15 days and counting

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

Hi there! It’s another weekend. Yes, we are 15 days away to the 100th Birthday of the Diocese of Calbayog. Among the events slated for the celebration are the Priests’ Congress, the Calbayog Clergy Concert and the Diocesan Centennial Awards.

Holy Week is almost there so I have reserved my acerbic comments on the world around me after Easter. In the meantime let me give you some updates on Calbayog.

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Local news. Last Monday, the City Government of Calbayog cited the secondary and elementary students who won medals in the recently concluded EVRAA 2010. Mayor Mel Sarmiento was joined by DepEd Calbayopg PESS Supervisor Bobby Diomangay in distributing the cash incentives to the young achievers at the City Hall Stage.

Winners in the individual category received 2,500 pesos (for gold), 1,500 pesos (for silver) and 800 pesos (for bronze) 800. Winners in the doubles category received 3,000 (for gold) 2,000 (for silver) and 1,000 for bronze). Group events winners received Php 3,500, Php 2,500 and Php 1,000 for gold, silver and bronze respectively. More than 20 athletes were present to receive their rewards. After congratulating the young achievers, Mayor Sarmiento also thanked the various local sports associations of Calbayog for the support they have given to the young athletes.

During the same occasion, the City Mayor called on the City Solid Waste Management Office and COMELEC Calbayog to form a team that will tear down campaign material that are posted or placed in areas other than the common-poster areas.

After the awarding program, the Mayor proceeded to the Handumanan conference Hall where he delivered a message during the opening of the Seminar Workshop on Disaster Management for the City Disaster Coordinating Council (CDCC) and the Disaster risk Management Office (DRM). The event was done under the auspices of the German GTZ program.

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Last week the Calbayog City Water District sent an El Niño Advisory to various institutions in Calbayog. It called on all concerned to use water wisely.

"Calbayog City Water District is expecting significant reduction in its raw water supply in the coming months as a result of El Niño. We wish to assure our concessionaires that we are making necessary preparation and linkage with the concerned government agencies to manage the situation and minimize concessionaires' inconvenience."

"We must remain vigilant in preparing for the possible continuation of drought cycle. Thus, the CCWD Management appeals to the general public to CONSERVE AND USE WATER WISELY."

"We will provide the public with regular updates regarding the effect of El Niño on our operation and service delivery so we can better manage our water supply."

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Calbayog City will observe Earth Hour 2010. The LGU through the City Environment and Natural Resources Office and the City solid Waste Management Office has prepared a 3-hour program tomorrow at the City Hall Stage. Various NGOs were invited to the event. Fr. Iluminado Paulino will lead the Opening Prayer. The officials invited to speak during the event are Congressman Reynaldo Uy, Mayor Mel Sarmiento, Vice Mayor Ronald Aquino, Councilor Susano Salurio. CENRO OIC and Earth Hour 2010 focal person Lorenzo Ras will give a brief talk on how to conserve energy. The SOS Youth will perform a Hands Play entitled “The Mission”.

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Greetings. Congratulations and Best wishes to Bryan David and Gina Chambers. They will get married tomorrow. Fr. Bart Dumalag will preside over their wedding mass at the Holy Trinity Parish Church in Trinidad, Calbayog City. Reception will be held at Marju Krisel Resort Hotel.
Happy Birthday to Mr. Pio Santos. He will turn a year older tomorrow.

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This is it for now. Have a nice weekend everyone! Ciao!

Lamentations (2)

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

Hi there! It’s another weekend. So sorry to miss you (again) last Monday. I still do not have my TV back, and am I missing anything? Yup, it’s the news, Discovery and National Geographic channels. To look at it from a different angle, my TV conking out made me appreciate something that I have been missing for quite sometime, the feel and smell of newspaper.

Talking about the news. So he wanted to be king again. At least that’s what Erap supposedly said after wining his first round at the COMELEC. The acerbic in me tells me to keep my mouth shut and signal no comment.

I never met him, certainly he was not aware of my existence, but Serge Remonde is someone
that one can’t easily forget. I suppose his name also spells c-o-o-l. Grace under pressure, I think that’s one virtue that the late secretary would have wanted us in government service to imbue in our persons.

Ahh, Jason Ivler; and yes, Marlene. What a mother’s love can do. Suddenly I remember one line which more or less went this way: Mothers do not have to build monuments of glory, their sons have built it for them. I suppose the person who said (or wrote) that was referring to mothers of great, or at least good sons. Otherwise, let’s go back to the Ivler case.

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Let me now give you the continuation of that article I left you with last week. I referred to it as lamentations of an OFW. If you have been following the news; and if you have relatives working in Dubai, you must have taken notice of the news about the near economic flimflam of the said emirate. It’s that news which led me a blog post (I forgot the name of the blog site) of an OFW expressing sadness over his plight in that area of the U.A.E. I first didn’t know if I had to take it seriously, smile at it or take it with a grain of salt. I decided that I would like to share it with you. I call the article ‘lamentations of an OFW”. I guess the same thing can be said about our OFWs who are working in other parts of the world, especially those who were not able to make it land in lucrative jobs like others we know. Here’s the second part of that article:

“Akala nila masaya ka kase nagpadala ka ng picture mo sa Burj Al Arab, Desert Safari, mall of emirates, Atlantis, Al Mamzar Beach, at iba pang attractions. Ang totoo, kailangan mo ngumiti kase minsan minsan ka lang makakapicture para mapadala mo sa mga mahal mo sa buhay.
Akala nila malaki na ang kinikita mo kase dirham na sweldo mo. Ang totoo, medyo malaki pag pinalit mo ng peso, pero dirham din ang gastos mo sa Dubai. Ibig sabihin ang dirham mong kinita sa presyong dirham mo din gagastusin. Ang P15.00 na sardinas sa Pilipinas AED3.00 sa Dubai , ang isang pakete ng sigarilyo sa pilipinas P40.00, sa Dubai AED 6.50, alangan namang puro cafeteria food ang kakainin mo aba mamatay ka sa highblood o heap nyan kasi nga umaapaw na sa mantika madumi pa! Mga kadiri, kaya lang pag naubusan ka ng pera no choice you have to take the risk.

Akala nila buhay milyonaryo ka na kase ang ganda ng bahay at kotse mo, nag pa-lypo kay Calayan at nagparetoke kay Vicky Belo, Ang totoo nag loan ka lang sa Mashreq, HSBC o CITIbank na huhulugan mo ng limang taon. Ibig sabihin, alipin ka ng bahay at kotse mo at ng luho mo at ng bansang ito!! Kasi nga mag-loan ba naman dahil sa luho bwahahaha!

Madaming naghahangad na makarating sa Dubai. Lalo na mga nurses at mga medsec at eto pa pati cleaners, mahirap maging normal na manggagawa sa Pilipinas. Madalas pagod ka sa trabaho. Pag dating ng sweldo mo, kulang pa sa pagkain mo. Pero ganun din sa ibang bansa katulad lalo na kaya sa Dubai madaming outlet ng stress mo! kasi walang bawal!!! Hindi ibig sabihin dirham na ang sweldo mo, yayaman ka na, kailangan mo ding magbanat ng buto para mabuhay ka sa ibang bansa.

Isang malaking sakripisyo ang pag alis mo sa bansang pinagsilangan at malungkot iwanan ang mga mahal mo sa buhay. Hindi pinupulot ang pera dito o pinipitas o iniigib. Hindi ako naninira ng pangarap, gusto ko lang buksan ang bintana ng katotohanan.

Mahirap mangibang bayan…sino ba ang may kasalanan na iwan sariling bayan? Manilbihan sa dayuhan at malayo sa pamilya ay may kahirapan. Hangga’t may pinay DH na nangingibang-bayan na simbolo ng ating kahirapan, kawawang bayan ni Juan patuloy na mapag-iiwanan. Kaya Juan iwan ka ng pera para sayo, para sa kinabukasan mo!”

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Belated Birthday greetings to Fr. Bernard Comilan (January 18) and Berna Cañada (January 14).

Wedding Bells: Anthony Din (of Rosario, Northern Samar) will get married to Flor Jaropojop (of Trinidad, Calbayog city). Msgr. Leonardo Guadalquiver will preside over their wedding mass at the San Damiano Chapel at Christ the King College. Reception will be held at the Cardinal Rosales Hall of the Centennial Pastoral Center.

Manuel “Noling” Lebario and Segundina “Gunding” (Merencillo) Lebario clebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last Sunday (January 17). Fr. Dennis Espiritu presided over their wedding mass at the San Roque Chapel in Dagum, Calbayog City. Reception was held at The Venue in Payahan, Calbayog City

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This is it for now. Have a nice weekend everyone! Ciao!

lamentations

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

Hi there! It’s another weekend, ngan patrun yana sa Oquendo. Today is the big day of the Santo Niño de Hibatang Festival which opened 11 days ago. The festival was held to highlight the 125th year of the commemoration of the Holy Infant Jesus as the patron saint of Oquendo; and along that line, to underscore the importance that Hibatang river played in the ancient settlement which we now call Calbayog City. Sa mga igkasi ko Oquendohanon, maupay nga patrun sa iyo ngatanan!

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A cabinet secretary was in an early morning TV show and there he said that 3 out of every 10 government employee are sick, specifically may sakit sa pag-iisip. Hmmm, what’s the best reaction to that? (Should I call it lamentation #1?)

Lamentation # 2. Two people died as 2 million joined the Nazareno procession. It’s not that I’m against such show of faith. But it seems like it already borders on fanaticism. Do you really have to physically torture yourself to deserve the blessings of the Lord? On the other hand, can’t blame them, we all have our own way of reaching out to the almighty.

Talking about the Nazareno. Heard from a sermon during a local celebration of the feast. My source told me that the priest was trying to center on concern for the poor. And how did he do it? Among his examples were Noynoy and Villar. That Villar will be a better president than Noynoy because he (Villar) is (or used to be) poor. Then he narrowed the scope and touched on provincial politics. Si gobernor bisan nanu kuno pakaraut ada la guihapon kay makitawo damo an proyekto pareho san panhatag bugas, an iba ada la san pangawat. My source was waiting for the priest to touch the homebase (read: local politics), sadly he did not. So what about this sermon? Wala lang, I just didn’t see the connection between the Nazareno and Noynoy becoming a bad President because he is rich and the other Samar officials becoming mga kawatan because they did not give rice. Yun lang. Seriously, it’s a weekend, let’s take time to smile. Magulo ba? (That’s another lamentation)

* * *

Lamentations of an OFW. If you have been following the news; and if you have relatives working in Dubai, you must have taken notice of the news about the near economic flimflam of the said emirate. It’s that news which led me a blog post (I forgot the name of the blog site) of an OFW expressing sadness over his plight in that area of the U.A.E. I first didn’t know if I had to take it seriously, smile at it or take it with a grain of salt. I decided that I would like to share it with you. I call the article ‘lamentations of an OFW”. I guess the same thing can be said about our OFWs who are working in other parts of the world, especially those who were not able to make it land in lucrative jobs like others we know. Here’s the first part of that article:

“Akala ng mga tao na nasa Pilipinas kapag nasa DUBAI ka akala nila madami ka ng pera ng langis. Ang totoo, madami kang utang, dahil credit card lahat ang gamit mo sa pagbili mo ng mga gamit mo. Kailangan mo gumamit ng credit card Kasi naubus na ang cash pinadala sa pinas, kase pag hindi ka nagpadala, iisipin nila nakalimutan mo na sila. Akala nila mayaman ka at marami kang pera kasi buwan-buwan libo-libo padala mo walang palya at kapag pumalya iisipin nila baka nagbisyo ka na o may sinusustentuhang iba. Hindi nila alam food allowance na lang ang natitira sayo at pag kinulang pa umuutang pa at lista muna sa malapit na bakala. Pag may okasyon sa pinas birthday, fiesta, anniversary, pasko, new year, at iba pa, padala ka agad panghanda sarap ng kainan nila, di nila alam ikaw tiyaga sa budget meal, kapsa, noodles o de lata at itlog na nakakabutlig na ng balat, hay naku! Akala ni Tatay, Nanay, Ate, Kuya, anak, mga pamangkin at iba pa namumulot ka ng pera sa Dubai kada may problema text kaagad, kumusta sa una sa bandang huli kelangan ng ng pera! Hay naku…nakaka-alergic na ang text sa roaming puro gastos…minsan padala ka pa ng load! Load mo nga utang pa Pala! Hay naku bakit ba nauso pa yan dagdag gastos lang talaga at pag di ka pa reply aawayin ka pa! Akala nila masarap maging OFW at tinatawag na bagong bayani…. naku mas masarap pa yong nasa pinas na sa katas ni bagong bayani ay syang umaani! Utang sa DUBAI lalong dumarami. Akala nila masarap sa DUBAI di nila alam di ka na nga makauwi kasi roundtrip tiket kina-cash pa mapadala lang at ibayad sa utang. Akala nila sosyal ka na kulay ng buhok mo uso pa at naka-highlight pa, di nila alam buhok mo namumuti na sa stress at problema at pag minalas pa nalalagas pa! Akala nila masarap sa DUBAI kasi pag-uwi mo mestiso ka, maputi at mamula-mula ang balat mo, di nila alam babad ka sa opisina at kulong sa bahay mo dahil no choice ka, mga kapit-bahay mo di mo kaano-ano, walang paki-alaman at kung lalabas ka sunog ang balat mo, init ng araw sobra! Akala nila mayaman ka na kase may kotse ka na. Di nila alam hulugan pa ito! Ang totoo, kapag hindi ka bumili ng kotse sa dubai maglalakad ka ng milya-milya sa ilalim ng init ng araw o kaya sa winter na kasama ang asawa mo dito sa dubai.. O kaya naman tiyaga kang mag -abang ng RTA Bus or Coaster na ubod ng babaho ng mga pasahero at pagbaba mo amoy putok ka na rin, grabe! Walang jeepney, tricycle o padyak sa dubai .. madami mga indiano, Bangladesh na driver na ubod ng baho. Pag minalas ka paskitani na taxi driver na rapist pa!” (to be continued…)

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Wedding Bells. Joper Conarco (who is connected with the Social Action Center of the Calbayog diocese) and Terry Salino (who is with WESADEF) will get married tomorrow. Their wedding mass will be held at the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral. Reception will be at the Centennial Pastoral Center.

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This is it for now. Have a nice weekend everyone! Ciao!

My New Year’s Resolution (2)

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

Hi there! It’s a new week. Bad habits die hard – it happened last week when I failed to do my column (again). What a way to start the year. So what’s with today’s title? Nothing really except that I forgot to mention in my column more than a week ago that I also intend to loose weight and trim a few inches from my waistline – two things which I have always wanted to do the past so many years.

My TV conked out and how am I coping? I ended playing CDs and for news, the old-fashioned newspaper. Surely nothing beats the feel (and smell) of newspaper paper (parang may redundancy sa last line ko.) Talking about the news, or the remnants of it. Two things stuck in my mind: Manny and Maguindanao; and the acerbic in me is getting restless. So the Manny and Mayweather fight is off? All those accusations because there will be no olympic-style (blood) testing for the Pacman? Some quarters were quick to say that that was due to some superstitious belief, and that needles make Manny uneasy. I’d like to comment on that but I’d rather not. Well, with the big bucks involved, surely those around the two fighters will do something about the fight of the century, bloody fight if I may add.

And the Maguindanao massacre. I thought I was not gonna give a comment about the issue, simply put it’s too gruesome for me. That is until the CHR slammed journalists for attacking Andal Ampatuan, Jr. It’s not that I do not like the CHR Chairperson, I am one of her fans (clearly she has the brains, I admire her for that, and her accent too). But I would like to share with you what I got from a fellow blogger (www.heavenpurgatoryandhell.blogspot.com): “CHR slams journalists for attack - Innocent until proven guilty. That's what Leila de Lima, chair, Commission on Human Rights said regarding the unruly behavior of the journalists towards Andal Ampatuan, Jr last week. According to her, even suspected mass murderers have rights, too. De Lima wants the journalists investigated. Come on...they're just venting out their anger. Even ordinary people have feelings too. You need to make them grieve and express their anger. It's human nature to do so. We go through stages of anger, depression, bargaining, before acceptance. No matter how trivial or tragic the event, it is a human process we go through. I guess next time, _______. (I had to delete the last line, I understand my editor’s will not allow it for my column, you may check this link)

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Let me give you the second part of that money management stuff I left you with two Fridays ago. It’s an article written by Ann-Marie Murphy for Quizzle.com. Why should I take time to have it in my column? It has something to do with money, managing it, that is – something I definitely need for 2010 and beyond.

Making a decision to change is just the first step, however. If you want to see results, you have to know what moves to make to ensure those changes actually happen. After all, saying, “I’d like to lose 10 pounds,” doesn’t mean much if you don’t learn how to eat healthier and establish a new workout routine.

As part of your planning for 2010, consider taking action to improve your personal finances. With the economy beginning to regain its footing, there's no time like the present to add some dollars to your bottom line. To get started, here are 10 goals for 2010, plus tips on how to achieve them:

5. Improve your credit score. If you’re managing your credit properly (see #4), you’ll know whether you could stand to improve your credit score. It’s important to make strides to improve your credit score before you need to, because boosting your score takes time.

6) Pay yourself first. Save, save, save! Paying yourself first simply means that you need to save before you spend. The best way to do this is by setting up direct deposit from your paycheck into a savings account — whether it be plain vanilla savings or a CD. By making it automatic, you remove the temptation to spend.

7) Save more. Let’s say you’re putting $200 per paycheck toward your savings. Great work! Now, find a way to increase your savings contribution to $300 per paycheck. Cut unnecessary expenses. Look for bargains on big-ticket items that you need. Sell the clothes you’ve been storing in your attic on eBay. You can find (legitimate) ways to save more if you look for them.

8) Save for retirement. Here’s another case where direct deposit makes it easy and painless to save for your future. And if you’re lucky enough to work for a company that matches your retirement contributions, take advantage to the max! If you don’t, you’re basically saying no to free money.

9) Get the right insurance. For instance, if you have kids, life insurance is important. However, if you don’t have anyone who relies on you to support them financially, there’s no need to spend your hard-earned money on a life insurance policy just yet.

10) Protect your identity. Don’t leave yourself open to identity theft. Monitor your credit on a regular basis and check your other financial accounts to make sure they look the way they’re supposed to look. Need help? Look into identity protection services on the web and get the pros to watch your back.

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Wedding Bells. Basilio Villanueva and Leda Testor got married last Saturday. Their wedding mass was held at the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral with Fr. Armando Cagomoc as mass presider. Concelebrating with him are Fr. Pedro Peñaranda, Fr. Lito Capeding, Fr. Tito Voz and Fr. Bartolome Dumalag. The reception was at the Cardinal Rosales Hall of the Centennial Pastoral Center.

Larry Jumaday and Glady Galamiton got married last Wednesday. Their wedding mass and reception were held at the Centennial Pastoral Center.

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Onstage tonight at the Oquendo Park: The Search for Ms. Hibatang 2010. The pageant is part of the Santo Niño de Hibatang Festival which is being held in line with the 125th Fiesta celebration of Oquendo.

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

Olympics and money-making

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

Hi there! First things first. Mayor Mel Senen Sarmiento will turn a year older today. Happy Birthday!

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Today is the feast of St. Clare. It’s another week and yup, in the next two weeks, sports enthusiasts will be glued to TV and what have you observing (and absorbing?) everything and anything that is offered by the greatest show on earth, a.k.a. the Olympic Games which opened to much fanfare last Saturday. Ahh, I loved the lighting of the torch. That was indeed something. But nothing beats the drama of the Barcelona games, remember the archer lighting the torch via an arrow he shot from the ground? Anyway, we wish our athletes well.

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So, what’s with today’s title? Much has been said about the game, and one that caught my attention was Businessweek’s account on security preparations, and well, some issues on the side. If I may feature a few lines from that report:

Even as the likes of McDonald's, Adidas, and Coca-Cola spend millions of dollars trumpeting their affiliation with the Beijing Olympics, a different group of multinationals is less eager for the spotlight. China is spending some $6.5 billion on security for the Games, and much of that has gone to foreigners. But given the sensitive nature of those contracts—and a skittishness over being perceived as supporting China's authoritarian government—these companies are often reluctant to discuss what they're doing or how much they're making. "We want to avoid answering sensitive questions," says a staffer in the Beijing office of Panasonic, which has sold surveillance cameras for use at the Games.

That doesn't mean these companies haven't been aggressive in courting business. General Electric, IBM, Honeywell, Siemens, Panasonic, and LG have all won major contracts providing security technology for the Olympics—one of the biggest security-business opportunities ever, and a shot at lots of ongoing business for those that get in early. The Chinese are laying out more than four times the $1.5 billion that Athens spent on security in 2004, says the Security Industry Assn., a Washington trade group.

The hefty increase is due in part to the immense size of the 2008 Games. Beijing alone has 31 Olympic venues; six other cities—the most ever for an Olympics—will play host to soccer, equestrian events, and sailing. In attendance will be 10,000 athletes, 30,000 journalists, and more than 80 heads of state, including George W. Bush and France's Nicolas Sarkozy. "Hosting the Games is, in the context of the U.S., like having two Super Bowls every day for 16 days," says Harvey W. Schiller, chairman of New York risk consultant GlobalOptions Group and a former executive director of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Beijing's legitimate concerns about terrorism also are behind the big spending. On Aug. 4 two men attacked a group of policemen in western China, killing 16 of them. So China has deployed 34,000 People's Liberation Army soldiers and more than 75,000 other security personnel to keep an eye on the Games. Anti-aircraft missiles are in place around the "Bird's Nest" stadium, the centerpiece of the Olympics. And Beijing's airport was scheduled to shut down during the Aug. 8 opening ceremonies in the stadium. "Safety is our top concern here," Vice-President Xi Jinping said while touring Olympic venues on July 21.

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So, what’s my take on the games? There is money and the chance of making money in the games. Surely, gold medalists will be in for something more aside from the honor or accolades – the chance to endorse products and earn dollars, millions of it – and that’s where the real fun will be.

On the money spent to stage the party, I won’t say that it could have been better spent somewhere like helping the poor or helping the environment or promoting peace. I don’t think it can help. Evita (or, the composer) was right, or at least being realistic with this line from the musicale: “(the problem) from war to pollution, no hope of a solution, even if I lived for one hundred years.”

On the other hand, the green-eyed monster in me (read: drooling with envy) can only look at the stars and hope for the day when the country of Juan De La Cruz could do the same thing that the Chinese did last week. In the meantime, while we can’t do what the Chinese (or any Olympic city for that matter) did, let’s look for Gold, or well, I guess, Bronze will do (hey! It’s the Olympics!).

And yes, world leaders flew to Beijing to party, err, wish their athletes well, I’ll have my take on that next issue.

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Congratulations and Best Wishes to Councilor Monmon Uy and Angie Llever. They got married last Saturday. Fr. Bloi Guiuan presided over the Nuptial Mass which was held at the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral. The groom walked down the aisle with his mother and Congressman Reynaldo Uy. The principal sponsors included Mayor Mel Sarmiento, Vice Governor Jesus Redaja, BM Pamela Fortaleza, among others. Reception was held at the TTMIST Socio-Cultural Center.

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Let me leave you something to ponder about this week. I got this via email (and yup, it reminded of one of the issues in the U.S. elections. This poem was nominated as the best poem of 2006, Written by an African Kid:

When I born, I black
When I grow up, I black
When I go in Sun, I black
When I scared, I black
When I sick, I black
And when I die, I still black

And you white fellow
When you born, you pink
When you grow up, you white
When you go in sun, you red
When you cold, you blue
When you scared, you yellow
When you sick, you green
And when you die, you gray
And you calling me colored??

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

A Bishop's Appeal

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

Hi there! tomorrow is Friday the thirteenth. I still need to read or hear what doomsayers have to say about candidates campaigning on that day. Talking about superstitious beliefs, let’s take the one on taking a bath. Do you still remember how old folks would discourage one from taking a bath on certain days of the week or during celebrations or events throughout the year (like Holy Thursday and Good Friday, etc.), or at certain times of the day (like it’s evening so the spirits will be around; or not at 3 pm ‘coz that’s the time Christ died) which if you would take a close look (or count) and seriously consider, that would leave us with no more days when it will be safe to take a bath.

Last Monday was Araw ng Kagitingan. Of course, as expected, nobody noticed it (hmm, some TV networks did give a few seconds slot on the activities in Bataan). For the many, including me, that day was simply an addition to the already long weekend called the Holy Week, which sadly is spells as holi week, as in holiday, for many of our fellowmen, both believers (in God, or a god, or gods) and agnostics alike. Let’s not include the hotel and restaurant owners, they will always be able to strike gold even when there’s no holiday; or even when it’s a holy day.

Back to Araw ng Kagitingan. So, the veterans were honored again. I’m not privy to the comings and going of the Veterans’ Affairs, but from the looks of it, it seems that the annual testimonial from the president or whichever VIP is present in the annual commemoration, is all they’ll ever get. In their lifetime, if I may add. A few weeks ago, Neal Cruz in his PDI column recalled something like 1 billion pesos promised by PGMA for the veterans last year. I share Mr. Cruz’ concerns about what happened to that promise.

And Politicians galore. Last Sunday, during the Easter Mass, the Cathedral (okey, the mass goers) was a witness to a gathering of politicians and would-be-politicians (should I include has-beens?) of all shapes and sizes and political colors (now, that’s what made the gathering colorful) who are running for various positions in the May polls. Nope, there was no peace covenant to be signed, they were just there, including those whom you seldom see attend mass, at least in the last three years.

* * *

In his homily during the Easter Vigil, Calbayog Bishop, Msgr. Isableo Abarquez made an appeal for a peaceful election. Let me give you some parts of that homily which he delivered in Cebuano, Waray-waray and English:

“… yana nga ti-arabot nga Mayo 14, mag eleksyon na liwat kita. Hinaut nga magmaisog kita sa pagsaksi san aton Kristohanon nga pagtoo uban sa nabanhaw nga Kristo pinaagi san mga kandidato nga maghatag san kaupayan san bug-os nga katawhan diri lang sa pipila nga pinili sa katilingban. Sa aton ti-arabot nga eleksyon, do not allow yourselves to be corrupted by money. Vote for persons who morally, intellectually, spiritually and physically show themselves capable of inspiring the whole nation towards a hopeful future. Refuse to cooperate with, and resist singly and in collaboration with others, all efforts of cheating, intimidation and violence from whatever source, during the campaign period and at any stage of the electoral process.

TO THE TEACHERS AND PUBLIC SCHOOL PERSONNEL: I trust in your integrity. In the eyes of the young, you are the upholders of truth and honesty. Please do not destroy or let others destroy your name and profession. May you courageously resist bribes and pressures.

TO THE MILITARY AND POLICE: you are the guardians of peace and order. You owe your allegiance to the Flag and to your people not to any particular individual candidates or political group. I urge you to defend the life, dignity and rights of our citizenry. Never allow yourselves to be used as instruments of election violence and cheating.

TO THE COMELEC AND OTHER PEOPLE IN THE GOVERNMENT: you are public servants. No matter who appointed you in the office, you are the servants of the people, your utang na loob and loyalty should be directed to the people you are committed to serve. I urge you to resist all efforts to demean your dignity through pressures and intimidation of all sorts.

Sa tanan nga magserbisyo sa atong ti-arabot nga eleksyon: amo kini ang akong pahinumdum: “WE MUST OBEY GOD RATHER THAN MEN.” In a conflict of loyalties and interests, the will of God must prevail over unjust command of earthly leaders…”

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Congratulation and Best Wishes to Atty. Jun Hernandez and Lianne Aniban. They got married last Sunday. Fr. Ferdie Figueroa said the wedding mass at the CKC Chapel. Mayor Mel Sarmiento led the principal sponsors that included Atty. Oscar Hugo, Alan Diomangay, Roger Casurao, Ana Asis, among others.

They held their reception at the spanking Centennial Pastoral Center. Worth noting is the couple’s decision not to give out souvenirs (or party favors). Instead they donated the money to the Missionaries of Charity for whom Junjun serves as legal counsel, pro-bono.

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This is it for now. Have a nice weekend everyone! Ciao!