Today is Friday, April 2nd,2010 and it is now 934 PM here in Brooklyn, New York City.
When we last heard from our hero, Rachamim, he was dealing with the unbelievable drama in his new lover, Jackie's life, as well as the minor drama in his own, courtesy of his "ex," Rizza. As we rejoin him, he is laying in his bed, listening to a DJ Foozball Trance mix cd from 2008, and enjoying himself immemsely. Hmmm...better rephrase that because the "laying in bed, enjoying himself immensely" thing is producing some profoundly unsavoury images even in our hero's mind...
OK, so...Jackie's life has returned to its semi-dramatic normalcy, and things are going great between us. She is always pressuring me to come home of course, and I reckon she has a right to so, so I will probablly book passage this week. Tickets are the lowest I have seen them in years, 784 US, roundtrip. What is amazing is that I can book all the way to her city, Cagayan del Oro, through 1 airline.
In the Philippines, from the US, there are only 2 airports to fly into, Makati's Aquino (usually booked as "Manila," though it is actually in the afore mentioned Makati), and Mactan (usually booked as "Cebu"). The country has other international airports, like Davao's, and they are even building one in Jackie's city of Cagayan del Oro (actually 70 km away in the same province, in some tiny ass village, don't ask me why). However those airports only cater to flights from Jakarta (Indonesia) and UAE (because of the extrodinarily large number of Filipino Guest Workers in the Middle East). To compound issues, Cebu is useless unless travelling specifically to Cebu Island because outgoing flights to any island but Luzon (Manila) are far and few between.
Here-to-fore one would need to fly into Manila, make his or her way across the city of Makati to the domestic airport (not fun to do, SE Asia can be chaotic to say the least), and THEN fly into whatever far flung island you are going to. Travelling to smaller islands can take up to a week because one then needs to take a ferry.
The Philippines has 7,107 islands, over a length of 1400 km north to south. Mindinao is so far from Manila, 960 km south, that most Mindaonowans (actual word) feel as if they live in a diffferent country. Virtually all never go further than 3 or 4 provinces on the same island.
Anyway, talk about going off on a tangent...
I found, to my amazement, that I can book for example, Northwestern from JFK (NYC) into Manila, with a connecting flight on Philippine Air (via the domestic a.p.) for no extra fees. So, I am thinking that as long as I can fly quickly into Cagayan (and the 4th Infantry Division base, Camp Evangelista) I can avoid the uncertainties of the pre and immediate post-Election chaos that always takes place in the Philippines.
Election time is kiling time, national elections usually have OFFICIAL body counts in the 3 digits. Mindinao is the most violent island in the country. Cotabato had a grenade attack last week at a pre-election meeting of local politicos, as well as the Maguindanao Massacre I talked about in a previous entry, where 57 were mowed down with a belt fed M16, AFTER sexually mutilating the women while they were alive, and so on.
My village of San Franz is not one that suffers from such violence because our family controls it and does so with an iron fist. If it is not 1 of Rizza's uncles and aunts sitting as mayor, it is a Lademora, our G-Dparent's family.
In the Philippines, when you marry, you have G-Dparents, they help prepare the wedding, offer advice if needed, and so on. Our
G-Dfather is a Manobo (Hilltribe) who works with the Govenor who herself is also related to us by marriage (the Plaza family who run both our province of Agusan del Sur, as well as the adjoining province of Agusan del Norte). Our G-Dmother is a daughter of Col. Carlos "Charlie"or "Laddie" Lademora, the overall commander of our local paramilitary. I have spoken about his claim to fame previously, he exterminated an entire village while in the CP (official paramilitary, Constalbury Pilipina, as opposed to the SEMI-official paramilitary he now leads). The daughter was the mayor 2 "slots" ago, her bro who officiated at our civil wedding is the current mayor. We switch "slots" between Beldads, our family, and Lademoras. A "slot" is for 2 terms, 6 years, and the same person can take their side's next slot again. We are also intermarried with them even though they are actually Ilonggos (another tribe).
Col. Lademora was forced to retire from the CP just before it was disbanded by President Aquino, the 1st post-Marcos President. It was disbanded because of issues exactly like the one surrounding the Col.
CP was founded by the Americans just after they took over from Spain but since the 1950s was entirely a Filipino affair. The post-WWII years saw a (previous) communist insurgency from the "Huk," an guerilla army based on Luzon.
On the island of Samar, in the Visayan Islands north of Mindinao, in the early 80s, the Col commanded a district. Entering a village ALLEGEDLY, he had the men, women and children lined up against he outer wall of a grammar school. 1 by 1, walking down the line, he solicited info on the NPA, the latter (and present) communist insurgent army. As each villager denied knowing anything they were shot in the head. It was a small village and I believe the OFFICIAL bodycount was less than 50 but it was enough to make the international media. In previous years it would have never made it past the domestic censors but Marcos was losing his grip.
As the Col faced a charge of Crimes Against Humanity he did what many in his position have done, he came south. He had previously operated in Lanao del Sur, against he Islamic insurgency on the Mindinao and knew our sland well.
Our province of Agusan del Sur is the capitol of the Bisaya (Visayan) on Mindinao. We have the lowest Muslim population on the island (all of 80 families), are extremely isolated even now then, like now we were the epicenter of the communist insurgency. This last fact allowed the Col to carve out a niche for himself.
His patron, Conjuangco, a crony of Marcos and the owner of San Miguel Beer among other well known ventures, was just becoming a partner with the UK based company Guthrie. They sought to carve out a large portion of our province and create a palm oil plantation.
To create this plantation they needed land, and to get land a lot of hilltribesmen and poor Bisaya would need to be "removed." The Col found his calling (just as I 1st arrived in the village coincidently) and his patron in Manila, Conjuangco, had the charges in the mass murder case nullified.
The Col then became the 1st ever Filipino "Lost Command." Supposedly the term originated with Americans in Viet Nam, to describe rogue S. Viet Namese commanders who began operating according to their own personal agendas.
The Col became the 1st Filipino to have the moniker attached but many have had it applied since, Col Navarro also in our province, another anti-communist leader, currently 3 MILF (Muslim) commanders, etc on the souther western coast of the island and so on.
When I met the Col I was a mere Command Sgt (Staff Sgt is closest equivalent in the US but more like a Sgt Major). Soldiers tend to recognise soldiers and in any event I was the only foreigner to walk in that village in many years and everyone was interested in what I was doing.
I was invited to visit his Camp, just south of the village proper off of National Hiway, in what is now Sector I of the palm oil plantation (now owned by a Malaysian consortium, Guthrie sold it long ago). He had 400 plus men, all CP and AFP (miltary proper) vets, well trained and I was extremely impressed. I was taken aback by the Col (and many underlings) anting-anting. "Antings" are talismen, objects that Bisaya (and othere tribes) believe impart magical power. They believe the can even gain invinciability against bullets, turn invisible and so on. The Col wore a chain of human ears, taken from local NPA and Muslim settlers. At least they did not engage in cannabilism (as far as I know) like a lot of Bisaya paramilitaries (eating body parts imparts strong power).
In any event the Col is now very elderly, his son will be stepping aside for a Beldad to assume the mayoralty, and that is that.
So, as I was saying, planning to go home maybe in 3 weeks. IF a coup kicks off prior to my departure I may have to reroute into Indonesia or Malaysia and take a boat in but I am planning to fly into Cagayan as I said. Jackie is beside herself missing me, and I admit, it has been about 3 months since I have seen her and I am missing her, badly.
Everytime I see a plane flying overhead I actually stop and look for a few moments...wishing...
I IMd with Rizza today after playing tag for a few days. She is still out of touch with reality. Now she is begging me for a photo of Jackie. Suuuuuuure. She finally told me about the man she has, a 27 Filipino with a goiter!!! Well, good for her, maybe he has a great personality. I just pray she finds the hapiness she has been looking for. For me, for the 1st time in my life I am beside myself with happiness and can only hope she enjoys the same.
She is still pining for a baby, telling me Ariel, her eldest bro, the child after her, has just had his 1st son. I am not sure what to think. He is in Manchester, England working toward his Masters and working for the National Health Service. He has been there for , if I remember correctly 7 or 8 months. It IS possible I suppose that he fathered it but out of wedlock? My inlaws must be so sad.
Life IS pain but sometimes, just sometimes it has the glimmer of hope, of happiness. I am enjoying that glimmer very much.
![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
