Ilocano gays speak up

I am glad, dear karikna, that Ilocano gays, through the Sunflowers Organization, have finally made their voices heard on pressing issues faced by the LGBT community, particularly today on the case of Jennifer Laude, a transgender who was allegedly murdered by an American serviceman.

It was actually your karikna who prodded Benly Academia (Pasuquin Sunflowers president, organizer of Asia's oldest pride march) and Kristina Cassandra (Miss Ilocoslovaklush 2014) to issue a joint statement on the case. They immediately obliged with a well-crafted and insightful statement.

Here it is:

“We join the whole LGBT community in condemning the brutal killing of Miss Jennifer Laude, and we urge our law enforcement agencies to do everything within their means and power, and with neither fear nor favor, to bring justice to the victim—she who lived a life of courage but who died at the hands of a bigoted coward.

“We further request the media to report on the unfortunate case always with prudence and sensitivity while rejecting the pitfalls of stereotypes and sensationalism.

“Even as we go through this dark episode, our humble work in rejecting hate, prejudice, discrimination, and violence against LGBTs continues, and with even greater resolve and vigor, until we see the day when the hope, respect, compassion, and love radiated by the rainbow are joyfully absorbed by all of humanity.”

Good work, Benly and Kristina. Continue to live and breathe by the philosophy of Beauty with a purpose.

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MMSU tourism students top regional tilt

“What is restaurant in Mandarin?” “What flag is raised when the vessel departs or leaves the port?” “What is the tallest building in the Philippines?”

The questions were tough but MMSU tourism students proved to be tougher as they bested 17 other participating schools in the Regional Tourism Quiz held Sept. 27 at the Plaza del Norte in Laoag City.

Organized by the Department of Tourism-Region I, the event was held in celebration of World Tourism Day.

Composed of Jeceline Abad and John Marc Reyes, both BSBA Tourism IV, and Gene Centeno, BSBA Tourism III, the MMSU champion team was coached by Rona Leigh Cheng, a tourism instructor. The P20,000 cash prize the team won went mainly to their organization, the Association of Tourism Management Students, which is based at the CBEA.

Divine Word College of Laoag won over the Pangasinan State University-Alaminos in the tie breaker round for the second and third spots. The board of judges was composed of Modesto Baloloy, chief tourism operations officer of DOT-I; Tina Tan, a lifestyle blogger and ecotourism advocate; and Ena Domingo, a tour guide.

MMSU will represent the region in an interregional competition to be held in Clark, Pampanga in November.

CBEA dean Lorna Olivia F. Salmasan, who was also present during the event, expressed happiness over the victory. “We have proven that we are among the region’s best schools offering tourism,” she said.

“What is the universal language of the hospitality industry?” was another question asked in the quiz. The answer: smile. Dean Salmasan and the champion team spoke that language well that day.

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All about beer

Benjamin Franklin posited that “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” I argue that beer is better than religion, and here are a dozen reasons why.

1. Beer is a friend to all and does not discriminate against anyone, not even transgenders. No matter your sexual orientation, you can be a good beer drinker. Sexually active homosexuals, considered by natural law as an anomaly, are considered by the Roman Catholic Church as lost souls.

2. Beer companies pay their taxes. The Church is tax exempt.

3. Beer has not abused women and altar boys.

4. Beer is not under the pull strings of the Vatican. Filipinos have proven that they can make excellent beer right here, and that the same is worth sharing to the world. Long live, SanMig Light!

5. Nobody’s ever been burned at the stake, hanged, or tortured over their brand of beer.

6. Religion, not beer, is the reason why our country was named after a cruel Spanish King who, as a big fan of the Inquisition, made sure church dissidents were either tortured or executed.

7. Beer has never caused a major war or wholesale acts of terrorism.

8. You don’t have to wait more than 2,000 years for a second coming of Beer.

9. Only the priest drinks during the mass, no one has the callousness to do that in a drinking session.

10. Beer brings out good conversations, most priests deliver long and shallow sermons.

12. Beer does not prohibit revolutionary insights and crazy ideas, unlike the church which, for centuries, silenced artists and scientists for “heresies” that the world would later recognize as truths. Remember Galileo Galilee.

Kaya sa lahat ng nakainuman, nakakainuman, at makakainuman pa lang... sa mga kakuwentuhan at katawanan. Sa mga umiiyak ‘pag nalalasing at pati na rin sa mga gumagaling sa Ingles. Sa bawat taong lumalakas ang loob na gawin ang tama kapag nakalaklak ng alak. Sa lahat ng hindi nagda-drive kapag nakainom at sa marunong mag-drink moderately. Sa lahat ng gumagawa ng beer, nagseserve ng alcohol, at nagluluto ng pulutan. Sa mga may malulusog pang atay. Sa lahat ng may ipinagdiriwang, sa mga may pinagdaraanan, at sa mga basta umiinom lang, here’s a toast to a long and happy life for all of you.

Happy Oktoberfest, dear folks.

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