Shedding a Tear for a Shed

On January 27, 2025, I told the Sangguniang Panlungsod to prioritize building and improving the waiting sheds in Victorias. The waiting shed (left of the photo) next to the Mormon Church is in their direct line of sight when they stand on the stage at the public plaza during every Monday's flag ceremony.

During a downpour or when the sun is scorching the land, the workers, students, and other commuters who are travelling south try to squeeze into the shed for protection. This has been the situation at the waiting sheds located: (1) in front of the public plaza, (2) next to the City Health Department, (3)(4) at the opposite sides of 'Crossing Central'. I also suggested that waiting sheds be built at the Coliseum area.

Today, March 19, 2025, as the city officials of Victorias sit at their own waiting shed that was lavishly decorated with white, red and blue colors and that only took a day to build while awaiting a parade, a group of commuters huddle inside the waiting shed across them.

The picture showing the small waiting shed that has been neglected for the years and the shed built for the city officials where they comfortably sit and be shielded from the sun and rain will make you shake your head and question the city's priorities.😭

#waitingshed #publicservice #commuters #workers #publicservants

Pope Francis and My Letters to City Hall

 

As Pope Francis said, "A good Catholic meddles in politics offering the best of himself so that who govern can govern well."

So today, Ash Wednesday, I delivered an 11-page letter to the City Administrator of Victorias City to follow up on the things that I enumerated on my February 3, 2025 letter, and then to also raise some.😞

Sometimes, you need to remind the city officials to stay focused and not lose sight of what's important and what's being asked by the public they serve.😭

At times, I ask myself, "Why should I care?" I could have just gone along with my day where my biggest problem usually is: "What do I feel like having for merienda today? Or, should I have for lunch my lettuce-cucumber-tomato salad which I bathe with roasted sesame dressing and sprinkled with cheese and James Ham, then paired with Coke on ice?" (Yes, the latter is a question-slash-challenge because it takes me about ten minutes to prepare! And about 30 minutes to finish! Not to mention that by 3PM, I'd be starving again!)

But I do this because somebody has to speak up for the voiceless and for those who are afraid to speak up. (We are all aware that the word 'retaliation' is in most politicians' vocabulary).

And of course, I just love to write! Of the 11 pages, the five pages were just photographs, while the six were text that took me an afternoon to finish while sipping wintermelon milk tea with pearls.

Over the years, I must have written the various offices at City Hall a lot of letters, which should now be masterpieces in communication.

I have written letters to the Office of the Mayor, the Office of the Vice Mayor, the Sangguniang Panlungsod and a few councilors, the City Treasurer, the City Accountant, and the Committee on Anti-Red Tape! And those who are just local offices! I have to enumerate the national offices!

But here's the thing. We have to ask ourselves: where were you and what have you done when your fellow citizens needed you?

Well, I do not need to brag that I have joined volunteer groups in distributing relief goods way back in 2020 (read blog here) and during the floods of 2021. And for crying out loud, I have even organized my own community pantry in 2021 with the help of anonymous donors (read blog here) and a clean-up drive of the Malihaw River in 2022 (read blog here)! And I'm not even running for office!

I just hope that someday, when the future Victoriahanon judge us, the Victoriahanon of the present, they will be kind to us because we spoke up.

And when we finally stand in front of the Creator, we would have something to tell Him as to what we did with our time and what we did to help our brothers and sisters.

#popefrancis #goodgovernance #victoriascity #victoriaslgu #negrosoccidental #Philippines #DILG #publicservice #publicservants #concernedcitizens #civilsociety

Chicken Biryani, White Pasta, and The Freshest Ingredients @ Missy's Restaurant Herbs and Spices

(A weekend scene at the bulantihan in Victorias City)

In my Dongdaemun neighborhood in Seoul, I was lucky that the biggest fruit and vegetable market in northern Seoul was just five minutes from my apartment building. 

I always felt like a tourist when I walked around its interesting alleys. Not only could I buy the cheapest strawberries and bananas, which I turned into smoothies, their watermelons were sweet and seedless, too! How I always wanted to buy two watermelons every time but they were heavy! (Read blog here). 

I had to share my discoveries with my friends, so I toured them around the market and my neighborhood , and they shopped and enjoyed themselves as well. (Read blog here). 

And in my hometown of Victorias City, we also have a bulantihan, our own traditional market where you can find the cheapest variety of produce. This is where I usually go to buy papayas, bananas, and other fruits and vegetables (read blog here). 

It is always full of people during weekends when the vendors bring in produce from the north and south of the Negros island. This is why I patronize these vendors: to support the local farmers. This is what the Slow Food Movement also believes -- that food should be grown and bought locally (read blog here). 

And all these years of going to the bulantihan, I was able to write my story in an essay that won at the 2022 Doreen Gamboa Fernandez Food Writing Awards (read blog here). 

On Fermin Street in Barangay 5 of Victorias City, Negros Occidental, we found a restaurant where the owner uses ingredients that she grows herself.

One day, an hour before noon, we ventured into that part of the town to try the dishes of Missy's Restaurant Herbs and Spices whose menu includes Middle Eastern cuisine, pastas, fresh fruit juices, and vegetable dishes, and where ingredients used are grown at a farm in the highlands of Victorias City.

We tried her chicken biryani and white pasta, which were perfect to satisfy the curiosity of her customers -- curious as to what makes Missy's Restaurant Herbs and Spices unique and what sets it apart from other restaurants in Victorias City.

I, being a pasta-person, ordered White Pasta which was al dente and creamy, and herbs used were organic. I paired it with Purple Lemonade made from blue ternate and sweetened with pure honey from the highlands of Gawahon of Victorias City. 

Other than the White Pasta and Chicken Biryani, we also enjoyed the Fresh Vegetable with Croutons.😍

And to prove to the customers that Missy indeed grows her own herbs and spices, pots of young herbs sat on the tables, not only as displays, but could be picked and chewed on by curious customers like we did.

On our table was a pot of stevia rebaudiana, or commonly called stevia. It's also called candyleaf, sugarleaf, or sweetleaf because...it's sweet! It was my first time to chew on this leaf and was surprised it was indeed sweet!

                          (Purple Lemonade)

(The pot of stevia plant on our table)

A menu of healthy, yummy food and a variety of homegrown, organic herbs and spices -- these make Missy's Restaurant Herbs and Spices unique and a must-visit restaurant. For me, it's a must-return!😎

                                  * * * * *

This is the Facebook page of Missy's Restaurant Herbs and Spices:

https://www.facebook.com/Missykitchen01

#missystable #restaurant #middleeasternmenu #slowfood #slowfoodnegros #foodwriter

Victorias Milling Company History: Don Carlos L. Locsin, Doña Salud Montinola and Company

These two black-and-white photographs did not have any date or annotation. After examining, I realized that what was written at the back were the initials of the important people in the photographs: CMC, CLL, SM, MM, and DG. Opposite their initials was "1", which means the number of copies given to the people in the photograph.

After looking for answers, I was able to identify them:

CMC is Cornelio M. Consing

CLL is Carlos L. Locsin

SM is Salud Montinola

MM is Manuel Mendez

DG is Daniel Gustilo

The location was the golf club house of the Victorias Milling Company (VMC), and although there was no date, I assume this was in the 1960s.

Don Carlos L. Locsin was the chairman emeritus of VMC, while Mr. Mendez was its president.

The other three, Doña Salud Montinola, Mr. Consing, and Mr. Gustilo were hacienderos, who milled their sugarcane with VMC, which was the biggest sugar central at that time. (Read VMC history here). 

Doña Salud Montinola, who was the one managing the haciendas of her family, gained the respect of the sugar industry because Hacienda Dapdap, one of their haciendas, was named was one of the best producing haciendas in Negros island. (Read Chapter 24 here).

It would have been easy for me to conclude that this was a big business meeting. After all, the attendees were VMC officials and planters. But after examining the photograph where you could see Don Carlos and Doña Salud standing, at the end, you can see nuns seated at the table. I wondered if they were the Maryknoll Sisters who were managing Saint Joseph's Hospital in Manapla, and this was a meeting about the Hospital, or, if you can conclude further, the five were members of the board of trustees of the Hospital.

And if they were members of the board, why does it look like Doña Salud had an important role? She was a pharmacist, a graduate of the University of Santo Tomas in 1920, and was the 'Presidente de Centro de Puericultura de Victorias' in 1930. Yes, she was the president of the puericulture center of Victorias.

If indeed they were members of the board of trustees, it would have been interesting to listen to them as they discussed and made decisions that would affect the lives and welfare of the doctors, nurses, and the workers of the Hospital, and of course, of the patients as well.

As I have always said that black-and-white photographs tell the most colorful of stories as long as you know where and how to dig for those stories.

By the way, in 1931, it was Don Carlos L. Locsin who initiated the organization of the Philippine Association of Sugar Technologies in Bacolod and was elected its first ever president. This association was the forerunner of the Philippine Sugar Technologies Association of PHILSUTECH. An award was named in his honor; the award is given to a person who has outstanding contribution to the sugar industry.😋 

#VMC #victoriasmillingcompany #victoriaslgu #VictoriasCity #NegrosOcc #Philippines #history #historymatters #historian #sugar #sugarindustry #MaryKnoll #MaryknollSisters #PHILSUTECH

Once a Binibini, Always a Binibini: Aida Margarita Gaerlan - Tomassini

Six months ago, I watched the introduction of the 2024 Binibining Pilipinas (video below) when I noticed a familiar face in a photo they used in the video. I screenshotted that part and scrutinized it. It was Margarita!😆  

                               

Our dear 'Margarita' was Aida Gaerlan, a contestant at the 1964 Binibining Pilipinas, representing Baguio City. That was the first ever Binibining Pilipinas beauty pageant. It was won by Ms. Myrna Panlilio Borromeo. Margarita told me she was named Miss Luzon. 

And thanks to Ms. Irene of the Binibining Pilipinas Charities for sharing with me a digital copy of that year's souvenir memorabilia (above), we have the photographs of the beautiful contestants of 1964.

According to the video, the original coronation night was July 3, 1964, but a very strong Typhoon Dading  caused damages in Manila and Central Luzon that day and pushed the coronation night to July 5, 1964, a Sunday. I highlighted in pink Margarita's photograph below.  

I met Margarita and her husband, Maurizio, here in Seoul, Korea, and were the among the most wonderful, thoughtful and caring couples I have known. With our other dear friends in Seoul, we were one big family! After Maurizio retired in 2010, they went back home to Rome and invited me to visit them. I did and I stayed at their home in the quiet Monte Sacro neighborhood, which was a bus and a tram away from the Vatican City. 

During our parties and get-togethers in Seoul, I was always the one taking photographs, and Margarita was the best in posing! I guess, once a binibini, always a binibini!

Sadly, our dear Margarita passed years ago, but today, December 22, her family and friends remember her on her birthday. 🙏

Happy birthday in Heaven, our dearest Margarita!💗

(Binibining Pilipinas 1964 Miss Luzon - 

Aida Margarita Gaerlan-Tomassini)

#binibiningpilipinas #missphilippines

A Pinoy @ The Movies: CONCLAVE

Being a Catholic, I am always fascinated by what goes on inside the Vatican City. The movie Angels and Demons gave us a glimpse into what transpires when a pope dies, but that movie was about conspiracy and murder. Conclave, on the other hand, is about the politics within the College of Cardinals, a group of the most senior priests in the Roman Catholic Church that will elect a pope among themselves.

Starting with a death of a pope, Conclave brings to life brilliant writing delivered by brilliant actors. The movie runs during sede vacante, Latin for 'the chair is empty. It is the time between the death of a pope and the election of a new one, and the election is called a conclave, which was derived from Latin 'con', meaning with, and 'clavis', meaning, key. Translated, it means 'a locked room' because the cardinals are locked inside the Sistine Chapel until they elect a pope (of course, they get to eat and go back to sleep at their quarters to rest at the end of the day (read blog here).

Ralph Fiennes, as the dean of the College, was more like an investigator than a Comelec commissioner. He had to organize an election that would elect the leader of 1.3 billion Catholics but had to ensure that the one they would elect was the right one. 

Although at first, it was weird watching Stanley Tucci as a cardinal with a zucchetto (red cap) covering his bald head, he transformed himself from Runway Magazine's artistic director (in The Devil Wears Prada) to Cardinal Aldo Bellini, an American cardinal who allied with Ralph Fiennes' character. 

John Lithgow, also playing a cardinal, is as brilliant in drama as he is in comedy (his 3rd Rock from the Sun character gave him three Emmy awards!). When Lithgow shows up on screen, he always makes you feel his presence even in a crowd, or in this case, even if it is a room full of cardinals. When he delivers his lines, he makes you feel he has an agenda, one that you, at times, are not prepared to handle.

The beautiful Isabella Rossellini, playing Sister Agnes, holds her own against the cardinals, even though she is relegated to being a head housekeeper of sorts of Domus Sanctae Marthae, the building that serves as a hotel for cardinals where they were sequestered during the conclave. This building is where Pope Francis now lives, choosing to stay away from the papal apartments.

The scenes of the conclave inside the Sistine Chapel should be a treat for any Catholic who dreams of visiting the Vatican and Saint Peter's Basilica one day. Those scenes brought back memories for me when, years ago, I took the tour of the Musei Vaticani that included a stop inside the Sistine Chapel where I spent an hour looking up the paintings of Michaelangelo and praying the rosary while seated on a bench. That day, I also realized the spot where I sat could have seated a cardinal who eventually became pope (read blog here).

Conclave shows us that, even how virtuous cardinals, bishops, or priests may look from where we stand, they are also men, ㅡ humans ㅡ who are also vulnerable to temptation and greed.

There is a scene shot from above showing the cardinals moving forward and carrying white umbrellas. This was a visual spectacle for the audience: the whole screen, TV screen in my case, filled with moving humans immaculately dressed and covering their heads with umbrellas as if shielding themselves from difficulties and challenges but still walking slowly yet forward to whatever lies ahead. 

You have to watch Conclave to let yourself ponder that the leaders of the Church are imperfect and they try to lead through His teachings, and that, as times change, those who lead do, too, making decisions that are required by the changing times.

There are very good lines delivered in the movie, and words like "Judas" and "traitor" were hurled at a cardinal. But there is one quote that really stood out, one that practically sums up our Church:

"Our faith is a living thing precisely because it walks hand-in-hand with doubt. If there was only certainty and no doubt, there would be no mystery. And therefore no need for faith. Let us pray that God will grand us a Pope who doubts. And let him grant us a Pope who sins and asks for forgiveness and who carries on."

#conclave #conclavemovie #vatican #movies #moviereview #ralphfiennes #stanleytucci #johnlithgow #isabellarossellini

Coming Home for My Mother's Tablea Tsokolate and Popped Pinipig

Like all Filipino migrant workers, I always count the days before I fly home for my Christmas vacation. 

Coming home is always the highlight of my year.

For me, being home in the Philippines is not only a way to escape the freezing temperatures of a gloomy winter in Korea, but also a way to forget work and the challenges of being a migrant worker. And when I am finally home excitedly awaiting the arrival of Christmas Day, my mother always made sure she has tablea tsokolate and evaporated milk on hand so that we would all be able to enjoy the family tradition of enjoying this hot beverage together.

Since we were kids, the family would wake up to a Christmas Day breakfast of my mother’s tablea tsokolate, ensaimadas, and at times, pinipig that I would soak into a warm cup of the tsokolate. Tablea tsokolate is a chocolate beverage made from cacao beans that had been dried under the sun, then roasted and grounded. For measured consumption and easy storage, the grounded beans are molded into tablet form, thus tablea, the Spanish word for ‘tablet’. According to food historians, the cacao beans and the chocolate beverage were introduced to the Philippines from Mexico during the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade that started in 1565 and ended in 1815. Although there are now fewer cacao farmers selling unsweetened tablea tsokolate at local traditional markets here in the Negros Island, commercial manufacturers make it available at supermarkets in sweetened tablets.

My mother has her own way of preparing tablea tsokolate. 

She starts by grinding into powder form all the tablets from a whole pack. Since the tablets are already sweetened, she does not need to add sugar. My mother says grinding them will make it faster for the powdered chocolate to melt. She then pours five 350ml cans of evaporated milk into a sauce pan, mixes in the grounded tablea tsokolate, and stirs the mixture over low heat to make them espeso, the term she uses to describe the mix when it becomes thicker and its aroma starts to waft all over the kitchen – an aroma of the blend of the chocolatiness of the tsokolate and the creaminess of the milk that, when I take a whiff of it, always brings back memories of past Christmases when we used to enjoy this with our grandparents. My mother does not add water to the brew because it would make it aguado or watery.

While espeso is the Spanish word for thick, it is caring hands and patience that are needed when making tablea tsokolate as the slow, continuous stirring could last for about half an hour, depending on the quantity of evaporated milk used. My mother was still very young when she was taught how to make tablea tsokolate by her elders who have long passed, and other than the recipe and the skill, she also inherited the old copper pitcher called chocolatera, and the batirol, the whisk that was made from the wood of a guava tree.

When the hot beverage has finally achieved espeso quality, my mother pours a portion into the chocolatera and uses the batirol to whisk the hot liquid. This procedure not only produces the foam on the drink but also adds a good stir to the tsokolate before it is transferred into a porcelain cup to be enjoyed.

It has been centuries since the first cacao beans crossed the Pacific Ocean from Mexico, and although the Aztecs called it Xocolātl, the original Nahuatl word for chocolate, Filipinos have called it sukwate or sikuwate in the Visayas, sikulate in Mindanao, suklati in Pampanga, and of course, tablea or tabliya in our own Hiligaynon language. And although tablea tsokolate may have a foreign origin, we have made it our own, even pairing it with rice as our elders would simply pour tsokolate over it, or in my case, with pinipig. But be it with rice or pinipig, it is an original Filipino experience.

The popped pinipig, on the other hand, is a much easier task, something that I can probably manage on my own. Pinipig is flattened glutinous rice that was harvested two weeks before maturity. It is then roasted over low fire using a kalahâ or large wok, and then transferred into a wooden mortar called lusong in order to be flattened using a hal-ong or wooden pestle. The chaff is then separated from the pinipig using a winnowing basket or bilao. Pinipig is sold by the kilo, or fractions of it, in traditional markets.

In order to make popped pinipig, my mother brings to a boil the cooking oil in the saucepan and when it does, she throws in a handful of pinipig that quickly pops in the heat. The popped pinipig is immediately scooped out with a strainer to avoid overfrying. And since we only need a bowl of popped pinipig, only a few handfuls were enough. After popping, the pinipig has become crunchier and softer to eat (read blog here).

And as we now sit down together for our Christmas breakfast tradition and are gathered around a table full of blessings, our family is always grateful. To others, the ensaimadas, tablea tsokolate, and popped pinipig may just be another type of bread, hot beverage, and flattened rice, respectively, but for us, they represent the taste and flavors handed down to us by our grandparents and elders, all of whom we continue to remember and honor when we enjoy these ourselves.

Soon, I would leave home again, and how I wish the flavor from each sip of my mother’s warm tablea tsokolate would forever remain in my palate. 

But however long a time I have to endure until my next Christmas vacation, all the anticipation and yearning are always forgotten whenever I am once more surrounded by my family and enjoying my mother’s tablea tsokolate and popped pinipig on Christmas Day.😍

#OFW #migrantworker #tableatsokolate #christmas #christmasholidays #essay #pinoyofw