Fight for Your Father's Rights

In Kalinga during the olden times, marriages had never been attested in paper and ink. Marriages were usually conducted in front of the native folks who served as witnesses to the momentous occasion. Although there were no documents offered as proof of the union, it was considered binding and legal. Every marital rite was considered sacred never to be broken.

Nowadays though, this is no longer true, as marriage bonds are being constantly destroyed. In these instances of inevitable separation and divorce, it would be natural for the mother to assume custodial rights over the children.



But what if the mother is unfit? Wouldn’t it be natural for you - as the father - to want to transfer those rights? Being a father, you should be aware of your rights.

Establishing your rights need not be expensive nowadays. You don’t have to take the trouble of hiring an attorney.

All of your father’s rights would be taken cared of by this web-based service; from visitation rights, to child support , to custodial rights and many more legal impediments that would prevent you from assuming your parental responsibility.

It is a blessing that a certain venue is now available which could empathize and specifically understand your needs as a father.

No matter what would be done at present, people could no longer go back to that time in the past, when your word is enough assurance than all the attorneys in the world.

A CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

I have an on-going call for comments at my blog: "A Campaign for Non-Violence on Children's TV Programs" ,


Wouldn't it be wonderful to know your thoughts on this? (pros or cons)

Kindly click on the link and contribute your thoughts and win great prizes.

I won at Matt Urdan's MTMD

I won Matt Urdan's Meltwater, Torrents, Meanderings Delta's contest on Battle of the Boys Band Contest.


Visit Matt's blog and read his fascinating and thought provoking posts.

I Would Travel in Style

In Taloctoc during my childhood, we did not have the luxury of any means of transportation. When I graduated from elementary, I enrolled in high school at the nearby town, Lubuagan. We usually went home during weekends by hiking through the mountainous terrain for 4-6 hours. The seasoned hikers would take the hike only 3 hours, but for the rest of the group, including me, we took our time basking in nature and the unusual biota around us.

There were wild orchids, flowers, and many unusual plants that I have seen only in those mountains. There were small streams bubbling through crystal clear waters, and delightful, cascading waterfalls were common. Nothing could match the peace and serenity one felt at the mountain top; it felt god-like looking down at the creation all around you, and being near to the azure sky.

Nowadays, the beauty of nature is no longer enjoyed by the young as much as we did before, as transportation is already available. There are mini buses and jeepneys now that travel the route from Taloctoc to the different towns like Pasil and Lubuagan.
I plan to go home in the near future and I would like to travel in style. A toyota would do for me, a 4Runner. These cars can have all the specifications you would like your car to have, like dual power seats, trip computer, memory seats, a navigation system, cruise control, and various gadgets that would make my trip comfortable and cozy as I would like it to be.

I would still stop and admire nature for sure, even if I am not on foot. I could also camp for the day if I would have ample time to spare. Toyota cars are so spacious, I could store all what I need for a long day’s travel.

They also come in various models like Toyota prius, Toyota Avalon, Toyota camry and in different exquisite colors like, black, blue, green and many others.

I’m sure it would be an exhilarating and unforgettable experience.

Travel Destinations in the Philippines

The Philippines is known as "Pearl of the Orient". It is because visiting the Philippines would be like visiting numerous wonderful places all over the world.

First just like the vast, beautiful lands of Australia, the Philippines could provide the visitor various interesting nature tripping adventures that you could engage in. Ibiza and the Bahamas offer beaches and nature, but read on why the Philippines beaches are also worth a visit.

Here are some tourist's spots that could make your visit worth the trip:

1. Boracay, Aklan - It's an island paradise with its fine white sand and beautiful beaches. Boracay has captured the hearts of millions of tourists who had trekked to the island every year. The beach and the surrounding environment is a blast for sea lovers and nature trippers.

In fact, just recently, Yahoo Travel announced the Most Popular Beaches of 2007 and Boracay has ranked first, even besting the wonderful Bahamas islands. What better testimonial than that coming from Yahoo! Travel?

2. Tagaytay - This city is great for outdoor activities. The air is cool and clean and one can go into several activities like horse back-riding, nature tripping, or just spend time basking in the beauty of nature. This is also one of the locals most frequented tourist spots. There are available comfortable lodgings, golf courses, guided tours and many more.

3. Baguio City Is the Summer Capital of the Philippines. This is because during the sweltering heat of summer, only Baguio maintains that bearable temperature. The city has also several interesting places to see. The Asin hot springs is an hour ride from the city proper. This place is usually frequented by believers in the healing power of the hot springs. "They're really hot; you can boil eggs in them.) You have also the Pink Sisters, a very quite and calm place to have a self-retrospection. This is where the best Yam and pineapple jam are made by enterprising native women. You can go horse back-riding too at mines view park; a park where you can see the breath-taking view of the neighboring towns where previous mines were located.

4. Banaue Rice Terraces, Ifugao Going further north, you can visit the Banaue Rice Terraces. This has gained notoriety because of the recent tragedy that occurred there but lawmakers are more vigilant and careful now. For Filipinos, these rice terraces believed to be the 8th Wonder of the World and had been nominated for the Online voting

of The New 7 Wonders of the World. This structure can only be appreciated in person. It bears witness to the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the native Ifugao in "carving" layers and layers of rice paddies right into the mountain and up to its acme, seemingly building a stairway to heaven. It is awesome and beautiful scenery.

5. Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro You would me amazed at the treasures of nature that has been in hiding in Puerto Galera , like Milton's Paradise Lost"; Roaring waterfalls, bubbling rivers , flora and fauna that you may have never seen could be a total blast for any visitor. You would feel like you came from another totally different place.

6. Chico River, Kalinga The last, but certainly not the least is the Chico River a long, winding river situated in the heart of the hinterlands of Kalinga. Although this is situated in the heart of the mountains and transportation is sometimes difficult, it is still a must see for adventurous visitors. Water rafting is becoming popular as more and more foreigners frequent the river to experience the thrilling and exciting activity. Aside from this, the towering, verdant mountains can provide enough adventure for those seeking for more. Just like Puerto Galera, Mother Nature abounds with its gems.

There are still various wonderful places to visit. There are the strawberry farms of Benguet, the Sleeping Beauty of Tinglayan, the Callao caves of Cagayan, the Chocolate Hills of Bohol, and many others.

This article was published at Helium.com

Boracay picture by wili_hybrid

A Perfect Video Production Service

The beauty of nature in the far flung mountains of Kalinga had always inspired in me my propensity towards creativity.



As a kid, I started composing. I was the story-teller of the class. As a freshman in high school, I had won the Short Story Writing contest in school with my very first short story entitled - "The Falling Star".

My luck continued to college and thereafter as some of my short stories found their way in the pages of local magazines like Mr. & Mrs., MOD, Women’s Journal and Home Life.

I have not been writing for them, for several years now, as I am focused presently on Online writing with Helium, Triond and Associated Content.

One of my ardent wishes now, is to produce a video or a short movie. I didn’t know how to go about it though, so this dream remained a pipe dream.

It was serendipity perhaps that I came across Video Production Service and found out to my pleasant surprise that this interactive video production service has everything I have been hoping for; from the simplest 2D, 3D, logo animations, to text treatments and stylized effects for world class presentations, to simple website animations. They could help you with your needs regarding any type of video presentation about any topic under the sun.

If you have already a video and would want to give it a professional and excellent touch, then all you have to do is to avail of the services of their expert editors to make the video worthy of an international audience. They could also provide the actors for your videos if you still don’t have actors.

If you want them to do everything for you, then they could! They could do everything from shooting, to editing to final touches to make your video presentation worthy of an “Oscar”; and take note; they are willing to shoot anywhere.

Don’t think this service is only for the big time video makers or businessmen; this service is also for small website owners. You could benefit greatly from it. They could help you with your website’s interactive programs. If you have problems in installing those HTML, XML, ASP and all those codes for your video and animated presentations, just contact them and rest assured that highly trained personnel would attend to even the smallest of your website’s flash animation problems.

I promise myself that someday I will be producing a video about one of my stories, and I will surely avail of their expert and excellent services.

Head Hunting in Kalinga, is This True?

When I was 5 years old, I witnessed a man who had been a victim of a tribal dispute. There in front of me was a dead man; his head was sewn to his neck as it was totally severed from his body apparently with a razor-sharp bolo.

Back then, there was no “bodong” (peace pact) between my village and another village so it was a full blown tribal war. The death toll was rising and more and more grieving families wanted revenge for their loved ones.

Headhunting was then the method of revenge of one village to another. It did not matter whether you’re a relative or not of the deceased, as long as you belonged to that village then you had to be careful.

There were times when we took cover in the forests when the avenging tribal warriors from the other village came to extract revenge. Children were the most affected, in my young mind, it was a traumatic experience. I could still hear the cries of people around me as everyone scrambled for safety. Women and children were brought to safety, while the men geared up for war.

A lookout/crier would be assigned every night and would warn the people when danger is near so we could all ran for cover.

My grandfather once told me that there were vicious tribes who even bring the head with them to their village and would dance around it all night long. But, I thank God; I had never witnessed such event.

My native folks were really gentle people but they were extremely protective of family and territory. No villager would venture into another without proper information and permission. I grew up amidst these dangers.

Great efforts were made to reconcile the tribal differences with what we call the “bodong” (peace pact). It was an agreement forged with native rituals from both villages.

Little by little as education was brought to the young and some pursued higher education, a semblance of peace started to be established, as they began to realize that there is nothing to gain by these continuous slaughter, of even, innocent people.

As I grew up to become a teen, there were some villages that still went on with their tribal wars but by then, they were using guns. These were the villages which just wanted domination and not peace.

Slowly though, through the efforts of well meaning elders and socially responsible villagers, the “bodong” began to be established between each of the villages. It was a long drawn out process though with lots of impediments along the way.

Up to this time, the “bodong” is still the key that is keeping most of the villages in peace. Although, this agreement was and is not executed in the presence of an attorney, it was, and is, a lasting and well respected pact that every villager observed.

I still have to go back to my roots eventually in the future. But I know the Kalinga people are peace-loving and have a strong noble spirit of unity and responsibility for one another.

I would like to invite you to my village –Taloctoc, the paradise I had known as a child; the tranquil verdant mountains, the clear, rambling Chico river, and the unadulterated air in the atmosphere.

Intakkon od Taloctoc, Kalinga! (Let’s visit Taloctoc, Kalinga!)

Unique, Delectable Dishes of Taloctoc, Kalinga

The dishes in Taloctoc several years ago when I was a kid (now, don’t ask me the exact number of years, lol) are totally different from those of today.

Dishes then were fresh and simple. What you can taste is the genuine quiddity of the food being cooked.

Take for example fish; fish which we caught with our barehands from the Chico river, were not mixed with any ingredient which could mask the taste. They were simply wrapped in banana leaves, placed in small bamboo poles and then cooked over slow fire. This brings out the real taste of the fish.

If you are able to taste this, I know you would agree that nothing could beat the savory taste of a pure, unadulterated fish dish.

Luscious, green leafy vegetables which we plucked from our nearby gardens were just cooked in boiling water. The broth that comes out from the freshly harvested vegetable dish tasted like no other.

Nowadays, the broth from a vegetable dish are so full of condiments, you could not really savor the vegetable flavor in it.

There were rare times that the old folks wanted something fancy; they would add then a little coconut oil or coconut milk to the dish and sprinkled it with pepper. That tasted like a "blast"!

Native folks often said: “Mampiya, impon agammo de amam.” (It’s delicious; you could forget your father-in-law.)

I have watched also how men butchered pigs and cows, cut them into pieces (I didn’t see it gross at that time) and just boil them until they were tender. No salt, no condiments, nothing whatsoever – just plain water. And, my! It was one of the best tasting meat dish I have ever tasted; natural, pure and savory.

At times during summer, the men went monkey or deer hunting. This is in preparation for the rainy days. They cut the meat into small, thin slices and allow them to dry under the sun. This will make the meat, dry and preserved.

When rainy days came, all they did was to cook the meat until tender and then mix vegetables, or sometimes they just roast it. Even then, the natural taste of the meat was still intact.

What was amazing was that, no one ever got sick of cancer. It was most probably because what of people ate. The dishes that were cooked came directly from nature without any preservatives or food colorings added. These preservatives and additives have been proven to have ill effects on people, so be wary of what you eat.

I miss these Kalinga dishes. Perhaps, in the near future when I can find time, I would visit Taloctoc and once again catch my fish in the river and cook it in the riverbank with my bamboo poles!