Tuesday, May 30, 2006
The wonder that is bamboo, the surprise that is Justice Tantuico
Taken from PIA Press Release05/15/2006
Tacloban City (May 15) -- The Filipino has always been likened to the bamboo, ever resilient, bending to the beatings of the harsh wind but always ready to stand tall again after every beating.
Region 8, unknowingly, has somebody who has always been a bamboo advocate. This discovery and the meeting of the two men who are both bamboo advocates are what made the Mother's Day celebration yesterday, a memorable one.
Justice of the Court of Appeals, Chairman of the Commission on Audit. That is how people in Region 8 know and look with aweat Justice Francisco Tantuico, one of the few Eastern Visayan who have reached national stature. To the younger set, they know him to be the man who built a covered court for the Tennis enthusiasts, thus saving them from being sunburned.
Being treated to lunch at the Seafoods Sanctuary, this writer's family had the chance to talk with Justice Tantuico who owns the land where the restaurant is located. In the middle of the conversation, Tanauan Mayor Roque Tiu mentioned about the Bamboo Setum in Tanauan.
It is at this point that Justice Tantuico revealed about his interest in the bamboo. In fact he is so interested in the bamboo that he has a bamboo garden right at the vicinity of the restaurant and that his bamboo collection counts to about 15 varieties.
That might even be more that the collection of DENR in the Region, Mayor Tiu opined. Tanauan is known for its bamboo craft industry and so to ensure the availability of raw materials, Mayor Tiu thought of setting up the Bamboo setum with the able assistance of the DENR 8.
Bamboo trees abound all over the Region but the people's knowledge on its uses are very limited, Justice Tantuico said. He mentioned that there are bamboo trees the diameter of which is big enough to be made into a table top. He revealed that there is what is called as the bamboo plywood, a plywood made out of bamboo.
The bamboo has many uses: food, medicine, furniture, housing material, decorations. It could even be the source of survival in the forest as it is known to have clean water deposits. Since time immemorial, the bamboo is known to prevent soil erosion because its roots spread widely.
But one should see the collection of bamboo craft which Justice Tantuico keeps in his office at his newly constructed building - from the simply but elegantly designed bamboo tables, stools, to the intricately sculptured wall decors.
Who would ever think that the root portion of the bamboo could still be sculptured into a face of a bearded old man and sold at a very good price? And what about the small pieces of bamboo left overs which are made into icons of man or a woman, enshrined in glass casing and sold as table top decorations? These are usually thrown away or burned or just left somewhere to decay.
With his stature, who would ever think that Justice Tantuico has the time for "lesser things?" Never in my wildest dreams that from him I will learn about the grey bamboo, about the Buddha bamboo. For Mayor Tiu, he found an ally in improving the bamboo industry in this side of the country.
People should see his collection (he says he is ready to lend them for showing). I am sure, they will also be inspired at the versatility of the Bamboo and its promise of improving the life of the Filipino if properly used and developed.
Monday, May 29, 2006
Age Cheating in Palarong Pambansa
In the recently concluded Palarong Pambansa, it was reported by Ces Drilon in her nightly show at ABS-CBN that age cheating was rampant during the weeklong event.
A boy, or should I say a young man, from remote Mulanay Quezon was suspected by some parents in the baseball event to be over-aged even as his documents, as attested to by his coach and school officials, declare him to be only 13 years old. The suspicion was later confirmed to be true after Ces visited Mulanay (a good 8 hour drive from Manila) and interviewed the mother of the young man who admitted that her son was actually born in 1987 and not 1993 as declared in the documents that the coach and school officials submitted.
This was not the single case of suspected age cheating. The Eastern Visayas elementary baseball team was also suspected to have over-aged players, even more over-age than the men from Mulanay.
A boy, or should I say a young man, from remote Mulanay Quezon was suspected by some parents in the baseball event to be over-aged even as his documents, as attested to by his coach and school officials, declare him to be only 13 years old. The suspicion was later confirmed to be true after Ces visited Mulanay (a good 8 hour drive from Manila) and interviewed the mother of the young man who admitted that her son was actually born in 1987 and not 1993 as declared in the documents that the coach and school officials submitted.
This was not the single case of suspected age cheating. The Eastern Visayas elementary baseball team was also suspected to have over-aged players, even more over-age than the men from Mulanay.
