S O N A

(This column appears in today's edition of the Leyte-Samar Daily Express)

Hi there! It’s another weekend. I think I’m into smorgasbord today but first the good news. Calbayog SDS Edita Paculan informed me of the score which the Calbayog City Division got in the recent National Achievement Test (NAT).

The division fared among the divisions in the region by achieving the highest in terms of gains in the last NAT. For the Elementary level, Calbayog ranked 4, that’s six notches above the previous 10th ranked. For the High School level, Calbayog ranked 2 from the previous rank of 4.

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So what about the smorgasbord? Well, I think I’d like to pause a while and talk about movies (or the world of fantasy), the world of reality and some of the people that affect our existence in this world.

The big-earners to hit the screens lately are the 6th installment of the Harry Potter series and the Transformers sequel. I think it is safe to say that both are fiction and/or fantasy movies; and needless to say, both made it big at the box office. If the way we watch movies or the kind of movies that most of people are into is an indication, then truly, there is nothing inspiring about the real world, yup to include the world characterized by the people who are supposed to care for our souls. Oops, sorry I got carried away. Am I talking about hometown? Could be. Back to the movies. One film critic had it that movie sequels more often than not are either bad or worse than the previous movie. And transformer was one such movie. That’s a from a critic’s mind. For the simple folks, I heard somebody say something like this, “kun an imo karuyag sini nga puro gud aragway, paghiling san transformers.” Again, that movie raked it in at the box office. Violence for entertainment? No need to explain how it affects the way we live.

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And yes, SONA is in the air. A few nights ago in her TV segment, Mareng Winnie tackled the topic by giving President Arroyo a grade of 47% (where the passing score is 50). Already a good number of Congressmen and Senators have expressed their desire which is to be absent in the SONA. As expected, a good number of PGMA’s critics are already criticizing the speech (which still has to be delivered at that). And as tradition would have it, the police and the militants are already practicing the means by which they can outdo (oops sorry for the term) each other.

And my take on the SONA? Forgive me but it’s the SONA red carpet moments that excite me more. You know, seeing all those celebrities and the pa-celebrity, the powerful and powers-that-be, the VIPs (read: Very Important People or Very Ignorant People, as the case maybe) do their thing as they strut on the red carpet leading to the august hall of congress.

The Philippines (or at least the lawmakers) have been criticized a good number of times for making a fashion show out of the opening of congress. C’mon guys, it’s exactly that which makes the (SONA) event exciting. (Smile! It’s a weekend!)

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Mayor Mel Sarmiento yesterday called for a meeting which tackled among other issues the issues, the series of killings in Calbayog. It would be recalled that it was the subject of a statement signed by the Bishop and read in the Sunday masses in Calbayog and Gandara a few Sundays ago. (I have featured the complete text of that letter in my column for the July 13, 2009 issue of this paper.)

During yesterday’s meeting, Calbayog PNP Chief PSupt Lito Bigoy presented data and updates on the investigation regarding the killings in Calbayog from January to July 2009. The figure as of yesterday is at 27. The figures presented confirmed my earlier report (featured in my column on July 10, 2009) that the majority of the crimes committed were not politically-motivated by rather due to personal grudges. If I may repeat what I wrote in my column, it was learned that generally the killings were results of personal grudges. Some of these already have the suspects identified, witnesses came forward and cases have been filed. However, a good number of these cases remained “unsolved”. Meaning, no witnesses were willing to cooperate; and in some cases, there were witnesses, the suspects identified, still the victims’ kin were not interested in filing the appropriate cases.

I will give you the figures concerning these crimes in my column this coming Monday.

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Greetings. Gilbert Davis and Tin-tin De Guia will get married tomorrow. The wedding mass will be held at the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral. Reception will be at the La Milagrosa Academy Auditorium.

Birthday greetings to my cousin Pheona Ladrero - Robinson who will turn a year older today.

Belated birthday greetings to Mrs. Emelie Isidro - Andrada (July 20) and Dr. Mary Basco - Fulgencio (July 22).

Mrs. Lydia Divinagracia - Mancol turned 75 years old on July 15. Her kids gave her a surprise party last Saturday at the Centennial Pastoral Center.

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This is it for now. Let me leave you with something to ponder upon this weekend. Let’s call it some inspiring lines from the representative of Christ in our local Christian community. I understand he is the one who has castigated (in at least two masses) the local PNP for supposedly doing nothing on the series of killings in Calbayog. I do not question his call for a solution to the killings, I think that’s what every Calbayognon would want to do. On the other hand, what he did served as an inspiration (or maybe reminder) for me to give you some inspiring line from him, or supposedly coming from him. Supposedly.

Easter Sunday while delivering a sermon: “… samtang si Kristo nagsasakit, ini nga mga pasasakit (referring to a group of ladies who are into community service a member of which he supposedly locked horns with) . . .”

That lady happened to be Chinese. In another mass, the priest supposedly said “… Ini nga mga intsik dire gud angay tapuran san simbahan…” (or something to that effect).

And when told about some of his flock going to church less often, he supposedly said, “… pabay-i kay mamamalik man la sira guihapon…” To this one was a quick reply, “Oo pag-iwas nimo sa parokya...”

He said all these? Again, supposedly.

Have I mentioned about ginamos, napo-o, bugkot and gaba? Let’s have that next time.

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Have a nice weekend everyone! Ciao!