My Fourteen Favorite Poems

My Fourteen Favorite Poems

by

Melchor F. Cichon

@2013 Melchor F. Cichon

All rights are reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the original publisher.

Printed in Iloilo City

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PREFACE AND DEDICATION

Preface

There are parts of our lives that are segregated because of their value.

The poems that are included in this anthology were selected not only because they have won medals or have been published in either in magazines or in a book, but because each time I read each one of them reminds me of my life. 

The poem Ham-at Madueom Ro Gabii reminds me of those days when Martial Law was still being enforced, the hardships our people were experiencing. The poem Sa Mga Nagkaeabali nga Silak reminds me of our heroes who died fighting for our freedom. The poem Si Ambong, Ati reminds me of the time when I saw someone picking up a cigarette butt in a street in Iloilo City just to have a smoke and the time when I was along the street in Cubao Supermart, Quezon City,  when a man just grabbed the sandwich of a man eating along that street, and start munching it as he walked away.

Dedication

This book could not have been written if not for the help of my wife, Mrs. Pilma Dollolasa Cichon, hence this work is lovingly dedicated to her.

And to all our children and their spouses, and our grandchildren: Melchor, Jr., Jennifer,Sean Marie, and Kate Sariah;   Vanessa Cichon-Mabeza, Ruel and Ruvan; Ranel Vincent, Apple, and Ace; and Eugene and Mykha.

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Contents

 Ham-at Madueon ro Gabii, Inay?

Inay, ham-at madueom ro gabii?

May buean, Toto, ugaling may galipud nga gae-um.

Inay, ham-at madueom ro gabii?

May bombilya ro mga poste't Akelco,

Ugaling may brown-out.

Inay, ham-at madueom ro gabii?

Ginsinindihan ko ro atong kingke,

Ugaling ginapinaeong it hangin.

Inay, ham-at madueom ro gabii?

Toto, matueog ka eon lang

Ay basi hin-aga temprano pa

Magsilak ro adlaw.

Indi, 'Nay ah!

Sindihan ko't uman ro atong kingke.

Inay

Inay, matuod nga may diploma eon ako

Pero ibis ag dayok man pirmi rang suea.

Pumanaw ako nga owa mag-eaong

Bangud nga indi ko matiis nga makita kang

Gatangis kakon.

Inay, kon manggaranon eang ako,

Eukaton ko ro atong eanas,

Patindugan kita’t bungalow,

Bakean kita’t kolord TV ag Hi-Fi.

Ugaling, Inay

Hasta makaron

Istambay man ako gihapon

Ay owa kuno ako’t diputadong maninoy.

 

Eva, Si Adan!

Eva, Si Adan

Bangud ginabot ka lang kuno sa gusok ni Adan

Agud may iyang hampang-hampangan,

Maistorya-istoryahan han kag mapautwas-utwasan

Sa oras nga iyang kinahanglan

Madamu na nga ngalan

Ang ilang ginsulat sa imo nga dalan:
Salome, Magdalena, Maria Clara, Bagyo Esyang.

Bangud mahuyang kuno ang imong dughan,

Maski ang bagyo nga makaluka sang butong

Kag mapapalunod sang barko

Ginapangalanan man gihapon sa imo.

Pero waay madumdumi sang mga lalaki

Nga maski si Mark Anthony

Hapatiyog-tiyog ni Cleopatra

Maski sa guwa sang kama.

Waay nila madumdumi nga si Gabriela gali

Ang nagpahaba sang dalan ni Diego Silang.
Kag sa EDSA, kon waay ang mga kabayo mo
Maghigot sang rosas sa punta sang armalite n Freddie

Sigruo waay si Cory makasindi sang kandila

Sa ermita sang Malakanyang.

Maayo gid sila magpalitik kon paano

Ka lang nila mapasunod-sunod sa ila ikog.

Waay gid sila gapalitik kon paano mo magamit

Ang tanan mo nga utok, lawas kag hulag

Para kita tanan makatakas sa linaw sang utang.

Waay gid kuno kita sang animo

Magdumala sang gobyerno o simbahan.

Maayo lang kuno kita mghibi-hibi, magkiri-kiri

Kon magumon ang hilo mo sa imong salag-utan.

Kon madamo ang nabal-an mo kag mag hambal ka

Sang kuntra sa sulondan nga sila man ang may hinimuan

Isa ka ka amasona kag dapat lang nga isilda.

O kon indi gani myembro ka sang grupo ni Brainda.

Eva, tupong gid lang kamo ni Adan

Sa tanan nga lugar, sa tanan nga butang.

Kon nga-a imo siya nga ginapagustuhan?

O gusto mo gid lang nga ipadumdom

Nga kon nga-a makapapungko siya sang leon

Bangud ikaw ang iyang kaupod.

Limog It Sangka Ati

Maeapad nga kaeanasan rang hasayran.

Owa’t eabot ro mga kabukiran

Kon siin ako libre gapangayam.

Nakapaligos man ako sa Akean

Bag-o pa man kaabot ro mga putian.

Nagapailig ako it botong halin sa bukid

Hasta sa Kalibo kon siin rang gamut ginabaylo

Sa asin, sa ibis, sa dayok nga madaea ko

Sa amon nga maeamig nga baryo.

Pero pag-abot it mga putian

Rang kalibutan hay gin-islan:

Bukon eon kuno ako ro dag-ana

It mga kaeanasan ag mga kabukiran.

Indi eon kuno ako makakaingin,

Indi man kuno ako makapangaeam

Kon siin rang mga kagueangan natawo

Ag kon siin man ako natawo.

Kon tueokon mo ako maskin ano kataeum,

Indi magbaylo rang kueong nga buhok

O rang itom nga panit.

Paris kimo, kon indi mo ako pagbatunon nga tawo

Indi man ako mabaylo.

Rang kanta maskin ano ka baskog

O maski ano kanami

Indi mo man gihapon pagpamatian

Ay imo man lang nga ginabungoe-bungoean.

May aton man kuno nga gobyerno

Agod ro tanan hay taw-an it katarungan;

Pero ham-at kon kami gusto magsueod sa mga istablisimento

Indi pa ngani kami kaabot sa gate ginatabog eon kami it mga guard.

May aton man kuno nga mga laye

Agod ro tanan hay may kaginhawahan;

Pero ham-at ro iba may bugas, may suea

Samtang kami katueok eang?

Si  Ambong, Ati

Si Ambong, Ati—maitum.

Kueong ra buhok, gision ra eambong, gasiki.

Gakung-kong-kung-kong ka maeupsi nga eapsag

Gapakalimos sa Jaro Cathedral, sa J.M. Basa Street

Ay gintabog eon ra pamilya sa eugta nga anay ginaayaman nanda’t haeo.

Si Ambong, Ati, maitum, indi kantigo magbasa, indi kantigo magsueat

Maski ka anang ngaean ay sa andang barangay owa’t eskuylahan.

Si Ambong, Ati, ginasinggit-singgitan, ginadela-delaan

It mga unga kon imaw mag-agi sa daean ay maitum.

Ginapahadlok it mga nanay sa andang gatangis nga mga unga.

O sa mga unga nga indi magtueog.

Kon fiesta, ginataw-an si Ambong it salin nga suea

Ginasueod sa plastic o sa bag-ong bukas nga lata.

Kon bukon ngani, ginabagsakan it gate.

Agod makayupyop it sigarilyo, gapamueot si Ambong it upos sa kalye.

Agod makasamit it hamburger o juice sa pakite,

Ginapaeapitan ni Ambong ro nagakaon maski sin-o nga anang maagyan.

Pag-abot it gabii, maeugad si Ambong sa sidewalk o sa waiting shed

Kahulid ka anang maeupsing eabsag—

Mayad eang kon may karton nga banig ag owa’t baha o uean --

Agod magbaskug eon man ra tuhod sa pagpakalimos pagka-aga.

Si Ambong, Ati—maitum. Ra ele-ele, ra hibi, ra pangamuyo

Indi mabatian, indi mabatyagan it gobyerno sa siyudad it tawo.

Ra singgit it tabang hay singgit sa Pluto.

Si Ambong, Ati-- maitum, indi makit-an it atong gobyerno.

Kon Dinagyang, sa selebrasyon etsa pwera si Ambong.

Eutay kuno imaw sa mga bisitang dumueo-ong.

Si Ambong, Ati, maitum, ginatabog it blue guard

Bag-o pa man imaw maka-eapak sa gate it Atrium ag SM Shoemart

Kunta may Gloria nga magbatak kay Ambong sa libtong it kaimueon

Agod sa ulihi ro gobyerno may buwes nga masukot kay Ambong;

Agod sa ulihi makabakae man imaw it Levis o barong

Agod sa ulihi makaeskuyla man sa U.P. ra mga inapo;

Agod sa ulihi owa kana’t magtamay, owa’t magtabog

Kon imaw mag-agto sa SM City ag sa Atrium.

Si Ambong, Ati--maitum. Apo ni Maniwantiwan.

Ag Filipino. Pares kimo, pares kakon.

Kon ham-at owa imaw sa listahan it mga Filipino nga dapat buligan?

Kon ham-at indi imaw makasueod sa atong ugsaran?

Kon ham-at indi naton imaw maagbayan?

Kon ham-at indi imaw makadungan katon magkaon sa restauran?

Siyudad man baea ra’t tawo, indi baea, banwa? Indi baea, banwa?

Sa Mga Nagkaeabali Nga Silak

Inay, puwede eon baea kita magpamisa?

Total naga-asaw-asaw eon lang man ag ro baha hay owa eon sa karsada.

Ro linti nga anay nagsiad it eangit hay napaeong eon man.

Ro daeogdog nga anay gabayo kang dughan hay haumpawan eon gid man

Ag ro baybay nga nagwenaeas anay hay nagahueagok eon lang man.

Ro baeangaw nga nagpanago sa kilat ag sa nagahagunos nga hangin

Hay nagahiyumhiyom eon sa sidlangan.

(Pila eon ngani makaron ro baeayran sa misa rikyem?

Si Padre Salve baea gademanda pa gihapon it down payment

Bag-o imaw magsuksok ka anang sutana?)

Sueoron dayon naton sa karsada, sa kaeanasan, sa kagueangan

Ratong mga silak nga nagkaeabali, nagkaeataktak

Sa pageusot sa madamoe ag maitum nga gaeom

Masabwagan eang kita it kahayag.

Kon aton sandang hikit-an

Aton sandang haearan it eab-as ag bag-ong buskad nga sampaguita.

Kon may matipon eon kita nga kuwarta,

Patindugan naton sanda’t graniting rebolto sa plasa.

Toto, indi eang kita anay magpamisa

Ay ro kaagahon hay gaeagiik pa

Ag ro kaeangitan sa bibi’t tueondan,

Sa pageunip it adlaw, hay mapueapuea pa.

Owa’t eabot kara, gabaha pa ro dagsa sa karsada ag sa plasa.

Indi kuno ra malempiyuhan it Metro Aides

Ay sinipa eon sanda

Bangud ro gintagana nga inugsweldo kanda

Hay ginsueod sa ibang buesa.

Toto, mayad pa nga mangamuyo eang anay kita

Nga ro nakaeusot nga silak

Sa maitum ag madamoe nga gaeom

Hay indi nagtiurok sa atong tagipusuon.

 Indi Ko Masueat Rang Pinakamasubo Nga Binaeaybay

Indi ko masarangean nga isueat rang pinakamasubo nga binaeaybay.

Maskin sa tunga-tunga eon ako’t eangit ag eogta.

Ro imong pagsabat it huo kakon sa may baybayon it Boracay

Samtang gatunod ro adlaw hay sapat eon nga akon nga ikalipay.

Indi ko masarangan nga isueat rang pinakamasubo nga binaeaybay.

Paris makaron nga ugsad ro buean ag maeamig ro huyop it hangin it Disyembre,

Sapat eon para kakon nga magpahiyomhiyom.

Disyembre man kato ro primero nimo nga haru kakon.

Indi ko masarangean nga isueat ko rang pinakamasubo nga binaeaybay.

Maskin indi ko eon haeos maabut ring uyahon agod akon nga pislitpisliton;

O mahutikan ka man lang paris tag bag-o pa eang kita nga nagaumpisa ku atong pangabuhi.

Sapat eon nga makatueog ako kon ginakumkum ko ro singsing nga ginsuksuk mo sang tudlo.

Ag kon mag-abot kid man ro oras nga magtunod ro adlaw

Ag ro gabii hay mag-eapnaag sa bilog ko nga kalibutan,

Indi ko man gihapon pagsueaton ro pinakamasubo ko nga binaeaybay.

Madumduman ko eang ikaw, gahiyomhiyom eon dayon ako.

Drayber

Kinahangean

Gid baea

Nga magkaeapyot

Ag magtueueok

Sa unahan

It imong dyip

Ro imong mga sumaeakay

Agud madugangan

Ru eagting

It sensilyo

Sa buesa

Ku imong konduktor?

Nanay Soriang

Samtang nagakaeanta ro mga agagangis

Sa palibot it andang baeay,

Ginatinueok ni Nanay Soriang ro nagakaupos

Nga tatlong kandila sa altar

Nga ginapalibutan it eapoy eon nga

Mga rosas ag orkid.

Nagyuhum imaw pagkadumdom nana

Ku ratong mga mahapdi ag matam-is

Nga mga oras kon siin

Imaw kato hay isaea pa nga duyan, haboe ag hagdan

Ku ap-at nana nga mga onga.

Apang makaron...

Kon hin-uno pa nana kinahangean

Ro mga hakos nanda...

Imaw eon lang isaea

Ro nagatueok sa nagakaupos nga mga kandila

Bangud ro mga onga nana kuno

Hay sobra gid kuno nga kasaku

Sa pag-eagas it kwarta

Sa tindahan it Baclaran,

Sa opisina it Makati,

Sa night club sa Ermita

Ag sa baeay it Intsik sa Hong Kong.

Sunday Morning in Lezo

In Lezo

On Sunday morning,

The mothers and their daughters

Will only drink tahu or coffee

And walk to church,

While the fathers

Will no longer fetch drinking water

Or chap fire woods

Because they are too busy

Blowing tobacco smoke to

And exercising their fighting cocks

Believing that the wages

They got from mixing cement with stones,

For one week,

Will double inside the cockpit.

A Letter

John,

I will definitely go home

To our house

Where we can see the clouds

Through the roof.

I'm fed up

With the twinkling neon lights,

But I have not yet paid

For the earrings that I got

From Mama San.

I need them so my tinkling

Will be louder and my hips

Will be heavier.

Don't worry, John,

This Christmas

You and I will create a moon

And through the roof

We two alone

Will grasp its light.

Ana

Emergency Room

Pag-abot ni Rubin sa ospital

Nga may Indian pana

Nga gaongot

Sa anang dughan,

Maid-id imaw nga ginpangutana

It gangueob nga admitting clerk:

Ngaean?

Edad?

May asawa?

May obra imaw?

May down payment ka nga daea?

Tanan nga pangutana

Nasabat pa gid man ni Rubin

Owa't eabot sa katapusan

Ay nagapungapunga

Eon ra paginhawa

Ag nagaeutaw-eutaw

Eon ra kalimutaw.

Samtang ro doktor

Sa may pwertahan

Hay nagahutik-hutik

Sa nagapanghuy-ab nga nars.

For Lorena

The bullet that pierced your throat

Did not really stop you

From breathing. You are alive

As the rose that bears flowers

In my garden. Your thorns

Are still there, only they are

Bent. I can still smell your fragrance

Even from the distance.

It is still the same fragrance

That sharpened

The minds of your comrades

In crossing the ravines.

Your adversaries were wrong

In saying that you were silenced.

They are dreaming.

Your lips are clasped

But your voice

Is still reverberating,

Strongly, the squeezing,

And the twisting done

To our people

By our own countrymen.

Nagahugot nga Nagahugot

Nagahugot nga nagahugot

Ro hikog sa liog

Ni Mang Pandoy.

Pero sige pa gihapon

Ang pagbasol ni Manoy

Sa nagaluya nga si Mang Pandoy.

Imbes nga buligan kuno siya

Sa paghalog sang hikog

Sa liog ni Mang Pandoy

Sige pa kuno gihapon

Ang pagsininggit sang iya mga kontra

Sa EDSA, sa Mendiola:

Tam na! Sobra na!

Layas na! Now na!

Nagahugot nga nagahugot

Ang hikog sa liog

Ni Mang Pandoy.

Apang didto si Manoy

Sa Australia, sa Amerika

Nagakinadlaw

Kaupod sang mga pinuno

Nga busog ang ila bulsa

Ang ila nga tiyan,

Ang ila espirito.

Apang didto siya

Sa lugar kon diin ang ila nga damgo

Sa punta lang sa ila nga tudlo.

Bal-an niya ayhan

Nga sa kada tulo sang ila pluma

Sa pagpirma sang kuntrata

Nagalubag sa liog

Sang iya mga kasimanwa?

Paano bala magdaog

Ang bahaw-bahaw sa hamtik?

Paano bala makadaog

Si Manny Pacquiao kay Andre de Giant?

Nagahugot nga gahugot ang hikog sa liog

Ni Mang Pandoy.

Gaalipugsa, gawaras,

Gasinggit sa paos niya nga boses:

Diin ang sud-an kag kan-on

Sa kada lamesa namon?

Diin ang sampuna namong duda

Nga gintugan ninyo

Bag-o pa man matumba

Ang mga kaupod namon sa Mendiola?

Nga-a gingapos ang mga kamot

Sang mga peryudista

Kag ginduso sa sulod sang bus

Pakadto sa silda?

O, Trillanes, san-o ka makaguwa?

Buhi pa ayhan si Kumander Pusa?

Gatubo pa ayhan ang bungot ni Waling-Waling?

Nalunok na ayhan sila sang sigbin?

Amo ni ayhan ang among biyaya

O pasalubong sa iya mga paglakat-lakat?

Nagahugot nga nagahugot

Ang hikog sa liog ni Mang Pandoy.

‘Nay…’Nay…sa diin ka?

When Death Walks into My Life

I am a man.

Don't ask me

If I did not lose my sleep

When Death whispers to me

I am a man.

Don't ask me

If I feel pain

When I see Death floats

And drops on cement like icedrops.

I am a man.

I have dreamt

That Death will soon crumble

Like a tissue paper

Before her death!

I am a man.

About the Poet

Melchor F. Cichon was born in Sta. Cruz, Lezo, Aklan on April 7, 1945.  He is the youngest of eight children of the late Jose N. Cichon and Desposoria Francisco of the same place.  Dr. Leoncio P. Deriada calls him as the present leading Aklanon poet.

After finishing the elementary grades at Lezo Elementary School in Lezo, Aklan, he studied at the Mindanao Regional School of Fisheries in Rio Hondo, Zamboanga City.  From there he went to U.P. Diliman to study fisheries.  He continued his studies at Manuel L. Quezon University where he majored in Library Science and minored in English.  He finished his Master in Library Science at U.P. Diliman and his Master in Management at U.P. in the Visayas in Iloilo City.  He took his certificate in Governmental Management also at the U.P. in the Visayas.

He is married to the former Pilma Dollolasa of San Remigio, Antique, with whom he has four children: Melchor, Jr., Vanessa, Ranel Vincent and Eugene.

The poet is now working as Head, College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences Library, U.P. in the Visayas, Miag-ao, Iloilo.

He attended the U.P. Miag-ao Summer Creative Writing Workshop, the Cultural Center of the Philippines-Liwayway Publication Creative Writing Workshop in Baguio City, the National Summer Creative Writing Workshop in Dumaguete City and the Third Iligan National Writers Workshop and Literature Teachers Conference in 1996.  He represented Aklan in the 1995 and the 1998 National Writers Assembly held in Intramuros, Manila.

Some of his poems have been published in Hiligaynon, Yuhum, Philippines Free Press, Philippine Graphic, Home Life, Ani, Philippine Collegian, Aklan Reporter, Philippine Panorama, Pagbutlak, Dagyaw, Bueabod, Banga, Patubas, Busay, Media Watch, and Mantala.  He won first prize in the first Home Life poetry contest in 1994.  He is also the first Aklanon CCP grantee for Aklanon poetry in 1994.  He edits Bueabod, the poetry journal of Aklan Literary Circle, together with John Barrios and Alex de Juan.  He won third prize in the Sentro Ng Wikang Filipino; U.P. essay writing contest in 1994 and won second prize (Aklanon category) and third prize (Filipino category) in the National Commission for the Culture and the Arts.  He won third prize in Hari/Hara Sang Binalaybay (King /Queen of Poetry) in 1998 poetry contest sponsored by U.P. in the Visayas Sentro ng Wikang Filipino. In 2002, he was a finalist in a regional poetry writing contest sponsored by the Sentro Ng Wika, U.P. in the Visayas, Iloilo City. He maintains the website, Aklanon Literature (http//www.geocities.com/aklanonliterature.com). His electronic book Philippine Oddities was published by Electromedia, Makati City,  in July 2001.

On August 25, 2001, he was a recipient of the 2001 Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas Award “for his outstanding achievement and pioneering work on poetry in Aklanon that have marked his considerably significant and permanent contribution to Philippine literature.  Using the peculiarities of his mother tongue to its full potential, he has, in articulate poetic terms, expressed the lamentation and celebrations of his fellows, transcending the local milieu to become one of the country’s esteemed poets.”  The award was presented to him by the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Filipinas (UMPIL)

The Darkness of the Fireflies

no moon--
the darkness
of the fireflies
***Melcichon
December 25, 2013

Asaw-Asaw

asaw-asaw--
makaraya gid baea
ro pangabuhi?
***Melcichon
Dec 22, 2013

Alone By the Breakwater

alone
by the breakwater--
the setting full moon
***Melcichon
December 21,2013

The Silent Passing of Clouds

Oblation's Shadow

Dioserey Cabiling Victoriano: A Profile

Dioserey Cabiling Victoriano: A Profile

by

Melchor F. Cichon
December 15, 2013

Every time I reached the office, I would always see him mopping the floor or cleaning the Comfort Room. There at times, I would hear him singing. I presumed that he was happy doing his job.

Then he would wipe the glass divider of the internet section. Or wipe the tables and the chairs. Then he would do other things to make his area clean and tidy.

One time, his supervisor told him to look up the walls to see if there are cobwebs. He simply said, "Yes, Ma'am."

After that, I would always see him sweeping the upper part of the walls and of the ceiling.

Before he would leave our office for his lunch, he would always ask me if I have something else for him to do.

After his lunch break, he would again come back to our office to check if there were litters around or if there were chairs not pushed back to their proper places.

At four in the afternoon he would again come back to the library to close the windows and empty the waste cans.

And when I request him to help me carry some books or other library materials, he was always willing to help.

It seemed that he was not getting tired of doing his job as a janitor. Perhaps because he was contented with his job.

But he had to go because he only had a five month contract. with the school.

I am  referring to Jioserey Cabiling Victoriano, the janitor who was assigned in our library for five months. He is known as Joss among his friends.

Joss was born in Gemumua Agahon, Passi City, Iloilo. It was there that he finished his elementary and high school education.

After high school, he enrolled at Interface Computer Science, where he enjoyed a scholarship. but then he had to quit because
Because of financial problem, he could not proceed to the course that he wanted to take. He said that he wanted to become a scientist. When I asked him to clarify, he told me he wanted to become an astrologer to know more about the planets and other celestial bodies in the skies. But I told him , he could read in the books and in the internet. But he said that, it is much better if somebody could teach him more, somebody who could guide him.

 That's the reason why if given the opportunity, he read books.

He is fond of reading adventure books. And when he got a chance, he would see adventure and science fiction movies.

Now that it seems to be impossible to reach his goal, I asked him what alternative he is taking. He said, he wants to get into business. "Even just a small one. And when I have enough money, then I will try to pursue that dream of mine." Anyway, he is still young.

I told him that I often heard him singing while he was working. And I told him that he has a good voice.

"That's right, sir", he said. "While in high school", he said, "I used to join in some singing contests. In fact, I won second place in one of those contests. But I did not pursue that singing career because I was shy. I am glad I am not as shy now as before."

Before he worked in our office, he was working as a service crew at one of the branches of Jollybee in Iloilo City. It was there, he said where his self-confidence was improved. And that confidence I have was further developed when I worked in this office."

I asked him if he has something else to say.

"No one is perfect, but we can try to be perfect."

That's  Joss, the personality who dreams to become an astrologer.

Book Review: Human Resource Management by Danny Araneta Cabulay and Christine Palafox Carpio.

Book Review: Human Resources Management in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry; a Comprehensive Guide for Teachers, Practitioners, Students and Industry Mentors by Danny Araneta Cabulay and Christine Palafox Carpio. Manila: Rex Book Store, 2009. 399p.

According to Mayor Aldrin San Pedro, Mayor, Muntinlupa City,  in its blurb, this book is "highly informative and truly enlightening that students, practitioners and educators would find it a very useful tool. The anticipated growth of the tourism and hospitality industry makes it a 'must' reading material for everyone so that all sectors of Philippine society may contribute their share in pushing to reality the projections made."

The authors are both highly qualified to write the book, Mr. Danny Araneta Cabulay was a former dean of the Institute of Accounts, Business and Finance of Far Eastern University and a CPA. He has served, among others, as Human Resources Director of Hyatt Regency Manila and Training Manager, Dusit Thani Hotel as Rooms Director. The co-author is a practicing lawyer, and she holds a master's degree in Business Administration (High Distinction) from the Far Eastern University, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication Arts from De La Salle University- Manila.

With the above statement from Mayor San Pedro,  I checked the contents of the book, its citation, its bibliography, its examples, its presentation, and other aspects to find out the veracity of the statement of the honorable mayor.

Its table of contents, among other things, shows that the book is comprehensive in scope.

It divided into 6 parts.

Part I--Introduction to Human Resources Management
Part II--Human Resources Planning and Organization
Part III--Personnel Management
Part IV--Training and Organization Development
Part V--Industrial Relations
Part VI--Global and Local Challenges in Human Resources
Index.

Looking deeper into the book, I found out that each chapter begins with a famous quotation, e.g. "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.--Oscar Wilde. Another one is "People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing--that's why we recommend it daily."--Zig Zigler.

Below this is a list of challenges which inform the reader, especially the students, what they are expected to learn after reading the chapter.

Then it provides a strategic overview wherein the students are given a further hint on what possible implications the said chapter has presented.

At the end of the chapter, one can find a synthesis of the whole chapter, then a list of key terms, discussion quiz, chapter quiz, and class activities.

And an internet research which provides a short background of a certain issue/event which is published in the internet and which the students are encouraged to read the whole write-up, and are then required by their professor to write a short essay on the said issue.

The last part of the chapter is the Endnotes or the list of sources that the authors had used.

Each chapter contains about ten relevant pictures.

I randomly checked the grammar of the sentences, and the spelling of some words, and I am convinced that they are OK.

There is a portion of this book that really caught my attention, and I quote:

"Mockery. Sometimes the quality of responses from trainees could pose a challenge. There are those who would sidetrack the trainer and undermine his capability or credibility. There are those who make fun of the sessions and not take them seriously. There are those who are boisterous, troublesome and inattentive during the sessions. Call these problematic participants once in a while to participate so they would tend to stop whatever undesirable behavior they are doing and learn to focus on the discussions. Give these participants some responsibility (sic), e.g assisting with the training equipment, facilitating teams, and the like', p. 252.

This book has a glossy and attractive cover with paperback pages. Its reprinted pictures are in black and white. Some pictures, however, are blurred.

But I noticed that its Endnotes need some revision because it does not have a place of publication and the name of the publisher.  Its electronic sources are also very disturbing because it only provides the website. It should have the date when it was retrieved.

Although each chapter has a list of key terms but I think, this book will be more valuable, particularly,  to the students if it has a glossary of terms.

Also, its index needs revision to make it more useful to the readers. Example, it has this entry on dismissal:

 "dismissal, 202". 

Looking at the other entry, I found this, among others:

industry, 328
   constructive dismissal, 330
   discrimination, 332,

It would have been better if the "constructive dismissal, 330" entry were also included in the entry "dismissal"' to lessen the time and effort of the readers in finding relevant information.

From its coverage, I can say that this book is indeed a "highly informative and truly enlightening" not only for students of management, more particularly to tourism, and hospitality students, but also to management practitioners,and teachers in management.

Whatever comments I have here are but suggestions to make this book more useful to all stakeholders.

Truly, if I have money, I will surely buy a copy of this book.

Book review: Tips and Techniques in Writing Research by Emerlita G. Magsajo-Sarno, 2010.

Book review:
Tips and Techniques in Writing Research by Emerlita G. Magsajo-Sarno, 2010.
by Melchor F. Cichon
Dec 11, 2013

One late afternoon, two female students approached me. They wanted to know if there is a book by a certain Joven that provides information on how to come up with the right sample size for their thesis on the taxi drivers in Iloilo City that serve as tourist guides. Since I could not recall of any book on statistics by Joven, I went to our Open Access Catalog (OPAC) to check if we have a book by that author. There was none. The students were disappointed. I suggested that they use other research books, but they were not amenable.

Two days after, a friend of mine told me to see the book by Emerlita G. Magsanjo-Sarno entitled Tips and Techniques in Writing Research published by Rex Book Store, 2010. I browsed the book, and I saw Slovin's formula on page 61. This is the formula earlier needed by the two students. This particular book does not only mention the formula, but it also provides a step by step procedure in computing the size of a sample.

This is just one of the best features of this book.

The author of this book is a professor at the University of Asia and the Pacific. A PhD graduate of the University of the Philippines, Diliman in 1980, Dr. Emerlita G. Magsajo-Sarno she used to be the Dean of Pasig Catholic College.

As the title says, this book really provides valuable tips in conducting any social and humanities research.

This book is divided into five parts. Part I talks about the nature of research and its importance. It also introduces the different kinds of research, its classification and types. Lastly, this part of the book gives us the techniques that one can use in research.

Part II provides a short discussion on the basics of research with a flow chart to help the reader on how to conduct a research. It presents the research process , the research problem, and the steps in preparing a working bibliography. It gives examples on how to use the APA style, the Modern Language Association of America Style (MLA), and Turabian and Chicago styles in preparing citation.

Part III provides the Parts of a Research Paper where the chapters of the research paper are being discussed in details. This is where research methodology is discussed with ample examples.

Part IV shows several sampling methods with equation. For me, this chapter of the book is the most important part of it. It provides statistical tools that could be used particularly when one is conducting quantitative researches.

Part V present the preliminary and of the reference part of the research paper. It is here where sample abstract, title page, table of contents, list of tables, and acknowledgement are presented.

Part VI discusses where the reference material are presented, and the appendix, and other articles appropriate for the back part of the paper. 

In addition to the above contents, this book provides skeletal parts of a research paper. Not only that, it also has a list of references, a glossary, and an index.

The only negative part of this book is its index and its bibliography . Although the index is multi-layer, it is not comprehensive. Important term like Slovin's formula could have been included in the index, and its list of references are rather old. Although the book was copyrighted in 2010, it only has one citation in 2004. The rest were written in 2000 and below.

Over-all, I can say that this book is a one-stop reference material and should be in libraries of higher learning not only because it is easy to understand, but it also gives ample examples in all aspects of the research process, thus simplifying a research process in social sciences and the humanities, from the moment of conception to the moment of binding the research paper.

After Typhoon Yolanda

after Typhoon Yolanda--
the different debris
in Tacloban streets
***Melcichon
December 1, 2013

Typhoon Yolanda

Typhoon Yolanda--
the bodies
and the cars in the streets
***Melcichon
December 1, 2013

Haibun: Blowing Roof

I was not in Lezo when Typhoon Yolanda slashed our town, but through the pictures that were posted in this site, I could imagine how strong the wind of Typhoon Yolanda was.

blowing roofs
and uprooting coconut trees--
a child looks at the East
***Melcichon
December 1, 2013