Whose hands?

Looking forward, everything is driven by choice.

Looking back, everything was shaped by destiny.

Thank you, Mr. Bernal

During my freshman year in college, I had the great fortune to study literature under the esteemed National Artist, Salvador Bernal.

Having barely dipped our toes into college life, such a quirky professor can almost be too intimidating to bear. Mr Bernal would start every class with a quiz on obscure vocabulary words. As the class discussed the story, everyone would start flipping their textbooks with feigned diligence as he randomly called students to answer his out-of-this-world questions. Reading hundreds of pages proved futile for his unpredictable long exams. Studying literature under Salvador Bernal was often stressful and occasionally even nerve-wracking. It was also everyone's favorite class.

In my four years in Ateneo, I had the privilege to learn from the best educators in the country. Salvador Bernal stood out as the best of the best, and he remained my favorite teacher all the way until my graduation. I still remember how his classes made reflecting on stories as fun and stimulating as a treasure hunt. Every question he asked unraveled layers of meaning until we finally arrived at that elusive gem of insight. By encouraging us to think and to discover, he instilled in us a sense of wonder and a genuine love for learning. The lessons he taught us changed the way I saw the world.

Farewell Mr. Bernal. Thank you for teaching me how to see life through the prism of literature. I owe you my fascination for the written word, and for that I will always be grateful.

Minsan

Minsan inaabangan ko pa din
mga mensahe mula sa ibayong dagat
Gising na, ang ganda ng umaga
O kaya ingat ka, wag magpagabi
Mga maliliit na paalala na
Sa malayong sulok ng mundo ay naroon siya
Nag-aantay, nagmamahal

Minsan naalala ko pa din
ngiting hulog ng langit
Na unang umakit
Sa birhen na pusong
nakahanap na sa wakas ng kapares
Nagdiriwang sa mga yakap at halik
sintamis ng mga alaalang di na babalik

Minsan naririnig ko pa din
Sa katahimikan ng hatinggabi
malambing na tinig na naguumapaw sa tuwa at kilig
at sa isang kisapmata
ako'y matatawa din
Hanggang sa mapagtanto ko
na anino ko lang pala ang nakikinig

Muli ko siyang tatanungin
Bakit mo tinalikuran ang pag-ibig na wagas?
Walang sawa ka niyang hinintay, walang patid kang minahal
Bakit ka tumahak sa di tuwid na landas?
Kahit ilan pang paumanhin mo ay mahirap nang maibuo
ang mga matatalim na bubog
ng basag na puso

Dito na darating ang tanong na pinakamasakit
Bakit mo pinakawalan ang magpakailanman?
Isasagot niya na hindi pa siya handa
Kailangan niya munang makipagsapalaran
Upang hanapin at maging tiyak sa sarili
Lilitaw ang panibagong tanong
Kailan, kailan pa ang tamang panahon?

Minsan bibiyayaan tayo ng tadhana
ng pagkakataong matagpuan ang taong habambuhay mamahalin
Kailan kaya, saan at sino
ang makapaghihilom ng nakaraang kay hapdi?
Bagaman masalimuot ang pag-ibig
Maniwala, magmahal, ngunit huwag kaligtaan
Sa pagmamahal, mahal din ang kabayaran.

We make life complicated.

Life is not really a matter of choice, it’s simply a battle of incentives. With a proper big-picture comprehensive mindset, the cost-benefit analysis is the ideal tool to make enlightened choices about anything. So life should have been that simple right? But… determining the costs and the benefits, those things are relative, subject to subjectivity. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure right? That’s where individual biases and perspectives come into play. That’s where we are led to believe that there is the illuision of choice. That’s what makes humanity so diverse… and interesting.

In need of a Dictator

My few months in China have brought me the realization that government is STILL the most powerful force in instituting change. It’s the platform where everything (education, infrastructure, employment, even enterprise) rides on. A healthy government is not just crucial, it is indispensable in its role as a force of development in a country. In line with this, I think that political will in the Philippines is too weak. There is no incentive to change the status quo precisely because those in power are enjoying the comforts of elite life at the expense of the masses. We need a dictator, no doubt about that. Just like China has always been run by dictators. Just as Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, and South Korea thrived under dictators. The biggest question though, is who, who has the political strength, intellectual capability, and public empathy to be the dictator of the Philippines?