Let this flag 
fly as the symbol
of a real
national synergy among our people.
.

 EARLIER 
 BULLETINS    
News Reports & Articles 
on Partnerships
& SanibLakas Activities
Items are arranged in the reverse-chronological order, 
with earlier ones in smaller font. 
Items from contributing partners 
are cited accordingly; 
we request full citation in all reproductions.
SANIBLAKAS INFOSHARE
Release No. 3
(Series of 2000)


August 14, 2000
HEADLINES...

(Click  for earlier 
bulletins -->)

 .
3-1: 'Filipinos for Life' website a hit; 
organization work starts August 24
3-2: SALIKA adopts 'Core Principles'; 
announces Sept. 5 'media launch'
3-3: Anti-Poverty Commission seeks details
about Cooperative Education on Synergism
3-4: Closer links eyed for W.E.D. 2001
and Earth Day celebrations in the country.
3-5: 'H.D.H.' Program: Network of centers readied 
to promote 'empowering paradigms'
3-6: Sanibkulay '1st Workshop Show,'
'Sanib-Tinig jamming both successful
Bulletin No. 3-1 (August 14, 2000)
............
'Filipinos for Life' website a hit;
organization work starts Aug. 24
o….
…......MANILA, Philippines, August 14, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- Talk about a big hit!  No, talk about hundreds of hits, roughly 400 in just a month, its first full month on the Web, or about thirteen visits per day, made by Filipinos who, judging by the guest book responses, are apparently scattered in the Philippines, the United States and other countries, and presumably do not know one another. This has been the picture of initial success painted by the "Filipinos for Life" cyber-based network for Filipinos worldwide, a project of the SanibLakas ng Taongbayan Foundation under its Human Development and Harmony (HDH) program thrust. 
o….
….....The website was first uploaded by SanibLakas Cyberservices last July 7, 108th founding anniversary of the Kataas-taasang, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan.  The forum page of the website (filipinos4life.faithweb.com), which will be updated and expanded on August 24, features various and even opposing views on the subject of the Filipinos' individual and collective sense of pride and on reasons for mass poverty in the country. 
o….
….....An editorial was issued last week to put the clash of views in perspective and to clarify the logic beyond its handling. According to the editorial, signed by the SanibLakas president and managing director of the HDH program thrust, "This exchange of views was mounted as a forum; and a forum can only be effective and lively if it is fair and free. 

............"Our suggestion to those who disagree or are offended by any which remark here is, and shall remain to be, to write in their own comments. And we add the reminder that arguments that are overly emotional, or more so ad hominem, would likely fail to convince those being rebutted or the many other silent readers who get to read all these materials, and discourage others from "speaking up."  So we ask for simple articulations of personal views and sentiments that do not even try to claim universal validity."
o….
….....The editorial continued:
o….
…....."Many have actually done this.  Yumul's title question "Who Wants To Be Filipino?" has, in a way been answered with an essay titled "I Chose To Be Filipino!" And we added many similar items, including some that had earlier been written by members of the Kamalaysayan Writers and Speakers
o….
…....."Some friends have told us the forum might be like "hanging dirty linen in public." To this we say the forum is seeking to help build a positive consensus from all the public self-flagellation our nation has been engaged in through all these decades. And in the face of deeply-rooted insecurities about our collective character and identity, over-concern over our collective public image may take the back seat. We have to have a lively and constructive forum to build our collective sense of identity, sense of history and sense of mission as a nation. 

…....."Rizal took the same attitude about "dirty linen" in writing Noli Me Tangere. He said in the introduction, explaining the novel's title, that he was exposing to the open view of the world the Philippine social cancer in his time, so that others might "propose a cure." He was then actually campaigning for an international conference about Philippine society to be attended by experts from various nationalities." 
Towards the end, the editorial stated: "We should be prepared to receive many kinds of criticisms of the Filipino character, because most of these criticisms can be useful and some of them may even be valid."
o….
….....Guestbook comments have cheered the website project as something very welcome, and also validated its slogan, "Be Filipino and be proud!" In the United States, for example, Viol Medina wrote in from New York: "More power to you and you ventures, we certainly need a 'stir' to our identity. With Philippines' resources we can outdo others."  Wilfrido David said in New Mexico: "It's about time we had something like this!! It re-awakens the Filipino in us whatever we have become or wherever we may be!". And in California, Bob Soliva wrote, "It is time for us acknowledge our Filipino identity and heritage and not be divided nor distinguished by our dialect nor by the islands that we have come from," and Aurora Lustre Estrella said, "More power. Magtulungan tayo para itaguyod ang ating lahi. As I log in daily, I will see where I can be useful towards this endeavor through you."
o….
….....Similar feedback have also come from Filipinos right here in the homeland, mostly from Metro Manila and Cebu, as well as Filipino expatriates in Canada, United Arab Emirates, Hongkong, Singapore and Australia.
o….
….....Meanwhile, work on the organization copmponent of Filipinos for Life will start on August 24, 104th anniversary of the establishment by the Katipunan of the first-ever Filipino national state for the archipelago. Contrary to popular misconception, "Haring Bayang Katagalugan" referred to the sovereign state covering all the inhabitants of these islands, categorically including "the Visayans, the Ilocanos and the Pampangos, etc."  On that same day, the website will start carrying links to the website that features Filipino excellence ("galíng ng Pinoy"), to a cyber-radio station carrying non-stop Filipino music, and to other Filipino-oriented websites, as well us to major daily newspapers in Manila.
.


Bulletin No. 3-2 (August 14, 2000)
.
SALIKA adopts 'Core Principles';
announces Sept. 5 'media launch'
..
…......MANILA, Philippines, August 14, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- The Sanib-lakas ng Inang Kalikasan (SALIKA), also known as the "citizens' green force," has adopted its official "Core Principles" as its guide in consensus-buildingon various environmental issues, and scheduled a "media launch" for this coming September 5.
o….
….....In a meeting last August 8, chaired by Marie R. Marciano, SanibLakas ng Taongbayan Foundation Vice President who is the SALIKA founding chairperson, the Executive Board formulated principles pertaining to the new organization's recognition of the right of all living beings to a healthy planet, its criteria for a healthy Earth, its acknowledgment of human responsibility to be active stewards of the planet, and its conviction to build synergies as the only way to achieve effective stewardship of the environment.

….....The "media launch" will be held at 10 a.m. through lunch at Earthlite, 4th floor C.O.D. Bldg., Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City, and will feature what some SALIKA leaders have started to refer to as a "Surprise Experience."
The full text of the "Core Principles" follows:
o….
…...."Every living being has an intrinsic and inviolable right to a healthy planet in which to live, thrive, reproduce and sustain life, in accordance with the laws of Nature.  A healthy Earth has clean and pure air and water, naturally fertile soil, clean and renewable energy and rich biodiversity.

…....."Human beings have individual and collective responsibilities to be active stewards of the Earth. Thus, our lifestyles must be harmonious with Nature, and fully protective of present and future generations. Any act that harms the environment, or failure to protect it, is a crime against every living being that exists now and will emerge in ages still to come. 

…....."Effective stewardship of the Earth can only be fully achieved by bringing individual commitments and energies together into one harmonious force, a synergy, where commonalities are fully appreciated as bonding elements, and diversities are valued as opportunities for enrichment and dynamic unity."

….....The SALIKA Executive Board is composed of Ms. Marciano, Beth Roxas, Roy Alvarez, Manny Perez, Chin-Chin Gutierrez, Felipe de Leon Jr., and Dita Sandico-Ong, with SanibLakas ng Taongbayan Foundation president Ding  Reyes as a non-voting ex-officio member. Members of the SALIKA Council of Advisers include Maximo Kalaw Jr., Ma-an Hontiveros, Dr. Mina Ramirez, Sen. Gregorio Honasan, Mayor Edward Hagedorn, and Prof. Anna Torres.
…......…......

Bulletin No. 3-3 (August 14, 2000)
.
Anti-Poverty Commission seeks details
about Cooperative Education on Synergism..
.
…........MANILA, Philippines, August 14, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- The National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) has responded to a request submitted early last month to NAPC Vice Chairpersons Donna Gasgonia and Ana Maria Nemenzo by the SanibLakas ng Taongbayan Foundation proposing a partnership arrangement for financial assistance to the latter's program thrust for Cooperative Education on Synergism (C.E.S.).

….....The SanibLakas letter explained the importance of conscious application of the synergism principle to strengthen cooperatives, and the role that a strengthened cooperative sector can play in the national poverty-alleviation and -eradication program. NAPC faxed a letter to SanibLakas informing the latter that the matter had been referred to Commissioner for  Cooperatives Myron Gawigawen, and the commissioner himself immediately sought to establish a fast and reliable communication link with the proponent. In a message e-mailed to SanibLakas President Ding Reyes, Comm. Gawigawen said he might probably endorse the focused-education project for NAPC funding.  He had earlier sought to be furnished with more detailed information about the project, including cost estimates.

….....As this developed, Reyes and SanibLakas Board Secretary Joydee C. Robledo of the Foundation's  team for the C.E.S. have started refining the C.E.S. seminar modules by working to drastically compress the course from a total of four days in the original plan, down to only two. Others in the C.E.S. team are Salud Liporada, Hermie Manimtim, and SanibLakas Board members Pinky Serafica, Romy Lee Ancheta, and Ed Felipe de Vera.
.


Bulletin No. 3-4 (August 14, 2000)

Closer links eyed for W.E.D. 2001
and Earth Day celebrations in the country


............MANILA, Philippines, August 14, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- Integrate the year 2001 Philippine commemorations of Earth Day  in April and World Environment Day in June, but keep their respective autonomies and prerogatives to choose their themes and focuses. This has been the early consensus expressed in separate meetings of groups preparing for the two occasions. 

..........In an assessment meeting held in Blue Ridge, Quezon City, the Earth Day Network 2000 - Philippines participants formed the consensus that the big number of participating groups -- 2,013, or almost half the number of about 4,500 participating groups worldwide -- was not maximized in terms of being really felt by all, due to serious problems in official communication lines among registered member-groups in the network, and many had to depend on the releases of SanibLakas InfoShare which was able to wring out, and share far and wide, very limited information from various groups. 

..........InfoShare, which covered activities of the Network as well as of many other grouping of organizations and even government instrumentalities that did not join that network, was asked during the meeting to be the official information center for Earth Day 2001, but the SanibLakas representative clarified that it was already committed to perform that kind of role for World Environment Day 2001
.
.........Representing SanibLakas, Ding Reyes, who is also one of two co-chairpersons of the WED 2001 Ad Hoc Preparatory Council, proposed an integrated information system to be handled by Information jointly with the media bureau of SALIKA (Sanib-lakas ng Inang Kalikasan), with the two commemorations being dynamically linked to each other.  The body welcomed the idea, and the same desire for integration, short of a simplistic merger, was articulated and strongly supported in the WED 2001 coordinating commitrtee meeting at the United Nations office in Makati three days later..…......


Bulletin No. 3-5 (August 14, 2000)

'H.D.H.' Program: Network of centers
readied to promote 'empowering paradigms'

.........MANILA, Philippines, August 14, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- There will be a set of interlinking centers,  where people may meet and stay to feel, contemplate and discuss the empowering paradigms being promoted by the SanibLakas ng Taongbayan Foundation through its prograsm thrust for Human Development and Harmony (HDH). This was conceptualized last week after about a dozen doctoral candidates enrolled in the Asian Social Institute graduate course on applied cosmic anthropology visited Earthlite, the wholistic place at the center of the busy Cubao district in Quezon City last July 31, and started planning to set up their own "mini-Earthlite" right at the ASI campus in Ermita, Manila.

..........Earlier, members of the SanibLakas and SALIKA leadership bodies went to Maryknoll Ecological Sanctuary and the Tam-awan Village, both in Baguio City, and found these places to be conducive centers for deep meditation and personal experience-based sharings and discussions on such matters as deep ecology and active earth steardship, holistic health, lifepath-setting and fulfillment, sense of history and mission, ethics for earnest human conversations ("Sanib-Sinag"), "Art from the Heart of All," overall human development and harmony, among many other profound subjects.  These places would also hold poetry-readings, sketching lessons and group art sessions, folksong jammings and mini-play performances that would be consistent with these themes. 

............Places in Davao and Palawan, as well as the Earth Haven park in San Mateo, Rizal, the mini-forest in Miriam College and the one near the Manila City Hall, were also mentioned as possible sites to build these "centers of holistic synergies for enlightenment" (Chosen sites), as these places may be called.  Each of these would function as a "watering hole" of the most profound kind for "like-minded" people, and together they would function as a "network of transmitters of positive vibrations."

............SanibLakas HDH volunteers and consultants have started refining the basic concept for these centers, with basic minimums to be indicated. It is envisioned that some of these would be large areas like the Maryknoll sanctuary, but some can even be as small as a medium-sized room in the ASI campus. 
….........



Bulletin No. 3-6 (August 14, 2000)
.
Sanibkulay '1st Workshop Show,'
'Sanib-Tinig jamming both successful
.
.........MANILA, Philippines, August 14, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- Two talent-discovery and talent-enjoyment projects of the SanibLakas program thrust for Human Development and Harmony (HDH) held successful events at the Earthlite "alternative venue" in Cubao, Quezon City. 

............The First Sanibkulay Workshop Show, titled "Biyaya ng Kalikasan," which opened at The Gallery at Earthlite showcased some 60 oil, acrylic and pastel paintings by about 30 new painters of all ages, mostly adolescents/ The artists were all students of the Sanibkulay Visual Art Group's weekly "Easy Art Lessons." 

...........Headed by painter "Marz Z," Sanibkulay is spearheading the "Sanib-Sining" movement under the HDH program. This movement seeks to debunk elitist and separative ideas and practices concerning aesthetics by asserting that all humans are artists, and challenging every practicing artist to help the others discover, develop, share their hidden talents.

............Meanwhile, the second of the series of "Sanib-Tinig" new moon jamming sessions at the same venue, dubbed "Salikawit (Sali Ka sa Awit) ng Buhay",  was also a big success despite the sudden emergency situation that kept the main organizer away from the event. Singing environmental and other songs around the "Guitar Man" mascot were employees of Earthlite, Ginhawa Alternative Wellness Center, and Geo-Cafe, officers, volunteers and friends of SanibLakas,  and post-graduate students of the Asian Social Institute led by ASI President Dr. Mina Ramirez.

............The next "Sanib-Tinig" jamming session, titled "Maalaala Mo Kaya ... Ang Huling El Bimbo?" is scheduled to be held at the same venue on August 29, starting at about 6 in the evening.


Bulletin No. 3-7 (August 14, 2000)
.
Maryknoll center is SanibLakas partner
for Baguio 'Synergism Success Story' project
.
.........BAGUIO CITY, July 23, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) --   The SanibLakas ng Taongbayan Foundation forged here this morning a partnership with the Maryknoll Sisters' Center for Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation, also known as "Maryknoll Ecological Sanctuary" to team up on the former's project on the synergism success story  that was the Baguio people's dramatic rise together  from the rubble  of the  1990 killer earthquake.
.
....................The project was launched last Sunday, July 16, tenth anniversary of the Intensity 7.7 quake that left the city with  more than 400 dead, hundreds of injured, collapsed  buildings and houses, devoid of electric and water services, and a population gripped in grief, pain, hunger and panic.
.
....................In a meeting at her office as director of the ecological sanctuary known for its very-enlightening "Cosmic Journey," Sr. Ann Braudis agreed in principle  to the request  of SanibLakas Foundation president Ed Aurelio "Ding" Reyes  that the Center's administration become  the foundation's main Baguio-based partner for the project.  Both sides agreed to work out details of the partnership later.  Sr. Ann was accompanied in the meeting by Mary-Jane Foy-os,  the Center's administrator.
.
....................Aside from Reyes,  the SanibLakas  group that came to Baguio mainly for the "Cosmic Journey" experience was composed of  Marie Marciano, vice president; Joydee C. Robledo, board secretary; Board of Trustees members  Beth Roxas  and Pinky Serafica;  cinema artists Roy Alvarez  and Chin-Chin Gutierrez  who are both officers of SALIKA, the "citizens' green force" being built by SanibLakas; and painter Marz Z., founding head of the Sanibkulay Visual Arts Group who also heads the foundation's broad "Sanib-Sining Movement" project.
...
...................SanibLakas has already mounted a page for this project  in the foundation's  main website, with address "http://sanibalakas.faithweb.com".  The Maryknoll sisters decided to phase out its grade school in this city and to build  the ecological sanctuary in its place after the 1990 quake.  It converted  the school's auditorium into a permanent exhibit of  the  post-earthquake scenes, an installation art created by  Baguio's videomaker and all-rounded artist Eric de Guia, who is more widely  known  by his self-chosen name, "Kidlat Tahimik."



…......
Bulletin No. 2-1 (July 10, 2000)
Cyber-based network for Filipino spirit 
launched on KKK anniversary
.
…......MANILA, Philippines, July 10, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- "Filipinos for Life," a worldwide cyber-based (internet-based) project aimed to build a strong synergy among Filipinos everywhere was launched by the SanibLakas ng Taongbayan Foundation last Friday, July 7. It was the 108th founding anniversary of the Katipunan, the revolutionary organization that gathered the hundreds of ethno-linguistic groups and birthed our nation. "Filipinos for Life" will be both an international network and a "home website" was launched under the SanibLakas major program thrust called "Human Development & Harmony" (see related story below).

..........Designed ang created by SanibLakas CyberServices, the new website was uploaded to be hosted by Freeservers, and it carries the URL address, http://www.filipinos4life.faithweb.com which is an address very similar to that of SanibLakas itself.
.
.........Inspired by the concept of Ateneans for Life, an Internet-based organization formed by some Ateneans (website : http://www.aterneans4life.8k.com) which seeks to gather and project inspiring testimonies on how alumni from that school are living up to the ideals molded in them, Filipinos for Life will be promoting Love for Life, Integrity, Filipinism and Empowerment and the slogan, "Ipagmalaki ang Pagka-Pilipino!"  (Be Filipino and be Proud!). To help Filipinos imbibe the spirit of this slogan beyond sentimentality, the website will revive the old webpages of Kamalaysayan (Kampanya para sa Kamalayan sa Kasaysayan) and make these accessible to Filipinos for Life network members and all other website visitors.
.
…......The project was launched ahead of its original schedule, hastened by a set of messages received via the Internet by the SanibLakas president, Ed Aurelio 'Ding' Reyes, who founded Kamalaysayan in 1991 and wrote most of the materials in the old Kamalaysayan website which was hosted for free from 1996 to 1997 by Philippine International Network Server, Inc.
.
…......According to the initial explanation, the Filipinos for Life website will carry at the soonest possible time all or most of the following: (1) new and revived pages from the earlier website of the Kamalaysayan (Kampanya para sa Kamalayan sa Kasaysayan), providing points of inspiration from our people's rich heritage; (2) webpages pertaining to members of the association, highlighting their testimonial sharings on feeling proud as Filipinos, on maintaining the closest ties with the broad Family of Filipinos in the homeland and overseas, and on helping advance any or all of the LIFE ideals; (3) explanations on the network's members -- rights and privileges, duties and responsibilities, and process of application and acceptance; (4) reports on the projects fully or partially funded by contributions from members of the network; (5) forum pages for discussions of various topics under the theme of nation-building, sense of national pride, and collective sense of mission; (6) basic information on our country and people, for reference by students and other interested persons;  (7) current updates from links to websites of Manila's major dailies; (8) articles and photo galleries on the Philippine environment and art scene; (9) current updates on the synergism- and partnership-building efforts of SanibLakas ng Taongbayan Foundation, organizer of FILIPINOS FOR LIFE; (10) free-for-all pages for short personal greetings and announcements; (11) a gallery of active links to many other Filipino websites; and many others! …......
…......…......
…......Matters of membership, including types of members, duties and responsibilities, rights and privileges and the process of application and acceptance will be clarified within the next full month..


.Bulletin No. 2-2 (July 10, 2000)
.
SanibLakas explains program for 
Human Development and Harmony (HDH)
..
…......MANILA, Philippines, July 10, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- After working out the specifics of two of its major program thrusts, namely synergy-building in the environmental movement and the promotion of cooperative education on synergism, the SanibLakas ng Taongbayan Foundation recently came out with a comprehensive explanation of its overarching program thrust, called Human Development and Harmony or HDH

.........The HDH program was presented in an article by SanibLakas Foundation president Ding Reyes in an article solicited for inclusion in a primer on the 'Pananao' paradigm now in the process of adoption by the Commission on Population. By now copies have also been received by leaders of two other state commissions, specifically by Chairperson Aurora Reciña of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and Vice Chairpersons Donna Gasgonia and Ana Maria Nemenzo of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), as well as by Agrarian Reform Secretary Horacio 'Boy' Morales.

.........The full title of the article is The Innovative 'Pananao' Concept,  Comprehensive Human Rights, and the SanibLakas Thrust for Human Development and Harmony (full text here -->.) and it relates SanibLakas work with the "Pananao" concept, with comprehensive human rights, and with the government's anti-poverty programs.
 .
…......The various components of the HDH program are: 
.
…......1. Study and effective promotion, especially among the youth, of empowering paradigms in various fields, such as holistic health, deep ecology, philosophy and spirituality, sense of history and mission, civics and democratic governance, culture and creativity, gender sensitivity and equality,  reconstructive justice, and associative economics.
…......
…......2. The promotion of a new set of ethics for earnest human conversations, for the "the synergy of information, views and feelings that are shared with honest humility and are heeded with genuine respect," through face-to-face freewheeling sharing sessions called "Sanib-Sinag" and through its publication and cyberspace forum versions. 
…......
…......3. The promotion of a synergism-oriented view of aesthetics as a basic faculty that belongs to all humans, a view of art that is more embracive than competitive, and a view of artists as all humans
…......
…......4. The promotion of a collective sense of history and sense of mission for the Filipino nation with the launching of the Filipinos for Life network for Loving All Life, Integrity, Filipinism and Empowerment, in cooperation with the Kamalaysayan (Kampanya para sa Kamalayan sa Kasaysayan) campaign network for sense of history, which would promote a sense of mission based on the "bayanihan" and "kabayanihan.
…......
…......5. The promotion of international human harmony and planethood as "the 'Earth synergy' of all nations and races, of all species, of all land, air and water, and of all their energies" for environment conservation. 
…......
…......With the consolidation of widely diverse projects under one program thrust, Reyes has taken on the responsibility of being HDH program manager, and passed on the management of the C.E.S. program thrust to SanibLakas Board Secretary Joydee Robledo. Marie R. Marciano, SanibLakas Vice President leads the effort in the environmental movement and heads the newly-organized SanibLakas ng Inang Kalikasan or SALIKA.  A program management team has been set up for the environmental thrust and similar teams are still being set up for HDH and C.E.S.
…......
…......

Bulletin No. 2-3 (July 10, 2000)
.
'Sanib-Tinig' Jamming for Peace successful; 
next jam slated for July 31
.
…......MANILA, Philippines, July 10, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- The New Moon Jamming for Peace organized by SanibLakas Foundation at Earthlite in Cubao last July 2 was very successful, and preparations are underway for the next one, this time for the environment.

.........The "Sanib-Tinig" new moon jamming last July 2, titled "All We Are Saying... (Give Peace A Chance!!!) ...Is Blowin' In The Wind"  had pre-sold many tickets priced at only P20 apiece but most of those who got them were unable to come due to inclement weather.  Bulk of the people who enjoyed singing together English and Filipino songs carrying the theme of peace, along with hot 'salabat' (ginger broth) were Earthlite people who, by the organizers' policy, came in free. 
.
.…......Part of the proceeds has been set aside for the wide dissemination in Mindanao of SanibLakas Foundation's synergism-oriented "Message for Lasting Peace and Diversity-Enriched Harmony in Mindanao." The message is currently undergoing further refinement owing to the most recent developments in and concerning the island, the countryu's second-largest. The message was first drafted in General Santos City last February in a free-wheeling discussion between Christians and a representative of a Muslim sultan.
.
…......Meanwhile, the series of "Sanib-Tinig" new moon jamming titles and themes has been announced as follows: 
.
…......July 31: "Salikawit (Sali Ka sa Awit) ng Buhay" (environmental concerns) 
…......
…......August 29: "Maalaala Mo Kaya... Ang Huling El Bimbo?" (Filipino songs from Kundiman to the Eraserheads)
…......
…......September 28: "Imagine... Yesterday (With or Without the Beatles)" (Oldies But Goldies Down Memory Lane)…......
…......…......
…......In each of these jammings, there are no distinctions to be made as to "performers" and "audience." The activity has been designed to encourage freedom of expression and happy togetherness among people who may not yet have  developed their singing talents but already love to sing. This is not a concert where ordinary folks watch celebrity singers perform. In ."Sanib-Tinig" the common folks are the celebrating singers.
…......…......
…......The jammings are organuized by SanibLakas under its HDH program thrust, specifically the effort to organize a unified movement for the arts, called "Sanib-Sining."  This is being spearheaded by the Sanibkulay Visual Arts Group led by painter Marz Z., whose two dozen students will open a paintings exhibit at the art gallery of Earthlite this coming July 15.  Dubbed as the "Sanibkulay Workshop Show," the exjhibit is scheduled to run until August 6. 
…......…......
…......According to Marz, who has joined the SanibLakas program management team for HDH, the jamming on July 31 will also feature some poetry-reading and a participatory painting project.


Bulletin No. 2-4 (July 10, 2000)
'W.E.D. 2001': SanibLakas proposes 
focus on Family theme, participation..
…......MANILA, Philippines, July 10, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- Imagine this: for a whole year, government agencies, civic clubs, and non-government organizations led by United Nations agencies will be focusing on the family theme and preparing to mobilize entire families for the Philippine commemoration of World Environment Day in the first week of June 2001.

.........This loomed as a distinct and exciting possibility as SanibLakas proposed  such a theme through an eight-member coordinating committee for consideration in a meeting of the ad-hoc preparatory council this coming July 31 at the United Nations office in Makati. 
.…
..........SanibLakas proposed that the theme be "Human Families Caring for the Great Planetary Clan," with the Earth projected as the clan of all races and species, elements and energies, and caring described as "consciousness-raising, advocacy, symbolic acts and sustained conservation and restoration actions." 
.…
..........The coordinating committee, chaired by the SanibLakas president, met in the same office last Thursday, July 6, and worked out other proposals as well. The other proposals involved a systematic process of declaring commitments as to levels of participation, and clustering the participating organizations accordingly. One area of concern mentioned was how to insure a healthy mix of environmental advocacy organizations, with established track records as such, with all the many other groups. 
..
…......Actively involved in the year-long preparation for World Environment Day 2001, with its head being one of the two co-chairpersons of the ad-hoc preparatory council, the Foundation had earlier declared in its article on Human Development and Harmony: "Whatever our role in this would be, it will definitely be characterized by emphasis on building the unity among the established environmental groups and all the new ones that can be mobilized, to help further develop teamwork among the former and sustained and higher-level involvement in environment conservation among the latter. The encouragement of creativity all around would be coupled with participatory processes for deciding crucial matters, the better for all concerned to be firmly united in the spirit of "rejoicing in one another's successes" and of collectively "owning" the entire commemoration.
.…......


Bulletin No. 2-5 (July 10, 2000)

SALIKA starts listing 100 charter
members; Exec com details plans

…......MANILA, Philippines, July 10, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- There will only be a hundred charter or founding members for Saniblakas ng Inang Kalikasan or SALIKA now being organized to help build a sub-culture of closer teamwork and miore effective harmony in the Philippine environment movement.

.........This was the decision reached in a recent meeting of the SALIKA Executive Committee headed by veteran broadcaster Marie Marciano. SALIKA has started processing accomplished application forms late last month and has moved to prepare for the first of a series of free seminars to be given to new members.

…......"The first 100 members will be considered the founding members of SALIKA, and they will form the first batches in the seminars," Marciano said. She added that application forms and membership fees are being accepted by all SALIKA officers and at the administration office of Earthlite, 4th floor C.O.D. Bldg., Cubao, Quezon City. Aside from Marciano, the other members of the SALIKA Executive Committee are Beth Roxas, Roy Alvarez, Manny Perez, Chinchin Gutierrez, and Ding Reyes (ex-officio).
.
…......SALIKA has also started forming a Board of Advisers from among its early recruits, including such personalities as Junie Kalaw, Maan Hontiveros and Louie Tabing. 
….........



Bulletin No. 2-6 (July 10, 2000)

.
Environment Broadcasters launch 
'Talakayang Bayan' forum series..
.

…......MANILA, Philippines, July 10, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- The Environmental Broadscast Circle or EBC launched last Friday at the Manila City Hall a series of media forums on the people's concerns, called "Talakayang Bayan."

........The first session focused on the fights against poverty, that date being the second anniversary of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC). Cabinet Secretaries Horacio 'Boy' Morales of Agrarian Reform and Alfredo Lim of Interior and Local Government joined NAPC Vice Chairpersons Donna Gasgonia, for the government sector, and Ana Maria 'Princess' Nemenzo, for the basic sectors, in outlining the anti-poverty thrusts of the Estrada administration. A crowd of more than a hundred people gamely waited for the whiole affair to run its course. Welcome remarks earlier were given by Manila City Mayor Joselito Atienza. It was the first instance of partnership between EBC and NAPC.

..........Presented at the gathering was the National Anti-poverty Action Agenda, with a much shorter version in the form of a covenant signed by participants at the end of the affair. 
.
…......Environmental Broadcaster Beth Roxas, EBC Executive Director, teamed up with Ding Reyes, a fellow EBC co-founder, in emceeing the event.
.




Bulletin No. 1-1 (June 10, 2000)

NATCCO backs synergism-focused
education for cooperatives
NCM 'certain' to follow suit
..

…......MANILA, Philippines, June 10, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- The National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO), one of the strongest groupings of  cooperative organizations in the country, has decided to support the drive for a synergism-focused education for cooperative leaders and members.  In a resolution passed by its General Assembly held in Iloilo City last May 21, NATCCO decided to "officially promote within itself, and in its sphere of influence, a focused education on the principle of synergism and its applications in cooperativism, and integerate such in NATCCO's cooperative education." (full text here.

.........Days later, former Bulacan Gov. Roberto Pagdanganan, who heads the National Cooperative Movement (NCM), declared that he wants NCM to make a similar stand.

…......Proposed by Ms. Caridad Maalid of the Visayas Cooperative Development Center (VICTO), the resolution was passed unanimously, and mandated NATCCO itself and its members to "explore and forge arrangements with academic and similar institutions in pursuance of this resolution," and to "generate whatever additional resources shall be necessary if this focused education efforts cannot be...covered within the existing education programs." 
.
…......Before the approval, with then outgoing NATCCO chairman Cristeto Oliva of the Bicol Cooperative Development Center (BCDC) presiding, an inquiry was made by a Mindanao delegate about implementation systems and mechanisms. VICTO referred the matter to its invited guest, SanibLakas Foundation president Ed Aurelio C. Reyes, who was present at the assembly also to represent Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr. (head of the Senate Committee on Cooperatives), but Reyes said the matter was best left to the respective leaders of the cooperative organizations. Reyes had earlier drafted the resolution, with valuable inputs from Magsaysay, Pagdanganan, and also from Romulo Villamin, regional officer for Southeast Asia of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), who was with Reyes during the NATCCO Assembly.
.
…......NATCCO is one of the largest among cooperative groups in the Philippines, strong enough to garner a seat in the House of Representatives in 1998 through the party-list system. The seat is now occupied by Rep. Cresente Paez, who was cited by another resolution for his outstanding performance as a legislator representing the cooperative sector.  NATCCO groups together the regional cooperative federations and development centers, namely, VICTO, BCDC, Northern Luzon Federation of Cooperatives and Development Centers (NORLUCEDEC), Cagayan Valley Confederation of Cooperatives (CAVALCO), Cooperatives Education and Development Center (CEDC), Tagalog Cooperative Development Center (TAGCODEC), MASS-SPECC Cooperative Development Center (MASS-SPECC), and Coop-Life Mutual Benefit Services Association (CLIMBS).
…......
…......Obet Pagdanganan, who has been noted for his work that strengthened the cooperative sector in Bulacan and authored a book titled A Call for Cooperative Revolution, was asked by Reyes via e-mail whether he wanted NCM to have a similar decision, and he gave a very emphatic affirmative response. "Do I want NCM to have a similar resolution? Is the Pope Catholic?" Pagdanganan asked rhetorically in his e-mail message, adding "let's talk real soon." 
…......
…......"This has made it an outright certainty that NCM would soon formalize such a decision," Reyes, who directly heads the committee for the foundation's Cooperative Education on Synergism (C.E.S.) program thrust, told SanibLakas InfoShare.
…......
…......In a subsequent interview with InfoShare, Prof. Hermie Manimtim, NCM secretary and faculty member of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines Institute on Cooperatives (PUP-IC), enthusiastically expressed support for Pagdanganan's stand. She immediately started promoting the SanibLakas pamphlet which fully explains the basis for the call for cooperatives to undertake a focused study of the synergism principle. The pamphlet carries a prologue from Pagdanganan.  (full texts of pamphlet items here.)
…......
…......Meanwhile, Dr. Paciano Bacani, chair of the Philippine Cooperative Center (PCC) and a former head of NATCCO, has invited Reyes to attend a meeting of PCC leaders scheduled for this month to air an appeal for the PCC itself to make a similar decision. Both NATCCO and NCM are members of the PCC. Bacani and Reyes were together at the NATCCO General Assembly in Iloilo City.
.



Bulletin No. 1-2 (June 10, 2000)
.

Successful 'Handshakes & Hugs' ceremonies 
held for recent World Environment Day 

…..MANILA, Philippines, June 10, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- No less than ten nationalities were represented in three "Handshakes and Hugs for Earth Synergy 2000" ceremonies held by the SanibLakas ng Taongbayan Foundation before and during the commemoration of World Environment Day (W.E.D.) 2000, in partnership with the Davao-based Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID) and with Earthlite, the "wholistic place" in Cubao, Quezon City. Filipinos, Indians and Indonesians had the biggest number of representatives, with others coming from Srilanka, East Timor, Burma, Ireland, Italy, Israel and the United States.
…......
…......Centered on a chorused recitation of an Earth synergy poem/prayer titled A Giant Leap for Humankind (text here), which has been translated into about a dozen translations (translations), "Handshakes and Hugs" (concept & design) was done around the time of the recent Earth Day 2000 in various countries around the world, including the Philippines (with Filipino, Japanese, Chinese and New Zealander participants), Sweden, Pakistan, Ireland, Japan, and the United States.
…..
…..The ceremony was held twice at Earthlite on W.E.D. itself, June 5 after the organizers realized that about 40 people had come to the venue an hour and a half before the 7 p.m. schedule. So the ceremony was held both at 5:30 and at 7:30, with attendance somewhat overlapping. Last May 28, SanibLakas and the IID Manila office represented by Merci Ferrer, organized the "Handshakes and Hugs" ceremony at an Italian restaurant in also in Cubao, for some 16 Filipinos and non-Filipino friends who had flown in from Davao City with IID executive director Gus Miclat. The ceremony was held upon their arrival in Manila because the non-Filipinos had a hectic schedule ahead and were booked to leave  the country before June 5.
…..
…..In all these "Handshakes and Hugs" ceremonies held after last Earth Day, the first line was changed from "On Earth Day 2000" to "For Earth Synergy 2000."

.          The W.E.D. festivities at Earthlite opened with a live poetry-and-artworks presentation by Penny R. Velasco, titled, Are You the Forest King? Hours before, Ms. Velasco had just given a performance at  the Alcantara residence in Blue Ridge, Quezon City, before about 30 people from the Mt. Banahaw foothill town of Dolores, Quezon.
..
…..Rev. Philemon Castro of the Annunciation Orthodox Church led the inter-faith invocation prayer for the W.E.D. affair which also read a sharing of a message from United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan (text here). 
…......
…......Another feature at the gathering was the participatory painting project, titled, Hands for Homeplanet Harmony. This was the W.E.D. project of the Sanibkulay Visual Arts Group.  Marz Zafe, head of this Earthlite-based synergism-oriented group (more info here), designed the artwork and led in the "Sanib-Pinta" (participatory painting) activity, and was helped to prepare the canvas by young Sanibkulay art lessons students Nicole Quicho, Charist Mopera, Rachel Nina V. Rosario, and Katrina Joela O. Evans.  The dozens of "Handshakes and Hugs" participants joined in by making acrylic-paint imprints of their hands according to Zafe's design. They also formed six groups for freewheeling discussions and took some pineapple juice served by Sanibkulay as they all awaited their turns at the canvas .
…..
…..Still another part of the program was the formal dedication of the  "Green Shelf for Deep Ecology" of the Bahay Liwanag (Emilio Jacinto Center for Transformative Consciousness) library at Earthlite. Copies of Are You the Forest King?  by Velasco, Biped on the Blue Ball - Second Edition by Ed Aurelio Reyes, and other books and magazines were acquired for inclusion in the initial holdings of the "Green Shelf" project.
…..
…..Items that had to be postponed for technical reasons included the scheduled showing of the video about persistent organic pollutants (POPs) titled Drumbeat for the Earth, and the distribution of seeds for tree-planting.…......
…......



Bulletin No. 1-3 (June 10, 2000)
.

Local UN office taps SanibLakas head
to co-chair body preparing for W.E.D. 2001

…..
…..MANILA, Philippines, June 10, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- Most of the people invited by the Manila office of the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) to a meeting last May 31 did not even know about June 5 every year being "World Environment Day." But once local UNIC chief  Luis Torres told them that the UN General Assembly proclaimed it so way back in 1972, they wanted to do much more than what they were being asked to do -- which was merely to help distribute packets of seeds of the African kenaf plant in observance of the event. 
…..
…..It was less than a week before W.E.D. 2000, so there was practically no time anymore to plan and do anything. Before they parted that afternoon, they decided to form an ad hoc coordinating body to preside over a full-year preparation for a Philippine commemoration of W.E.D. 2001 commensurate to the day's significance.  Mr. Torres acknowledged as co-chairmen of the ad hoc committee a leading forester of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the president of the Saniblakas ng Taongbayan Foundation, both present at the meeting, to represent the government and the non-government sectors, respectively.
..
….....There was an easy consensus that neither June 5 as W.E.D. nor the whole June as the Philippine Environment Month has been widely known, much less observed with any activity.
…..
…..Many people, so the observation went, would readily confuse it with Earth Day (April 22 every year) which has been more an NGO-based affair in contrast to W.E.D. which has been an inter-government affair.  In fact, days before the meeting, SanibLakas InfoShare had widely disseminated via the Internet the joint letter written as early as last March by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) executive director Klaus Toepfer and Earth Day 2000 World Wide Network chairman and chief executive director Denis Hayes appealing to all environmental groups and governments to link the two dates together through many activities.



Bulletin No. 1-4 (June 10, 2000)

.
SALIKA starts accepting applications 
for charter membership


…..MANILA, Philippines, June 10, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- The new "citizens' green force" which aims to promote a synergy of complementing environmental groups and efforts has started registering applications for membership. 

…..According to veteran broadcaster Marie R. Marciano, leading organizer of Saniblakas ng Inang Kalikasan (SALI.KA), those who become "seedling members" by the time of the organization's founding assembly sometime in the fourth quarter of this year will be considered founding members.  They will be given general orientation and specialized skills seminars before they become "fully-grown tree" members of the "green force." 

…..On the registration form (sample here) each  applicant would choose
her or his preferred line of work among widely varied options. These options include the following: Land, Air, Water, Energy, Campaigns, Art & Culture, Finance, Legal, Education, Media, Enforcement ("HULIKA"), Science, Spiritual (inter-faith), and Secretariat. Other options may be specified and chosen. 

…..Four types of membership may be applied for: student, with a P50-membership or annual fee; regular, P100; professional, P300; and sustaining, P1,000 and above. 

…..Marciano told SanibLakas InfoShare in an interview last night that there are already very many environmental groups in the Philippines and the challenge now  lies in building strong unity and complementation. Lack of unity was manifested among the country's major environmental groups during last April's Earth Day 2000 commemoration, which was more successful in drawing in various groups that could not be expected to underake "sustained hard work on the ground" for environment conservation. Calendar-based festivals would have been good occasions for such "greenhorn greens" to meet and join established environmental organizations to sustain their interest and nurture the growth of their own commitment beyond special festivals. SanibLakas actually issued a message as early as last November (1999) to address this concern about lack of unity (text here).
.
….."Complementation cannot happen accidentally. Without earnest coordination work based on the groups' predisposition to unite there can be no complementation," she said, "adding that if we do not have effective  coordination, we are going to have countertproductive duplications and competition instead of complementation."

…..SALI.KA organizers are conscious not to duplicate or compete with  other environment organizations or "pirate" the latter's members. The "green force" will primarily recruit among individuals who are not yet organized. It will also accept members of  other environmental organizations, but will task and train them to be model members of those other organizations. 
.
.          Through seminars and other means of motivation, all SALI.KA members will be molded to be effective and exemplary propagators and practitioners within their respective organizations of (1) a strong personal commitment; (2) sense of responsibility and efficiency relative to any tasks given and accepted; (3) continuing development and sharing of individual skills and knowledge needed for better effectiveness in the service of Mother Nature; and (4) readiness to be a team player and to maximize synergy in all facets for any and all efforts for Mother Nature.
.
.          She said interested parties may fill out registration forms at Earthlite, 4th floor, C.O.D. bldg., Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City, or send her an e-mail message via <kasalika@yahoo.com>.



Bulletin No. 1-5 (June 10, 2000)

Videofest organizers seek deeper review 
of E-Day 2000 commemoration  in RP

…..…..MANILA, Philippines, June 10, 2000 (SanibLakas InfoShare) -- The Tanghalang Lakbay Pinoy festival organizing committee for the recent Ta-Nood Kalikasan Video Festival for Earth Day 2000 is planning to write to the leaders of the Earth Day Network 2000 - Philippines to ask for a venue for a broad airing of assessment points by groups that had registered with the network. 
.
.          Concluding its own assessment of organizing and conducting the video festival through four disctinct stages from August 1999 to the end of April 2000, the videofest organizers headed by broadcast journalist Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, TLP managing partner and videofest executive producer, the festival organizers said whoever will lead in similar commemorations next year could benefit much from a more in-depth assessment of the recent Earth Day festival. 
.
.          Ta-Nood Kalikasan Video Festival for Earth Day 2000 went through its conceptualization and initial preparation period from August to December 3, 1999; the seminar series stage from December 4, 1999 to February 28, 2000 holding six video-making seminar workshops in Metro Manila, Puerto Princesa, General Santos and Guimaras (off Iloilo), with 74 seminar graduates; the video production and post-production (editing and tapes copying) from February 29 to April 21; and the video-showing of about 25 titles of participant videos and dozens of guest videos during the festival proper from April 23-30 with five venues spread across Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao (namely, Quezon Circle and Earthlite in Quezon City; and in the cities of Puerto Princesa, Iloilo and General Santos).
.
.          Led by Hontiveros-Baraquel and videofest organizer Ed Aurelio Reyes, the committee pointed out its own shortcomings and modest successes at each stage and underscored the lessons to be learned and also the loose ends to be tied.
.
.          The video festival organizers said up to the last minute, many people including the organizers of the Earth Day festival grounds at the Quezon Circle were still not familiar with the video festival.
.
.          While the effect of Earth Day having fallen this year on Black Saturday was so real that many considered the commemoration as a one-day affair, coordination and publicity work by the Network left much to be desired, the committee members told SanibLakas InfoShare. They said they expected the Network's decision-makers to review the prudence of having designated separate areas for educational booths (Quezon Circle) and for the selling booths (Manila Seedling Bank), which greatly reduced the number of visitors to either area. 
.
.          Weeks before Earth Day 2000, TLP wrote a formal letter to Philippine Earth Day coordinator Raul Contreras appealing for reconsideration of that decision. The May 28 meeting of Network leaders, minus Contreras, with representatives of some of the participating groups centered mainly on thanking the groups and high-profile personalities and issuing souvenir figurines to some of them, and there was no assessment undertaken where the participants could air their views. 


please send your own information on partnerships to sanib_alam@yahoo.com


< back to website opening window