I hope that you all had a Merry Christmas and you received all the best things you were dreaming to have. Now comes the New Year that almost always brings glad aspirations and certain nostalgia for fond things in the past. This time, let’s face it – times are hard and most people are looking at the coming year as a bleak one. Some lucky ones are still blessed with family and friends in these trying times.
In my family, the sudden death of my father in the Philippines gave me conflicting emotions. My father was a Canadian citizen who decided to go home where he was more comfortable. He wanted to be near our mother and to the company of our other siblings. A housekeeper who has been with our family for years gave him care and company.
I went home to the Philippines with my two sisters Sonia and Liberty, brother Wilson and my nephew Jason and son Edward. This unhappy and hasty return brought us siblings all together once again. We reunited with relatives and friends that we have not seen for years. Our family home where we grew up seemed to have lightened up with our presence. The house and the garden are now filled with mourners. As I look around, the garden that my father meticulously landscaped is very well kept, the grotto of the Virgin Mary is still adorned with different colored lights and the orchid garden is in full blossoms. Tropical flowers surrounded the Bahay Kubo where my mother used to rest. This was our childhood playground and it gave me the feeling of extreme grief.
I sat at the 10-seat dining table once again. I remember spending a lot of Noche Buenas on this table. It was always one big happy family. At the stroke of midnight on Christmas and New Year, it was mandatory that we would all be home and gathered at the dining table. This time we siblings sat there with two empty seats. Our parents are both gone now. The reality that we will only see them in our dreams is hard to overcome. This Holiday season, the house and garden are decorated like before to keep their memories alive.
Balita is 30 years old this year
Since 1978 under the management of Ruben Cusipag, our editor and publisher has brought a priceless journey that taught us invaluable lessons. Always be fair and stick to journalistic ethics when reporting. Balita has done exactly like that. We are proud that we have published stories that otherwise would have gone unreported. For us, it had made our community associations and organizations that are serving our community more accountable and more interesting. We simply are giving a voice to others. We do not just ignore stories; we listen and try to be fair to everyone by publishing all sides. We try not to be just an entertainment newspaper but investigative news reporters as well
We offer the public a chance to print their entire letters or complaints. We also published financial statements and audits to give officers and members some transparency.
Assisted by veteran journalists and backed by advertisers who believe in the magnet of our newspaper to reach their target market, they are helping us make Balita enjoy the current position as the leading Filipino newspaper in the Filipino community. Of course our grateful readers who call, send emails, write in to express their appreciation for what we are doing is the ultimate reward.
Unfortunately this year, Balita was sued, it was just another attempt to challenge the freedom of the press. Fortunately, so many groups of friends like the Philippine Press Club are all behind us and firmly supporting our cause and standing by. We are all together to stop and not allow anyone who does not believe in the Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press or any other First Amendment Rights to silence our right to speak.
Legislation is not always a good option to carry our ideals and sentiments, but we are confronted with it, so we have to stand firm and get the courage to fight. We know we did not do anything wrong but when we feel we are being manipulated then we have to defend our principle.
It is a good thing that there are many people who know and believe in us. We also accept faults when we know we have erred but when we have not, we also want to fight for what is just and acceptable. You can be assured that we will continue what we are doing and nothing like this will hinder our desire to be the voice of the community that we served.
On the personal side
I know things are tough these days, with the global financial crisis. Some of you may have lost 1/3 of your investments but it is not the time to panic. There are still good financial news that we have read and we are still optimistic that things would be back to normal. No matter what, we still have a lot of things to be thankful for.
Ruben Cusipag, my husband, the publisher and editor of Balita is still fighting to get better. For a man who has been diagnosed several times to reach the end of his journey, he proved them all wrong. Except for some minor setbacks every now and then, with the help of God, he is still strong and well. This is where I put value on the power of prayer and hope. It is the most precious gift that I always ask God, more time and more Christmases together. Every second I spend with Ruben is priceless. We have reached the point in our lives where it is only our health that we wanted and material gifts come as a bonus.
Our Children have grown up and almost on their own. Michael, the oldest one is the Vice president of investment of Northern Trust, now a real family man and has given us two beautiful grandchildren. My middle child Anthony who gave me a lot of worries when he traveled in backpack in South America and Asia, is now settling and now an Account Manager of Ricoh. He is still traveling almost yearly but in the normal way. I hope he is now finished with that kind of adventures. Edward, my youngest and still consider my baby, is a finance broker. You can see Edward’s full-page advertising on this paper.
With Ruben and I, we get enormous pleasure in watching our grandchildren Caitlyn and Julian run around our house, swimming in our backyard pool during the summer and just being here talking about nothing. Their simple and priceless joys of smiles always brighten my heart and bring a sense of fulfillment.
With my siblings and their families around us, we try to be as close as ever now that we have lost both our parents. We just remember when we were growing up, how they gave us everything, how they worked really hard to make us comfortable. We grew up with both our parents working in our Textile Wholesale business and it required a lot of traveling for them.
When they were semi-retired they alternately spent the holiday season in the Philippines and with us here in Canada. We would always cherish their legacy and the material things they earned and left us would be valued and kept in the family forever. They really made sure that none of us children and grandchildren would feel undeserving.
This New Year, despite the global economic troubles, our attitude will make all the difference. Let us all be positive. It is so easy to forget the goodness of life when we are overwhelmed with sorrows. Life can be tougher when we think of this unfairness. Experts predict that 2009 is difficult but if we face it with hope and prayer, the right attitude and reliance to our Lord, 2009 could turn into a more productive and blessed year. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!!!!