January 27, 2005

 SP calls for peace & order master plan
Sees checkpoints as ‘inutil’

As they saw crimes escalating in the city recently, Dipolognons, especially businessmen felt the need to adopt a comprehensive master plan to curb crimes in the city. In a regular session of Sangguniang Panlungsod recently, committee chairman on peace and order council Ricky Mejorada urged the Dipolog PNP through Mayor Roberto Uy to submit a comprehensive and practical plan for said purpose.

Councilor Mejorada made it clear that said plan should not be based on theories alone but rather on practical policies which are easily understood by Dipolognons. In his privilege speech, councilor Mejorada pointed to the recent holdup of a copra buyer in Galas early Saturday morning which resulted to the shooting of its manager Ritchie Uy.  Mejorada lamented that the holduppers just got away.

Furthermore, he picture the crimes in the city which are now getting worse and holduppers getting bolder citing the various holdups including the aborted holdup of the Labason disbursing officer which happened right in the heart of the city. Meanwhile, former chairman of peace and order councilor Peter Co revealed that ever since the PNP has not really adopted peace and order policies despite the various clamors from various sectors.

In a related development, Councilor Co tried to question the ability of checkpoints and police assistance centers to apprehend criminals. Councilor Co said that he had not really seen a concrete achievement of these centers which he pointed out are placed in the entry and exit points of Dipolog City, including Zamboanga del Norte. He added that until now he has not heard of any criminal elements caught by these checkpoints, not even the holduppers of the recent holdups which occurred during daytime.

It can be remembered that holduppers of two recent holdups right in the city just got away easil

Abolish DENR! – CBCP, SP, NGO’s LPP

The Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines, (CBCP) recently called for the abolition of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. This was disclosed recently by Board Member Cedric Adriatico, who headed the second group of Task Force Kalasangan to investigate whether President GNMA’s total log ban policy in the province was implemented.

BM Adriatico said that this issue was raised by Monsignor Jose Manguiran of the Diocese of Dipolog during the CBCP meeting recently. He also announced that Bishop Manguiran was now asking the comprehensive report from the Task Force, including pictures and video footages taken from the cutting area of DACON in Baliguian.

Meanwhile, Gov. Rolando Yebes also revealed that during the meeting of the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) a resolution calling for the abolition of DENR was also endorsed. The governor further revealed that this was after he narrated to fellow governors the sabotage DENR has done with DACON to destroy the last forest reserves of the province.

BM Adriatico also disclosed that the same stand was expressed by the NGO’s and they believed that DENR officials and employees should be declared persona non grata. Meanwhile BM Anecito Darunday lashed his anger before the Sangguniang Panlalawigan during its regular session recently when he narrated the sad experience of the members of Task Force Kalasangan during their visit to Sirawai, Sibuco, Siocon and Baliguian.

Although he had earlier called for the postponement of the declaration of persona non grata against PENDRO Rodolfo Aradanas, Forest Specialist Rudy Sebastian and Regional Executive Director Samuel Pinafiel, but Majority Floor Leader Uldarico Mejorada pointed to the snobbery of the said office when the DENR officials called to a dialogue did not appear before the SP.

BM Mejorada said that these officials were given enough time to explain recent DACON activities despite the president’s total log ban policy.  But, he said, they have not supported the program, instead DENR has gone against the environmental programs of the provincial government. Mejorada stressed that DENR officials concerned should pack up; and go out of the province since who are needed are officials who are sincere in protecting the environment of the province. (Press Freedom, Vol. XVII No. 29)

 Mindanao Star Editorial
Just another political issue

The issues raised by the Amatong-owned radio station about the alleged mishandling of funds by the provincial tourism officer were made to appear by their purveyor at first to be credible and in turn legitimate issues that need utmost public outcry. They designed to make it appear credible since this radio personalities came to appear as being resourceful to supplement their highly politically motivated tirades against the hapless government officer.

For the first time they have heed the public call to be resourceful, so to become ethically capable by presenting credible facts to back up their issues against the capitol, their favorite daily subject of comments, of course for obvious reason. They went as far as documenting and interviewing individuals who participated on the recent ‘adapt-a tree-campaign’ by the provincial tourism which was according to Atty. Ivan Patrick Ang, a purely private fund raising campaign, initiated however, by his office with support of course from the provincial government, in an effort to beautify the capitol plaza during the Christmas season, with donations from the private sector. 

They presented that issue to the public using the donors and the suppliers as the complainants when in fact there was no complaint at all. They wittingly dragged the names of these well-meaning citizens as a camouflage to justify their political motive. One such supplier’s name, the 168 was mentioned, but according to its owners they never made a media pronouncement complaining among others the non-completion of the payment since there never was a complaint at all from their end, nor from the other donors, as these radio personalities have intonated in their radio, so quite it’s clear now that it’s just another political issue.

After they have been exposed to have been the real party opposite the government, their credibility have taken its tool on them, they have lost their credence long before they started stalking every affairs of the capitol, and putting their desperation as the buffer of their own effort.

In their effort to destroy the present administration their ignorance and their emotion laden tactics has proven to be no match to the hard reality that people have a daunting mistrust on them handling such public issues. Because it really takes a greater amount of intellect to make people believe an unbelievable story. They should learn more, research more and especially learn to be humble and be cautious on sowing too much hate, because it would eventually go back to them. (Mindanao Star, Vol. I No.6)

Credits: Mindanao Star is published once a week and is circulated to the 25 Municipalites and 2 Cities of the province of Zamboanga del Norte. Mindanao Star Editorial Office: #096 C.M. Montaño Building, Gen. Luna Street, Dipolog City; Phone/Fax No. (065) 212-2576; Email: mindanaostar@zamboangadelnorte.com

 Witnesses are afraid:
Kalawit massacre case dismissed

Provincial Prosecutor Valeriano Lagula could only sigh and express his regrets when the court dismissed the case against the nine suspects of Kalawit massacre. In an interview with this paper, Prosecutor Lagula said he believed they could have won the case since three of the suspects were positively identified by the witnesses. However, he said, the witnesses no long appeared because they were afraid to come out into the open.

“They security is the only reason of their disappearance and nothing else,” Lagula revealed. He added that these witnesses were even already trembling and scared even before the cross-examination. While the other one had to cover his face in court for fear of being identified. Prosecutor Lagula was saddened by the fact that the witness protection program his office was suggesting was disapproved by the higher office.

“They could have been protected since Kalawit massacre was not an ordinary crime,” Lagula added. Furthermore, he disclosed that the suspects were positively identified since they were the neighbors of the witnesses once. The nine suspects were released recently.

According to the prosecutor, the suspects were all members of Muslim Brotherhood Association under its leader, identified as Pa’am Laydan. Reports said that the suspects come from Sibuco, Sirawai and Siocon and who had intentionally gone to Kalawit for the crime. Sources said that said massacre was just a revenge for the three Muslim Brothers who were also killed in Kalawit. The said Muslims were just hunting wild animals but they were killed, reports said. (Press Freedom, Vol. XVII No. 29)

Is DCM Binggo tax free?

As councilor Ricky Mejorada called for the creation of a task force to investigate all business permits in the city as to whether they have complied all the requirements, SP Majority Floor leader Horacio Velasco urged the latter to include the operation of Binggo which is located at the 3^rd floor of the Dipolog Center Mall.

Councilor Velasco said that its operation should be investigated since he received criticism why said Binggo operation is not paying taxes to the city treasury, and why the SP has not made any action to question its non-payment. Due to this, Velasco pointed out, some SP members were accused of receiving money from the Binggo operator.

Moreover, he added, the city once received a “percentage” from the money raised from the various binggohan in the streets. Meanwhile, Vice-Mayor Senen Angeles said that during the budget hearing, City Treasurer Sancen Caroro confirmed that the city treasury has not received any “percentage” from the said Binggo operation. Sources said that the only payment said Binggo operator made to the city is the business permit and nothing else. (Press Freedom, Vol. XVII No. 29)

Points of View
By: Vicky M. Jamolod
Ethics in the Media Profession

It took me over a decade to return to the field of writing. Yet, I am amazed at the fact that in our local media arena, ethics and the media profession are strange bedfellows. There was hardly a change after a long absence. Shameful at it is, violations in the code of ethics in the media profession are abundant.

For when you open your radio or pick up a local weekly tabloid, numerous transgressions in the media profession are committed. There is a total disregard of privacy and rights of a life of any individual regardless of the social standing in our community. Nobody is spared and violators simply justify that it is an exercise of their freedom to express.

But what right and freedom are they talking about? Denial of violations is done in haste. Of course, the victims are alerted. Legal and extra-legal actions from concerned sectors are applied. Despite it all, it seems futile. Legal actions take years of struggle. Those who braved to comment are subjected to personal vendetta of those who have access to the media. Hilarious as it is, the violators are people who do not possess the educational qualifications nor the license to practice the profession. These are the illegal practitioners who are only armed with anger at the misfortunes in their lives and the ambitions to rise in a higher level in the society, at the expense of the victims.

If you look at them, up close and personal, examining their personal lives, one would be scandalized and cannot help but wonder how the world can they have the guts to destroy leaders in the community, when they themselves live their respective lives in sin and shame. Or is it a way of escaping realities in their mistakes by focusing on other people’s falsities? They forget the saying which says: “You have to look at yourself and not to others to decide the kind of person you are going to be”

In the guise of an exercise of our freedom of expression and the press, they destroy years of effort of any individual they fancy to destroy to gain fame and divert from their own misgivings in life. But they forgot that this right is never absolute. And even if the exercise of this constitutional right essential to the operation of democracy, still under the higher law of our Maker, there is no escape.

For even if they can legally hurdle to delay justice, history has proven that it is never productive in any manner to destroy people out of personal vendetta. For if they are wise enough they should have made a thorough research in the history of the local media, on how time treated those media personalities who followed the same route in the past. Take a step back and look what happened to those practitioners who acted like little gods disregarding respect to their fellow beings. Are you not scared on how time may repeat its joke?

For now, our society cannot control them, but remember that indecency and incivility cannot be tolerated forever. Time will always seek to measure the civilization in our utterances. Time will decide on how their shameful deeds will teach them unwanted lessons. Maybe then, they will realize that it is never an admirable act to destroy people.

Nonetheless, it may not be too late to review your motives and objectives. It may not be too late to take halt and retreat. It may not be too late that even if no law on earth can turn us into decent or fair individuals, but at least said laws can prevent us from turning into animals who can simply feel contentment by feeding. (Mindanao Star, Vol. I No.6)

168 owner way reklamo BATOK PROV’L Tourism

Migamit na usab karon ug laing ngalan ang mga kritiko nga nagpunayg daut sa administrasyon sa kapitolyo diha sa ilang dayag kaayo nga kampanya nga gub-on ang kasamtangan administrasyon, human ilang gigamit lamang ang pangalan sa supplier nga 168 diha sa pagduot sa provincial tourism officer sa lalawigan, kalabot na sa isyu sa pagpanindot

DIPOLOGNON TODAY

  Juvenile Answers
By: Tyrone Jay V. Samson
Be Filipino

“I’m a Filipino.”

So easy to say, isn’t it? But look at your deeds? Look at your preferences; may it be in music or television? Look at how you perceive beauty?

Can you actually say you’re a Filipino when your favorite music star is Britney Spears or Usher rather than Nina or Nyoy Volante?

More than a decade has passed and we still can’t pass over our so-called “colonial mentality.” Colonial mentality is defined as “a cultural notion of inferiority sometimes seen amongst populations previously subjugated and colonized by foreign entities. As time progresses, these colonized natives will sometimes proceed to mimic the foreigners in power as they begin to perceive the ‘foreign way’ of doing things as the ‘better way’. The foreign way is then held in a higher esteem than previous native ways.”

Does the last sentence strike a nerve?

We not only follow foreigners’ behavior and their customs, in fact, we speak their language as if it’s our own. Here, when somebody speaks fluent English, every single guy in a room is in at awe at the dude! So what if he speaks English as good as an American? Doesn’t make him more Filipino, that is!

I don’t mean to say that speaking English is a bad thing, what I really want to change, if I can possess God’s powers for a week ala Jim Carrey in Bruce Almighty, is the notion we have that Americans, Fil-Ams and Fil-shams (who think they’re that hip to speak English) are better than us. We must realize that they’re not. They just happen to speak that language, that’s all there is to it.

When we go to the United States to work, nobody really opens up their gates for us. When they come over here, everybody has admiration in their eyes for these aliens. What’s up with that? Look at our television industry, some of these top rating shows are practically mere mimicry of US-produced tv shows like American Idol, Blind Date, and so on and so forth, and we can’t get enough of it. Why can’t we create our own through original ideas?

That’s why I really appreciate original Filipino works, especially Marilou Abaya’s two films with GMA, “Jose Rizal” and “Muro Ami,” and that of Cesar Montano’s recent work “Panaghoy sa Suba”. The said movie, which Montano himself directed and starred in, is spoken in Visayan language almost in its entirety. Now, that’s what you call Filipino originality.

Aside from colonial mentality, there’s also this IMSCF Syndrome. This is a non-academic term that relates to a unique form of institutionalized identity crisis phenomenon seen amongst overseas Filipinos. IMSCF Syndrome specifically refers to the tendency of many Filipinos, when questioned about their ancestry and nationality, to recite the phrase “I’m Spanish, Chinese, Filipino”. The name of the syndrome itself is an acronym formed from the first letters of this recited phrase.

This IMSCF syndrome is attributed to the negative international image of the Philippines and to the lack of Filipino role models in the US and other countries (thank God for Manny Pacquiao). As a result of this, numerous Filipino American youth are often said to downplay and deny their Filipinoness, or outright fake their ancestry.

According to an Internet story I came across last night, because of this IMSCF Syndrome, there is a not too uncommon view held of Filipinos and their lack of having any Filipino pride at all. They may sometimes be seen as being all too readily anxious in classifying themselves as anything other than Filipino, or at the very least not as a pure Filipino.

What’s my point, you ask? The sense of all these gripes is, like a phrase in that jingle our teachers used to teach us when I was in my elementary studies, “tangkilikin ang sariling atin, ang Pilipinas ating mahalin.”

Wow, I sure sound like a Rizal-wannabe already, enough of that. (Press Freedom, Vol. XVII No. 29)

A Child's Cry For Justice

So I hear about the news of Geneveve’s arrest!

I thought: “How?” I knew before hand that my ‘dear old uncle’s wife’ already brought the matter to the “Barangay Justice” and they never got settled there. Logically, we all waited for the “Prosecutor” to summon her. Months passed and we haven’t heard of the case, that is, until one late afternoon the police came to arrest Genevieve on the strength of a warrant of arrest issued by an MCTC judge! For grave oral defamation!

This is just too much for my 16-year old mind to tackle. I am not learned in law, yet I know something is keenly awry in this. I sought the answers from Dad. After all, he   graduated in the study of law! So far as I can recall the process he outlined is for Genevieve to be given the chance to answer the complaint at the Fiscal’s office. He calls this a “preliminary investigation.”  I call it “fair play”. For how can one not be given a chance to even submit her countervailing evidence and counter affidavits before she is even hailed to court? Nay, placed in detention?

But this process never came for poor Genevieve! Poor, as in literally poor indeed! Alas, having been disadvantaged financially, she is even robbed of the sense of fair play available to her. As we gather, an INFORMATION has been filed at the MCTC as of November 18 yet. How? Only the fiscal can answer that now. Apparently, Genevieve never received the summons she was ready to answer with all the affidavits in her favor. Unbelievable! Incredible! I can even curse under my breath suspecting that Genevieve with all her ignorant 3^rd year high school attainment chose to ignore a paper she received from the fiscal. But hell no, was I wrong! An investigation Dad conducted indeed yielded that the Fiscal did resolve the complaint without even the chance of letting Genevieve answer the allegations in the affidavit-complaint of my aunt! Count that as one big letdown for me. Lady Justice has just been raped in Dipolog City and I should surmise this is not isolated!!

As it turned out, the fiscal was a close friend of our family. Maybe he thought doing shortcuts for my aunt is a big favor to our family. Never mind fair play. Never mind justice. After all, Genevieve is just a poor 18-year old mother to a 10-month old baby, without the ring of the family name to signal that some big shots might go after the mighty Fiscal. Who now shall fiscalize the fiscals; may I ask, by the way?

Dad tried to make a conjecture of what happened. Trying to piece out the puzzle left by the absence, nay, the raping of due process in this case. It did not help any that Dad surmised that the fiscal may have sent the summons to an unknown address in Turno as supplied by my aunt, and yes, uncle too, to ensure that Genevieve never gets her hand on it. Giving him the “legal excuse” to resolve the case against Genevieve. It doesn’t matter where the summons landed. After all, when the warrant was served on the poor hapless girl, the police, no thanks to my City Hall employee aunt, and my well-connected uncle, knew exactly where to serve that warrant enough to literally drag her to jail at a time when the Court has closed to ensure she’ll spend the night in the lam! To ensure that her 10-month old suckling baby’s got to sleep away from the breast milk her mother can offer. The only comfort, incidentally, she can offer her! What a bad taste in my mouth this one leaves, indeed!

My eyes were red with tears knowing the judge in this case, forgot about justice too, when he issued the warrant for Genevieve’s arrest and pegged her bail at P6,000.00. I cried tears of anger because even as I lost faith right there and then, Dad won’t allow me to. No matter how lopsided the case was handled, Dad doesn’t want me to lose faith in the system. This rotten system which is now made only to favor the rich and the influential! The judge, as Dad told me later, chose to conduct a preliminary examination when he issued the warrant for Genevieve’s arrest. He did “searching questions” on my aunt and the lone witness she brought with her and issued the warrant, as I was told! The judge did not exercise more than the perfunctory ceremony of “examining” the complainant and the witness. The judge did not dig into the records whether the fiscal did his job, before he filed the information. The judge did not spare, nay, waste, his precious time to look into these injustices to Genevieve! The judge may never have known that Genevieve is barely an 18-year old mother to a 10-month old suckling daughter! A minor for all intents and purposes in law! The judge may never have known that Genevieve can hardly get herself three square meals a day now, if not for the help of her barely above poverty family, much less pay the P6,000.00 bail he set for the offense. No, the judge didn’t care to delve into that. After all, his wife works at City Hall with my aunt. They know each other more than they know an inconsequential minor mother that is Genevieve!

But who is Genevieve? Why do I grieve for her?

The girl lived with us when she was still 15. Chose to do menial jobs for us — so Mom could help her in her baon for school. So Mom could give her coins for fare to school. So she can eat three square meals a day without giving her biological family the added burden of feeding her and her other siblings. She washes our clothes. She runs errands. She lives in dignity as an adopted member of our family, in fact. Two years after we left for the United States of A, Genevieve got herself pregnant. She married the father of her daughter soon thereafter.

We were on vacation when Genevieve got herself into this trouble. Rumors were rife in the neighborhood about some amorous relationships of my aunt. One night, my uncle, beet red, dragged his wife to confront my Mom about the talks circulating in the compound. It started as a trivial sibling spat between them but nastily got out of hand when my uncle shouted for all our neighbors to hear “the talks” about his wife. It ended just as suddenly as it started when “cooler heads” prevailed. Besides, it was really scandalous hearing my uncle washing his dirty linen in public for all of his sons and nieces and nephews to hear.

We thought that was the end of it. Two months after, our vacation ended in June. And we all went back here in the US. Genevieve, as a reward for her loyal services, was made caretaker of the house we left in the compound of our family. Then trouble erupted. My uncle would not hear of it. He locked the door leading to the compound to deny Genevieve and her husband access to the house we left. There is no other ingress to our house. Besides, the couple harassed them no end. Yes, he even went on a shouting spree against Genevieve and her husband daily. Genevieve, to buy peace, chose to give up tending our house. Gave up the responsibility for lack of an opportunity to do what we bade her to do. No thanks to my uncle and aunt!

And if you think that was the end of it, oh boy, were you wrong! My aunt sued Genevieve for grave oral defamation at the barangay. Accused her of being the one who circulated the “ugly rumors of her sexcapades”! Wanted her to own up to something she never did, in the hope of tricking her! So she can easily put her to jail with that confession! She would want to wiggle out of the nasty rumors and she conveniently found a weak fall guy in Genevieve. A scheming clever lady who can lead her husband’s face by the nose now would like to use Genevieve as her deodorant! She even teamed up with the author of the rumors herself, her lone witness, to ensure that Genevieve gets all the blame. The rest is history.

Clamped in jail, Genevieve can only shake in utter dismay of the injustice she could not even comprehend. Why now can truth be twisted to favor the bully of a couple in my uncle and aunt? Why is she the one now languishing in jail with jeopardy of being tried for something that she never even remotely did? The only error she did was to be at my Mom’s house and to receive Mom’s small favors. To be where, when all the unsavory odors of the family were strewn around like shit hitting the fan! Genevieve now even has to beg her mother to go to the loan sharks to put up the P6,000.00 bail for her temporary liberty! Oh Liberty! What a sweet price it was supposed to be for truth!

Genevieve’s case is up for arraignment soon. Dad got her a lawyer now. Pro Bono. One who believes in her cause. The bail her mother put up is earning interest so I pledged my whole month’s allowance to make sure it shall be repaid soon. My sister is scrimping on her allowance too, so we can send Genevieve the money she needs to ably defend herself in court. Small money, maybe, for my influential uncle and aunt, but nonetheless a big sacrifice for us to attain justice, I should suppose. After all, God forbid, if Genevieve shall fail, then all shall fail with her. Including my trust in the justice system of our country. Nay, in the justice system in this little rural city of Dipolog and a very disgusting chance to prove how my Dad was wrong in convincing me that Lady Justice is blindfolded in this part of the earth! (Tingog PENINSULA, Vol. X No. 11)

 Press Freedom Editorial
Of checkpoints & Police Centers

Councilor Peter Co must be right. The PNP checkpoints and police assistance centers posted in strategic places in the city and in some areas in the province are helpless.

And he must be right, too, when he bluntly called them ‘inutil’. The word is sharp and as biting as a hot pepper on one’s palate but how else can you call police centers which cannot even help citizens in dire need of their assistance?

When holduppers struck a week ago in Galas highway, shooting the manager of a copra buying establishment and running away P103T or so, the checkpoints and police centers could have done something to lead pursuing officers to the direction of the four motorcycle-riding holduppers.

Barely a month ago, holduppers held up the disbursing officer of Labason LGU right within the commercial center of the city, but the culprits just got away. Dipolognons are worried. . . and scared.

Not only do criminals strike within the heart of the city but they are getting bolder by doing crimes in broad daylight and even within a short distance from police centers. This boldness, this daring stunt of lawless individuals may be triggered by the fact that some checkpoints don’t have visible police officers, or if they have, they never check or perhaps, they may never send signals that they are vigilant and that they mean business.

It’s now high time the PNP resurrect the active image of police checkpoints and centers. It’s now time to make them really serve the purpose of having them there. And prove Councilor Peter Co wrong. (Press Freedom, Vol. XVII No. 29)

NEWSPIX

The New Nandau Editorial
Destroying the future

It has been all of four years since the elite in society staged the Edsa II coup, deposed a constitutional President and propelled to power a usurper, the treasonous Gloria Arroyo. The elite civil society, led by a highly amoral and political prince of the Church and his bishops, two former presidents who claimed to embrace democracy yet plotted to destroy it, then opposition politicians lusting for power, the Supreme Court Chief Justice and his associate justices, the top brass of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police, the Makati Business Club and the perfumed set, claimed while invoking the name of the Filipino people whom they hardly represented, that the ouster was necessary to strengthen democracy, cut off government corruption, revive the economy and bring the peso to its 47 to a dollar level and bring about good governance.

Yet all that the coup d’etat gifted the country and its people was the destruction of democracy and its institutions and of the economy, an even deeper plunge in the peso vis-a-vis the dollar, followed by the deep division of the nation that appears to be much too difficult to heal, as well as the bringing to power a highly incompetent government that is moreover steeped in unbelievable corruption — and at the highest levels of government.

In justifying this unconstitutional act of his and his commanders’ withdrawal of support from a democratically elected and constitutional President, the then AFP chief of staff claimed this act was necessary, as he feared a leftist takeover, a divided people and a divided military. Yet that which Angelo Reyes claimed to have prevented through the Edsa II coup d’etat had come about precisely because of their undemocratic and unconstitutional power grab. Not only are the Filipino people deeply divided today and remain so, but that the military is even more dangerously divided — this time, horizontally — apart from sliding back to its being highly unprofessional.

As for Reyes’ claim that the leftists in 2001 were a threat to a government takeover, Reyes appears to conveniently forget that the left were one with the Edsa II elite. And it is because of their identification with the elite forces that the left today have lost their natural constituents — the masses.

Swearing in Gloria Arroyo as President despite the position not being vacant, Hilario Davide, chief justice, claimed he was guided by the Bible — and not the rule of law and the Constitution — to “restore Zion.” Yet, by his unconstitutional and treasonous act, Davide succeeded in destroying Zion, the rule of law, the nation, the country, its democracy and its institutions — especially the Supreme Court which he heads. There are no more laws or rules to speak of, with the Davide Court destroying everything the law stands for. And there were the Catholic bishops, at the forefront of politics, disregarding the Vatican exhortation for them not to engage in the ouster of a democratically-elected President. These Catholic bishops, egged by Sin and Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, claimed that this was necessary, as there was a moral dimension involved: Corruption and illegal gambling.

What has become of that moral fight when they keep silent over the massive corruption that can be found in the highest levels of their anointed administration and with evidence to boot, this time around? Where they once denounced corruption, they now maintain silence. Where they once denounced electoral fraud, they now even give their blessings to cheating. And where once these church leaders claimed that the poor must be loved and cared for, they insulted and ridiculed them, even spitting on them, calling them defilers and defecators, while praising the elite and their anointed for killing Edsa II demonstrators, saying this was the “right response.”

And the people are witness to the spectacle of church leaders in the company of crooks and crime lords — and proud of it too! These Catholic Church leaders have not only lost their influence over the Catholic flock, but lost a great number of the faithful. And worse, with their admission of accepting dirty money from gambling and crime lords, saying there is nothing wrong with this practice, they have lost all moral ascendancy and respect.

As for the businessmen who plotted against the constitutional government, claiming it was incompetent and corrupt, what lies will they spin again, when the official figures show that the Estrada economic team was highly competent and where foreign investments were still pouring in, with the dollar inflows higher, and corruption was even lower than during the Ramos regime; where survey after survey shows that the Arroyo government they anointed twice over is too corrupt for words, and where the economy has gone to the dogs.

All these, Edsa II have wrought on the country, the nation, democracy and the rule of law. It is they who wrought the destruction of a people and their future. (The New Nandau, Vol. XIV No. 35)

Credits: The New Nandau is a member of the Publishers Association of the Philippines (PAPI). Editorial office is located at 076 Quezon Avenue, Dipolog City with Tel. No. (065) 212-3794; Cell No. +639205201041

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  Sweet And Sour
By:  Gracia S. De Rios

Overly-Reactive

Perhaps, being onion-skinned and over-acting are synonymous to each other according to some public officials. Once somebody will criticize them for official acts which are not publicly acceptable, these officials will certainly raise the roof with their fury and seek vengeance. In the first place, if they do not want to be in the limelight where every move is under the scrutiny of the public, they should not have sought public office at all.

After all, nobody forced them to run.  It is their bloated egos which pushed them to seek public office. In fact, these are the very same men who gave out “pahalipays” in exchange for their precious votes. And now that they are in office, they will complain of being perpetually under the microscope?

Many could not help but react that these public officials are not only being just too onion-skinned but fault-finders themselves. Barely seven months in office, and they have succeeded in creating a name for the province for being “Over-Acting” and Belligerent as well. They truly believe in their own importance that instead of establishing vital networking and linkages among national offices, they are instead creating a wide gap and animosity in the region.

— oo000oo —

Many well-meaning citizens in the province did not approve of the much-ballyhooed “prepared” resolution declaring some Regional, Provincial and even Municipal Officials of the DENR as Persona Non Grata. Whoever is the author and father of such move deserves to be skinned alive. Actually, we do not know these DENR officials at all. But the way our provincial officials are acting, it is as if they are God themselves and not capable of committing some erroneous acts.

What makes it doubly and grossly insulting is that before they made public such intention, they did not even have the nerve to consult the people or to test the waters. With their actions, they have succeeded in alienating the province from the rest of the region.

The trouble is, these people are fond of grandstanding but in reality they are onion-skinned and extra-sensitive to issues and are quick to retaliate by hiring some people whose main function is to parry the blows of their critics. The people in Zamboanga del Norte are not that stupid. They know how to tell chaff from the grain. They can smell a phony from the genuine thing. They can easily distinguish grandstanding from a pure, noble intention.

Declaring people to be Persona Non Grata does not only entail thorough soul searching and weighing of consequences. In short, this is not a simple matter. One careless action will make the entire province the laughing stock not only in the region but the country as well.

The DENR people are already judged as guilty even before they were heard. And to think that the prime movers are supposed to be the lawmakers and top officials with formal knowledge in law?

What a way to start the year. Perhaps, they ought to examine themselves if they too, in one point of their lives, be it official or otherwise, are not worthy to be declared Persona Non Grata. Only then can they judge others if they themselves are above suspicion and immaculately squeaking clean.

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Over the air lanes, we heard commentaries that many members of the same family found their way in public service through the favorable backing of some high–ranking officials. No need to fret about that as long as those employees are qualified for the job and do not violate the Civil Service Law on nepotism. What is interesting is that some do not possess the required classification to the chagrin of the other job seekers who do not have the fortune of knowing some “padrino”. Being disgruntled, these same job-seekers are the ones who “spilled the beans” regarding questionable transactions in the past.

As long as these officials are not that clean, they do not have the right to declare some people as, say, Persona Non Grata. Quite a slap on their rotund faces. (Tingog PENINSULA, Vol. X No. 11)

Vital Life
By: April del Rosario-Lopez, M.D.

Dementia and the Elderly

Ronald Reagan ruled for two terms as President of the United States. He was a charismatic leader whose human compassion equaled his witty disposition. Great leaders of the world, including his arch - enemies (of the communist states) mourned his death.  It was unthinkable to think that he suffered from dementia, brought about by Alzheimer’s disease, during the later phase of his life.

Dementia is basically caused by destruction of the brain cells.  It can be due to a stroke, a brain tumor, or Alzheimer’s disease that slowly, progressively damages the brain cells.  To some, it can be a hereditary disease. The elderly who has dementia has inability to remember, and has troubles with learning and communicating his thoughts across.  Later on, as the disease advances, menial tasks like taking care of oneself, like bathing, becomes a difficult task. Many of the problems associated with dementia deals with memory loss.

 - Signs of Dementia -

If you suspect Dementia, bring your elderly to the doctor the soonest possible time to discuss treatment options.  Dementia can be a debilitating disease of the elderly. How do you know if you’re elderly family member is suffering from Dementia?  Some common signs of dementia are listed below but not all the signs may be present in an individual.

·Recent memory loss.  It’s common for many of us to forget things once in a while. The difference with people with dementia is they forget without remembering.  Watch out for signs if your elderly start asking questions over and over again, despite the fact that you have already answered him many times over.  Chances are, the elderly person never remembers asking you those questions.  Or, he will be telling you the same stories repeatedly without remembering any of these.

·Problems with language.  People with dementia may have difficulty grasping the right words to send his message across.  This makes it hard to understand their thoughts.

·Difficulty performing familiar tasks.  Elderly people may cook a meal but forget to serve it because they have forgotten that they had cooked it in the first place.

·Time and place disorientation.  Your elderly may no longer remember what date it is today and cannot relate to certain dates of importance.  They may get lost in their familiar route and forget the way back home.

·Poor judgment.  If you have a hint that your elderly has dementia, don’t leave your young children alone with them.  Dementia may cause them to allow a child to do hazardous things, like playing with fire, without prohibiting them from doing such because of their judgment impairment.

·Problems with abstract thinking.  An elderly might always be shortchanged in the market because he already has the inability to do simple arithmetic.  Addition, multiplication, and division become an ordeal for him.

·Misplacing things.  A person with dementia misplace things because they have put certain things in the wrong places, such as putting coins in the sugar bowl, or clothes in the freezer.

·Changes in mood.  Watch your elderly for any constant mood swings.  Dementia causes a person to go from calmness to agitation, from elation to depression in a matter of a few minutes. 

·Personality changes.  People with dementia undergo changes in their personality.  A once jolly person may suffer from depression.  An adventurous person may suddenly develop fear, suspicion, and irritability.

·Loss of initiative. An elderly with dementia may lose interest in people and become passive. They may just want to stay alone in their room, refusing to go out and meet people, or perform the usual daily routine that they do. (Tingog PENINSULA, Vol. X No. 11)

Quotation of the Week:

If you feel a strong area in your life, beware! Often your strength, rather than your weakness, hinders you from trusting God. God will bring you to a point of weakness if that is what it takes to bring you to trust in Him. Do not despise your weakness, for it leads you to trust in God’s strength. Henry T. Blackby and Richard Blackaby, Experiencing God Day-By-Day

PGMA’s battlecry

President Arroyo’s program-thrusts in her new six-year term is embodied in her 10-point agenda. First, she hopes to create from six to ten million jobs. To achieve this, government will have to attract new investors, both foreign and domestic, provide loans to some three million entrepreneurs to put up new businesses or expand existing ones, and to help develop some one to two million hectares of agricultural lands for agri-business production. Naturally, if this can be done, more jobs would be available!

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Second is education for all! PGMA hopes to provide classrooms in all barangays with computers in every school. Certainly, congressmen can help accomplish this mission with their “pork barrels” together with governors and mayors. Third, is balancing the national budget. Already, new tax measures have been proposed by PGMA’s administration and discussed in Congress to “slowly but surely” balance the budget by 2008. Finance Secretary Juanita Amatong says this is doable as the government imposes austerity measures.

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Fourth, is the strengthening of transportation and communication networks linking the entire nation. It means building more roads, improving old ones, expanding port services for the nautical highway, installing more telephone lines to the rural areas, expanding telecommunications to remote areas so you can call long distance by cell phone wherever you are, and establishing internet cafes everywhere feasible to fast-track personal, official and business transactions. We don’t want to be left behind in communications technology, do we?

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Fifth, is the vision that electricity and potable water should be available to all down to the barangays. Congressmen, governors and mayors are already helping accomplish these projects. With electricity, for example, progress won’t be far behind. Sixth, is the strategy of decongesting Metro Manila by spreading development to the country sides. The idea is to make the provinces progressive so the “probinsiyanos” will be attracted to go home. In fact, the transfer of the regional government center from Zamboanga to Pagadian is part of this agenda.

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Seventh, is the development of Subic and Clark, both former US military bases in Luzon, to become the center of business, commerce and finance in Asia. That is, if Mount Pinatubo will not erupt again! Ha . . .ha! Eight, is the dismantling of manual elections through computerization. It’s the hope that computerization will solve the problem of cheating in our elections. But not necessarily vote-buying, no? Ninth, is the determination to achieve peace with all rebels and reconciliation with all EDSA 1, 2 and 3? Protagonists.

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And tenth, is, of course, good governance. Already, many high-ranking officials in the government and military are facing charges in court or investigations by the Ombudsman. The plunder case against former President Erap is on going. And it looks like the administration of PGMA is hell-bent in minimizing, if not eradicate, graft and corruption in the bureaucracy. If she can accomplish this, half of the battle to create a new Philippines is already won. For the truth is, its graft and corruption that’s really pulling this country down and drain.

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Now, it’s not easy to achieve what PGMA wants. The rebels playing “hide and seek” in the peace talks. The opposition can’t seem to wait for the 2010 presidential elections. Congress appears slow in passing administration proposals. Local politicians have priorities of their own. Businessmen love to evade paying the correct taxes to the government, including many professionals. There’s breakdown of moral discipline in many places at home, in offices, on the street and in many organizations. That’s why PGMA’s battle cry is to “BEAT THE ODDS”. Next week. (The New Nandau, Vol. XIV No. 35)

Credits: The New Nandau is a member of the Publishers Association of the Philippines (PAPI). Editorial office is located at 076 Quezon Avenue, Dipolog City with Tel. No. (065) 212-3794; Cell No. +639205201041