Adieu... and Godspeed my joy.

Again I would like to share one of my letters pertaining ppa of culion
I know this is an old if not dead issue. Everybody seems to accept it. I want to post this just to inculcate my self... What could be my misconception or mistaken belief with regards to this power of executive order No. 403... Last centennial there was a prominent visitor who acknowledge and approved this project because for him it is essential and necessary simply because it is called development. Ok but does it balance the nature of ordinance and peoples involvements? Between natural environment & community against betterment? and this is also my reflections with regards to his approvals... my argument is this “basin is the heart of my community, of brotherhood and of family. It is the symbol of my becoming, my joys, and youthfulness. The destruction of it is the undoing of my past and of my community.” so I need some justifications of this cruel orders which is for me is just to maintain their political positions.... correct me I could be wrong and if not then reveal the proper order... things are in observance... to balance things. and I hope that this could be a productive moments...

Adieu... and Godspeed my joy.

Development has many levels, many variations to the same tunes, but the question lies…. What is the difference between personal achievements and the ability to develop for the good of all, that which is essentially a kind of development that is enforced to help the weak. The poorest. The powerless. The humanity.

Development can reduce community when it utilizes all the elements of forces only for one’s disposal in order to protect one’s own self interest. In macro point of view it applies to all forms of human desideratum..

The function of it uses only for one’s own personal self-interest is in fact the act of propelling ones self over another. It is what the psychologists described as Ego-consciousness… the lowest form of consciousness that is vest to the animal instinct of survival... The “survival of the fittest”? They will do anything to survive? It’s simply serving their egoistic self...

Then, who are the fittest in culion? The kings and queens of puerto prinsesa? Who are their sycophant who cannot repress their animal instinct… and frustrate their neighbors not more than their community... adoring their sham icons. Buying all balangays...

So what is true development? Is it building accesses for one’s own survival? Or is it the reflection of growth that encounters with the complexity of modern life? can we call ppa growth?

What is true development? Is it the marina or the people? ppa or basin? Is it the enjoyment of growth, or just a way of escaping this banal existence? Escaping downfalls...

What is true development? Is it the aesthetics formation of buildings or port, like concept or ridiculous ideas of this apocryphal claims of serving their people? Or is it the springing and a call from the depths of actuality where works are made to articulate the spirit of involvements…What is this advancement? Why are they confusing? Why when things evolve it becomes so disrectful, bogus and blasphemous. Pretending like god or serving?

Why is it always painful to go out there and view those empty walls where the abysmal void hurt with the shameless plasticity of it all? Why do we have to make walls of isolations on progress and betterment? Why do we have to clog and cast off commonality? Why do we have to wall the basin and pantalan?

Why is it that this development seems to have lost its spirit and moralities?

What are great achievements and strides made of? Why does it seem that while we experience accomplishments in businesses or productivity (DO WE?) we find the equal deterioration of the bayanihan spirit found in community? The spirit of oneness and solidarity... but instead we have apathy and torpidity. We have walls of ppa.

The complexities of modern life have become so bizarre as the philosophy of materialism have been well applied to defeat underdevelopment --- transforming money as the basic essential commodity that will feed the human body... Ah I think they’re just serving survival instinct... Then life might become formidable, unreasonable, vexatious and weaked, so painful, so sad and morose. Transforming the port into business... But where are the ships?!

Development includes business and can order by laws of the president or governor or mayor... a kind of system.
Yes indeed a system is a system that without which we cannot function in an organized way. The system is in place in order to create an illusion of control… the laws of man… of government… of industry or business… of this so called development.

But the problem lies not in the system or laws. It lies in the hearts of man or woman where the system becomes the end, the means to an end. It is a kind of system where progress has been assign to a mere survival -- where people denounce involvements, belongingness, in place of indifference... of money?

But development is not for the weak hearted nor for those ego-conscious-mind who only serve their animal instinct where reasons are irrelevant and nonsense…please, it is not for them all!

Development should be the backbone of a town. It must be effective and produce good results. Its created projects must depict, capture and document great achievements of great people’s way of life and values. Without it a place perhaps may not have been existed. Great minds that move the course of a community’s future know the value of development as an essential component in the promotion of ethics of pure life… evolvement is a community canonization. It is therefore an idea that development should belong to the people, for the people and by the people… yet look around culion?

Jose Rizal said: PEOPLE WHO DO NOT KNOW WHERE THEY CAME FROM DO NOT KNOW WHERE THEY ARE GOING. The reason we do not have a sense of country is that we do not have a sense of history.

The best thing we can improve Culion is not ONLY that we have more natural resources, and how to be productive on this area.... we also need better political system or even better leaders.and most of all the people should have a sense of community. The spirit of involvement. HERE LIES THE MAJOR PROBLEM. Not to mention the budgets!

I am going back to the past, because i’m questioning the present in order to see my future.. Above all, I get to
have a sense of belonging to the community, or as that sublime Filipino word goes, "malasakit" for it. This is my compassion for the community, my sympathy for the community, my desire to do something for the community.

Basin is the product of my past. And it represents the beautiful values of our parents and grandparents; to preserve it is to preserve the memory of the great things they have done; their suffering, their love for one another; their laughter, their tears, their hopes, their dreams. They wanted to tell me or us that we are standing on the shoulders of great men; that we should
Not forget their warm hearts and their sacrifices; that we should treasure, and honor the beautiful gifts they have left us. at the least the “malasaki” they have done and endure... and one of this is the symbol of basin...

Again my argument is “basin is the heart of my community, of brotherhood and of family. It is the symbol of my becoming, my joys, and youthfulness. The destruction of it is the undoing of my past and of my community.”

I want to remember my past. I want to preserve my past and one of the great memories of it all is the Marina... or basin.

Ten or twenty five years ago during or before the full moon we usually play many games in this place, like hide & seek, 'taragtagan', 'maro-maro', 'turubigan' and other games. Sometimes we just simply watched the moon while chatting and sharing our stories & jokes. We also play some guitars or just the plastic drums singing o “maliwanag na buwan” and other stupid songs...

Then during the day we will go swimming after our pasabit the traditional way of fishing at pantalan which I think originally made in culion. Of course by the pasabit experts Bingel and manong Nonoy Taal and many more. Some had their pakaskas also on their bancas. fishing by the dawn... also to mention the protections of the bancas inside it.

Basin was where we all learned how to swim. From the first 'langoy-aso' stroke to all the swimming strokes like breaststroke, freestyle, backstroke and butterfly... then to the daring jumps from stairs to pantalan. We also went to coral reef diving wearing our handmade goggles to watch the spectacular beauty of corals and fishes. We even try to chased the 'tunggaw', 'sap-sap', and 'matambaka' around the posts of pantalan. In this way we'll learn how to dive deeper in the sea holding our breath for a long time. Then on the 'pantalan' with all the other kids holding our hands, we run and jumped to the sea swimming farther to the deep sea... and when there were wooden ships from manila we'll go to the top jumping from the roof and swam back to basin...

When we already master all the strokes of swimming we'll go practicing for the swimming competitions in our schools and fiestas and for the palawan provincial sports meet to the region IV athletic meet the STRAA. I still remember when we were practicing for the swimming competitions, we swam starting from basin to Jardin shore then back to 'pantalan' and continue to the back of the Immaculate church shore in the colony then back to basin, tracking the coral reefs of Culion proper. A marathon swimming... So those were the years that we produce or introduce swimmer champions for the whole palawan. not to mention the future swimmer athelete that is becoming...

During San Juan which is the rainy season the whole community and families were gathering around the place for picnic and of course “basaan ng dagat o tubig” with all their snack foods and some drinking sessions while playing... even there were all kinds of jelly fish we run around from basin to pantalan and jump while the rain were showering us. everybody were very cautious about the jelly fish but still some of us were stung by its venomous string-like stingers.

But aside from these dangerous jellies, I remember one time, one of the magical moment that really happened there that I cannot forget. That was rainy day when even the sun was shining.... there was a rainbow right in front of us circling around pantalan.. all of us were hypnotized! and we all jumped straight on the rainbow. We were shouting with joy and laughters. looking for the golden pot jokingly. It was pure happiness, the most enchanting moment about 'pantalan' and basin. Nothing can compare to that experienced we had on this place, simply pure joy. simply full of life.

and now look at the place called development by the president, the governor, the congressman, the mayor, the people. development for what? what kind of product are they shippings or producing? importing goods from other places. look at the site it’s full of tricycle that cannot even maneuver on the roads of balala. not to mention the talipapa traffic and becoming polluted...and many more conflicts... it looks ugly. lonely and empty life! (for me)

But culion might still have its hope and dreams... a challenge for all.
and this query will forever live in everyone’s mind, dwelling in everybody’s heart and nailed in all human spirit... without this life can be more sinister. can become more like PPA of culion.

farewell my joy, my youth... my community.

goodbye basin! Adieu.