Bulletin
No. 3-1 (August 14, 2000)…
............
'Filipinos
for Life' website a hit;
organization
work starts Aug. 24
o….
…......MANILA,
Philippines, August 14, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- Talk about
a big hit! No, talk about hundreds of hits, roughly
400 in just a month, its first full month on the Web, or about thirteen
visits per day, made by Filipinos who, judging by the guest book responses,
are apparently scattered in the Philippines, the United States  and
other countries, and presumably do not know one another. This has been
the picture of initial success painted by the "Filipinos for Life"
cyber-based network for Filipinos worldwide, a project of the SanibLakas
ng Taongbayan Foundation under its Human Development and Harmony
(HDH)
program thrust.
o….
….....The
website was first uploaded by SanibLakas Cyberservices last July 7, 108th
founding anniversary of the Kataas-taasang, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan
ng mga Anak ng Bayan. The forum page of the website (filipinos4life.faithweb.com),
which will be updated and expanded on August 24, features various and even
opposing views on the subject of the Filipinos' individual and collective
sense of pride and on reasons for mass poverty in the country.
o….
….....An
editorial was issued last week to put the clash of views in perspective
and to clarify the logic beyond its handling. According to the editorial,
signed by the SanibLakas president and managing director of the
HDH
program thrust, "This exchange of views was mounted as a forum; and a forum
can only be effective and lively if it is fair and free.
…
............"Our
suggestion to those who disagree or are offended by any which remark here
is, and shall remain to be, to write in their own comments. And we add
the reminder that arguments that are overly emotional, or more so ad hominem,
would likely fail to convince those being rebutted or the many other silent
readers who get to read all these materials, and discourage others from
"speaking up." So we ask for simple articulations of personal views
and sentiments that do not even try to claim universal validity."
o….
….....The
editorial continued:
o….
…....."Many
have actually done this. Yumul's title question "Who Wants To Be
Filipino?" has, in a way been answered with an essay titled "I Chose To
Be Filipino!" And we added many similar items, including some that had
earlier been written by members of the Kamalaysayan Writers and Speakers.
o….
…....."Some
friends have told us the forum might be like "hanging dirty linen in public."
To this we say the forum is seeking to help build a positive consensus
from all the public self-flagellation our nation has been engaged in through
all these decades. And in the face of deeply-rooted insecurities about
our collective character and identity, over-concern over our collective
public image may take the back seat. We have to have a lively and constructive
forum to build our collective sense of identity, sense of history and sense
of mission as a nation.
…
…....."Rizal
took the same attitude about "dirty linen" in writing Noli Me Tangere.
He said in the introduction, explaining the novel's title, that he was
exposing to the open view of the world the Philippine social cancer in
his time, so that others might "propose a cure." He was then actually campaigning
for an international conference about Philippine society to be attended
by experts from various nationalities."
Towards
the end, the editorial stated: "We should be prepared to receive many kinds
of criticisms of the Filipino character, because most of these criticisms
can be useful and some of them may even be valid."
o….
….....Guestbook
comments have cheered the website project as something very welcome, and
also validated its slogan, "Be Filipino and be proud!" In
the United States, for example, Viol Medina wrote in from New York: "More
power to you and you ventures, we certainly need a 'stir' to our identity.
With Philippines' resources we can outdo others." Wilfrido David
said in New Mexico: "It's about time we had something like this!! It re-awakens
the Filipino in us whatever we have become or wherever we may be!". And
in California, Bob Soliva wrote, "It is time for us acknowledge our Filipino
identity and heritage and not be divided nor distinguished by our dialect
nor by the islands that we have come from," and Aurora Lustre Estrella
said, "More power. Magtulungan tayo para itaguyod ang ating lahi. As I
log in daily, I will see where I can be useful towards this endeavor through
you."
o….
….....Similar
feedback have also come from Filipinos right here in the homeland, mostly
from Metro Manila and Cebu, as well as Filipino expatriates in Canada,
United Arab Emirates, Hongkong, Singapore and Australia.
o….
….....Meanwhile,
work on the organization copmponent of Filipinos for Life will start
on August 24, 104th anniversary of the establishment by the Katipunan
of
the first-ever Filipino national state for the archipelago. Contrary to
popular misconception, "Haring Bayang Katagalugan" referred to the
sovereign state covering all the inhabitants of these islands, categorically
including "the Visayans, the Ilocanos and the Pampangos, etc." On
that same day, the website will start carrying links to the website that
features Filipino excellence ("galíng ng Pinoy"),
to a cyber-radio station carrying non-stop Filipino music, and to other
Filipino-oriented websites, as well us to major daily newspapers in Manila.
.
Bulletin
No. 3-2 (August 14, 2000)
.
SALIKA
adopts 'Core Principles';
announces
Sept. 5 'media launch'
..
…......MANILA,
Philippines, August 14, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- The Sanib-lakas
ng Inang Kalikasan (SALIKA), also known as the "citizens' green force,"
has adopted its official "Core Principles" as its guide in
consensus-building on
various environmental issues, and scheduled a "media launch" for this coming
September 5.
o….
….....In
a meeting last August 8, chaired by Marie R. Marciano, SanibLakas ng
Taongbayan Foundation Vice President who is the SALIKA founding
chairperson, the Executive Board formulated principles pertaining to the
new organization's recognition of the right of all living beings to a healthy
planet, its criteria for a healthy Earth, its acknowledgment of human responsibility
to be active stewards of the planet, and its conviction to build synergies
as the only way to achieve effective stewardship of the environment.
…
….....The
"media launch" will be held at 10 a.m. through lunch at Earthlite,
4th floor C.O.D. Bldg., Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City, and will feature
what some SALIKA leaders have started to refer to as a "Surprise Experience."
The
full text of the "Core Principles" follows:
o….
…...."Every
living being has an intrinsic and inviolable right to a healthy planet
in which to live, thrive, reproduce and sustain life, in accordance with
the laws of Nature. A healthy Earth has clean and pure air and water,
naturally fertile soil, clean and renewable energy and rich biodiversity.
…
…....."Human
beings have individual and collective responsibilities to be active stewards
of the Earth. Thus, our lifestyles must be harmonious with Nature, and
fully protective of present and future generations. Any act that harms
the environment, or failure to protect it, is a crime against every living
being that exists now and will emerge in ages still to come.
…
…....."Effective
stewardship of the Earth can only be fully achieved by bringing individual
commitments and energies together into one harmonious force, a synergy,
where commonalities are fully appreciated as bonding elements, and diversities
are valued as opportunities for enrichment and dynamic unity."
…
….....The
SALIKA
Executive Board is composed of Ms. Marciano, Beth Roxas, Roy Alvarez, Manny
Perez, Chin-Chin Gutierrez, Felipe de Leon Jr., and Dita Sandico-Ong, with
SanibLakas
ng Taongbayan Foundation president Ding Reyes as a non-voting
ex-officio member. Members of the SALIKA Council of Advisers include Maximo
Kalaw Jr., Ma-an Hontiveros, Dr. Mina Ramirez, Sen. Gregorio Honasan, Mayor
Edward Hagedorn, and Prof. Anna Torres.
…......…......
Bulletin
No. 3-3 (August 14, 2000)
.
Anti-Poverty
Commission seeks details
about
Cooperative Education on Synergism..
.
…........MANILA,
Philippines, August 14, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- The National
Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) has responded to a request submitted
early last month to NAPC Vice Chairpersons Donna Gasgonia and Ana Maria
Nemenzo by the  SanibLakas
ng Taongbayan Foundation proposing a partnership arrangement for financial
assistance to the latter's program thrust for Cooperative Education
on Synergism (C.E.S.).
…
….....The
SanibLakas
letter
explained the importance of conscious application of the synergism principle
to strengthen cooperatives, and the role that a strengthened cooperative
sector can play in the national poverty-alleviation and -eradication program.
NAPC
faxed a letter to SanibLakas informing the latter that the matter
had been referred to Commissioner for Cooperatives Myron Gawigawen,
and the commissioner himself immediately sought to establish a fast and
reliable communication link with the proponent. In a message e-mailed to
SanibLakas
President
Ding Reyes, Comm. Gawigawen said he might probably endorse the focused-education
project for NAPC
funding. He had earlier sought to be furnished
with more detailed information about the project, including cost estimates.
…
….....As
this developed, Reyes and SanibLakas Board Secretary Joydee C. Robledo
of the Foundation's team for the C.E.S. have
started refining the C.E.S. seminar modules by working to drastically compress
the course from a total of four days in the original plan, down to only
two. Others in the C.E.S. team are Salud Liporada, Hermie
Manimtim, and SanibLakas Board members Pinky Serafica, Romy Lee
Ancheta, and Ed Felipe de Vera.
.
Bulletin
No. 3-4 (August 14, 2000)
Closer
links eyed for W.E.D. 2001
and
Earth
Day celebrations in the country
…
............MANILA,
Philippines, August 14, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- Integrate
the year 2001 Philippine commemorations of Earth
Day in April and World
Environment Day in June, but keep
their respective autonomies and prerogatives to choose their themes and
focuses. This has been the early consensus expressed in separate meetings
of groups preparing for the two occasions.
…
..........In
an assessment meeting held in Blue Ridge, Quezon City, the Earth Day
Network 2000 - Philippines participants formed the consensus that the
big number of participating groups -- 2,013, or almost half the number
of about 4,500 participating groups worldwide -- was not maximized in terms
of being really felt by all, due to serious problems in official communication
lines among registered member-groups in the network, and many had to depend
on the releases of SanibLakas InfoShare which was able to
wring out, and share far and wide, very limited information from various
groups.
…
..........InfoShare,
which covered activities of the Network as well as of many
other grouping of organizations and even government instrumentalities that
did not join that network, was asked during the meeting to be the official
information center for Earth Day 2001,
but the SanibLakas representative clarified that it was already committed
to perform that kind of role for World
Environment Day 2001. …
.
.........Representing
SanibLakas,
Ding Reyes, who is also one of two co-chairpersons of the WED 2001 Ad
Hoc Preparatory Council, proposed an integrated information system
to be handled by Information jointly with the media bureau of SALIKA
(Sanib-lakas
ng Inang Kalikasan), with the two commemorations being dynamically linked
to each other. The body welcomed the idea, and the same desire for
integration, short of a simplistic merger, was articulated and strongly
supported in the WED 2001 coordinating commitrtee meeting at the United
Nations office in Makati three days later..…......
Bulletin
No. 3-5 (August 14, 2000)
'H.D.H.'
Program: Network of centers
readied
to promote 'empowering paradigms'
.........MANILA,
Philippines, August 14, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- There will
be a set of interlinking centers, where people may meet and stay
to feel, contemplate and discuss the empowering paradigms being promoted
by the SanibLakas ng Taongbayan Foundation
through its prograsm
thrust for Human Development and Harmony (HDH). This was
conceptualized last week after about a dozen doctoral candidates enrolled
in the Asian Social Institute graduate course on applied cosmic
anthropology visited Earthlite, the wholistic place at the center
of the busy Cubao district in Quezon City last July 31, and started planning
to set up their own "mini-Earthlite" right at the ASI campus in
Ermita, Manila.
…
..........Earlier,
members of the SanibLakas and SALIKA leadership bodies went
to Maryknoll Ecological Sanctuary and the Tam-awan Village, both in Baguio
City, and found these places to be conducive centers for deep meditation
and personal experience-based sharings and discussions on such matters
as deep ecology and active earth steardship, holistic health, lifepath-setting
and fulfillment, sense of history and mission, ethics for earnest human
conversations ("Sanib-Sinag"), "Art from the Heart of All,"
overall human development and harmony, among many other profound subjects.
These places would also hold poetry-readings, sketching lessons and group
art sessions, folksong jammings and mini-play performances that would be
consistent with these themes.
…
............Places
in Davao and Palawan, as well as the Earth Haven park in San Mateo,
Rizal, the mini-forest in Miriam College and the one near the Manila City
Hall, were also mentioned as possible sites to build these "centers
of holistic synergies for enlightenment" (Chosen sites), as these
places may be called. Each of these would function as a "watering
hole" of the most profound kind for "like-minded" people, and together
they would function as a "network of transmitters of positive vibrations."
…
............SanibLakas
HDH
volunteers and consultants have started refining the basic concept for
these centers, with basic minimums to be indicated. It is envisioned that
some of these would be large areas like the Maryknoll sanctuary, but some
can even be as small as a medium-sized room in the ASI campus.
….........
Bulletin
No. 3-6 (August 14, 2000)
.
Sanibkulay
'1st Workshop Show,'
'Sanib-Tinig
jamming both successful
.
.........MANILA,
Philippines, August 14, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- Two talent-discovery
and talent-enjoyment projects of the SanibLakas program thrust for  Human
Development and Harmony (HDH) held successful events at the
Earthlite
"alternative venue" in Cubao, Quezon City.
…
............The
First Sanibkulay Workshop Show, titled "Biyaya ng Kalikasan,"
which opened at The Gallery at Earthlite showcased some 60 oil, acrylic
and pastel paintings by about 30 new painters of all ages, mostly adolescents/
The artists were all students of the Sanibkulay Visual Art Group's
weekly "Easy Art Lessons."
…
...........Headed
by painter "Marz Z," Sanibkulay is spearheading the "Sanib-Sining"
movement under the HDH program. This movement seeks to debunk elitist
and separative ideas and practices concerning aesthetics by asserting that
all humans are artists, and challenging every practicing artist to help
the others discover, develop, share their hidden talents.
…
............Meanwhile,
the second of the series of "Sanib-Tinig" new moon jamming
sessions at the same venue, dubbed "Salikawit (Sali Ka sa Awit) ng
Buhay", was also a big success despite the sudden emergency
situation that kept the main organizer away from the event. Singing environmental
and other songs around the "Guitar Man" mascot were employees of Earthlite,
Ginhawa
Alternative Wellness Center, and Geo-Cafe, officers, volunteers
and friends of SanibLakas, and post-graduate students of the
Asian
Social Institute led by ASI President Dr. Mina Ramirez.
…
............The
next "Sanib-Tinig" jamming session, titled "Maalaala Mo Kaya ... Ang Huling
El Bimbo?" is scheduled to be held at the same venue on August 29, starting
at about 6 in the evening.
Bulletin
No. 3-7 (August 14, 2000)
.
Maryknoll
center is SanibLakas partner
for
Baguio 'Synergism Success Story' project
.
.........BAGUIO
CITY, July 23, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- The SanibLakas
ng Taongbayan Foundation forged here this morning a partnership with
the Maryknoll Sisters' Center for Justice, Peace and the Integrity
of Creation, also known as "Maryknoll Ecological Sanctuary" to team
up on the former's project on the synergism success story that was
the Baguio people's dramatic rise together from the rubble
of the 1990 killer earthquake.
.
....................The
project was launched last Sunday, July 16, tenth anniversary of the Intensity
7.7 quake that left the city with more than 400 dead, hundreds of
injured, collapsed buildings and houses, devoid of electric and water
services, and a population gripped in grief, pain, hunger and panic.
.
....................In
a meeting at her office as director of the ecological sanctuary known for
its very-enlightening "Cosmic Journey," Sr. Ann Braudis agreed in principle
to the request of SanibLakas Foundation president Ed Aurelio
"Ding" Reyes that the Center's administration become the foundation's
main Baguio-based partner for the project. Both sides agreed to work
out details of the partnership later. Sr. Ann was accompanied in
the meeting by Mary-Jane Foy-os, the Center's administrator.
.
....................Aside
from Reyes, the SanibLakas group that came to Baguio
mainly for the "Cosmic Journey" experience was composed of Marie
Marciano, vice president; Joydee C. Robledo, board secretary; Board of
Trustees members Beth Roxas and Pinky Serafica; cinema
artists Roy Alvarez and Chin-Chin Gutierrez who are both officers
of SALIKA, the "citizens' green force" being built by SanibLakas;
and painter Marz Z., founding head of the Sanibkulay Visual Arts Group
who also heads the foundation's broad "Sanib-Sining Movement"
project.
...
...................SanibLakas
has already mounted a page for this project in the foundation's
main website, with address "http://sanibalakas.faithweb.com". The
Maryknoll sisters decided to phase out its grade school in this city and
to build the ecological sanctuary in its place after the 1990 quake.
It converted the school's auditorium into a permanent exhibit of
the post-earthquake scenes, an installation art created by
Baguio's videomaker and all-rounded artist Eric de Guia, who is more widely
known by his self-chosen name, "Kidlat Tahimik."
…......
Bulletin
No. 2-1 (July 10, 2000)
Cyber-based
network for Filipino spirit
launched
on KKK anniversary
….
…......MANILA,
Philippines, July 10, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- "Filipinos
for Life," a worldwide cyber-based (internet-based) project aimed to build
a strong synergy  among
Filipinos everywhere was launched by the SanibLakas  ng
Taongbayan Foundation last Friday, July 7. It was the 108th founding
anniversary of the Katipunan, the revolutionary organization that
gathered the hundreds of ethno-linguistic groups and birthed our nation.
"Filipinos
for Life" will be both an international network and a "home website"
was launched under the SanibLakas major program thrust called
"Human
Development & Harmony" (see
related story below).
…
..........Designed
ang created by SanibLakas CyberServices, the new website was uploaded
to be hosted by Freeservers, and it carries the URL address, http://www.filipinos4life.faithweb.com
which is an address very similar to that of SanibLakas itself.
.
. ........Inspired
by the concept of Ateneans for Life, an Internet-based organization
formed by some Ateneans (website : http://www.aterneans4life.8k.com)
which seeks to gather and project inspiring testimonies on how alumni from
that school are living up to the ideals molded in them,
Filipinos for
Life will be promoting Love for Life, Integrity, Filipinism and Empowerment
and the slogan, "Ipagmalaki ang Pagka-Pilipino!" (Be Filipino
and be Proud!). To help Filipinos imbibe the spirit of this slogan beyond
sentimentality, the website will revive the old webpages of Kamalaysayan
(Kampanya para sa Kamalayan sa Kasaysayan) and make these accessible to
Filipinos
for Life network members and all other website visitors.
.
…......The
project was launched ahead of its original schedule, hastened by a set
of messages received via the Internet by the SanibLakas president,
Ed Aurelio 'Ding' Reyes, who founded Kamalaysayan in 1991 and wrote most
of the materials in the old Kamalaysayan website which was hosted for free
from 1996 to 1997 by Philippine International Network Server, Inc.
.
…......According
to the initial explanation, the Filipinos for Life website will
carry at the soonest possible time all or most of the following: (1) new
and revived pages from  the
earlier website of the Kamalaysayan (Kampanya para sa Kamalayan
sa Kasaysayan), providing points of inspiration from our people's rich
heritage; (2) webpages pertaining to members of the association, highlighting
their testimonial sharings on feeling proud as Filipinos, on maintaining
the closest ties with the broad Family of Filipinos in the homeland and
overseas, and on helping advance any or all of the LIFE ideals; (3) explanations
on the network's members -- rights and privileges, duties and responsibilities,
and process of application and acceptance; (4) reports on the projects
fully or partially funded by contributions from members of the network;
(5) forum pages for discussions of various topics under the theme of nation-building,
sense of national pride, and collective sense of mission; (6) basic information
on our country and people, for reference by students and other interested
persons; (7) current updates from links to websites of Manila's major
dailies; (8) articles and photo galleries on the Philippine environment
and art scene; (9) current updates on the synergism- and partnership-building
efforts of SanibLakas ng Taongbayan Foundation, organizer of FILIPINOS
FOR LIFE; (10) free-for-all pages for short personal greetings and announcements;
(11) a gallery of active links to many other Filipino websites; and many
others! …......
…......…......
…......Matters
of membership, including types of members, duties and responsibilities,
rights and privileges and the process of application and acceptance will
be clarified within the next full month..
.Bulletin
No. 2-2 (July 10, 2000)
.
SanibLakas
explains program for
Human
Development and Harmony (HDH)
..
…......MANILA,
Philippines, July 10, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- After working
out the specifics of two of its major program thrusts, namely synergy-building
in the environmental
movement and the promotion of cooperative education on synergism, the SanibLakas
ng Taongbayan Foundation recently came out with a comprehensive explanation
of its overarching program thrust, called Human Development and Harmony
or HDH.
…
.........The
HDH program was presented in an article by SanibLakas Foundation president
Ding Reyes in an article solicited for inclusion in a primer on the 'Pananao'
paradigm now in the process of adoption by the Commission on Population.
By now copies have also been received by leaders of two other state commissions,
specifically by Chairperson Aurora Reciña of the Commission on
Human Rights (CHR) and Vice Chairpersons Donna Gasgonia and Ana Maria
Nemenzo of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), as well
as by Agrarian Reform Secretary Horacio 'Boy' Morales.
…
.........The
full title of the article is The Innovative 'Pananao' Concept,
Comprehensive Human Rights, and the SanibLakas Thrust for Human Development
and Harmony (full
text here -->. )
and
it relates SanibLakas work with the "Pananao" concept, with comprehensive
human rights, and with the government's anti-poverty programs.
.
…......The
various components of the HDH program are:
.
…......1.
Study and effective promotion, especially among the youth, of empowering
paradigms in various fields, such as holistic health, deep ecology, philosophy
and spirituality, sense of history and mission, civics and democratic governance,
culture and creativity, gender sensitivity and equality, reconstructive
justice, and associative economics.
…......
…......2.
The promotion of a new set of ethics for earnest human conversations, for
the "the synergy of information, views and feelings that are shared with
honest humility and are heeded with genuine respect," through face-to-face
freewheeling sharing sessions called "Sanib-Sinag" and through
its publication and cyberspace forum versions.
…......
…......3.
The promotion of a synergism-oriented view of aesthetics as a basic faculty
that belongs to all humans, a view of art that is more embracive than competitive,
and a view of artists as all humans.
…......
…......4.
The promotion of a collective sense of history and sense of mission for
the Filipino nation with the launching of the Filipinos for Life
network for Loving All Life, Integrity, Filipinism and Empowerment, in
cooperation with the Kamalaysayan (Kampanya para sa Kamalayan sa Kasaysayan)
campaign network for sense of history, which would promote a sense of mission
based on the "bayanihan" and "kabayanihan."
…......
…......5.
The promotion of international human harmony and planethood as "the 'Earth
synergy' of all nations and races, of all species, of all land, air and
water, and of all their energies" for environment conservation.
…......
…......With
the consolidation of widely diverse projects under one program thrust,
Reyes has taken on the responsibility of being HDH program
manager, and passed on the management of the C.E.S. program thrust
to SanibLakas Board Secretary Joydee Robledo. Marie R. Marciano,
SanibLakas
Vice
President leads the effort in the environmental movement and heads the
newly-organized SanibLakas ng Inang Kalikasan or SALIKA.
A program management team has been set up for the environmental thrust
and similar teams are still being set up for HDH and C.E.S.
…......
…......
Bulletin
No. 2-3 (July 10, 2000)
.
'Sanib-Tinig'
Jamming for Peace successful;
next
jam slated for July 31
.
…......MANILA,
Philippines, July 10, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- The New Moon
Jamming for Peace organized by SanibLakas Foundation at Earthlite
in
Cubao last  July
2 was very successful, and preparations are underway for the next one,
this time for the environment.
…
.........The
"Sanib-Tinig"
new moon jamming last July 2, titled "All We Are Saying... (Give
Peace A Chance!!!) ...Is Blowin' In The Wind" had pre-sold
many tickets priced at only P20 apiece but most of those who got them were
unable to come due to inclement weather. Bulk of the people who enjoyed
singing together English and Filipino songs carrying the theme of peace,
along with hot 'salabat' (ginger broth) were Earthlite people
who, by the organizers' policy, came in free.
.
.…......Part
of the proceeds has been set aside for the wide dissemination in Mindanao
of SanibLakas Foundation's synergism-oriented "Message for Lasting
Peace and Diversity-Enriched Harmony in Mindanao." The message is currently
undergoing further refinement owing to the most recent developments in
and concerning the island, the countryu's second-largest. The message was
first drafted in General Santos City last February in a free-wheeling discussion
between Christians and a representative of a Muslim sultan.
.
…......Meanwhile,
the series of "Sanib-Tinig" new moon jamming titles and themes
has been announced as follows:
.
…......July
31: "Salikawit (Sali Ka sa Awit) ng Buhay" (environmental
concerns)
…......
…......August
29: "Maalaala Mo Kaya... Ang Huling El Bimbo?" (Filipino
songs from Kundiman to the Eraserheads)
…......
…......September
28: "Imagine... Yesterday (With or Without the Beatles)"
(Oldies But Goldies Down Memory Lane)…......
…......…......
…......In
each of these jammings, there are no distinctions to be made as to "performers"
and "audience." The activity has been designed to encourage freedom of
expression and happy togetherness among people who may not yet have
developed their singing talents but already love to sing. This is not a
concert where ordinary folks watch celebrity singers perform. In ."Sanib-Tinig"
the
common folks are the celebrating singers.
…......…......
…......The
jammings are organuized by SanibLakas under its HDH program
thrust, specifically the effort to organize a unified movement for the
arts, called "Sanib-Sining." This is being spearheaded
by the Sanibkulay Visual Arts Group led by painter Marz Z., whose
two dozen students will open a paintings exhibit at the art gallery of
Earthlite this coming July 15. Dubbed as the "Sanibkulay Workshop
Show," the exjhibit is scheduled to run until August 6.
…......…......
…......According
to Marz, who has joined the SanibLakas program management team for HDH,
the jamming on July 31 will also feature some poetry-reading and a participatory
painting project.
Bulletin
No. 2-4 (July 10, 2000)
'W.E.D.
2001': SanibLakas proposes
focus
on Family theme, participation..
…......MANILA,
Philippines, July 10, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- Imagine this:
for a whole year, government agencies, civic clubs, and non-government
organizations  led
by United Nations agencies will be focusing on the family theme and preparing
to mobilize entire families for the Philippine commemoration of World
Environment Day in the first week
of June 2001.
…
.........This
loomed as a distinct and exciting possibility as SanibLakas proposed
such a theme through an eight-member coordinating committee for consideration
in a meeting of the ad-hoc preparatory council this coming July 31 at the
United Nations office in Makati.
.…
..........SanibLakas
proposed that the theme be "Human Families Caring for the Great Planetary
Clan," with the Earth projected as the clan of all races and species,
elements and energies, and caring described as "consciousness-raising,
advocacy, symbolic acts and sustained conservation and restoration actions."
.…
..........The
coordinating committee, chaired by the SanibLakas president, met
in the same office last Thursday, July 6, and worked out other proposals
as well. The other proposals involved a systematic process of declaring
commitments as to levels of participation, and clustering the participating
organizations accordingly. One area of concern mentioned was how to insure
a healthy mix of environmental advocacy organizations, with established
track records as such, with all the many other groups.
..
…......Actively
involved in the year-long preparation for World Environment Day 2001, with
its head being one of the two co-chairpersons of the ad-hoc preparatory
council, the Foundation had earlier declared in its article on Human
Development and Harmony: "Whatever our role in this would be, it
will definitely be characterized by emphasis on building the unity among
the established environmental groups and all the new ones that can be mobilized,
to help further develop teamwork among the former and sustained and higher-level
involvement in environment conservation among the latter. The encouragement
of creativity all around would be coupled with participatory processes
for deciding crucial matters, the better for all concerned to be firmly
united in the spirit of "rejoicing in one another's successes" and of collectively
"owning" the entire commemoration.
.…......
Bulletin
No. 2-5 (July 10, 2000)
SALIKA
starts listing 100 charter
members;
Exec com details plans
…......MANILA,
Philippines, July 10, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- There will
only be a hundred charter or founding members for Saniblakas ng Inang
Kalikasan or SALIKA
now
being organized to help build a sub-culture of closer teamwork and miore
effective harmony in the Philippine environment movement.
…
.........This
was the decision reached in a recent meeting of the SALIKA Executive
Committee headed by veteran broadcaster Marie Marciano. SALIKA has
started processing accomplished application forms late last month and has
moved to prepare for the first of a series of free seminars to be given
to new members.
…......"The
first 100 members will be considered the founding members of SALIKA,
and they will form the first batches in the seminars," Marciano said. She
added that application forms and membership fees are being accepted by
all SALIKA officers and at the administration office of Earthlite,
4th floor C.O.D. Bldg., Cubao, Quezon City. Aside from Marciano, the other
members of the SALIKA Executive Committee are Beth Roxas, Roy Alvarez,
Manny Perez, Chinchin Gutierrez, and Ding Reyes (ex-officio).
.
…......SALIKA
has
also started forming a Board of Advisers from among its early recruits,
including such personalities as Junie Kalaw, Maan Hontiveros and Louie
Tabing.
….........
Bulletin
No. 2-6 (July 10, 2000)
.
Environment
Broadcasters launch
'Talakayang
Bayan' forum series..
.
…......MANILA,
Philippines, July 10, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- The Environmental
Broadscast Circle or EBC launched last Friday at the Manila
City Hall a series of media forums on the people's concerns, called "Talakayang
Bayan."
…
........The
first session focused on the fights against poverty, that date being the
second anniversary of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC).
Cabinet  Secretaries
Horacio 'Boy' Morales of Agrarian Reform and Alfredo Lim of Interior and
Local Government joined NAPC Vice Chairpersons Donna Gasgonia, for the
government sector, and Ana Maria 'Princess' Nemenzo, for the basic sectors,
in outlining the anti-poverty thrusts of the Estrada administration. A
crowd of more than a hundred people gamely waited for the whiole affair
to run its course. Welcome remarks earlier were given by Manila City Mayor
Joselito Atienza. It was the first instance of partnership between EBC
and NAPC.
…
..........Presented
at the gathering was the National Anti-poverty Action Agenda,
with a much shorter version in the form of a covenant signed by participants
at the end of the affair.
.
…......Environmental
Broadcaster Beth Roxas, EBC Executive Director, teamed up with Ding
Reyes, a fellow EBC co-founder, in emceeing the event.
.
Bulletin
No. 1-1 (June 10, 2000)
NATCCO
backs synergism-focused
education
for cooperatives
NCM
'certain' to follow suit
..
…......MANILA,
Philippines, June 10, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- The National
Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO), one of the strongest groupings
of cooperative organizations in the country, has decided to support
the drive for a synergism-focused education for cooperative leaders and
members. In a resolution passed by its General Assembly held in Iloilo
City last May 21, NATCCO decided to "officially promote within itself,
and in its sphere of influence, a focused education on the principle of
synergism and its applications in cooperativism, and integerate such in
NATCCO's
cooperative education." (full
text
here.)
…
.........Days
later, former Bulacan Gov. Roberto Pagdanganan, who heads the National
Cooperative Movement (NCM), declared that he wants NCM to make a similar
stand.
…......Proposed
by Ms. Caridad Maalid of the Visayas Cooperative Development Center
(VICTO), the resolution was passed unanimously, and mandated NATCCO itself
and its members to "explore and forge arrangements with academic and similar
institutions in pursuance of this resolution," and to "generate whatever
additional resources shall be necessary if this focused education efforts
cannot be...covered within the existing education programs."
.
…......Before
the approval, with then outgoing NATCCO chairman Cristeto Oliva
of the Bicol Cooperative Development Center (BCDC) presiding, an
inquiry was made by a Mindanao delegate about implementation systems and
mechanisms. VICTO referred the matter to its invited guest, SanibLakas
Foundation president Ed Aurelio C. Reyes, who was present at the assembly
also to represent Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr. (head of the Senate Committee
on Cooperatives), but Reyes said the matter was best left to the respective
leaders of the cooperative organizations. Reyes had earlier drafted the
resolution, with valuable inputs from Magsaysay, Pagdanganan, and also
from Romulo Villamin, regional officer for Southeast Asia of the International
Cooperative Alliance (ICA), who was with Reyes during the NATCCO
Assembly.
.
…......NATCCO
is
one of the largest among cooperative groups in the Philippines, strong
enough to garner a seat in the House of Representatives in 1998 through
the  party-list
system. The seat is now occupied by Rep. Cresente Paez, who was cited by
another resolution for his outstanding performance as a legislator representing
the cooperative sector. NATCCO groups together the regional
cooperative federations and development centers, namely, VICTO,
BCDC,
Northern
Luzon Federation of Cooperatives and Development Centers (NORLUCEDEC),
Cagayan
Valley Confederation of Cooperatives (CAVALCO),
Cooperatives Education
and Development Center (CEDC),
Tagalog Cooperative Development Center
(TAGCODEC), MASS-SPECC Cooperative Development Center (MASS-SPECC),
and Coop-Life Mutual Benefit Services Association (CLIMBS).
…......
…......Obet
Pagdanganan, who has been noted for his work that strengthened the cooperative
sector in Bulacan and authored a book titled A Call for Cooperative
Revolution, was asked by Reyes via e-mail whether he wanted NCM
to
have a  similar
decision, and he gave a very emphatic affirmative response. "Do I want
NCM to have a similar resolution? Is the Pope Catholic?" Pagdanganan asked
rhetorically in his e-mail message, adding "let's talk real soon."
…......
…......"This
has made it an outright certainty that NCM would soon formalize such a
decision," Reyes, who directly
heads the committee for the foundation's Cooperative Education on
Synergism (C.E.S.) program thrust, told SanibLakas InfoShare.
…......
…......In
a subsequent interview with InfoShare, Prof. Hermie Manimtim,
NCM
secretary
and faculty member of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Institute on Cooperatives (PUP-IC), enthusiastically expressed support
for Pagdanganan's stand. She immediately started promoting the SanibLakas
pamphlet which fully explains the basis for the call for cooperatives to
undertake a focused study of the synergism principle. The pamphlet carries
a prologue from Pagdanganan. (full
texts of pamphlet items here.)
…......
…......Meanwhile,
Dr. Paciano Bacani, chair of the Philippine Cooperative Center (PCC)
and a former head of NATCCO, has invited Reyes to attend a meeting
of PCC leaders scheduled for this month to air an appeal for the PCC
itself to make a similar decision. Both NATCCO and NCM are
members of the PCC. Bacani and Reyes were together at the NATCCO
General
Assembly in Iloilo City.
.
Bulletin
No. 1-2 (June 10, 2000)
.
Successful
'Handshakes & Hugs' ceremonies
held
for recent World Environment Day
…..MANILA,
Philippines, June 10, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- No less than
ten nationalities were represented in three "Handshakes and Hugs for
Earth Synergy  2000"
ceremonies held by the SanibLakas ng Taongbayan Foundation before
and during the commemoration of World
Environment Day (W.E.D.)
2000,
in partnership with the Davao-based Initiatives for International Dialogue
(IID) and with Earthlite, the "wholistic place" in Cubao, Quezon
City. Filipinos, Indians and Indonesians had the biggest number of representatives,
with others coming from Srilanka, East Timor, Burma, Ireland, Italy, Israel
and the United States.
…......
…......Centered
on a chorused recitation of an Earth synergy poem/prayer titled A
Giant Leap for Humankind (text
here), which has been translated
into about a dozen translations (translations),
"Handshakes
and Hugs" (concept
& design) was done around
the time of the recent Earth
Day 2000 in various countries around
the world, including the Philippines (with Filipino, Japanese, Chinese
and New Zealander participants), Sweden, Pakistan, Ireland, Japan, and
the United States.
…..
…..The
ceremony was held twice at Earthlite on W.E.D. itself, June 5 after
the organizers realized that about 40 people had come to the venue an hour
and a half  before
the 7 p.m. schedule. So the ceremony was held both at 5:30 and at 7:30,
with attendance somewhat overlapping. Last May 28, SanibLakas and
the IID Manila office represented by Merci Ferrer, organized the
"Handshakes
and Hugs" ceremony at an Italian restaurant in also in Cubao, for
some 16 Filipinos and non-Filipino friends who had flown in from Davao
City with IID executive director Gus Miclat. The ceremony was held
upon their arrival in Manila because the non-Filipinos had a hectic schedule
ahead and were booked to leave the country before June 5.
…..
…..In
all these "Handshakes and Hugs" ceremonies held after last
Earth
Day, the first line was changed from
"On Earth Day 2000" to "For Earth Synergy 2000."
.
The
W.E.D.
festivities at Earthlite opened with a live poetry-and-artworks
presentation by Penny R. Velasco, titled, Are You the Forest King?
Hours
before, Ms. Velasco had just given a performance at the Alcantara
residence in Blue Ridge, Quezon City, before about 30 people from the Mt.
Banahaw foothill town of Dolores, Quezon. …
..
…..Rev.
Philemon Castro of the Annunciation Orthodox Church led the inter-faith
invocation prayer for the W.E.D. affair
which also read a sharing of a message from United Nations Secretary-General
Kofi Annan (text
here).
…......
…......Another
feature at the gathering was the participatory painting project, titled,
Hands
for Homeplanet Harmony. This was the W.E.D.
project of the Sanibkulay Visual Arts Group. Marz Zafe, head
of this Earthlite-based synergism-oriented group
(more
info
here), designed the artwork and
led in the "Sanib-Pinta" (participatory painting) activity,
and was helped to prepare the canvas by young Sanibkulay art lessons students
Nicole Quicho, Charist Mopera, Rachel Nina V. Rosario, and Katrina Joela
O. Evans. The dozens of "Handshakes and Hugs" participants
joined in by making acrylic-paint imprints of their hands according to
Zafe's design. They also formed six groups for freewheeling discussions
and took some pineapple juice served by Sanibkulay as they all awaited
their turns at the canvas .
…..
…..Still
another part of the program was the formal dedication of the "Green
Shelf for Deep Ecology" of the Bahay Liwanag (Emilio Jacinto
Center for Transformative Consciousness) library at Earthlite.
Copies of Are You the Forest King? by Velasco, Biped
on the Blue Ball - Second Edition by Ed Aurelio Reyes, and other
books and magazines were acquired for inclusion in the initial holdings
of the "Green Shelf" project.
…..
…..Items
that had to be postponed for technical reasons included the scheduled showing
of the video about persistent organic pollutants (POPs) titled Drumbeat
for the Earth, and the distribution of seeds for tree-planting.…......
…......
Bulletin
No. 1-3 (June 10, 2000)
.
Local
UN office taps SanibLakas head
to
co-chair body preparing for W.E.D. 2001
…..
…..MANILA,
Philippines, June 10, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- Most of the
people invited by the Manila office of the United Nations Information
Centre  (UNIC)
to a meeting last May 31 did not even know about June 5 every year being
"World
Environment Day." But once local UNIC
chief
Luis Torres told them that the UN General Assembly proclaimed it
so way back in 1972, they wanted to do much more than what they were being
asked to do -- which was merely to help distribute packets of seeds of
the African kenaf plant in observance of the event.
…..
…..It
was less than a week before W.E.D. 2000,
so there was practically no time anymore to plan and do anything. Before
they parted that afternoon, they decided to form an ad hoc coordinating
body to preside over a full-year preparation for a Philippine commemoration
of W.E.D. 2001
commensurate to the day's significance. Mr. Torres acknowledged as
co-chairmen of the ad hoc committee a leading forester of the Department
of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the president of the
Saniblakas
ng Taongbayan Foundation, both present at the meeting, to represent
the government and the non-government sectors, respectively.
..
….....There
was an easy consensus that neither June 5 as W.E.D.
nor the whole June as the Philippine Environment Month has been widely
known, much less observed with any activity.
…..
…..Many
people, so the observation went, would readily confuse it with Earth
Day (April 22 every year) which has
been more an NGO-based affair in contrast to W.E.D. which has been an inter-government
affair. In fact, days before the meeting, SanibLakas InfoShare
had
widely disseminated via the Internet the joint letter written as early
as last March by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) executive
director Klaus Toepfer and Earth Day 2000 World Wide Network chairman
and chief executive director Denis Hayes appealing to all environmental
groups and governments to link the two dates together through many activities.
Bulletin
No. 1-4 (June 10, 2000)
.
SALIKA
starts accepting applications
for
charter membership
…
…..MANILA,
Philippines, June 10, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- The new "citizens'
green force" which aims to promote a synergy of complementing environmental
groups and efforts has started registering applications for membership.
…..According
to veteran broadcaster Marie R. Marciano, leading organizer of Saniblakas
ng Inang Kalikasan (SALI.KA),
those who become "seedling members" by the time of the organization's founding
assembly sometime in the fourth quarter of this year will be considered
founding members. They will be given general orientation and specialized
skills seminars before they become "fully-grown tree" members of the "green
force."
…..On
the registration form (sample
here) each applicant would
choose
her
or his preferred line of work among widely varied options. These options
include the following: Land, Air, Water, Energy, Campaigns, Art & Culture,
Finance, Legal, Education, Media, Enforcement ("HULIKA"), Science, Spiritual
(inter-faith), and Secretariat. Other options may be specified and chosen.
…..Four
types of membership may be applied for: student, with a P50-membership
or annual fee; regular, P100; professional, P300; and sustaining, P1,000
and above.
…..Marciano
told SanibLakas InfoShare in an interview last night that there
are already very many environmental groups in the Philippines and the challenge
now lies in building strong unity and complementation. Lack of unity
was manifested among the country's major environmental groups during last
April's Earth Day 2000
commemoration, which was more successful in drawing in various groups that
could not be expected to underake "sustained hard work on the ground" for
environment conservation. Calendar-based festivals would have been good
occasions for such "greenhorn greens" to meet and join established environmental
organizations to sustain their interest and nurture the growth of their
own commitment beyond special festivals. SanibLakas actually issued
a message as early as last November (1999) to address this concern about
lack of unity (text
here).
.
….."Complementation
cannot happen accidentally. Without earnest coordination work based on
the groups' predisposition to unite there can be no complementation," she
said, "adding that if we do not have effective coordination, we are
going to have countertproductive duplications and competition instead of
complementation."
…..SALI.KA
organizers
are conscious not to duplicate or compete with other environment
organizations or "pirate" the latter's members. The "green force" will
primarily recruit among individuals who are not yet organized. It will
also accept members of other environmental organizations, but will
task and train them to be model members of those other organizations.
.
.
Through seminars and
other means of motivation, all SALI.KA
members
will be molded to be effective and exemplary propagators and practitioners
within their respective organizations of (1) a strong personal commitment;
(2) sense of responsibility and efficiency relative to any tasks given
and accepted; (3) continuing development and sharing of individual skills
and knowledge needed for better effectiveness in the service of Mother
Nature; and (4) readiness to be a team player and to maximize synergy in
all facets for any and all efforts for Mother Nature.
.
.
She said interested
parties may fill out registration forms at Earthlite, 4th floor,
C.O.D. bldg., Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City, or send her an e-mail
message via <kasalika@yahoo.com>.
Bulletin
No. 1-5 (June 10, 2000)
Videofest
organizers seek deeper review
of
E-Day 2000 commemoration in RP
…..…..MANILA,
Philippines, June 10, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- The Tanghalang
Lakbay Pinoy festival organizing committee for the recent Ta-Nood
Kalikasan  Video
Festival for Earth Day 2000
is
planning to write to the leaders of the Earth Day Network 2000 - Philippines
to
ask for a venue for a broad airing of assessment points by groups that
had registered with the network.
.
.
Concluding its own assessment
of organizing and conducting the video festival through four disctinct
stages from August 1999 to the end of April 2000, the videofest organizers
headed by broadcast journalist Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, TLP managing partner
and videofest executive producer, the festival organizers said whoever
will lead in similar commemorations next year could benefit much from a
more in-depth assessment of the recent Earth Day festival.
.
.
Ta-Nood Kalikasan
Video Festival for Earth Day 2000 went through its conceptualization
and initial preparation period from August to December 3, 1999; the seminar
series stage from December 4, 1999 to February 28, 2000 holding six video-making
seminar workshops in Metro Manila, Puerto Princesa, General Santos and
Guimaras (off Iloilo), with 74 seminar graduates; the video production
and post-production (editing and tapes copying) from February 29 to April
21; and the video-showing of about 25 titles of participant videos and
dozens of guest videos during the festival proper from April 23-30 with
five venues spread across Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao (namely, Quezon
Circle and Earthlite in Quezon City; and in the cities of Puerto
Princesa, Iloilo and General Santos).
.
.
Led by Hontiveros-Baraquel
and videofest organizer Ed Aurelio Reyes, the committee pointed out its
own shortcomings and modest successes at each stage and underscored the
lessons to be learned and also the loose ends to be tied.
.
.
The video festival organizers
said up to the last minute, many people including the organizers of the
Earth Day festival grounds at the Quezon Circle were still not familiar
with the video festival.
.
.
While the effect of
Earth Day having fallen this year on Black Saturday was so real that many
considered the commemoration as a one-day affair, coordination and publicity
work by the Network left much to be desired, the committee members
told SanibLakas InfoShare. They said they expected the Network's
decision-makers to review the prudence of having designated separate areas
for educational booths (Quezon Circle) and for the selling booths (Manila
Seedling Bank), which greatly reduced the number of visitors to either
area.
.
.
Weeks before Earth
Day 2000,
TLP
wrote a formal
letter to Philippine Earth Day coordinator Raul Contreras appealing for
reconsideration of that decision. The May 28 meeting of Network
leaders,
minus Contreras, with representatives of some of the participating groups
centered mainly on thanking the groups and high-profile personalities and
issuing souvenir figurines to some of them, and there was no assessment
undertaken where the participants could air their views.
please send your own information
on partnerships to sanib_alam@yahoo.com
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