I recall during my days in the academy when we had a subject Philosophy when we used to talk about life, di ko na nga maalala eh, Hmm hirap talaga nun.. kasi di lang isang simpleng pagiisip ang kailangan kundi critical analysis.

What am I here for? isa ata un sa mga tanong na madalas naming pagusapan. Pero bago pa man noon ay narinig ko na ang tanong na yon sa isang libro “Purpose Driven Life”. Maganda ang libro na yon dahil malalaman mo talaga ang purpose mo sa buhay.

Nang unang umapak ang paa ko sa lugar na ito ay ang unang natanong ko din sa aking isipan. Bakit nga ba ako nandito. Sa isang lugar na sa mga aklat at TV ko lang nakikita. Marahil noon ay kaba at at takot agad ang nasa aking ispan pagnababangit ang lugar na ito. Pero nga nagiba ang aking pananaw na marating ko mismo ang lugar na ito. Ibang iba pala ang sitwasyon ng lugar.

Salamat sa mga nagturo sa akin, sa mga nakapagkwentuhan kong ibat ibang uri ng tao. Nalaman na iba iba pala ang ugat ng problema dito.

Albert Einstein is right that Peace is not kept by FORCE but a matter of UNDERSTANDING to be achieved. There are many approach in solving conflicts and problem and one of this solution may come from the minds of common people like you and me..

What am I here for? is basically i want peace and i want to share it

by Walter I. Balane/MindaNews

Thursday, 01 October 2009 08:59

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/30 Sept) − Counting how many battles fought, enemies killed, and firearms recovered has been among the usual indicators in an official’s military scoreboard.  But it’s got to change, military officials tell new generation officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Mindanao. Col. Julieto Ando, of the Eastern Mindanao Command, has stressed this point to junior military officers who attended the Operation Peace Course (OPKORS), a conflict management and peace building training, now on its seventh in a series, organized by the AFP, Balay Mindanao Foundation Inc. and other partners. “Instead, count how many enemies you have convinced back to the folds of law,” Ando said in his presentation on “The Challenge: Towards Fresher Perspectives”. He said it involves changing perspectives from calling “boodle fights” to “boodle peace” at the least to building consensus and partnerships with other stakeholders to win peace.  The new mindset for military operations in Mindanao, he said, calls for more focus on building rather than destroying.  For five days, 30 junior military officers of the 10th infantry division have studied how exactly this could be done. The training was held from September 13 to 19 at the Mindanao Training Resource Center in Davao City.  Pulled out from their areas of responsibility, the officers became students again attending lectures and workshops on how to manage conflict and become peace builders.  The course covered a comprehensive set of topics to provide them an opportunity to learn on peace building so they can apply and promote it in their units.  The discussions were heavy on theoretical inputs but also weighed on practical applications from community based experiences and other peace initiatives.  Included among the nine modules were presentations and workshops on the context of conflict management and peace building work in Mindanao, the imperatives of security sector reform in peace building, human rights and international humanitarian law, the government’s thrust on peace building, understanding conflict and peace, theories of peace, and localizing the peace agenda.  But there were also presentations that focused on skills for peace building such as the one on conflict analysis where they learned about mapping conflict parties and other tools and on inner peace where the military officers were introduced to self transformation through self awareness.  One of the lecturers actually asked participants to situate themselves in front of the vast universe for them to see how much they need to learn, they were introduced to development and management of anger, and the relationship between personal emotional baggages and conflict processes.  “Does it make you less courageous as soldiers?” Lt. Gen. Raymundo B. Ferrer, Eastmincom commanding general, asked participants towards the end of the training on their impression of the peace building initiative.  2Lt. Robert Entoma, platoon leader of the Charlie Company of the 66th Infantry Battalion based in New Bataan, Compostela Valley, said it did not diminish his courage and bravery.  “But we still need to do combat operations,” he said.  “Definitely. We are not talking about stopping that. While we are running after them, we are also offering a peaceful way for the rebels. With the SIP (Social Integration Program) we reintegrate them to community as peace loving citizens,” Ferrer explained.  Training has been aimed, he added, at making soldiers understand, know, and promote peace toward military transformation.  The desired result, Ferrer said, is to transform perception from fear to respect for the soldier, from mistrust to mutual trust, from an image of oppressor to protector, and from plain warriors to peace builders.  “Military operations alone will not solve social divide in the face of conflict and unpeace. There should be other approaches like dialoguing to understand the divide and reorienting the military in the midst of conflict,” he added. Soldiers clarified that there are also problems in the implementation of the SIP that has affected their work in handling reintegration of the rebels.  Ferrer cited that the military has been part of the problem as indicated by the stories of abuses, public fear for the soldiers, and it being seen as an occupying force.  He cited examples of abuses made by the military in Basilan where he was previously assigned and how it contributed to the unpeace in the communities.  He said the abuses — such as disrespect to property, elderly, and women — contributed to the resistance of the communities to the path of peace.  “Many are fighting the Marines and ambush them not because of their struggle for independence, but because they hate us,” Ferrer said.  But the military, he said, is a stakeholder to peace and should be part of the solution.  Ferrer said the soldiers have to be true to their commitment and professionalism to service.  “We must be able to repair the damage that has been done to the society. That is why we are here. We are training you to understand peace, know peace and promote peace,” he added.  Entoma could relate to the situation Ferrer has raised.  He has been assigned to the village where the family of nine-year-old Grecil Buya, slain in a crossfire between the rebels and the Army in 2007. Buya was first identified as a child soldier, which the military later retracted.  “It is so hard to regain the trust of the people in the area,” he said as he related their effort in one of their community based projects.  In the lectures, participants were told that death of a rebel or a civilian will earn for the military more enemies as relatives would vent their ire on the military. Entoma said that is why peace building and conflict management skills are very important for soldiers like him.  While the military has shifted its strategy from combat based to community based operations, many soldiers are not well equipped to be agents of peace in a time of insurgency, said the fresh graduate from the Philippine Military Academy. He said he never learned the context and the nuances of peace building in military school.  But he said now that he has been to the training, he vowed to be a soldier and a peace builder. Entoma said he would share his knowledge and skills to colleagues and promote peace, a vow he will keep both as part of his job and as a personal commitment. (Walter I. Balane / MindaNews)

in a few days from now I will be settting foot on a place that I consider the first time.. I have been long dreaming on what the place looks like.. But unlike those others purpose I will be there not for myself but to represent the one who have told me to do.

over a short period of time I have thought that I should spend the early days of my career there to face the challenge that few people are given the chance of.

So this is another crossroad of my life.. a new chance to improve myself..be with some people..

so be it.. see you in two to three years perhaps..

hi musta na kaya yung mga classmate ko dati sa high school

ngayon e me kanya kanya na tayong buhay  ang iba siguro sa atin eh me asawa na, ang iba naman eh nasa ibang bansa na at nagsisimula na ng career nila.. kanya kanya na tayo buhay.. ako nga di ko makapaniwala na andito ko sa lugar na di ko pinangarap..pero minsan naisip ko medyo maswerte ako…lalo na pag may nakikilala akong tao  na di ko maisip dahil sa taas ng katungkulan nila at posisyon sa lipunan mapadito at labas ng bansa….

sana eh nasa mabuti din kayong  lugar ingat sa lahat….

frst post ko to pagkatapos ng medyo matagal na pgakawala. Kumusta na kayo dyan? napadaan lang ako. nakapag weekend leave kasi ako sa napaka busy na buhay. Eto ineenjoy ang pansamantalang kalayaan sa kakaibang buhay. Kakukuha ko lang ng bonus namin kaya  natulungan ko ang kapatid ko sa pageenrol nya sa college. Sobrang saya ko talga.

kayo ano ang bago sa buhay nyo? comment nyo na namn….

update nyo ko ha!