The choices that we make

Tomorrow, Election Day, we will be making  hard decisions in the choice of our public officials in the national and local level. For the very concerned citizens, they will be making tough decisions; for those who are not, everything has been arranged in various means. Remember the old commercial advertisement of Pepsi – We are all products of the choices we make! Whatever the outcome of the elections will be, we only have ourselves to blame or congratulate.

Prof. Henry Francis Espiritu of UP Cebu shared his reflection on the coming elections in “May Mapaabot Ba Kita sa mga Politiko Karong Umaabot nga Eleksyon?” He is dismayed by the profiles of the candidates. Most of them do not have any knowledge of governance, only banking on their family name, or enjoying the status of belonging to a political dynasty. He can imagine the composition of the next Senate. He aptly puts it, “Maka-imagine gyud ko sa atong nasud nga usa ka dakong telenovela of absurdities and ironies sama sa movie nga “Filipinas” nga ang narrative-genre nagsaksak sinagol isip comedy, drama ug tragedy rolled into one!” He also bewails the gimmicks orchestrated by the  candidates, and the psychological conditioning of  the people by pre-election surveys. But Espiritu enjoins everyone to take action in educating the masses about the real issues affecting them, a collective action to ensure a clean and orderly election, reject political candidates who cannot work for the  interest of the nation. Most of all Espiritu asserts that our joining the election, getting involved and being aware should not just be on election day but in all occasions where the nation needs our help. In fairness to some candidates, last Tuesday, I received a card indicating my voting precinct and voting cluster, and I am spared from the ordeal of finding my voting precinct.

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May is also National Heritage Month and in Cebu City the last Friday of May is the Gabii sa Kabilin (Night of Heritage). Organized in 2007 by the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) with Casa Gorordo Museum, the Cathedral Museum of Cebu, and the Basilica Minore del Santo Nino de Cebu Museum in its first run, Gabii sa Kabilin has expanded to more than 30 participating museums and heritage sites in four neighboring cities this year (Cebu, Lapulapu, Mandaue and Talisay). Now on its 7th year, Gabii sa Kabilin does not only feature museums but also heritage sites where tourists can enjoy and participate in cultural shows, exhibits, art fairs, food markets, and children’s activities. UP Cebu is one of the latest participants. Now in its second year of participation, UP Cebu chose for this year’s theme – UP in the History of Cebu and the Nation. Visitors will have a walking tour in the UP grounds on Gorordo Avenue.  For cultural performances, the UP Serenata will render memorable Cebuano songs like some compositions of Minggoy Lopez.   An art fair showcasing the works of the UP Cebu Fine Arts students will also be held at the lobby of the Cebu Cultural Center with poetry reading and short film showings. There will be a video showing of the performances of UP  cultural groups such as the Philippine Madrigal Singers, the UP Singing Ambassadors, the UP Concert Chorus, Kontra Gapi, and the UP Pep Squad. UP alumni who are interested in joining the Gabii sa Kabilin may contact 0917-3295201 or 322-4708 for inquiries and tickets.

One ticket costing only 150 pesos entitles guests to be able to go to the museums and heritage sites included in the Gabii sa Kabilin circuit and enjoy cultural shows and exhibits from 6 p.m. to 12 midnight.  They may also use the ticket to take unlimited rides in Gabii sa Kabilin buses and tartanilla (horse-drawn carriage) rides in Cebu City’s old district.

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The West Gorordo Hotel will hold its 1st Kabilin Fest on Saturday, May 18. In the morning, there will be Tindak Sugbo, a bike race. From 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., there will be a series of Heritage Workshops on  traditional toys, traditional musical instruments, traditional puppetry, puso making, sawsaw (how to make healthy salad dressing), malong, dula, mugna, istorya. At 4:30 p.m., the Paulina Constancia Museum of Naïve Art (MoNa) will be launched. These are all organized by the Lee siblings.