vonjobi: wow, congratulations! kelan ang trip? i hope i'll be around when you come. had a good time with diosa last...
Keith Bacongco: Knowing Nograles and his Big Boss...garapalan na lang talaga.
Vinia Datinguinoo Mukherjee: Congratulations, PCIJ! Mabuhay kayo!
Lead Philippines: But without credible mass media there, what is left to protect the people..?
vonjobi: it's juned sOniDo.

Latest Message 3 months, 4 weeks ago

hopeless_race : Lets not just focus sa mga malversation of funds, sa mga overpricing..ating pagtuunan ng atensyon ang diskarte ng mga politiko na umuutang ng bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno."Small time" ang ibang pamamaraan ng pangungurakot kumpara sa pag-utang sa gobyerno ng bilyon na tunay ngang masasabing "pinaka big-time" at wala pang sabit.
hopeless_race : Mukhang tikom ang bibig ng lahat pagdating sa diskarte ng mga politiko sa pagutang ng mga bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno na tinatakbuhan. Itong pamamaraan na ito ang tunay na kumakain ng malaking porsyento ng ating national budget batay na din sa sinasabi ng world bank.
hopeless_race : Pakisilip naman po ang mga utang ni Villar sa BSP, ang mga utang nila RAMON JACINTO, RONNIE ZAMORA, JOE DE VENECIA at madami pang ibang mga pulitiko. Iilan lamang yan sa mga nababanggit sa balita na may mga malalaking utang sa gobyerno.
hopeless_race : Nagmimistulang "small time" lamang ang malversation of funds kumpara sa laki ng kinakamal ng mga umuutang sa gobyerno. At ito ay malinaw na natatakbuhan dahil hindi nga naman pwede makulong ang may-ari ng kumpanya sa pagkaka-utang lamang. Tunay na mga tuso at magagaling sa batas itong mga politiko natin. Masasabi ko na malamang lahat ng mga politiko ganito ang diskarte...wala pang kulong.
hopeless_race : PCIJ pkitingnan naman po ang mga gaya ni Villar na my malaking utang sa Gobyerno pero tinatakbuhan. Magtatayo ng kumpanya at uutang ng bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno ng walang balak bayaran. Tunay ngang walang nakukulong sa utang...ito ang prinsipyo ginagamit ng mga politiko ntin kaya nakakapagtaka kung san napupunta ang daang bilyong pera ng gobyerno.
hopeless_race : Sana itreat naman po ng media ang hacienda luisita at mendiola massacre na parang MAGUINADANAO MASSACRE. Ipublicized ang mga katotohanan at ipakita sa tao ang karumaldumal na pinaggagawa sa mga farmers dun. Untouchable po ba sila cory at danding at hindi magawang batikusin ng media about these two massacres?
hopeless_race : Kapag napaguusapan ang mendiola at hacienda luisita massacre ay parang walang nangyari at parang hindi big deal. Anu po ba ang pinagkaiba ng dalawang nabanggit na massacre sa maguindanao massacre?
hopeless_race : Its sad that we pinoys are blind to the fact of what had happened in mendiola and hacienda luisita. Ang tanong..bakit ang media ay hindi manlang matackle ang ganitong usapin? Takot ba sila kay cory at danding?
hopeless_race : Wilkins" brand, for P1.4 billion.-1999 Sugarland Multi-Food Corp. for P2.9 billion 2001- Purefoods Corp P7 billion P60 billion Coca-Cola ... See More 2002- Cosmos Bottling Corp. from RFM Corp. for P14.1 billion October 2008- GSIS' shares in Meralco worth PHP30 Billion. December 2008- country's biggest oil refiner, Petron Corporation. international company shopping spree: Australian boutique brewer J. Boag and Son for A$96 million in 2000. $97 million for Thai Amarit Brewery Ltd $35.5 mi
hopeless_race : Gud am..glad to be back.
jr_lad : rip mr. alecks pabico. you'll be greatly missed!
sevens21 : Dati input mo lng name at SSS ID makukuha mo agad STATIC INFO...
sevens21 : tawag ka sa HOTLINE nila walang ANSWER grrr we need pa namn ng static info SSS Gising!!!
sevens21 : Gawa naman po kayo ng article about SSS. Pangit ng site nila dali ma blocked ng account
guest_899 : we must check the background of each potential candidates to avoid having another big mistake like GMA
guest_899 : congratulations to PCIJ, more power and God Bless !
jazzymuver : how did Arroyo swallow that kind of things!! how come that she just spend the money our countrymen for her own sake!!
guest_3664 : i would be glad if u can include the investigation of the manner public officials announce infra projects as per COA regulation. It is frustrating to see their faces on the tarpaulin instead of the prescribed information like name of project, date of implementation,amount of contract, source/s of fund, among other things. This is very rampant here in Marikina. Thanks and more power on your noble endeavors. We need people like you to have make our country great again.
jhanz_08 : im making research on R.A 9136...with rgards to the privatization of NPC..could someone out there can let me understand more bout this matter?why was monopoly dismantled?email me..jhanycem@yahoo.com...thanks much
erika marie : P.S.:) my paper is due next week and i do hope someone could provide me these reports coming from reliable resources thank you ulit.
erika marie : P.S.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study regarding political killings in the philippines. could someone out there please send me human rights reports under Aquino and Ramos administration. you could send it at my email: erikamariet@yahoo.com your response would surely be very much appreciated. thank you everyone. god bless.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study for my paper regarding political killings in the philippines. i noted that there are no human rights reports during the Aquino and Ramos administration. could someone out there please send me reports regarding these matter? i do hope these reports came from reliable resources you could send it in my email; erikamariet@yahoo.comyour response would surely be appreciated. thanks everyone. god bless.
jayson bourne : gusto ko po maging member ng PCIJ, panu po ba? may application po ba? sana mapadalhan nyo ako ng info sa email ko... www.jboxpenshoppe@yahoo.com
jayson bourne : cory is OK, but kris & Noynoy sensationalize masyado...
guest_9891 : LABAN pa rin!
meow : boycotts worked during marcos years. how about doing it now against the businesses of the con-ass congressmen?
meow : aside from 168, what other establishments can we boycott that belong to the arroyos and their cronies?
Jalenack : Your shoutbox is blank. Add a message!

You must be a registered user to participate in this chat

Remembering Alecks

Posted by: Ed Lingao | October 8, 2009 at 5:36 pm
Filed under: General

by Sheila S. Coronel

Different species populate the planet of journalism, but Alecks Pabico was one of a kind. There was no one else like him. To begin with, he studied architecture. He also looked and dressed more like a member of a reggae band than as a journalist. He had long, curly Bob Marley hair and mostly wore tie-dyed T-shirts and Birkenstocks. At UP, he was editor of the Collegian and although he was probably not the only Collegian editor who ever had long hair, he was probably the only one whose face Imelda Marcos held with both her hands before she kissed it.

There’s a story there, as there always was with Alecks. We were doing a special issue of our magazine for the 20th anniversary of People Power and we wanted to interview 20 Filipinos who were from that era. Alecks and I agreed to do Imelda. So we took a taxi to her apartment in Makati. On the way there, the taxi was hit by one of those speeding Edsa buses. We were not hurt but the taxi was a mess and the driver was livid. We were also late for our interview. Alecks and I had the same instinct: we paid off the driver and rushed to Makati. Still shaken from the accident, we waited for Imelda in her baroque living room. She came out to meet us in a flowing caftan, the light was behind her and it looked like floating toward us. She was totally taken by Alecks, who was, in turn, mesmerized by her.

Alecks was an activist while at UP and held strong political views yet he had such an open mind and such a store of compassion in his being that he always connected with people and tried to understand them the way they understood themselves. Although he made strong conclusions in his writing, in person Alecks was so mild and so gentle and had such an uncanny sense of humor that I think those he was interviewing — and certainly those he worked with — ended up feeling somewhat protective of him. No one could be farther from the stereotype of the tough, uncaring, macho journalist.

In the 12 years he and I were both in PCIJ, Alecks and I spent a lot of time together. We had countless sleepless nights working on i magazine with artist Nonoy Marcelo, who kept vampire hours — he only worked after sunset, by which time Alecks and I had already done a full day’s work. Nonoy often came to our office with an alalay, who slept — and snored loudly — on the office couch while we worked. It was the only place to nap and so when he got tired, Nonoy joined his assistant and dozed off on the couch as well. Alecks and I could only look at them snoring together. It was so sweet.

Alecks did everything for PCIJ: he laid out the magazine (Nonoy designed it but he never learned to design on a computer), set up the Web site and later the blog from scratch, assisted in the training courses we organized. On top of that, he also wrote stories. He carved out a niche reporting on technology and the way it changed people’s lives. He was also partial to stories that had to do with the environment and with how public policy was affecting ordinary people. Alecks felt so much for his stories that after interviewing animal rights activists, he decided he would become a vegetarian. Once again, he defied the mold. How many vegetarian Rastafarians do you know?

In the late-1990s, PCIJ wanted to publish Rosa Henson’s story of her life as a comfort woman but we had no money for it. Alecks volunteered to lay out the book gratis. We used sales from previous books to bankroll the printing and since then Comfort Woman has been one of our bestsellers. Lola Rosa was the other one totally taken by Alecks. Like Imelda, she used to cradle his face in her hands, too.

Alecks was in his 20s when he joined PCIJ. He got married and had kids during the time he was there. He was like family to us — we got to know his wife Mira and his two kids, Marlee and Kaya. Alecks poured his heart and soul into his work with PCIJ. He cared deeply about the organization. He made his job to ensure we kept up with the 21st Century.

The last time I saw Alecks was when I was in Manila last August. By then he had resigned from PCIJ because of his illness. We talked about the next thing he wanted to do. We talked about moving on from the place we both loved and life post-PCIJ. We talked about how change and renewal were the laws of nature.

I found Alecks at peace with himself and eager to take on new challenges. I was hopeful he would live. I felt his fire was burning still and was not going to be extinguished soon. I was wrong. Maybe, as ex-PCIJ staffer Dani Molintas, who was with us at that lunch told me, it was just his spirit shining through.

Tonight as I write this, alone in my apartment in New York, I could almost see Alecks smile. I will miss him terribly. He was like a brother to me. But yes, even when the flame of his life had burnt out, his spirit still shines through. And so tonight, I imagine him somewhere in heaven, cracking jokes with Nonoy Marcelo and the two of them making Lola Rosa laugh so hard that she, like me, has tears in her eyes.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 8th, 2009 and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 people have left comments

[...] J. Angelo Racoma The Philippine blogosphere mourns the loss of Alecks Pabico, who was considered as a pioneering journalist and blogger in the country. Alecks [...]

Alecks P. Pabico – Journalist, Blogger | The Blog Herald wrote on October 12, 2009 - 1:11 am | Visit Link

who could we forget Alecks here in Mindanao… aside from PCIJ trainings, he also helped us a lot down here during the early days of our community newspaper…

we used to share a room in cotabato city…si sir red has been calling us because we were about to start the session. we came late because we were watching fear factor! hahah

just last august or september, had a pretty long chat on FB with alecks. we planned to setup an alternative newspotal website for journalists. the idea was, we would publish those newsworthy stories that were ‘trashed’ by major dailies of course we will invite contributors.

and i would also contribute stories and photographs… we were actually about to start it because he has asked me to cc some AKP Images dispatch for him to initially post it on the site.

it was just an ‘experimental’ project, i suppose since we all have these available softwares, today.

maraming salamat alecks!

Keith Bacongco wrote on October 15, 2009 - 10:06 am | Visit Link