taken for a ride

Hi there! It’s midweek. It’s odd, the city is still clean, there seems to be so few election posters pasted in town. Sign of the times? Or are the candidates into following election guidelines? Okey, we still have more than two months.

So, a (Foreign Affairs) subcommittee of the U.S. Congress is into an investigation of the killings in the Philippines. Interesting, coz so far, no yankee-go-out-calls here.

I’m no big fan of Satur Ocampo, and we may not agree on our beliefs in life, I have to admit that he and his wife are among the better Filipinos there are. From what I saw on TV and read in various publications, I believe they are simple, educated folks with no air of being pretentious intellectual snobs. And the images of Satur being literally dragged out of a detention center? I can only shake my head. Anyway, as reported the plane was ordered back to Manila. Now that’s being literally taken for a ride. I guess the consolation would be the free plane ride, cramped as the airplane may have been. Seriously, doesn’t the predicament of Mr. Ocampo remind you of something from our recent past? Ah, lest we forget the lessons of history, as one of my SocSci professors had it, those who never learned from the mistakes of the past are bound to repeat it.

And what’s this? News had it that some (Senatorial) candidates are seeking Ladlad’s (Danton Remoto’s group) endorsement? Hmm, it’s nice to see pink all over. I first met Danton when we were guest in Julie Yap Daza’s show. Surely he is one hell of a staunch gay rights advocate. Now, I’m reminded of that gay beauty pageant (among the aims of which is to encourage those in the closet to be out) where one winner said that it’s his moment and he intends to shine. Whew! I see something else in it: in whatever undertaking there is, the truth will always set you free (gets nyo? Okey, I mean magpakatutuo na kayo. Smile, its midweek).

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The fourth Sunday of Lent always features one of the most beautiful parables ever told, that of the Prodigal Son. Last Sunday Fr. Ric (whom many will agree if I say that he is one of the better priests of Calbayog) gave a nice, simple reflection on the story. Among other things, he cited the famous Rembrant painting entitled the prodigal son; that painting which contained three images, that of a father embracing his lost son with the other son in the background. Fr. Ric used the painting and the story in guiding the faithful as to where they are in the scheme of things in this season of lent. A question hung in the air: to which character do we belong? the repentant son, the forgiving father or the indifferent brother? Think about it.

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About two weeks ago, I featured that first part of Charo Nabong’s article “People who made a difference in Samar in 2006”. Here’s the second part of that article:

Mel Sarmiento, Coefredo Uy, Reynato Latorre and Mario Quijano are mayors of Calbayog City, Catbalogan, Villareal and Pinabacdao respectively. Mayor Sarmiento is an energetic mayor who has won numerous awards for his good governance in Calbayog, the only city in Samar island. He was named national winner of the Konrad Adenauer Medal of Excellence (KAME) as a Highly Performing City Government by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and the Local Government Development Foundation. KAME, named after the first German Chancellor, is an award for best managed local government unit in the Philippines, given to local executives for their leadership, accomplishments and vision for their communities. He has also won for Calbayog an award from the Galing Pook Awards for his project on Coastal Zoning which delineated the boundaries of the municipal waters of Calbayog City and its neighboring municipalities, thus securing the municipal fishing grounds for the artisanal fisherfolk of Calbayog.

Mayor Mario Quijano brought honors to the municipality of Pinabacdao when his proposal for an agro-forestry project was declared one of three national winners in the Panibagong Paraan Competition of the World Bank in 2006. His proposal, "What is Yours is Mine, What is Mine is Yours', bested 87 other proposals from the original 1,000 entries and a P2 M grant was given for his project. He convinced farmers to go into agro-forestry, offering to pay for their tax delinquencies when yields had improved.

Mayor Uy, or Tekwa as he prefers to be called is a first termer mayor of Catbalogan who showed how to exercise political will in realizing long cherished improvements for the town of Catbalogan. Most politicians in elected positions would hesitate to act on what has to be done fearing the loss of votes, but Mayor Tekwa pushed on, no matter the political consequences. With this daring-do, he was able to do what his predecessors were not able to accomplish. He built and improved the wet and dry markets for fish and vegetable vendors. He built the first bus and jeepney terminal for Catbalogan, the premier town of Samar. He was named Second Best Performing LGU in Fiscal Management and Collection in Region 8 (second to Ormoc City) by the DILG.

Reynato "Boy" Latorre is another first termer mayor of Villareal, Samar who took the "responsibility of an extra-ordinary, mind-boggling and gargantuan project that separates us from the very ordinary Filipinos in the words of Prof. Cesar Torres, a Villahanon based in San Francisco, U.S.A. The project is the repair and concreting of the 9- km. road from the Maharlika highway to the town of Villareal. Built in 1937, the dirt road is the only access road linking Villareal to the rest of Samar but it has deteriorated so badly, people would rather take to the sea to reach Villareal. With the strong support of the Villahanon Association in Metro Manila (VAMM), Mayor Latorre has mobilized his fellow Villahanons here and abroad to contribute sacks of cement and harnessed tiklos labor (the traditional practice of helping one another in times of harvest). Contributions poured in and people turned up for the tiklos and now about 3.5 kms of what is now known as the "Villareal Bayanihan Road" has been cemented. Mayor Boy Latorre has demonstrated people power in action in his municipality. The project continues and so thus the tiklos spirit." (to be continued…)

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Belated Birthday greetings to Archbishop Jose Palma. He turned 57 last Monday.

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This is it for now. Have a nice week everyone!