CIPYML Post Meeting

In order to help promote programs and projects for Mindanao, batches 13th and 14th of CIPYML gathered at the House of Representatives Conference Rooms 3 & 4 to discuss matters we shall soon be doing for each of our respective hometowns. May this meeting be fruitful and will hopefully help the most far - flung areas in Mindanao in terms of education, peace, health and the likes. Only 9 days to go. May God bless our great plans to the place we call home. I pray that my brothers and sisters who are CIPYML alumni shall be able to extend their help as well and God-willing things will be ironed out soon. :)
 
 

UP Graduation

The moment of truth. Well, not really since we still have part 2 for our commencement exercises with the Ambassador and hopefully with the US Secretary of State Mrs. Hilary Clinton this October 03 at Century Hotel. Hmn.. I'll be missing my batch. The last batch for the Congressional Internship Program for Young Mindanao Leaders. Finally we are now alumnus and alumna of the University of the Philippines. Congratulations to all of us and thanks so much to those who have become a part of this journey and who have imparted their knowledge to us. God bless us all. This is not yet goodbye for we shall be seeing soon for the alumni homecoming. Let's keep the communication lines open, promote programs and projects for Mindanao and that wherever we go, may we stay grounded, lift our heads up and be a proud alumni of CIPYML. Mabuhay! ♥ :)




That song!

One.Two.Ready.Go!
"Magagawa natin ang lahat ng bagay, ang lahat ng bagay sa mundo.." Muhaha! ♥
We will miss Ma'am Berna! This song means alot sa kada worksheets namo. Waa!! CIPYML moments, love it! ♥ :)



When boredom strikes!

Happy to have received a great compliment and a satisfying grade/evaluation from my mentors and our Committee Secretary in the House of Representatives. T'was something I wasn't expecting for and I am all smiles now. Hope this happiness continues as we are fast approaching the end of the Congressional Internship Program. Hoping for the best! ;)



Words That Change Lives

I'll be missing my family in the Committee on Government Enterprises and Privatization at the House of Representatives especially Ma'am Cora our Committee Secretary, Ms. Cherryl & Sir Greg. My mentors in the fields of academic, work, also in love (winks*) and life in general. Haha! I was caught off guard for kaninas despidada & gift. Re-reading your message on a stick note you guys inserted in the HREP bag was so sweet and I'm tryna stop myself from crying na jud. LOL! Thank you so much for taking good care of me, for making me feel comfortable as if I've already worked with you all for years & for teaching me the mundane tasks that I need to know within the HREP. It's been a great four-month stay in the Committee. You guys are amazing! I'm blessed to have met you guys along with Atty. Mon, Sir Jay, Ma'am Celly, Ma'am Lina, Ma'am Rica, Sir Paulo and the others. God bless po, stay young at heart & see y'all soon! I'll bare in mind these messages you carefully crafted. I'll treasure it in my heart. Until we meet again. ♥ ;) #blissandbless




Policy Paper Defense

September 12 is the day. God bless to us, group 10! All throughout the journey, I am glad I met you guys. Never did I expect that I get to befriend people like you who hail from different parts in Mindanao. Forming a bond with you guys is one of the best thing that happened in my CIPYML journey. To our bubbly and unpredictably quirky leader, Ralph, we love you! This once in a lifetime chance to meet other potential leaders in Mindanao made a big impact in my entire being. You all have been an inspiration to finish this policy paper. To Ma'am Malou salamat po. Our abrupt stay in the Congress was one great experience we will never forget especially people like you who have treated us as your very own children. Thank you! Finally we're done with the madugong labanan at UP-NCPAG. Thankfully things were good and we will be doing some finishing touches soon. Much paper works to accomplish and until then, buh-bye Manila! I so want to go home na. Iligan, I miss you! October 05 please magmadali ka na. Hehe. Oh well, kudos to my groupmates Aliah Pumbaya, Yush, Prince Noroddin Ibrahim, Yash Gutierrez Maba and especially sa among group leader, my baby girl Ralph Ivan thanks for being so patient and understanding. Mwah! Good job to all of us! Now's the time to unwind. Hehe! ♥ :)







You Make Me Smile Like a Fool

Jog by 5:00pm just running and running like hell all over Don Antonio Subdivision. Dieting and deleting rice in my mundane meal replacing it with oatmeal. I guess it doesn't have that much calories and including coffee slimming tea too. Remembering him all of a sudden out of this busy schedule whilst preparing my executive summary report & RTD meet up later in the office didn't give me much of a hassle. Instead, I am inspired! Haha! I am just happy just thinking about you. That mysterious smirk and chinky eyes makes me smile despite the busy lifestyle here in Metro Manila. #inspired ♥ ;)

ANC Square off CVC Law Debate Up Close

First time to witness the CVC Law Debate, LIVE! I enjoyed every moment of it. Kudos to USC for bagging the award as CHAMPIONS versus to that of ADMU. Basta Bisaya, astig! Haha! Finally, since I am a huge fan of this TV episode in ANC, I eventually saw my favorite debater in person. Sayang nga lang I forgot to take a picture with him. Oh well, hanggang pangarap ka na lang. LOL! This is another adventure I've experienced in my stay here in the Metro with my fellow co-CIPYML interns. Less than a month, uwian na! Excited much ;)
 
 
 
 

Bulakenyo!


Only a few more days left and as they say it, “uwian na!”. Yup! It is time to go home but before we journey back to our respective hometowns, we got to face first insurmountable mountains of challenges starting off with just the recently concluded round table discussion which was actually a success by the way, then we have to focus for this week’s three-day defense for our policy papers and then the submission for our individual book reviews of Jeffrey Sachs “The End of Poverty”.

But all throughout the running of errands, the hectic schedules and other mundane tasks assigned to us as interns of the House of Representatives, we still had time to do an LGU visit especially in Bulacan where it prides itself for its rich historical heritage. It was such a great adventure having been able to step and feel the breeze of the place where the historic Barasoain Church in Malolos, the birthplace of the First Constitutional Democracy is situated.

At exactly 5:00 in the morning, all interns were already prepped up and giddy to travel en route to Bulacan and so when we arrived by around 8:20 in the morning, we then first hopped to the Plaza and witnessed a program to commemorate the “Linggo ng Bulacan” which is mainly done to celebrate also some of the activities designed for the Youth which they call “Hakbang Para Sa Kabataan”. 



The environment was feisty and everyone was happy. At first we thought there was a fiesta but then when we finally went out from our vans, we realized there was actually a celebration going on for the youth. It was a good timing given that we, as the Youth from Mindanao, are also looking forward to see for ourselves the plans and activities Bulacan has to offer to develop the skills of their young generation.


We were warmly welcomed by the Provincial Hall Staff and a courtesy call from the office of the Provincial Administrator Hon. Jim C. Valerio was done to acknowledge the presence of the Mindanao Congressional Interns. We took lots of pictures and had fun meeting different people from different places. The encounter we had with them and the knowledge they have imparted to the rest of the interns was for us, a gem to be treasured with for the rest of our lives. 

After that, despite the scorching heat of the sun, we head on to Bulacan’s Provincial Cooperative and Economic Development Office (PCEDO) where Ms. Irene Lopez, Mr. Randy Po and Mr. Ronald Santos show-cased to us a short powerpoint presentation regarding the background of Bulacan, how it became a province, the awards it accomplished despite being prone to various national disasters like flooding and earthquakes and they also presented to us their GIS (Geographic Information System) and elucidated 
further how they are able to monitor their constituencies making use of state of the art technologies in order to locate, know the conditions of their communities, the trends, patterns and modelling per se. The SBGIS (Satellite Based Geographic Information System) of Bulacan has helped the province address its societal issues which garnered them awards like having the highest literacy rate in the Country and being a consecutive champion as the Regional Outstanding Winner in Nutrition.

Right after the power point presentations provided to us by the Staff of the Province of Bulacan, we were given a souvenir which to us, the interns, was quite new because this was the only LGU visit where we have been handed with such a memento. The interns were glad to have received this as an advance gift before we head back home. The gift was a courtesy from Bulacan’s Governor, Hon. Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado.


Other than roaming around the Provincial Hall and at PCEDO, we also ventured at the infamous Barasoian Church and their Pasalubong Center where we have seen most of their amazing handicrafts and how effective their livelihood projects are to help facilitate and extend a helping hand to some of their not-so-fortunate individuals who hailed from a few of their ill-stricken community. The interns spend time to appreciate the Bulakenyo’s maniobras (masterpieces) such as their hand-woven bags, clutches, garments, as well as the intricate furniture, sweets and other wide selection of elegant native crafts and sumptuous delicacies. Some of the interns bought quite a lot of pasalubongs (gifts) to bring home to their loved ones and brag about how awesome their travel was when they had the opportunity to discover the beauty of Bulacan.

Truly, it was a once in a lifetime experience to actually be there and to learn so much from this tour. Visiting one of the Philippines ideal tourist destination and one of the most progressive provinces was refreshing to all interns given the pressure and stress that we acquired from all the paperworks we need to deal with before we pack our things and go back to Mindanao. For that, in behalf of the Congressional Interns, group four of the RTD, is very elated and grateful for the learning opportunity we have acquired because of the efforts extended to us by the USAID – GEM program, the House of Representatives, the MSU system and UP-NCPAG. God bless you more and a million thanks! 

My RTD Experience!

When Ma'am Maggie told me I'd lead the pack, I was quite surprised. Although I am used to lead the group but the idea of having to prepare a Round Table Discussion with prominent heads of the Philippine LGU's, staff of the House of Representatives, Manila based Media, politicians and students from different universities in Manila is quite nerve-wracking. Being a probinsyana, this was an insurmountable mountain to conquer. Sleepless nights, minute disagreements and conflict of ideas with my fellow members from the Congressional Internship Program for Young Mindanao Leaders was not a joke at all. I knew this was coming but things were successful in the end. Thank God for supportive group mates, HREP advisers, mentors as well as the love and inspiration radiated to me by my family, friends and that special someone back in Iligan City.

Hmn.. this is my team. Our overnight sessions, eatings and kagagohan and just about everything that adds up spice in our CIPYML journey! I'll be missing these people, my a.k.a. COAL PEEPS! ;)









Values



For almost four months, I have already known some of my co-interns attitudes towards the others. Some are good, some are tolerable, some are worth looking up to and there are some which made me stop and think for a moment, why from the very start these kinds of people have been admitted in the program when in their selves they pretend and that in their hearts they have injected biases and prejudices amongst the other interns who have different beliefs.

When I heard of this program and knew about its goals, I took it by heart. I know that I shall soon be dealing with different kinds of people and with God’s grace; I have adjusted well even though I am the kind of person who is a bit stubborn and easily loses my temper. I know not all people are able to absorb the idea on what proper etiquette is, I know I have my lapses too but I am grateful to the Almighty that my parents have raised me and my siblings right. Although we may have not been bestowed with richness and prominence but we were taught well and are surrounded with genuine love, respect, to fear the Almighty, to be grounded and to do good deeds to others as much as possible. More particularly, my parents raised me to understand what responsibility is and for that I am thankful for their guidance and the trust given to me for which I will forever value. 

Unfortunately, in this generation, it is sad to know that when it comes to values, it is actually slowly degenerating. I only pray and hope for the best that eventually before this program ends, that the interns are able to learn and mold their skills not just academically but also rooted on good morals, values and sensitivity in all things such as beginning to accept the differences in religion, beliefs, cultures and even ones gender. I know there are still people who are not attuned to the unconventional type of society but going back to the main purpose of this program, since we were trained to become the future leaders of Mindanao, as leaders, we have to be flexible in all matters, maintaining a mind that is neutral and accepting.

I am now counting the days left and the busy schedule for this month has kept me preoccupied to do my best in order to fulfil the requirements provided to us by USAID-GEM. I am enjoying every ride especially during high tides where I am bombarded with lots of things to do. After all, this is part of the training and for the remaining days, I am excited for the travels, the new experiences, the new learnings and the thought of going back to my hometown with something new to share to them.♥ =)