Common Cause @

MANILA: Today, Friday, Rizal Day, to celebrate his martyr's death by firing squad on 30 December 1896, I am celebrating his life, especially pointing out those things that we have all wrong that together give us the wrong Jose Rizal, The National Hero of the Philippines. Firing squads from government have always been anti-hero, even up to this day. If you believe that Andres Bonifacio should be The National Hero of this country, I won't dissuade you from your belief; I'll simply stick to mine. The above image is from Wendell Bacud's "Rizal Clan , " Pinterest, pinterest.com , which he borrowed from somebody else – it's the right Rizal, if mischievous-looking. I know we know many things wrong about Jose Rizal. Now then, let us consider 5 concerns about him: (1)      Young Rizal's Poem (2)      Rizal's Nationalism (3)      Rizal's Full Name (4)      Rizal's Loves (5)      Rizal's Ideas. (1)    His Poem "

MANILA: Maybe, it's better if Duterte scraps the funding. No, that P 8.3 billion for free tuition is not an educational bonanza. Yes, it's a good idea for bad state-sponsored education – as is. Wake up, everybody! Janvic Mateo reports on "Free tuition in state schools next year" from the realignment of budgets by the Senate (17 December 2016, The Philippine Star , philstar.com ). The Senate allotted P 8.3 Billion to the Commission on Higher Education, or CHEd, from the budget of the Department of Public Works & Highways, or DPWH, for infrastructure in the autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. A legislative Fool's Paradise.  The ladies & gentlemen of the Senate must think that affordability is the primary problem in the state universities & colleges, or SUCs. In their hurry to get rid of that huge P 8.3 billion pork barrel, the Senators allotted it instead for free tuition in those educational institutions owned and operated by the state. The

MANILA: Is the price of rice right? Is the value added from the farm gate to the dinner table received by the farmer right? When there is a rise in the price of rice, whose prize is it? The right answer may shock you. We'll get to that in a little while. MY sent me early this morning, Monday, 19 December 2016, an email link to "Benin Rice" (AFP, 19 December 2016, Manila Times , manilatimes.net ), and I've been reading that news. Benin is a democratic "presidential republic" in West Africa ( Wikipedia ). It was once a territory of France, long enough so that the official Benin language is French. Benin is tropical Sub-Saharan, highly dependent on subsistence agriculture. The largest religious denomination is Roman Catholic, followed by Islam, Vodun and Protestantism. Sounds familiar. Benin has 2 dry seasons (December to April and July to September), and 2 rainy seasons (April to July and September to November). Unique. The Africa Rice Center, or Af

CITY OF URDANETA: Last night and this morning, Saturday, 17 December 2016, I was watching CNN Philippines' Profiles with Mitzi Borromeo interviewing former Senator Leticia Ramos-Shahani at her "Bahay Kubo" rest house in the village of Tulong in this City, before son Ranjit brought us to see Ms Leticia at noon in an official visit. The CNN link to the interview was posted on Facebook by daughter Lila. I took this photo of Ms Leticia talking to someone over the phone, with her walking stick. Next to her sits Roger Daranciang, Auditor of the new Danggay Foundation, going over the papers to be signed by her as Chair of the (old and) new Board. I was there as the new President of Danggay. This Foundation was founded by Ms Leticia when she was Senator and out of her funds she financed the construction of the Pangasinan Crafts & Production Center building, which we now simply refer to as the Danggay House , the office building being occupied by the Foundation at the t