CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN THE FILIPINO WAY

Celebrating the western-type of halloween in the Philipines does not speak well of being a Filipino, we just imitated it from our American idols. Worst, it has become commercialized and UnFilipino. We should come up with our own unique celebration without prejudice to the party mood and merriment. In the Philippine setting, "Trick or Treat" should be replaced with "Pangangaluwa" wherein groups or individuals can visit the different houses in their communities and serenade the owners for a token fee or food treat. Halloween Costumes should be something Filipino. Instead of witches, draculas, and foriegn-inspired characters, we should come up with costumes depicting a "Kapre", "Tikbalang", "Aswang", "Mangkukulam" or anything identifed with the Filipino.

Halloween according to Wikepedia, is a holiday celebrated every October 31 in places like the United States, Canada, Ireland and UK. The Filipino Halloween on the otherhand is the celebration of All Saints' Day every November 1 and All Soul's Day every November 2. These have been associated with the Catholic Church. The Filipino tradition is to visit the tombs of their departed loved ones on these days, bringing flowers and candles including food as offerings. It is also during this time that Filipino families gather together and offer prayers for the dead, after which a family picnic in the cemeteries and memorial parks take place.

A long time ago, the "Pangangaluwa" every October 31 had been a Filipino practice in several provinces in the Philippines. However, this has been forgotten and this Filipino culture and tradition was overetaken by the "Western Halloween". Parties and merriment during the halloween are acceptable, but Filipinos should do it without appearing as cheap copycats and imitators of a culture which do they not own. Identity crisis has always been a problem for the Pinoy.


Let us start reviving and appreciating our own traditions and customs. In this way, we will be contributing to the country's cultural development towards economic prosperity.

BARANGAY AND SK ELECTIONS STILL MARRED WITH VOTE-BUYING AND VIOLENCE

When will we ever learn? Money politics still dominates the Barangay(Village) and Sangguniang Kabataan(Youth Council)) elections. Like in the past, Philippine politics is still very traditional. Characterized by patronage, vote-buying, and in some cases, violence, the just recently concluded Barangay ang SK elections are far from being tools for meaningful change. Instead, it has become training grounds for dirty politics and corruption.

It is sad to note that even the youth(15-17 yrs. old) have become victims of money politics through machinations perpetrated by many parents, guardians, or elders who desperately want their candidates to win. This is a bad precedent considering that instead of training the youth to become leaders and good citizens, they are now directly exposed to the ills of traditional politics(trapo).

In the case of the barangays, nothing much has improved. The same technique of directly or indirectly buying votes in violation of the law remains a practice. We never learn because we don't allow ourselves to effect change. We complain against the ills of society but we hesitate to expose and oppose vote-buying. We are always afraid to come out from our comfort zones and most of the time we choose to remain silent. As the saying goes, "we get the government that we deserve."

LAUNCHING OF THE YOUTH GUIDE TO THE VIGAN CITY COUNCIL

INTERNAL REVENUE ALLOTMENT OF VIGAN BARANGAYS FOR 2010

LEGISLATORS WEEK (SEPT. 27-30, 2010)

AS THE PROPONENT OF THE YOUTH GUIDE TO THE VIGAN CITY COUNCIL, I PRESENTED AN OVERVIEW BEFORE A GROUP OF STUDENT LEADERS FROM THE DIFFERENT SCHOOLS OF METRO VIGAN.

VIGAN LEGISLATORS (L-R): COUNCILOR HENRY FORMOSO. VICE MAYOR RYAN SINGSON, COUNCILOR FRANZ RANCHES, COUNCILOR BENJO VERZOSA.

LEGISLATIVE BUDDIES FRANZ AND BENJO

PRELIMINARY BUDGET RESPONSE

October 16 is the deadine for the Mayor to submit to the City Council the Proposed Development Plan and Budget for the year 2011. From the receipt of said proposals, the City Council shall begin to review these two most important documents, exercising its oversight function and power over the purse. For several years now, the Legislative Council has been at odds with the Executive Branch when it comes to budget review. While the Council wants to assert its proposals on how budgetary allocations for the operations of the local government be done, the Executive Department remains cold to the Council's counter-proposals.

I have thought of proposing a PRELIMINARY BUDGET REPONSE as a method to address the issue. Patterned after the New York City Council, this aims to ensure that the Budget reflects the needs, priorities and aspirations of the people. The Council shall conduct an in-depth review of all city departmments, their policies, their programs and their expenses. At the end of the budget hearings, the Council shall submit to the Mayor a Preliminary Budget Response, which defines the legislature's budgetary priorities and the changes it would like to see in the budget. The Mayor then submits a revised Executive Budget for the final review of the City Council.

The Preliminary Budget Response will strengthen the balance of power betwen the Executive and Legislative branches in the City of Vigan. Check and Balance is a necessary ingredient in a truly democratic society. Moreover, a performance-based City Budget shall be enacted. Is this not an innovation in governance?