A TRIBUTE TO BENIGNO AQUINO JR.

Photo source: moviemandu.blogspot.com

Today, August 21, 2014 marks the 31st anniversary of the assassination of former senator Benigno Aquino Jr., a former long time political opponent of the former President of the Philippines, Ferdinand E. Marcos. He was shot in the head on the tarmac of then Manila International Airport, now Ninoy Aquino International Airport aptly named after him. He was returning home after a 3-year self exile in the US.

To commemorate that unforgettable event, which shaped the landscape of a new political scene in my beloved country, I am re-publishing my poem:

YELLOW: COLOR OF BLOOD

Yellow became the color of a nation

when one of its favorite son was slain

Shot in the head, body on the tarmac,

never given a chance to have his voice heard

Conspiracy theories abound from within, 

as to whom the real trigger man was

Controversial investigations produced

no definitive results, only scapegoats.

Yellow ribbons tied on trees and houses

kinda reminded me of a popular song—

only to show love of the whole nation

Miniature yellow ribbons on buttons

became favorite car emblems, as well

Yellow tee-shirts flooded the market

carrying the slogan of the times:

“Ninoy, you’re not alone!”

So you see, the color yellow means a lot

to every freedom loving Filipinos;

It was blood and guts of our beloved martyr

who knew beforehand he was going to be killed

yet, defied the odds--despite of his heart condition,

insisted on returning to his beloved motherland.

His assassination was pivotal—

to a despotic ruler’s downfall

eventually restoring democracy

to a nation which was formerly

under a decade of martial law!

Engr.VV - D' Poetic Engineer

Please check out my other poems at: http://www.amazon.com/author/engr.vv

PAMWE GALA

Outgoing PAMWE President, Hilda Gigioli presenting the certificate of membership to yours truly with the incoming President, Carl Layno in the background.

On August 9, 2014 I attended my first PAMWE Gala together with my lady, Ms. Aida Hulen. It was a night full of fun and surprises. For those of you who are not familiar with PAMWE, it's an acronym which stands for Philippine Association of Metropolitan Washington Engineers. It's a non-profit, non-partisan, professional organization whose three (3) main goals are:

       1) To support engineering students with scholarships in Philippine colleges and universities

       2) To provide engineering expertise and funding for community development projects in the Philippines

       3) To assist members in job placement and professional licensing as well as improving their technical knowledge

To learn more about PAMWE, please visit our website: http://pamwe.org. Being new to this organization, I feel honored by the warm welcome extended to us by its officers and fellow members most especially by Engr. Rafael Discipulo and Engr. William Mendoza with whom we had a lively conversation. We had fun on the dance floor although occasionally we got hit by "flying" enthusiastic dancers. We truly enjoyed the evening which was topped off with winning one of the raffle prizes.

The 2014 PAMWE GALA IN PICTURES 

With Pablito Alarcon, Founder & President of Feed the Hungry & Ms. Cora 

With Consul General Ariel Penaranda, a fellow Marinduqueno

With Con-Gen Ariel Penaranda and his wife, Rowena Dayanghirang Penaranda

Engr. & Mrs. Rafael Discipulo, Engr. William Mendoza & daughter and my lady, Ms. Aida Hulen

 More photos from our table...

With Sonny and Ceres Busa & Mrs. Rowena Dayanghirang Penaranda

With Engr. Alex Miravite

The engineers and guests showing their dancing prowess

The famous line dancing, the evening is not complete without it

More dancing...

With my lady and inspiration to all my poems, Ms. Aida Pastoral Hulen

To all PAMWE officers and fellow members, I really appreciate the memorable evening with you on our 34th anniversary dinner dance gala. I consider it an honor to be a part of such wonderful and caring organization. Congratulations to Carl Layno and other officers for a job well done!  

PS. Please check out my Algebra and poetry books at: http://www.amazon.com/author/engr.vv. Discover how an engineer like me was able to weave out poetic words of love and wisdom. I would appreciate any feedbacks/comments. Thank you!

Engr.VV - D' Poetic Engineer