For 50 years a priest | The Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online

For 50 years a priest | The Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online

For 50 years a priest

By Fr. EMETERIO BARCELON, SJ

June 17, 2011, 3:20am

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Wagner of the US Senate recounted that when as a boy he rang the church bells in his town in Germany and his grandfather assured him that he would never be able to do anything as important as calling people to worship God.

But an even greater privilege is that of a priest, however unworthy, when he calls God to take the form of bread and wine.  Out of love for us God took the form of a human being.  Out of love for us He comes to the Blessed Sacrament in the form of bread and wine at the call of a priest.

All of this is to make it easier for us to adore and love Him. As Sen. Wagner called people to church, the priest has even a greater privilege to call on God to come and stay with us.

Fifty years ago, 15 members of the Philippine Jesuit province were ordained in four different places. By the grace of God, six of the 15 are still around. Three of us are here in Cagayan de Oro (Bill Klintworth, Jim O'Donnell, and myself); two are in Manila (Simeon Reyes and Tom Steinbugler); one in New York (Joe O'Hare).

Death took two of our group just last year (Bishop Cisco Claver and T. Patrick Lynch).  A century ago there were less than a dozen Filipino Jesuit priests. Now there are now about 200.  The Lord has been good and great has been His mercy.

When my father told my grandfather that I wanted to be a priest, he told my father to tell me never to go to his house again. But when I went to see him, he was glad to see me. I brought Fr. Hamilton from PGH to visit him.

Although my grandfather hardly knew English and Fr. Hamilton spoke no Spanish they got along famously so that when he was dying at 94 he asked to see Fr. Hamilton.  God's ways are mysterious.  Thank the Lord that prejudice against the priesthood is now gone.

My grandfather, although he never went to church, prayed every day for an hour just before midnight in front of a picture of Our Lady of del Pilar. My other grandfather, who was Chinese, was also greatly devoted to Our Lady. He made a pilgrimage with his whole family every month of May to the shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage, pushing up the Pasig River to Angono and from there hiking up the hills of Antipolo.

Devotion to Mary has been a Filipino tradition and she has interceded for us through many dangers and fostered the present vocations. “Pueblo amante de Maria (a nation lover of Mary)” is what my father called this nation in the hymn for the 33rd International Eucharistic Congress in 1937.

We ask you to join us in thanking God for the abundant graces He has showered on us and His mercy for our numerous transgressions and negligence of the past and to keep pouring His mercy for the rest of our lives. We beg for grace and mercy even more for the future especially in our weakened conditions but are confident of His love and providence.

We ask not only for ourselves but also for you with whom we have contact and for more vocations to the priesthood. In the end, that we may all reciprocate the love the Lord has shown us as He became man in Nazareth for our sake and for coming to stay with us in the Blessed Sacrament at the bidding of His priests even if unworthy.

Isa na lamang magandang alaala ang pamamangka mula sa bunganga ng Manila Bay hanggang sa bayan ng Angono sa landas ng Ilog Pasig. San kaya dumadaan ang mga umaakyat sa Antipolo? ang landas kaya ng Ilog Angono paakyat sa Ilog Kolaike?

Sa akin ding pagbabasa, aking natuklasan na ang mga bato sa minahan sa bundok ng Angono ay syang ginamit sa mga dike ng Ilog Pasig sa Intramuros. At ito ay dinadala pa-Maynila gamit ang mga barge sa Laguna de Bai pailog Pasig hanggang Intramuros.

Popemobile brings hope to Angono | The Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online

Popemobile brings hope to Angono | The Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online

May the good Lord bless Angono always!

Wastewater treatment | The Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online

May this project be successful for the future of Laguna Lake and the residents surrounding the dying lake.


Wastewater treatment | The Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online

Peter Paul Blanco to conduct "Still Life Painting Workshops" in Jersey City and New York City

Peter Paul Blanco to conduct "Still Life Painting Workshops" in Jersey City and New York City:


 "Notable Philippine painter Peter Paul P. Blanco of the famous Blanco family of painters based in Angono, Rizal, will conduct two batches of “Still Life Painting Workshop” to be held on 9 and 16 April in Jersey City and 7 and 14 May in New York City. Blanco will teach aspiring painters the basic skills in oil painting, including how to paint cast shadows and simple forms and how to understand warm and cool colors as well as composition, cropping, and overlapping of forms on the picture pane."


Read more at Peter Paul Blanco to conduct "Still Life Painting Workshops" in Jersey City and New York City:

Banghusay talaga ng mga Blanco Family, tuloy tuloy ang legacy ni Ginoong Pitok Blanco.

Videos Posted by Angono Tourism Office (Angono, Rizal): Konsiyerto sa Plaza III [HQ] | Facebook

Videos Posted by Angono Tourism Office (Angono, Rizal): Konsiyerto sa Plaza III [HQ] | Facebook

Isang napakagandang proyekto na mabigyan ng pagkakataon na magkonsiyerto ang mga banda ng musiko ng Angono upang makapaghandog sa ating mga kababayan na dati ay napapanood lamang kung panahon ng kapistahan.

Indian trader robbed, killed | Metro

Indian trader robbed, killed | Metro:

Posted at journal.com.ph

Published : Tuesday, March 08, 2011
Written by : Alfred Dalizon

"A 26-YEAR-OLD Indian trader engaged in the “5-6” business was shot dead by one of four robbers after he resisted their attempt to kidnap and rob him in Angono, Rizal over the weekend, police said yesterday.

Pardeep Singh died on the spot from a gunshot wound in the head, a report from the Police Regional Office 4-A said.

An investigation showed that the victim had just collected payments from his customers at Purok III, Zone 1, Yupangco Cotton Mills Compound in Barangay Mahabang Parang when the incident occurred.

The suspects, who were on board a silver Nissan Sentra without license plates, approached the victim as he was about to drive his motorcycle and handcuffed him before dragging him inside their getaway vehicle.

However, the Indian was able to unlock the door and get out of the car. The suspects pursued the victim, who continued to resist, prompting one of the armed men to shoot him.

PRO4-A director Chief Supt. Samuel Pagdilao, Jr. ordered Rizal Police Provincial Office director Senior Supt. Manuel Prieto to launch a massive hunt for the suspects."

Zorayda A life of laughter & tears | The Philippine Star » News » Entertainment

"I miss seeing once in a while an Angono comedienne/celebrity on Philippine TV, iba ang feeling kapag nakasalubong mo lang sa kalsada ng Dona Aurora tapos mapapanood mo sa tv :). Salamat Zorayda Sanchez sa pagpapasaya mo sa amin."

Zorayda A life of laughter & tears  By Ching M. Alano (The Philippine Star) 
Entertainment Section
Philstar.com

Zorayda A life of laughter & tears | The Philippine Star » News » Entertainment: "Zorayda Sanchez had a face only her mother could love, but she used her looks (or the lack of it) to shine in Philippine showbiz that loves “rare” finds as much as precious gems."
In our Journalism Class at the University of Santo Tomas, the very first batch of journalism graduates from the pontifical university, she was one of those voted least likely to succeed. But of course, the criteria were based purely on physical attributes and social graces. And the jury consisted of those mean girls in class who spent more time powdering their noses than burying them in books.
Zorayda couldn’t care less. She was simply the girl from the remote boondocks of Angono, Rizal (yes, back then, it took an eternity to get to that erstwhile hinterland). She dressed, walked, and talked the part.
But in class, you’d hardly hear Zorayda’s voice except perhaps when she would scold and go after some of the boys, who loved making fun of her. Before the class would begin, we’d see her chasing a boy classmate across the room, with the latter running for dear life and flashing the sign of a cross with his index fingers while screaming, “Aswang, aswang!” That nightly scene sure kept us entertained and awake during sleep-inducing lectures on ethics of the press and the libel law in our classes that started at 5 p.m. and ended at 9 p.m.
A lot of us did not attend the commencement exercises — the diploma was just a piece of sheepskin for us and nothing more; besides, we reckoned our lives had already commenced since most of us already had jobs. After graduation, we simply lost track of each other. But one day, we saw a familiar face in our Journ Class on TV. “Is that really you, Zorayda?” we asked with raised eyebrows.
Yes, it was Zorayda, making a splash in a detergent commercial in living color! If those mean girls in class could see her now! They would surely be swallowing their words plus a whole bar of soap. From then on, we would be referred to as the classmates of Zorayda Sanchez.
“Sikat na talaga ang classmate natin,” Alma Macrohon told me on the phone one day. “She wants to meet up with us.”
So, we agreed to meet at a supermarket. Zorayda arrived in a jeepney. I learned that Zorayda, even at the height of her popularity, remained simple. She never bought a car; she hardly took a cab, she simply commuted by bus or jeepney.
Even when she became a household name, like the detergent she was endorsing, she was still the Zorayda we knew in school. “She remained very simple, even in the way she dressed,” says Alma. “The only time I remember her having a dress made by a designer (Edward Teng) was when she attended an awards night.”
Alma adds, “Sometimes, I would just wake up one morning and see her lying in the sofa in my living room. Instead of going home to Angono when she had a shooting, she would pass the night in my house in Mandaluyong.”
Zorayda never left the family house in Angono. It burned down 15 years ago. “The fire started with the aircon and it just spread. She lost everything in that fire,” Alma recalls. “Her sister had a new house built — much bigger now. It’s a Mediterranean-style house with wooden furniture and a little garden. It’s got a big bathroom the size of a small bedroom, complete with a shower, bathtub, and cabinet. Now, I wonder if Zorayda had been able to enjoy all that.”
I must admit that it came as a shock to most of us when Zorayda became a single mom. Funny but we knew her to be the conservative, manang type who wore her dress long even when the miniskirt was all the rage. We could only guess it must have been true love. We don’t really know because Zorayda was a very private person; she never talked about her personal or professional life. All we know is Zorayda met this actor Dax Rivera, and they had a daughter named Alexis Joyce, whom she simply called Joy because she was the joy of her life. Whatever her daughter’s father did not give their daughter, Zorayda made up for a hundredfold. And it wasn’t just material things. Zorayda showered her daughter with all the love in the world. How proud she must now be of her Joy, soon to graduate from BS Biology at UP Diliman. Joy dreams of becoming a doctor.

“I’m happy for my mom because now, there’s no more pain, no more suffering,” says Joy in a TV interview. “Sobrang nahirapan siya and she wanted to go home.”
Zorayda died of breast cancer a few weeks ago. Nobody even suspected that the comedienne/writer was sick. Whenever some of our classmates would text her to ask how she was, she would either say she was okay or simply evade the question.
During her wake at home, her classmates sighed with a hint of frustration, “Nakakainis sya. If only she told us about her condition, we could have done something to help her.”
She kept her condition from everyone. She kept her pain and suffering even from her own family, always putting up a brave front and keeping herself busy at work as if there was no tomorrow. Her sister only found out when the family labandera told the former that she would always see bloodstains on Zorayda’s bra. Zorayda was immediately brought to a surgeon, who happens to be a neighbor. She had a breast removed and underwent chemotherapy. She also went to a herbalist, to whom she entrusted her life.
Alexis Joyce is an orphan now. Her father died early this year. Again, we her classmates could only guess that his death must have left Zorayda brokenhearted. Now, she had one less reason to be happy, one less reason to laugh.
If there was another thing that made Zorayda happy, it was her loyal friends (who included Evelyn Vargas, Beverly Salviejo, Tia Pusit, and Lou Veloso) and fans.
“She really didn’t want to be an actress, but she was happy when her fans would come to her for an autograph,” Alma relates. “She would answer their letters. Her fans became her friends.”
At her burial in her beloved Angono, her fans lined the streets to wave their goodbyes. But then again, old comediennes never die; their laughter just fades away.

To read the original article on Zorayda Sanchez by Ching Alano, visit the Philstar.com news site
Zorayda A life of laughter & tears 
By Ching M. Alano (The Philippine Star) Updated September 14, 2008 12:00 AM
Entertainment Section
Philstar.com