Panlantaw sa Pagsugat sa Bag-ong Tuig
Ni ELEAZAR TUTOR ACAMPADO


KOMUN na ang pagsambog sa relihiyon ug patuo-tuo sa pagsaulog nato sa pagsugat sa unang adlaw sa Bag-ong Tuig. Magbanha kita aron mahinginlan ang mga daotan. Magsul-ob og sapot nga polka dot aron dili maglisod sa panalapi. Pasigaon ang tanang suga aron magmahayag ang kaugmaon sa tuig. Magbayang ug lamiang mga pagkaon ug mokaon sa 12 ka lignging prutas aron buhong sa pagkaon ang tibuok tuig. Molukso aron motaas nga ipahigayon sa unang segundo sa tuig. Ablihan ang tanang pultahan ug bentana aron pasudlon ang suwerte ug maayong enerhiya sa kalibotan. Mobasa sa Bibliya ug motambong sa misa, ubp.

Sa pagsugat sa Bag-ong Tuig, naapil usab sa atong mga ritwal ang paghinulsol ug pagbag-o. Hugot kitang nagtuo nga ang bag-ong tuig magdala og bag-ong paglaom, bisan pag natabonan sa mga kapaksayan. Apan kini magpahinumdom usab kanato sa panahon sa pagbuhat ug ang padulngan sa tanang binuhat nga may kinabuhi.

Ang Bag-ong Tuig labaw pa kay sa yanong panukdanan sa panahon. Kini usa ka oportunidad aron pagsuhid sa ngangagi, molantaw sa unahan ug sa tanang moabot pa, ug unya mobalik sa labing mahinungdanong gimbuhaton sa kasamtangan panahon.

Sa katilingban nga nabilanggo sa orasan, kritikal ang daklit nga paghinuktok. Magtugot kini kanato pagkat-on sa atong mga sayop, sa atong mga hustong nabuhat, ingon man sa naandang ginahimo. Kini ang hinungdan nganong nagahimo kita og resolusyon sa Bag-ong Tuig, o mga panaad nga ato lang usab nga pakyason.

Bisan unsa kadaghan sa atong gipangbayang nga pagkaon diha sa lamesa alang sa media noche, sa mga pagkaong lignginon ug 12 ka buok lignginon nga nagkadaiyang prutas nga taliwad-an sa lechon-baboy, mabulokon man ug banha ang atong pagsugat sa Bag-ong Tuig ug mahinangpon kitang mosugat niini nga puno sa paglaom nga kini maghatod na kanato og suwerte, apan ang ginapangandoy natong suwerte seguradong dili moabot kon magtanga lang kita sa atong gilingkoran ug padayong magdamgo.

Ipakita nato nga mahimo natong makab-ot ang gilatid nga pangandoy sa minaayong paagi bisan pa sa grabeng kalisdanan nga atong sagubangon sa mosunod nga 52 ka semana sa atong kinabuhi. Ugmaron nato ang kinatibuk-ang potensiyal sa abilidad nga gigasa sa Kahitas-an.

Ning tuig 2011, ang tanang posibilidad ug mga hagit magsugod na usab. Hinaot nga padayon kitang magtinguha sa pagkakabuhi nga himsog, malipayon, malamposon ug mag-ampo nga ipahilayo sa kadaotan ug katalagman.

KON duna may matawag nga Ultimate Survivor sa kinabuhi, nag-una kitang mga Pilipino sa talaan. Ngano? Usa ka lig-ong rasa kitang mga Pilipino. Motuo ka ba niini? Ako motuo ko.

Sa tanang panahon ato kining napamatud-an. Andam kitang mosungasong sa mga kalamidad nga moabot sa atong kinabuhi, sa kawad-on nga buot moguba sa atong mga kaugmaon, sa kagutom nga buot mokitkit sa atong mga tinai, sa kaahaw sa kaalam nga buot motak-op sa daghang oportunidad sa kinabuhi, uban pa ug uban pa.

Ang kalamidad ug kawad-on sama sa usa ka magtiayon nga dili gustong magbuwag sa pagpanghulga sa matag adlaw natong pagpakabuhi. Pipila na ba ka linog ang miguba sa daghang kabalayan sa kapupud-an, mga bagyo, baha, lunop nga wala lang magdulot og kadaot sa atong panimalay, kabtangan, pananom ug hayopan ug mingkalas og kinabuhi sukad nga kita nakahimatngon? Dili na maihap sa atong mga tudlo. Apan anaa nagpabilin kitang nagbarog. Nagsubo man kita karon apan ugma modalit na kitag pahiyom. Kataw-an ang mga pagsulay. Dili magpabuntog. Nagkadugang ang atong kalig-on. Nagkadako ang atong pagsalig sa Makagagahom.

Sa ming-aging mga bulan, mingkusukuso sa kapupud-an ang daghang bagyo nga nagmugna og baha ug nagdulot og perdisyon sa daghan natong kaigsoonan ilabi na sa mga kabos. Hingpit nga naapektohan silang kaigsoonan nga halos dili na makapatukod og laing balay, silang mga kabos nga dili gani makaabot pagpalit og kaldero, silang mga kabos nga ang edukasyon sa mga anak nabalda sa paglalin ngadto sa ubang dapit aron didto magsugod og bag-ong kinabuhi sa gamay nga badyet. Apan bisan pa sa kalamidad ug kawad-on nga nasinati, magsaulog gihapon sila karon sa Pasko.

Malaomon silang hingpit nga makasaulog ning maong okasyon. Bisan pa sa gamayng badyet sa pagkaon, malipayon ang pamilya nga magsalo-salo sa pagpangaon.

Magpasalamat sa Makagagahom nga anaa pa sila nagpabiling buhi. Ug malaomon nga sa mosunod pang mga adlaw maangkon na ang kabulahanan sa kinabuhi. Malaomon sa masanag nga kaugmaon.

Ingon niini kitang mga Pilipino, may Pasko taliwala sa nahiagoman natong kalamidad ug kawad-on.

LAING perpektong pasundayag na usab ang gipakita ni Manny Pacquiao didto sa teyatro sa Las Vegas nga nakatagad sa minilyon ka mata lukop kalibotan. Kon ang mga nakatan-aw moingon nga kadto usa ka arte, matawag nato nga si Manny usa ka artista nga ang abilidad dili hitupngan.

Bisan sa daghang suliran nga atong giatubang, nagpasalamat ta sa usa ka Manny Pacquiao kay makalakaw kitang magbatyag nga mitaas ang bantang sa atong pagka tawo unsang hut-ong man sa katilingban nahitalay, arangan man o adunahan o kabos ug hinikalimtan. Gani, bisan ang boxing fans sa tibuok kalibotan, nakabatyag usab og gamayng garbo kay nakita nila ang gamayng tawo apan dakog gikatabang sa mga Pilipino.

Sa gipakita niyang abilidad sa kuwadradong luna, gipamatud-an niya ang iyang pagka hari sa gipiling karera. Nahingangha lagi ang tibuok kalibotan sa brutal niyang eksekusyon kang Miguel Cotto, ang kaparang nga World Boxing Organization Welterweight Champion, niadtong Nobiyembre 14 (Nobiyembre 15 sa buntag dinhi sa Pilipinas) diin gipahilam-os niyag nagpungasing solidong mga kumo hangtod nga giabot nag kaluoy si Kenny Bayless ug gihunong sa reperi ang sambunot, 55 segundos gikan sa pagsugod sa kataposang hugna.

Sa tapad, si Cotto ang ingon sa dako ug kusgan nga boksidor tungod kay usa siya ka natural nga welterweight. Apan panahon sa sinukliay sa kinumo, naingon na siya sa usa ka ordinaryong challenger. Ang away labihang pabora sa atong pinanggang boksidor diin ang Pambansang Kamao nagbuhig mga suntok sa nagkadaiyang anggulo nga nakalipong sa boksidor nga taga Puerto Rico.

Human sa away, naligo si Cotto sa kaugalingon niyang dugo nga miagas gikan sa mga samad sa iyang nawong. Ug giangkon ni Cotto nga si Pacquiao maoy lig-ong manggugubat nga iyang gikasakbang.

Ang bag-ong pagpasundayag ni Pacquiao sa pangamot nagbanhaw sa debate kon asa na siya mahimutang karon sa natad sa pamoksing. Ang mga kolumnista sa boksing mingpili kaniya nga greatest fighter sa iyang henerasyon. Apan alang sa iyang promoter nga si Bob Arum, si Pacquiao ang greatest fighter nga iyang nakita. Si Arum nga nahimong promoter sa mga away nila ni Muhammad Ali, Marvin Hagler ug Sugar Ray Leonard, miingon nga si Pacquiao maoy Tiger Woods sa boksing.

Dili ikalimod nga nakakuhag dakong luna si Pacquiao sa dugoong esport nga boksing. Dili lang siya usa ka bantogan nga manggugubat nga misaka sa kuwadradong lona. Usa usab siya sa labing maabtik, kusgan ug may kaisog makig-away sa dagko nga mga kaparang.

Samtang daghan ang mingsupak nga dili siya ang labing bantogan, ang iyang nakab-ot nga pito ka titulo sa pito ka klase sa timbang nahitala na sa kasaysayan sa boksing. Ekstraordinaryo ang iyang kalamposan sulod sa kuwadradong lona. Lisod hitupngan. Kon hitupngan man, mag-ihap pa kitag daghang mga tuig.

Taas na ang naabot ni Manny Pacquiao sa natad sa pamoksing ug maingon nga nagdangadanga na siya sa imortalidad ning dugoong paugnat sa kusog. Ug kay batan-on pa, daghan pa siyag makab-ot nga makadugang pagpalig-on sa usa ka lahi nga legasiya sa kasaysayan sa boksing.

Karon nga nakuha niya ang ikapitong titulo sa kampeyonato sa ikapito nga dibisyon, gikonsiderar na siya nga best pound for pound fighter sa boksing circa 2000-2009. Nahitalay na siya sa bantogang mga boksider sa kanhiay sama nila ni Muhammad Ali ug Sugar Ray Robinson. Gani karon, daghan na ang nanagtuo nga makuha niya ang dungog nga “Fighter Of The Decade (2000-2009). Apan sa akong tan-aw, duna pay usa ka bukid nga angay niyang tungason. Ug kini ang pagpakigsakbang kang Floyd Mayweather Jr. sa sunod tuig nga maoy gipangandoy sa daghang mahiligon sa boksing.

Kon magpadayon ang pagpakita ni Manny sa iyang abilidad sa pamoksing ug magpadayon ang iyang pagpanaog sa dekalidad usab nga boksider sama sa higpit niyang karibal karon nga si Floyd Mayweather Jr., malantaw nato nga siya na gyod ang matawag nga best pound for pound boxer ug mahimo na siyang ituboy nga G.O.A.T. – kun Greatest Of All Time sa natad sa boksing.

Sa hataas nga panahon human nga mobiya si Manny sa pamoksing, mahinumdoman gihapon siya sa iyang gihimo alang sa katawhang Pilipinhon. Usa siya ka ordinaryong Pilipino sama kanato apan nagtanom siyag inspirasyon. Gipakita niya ang ehemplo nga kita usab mahimong makaangkon og kalamposan alang sa atong kaugalingon. Usa siya ka buhing testamento sa usa ka kabos nga Pilipino nga naningkamot mabuntog ang kawad-on ug maangkon ang kalamposan bisan pa man magpatulo og daghang dugo.

DI MO dapat dibdibin at h’wag mong masyadong isipin. Tumawa ka. Tawanan mo ang ‘yong problema,” one song goes.

In frustration and depression, many end their life. In this uncertain world it is tiring to always find a solution to nagging problems, which until now remain unsolved. These problems added with yours may make you frustrated and depressed. Consequently, you need something to cheer you up. And the advice of the song above helps a lot.

To give you comfort, Gotthold Eprahim Lessing, a witty German writer in the 18th century said, “Laughter keeps us more rational than frustration.” While the Bible said, “A cheerful heart is a good medicine” (Proverbs 17:22). On the other hand, Dr. William Fry, a professor of psychiatry at Stanford Medical School and one of the leading experts on humor, has discovered that people who have the ability to laugh get tons of benefits.

Dr. Fry discovered that people who have the ability to laugh at problems aren’t as likely to get depressed, angry, or tired. They tend to have more energy and courage to get through life. They are considered more creative and less rigid, showing confidence and credibility.

Laughter can be a natural painkiller. It is a good exercise that helps prevent headache and stress. It can even contribute to a longer life. “Laughing 100 times a day gives you the same exercise as 10 times of rowing,” Dr. Fry said.

The doctor also said that laughter improves creative thinking. It helps keep relationships healthy. And couples who laugh often have lasting marriages.

“Laughter is one of our defenses against a tense situation and a very important weapon we use against the three worst negative emotions: fear, anger and depression,” Dr. Fry admonished.

“If you fear something and you can find something to laugh about at, you don’t fear it anymore. If you can be amused by some element that will otherwise make you angry, you’re not going to get as angry,” Dr. Fry enthused.

Also in a study, which Michael Miller, director of the Center for Preventive Cardiology in Maryland, presented in the United States, he found that of the 300 men and women surveyed, around 40 percent who had suffered a heart attack laugh less than people with no heart problems.

The study also found that when a person laughs, his facial muscles relax, convulsions begin in the diaphragm, and gushes of endorphins (pain relieving opiate) are release into the brain.

Like exercise, the effects of laughter are cumulative. Each new laugh build on the last one, just like pumping iron. Have you seen people laugh when they see others laugh? It’s happened because laughing is contagious. “And many say that it is a great way to make more friends.

But in laughing, you need to avoid malicious laugh at others. It can hurt people deeply. Don’t laugh also when you have put something into your mouth. Though people who see you laugh alone may perceive you crazy, it doesn’t matter. What matters most is you still have control of yourself. You are still the captain of your ship.

You may say that laughing all those problems you have faced today is easier said than done. But if you can see that life is temporary and that God is in charge, you can laugh instead of cry. You have hope, after all. All you need to do is relax. If you feel comfortable with yourself, you can laugh easier, and feel more comfortable with yourself.

In the end, laughter, as Sir Peter Ustinov once remarked, is the only thing that distinguishes man from animal.

(This article was published in Philippine Panorama, March 31, 2002.)

NO doubt you've seen the word "simplicity" or the phrase "simplify your life" seemingly everywhere. There are numerous books, magazines, and a newsletter on the subject, and even advertising uses the phrase with come-ons, such as "buy our product to simplify your life." Some associate it with anticonsumerism or even deprivation, while others tout it as an excuse to spend their way to the simple life by purchasing exotic paraphernalia. What is it, really?

However we seek to get there, we're all attracted by the same profound yearning for more than the hectic, overwhelming, busy, and even numb lives that many of us lead. Life can be more than going to our jobs, going to the store, and going home at night, where we drop, exhausted, in front of the TV—only to repeat the process the next day. We want more, and many of us believe that if we simplify our lives, we can have more. Not more debt, clutter, and overcommitted calendars, but more depth, meaning, and vitality.

Simplicity means stripping away whatever is meaningless and being left with what truly matters:

Clearing your calendar of all the "I shoulds" and replacing them with what you love.

Freeing yourself from piles of clutter so you can breathe and relax.

Stopping foolish spending on your way to financial independence.

Simplicity is about living deliberately, and choosing your existence rather than sailing through life on autopilot. A simplified life is one that you have chosen thoughtfully, and, as a result, can bring you great depth and joy.

The great news is that simplicity is very much what you make it. You can simplify and live in a condo in the city; you can simplify and live in the woods. You can be any age, any race, live in any community. You can have a family, or you can be single. You can be a gourmet, you can love beauty, or you can love the plain and functional. To simplify, really simplify, you need to look inside and discover your own soul, your own heart’s longing, and peel away what obscures and hinders that discovery.

One woman said it well: "Simplicity is an individual thing...it has to be something that springs from the heart because it was always there, not something you can be talked into by persuasive people, or something that is brought on by financial necessity...this is not something we do because we want to be different, or because we’re rebellious to convention, but because our souls find a need for it."

The most notable proponent of this lifestyle was Henry David Thoreau. The following excerpt from his book, Walden, has become the embodiment of the simple living movement: "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I wanted to live deep and suck all the marrow of life."

Thoreau’s words have come to symbolize that yearning for a life so many of us wish we had, if only we weren’t so busy, so overwhelmed, and so burdened by demands. Thoreau’s maxim is not about literally moving to the woods (unless you want to). Rather, it is about why he moved to the woods: to live deliberately and not, when he came to die, discover that he had not lived. He did not want to die having lived only a mediocre or shallow life.

There are several religious groups who continue to practice simplicity as a way of life, such as the Quakers and Shakers in America, and, indeed, most of the world's great religions and philosophies have advocated some form of simple living. The Greek and Roman moral philosophers preached the virtues of the golden mean, as did the Old Testament prophets. The author of Proverbs prayed, "Give me neither poverty nor wealth but only enough."

In more modern days, simplicity was associated with the "back to the land" movement, advocated by those who rejected mainstream society in favor of a simpler way of life. While the outward manifestations of simplicity have evolved throughout the decades, the inner craving for a simpler, less complicated, deeper life has been the steady driving force.

Simplicity will allow you to live purposefully. Beyond just getting through the day or the week, you’ll live as if there were a higher purpose for your life. This can happen once you strip away all that is meaningless, freeing you to focus on what you really love.

What are the three areas of life in which most people need help simplifying? According to The Simple Living Guide, they are time, financial and home.

WHEN he visited Cagayan de Oro City, Francisco Baguhin, thought of buying a pair of shoes. So he went inside a shoe store in "Agora" to look for the size to fit him. But when he was inside the store, a saleslady handed him five pesos. He did not accept the money and told the girl that he wanted to buy a pair of shoes and not beg for alms.

"Isko Putol", as friends fondly called him, was born on December 3, 1940 without hands and defective feet. He grew up a liability to his parents that are both farmers. Inspite of his handicap, his parents did not lose hope for him that someday he can contribute something to society.

His parents sent him to school. Isko studied his elementary grades at Cayam Elementary School. He walked almost four kilometers going to school and back to his home at nightfall in Kalayugan, a sitio of West Lungsodaan in Garcia-Hernandez, Bohol. Unfortunately, his schooling was cut short in Grade IV. He cannot bear the mockery and contempt of his classmates and others who heap on him.

But in the years to come, he accepted his fate without regret. He understood that his handicap was God’s will. He became a new person and courageously faced life’s challenges.

He was married on 1980 to Remedios Galendez, a second grader who is a harelip. During the 17 years of marriage life, they begot four children, all girls.

Isko Putol works to earn money. He plants corn, ube, camote and other root crops. He can even gather tuba by climbing the coconut tree.

He makes "sarang" (a cabinet made of bamboo slats) for those who place their orders. He also makes bamboo and wooden chairs.

His wife helps him earning a living by working as a house helper and caretaker to a rich family in town.

His talents and abilities are rare which able-bodied persons do not have.

One time when he was in the public market of Valencia, Bohol, four teenagers who were drinking tuba invited him to a drink. To respect them he accepted their offer but said to them that he would drink two glasses. He got the filled glass with his two arms and drunk the tuba. But before he finished drinking, one of the teenagers shot his camera to him. He realized that it was a set up. They want to take pictures for a souvenir. And he only took it pleasantly without taking offense.

Isko lives a simple life, and he is happy and contented. He has a loving wife, respectful daughters, understanding relatives, and kind neighbors. His family lives in peace.

He is ashamed to beg for alms. Instead, he toil hard daily to earn money to sustain the needs of his growing family.

Now Isko has proven to his classmates who scorned him that he is not a liability but an asset to society. He has succeeded in life in spite of his handicap.


(This article was first published in Philippine Panorama on March 15, 1998)

"Very few people know what real health is, because most are occupied with killing themselves slowly." - Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, Ph.D., Hungarian-born American biochemist and a 1937 Nobel Prize Laureate in Physiology or Medicine


EVERYDAY, many of us eat some toxins. We like to eat foods loaded with artificial flavors and chemically-created coloring agents, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides, insecticides and other toxic chemicals, which overburden our bodies. And as this toxic overload accumulates year after year, augmented also by environmental pollution, drugs and medications, it interferes with normal functioning and spoils the body's elimination processes.

One way to make up this neglect is through fasting. Scientific studies show that, in fasting, large amounts of these accumulated metabolic wastes and poisons are quickly eliminated through the greatly enhanced cleansing capability of all the organs of elimination — liver, kidneys, skin and lungs.

Scientific fasting has proven itself, over several thousand years, as humanity's oldest, fastest and most effective weight-loss, detoxification, healing and longevity-enhancing modality known to mankind — both curative, as well as preventive. In fact, Hippocrates, Galen and Paracelsus, all 3 Fathers of Western Medicine practiced and prescribed fasting. They all declared that fasting is "the greatest remedy and the physician within." For during fasting, our body will self-digest its most inferior and impure materials and metabolic wastes.

An important element of fasting detoxification is mobilizing the toxins from their storage areas. Though, fast does not merely detoxify. It also breaks down superfluous tissue like fats, abnormal cells and tumors, and releases diseased tissues and their cellular products into the circulation for elimination. New cell growth is also stimulated and accelerated during fasting as the required proteins are resynthesized from decomposed cells. Several common symptoms of detoxification seen during this process could be darker urine.

Many people think that fasting needs us to avoid solid foods and just only water for sustenance for 3-7 days or more, depending on one’s health and doctors advice. But to many fasting therapists, this is not advisable. They recommend fresh fruit and vegetable juice instead of pure water. Freshly squeezed and extracted vegetable and fruit juices contain a wealth of vitamins and organically-complexed minerals. The juices all supply excellent energy, minerals, vitamins, live enzymes, and other nutrients necessary to enhance health during the fast. It will also supply the 400 calories or so our bodies require. Without that minimum caloric intake, our bodies begin to breakdown protein structures to get it. By providing much of the body's daily caloric needs with easily-digested juices, the release of toxins from the fat cells is much more gentle and gradual.

Additionally, fresh fruit and vegetable juices require little digestion, and are quickly assimilated from the upper digestive tract. Therefore, most of the 10% of bodily energy normally involved in our mastication, assimilation, digestion, and elimination is freed up. What's more, fresh juices have a cleansing effect of their own.

But not all of us can fast. Fasting therapist prohibits those who are thin, suffering with anemia, cancer, having a disease in blood, kidney, liver, and all important organs of the body, diabetic, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.

Scientific journals boost that scientific fasting enhances longevity, that we humans can double our natural life span like those periodically fasting animals.

"Fasting is, without any doubt, the most effective biological method of treatment... it is the 'operation without surgery'... it is a cure involving exudation, reattunement, redirection, loosening up and purified relaxation. We can improve our physical health and gain much while fasting. But we have neglected the most important thing if the hunger for spiritual nourishment that manifests itself during fasting is not satisfied," avers Otto Buchinger, Sr., M.D., Germany's great, self-described fasting therapist.

Although detoxing is the key to getting better, preventing toxins to accumulate in our body by avoiding harmful foods is the best way to protect our health.

DID you ever see or hear a top played like bowling?

In West Poblacion, Garcia-Hernandez, Bohol, a top (trompo) game called paro is played and is a well-loved sports especially in Sitio Bitaugan. This barangay sponsors tournaments every April 27, the feast day of the Mother of Perpetual Help and during Christmas. The local government of Garcia-Hernandez also sponsors tournament especially during summer coinciding the foundation anniversary of the town.

Long before I was born, the string-wound top was already a favorite toy of my elders. This koti, as we locally call it, is an improvised version of the kasing, which until now no one knows its origin.

According to my Lolo Enrique, before World War II erupted, playing kasing was their entertainment with a little betting, which Manong Emong Abucejo usually sponsored.

At that time, village folks were crazy of the game. Because of the popularity of the game, cockfighting aficionados no longer went to the cockpit arena on Sundays. Cockpit owners protested and the game and betting in kasing were stopped.

After the controversy, Alipio Ranoco made what is now known as koti. This copycat of the kasing has no sharp point; instead it has a head. It is made of the bark of a guava tree and it is larger than it predecessor.

The koti Ranoco made was duplicated. It became an alternative toy for the young and adults in the barangay.

Koti players later on invented paro, whose objective is to earn points by hitting the stationary top using another top. After its invention, the game became popular and spread to the neighboring barangay and to the whole town. Barangay and town officials saw the uniqueness of the game. They joined hands to develop and popularize the newfound game, and sponsored tournaments throughout the past years.

How to Play Paro
In a paro game, two opposing team play in five innings. Every team has eight to more that ten throwers, who bring their own top to the game. In every inning, only eight throwers are allowed to throw their top and vice versa. The objective of the game is to hit as many tops as much as possible in five innings.

Before the game starts, a referee will toss a coin to determine who will be the first team to throw. On the other hand, the opposing team who will not throw will put their tops on the cemented floor in a straight line called the top line. The top line, where tops are spaced evenly, is almost 30 meters away from the foul line or the thrower’s line.

An announcer will then call the name of the thrower before he can throw his top. The player earns points when his top hits the opposing top, respective of how many tops it hits. As a bonus, the referee will give back his top and he can throw it again until he fails to hit a top in the top line.

In the game, a thrower will not earn points in the following circumstances:

• When his top did not spin while standing on the floor after it hit the opponent’s top
  
• When the top goes back to the top line after it pass and comeback towards its path
  
• When the top stops after hitting another top
  
• When the top hit a wall or an object and bounces back and hit another top
  
• When the thrower steps on the foul line while throwing his top
  

After five innings, the team that garners the highest points wins the game.

If after five innings they are tied, the competing teams will play another inning until the highest pointers emerge as winners.

A paro tournament gives an alternative entertainment for the young and old alike in the barangay and to the whole town. As a physical activity, it needs certain exercise of concentration in throwing the top.

As one onlooker says, "There’s no other top game that gives thrill and excitement to the players and audience alike than the paro tournament."


(This article was published in Philippine Panorama, March 21, 1999. Today, the koti used in paro tournament is made of ipil-ipil bark. Though, many prefer to use jackfruit bark for its lightness. The biggest koti used to play in a paro game now weights almost a kilo.)

DO you expel wind from the tail end every now and then, be it silent, noisy or smelly? If you are, then, don’t be ashamed. You are not alone. There are many out there farting.

Everybody passes gas, though, in different level. You and me are simply made that way. It is natural to all of us, for intestinal gas is a normal by-product of digestion. You begin producing it shortly after you're born and can even continue producing it after you die. But if you have more than your share, it's a major annoyance you need to solve.To understand where did this bad air come from, lets find out what happened to the foods we ate.

All the foods we ate need to be digested up to its tiniest molecular units in order to enter in the bloodstream. Once food reaches the stomach, all proteins are broken into amino acids, all fats into fatty acids and all carbohydrates (simple and complex) into glucose molecules before being absorbed in the small intestine. When food does not get absorbed into the intestinal wall, it cannot enter the bloodstream. Indigestible food and liquids are sent down to the large intestine as waste for liquid reabsorption.

The large intestine is the home to hundreds of different bacteria growing within it. These bacteria live peacefully and provide certain positive health benefits to the body. Most of the bacteria in the large intestine are harmless and cause no problems. These bacteria rely on the indigestible food we eat for their own nutrition. Though there are also gas former bacteria that thrive from certain foods. They generate gases such as hydrogen and methane. Most of the gases you fart are formed by these bacteria. And when so much air were produce in the intestine, there’s no other resort than to fart it out.

This flatulence, utot in Tagalog or in Bisaya, contains odorless gases, such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and methane. But it also contains hydrogen sulfide, which causes the smell like rotten eggs, methanethiol, which smells like decomposing vegetables, and dimethyl sulfide, which smells sweet.

How much odor is produced also depends on the food you eat. Vegetarians might fart as often as meat-eaters, but their "serenades" do not smell as much because vegetables produce less hydrogen sulfide. The more sulfur rich the foods you eat, the more your farts will stink because bacteria will generate sulfides and mercaptans as they break down the nutrients.There are many reasons why our farts exceed than normal.

Primary cause is eating more carbohydrates. Of the three nutrients, carbohydrates are the big cause that can produce flatulence because sugar and flour it contents will be easily fermented.

Second is eating hard to digest foods like milk. For example, a cow’s milk is unnatural to the human body, which is why a lot of people are lactose intolerant that means the body does not know how to digest milk, so it sets it aside as waste.

Third is the amount of bacteria living in the large intestines. Each person's intestinal fauna is composed differently so people do not react similarly to the same foods.

Fourth is chewing and swallowing air. Chewing gum gives people flatulence because it makes them swallow more air than usual. Each time food, liquid, or even saliva is swallowed, a small amount of air is carried to the stomach.

Fifth is intestinal infection. When a person has an intestinal infection, the lining of the intestinal track thins and nutrients, again, get sent to the large intestine without being absorbed.If your married, it might not be grounds for divorce but I’m sure it is a cause for complaint.

If you don’t want to be a lean mean farting machine forever, you can try these 10 easy ways to reduce farting.

1. Start to eat more healthily. Chew your food slowly, eat wholesome food little and often, rather than having large meals in the evening.

2. Change your diet to avoid hard-to-digest foods, like beans, raw onions, and some green vegetables like broccoli, cabbage and wholemeal bread.

3. Avoid eating too late at night. This may make it hard for your digestion to work properly.

4. Avoid sources of sulfur, which increase the risk of foul smelling wind. These include alcohol, preserved meat products, sausages, meat pies, salami and dried fruit that have been dipped in sulphur dioxide and squash.

5. Reduce your meat intake. The high protein content means a high content of amino acids some of which contain sulphur that might be turned into hydrogen sulphide.

6. Limit alcohol to one or two drinks a day. Heavy drinking can upset digestion, while the high sulphur content of wine and beer will often produce offensive smelling wind.

7. Take vitamin B supplements and friendly bacteria lactobacillus acidophilus.

8. Cut back on cigarettes. Smoking heavily can reduce the output of digestive enzymes by the pancreas which means some food may not be fully digested.

9. Eat two or three portions of fresh fruit and vegetables a day. The fibre and sugar content of these foods helps to promote the growth of healthy bacteria in the intestine, which can reduce the production of foul smelling wind.

10. Limit stressful situations, which may affect your digestion.All in all, diet plays a significant role in the production of gas, be it smelly or otherwise. Carbonated beverages are an important source of intestinal gas. So are carbohydrates because they often contain indigestible sugars, starches and fiber. Some of the foods known that contain high complex carbohydrates are eggplant, apple, popcorn, cabbage, nuts, beans, carrots, onions, raisins, cauliflower, peaches, soybean, broccoli, pears, tuna, yams, sweet potato, cheese, cashews, milk products and yeast on bread. Rice is the only starch absorbed almost completely by the small intestine. Because rice starch never reaches the large intestine, gas-producing bacteria don't break this starch down.

Intestinal gas is rarely a sign or symptom of a serious condition. But you should see your doctor if your gas is persistent or severe, or if it's associated with vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, unintentional weight loss, or blood in the stool. Excessive gas may be a sign of another digestive disorder such as gastritis, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or irritable bowel syndrome.

Intestinal gas can cause discomfort and embarrassment. But like death and taxes, it’s a part of life. It can be delayed, diminished, or directed but not deleted. It is the exhaust fume of digestion, the necessary result of the bowel's work and a sign of a normally functioning digestive system.

So, don’t fear my smelly friends. There is life after the gas chamber.

TEN years ago, I accompanied Lolo Enrique in harvesting ubi in his little hilly farm situated across an old cemetery of the town. While carrying the harvested root crop to the hut beside the road, I accidentally dropped two pieces of ubi into the ground. Lolo Enrique yelled at me after seeing my carelessness, "Ely, pick up the ubi and kiss them," he ordered. I hurriedly did what he wanted me to do and uttered some words of repentance for what I’ve done that Lola Leling told me to do so.

I asked my Lola Leling why the ubi should be kissed when dropped on the ground. She answered politely that the ubi is sacred and it can bring malediction to the man if he did not do it accordingly.

Later, I was told that this Boholano practice is being followed for almost half a millennium now. Boholanos venerated the ubi plant as a sacred crop and that respect to the plant is still stronger today as ever. Though we, the new generation of Boholanos, adopted it without sensing the true cause of this custom we inherited from our ancestors.

According to Rene Sumodobila, the sacredness of ubi did not come without any reason at all. It is given by God. And it deals with the rich history of the Boholanos’ culture and their resiliency as a people to triumph over natural and man-made adversities.

Chinese traders during the silk trade brought the ubi (Dioscorea alata) to Bohol in the 10th century (Sung and Yuan Dynasties). When some Chinesse traders settled in Panglao Island, particularly Dauis, and married natives or who have been shipwrecked, they planted many different varieties of ubi root crops. Under the sandy-loam soil, the ubi thrived well and were easily accepted by the Boholano natives in Panglao Island area as an important part of their diet.

One day in the 1540s, the Portuguese-led Ternatan pirates (from Ternate, an island near Sulawesi, Indonesia) treacherously attacked and plundered the island. In the event, they killed more than 300 natives, including the ruling Datu Arripada Dailisan, and enslaved hundreds of men, women and children including Dailisan’s wife. As it was the custom in those days to abandon any site associated with death and misfortune, the survivors of the raid left the island and crossed the Mindanao Sea. In the rush to abandon the area, the Boholanos forgot to think about the ubi.

Many years later, when Christianity came to Bohol, the highlander Boholanos coming from Corella and other neighboring towns resettled the abandoned communities.

Unfortunately, in that Hispanic era, a great famine cause by long drought occurred. All the green vegetation died and the new settler around the Dauis-Panglao, Baclayon, and neighboring areas starved and many died.

The hungry Boholanos searched for food. While they continued searching, they asked God to help them to ease their suffering. Fortunately, in their constant search for food, someone accidentally struck a fleshly tuber in the ground, some are white and some are purple. The famish settler cooked it, tasted it without hesitation that it can be inedible or has poison. The settler found out that the tuber is edible, very delicious, and highly nutritious.

He told the other settlers about his discovery. Together, they found and dug more tubers. The unknown tuber saved the people from hunger. They instantly venerated it as a savior crop and for them, kissing it is not enough for giving thanks to the Almighty God.

LIKE the tarsiers of Corella, Bohol, this 25-feet python also attracts tourists - foreigners and locals alike to come to Upper Sta. Fe, Alburquerque, Bohol and see in person the world’s largest python in captivity. This female reticulated python christened "Prony" was a super hit among Filipino celebrities like Cesar Montano and Patricia Javier and many foreigners from all over the world who heard her existence in the island province of Bohol.

The name ‘Prony" came from Manong Sofronio Salibay who caught her in the town’s cemetery. This world-renowned python was only five kilos and five feet in length when captured on October 21, 1996. But many cannot believe what she is today. Under the caring hands of the Salibay brothers – Sofronio, Eugenio and Jingjing--- "Prony" became a 200-kilo python whose body length is now 25 feet with 28 inches body width.

"Her growth is very abnormal," Manang Jingjing says. "Reptile experts from London Zoo assigned by Charles Wartenberg, director of Animal Kingdom Foundation, Inc. informed us that her size is like a 40-year old python. Maybe because of how we cared her.

"We give her everyday all our love. We always talk to her day and night. We called on her name even if she cannot hear us. Since our calling is in our hearts, she could hear us. She could receive the vibrations and messages from our minds and hearts. This summer we sprayed her water three times a day. According to reptile experts, her life span is 150 years. We are hoping she will live up to it.

"Prony" has already swallowed cats and dogs. In fact, she had feasted 40 live dogs before Animal Kingdom Foundation, Inc., led by Mr. Wartenberg, raided the Salibay brothers that saved 12 dogs reserved for one year ration. Today, live goat and pigs are her monthly gourmet.

"Under the watchful eyes of AKF Inc., we already feed Prony five goats and five pigs, alternately. But now, we try to give her only pig, a 40-kilo pig a month. And we make sure that the pig is clean and free from disease.

"We received an offer that will give us millions but we turned it downed. We are not after the money. "Prony" is not for sale. It’s our mission now to care her forever. Our family loves her very much. She’s a family treasure," the lady sanctuary keeper admitted.

"Prony" is now house in the steel-caged situated beside the house of Salibay brothers. It was built with the help of AKF Inc. and with the assistance of PepsiCo.

"The P5.00 entrance for food and maintenance is a small amount compared to the great experience of seeing in person the world’s largest python in captivity," Manang Jingjing opined.

On summer "Prony" averages 300 visitors a day. Many of them were awed when they saw her in her steel-cage. "Oh, no! It’s a monster. A real Anaconda," a South Korean tourist shrieked watching "Prony" opened her mouth. And the African-American, who was standing near the railing together with his wife, avowed, "Only in the Philippines!"