Lapu-Lapu Times

RETURN OF THE SHRIKE (TIBAS)

2006-09-23T23:10:00.000-07:00

This week marks the beginning of the Philippine leg of the oriental shrike's (locally known as tibas) migration. For those unfamiliar with the bird, it has a very distinctive eeeeekk-eeeeeekkk-eeeeeekk-eeeekkk! early in the morning and at dusk.

By this time this year, there should be a cacophony of shrike screams piercing the early morning or early dusk quiet. But there is just an occasional weak eek-eek-eek.

Bird flu?

LAPU-LAPU'S INTERNATIONAL COASTAL CLEAN-UP DAY - THE TV COVERAGE

2006-09-19T04:10:00.000-07:00

At the underwater clean-up event last Saturday (see related article), one of the highlights on land was the appearance of the ABS-CBN TV crew, covering the activities, and doing a lengthy interview with all concerned esp. Hon. Mario Y. Amores, MD the overall organizer of the city-wide activity.

I waited in childish anticipation of the broadcast (maybe I missed Maayong Buntag, Kapamilya) and it finally came Monday on the #1-rated primetime evening news - a grand 10-second blur.

Shortly following was a 2-minute news segment of a policeman who was apprehended for illegally discharging his firearm...which frequently happens, and doesn't even sound like news anymore.

Priorities! Priorities!

AGAIN, I SWEAR THERE'S SOMETHING F@/KING WRONG WITH THE BIRHEN SA REGLA RELIGIOUS AUTHORITIES

2006-09-17T06:59:00.000-07:00

After an absence of 6 weeks, there is now a car parked in front of the worshipers every Sunday in the last 4 weeks.

Once again I say:

"Fr. Rey and Fr. Bob, your lay ministers need a lesson in the sanctity of the Holy Mass. The worship areas of the church cannot be bothered by vehicles coming in and out during the ceremony. There is ample parking in the streets along the convent, or in the SACS quadrangle.

Or, maybe Fr. Rey and Fr. Bob do not know the solemnity and significance of the Holy Mass. In this case, fully understanding the autonomy of the Mactan Island vicarette, I implore His Excellency Cardinal Vidal and Mons. Dakay to send cathecists to rescue the Birhen Sa Regla Parish."

COMMENT FROM TES_EYEMD

2006-09-12T21:18:00.000-07:00

tes_eyemd said...
dr, im an optha resident here in cebu. i like ur blog and im putting it as one of my link. hope u dont mind.

A COMMENT...

2006-09-06T05:01:00.000-07:00

Gene Palmiter said...
It's nice to have found your blog...I will be moving to Lapu-Lapu or Cebu in May and have to learn all I can. Your blog will be very usefull

THE PHILIPPINES' CRUMBLING 5 PILLARS OF JUSTICE

2006-08-13T21:31:00.000-07:00

I had a conversation with a Fil-Am expat the other day over dinner. And soon, our discussion drifted to the many cases he has pending in court, mainly to do with people transgressing on his ancestral property. He is getting terribly frustrated at every turn.

So, I told him about the 5 Philippine Pillars of Justice:

Each and every single one is broken and will soon crumble under the burden of patronage politics and governance going haywire, bringing the whole system down:

Pillar #1 - Law Enforcement: There are very good and well meaning people in the PNP. Some of them are close friends of mine. But, God knows, the whole system is very suspect of protectionism, graft and corruption. How else will the saying exist: "Hayahay pa's pulis."
Pillar #2 - Prosecution: (Same as #1. "Hayahay pa's piscal.")
Pillar #3 - Coursts: Plain and simple judges and judgements can be bought.
Pillar #4 - Corrections: If you have the resources, you'll get your way and do whatever you want to do in the correctionals.
Pillar #5 - Community: The community does not care anymore for "legal or illegal". Look around you, there is always something illegal going on - with no fail! The community does not care.

One of these days, I am going to write the book: "Surviving in the Virtual Anarchy of Present Philippine Society".

COMMENTS ON PONA

2006-07-28T09:25:00.000-07:00

I saw and heard the PONA of our dear president. it was sooo scripted. so, where are the funds now?

p.s. regards kay meggy

SONA VS. PONA

2006-07-24T21:15:00.000-07:00

Continued from below, more SON's:

SONA VS. PONA

2006-07-24T20:23:00.000-07:00

Sad is the fact that the #1 problem facing the nation today is lack of quality education. There was no mention of this yesterday. The underlying problem is the deplorable quality of elementary education - more than 70% of Grade VI graduates are not ready for High School!

Two high ranking nursing educators of two different schools from two different regions in the Visayas confided to me that the #1 problem they face is that the students do not have any capacity for deductive reasoning. And, their solution is, increase the nursing course to 5 years. No! Institute the bridge program (for which Dr. de Jesus was fired as Secretary of DepEd after being ganged on by the parents and teachers for the gall of even suggesting such).

So, we asked the Dear President to give a SONA (State Of the Nation Address). Instead, she gave a PONA (Plan Of the Nation Address). Maybe her handlers thought that the poorly educated Filipinos could not tell the difference?

So, she gave a PONA. Here's the SON (State Of the Nation):

I SWEAR THERE'S SOMETHING F@/#ING WRONG WITH THE BIRHEN SA REGLA RELIGIOUS AUTHORITIES

2006-05-21T01:37:00.000-07:00

At church today, the Birhen Sa Regla head lay minister pulled in front of the worshippers in his motor vehicle right in the middle of consecration. (For more on this incident, refer to the post below).

Fr. Rey and Fr. Bob, your lay ministers need a lesson in the sanctity of the Holy Mass. The worship areas of the church cannot be bothered by vehicles coming in and out during the ceremony. There is ample parking in the streets along the convent, or in the SACS quadrangle.

Or, maybe Fr. Rey and Fr. Bob do not know the solemnity and significance of the Holy Mass. In this case, fully understanding the autonomy of the Mactan Island vicarette, I implore His Excellency Cardinal Vidal and Mons. Dakay to send cathecists to rescue the Birhen Sa Regla Parish.

SANCTUS! SANCTUS! SANCTUS!

2006-05-14T07:24:00.000-07:00

What is so terribly wrong with our religious?

At the 11 AM mass today, right at consecration, the parish's number 1 lay person, pulled out in front of the church goers in his motor vehicle.

Do not these religious people understand the solemnity of the mass...and especially of the consecration, when the erstwhile wafer becomes Jesus' body? Maybe the parish priest should be made aware of this so he can perhaps enlighten the other priests and religious (see my previous post)?

uRIP (un-REST IN PEACE) PAUL E - A MODERN STORY OF RESURRECTION

2006-04-19T03:17:00.000-07:00

Last Easter, I felt a bit of a shock when Paul E emailed me, wanting to know whether or not I am Inday's brother.

Paul E was a brother that my sister Inday brought home from the USAF base in Mactan in the mid 60's. In a snap, he became a sibling who I saw around the house most of the time whenever he was out of duty at the base. This lasted a year after which he was transferred back to Vietnam.

In the early 70's we heard the bad news about how Paul was killed in action in Vietnam. The family mourned the news. We truly lost a brother.

Fast forward to the 1990's. In the interest of the Americans who for some reason or another could not go to Washington, DC to view the Vietnam War Memorial, a touring replica was built and was shown for one week in many towns and cities, both big and small. In the mid 90's, it did a one-week exhibit in Charleston, West Virginia.

The Vietnam War Memorial is a black granite wall with the names of all those who died in Vietnam etched into it. The touring replica was just as impressive. I brought my friends in Charleston to the exhibit and showed them the name of Paul E. I even did the popular practice of stenciling the name on a blank piece of paper (how I wish I still had my stencil of Paul E's name).

And then, a bit more than 3 days (35 years, to be exact) after, Paul's email showed up in my Inbox! Talking about finding a long lost brother!

GOOD FRIDAY

2006-04-14T04:22:00.000-07:00

In the Catholic Christian world, today is Good Friday, a very solemn day.

In the spirit of appreciation of our Saviour's sacrifices and crucifixion, I did my Good Friday routine since childhood - went to church for the ceremony and veneration of the cross followed by a solemn procession around Poblacion.

But, today is different from any other Good Fridays. I happen to flip on the TV channel showing a documentary of underprivileged children. Highlighted is the all too familiar child labor..including 10-year olds and below scavenging in the garbage dumps to gather food for the family.

The true sacrifice of the day is this 10 years old girl whose only wish for the day is that she can find enough food for one meal for her family of eight.. among the human wastes, rotten garbage, used diapers, flies and maggots.

I think it will do society much better good that if instead of going to church today:

The all too righteous government officials had gone to the garbage dumps to watch true sacrifices. Afterall, these are the people who diverted government funds into their coffers instead of DSWD.
The church people - bishops, priests, nuns and lay ministers had gone to the garbage dumps to watch true sacrifices. Afterall, these are the people who block any efforts at population control.

You all have a blessed Good Friday.

AN EMAIL FROM PHIL OF PRIMECARE-CEBU

2006-02-23T17:10:00.000-08:00

Hi doc,

I really had a good time reading your blogs... Since we are handling Lear Clinic - biggest company in MEZ, I usually forward your blogs to our nurses assigned there and they also send this thru e-mail to all employees as health and community updates. More than 4,000+ employees there gets a copy of your blogs. hehehe

More Power to you!

MALACANANG PALACE BLAST

2006-02-20T17:21:00.000-08:00

A loud blast rocked Malacanang palace grounds and surrounding areas yesterday.

A renegade group of military officers claimed responsibility for the blast. Further, they claimed that this is a warning to the Arroyo administration. More will come if the President does not step down.

The Presidential Security Group (PSG) claimed that the explosion was caused by paint thinner discarded in a garbage can accidentally set off by a cigarette butt thrown into the can.

Some in Congress claimed that this is a deliberate move by the Arroyo administration to build a foundation for declaring martial law.

The President's top-dog spin doctor says that whether or not this is caused by seditious elements, the act of claiming by the renegade military officers is "unpatriotic".

People have to really be careful about their choice of words. These are "unpatriotic":

Massive vote-buying and vote-rigging operations
Cover-up of congressional investigations of vote-buying and vote-rigging
Using government funds for vote-buying and vote-rigging
Cover-up of congressional investigations of use of government funds for vote-buying and vote-rigging
(This post is too short to list all the unpatriotic acts inflicted on the hapless Filipino mass)

PHILIPPINE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION OF WEST VIRGINIA MEDICAL MISSION TO LAPU-LAPU CITY 2006

2006-02-10T18:14:00.000-08:00

[Lost in my flurry of posts is this one regarding the PMA-WV medical mission - always a very big undertaking considering the immeasurable benefit it gives to the underprivileged residents of Lapu-Lapu City and the surrounding areas - Mactanman]

This year, we in Lapu-Lapu City are again blessed by the good graces of the Philippine Medical Association of West Virginia (PMA-WV). On January 16-18 a medical-surgical mission was held at the Lapu-Lapu District Hospital.

As always, unvaluable amounts of medicines and services were provided free to the residents of the city and other surrounding areas.

The community is forever indebted to the following:

PMA-WV, represented by Dr. Lemuel Delgra (President) and Dr. Perry Lee (Chief of Missions)
Saint Alphonsus Catholic School Alumni Association, represented by Mr. Richard Solis (President) and Mr. Vic Montecillo (Vice President and Chairman, Mission Committe)
Lapu-Lapu District Hospital, represented by Dr. Jaime Kaamino (Chief of Hospital) and Ms. Grace Estremos (Chief of Nursing Services)
Hon. Arturo Radaza (Lapu-Lapu City Mayor)

A MISSION PICTORIAL

The mission banner

The early morning crowd on day #1

SOME OF THE PMA-WV MISSIONERS

Joy Cinco (Charleston, WV) manning the "Central Supply"

Guest Physician, Doctor Balakeno (USA)

Dr. Bert Maramba (Beckley, WV) with Mr. Virgil Sadora (Charleston, WV) interpreting

Dr. Ging Sadora (Charleston, WV)

Drs. Beboy Racoma and Nene Bondoc, both from Florida

Dr. Perry Lee (Charleston, WV), Chief of Medical Mission

Dr. Lemuel Delgra (Charleston, WV), President of PMA-WV

THE SACSAA MISSION VOLUNTEERS

SACSAA banner at the Central Clearance Desk

SACSAA volunteers buried in Patient Registration Station

SACSAA officers and volunteers in a much deserved rest

[Incidentally, Mactanman was President of PMA-WV (1986-87) and President of SACSAA (2002-04)]

DIVE SHOW AT AYALA OPENS

2006-02-09T04:10:00.000-08:00

Today marks the first day of the 4-day dive industry promotional exhibit at the Ayala activities center. As far as I can gather from the newspaper article/announcement, the show was put up by the Department of Tourism and the Philippine Tourism Authority. The show, the first of its kind in Cebu and the Visayas, was dubbed: "Plan Ur Dive and Dive Ur Plan".

I toured the exhibits today and found very educational display materials and brochures of both the public and private sectors.

I note the very loud prominence of the City of Lapu-Lapu - in its absence!

Boys and girls, time to step out of Kadaugan sa Mactan and Fluvial Parade.

A BUNCH OF NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS FROM MILO DIMATAGA OF SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

2006-02-02T21:49:00.000-08:00

Today, I received a thick postal envelope from Milo postdated January 30, 2006 from Sydney, Australia. It came with this hand-written note:

26 Jan 2006

Dear Boy,

Enclosed please find some news clippings that might be of interest to you.
Sincerely,

Milo

The clippings is a potpourri of news articles from The Daily Telegraph of Sydney around the 2nd and 3rd weeks of January.

The main one was a headline that screamed: HARBOUR POISONED. The clipping came with a handwritten note from Milo that states: "Dear Boy, due to pollution, I hope our waters would not come to this. Milo". The article talks about banning of all fishing activities in Sydney due to poisoning of the harbour by dioxin, coming from the pesticide factory. I shudder to think that our problem is much worse (although it has not been studied). Since there is no hazardous waste disposal system in Metro Cebu, heavy metal poisons such as arsenic, cyanide, lead, lithium, etc must be routinely dumped into Mactan Channel. Battery businesses, electroplating and ship reconditioning, furniture processing, etc. all dump their waste into the 13 rivers and creeks that empty into Mactan Channel, and the sea. We need a study badly!

Other articles talk about shark attacks and shark scares - the kind that erroneously gets translated here in the Philippines as "sharks are bad, kill them!"

Another interesting one is about a feature in the entertainment section on a Filipino restaurant offering karaoke. (There goes the neighborhood!)

Lastly, one article talks about the controversy hounding RU486, the controversial abortion pill.

I will be posting different follow-up articles on these as they pertain to Lapu-Lapu City in particular.

Thank you, Milo.

RUTKOFF-AMORES NUPTIALS

2006-01-20T17:15:00.000-08:00

January 14th 2006 (a “Saturday the 14th”) marks a special day for the Rutkoff’s of the USA and the Amores’ of Mactan Island, Cebu, Philippines. On this memorable day, Mr. Joshua Rutkoff and Dr. Lynn Amores were married in a unique and solemn garden-wedding ceremony at the Vano Beach Resort.

“Unique”. The ceremony was a well meshed hybrid of a traditional Filipino Catholic wedding and a Jewish wedding.

“Solemn”. The affair was attended by a small crowd from all corners of the world bound by a common thread. Josh and Lynn know them all – relatives distant and close, personal friends and acquaintances. The principal sponsors (below), are all Lynn’s uncles and aunties from both hemispheres.

The groom's family from the USA: (left to right) Cousin Adam, Mom Jane, Sister Rebekah, Cousin Reshel, Dad Peter

The bride's family from Mactan Island: (left to right) Sister Karen, Mom Luz, Dad Doc, Brother Algin

The Principal Sponsors: Auntie Tita Escario (Danville, Virginia), Auntie Inday Amores-Robison (San Antonio, Texas), Auntie Aida Tablante (Cebu City, Philippines), Auntie Joy Cinco (Charleston, West Virginia), Auntie Elsie Zabala (California), Auntie Bea (Dr. Auditor, Charleston, West Virginia), Auntie Ging-Ging (Dr. Sadorra, Charleston, West Virginia), Uncle Ling-Ling (Dr. Cinco, Charleston, West Virginia), Uncle Tino (Dr. Amores, Charleston, West Virginia), Uncle Spanky (Dr. Tablante, Cebu City, Philippines), Uncle Udo (Dr. Auditor, Charleston, West Virginia), Uncle Virgil Sadorra (Charleston, West Virginia), Uncle Mar (Dr. Escario, Danville, Virginia), Perry (Dr. Lee, Charleston, West Virginia), Uncle Mario (Dr. Amores, Mactan Island, Cebu, Philippines). Not in photo, Auntie Vangie Feliciano (New Jersey)

The Oberlin Gang: Josh and Lynn are graduates of Oberlin College, a small, exclusive private college in the Ohio heartland.

The traditional cutting of the cake.

A COMMENT FROM ZIGMUNDO OF LEBANON, ILLINOIS, USA

2006-01-14T23:34:00.000-08:00

whats this all about anyway ... I lived in LapuLapu at the Palalay Compound in 1968-1969 and dont remember anything about brownouts - I do remember when the center of town/market went up in flames.

[Thank you for the comments. Times have changed! Since I came back to Mactan in 1999, we have been having brownouts, mostly on weekends. My Cosmetic Surgery Center is in Pusok area where all the big companies and businesses are. So, thank God for small favors, I think we are getting preferential treatment. But still, I have a portable backup generator that I use for my residence in Poblacion and for the clinic - just in case. A few months ago, the electricity went out on us in the middle of a facelift procedure! - Mactanman]

COMMENTS FROM A NORWEGIAN REGARDING BROWNOUT! (POSTED 12/19/2005)

2006-01-11T06:38:00.000-08:00

Don't have to big hope my friend, - we are only a minority group here.Things are obviously not so important here, especially since the airport andmost of Mepz has generators anyway. The city of Cebu needed us back in the60's when they had to move the airport. I guess they felt it like it wasthem that gave US something and not the other way around. The fact is thatthe Island of Mactan is the largest tax source around, but of course wedon't need electricity on Sundays. And if they DO come on a Sunday, - theywill go back over one of the bridges as soon as one of the light bulbsstarts to blink. It's so easy to just close your eyes for a problem. Ihaven't really been here long enough to have a strong opinion, but I havenoticed the same as you.

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT

2006-01-07T21:45:00.000-08:00

Hours and precious hours of debate are spent in the media regarding the works of the ConComm (Consultative Commission on Charter Change) and Cha-cha (Charter Change). Lest you politicians forget, here is the basic sequence of problems:

The general population is immature. They cannot decide for themselves during elections. The “leaders” come in. He/she distributes the money to the voters in exchange for their votes (some entrepreneurial voters sell their votes twice. Some entrepreneurial leaders deep most of the money to themselves and shortchange the voters).

The leaders in turn allegedly get the big lump some from the candidates for executive office.

The candidates for executive office has four sources of funds:

1) Personal funds, legal or illegal

2) A higher-level executive candidate who got the huge some of money from being an incumbent and therefore has amassed huge sums of money allegedly through graft and corruption (heaven knows these riches cannot be explained by the salary of the executives).

3) Allegedly, diverted funds from government agencies

4) Private sources who allegedly accept in return such favors as control of smuggling in major ports of entry resulting in massive loss of revenues.

Money bribed to the voters and money lost from unrealized revenues (Customs and BIR) result in drained funds of the government treasury.

The total amount of money minus the public service expenditures for 1 year leaves a net that barely covers the interest on foreign debt.

There is no more money for social programs such as public welfare, charities, food programs, school programs, health programs, etc. Poverty level goes up to 50%. Seventy per cent (70%) of elementary school graduates are not ready for high school. One out of 6 people goes to bed hungry.
The elected executives could care less because they paid for your votes anyway (plus they have to amass money for the next elections, so sorry na lang).

Worse, obvious corrupt practices in the higher up encourages corruption in the lower downs (provincial, city/municipal, barangay) where you cannot get anything done without kicking back 35% on such things as government contracts.

The kickback schemes discourage investment at all levels.

Most people from developed countries find these practices abhorring and nauseating. So, entry of foreign investments, big and small, is heavily curtailed.

More and more we rely on OFW remittances for the nation’s survival. (The people in government gloat on the amount of money the OFW’s are sending back to the Philippines. Warning: Reliance on people who had to go abroad to earn money because there is none available here is the #1 symptom of a sick society).

Now, how is amending the constitution going to change this cascade of events? If you, government people, think that you can fool the people, think again. We see how foolish you are!

PHILIPPINE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION OF WEST VIRGINIA MEDICAL MISSION TO LAPU-LAPU CITY - 2006: SCREENING DAY#2

2006-01-06T23:56:00.000-08:00

Today is screening day #2. A very busy day indeed! In a half day, we were able to fill up the quota for surgical patients for the 3-day mission...and more.

The SACSAA local mission committee wishes to thank our Alumnus physician Dr. Ramon Javellana and guest physician Dr. Lynn Amores (of California) for a screening job well done.

We apologize for those patients that we have to turn away. We will accommodate them on the next SACSAA medical mission in April 2006, this time with the medical team from the Virginia Medical Alliance.

Fig. 1. Dr. Lynn Amores working up a patient while mom, Luz Amores RN, interprets

Fig. 2. A well-earned lunch - SACSAA medical mission committee and guests

AN EMAIL FROM JGO

2006-01-02T18:18:00.000-08:00

Hello Doc,

Explored your i-net spot and found it a great improvement. One can explore one subject or Issue and track it down to its roots. Its a very informative site specially for the stakeholders of this island which we call home. Congratulations on this endeavor and more power to you....

PHILIPPINE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION OF WEST VIRGINIA MEDICAL MISSION TO LAPU-LAPU CITY - 2006: SCREENING DAY#1

2005-12-28T21:56:00.000-08:00

Lapu-Lapu City is again honored as the choice of the 2006 medical mission of Philippine Medical Association of West Virginia (PMA-WV). Local arrangements are handled by the Saint Alphonsus Catholic School Alumni Association, headed by President Richard "Bobet" Solis.

The people of Lapu-Lapu wishes to thank Dr. Lemuel Delgra of Charleston, West Virginia, President of PMA-WV, and Dr. Perry Lee, also of Charleston, International Mission Coordinator.

The following is a pictorial of the first screening day held today at the Lapu-Lapu District Hospital, through the able leadership of Bobet and Dr. Jimmy Kaamino, Chief of the Hospital.

FIGURES: (1) Early morning activity at the screening registration desk manned by volunteers from SACSAA; (2) Dr. PJ Alcantara, SACS Alumnus, doing screening medical examinations; (3) Long-time and perrenial missioner and mission pioneer, Dr. Spanky Tablante

WTO DISCUSSION ON ANC - THE GRINCH THAT STOLE CHRISTMAS

2005-12-25T20:38:00.000-08:00

Weatherwise, Christmas 2005 in Lapu-Lapu was miserable. It rained the whole day. (We barely finished the 9:00 AM mass when the rains came).

So, for a while, that forced me in-doors. At one critical moment, news junkie that I am, I flipped the channel to ANC (All News Channel). And, the real misery happened.

Three guests - one congressman, two experts in free trade alliance - were interviewed live regarding the just concluded WTO Ministerial Meeting in Hong Kong. It was truly painfully annoying watching and listening to these supposedly expert people beating around the bush about the real problem that us Filipinos face in global economy dynamics.

They keep referring to the inequities between developed and underdeveloped countries. Note to all experts in the Philippines: better to call this inequities between "uncorrupt and corrupt countries". For there lies the problems.

Complaint #1 Subsidies. Corruption kills subsidies. Keep following the fertilizer scam investigations. Some answers lie in there.

Complaint #2 The fishing grounds will be opened to foreign nationals thereby depriving our very own fisherfolks. Corruption kills the fishing grounds. The rich Visayan Sea ecology has been destroyed by Hulbot-Hulbot fishing (best described as mechanized Muro-Ami), dynamite and cyanide. Preventive measures against these practices are heavily hampered by corruption going up the authority levels. Our seas are dead, to a tune of 90% decline in fisheries catch by some estimates.Don't worry people, the foreign nationals won't be coming. They won't waste their time.

HOLIDAY SEASON 2005

2005-12-24T01:46:00.000-08:00

Lapu-Lapu Times wishes you
Happy Holidays!

BROWNOUT!

2005-12-19T06:09:00.000-08:00

The other day, there was a big news on print and TV about a 4-hour brownout in Cebu City.

Hey! We get it here in Lapu-Lapu City almost every Sunday. And that’s no news? On the busiest day in the city – what with the tabó, church, cockfight, etc.?

That old colonial mentality of people from Cebu City as city dwellers and us from Lapu-Lapu City as “islanders” does not apply in these modern times. What’s news to you is news to us.

While I’m in the mood for feeling sorry for ourselves – as the major stakeholder, why don’t we have the biggest voice in the management of the two Mactan-Mandaue bridges? The management board of Mactan-Cebu International Airport? Mactan Export Processing Zones?

Why are the tourists arriving at Mactan Airport called Cebu tourists? They mostly come and stay in Mactan, don’t they?

Come Sunday, when the electricity conks out, I hope the news media pick it up.

THE ANTI-TERRORISM BILL AND LUCIO T. AMORES

2005-12-15T05:42:00.000-08:00

News headline yesterday proclaimed that the Anti-Terrorism Bill is now up for second reading in Congress.

In the global stage, the Philippines sticks out like a sore thumb, being one of the very few countries that have not passed an Anti-Terrorism bill. And, this is magnified by the fact that the country is considered within the Al Qaeda-Jemaah Islamiah-Abu Sayyaf axis. The proponents constantly harp on this.

However, the Anti’s have a strong point. And that is, the definition of “terrorism” in the pending bill is too broad. Criticizing the government, chanting “Gloria Arroyo, pekeng pangulo!” will land one in jail by warrantless arrest, and with total loss of habeas corpus. Heck, I could suffer the same fate for several postings here (The Law of Absolutivity, Cadaveric Spasm, etc.)!

Definition kills! I had an uncle who people told me was the best looking son of the late Dalmacio Amores, my paternal grandfather. Even better looking than my late father (if that is at all possible!). On their own, the guerilla movement in Mactan during the Second World War (WWII) applied a broad definition to the term “collaborator”. Lucio T. Amores, the messenger, was caught carrying a letter to the authorities, reporting the abuses of some of the guerilla elements. He was meted the usual guerilla justice of WWII – execution.

Define “Terrorism” properly, or else there will be many like me who spends the rest of their life wondering how good looking an uncle really was.

TWO AMAZING HOUDINI ACTS IN 1 DAY

2005-12-09T04:16:00.000-08:00

To tag an act as an Houdini act heaps credit on it. It has to meet two criteria: a) degree of difficulty, and b) cunning and craftiness. These easily qualify:

Comelec Ex-commissioner Garcillano on his testimony at the Lower House of Congress hearing on the "Hello, Garci" tapes when pinned on some aspects of the scandal: "I cannot answer on anything related to the tapes because there is a case pending in the Supreme Court..." (Which case was filed by him!).
(Election irregularities are accepted facts since the days of Macapagal...Diosdado, not Arroyo. Around that time, my father lost to a relative unknown, Moning Jimenez in the Opon Vice Mayoralty race because of vote buying) Comelec Chairman Abalos when questioned about investigations following sworn statements of resource persons and statements of senators in the senate hearing alluding to massive cheating in the 2004 elections: "We cannot investigate these allegations because there is a pending protest before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (Legarda vs. de Castro)". He added, "...disturbing the records in the middle of the protest will violate the sanctity of the ballot records". Sanctity, my #@*!! Sanctity is the last operative word you can attribute to the instrument of suffrage in the Philippines. The ballots are traded like whores.

My apology to the spirit of Houdini for mentioning his name with "whores" in the same article.

EMAIL FROM AUSTRALIA

2005-11-30T19:23:00.000-08:00

Milo Dimataga emailed on 11/30/2005:

I've read the Lapu-lapu Times which is very good, indeed! I like it that finally we have a newspaper in our City! More power to you and the Lapu-lapu Times! Milo

CLIPPING THE POWERS OF THE SUPREME COURT

2005-11-25T10:00:00.000-08:00

I am not a lawyer. So, I beg ignorance on this one.

Apparently, one of the special powers given to the Supreme Court is "Declaring Government Contracts Null and Void". Nowadays, the Supreme Court is pretty much the only branch of government with a tinge of independence from partisan politics. I said...tinge.

Uuh!Uuh! Now, Malacanang, itself charged of different questionable contracts wants to remove that power from the Supreme Court. Instead, if one wants to question any government contracts, one has to go through the pipe of the judicial system starting from the lowest court. Meaning - Trial/Municipal Courts, then Court of Appeal, then Supreme Court.

Butangi! We know how and how fast those courts run.

The Philippines as a society wanting to grow up? Two steps back!

PHILHEALTH - HEADING FOR DISASTER

2005-11-22T20:40:00.000-08:00

When I first came home about 5 years ago, I started hearing about "Philhealth". Then I started hearing about the cards being given to the indigents (arguably for election favors). One time, there was a big news about how the City of Lapu-Lapu gave free Philhealth cards to thousands of squatters. The city paid some millions for it, but when I computed it, it was barely Php1,000 per family per year (God knows how many in the family). The big news that came with it was that now, all health care needs of the family was taken care of. Dream on! Php1,000 will not even buy one one day's antibiotics in case of a serious infection.

Everybody got into a celebratory atmosphere, dancing in the streets and lauding the success of the government in giving this favor to the poor of our society. No one stopped dancing to ask: "Wait a minute, who's paying for this?" We are! Remember how may thousands of cards were given away as the election was approaching? We are paying for all of that now. By some actuarial estimates we are short by no less than Php50-100 billion.

In my 20 years of practice in Plastic Surgery in the USA, I lived right through the growing pains of Medicare. It was a huge mess (still is a mess today). Simply, the US government just could not afford the price.

And we can? Heck! We could not even pay the principal of our foreign debt! Still, people in the government are talking about national health program. No!No!No! We are too poor. We cannot afford that.

Here is a set of free advise to the people in the know in the government:

If you really want to be altruistic (meaning all through the cycle, not just election time), have a charity health insurance program (let's call it say, Medicaid). This is not Philhealth. There are honest limitations: good for government hospitals only, no private clinics, etc. And, only families that are below certain income level can avail. Everybody above gets Philhealth or private insurance..voluntarily.
For Medicaid and Philhealth programs there are limitations too. First and formost, there has to be a Utilization Review Committee for every participating hospitals. (We in the US realized this too late. Only when Medicare was tethering on the brink of bandruptcy did we impose this). This will prevent physicans, hospitals and patients abusing the system. Remember a few years back when more than a dozen hospitals in Bohol were caught overbilling Philhealth?

HOLDING HANDS AT THE LORD'S PRAYER (OUR FATHER)

2005-10-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

There was a big buzz on all the news media last week regarding some "order" from the Vatican that henceforth makes holding hands illegal during the Lord's Prayer part of the mass. This has been clarified by no less than the office of Cardinal Vidal that the Vatican issued only a guideline, with no dogmatic significance. Further, it was explained that the Vatican only wants to make the mass more solemn. Locally, people counts a few things that can make the mass at the Virgen Sa Regla Church more solemn:

Remove the VIDEOKE atmosphere during the mass by limiting Misa Cantadas to one or two each Sunday much like the good old days. The "Gloria" is now sang and stretched to six minutes where it could be solemnly recited for less than two. Which brings us to the next point.
Sermons, to be effective, should be cut down to no more than fifteen (15) minutes. It is a proven fact that one can hold attention for only maximum fifteen minutes. If it is possible to read minds, we would be seeing "palengke", "cockpit", "cooking meals", "meeting friends at the plaza", "beach picnic", "catching a tricycle home", "mahjong", etc. all over the church by the end of most sermons delivered at VSR. There is nothing more un-solemn than fidgeting in church in the heat, and wondering when the sermon will be over.
There are those of us who think that we should be comfortable when we commune with the Lord. So, we go to mass sitting outside in whatever little coolness the trees provide. When I last checked, this is still legit. It is so un-solemn when the parish priest pulls in or out in front of the church goers, sometimes revving up the engine, or worse blowing his horn. There is ample parking space in the street near the convent.

LAUNCHING OF LAPU-LAPU TIMES

2005-10-01T14:31:00.000-07:00

Greetings, everyone!
For a modern crowded city of more than 265,000 souls, Lapu-Lapu's lack of a newspaper truly stands out. Other than the usual LOOSE gossip, nobody really knows what the actual day-to-day pulse of the city is. True, we have a section dedicated in one or two regional Cebu newspapers, but the items are inadequate and mostly deal with killings, drugs, robbery and rape.
We in Lapu-Lapu City ought to know more! So, let's try this venue.
Everybody is welcome to send in their comments (opinion, etc.) on any particular posts, or send some breaking news. I will gladly post them subject to my privilege as editor.