Venti/Veinte/Vingt
When I started the Feed the Illiterate project, I promised to myself never to write anything personal, for it became the downfall of my last blog. After being an open book for about 2-3 years during the Morbidity Encoded days, I decide to just leave that blog for good because you know, you just get tired of shoving your personal life into the throats of your readers. Add to it the fact that you just want to move on from something that I consider as my past life and there you have it.
Now here I am, writing something personal where I promised not to. Savor it people, the next time I’ll write something personal here is during my next birthday or my last hours here in on earth, and I do hope you’re all there to witness it. Heh.
Anyway, let’s cut the dramatic bullshit and let’s get straight to the point.
Two years ago, I was lying in a hospital bed, with IVs and stuff, alone. My friends are gone, my parents had work and I was left there thinking why on earth do I have to spend my 18th birthday on a hospital bed. But then I realized, what’s up with birthdays anyway? To quote the words of my Titas when we’re joking around lilipas din yan. Granted, it is only a date, but your birthday only happens to be one of the two dates wherein people in the world would care about you. The other would be your death anniversary. Haha.
Anyway, two years later, here I am celebrating what could be one of the most fulfilling birthdays I’ve ever had.. ever (Exaggerating here).
I was really overwhelmed with all the greetings that I received. Despite being cut short financially (Yeah I know, dami kong utang na alak sa inyong lahat hehe) I was contented. I even posted earlier that the total amount of money in my wallet is ten pesos. Yes, ten fucking pesos. Talking about being broke eh? But when you have about 140+ wall posts in Facebook from your friends, relatives, professors and even past loves (Haha) and you received about 10 calls, and 100 text messages from people all over the world, you have to be contented, because after all, that’s all that matters.
Here, it was fun, just being around your family and your closest friends the whole day. Each of them chipping in just to make a little celebration possible, it was very very very heart warming. Right now I just came home from my cousin’s house and yeah, I’m a little bit drunk (just enough consciousness to write) and what do you know, he sponsored the drinks that we chugged. Regardless of how few and what drinks we had (A bottle of gin and vodka.. Local!) it was the people that I’m drinking with that matters. You have two of your closest cousins, three of your closest friends, just drinking the night away despite all of us having school/work in a couple of hours. That was my kind of celebration and for that I’m really really happy.
Now, I’m venturing into the second decade of my life. I have lots of plans ahead. So Lord, if kasama na ko sa plans mo (You guys know what I mean) wag muna please. Hehe.
I have a documentary coming up, target release date would be the first week of October. Of course, I still have to finish the Lukas Baldomir project, and I promise to come up with my third entry soon. After the docu, who knows? Maybe an independent film would be coming up? It all depends on how my documentary looks, let’s see.
Anyway, you guys are the reason why I’m still here and all the things that I’m really good at, if there’s any, I owe it to you guys. In the lowest point of my life you were the ones who picked me up and shoved me back into the right track. Rest assured, you’re all part of all the things that I will be doing in the next decade or so.
Thank you for ushering me into my twentieth year of my existence, hoping to see you guys next year, and the next and the next one of the next one til the last one before the last.
Have a good day everyone!
- Chris
The Answer to Our Rotting Film Industry?
Our film industry today is full of shit. That is not an opinion ladies and gentlemen. That is a fact. That is the truth, that is what people in the film industry wouldn’t admit today. But it’s the truth and I don’t need to be the world’s best film critic to recognize it.
We try to hide it, we try to masquerade it and tell the people that it’s piracy. Piracy piracy piracy. The film makers’ number one enemy. And yes, to an extent it’s correct, piracy is a major factor on why our film industry isn’t really generating lots of revenues. But it’s only one factor. How about..
.. Incompetence. What the hell are we doing? Don’t give me the budget excuse because I’ve seen foreign films without special effects which made waves in the international film industry. We keep on trying to imitate those Hollywood films.. super hero this, super hero that. Can’t we do something original anymore? Are we always dependent to those things that we see in Hollywood?
And our screenwriters, what the fuck are you guys thinking? If you’re not copying something out of those Hollywood films, you’re writing a film which revolves around the word cliche. I don’t even remember the last time I watched a film with a good script.
Another thing, fuck the fucking MTRCB and fuck censorship. I am sick and tired of watered down scripts and films. I am sick and tired of watching films full of cuts and sorts because it takes away the essence of the film itself. The only way we can appreciate something beautiful is by showing the negative side of the spectrum. The only way we can truly appreciate a work of art is by looking through the flaws of society and by exposing the very nature of the norm that we follow everyday. And like a bullet it will go through the empty skulls of the zombie viewers and hopefully it will inject some sense it. That’s the way it has always been and that’s the way it should be right now.
To quote the greatest Filipino director which ever lived..
To the best of our abilities, and even if we often times fail, we must produce films that will hurt, films that will disturb, films that will not let you rest. For the times are bad and, given times like these, it is a crime to rest.
And that’s the crime that the Film Industry have been committing for many years now. And that’s the crime that I hope would not continue on to the next few years. We need a change in the system, for if we continue on with this cycle of mediocrity, the film industry here in the Philippines will soon be forgotten.
Here’s a film called Orapronobis, one of Lino Brocka’s best works and definitely my favorite Filipino film of all time. Film makers today, eat your hearts out.
Credits to kindhearted189 for the video.
Let’s get it on!
Months after the initial “match” ended, we all know it warrants a rematch.
In the red corner, the Department of Health and several members of the incoming 15th congress.
In the blue corner, The Holy Catholic Church, with all of it’s branches and organizations and about millions of Catholics all over the Philippines.
Two years ago, Congressman Edcel Lagman of the 1st district of Albay authored the proposal of House Bill no 17. It is commonly known as the Reproductive Health and Population Development Act of 2008 or RH bill for people who doesn’t like typing. The proposed bill will most likely cover all of these aspects
- information and access to natural and modern family planning;
- maternal, infant and child health and nutrition;
- promotion of breast feeding;
- prevention of abortion and management of post-abortion complications;
- adolescent and youth health; prevention and management of reproductive tract infections, HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases;
- elimination of violence against women; counseling on sexuality and sexual and reproductive health;
- treatment of breast and reproductive tract cancers;
- male involvement and participation in reproductive health;
- prevention and treatment of infertility; and
- reproductive health education for the youth.
The Holy Catholic Church, in on their own right, fought the RH Bill with everything they’ve got. Their reasons are quite simple, it is anti-life and it promotes promiscuity among teenagers.
So after months and months of jockeying and pushing for position, after all the punches have been thrown, the Holy Catholic Church managed to “abort” (pardon the pun) the proposal of Rep.Edcel Lagman in the 14th congress.
Now, with the opening of the 15th congress nearing, the RH Bill advocates and the Department of Health are eager for a rematch.
“I call for the acceleration of efforts that shall champion reproductive health,” DOH Secretary Enrique Ona said.
So who’ll take the rematch? Let’s see
The RH bill advocates are pretty confident about winning this time around. With the said backing of P-Noy (Which sounds pretty close to P-Nis.. just a thought) they are looking to push for a better fight this time. In the 14th congress, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was lukewarm on the said issue which became one of the few reasons why it never really had a chance to be passed. Well we all know if Tita Glow wants something to be passed, it will be passed *ehem* con-ass *ehem
Anyway, the advocates of the bill are looking forward to see Noynoy put up a much better stance on it, hoping that it will give them a fighting chance in the 15th congress.
The Catholic Church on the other hand, well, let’s say they have the manpower and the influence advantage.
The main thing that they have over the advocates of the said bill is that most of our congressmen are catholics. Some are devoted to their faith which I respect but the sad thing about it is that, some of the representatives are not even thinking of passing it because of their virtues and beliefs but instead, they’re afraid that they’ll be losing the support of the millions of Catholics all over the Philippines. Add to it the pressure that the church that has been putting on all of lawmakers and there you go, an easy win.
The most crucial thing about this one will be President Aquino’s stand on the issue. If you would see back then, he was a supporter of the RH Bill, he then shied away from the issue because of a year old circus tour called the elections.
Now this decision will both make and break Mr Aquino to the masses, it depends on how you’ll look at it. If he supports the RH Bill, he’ll be the man with the balls of steel to some and a guy who turned away from his faith to others. If he doesn’t, he’ll be known as a guy who championed life and the beliefs of the church to some and the guy who succumbed to the pressure of the church to others. It’s a tough predicament for P-Noy, considering his mother, the late president Cory Aquino was a devout catholic.
At the end of the day, let’s just hope that our president, the lawmakers and all the people involved here would be making the right decision. A right decision where in the common good shall be promoted, and will be of use to the Filipino people in the near future.
So let the battle begin, again.



