authors and contributors:
jun asuncion atty. benji rudy bellen dora the mouse milagros
tony boy gilana- PIO Bulan oliver geronilla scott thompson
and maybe you! – So feel free to write anything that is aligned with the objectives of Bulan Observer.
“A free press can of course be good or bad, but, most certainly, without freedom it will never be anything but bad. . . . Freedom is nothing else but a chance to be better, whereas enslavement is a certainty of the worse.”
Albert Camus quotes (French Novelist, Essayist and Playwright, 1957 Nobel Prize for Literature, 1913-1960)
20 Comments
June 8, 2008 at 4:49 pm
I am inviting you to join us. Mabalos!
June 9, 2008 at 12:37 am
thanks mr. jun a. it’s my pleasure and privilege… shalom
June 16, 2008 at 3:02 pm
ang hospital san Bulan dapat na po ipasara…diri mayad ang facilidad…hope soon mag kaigwa kita san mayad na hospital…concern ako sa mga kapwa ko taga bulan…wara po ba plan si mayor po about po dito sa sayo na major probs san ato bungto..!??
July 11, 2008 at 8:35 am
isang magandang araw po, ako si PSI ADRIANO E CANSAS JR, COP ng Candelaria, Zambales, ang kapulisan po ng Candelaria ay nag ka conduct ng lectures sa lahat ng Barangay dito at ang isa sa mga subject matter namin ay 5 PILLARS CJS maaari po bang mapadalhan nyo kami ng LECTURE MATERIAL RE CJS yun pong naka power point sya. Marami pong salamat.
email namin: candpnp@yahoo.com CP # 09209020727
July 12, 2008 at 8:03 am
To PSI Adriano Cansas Jr,
Thank you for reading Bulan Observer. And our greetings to the people of Candelaria, Zambales! More power to all of you! It’s nice to hear about your barangay engagements, it’s very commendable for you are in this way strengthening the barangay, the smallest local government unit in our politics. The Punong Barangay, the Baranga Kagawads and the Barangay Tanods are officials we need to give our support and attention nowadays for, owing to their rootedness in the community, they are the point of departure for a qualitative, positive change in our political culture that the town needs in order to progress.
If we would achieve all these over 40, ooo punong barangays in our country to be morally strong leaders who treasure democracy, self-reliant, progressive in their thinking and dedicated to fight poverty and corruption then we would have a good future for our nation. With a proud, progressive and peace-loving community, you already have one good pillar among these five pillars of criminal justice system in our municipal government.
The police should anchor their loyalty to the community and to the ideals of their profession, democracy and justice, not to the faulty perception of certain politicians. Remember that men and women of good mental and physical health and excellent character undergo rigid training and examinations before they could join the police corps. Our politicians do not necessarily undergo these rigid selection processes that the men and women in our police and military corps undergo. Many don’t even know what honesty, loyalty and moral character is all about. This is true among many of our national and local politicians.
The sad thing is that they are the ones using and corrupting the police or the military for their own selfish interests. Therefore, for the sake of higher Filipino ideals, it is now time for the police and military people to help put things into proper perspective in our nation, not by rebellion but by education, in order to :1. Strengthen the first pillar, which is Investigation (Police) of our five pillars of criminal justice system, 2) to help achieve our common goal of a nation that can feed, employ, educate and protect its people.
Our Atty. Benji is an expert on this matter, and with Bulan Observer’s assistance for sure he would be able to provide the lecture materials you need.
Mabuhay kayo po lahat diyan sa PNP Candelaria, Zambales!
jun asuncion
Bulan Observer
July 14, 2008 at 11:44 am
to PSI Canlas, Jr.
wala po akong available na power point presentation regarding the 5 pillars of criminal justice system, but i will try to provide you some lecture materials for your own consumption and perusal. i will send it directly to your email as indicated above.
If you want, i can give you lectures on the topic provided that you will have to shoulder my transporation expenses and other costs in going to, and from your town. (at least 50 attendees or more) para sulit ang effort natin.
mabuhay ka.
mabuhay ka…
July 14, 2008 at 9:47 pm
To attybenji,
Thanks for your willingness to help and give advice. This is a good project on the side of the PNP Candelaria. We hope that our Bulan police corps would follow this example. This is what in my mind when I said in another occasion that we have to redefine many things in Bulan if we really want to be a progressive modern town. It is about time then that the Bulan Police redefines its image and go back to the ideals of their profession, improve their relations to the community and to free themselves from the image of just being private bodyguards to the local politicians. They should be loyal to Bulan, to the constitution, to the principles of democracy and should strive to protect themselves from being misused or abused. In this way, they can preserve their integrity and professionalism, hence, improve public relations and public trust. A community that trusts the police is willing to help the police thus improving their performance with regards to crime prevention or perhaps crime investigation.
(I have no doubt though that our present chief of police is a man of peace, a man who has a very strong sense of faireness and responsibilty, a man who is always at the side of the weak, and always willing to help, a quiet, self-effacing, unassuming being, yet inwardly strong and reselient. In short a genuine Bulanian! My kudos to you, Mr. J. H ! I have not forgotten our times in Bulan then and our adventures as young Bulanians in Canipaan!You had always led our group then and I’m glad you remained a leader until today. Joher, extend my best regards to Arturo “Turing”, Bobby and Bing, Vic, Fer, Nicolas, Raul, Albert, Eduard and Pampilo. See you all someday..)
During our highschool years I myself became two times youth station commander and with this “office” I had the chance to observe the police “at work” then. It was one of those unforgettable experiences as a young boy growing up in Bulan. I hope they still do this Youth Municipal Officers tradition until this present time for it is one way of improving public relations and of strengthening youth involvement to their town.
(Our present municipal judge is a product of such tradition, our Hon. Judge Mrs. M.G.A.! I had also spent good times with her during our municipal youth officers days- as her station commander, and during kabataang barangay days- as her “secretary”. My kudos also to you Maliz! Nothing has been forgotten.)
Back to you attybenji, accept my thankfulness to your loyalty and dedication to our town and to your unfailing adherence to democratic principles. With more Bulanians like you, Bulan could only move forward to a modern, progressive democratic town.
For a Brighter Bulan!
jun asuncion
Bulan Observer
July 15, 2008 at 3:36 am
Prioritize the municipal hospital. The health of the constituents should be placed as one of the top of priorities. Don’t have to close the hospital; just upgrade the facilities, re-train the personnel (especially on how to treat the patients regardless of economic status), and add doctors to suit the needs of the people.The people don’t need lip service but public service. The leaders owe this to the people.
July 17, 2008 at 11:50 pm
You are right, karl. Better invest in a decent hospital and medical personnel first than in another beach resort or amusement park. If Bulan public officials could build such a luxurious bus terminal, why not take the next step of renovating the hospital building and upgrading the facilities. A town without a decent hospital until now is a testimony of town mismanagement, poor decision making and a questionable concern for the welfare of the inhabitants (remember the campaign slogan “an kaayadan niyo, obligasyon mi”?) and of strangers (tourists, travelers) coming in and out of the town. Consider this: A travel agency somewhere in New York or Helsinki wouldn’t recommend to a traveling tourist to visit such a place with a church, two or three cemeteries and omnipresent funeral parlors but no hospital. The reason is obvious.
We recommend to Mayor Helen De Castro of Bulan that she gives highest priority to this hospital project for her remaing time in office. Her sick padabas would surely support her action.
November 19, 2008 at 7:00 am
Dear Jun,
When I first encountered your site, I thought “bulan” refers to an ilocano word which means buwan (moon or month). And as I read along, I learned that bulan observer was launched as a sorsogon mouthpiece.
I must say that “ang galing galing mo” Jun because your articles touched very intellectually on many relevant national issues and concerns. My favorite one is your article about Barack Obama, the symbol of change not only for America but for the whole world. I am with you on all your observations and opinions about him.
The few articles which I read from you, about Marides Fernando, etc. and those in your archives make me want to read more and know more about your thoughts, your vision, your mission and your goals in your life and how you are effectively acting on them through this powerful technology and the new media.
November 20, 2008 at 3:24 am
To TJ Tesoro,
Thank you for taking time to visit Bulan Observer and browse thru its pages. I just wonder how a very busy academic like you still manages to take time and listen to remote and small voices like Bulan Observer. It seems to me then that you’re at home with the new media and that you’re a multi-tasker and that beyond all these academic and technical proficiencies that you possess you still have not lost that appreciation for simple things and ideas. Yes, Bulan means also moon and/or month in our Bicol dialect. This is the joy that I carry with me wherever I may be for the moon above always reminds me of my hometown Bulan.
I was in Berne just a few weeks ago to visit Albert Einstein’s house when he was working in this city in a patent office. This is now turned into a small museum. We know the genius of Einstein when it comes to theoretical physics. I’ve read his life and appreciate his achievements in physics but I just leave this technical aspect of him to those who have majored in physics and mathematics. What interests me personally are his- to many of us- less known philosophical, political and musical thoughts. One of the anecdotes about him from a young friend Abraham Pais in the 1950’s that I did not forget was when Einstein had asked him if he really believed that the moon existed only if he looked at it. A simple question yet it was in conjunction with the scientific debate at that time among two camps of physicists with Einstein and Max Planck on one side and with Werner Heisenberg and Neils Bohr on the other side.
Heisenberg and Bohr were great physicists and mathematicians but insisted that the moon- as well as other objects- exist only if there is someone observing it. With all my respect to Heisenberg and Bohr, I think their case was an academic exaggeration and a philosophical confusion; they had confused measurents and experiments with the given real forms and ontological question with epistemological question. Not all but some German intellectuals had (have) the flair to over-stretch the tool they have at disposal. But at least this quarrel among these giant minds has left us with the new science of quantum physics.
You may be also familiar with Martin Heidegger’s Sein Und Zeit or, Being and Time (and also Satre’s Being And Nothingness) and Nietzsche’s Also Sprach Zarathustra (Thus Speaks Zarathustra). There is no doubt as to their literary value but Heidegger’s case is a case of over-stretching the German language. Translated into English the more you will not understand his philosophy or at least its usefulness in your everyday life. I think it was Bertrand Russel who said that Heidegger’s metaphysics was an obscurantism and a case of language gone wild. I prefer to stay by Einstein’s realistic approach to life and scientific philosophy. For then I am convinced that my town Bulan exists even though I’m not there observing it!
Next to this anecdote was my favorite line from Einstein’s writings which says:
“When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than any talent for abstract, positive thinking.”
I absolutely agree with him about the gift of fantasy for it’s the source of raw materials that each one of us come to process depending on the tool that one has learned in school or depending on one’s natural inclinations. Miles Davis, the great jazz musician would have came to process the results of his fantasy in mathematical terms if he were a learned mathematician and Einstein himself would have been a great jazz musician if his preferred tool to convert his fantasy was music. But still, Einstein was a special case with regards to music for as a violine player he revealed at one time that it is more often by improvising on his violine that he gets the solutions to his mathematical problems!
So I claim not to be “magaling” for I’m very far from it. What I may rightfully claim is something that’s naturally given to all of us, namely, this gift of fantasy.
Thank you- and come again.
jun asuncion
March 18, 2009 at 11:14 pm
hello po mang jun.
pu-puwede po bang malaman ang istorya ni Tony Ariado? ako po ay anak ni Fernando Ariado from Casiguran. Juanito Ariado ang pangalan ng lolo ko.
i spent some of my summer as a kid at Bicol, primarily in Casiguran and Bulan. I dont know much about the life of the older Ariado’s. how can i do some research about Tony Ariado and the other Ariado’s before him.
I hope you can help me. Slamat Po sa oras ninyo.
email ko po ay: ariadog2@hotmail.com
Ingat Po.
Ariel
November 2, 2009 at 5:54 am
Tito Ariel,
c kiara po ito. ung nakilala nyo nung 2006. anak po ako ni arsenio ariado na kapatid ni tony ariado. tawag lng po kayo sa bahay if you want to know more about uncle tony
November 3, 2009 at 12:35 am
That’s great Kiara! I hope Ariel phoned you already. Cousins should hold on together. I hope you would write here something about your uncle Tony. For me he was a special one. I was twelve years old then, standing in front of his body laid on the ground with his comrades…
I felt so bad at that moment…
Here is a song that I humbly dedicate to all of you Ariado Families. The lyrics just always remind me of Tony. “Hold to the truth in your heart”… jun asuncion
-If We Hold On together-
Don’t lose your way
With each passing day
You’ve come so far
Don’t throw it away
Live believing
Dreams are for weaving
Wonders are waiting to start
Live your story
Faith, hope & glory
Hold to the truth in your heart
If we hold on together
I know our dreams will never die
Dreams see us through to forever
Where clouds roll by
For you and I
Souls in the wind
Must learn how to bend
Seek out a star
Hold on to the end
Valley, mountain
There is a fountain
Washes our tears all away
Words are swaying
Someone is praying
Please let us come home to stay
If we hold on together
I know our dreams will never die
Dreams see us through to forever
Where clouds roll by
For you and I
When we are out there in the dark
We’ll dream about the sun
In the dark we’ll feel the light
Warm our hearts, everyone
If we hold on together
I know our dreams will never die
Dreams see us through to forever
As high as souls can fly
The clouds roll by
For you and I.
———————–
November 3, 2009 at 1:59 am
hinde ko po alam if you already know…. sa araw po nang mga bayani, ung kapatid po ni uncle tony at c lolo pupunta sa bantayog nang bayani because he will be honored as a hero na rin po.
and if you could give me your email manong jun, i have something to ask you about uncle tony.
March 19, 2009 at 7:51 pm
padi Ariel- magpost ka tabi saning hapot mo garu sa shout section san bulan.com. hanapin mo ang website ng bulan. nakalimutan mo na ba ang salitang bulan? good luck sa pighahanap mo.
March 19, 2009 at 10:59 pm
Thank you Ariel for your visit, thank you iguy for your good suggestion. I will try to ask my older siblings and cousins who know the Ariado’s better than I do. Or if somebody who is reading now can help you, you might get a mail. Are you buiding up your family tree? It’s nice to know young people who are searching for their roots. I am also conducting my own search of the Asuncion’s family heritage. My uncle Dr. Ronaldo Asuncion has already laid down a solid research work on our family heritage and I’m fortunate to have a copy of it. I am currently focusing my search on the painter Justiniano Asuncion (Spanish time) who have left us an excellent legacy.
I’ll let you know as soon as we get more informations about your family roots in Bulan.
Thanks again.
jun asuncion
June 20, 2009 at 5:57 am
salamat sa tulong.
July 3, 2009 at 12:21 pm
Hello,Tony Boy Gilana,si Toots ini,paki reparo man tabi san iyo PEACEPOLE sa may entrada san Simabahan mati on na kaya.. hain si chinchin?
September 25, 2009 at 8:16 am
Dear Jun. Hello to all tabi!
I’m here all over again po.
I read Toots Fungo’s reminder about the peace pole. Opo, mao ipa-imod ko po nan palimpiahan. Salamat sa reminder.
Tonyboy Gilana- PIO Bulan