MANTRA 2025: Self Rejuvination. Self Appreciation. Self Expansion.

 The Renewal 

" To change the world, start by changing yourself. "— Eudora, Mobile Legends Bang Bang (MLBB)

Therefore,

I'd like to start my year 2025 ventures with my quote, " The older one must shed it's oldest to the newest ". Inhale deeply and exhale deeper in order to welcome the new year of hopes, and whims, Luis. You must promise yourself to have a slight difference from your past. Slowly and try to ponder for more better life choices. Embrace persistence. Hold your chest tight whenever you feel overwhelmed. Change your mind. Acknowledge your authenticity, your realness. Wipe the stains and blurness of your window. Gradually restore your own grace and wit. Bow on your inferiority. Do as what you pleased as long it doesn't rectify you with others. Exclude something unnecessary, and most importantly, and lastly, abstain from temptation and evil.

Disclaimer:

(All contents of this post is based on my personal experiences and views)

Resource/s:

www.blogger.com

His Delicate Whims (Xmas Edition)(Last Year, Last Month)

 

The Day After The Tomorrow 

Thereafter,

A day after the Christmas Party or the "End-Year program" ,where is a "most memorable" gathering for me, ever since I stepped on-foot with such a prestigious high school. I got the chance of participating the most adorable games from our class officers and I nearly won in the "trip to Jerusalem". With such process of ending our year on our household, my face flustered and this lips curved exaggeratedly and therefore, a chance for my personal whims to thrive.

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December 21-24-28-29-30, 2025, such a very protruding day for me to remember. My mind is already clouded with the thought of things to do such as being physically active and emotionally accountable. During the blazing heat of the days, I've got to accommodate with my household responsiblities whole heartedly and thus, staying in shape. During the cold and breezy evenings, before closing these eyes, I try to convince myself to read or just to scan through the complex pages of a book that I heartily possess. Lastly, this is also the day where our visitors got their bags away.

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December 25, 2025, the Christmas Day. A very flattering and exhilarating day to remember! We celebrated it with our blood relatives from Manila, different part of Ilocos Sur, Quezon Province, and video-call from Los Angeles, California, USA and The Middle East! We feasted on the voluptuous food that were served and enjoyed the different games that my older cousins had prepared and the winner gets it's prize. Afterwards, we got to our neighbors houses and sang them Christmas songs so they will give us our "Paskua" or "Ampaws" filled with a stacked amount of money while the elderly men ( fathers, uncles, brothers ) gather around a big table and had their drinks or "shots" and sang the video-oke so loudly with pride that it seemed to make the sky rumble. Moreover, we opened our Christmas gifts from our older cousins ( manangs ) and I got a complete set of sketching kit and I'm very thankful that they come it with a surprise! And later that evening, we all gather inside "our" house and unboxed the package form my accountant auntie from The States and we ( of course ) divided our own belongings from where it is given. 

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December 26, 2025, after Christmas Day. We go to a quaint seashore cottage at San Sebastian, San Vicente because my cousin's birthday and her parents advanced wedding anniversary. I had enjoyed my half day experience there so cute, from swimming on a pool of seawater with my younger brother, nephews and nieces, to enjoyably relaxing with the satisfyingly yet loud sound of the wave coming back and forth and of course, the munching of foods from yesterday hahahahaha! Shhh, I saw a handsome for me young man at the other cottage that helped us lift our car that got stucked on the loafy and arid sands of the beach and was about the age of legality ( I don't know ), however, unfortunately, I never got the chance to know him because they lately left there so yeah, it's kinda sad to haha. 

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December 27, 2025, our barangay Cabaroan, Santa Catalina Fiesta. My godmother ( ninang ) from Santa Cruz, Ilocos Sur and her whole family got their way to our house in a way to celebrate the Fiesta. She, her brother, and mother, gave me their AMPAWS again! And a new clothing for me and my brother to wear, so do my other aunt. I got "shy typed" in the moment as I feel contempt and it was undoubtedly and definitely apologetic. Furthermore, it was the very first time on my life to learn and play the "Monopoly", thank you to my brother and cousin on contributing to my knowing ( I lose hahaha because I'm not that efficient in trading money). 

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December 31, 2024, the New Year's Eve. During the Eve (2024), I took my part and helped my mother in the preparation for the "prosperity bowl", and so for the delicious FOODS ( LIES )! All of the sudden and out of the blue or box ( whatever you call it ), I've felt wistful with poignance and remorse and from that very moment, I had realized the things, the actions that I did for the whole year of 2024 and it almost made me shed a tear from these eyes ( Actually, I did cry ) and I wrote those overwhelming thoughts through the pages of my journal or diary ( if they're the same ). I gathered my strongest courage and find the right words to send a new year's greeting for a very special friend of mine in Barcelona, Spain and it made me sober as I accordion it with the countdown and with the loud bursting of vivid fireworks across the skies, the banging of steels, the throwing of silver and cooper coins around the house, and the blowing of mini trumpets inside the neighborhood ( all was to welcome the new year and so do the "swerte" or prosperity and to banish the bad luck and energy inside the house). Afterwards, we thankfully feasted the different festivities on our table and took a family picture. Moreover, it was my first ever time to have a realization that I might be fond of drinking a red wine because it almost taste like a Pepsi with alcohol on it with a pinch of mild citrusy with it. Lastly, I slept and finally releasing a sigh and on the meantime a tears from my eyes at 1 o'clock.

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January 1, 2025, the New Year's Day. It was said by the elderly that males should come first to the houses around the neighborhood so they'd bring prosperity or luckiness within that house by delivering gifts of whoever lives there in return for the favor. Furthermore, I made my own New Year's resolutions on my mind with a personal belief that I would execute them consequently. Lastly, upon finding that there will be classes for tomorrow, my body went shrouded, crumbled by the thought of the tumultuous weight of academic obligations because...I'm honestly not ready for it and had hoped that the authority will extend the vacation 'till Monday next week so I can get enough rest from the so-called "Holiday Hungover".

That's all for my experiences inside the jar! Thank you for being with me, your patience is a virtue! Once again, thank you everyone and HAPPY NEW YEAR AND BELATED MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!!!

Disclaimer:

(All contents of this post is based on my personal experiences and views)

Resource/s:

www.blogger.com

["SUCH SO WHIRLWIND-LIKE"]

"Remnants of a Typhoon"

by Luis Demetrio M. Rabago, a reflection to make.

"Utterly dramatic yet sophisticated"

—Myself.

Second Quarter, the very next phase of a grand school year, a stage of a new hope and success to uphold. Within, I learned various topics from my various school subjects. One of the subjects I found myself subconsciously enthralled were Science (Physics) where I was notified that the object or the image that a mirror produced is virtual, meaning it's not real and I was like "that can't be real" which I soon find fascinating. Another one is the Information Communication and Technology or the ICT, where I learned the formulation and basic functionalities of HTML tags/s, which I soon discovered that they're actually codes. Additionally, the second quarter taught me on how to survive the harsh environmental constraints, and the underlying pressure for academic requirements. Moreover, it also made me adapt and recognize my own sensibility and decisiveness which I would soon harness to take a one large step up to the staircase of my happiness. Lastly, some would say that the Second Quarter was the most "basic" slice of school year ever. Well, guess what, I'm feeling somewhat of a great contradiction to it. 

The Second Quarter, a stage of completion which I presumably thought amiable and tolerable. The Second Quarter had taught me less in comparison to the last First Quarter. This is evident to me because of the prevailing, persevering, and periodic emerging typhoons which really brought me to burden and forlorn. During the course of this occasional typhoons, class and sometimes work in public sectors (which I'm in) were greatly affected by the wrath of human and natural fruit. This "fruit" is a deadly delight or the "bad apple" of the actions of humanity with the daily interactions to nature which seemed to be a wrongdoings. Consequently, I've been such whirlwind, lazy and immersively submerged to my pillow half a day that greatly compromised my mindset, pulling me gradually with the strings of monotony instead of autonomy. I've also felt the Filipino thinking "bahala na", that states "not to worry, you can do it at the last minute" which I was very well driven by and neglecting my somehow successful academical strategies which I used at the first quarter. Lastly, with such reasons, I can tell that a "downfall" and yet "stationary" performance is about to come.

Honestly, I am still pondering on how would I alleviate myself to seal the undesirable perishables, remnants, and reminiscing of the past. However, with the aid of time and experience, I get to know myself a lot more better and realize that being stationary for one's life is a "horrid" choice to make ( I can say it because..this is me, right?).

Moving on, I will encourage myself to be a better person, to be a "grand" human, to get that "best version 2.0" of myself, and most importantly, I shall make or take amendments in order for me to secure the wrench tightly and to tie the bow properly so with that being said, I could finally have a step forward for my ardent pursuit of happiness.

Disclaimer:

(All contents of this post is based on my personal experiences and views)

[VAW-AL]

 

Abort VAW ( Violence Against Women)

The Annual Campaign to End Violence Against Women, which spans for eighteen (18) days from November 25 to December 12, which solely aims at raising awareness on VAW (Violence Against Women) and mobilizing for action in fighting against it. In 2024, the campaign urges the need for seeking broader legal protection, support services, and changing societal attitudes to prevent gender-based violence. Activities may range from educational seminars to public pledges to a mass media campaign aimed at motivating everyone to act against VAW (Violence Against Women).

Laws correlation to VAW:

RA 8353 (The Anti-Rape Law of 1997)

RA 8353 (The Anti-Rape Law of 1997) redefines rape as a crime against a person, emphasizing the violation of dignity and safety rather than morality or chastity. It states that rape is any carnal knowledge of a woman, whether by an instrument or by anything used for such purposes, without her consent. The act elaborates that coercion could be through any threats and intimidation designed to diminish the power of the victim and relieve the perpetrator of proper accountability for the act. This setting provides for better protection for rape and acknowledges the ways in which a victim of sexual violence might be impacted.

A very significant change is the law's recognition of marital rape, thus contesting the obsolete view of "eternal consent" in marriage. The law also further provides that the prescriptive period for bringing complaints on rape cases would last twenty years from the occurrence of the crime. These changes were made to address the frustrations and challenges faced by a survivor while reporting and prosecuting for sexual violence to make the legal justice system more accommodating to a survivor's fair quest for justice.

RA 11313 (The Safe Spaces of 2019)

RA 11313 (The Safe Spaces Act of 2019) takes cognizance of gender-based harassment in public spaces, workplaces, schools, and platforms. This shall adopt a broad definition of conduct with regard to harassment, which seeks to degrade or humiliate or intimidate sooner or later, such as catcalling, wolf-whistling, lewd gestures, sexual advances, and other degrading conduct which is widespread to the Philippines. This bill normalizes harassment brought on by a sense of entitlement and aims to create an ideal environment where women and other vulnerable people can enjoy safe spaces.

The law also contains provisions on cyber harassment, including cyberstalking, non-consensual distribution of private content, and other abuses online. The law issues penalties, fines, or imprisonment, and sets obligations for employers, schools, and local governments to create anti-harassment policies as well as address violators. RA 11313 highlights the need for accountability and mutual respect in appreciating and preventing harassment and supporting the empowerment of each and every member in being respected and included. 

Reference/s:

https://wlbonline.org/safe-spaces-act-design-campaign-posters-and-stickers/

https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/243538-things-to-know-about-safe-spaces-act/

https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/stop-rape

https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/woman-being-harassed-gender-violence-illustration_9260523.htm#fromView=keyword&page=1&position=18&uuid=bd5c5da9-a572-4883-8b2f-bc69b967639b

https://english.jagran.com/maharashtra/thane-news-72yearold-bakery-owner-arrested-for-raping-nineyearold-girl-in-kalyan-10158546

[ELPIDIO QUIRINO, A FORGOTTEN LEGACY]

Elpidio Quirino; The Forgotten President

The year was 1890, Elpidio Quirino y Rivera was born in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, and baptized three days later. He was the son of Don Mariano Quirino, who was originally from Caoayan, Ilocos Sur. Mariano was an excellent soldier who earned the rank of sargento contador, the highest position that a native could hold in the colonial army and was said to have been sent to Spain for training. He later took over his father’s trading business and served as the warden of the Vigan provincial jail. In Agoo, La Union, he met and married a 14-year-old by the name of Gregoria Rivera y Mendoza. While the Quirino family has claimed that Gregoria Rivera was supposedly a Spanish mestiza, the baptismal record of Elpidio states clearly that his mother was an india, not a mestiza.

The Quirino family started in Abra but by the second generation had already relocated to Caoayan, Ilocos Sur. The earliest traceable ancestor of the president’s line is Juan Manuel del Rosario, the father of Don Mariano Quirino. Juan Manuel was believed by the family to have adopted the surname Quirino to replace Del Rosario, although “Quirino” does not appear in the Catalogo Alfabetico de Apellidos. He owned several sailboats that were used for coastal trading. It is thus safe to assume that by the time Elpidio Quirino was born his family was comfortably well-off.

Elpidio Quirino’s career began with his election as a member of the House of Representatives from Ilocos Sur’s 1st district in 1919, serving until 1925. He ran for and won as a senator in 1925, serving 10 years. He was appointed secretary of the Interior by President Manuel L. Quezon from 1935 to 1938. Although he was again elected senator, he was unable to serve because of the outbreak of World War II. After the country’s liberation, he was elected president pro tempore of the Senate. He became the running mate of Manuel A. Roxas in the 1946 elections and was elected vice president. He then became president of the Philippines, serving the remainder of President Roxas’s term after Roxas passed away, and then winning a fresh mandate in 1948, with Fernando Lopez as vice president. He ran for reelection in 1953 but was defeated by Ramon Magsaysay.

Although he served longer than both his predecessor and successor, Quirino is not as well-remembered. His presidency saw many historic moments; he was the first Philippine president to visit the United States since we became fully independent; Carlos P. Romulo was elected president of the UN General Assembly, the first Asian to hold this distinction; and Quezon City was made the country’s capital, replacing Manila. Though the nation was facing new issues, the country had positive projections. Economic recovery advanced successfully and development opportunities were expanding. In actuality, the Philippines was in a good position to succeed by 1953.

When it came to postwar prosperity and reconstruction, the nation was the envy of many. Unfortunately, his term was also marred with accusations of government corruption. Some historians believe that Quirino was given a raw deal by being highly vilified by a virulent and biased press, making his administration look corrupt when it was actually very effective. He was made fun of for decisions he most likely wasn't completely aware of, including even the most superficial of things like two expensive purchases in Malacañang as it was being renovated --a new bed and an orinola (chamber pot).

Politics was dirty during Quirino’s term and the media did not help with their bias and vitriol. Things truly have not changed much today. Looking back at our history, we see many similarities between then and now. 

Reference/s:

https://www.philstar.com/the-freeman/opinion/2022/11/16/2224147/president-elpidio-quirino

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Elpidio_R_Quirino.jpg

https://fili02pamumuno.wordpress.com/2016/09/11/elpidio-quirino/

https://historylearning.com/history-of-the-philippines/post-colonial/president-quirino/

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[EMBRACING DIVERSITY]

EMBRACING DIVERSITY

Philippines, an archipelagic country, an island of diverseness and unity. This National Indigenous Peoples Month 2024, we are all gathered and encouraged to look after for our kin and unique siblings across the country. Additionally, we are expected to observe the Indigenous Peoples Month and the 27th Year Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) Commemoration from October 1-30 with the theme “Mga Katutubo at Katutubong Dunong: Pahalagahan, Pangalagaan at Parangalana.” (Valuing, Nurturing, and Honoring Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous Knowledge). 

In commemoration of the event, the mandate strongly fosters the rights for equality and recognition to our fellowships. It strengthens the philosophical idea of heroism through helping indigenous people, not by force, but by obligation. Moreover, God created humans equally, regardless of gender and ethnicity. We breathe, we talk, we feel, no matter ethnicity, we are all humans. Additionally, this event would also promotes a more dignified community by the reinforcement of anti-harassment laws for the indigenous people (IP's) which we ought to follow in order to preserve their ancestral cultures.

Hence, the preferment for the rights and culture for indigenous people through the commemoration of Indigenous Peoples Month and the 27th Year Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) would greatly bring our associate to a socio-economic uprising which they would bestow as an opportunity to fight for their unification as one diverse community.

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8371

AN ACT TO RECOGNIZE, PROTECT AND PROMOTE THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS CULTURAL COMMUNITIES/INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, CREATING A NATIONAL COMMISSION ON INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, ESTABLISHING IMPLEMENTING MECHANISMS, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFORE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

CHAPTER I

General Provisions

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as “The Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997”.

SECTION 2. Declaration of State Policies. — The State shall recognize and promote all the rights of Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs) hereunder enumerated within the framework of the Constitution:

a) The State shall recognize and promote the rights of ICCs/IPs within the framework of national unity and development;

b) The State shall protect the rights of ICCs/IPs to their ancestral domains to ensure their economic, social and cultural well being and shall recognize the applicability of customary laws governing property rights or relations in determining the ownership and extent of ancestral domain;

c) The State shall recognize, respect and protect the rights of ICCs/IPs to preserve and develop their cultures, traditions and institutions. It shall consider these rights in the formulation of national laws and policies;

d) The State shall guarantee that members of the ICCs/IPs regardless of sex, shall equally enjoy the full measure of human rights and freedoms without distinction or discrimination;

e) The State shall take measures, with the participation of the ICCs/IPs concerned, to protect their rights and guarantee respect for their cultural integrity, and to ensure that members of the ICCs/IPs benefit on an equal footing from the rights and opportunities which national laws and regulations grant to other members of the population; and

f) The State recognizes its obligations to respond to the strong expression of the ICCs/IPs for cultural integrity by assuring maximum ICC/IP participation in the direction of education, health, as well as other services of ICCs/IPs, in order to render such services more responsive to the needs and desires of these communities.

Towards these ends, the State shall institute and establish the necessary mechanisms to enforce and guarantee the realization of these rights, taking into consideration their customs, traditions, values, beliefs, interests and institutions, and to adopt and implement measures to protect their rights to their ancestral domains.

Reference/s:

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1997/10/29/republic-act-no-8371/

https://medium.com/@2020047211/the-role-of-indigenous-peoples-in-philippine-society-2971f2353158

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples_of_the_Philippines#/media/File:TribalPhilippinesTraditionalRange.png

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[Filipino Perseverance Amid Climate Change]

 

Climate Change Versus Filipinos' Resiliency 

Among the nations facing the worst of climate change is the Philippines which is further worsened by its geography. Just located above the equator, the Philippines face a tremendously high temperature throughout the year. Being an archipelago in the Pacific, the country finds itself frequently battered and dishelved by typhoons, threatened by rising water levels, and experiencing unpredictable weather. These changes in the physical environment, whether abrupt or gradual give Filipinos a harsh consequence. Families are displaced, livelihoods are lost, critical infrastructure is damaged due to coastal inundation and storm surges. On the other hand, excessive droughts and excessive rainfall disturb agriculture, potentially resulting in food and economic crises in rural communities.

These transformations have a major cause that lie in the staggering amounts of greenhouse gases that are emitted as a consequence of human actions. Global warming raises the temperature which causes the polar ice caps to melt and consequently the level of water to rise increasing the amount of flood in low-lying areas. The illegal felling of trees for timber and clearing land in cities for buildings contributes to the deforestation of the Philippines, which in turn produces soil erosion and makes it difficult for the forests to reduce carbon dioxide levels. Moreover, urbanization and the poor disposal of garbage increases pollution and induces a cycle which exacerbates climate change worldwide.

All these obstacles aside among other solutions Filipinos have more hope than despair many have survived countless disasters and continue to do the same. Many communities that have been sorely affected by a natural disaster have a tendency to unify themselves in times of need through "bayanihan" which is a Filipino tradition of community.

Reference/s:

https://www.greenpeace.org.ph

https://bagong.pagasa.dost.gov.ph

https://www.undp.org