Saving Grace- and Cherlyn

SOS C!ildren's Villages PH sent personalized stickers, a ballpen and a notebook. The latter had a message, "Even bad chapters can make a story end well." This reflects their mission to save the children from exploitation and other evils.

How like mediation!

Leading Questions

Being "parang" legal, mediators can use questions to direct disputants going in circles or circling the wagons, to more productive insights. As Francis Kong says, "Questions are powerful."

In mediatorese, it's called "strategic questioning that empowers, creates motion or options, and digs deeper." (Atty. Emmanuel L. Caparas)

Most Perilous Journey

According to Tim Allen in his sitcom "Last Man Standing," it is marriage! As owner of an outdoor goods shop, he wanted to go camping on their anniversary but his wife preferred Paris. They compromised by going to the City of Lights, then exploring a nearby campsite.

Of course, humor has to be tucked in that first aid kit.

Peace Be Still

Not a parent admonishing a hyperactive child but George Sison advising "when a challenge occurs in your life. And as your mind and your heart settle peacefully, the light within you shines brightly. It guides you to the right choices and directs you to the next step to resolve and bring forth harmony. Then you will realize that, as within you, so without."

Mediation process made esoteric!

Overboard with JC

Not De Vera but Jesus Christ, as in walking on the water with Him. This was the message from Christianity Works over 98.7 FM. Thought of this biblical pun: we
are not only to be Luke warm, but John hot! We dare to challenge and not just be complacent during the storm, safely on board.

Mediation is like that- cutting the chase and treading perilous ground in order to arrive at the Good News of a compromise agreement.

Duterte Should...

De-stress by listening to classical guitar (Pablo Tariman) was one of the latest unsolicited advices given to the President. The others included control of the
tongue, as well as his time and those of others. As if he'd listen, and not dig in
all the more.

Should and must are the favorite words of rigid people, who have difficulty
seeing beyond their blinders. Just like Duterte himself!

Precisely why mediators are not allowed to give even a hint of a suggestion.
For the sake of their compliance, disputants have to own the compromise.

Meaning business

Martin (pina)Andanar tayo in his initial Brew Point article in the Inquirer he entitled thus. On Duterte's 100 days, he claimed "tanim bala" is gone from the airport. But it has been transplanted in countless bodies of drug suspects all over the country. Truly a summary change!  And their business is really more demeaning than anything, of election contenders, then the US Ambassador and its President, the UN Secretary General and its Human Rights Commissioner, so far.

Beyond mediation? It could be sent back to court, hopefully not the International Criminal Court!

Scenarios

This early, political analysts are already foreseeing four turn-outs of the Duterte administration: a) VP Robredo finishes his term for a variety of reasons; b) Coup
e'tat; c) Duterte finishes his term; and d) revolutionary government takes over. Or
maybe those are just three options.

In mediation, there are only two- compliance to the compromise agreement or not.

From the Non-Voters

CNN interviewed 2nd graders on the coming US elections. Reminds one of family courts asking children of separating couples how they feel about it, especially re custody.

So also in mediation, all bases covered as basis for  the compromise agreement.

Cool It

A Tibetan saying goes like this: Eat half, walk twice, laugh thrice and love without measure. It must be the Himalayan atmosphere that likewise makes neighboring Bhutans the happiest people on earth outside of Disneyland. Di malayo.

This would make us mediators gladly fold-up business. But the reality is that some eat rice without measure nor walking and laughing.

Arianne Sucker

Ms. Zucker surely had the Day of her Life when Billy Bush and Donald Duck, er Trump visited her on location of her longest-running soap opera. The recent replay
of the audio on the two guys' banter before greeting her may yet send Hillary Clinton back to the White House. Those guys' mouth could use the soap!

To Arianne's credit, she said that she did not need an apology for herself, but rather for her family. She's the bigger man, or the only one.

Peligroso Pedrozo

He is Manila's Police Deputy Director for Operations who seems to be doubling as the US Embassy's Chief of Security. In verbal instructions to policemen, he said it would be shameful to the Embassy if his men would not be able to control the protesters.

Duterte's double-barrel plan to cut clean with the US and exhortation to the police not to withhold force had a Rody awakening at the Anti-American rally yesterday when a cop failed his driving test/ thought he was in a race by running over promdi rallyists.

Beware mediators, that you do not side with one disputant.

Barbers Cut Pichay

Rock, paper, scissors was played in the Lowest House when a dishonorable member decided to ace a colleague he seemed of less value.

The chacha dunce!

Moving On and On

Girl on a Train was a movie similar to Girl on a Rocking Chair. You know what they say about worry, doing something but going nowhere. We empathize with the childless divorcee's depression but wanted to redirect her to Girl on cross-country, rather than going everyday to her previous life, literally.

Some disputants are like balls, or have them in bouncing back. Mediators coach those who aren't or don't.

Cell Recycler

For being one, Japanese Yoshinori Ohsumi won the Nobel Prize in Medicine. Not cell phones, though much needed too, but human cells. By "autophagy, our cells gobble up damaged or worn-out pieces of themselves in what is called 'self-eating.'  This renewal makes way for new cellular structures and clears out invading germs and clumps of protein that could cause disease, including Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, diabetes and cancer." How did Ohsumi discover this? "By studying yeast under the microscope day after day for decades!"

Like mediators observing disputants during sessions, some of whom are also puffed-up!

Ripples

Risa Hontiveros finally a senator, carries her concern for all-around health. She spoke of the growing effect of depresson of an individual to the community, the nation, and the world.

So with the lack of understanding and peace. And mediation that tries to alleviate it.

The Other Guy

Or girl. Conchita Razon wrote about a friend who always gives the other person the benefit of a doubt or reason why s/he acts that way. This is good to remember in this day of cyber intolerance.

Poor Agot Isidro for her hugot line, who got it in the end!

Cut the Crap

Jaime Licauco quoted this joke from his favorite teacher and Dean of Liberal Arts Recaredo Enriquez:

Barber to customer: How do you like your hair cut?
Curt customer         : In silence.

Could be Sheldon Cooper of Big Bang Theory. Or mediation disputants deciding on their options.

Ax of the Epistles

Duterte spokespersons are doing the dirty work of having to explain what he actually said or didn't. Damage control is also done by the Executive Secretary, Legal Counsel and the Cabinet Secretaries, especially that of Foreign Affairs. The UN Ambassador joins the fray, too.

Too many spokespersons muddle up the message, if ever there is one.

Mentos

Not the arm candy of De Lima now, who on the contrary men toss about.

Beware the woman scorned, though; she is taking Supreme (Court) Action!

Figures of Death

Admittedly a former average student Duterte gave a lesson in figures of speech when he compared himself to Hitler getting rid of Jews, to his addicts. Merriam Webster defines simile as "comparing dissimilar things by using 'like' or 'as,' as in 'cheeks like roses.'" Metaphor, on the other hand, "uses a word for one idea/thing in place of another to suggest likeness between them, as in 'ships plow the sea.'"

Neo-nutsy?

PNP Laban Party

That seems to be how the PDP Laban Party, which adopted Duterte for President,  has morphed. And the machismo/chismis has been roaring ever since against drugs and De Lima.

The Batasan and Senate inquiries are no party poopers either. Thank God for the enlightened Cardinal Tagle who espouses change without violence.

Courtesy and Gratitude

Today's Gospel on the Healing of the 10 lepers had Fr. Sim relating this joke:
"Once in a crowded bus, a man gave his seat to a woman. In shock, she almost fainted. Recovering, she thanked the man, who in turn fainted in shock, too."

Are these traits so endangered and rare nowadays, that sometimes are the root causes of some mediation disputes of trait-ors.

Endo of EDCA

Our hyperbolic, hypertalking president is getting mixed-up. Promising the end of the 5-month contractualization of employees (which we old hands of HR await), he is bent on terminating EDCA instead.

Oh, Kitty my dear presidential daughter, couldn't you home-school so you'd be able to tell your dad to end his speeches like you did during the campaign?

Tailor-fit Wedding

Caught on international news, a rare heart-warming item of a Syrian tailor-refugee who saved the wedding dress of his neighbor-bride whose zipper broke.

One more reason why we should take in refugees, 'cause you never know... Guess that bride could intercede for them.

Stressing stress

Deepak Chopra has said, "In order to manage stress, take control of your emotions, which can be more stubborn than your thoughts." Who would have thought?

And it works in mediation, too. Guidelines include no shouting, cursing, interrupting, among others. That is why Duterte is a disputant's disputant.

Joining the Fray

We now have a Pinay Chess Grandmaster or ms! But she certainly didn't miss her checkmate. She also has the prophetic name of Frayna, Janelle is it? Could she have been uttering the mantra pray na, to make her unafraid?

All things being wrought by prayer, mediators and disputants would do well to start with a one-minute silence to seek guidance from Whomever is their Supreme Being.

Warning to Judges

Isaiah 5: 23 gives one reason why judges are shot: Woe to you "who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right!"

Right on! Once again, they don't shoot mediators, do they?

Sow by____________

Trying my hand at frontyard gardening, bought some seeds with the above information.  And of course, the watermelon and corn seeds were the ones we see and eat. What did I expect? By our seeds, we are known.

Feeling like the biblical sower, reflected on what we sow, after pulling out all the weeds, which can be quite cathartic really. Shouldn't we be sowing seeds of peace asap?

Unintelligent Intel

Once again, Duterte blames someone else for his matrix line-up screw-up. His source, Intelligence is not too intelligent, or are they just following their leader who should know better and recheck before gleefully parading a drawing on a piece of paper?

I volunteer to administer an intelligence test on all of them. Otherwise, we would be subjected to more of the same. Puro drawing!

Crossing Rody, con

Duterte keeps on referring to his crossing the Rubicon. Well, De Lima has been crossing him.

And she found out that he has also crossed the line- of ad hominem. If you do not have issues to throw back at an accuser, hit the person of the accuser.