadal City

20. Momay, Reynaldo “Bebot” Momay, Midland Review, Tacurong City

21. Montaño, Marife “Neneng,” Saksi News, General Santos City

22. Morales, Rosell, News Focus, General Santos City

23. Nuñez, Victor, UNTV, General Santos City

24. Perante, Ronnie, Gold Star Daily correspondent, Koronadal City

25. Parcon, Joel, Prontiera News, Koronadal City

26. Razon, Fernando “Rani,” Periodico Ini, General Santos City

27. Reblando, Alejandro “Bong,” Manila Bulletin, General Santos City

28. Salaysay, Napoleon, Mindanao Gazette, Cotabato City

29. Subang, Ian, Socsargen Today, General Santos City

30. Teodoro, Andres “Andy,” Central Mindanao Inquirer, Tacurong City

The list was verified by the Fact-Finding Mission of the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ) mission. Let’s offer a prayer for these brave men and women and for all those included in the 57 confirmed casualties.

CNN Hero of the Year honors Efren Peñaflorida – video

braincontour — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 22:25:40 +0000

This is related to my previous post about Efren Peñaflorida, the CNN Hero of the Year. The event was televised last night and I was on my seat at home, so inspired and proud while watching Efren Peñaflorida receive the major award with teary eyes. He gave a short yet uplifting message, that is to find our heroes within us.

CNN’s Anderson Cooper revealed Peñaflorida’s selection at the conclusion of the third-annual “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute” at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

Video:

Filipino Efren Peñaflorida – 2009 CNN Hero of the Year

braincontour — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:54:41 +0000

A Filipino was declared the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year! His name is Efren Peñaflorida. I watched the short video clip with Peñaflorida tonight as CNN reported the winner during the ceremony at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood Saturday night. Congrats!

Efren Peñaflorida won the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year award through online voting (and I voted for this guy last week). According to CNN, Peñaflorida received 2.75 million online votes, the highest among the 10 finalists. He was honored for his “Kariton Klassroom”, which brings education to poor Filipino children.

Did we ever wonder how Peñaflorida got those number of votes in the seven weeks of voting period? It is all because of the Filipino power! Filipinos are good at supporting other people’s achievements if they bring pride to the country. We never hesitate to give our full backing whenever the honor and pride of the Philippines and its people are at stake.

So how did we do our share? We blog. We mention it in forums. We campaign for Efren Peñaflorida in all ways possible. We blog it again. And again until we think the lobbying has already worked.

Count the number of times we have won online voting contests. For instance, why do we often get the “Miss Photogenic” award in international beauty contests, even if there are other women more photogenic than ours? It is the power of millions of Filipinos getting online to vote.

Through consolidation of Filipino effort, we are able to put the Puerto Princesa Underground River among the 28 candidates vying for the New 7 Wonders of Nature, organized by the New7Wonders Foundation. Again, this is Pinoy power in action. The Official Declaration of the New7Wonders of Nature will be in 2011. Should we say, as early as now, that Puerto Princesa Underground River is a huge winner?

When young singing sensation Charice released “Note to God” digitally, Filipinos were ready to purchase the single. The song listed at no.1 in Amazon’s top selling single on that day of release! It is expected that when Charice debuts her first album in the U.S. next year, it will be a big hit.

This is who we are. We are proud of our culture. If there is a chance for anyone of us to be known around the world and bring accolade to the millions of Filipinos, we are willing to dispense full assistance.

Again, congrats to Efren Peñaflorida! The 28-year-old teacher from Cavite City received $100,000 cash to continue his work with his group, Dynamic Teen Company. He also got $25,000 bonus for just being included in the top 10 CNN Heroes.

Watch CNN Heroes TV broadcast on Thanksgiving Day!

When brown is mixed with white – finding your true identity

braincontour — Wed, 27 May 2009 04:06:55 +0000

Brown-colored skin. That’s what I have. No trace of yellowish or white tints in me. Only pure brown, like I was baked to perfection, so to speak. With both parents having the lineage of the locally-bred mature generation, the product is a no more than a similar-looking life form. To translate it into percentage of blood, I am 100% Filipino. Although grandparents claim to acquire a certain fraction of blood from the Spanish conquistadores, there is no trace of that declaration evident on me. If there was indeed truth to that, I am inclined to believe that huge mosquitoes that linger in the Philippine forests had already sucked what insignificant amount of foreign blood I had.

The pureness in me makes me ponder at how life would look or feel like had I been a son of a foreign national, say American national. In my country, there is some sort of partiality towards mixed blood individuals because they look much better than the normal, local-looking Indios. Lighter complexion, lighter hair color, sharper nose tip, curved eyelashes, thinner lips, reddish checks, well-defined chin, taller than average, pleasant foreign accent – these and maybe hundreds more set the foreign breeds apart from us.

We call them mestizo (men) or mestiza (women). They are the manifestation of what a visible beauty looks like. The mixture of skin color is no doubt bringing a delightful combination of good-looking Filipinos. They are there when forced circumstances need them. See them winning beauty pageants, enjoying showbiz spotlights – and also, singing when they can’t even sing, acting when they can’t even shed a tear. However, the point of this article is neither to jeer at them nor to look at their limitations. Their presence in my country is what I am glad about. Their acknowledgement of being Filipinos by heart is what I am proud of. They maybe half of one and half of another, nevertheless, tuyo (dried fish), bagoong (salted fish), balot (boiled duck egg with 15-day chick), lechon (roasted pig), and rice are no less than their accustomed burger or fries or mashed potato meals.

Being abroad, I have already met many young second-generation or third generation Filipinos, Filipino-Americans who have never forgotten their roots. Salute to the parents of these children! Though they may sound different, but they think like us, eat the food we eat, like true-blooded locals. The Filipino family values are intact. Filipinos pride themselves of having close-knit families and keeping Christian morals amidst the all-too liberated American culture. Minae, my Japanese/American/Filipino friend calls me Kuya (a term use to address an older brother), even if we are not blood related – this because of the fact that Filipinos have high respect for elders.

Here in the United States, where individualism is priority and children tend to demand their rights as individuals, Filipino parents always have solutions to settle the differences, striking a balance on particular behaviors or practices, without completely kissing goodbye the Filipino beliefs and traditions. Filipino families’ desires for their children are to grow up humble, considerate, hardworking and courteous individuals.

These Filipino-slash-whatever-other-culture new generations may be forced to live in two worlds but they have found their Filipino identity. That is important. For it is neither about the color of the hair nor the color of the skin. It is accepting who you truly are and where you come from. As what the Filipino/Spanish Hollywood movie actress Tia Carrere said, “It’s a shame to leave behind your Filipino heritage.”