Lantern parade of hope and love

I celebrated my birthday last December 21  by joining  the “People’s Lantern Parade” which is  an  informal lantern parade at the Diliman campus of  University of the Philippines (UP).

The two hour parade, which  lasted until six in the evening, began at the UP College of Social Work and Community Development,  went around the Academic Oval and ended at  the University Ave fronting the Administration Building.  The College of Engineering and School of Economics (my home college as well as that of Vice President Leni Robredo)  were the co-organizers of the event.

With the theme “Parada ng Pag-ibig at Pag-asa”, most participants  carried  pink parols of various sizes as the parade aims to symbolize calls to end corruption and its adherents, and to fight for democracy, human rights, and the welfare of Filipinos. 

It also  aimed to raise funds for the areas recently affected by typhoon Odette.

Pink  is considered  “the color of hope and love.”  

The pink parol movement coincided with the Christmas season that  became  not merely initiatives to raise funds but also  for voters’ education activities.

Pink parols   not only give hope but also enlightenment to voters on who they  should vote for in the upcoming 2022 elections.

UP  likewise  launched on the same day a virtual campus map  that live-streamed the lantern parade  via UPD’s Facebook and YouTube channels.

Due to the pandemic, the traditional face-t0-face  lantern parades were not celebrated in the various UP campuses for two years in a row.  

UP normally celebrate the most festive of seasons the best way we  can imagine with a parade of lights, floats and every single extravaganza UP students could practically think of.

The Lantern Parade started  in 1922, inspired by the folk practice of carrying lanterns of various shapes and sizes to light the way to the early morning December masses or misa de gallo during the Spanish period.

It was institutionalized in 1934 by UP President Jorge C. BOcobo “so that students can have a frolicsome activity before the year ends.” 

“From its beginnings as a simple homage to an old Christmas tradition to the elegant, colorful, sometimes controversial creations that strut (or sometimes sputter) around the UPD academic oval each Yuletide, the Lantern Parade has evolved into an event that reflects both the people and milieu of its time, depicting the changing social and political landscape of the University and indeed, the country,” according to the UP website.

UP is known to be  a sanctuary of  advocates of civil rights and academic freedom, especially in times of uncertainty and social turmoil.

Lantern parades are held in all UP constituent universities, with administrative offices, academic units, organizations, and community groups getting creative on their lanterns and presentations.

I remember my first lantern parade in 1987 lasted for six to eight hours  during my freshman year when six wheeler trucks were still allowed.

Lanterns are basically a light source (candle, wick in a fuel or mantle) enclosed in a container that protects the flame so the wind would not put it out but light can pass through. It can be made from variety of materials from non-flammable to flammable.

It was also during my birthday last year when the so called Christmas Star or Star of Bethlehem appeared, which is symbolized by the parol.  

On this day, Jupiter and Saturn appeared closer to each other.

It is called a “great conjunction” because Jupiter and Saturn are the two largest planets in the Solar System, and to the naked eye they will look like a single bright star during this “celestial summit meeting.”

One of the more popular theories for the “Christmas Star” was that it was part of a series of conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn in 7 BC wherein these planets met not once but three times that year (in May, September and December). 

In Christian belief, the Christmas star is found within the New Testament only in the Gospel of Matthew.

The Christmas Star led the three wise men (Magi) to Jesus’ home in the town in Bethlehem where they worshiped him and gave him gifts.

The wise men were then given a divine warning not to return to Herod, so they travelled back home by a different route.

“O star of wonder, star of light, Star with royal beauty bright, Westward leading, still proceeding, Guide us to thy perfect light.”

May the pink parol  be the country’s guiding  Christmas star.  

( Peyups  is the monicker of University of the Philippines. Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the seafarers’ division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, email info@sapalovelez.com, or call 09175025808 or 09088665786).

To teach law in the grand manner

 

As freshies in 1992  at the  UP College of Law, the imposing words of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. welcomed us to Malcolm Hall: “The business of a law school is not sufficiently described when you merely say that it is to teach law or make lawyers. It is to teach law in the grand manner, and to make great lawyers.”

With excitement and trepidation, we pursued THE dream of becoming (great) lawyers.

Traversing the path of legal education was hard to the exponential power, as we immersed ourselves in law books and cases, faced terror professors, pore through volumes and pages of SCRAs, lined up for photocopying at the law library, hurried through classes, reviewed and crammed through lessons, and survived recitations.

The seating arrangement was chosen purposely based on one’s affiliation with friends and casepool mates, by luck or by time of arrival during the first day of classes. The seat plan was strategically optimized to source much-needed information during recitations either through infamous television (codigos) or radio (bulong squad).  

Magic Notes   provide the psychological crutch to lean on and assures one’s sense of security. It is  a compilation of lectures, explanations, questions and answers given in a class by a professor on a particular subject.

Encounters with law professors during the dreaded recitations involved answers that range from direct lifting from the SCRAs “in the original”, for those who studied, to inventions through guess work for those who didn’t. Despite the torture, most of the memorable moments in law school were funny blunders during class recitations.

Passing the bar exams  is obviously not that easy and seems to be the crowning glory of a student’s life.

 

The bar exams is considered one of the toughest and most difficult among the professional board exams, having one of the highest mortality rate.

 

The discipline in terms of time management and patience is crucial during the review period.  But it is just a qualifying process as the greater challenges lie ahead after passing the bar.

 

It is also a yearly spectacle on the performance of law schools measured on the most number of topnotchers or scoring the highest passing rate.

 

It will essentially test the aspirant’s ability to comprehend the problem, spot the issues, identify the legal provision and its basic interpretation.

 

Eight  members of the batch  landed as topnotchers: Trina Prodigalidad (1^st, 90.6)  Recaredo Borgonia, Jr.  (4^th, 89.65), Shirley Alinea (6^th, 89.45), Yasmin Suzette   Tan (7^th, 89.4), Rosalia Bartolome (8^th,  89.3), Amor Datinguinoo (9^th 89.15)   and Edgar Bernal (10^th, 89.0) for the 1996 bar exam while Teodulo San Juan (7^th, 87.775) for the 1997 bar exam.  

 

One of the remarkable aspects of the law field is that people attend law school with a vast array of interests and experiences and go on to pursue an equally wide variety of careers.

 

Batch 1996 produced academicians,  judges.  private and public sector lawyers, government officials, politicians  and all types of business professionals across industries.

 

UP Law has its fine share in Philippine history as  it produced  four presidents namely Jose Laurel, Manuel Roxas, Elpidio Quirino,  and Ferdinand Marcos aside from at least twenty two senators.

 

Lawyers, as professionals, are expected to uphold the ethical and moral values that are said to be essential to the fabric that holds society together.

 

“Serve the people. Do not betray your humanity” says my professor and  Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen. “Discover your passion. Be patient and compassionate.”

 

Passion for the law is dedication to do what is right.

 

Indeed, it was a long road, but it was also a well-traveled and fun-filled journey.

 

We never imagined that, beyond the legal discipline, the batch proved to be a repository of undiminished talents.

 

Nostalgic thoughts are evoked down memory lane.

 

Law school years were indeed difficult moments, but the best and memorable times spent with those who shared the experience. Those years were full of vivid memories that still bring smiles and funny thoughts to each one, many years hence.

It's been a couple of decades when we left the gates of UP Law but somehow we still get the sense of continuity, a vinculum unsevered by the years we may have all been apart.

 

For batch 1996 of the UP College of Law,  “Pagbabalik”  after twenty five (25)  years is more than just reminiscing the yesteryears but imbibing that forward-looking attitude, the prospectivity of hope amidst all that we have gone through. Kaya nga tuloy pa rin.

 

 

 

( Peyups  is the monicker of University of the Philippines. Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the seafarers’ division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, email info@sapalovelez.com, or call 09175025808 or 09088665786).

An evening with Chito Gascon, Voltes V and human rights.

 International Human Rights Day in the Philippines was celebrated this year in the Philippines without the presence of  human rights icon Chito Gascon.

 December 19 each year is known as Human Rights Day, the very day when, in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Declaration set out a broad range of fundamental human rights and freedoms to which all of us, everywhere around the world, are entitled. It guarantees our rights without distinction of nationality, place of residence, gender, national or ethnic origin, religion, language, or any other status.

At the time of his untimely demise on October 9, 2021 due to COVID19 at the age of 57, he was the chairman of the constitutional body Commission on Human Rights (CHR)  having been appointed by President Benigno S. Aquino III in 2015 .

I entered UP in 1987 when  Chito   just served his term as  Chairperson  of the UP Diliman Student Council from 1985 to 1986.

He led his fellow students in active-non-violent protest actions, which contributed to and culminated in the People Power Revolution and the ouster of Marcos in 1986.

Chito belong to Nagkaisang Tugon (TUGON), the perennial rival of our group Sandigan Para sa Mag-aaral at Sambayanan (SAMASA) as major student political parties during my UP student days in the 1980s and 1990s.  His wife, Melissa Mercado,  is from SAMASA.

SAMASA and TUGON  were  established when students’ movement was at its peak to defend their democratic rights to organize inside and even outside campus grounds.

The campus molded us to fight for the causes we believe in; trained us for the skills we need to communicate ideas and rally others to effect changes in society.

The UP student activism has taught us the vision of service to the people, which Chito has passionately pursued until his death.

Later, Gascon represented the youth as the youngest delegate to the 1986 Constitutional Convention, which prepared the 1987 Philippine Constitution. He then  served as the youngest member of the 8th Congress from 1990 to 1992.

 

.Chito  finished his law degree from  UP College of Law in 1996, which is also my batch l  celebrating  its silver jubilee this year.

Chito   was part of the team that  won the country’s first ever Jessup International Cup in 1995 held in New York. They  were not allowed by the team coach to bring any notes with them, not even index cards, during the debates. The judges were impressed because they looked confident, and they  were the only team that argued based on knowledge

Chito faced challenges as  CHR head  ensuring the promotion, protection, and preservation of human rights enshrined in the Constitution. He endured Duterte’s threats and ridicule as the CHR monitored the government’s bloody war on drugs.

 

The last time I had a face to face encounter with Chito was during the Japanese robots exhibition in May 2018  by fellow SAMASA Toym Imao at the UP Diliman Library.

 Toym’s exhibit showed  simplistic childish grudge, the deprivation to kids born in the 1970s   of freedom to watch a show we love.

 

From June  4, 1977 to  March  25, 1978, we eagerly await the robot  cartoon series  everyday at 6:00pm:  Mekanda on Monday, Daimos on Tuesday,  Mazinger Z on Wednesday, UFO Grendizer on Thursday, and finally Voltes V on Friday.

The Japanese cartoons are inseparable from the discussion on martial law and the Marcos  regime as these  series  carry the notions  of  revolution and resistance. 

 

Voltes V was about an alien race of horned humans from the planet Boazania out to conquer Earth. It was up to Voltes V to defeat the Boazanians’ giant robots, known as beast fighters, sent to destroy the planet.

 

Boazania was also under dictatorial rule from a despotic emperor, who faced an uprising from Boazanians who were discriminated against and enslaved simply because they had no horns.

 

In 1978, shortly before the series finale, Marcos issued a directive banning Voltes V and other similarly-themed anime series due to concerns about “excessive violence.”

 

It was believed that the series were  taken off the air due to  their  revolutionary undertones.

 

In 2012, Marcos’ son Bongbong defended his father’s decision to ban Voltes V, stating that parents before were worried about the excessive violence in the show, so Marcos pulled the robot-based animated series from television to appease their demands.

 

The villain characters from Planet Boazania   symbolized  how the government tried to control the freedom of Filipinos in the past and the ensuing  human rights violations.

 

The popular line associated with Voltes V, “Let’s Volt In”, is timely and appropriate with the return of the Marcoses in Philippine politics.

(  Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the seafarers’ division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, email info@sapalovelez.com, or call 09175025808 or 09088665786).

The superpowers of Choc Nut

To be or nut to be, Choc Nut is the answer.

Eating Choc Nut usually  brings back childhood memories  since many Filipinos grew up eating  this chocolate-peanut candy.

We enjoy every bite with  Choc Nut’s   unique and rich taste of ground peanuts, milk powder, cocoa, and sugar.

Do not underestimate the superpowers of peanuts.

When it comes to keeping your mind sharp, peanuts may hold the key.

Choc Nut was my power food as I was traversing the path of legal education.

Law students   immersed  in law books and cases, faced terror professors, pore through volumes and pages of SCRAs, lined up for photocopying at the law library, hurried through classes, reviewed and crammed through lessons, and survived recitations.

My law school years were indeed difficult moments, but the best and memorable times spent with those who shared the experience.

Patience is a virtue in studying  at the law library  but the daily supply of Pacencia biscuits  and Choc Nut made the ordeal sustainable for me and  my classmates.

Peanuts contain a wealth of benefits for the brain.

Resveratrol, a bioactive found in peanuts, is believed to cause improved  cognitive abilities and short-term memory,  increased verbal fluency (the ability to connect and retrieve words)  and enhanced processing speed (the ability to take in and respond to new information). 

A challenge in reading cases is staying awake.  The unsaturated fat in peanuts  gives one energy, which can help a person to  remain alert and to   ward off fatigue and  sleepiness.

Polyphenols penetrate the area of the brain involved in learning and memory, increase blood flow to the brain (which improves cognition) and has the potential to enhance mood (which may also help to reduce depression.)

I preferred Choc Nut basically for economic reasons as it was within my budget unlike the imported chocolates  by Hershey’s and Cadbury.  

 

 

During the  2017 oathtaking of the trustees and officers of the Maritime Law Association of the Philippines (MARLAWPh) before Vice President Leni Robredo, I became curious in the presence of Choc Nut as snacks in the meeting room.

I was then told that it was also her favorite refreshment.  

Her seatmate while she was a congresswoman was from Cavite, where the Choc Nut factory is located.  She was given a year-long supply of Choc Nut.

To adhere to the theme of simplicity, Choc Nut was also served as one of the snacks  during VP Leni’s inauguration in 2016 along with buchi (rice balls), sotanghon, pandesal, maja blanca, pichi-pichi

 

The iconic delicacy was likewise featured on the Netflix anime Trese series

The  large nearly palm-sized Choc Nut  is  a bribe or  a gift, from the show's main character  Alexandra  Trese to a sewer-dwelling creature named Nuno.

In Filipino culture, the nuno sa punso is a dwarf-like nature spirit who lives in an anthill or termite mound. He is a goblin easily angered that will do harm to those who damage or disturb his mound, and will seek retribution.

Nunos may also   inhabit places such as underneath large rocks, trees, riverbanks, caves, or a backyard.

Instead of living in a mound, Nuno in Trese is more urban, who lives in the sewers, often appearing from under a manhole cover to talk to Alexandra.

“Tabi-Tabi po” is a polite way of saying “excuse me” or “pardon me” which  is uttered as a form of respect to  supernatural beings like the nuno when entering an unfamiliar place.

If one  wants to get a favor or   doesn't want an earth elemental to bother him,  he  must  give the entity   something sweet.

Trese bribed Nuno with the chocolate-peanut candy to acquire information related to her case.

Trese  investigates the occult cases in Metro Manila. The Filipino mythical creatures live hidden among the human population where they either adapt or cause chaos. 

In this era of  fake news and historical revisionism., perhaps Choc Nut is the answer.

( Peyups  is the monicker of University of the Philippines. Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the seafarers’ division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, email info@sapalovelez.com, or call 09175025808 or 09088665786).